Cleveland Sports Forum

Former Tribesmen with big AAA seasons, but that doesn't mean we want them back or regret letting them go:

ALLENTOWN, Pa.—In the span of just one year, Ben Broussard went from playing on a team where rats were running by him in the dugout to getting showered with champagne by his teammates in a clubhouse championship celebration

The odyssey for the 36-year-old Broussard, who was out of baseball since 2009 while focusing on a music career (he’s recorded a few albums with original music) and raising his kids, began in the fall of 2012 in Mexico.

“It was terrible,” said Broussard of his experience with Veracruz’s developmental team, moments after the Storm Chasers claimed the Triple-A championship Tuesday night. “I was playing on terrible fields and taking three-hour bus rides every day to play baseball

“But I really believed in what I was doing. I was trying to get in shape and I knew if I could get in shape someone would give me a shot.”

That turned out to be Veracruz, where he was playing with kids half his age. Broussard lasted there just one month before playing for Navajoa in the Mexico Pacific (winter) League.

His bat, which produced 87 home runs in a seven-year big league career with the Indians, Mariners, Blue Jays and Rangers from 2002-2008, started to come alive. Mexico City signed him to play in the Triple-A Mexican League where batted .304 in 19 games.

That was enough of a body of work for Long Island in the Atlantic League to sign Broussard this summer, which is where he got noticed by the Royals.

The lefthanded-slugging first baseman was inserted at first and wound up being named the PCL’s Hitter of the Week for July 29-Aug. 4. Broussard hit. .500 in the PCL championship series.

“To have the opportunity to be here with these guys, knowing where I came from this year is very humbling,” Broussard said. “This opportunity was a second chance

“I’m going to do this until they tell me I can’t.”

The International League’s Surprise Award Winner

Heading into the 2013 season, Durham’s J.D. Martin had reached double figures in wins just five times in a 13-year minor league career, the last time in 2008 when the righthander went 11-3 with Double-A Akron in the Eastern League.

This year he was an integral part of a Durham staff that set an International League record with 1,246 strikeouts and led the league in wins (87), fewest hits allowed (1,102) and ERA (3.33).

Martin, 30, a 2001 first round pick of the Indians (35th overall), went 16-4 for Durham, the most games won by a Bull in 45 years. On a staff loaded with live arms, Martin was the one selected as the IL’s Most Valuable Pitcher.

“That was a cool surprise,” Martin admitted. “I didn’t even know they had it (award).

Durham manager Charlie Montoyo rewarded Martin by bringing him in to replace starter Jake Odorizzi in the fifth inning of the Triple-A championship game against Omaha. Martin pitched four innings, scattered five hits, walked one and allowed one run.

“You can’t replace a guy like J.D. Martin on a Triple-A staff,” said Durham pitching coach Neil Allen. “He’s a leader on this staff and a guy the other pitchers feed off of.”

Cleveland Indians CEO Paul Dolan talks about the Tribe's rise, free agents, Terry Francona, and attendance with Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For Paul Dolan, this season was the most important in his family's ownership since they bought the Indians in 2000.

Because if Dolan's biggest plunge into the free agent market failed …

"I'm just glad we don't have to think about that," said Dolan, the team's CEO. "I'm happy it worked because putting a winning, contending team on the field again was a big step."

The Tribe carried an 82-70 record into Thursday's 7:05 p.m. game with Houston at Progressive Field. They were a half-game out of a playoff wild-card spot.

This is the Tribe's first winning season since 2007. It comes after last year's 68-94 record, and after losing a minimum of 93 games in three of the last four years.

"Winning is always fun," said Dolan. "But watching this team through all the ups and downs and really getting to know the players from watching them play -- I think fans see this is a team with character, a team to embrace."

The Tribe signed first baseman Nick Swisher to a four-year, $56 million deal -- the largest contract in team history. They signed center fielder Michael Bourn for four years and $48 million.

They hired veteran manager Terry Francona, signing him to a four-year contract.

"We have taken a huge jump this season," Dolan said. "Our expectations were to improve over the prior year, but we didn't know all that it would mean. But we're not done yet. Our goal is the playoffs."

Terry Francona

Dolan calls his new manager "the key." He mentioned a discussion that we had in August 2012, when the team was in the midst of a 5-24 month. Manny Acta was about to lose his job as manager.

"But if someone had told me back then that we'd have a manager this season who had won two World Series and is universally respected in baseball, I would have been surprised," said Dolan. "But if the name Terry Francona was attached to that statement, then I knew we'd have a chance because of his attachment to Chris (Antonetti) and Mark (Shapiro)."

Dolan calls Francona "a great leader," and recalled a couple of nasty slumps this season. It's hard to remember the Tribe started 8-13. Or that they seemed destined to stagger under .500 after a few bad series against Detroit.

"I'm a Clevelander," he said. "Every Clevelander knows the stories of failures of our various franchises -- baseball, football and basketball. We have all lived it. When something goes bad (with one of the teams), it's easy to assume that is our lot in life. But Terry has helped this team rise above that."

More than once, Francona disputed talk of last year's collapse (24-53) by saying, "This is not last year, and it won't be like last year."

"When I heard that, I believed it because it was Terry who said it," said Dolan. "I came to believe in Terry very early. I look at how he manages people, and how he has leaders with guys like (Jason) Giambi, Nick (Swisher), Michael Bourn and some other veterans. That is why this team has been so resilient."

Francona won the World Series in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox. Five times in eight seasons, his Boston teams made the playoffs. But he did that in the big market for a free-spending franchise. In Cleveland, he has added a new dimension as a manager. He has taken a middle-market team with a payroll that still ranks 22nd in the majors and has them in contention.

"I have been in the school that a manager in baseball may be less influential than coaches in other sports," said Dolan. "But Terry has made more of an impact on our team than I ever thought possible."

