If ever the ownership of the Cleveland Indians was going to purchase for its fans a power corner OF threat, this would seem to be the time.
One exists as available, his profile is ideal and the club has money freed-up, owing to the recent departure of costly LHS CC Sabathia. What is more, the need for such a player has persisted despite the Dolans having promised to spend once winning was imminent and so long as the ticket-buying public supported their efforts.
Many will argue inactivity by both the Dolans and their hired-hand GM Mark Shapiro explains why yet another couple seasons will have passed without a major pro sports championship.
Regardless, consider that the Colorado Rockies seem poised to fairly soon part with All-Star LF Matt Holliday, who will not become a free agent until another 15 or so months have expired. The RH-hitting Holliday is currently working under a $9.5 million/yr. pact signed at the approximate time of this 28th birthday in January. The Stillwater, Oklahoma native is 6-4 235 and hitting .331, with 15 homers and 53 rbi, not counting the blast he put into the RF stands in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. His OBP is a sparkling .415.
As for the downside, major-market clubs are reportedly "drooling" to have at the kid, who is represented by notoriously demanding agent Scott Boras. Those would be the Yankees, Mets and World-Champion Red Sox.
On the other hand, the Tribe could have control of the player for a full calendar year, with the then potential of liquidating him themselves or holding onto him for a few more months of exclusive negotiating rights. In the meantime, he just might come to love the organization, his teammates and what the Dolans might place onto the negotiating table.
At the least, the organization would have use of his stellar services for approximately a full season, enabling them to practice recommended patience with newcomer Matt LaPorta, the AA RH OF centerpiece of what came from Milwaukee for Sabathia.
Meanwhile, the Dolans (as well as Shapiro) would afford themselves favorable public relations while purchasing for themselves extended trust in the clubhouse, where a contingent of ballplayers might well feel betrayed and disenchanted.
This no-excuses enterprise may not have been able to foresee such a proportion of disabling injuries, but absolutely nothing was found to be behind the fascade of frontline core pieces---at least not at a ready-for-MLB-action proficiency. In fact, the Buffalo Bison sent a single rep to the AAA All-Star game, side-arming LHR Rich Rundles.
In brief, the holdover Tribesmen could claim to have gotten nothing to reinforce their stretch run last summer and nothing of significance to fortify what they began this season with. Even a GM who publicly acknowledges the bullpen is the shakiest unit on any club from year-to-year---inasmuch as one season's success cannot be a reliable precursor of the next---failed to provide fall-back insurance for himself and his club in this precarious area.
Consequently, things went badly quickly and without hope of salvation.
With all this having been said, the reasonable question becomes: "OK. So, how is this Holliday guy going to be acquired from Rockies' GM Dan O'Dowd (who preceded Shapiro as Assistant GM under John Hart)?"
That's where things get extremely creative and more than a little naive, perhaps.
Whatever it is that Shapiro does to aid his needy roster---and it is sincerely hoped he'll be doing something of substance---it would seem best done by piece-mealing a package from whatever assemblage of lower-level prospects he can get from his extensive population of marginal expendables.
RHS Paul Byrd, RH 3b/1b/OF Casey Blake, RH utility infielder Jamey Carroll, LH OF/DH David Dellucci, RH OF Franklin Gutierrez merely begin the list. Individually, none can be expected to return much in the way of compensation, possibly not enough, in fact, to justify parting with any of them given doing so would mean subtracting them from what remains of this campaign---though many would scoff at that insinuation.
And it cannot be rightly assumed any MLB club would desire a combination of them, either, though certainly that is not a totally preposterous proposition. For example, Milw might make a good home for both Blake and Carroll, given the Brewers' uncertainties at 2b and 3b.
At any rate, resourceful deployment of these seasoned pieces might permit Cleveland to gather on behalf of O'Dowd enough in the way of minor-league resources to convince the Colorado GM to pass along Holliday.
Byrd, Carroll and Blake are all operating under expiring contracts, meaning the financial obligation assumed by anyone absorbing their rights is negligible, so long as their utility warrants their 2008 additions. Dellucci has less than a year-and-a-half on his contract. Gutierrez' appeal is as a splendid defensive CF with arm, youth and affordability further recommending him.
It likely seems far-fetched but it should not be impossible to suspect such a contingent might be exchangeable for sufficient return to entice O'Dowd and the Rockies. Shapiro would simply have to work together with O'Dowd in brokering such moves for the Colorado organization.
O'Dowd and the club he represents are currently expected to wait until winter to maximize return on Holliday. Holding onto him also makes Rockies' ownership appear more responsive to those fans who responded to the club's World Series experience with financial support. But this also occurs at the cost of not only delaying the inevitable but also in postponing reconstruction.
It would require salemanship of epic proportion, but success would purchase for Shapiro and the Dolans just the type of confidence and public trust they seem to be in need of presently. Such a manuever as is proposed here would also have the organization parlaying a selling posture into a remarkable buying one, demonstrating this summer is not about surrender but serious reloading.
