I have found the secret!

 I was so mad I turned off the TV after the top of the 3rd.  It doesn't matter what game it was (it was actually the second game of the doubleheader today).  Same old B.S.  Our young starting pitcher implodes because he can't throw strikes and when he throws strikes they are meatballs.  I finished my lunch (I am 3 hours earlier than y'all) and went outside to cut down a small, dead tree and pull out the stump.   Well, about 3 hours later, I came back in and saw the score.   I wound up MLBTV and watched, in glory, the last two innings.   Four walks in a row (all I could think of was my go-to gif from Chicken Little saying "don't swing" that I pull up every time Austin Hedges comes up and a sacrifice fly from Ramirez who, this time, they couldn't pitch around.  

 A managerial error, huge error, of not warming up a relief pitcher when his relief pitcher with a history of wildness started to crack.   A gift from Toronto's manager to us.   And we did it with our usual bad offense.  

Trying to figure out how all this could happen when I was outside cutting out dead wood (hear that Jake Bauers?) it came to me.

Cut down a dead tree and the Indians will magically start to win.  Problem is, there aren't any other dead trees on my property.   So now my live trees and large succulents were starting to get nervous.   A quick count shows that I have about 6, 10 counting the front yard, things that are or could pass for trees.  Nowhere near the 100+ I need to finish the regular season.   So I envisioned my whole neigborhood.   In the 100 some homes and common ground could I find enough dead wood to take us to the AL Central championship?  Not likely, as my neighbors keep up their properties.   Plus I don't think my back would make it through the whole season even if I did find that level future firewood.  

But, it's good to dream.   Maybe if 1-2 diehard Indians fans cut down a dead tree before every game...sort of a dead tree offering to the baseball gods, maybe the Indians could have a magical rest of the season where everything fell their way, no pun intended.  

Hmmmmm.

I am angry!!!!

 Between games of the doubleheader and it is time to blow off a little steam in frustration.

First, I am angry at Owen Miller.   We have had to deal with pathetic players like Jake Bauers, Ben Gamel and Yu Chang all season.   You were the one shining light for us in the minors.   I mean, a guy hitting .450 for almost a month in the minors should be able to add SOMETHING to our hitting, right?   But no, just like your pathetic brethren at AAA, Bobby Bradley, Daniel Johnson and Oscar Mercado, you brought nothing with you when you came to the majors.  NOTHING.   How dare you be this bad?   How dare you add to the misery that is watching pathetic, AAAA guys flail away this year without respite.   How dare you fail so miserably.

Then I continue to be angry at Chris Antonneti and Mike Chernof.  How dare you get so little in these blockbuster trades when our stars are shipped out of town?  How dare you?!?  I said at the time that, when you look at the return Pittsburgh got for Joe Musgrove that the Indians didn't get enough for the combination of Lindor and Carrasco.    I mean, Ahmed Rosario is an OK ML shortstop, but Andres Gimenez is at least a year away and when he gets her Rosario has to play a different position...AGAIN.  Bad choice in getting these players.  Plus you add Josh Wolf who is either hurt or just really SUCKS at Lake County and Isaiah Greene who is so far away from the majors that he didn't even make a full-season team this year.   

Then you look at the Mike Clevinger trade to San DIego.   Of all the players we got in this trade the one who looks the best right now is Josh Naylor and he is not that far above a replacement level player.   The aforementioned Miller has just SUCKED in Cleveland.   Gave Arias who is a bat-first middle infielder is barely above the Mendoza line.    Austin Hedges is WAY overpaid.   He is a great pitch blocker and his framing is better than I thought but his attempts at hitting?!?!  He wouldn't be an average hitter if he was a National League pitcher.  Joey Cantillo is hurt which hightens the suckiness of this trade.   

The Trevor Bauer trade doesn't even look that good.   I mean Franmil Reyes is very good but the other guys we got in that trade are either gone, pathetic or hurt.   

I am incredibly angry with Oscar Mercado, Daniel Johnson and Bobby Bradley.   How dare you guys suck so bad that the allow the front office to keep running out guys like Bauers and Chang and having to have Harold Ramirez hitting clearnup.    Your pathetic showing at AAA makes me not only want to call you up, it wants to make me demote you to AA Akron so your suckiness can be further away from the majors and I can stop dreaming on you guys being the saviors of this offense that clearly you don't give a crap about being.   

The only people I am not angry at right now is our manager and our pitching coach and our pitchers.  

We could have such a good team this year and, instead, we have to look at such sucky hitters and a front office that, besides being inept at blockbuster trades, also tries to justify their failures by keeping guys like Bauers on the team long enough that the only reason he is still here is because said same front office is waiting for Yandy Diaz to start sucking so releasing Bauers makes that trade sting less.

The only reason I am a little less angry than I could have been is that Clevinger and Carrasco are hurt and Lindor has been sucking so bad.    So the sucky trades we made look a little less sucky.   

Did I mention how angry I am?

Thoughts for a Saturday morning

 CLEVELAND INDIANS:

I know I am from Cleveland and all and have sat in below zero temperatures to watch football and very cold temperatures to watch baseball, once again this speaks to the need for a retractable domed stadium for baseball in Cleveland.

Conditions last night were terrible for a Memorial Day weekend home game.   Unfortunately, when the conditions are added to the likely omnipresent nerves that a first-time major leaguer Morgan would have plus the fact that he had a very shortened run-up (lack of ST and only one long start in AAA) to his debut, it is hard to make anything out of this start.   I think he deserves another start but don't EXPECT much better as I think a guy like him cannot learn well at the big league level.   He has to be very refined to make his stuff work against ML hitters and he still has some work to do.

Nevertheless, as Tito said, how do you make sense of his start last night given the conditions.

Regarding the game, we all knew there would be days like this this year.   When 2/5 of your rotation has little or no ML experience, no matter who you throw out there from the minors or majors, you are going to have hiccups.   I don't know if anyone is reading more into this than they should, but if they are, don't worry.  Last night's game does not damage this team's psyche or its chances of making the playoffs.

INDIANS MINOR LEAGUE TEAMS

As I posted earlier, our minor league system is looking terrible at the moment.   Almost every minor leaguer, including the ones we really need right now, is underperforming.   

You have to have on deeply rose-colored glasses to find good things happening right now with the Indians' minor league teams.  When we are encouraged when a guy like Tanner Burns gives up only 2 runs (one earned) in five innings in A ball, it really says we are setting the bar low. 

I don't know what is up but color me whatever color is opposite of rose-colored.   Since Eeyore is a combination of purple and blue, color me Eeyore-colored. 

