Cleveland Sports Forum

AP

CLEVELAND -- Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore is hoping to rejoin the team in June.


Sizemore
The three-time All-Star is on the disabled list for the seventh time in four years. He jogged around Progressive Field before Cleveland played the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

Sizemore had surgery on his lower back on March 1. He got hurt early in spring training while rehabbing from right knee surgery in October.

The 29-year-old Sizemore missed only nine games from 2005 to 2008, but has since had hernia surgery and operations on both knees and his left elbow. He played in only 33 games in 2010 and 71 a year ago.

Fat chance.

You would think that you might stay away from the predictions for a little while but nope.

Pardon me?

Tony Lastoria on lots of topics including Jiminez, Sizemore, Kotchman, Pomeranz

What to do with Jimenez
Another start, another maddeningly, frustrating performance by right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. Dr. Jeckyll, meet Mr. Hyde.

After a very encouraging start last Sunday against the vaunted Rangers where Jimenez went 7.0 shutout innings and allowed just two hits, walked five batters, and struck out six, he was back to his customary inconsistent self on Friday against the Red Sox. He was all over the place and could not locate anything, and the result was seven runs allowed in 4.1 innings on nine hits and five walks while striking out four.

Jimenez, 28, is now 3-3 with a 5.18 ERA in 7 starts this season, and has a horrific 30 walks in 40.0 innings with only 24 strikeouts. Whenever a pitcher is walking more batters than he strikes out, and on top of that is walking 6.8 batters every nine innings, that’s not good and is not giving his team a chance to win every time out.

Right the Indians are limited by what they can do with Jimenez. He has over three years of service time and does not have any options remaining, so they can’t just send him to the minors to get himself fixed. Yes, they sent right-hander Fausto Carmona to the minors in 2009, but he had an option remaining and had under three years of Major League service time, so the situation was different.

The way things stand the Indians have four options to choose from with Jimenez.

One, they could simply designate Jimenez for assignment. By doing this they would effectively be letting him go as he could be picked up off waivers by another team, and even if he went unclaimed he could declare free agency. While this may be an option, there is no way the Indians are going this route considering the price they paid to acquire him and the talent he possesses but is unable to tap into.

Second, they could just keep Jimenez in the rotation and continue to work with him in his side sessions, go over video with him, and use every resource available to hopefully get things to click with him. He is a mental and mechanical mess right now, so I am not sure just sending him out there every fifth day is the right solution as he needs time to step away and really break down his mechanics and build himself back up. It is hard to do that when you are being relied upon to pitch every fifth day.

Third, they could always move Jimenez to the bullpen where he can get limited action in long relief. This would allow them to remove him from the rotation and really work on him behind the scenes and then work him in during mop up duty of games where the starter only goes three to four innings. The problem with this is it would limit the Indians to essentially using a 24-man roster since while working on things his use would have to be limited.

Which brings us to option number four: putting him on the disabled list. Now, this is a tricky thing as unlike the minors where players can be put on the disabled list for phantom injuries for as long as a team wants, this really can’t be done in the big leagues. For one, the league polices it, and also players don’t want to go on the disabled list when they are not hurt as it could hurt their future earnings.

So, to put Jimenez on the disabled list, the Indians are going to have to get creative and find something wrong with him that they can put him on the 15-day disabled list for an injury that would both be realistic and also not be a red flag for teams that consider signing (or trading for) him in the future. Heck, maybe there really is something wrong physically, and if so, then he and the team should take advantage of it to shut him down for a few weeks.

At the moment I do not sense any urgency by the Indians to get Jimenez out of the rotation, but they surely have to be nearing a boiling point. When you are contending you simply can’t stand for the outings he has put forth this season. If right-hander Jeanmar Gomez were pitching like Jimenez has to date, Gomez would have been optioned out to the minors three to four starts ago.

The options on the farm to replace Jimenez are limited, but could they really be any worse at this point? The top three options to replace him in the rotation – if it gets to that point – would be right-handers Kevin Slowey and Zach McAllister or left-hander David Huff. Considering the solid start McAllister had in a spot start against the White Sox on Monday (6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K), he would probably be the first option.

