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Indians Tidbits (2006 season)..

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CPD

Reflecting on an off-kilter season

Sunday, October 08, 2006
Story by Paul Hoynes

Plain Dealer Reporter

The Indians never did get it right.
Their 6-1 start to this season allowed them to stay in first place in the American League Central through April 18 and their 8-1 finish prevented them from bookending their 93 victories in 2005 with 90 or more losses in 2006. In between, unfortunately, they were a bad baseball team.
Like a car with faulty alignment, they were never balanced.
"What I learned more than anything else this year is to be a consistent winner, you have to have all three things working at the same time - pitching, offense and defense," left-hander Cliff Lee said. "We never were able to get into that groove and stay there."
The Indians featured a lot of bells and whistles. They set a club record with 14 grand slams and scored nine or more runs in 27 games - the most in the big leagues. Grady Sizemore hit 53 doubles, 11 triples, 28 homers and scored an MLB-high 134 runs from the leadoff spot.
Travis Hafner, even though he missed the last month of the season with a broken bone in his right hand, hit 42 homers with 117 RBI.
Yet with all that offense, they were still only 18-26 in one-run games and 11-14 in two-run games. Pitching and defense hurt them.
For a while, the starters weren't getting deep enough into games. When C.C. Sabathia returned in May to stabilize the rotation, it became one of the most consistent in the big leagues, but the bullpen and defense still cost the Indians dearly.
The collapse of the Tribe's infield defense was unexpected. Third baseman Aaron Boone looked stiff and lost range. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta's lack of mobility became an even bigger issue when his offense didn't match his 2005 totals. Ben Broussard, considered an above average first baseman by the front office at the start of the season, made seven errors before he was traded on July 26.
Catcher Victor Martinez's throwing problems were not unexpected and the opposition took full advantage. Martinez threw out 18 percent (22-for-122) of opposing base-stealers this year. He improved after the Yankees stole six bases against him on July 7 - bad mechanics, a broken right toe and a tired right shoulder hurt Martinez - but the Tribe's inability to control the running game definitely destabilized an already shaky infield.
General Manager Mark Shapiro entered the year with veteran closer Bob Wickman, but couldn't get him a lead. Fernando Cabrera and Rafael Betancourt suffered from World Baseball Classic hangovers. Lefty Scott Sauerbeck was ineffective. Danny Graves didn't have much left and Matt Miller went down with a forearm injury in April.
By July, the Indians were so far out of the race they traded Wickman to Atlanta even though he was 15-for-18 in save situations.
Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge have been the golden boys of baseball for the past few years. In rebuilding the Indians, they've done nothing but improve since 2003. This year was a slap in the face. Not only did they drop anchor prematurely, but they reversed all engines as well.
They thought they'd put together a contender, but dismantled a big chunk of it by the end of August. Expectations might have gotten to their team. Playing in baseball's best division - the AL Central was the only division to boast three 90-game winners - didn't help.
Shapiro and Wedge, both entering the final years of their contracts in 2007, won't have to worry about expectations next year. Only reality.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-5158
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CPD

NOBODY ASKED, BUT . . .

Five things baseball writer Paul Hoynes would do this winter if he were the Indians general manager

Sunday, October 08, 2006

1. I'd be instant messaging Boston GM Theo Epstein constantly to see if I could bring Manny Ramirez back to Cleveland.
2. I'd be watching the Japanese free agents closely to see if an inexpensive closer such as Takashi Saito (Dodgers) or Akinori Ot suka (Rangers) was available.
3. I'd keep Fausto Carmona as a starter and try to trade Paul Byrd this winter. If I couldn't trade Byrd, I'd put Carmona in the setup role for 2007 to be my version of Detroit's Joel Zumaya -- with a little less velocity.
. If I couldn't acquire a closer through free agency or the international market, I'd try to make a deal for somone like the Angels' Scot Shields or Toronto's Brandon League and groom him as a closer.
5. I'd give pitching coach Carl Willis and the Tribe's trainers and strength coaches a raise for keeping my starting rotation healthy over the last two years.
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Canton

Sanders out in Tribe TV booth
Friday, October 13, 2006


CLEVELAND - SportsTime Ohio announced Thursday that TV play-by-play announcer John Sanders will not be asked back for a 17th season broadcasting Indians games.
?It is our goal to establish a two-person broadcast team, and today?s announcement is the first step in that process,? SportsTime Ohio President Jim Liberatore said in a press release.
Sanders rotated with Rick Manning and Mike Hegan in the booth last season.
Liberatore also said the network wished to have a ?full-time presence in the community? for charitable and civic events as well as some local programming. Sanders lives in Pittsburgh. Sanders joined the Indians in 1991 after nine seasons as the play-by-play man for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has been broadcasting for 37 years, and also does Big East Conference football and basketball in the offseason.
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Dispatch

