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Yan Gomes' secret? Beet juice: Cleveland Indians Insider


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Maybe it was the beet juice.

Catcher Yan Gomes not only hit the game-winning homer in the 10th inning Monday to give the Indians a 10-8 victory over Seattle, he hit another homer in the second and a single in the fourth.

From behind the plate, Gomes went 2-for-4 throwing out potential base stealers, erasing Michael Saunders in the fourth and Brendan Ryan in the seventh. In the third, he took Nick Swisher's throw from first and tagged out Roberto Andino, who was trying to score from third.

"He played a very good game," said manager Terry Francona. "He threw the ball extremely well. His at-bats speak for themselves."

Gomes is hitting .302 (16-for-53) with 10 runs. Half of his 16 hits, including four homers, have gone for extra bases.

Asked what he'd eaten before the game: "I drank a bottle of beet juice. I guess I'll keep drinking that."

Gomes, 25, who came to the Tribe with Mike Aviles last November in a trade with Toronto, has thrown out six of the 10 base runners he's faced.

Nasty Masty: Justin Masterson was named American League Player of the Week on Monday after throwing 16 straight scoreless innings in consecutive victories against the Yankees and Mariners.

Masterson struck out 20, walked five and allowed seven hits in two starts. He beat the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader on May 13 with a three-hit shutout and threw seven scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over Seattle on Sunday.

He is the first Indians pitcher to win the award since CC Sabathia in 2008.

Minislump: Closer Chris Perez has allowed three homers in his past two appearances. Endy Chavez took him deep Monday to start the ninth inning and give Seattle a 7-6 lead.

"I don't know if mentally I've changed my mechanics since I went through that little shoulder hiccup a week or two ago," said Perez. "I'm not one to look at a lot of video, but I will definitely get in there and see if I can pick up anything.

"It's a little slump. A minislump. It happens once or twice a year. You just have to keep grinding and keep pitching and get through it."

Perez is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA with six saves in seven chances. He has 18 strikeouts and seven walks in 16 innings. Four of the 13 hits he's allowed have been homers.

Testing, testing: Catcher Lou Marson (right shoulder) has been playing catch on a daily basis trying to strengthen his shoulder.

"I've got to do a lot throwing until my shoulder feels right," said Marson. "In spring training, I've got to throw a lot to get it to feel right. That's where I'm at right now."

Marson has been on the disabled list since April 25 with soreness in the shoulder.

Three up, three down: For the first time in his career, lefty Rich Hill pitched three straight games in three consecutive days.

From 2005 through 2009, Hill was a starter for the Cubs and Baltimore. Elbow problems, which ended in Tommy John surgery in 2011, resulted in a move to the bullpen.

Hill made six relief appearances in 2010, nine in 2011 and 25 last year. This year he's made 16 appearances for the Tribe, including pitching three consecutive days Friday through Sunday.

"My arm feels great and I'm just not saying that to throw it out there," he said. "The ball has been coming out well. I just want to continue to do the stuff to stay ready so I can go out there and pitch when I'm asked."

Don't forget: With Scott Kazmir turning in his shortest start of the season Monday, Francona turned to Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw to bridge the gap. They combined to throw four innings, allowing one run on two hits and five strikeouts.

"That should not be overlooked," said Francona. "They gave us a chance."

Finally: ESPN's "Mike and Mike" radio show will broadcast live Wednesday morning from Progressive Field. Cleveland native Mike Golic and his partner, Mike Greenberg, will host the show.

Greenberg will throw out the first pitch for tonight's game between the Tigers and Indians.

J.R. wrote:indians-closer-chris-perez-deletes-his-twitter-account/

http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/2013/ ... r-account/

Probably for the best. #1 to keep him from running off at the mouth via twitter, not that he needs that. And to keep the negative stuff out.

I firmly believe that while various aspects of social networking have increased our ability to communicate (this forum for example) things like twitter may well be the undoing of civilization.

Nope. Communication of any sort is always good and healthy.

Hiding behind the communication could be problematic.

Baron, when you next get down here to Southwest Florida, let me know and I'll get you a great rate at my fave "5 Star" resort or my fave "who cares beachfront motel" on Fort Myers Beach.