It is time to shut Jimenez down for his and the team’s own well-being. He needs a chance to take a step back and collect himself, and the team needs a chance to take a step forward with a pitcher every fifth day that consistently gives them a chance to win.


Sizemore nears return
[until he suddenly is shut down with another injury]

Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore is nearing a return to the team. On Tuesday he worked out at Progressive Field and did some running and agility drills on the field, and then threw some long toss. It is the next step in his gradual progression in the recovery from a procedure to repair a herniated disk in his back on March 1st.

Sizemore, 29, has also been hitting balls off a tee and is expected to progress to soft toss and live batting practice this week when the team returns home on Wednesday. With each step in his rehab process he moves a little closer to a return to the lineup, though there is still a long way to go.

Right now the target for Sizemore’s return is mid-June. Since he is on the 60-day disabled list, the earliest he can be activated is June 3rd, but it would appear to be too optimistic that he would be ready by that date. Once he is cleared to play he will need to go on a minor league rehab assignment and the Indians will probably give him close to the full 20 days allowed to make sure he is 100% and ready to go not only physically, but with his bat as well.

Assuming all continues to go well with Sizemore’s rehab and he does not have any hiccups he would help bolster a lineup in desperate need of a punch. If he is able to return it will be interesting to see what the Indians do with the recently signed Johnny Damon, though at the moment Damon is making that decision easy with his poor play.

But if Damon’s play picks up between now and mid-June and Sizemore is healthy and ready to return, I could very well see a situation where both are on the team. Sizemore can no longer play every day and will need his workload monitored, and Damon is not an everyday player going forward either.

I could see Sizemore sharing center field duties with Michael Brantley and also seeing some time in left field, Damon playing left field and some time at designated hitter, and Brantley playing all three outfield positions as a super fourth outfielder (which means Aaron Cunningham would be gonzo). With such a rotation, Brantley could play five to six days a week, Sizemore four to six days a week, and Damon four to five days a week. [Which would leave us with all LH outfielders.]

Wild first base ideas

Indians first baseman Casey Kotchman has played a little better of late, but his numbers are still nowhere close to respectable for an everyday player. He is a very sound defender and has saved the Indians many runs with his defense at first base, but he has just as easily cost the Indians several runs with the poor production in his bat.

Unfortunately, the Indians are probably not going to be able to “fix” the problem at first base with a trade until closer to the July 31st deadline. Hopefully by then Kotchman is playing better, or an internal option fills in and does a good job.

At the moment the Indians internal options are Matt LaPorta and Russ Canzler who are both playing at Triple-A Columbus. Shelley Duncan would appear to be an option as well, but he has already proved he is not an everyday player and he is a below average defender at first base, so the Indians are not inclined to use him there unless in an emergency.

LaPorta got off to a hot start in Columbus but he has cooled considerably this month and he has not been able to hit anywhere outside of Huntington Park. He is still not ready to return to Cleveland. Canzler is a human windmill in Columbus where he is striking out basically once every three times he steps up to the plate, and he is proving to be the journeyman four-A player a lot of people thought he was prior to his big season last year for Triple-A Durham.

So what other options do the Indians have internally at first base?

What about third baseman Jack Hannahan? Once Lonnie Chisenhall is ready to come up, the Indians may explore playing Hannahan at first base in order to keep his bat in the lineup and also to get Chisenhall’s promising bat in the lineup as well. The Indians would lose some defense with Chisenhall at third base, but would gain much more offensive firepower with him in the lineup rather than Kotchman. Plus, Hannahan should be able to handle first base almost as well as Kotchman, a position he does have some limited experience at in the past with 69 career games there between minors and big leagues.

Another off the wall idea would be to put Sizemore at first base. Now, this would not be an option for this season as he would need a full offseason and spring training to adapt to the position since he has never played it, but it may be a position the Indians or a team that signs him next season considers playing him at. It would keep him healthier by removing him from all the rigors and pounding his legs and body take patrolling the outfield and also take his poor arm out of the equation.

