Cleveland Sports Forum

I have been thinking about the Cabrera to St Louis trade since Spring Training. I like Asdrubel but it would help both teams. For me it would take a bullpen ready major leaguer and a good starting prospect.

Any ideas?

Aviles and Ronnie Rodriguez and Lindor may a trade of Asdrubal a possibility, in fact I'd guess a likelihood at some point. Don't enough of other teams to make a trade proposal, my possible knowledge is vertical (Indians from Cleveland down through the farm system) rather than horizontal.

Rose never really reached out to Fosse afterward. The two have spoken, the former catcher says, only twice since.

Pete Rose was/is just an all-around jerk. Good hitter, though.

That horrible Jimenez deal the Indians made? Has allowed 3 or fewer ER in 14 of last 15 starts. Pitchers to Rockies have 2 wins & 12 losses.


Retweeted by Peter Gammons

Jimenez trade didn't work out for either team rusty. This is his last year in Cleveland and I think there is a 50/50 chance he gets traded before the deadline. I agree with what is being reported, we need to go get a top of the rotation starter or stand pat save a bullpen arm and if we can get a top prospect for Cabrera go do it. Again the guy I'm shopping is Santana. He is not as good as advertised and Gomes is a very capable young alternative ready now.

Our everyday lineup is basically in place through 2016 so we need to focus all our energies on STARTING PITCHING! Kluber emergence is the single best thing that has happened to this team in 2013. He and McAlister are solid 4/5 starters maybe even 2/3. Add Masterson IF we can extend him and you have a very solid 3/4/5 rotation. We need 2 top of the rotation starters!!! Hopefully we can get one internally. Gotta trade for the other....

J.R. wrote:The Thominator Calls it a Career

July 2, 2013
by Chris Burnham

Unfortunately, his first job post-baseball won’t be with the Indians. Big Jim has taken a position of Special Assistant of White Sox General Manager, Rick Hahn.

“I don’t think I could ask for a better situation than being in Chicago and with the White Sox,” Thome said.
Well, I don’t know about you, but ow.

He has his reasons, obviously, but from a purely romanticized point of view, it would’ve nice to see him working for the franchise that made him one of the most feared power guys of his era.
I guess the statue will have to suffice.

More on this:

White Sox hire Jim Thome
Updated: July 2, 2013, 9:02 PM ET
By Bruce Levine | ESPNChicago.com

Potential Hall of Famer Jim Thome walked around U.S Cellular Field on Tuesday in an expensive suit rather than the baseball uniform he wore with pride for over 20 years.
Thome has rejoined the Chicago White Sox as a special assistant to general manager Rick Hahn, the team announced Tuesday.

"Before he left we had a sort of handshake agreement that at some point when he was done playing he was going to come back," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "Whether he was going to come back was never an issue, it just was a matter of when."

Thome, who will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018, was happy to hear from Reinsdorf when he called two weeks ago.

"I think the unique thing of all of this happening is my respect for Jerry," Thome said. "When I left here Jerry always joked about the fact he wanted me to come back at some point. The respect factor was big for me and that is why I came back. ... Whatever they want me to do, I will do."

Thome will consult with Hahn and assistant GM Buddy Bell and work with the major league staff and players as well as visiting the minor league teams, evaluating player performance.

"It is nearly impossible to top Jim's baseball resume with 22 seasons in the game and over 600 home runs," Hahn said in a statement. "When we talked recently about how he could move on to the next stage of his baseball career, an obvious fit was to join this organization, where Jim knows so many people and is immediately comfortable. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this role, and we're excited to see the impact he will have on both our major leaguers and minor leaguers."

Thome, a Peoria, Ill., native, lives in south suburban Chicago with his wife and two young children.

"It will be exciting to get my feet wet as we go through this process," he said. "Learning things from Robin [Ventura] and Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams, I will take everything in."

Thome is a five-time All-Star who hit 40 or more home runs six times. He has 612 home runs and hit .276.

He played his first 12 seasons for the Cleveland Indians, before playing three for the Philadelphia Phillies and four for the Sox.

rusty2 wrote:That horrible Jimenez deal the Indians made? Has allowed 3 or fewer ER in 14 of last 15 starts. Pitchers to Rockies have 2 wins & 12 losses.


Retweeted by Peter Gammons

Frank, I hope you noticed that Peter Gammons retweeted that tweet.