Thursday game thoughts

•  The Indians have been able to weather the storm so far.   They have found a way to get it done.  Not surprisingly, Francona is now 3rd on the all-time win list for Indians managers and unless something unbelievable happens will be the winningest manager in Indians' history by the end of this year.   He is a treasure and I wish he was about 50 years old right now so that he would have many years of managing left.   
• Glad to see Bradley Zimmer up here.   Didn't get a chance to watch the game yet but will tonight.   Maybe a false sense of security but I just feel better with him in center field.   Should he have caught the blooper in the 8th that went for a double?  I will tell you later when I watch the replay of the game.  Zimmer was on base two times and I am hoping his hot streak at AAA carries over to the majors.  I think he is an important piece to the success of this team.
• Owen Miller continues to struggle.  But, like Bauers, he keeps his head above water with 2 hits today.   Just waiting for him to get on a roll.   He has time with Reyes out for a while.
• Yu Chang has done nothing to dissuade me from thinking he is a replacement-level player, or worse. 
• The bullpen is looking strong and Civale and Beiber, along with the McKenzie/Quantrill piggyback, saved the bullpen this series.   
• Looking forward to Eli Morgan starting on Friday.   That's not to say that I expect too much as he is a young soft tosser and is still rounding into shape after missing time in ST.   With Moss being out and Mejia pitching maybe on Monday, Morgan was the only answer.  Hopefully he gets on a roll and gives us 6 strong tomorrow.   I love these young guys coming up and showing out.
• Looking forward to watching some minor league baseball tonight.  Hopefully will get to see some guys put up some numbers.

Our farm system is looking like a mess right now.

 Using Baseball America's top Indians prospect list, here is what we have:

1. Triston McKenzie - 30 walks in 31 ip for a guy who doesn't even throw that hard?   Not good for your #1 prospect and a guy WITHOUT a significant history of wildness through his minor league career.   Hopefully tonight goes bettter because he has the stuff to be successful.

2. Nolan Jones: Hitting .172 at AAA  with an OPS of .583 and with 31 K in 70 PA.   

3. Tyler Freeman: The first (but not only) guy on this list who is actually performing as he is raking at AA at a .361 clip.  Most of his early damage was to RF he has started pulling the ball a little more.

4. Bo Naylor: .152 with a .530 OPS at Akron

5. George Valera - Currently hurt but hitting .182 with and OPS of .569 when he was hurt

6. Gabriel Arias - .237 with a .704 OPS at Columbus

7. Brayan Rocchio - .214 with a .600 OPS at Lake County

8. Daniel Espino - Second player on this list performing in the early going.   He has 2.70 ERA with 18 K in 13 innings and has already been hitting 100 mph this season.

9. Ethan Hankins - Currently out with an elbow injury

10. Aaron Bracho - .178 with a .567 OPS at Lake County and playing some first base...at 5'11"

11. Gabriel Rodriguea - .200 with a .523 OPS at Lynchburg

12. Carson Tucker - extended spring training

13. Logan Allen - Getting bombed at AAA after getting bombed for the Indians

14. Emmanuel Clase - Showing closer stuff if not closer mentatlity...so far.

15. Tanner Burns - 4.97 ERA 16 K in 12.2 innings at Lake County

16. Joey Cantillo - Currently on injured list

17. Carlos Vargas - Out with Tommy John surgery

18. Owen Miller - Hitting .400 at AAA and, in line with all the rest of our ML hitters, hitting .077 and looking lost at times for Cleveland.  But at least he has his first hit, first run and first RBI in the majors.

19. Scott Moss - Currently injured for Columbus

20. Logan T. Allen - Four guy out of 20 who is performing well, 1.18 ERA and 22 K in 15 innings in his professional debut

21.Bobby Bradley - Hitting .191 in his 3rd season at AAA.  Has 6 HR in 68 AB with 25 K at Columbus

22, Sam Hentges - This could be considered a real success story given that he is actually in the majors after getting blown out of the water at Akron in 2019,

23. Ernie Clement - Performing well at Columbus before he got hurt.

24. Lenny Torres - Mixed results at Lynchburg but just getting on the mound after his TJ surgery

25. Yordys Valdes - .200 average with a .463 OPS at Lynchburg

26. Angel Martinez -  Hitting well so far at Lynchburg.  Time will tell.

27.  Yu Chang -  Clearly establishing himself as a AAAA player

28. Daniel Johnson -  Looks more and more like a AAAA player but at least he is not sulking at AAA and is actually hitting with power.

29. Jose Pastrano - Extended spring training

30. Eli Morgan - He was hurt at the beginning of the year so it is tough to see what he will be this year.

31. Jose Tena -  Showing flashes so far, the whole season will tell his performance

32. Petey Halpin - Extended spring training.

33. Trevor Stephan - Holding his own in the majors, making this look like a good Rule 5 pickup.

34. Will Benson - Showing some promise but, at times, looking like the same old Will Benson who might never connect the tools with performance.

35. Nick Sandlin -  Better than expected due to his good FB velocity.  If you redid this list right now he might be top 15.

36. Junior  Sanquintin -  Extended spring training

37. Jean Carlos Mejia - A couple of good major league appearances give hope that he moves, once again, up this list.

38. Jose Fermin - Middle of the road so far but some promise there, to be sure, as he is at AA

39. Luis Durango, Jr. - Extended spring training

40. Kyle Nelson - He is exactly as advertised.  Maybe would be top 30 if you redid this list now.

Looking at this list, it is a rather disappointing start for our prospects.  Not a lot of help in the minors right now.  Plus our lower level prospects are not overwhelming their competition, at least at AAA, AA and Lake County at high A.    Hopefully our prospects and those I didn't mention above or below, especially those who were acquired in our recent blockbuster trades (like Andres Gimenez who would have been mayb #4 on the above list) will become solid stars in the next few years.

Now there are people that are not on this list who are overperforming: Jhonkensy Noel, Mason Hickman, Nick Mikolajchak, Andres Melendez, Will Bartlett, Johnathon Rodriguez, Kirk McCarthy and Oscar Gonzalez,

There are whole slew of young prospects who are off to decent starts but for whom it will take the whole season to see if they are on the upswing or the downswing in prospect status

Guys like Will Brennan and some of the college pitchers have their moments but it is hard to distinguish whether their success is because they are good or just because they are experienced players playing against young, inexperienced competition.

Management still with heads up their butts

 While I am happy that Owen Miller gets his shot the only reason this is happening is because we lost Franmil Reyes to the IL.

Overall impact on the offense: WORSE

Now I love that Miller is getting a shot, don't get me wrong.

However, there were so many other rosters moves that SHOULD have been made that will actually help the offense:

Bradley up and Bauers down - How anyone can think that Bauers is a positive on this team is beyond me.  If your team is so pathetic that it needs Bauers' defense and weak hitting then you are screwed.   Hey, I give Tito and Antonneti and Chernoff credit.   They have kept this ship floating for years while other teams were abandoning ship for a deep rebuild.  But this team needs offense.   Bradley's is kicking into gear.  

Lavarnway up and Rivera down - Hey, I get that Plesac is pitching so you want your catcher with the most experience catching Plesac in the lineup today.   Maybe Lavarnway gets called up for Hentges' start tomorrow?   But Rivera can't even catch the ball, dropping multiple pitches BESIDES his two passed balls.   Lavarnway has 5 HRs in less than a month.  He can hit and, has a little 1B in hia past, although not for years.  There is no reason NOT to make this move.

