Again, it isn’t just Perez’s bat that sucks. His defense is near the very bottom of the majors as well. The only thing he does is call a good game. Like nobody else can do that.

You have a lineup full of nice guys. Congrats. You also have a lineup that has scored 1 run in something like the last 26 innings too. Congrats.

Give me some assholes that can get on base please.

civ ollilavad wrote:
I must have learned how to dress with one hand when I broke my arm in college. Learned a few years ago while recovering from a broken pelvis that crutches do not work well on Miami Beach sand.

Lol, visualizing that matches my visualization of the Indians' season.

They're trying to make it through the season (beach) with crutches.

I discovered it made more sense to walk on the sidewalks and leave the beaches for others.
And by [pretty stretched] analogy, I think the Indians can leave the Central Division to the Twins and prepare for the latter part of the decade. We've been contenders for a pretty long stretch so stepping back Is not an inappropriate stance, but is disappointing, at least in part because they did not seem to do so intentionally. Putting a team on the field with no outfielders of average or above major league ability was bound to fail. Letting Michael Brantley go, when they could have signed him to a very reasonable deal relative to his ability was their white flag.

If they want to try out the younger guys on the roster and see what they can make of it, they should let go of CarGo and bring up Mercado.

Letting go of Kipnis for nothing sounds stupid but I read a good article on "sunk costs" recently that pointed out that eating a big salary is not stupid if the only alternative is PLAYING HIM. Then again, we don't have any obvious replacement to step in for Jason. The only prospect infielder in AAA is Chang and he's hitting about 145. At AA there's Ernie Clement who Tito likes but he's on the DL.

Bobby Bradley 1B/DH is worth a shot. Do we trade Santana?

All the rest of the really good prospects are about 18 or 19 years old.

Mercado will come up once his time will not cost the Indians a year of his service. First or second week of June. Nothing new here.

rusty - unless you have updated rules (good luck, it's incredibly confusing) I think that approximated date has changed.

There's been a flurry of new guys called up on all teams and nowadays I believe it's late April for the service time thing

TFIR is right, the date was like last week, when you saw Guerrero and Tatis and all those young prospects come up. (May have been week before. When you work midnights you lose track of time)

What's not to like about Mercado?

At the very least he's right handed, covers tons of ground, steals bases. And at the very most.....

This kid has a great ceiling as a unique ACTUAL leadoff type guy. If Lindor insists on leadoff fine, then bat him 2nd.

Look, the Yandy trade is (short term for sure)looking disasterous. Perhaps the Mercado trade is the opposite.

Stand corrected. Looks like the date was in April. Need 175 days.

I'd call the Yandy trade disappointing, not quite disastrous. Bauers has some offensive skills that could improve. Yandy has surprised the heck out of me with his homeruns.
Mercado cost us Conner Capel and a teen age fireballer. We won't know if we gave up anything valuable for a long time on that one.
JefryR and DJohnson for Gomes may be a fair deal for both sides.

The Yandy deal is certainly disappointing in the short run.

The Tribe definitely realized Bauers was more of a long term project and perhaps considered his ceiling higher. And of course his athleticism translates to stolen bases, infield hits and the ability to play outfield.

So more time is certainly needed there to see how much of that potential Bauers unlocks.

Look, if they BOTH turn out good, works for me every day.

One ex-Indian I'm very pleased to see doing well is Gio Urshela. I was a big fan from his days with the Scrappers and hoped his hitting could come close to matching his high quality defense. He's having a heck of a solid month with the Yankees but its likely Andujar will put him back on the bench. But maybe some other team will want to give him a regular job.

Debate over Cleveland Indians’ Yandy Diaz-Jake Bauers trade getting hotter


Updated May 10, 9:27 PM; Posted May 10, 9:21 PM
Jake Bauers made his 22nd start in left field on Friday night when the Indians opened a three-game series against the A's at the Coliseum.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND – Fans into arguing the merits of the December trade that brought Jake Bauers to the Indians and sent Yandy Diaz to the Rays have certainly had a lot to discuss of late.

Here’s how the stats look headed into Friday’s games:

* Bauers: .257 (28-for-109), 34 games, four doubles, three homers, 12 RBI, 15 runs and a .715 OPS.

* Diaz: .262 (32-for-122), 33 games, eight doubles, seven homers, 18 RBI, 22 runs and a .875 OPS.