The Arizona Fall League begins today and Indians prospect Trevor Crowe is playing the outfield. The Tribe tried him at second base briefly late in the regular season and in the fall instructional league, but he struggled enough that they abandoned those plans.
Team officials believe Crowe is advanced enough offensively that he could be ready for the big leagues by the middle of next season. Cleveland has a hole at second base ? for 2007 and beyond ? and Crowe played there some in high school and early in his college career. But he struggled enough there recently that the decision was made to leave him in the outfield. There was some fear that a position change would slow his development offensively and defensively. Kevin Kouzmanoff also reported to the Arizona league to play first base. He has spent most of his college and professional career at third base. He is taking the roster spot of Michael Aubrey, a former firstround pick who has been bothered by repeated injuries. When Cleveland drafted Aubrey in 2003, they thought he was an advanced hitter who would be in the big leagues by now, but he has not been healthy for a full season and is now behind Ryan Garko and perhaps Kouzmanoff on the organizational depth chart at first base.
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ABJ

Farrell leaves Tribe for job with Red Sox

Farm director puts front-office career on hold to become pitching coach

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

John Farrell didn't know whether he was destined to be a front-office operative or make his living on the field when he became the Indians' farm director five years ago.
Now that the Boston Red Sox have hired him as their pitching coach, he still isn't sure.
``When I accepted this position (farm director), I can't say that I plotted my next move, if there was going to be one,'' Farrell said Monday. ``Going on the field will be a different path, but I don't think it means that a front-office career is forever closed to me.''
For now, however, Farrell will give in to competitive longings that can be satisfied only by taking part in the daily baseball wars on the field.
``You know, every time I walk through the dugout now, I get those feelings,'' he said. ``I think that competitive fire burns in all of us.
``I look at this as a rare opportunity to work on the field in Boston, which might be the best on-field environment in baseball.''
Farrell thinks he will be a good fit in Boston, partly because of an association with Red Sox manager Terry Francona that goes back to 1988, when they were teammates. ``That had a lot to do with this,'' Farrell said. ``The respect and trust you have in someone is very important.''
General Manager Mark Shapiro will name a replacement for Farrell, but the process probably will take at least a few days. The Indians' director of Latin American operations, Ross Atkins, is considered a prime candidate to head the player development department.
Farrell, 44, was a pitcher on the rise in the Indians' farm system after being taken in the second round of the 1984 draft. He spent parts of five seasons with the Indians, compiling a 32-30 record, but arm problems undermined his career.
He ended his major-league career with a record of 36-46 in 1996 as a member of the Detroit Tigers. He pitched for the California Angels in 1993 and 1994.
After he retired as a player, Farrell was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State University, where he completed work on his bachelor's degree.
He returned to the Indians in August 2001, when he was named director of player development, a position that made him responsible for the Tribe's farm system.
Under Farrell's watch, the Indians' farm system in 2003 was named No. 1 in the majors by Baseball America. Not only has Farrell developed many big-league players, but also Indians manager Eric Wedge emerged after managing at four levels in the Tribe system.
``Not any one person can say they're responsible for the success of a department,'' Farrell said.
Underwood to TV
Matt Underwood will do play-by-play and Rick Manning will continue as color commentator for 138 Indians telecasts over SportsTime Ohio next season, according to the local network.
For the past seven years, Underwood was Tom Hamilton's partner on Tribe radio broadcasts. Under the new setup, Hamilton will team full time with Mike Hegan, who did some televised games the past two seasons in addition to his slate of radio broadcasts.
In addition to his duties on SportsTime Ohio, Manning will pair with Jim Donovan on a schedule of 20 Indians games to be aired by WKYC-TV (Ch. 3), as he did in 2006.
SportsTime Ohio recently eliminated its fifth announcer on the team. John Sanders, who had announced games on cable for several years -- on Fox Sports Net, then STO -- will not return.
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ABJ

