Cleveland Sports Forum

Santana and Raburn are listed as backup 1Bs on the depth chart here:

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/team/d ... p?c_id=cle

And Giambi is listed on this one:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/depth/_/nam ... nd-indians

Trevor Bauer stays sharp in Columbus: Cleveland Indians Class AAA Insider

Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer By Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 25, 2014 at 12:04 PM, updated April 25, 2014 at 1:31 PM

CLEVELAND – Following his solid spot start for the Indians on April 6, right-hander Trevor Bauer went back to the Class AAA Columbus Clippers and has had two solid outings.

On a freezing night in Toledo on April 17, Bauer persevered with six shutout innings, striking out nine and walking one. His fastball reached 96 mph.

On Tuesday, Bauer was efficient in a 11-1 victory over Gwinett, which snapped the Clippers' seven-game losing streak. He scattered six hits, struck out three and walked three in 6 2/3 innings. In three starts (18 2/3 innings) with Columbus, Bauer's numbers are: 2-0, 0.96 ERA, 21 strikeouts, 6 walks, 18 hits.

“He is attacking hitters with his fastball and throwing his off-speed pitches for both strikes and swing and miss. In the early going, this is allowing him to work more efficiently on the mound and pitch deeper into games,'' said Ross Atkins, Indians vice president of player development.

Should the Indians decide to demote Danny Salazar for some refining, he is lined up with Bauer's turn in the rotation. Clippers right-hander Josh Tomlin, meanwhile, is aligned with Carlos Carrasco's turn in the Tribe rotation.

Tomlin hasn't been quite as sharp as Bauer. In his first three starts, he pitched 18 innings and allowed eight runs (all earned) on 13 hits (three homers) and nine walks, with 12 strikeouts. Tomlin did not walk a batter in 29 innings last year, when he was coming off reconstructive elbow surgery, and Atkins said the walks are not a concern yet.

“Josh Tomlin is an experienced starter with an incredible feel to pitch,'' Atkins said. “He is showing more arm strength than he did pre-injury. He does everything to help himself on the mound. He attacks the strike zone, holds runners and fields his position well. It’s beyond impressive to hear his thoughts on how he reads hitters in the box and develops a plan of attack.''

Hermann returns: Right-handed reliever Frank Herrmann arrived in Columbus from extended spring training this week. He pitched a scoreless inning Thursday, walking two. Herrmann, who turns 30 next month, spent part of three seasons with the Indians and pitched well in 2012, but had Tommy John elbow surgery March 31, 2013. In two appearances with the Indians in spring training, he allowed six runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings.

“He is now back to full health and effectively used spring training and extended outings to build his arm strength,'' Atkins said. “It’s very encouraging that his fastball is back into the mid 90’s along with good rotation on his breaking ball.''

This will be in your morning paper, for those of you kind enough to pick one up, and it’s been online a couple hours — but I figured this is one story where the full, uncut version should live on somewhere. So, here. Actually, quite a bit got left on the cutting room floor as is, because Duane Kuiper can tell a story with the best of them. I’m sure Duane will tell a few more during tomorrow night’s game, and CSN will air a feature about his one and only career homer at 6:30 on Friday night that I hear is pretty good. Alright, to the off-day story, on the one homer of Duane Kuiper’s 3,754-plate appearance career.

SAN FRANCISCO — When Frank Robinson took charge of the Cleveland Indians in 1975, the manager had a stern message for rookie second baseman Duane Kuiper.

“He sat me down and said, ‘If you hit the ball in the air, you’re not going to play.’ And I believed it, because who doesn’t believe him?” Kuiper said this week. “I’d hit five balls out of 10 in the air and he would pull me into his office and go, ‘You’re right on the edge of sitting down.’

“So I was really cognizant of just slashing it.”

In a dozen big league seasons, Kuiper slashed, lined, chopped and bunted his way to a .271 average. Only one of his 917 hits, though, was a home run, and for that, Kuiper stands alone in the annals of baseball history. No player has more plate appearances with just one homer than Kuiper’s 3,754. The next closest in modern baseball is Emil Verban who, to borrow Kuiper’s catchphrase, “hit it high, hit it deep, outta here!” just once in 3,109 plate appearances.

The Giants and CSN Bay Area will celebrate Kuiper’s rare feat Friday, handing out 40,000 commemorative bobbleheads before the series opener with the Indians, for whom Kuiper played eight productive seasons. An event like this couldn’t happen unless the centerpiece has a sense of humor about it, and – this surely won’t surprise anyone who has listened to Kuiper broadcast a game – the play-by-play man always has been able to laugh about pacing the club of little clout.

In the Associated Press story celebrating Kuiper’s first homer in 1,382 big league at-bats, he joked: “This should put to rest forever the question of whether the ball is juiced up this year.” Thirty-seven years later, he responds to a reporter’s query with one of his own.

“The thing I always ask myself, and I’ll ask it about this function: If I would have hit two, would there be a bobblehead?” Kuiper said. “No? Well, then this is fantastic!”

Kuiper has called thousands of homers, including Barry Bonds’ 756th, but he still vividly remembers the details of his own. With one out and the bases empty in the bottom of the first on August 29, 1977, the left-handed hitter took Chicago White Sox right-hander Steve Stone deep to right.

“We were probably pretty much awestruck that he would keep that power hidden for so long,” said former teammate Bill Melton, who hit a league-best 33 homers in 1971. “I was talking to Buddy Bell not long ago and we were trying to figure out which was the bigger event: The death of Elvis Presley (earlier that month) or Duane Kuiper’s home run? Who was the true King?”