If Sizemore can still hit, then why not try it? Like I said, it is a wild and crazy idea.

Blake is the gift that keeps on giving

Former Indians third baseman Casey Blake recently retired. He leaves after a 13-year career where he played in 1265 games and hit .264 with 167 homers, 616 RBI, and .778 OPS in his career. Not too bad for a minor league castoff that played in three different organizations before signing with the Indians prior to the 2003 signing on a minor league deal.

Given a chance to play every day with the Indians in 2003, Blake became a core piece to the team from 2004-2008 when they competed for the AL Central crown on a yearly basis and in two seasons were serious World Series contenders. In six years with the Indians he hit .266 with 116 homers, 417 RBI and .787 OPS in 810 games, production that was often maligned because of a poor 2005 season where he was awful hitting with runners in scoring position (.171 AVG, .491 OPS).

For what the Indians paid Blake and how he performed over his entire career, he was a solid piece to those teams from 2003-2008 and was a very under-rated Indian. Even for those that may disagree on his true value to the team during that period, one thing is certain, and that is every time Carlos Santana steps onto the field all Indians fans are happy that Blake was once an Indian.

The reason being is back in July of 2008 the Indians traded Blake to the Dodgers for Santana, who was a little known catcher in High-A at the time. Since then Santana became one of the best prospects in baseball, and is now an integral piece to the Indians future and arguably the face of the franchise the next several years.

So thanks for the memories Blake, congrats on carving out a solid career, and oh yeah, thanks for Santana too.

Roster shakeup

Prior to the game on Saturday the Indians scratched right-hander Josh Tomlin from his scheduled start. An MRI on Saturday revealed that he has inflammation of the soft tissue in his wrist, so he was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 8th. He will be eligible to come off on May 23rd, so he will miss two more starts.

With Tomlin sidelined, the Indians called up right-hander Zach McAllister to make the start last night and he pitched a solid game going 7.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, but did not walk anyone and had 8 strikeouts. He is expected to stay up with the team and assume Tomlin's spot in the rotation which he is out.

The Indians also made a change to their bench as infielder Jason Donald was optioned to Triple-A Columbus and infielder Jose Lopez was called up from Columbus. Lopez had been designated for assignment back on May 1st when Johnny Damon was added to the roster and then he was outrighted to Columbus, so he was not on the 40-man roster.

With the purchase of his contract the Indians had to remove a player off the 40-man roster to make room for the addition of Lopez, so the Indians design[at]ed Double-A Akron outfielder Nick Weglarz for assignment. The Indians have ten days to trade, release or outright him to the minors. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he will have no choice but to accept an outright assignment to the minors by the Indians and would still be their property for the rest of the season.

Tainted record

The Red Sox got exposed a little this week when a recent local newspaper study found that they were manipulating their ongoing sellout streak which is over 700 consecutive games now. Teams are able to declare a game a sellout even if all tickets are not sold if they distribute unsold tickets for free to charity and others, which sometimes can be in excess of 1000 or more tickets a game.

This is nothing new as all teams do this. The Indians did it at the tail end of their streak of 455 sellouts where games in April and May in 1999 and 2000 were not technically sold out but they were able to manipulate the streak by giving away tickets. Otherwise the streak would have probably ended in the low 300s.

Parting shots

The Rockies have optioned former top Indians prospect left-hander Drew Pomeranz to Triple-A. In five starts he was 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA, and they sent him down in order to work on some delivery issues. … Right-handed reliever Vinnie Pestano has now struck out at least one batter in each of his 16 appearances this season. That is the longest streak to start a season for an Indians reliever since 1918, and bested the mark held by Doug Jones in 1987 (15 games). … Right-hander Derek Lowe is tied for first in the American League in wins (5), 7th in ERA (2.47), 2nd in quality starts (6), and 1st in groundball to fly ball ratio (1.78). Not a bad offseason pickup; so far at least.