I still think Mark Shapiro sucks, and this early nice start is an anomaly.

If I am wrong, I'll jump on the bandwagon again in the autumn.

And I deleted my facebook account today. Probably for the best.

Trade of the year? Gomes and Aviles for Rogers


TONY LASTORIA |
Published: Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 10:31am | 1 Comment



The Indians signings of free agents Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn got most of the attention this past offseason.

The hiring of Terry Francona as manager was also big news, and Cleveland even made headlines on the trade front with the three team, nine player deal that netted them Trevor Bauer and several other key pieces to the 2013 ball club.

But of all the moves the Indians made in the offseason, the best move may have been when they traded middle reliever Esmil Rogers to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder Mike Aviles and catcher Yan Gomes.

The Rogers for Aviles and Gomes trade came on the heels of the Francona hiring and was the Indians’ opening salvo into what looks like an offseason of dreams considering how many of their moves have worked out well to this point.

At the time, the Indians were flush with right-handed middle relief and setup options with Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, and Cody Allen, so they pulled from an area of strength and dealt Rogers for two pieces they sorely needed: a utility infielder that could start and a major league-ready catcher with some promise both offensively and defensively.

To date, Rogers is 1-2 with a 5.95 ERA in 20 appearances for the Blue Jays, and in 19.2 innings has a 1.63 WHIP. He is only averaging five strikeouts per nine innings. The Indians have more than adequately replaced him with the pickup of right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw from the Diamondbacks in the Trevor Bauer trade.

The art of flipping assets is something that has avoided the Indians in recent years; however, the Rogers deal is a clear example that this trend may have reversed. The Indians bought Rogers from the Rockies last season, and he pitched well the last half of the season. Because of the depth at the position they were able to flip him for immediate needs and replace him with a better pitcher in Shaw.

That is an example of a front office that was on top of their game in the offseason.

Gomes has really impacted this team with his bat and defense behind the plate. The 25-year old has developed a strong apport with the pitching staff and has settled in nicely as one of the more important cogs of the Indians 1-through-25 approach to their 25-man roster.

Gomes came with some high regard because of his catch and throw skills and some power in his bat, but was considered an unfinished product defensively. Those question marks have dissipated in the early-going this season, and his catch and throw skills have been on full display as he has thrown out 7 of 11 attempted base stealers (63.6%). He has shown some of his power potential with 8 of his 16 hits going for extra bases. The young catcher has, so far, piled up a .642 slugging percentage.

On Monday afternoon, he did it all. Gomes showed his defense with a great block at the plate late in the game to save a run. He showed his impressive quick release by gunning down two runners on the basepaths. And he showed his impact potential with the bat by pounding out three hits and two home runs, one of which was the game winning three-run homer in the 10th inning.

Gomes has grown in popularity not only with the Indians brass, but with the fan base as well. Lou Marson has been the backup catcher for a few years now and, while he has been a solid defensive catcher, he leaves a lot to be desired with his offense. Gomes, on the other hand, brings some solid defense, some versatility to play a few other positions, and most importantly he can hit.

Overall, Gomes has still only played in 17 games and in just 53 at bats is hitting .302 with four homers, nine RBI and .951 OPS. The sample size may be extremely small, but the quality of his at bats has been there.

Gomes has proven he deserves to stay in Cleveland once Marson is eligible to come off the disabled list from his right shoulder injury.

At that point, the Indians will have an interesting dilemma. They will have to decide hether they should option out Gomes or try to get Marson through optional waivers so they can option him to Triple-A Columbus. Marson is the veteran and it is often said a player should never lose their spot because of an injury... but if Gomes keeps playing like this then the Indians will have no choice but to keep him in Cleveland.

The Indians will cross that bridge when they get to it as there is no timetable as to when Marson will even return. Likely, his days with the Indians are numbered anyway. Whether he is traded at some point this season or is non-tendered in the offseason (a more likely scenario), he very likely will not be a member of the Indians organization past this season.

Gomes is the future at catcher for the Indians, either as a regular or the backup to Carlos Santana. He has shown that future is now.