Indians report

Schedule in spring gets plenty of moon time

The exhibition schedule will seem like the regular season with the Indians scheduled to play four night games, including three in Winter Haven, Fla.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Houston Astros will play evening games at Chain O' Lakes Park. The Tribe will travel to Lakeland for one night game against the Detroit Tigers.
Both New York teams will visit Winter Haven once each, and two popular National League clubs, the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers, also are on the Indians' home schedule of 16 games.
After the final exhibition game March 31, the Tribe will fly to Chicago to open the regular season with the White Sox on April 2.
Fans planning to be in Florida during March can order season tickets to the spring exhibition season now. Tickets for groups also are on sale. Individual game tickets will go on sale Jan. 13.
Tickets will be available at www.indians.com, at Ticketmaster outlets (including all Macy's and selected Giant Eagle stores) and by phone at 216-241-5555 or 866-488-7423. The box office at Chain O' Lakes will be open starting Jan. 6.
For information, go to the Indians' Web site or call the Winter Haven office at 863-293-3900 or 866-488-7423.
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ABJ

Indians report

Atkins takes over farm teams

Experience overseeing Latin American side deemed plus for job

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

As expected, the Indians promoted Ross Atkins to director of player development Monday.
He replaces John Farrell, who was hired as pitching coach for the Red Sox last week.
Even though Atkins has spent the past three years as the team's director of Latin American operations, he doesn't feel isolated from the Tribe's farm system.
``My knowledge is not nearly what it's going to be or as extensive as John Farrell's,'' Atkins said. ``But John always kept me in the loop, so it's a matter of refocusing.''
As director of player development, Atkins will oversee the Indians' six farm teams, as well as Latin American operations. He and assistant general manager Chris Antonetti will pick his successor.
Atkins will move his family from Miami and make a radical alteration in his work routine. As the Tribe's overseer of baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Atkins customarily spent one week a month in the Dominican Republic and three days a month in Venezuela.
The Indians have concentrated their Latin American operations mostly in three countries, with the third being Panama. They also have a strong interest in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rican players are included in the annual June draft and thus are not part of Atkins' area of responsibility.
General Manager Mark Shapiro said he considered five applicants for the player development position and interviewed two. Atkins' experience in Latin America was considered a plus.
``We needed someone with a strong ability to communicate with people of different backgrounds and cultures,'' Shapiro said. ``Ross has a good feel for the game and ability as an evaluator.''
Atkins, 33, was Farrell's assistant from 2001 to 2003. He graduated from Wake Forest and pitched from 1995 to 1999 in the Tribe's farm system.
Atkins doesn't anticipate making any immediate changes.
``I'm going to get through this transition period,'' he said, ``so I have no changes planned.''
Scout named
The Indians have hired Tyrone Brooks as professional scout. He performed several jobs in 11 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, most recently as director of baseball administration.
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CPD

BASEBALL
Dolan's talks with GM all good words


Thursday, October 26, 2006

Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

St. Louis- If there is concern about General Manager Mark Shapiro entering the 2007 season in the final year of his contract, Larry Dolan is hiding it well.
"I'm not worried at all," said Dolan, Indians owner. "We're talking. He's interested in us, and we're interested in him."
Dolan was part of the owners bargaining committee that reached a five-year settlement with the players Tuesday. The five-year deal is the longest contract in baseball's labor history.
"Mark likes Cleveland," said Dolan. "He wants to be more involved. He'd like more responsibility with the Cleveland Indians. We're looking for a long-term relationship with Mark."
Dolan was hesitant to expound on Shapiro's desire to be "more involved."
"We've got a good man not only for the Cleveland Indians, but for the city of Cleveland," said Dolan.
Shapiro has been meeting with his staff, scouts and player personnel people for the past three weeks to try to resuscitate the Indians.
Their 78-84 finish this season was one of baseball's biggest disappointments.
"My relationship is strong with the Dolans," said Shapiro. "It's nice to hear Larry say those things, but I'm not going to comment on my contract."
Shapiro has worked for the Indians since 1992. He replaced John Hart as general manager in 2001.
"My focus and energy are concentrated on improving this team for next year," said Shapiro. "My contract is the last thing on my mind.
"I've always approached my career like this - if I do my job and do it well, everything will take care of itself."
Shapiro would not comment on Dolan's comment on his wanting to be "more involved."
Dolan said the Indians were never close to firing manager Eric Wedge during the season. Wedge, like Shapiro, will enter the final year of his contract in 2007. Wedge has club options for 2008 and 2009. Shapiro has no club options.
One thing did become apparent to Dolan during the season.
"It's clear we have to spend some money," he said. "That's been pointed out to me more than once. My only concern is that so many other clubs have money to spend."
Their Opening Day payroll for the 25-man roster was an estimated $56 million.
The Indians need a second baseman, a closer, another reliever or two and a veteran hitter to play left, right or first base.
Atlanta's Marcus Giles is one of the second basemen the Indians are interested in. They'd have to trade for him.
Moises Alou, a free-agent-to-be, interests them as a veteran right-handed hitter.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-5158
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Dispatch

The Indians likely will bid on two Japanese players ? third baseman Akinori Iwamura and right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka ? next month when the bidding period begins. Major-league clubs make a blind bid on available players, and the top bidder can negotiate with the player?s Japanese team, the player and his agent for 30 days.

