Cleveland Sports Forum

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Grady......

Sorry, boys, the quote said nothing about "in a Cleveland Indians uniform."

Yup! Same Phillips. In a Cleveland uniform, he was a complete bust. Look it up.

Oh my! I don't believe I'm going to do this

Maybe if that Cincy secondbaseman got the same opportunities that LaPorta is getting and Valbuena got, and what Chisenhall and Kipnis will get, maybe that player would still be here.

Basically, BP got 1/2 of a season, maybe 3/4 to prove himself. Face it! Wedge did not like BP cried to Shapiro, and both caved in and sent the guy packing. Result. Five years later, we're still looking for a viable replacement.

That's the fact, Jack

(2002=11G, 2003-121G, 2004=6G, 2005=6G, Totals=Less than one season) (Cincy 2006=Rest is History)

Don't provoke me !

Same old bull crap.......... no matter how many funny faces you put on it.

It was Wedge's fault that Phillips had an OB % of .240 in 370 at bats in 2003 when he was handed the job.

Let's keep talking about one mistake while you still talk about Guthrie, Kouzmanoff, Luna, Guttierez, ,Barton, Matt McBide and other losers.

TonyIPI Tony Lastoria

Also, RHP Mitch Talbot will start for Columbus in the Triple-A National Championship game tomorrow night. Game is at 8pm on Versus.

And Tony says we may see Talbot in Cleveland again. Doesn't seem impossible.

Talbot could still be in the picture

In case you did not know, right-handed pitcher Mitch Talbot is still property of the Cleveland Indians. While he was designated for assignment at the end of July, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. As a first time removal from the 40-man roster and outright to the minors he could not refuse the assignment and had to report to Columbus.

Talbot has battled through some injury issues all season, and when healthy he was ineffective in Cleveland this year as in 11 starts he went 2-6 with a 6.33 ERA and opposing players hit .338 off of him. But instead of sulking because of a demotion to the minors, he has actually gone out and rekindled his value with the Indians.

When Talbot reported to Columbus in early August he initially worked out of the bullpen, but a starting pitching need eventually forced him into the Columbus rotation near the end of August. Since then he has taken off. In five starts – including two postseason starts – he went 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA, and in 35.0 innings allowed 33 hits, five walks, and had 35 strikeouts.

Columbus pitching coach Ruben Niebla is a big reason for Talbot’s rekindled success. His delivery was not very good this year, so Niebla made some major mechanical adjustments to Talbot’s delivery and also worked with him some on the mental part of pitching. Talbot got into a bad habit of nibbling and getting too opposite arm side with his fastball, so Niebla challenged him to go after hitters more and the results of late speak for themselves.

The Indians still think highly of Talbot because they feel he has good stuff, and he is intriguing to them as a potential bullpen option down the road. The thought is that by maybe limiting his exposure to innings it will control some of the injury issues he has had as when he is healthy he is effective. The initial plan to experiment with him in the bullpen was nixed because of the need for starting pitching in Columbus, but the Indians may still look to bring him back next season as a depth starter or as a long man in the bullpen.

Talbot is no longer on the 40-man roster, so if he is not added shortly after the conclusion of the season he can leave as a minor league free agent and sign with another team. Considering the Indians lost right-hander Carlos Carrasco to Tommy John for all of next season and they need starting pitching depth, there is a good chance that they may choose to add Talbot back to the 40-man roster soon.

Talbot will not even have two years of Major League service time after this season, so if he is on the 40-man roster he will only cost the league minimum of just over $400,000 next year. Considering their opinion of him and their need for starting pitching depth next season, it seems like an obvious move to roster him and to keep him around at least to start the 2012 season.

I imagine that the Indians would rather add some young players who are Rule 5-draft-eligible to the 40 man roster, but considering the incredibly weak talent at the top of our minor leagues, their probably are not many of those guys. Chen Lee and Austin Adams have only 3 years in the minors. College guys are not draftable until they've been around 4, generally, and high school draftees usually have to wait 5 year. There might not be anyone to add.

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:25 am
Let's keep talking about one mistake while you still talk about Guthrie, Kouzmanoff, Luna, Guttierez, ,Barton, Matt McBide and other losers.

Hey! Dude! You want to talk about losers that have past through this town over the past 10 years, I can fill a volume. Let me know when you want me start that list.

Rusty!

That list you so fondly reminded me of were some of the superstars that have passed through these portals

I don't want to keep you from hugging your Alex Ramirez doll.

Alex Ramirez would have been in the Indian Hall of Fame by now. {:>)--

Not to defend Wedge, but in the 2005 - 2008 era, we were viewed as being much closer than in recent times. Not all players are model citizens, Melky Cabrera, Delmon Young, Milton Bradley, etc, and can have a damaging effect in a clubhouse. Phillips struggled, and showed some brilliance, while he was here, but certainly was not an answer offensively. Can't remember who was at second back then, perhaps Belliard, who was a much better offensive player at that time.

How much time is the right amount of time? Got me! Some respond, some don't, some need a change of scenery, Kelly Loftin, Astrubal Cabrerra, Choo come to mind.

You can't take something out of one dynamic and plug it into another dynamic and think that is the only change, everything and everyone interacts to create a new dynamic.

Phillips is gone. Phillips is great. Phillips may not have been great here, we will never know.

seagull wrote:Phelps has a touch of Marte/Phillips disorder. Hits in the minors but flops miserably when given repeated opportunities at the Major League level.

Shouldn't "repeated opportunities" cover more than one half of one season? I don't think Phelps has proven anything one way or another about his ability to hit major league pitching.

The smart thing to do with Phelps would be what the Indians refused to do with Phillips--simply accept that he's not in their plans any longer and try to trade him player-for-player, or include him in a larger trade. Don't just keep sending him to Columbus until he runs out of options. (This is assuming there's a team out there that might see Phelps as a potential starter, and I think there may be one. He's still just 24.)