Positioning Matt Holliday into a lineup aside the likes of Grady Sizemore, Ben Francisco, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta and whatever else rounds out the '09 core would constitute a very formidable assemblage, particularly if RHS Adam Miller can yet fully emerge in Jake Westbrook's vacated rotational slot.
The pen would still be frightening, but that is what the off-season could be about.
As for now, Shapiro and the Dolans are encouraged to put effort into rekindling enthusiasm and faith in both their clubhouse and in their passionate fan base.
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That fans are frustrated is not difficult to comprehend. What is, however, is how those same fans can endorse daily use of a youngster like Andy Marte at 3b while resenting the platooning presence of Dellucci.
On the surface, it is easy to imagine retorts along the lines of: "Yeah, but Andy has upside and DD is old, dreadful and over-the-hill. We've seen enough of David but not enough of Andy."
Let's examine those points.
First of all, it has to be acknowledged that Marte may be someone the GM likes, but is not a piece relished by MGR Eric Wedge. How else to explain his presence on the roster but not in the lineup heretofore?
Secondly, Dellucci's production numbers compare quite favorably to those of rookie Francisco, whose contributions would surely not evoke comparable disdain. Sheer numbers cannot adequately represent any given player's relative value; for example, it is not always what someone does as when it is he does it.
Nonetheless, were DD given the 14 ABs he'd need to match Ben's, he'd further dent the five rbi and nine runs that separate them. Admittedly, Francisco's BA is 63 points higher than Dellucci's, but no baseball stat is quite as irrelevant---or at least over-rated. Again, it is the "when" component moreso than the "what."
Ben is most certainly the better talent, particularly at this point in their respective careers. He's better defensively, faster, has a stronger and more accurate arm, and his numbers don't reflect the HR and two rbi lost to an umpire's call. That is not the issue.
What is pertinent is Dellucci does not deserve to be maligned as strongly as he currently is. Not only has he produced two very significant three-run homers---off Joba Chamberlain in NY and in Texas during one of those slugfests---but he's been benched at points in the year when he was hottest, not exclusively due to inter-league play in NL parks.
What fans should accept is this period preceding the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is Cleveland's best (and last?) opportunity to audition Dellucci for contending scouts and GMs. In essence, just as Marte might disappoint but can be tolerated for his potential upside, Dellucci may not elicit favorable trade return, but then again he might. Only by playing such players can such conclusions be determined.
Moreover, fans seem not to be recognizing Wedge feels the periodic need for LH bats in the bottom half of his order. That need occurs when RHPs oppose his club. How else would you explain Shin-Soo Choo in the five hole?
Wedge is platooning in RF (Choo/Gutierrez) and at DH (Dellucci/Garko). Such an approach is liable to change once August arrives. Ideally, a trade or two might affect that configuration. Minimally, LH 1b Michael Aubrey could ascend to assume Dellucci's ABs, inasmuch as a decision about his longterm viability with the organization must be resolved soon.
After all, prospects with ability at 1b figure to have a say in whether LaPorta remains in LF or is employed by the Tribe in the infield, where he performed in the Futures Game and collegiately.
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It had been Hart's contention closers metaphorically fall from trees. "There always seems to be some mis-cast, hard-throwing starter who could be converted to effectiveness as a one-inning savior," might be Hart's characterization of the perspective.
That scenario was precisely the case for Jose Mesa, who became superb under Hart as Cleveland's closer in the mid-'90s. Dennis Eckersley and Jim Kern, to name just two with similar ties to the organization, previously made such transitions. On the other hand, Jason Davis and Fernando Cabrera demonstrate the method is without flaw.
What is certain is that Shapiro needs to find for his club a closer by Opening Day 2009. It would not appear that guy currently occupies an Indians' roster spot. Olympian Jeff Stevens perhaps projects as the team's best in-house candidate. This RH, who's lately been touching 96-97 mph in Buffalo, came over from Cinn in the Brandon Phillips deal, evidence a player-to-be-named-later can amount to something of importance.
A name to keep in mind is former Angels reliever Brandon Donnelly, the type of reclamation project Shapiro has indulged in. Bob Howry, Scott Sauerbeck, Rafael Betancourt and Kevin Millwood are a few who've rediscovered themselves with Cleveland previously.
Donnelly was promoted today to Buffalo, having overpowered bush-leaguers at the lower levels during his rehab. He's seasoned, hard-throwing, tough-minded and embodies an attack-first mentality.
What remains perplexing is the story of Rick Bauer, a RHR Mark identified in the spring as someone who would factor later. Bauer went Buffalo to close games and was successful in 15 of 17 chances, earning a promotion for the Rangers' series in Texas, a club for whom he'd formerly pitched relief.
