OK, the Indians are still playing baseball, right? Well, that is up for debate, given their 7 game losing streak.
About this time of year, however, I start thinking about next year's baseball draft and where the Indians are going to be drafting. I mean, Baseball America has already put out their top 50 draft prospect list for 2013!!!!!
MLB Trade Rumors posts a reverse standings so you can follow your favorite team in free fall to a high draft pick next year.
Right now, the Indians stand 11th in bad records this year:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/reversestandings2012
Given that
Manny Acta is a much worse manager in the second half ,
and the Indians are slowly clearing out veterans, they have a decent chance to have one of the 10 worst records in baseball this year.
Why is one of the 10 worst records important? Because it guarantees that the Indians won't lose their first round pick if they sign a top tier free agent this winter.
But there is a catch with the new collective bargaining agreement. In the past if a team signed a Type A free agent they lost a draft pick. Under the new CBA the current compensation system for losing "Type A" and "Type B" free agents will be eliminated. Instead, teams will receive compensation for losing a free agent only if they offer -- and the player rejects -- a guaranteed one-year contract equal to the average salary of the league's 125 highest-paid players. Compensation for losing such players will consist of one Draft pick at the end of the first round. When clubs sign a compensation-eligible player, they will forfeit their own first-round selection, or their second-round selection if they pick in the top 10. Also, the player CAN'T have been traded during the 2012 season or they are ineligible for free agent compensation if they are signed by another team.
It turns out that the top 125 salaries is not a very high bar for a one-year contract as the 125th highest salary for 2013 is only going to be about $7 millions, less than our option of Roberto Hernandez (nee Fausto Carmona) next year.
Looking at the Free agents this winter the following players either have options or look like they would probably get a $7 million plus one year offer" AND they haven't been traded this year, yet.
Brian McCann C
Lance Berkmann 1B
James Loney 1B
Mike Napoli 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Stephen Drew SS
Johnny Peralta SS
David Wright 3B
Curtis Granderson OF
Michael Bourn OF
David Ortiz DH
About 15 starting pitchers ($7 millions buys you a Fausto Carmona/Derek Lowe type free agent starting pitcher)
About 5 relief pitchers ($7 million buys you a good closer or a top of the heap 8th inning guy)
So over 30 players will be likely to be offered a $7 million plus one year deal by their current clubs AND be eligible for FA compensation as a result. That still leaves a lot of free agents to sign but does skim off the top of the group, some of whom probably would not have qualified as Type A free agents, had the previous system been used again..
While the Indians won't play for Wright or Granderson or any of the top FA pitchers, they might make a play for a second tier guy who would require them to lose maybe their first round pick.
Thus, finishing in the bottom 10 records is SOMEWHAT important but, for a small market team with a low budget who MIGHT sign one of these top 30 free agents, but not nearly as important as it will be for teams like Philadelphia, Toronto, Milwaukee and the NY Mets, all of whom want to be contenders next year and so will probably be big players in the FA market this winter and most likely WILL sign one or more of these top 30 guys away from their current team. If they can sign top free agents and keep a top 10 draft pick, they will want to do that, especially, I think, teams like Milwaukee who like to straddle the content/rebuild fence every year. If one of these larger market/perennial contender teams end up with the 11th worst record in baseball, losing that 11th pick next year (and maybe the 11th pick in the second round if they sign two compensation free agents) could be a hard pill to swallow.
So this year, more than ever, protecting your first round pick is very important. The only way to do that is to finish badly in the standings. The Indians are clearly in a downward spiral that should put them in the bottom 10 by the end of the season and can sign many free agents who are decent and won't require compensation. For a small market team this is right where you want to be: protected first round draft choice, extra pick at the end of the second round in case you sign a compensation free agent. The only downside is that signing a compensation free agent would probably make the Indians take a slot signable guy in the first round as, if they go big with a bonus in the first round, they have one less draft pick (or more) to low ball later on to make up that difference. What you want is EXTRA draft picks that you can go a little under slot with so you can sign more hard-to-sign guys at the top and later in the draft. Plus, the higher the draft slot the more pronounced the money you can have to sign that pick.
For me, the Indians should stick to 2nd tier, non-compensation free agents this winter and overspend to get the best (sort of what, in hindsight, they should have done with Josh Willingham this past winter) of them.
They should get a high pick, protect it in the first and second rounds and end up with 3 picks before the third round.