I think this season has been a vindication of (the front office). ... We want them to run our team.
The front office

While there was some speculation of front-office changes at the end of 2012, Dolan said he "never considered it for a moment." He talked about his faith in team president Mark Shapiro and General Manager Chris Antonetti.

"I think this season has been a vindication of that decision," he said. "In my mind, there never was a decision to be made, because we want them to run our team."

He praised the trade of Esmil Rogers for Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles. He talked about how signing Scott Kazmir and Ryan Raburn to minor-league contracts has paid off.

"(The front office) made a lot of very good little moves," he said. "And it's great to see Ubaldo (Jimenez) pitching like the guy who we hoped we traded for (in 2010). His timing has been perfect with (Justin) Masterson (being injured)."

The free agents

"This was a unique off-season in terms of free agents," said Dolan. "We were able to get some guys that we couldn't in the past because of compensation (most teams would have had to give up a first-round draft choice for signing Bourn or Swisher, the Indians did not.) Also, first-round picks are valued higher than ever before -- so that meant fewer teams were competing for free agents."

Dolan mentioned that "for whatever reason," some teams normally active in free agency sat out on many of the top players.

"In Swisher's case. he really wanted to come here to play," said Dolan. "He has strong Ohio ties, and most (free agents) don't have that. He was a unique free agent for us."

Bourn was available right before spring training opened, and the Indians grabbed him.

Dolan stressed that it's not fair to expect these guys to be superstars, but that both "were expected to be significant contributors to our team, and both have done that."

Bourn is batting .262 with six homers, 46 RBI and 23 steals. Swisher is at .245 with 20 homers and 58 RBI. In September, Swisher leads the team with five homers and 12 RBI.

Dolan talked about how Swisher showed up unannounced at a sales meeting to thank the people working in that department and encourage them to keep selling the team to the public. Swisher also has purchased fireworks for the fans (after Saturday's 6 p.m. game).

"He's genuine and he's on all the time," said Dolan. "I ran into him at 6:30 one morning and he was on, very excited. He understands the importance of a lot of things that are a part of an organization. I really appreciate that."

Dolan knows the one-year ($7 million) deal to Brett Myers failed because the pitcher had a bad arm. Mark Reynolds ($6 million) had a hot start, but eventually was cut.

"There is risk in free agency, I understand that," he said. "But this was a year when it made sense to take the risk."

The budget

Dolan declined to say what the team will spend next season. In 2012, he talked about how the 2013 budget would be close to the year before -- about $65 million. But he spent $80 million this season because "different factors came into play, such as the free agents being available."

As for next year?

"Who knows?" he said. "It's too early to say."

The attendance

"The (second half) of last season was the worst period of our ownership," said Dolan, who admitted that "clearly, we were worried about losing the fan base."

You can argue that the fans still haven't bought in. The franchise is on pace to draw slightly less than the 1.6 million of last season. They rank 28th out of 30 teams, averaging 19,435 fans. Only Miami (19,267) and Tampa Bay (18,485) are attracting smaller crowds.

In 2012, the Tribe averaged 19,797 fans -- so their average crowd is down 362 per game.

"There are different ways to look at interest in the team," said Dolan. "I prefer to look at the big picture. Radio and TV ratings are way up. You can't go anywhere around town without running into someone who wants to talk about the baseball team."

The Indians say TV ratings have soared 37 percent and radio is up 65 percent over a year ago.

Had the Tribe not hired Francona and signed Swisher and Bourn, they were headed for their worst attendance since moving to the new stadium in 1994. The bottom is 1,394,812 in 2010.

While the attendance has been flat, "it's more-or-less" what the Tribe projected, Dolan explained.

Ticket sales

With a season-ticket base in the 7,000-range, it's difficult to take a huge attendance jump. They have to sell 13,000 tickets per game just to reach 20,000. They hoped to keep the hardcore fans coming, and then build confidence in new fans with the new faces and success of the team.

"The attendance will come, I believe that," said Dolan, who knows it's unwise to say anything negative about the fan support.

"The only thing I'll say is we hoped there would be more activity in September," he said. "We have our last homestand left, so I'm hopeful."

The Indians have averaged 13,252 this month, with two crowds under 10,000. How does it feel to see only 9,000 fans when the team is in the playoff hunt?

"We have to do our best to entertain those 9,000 and work our best to get more to come out as soon as possible," said Dolan.

While some fans have complained about "dynamic pricing" where ticket prices change depending on the game, the day and the demand for tickets, Dolan said that "is how it is headed, not just in baseball."

The Tribe's research shows that 20 of 30 MLB teams do some form of "dynamic pricing," and four more are expected to use it starting in 2014.

The history

In 2001, the Indians peaked with 27,000 season tickets. That was the final season of the sellout streak of 455 games.

When the Dolans bought the team from Dick Jacobs in 2000, they knew the sellouts would soon stop. The novelty of a new stadium (opened in 1994) was wearing off. The Browns were back, after being gone from 1996-98. The team was aging and the farm system was no longer strong.

Progressive Field had 131 luxury suites when it opened in 1994. Now there are approximately 85 suites with just over half sold for the season.

"Having that many suites is no longer relevant because of the state of the economy," Dolan said. "You can look at how a lot of businesses that were an integral part of the Indians in 2000 (and owning suites) are no longer in the Cleveland area."

Dolan said the economy "is clearly an issue" when it comes to attracting fans.

"You can see that some other markets also are down," he said. "It's our job to do the best we can to make fans want to come out and see us play."

Dolan is optimistic about the future.

"We have set the groundwork to compete (for the playoffs) in the next few years," he said. "That's another really important thing that happened this season."

Do the Indians really have the easiest wild-card path? Why are the fans gone? How good has Terry Francona been? - Bill Livingston

CLEVELAND, Ohio – In sports, players are judged by how they fare against the best.

It is why Reggie Jackson got a whole month of the calendar named after him. It is why the four majors are so important in golf. It is a demanding metric, but the best players and teams should have much to measure up to.