The other player in the deal, Aviles, has since provided the Indians with an invaluable solution in the utility infielder role, a badly needed missing part over the past few seasons since Jamey Carroll left the organization.

Aviles is a good defender at shortstop and has the versatility to play third base, second base and left field as well. His bat is solid and putting Aviles in the lineup does not lead to a big drop off in production when he replaces a regular.

The trade of Rogers for Aviles and Gomes was minor in that it was just a middle reliever for two bench players, but the one-sidedness of the deal should be underscored.

The impact both have made to date off the bench has been huge. Score another one for the front office.

That is an example of a front office that was on top of their game in the offseason.


Yet we are told here repeatedly that they are idiots!??

If you think you have a chance to win the division, you have to make some decisions that are made with your head and not with your heart or pocketbook.

The designated cheerleader, Giambi, should be released. It's obvious, to even the casual fan, he's no longer a major league player.

Release or trade David Huff. Tough to see another first round pick down the drain.

Release or trade Cord Phelps. No idea why they called him up.

Release or trade Lou Marson. No need for him anymore .

Put Brett Myers on the 60 day DL or release him. They're eating his contract. Awful signing.

Let's see if Antonetti has the stones to move the non-producers.

Who is next after Marson on the catching depth chart?

The designated cheerleader, Giambi, should be released. It's obvious, to even the casual fan, he's no longer a major league player.

Seagull! You just made Rusty's Loser List.

No, unlike you, Sea just posted an opinion. He will not post it 10 more times.

Do I agree ? No. Giambi plays a very big role on this team even if he hits .200.

Amazing that everyone feels that Francona is the difference from last year. Francona feels that Giambi is a very important part of this team. Case closed.

Tony Lastoria ‏@TonyIBI 3h

Reason I say Huff is done with Indians is b/c he must be DFAed and as a 2nd time outright can decline and elect FA (he will).


Tony Lastoria ‏@TonyIBI 3h
Huff was clearing out his locker last night. Likely a sign he is being removed from the roster today. If so, his time is done w/ Indians.

BOSTON -- Jason Giambi is 42 and in an 0-for-26 slump. Just don't ask manager Terry Francona if Giambi's age and the slump go hand-in-hand.

" Bleep, no," said Francona. "I'll tell you what, ask me that when he's 44. I think he's got himself in a position lately where his bat speed is better. He was battling a (stiff) neck for a while and getting in position where he couldn't show his bat speed.

"I actually think he's feeling better about himself. I think that's why he's mad."

Giambi took an 0-for-4 Friday night in the Indians' 8-1 loss to Boston. He's hitting .150 (9-for-60) with three doubles, two homers and 12 RBI. He's struck out 16 times and walked eight times.

"The saving grace is that before he steps in the batter's box, he's already valuable," said Francona. "I know he's not happy with where his batting average is. But he's smart enough to know what he can do.

"He's not going to sulk around here. You watch, he'll get some hits and help us win a game. It's just that he has to put up with the aggravation of looking at his batting average right now. He's strong enough to do that."

Giambi has played 18 games.





Tito.....don't join the rest of the morons that deny, deny, deny something that is slapping you in the face.

Loyalty turns to stupidity the longer this goes on.

David Huff scarfed up the Yankees. Release Ben Francisco to make room for him.

The designated cheerleader, Giambi, should be released. It's obvious, to even the casual fan, he's no longer a major league player. Pinch hit homer was a nice example of at least occasional assistance he provides.

Release or trade David Huff. Tough to see another first round pick down the drain.
He's gone

Release or trade Cord Phelps. No idea why they called him up.
Only other option at Columbus on the 40-man roster is Fedroff. But I agree, Phelps offers nothing.

Release or trade Lou Marson. No need for him anymore .
Who is next after Marson on the catching depth chart?
No one really. A couple of career minor leaguers in AAA, Santos and I forget the LH hitter's name we picked up in April. Roberto Perez at Akron is a said to be a very good defender whose offense consists mainly of drawing a lot of walks.

Put Brett Myers on the 60 day DL or release him. They're eating his contract. Awful signing.
Good news: he has a setback in his rehab. Not going anywhere soon.
One bad signing, but set against several very good ones. No one's perfect