By Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
@jitribeinsider



Click to enlarge

Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout celebrates as he scores past Boston Red Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway, rear, on a hit by Torii Hunter during first inning of an baseball in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Two words.

Uttered at the right time in the right place by the right person — who knows how much Cleveland baseball history could have been altered?

On that early June 2009 afternoon, during the first round of Major League Baseball's June Draft, let us contemplate the potential repercussions had Indians scouting director Brad Grant, when asked to identify the team's selection with the 15th pick of the first round of that draft, uttered the following two words:

"Mike Trout."


This is not meant to pile on the Indians for missing on a once-in-a-generation potentially Hall of Fame-bound 21-year-old superstar — because on this the Indians are not alone.

Everyone missed on Trout, who wasn't selected by the Angels until the 25th pick of the first round of the 2009 draft.

Trout, in fact, wasn't even the first high school outfielder taken by the Angels in that draft. With the 24th pick, the pick right before they took New Jersey native Trout, the Angels selected a high school outfielder from Texas named Randal Grichuk.

It was only after they took Grichuk that the Angels drafted Trout.

Washington and Arizona both had two picks in the first round before Trout was picked, but neither team used either pick on Trout. One of Washington's picks, to be fair, was the unassailable first pick in the draft, Stephen Strasburg.

The point being, 24 names were called in the first round before that of the player who could become the 2012 American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. Continued...


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Instead of "Mike Trout," the name Brad Grant called as the 15th pick was Alex White, the University of North Carolina pitcher who was on the verge of what appeared to be a promising major-league career when the Indians traded him to Colorado as part of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade.

So while all the teams that passed on Trout are kicking themselves today, perhaps none of those teams could have benefitted more by selecting Trout, given what he's turned out to be — and appears capable of becoming — than the Indians.

First and foremost, if the Indians had drafted Trout, their lineup today would have at least one player capable of creating a buzz. Aside from not winning many games this year, the Indians are also a really boring team.

There's no star power, nobody on the roster you would still come to see even if the team was losing.

In addition to being arguably the best player in the American League, Trout is also the most exciting. He's Grady Sizemore in his prime — except he's faster, a better baserunner and a better hitter.

Another way to look at it: if Sizemore was still in his prime he'd be considered a poor man's Mike Trout. That's no knock on Sizemore, that's how great Trout's season has been.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, he'd be playing center field and hitting first or third in the lineup. The offense would be better because he'd be getting more hits, getting on base more times, stealing more bases, driving in more runs, and scoring more runs than any Indians player.

The pitching would be better because Trout would be doing all those offensive things — which would result in more run support for the pitchers — and he'd be running balls down in the outfield that no Indians outfielder can get to.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, they would not have signed Sizemore to a $5 million contract, which would have given them $5 million more with which to player shop last winter.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, they wouldn't have drafted Alex White, which might have made the Ubaldo Jimenez trade un-doable, which would have been a plus for the Indians for multiple financial and competitive reasons. Continued...


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If the Indians had drafted Trout, they would have had a cornerstone player around whom to build a team that would be more attractive to free agents.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, they would have been a more marketable and visible team nationally. There is value in that.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, left field wouldn't have been a problem this year because Michael Brantley would have played it all year.

If the Indians had drafted Trout, he would, even at age 21, be the face of the franchise now, and for at least the next five or six years. Because let's face it, who is the face of the franchise now?

Bottom line: No team in the majors could use Mike Trout more right now than the Indians, but they chose not to draft him — and so did almost every other team in the majors

One more "if". If Ingraham had a brain he would find a better subject to write about. Next article may be "if" major league baseball players really wanted to play in Cleveland.

Yeah, there is a great article.

I am concerned for Rusty. This losing is causing him to post irrationally.

If the Indians had drafted Trout he might have made it to Columbus by now!

On related note, the guy that drafted Trout for the Angels was fired:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/19987414/bane/rss

That Ingraham article was lousy. Not only is the IF stupid but Trout could have been a dozen other players in a dozen other drafts.

I think are scouts have pretty much sucked but that kind of hinsight is infantile.

Cleveland Indians hang on to beat Detroit, 3-2, in rare road victory

Updated: Monday, September 03, 2012, 9:26 PM


Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer

DETROIT -- Shin-Soo Choo leaned back in his chair in the noisy locker room, smacked his hands together as if he were removing dirt from a hard day's work, spread his arms wide and smiled.

"If we played like this all year, we'd have no problems," he said.

The Indians had just beaten Detroit, 3-2, on Monday afternoon in a taut, well-played game in front of 35,418 fans at Comerica Park. The Tigers, only hours before, completed a three-game sweep of Chicago to tie the White Sox for first place in the American League Central.

Letdown for the Tigers? Maybe, but it's September and there's no time to distinguish between one opponent and another because of what's on the line for Jim Leyland's team. Even if that foe happens to be the Indians, who went 5-24 in August and have lost 29 of their past 36 games.

Cleveland is the thorn in the Tigers' paw. The only race they have left to run is to try and stay out of last place, but they are 8-5 against Detroit with five games left in the season series.