With the Hunt for Wahoo October in its final stages, the Indians hope to make a big thing, a wild-card berth, out of scraps, remnants and stuff the rag-picker missed. The three worst teams in the American League – Houston, Chicago and Minnesota -- provide the opposition down the stretch.

This would seem to be Milquetoasts, not Murderers, Row.

Actually, it’s more complicated than that. As Jordan Bastien of MLB.com explained in his blog. What he calls the “true strength of schedule" takes into account the improvement or regression of each wild-card contender in September, in terms of winning percentage, compared to the season numbers for each team. Then Bastien tabulated the September figures for each team’s opponents and how much it differed from their overall winning percentage.

http://bastian.mlblogs.com/2013/09/19/c ... -game-152/

By this formula, going into Thursday’s games, Kansas City had the easiest route to the playoffs, although the Indians, with a two-game lead over the Royals, had the second-easiest.

Such arithmetic does nothing to change the perception of casual fans. To some of them, the Indians’ record against patsies vs. power teams makes a charade of the whole wild-card race. The Tribe was 15-2 against Chicago, 9-6 against Minnesota, and 3-1 against Houston going into Friday’s game with the Astros.

Now chew on these records against the big-boy teams this season: 4-15 against defending American League champion Detroit and 1-6 against both the Red Sox and the wild-card contending Yankees.

The Tribe is also 2-4 against wild-card contender Tampa Bay. The Indians hold winning records against wild-card hopefuls Texas (5-1), Baltimore (4-3) and KC (10-9).

The historical success and appeal of the Yankees and Red Sox, plus the Tigers’ position as the division’s elite, made those games big. But so did the Indians' variable pricing ticket plan, in which early-season and late-season games against unfashionable franchises are cheap buys.

Dramatic circumstances certainly did little to heighten the appeal of the sad-sack Astros Thursday. Attendance for a tense, 11th-inning Tribe victory was 12,607 at Progressive Field.

As the manager who has been in charge of pulling the strings, massaging the egos, maintaining the focus and virtually resurrecting a team pronounced dead several times this season, Terry Francona pondered the continuing sparse crowds.

Asked if the losses to the big payroll teams, especially a four-game sweep here in August by Detroit, defused fan enthusiasm, Francona said, “If it counted more I would say yes. If you played Boston and you lose, and it was a game and a half (in the standings), I would say yes. But when you lose to Boston, it’s one game. Same with Houston.”

Francona won two World Series with a huge payroll in Boston, breaking the Curse of the Bambino. He has done much more than expected here with something more than a shoestring and less than a sultanate’s resources.

“When you’re putting a team together, revenue is important. When you step on the field, it’s play and try to be one run better than the other team. That’s all you’re thinking about,” said Francona. “As a fan, is it fun to talk about what guys are making and probably for talk radio. But that’s the farthest thing from our mind."

Even against the struggling teams, nothing is guaranteed. Take the 2005 season, when Grady Sizemore lost a ball in the sun in Kansas City on a Sunday, which began the Indians’ 1-6 slide out of what seemed to be a sure playoff season.

The only victory in the last week was against Tampa Bay, whose lame-duck manager, Lou Piniella, fiddled with a “USA Today” crossword puzzle while intermittently addressing the media before the game.

“What’s a nine-letter word for ‘leave quickly?’” Piniella said.

The word turned out to be “skedaddle.”

“That’s what I’m doing -- skedaddling,” said Piniella.

A few days later, the Indians had skedaddled away from the gates of October.

Francona, however, can handle it if the resolution to this season is slow in coming. He wants to linger in the moment. “I love the journey. I get a big kick out of it. There are a lot of ups and downs. You don’t know the end, you don’t know how it’s going to be scripted,” Francona said.

“I’m not one of those people who waits till the end, till you win, and says, ‘Oh that’s was cool,'’‘ he added. “I love being a part of it. We’re in a tremendous challenge, and when you like the people you’re doing it with, I don’t want to miss out on that.

The persistence and resilience of the team has been a great credit to Francona. He could be the best managerial leader the Indians have had since Lou Boudreau. Boudreau was also the American League's Most Valuable Player at shortstop in 1948, the last time the team won the World Series.

For Francona now, the best teams can wait. The best times are at hand.

“We’ll certainly be ready,” said Francona.

Justin Masterson (oblique) threw 33 pitches off a mound Friday.
It was his first time throwing off a mound since an oblique injury on September 2. Masterson is scheduled for another mound session or perhaps a simulated game on Monday or Tuesday. If all goes well, he should return to action before the end of the regular season.

Source: Jordan Bastian on Twitter Sep 20 - 3:58 PM

Tribe's surge toward playoffs putting fans in the seats
Indians, who have won nine of 11 games, draw largest home Sunday crowd of season

By Anthony Castrovince | Archive


9/22/2013 6:39 P.M. ET



CLEVELAND -- Nick Swisher didn't look like a man who had just watched $15,000 of his own money go up in smoke, but he did look exactly like Nick Swisher, which is to say he looked more wired, lively and animated than any human being ought to be on a Sunday morning.

"People work hard around here," Swisher was saying. "The economy has hit this place super hard. Just to give somebody that five, 10 or 15 minutes of just joy and happiness, that's what it's all about."

Swisher was talking about that final flourish of fireworks he financed following Saturday night's win over the Astros -- an admirable gesture of appreciation toward a fan base that has been notoriously slow to warm to these 2013 Indians.

But that trend is changing, because the Indians simply keep giving their fans more than five, 10 or 15 minutes worth of entertainment. They've won nine of 11, and they've grabbed possession of one of the American League's two Wild Card spots, with a favorable final-week schedule that gives them a darned good shot of nailing it down. The Rangers lost again Sunday, and so the Tribe's lead is now 1 1/2 games.

It's getting real around here.