Damon belongs in the Hall of Fame, says Damon:

Cleveland acquired Johnny Damon to fill in for Grady Sizemore, who is likely to miss another month after back surgery.
No other modern baseball player is better for writers than Johnny Damon. He is everything a reporter could want: accessible, insightful and honest, with a prominent name.

The writers, someday, will have the final say on Damon’s fate in the annals of the game. A helpful demeanor rarely matters with a Hall of Fame candidacy. If it did, David Cone and Dale Murphy would be in Cooperstown, and Steve Carlton and Eddie Murray would not be.

But you have to admire Damon’s blunt assessment of his own case, which rests not on relationships with Hall of Fame voters, but with numbers that reflect a rare combination of longevity and well-rounded skills. Damon now plays for the Cleveland Indians, his seventh team, but not so he can chase 3,000 hits, he said.

At age 38, he had 2,730 career hits entering Saturday and said he already deserved a spot in the Hall. No sense being demure about it.

“Yeah,” he said Friday before a game at Fenway Park. “I think even if you look at my numbers now, how high I am on the runs list, how high I am on the doubles list, and you also have to take into account the ballparks that I’ve played in. I’ve played in some pretty tough ones for left-handers. If I played in Yankee Stadium my whole career, my 230 home runs turn into 300, easy.”

Damon went on to mention the elite company he keeps on various career lists. For example, only four players in baseball history exceed Damon’s career totals for hits, runs, home runs and stolen bases: Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and Craig Biggio.

“You can also make a case for being a clean player in our generation — and I’ll take that running, hands-down,” said Damon, who was then asked if players linked to steroids should ever be enshrined.

“It’s a tough question,” he said. “But I would say not ahead of a guy like me. Or, their numbers have to be far above.”

The entirety of Damon’s Cooperstown case will take years to unfold. He has no Gold Gloves, and his highest finish in a Most Valuable Player vote was 13th, in 2005. Then again, he sparked the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees to World Series titles, and he has generated more wins above replacement than lots of Hall of Famers.

Essentially, though, if Damon is ever going to be a Hall of Famer, nothing he does from now on should make much difference.

“If you have 2,999 hits, you’re not a Hall of Famer, but 3,000 is a shoo-in?” said Cleveland starter Derek Lowe, who was also Damon’s teammate in Boston. “Is 200 hits over the course of your career a tell-all? He’s done stuff that no one’s ever done, so I would say absolutely.”

Damon signed with the Indians on April 17, essentially to fill in for Grady Sizemore, who is likely to miss another month after back surgery. He has started slowly, going 7 for 41 through Friday, but the Indians lead the American League Central.

They were even better at this point last season, but injuries crippled a team that started 30-15. The Indians hope to have better depth now with Damon, who hit .261 with 16 home runs for Tampa Bay’s playoff team last season.

“Because we finished 80-82 last year, the expectation was that we would just be an O.K. team,” said Mike Chernoff, the Indians’ assistant general manager. “But internally, our expectation was that we were more like the team from the first half last year. With a strong starting rotation, a strong bullpen and some core players in our lineup, there was no reason we couldn’t contend this year.”

Damon is the second-oldest player on the roster, five months younger than Lowe, who turns 39 in June. Lowe beat their old team here on Thursday, improving to 5-1 with a 2.47 earned run average in seven starts.

Lowe had the most losses in the National League last season, going 9-17 for the Atlanta Braves, who quickly unloaded him to Cleveland, with cash, for a Class A reliever. Chernoff said the Indians still liked Lowe’s stuff and believed that he could make adjustments to help throw his signature sinker more often. That was fine with Lowe.

“I’m the king of tinker,” he said. “If you look at my career, I bet I’ve thrown 500 different ways. That’s the way I try to fix things.”

This year, Lowe said, he is getting more deception by keeping his front side closed, and more movement on his sinker by keeping his fingers on top of it. For now, he is enjoying his reunion with Damon, another celebrated “Idiot” from Boston’s 2004 title team.

