Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians sign veteran starting pitcher Jeff Weaver

chinmusic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:39:29 +0000

The Indians have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Weaver to a minor league contract. Weaver pitched poorly in AAA ball this season for the Brewers before they cut him loose. He started 9 games in AAA ball for the Brewers this season and he was 2-4 with a 6.22 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Weaver has pitched in 284 games (267 starts) in his major league career and he is 93-114 with 2 saves, a 4.72 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. It’s possible that Weaver will replace C.C. Sabathia in the Indians’ starting rotation if he’s traded and that’s not a good thing for Indians’ fans.

The Cleveland Indians ditch a couple of veteran relievers

chinmusic — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:44:16 +0000

The Cleveland Indians have started to think about the future as they have designated righty relievers Joe Borowski and Rick Bauer for assignment. Borowski was giving the Indians’ brass migraines watching him blow leads with his 83 mph fastball so he will not be missed at all. He should thank the Good Lord above that his agent is related to Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro. Rick Bauer had a rough go in his short stint with the Indians. Bauer pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Indians this season and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP. The Indians have recalled righties Jensen Lewis and 27-year old righty Brian Slocum from the minors to replace Borowski & Bauer in the bullpen. Lewis has already pitched in 21 games (0 starts) with the Indians this season and he is 0-1 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Brian Slocum has pitched in 18 games (11 starts) in AAA ball this season for the Tribe and he is 3-5 with 1 save, a 4.62 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Slocum made his major league debut last season with the Indians working in 8 games (2 starts) in which he compiled a 0-0 record with a 5.60 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. These moves are addition by subtraction as Borowski and Bauer were pitching batting practice for the Indians this season.

The Cleveland Indians need to ditch Joe Borowski

chinmusic — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:18:33 +0000

After last night I’ve seen enough of Joe Borowski. If Eric Wedge continues to use him as the Indians’ closer it might wind up costing him his job. Borowski has pitched in 18 games for the Indians this season and he is 1-3 with 6 saves, a 7.56 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Borowski has pitched in 87 games for the Indians in the last two seasons and he is 5-8 with 51 saves, a 5.57 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Indians should give Japanese import Mashide Kobayashi a chance to close instead of Borowski. He has pitched in 38 games for the Indians this season and he is 4-3 with 4 saves, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The start of rebuilding the Indians’ bullpen is getting rid of some of the trash in it and it all starts with Borowski who should be released.

UPDATE: The Indians have finally got rid of Joe Borowski as they designated him for assignment today. He will likely have a hard time finding another job as he has been absolutely awful this season for the Indians. Good Riddance!

The Cleveland Indians sign a couple of veterans

chinmusic — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:44:48 +0000

The Indians have signed 29-year old righty reliever Juan Rincon and 36-year old righty swinging Tony Graffanino to minor league contracts. Rincon has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) with the Twins this season and he is 2-2 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. But, Rincon has been an effective pitcher most of his career in the majors so the Indians seem willing to give him a chance to re-establish himself. Rincon has now pitched in 386 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 30-26 with 3 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Tony Graffanino has not played this season as he has been recovering from a couple of surgeries. Graffanino has played in 974 games in his major league career and he is 743 for 2,787 (.267 avg, .732 OPS) with 441 runs scored, 58 homers, 302 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. These were two good depth signings for the Indians.

If the Boston Red Sox are getting sick of Julio Lugo this trade with the Indians makes sense

chinmusic — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:52:03 +0000

The Boston Red Sox are getting irritated with starting shortstop Julio Lugo. With that in mind the Indians have been wanting to move Jhonny Peralta for some time now. So maybe the Indians could trade Peralta along with outfielder David Dellucci to the Red Sox for shortstop Jed Lowrie, outfielder Brandon Moss and relief pitcher Craig Hansen. The 23-year old switch hitting Jed Lowrie has been compared to Dustin Pedroia which would be fine with the Indians. He would take over as the starting SS from day #1 if this trade went down. Lowrie has played in 17 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 13 for 42 (.310 avg, .816 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He has a nice upside. 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brandon Moss would get a chance to battle for at bats in the Tribe’s crowded outfield. He has played in 16 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 10 for 39 (.256 avg, .788 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. 25-year old righty reliever Craig Hansen appears to have been overrated by the Boston press but the Indians could use another arm in the bullpen. Hansen has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox this season and he is 1-2 with 1 save, a 5.79 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. This is a trade that would make the Red Sox better right now and maybe the Indians down the road.

