Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[exhawg]

I doubt Marte or Michaels are particularly tradeable unfortunately. Marte may still entice a team based on potential, but Michaels is dead weight.

Laffey looked pretty good save for the one inning, so at least that's encouraging. I don't know what Pronk's problem is, but I'm starting to believe his best days passed when he signed that contract. :(

We need more offense if this season is to be salvaged, so some roster shuffling is going to have to be done.

This is the last year of Michaels contract so he might be moveable. Not really worth anything, but someone would probably take him. If someone gave the Tribe a starting 3rd I bet they would want Marte in return just to fill a spot and he does have a ton of potential. The trade maker would be one of the young pitchers.

 

[Best Buckeye]

There once was a maid from N. Olmstead...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Ugly rally tops Tribe Yankees' soft attack spoils Laffey's effort, but deficient hitting ultimately to blame
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008
CLEVELAND: It didn't matter whether Mike Mussina threw 84-mph fastballs or hanging curves over the middle of the plate, the Indians persisted in making easy outs.
Mussina no longer is the world-class winner able to surgically dismember a lineup with nasty pitches and pinpoint command of the strike zone. At 39, he came into Monday night's start with a 2-3 record and 4.94 ERA.
No matter, Mussina handled the Tribe with aplomb and the New York Yankees earned a 5-2 win at Progressive Field to split the four game series.
Mussina (3-3, 4.73 ERA) needed 92 pitches to get through five innings, but he gave up only two runs ? the Indians were fortunate to score that many ? despite delivering an array of pitches that other batsmen would have crushed.
But for the fifth time in the past nine games the Tribe scored two or fewer runs and has begun to nullify the effects of its five-game winning streak by losing two in a row.
Manager Eric Wedge talked about the deficiencies of his attack, and what to do about it. But the fact is, at some point only the hitters themselves can correct the situation.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Delluci comfortable leading off He finds his key to success while with Rangers in 2005
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008
CLEVELAND: While Grady Sizemore recovers from an ankle sprain, David Dellucci will be the Indians' leadoff batter.
He hit at the top of the order for the second consecutive game Monday night and seemed none the worse for wear. That's because Dellucci has done it before with modest success.
''That's where I hit in '05 for the Rangers,'' he said. ''It's nothing different for me. I take the same approach as any other time.
''My goal as an offensive player is to get a pitch I can drive. I'm trying to get on base the best way I can, whether I'm the leadoff hitter or not. So I want to be selective, but not to the point where I get myself in the hole.''
Dellucci recalls his experience as the Rangers' leadoff hitter with fondness. He batted only .251, but compiled a respectable .367 on-base percentage and a .513 slugging percentage with a career best 29 home runs.
Power is not a requirement of a leadoff batter, but it's a nice plus.
''That was the year I became more patient at the plate,'' Dellucci said. ''Before that, I swung at strikes but not necessarily at a strike I could handle best.



Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

New York Yankees take advantage in sixth inning to split series with Cleveland Indians

Strong start by Laffey disintegrates as Yankees score four in tortuous sixth

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Paul Hoynes

Plain Dealer Reporter
Besides a nice start by Aaron Laffey, the Indians didn't pro vide much viewing pleasure Monday night at Progressive Field. Who knows, maybe their hitters will wake up when it gets a little warmer.
This being Cleveland, that might not be until June. Do you think Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko will still be trying to hit Mike Mussina's 84 mph fastball by then?
Laffey, making his first start as an Indian this season, had a no-hitter through five innings before the Yankees undid all that good work by scoring four runs in a slow-motion sixth inning on the way to a 5-2 victory that earned them a split in this four-game series.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Shapiro, Indians did it the hard way


Tuesday, April 29, 2008
In his book "Dealing," which has just been released in an updated paperback edition, Terry Pluto takes readers inside the Cleveland Indians' front office. This excerpt, the third in a series of three, tells how the franchise was faced with new economic limits shortly after the Dolans purchased the team. (The full text of this chapter is available online at Cleveland.com.)
Mark Shapiro stood in the Cleveland dressing room, drenched with champagne. It was Sunday, Sept. 23, the Indians' last home game of the 2007 season. The Indians had just clinched the American League Central Division title. It had taken five years, two months and 23 days, but Shapiro and the Indians were finally off the clock.
Shapiro himself had started that countdown on June 27, 2002, by trading the Indians' ace pitcher, Bartolo Colon, to the Montreal Expos and thus officially announcing to fans the end of the powerhouse teams of the 1990s.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Center fielder Grady Sizemore makes right moves but misses start for Cleveland Indians


Tuesday, April 29, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
On a cold April afternoon, Grady Sizemore backpedaled from the foul line into left field at Progressive Field.
When strength coach Tim Maxey pointed left, he broke left. When Maxey pointed right, Sizemore broke right. In the background, manager Eric Wedge and head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff watched.
Sizemore did all the drills well, but he still missed his second straight start Monday night because of a sprained right ankle. The wet conditions and the threat of rain played a part in the decision.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Good start, bad luck for Laffey