“It’s great for everybody,” Lowe said. “Guys that have played for a long time and won World Series, people kind of gravitate to them and watch how they do stuff. Johnny knows how to win; he knows how to play the game. I try to do some of that on the pitching side, but it’s great to have someone like that on the offensive side.”

Another member of the 2004 Red Sox, Trot Nixon, played for the Indians’ last division champion in 2007. Nixon wore No. 33 that season, which Damon wears now. Damon’s familiar No. 18 is retired for Mel Harder, and he said he wore No. 33 for Nixon and Jason Varitek, who wore it for the Red Sox.

Varitek retired in spring training, and so did pitcher Tim Wakefield, whose ceremony Lowe attended before reporting to Indians camp in Arizona. Most of the old gang is finished, but two march on in Cleveland.

“I feel like I’ve accomplished everything I needed to, on and off the baseball field,” Damon said. “But my whole thing is if I keep enjoying what I’m doing and my body feels O.K., then keep playing. I’ve always said retirement’s a long time. You don’t want to look back in a couple of years and say maybe I should have stuck it out.”

Indians designate Wheeler for assignment

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 05/13/12 7:17 PM ET

BOSTON -- Dan Wheeler received handshakes and well wishes as he headed for the exit to the visitors' clubhouse at Fenway Park on Sunday. The veteran reliever had just pitched his way off the Indians' roster and into an uncertain future.

In the aftermath of an ugly 12-1 rout at the hands of the Red Sox, the Indians designated Wheeler for assignment. Before he left the ballclub, Wheeler was asked if he was given a reason for the team's decision to part ways with him.

"Did I really need to hear one?" Wheeler said.

Wheeler allowed six runs on five hits in a forgettable seventh inning, which broke the game wide open for Boston. The Red Sox collected four extra-bases hits, including a two-run home run by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, in the right-hander's lone inning of work.

"He's not making pitches," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "You need to make pitches."

During the one-inning disaster against the Red Sox, Wheeler's season ERA rose to 8.76 from 4.76 for his 12 relief appearances. Since posting a 3.68 ERA in eight April outings, the 34-year-old Wheeler posted a 16.20 ERA in four appearances in May. On the year, Wheeler had seven walks compared to only two strikeouts.

The Indians now have 10 days to either trade or release Wheeler. If he clears waivers, the club could also re-assign him to a Minor League affiliate. Cleveland has not yet announced which pitcher will be promoted to assume Wheeler's spot in the bullpen. Four candidates at Triple-A Columbus include right-handers Jeremy Accardo, Hector Ambriz, Frank Herrmann and Chris Ray.

Accardo has a 2.26 ERA with 16 strikeouts and seven walks in 16 1/3 innings, Ambriz has posted a 3.26 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 13 walks in 19 1/3 innings, Herrmann has a 4.11 ERA with 17 strikeouts and four walks in 15 1/3 innings and Ray has a 2.20 ERA with 13 strikeouts and seven walks in 16 1/3 innings.

Sheldon Ocker: Indians fans’ lack of trust in ownership keeps season-ticket sales, attendance down

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published: May 12, 2012 - 11:06 PM

BOSTON: Unfortunately for the Indians, more fans want to talk about the team’s attendance than go to the ballpark to watch games.

The Tribe ranks last among the 30 major-league franchises in attendance. The size of the average crowd at Progressive Field is 14,467, more than 5,000 fewer than the average of the Chicago White Sox, who rank 29th.

The usual suspects that suppress attendance remain the same: bad weather early in the season, a history of staying away from old Cleveland Stadium and Progressive Field in April and May (except in the glory years between 1994 and 2001) regardless of the weather, the fact that school is in session and the shortcomings of the product on the field.

All of these factors are in play, but they still don’t explain the malaise of crowds numbering 9,000 and 10,000, and those figures represent tickets sold. Turnstile counts have, at times, been even lower.

Something else is going on. There are other influences that are keeping the lid on the size of the crowds, and they have nothing to do with the state of the economy or the size of the market, as some folks who work for the Indians would have you believe.

