Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Tribe bats can't capitalize in D.C.

Offensive woes continue in series loss to Nationals

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

• Struggling Hafner is back in starting lineup
• Photos | Indians lose to Nationals
• Indians box score
• Indians notebook
• League standings

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As play-by-play announcers have been saying for decades after the last out: ``The scoreboard totals are correct.''
For the Indians, that means not many hits, not many runs, no errors.
What else is new?
Another day, same plotline for the woebegone Wahoos, who lost 3-1 to the Washington Nationals on Sunday at RFK Stadium.
That's another series defeat to a mediocre National League team. The Tribe also lost at the Cincinnati Reds, who need a boost to become mediocre, and the Atlanta Braves, who can hold their own as a contender in their division but are struggling to stay around .500.
Interleague play for 2007 is history, and maybe that's a good thing for the Indians, who finished with a 9-9 record, winning three-game sets against the Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins and the Reds (at Jacobs Field).

Continued....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Struggling Hafner is back in starting lineup

Slugging designated hitter working hard on swing

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is almost unthinkable to imagine that Travis Hafner would be held out of the lineup for 27 percent of the Indians' 22 games this month.
After being rested for two days against left-handed starters, Hafner returned to the lineup Sunday and went 1-for-3 in the Tribe's 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
In the past, Hafner would not be benched just because a lefty is pitching, but he happens to be in the deepest slump of his major-league career, and manager Eric Wedge is trying to find a balance between playing and watching to help him shake the skid.
Though his problems go back almost two months, since June 1 Hafner is batting .197 (13-for-66) with only two extra-base hits (doubles) and no home runs in 16 starts.

Continued.....

 

[Big Papa]

C.C. is a stud, plain and simple. He is just filthy on the mound. He definitely needs to start getting his props for being one of the elite pitchers in baseball. 11 wins, we should finally get a 20 game winner that we have not had since 1974 (I believe).

 

[Napoleonbuck]

Is there a chance C.C starts the allstar game? I know Haren and Beckett are doing great, but C.C. has been consistently nasty the entire season. He should have three complete game wins right now. That's ridiculous.

 

[Mike80]

Not being an Indians fan , I would say that if he does start, you probably would want it on a day where he'd be throwing anyway.

I wouldn't want him pitching in a meaningless game if it takes him out of his rhythm....

 

[NFBuck]

Well, C.C. seems to be in the midst of the breakout year many of us have been expecting of him for the past couple seasons. I said in the preseason predictions thread he would win the A.L. Cy Young this year (toot-toot), and he's certainly giving it a go. What's probably most remarkable has been his control. It's improved with each season he's been in the bigs, but 17 walks vs. 108 K's in 122.1 innings is remarkable. I really hope that Shapiro has some plan to keep him in Cleveland when his contract is up, because bonifide staff aces are not easy to come by. The one thing that will always worry me about him though is durability; he's a big dude, and I just hope conditioning doesn't become a factor come August/September with all the innings he's accumulating.

Great to see Pronk smack one. Hopefully he'll wake up now. We'll see. We need him to be the old Pronk if we want to make any serious run at/in the playoffs. Would be awesome if Garko could build off this game as well.

Peralta made a sick play at SS too...wow!

 

[Big Papa]

Well, C.C. seems to be in the midst of the breakout year many of us have been expecting of him for the past couple seasons. I said in the preseason predictions thread he would win the A.L. Cy Young this year (toot-toot), and he's certainly giving it a go. What's probably most remarkable has been his control. It's improved with each season he's been in the bigs, but 17 walks vs. 108 K's in 122.1 innings is remarkable. I really hope that Shapiro has some plan to keep him in Cleveland when his contract is up, because bonifide staff aces are not easy to come by. The one thing that will always worry me about him though is durability; he's a big dude, and I just hope conditioning doesn't become a factor come August/September with all the innings he's accumulating.

Great to see Pronk smack one. Hopefully he'll wake up now. We'll see. We need him to be the old Pronk if we want to make any serious run at/in the playoffs. Would be awesome if Garko could build off this game as well.

Peralta made a sick play at SS too...wow!

Yeah, the improvements to Sabathia's game are so visible. I remember where he had trouble a lot with the first 2-3 innings and would tend to let home runs and other things get in his head. He is just so consistent right now. He has truly emerged as a premier pitcher in MLB. They HAVE to bring this guy back. I am tired of seeing superstars walk away from the Tribe in their Prime. Remember, Dolan said that when this team was contending he would loosen up the purse strings? Well, it's time to put his money where his mouth is. Time to start winning the ChampionshipS that he talked about when he bought the team. We can't do that without our best pitcher.

 

[Piney]

God Bless CC... and my fantasy teams really love him!