The Cleveland Indians acquire catcher Sal Fasano from the Braves

chinmusic — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:22:57 +0000

The Cleveland Indians have acquired 36-year old righty swinging Sal Fasano from the Braves for a player to be named later. Fasano has played in 26 games in AAA ball this season and he is 16 for 83 (.193 avg, .597 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Fasano has some experience in the majors. He has played in 412 games in the majors and he is 233 for 1,063 (.219 avg, .687 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 47 homers and 134 RBIs. But, he has also whiffed 310 times! Fasano is a lot better than Yamid Haad who has been designated for assignment….but that’s not saying much.

The Cleveland Indians sign 3B Morgan Ensberg

chinmusic — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:06:44 +0000

The Indians have signed 3B Morgan Ensberg to a minor league contract. The 32-year old righty swinging Ensberg played in 28 games for the Yankees this season and he was 15 for 74 (.203 avg, .506 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He had a problem with whiffing this season as he went down on strikes 22 times this year with the Yanks. Ensberg has now played in 731 games in his major league career and he is 579 for 2,204 (.263 avg, .830 OPS) with 340 runs scored, 110 homers, 347 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. This will help the depth in the Indians organization as Ensberg is still a decent ball player.

The Cleveland Indians need Jhonny Peralta to be more productive

chinmusic — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:37:40 +0000

Jhonny Peralta has not been productive this season despite having 11 homers already. That’s because he’s not hitting with men on base. He is 18 for 98 (.184 avg) with 3 homers and 14 RBIs with men on base. When no one is on base it seems as if Peralta is more relaxed as he is 33 for 130 (.254 avg, .807 OPS) with 8 homers. So, in 59 games this season Peralta is 51 for 228 (.224 avg, .688 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 11 homers and 22 RBIs. The Indians need Peralta to start making his longballs count as they are having big problems scoring runs.

The Cleveland Indians place Josh Barfield on the D.L.

chinmusic — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:29:40 +0000

The Indians have placed 2B Josh Barfield on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained finger on his left hand. This hurts Barfield in more ways than one as he was going to get a chance to re-establish himself as a starting 2B. Barfield has played in 3 games for the Indians this season and he is 0 for 6 (.000 avg). The starting job at 2B will now belong to veteran Jamey Carroll. Carroll has played in 41 games this season for the Indians and he is 26 for 106 (.245 avg, .646 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Carroll is a decent 2B defensively and he’s generally a decent hitter without any pop. The Indians have recalled 2B/SS Jorge Velandia from AAA to back up Carroll and Jhonny Peralta. Velandia has played in 2 games for the Blue Jays earlier this season and he was 0 for 7 (.000 avg). Velandia has also played in 44 games in AAA ball this season and he was 43 for 162 (.265 avg, .695 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. The 33-year old righty swinging Velandia has not had much success in his major league career to date. He has played in 167 games in the majors and he is 43 for 236 (.182 avg, .531 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers and 23 RBIs. Don’t expect him to get a lot of playing time unless Carroll or Peralta get injured.

UPDATE: Josh Barfield had surgery to repair a tendon in his middle finger of his left hand which will cause him to miss the next 6-8 weeks of the season.

The Cleveland Indians place Victor Martinez on the D.L.

chinmusic — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:16:16 +0000

The Indians have placed starting 1B Victor Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. The Indians are really hoping that the time off can clear his elbow up or he might have to undergo surgery on it. Martinez has played in 54 games this season for the Indians and he is 55 for 198 (.278 avg, .665 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 0 homers and 21 RBIs. Kelly Shoppach will take over as the starting catcher for the Indians and he will likely do a good job for them. Shoppach is a much better defender than Martinez but he’s not quite as good of a hitter. He has played in 31 games for the Indians this season and he is 18 for 80 (.225 avg, .667 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBIs. But, Shoppach has whiffed 27 times this season which is way too many. The Indians have recalled 30-year old righty swinging Yamid Haad to back up Shoppach. Haad has played in 25 games in AAA ball this season and he was 10 for 63 (.159 avg, .442 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Haad has also played in 18 games in his major league career and he is 2 for 29 (.069 avg, .255 OPS) with 0 runs scored and 1 RBI. He last played in the majors in 2005 with the Giants. Look for Shoppach to catch almost every game while Martinez is out because Haad just can’t hit.

UPDATE: Victor Martinez will need surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. The surgery will cause him to miss the next 6-8 weeks.