Even with no postgame theatrics (aside from kids running the bases and Justin Masterson throwing a simulated game) planned for the series finale with the Astros, the Indians drew 26,168 to Progressive Field. It was their largest home Sunday crowd of the season.

"The atmosphere the last couple days was great," manager Terry Francona said. "And it should be. This is a fun team to watch."

They were fun to watch this weekend, once again capitalizing on the quality of their opponent. On Sunday, some superb situational hitting backed Corey Kluber in a 9-2 win that completed a four-game sweep of a Houston club on track for 109 losses.

Certainly, no less than a sweep would have been deemed acceptable against an Astros roster that is a veritable who's who of "Who?" But winning the games it would have been embarrassing to lose has been something of an Indians specialty this season. The Tribe's 50-18 record against sub-.500 squads is the best in baseball this season, which is why those six remaining games -- two at home against the White Sox following Monday's off-day and four in Minnesota to close out the regular season -- are all the more appealing.

"It doesn't matter who we're playing, where we're playing, what time we play," Francona said. "It's just a fun time of year to have every game be so meaningful."

Meaningful September baseball ought to resonate in such a traumatized sports town, but the national narrative earlier this month obviously focused on the four-figure crowds that hardly fit the usual formula for a contending club. This weekend, then, was a return to normalcy amidst a story that still seems a bit surreal. A year ago, before Francona came aboard and ushered in a wave of change, nobody could have reasonably imagined the Indians being in this special spot.

This team's ability to go in some unfavorable funks at various points this season has undoubtedly left some waiting for the trap door to reveal itself, but even the most fair-weather of fans would have to admit the seven-day forecast looks sunny (with a chance of tiebreaker). However it turns out, it's a captivating conclusion to a calendar year that has covered every extreme.

Swisher illustrates how long a baseball season can truly be. He was 0-for-4 on Sunday -- a stat line all too familiar at points earlier this year -- but his .940 September OPS prior to that point has been instrumental in the Indians' surge. So, too, has Ubaldo Jimenez's rise from the ashes. You can almost see the dollar signs floating around the 0.64 ERA he's strung together in three September starts leading up to his first foray into free agency.

"It would be hard [to not think about free agency] if we had a lost season," Jimenez said. "But right now it's not hard at all. I don't have time to think about it. The only thing I have in my mind is coming to the ballpark, expecting us to win and hoping to win. That's pretty much everything."

Swisher knows the feeling.

"I've been very fortunate in my career to go to the playoffs a lot, and we've got a bunch of guys in here who have never been in them even once," he said. "I've been telling them this doesn't come around every year. We've got six games left, and we're at the top. We control our own destiny."

Swisher felt the Indians were destined for better days when he signed a four-year, $56 million contract with them last winter, and his enthusiasm to be a big fish in a smallish pond was easy to appreciate, even if it wasn't all that easy to rationalize. After all, nobody really knew how good this Tribe team would be, because there were so many unanswered questions in the lineup and rotation. But they didn't embarrass themselves in April (11-13), they made a strong statement in May (18-12), they survived the summer months (42-39), and they reserved their best baseball for September (15-6). The Tigers took it to them routinely, but the expanded postseason format is forgiving, and the emergence of Jimenez, the return of Kluber and the pending return of Masterson invite optimism should the Tribe get an October invite.

Now, a select group of die-hards who bought in from the beginning are starting to be joined, finally, in those green seats. Swisher thanked them all with that fireworks show set to Ohio-themed tunes, and he hopes that small but meaningful gesture combines with the obviously improved play to create a different vibe around here.

"It's bigger than just a Wild Card spot," Swisher said. "It's more about the turnaround of this organization. It's not necessarily to make the playoffs in year one and that's it. This organization is making strides to be a contender every year. That's the super exciting part about everything. I think we've established an identity this year."

Right now, we identify the Indians as a team in playoff position. They have six games to confirm that identity, with an increasing number of eyes upon them.

No matter how it shakes out, a team that lost 94 games last year is entering the season's final week with something at stake, something to preserve, something to build upon.

"Things aren't like they used to be," Swisher said, animated as ever.

That statement is truer every day.

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

<

Tribe Happenings: A wild wildcard finish is upon us
Asdrubal Cabrera (Photo: AP)

By Tony Lastoria

September 22, 2013

ShareThis

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Wildcard scenarios

With just a week left in the season and still six teams in the wildcard mix, things are setting up to be quite crazy this week.

At the moment the Indians sit at 85-70 and own a half game lead on the Rangers for the second wildcard spot. The Rays lead the way with an 85-69 record, the Rangers are a half game out (84-70), the Yankees are 3.0 games out (82-73), the Orioles are 3.5 games out (81-73) and the Royals are 3.5 games out (81-73).

Here are the remaining schedules for the six wildcard contenders:

Indians (7): ASTROS (1), WHITE SOX (2), at Twins (4)
Rays (8): ORIOLES (2), at Yankees (3), at Blue Jays (3)
Rangers (8): at Royals (1), ASTROS (3), ANGELS (4)
Royals (8): RANGERS (1), at Mariners (3), at White Sox (4)
Orioles (8): at Rays (2), BLUE JAYS (3), RED SOX (3)
Yankees (7): GIANTS (1), RAYS (3), at Astros (3)

The Rays, Indians and Rangers appear to bet setting themselves apart from the pack this weekend, and if all three win on Sunday the race will probably be down to them the final seven days. At this point, all the Indians know is as long as they continue to win and don’t lose, they at least guarantee themselves a tie for one of the wildcard spots with the Rays and/or Rangers.

No matter what though, in any scenario where there is a tie for a wildcard spot the tie breaker will occur on the field as Major League Baseball does not use any crazy formulas based on head-to-head, division record, strength of schedule or and BCS computers to settle who makes it. Any teams tied for the wildcard will play each other in a one-game playoff to earn the final wildcard spot for the right to play in the one-game wildcard playoff.