This will be unpopular with the fans who will want one of those top 30 guys but I think the Indians can do just as well feeding from the middle of the lake if they go for the highest tier of those middling guys.
So there you have it. My first 2013 draft article. Such is the life of a Cleveland Indians' fan:
"WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR.....'S DRAFT"
Friday, August 3, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Now that the season is over....
Well, we stood pat at the deadline, sort of. I applaud the non-effort by the Indians. The only people they have given up are Steven Wright and Derek Lowe, neither of whom were likely to factor into 2013.
The trade of Wright to Boston for Lars Anderson was a strange one. Wright was once a top draft choice but couldn't shake the injury and lack of performance bug. He was still in the Indians' organization because he became a gimmick (i.e., knuckleball) pitcher. He was prospect depth. Anderson, on the other hand, was a falling star, a top prospect turned prospect depth. This is the kind of nothing trade where you think one team (the Indians) got a guy with an outside chance of resurrecting his career while the other team (Boston) got a smoke and mirrors guy. Sometimes, those are the kind of trades that bite you in the rear end. Time will tell but my guess is that the best we can hope for here is a nothing trade.
Besides that little trade all we got was the DFA of Lowe. He has flamed out in the second half of the season and his trade value is only a shade better than that of Aaron Cunningham and that difference is only because Lowe is a pitcher who has had some success. Unlike the Indians, I would have put Lowe in the bullpen about a week ago to try to find a way to up his worth in anticipation of a deadline or August deal. Let's hope the Indians can get something for him but it was time for him to not start any more games in Cleveland.
So, the Indians stood pat, which was good, but now it is time to make some moves. With the season being over here is what we should do:
Jose Lopez gone, Jason Donald called up - Look, Donald has a whole bunch of AAA at bats. Lopez may bring us a couple of bucks or a "C" prospect back. Remember, Austin Kearns got us Zach McAllister.
Jack Hanahan gone, Jared Goedert called up - You know your season is done when you are getting rid of Hannahan's stellar defense for a shot in the dark with Goedert. But, what the heck. Hannahan is showing his sub-.250 career average and his defense, in a rebuilding last two months, is not needed. Jared may go the way of his of his anagram Jerad (Head, that is) but at least he deserves that shot. Hannahan might actually net us something as his defense might be what an NL contender needs down the stretch. It seems the small guys net the biggest % net return in these July/August deals.
Casey Kotchman gone, Matt LaPorta called up. Yes, now we have NO defense at the corners of the infield but Kotchman is showing us why 2011 was a fluke. The best that we can hope for is that we get someone to pay the rest of Kotchman's salary and that LaPorta suddenly finds himself. But you play guys like LaPorta when the season goes south like this one has.
Accardo gone, Rafael Perez up. Yes, I know this depends on Perez's health but it is time we see the last of Accardo. Yeah, he has pitched decently but, in rebuilding two months, you don't need the Accardos of the world.
Shelly Duncan gone, Tim Fedroff up. Again, maybe Fedroff is nothing but he is at least up here.
Johnny Damon gone, Chun-Hsui Chen called up. I give this guy a look. Maybe you catch lightning in a bottle and you find he can actually skip AAA (or most of it) and give you some offense here early next year if not on opening day.
Travis Hafner gone, Zeke Carrera up. This balances the OF with Chen replacing Damon. Look, Hafner gets you a "C" prospect if you are willing to eat his salary. If not, maybe you get a little salary relief as the team he goes to picks up $1-2 million. I eat the salary and get the prospect.
So, what do you expect to get for this fringe talent? Probably not much. Unfortunately it might be hard to bundle these guys but, if you could, I would as it might get us better prospects in return.
I don't care how many games we lose the rest of the season. Neither does most of Cleveland as the attendance sucks here, win or lose. Maybe Chen, Fedroff, Carrera, Raffy Perez, Goedert, LaPorta and Donald contribute zero in 2013. If so, they won't do any worse than the guys we trade/release to give them playing time right now.
OK, Indians, NOW is the time to make some moves. Moves toward next season, that is. Get guys some needed experience, clear out some dead wood, give yourself a little salary relief, start planning for next season because you can stick a fork in 2012 and it will come out clearn as a whistle.