Of course you do not understand that Jimenez has done a better then average job over his last 15 starts.

Don't let the facts get in the way of your opinion though.

Only you loved Jimenez' start today rusty i guess. The guy has been a complete stiff since he joined the Tribe!!!

I'm with Rusty on this one.

Ubaldo has been serviceable the last couple of months - which is WAY more than I can say for the 2 guys he was traded for.

It's still early, but considerable time has elapsed and Pomeranz/White have done nothing.

Could be one of those trades that was much ado about pretty much nothing.

Jiminez is far less valuable than we hoped. He always is flirting with disaster, and his pitch count always rises much too quickly. The 2013 version is a reasonable option for the back of a rotation, but he is a guaranteed drain on the bullpen even on his best days.

Rockies appear to have got less value in trade than we did (although Pomeranz still has time to turn out to be something), so it winds up being a perceived blockbuster that winds up meaning little for either side.

Cleveland Indians at the All-Star break are a gritty team, with some fun players to follow: Terry Pluto


on July 15, 2013 at 4:11 PM, updated July 15, 2013 at 4:12 PM



CLEVELAND, Ohio - The big decisions made by the Dolan Family have paid off for the Tribe.

Ownership faced a choice:

1. Trade the few remaining respectable veterans for prospects.

2. Spend some cash and add some experience players to the roster.

Paul Dolan gave the green light to chasing Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, four-year contracts worth $94 million.

A few months ago, Dolan told me that a massive rebuild "would be too painful." He feared it would take years.

He longed for the team to return to relevance, and he knew that would mean playing the free-agent game.

You can say that Swisher (.242, 9 HR, 31 RBI) has been a disappointment. And that Bourn (.290) has been solid, but not spectacular. Mark Reynolds can be agonizing to watch. But he still leads the team with 14 homers and kept the Tribe from a major dive in April.

Consider that Swisher, Bourn, Reynolds and Drew Stubbs (added in a trade) replaced Shin-Soo Choo, Travis Hafner, Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon/Shelley Duncan in the 2012 lineup.

Only Choo (.287, 13 HR, 31 RBI for the Reds) is having a good year.

Hafner hit .318 with six homers and 17 RBI in April.

Since May 1, the Yankees designed hitter is batting .181 with six homers and 20 RBI as he's battling injuries. It's the same pattern that Tribe fans saw. He comes out of training camp healthy, then breaks down physically.

Kotchman is 0-of-20 and on the disabled list. Duncan and Damon are not in the Majors.

So the lineup is better. The stats say the Tribe is fifth in the league in runs scored compared to 13th in 2012.

The free-agent signings combined with the hiring of manager Terry Francona to stir interest of the Tribe's hardcore fans. They had sunk into total despair about the near future of their favorite team.

Francona is a big-time manager, the best on the open market. His relationship with Tribe executives Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti caused him to become intrigued with the challenge of producing a winning team in Cleveland.

I'll take Francona's word that he had no specific promises about signing free agents or payroll increases when he joined the Tribe.

But I also believe that Francona didn't join a team that had lost at least 92 games in three of the last four years in order to lose more than 90 games again.

He sensed something was about to change at Progressive Field, and he was right.

With a 51-44 record at the All-Star break, the Tribe is 1 1/2 games behind Detroit in the Central Division.

If the Indians remain in contention this season, you can credit Francona and his veterans for what happened last week. When the Tribe lost 3 of 4 to Detroit, it appeared the slide to below .500 had begun.

But they finished the week winning 5-of-6 over Toronto and Kansas City.

The signal was clear. As Swisher said the other day, "The Tigers know we're still there."

And the Indians are a team worth watching.

They have guys who can steal bases -- Jason Kipnis, Bourn, Stubbs and Michael Brantley.

Carlos Santana led the team with 18 homers last season. Several players have a chance to pass that in 2013.

Kipnis is developing into a true star, batting .301 with 13 homers, 57 RBI and 21 steals. And that uniform is always dirty.

The outfield of Stubbs, Bourn and Brantley is rated among the best defensively in the Majors.

Justin Masterson is an All-Star starter. Scott Kazmir is a major surprise. Ubaldo Jimenez is not great, but somehow has won seven games.

Corey Kluber could be the next Jake Westbrook, one of those solid starters who makes you feel good when he takes the mound.

The bullpen has been up and down. The rotation can be rocky. The hitters are definitely streaky, but that also means they are talented enough to have hot streaks.