Zimmer up - With DFAing Bauers there is a roster spot.   You know, I have been watching Zimmer this entire spring and in Columbus and I have to say I don't get it.   He seems like a very good CFer to me and I think he would have easily made the catch that Harold Ramirez missed yesterday.   As a matter of fact I think he makes a bunch of plays that have been messed up by our CFers so far and doesn't product at a worse rate than those guys.

I just don't get it.   We make one move and it doesn't help the offense.   I don't get it.

Much needed win and some observations about the major league and minor league teams

 Wow, Alex Colome has the right to ask that he pitch earlier in the game when facing the Indians.    Much needed win for the Indians and much needed walkoff by Cesar Hernandez.   Here are some other thoughts:

Shane Bieber -  Something is not right with this guy.   Unless I miss my guess we will all see that tomorrow when Plesac faces this beat up Twins team.   Bieber is just not dominating and he looks, every pitch, like he is struggling to find ways to keep it all together.   I am truly worried, and have been since his million pitch outing under Sandy last year and then his start in the playoffs, that there is something wrong with him physically.   Time will tell but I am worried.

Franmil Reyes - This team has so little hitting that the loss of the Franimal for even 10 days is a problem as that basically takes us through almost all of the remainder of our 14 games in 13 days stretch.   And I don't think this is going to be 10 days.   Maybe more like 60 days.  The only and I mean ONLY upside to this is that now we don't have to find a position for Owen Miller to play as he could just DH.   Still, there is no real upside to this injury as with all the uncertainty in the rotation and our lack of hitting, not having Reyes could be devastating as this team needs to win close games.  Without Reyes that becomes more unlikely.

Jake Bauers - Bobby Bradley is heating up with two HRs today.   Even though he may not be better than Bauers he is, at least, NOT Jake Bauers.  

Bullpen - Ten consecutive scoreless innings in this seriew by 6 different relieverts.  That's performance AND depth.

Really need a win tomorrow to keep our momentum going into the next series.

The roster tomorrow:   We can only hope these things happen tonight:

Lavarnway called up, Rivera sent down.

Owen Miller called up, Yu Chang sent down.

Bobby Bradley called up, Jake Bauers DFAd

Bradley Zimmer called up if Reyes sent to IL

Minor Leagues

Akron - Hopefully Tyler Freeman gets called up to AAA to replace Miller.  I still hold out a glimmer of hope for Will Benson.   He looks better this year so far.

Columbus - Bradley 2 HRs in his 3 hits; Zimmer 2-2 with 2 walks.  Kirk McCarthy going 7 innings really adds a glimmer of hope if we need a one-time starter.   Probably would go with Eli Morgan first as he is on the roster and lines up better with McKenzie's spot in the rotation..Anthony Gose is still struggling a bit.   Glad we didn't roster him yet as it appears he has some work to do.  Still like his potential long term, though.

Lynchburg - Josh Wolf back on track; Noel 5-5, all singles.  Melendez 3-5 with 2 HRs and a double (I really like this kid). Jonathon Rodriguez 2-5.

Lake Country - Matt Turner rocked; no hits by the top prospects on this team.  Just a bad game.  

Losing 1-0 or 10-0 makes no difference

 It's still a loss.    We have had bad losses in the last couple of years and come back from them.    Here are some thoughts tonight:

• Owen Miller started in LF tonight for Columbus.  Why in the freakin' hell is he starting in LF?  The Indians have a LFer.   They don't need a LFer.  The only thing that makes sense is if they plan to bring him up and play Rosario in RF or CF.   Eddie R. has played 67 games in RF in his ML career and 57 games in CF but he is so good in LF I just don't get it.   The place to play Miller, if you want to play him anywhere, is at first base.   THAT is where we need help...unless he is a great catcher.   
• Luplow and Bauers keep throwing wood on the fire underneath the tar pot, the contents of which will likely be used to run them out of town on a rail after they have been tarred and feathered.   Luplow has played in the majors for 5 years and he has only hit over .205 once.  Bauers is in his 3rd year in the majors and has never hit over .226. Yu Chang has 139 ABs in the majors over 3 years and he is hitting .158.   Chang got a hit in the 8th in a 10-0 loss but he is in that same boat.    Look, Bauers goes 4-4 and Luplow hits 3 HRs and we likely still will lose.   But that's not the point.  These three guys are just pathetic.   We have given all three of them every chance.   Send them to Columbus and bring up someone else.   Which brings me to my next point:
• J.C. Mejia was one of those guys called up.  He did not choke in his ML debut.   He performed.   Yeah, his performance was not that much different than the first 3 innings by McKenzie tonight so it doesn't mean everything, especially in a blowout.   But still, he didn't choke it out.    Luplow, Bauers and Chang are sucking on a nightly basis, doing just enough to make it tough to totally write them off.   But, man, they are being given chances time and time again and they are choking.   You think the Indians would throw McKenzie and Hentges out there for 5 years just because they might figure it out sometime?  
• I don't normally say this kind of thing but Luplow, Bauers and Chang should be ASKING to be sent down to the minors to fix their hitting problems.   If they are not doing that, they are stealing money from the Cleveland Indians.  How can they get to the park every day and look their teammates in the eye when they perform like this?   I just don't believe I could bring myself to do that or, for that matter, think I actually belong in the majors if I would stink as bad as they do.
• I am also pissed off with Bobby Bradley, Daniel Johnson, Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado.  If just one of them was doing ANYTHING, they would be in the majors now and we wouldn't have to have Luplow, Bauers and Chang on this team.   I mean Josh Naylor scuffles a lot but at least, on a nightly basis, he seems to do SOMETHING to help up win.   These other guys should be ashamed of theirselves to collect a paycheck for their level of performance and the Indians should be ashamed to throw them out there day after day in front of paying fans.   I mean I get McKenzie and Hentges, I get Logan Allen making the rotation this year.   Performance gives you a chance.   But Logan Allen is in the minors after sucking for just a little while.   Yet we still have to put up with Luplow, Bauers and Chang.  In the past week a number of guys the Indians have recently played against have been DFA'd or sent to the minors for bad performance.  And then we Luplow, Bauers and Chang
• There was one good thing that happened tonight.  The Lynchburg Hillcats got down 9-0 after 5 innings tonight and came back to win 14-13 in 13 innings.   So, Indians, it can be done.   
• As I said before, it is time to use openers in the rotation spots of McKenzie and Hentges or piggyback their starts.   Even though it was only one game and I am not sure he is healthy let alone ready for the majors, Eli Morgan went 6 shutout innings tonight.  
• Time to put this game behind us and win one for Beiber tomorrow in a game, hopefully, where I don't have to watch Chang, Bauers or Luplow play...and I get to see Owen Miller make his ML debut and have the kind of success that Mejia had tonight.  

We're coming home. Keep the lights on! Thoughts for a Thursday night

 Good series clinching win tonight.  I loved the Indians held on.  I loved the way they fought back  from being 1-4 to start this trip to ending 3-4.   I love the way Josh Naylor thrust himself into the spotlight with clutch plays.  