 

[tsteele316]

Yeah, the improvements to Sabathia's game are so visible. I remember where he had trouble a lot with the first 2-3 innings and would tend to let home runs and other things get in his head. He is just so consistent right now. He has truly emerged as a premier pitcher in MLB. They HAVE to bring this guy back. I am tired of seeing superstars walk away from the Tribe in their Prime. Remember, Dolan said that when this team was contending he would loosen up the purse strings? Well, it's time to put his money where his mouth is. Time to start winning the ChampionshipS that he talked about when he bought the team. We can't do that without our best pitcher.

forget it. you saw the deal zito got, and he was above average at best. johan santana is a FA this year. Look to what he gets then add about 10% or more. It would shock me greatly if CC was an Indian in 2009. Cleveland will give him a very big token contract, but not as big as what someone else will give him. I'd say he's likely to end up in the NL West.

 

[LitlBuck]

Shapiro has some plan to keep him in Cleveland when his contract is up, because bonifide staff aces are not easy to come by. The one thing that will always worry me about him though is durability; he's a big dude, and I just hope conditioning doesn't become a factor come August/September with all the innings he's accumulating.

Great to see Pronk smack one. Hopefully he'll wake up now. We'll see. Delete the
!

Shapiro might have a plan but Dolan it is not going to buy it. I would be surprised if they are able to keep Hafner but the way he has hit the past two months.

I would rather see the money spent on CC. He would probably have 13 wins by now if the bullpen had not blown a couple games when he was taken out and the Tribe had the lead.

 

[OHSportsFan]

Shapiro might have a plan but Dolan it is not going to buy it. I would be surprised if they are able to keep Hafner but the way he has hit the past two months.

I would rather see the money spent on CC. He would probably have 13 wins by now if the bullpen had not blown a couple games when he was taken out and the Tribe had the lead.

Or how about CC's 9 inning shut-out against the Reds in which the offense gave him no run support and spoiled his chance at another win.

CC has been outstanding and it was good to see him settle in after two early runs. That was a big win for the Tribe after crawling through interleague play.

 

[redskinbucksfan]

Great win last night. Shades of the good old days. Shoppach has really made some big plays at the end of games this year. The CS to end a game (TB I think?), the DP on Sat. and yesterday's HR. Who would have thought that he would be the star of the Crisp-Marte trade?

 

[Crashcup]

Yeah, I agree. CC should be kept and that would make Pronk a no go.

In all reality we keep neither. It'll be a heartbreaker when the time comes.

That's always been why we have to win with young players and early in their careers.

Nobody really thought Manny wouldn't be kept. The dismantling of that team was a real bummer too.

 

[NFBuck]

Great win last night. Shades of the good old days. Shoppach has really made some big plays at the end of games this year. The CS to end a game (TB I think?), the DP on Sat. and yesterday's HR. Who would have thought that he would be the star of the Crisp-Marte trade?

It is suprising, Shoppach has been clutch all year and like I said a few posts back, I'd like to see him behind the plate more to allow Victor to play more at 1B. He's vastly superior defensively, and though I don't expect him to continue to hit like he has, he seems like he would be more than adequate with the bat. IMO Victor's longterm future is at 1B, not behind the plate.

Yeah, I agree. CC should be kept and that would make Pronk a no go.

In all reality we keep neither. It'll be a heartbreaker when the time comes.

That's always been why we have to win with young players and early in their careers.

Nobody really thought Manny wouldn't be kept. The dismantling of that team was a real bummer too.

I'm not so sure we lose both. C.C. will command more money and will be harder to sign, but if Dolan is serious about opening up his wallet when the Tribe becomes (is) competitive, it's not undoable IMO. I love Pronk, but he'd be easier to replace than a staff ace and would hope that if it came down to one or the other, the front office would go after Sabathia.

 

[tsteele316]

david ortiz signed for $14 million per in his latest deal last year. Hafner isn't going to get that, especially with the elbow issues he has whenever he plays in the field for more than 3 games in a row. Ortiz could have conceivable gone to the NL, Hafner cannot.

There has been a longstanding rumor that Cleveland has a 5 year $60 million offer on the table for Hafner right now. He's probably not going to sign for more than that on the FA market next year, especially if he doesn't turn it around offensively.

Sabathia you can kiss goodbye. Buster Olney on Mike and Mike this morning said Fatty McPunchMyCatcher (Carlos Zambrano) wants upwards of $130 million for probably 7 years, which is more than the Zito deal. His numbers are decent in the NL, but he hardly commands that sort of contract. If he gets that this offseason, some team will offer Sabathia 7 years and $150 million, which Cleveland can't match.

If I had to guess, I'd say Cleveland resigns one of the two, most likely Hafner.