Monday's victory was only the 15th in which the Indians have scored three or fewer runs. They did it by getting six strong innings from rookie right-hander Corey Kluber (1-3, 4.79 ERA) in his first big-league victory, three runs from an offense consisting of 11 singles and four stolen bases and three scoreless innings from a reshuffled bullpen.
Indians hang on to beat the Tigers, 3-2
Enlarge Associated Press Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder is hit by a Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber pitch as Lou Marson catches in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Indians hang on to beat Detroit, 3-2 gallery (14 photos)

The Indians were 0-6 in Kluber's first six starts since his recall from Class AAA Columbus. This time, when he got into trouble, he kept his cool and kept throwing all his pitches.

"I didn't get backed into a hole where I was continually in fastball counts," Kluber said.

Two critical double plays helped as well.

After Jason Kipnis scored on Alex Avila's passed ball in the first for a 1-0 lead, the Tigers tied it on Delmon Young's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the first. The bases were still loaded, but Kluber escaped when Brennan Boesch hit into a double play.

In the third, Choo singled, stole second and went to third on Avila's throwing error. Asdrubal Cabrera singled him home after fouling off six straight 3-2 pitches for a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers made it 2-2 in the fourth, as Kluber gave up three straight hits to start the inning. Young hit a leadoff double and went to third on Boesch's bloop single. Jhonny Peralta bounced a hit off the left-field fence as Young scored, but quick fielding by Ezequiel Carrera held Peralta to a single to keep the double play in order.

Did someone say double play? Avila sent a grounder to second for a 4-6-3.

"Ezequiel made a huge play in the game because of his speed," manager Manny Acta said.

The Indians took the lead for good in the seventh on Cabrera's sacrifice fly. Lou Marson singled with one out against lefty Darin Downs (1-1). He stole second and went to third when Downs loaded the bases by walking Choo and giving up a bloop single to Kipnis. Cabrera's sacrifice fly was his first of the season and gave him his first two-RBI game since the All-Star break.

Cabrera has 13 RBI since the break. He had 42 going into it.

Then it was time for the reshuffled bullpen. Rookie Cody Allen worked a scoreless seventh. Esmil Rogers pitched a scoreless eighth. Veterans Joe Smith and Tony Sipp were available, but the Indians are looking toward the future.

The ninth belonged to Vinnie Pestano because Chris Perez is still at home with his family after the birth of his daughter Saturday. Perez is scheduled to rejoin the team today.

Pestano gave up a leadoff double to Prince Fielder, but he retired Young on a dribbler in front of the plate. When he hit Boesch with an 0-2 pitch, Acta visited the mound.

"I told Manny this was going to take a long time if he was going to come out to talk every time I put a guy on base," Pestano said with a smile.

Pestano, fortified by Acta's message to attack and stop nibbling, struck out Peralta. That left Avila, who sent a grounder to the hole between first and second. Casey Kotchman dove and missed, but Kipnis, ranging from second, grabbed the ball and threw to Pestano for the final out.

"I just threw the glove up in front of me so I wouldn't get hit in the face," Pestano said after his second save.

Tribe adds 4 more to active roster: Vinnie Rottino is back; Cord Phelps for the first time this year after being named IL all-star team; John Maine a LHP with some big league experience; David Huff who had a terrible season, surrendering tons of homers and accumulating ERA over 5.

Left behind were SS Juan Diaz who had a very good AAA debut; and Lars Anderson who was terrible after being acquired from the Red Sox. They are both on the 40 man roster.

Tim Fedroff who had a terrific year in both Akron and Columbus would have to have been added to the 40 man roster, but it obviously makes a lot more sense to take a longer look at 32 year old Rottino.

This Front Office is truely amazing.

Vinny Rottino???

WTF

Fedroff should be given a shot how many utilty guys do we need?

Manny Acta plays a large role in these decisions. Acta was the main reason Shelley Duncan was on the team so long. Acta does not like LaPorta and Phelps.

Kearns too I guess.

Chris Perez Compares Indians’ and Tigers’ Ownership, Blasts Decision-Making
September 5, 2012 By Scott 13 Comments
In an interview with FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi, Cleveland Indians All-Star closer Chris Perez was asked to discuss the difference between his team and the Detroit Tigers. He obliged, and rather handsomely.

“Different owners,” said Perez. “It comes down to that. They (the Tigers) are spending money. He (Ilitch) wants to win. Even when the economy was down (in Detroit), he spent money. He’s got a team to show for it. You get what you pay for in baseball. Sometimes you don’t. But most of the time you do.”

The payroll of the Cleveland Indians is roughly $50 million shy of their division rival Tigers. When asked for specifics, Perez, once again, provided. The Indians, in contention near the All-Star break, went on to win five games in all of August due to an utter collapse by the pitching staff coupled with a relative inability to produce runs and now sit 15.5 games back in the AL Central.

“You can’t miss,” Perez said. “You have to be right. That’s why I say it’s not just ownership. They don’t make the trades. It’s the GMs. It goes hand in hand. The GMs can only spend the money the owners give them, but they pick who they spend it on or who they don’t. They pick. The owners don’t pick.

“Josh Willingham would look great in this lineup. They didn’t want to [pony] up for that last year. That’s the decision they make, and this is the bed we’re laying in.”
Perez has been a sounding board for the duration of the 2012 season on topics ranging from attendance woes to the Browns and LeBron James.

I agree with CP on this one. but I think he will be traded for his outspokenness.

Yeah there's only so much you can talk shit about your team till you get canned...sad as it is that is probably his plan.