The latest problem is the dwindling season-ticket base. No team can draw big numbers consistently — that is, 2.8 million or more — without a foundation of at least 15,000 to 20,000 season tickets.

In the Tribe’s halcyon days of the late ’90s, when making the playoffs was almost a foregone conclusion, attendance was fortified by 26,000 season tickets. That means the team could count on attendance of 2.1 million before the first seats were sold to fans buying single-game tickets.

In 2012, the season-ticket base has shrunk to about 8,300, and that’s slightly more than last year. But starting with a guaranteed attendance of 672,000 just doesn’t cut it for a team that depends on gate receipts for the majority of its revenue.

Moreover, in an effort to lure more fans to games, season tickets and single-game seats have been heavily discounted. Empty seats don’t buy hot dogs, peanuts and caps, so it’s hard to blame Indians officials for trying, even though per-seat ticket revenue has taken a hit.

But citing the diminishing season-ticket base kind of begs the question. The real problem is why people are shying away from purchasing season tickets. The club has made the postseason only once since 2001, so that’s the obvious answer, but that’s an incomplete response.

An argument can be made that the 2011 Indians made substantial progress in building a contender. They climbed into the top spot in the American League Central Division early in the schedule and stayed there until July. Eventually, the Detroit Tigers streaked past them like a Ferrari passing a ’47 Studebaker, as the Tribe limped home with its entire outfield on the disabled list.

Yet shouldn’t Northeast Ohio fans have been encouraged by the performance of last year’s team? Attendance lagged early in 2011, but eventually 400,000 more people walked through the turnstiles than in the previous season. Why didn’t that translate into a significant increase in season tickets this year?

For one thing, the front office made no offseason moves to excite the fans. Bringing in Derek Lowe and Casey Kotchman plus re-signing Grady Sizemore might have made baseball sense, but it did nothing to induce even the most diehard fan to spend a couple of grand for a season ticket.

In fact, it’s exactly these kinds of tactics that turn people off. Most fans saw these maneuvers as yet another attempt to fill major roster holes on the cheap, by acquiring players on the wrong side of their prime or betting that a player who had one season of modest success can do it again, when his track record argues against it.

The Sizemore signing was vigorously criticized by fans as a waste of precious resources. Here was a player that has been hurt for most of the past three years being given $5 million. In the eyes of Tribe partisans, the team was setting itself up for more failure and the fans for more heartbreak. Whether or not these arguments have merit, this is the perception among the sporting public.

This is not to say that General Manager Chris Antonetti should build a team according to the whims of the fans. The Indians’ dilemma goes much deeper than a misunderstood move or a mistake by the GM. The fans have learned the hard way to mistrust ownership.

Larry Dolan and his son Paul certainly mean well. I think most fans believe that. But they have quit buying into the idea that exchanging marquee players about to reach free-agent status for talented youngsters is the way to maintain a consistent winner.

The fans look at the CC Sabathia trade and see the touted acquisition, Matt LaPorta, laboring in the minors. Michael Brantley, the other player in the deal, is a regular for the Tribe but hardly a player of top rank. Tribe partisans watched Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez flee for greener pastures and the Indians get nothing close to equal value in return.

The fans know that if Shin-Soo Choo reaches his potential, he will be gone in two years, because he will be unaffordable to the Dolans. How do we know that? The owners have told us up front. The same thing will happen with Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano and Jason Kipnis if they develop into stars.

Carlos Santana has been signed to a franchise-friendly deal that will keep him in Cleveland through his first year of free agency. But if he’s a big-time run producer four years from now, he also will be gone at age of 30, presumably the prime of his career.

The fans know, THEY KNOW that the club’s best players will be traded after five or six years in Cleveland, two or three of which will be spent learning their craft.

Consequently, most prospective season-ticket buyers will not commit thousands of dollars year after year. When someone thinks about purchasing season tickets, he or she does so with the notion of keeping the seats indefinitely, so the Dolans’ system of periodic tear-downs and rebuilds is antithetical to the idea of pledging cash for the long term.

The fans simply have decided not to participate in a plan that doesn’t work.