Here are some thoughts:

1. Jose Ramirez is leading by example.  Compare what he is doing in Cleveland to what Francisco Lindor is not doing in New York.   Yes, Lindor will end up being Lindor as the season continues but right now Ramirez appears to be the leader.  

2. I know the Angels have injuries but with Trout, Rendon, Upton, Shotani and, until rcently, Pujols this team had invested a lot of money with not much return.   I am not saying that the Indians are doing everything right but they are at least competing.  Look at the last 4 years for the Angels and the Indians and tell me you would rather be an Angels fan right now.

3. Jake Bauers just pisses me off.   All we need for him to do is hit .250 with a HR rate of 4% and some clutch hitting and, with his defense, we could live with that with our pitching.   But he teases us with moments like his recent ones and his sub-.200 average.   He hits a HR and has a walk tonight but it doesn't look real.   Unfortunately he is doing just enough that we can't DFA him which means he will oscillate between pathetic and is-there-really-something-there and no one will have the guts to pull the trigger on DFAing a career .213 average and a guy with a -0.3 WAR this year (-0.7 WAR for his career).   BTW, in his one stint in the majors Bobby Bradley in 2019 had a -0.3 WAR.

4. We are, starting Friday, scheduled to play 14 games in 13 days.   We need to make some pitching reinforcements from the minors soon.  Here is what we have to work with on the 40 man roster:

Jean Carlos Mejia, (just promoted)

Logan Allen 

Eli Morgan

Scott Moss

Kyle Nelson

On the 40 man that is it.   Allen and Morgan are not currently options.   Nelson should be back up soon.  Moss left Thursday's game with some sort of injury so now he is out which leaves Mejia as the wildcard.   On Columbus we have Kirk McCarty but we would have to dump someone from the 40-man to promote him.   Frankly, there is not much help in the minors right now to help us in the rotation.   As I said before this leads me to think about using an opener.   I think both Moss and Mejia will pitch for Cleveland sometime in the next two weeks.   

I hope they don't bring up AAAA guys like Parke, Dowdy, DJ Johnson or Danny Young who will cost us to DFA someone.   I wish they would take a shot with guys like Robert Broom and, from AA, Nick Mikolajchak if they wanted to add a reliever not on the 40-man.   Maybe later this year Cam Hill and Dakody Clemmer will be options.  I fear, however, that they will play it safe if they need a reliever and take some AAAA guy just because he has pitched in the majors before.

5. I am really hoping we see Owen Miller on the roster this Friday with Yu Chang being sent down.   I don't currently see a fit for Miller unless it is at first base and it looks like he may not have played much, if any first base.   Although he is the hitter I want to see up here he is the one player who I don't see a fit for.   Rosario looks comfortable at SS and Hernandez and Ramirez are fixtures.   Would they really put Rosario in CF again just to give Miller a shot?  That would be a tough one the way Rosario is looking right now and we have no idea if Miller can even handle SS as well as Rosario can.  Plus making Miller the DH and putting Reyes in RF is a defensive deficit.   It might work if Naylor moves to 1B but you are really making your defense weaker by that.    

 I still think Chang goes down to the minors and Miller comes up.  We need his bat and we need to find a way to get it to the majors.

6. Finally, I am hoping Lavarnway comes up tomorrow.   Rivera has basic catching problems that make him a huge liability.  

  

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

MOVES WE SHOULD MAKE WHEN WE COME HOME FROM THIS ROAD TRIP

We have an off day on Thursday and then start a homestand.   Columbus is right down the road in Toledo starting tonight so the trip to Cleveland would be a no brainer.    We have now had almost two months to evaluate our players.  It is time to make some roster moves.  Here are those moves.

(1) I read an article in the Plain Dealer that talked about how bringing up Owen Miller may not change much because the pitching is so good in the majors right now that stringing 3 hits together is almost impossible, so the current philosophy says that you are much more likely to have success if you just swing for the fences. 

It makes sense and, as a scientist, I can wrap my head around that thought process.

But here is the thing.   It's all an equation, right?   Power PLUS defense has to be better than overall offense PLUS defense.  That's why Franmil Reyes is DHing and we just didn't sign/trade for a DH and let Franmil roam right field.   

Regarding the Indians, I have now watched Jake Bauers for a number of years.   Yes, his defense is relatively elite.   But he doesn't hit for power now.   He has become a savvy enough hitter to keep himself at or just below the Mendoza line (which is where he was in his one good season with Tampa) but he doesn't have any power.

So, really, we are back to the same argument.   Bradley strikes out.   Bradley doesn't hit for average, Bradley takes an occasional walk.  Bradley's power is so above Bauers that it is not worth comparing.  In the philosophy espoused by (I think) Terry Pluto's article, Bradley would be the obvious choice if his defense isn't that much worse than Bauers.   

I think it is time to find out.  Bauers doesn't fit the current baseball model and he isn't even doing an Owen Miller thing in terms of getting on base.

MOVE 1: BRING UP BOBBY BRADLEY, DFA JAKE BAUERS.

(2) This one is a no-brainer.   Yu Chang has, on this stint, solidified that he is either a AAAA player or that he needs to get something changed.   His big thing is his defensive versatility, some ability to play SS and the teaser that he can be a power threat.

The power thing isn't happening.   So, while Owen Miller doesn't provide this 3-true outcome result that is so popular in baseball today, he appears to be incrementally better at small ball than Chang while not costing us much on defense.

So, there is no reason NOT to bring up Miller now.  He may not hit here because of his unsustainable BABIP but he is better than Chang at putting the ball in play and the equation (power + defense + OBP) doesn't favor Chang at all as Chang has shown no offense at all, in any way. 

MOVE 2: BRING UP OWEN MILLER AND SEND DOWN YU CHANG

(3) Look, it is becoming more apparent that we got hosed in the Lindor/Carrasco trade.   At least in the present.  The shine on Andres Gimenez is starting to wear off.   His defense is coming back to league average and his hitting is becoming more abysmal by the day.   You don't just let a guy like this rot on the bench.  If Chang was not so pathetic at the plate I would suggest bringing up Miller and sending down Gimenez.   In fact, that is one logical way to go.   However, I think Chang needs to go to the minors and Gimenez needs to go with him.  At this point, I would be OK with bringing up Tyler Freeman.  I know that is a long shot and his spray chart and my viewing of him being overmatched by good fastballs would indicate that Freeman might need more seasoning.  But maybe we throw this guy out there and hope for an above-average bump in performance just because the league doesn't have a book on him.   Heck, in the 2005 WS everyone in the National League knew how effective David Justice was against lefthanders like Jim Poole but we still threw Jim Poole out there thinking that it was the smart play,  So maybe Freeman hits well for a month if we bury him at the bottom of the order where pitchers tend to relax, at least a little.  The disclaimer is that this move is designed as a Hail Mary AND we do start Freeman's service time clock and we would have to create a roster spot for Freeman.  Still, we need something.