The trade of Wright to Boston for Lars Anderson was a strange one. Wright was once a top draft choice but couldn't shake the injury and lack of performance bug. He was still in the Indians' organization because he became a gimmick (i.e., knuckleball) pitcher. He was prospect depth. Anderson, on the other hand, was a falling star, a top prospect turned prospect depth. This is the kind of nothing trade where you think one team (the Indians) got a guy with an outside chance of resurrecting his career while the other team (Boston) got a smoke and mirrors guy. Sometimes, those are the kind of trades that bite you in the rear end. Time will tell but my guess is that the best we can hope for here is a nothing trade.
Besides that little trade all we got was the DFA of Lowe. He has flamed out in the second half of the season and his trade value is only a shade better than that of Aaron Cunningham and that difference is only because Lowe is a pitcher who has had some success. Unlike the Indians, I would have put Lowe in the bullpen about a week ago to try to find a way to up his worth in anticipation of a deadline or August deal. Let's hope the Indians can get something for him but it was time for him to not start any more games in Cleveland.
So, the Indians stood pat, which was good, but now it is time to make some moves. With the season being over here is what we should do:
Jose Lopez gone, Jason Donald called up - Look, Donald has a whole bunch of AAA at bats. Lopez may bring us a couple of bucks or a "C" prospect back. Remember, Austin Kearns got us Zach McAllister.
Jack Hanahan gone, Jared Goedert called up - You know your season is done when you are getting rid of Hannahan's stellar defense for a shot in the dark with Goedert. But, what the heck. Hannahan is showing his sub-.250 career average and his defense, in a rebuilding last two months, is not needed. Jared may go the way of his of his anagram Jerad (Head, that is) but at least he deserves that shot. Hannahan might actually net us something as his defense might be what an NL contender needs down the stretch. It seems the small guys net the biggest % net return in these July/August deals.
Casey Kotchman gone, Matt LaPorta called up. Yes, now we have NO defense at the corners of the infield but Kotchman is showing us why 2011 was a fluke. The best that we can hope for is that we get someone to pay the rest of Kotchman's salary and that LaPorta suddenly finds himself. But you play guys like LaPorta when the season goes south like this one has.
Accardo gone, Rafael Perez up. Yes, I know this depends on Perez's health but it is time we see the last of Accardo. Yeah, he has pitched decently but, in rebuilding two months, you don't need the Accardos of the world.
Shelly Duncan gone, Tim Fedroff up. Again, maybe Fedroff is nothing but he is at least up here.
Johnny Damon gone, Chun-Hsui Chen called up. I give this guy a look. Maybe you catch lightning in a bottle and you find he can actually skip AAA (or most of it) and give you some offense here early next year if not on opening day.
Travis Hafner gone, Zeke Carrera up. This balances the OF with Chen replacing Damon. Look, Hafner gets you a "C" prospect if you are willing to eat his salary. If not, maybe you get a little salary relief as the team he goes to picks up $1-2 million. I eat the salary and get the prospect.
So, what do you expect to get for this fringe talent? Probably not much. Unfortunately it might be hard to bundle these guys but, if you could, I would as it might get us better prospects in return.
I don't care how many games we lose the rest of the season. Neither does most of Cleveland as the attendance sucks here, win or lose. Maybe Chen, Fedroff, Carrera, Raffy Perez, Goedert, LaPorta and Donald contribute zero in 2013. If so, they won't do any worse than the guys we trade/release to give them playing time right now.
OK, Indians, NOW is the time to make some moves. Moves toward next season, that is. Get guys some needed experience, clear out some dead wood, give yourself a little salary relief, start planning for next season because you can stick a fork in 2012 and it will come out clearn as a whistle.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Well, we're still waiting
Detroit has sold the farm for a decent 2 month rental pitcher and an average secondbaseman signed through 2013. Neither would be compensation-type free agents if they are not re-signed.
I would have loved to do that deal. Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante for Jacob Turner, Rob Brantley, Brian Flynn and an end of the second round draft choice. .
You have to wonder if Derek Lowe and Jason Kipnis would have gotten that done. Probably not because Lowe has been stinking it up lately but darn!
I know that is vintage 1970s/80s Indians, trade pitching for hitting then trade hitting back for pitching but darn!!
Kipnis is good and all and we have been waiting for a secondbaseman since Robbie Alomar left and gave away one of the best in baseball in Brandon Phillips but darn!!!
Still, all one has to do is remember the gut wrenching giveaways of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee and the overpayment for Ubaldo Jimenez and, as I have said before, it makes you want to stand pat.
Still, there have to be a couple of Casey Blake-for-Carlos Santana trades out there right now we can capitalize on, aren't there?