Since it looks possible that two teams could tie for the final wildcard spot or three teams could tie for both wildcard spots, here is a quick rundown of how the tiebreakers work in those scenarios:

Two-way ties

If for example the Rays finish with the top wildcard record and the Indians and Rangers tie for the second wildcard, then the Indians and Rangers would play in a one-game playoff on Monday September 30th in Cleveland (homefield is determined by head-to-head and Indians won the season series over the Rangers 5-1). The winner would then go on to Tampa to play in a one-game wildcard playoff on Tuesday October 1st.

The only exception to the need for a mandatory “play-in” game would be if two teams finish with the best wildcard records and both are tied. In this case, a tie is broken simply by head-to-head or other secondary tiebreaker measures. So, for example, if the Indians and Rays finish with identical 90-72 records and everyone else finishes 89-73 or worse, then the Rays and Indians are the two wildcard teams and homefield is determined by head-to-head (in this scenario, the Rays would host since they won the season series with the Indians 4-2).

Three-way ties

If three teams tie for the final wildcard spot, then the three teams will be designated as "A", "B" and "C" under a two-game elimination format. In Game 1, A would host B. The following day, in Game 2, the winner of Game 1 would host C. The winner of Game 2 advances to the postseason.

The designations for teams A, B and C is quite convoluted, but in a nutshell if one team has a better record against both of the other teams, and another team has a winning record against the final team, the first team shall get the first pick of their team designation (likely C), the second team gets the second pick (likely A), and the last team is assigned the remaining designation (likely B).

In a situation where there is a three way tie between three teams for both wildcard spots, a tiebreaker series eliminating one of the three teams would follow. Based on a group head to head record, Teams A, B and C would be created. Team B would travel to team A. The winner wins wild card one. The loser would go to team C. The winner of that game wins wild card two. After those two games, wild card teams one and two would play each other in the wild card round with the homefield going to the team with the better regular season head-to-head record.

There is also a chance that there could be a four-way tie for the final wildcard spot. If this happens then the four teams draw spots as teams A, B, C, and D. On the first day team B plays at team A and team D plays at team C. The next day the winners of these games play each other at the ballpark of either team A or B (depending on who won the game) and the winner earns the wildcard berth.

It is still a fuzzy playoff picture, but again, for the Indians the math is simply as they just need to keep beating the teams they should beat and maybe get some help along the way with the Rays and/or Rangers losing a few games.

Gomes has become a core player

The Indians made one of their best trades in quite some time last November when they traded Esmil Rogers to the Blue Jays in exchange for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes.

While at the time of the trade it was considered minor and more to add to the depth of the roster, Aviles carried most of the attention because of his major league experience and his possible consideration as a replacement at shortstop for Cabrera. But as this season has worn on Gomes has proven to be the big acquisition and really looks to be a core player for the Indians for the foreseeable future.

Gomes, 26, is enjoying his first extended experience in the big leagues as in 81 games he is hitting .297 with 10 homers, 34 RBI and .844 OPS. In addition to the productive showing with the bat he has also shown off his defensive skills as he has just three errors and three passed balls all season. He has also shut down the running games of opposing teams as he has thrown out 19 of 46 runners (41.3%).

The Indians initially picked up Gomes in the deal with the Blue Jays because they were attracted to the production and versatility he could provide from the right side of the plate. In his four year minor league career he was a .287 hitter with a healthy .828 OPS, and was considered very athletic with soft hands and a good arm behind the plate. They felt he was undervalued by the Blue Jays and that he had not yet reached his full potential as a catcher, and at the time he provided the Indians with a third catching option for 2013 and possibly a long term backup catching option that they did not have in the system at the time.

Gomes came right in and impressed in spring training. He even skipped the World Baseball Classic and chose not to play for his home country Brazil – the team he had just helped earn a berth a few months earlier – so that he could concentrate on making the opening day roster or at least make a sizable impression on the front office and coaching staff in the spring.

Gomes did that as he showcased his lightning quick catch and throw skills throughout spring training. When he got a chance to play he flat out hit as in 15 games he raked to the tune of a .407 batting average with a homer, 7 RBI and 1.170 OPS in 27 at bats.

Gomes lost out on an opening day roster spot because Marson was the incumbent backup catcher and set to make $1 million this season, but he didn’t last in the minors long as he was called up a week into the season when Marson came down with a concussion and shoulder injury. Known as the first Brazilian player to make it to the major leagues, Gomes has since answered the call and remained with the team ever since.

What Gomes has done since then is stabilize himself as a core member of the roster for the next several years. Assuming he is done with the minors, the Indians control him for five more seasons beyond this season and he is likely to get a more prominent role with the team next year.

Anyone paying attention can see how his playing time has increased significantly in the second half of this season because of how much manager Terry Francona not only trusts his defense and the way he handles a pitching staff, but how potent his bat can be.

It is important to note that Carlos Santana is still viewed as the everyday catcher, but it is obvious to see that the torch is starting to be passed to Gomes and it is possible that at some point next season he will take over the position and be considered the Indians’ regular at the position.

The Indians have no plans to move Santana out from behind the plate, but Gomes’ breakout as a more reliable defensive catcher and his steady offense should at least allow the Indians to explore playing Santana a lot more next season at designated hitter and first base and have close to a 50-50 split in playing time at catcher between Santana and Gomes.

One caveat in all of this is no one should go completely all-in on Gomes as the catcher just yet. It is just his first full season, and Francona has done a nice job of putting him in a position to have success by picking his spots when he plays him. No one knows how he will respond to the pressure of handing the everyday catching duties five to six games a week. Especially when so many players have struggled in their sophomore season.

With that in mind, there is no reason at the moment for the Indians to make a permanent position change for Santana or even consider trading him. Santana’s bat is too valuable and for a team starving for offense it would make little sense to trade away one of the club’s best bat – if not their best offensive contributor.