MOVE 3:  TYLER FREEMAN UP AND ANDRES GIMENEZ DOWN.  DFA OSCAR MERCADO TO CLEAR A ROSTER SPOT

(4) Our #4 and 5 starters are a mess.   Duh.   Welcome to the major leagues where teams have such a dearth of starters that they are using 1 or 2 openers and having a bullpen day every time through the rotation.   Look, the opener thing works (at least AGAINST the Indians, LOL).  We need to start thinking about constructing our roster that way, at least to fill in Hentges spot in the rotation.   My thought is that we make that #5 starter spot a bullpen day.   We start with Maton, then Quantrill, Stephan and Sandlin.   The real question is, do we send down Hentges and bring up Kyle Nelson?   I think the answer is yes, although it is not an easy call.   If we really think Hentges is a long-term answer in the rotation we send him out and let him start every 5th day.   If we are not sure and we are focused on this year, he becomes part of (but not the opener) in a bullpen day.     Right now I think we send him out and bring up Nelson.  We can adjust a month or so from now if Hentges shows enough improvement to be part of a bullpen day.

MOVE 4: SEND DOWN HENTGES AND BRING UP KYLE NELSON

(5) This team has already decided to have defense-first catchers only.   That makes a lot of sense when you have a Gold Glover who is also the caddy for the reigning AL Cy Young award winner and 2020 pitching triple crown winner.  Keeping Hedges as the backup, as painful as his offense is to watch and how inflated his salary is, also makes some sense.  What doesn't make sense is having Rene Rivera on this roster.   He has been TERRIBLE defensively, including not catching pitches that are obviously catchable.   His .308 average is soft and the definition of small sample siza and, frankly, he has been almost a non-factor in the runs we have scored when he catches.  Literally, he is playing the position as if he is the emergency catcher, not the experienced backup.    Meanwhile, Ryan Lavarnway, who did well in spring training, especially defensively in pitch framing and blocking balls, is still thumping the ball at AAA.   It is just pathetic to see Hedges or Rivera pinch hit...or even have Chang pinch hit for one of them.   It is time to inject a little offense into the catcher's spot and see if, upon Perez's return, we want to think about dumping the pop-less Hedges in favor of a guy who you aren't embarrassed to run up there as a pinch hitter.

MOVE 5: DFA RIVERA AND BRING UP LAVARNWAY TO TAKE HIS SPOT ON THE ROSTER

SUMMARY

5 roster moves on a Thursday.   That would be about as much as a roster could handle at one time....but it is the time to do it.   So, please, do it.

Thoughts for a Sunday morning

Random thoughts based on my baseball watching on Saturday:

AA Akron -

Shane McCarthy - Nice fastball-slider mix.   Didn't see the curveball or change.   Sat 92-93 with great command, especially down in the zone.    Just from this one look, he can be a good reliever in the majors by the end of this year.   As a starter, time will tell.  

Nick Mikolajchack - As advertised.  95-97 mph fastball that overmatched a lot of these guys.   With his breaking ball he could be in our bullpen by the end of this year.

Tyler Freeman - I had seen him in spring training and again in games up to now.   Before last night, however, I really hadn't noticed where his hits were going.   Since all 5 went to the opposite field last night I thought I would chart his ABs so far this season.

Hits: RF - 9 hits, CF - 3 hits, LF-0 hits, SS - 1 hit

Outs: K - 9 (3 called), LF - 2 outs, RF - 1 out, C - 1 out, 2b - 2 outs, SS - 5 outs, 3B - 4 outs

So, all of hits have gone to the opposite field except for one infield hit.  It looks like he is rolling over on some balls to the left side of the infield.   It will be interesting to see what happens when the book gets out on him and pitchers start busting him inside.

It is interesting to see guys who are journeyman minor leaguers but yet are intriguing.  Cale Coshow for Erie was hitting 95-96 mph in relief and was effective.   Then you look and find out he is almost 29 pitching at AA.   Still, could the Indians make something out of this guy that the Tigers can't?   I might think of doing a minor league trade for this guy as there might be something there if the Indians can fix whatever is wrong with him.   Guys who throw 95-96 are always in demand

Cleveland Indians

Hey, we shouldn't act like this is surprising.   We don't have enough hitting and our 4-5 starters are struggling because they are young.   We have been so spoiled here recently as our rookie pitchers have hit the ground running.   McKenzie and Hentges are more like what you expect to see.  I mean, look at Daniel Lynch (0-2, 15.75 ERA) and Logan Gilbert (0-1, 9.00 ERA, his start being against the weak hitting Indians).

We also knew that our hitting would suck.   I like Eddie Rosario as a veteran presence but is anyone surprised he lasted so long in free agency and is hitting like he is?   It now makes sense that he had to settle for a one year deal with the Indians.   Ditto for Cesar Hernandez not being able to leverage his 2020 season into a bigger, mulit-year contract this year.   Amed Rosario and Gimenez are both struggling, exactly as you would expect for guys who the Mets felt comfortable giving up on.  

The rest of the lineup is hitting almost exactly as we imagined they would, based on past performances.  

We get what we paid for and that is below major league average offense at all positions but 3B.  

Still, a couple games above .500 look like a realistic option for this team, thanks in most part to Tito's managing.

Beiber today.    Let's hope he wins because, if not, this team might go all Kansas City in a hurry.

Rene Rivera - Yesterday the guy must have dropped a half a dozen pitches that were right in his glove.  Plus he didn't make a catch on a throw from Rosario that would have stopped the 5th run.  I know he is a veteran but I don't see him being on this team.   In spring training Lavarnway looked plenty good enough on the defensive side that he should have been the first callup, given his RH bat fits with this team and he is a MUCH better offensive player than Hedges, Rivera and maybe even Perez.   He is good off the bench if you need a pinchhitter for Hedges.   Sometimes, you have to have some offense, especially when your 'defensive' catcher can't even catch the ball.

Rest of the minor leagues

No real breakout prospects here so far.   Owen Miller (more below) and Tyler Freeman are performing much as we expected them to based on spring training and only a few shades better than what we thought coming into spring training.   While it is early, the rest of the minor leaguers are performing as expected based on their individual histories.   Not bad, at all, but not anything to write home about for the 11th ranked farm system in baseball and one that will require, now and in the near future, for breakout performances in the majors for guys that started this year in the minors.

Columbus

Owen Miller is just hitting the ball.  Delving into his hit placement is interesting.    

Hits: LF - 7 (HR, D), CF - 2 (D,T), RF - 4  3B - 1, SS - 4, 2B - 2 - So he 6 infield hits which is a lot.  How many of those translate into hits in the majors will be interesting.   In terms of his OF hits, he spreads the ball around MUCH more Freeman and shows good pull side power.   Could it be that his high number of infield hits is because he is hitting through and somewhat around the shift?  Maybe.  If that is true the extreme number of infield hits for a guy who isn't that fast (9 career steals in over 200 games) makes more sense.

Outs: K - 10 (3 called), LF - 1, CF - 2, SS - 2 (1 DP), 2B - 3, 1B - 1 (foul popup).   This is all very encouraging as when he hits the ball to RF it is a hit and he doesn't appear to be rolling over balls that much. 