But, we beat Detroit tonight and if we win one of the next two we will probably let the deadline pass without making a deal......I hope.
Go Tribe! Keep you hands in your pockets and don't answer the phone!
I would have loved to do that deal. Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante for Jacob Turner, Rob Brantley, Brian Flynn and an end of the second round draft choice. .
You have to wonder if Derek Lowe and Jason Kipnis would have gotten that done. Probably not because Lowe has been stinking it up lately but darn!
I know that is vintage 1970s/80s Indians, trade pitching for hitting then trade hitting back for pitching but darn!!
Kipnis is good and all and we have been waiting for a secondbaseman since Robbie Alomar left and gave away one of the best in baseball in Brandon Phillips but darn!!!
Still, all one has to do is remember the gut wrenching giveaways of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee and the overpayment for Ubaldo Jimenez and, as I have said before, it makes you want to stand pat.
Still, there have to be a couple of Casey Blake-for-Carlos Santana trades out there right now we can capitalize on, aren't there?
But, we beat Detroit tonight and if we win one of the next two we will probably let the deadline pass without making a deal......I hope.
Go Tribe! Keep you hands in your pockets and don't answer the phone!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Sell...but only for the right price
We are 47-47, the Tigers are heating up, too many wildcard teams in front of us. Historically in every season but one Manny Acta's teams do worse in the second half than in the first half. We have no chance.
Time to pull the plug on the season.
If we can get good value for our veterans, trade them. There is no VETERAN player on this roster right now outside of Asdrubal Cabrera, Chirs Perez and Vinnie Pestano who isn't replaceable for a reasonable dollar in free agency this winter.
If we can't get good value we don't make a trade as we have almost every good player on this roster signed through next year.
But the championship part of the season ended tonight.
So sell 'em if you can. Hold 'em if you can't, but guys like Cunningham should be gone by game time tomorrow.
Fedroff up, Cunningham DFA'd. Righty/lefty thing be darned.
I'll have more comments on who else should be gone in a post tomorrow.
Time to pull the plug on the season.
If we can get good value for our veterans, trade them. There is no VETERAN player on this roster right now outside of Asdrubal Cabrera, Chirs Perez and Vinnie Pestano who isn't replaceable for a reasonable dollar in free agency this winter.
If we can't get good value we don't make a trade as we have almost every good player on this roster signed through next year.
But the championship part of the season ended tonight.
So sell 'em if you can. Hold 'em if you can't, but guys like Cunningham should be gone by game time tomorrow.
Fedroff up, Cunningham DFA'd. Righty/lefty thing be darned.
I'll have more comments on who else should be gone in a post tomorrow.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Who's going to blink first: 2012 Version
Dear Cleveland Indians,
It is now less than two weeks from the deadline. Time to pack it in.
Signed,
CIPerspective
Hey, I AM a lifelong Indians' fan. I want them to win. But here's the deal:
In the AL there are EIGHT teams within 3.5 games of the two AL Wild Card spots. The Indians now stand 7th. Yeah, they are only 1.5 games back but the odds are extremely long that they can pass 6 of theose teams to move into a WC spot and that isn't even counting the teams who are in the lead in the three AL divisions. So, really, there are ELEVEN teams in contention in the AL. Can the Indians play better than the vast majority of them, most of whom will likely get an injection of ML talent at the trading deadline? I say the odds are very low of everything falling into place, especially for a small market team with a bad farm system like the Indians have..
So, why try to compete?
Look, this is fool's gold time of the year. Teams are thinking they have a chance to make the playoffs by adding a little something extra at this time of year and that they have to make the playoff push this year because:
(a) you aren't in the position to make the playoffs every year
(b) once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen (see Cardinals, St. Louis - 2011 version)
So, along the lines of the phrase, there's a sucker born every minute, let's be the shark and not the sharkfood.
Let's be a seller.
We have lots of pieces to sell: Shin-Soo Choo. Travis Hafner, Shelly Duncan, Joe Smith, Tonny Sipp, Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tony Sipp. We could also try to trade Jack Hannahan and Casey Kotchman and even Esmil Rogers, although I can't imagine there will be takers for those latter guys.
This would lead to a deep rebuild. especially as we should expect low A, high A, AA league prospects back to match our current development path that contains lots of prospects at levels from low A to rookie ball.