And they are 1 1/2 games out first place with a team that has battled through injuries to key players and slumps that would have caused previous Tribe teams to collapse.

Most of all, what the Indians have delivered so far this season is a fun team to follow. They have some engaging characters who play with grit, and a manager who offers a sense of security and confidence because of his track record and two World Series rings.

For Tribe fans, that has added up to a delightful first half of baseball -- something this town desperately needed.

GRIT!

Oh yes, its grit.

But is it True Grit?

You know you'all, I really like grits.

Specially with gravy, chicken fried steak, and coffee!

....and a Tribe Victory!!!

I really wish he hadn't used the "gritty" adjective. Reminds me of Eric Wedge and his underachieving teams.

Cleveland Indians will contend, with the Tigers and for your attention late into summer: Bud Shaw

on July 14, 2013 at 5:30 PM, updated July 15, 2013 at 8:30 AM


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Faith in the Cavaliers as a playoff team is a leap on Andrew Bynum's delicate knees.

For the Browns, playoff hopes are attached to the small miracle of Brandon Weeden looking more like a young Philip Rivers under offensive coordinator Norv Turner's quarterback wand.

So if you like to get a handle on the unofficial odds in a casino city with no sports action, the Indians not only have the next chance to go to the playoffs, they have the best chance.

"We're right in the thick of things," center fielder Michael Bourn said recently. "(The Tigers) know we're right behind them."

The Indians aren't flying under the Tigers' radar, true enough. The Tigers also aren't losing sleep.

The snag in an otherwise promising first half was the Tigers' impersonation of King Kong swatting airplanes whenever the Indians occupied their space.

Head-to-head matchups between the two happen just twice more and not at all in September. The schedule is fairly friendly for both AL Central contenders, more than dotted with the softest opponents baseball has to offer.

If the Indians have been under the radar at all, it's in their own city. The attendance is a mirror of 2012 when the Indians' record at the All-Star break was 44-41 with a roster offering more prayer than hope. The ranking (27th) is slightly higher than a year ago.

Those Indians went 24-53 in the second half. If that happens again, you have my permission to spend August obsessing over the accuracy of the Browns' backup long snapper (not that you won't anyway.)

The popular take in this town every summer since the 1990s is that the Indians must capture the attention of the city before Browns' training camp starts. The only thing more pathetic than that theory is if it's actually true for some people.

As if keeping track of Weeden's batted passes in the preseason is a full-time job that can suffer no distractions. As if everything else will stop mattering while Barkevious Mingo tries to master a second pass rush move.

There's ample reason to believe the Indians will contend through the summer, especially if they make the necessary moves in the bullpen at the trade deadline.

They have arrived at the All-Star break pretty much as projected, a better than .500 team with more depth than a year ago and with the ability to manufacture runs.

The surprise is they've done it with a shaky bullpen, a relatively solid rotation and with two promising sources of power -- Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher -- suffering a brown out.

What matters most every July is where the Indians are as a team and as an organization at the trade deadline. They're in a pretty good place at 51-44 and having won seven of the their past nine series. The 51 wins at the break is the highest since 52 in 2007 when they last made the playoffs.

Organizationally, they don't have the surplus of great position player prospects -- especially major-league-ready prospects -- required to justify trading for a top-of-the-rotation starter such as the Cubs' Matt Garza.

If they were a surer thing -- leading the Tigers by a half dozen games -- and they could compensate for the loss of Francisco Lindor or Danny Salazar in a deal -- the temptation would be much greater. No way Garza makes sense as a 10-start rental. Barring a starting pitcher the Indians can control for a year or two beyond 2013, the best move would be to bolster a bullpen that's sagging.

The rotation coming out of the All-Star break is Scott Kazmir, Corey Kluber, Justin Mazsterson, Ubaldo Jimnenez and TBD. OK, so you feel better about TBD than you do Jimenez? Salazar and Zach McAllister could make up the deficiency.

Whatever they do, the Indians can't match the Detroit rotation or the top five hitters in the Tigers' lineup, but they can overmatch a shaky Detroit bullpen with the proper moves.

And that wouldn't require giving up the future at shortstop or interrupt Salazar's promising impression of Jaret Wright in 1997.

The Indians showed enough in the first half to suggest they'll contend into September. And if that doesn't sound like the highest praise or most exciting prediction, it's the best we got.