Basically, against AAA pitching, he looks like he is pretty ready for the majors.  It is time to bring him up for Chang whose K last night was just freaking pathetic and looked like a guy who has just given up.

Eli Morgan has been disappointing so far.   He looked so good yesterday for about 1 2/3 and then you could see the air go out of the sails.   I can't tell if he is trying to shake off his ST injury still.    But, right now, his pedigree and what I have seen in two starts has me pegging his upside as a long reliever in the majors or a setup man if his fastball ticks up in relief to go with his good changeup and breaking balls.  Still, if he rights the ship we have seen how effective junkballers can be against major league hitters like the Indians have.

Bobby Bradley - At a time where he could make his mark and easily replace Bauers, he is putting up AAAA numbers AGAIN at AAA.    Really disappointing.   I still hope he pulls it together but, like Mercado, Zimmer and even Daniel Johnson, much less likely as the year progresses.

Lake County

I like the way Turner is pitching.   Obviously haven't seen them yet as they are not on MiLB.TV yet (Is this a Bally's thing, too?).   

The hitters are a work in progress and it will take a whole season to sort out the prospects from the suspects.

Ditto for the pitchers, although Logan Allen (the younger) and Tanner Burns are intriguing and potential breakout prospects.

Lynchburg

I thought Josh Wolf would have been a bright light in the Lindor trade.   He is just a work in progress.   A good work in progress but, still, not anyone who appears, right now, that he will shoot up prospect rankings like I hope he would.   Still looks like the Mets pulled one over on us in the Lindor/Carrasco trade.   Time will tell if that is true.  I want to see Isaiah Greene but even that, due to the fact he will likely stay in Arizona, will be a snapshot in time and not really that valuable.

Like Lake County, it now appears that it will take the whole year to sort out the prospects fromt he suspects at Lynchburg, including Noel.   Planez is an interesting prospect, maybe standing out more for his tools than any other hitter on this roster.  If Noel is still dealing by the end of the year maybe he becomes the organization's breakout prospect in 2021.

Shane Beiber was the worst pitcher in the Indians organization tonight!

 HISTORICAL NIGHT HAPPENED TONIGHT IN THE INDIANS ORGANIZATION

There are certain moments in doing what I am doing here that only come along maybe once is a career.   Not that what I do here classifies as a career...but you know what I am talking about.  The headline of this post is something you will likely NEVER see again unless Beiber gets bombed early for a lot of runs.   Could happen but I doubt it, and NEVER when he only gives up 2 runs in 6.2 innings.

Let's check out the pitching tonight on the major and minor league teams tonight in the Indians' system:

Major League:

Beiber was 'bombed' for 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings over 121 pitches (more on that later)

Karinchak 1.1 scoreless

Clase: 1 scoreless

AAA 

McCarty 6 scoreless

Broom 1 scoreless

Gose 1 scoreless

Johnson 1 scoreless

AA

Lingos 5 scoreless

Arias 2 scoreless

Mikolajchak 2 scoreless

High A

Gaddis 5 scoreless (and hitless)

Ocker 3 scoreless

Rholl 1 scoreless

Low A

Curry 5 scoreless

Mock 4 innings 1 R

So, Beiber, time to up your game because every pitcher in the Indians minor league system put you to shame tonight.

The simple fact is that our minor league pitchers were as dominant tonight as I ever remember them being.  

36 innnings, 16 hits, 1 R, 7 BB, 43 K.

Show me a better line in minor league baseball for an organization's pitchers, ever, for a night in an organization where all four full-season teams played.  And until one out in the 9th of the final game of the night (Lynchburg) our minor league pitchers were collectively tossing a shutout.

BEIBER'S PITCH COUNT

I know I sound like a broken record here but the guy threw 121 pitches tonight.  Yes, he got that 8th strikeout to extend his record but how much damage is this doing to his arm?   Correct me if I am wrong but these guys are trained to throw 100-110 pitches a game, tops.  Anything after that has to put strain on his arm.   And in tonight's game, as there was a lot of traffic on the bases thanks to the Cubs hitters, a lot of those pitches were in high pressure situations.   So it was a tough 121.  

I object to using Beiber like this.  He has the chance to be a generational talent for the Indians and, listen Indians' management team, a stadium filler EVERY time he pitches.  He is money in your bank and he is being put at risk of pitching in a lot less stadium-filled games at home because he is being over-used.  This needs to be managed better.

OUR ORGANIZATION'S HITTERS

Subtract out low A Lynchburg's 16 hits in 42 AB and the rest of our minor league hitters were 19-92 tonight.  Our major league team was 5-28.  You won't win a lot of games where you go 5-28 unless all 5 of those hits are HR and you mix in some baserunners in those situations.

Time to get new hitting coaches in this system...or let's start teaching as well as our low A hitting coach is teaching.  

Thoughts on the first week in the minores

 First, good to have minor league baseball back.   Not sure how I am going to fit into my schedule keeping up with all these teams.

Here are some initial thoughts on our 18-4 farm system:

Lynchburg (6-0) 

 I wanted to start with them because they look the most impressive.   The problem with 6 game series is if you play a team that is talent-challenged or playing badly you can dust them off to the tune of 5 or 6 wins and it doesn't represent what your team really is in terms of talent.

Washington has the worst farm system in baseball (ranked 30th by Baseball America).   Their top prospect is not even in the top 100 prospects in baseball.   None of their top 30 prospects is even on Fredrickburg's roster.  Basically, Fredrickburg is one of the worst teams, if not the worst team, in minor league baseball.

Compare that to Lynchburg which has 9 of Cleveland's top 30 prospects on it and Cleveland's farm system is the 11th best in baseball

So, no positive stat can be taken as that positive so far and any negative stat, in my opinion, is magnified.  So the starts by Lenny Torres and Daniel Espino are called into question not because they were terrible but because they didn't flat out dominate a weak opponent.  Still, Torres returning from injury and both he and Espino being young guys so we can throw out these results, for now.

So, not much you can say so far about how the prospects look on the Hillcats.  Let's revisit them after the next two weeks.

Columbus (4-1)

They are 4-1 and have three players, Owen Miller, Ernie Clement and Ryan Law\varnway who have over 10 ABs and a BA of over .150.  The team is not hitting.   Sound familiar?  We need new batting coaches!  Regarding Miller, he is using an unsustainable BABIP of .692 to fuel his .450 average.   

As far as pitching, what is one of the constants about the Indians' minor league system?  LOTS OF INTERESTING RELIEF PROSPECTS.  Eight relievers still have an ERA of 0.00.   Everyone except for Logan Allen (the elder) and Eli Morgan have ERAs of under 4.00.  We have already talked about Logan Allen and his struggles and I have given you my opinions.   As far as Morgan, let's hope he is just shaking off the rust of a shortened spring training.  Moss looked good in his start, Mejia and McCarty were OK.  Parker looked impressive as minor league depth and Broom looked surprisingly good for a guy they have pushed up their system pretty hard.  I think Kyle Dowdy is just a 4A guy but he has been effective so far.  Plus, we haven't seen Cam Hill yet and there are guys at AA (see below) who might sneak up to the ML roster this year if the need is there.