So, Indians, be the first seller on your block. With 11 of the AL teams and 8 NL teams still well in the race, there are currently more potential buyers (19) than sellers (11) with many of the sellers being so bad that what they are selling the contending teams are apparently not buying, at least yet.
So let's be the first on our block. Remember the Bartolo Colon trade? It beat the deadline trade rush. Let's look for one of them, or maybe two.
So, Indians, put on your e-Bay hats and let's have a firesale. The time to strike is now...before all the other wild-card contenders find that they only a 25% or smaller chance of making the playoffs.
If we sell from this position of strength we will be at a HUGE advantage over other teams who want to be sellers. Plus, for the first time, we can get draft picks back in addition to or instead of players. My guess is that the newly-tradeable draft picks from the competitive balance lottery will be underpriced for the first couple of years as teams will consider these picks less valuable than prospects since you actually have to draft and spend money to even get a prospect out of a trade. I mean, how can a draft pick be more valuable than a prospect? Or, at least that's the thinking I predict baseball people will have on these tradeable picks.
Plus, how much do you really think the sell now path would hurt interest in the Indians? With a contending team we are still LAST in attendance and our TV viewership is off by 24%. No one cares, no one is looking but us die hard fans.
Sell, Indians, sell. Get great value and let's start the rebuild. Any other path would lack the long-term vision you need if you are a small market team with a bad farm system with a fan base that doesn't care right now.
It is now less than two weeks from the deadline. Time to pack it in.
Signed,
CIPerspective
Hey, I AM a lifelong Indians' fan. I want them to win. But here's the deal:
In the AL there are EIGHT teams within 3.5 games of the two AL Wild Card spots. The Indians now stand 7th. Yeah, they are only 1.5 games back but the odds are extremely long that they can pass 6 of theose teams to move into a WC spot and that isn't even counting the teams who are in the lead in the three AL divisions. So, really, there are ELEVEN teams in contention in the AL. Can the Indians play better than the vast majority of them, most of whom will likely get an injection of ML talent at the trading deadline? I say the odds are very low of everything falling into place, especially for a small market team with a bad farm system like the Indians have..
So, why try to compete?
Look, this is fool's gold time of the year. Teams are thinking they have a chance to make the playoffs by adding a little something extra at this time of year and that they have to make the playoff push this year because:
(a) you aren't in the position to make the playoffs every year
(b) once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen (see Cardinals, St. Louis - 2011 version)
So, along the lines of the phrase, there's a sucker born every minute, let's be the shark and not the sharkfood.
Let's be a seller.
We have lots of pieces to sell: Shin-Soo Choo. Travis Hafner, Shelly Duncan, Joe Smith, Tonny Sipp, Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tony Sipp. We could also try to trade Jack Hannahan and Casey Kotchman and even Esmil Rogers, although I can't imagine there will be takers for those latter guys.
This would lead to a deep rebuild. especially as we should expect low A, high A, AA league prospects back to match our current development path that contains lots of prospects at levels from low A to rookie ball.
So, Indians, be the first seller on your block. With 11 of the AL teams and 8 NL teams still well in the race, there are currently more potential buyers (19) than sellers (11) with many of the sellers being so bad that what they are selling the contending teams are apparently not buying, at least yet.
So let's be the first on our block. Remember the Bartolo Colon trade? It beat the deadline trade rush. Let's look for one of them, or maybe two.
So, Indians, put on your e-Bay hats and let's have a firesale. The time to strike is now...before all the other wild-card contenders find that they only a 25% or smaller chance of making the playoffs.
If we sell from this position of strength we will be at a HUGE advantage over other teams who want to be sellers. Plus, for the first time, we can get draft picks back in addition to or instead of players. My guess is that the newly-tradeable draft picks from the competitive balance lottery will be underpriced for the first couple of years as teams will consider these picks less valuable than prospects since you actually have to draft and spend money to even get a prospect out of a trade. I mean, how can a draft pick be more valuable than a prospect? Or, at least that's the thinking I predict baseball people will have on these tradeable picks.
Plus, how much do you really think the sell now path would hurt interest in the Indians? With a contending team we are still LAST in attendance and our TV viewership is off by 24%. No one cares, no one is looking but us die hard fans.