Since Mark Shapiro became Indians general manager in November 2001, he has emphasized developing talent at all levels of the organization, from the field to the front office. It is one reason he felt justified in replacing departed farm director John Farrell from within, by promoting Ross Atkins. Farrell said it was part of his duties as farm director to groom a potential replacement and keep his superiors informed of progress. Shapiro wants the Tribe to always have a ready replacement when somebody moves up or out. It helps with continuity and also prevents the Indians from having to out-bid another organization to fill a position.
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ABJ

TALKIN' TRIBE
Keep Martinez, but reduce his catching
? I often hear from Indians fans who want to trade Victor Martinez for a pitcher, a left fielder or just about anything. They fixate on his defense and ignore his hitting. Martinez should not be catching so many games. He has caught the second most in the majors in the last two years. This guy is a very valuable player.
? The big numbers are these: .316 batting average with 16 home runs and 93 RBI. He hit .323 with runners in scoring position, .400 with the bases loaded, .316 before the All-Star break and .317 after. He's 27, he's signed through 2010 and wants to play here. You can win with Martinez catching -- if you limit him to about 100 games, the rest at first base.
? About his throwing: The Tribe's stats have Martinez throwing out only 14 percent of base runners. He had two seasons: 5-of-66, ending when the New York Yankees stole six bases against him July 6. After that, he was 11-of-50 (22 percent). In 2005, he was 21 percent for the season. The average catcher is about 30 percent.
? My theory: Martinez will catch better if he doesn't have to catch all the time. He also will hit better with some time at first base. For example, he batted .352 (25-of-71) as a first baseman. His throwing improved in the second half because he wasn't catching as much, saving some fatigue.
? Somehow, manager Eric Wedge has to be persuaded to play Kelly Shoppach (35 percent throwing out runners) more often to rest Martinez. Shoppach is good enough defensively to start for some teams, and not hopeless (.245, 3 HR, 110 at bats) at the plate.
? The Indians point out that A.J. Pierzynski has caught for several winning teams, and he barely throws out 20 percent of runners most seasons. The key is for Martinez not to be in a hopeless throwing rut, as he was at the start of last season.
? It would be ideal if the Indians platoon Jason Michaels in left, or just make him the fourth outfielder. On the year, he was at .267 with 9 HR and 55 RBI in 494 at bats. The Indians thought he would improve in the second half, adjusting from the National League to the American League. He batted .268 before the All-Star break, .267 after. He didn't homer in his last 144 at bats. He batted only .163 (8-of-49) with two outs and runners in scoring position.
? Coco Crisp had the same kind of year with the Boston Red Sox -- .264, 8 HR, 34 RBI -- as Michaels did with the Tribe.
? The Indians have reason to believe Andy Marte may be ready to take over at third base. He started slow (.105, 4-of-38) but in his last 36 games he hit .262 with 14 doubles, 5 HR and 21 RBI. He played above-average defense, and he's only 23.
? The Indians are looking hard for a closer. Under consideration is Joe Borowski, who had 36 saves for the Florida Marlins. He's 35, he's a free agent and this was his best season. In his career, he's 80-of-101 in saves. You want a closer to convert at least 80 percent, so Borowski is at that mark.
? In the last three years, Minnesota's Johan Santana has led the American League with 55 victories. Next are Detroit's Kenny Rogers (49) and Chicago's Jon Garland (48). Then comes Cliff Lee (46) and Jake Westbrook (44) of the Tribe. That's why so many teams ask about those pitchers, especially Westbrook.
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Dispatch

Tribe?s Miller wins Bob Feller Award
Wednesday, November 01, 2006

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS



Adam Miller regained the life on his fastball this season after suffering an elbow injury in 2005, and he regained his status as the Cleveland Indians? top pitching prospect. The club announced yesterday that Miller won the Bob Feller Award as its minor-league pitcher of the year.
Miller went 15-6 with a 2.75 ERA for double-A Akron, consistently throwing 93-96 mph and occasionally hitting 98. He also won the Feller Award in 2004, when he went 10-6 with a 2.95 ERA between low-A Lake County and high-A Kinston. Infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff won the Lou Boudreau Award as the Tribe?s minor-league player of the year. He hit .379 between Akron and triple-A Buffalo. He finished the season with the Indians and will compete for a roster spot in the spring.
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