Called-up left-hander allows no hits through 5 for Tribe but loses
Tuesday, April 29, 200ennis Manoloff
Plain Dealer Reporter
Left-hander Aaron Laffey was the definition of a hard-luck loser Monday night at Progressive Field.
He did not give up a hit through five innings and finished with three allowed in 5 2/3. But the Yankees beat him, 5-2.
Two of New York's hits against Laffey were infield singles. He was charged with four runs.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

It isn't a Laffey matter as rookie does his job for Tribe
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]But Cleveland's offense falters in 5-2 loss[/FONT]
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND Perhaps Aaron Laffey deserved better.

And perhaps, looking objectively at his team's batting order, he couldn't have expected it.

The 23-year-old left-hander performed admirably during his first start of the season Monday night. Cleveland's hitters, however, were unable to deliver a knockout punch ? or even a good noogie ? while losing, 5-2, to New York at Progressive Field.

"We still have several individuals who need to step up their game offensively," Manager Eric Wedge said.

Seriously?

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Indians notebook: Grady Sizemore sits another game as precaution
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND Maybe Grady Sizemore was just too fast for his own good.

Cleveland's star center fielder was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive day Monday after having twisted his right ankle during Saturday's win over New York. Sizemore said he was injured when he tried to stop on the bag at second base while contemplating a sprint for third following David Dellucci's single to right.

"I thought (Yankees right fielder) Bobby Abreu might bobble it or something," Sizemore said. "I stopped on top of the bag and turned back. I rolled it pretty good."

ESPN analyst Orel Hershiser, among a crowd gathered around Sizemore's locker Monday afternoon, remarked, "That's what you get for being good."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Mussina, Yankees beat Indians

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 12:06 AM
By TOM WITHERS


Associated Press
CLEVELAND?Mike Mussina earned his 253rd win, tying Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell on the career list, and the New York Yankees concluded an extended odyssey on the road by making the most of their five hits in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians last night.

Mussina (3-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings, just enough to catch Hubbell for 41st place. The 39-year-old had his second consecutive solid outing after there was speculation he might lose his spot in the rotation.​

Mussina was followed by Jonathan Albaladejo, Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, who worked the ninth for his eighth save in eight tries. New York's bullpen held the Indians to one hit over the final four innings.
Cont...
​

 

[LitlBuck]

This is the last year of Michaels contract so he might be moveable. Not really worth anything, but someone would probably take him. If someone gave the Tribe a starting 3rd I bet they would want Marte in return just to fill a spot and he does have a ton of potential. The trade maker would be one of the young pitchers.

Marte has not proven anything or why would have Atlanta traded him to Boston and, if he had any potential, why did Boston trade him to Cleveland. I know that Boston wanted Coco badly but if Marte was any good they would have not let him go. Thank goodness we got Shopach in that deal. I have no idea what team would want Marte when the Indians won't even send him to the plate. He is out of options and teams know that. We missed our chance to get a quality bat during the trading period when everyone wanted a young pitcher like Miller or maybe Laffey. They also wanted one of our young outfielders. Nobody wants Michaels just because he is in his last year. He would just take up a roster spot on another team and if he is not producing for Cleveland we are stuck with him unless you want to give up the farm.

Hafner has not produced for 1 1/2 seasons. He needs to sit for a while or drop him down in the lineup. Garko is not producing right now either which makes things worse. Bottom line is we are stuck with what we have and other teams know it.

 

[billmac91]

Marte has not proven anything or why would have Atlanta traded him to Boston and, if he had any potential, why did Boston trade him to Cleveland. I know that Boston wanted Coco badly but if Marte was any good they would have not let him go.

I said it the day we traded CoCo for Marte.....Take a look at John Schuerholz track record on trades. Guy has an amazing track record of bringing in talent, while the talent he lets out rarely lives up to the hype.

Marte should have been a red-flag the moment Atlanta let him out of the system. If he showed enough promise, he wouldn't have been traded. Schuerholz didn't let good talent go.

 

[LitlBuck]

I said it the day we traded CoCo for Marte.....Take a look at John Schuerholz track record on trades. Guy has an amazing track record of bringing in talent, while the talent he lets out rarely lives up to the hype.

Marte should have been a red-flag the moment Atlanta let him out of the system. If he showed enough promise, he wouldn't have been traded. Schuerholz didn't let good talent go.

Exactly I remember that post. Atlanta trades into Boston and we are suckers enough to take him from Boston especially when they wanted Coco so badly.

 

[buckeyemania11]

Marte has really never shown promise in Cleveland, Shapiro just wont admitt that he made a mistake trading for him and ship him out