Sell, Indians, sell. Get great value and let's start the rebuild. Any other path would lack the long-term vision you need if you are a small market team with a bad farm system with a fan base that doesn't care right now.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
That's one way to get an extra draft pick - Competitive balance lottery results
The first competitive balance lottery was held yesterday (although MLB's website had it as being held on Monday, July 16th). Here are the results
Picks after the end of the supplemental first round (i.e., right before the second round begins):
- Royals
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks
- Orioles
- Reds
- Marlins
- Padres
- Indians
- Rockies
- Athletics
- Brewers
- Tigers
The ability to get a pick was weighted by a number of things that I don't completely understand but one of those was winning pct. in 2011.
The order of the winning pct. (along with where the picks ended up in parentheses) was:
1. Baltimore (4)
2. KC (1)
3. SD (7)
4. Miami (6)
5. Pittsburgh (2)
6. Colorado (9)
7. Oakland (10)
8. CInnicnnati (5)
9. Cleveland (8)
10. St. Louis (no pick)
11. Tampa (no pick)
12. Arizona (3)
13. Detroit (12)
14. Milwaukee (11)
So, the Indians ended up about where they should based on their record last year. In fact, most teams ended up within 3 places of where they finished, record-wise, last year except for Arizona and, since we don't know how other factors like revenue ranking and small market size factored in, most teams may have ended up closer to where their weighted ranking might have put them.
Hey, an extra pick is an extra pick, even if, like the Indians, it will probably close to the 75th pick in the draft next year.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Aaron Cunningham - the poster child for the Indians FO
The phrase 'poster child' has evolved. From it's beginnings where it was used, as it often is today, as a symbol of some medical or poverty condition designed to evoke empathy and the desire to help the child in the picture and children like them, it has now become something else. It has come to mean 'a person who is a prominent example or representative of something'. Here are some recent examples pulled off the internet
"Welker latest poster child of 'Patriot Way'" (ESPN blog)
"If you want to elect the poster child for outsourcing, elect Mitt Romney" (President Obama)
"Elizabeth Haselback, Poster Child for the GOP's Problems" (Yahoo News)
"Obama is the poster child for the arrogance of government" (Mitt Romney)
"Kotchman should be the poster child butt-ugly swing" (MLB blog)
And the list goes on and on.
But I would like to add a new one to the list:
"Aaron Cunningham, the poster child for the Indians Front Office"
Mr. Cunningham represents all the ineptitude of the Indians FO that has it's seeds in the '60s and '70s, went into hibernation in the '90s and now has resurfaced under the Chris Antonnetti front office.
You couldn't ask for a better example. When we traded for Mr. Cunningham last winter, you could have heard a pin drop. Well, all except for here and a few other places where you might have heard "What the F___?!?!?!" You see, Mr. Cunningham represented the prototypical AAAA player. He had no tangible major league ability that you couldn't get from about 20 minor league free agent-caliber outfielders AND he was out of options meaning, even for the lowly San Diego Padres, he was soon to be a AAAA player in the flesh as no way would he have entered the season on a rebuilding Padres' team. You don't rebuild with Aaron Cunningham, you rebuild IN SPITE of Aaron Cunningham.
So the Indians traded Cory Burns for Cunningham and had to designate Josh Judy to make room for Cunningham on the 40 man roster. Judy was picked up off waivers by Cincinnati and, with options remaining, was pitching for the Louisville Bats in AAA. He was mediocre for most of the season but is now pitching poorly. Burns has been good for the Tucson AAA team until recently, when he has been lights out.
Why am I thinking about this today? Well the Indians released Trevor Crowe today. The switch-hitting Trevor Crowe. Crowe has a .245 career ML average, 3 HR in 653 ML ABs, 29 SB and .625 OPS. Cunningham has a .222 ML average with 7 HR in 445 AB and has 4 stolen bases and a .637 OPS. Cunningham, counting this season, has hit under .200 in three of his five ML seasons. Crowe has never hit under .200 in any of his 3 ML seasons. You may think Trevor Crowe is trash but, even if that were true, he's our trash and didn't cost us any players.
The problem I have with the Cunningham situation is that Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera were already guys in the Indians minor league system with major league experience in center field and minor league experience at all three OF positions at the time we traded for Cunningham. We also had Tim Fedroff at AA if neither Carrera or Crowe worked out at that meaningless position of 4th outfielder/25th man on the roster.
So, by putting Crowe on the roster and substituting Carrera for him if Crowe got hurt (which he did), we had more than enough coverage for our ML roster in extra outfielders with Fedroff as the minor league insurance. Add Chad Huffman and Ryan Spillboroughs to Fedroff and we had minor league coverage, as well. Heck, had we waited two weeks San Diego would have probably released Cunningham and we could have had him as a minor league FA, too.