Fans should know, even if they don't, that for Victor Martinez we received our No. 1 starter (who isn't pitching like one this year) and a very capable reliever who could become a closer. That deal for one is not bad. The Lee and Sabathia deals are.

Sheldon Ocker: Indians fans’ lack of trust in ownership keeps season-ticket sales, attendance down

DUH!

Thanks for posting that last article, JR !

Shift helps Tribe defense find a higher gear: Indians Insider

Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 6:21 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 6:22 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer





MINNEAPOLIS -- Watch the Indians' infielders between at-bats by the opposition. They rarely stay in the same spot.

Sometimes the third baseman is playing shortstop and the shortstop is playing second base and the second baseman is playing shallow right field. They're not doing it because they're bored, it's all part the team's aggressive use of the shift based on statistical studies of where selected hitters hit the highest percentage of their ground balls.

The infield shift is nothing new. Lou Boudreau, former player manager for the Indians, started using it against Boston's Ted Williams in 1946. Now, with the increase of statistical data, big-league teams have been using the shift daily for the last few years.

This year, however, the Indians are using it more than normal.

"We're being aggressive with it," said manager Manny Acta. It's not just against left-handed pull hitters either. They shift against right-handers as well.

"Righties, lefties, it doesn't matter," said Acta. "That's the thing that has changed drastically in the game.
In the past you would only see it against left-handed hitters. But if a left-hander hits the ball to right side of the infield 85 percent of the time and a right-hander hits it to the left side of the infield 85 percent of the time, why not do the same thing?

"That's where the game has really changed. Guys are thinking outside of the box a little more. The stats and the facts are there. It's a matter of you taking a chance on the 10 percent or 20 percent of the times you get burned."

The Indians have used the shift against Chicago's Adam Dunn, a left-handed power hitter, for the last two years. Their use of the shift against right-handers is more subtle, but it is a shift nonetheless. Tuesday, it paid off when Josh Willingham grounded a ball up the middle with Joe Mauer on first in the fourth inning off Derek Lowe. Jason Kipnis was shifted nearly behind the bag and easily began the double play.

Acta said the Indians' analytical department breaks down the data of where opposing hitters are most likely to hit the ball. The Indians also use outside statistical services.

It the past, shifts were based on a player's "spray sheets," that detailed where a ground ball was most likely to go. The information has become more refined. A recent story in Sports Illustrated said only four other teams use the shift more than the Indians.

"It's absolutely becoming more a part of the game," said Acta. "It's just like the cell phone. We got better cell phones now and we've got better information and data now."

Acta believes the use of shifts will make life hard on certain hitters. "You either make an adjustment or you're going to hit into a lot of outs," he said.

Back pain: Third baseman Jack Hannahan missed his second straight game Tuesday afternoon with a tight lower back.

"I felt it get tight through the game Sunday in Boston," said Hannahan. "Then it really flared up during the flight from Boston to Minneapolis. Monday it was tight and today it's a little better."

In spring training, Hannahan missed several days with back tightness. "The reports say it's not the same thing," said Acta. "He's improved some. We'll see have the flight back home will affect him. Then we'll re-evaluate him."

Hannahan is from St. Paul, Minn., and was looking forward to playing in front of his family and friends.

"It's disappointing just not being able to play, let alone not being able to play in my hometown," said Hannahan, hitting .287 (29-for-101) with six doubles, three homers and 18 RBI. "But it's baseball and I'll be back out there as soon as possible."

Jose Lopez made his second straight start at third.

Finally: The Indians are 7-4-1 in series play following their two-game sweep of the Twins. ... Cabrera, who had two RBI in Tuesday's 5-0 victory, has eight RBI in his last eight games at Target Field.

Indians Chatter

Clubhouse confidential: What’s it like to play defense behind fast-working, grounder-inducing Derek Lowe?
“He’s a sinkerball pitcher, so you have to be ready all the time,” said shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. “He throws those sinkers for ground balls so [second baseman] Jason Kipnis and I got together before the game. I told him to be ready and that’s exactly what Lowe did ... he worked down and low with the sinker.”