Diaz still has an edge, but the race is starting to tighten. Maybe, just maybe, it’s an indication that it’s going to take a while for this deal to sort itself out.

Bauers, in his last 21 games, is hitting .323 (21-for-65) with two doubles, two homers and nine RBI. He’s drawn nine walks and scored nine runs.

In Thursday’s 5-0 rain-shortened win over the White Sox, he stepped into the Way-Back Machine to channel Kenny Lofton against Randy Johnson and the Mariners in the 1995 ALCS. Yes, he scored from second base on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.

Third base coach Mike Sarbaugh was waving Bauers home, but he never hesitated as Manny Banuelos’ wild pitch hit the backstop and shot toward the Chicago dugout.


“Sarbie was helping him,” said manager Terry Francona. “But that’s why we want guys to run with their heads up. It doesn’t mean you watch the ball the whole way. But you need to know what’s going on so you can be a smart baserunner.

“You start pulling into bases at 100 mph with your head down, you’re going to make a mistake somewhere.”

Said Sarbaugh, “I was hoping I could help him out to where the ball shot to. I haven’t talked to him, but when he was getting to third, I’m sure he picked up where the ball was. It was a good move. He never hesitated.


“That might be the first ball I’ve ever seen do that (at Progressive Field). It hit the crease of the padding behind the plate and shot that way. You usually don’t see it do that. It usually comes right back and sometimes it comes back too hard (to prevent the runner from advancing). It was good for us because the catcher (James McCann) was going back looking for it in an area and didn’t see it right away.”

Bauer, besides scoring on the wild pitch, doubled and walked twice. He’s struck out 28 times, but has drawn 14 walks. His slash line is .257/.339/.376.

Friday night Bauers started in left field Friday night against the A’s. He’s made three starts at first, 22 in left and nine at DH.

“We like his overall game,” said hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. “He’s a young player who has a good eye at the plate. He’s a good outfielder, a very good first baseman and runs the bases well. We just felt he fit our club well.”

He’s hitting .283 (13-for-46) with runners on base and .292 (7-for-24) with runners in scoring position.

Bauers, 23, played 96 games with the Rays last year. He hit .201 (65-for-323) with 22 doubles, 11 homers and 48 RBI. He struck out 104 times and drew 54 walks.

Cleveland Indians: Reasons to worry . . . but not panic? Let’s talk – Terry Pluto

Updated 8:54 AM; Today 5:00 AM

Jordan Luplow is a career .302 hitter in Class AAA. He should be getting a chance to prove himself as a big leaguer in Cleveland.
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer

ABOUT THE SEASON

QUESTION: Terry Francona said there’s no reason to panic. Is he right?

ANSWER: A manager is never supposed to say there is a reason to panic. One of Mike Hargrove’s lines when he managed the Tribe was, “I’m concerned, but not worried.”


Q: What’s that’s supposed to mean?

A: I really don’t know. The Indians had a 20-17 record heading in Saturday. So Francona says he’s going not to panic -- even though his team is either last or second last in the American League in batting average (.220), HR, doubles, OPS (.646) and runs scored.

Q: Did they expect the offense to struggle?

A: Struggle ... yes. Collapse as in a .220 team batting average? As in scoring one or zero runs in 10 of their first 37 games? They never expected that. And odds are, it can’t stay that awful all year...

Q: Are you sure?

A: Yes, I predict they’ll finish with a higher team batting average than .220. In fact, it will be higher than .230. How is that for being bold? And I’m still worried.

Q: About the hitting?

A: About the rotation. You know about the injuries to Corey Kluber (broken arm) and Mike Clevinger (back). They need an elite rotation to make up for the lack of hitting. But most of all, I’m alarmed by their record in the Central Division.

Q: What is it?

A: It’s 6-9. In the previous three years, they had records of 49-27, 50-26 and 49-26 in the Central. It’s why they shredded the competition. The first-place Twins are 6-1 in the Central. The Indians are 1-2 vs. the Twins. There are a lot of games left with the division’s top two teams.



Q: Do they have trouble against lefties?

A: That’s sort of true. They are 16-12 vs. right-handed starters compared to 4-5 vs. lefties. But here is the strange part: They are batting .226 vs. lefties and .216 vs. righties.

Q: So they don’t hit anyone?