But nooooooooooo. We had to trade for Cunningham which has now cost us two relief prospects and a 4th outfielder/insurance outfielder who we drafted and developed..
Admittedly, there was not enough playing time at Columbus for Crowe once we brought in 32-year old Vinny Rotino to AAA. With AAAA guys Chad Huffman and Rotino, what chance was there for Crowe to play considering we also had Fedroff and Carrera. So the answer to this excess: no, it's not to cut Cunningham, Rottino or Huffman. No, instead, let's cut our own guy who had been hitting well (.320) early in the season at Columbus before going on the DL for two months and coming back with a 3-27 rust-ridden stint in Columbus after the injury that brought his average down to a pedestrian .250 level. Of course, this gave the FO the out to dump Crowe. I mean, who would ever grouse over releasing a .250 AAA outfielder?
Well, I will, but only because of Cunningham. We have now lost Burns, Judy and Crowe in the name of keeping Cunningham on this roster.
Considering the disasters of the CC, Cliff Lee and Ubaldo Jimenez trades, and the plethora of AAAA type players we have had to endure, Cunningham fits right in. Trading for a guy who was pathetic before he got here and is JUST as pathetic now and in exactly the same ways he previously was, is really looking stupid. He is the ZERO tool guy. He can't steal, he can't hit for average, he can't hit for power, his defense is mediocre and his arm is mediocre.
Cunningham is the poster child for the ineptness of the Indians' FO. Should we get rid of him soon, we have depth at that 'position'. Kevin Slowey, who cost us a good prospect in Zach Putnam and a chunk of money, comes to mind as does almost every one of the pathetic group of AAAA players that have paraded through Cleveland in the last 4 years while guys like Zach Putnam, Josh Judy and others have been traded, released or lost on waivers, mostly after being given little or no opportunity to establish themselves in the majors, even in losing or mediocre seasons.
For those of you who think the picture is all milk and cookies, look at it this way. If Putnam, Judy, Crowe and some of the other guys we have let go for nothing were here, they might have at least been enticements if we wanted to make a small deadline trade. Now, we don't have them and are likely to lose other prospects as Antonnetti clearly doesn't value any but the very top line prospects and is willing to trade them for trash. But you know the garage sale warrior's motto: one man's trash is another man's...well...trash.
Hey, in the big scheme of things losing Trevor Crowe means little. But as long as Aaron Cunningham is on this roster and stinking it up like he has for the vast majority of his ML career, as long as the Indians' FO continues to make pathetically, comically, frustratingly strange and stupid moves, Aaron Cunningham will be my poster child for the Indians front office. Mr. Antonnetti, better get the printing presses ready. Let's crank out those commenorative Aaron Cunningham posters which we can give out on the day the Indians are mathematically eliminated this year. Who better to be the poster child for the Indians' mathematical elimination than Mr. Ineptitude himself: Aaron Cunningham?
"Welker latest poster child of 'Patriot Way'" (ESPN blog)
"If you want to elect the poster child for outsourcing, elect Mitt Romney" (President Obama)
"Elizabeth Haselback, Poster Child for the GOP's Problems" (Yahoo News)
"Obama is the poster child for the arrogance of government" (Mitt Romney)
"Kotchman should be the poster child butt-ugly swing" (MLB blog)
And the list goes on and on.
But I would like to add a new one to the list:
"Aaron Cunningham, the poster child for the Indians Front Office"
Mr. Cunningham represents all the ineptitude of the Indians FO that has it's seeds in the '60s and '70s, went into hibernation in the '90s and now has resurfaced under the Chris Antonnetti front office.
You couldn't ask for a better example. When we traded for Mr. Cunningham last winter, you could have heard a pin drop. Well, all except for here and a few other places where you might have heard "What the F___?!?!?!" You see, Mr. Cunningham represented the prototypical AAAA player. He had no tangible major league ability that you couldn't get from about 20 minor league free agent-caliber outfielders AND he was out of options meaning, even for the lowly San Diego Padres, he was soon to be a AAAA player in the flesh as no way would he have entered the season on a rebuilding Padres' team. You don't rebuild with Aaron Cunningham, you rebuild IN SPITE of Aaron Cunningham.