Lowe, in his complete-game victory Tuesday, had 18 ground balls, including for four double plays, for 22 outs.

Like the wind: Backup catcher Lou Marson’s reaction after pinch-running for Casey Kotchman in the ninth inning Monday night and scoring the winning run on Shin-Soo Choo’s single?

“There’s no substitute for speed,” said Marson with a laugh. Marson entered the game after Kotchman reached second base.

Stat of the day: The Indians started the second, third, fourth and fifth innings Tuesday with extra-base hits (double, double, triple and homer) for the first time since Sept. 24, 2005 at Kansas City.

Vlad begins journey back to the big leagues

By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 05/16/12 1:34 PM ET

DUNEDIN, Fla. --

Working out in the Dominican Republic this winter, Vladimir Guerrero never allowed himself to think his Major League career might be over. He had joined the Rangers in January 2010 and the Orioles in February 2011, so he knew he could always sign late in the offseason.

"It was all about taking the right opportunity," Guerrero said through representative Orlando Ventura after his first workout at the Bobby Mattick Training Center.

Guerrero received non-guaranteed Spring Training invitations from the Indians, Royals and D-backs, but finally found that opportunity he was looking for last week with the Blue Jays, signing a Minor League deal and reporting here on Tuesday morning.


As it turns out, however, this opportunity actually presented itself twice.

The Blue Jays reached out to the 37-year-old's former representatives at SFX Baseball during Spring Training, but Guerrero said he never heard about that offer. He left SFX for Proformance representatives Ventura and Bean Stringfellow, who relayed another offer from Toronto. Guerrero jumped at the chance, just as he would have the first time around.

"Of course," Guerrero said. "I was always expecting a phone call, but nothing came. [The Toronto offer] was never really brought to my attention."

But Guerrero is here now, getting himself into baseball shape with the hopes of making it to the Majors with the Blue Jays. Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos said last week that the nine-time All-Star was given no guarantees about a potential role on the big league club, and the move was simply a matter of adding depth.

"There's no such thing as a bad Minor League contract," Anthopoulos said. "Any time we have a chance to get someone on a Minor League contract, we almost always explore it, because you never know if someone can get lighting in a bottle. ... There's really no downside from the club's standpoint. He was an everyday player last year."

Anthopoulos said June was the earliest he could see Guerrero being added to the big league roster, and his $1.3 million contract will be prorated based on the amount of time Guerrero spends in the Majors. If it's June, as Anthopoulos estimated, Guerrero would make around $800,000 this season.

But again, there is no guarantee, and Guerrero is comfortable with that position, saying he'll continue to work hard and let the Blue Jays proceed as they see fit. He spent a lot of time this offseason working in the outfield and said he will be ready to play there if the opportunity arises. He was strictly a designated hitter with Baltimore in 2011.

Whether Guerrero can still hit isn't much of a question. He bashed 13 homers with a .290 average and .733 OPS in 145 games last season and batted .300 with an .841 OPS and 29 homers for Texas in 2010.

He displayed his usual powerful swing here, crushing a home run during batting practice that went over the batter's eye in center field. Ventura estimated the blast at 495 feet, and people inside the Blue Jays' offices there said it sounded like hail falling on the roof. Guerrero should begin playing in extended spring games later this week, when he'll begin to get reacquainted with live pitching.

"Right now it's all about getting in shape," he said. "Even though I was doing a lot of BP in the Dominican and continue to do it here, the first thing will be to start facing live pitchers."

And Guerrero still has one personal goal he'd like to accomplish. He is a career .318 hitter with a .931 OPS over parts of 16 seasons in the Majors, won the 2004 American League MVP Award and last September became the all-time hits leader among players from the Dominican Republic. He wants to add 51 more homers to his record, bringing his career total to an even 500.

"My main goal, if it is God's wish, is to get to 500 home runs," he said. "That's what this is all about."

I'd like to know what the offer was.

From the Blue Jays, you mean?