Bauer was never tested in a closing opportunity. Nor was he ever asked to pitch merely one inning. He instead was used as a long man in blowouts, pitching multiple innings against both the Rangers and the Reds, surrendering runs, but not in his initial innings.
Therefore, it would seem as if his was a mis-handled candidacy, though we can't know what really happened on the inside. At least on the surface, it would seem Bauer not only should've been kept and auditioned exclusively as a closer---since Borowski's problems had already manifested---but he should've been kept around for more of this otherwise wasted summer.
It would be this writer's guess his difficulties may have involved off-the-field matters, though that is most certainly speculation.
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It may be redundant to say so, but it would seem both Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Garko would best serve the organization were they to convert to new positions---Peralta to 2b and Garko to catcher, though for Ryan that is simply a re-conversion. Both of their projected spots are areas of weakness organizationally.
If Jeff Kent can play 2b, JP certainly should manage. Doing so would not only open SS for Asdrubel Cabrera and do wonders to enhance what is supposedly a ballclub constructed around pitching, but it would leave open 3b for either Marte or whomever it is that ultimately satisfies that spot with a corner-infielder's power bat.
As for Garko, his job-sharing the backstop role with Kelly Shoppach would assure the club a fresh and an above-average hitter, even should Victor Martinez return to spend the balance of '08 at 1b. Ryan's D behind the plate is doubtlessly suspect, but he is not stellar at 1b, either, though there he certainly has shown a commitment to working at it. Would not a similar resolve create approximate compentency at catcher, while both deepening the roster and enhancing both his value and his marketability?
Since neither Jhonny nor Garko runs well, it would seem all the more advisable that they do all they can to fit seamlessly into the longterm fabric, so as to enable the brass to construct around them without disregard for such things as speed, range, flexibility and multi-dimensional athleticism.
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In what would surely be an obscure and unheralded exchange, 40-man roster occupant Brad Snyder, a former number-one pick who is nearly out of options, should maybe be offered for Oklahoma City's Nelson Cruz, outrighted after spring training by Texas.
A LH-hitting Bellevue (Ohio) native who played collegiately at Ball State, Snyder is talented enough to appear defensively anywhere in the OF but struggles to make contact. Cruz (6-3 230 and 28) cleared waivers in April and has done all he can at AAA, totalling 45 homers and 118 rbi in just over 440 ABs over parts of the past two seasons.
Evidentally, he no more figures in the Rangers' plans than does Snyder in Cleveland's.
Cruz started in CF for the PCL in this week's AAA All-Star game, hits RH and runs rather well, as his 21 steals attest. Hitting .341 with 16 doubles, 27 homers, 75 rbi, 54 BB and 72 K, Cruz' OBP is .443. Veteran Marlon Byrd edged Cruz for the final OF roster spot for Rangers' MGR Ron Washington, identifying Nelson as expendable.
The K's, the disparity between doubles and homers---figures which suggest homer-or-nothing moreso than consistent power---and the inability to stick at the MLB level argue that Cruz may be a 4-A guy and not a legit solution. But he would also figure to have a greater chance of helping Cleveland's varsity than will Snyder, who has scarsely separated from journeymen Jason Cooper and Jason Tyner.
With the Tribe last in batting vs. LHP, Cruz might help discourage southpaw success and better balance the Indians' order. While there is no arguing Cruz has the far superior AAA numbers, Snyder might have something hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo can work with in Texas, an upside Cruz apparently does not possess.
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As badly as things have been for the Tribe, imagine where they'd be without superb seasons for Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Francisco and Carroll---none of which could've been foreseen or relied upon.
With what remains of the season, clarity concerning Marte, Cabrera, Choo, Aubrey, Gutierrez and hurlers Miller, Edward Mujica, Jeremy Sowers and Juan Rincon should be managed. Of these, it might be Miller whose viability is most critical, for reasons stated earlier.
Choo has all the markings of a fourth OF, while Gut has appeared decidedly overmatched. Too much of the time, so has Marte, who seems to need a pitcher to toss something straight and mid-thigh on the outside half in order to make solid contact with his bat. Aubrey has too substantial a hitting profile to receive anything less than a full second-half audition, if only as a platooner.
Of these, Gutierrez is the most expendable because he would not figure to properly complement what figures to be the other two-thirds of Cleveland's OF---Sizemore and Francisco. Gut is not the powerful middle-of-the-order run-producer that unit would need. But, as has been written above, he possesses the skill set to interest some club in need of a gold-glove caliber CF who is both young and affordable.
That he has but three dingers, 18 rbi and 26 runs off 213 ABs argues that what was seen from him in '07 was largely aberration. For comparison's sake, Choo's numbers are 3, 18, 18 in only 107 ABs, with no one accusing the still-recovering (Tommy John surgery) Choo of being a sensation. Similarly, Cabrera's numbers approximate Gut's in 60 fewer ABs and with 17 fewer hits, production for which Asdrubel got himself demoted.
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