Considering the rigors of catching and how Gomes is still somewhat of an unknown going into next year, it would be to the Indians benefit to carry two starting quality catchers on the roster. With Santana still at catcher the Indians can ease Gomes into everyday duties. If he proves to be the real deal over the course of next season, then the Indians can hand the keys to the position to him as the team’s number one backstop. If he struggles, then they still have Santana at the position to take over and larger percentage of the playing time.

Right now, the Indians need bats and to have one emerge at the catching position and be a potential Gold Glove caliber defender to boot helps limit their needs going forward. If Gomes maintains his production and performance both offensively and defensively he could even be a guy who gets All Star someday.

The emergence of Gomes has had one of the biggest impacts on the team this season. The Indians have had several players have big breakout or comeback seasons, which is why they have had so much more success this season in the win-loss column.

But Gomes is the one that is the most important because he not only has had such a big effect on this season, but he has a big impact on the Indians long term outlook going forward.

Masterson could pitch this week

Right-hander Justin Masterson appears to be very close to a return to the mound for the Indians, which could be a huge boost to the pitching for the final week and possibly in the playoffs.

Masterson, 28, went down with a strained left oblique in his start against the Orioles on September 2nd and rested for a few weeks before starting a return to throw program recently. On Friday he threw a 33 pitch pen session and it reportedly went great, and all that stands between him returning is a sim-game which will happen on Monday or Tuesday. If he gets the all clear after that session, then he could make a start sometime over the final weekend of the season against the Twins.

With the off day on Monday the Indians adjusted their rotation slightly by sliding up Ubaldo Jimenez to Tuesday so he can pitch on normal rest and pitch two more times if needed before the end of the season. Danny Salazar has been pushed to Wednesday and it is this spot in the rotation that the Indians may be aligning Masterson’s return.

Masterson would likely be limited in his first start back, so the Indians will want to ease him back into things and definitely get him a start before any possible playoff run. Wednesday may be a little early to have Masterson come back and pitch in a piggyback situation, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Masterson and McAllister share their next start (Thursday) which would then keep Masterson in line for Game 1 of the American League Division Series provided the Indians make the playoffs and beat their wildcard opponent.

Postseason roster decisions

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but it is time to start thinking a little bit how the Indians postseason roster will be made up. The wildcard roster will obviously be much different since it is one game, but thinking ahead to a possible playoff series, there are some interesting decisions that loom. Here are some quick thoughts:

What is the four man rotation? Every team pretty much goes with a four man rotation in the playoffs now, and the Indians very likely would be no different. Right now the rotation would probably be Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Corey Kluber, and Scott Kazmir. Zach McAllister or Josh Tomlin would probably make the roster as a spot starter or long man option. As for Danny Salazar, I am not sure he makes the postseason roster since the Indians may be gun shy about him pitching in a new bullpen role he is unprepared for physically.

Drew Stubbs or Matt Carson? As tempting as it would be to add the hot hitting Carson, he is still a journeyman player and was in the minors all season for a reason. Stubbs has been with the team all year, and even though he has really struggled down the stretch with the bat, he is still has more power and is a superior runner and defender. He has to be on the roster even if he is just a late inning pinch runner or defensive replacement.

What about the final bench spot, does it go to Jason Giambi, Jason Kubel or Jose Ramirez? Ramirez adds a great dynamic to the roster with his speed and good contact ability at the plate, and Kubel has some left-handed pop. But, Giambi has been with the team all year, is the team’s leader, and Francona trusts him. Plus he has tons of postseason experience, so he should be on the roster.

If the Indians make the playoffs I will delve much deeper into the roster decisions next week, so in the meantime this is but an appetizer to think about some of the roster possibilities for the postseason.

Parting shots

Second baseman Jason Kipnis is once again having another hot and cold first and second half this season. Last year he hit .277 with 11 HR, 49 RBI and .764 before the All-Star break and then hit .233 with 3 HR, 27 RBI and .650 OPS after it. This year he hit .301 with 13 HR, 57 RBI and .897 OPS before the All Star break and has hit .235 with 4 HR, 23 RBI and .655 OPS after it. … The Indians awful attendance numbers have been beaten to death, but here is another quick attendance number which may surprise you. Last year on Wednesday September 19th in a home game against the Twins the Indians (61-88) drew 13,519 fans. This year, on Thursday September 19th in a home game against the Astros the Indians (82-70) drew 12,607 fans.

What about the final bench spot, does it go to Jason Giambi, Jason Kubel or Jose Ramirez? Ramirez adds a great dynamic to the roster with his speed and good contact ability at the plate, and Kubel has some left-handed pop. But, Giambi has been with the team all year, is the team’s leader, and Francona trusts him. Plus he has tons of postseason experience, so he should be on the roster.

I don't know if anyone's been following the Reds and Billy Hamilton's exploits on the base paths but in my opinion, Jose Ramirez's versatility would be more valuable in a playoff atmosphere than Giambi's part time abilities as a designated hitter and clubhouse presence.

Last year, Billy Hamilton set a minor league record with 155 stolen bases in 132 games and has been successful in all 10 tries in the majors. He's played in 10 games and is 12 for 12 in stolen bases. Speed Kills. If Hamilton is not rostered for post season play, the Reds will be out of their minds.

In a short series, I have to believe that Ramirez would be more of a help than a hindrance. In a short series, I believe that Ramirez's versatility has to be seriously considered.

Well Joe, I know Billy Hamilton and Jose Ramirez is no Billy Hamilton.


He's quick and he can steal, but he already has been thrown out more times in his major league career than Hamilton and, Hamilton has 12 steals to Jose's 3.

There is no way that Giambi is not on that roster unless he asks off of it.

Wait I was wrong on my Ramirez steal stats. He has tried once, and was nailed.

He will not be on the playoff roster.