A: Pretty much. Jordan Luplow hit two homers on Thursday. The Indians promoted him instead of Oscar Mercado. Their thinking was this: Luplow is a career .302 hitter in Class AAA. He started slow in Cleveland (3-for-15, 8 Ks), was sent back to the minors. He batted .354 for Columbus.

Q: And he’s a right-handed hitter.

A: Exactly. He’s 25 years old. The Pirates gave him a few quick looks in 2017 and 2018 (.194 in 170 at-bats). He was sent up and down from the minors by the Pirates six times in the previous two years. The Indians like him as a platoon outfielder who can play all three positions. There is nothing left to prove in Class AAA, so give him a chance is how the Indians view it.


Q: What about Oscar Mercado?

A: He’s a fluid right-handed hitter capable of playing center field. He is batting .302 (.909 OPS) with 3 HR, 14 stolen bases at Columbus. They want to give Luplow the first shot. My guess Mercado’s chance will come sooner rather than later.


Q: Any hope for Jake Bauers?

A: Like Luplow, he had a poor spring training and got off to a lousy start with the Tribe. The Indians kept him in the majors, and Bauers has started to hit. In the last 15 games, he’s batting .319 (.791 OPS). The Indians like his outfield defense. Overall, he’s batting .254 (.711 OPS) with 3 HR and 13 RBI. It was impressive to see him score from second base on a wild pitch a few days ago.

Q: What about Yandy Diaz?

A: My baseball heart was broken when he was part of the 3-way deal between Tampa Bay and Seattle. That deal brought Carlos Santana and Bauers to Cleveland. Yandy was hot early in the season for the Rays. Overall, he’s batting .262 (.884 OPS) with 7 HR and 18 RBI. He’s 5-for-32 in May. I wonder if his quest for power has messed up his swing a bit. He hit .312 in part-time duty with the Tribe last year, the knock on him being his lack of homers.


Q: Any hope for Jose Ramirez?

A: Maybe. He has reached base in the last 19 games, batting .270 in that span. He’s drawing walks, showing a little more discipline. We can talk about Bauers, Luplow and other young hitters. But if this offense is going to wake up, it has to be motored by Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis and Ramirez. Those are the most-experienced and highest-paid hitters.

Jefry Rodriguez has surprised the Tribe with how well he has pitched this season. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)
cleveland.com

Jefry Rodriguez has surprised the Tribe with how well he has pitched this season. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

ABOUT THE TRIBE

1. Jefry Rodriguez (0-2, 2.41 ERA in three starts) has pitched better than the Indians expected. Rodriguez opened the 2018 season in Class AA for Washington. He was moved up quickly, and had a 3-3 record and 5.71 ERA for the Nationals.

2. The Tribe thought it would be best if the 25-year-old had steady duty as a Class AAA starter. But the injuries to Kluber and Clevinger have led to him being in the big leagues. He was rated the No. 8 prospect in the Nationals farm system when he came to the Tribe in the Yan Gomes deal last winter.

3. Also in the Gomes trade was outfielder Daniel Johnson, who had a strong spring training. He’s hitting .240 (.787 OPS) with 4 HR and 19 RBI at Class AA Akron. Another prospect the Indians received for Gomes was utility infielder Andruw Monasterio. He was battting .333 (19-for-57) when he went on the disabled list with an oblique injury at Akron. He doesn’t have much power (three extra base hits), but is doing well for a 21-year-old at the Class AA level.


4. The Indians have been preaching patience with Bobby Bradley, their third-round pick in the 2014 draft. It feels as if he’s been with organization forever, but he won’t turn 23 until May 29. He is batting .313 (.973 OPS) with 7 HR and 21 RBI at Class AAA. A concern is 41 strikeouts in 115 at bats. But the first baseman has big-league power.

5. Greg Allen is batting .262 (.787 OPS) since going back to Columbus. He opened the season with the Tribe and was 4-for-38. That was a surprise. Allen has speed. He batted .310 after the All-Star break last season. The Indians still could use him because he’s a switch hitter who can play all three outfield positions.

The Diaz Bauers debate will go on for years. We'll know the winner around 2020.

I agree, at the very least we need a full year of Bauers. Certainly interesting potentials that are already showing.

Like his athleticism/speed, his ability to go the other way, his patience, his position versatility. But by any measure Yandy is further along but is also older so that's not too shocking.

In addition, by the way, I would vastly rather have Santana then EE at this point in their careers. He's cheaper, but also younger and better and signed for 2 years. So there's that.