So the Indians traded Cory Burns for Cunningham and had to designate Josh Judy to make room for Cunningham on the 40 man roster. Judy was picked up off waivers by Cincinnati and, with options remaining, was pitching for the Louisville Bats in AAA. He was mediocre for most of the season but is now pitching poorly. Burns has been good for the Tucson AAA team until recently, when he has been lights out.
Why am I thinking about this today? Well the Indians released Trevor Crowe today. The switch-hitting Trevor Crowe. Crowe has a .245 career ML average, 3 HR in 653 ML ABs, 29 SB and .625 OPS. Cunningham has a .222 ML average with 7 HR in 445 AB and has 4 stolen bases and a .637 OPS. Cunningham, counting this season, has hit under .200 in three of his five ML seasons. Crowe has never hit under .200 in any of his 3 ML seasons. You may think Trevor Crowe is trash but, even if that were true, he's our trash and didn't cost us any players.
The problem I have with the Cunningham situation is that Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera were already guys in the Indians minor league system with major league experience in center field and minor league experience at all three OF positions at the time we traded for Cunningham. We also had Tim Fedroff at AA if neither Carrera or Crowe worked out at that meaningless position of 4th outfielder/25th man on the roster.
So, by putting Crowe on the roster and substituting Carrera for him if Crowe got hurt (which he did), we had more than enough coverage for our ML roster in extra outfielders with Fedroff as the minor league insurance. Add Chad Huffman and Ryan Spillboroughs to Fedroff and we had minor league coverage, as well. Heck, had we waited two weeks San Diego would have probably released Cunningham and we could have had him as a minor league FA, too.
But nooooooooooo. We had to trade for Cunningham which has now cost us two relief prospects and a 4th outfielder/insurance outfielder who we drafted and developed..
Admittedly, there was not enough playing time at Columbus for Crowe once we brought in 32-year old Vinny Rotino to AAA. With AAAA guys Chad Huffman and Rotino, what chance was there for Crowe to play considering we also had Fedroff and Carrera. So the answer to this excess: no, it's not to cut Cunningham, Rottino or Huffman. No, instead, let's cut our own guy who had been hitting well (.320) early in the season at Columbus before going on the DL for two months and coming back with a 3-27 rust-ridden stint in Columbus after the injury that brought his average down to a pedestrian .250 level. Of course, this gave the FO the out to dump Crowe. I mean, who would ever grouse over releasing a .250 AAA outfielder?
Well, I will, but only because of Cunningham. We have now lost Burns, Judy and Crowe in the name of keeping Cunningham on this roster.
Considering the disasters of the CC, Cliff Lee and Ubaldo Jimenez trades, and the plethora of AAAA type players we have had to endure, Cunningham fits right in. Trading for a guy who was pathetic before he got here and is JUST as pathetic now and in exactly the same ways he previously was, is really looking stupid. He is the ZERO tool guy. He can't steal, he can't hit for average, he can't hit for power, his defense is mediocre and his arm is mediocre.
Cunningham is the poster child for the ineptness of the Indians' FO. Should we get rid of him soon, we have depth at that 'position'. Kevin Slowey, who cost us a good prospect in Zach Putnam and a chunk of money, comes to mind as does almost every one of the pathetic group of AAAA players that have paraded through Cleveland in the last 4 years while guys like Zach Putnam, Josh Judy and others have been traded, released or lost on waivers, mostly after being given little or no opportunity to establish themselves in the majors, even in losing or mediocre seasons.
For those of you who think the picture is all milk and cookies, look at it this way. If Putnam, Judy, Crowe and some of the other guys we have let go for nothing were here, they might have at least been enticements if we wanted to make a small deadline trade. Now, we don't have them and are likely to lose other prospects as Antonnetti clearly doesn't value any but the very top line prospects and is willing to trade them for trash. But you know the garage sale warrior's motto: one man's trash is another man's...well...trash.
Hey, in the big scheme of things losing Trevor Crowe means little. But as long as Aaron Cunningham is on this roster and stinking it up like he has for the vast majority of his ML career, as long as the Indians' FO continues to make pathetically, comically, frustratingly strange and stupid moves, Aaron Cunningham will be my poster child for the Indians front office. Mr. Antonnetti, better get the printing presses ready. Let's crank out those commenorative Aaron Cunningham posters which we can give out on the day the Indians are mathematically eliminated this year. Who better to be the poster child for the Indians' mathematical elimination than Mr. Ineptitude himself: Aaron Cunningham?
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