And the suggestion from Tony or one of his pals that Carson may supplant Stubbs is loony. Stubbs is a fine defensive outfielder and an excellent baserunner. He doesn't hit much, but despite his 7 for 10 Tribe debut, Carson barely hit higher in AAA than Stubbs has hit in the majors.

I think the roster management question for playoffs is will Francona be able to manage with only half seven men in the bullpen?

rusty2 wrote:There is no way that Giambi is not on that roster unless he asks off of it.

Agreed. If Francona has any say in the matter, and we know he does, Giambi is a lock. And, as Tony Lastoria said, "But, Giambi has been with the team all year, is the team’s leader, and Francona trusts him. Plus he has tons of postseason experience, so he should be on the roster."

Players try to live in present in their postseason push

phoynes@cleveland.com

Bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., knows what it's like to be in a stretch run in Cleveland. He did it five times as a player with the Indians from 1995 through 1999.

Asked if there were one bit of advice he could give the current Indians, who are in a six-game, all-or-nothing sprint for one of the two AL wild card spots, Alomar smiled and said, ''I told Nick Swisher, 'Don't look back, something might be gaining on you.''' Hall of Famer Satchel Paige's great quote was fresh in Alomar's mind because it's painted on the wall of the lower concourse at Progressive Field. Alomar walks down that concourse every home game on the way to the Indians' locker room.

The Rays and Indians occupy the two AL wild card spots. Tampa (86-69) owns the first spot, while the Indians (86-70) own the second.

Players are dealing with the wild-card run in their own way.

''You just have to play the game,'' said rookie reliever Cody Allen. ''Last year I was trying to win these games because I was playing for my job. This year we're playing these games to make the postseason.''

Michael Bourn played for Atlanta last year. The Braves finished with a 94-68 record, second behind Washington in the NL East. Then they lost the wildcard game to the 88-win St. Louis Cardinals in a game featuring a disputed infield fly rule.

Bourn knows a flashy record guarantees nothing.

''I just try my best to look at the day I'm playing,'' he said. ''You just have to worry about today.''

As for scoreboard watching, Bourn says he tries to avoid it, ''but sometimes you can't avoid it. It's part of being human.''

The last time the Indians made the postseason, Asdrubal Cabrera arrived from Class AAA in August of 2007 and helped spark them to the AL Central Division title. Now he's an established big-league shortstop trying to get back to the postseason the hard way.

''I feel good about where we're at right now,'' said Cabrera. ''We just have to keep playing the way we're playing. It doesn't matter how you get to the postseason as long as you get there.''

Swisher has played 46 postseason games, appearing with Oakland, the White Sox and Yankees.

''You've got to concentrate on the game that day,'' said Swisher. ''You start looking ahead, you forget to take care of the things you have to do now.''

Catching clinic: Tribe catchers had a great series against the Astros. Yan Gomes went 2-for-2 throwing out potential base stealers, picked two runners off and threw out another trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. Carlos Santana, in the one game he caught, threw out Jose Altuve on Friday night.

In Sunday's 9-2 win, Gomes threw out leadoff hitter Jonathan Villar trying to steal second in the first and picked him off first in the fifth.

''The Astros are a fast team that is still learning a lot of stuff,'' said Alomar, Indians catching coach. ''But they're very aggressive and controlling their running game was huge for us.

''Our pitchers have done a good job of holding runners all year. Stopping Villar, who is their fastest guy, sent a message to their other players.''

Forgotten man: Jason Kubel, acquired from Arizona on Aug. 31, has not played since Sept. 12.

''I'd rather be over here on a team with a chance to go to the postseason,'' said Kubel. ''That's all I can ask for right now.''

Kubel, hitting .167 (3-for-8) in eight games as an Indian, says he's healthy and ready to play.

''I'm just going day by day and see what happens,'' he said.

Finally: Sheldon Ocker, who has covered the Indians for 33 years for the Akron Beacon Journal, was honored in the press box Sunday. Ocker is retiring at the end of the season ... Houston bullpen coach Dennis Martinez, who pitched the Indians into the World Series in 1995 with a victory in Game 6 of the ALCS, was recognized on the scoreboard during Sunday's game. Martinez tipped his cap and the largest Sunday crowd of the season, 26,168, gave him a nice round of applause.

Forgotten man: Jason Kubel, acquired from Arizona on Aug. 31, has not played since Sept. 12.

I, for one, forgot we had him!

With Ubaldo Jimenez and Mickey Callaway on the same page, Cleveland Indians could be headed for a storybook ending

on September 23, 2013 at 7:16 PM, updated September 24, 2013 at 7:14 AM



CLEVELAND, Ohio -- All Ubaldo Jimenez wanted to do was forget. When he went home to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic after last season, he unplugged for a month. No pitching, no running, no thoughts of his 9-17 season.

"The main thing on my mind was just forget, relax and start fresh," said Jimenez. "I wanted to forget. It was just a nightmare."

The Indians had acquired him on July 31, 2011 from Colorado to lead their rotation, and a year later he was one of the American League's worst pitchers. In going 9-17 with a 5.40 ERA in 31 starts, Jimenez led the league in losses and added a AL-high 16 wild pitches.

In Cleveland, after manager Terry Francona was hired following a 94-loss season, he and GM Chris Antonetti started hiring a coaching staff. Mickey Callaway, the Indians' minor-league pitching coordinator, was named pitching coach.

It was a tough decision because Francona liked Kirk Champion, minor-league pitching coordinator for the White Sox. What swung the job in Callaway's favor was his plan to salvage Jimenez's career. He'd put it together by watching hours of video.

Not only did the plan help earn Callaway the job, it earned him two trips to the Dominican last winter to get to know Jimenez, who was greeting his fourth pitching coach since the trade. That does not always make for great beginnings.

But in this case, the relationship that formed is one of the reasons the Indians hold one of the two AL wild-card spots and could make the postseason for the first time since 2007.