They key to this team is the hitting of Miller and Bradley.   If they hit it gives us weapons in the minors.   If they don't then what you see in the majors is what you get for the rest of the year.   Notice I haven't even mentioned Zimmer, Mercado and Johnson as their performances so far have not indicated that they can help right now or in the future.  As far as the pitching, we need the starting pitching to be a strong point.   If we have injuries or bad performance by our starters we need good starters in the minors.   I think we have the bullpen covered.  

What about the competition?  AAA is the hardest to tell.   Teams can load up on AAAA guys and 'buy' a contender.   So predictability of success is harder based on stats or record at AAA.   The Clippers are 5-1 and looking at both rosters I don't see any of that being from Columbus loading up with AAAA guys or Louisville being so loaded with prospects that they are underperforming.   So, for now, let's assume there are many positives here in tersms of the future and reinforcements for this year.

AKRON (5-0)

Their opponent, Binhamton, seems a little old for this league but doesn't have a lot of great prospects on it.  The results so far from the Rubber Ducks, both pitching and hitting, have been interesting.   With everything that I have looked at it seems like Binghamton may be one of the worst AA teams but not by so much that the stats so far for Akron are rendered meaningless like they are for Lynchburg.   So I think this is the most solid record of any of our farm teams, although it is way too early to determine trends or whether certain players are about to break out.   Still, some interesting hitting and pitching so far.

Lake County (3-3)

I am most excited about this year as they seem really yound for their level of competition.   So, for me, a 3-3 record at this point is a huge victory.   Tanner Burns and Logan Allen looked tough.  The hitting has started slowly but will be interesting to watch.  Good number of prospects, hitting and pitching, to keep this interesting.

Thoughts for a soggy Sunday

Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there.

1.  Good win yesterday by the Indians.   Civale pitches and the team hits.  Bauers, Gimenez and even Hedges contributing.  We don't need these guys to be great hitters.   Just .240.  

2. I know this is just the minors but, man, 17-3 for the Indians' affiliates this year?  It is hard to imagine a better start than that.  Haven't had much of a chance to watch complete games yet but from what I have seen we are hitting and pitching.

3. As I type this I am watching Lake County play.   Mason Hickman has a devastating curve ball but his fastball is between 86 and 89 MPH.  I don't care how good your curveball is, I don't care how good your curveball is, you have to have more fastball than that, I think, to be a quality major league pitcher.  He has given up some hard contact.   It is surprising to me that, with this stuff, he was a 5th round pick as there doesn't seem to be much there to dream on.  Compare that to James Karinchak when he was drafted.  Looking at the Lansing pitcher, Emmanuels, makes me think he was a more projectable draft pick.

4. It is interesting that Hentges will start on Tuesday now.  The old axiom that starting pitchers need to stay on a 5-day routine in order to stay sharp seems to be disproven with Francona as a manager.  Getting these guys extra rest and shaving 1-2 for more starts from them during the season is good for them both this year and in future years.

I may update this later after the Lynchburg game.

Thoughts before the games start on Saturday

 1. Logan Allen, The Elder, is a mess.   He has to be injured because no one falls off a cliff like this.   Let's hope whatever is wrong with him gets fixed and we can all, once again, see the guy who pitched in spring training and his first two starts of the regular season.

2. Scott Moss, Logan Allen The Junior, Josh Wolf, Tanner Burns, among others, looked good in their first outings.  Burns, especially to me, looked sharp.  Hope Joey Cantillo is not out long.  Makes me want to waste my late afternoons and evenings tuning into minor league baseball.

3. Looking forward to the Eli Morgan start tonight.   Love Owen Miller, Tyler Freeman.   Lynchburg is fun to watch so far.   Outscoring their opponent 50-10 so far is amazing, even in the minors.  

4. I bet when you were wondering when I would talk about the no-hitter last night.   Well, here goes

    a. Getting no-hit and losing 3-0 is better than getting no-hit and losing 10-0.   

    b. Plesac pitched a very gritty and successful game.  

    c. We have guys, like Luplow, who are supposed to hit lefthanders.   So far, not so much.  

    d. Bobby Bradly hit his first HR last night.   It was a bomb.   We'll see what Jake Bauer has for us tonight.

    e. I can't see, based on his ST and early season performance why Lavarnway was not called up instead of Rivera.   I know Rivera had 3 hits but I thought Lavarnway deserved first chance after his ST this year.

5. I love minor league baseball.   Think I am going to go now and catch me some!

Thoughts for a Wednesday moring

 Minor League TV

I am relieved (from reading the internet) to see that it was not just me who had trouble with MiLB.TV last night.  I wanted to relay the conversation with the 'representative'.  

Rep: What is your issue sir

Me: I can't get a video feed for the Columbus-Louisville game or the audo feed for the Lynchburg game.

Rep: How long have you been having this problem?

Me: Well, its opening night and you didn't have a season last year so the problem just started.

Rep: Is your computer upgraded with all of its latest updates

Me: Yes

Rep: You need to restart your computer to make all changes active

Me: Already done, as I told you before

Rep: OK, here is what I want you to do.   Logout of your MiLB account.  Then restart your computer.

Me: But I just told you that I had already done that.   Is that the only advice that you have?  Haven't you received this complaint from others.?

Rep: You should restart your computer.

Me: Well, that is not very helpful

Rep: Who do you think is going to win the World Series this year

Me: Frankly, I don't know but I would like to get these games that I paid for

Rep: Well, if you don't want to talk baseball and I can't do anything else for you, have a good evening.

I can see that this might be a long season now that the minors are under the control of the major league teams!

Minor League Opening Night

Feels a little weird.  Obviously guys are not picking up where they left off in 2019 and are maybe being pushed up too fast.  Here are some thoughts on yesterday's games:

Columbus: 5 of the 9 hits by vets (Gamel, Lavarnway).   Nolan Jones takes the golden sombrero.   Maybe they pushed him too fast.  Owen Miller and Gabe Arias both have big hits in first inning.   Zimmer and Bradley do not impress in their first game but both get on base because they put the ball in play!  Gose, Dowdy and Parker keep themselves interesting.

Akron: Oscar Gonzalez avoids the golden sombrero with a 3-run walkoff HR in the bottom of the 9th.  Tyler Freeman being Tyler Freeman with two hits.  Bo Naylor with a hit and a walk even though he is young for this level.  Richie Palacios, way too young for this level, avoids the golden sombrero with a walk and 3 Ks in his 4 ABs.  The pitching keeps itself interesting in a bullpen game.

Lake County: Still can't get used to this being a high A team!  Nothing went right for these guys except for two hits each by Lavastida and Rocchio and 4 ip and no runs by Ponticelli.   Raynel Delgado, playing too high for his age, takes the Golden Sombrero.  Tena, Valera, Naranjo go hitless among interesting prospects and Gaddis gets bombed in his first outing.  Again, might be too high a level for him.