"The thing about Mickey is that he doesn't only have good advice to give you, he's also a good listener," said Jimenez. "That's a huge thing.

"When you have a pitching coach that is only telling you what to do and isn't listening, it's hard. Mickey has a lot of knowledge, but he also listens. He's always trying to find out what you think and how you feel you need to improve."

What Callaway found in Jimenez was a pitcher with a sharp mind for his craft, but who was still trying to figure out how to pitch and win without a 98 mph fastball. At that moment, Callaway's plan turned from video to real life.

"The plan changed when I started talking to him," said Callaway. "I let him have a lot of input on how we'd approach it and what he felt comfortable doing and we went from there. We had a plan going into spring training and adjusted to what he wanted to do and how he felt."

Here's how they decided to attack the problem of Jimenez's 2012 nightmare:

To shine a light on the darkness, Callaway said there would be no big changes in Jimenez's delivery, which at times can resemble one of those elaborate mousetraps from a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

"When Mickey came to the Dominican, he told me he just wanted to be there for me," said Jimenez. "But he wasn't going to change anything. He just wanted to make me better. If I have bad mechanics, just try to be good with my bad mechanics."

Then came the all-out blitz to convince Jimenez that he could still win without short-circuiting the radar gun at Progressive Field. Jimenez regularly hit 98 mph with the Rockies in 2010, the year he won 19 games and started the All-Star game for the National League. The velocity was slipping when the Indians acquired him in 2011 for four players, including No.1 picks Drew Pomeranz and Alex White. It slipped even more in 2012.

"Since I got here, everyone was talking to me about velocity and trying to get back to who I was velocity-wise," said Jimenez.

Callaway had a different message: Don't sweat the velocity; with your movement and deception, 91-94 is plenty fast enough.

"I thought if we could just get Ubaldo in the strike zone and attacking hitters with the stuff he already had, that he would be good to go," said Callaway. "Watching his video during the off-season, I was saying, 'Man, his stuff is so good, all he has to do is get it over the plate.' "



From a standpoint of pure heat, Callaway says Jimenez is a long way from a junk-baller.

The thing about Mickey is that he doesn't only have good advice to give you, he's also a good listener. That's a huge thing.
"As far as (velocity) he's ranked (in the top five) over the last couple of years in the American League, but I don't think he looked at it quite that way," said Callaway. "He just looked at it like, 'I can't do what I used to do, so now I can't have the intent of throwing the fastball for a strike.' "

In spring training, they worked on speeding up Jimenez's delivery, standing taller and striding directly to the plate. It was a gradual process, something Callaway calls a "stair-step" approach.

Indians starter Justin Masterson, who struggled as well last year, watched Jimenez's progress.

"I know Mickey talked to a lot of the pitching coaches who had been here before him," said Masterson. "The sense was that there had been a lot of coaching going on here, especially with Ubaldo and myself, and I think he wanted to get to know the guys, build some trust and respect and work from there.

"With Ubaldo they were working, working and working. Then it was like, 'Let's take your hands off and let Ubaldo be Ubaldo.' You've seen him slowly work into being where he is now. That's a pretty thing to see."

Callaway said his goal is to get every pitcher to be his own coach. It's something he came to appreciate at the end of his 14-year career that included pitching 40 games in the big leagues with Tampa Bay, the Angels and Texas.

From 2005-07, Callaway pitched in Korea. In 2009, he pitched in Taiwan.

"I had to coach myself all those years," said Callaway, 38. "I had an interpreter, but I didn't really work with the pitching coaches. It was a good time for me to make my mechanical adjustments and do my prep work on how to approach hitters. I did that all on my own."

Callaway still might be pitching in the Far East, but he needed Tommy John surgery in 2008, and took a job as the head coach at Texas A&M International in Laredo, Texas, so he could complete his rehab, only to injure his right shoulder in Taiwan in 2009.

"It was time to be a coach," said Callaway, who worked his way up through the Indians' minor league system with stops at Class A Lake County in 2010 and Class A Kinston in 2011. Last year he was the minor-league pitching coordinator.

On Sept. 2, Masterson, the Indians' 14-game winner, went down with a strained left oblique. Since then Jimenez, who starts Tuesday against Chicago, is 3-0 with a 31 strikeouts, three walks and two earned runs allowed in 28 1/3 innings.

Jimenez (12-9, 3.39) is 5-5 since the All-Star break with a 1.77 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 23 walks in 11 starts covering 71 innings.

"Whether we have Masterson sidelined or not," said Francona, "when Ubaldo takes the ball right now, he has legitimate, top-of-the-league stuff."

Early in the season, at Callaway's suggestion, Jimenez threw two bullpen sessions between starts to help stabilize his delivery. He's no longer doing that, but in his last six or seven starts, Jimenez has been throwing nothing but fastballs in his bullpen sessions, and his velocity is increasing.

It has made Jimenez, in Francona's words, "a tough pitcher to draw a bead on."

Over the last couple of years, with Jimenez doubting his fastball, he wasn't throwing it for strikes because it was getting hit. It made him rely more and more on his breaking pitches, which in turn made it easier for hitters because they could ignore the fastball.

Now he's throwing his fastball and off-speed pitches for strikes.

In a twist of baseball economics -- some would call it Cleveland luck -- Jimenez is pitching his best just when it is getting time to leave. He can be a free agent at the end of the season with a $8 million mutual option for 2014. What that means is that either side can walk away from the deal.

Jimenez says he's not thinking about free agency. He's concentrating only on helping the Indians reach the postseason. So if this is his best and only shot as an Indian, what other choice is there but to sit back and enjoy?

As for the elusive 98 mph, Jimenez, 29, says it may not be lost forever.

"Right now I don't have the same velocity that I had in 2010," he said, "but I know once I rest and start over again, I'll probably have it again because my mechanics are pretty much the same and my arm feels really good."

If that should happen, a lot of it will be due to Jimenez and more than a little to Callaway.