Lynchburg:  Had the best first night hitting wise of all the Indians' minor league teams.  Hardest to get a bead on the prospects on this team but Noel, Diaz, Cairo, Jonathon Rodriguez, Gabe Rodriguez and Yordys Valdez all started and each contributed.  Micah Pries, probably just an organizational player at 23 at low A, had a good first night, as well.  Curry did well as a starter in his first professional game.  

3-1 on opening night and some good performances.   Too many golden sombreros, however,  We will see how that plays out.  

Last 5 games:  

Things can turn around on a heartbeat but the Indians are playing good ball.   This is a good stretch and, even with some pitching breakdowns, we still have found a way to win!    

Interesting Stat:

Daniel Johnson: 2 games 9 ABs, 0 H, 5 K (all in Sunday's game).  Team record 1-1

Harold Ramirez: 2 games 9 AB, 4 H, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2-0 in his two games.

Now, Harold Ramirez will not hit .444 all season.   But they were both in the same alternate site and so had the same amount of work.   But in two games Ramirez has hit the ground running while Johnson did nothing to help the team. 

The point is that it doesn't take much and in his 2 games Ramirez has contributed.  As a matter of fact a case could be made that without Harold Ramrez, the Indians don't win either of the last two games. Johnson did not impact either game he played in over the weekend, and continued his poor performance when given a chance, going 1-21 over the past two seasons.  The 5 Ks on Sunday were especially disturbing for a guy who should have been trying to make an impression.   

Look, I know that you can't perform all the time but, man, when you get a chance, be Harold Ramirez and don't be Daniel Johnson.   The shame is that Johnson SHOULD have a bright future in the majors.  But he has to take advantage of his chances.  For those who say that you can't judge a guy by his performance over a couple of games I say that when you get a chance you better produce.  Ramirez did and he helped us win.  Gamel, Johnson, Chang and Bauers (before his HR last night) have not helped us win.  I little Harold Ramirez-like spark from any of those guys and our record is much better than it is now.

Hitting coaches:

The Mets weren't hitting like they should be.  The Mets fired their hitting coaches.

The Indians aren't hitting like they should be. ??????????????????????????????????????

Thoughts for a Sunday

 1. Two out of three in Chicago against a White Sox team that is playing well is a big deal.  Tito manages the bullpen in this 3-game series about as well as you can imagine and ALL the bullpen guys do their job.

2. Plesac gutted it out again.   Not sure he has all of his weapons back yet but he is doing the job with what he has.  That is what you have to do to be a long-term success in this league.  Good job, Plesac.

3. Daniel Johnson...You know, everyone says that baseball is hard enough without putting pressure on yourself but, damn!   1-12 last year and 0-9 this year with 5 Ks today.   WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE RUN WITH IT!!!  All it takes is some spark, some glimmer and you get a long look in Cleveland.   But when an opportunity presents itself and you flat out SUCK...over a two year period...that is when you get the Gio Urshela/Jesus Aguilar/Yandy Diaz mistakes being made by the FO.   I know Johnson is trying hard but, damn, man, we need someone to step up and you just screwed your chances.   So, pack your bag, get on the plane to Columbus and fix the crap that is going wrong because you are not the answer we are looking for.   And the next time, DON'T SCREW UP!!!!

4. Oh, one more time, the Indians hitting coaching in the majors and minors suck if this is what you can do to f-up a guy like Johnson this bad.    Get some new hitting coaches.  Ours suck and they are killing any chance we have of getting hitting from our prospects to replace some of the non-hitters on our ML roster.

5. I am starting to think that I am watching a different MLB Network than people in Cleveland.  On my version the only three Indians' 'highlights' I have seen between innings on the broadcasts are (a) Rodon's no-hitter this year, (b) Abreu's HR in the snow from this year and (c) the final out of the 2016 series.   Tell me I am wrong about it and in the Cleveland area they actually show Cleveland HIGHLIGHTS on these between innings videos.    It must be true or someone else would have complained about it by now!

6. Browns draft - Seems people like it.   I can understand why: (1) Solid CB drafted about where he should be (2) linebacker who is great and fell to the Browns (3) fastest guy in the draft, (4) strongest guy in the draft.   That about sums it up.   I don't know if I like the picks after Round 2 that much based on the players still available at that time but I will give the FO credit for knowing more about these guys than I do and knowing their needs on special teams and such.  Still, I would have traded my 6th round pick this year for a 6th rounder next year to get myself down to 7 draft choices this year.   I would have also spent more time paying for and getting some of the better NDFAs out there.  Not a lot of them but just the 3 best, especially at the positions which I still think are a little light and play into special teams: lnebacker, wide receiver, offensive line and defensive tackle (we got one guy).   I know a lot of teams are building relationships with guys who might fall through the cracks of the draft but for a few hundred thousand dollars this is a great way to fill the end of your roster with guys who have a future in the organization.   We got one good one, but we should have spent the time and money to get 3.  

7. A couple of thoughts about the relievers: Karinchak...man, there are no words.   He has just been lights out.  Clase...doing it WITHOUT striking out everyone.   Don't know if I am encouraged or scared by that as it means his 100 mph is hittable.   But looking at the results I guess I feel better about that than I am worried about it.   Now if he can just K more guys.   Shaw looks impressive.   Wittgren had a little trouble in a couple of games but if he can right himself after the birth of his child this looks good for our bullpen.   Sandlin and Nelson...who knows longterm but it is sure fun to watch those guys now and dream on their abilities.  Stephan is not over his head so far and Tito is using him right so, maybe he survives the year and we have something in him.  Plus we do have a few guys left at AAA like Cam Hill who might help later on.

8. Speaking of the Rule 5, Oviedo and Tom are still hanging in there.   Tom had a tough weekend and he may still returned to the Indians.  Oviedo was shaky before but pitched two scoreless today. albeit giving up 4 baserunners in two innings with 2 BB/2K, lowering his ERA to 7.71.  Jury is still out on whether we get him back but at least we only have to watch one team every night to see how our Rule 5 guys are doing.

9. What do we do about the last two spots in the rotation?   I say we keep going with McKenzie.   We are obviously giving Hentges a chance but really need to make this a bullpen day when he pitches, planning to use Quantrill to piggy-back him if Hentges makes it through 4 innings. If we can keep McKenzie and Hentges separated in the rotation this just might work.  

10. Jake Bauers....what can you say?  He is hitting just enough to not get DFA'd but not enough to help the team...and his defense doesn't help much if he can't hit HRs. For the millionth time...what would it hurt to give Bradley a try?  You might catch lightning in a bottle  but, with our hitting instructors, you might end up with another Daniel Johnson-like performance. Still, though, Bradley may just get hot and go all Franmil on the opposition.

11.  Speaking of Bauers and Daniel Johnson, Yu Chang and these other two guys cannot suck this bad.   They really can't.   But Chang looks EXACTLY like the guy he has for the last couple of years.  C'mon, we need so production from the end of the lineup...and productin that is more than just a timely (or meaningless) bloop hit.