As Kuiper prepared for his second at-bat that August night, Melton approached him in the dugout and pointed out that the bat was a keepsake.

“He said, ‘You’re not going to use that bat again, are you?’” Kuiper recalls. “You might regret it if you don’t ever hit another one.”

Kuiper never did. Instead, he immediately went back to the style that kept him in the big leagues past his 35th birthday. In his first at-bat as a major league home run hitter, Kuiper squared to bunt before flying out.

“I’m sure I didn’t fly out very deep into the outfield,” he said, chuckling.

The lonely homer was a running joke in the Giants booth when Kuiper first teamed with Mike Krukow, who in a 1984 “Sports Illustrated” article, said of his future partner: “It’s not that (he) lacks the power to hit a homer. It’s just that he’d have to stand on second base, toss the ball in the air and fungo it.”

For years, when a Giant would hit his first career homer, Krukow would pull out an old joke. “He just tied Duane Kuiper on the all-time home run list.” The line ran its course, and these days Krukow — who homered five times as a pitcher — is quick to defend his partner’s career, saying he was hell to pitch to. Krukow wishes more of today’s uppercut-happy middle infielders would emulate Kuiper’s approach.

“He was disciplined – his job was to get pitches, bunt, get the runner over, get on base,” Krukow said. “Kuip gets ridiculed for only hitting one home run in 10 years, but he never tried to hit a home run.”
The one that did clear the fence produced plenty of memorabilia. Kuiper kept the ball, the bat and the jersey and even tracked down the stadium seat his homer dented. It sat in his attic for 25 years before his kids had it pulled down a month ago in preparation for the bobblehead night. For a while, Kuiper even had a black shirt that read: “Official Duane Kuiper Homerun T-Shirt,” but it was swiped from his bag during a road trip.

The greatest keepsake, though, was a memory still fresh in Kuiper’s mind. The Monday night game was nationally televised, giving Kuiper’s father, who lived in Wisconsin, the rare opportunity to watch his son play. He witnessed a once-in-a-career moment, but four years later, Kuiper almost altered his place in longball lore.

He again was facing Stone, who by then was a Baltimore Oriole and coming off a Cy Young season. In his first at-bat that night, Kuiper hit one off the very top of the fence, settling for an RBI double. Earl Weaver yanked Stone a batter later.

“He kind of gazed at me like, I can’t believe you almost did it to me twice,” Kuiper said. “I remember thinking, ‘God, I wish it would have gone out.’ But for his sake, I’m glad it didn’t.

“That would have been impossible.”

Tomlin had his best start by far last night; 7 shutout innings. I'd gladly trade Danny and Carlos for Josh and Trevor right now. Danny will be back. Carlos is nearing the end of my patience; not sure I'd want him in the bullpen either, he's just too inconsistent. Salazar's nonsense about giving away his pitches is his first example of immaturity; Carrasco has had many of those.

Yeah, and he can't hit a lick either.

Slump or toothache to blame for Carlos Santana's batting average? Cleveland indians notebook



SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – There is still no explanation for why Carlos Santana is hitting .128 (10-for-78) with three RBI as the Indians cleanup hitter except for the one that is as old as baseball itself.

“He’s in a slump,” said hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. “He’s been trying to do a little too much in the games. His work has been great. He just needs to get a couple of hits and get the monkey off his back.”

Last year Santana hit .389 (28-for-72) with five homers and 13 in April. In his career, he’s a .242 (72-for-298) hitter in the first month of the season.

Santana went through big changes over the winter, moving from catcher to third base. He’s played fine defensively, but he hasn’t hit.

Time and time again, Santana has said the change hasn’t bothered his offense.

“As a player, when you go into a slump, sometimes it’s hard to get over that mental hump,” said Van Burkleo. “He’s had a little bit of hard luck that would have helped ease the pressure of it. He’s showing signs of coming out of it.

Santana took a 0-for-3 with a walk in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Giants. In the fifth, with Nick Swisher on third and one out, he hit a hard shot to first that Brandon Belt knocked down for the second out.

There is a physical side to slumps as well. When the Indians were in Detroit, Santana had his left thigh wrapped. He said he strained a groin muscle and that it was affecting his hitting.

Santana told a reporter Friday that he was having trouble with his wisdom teeth. On Saturday, he said he is going to get two of them extracted at the end of the season.

Asked if that was bothering his hitting, Santana shook his head and said, “No more excuses.”

Toe the line: So far Francona has been reluctant to take Santana out of the cleanup spot. Last year he showed the same reluctance to move Kipnis to the bottom of the lineup after he struggled early in the season.

“I’ve thought about doing things like that,” said Francona. “I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do for our team. If he got to a point where he looked like he couldn’t handle it, that’s different.

“But when he hits . . .and he will . . .he helps everybody because he’s right smack in the middle of it. He breaks up our lefties. We could hit Michael Brantley in the cleanup spot, but you don’t want to have every lefty in the league lineup up to face Kipnis and Brantley in the seventh inning.”

Not too worry: Asdrubal Cabrera wanted to make sure people understood why he stole third base Friday night with two out in the ninth inning and the Tribe down 5-1.

“A lot of people have asked me about that,” said Cabrera, before Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Giants.

First, Cabrera knows he has to make sure he’s safe if he’s going to steal in that situation.

“I’ve got to be sure I can make it,” he said.

Now for Cabrera’s reasoning behind the steal.

“We’re down by four runs,” he said. “We’ve got runners on first (Ryan Raburn) and second (himself) with Michael Bourn, a left-handed hitter at the plate. If I steal third, that means they have to hold Raburn at first. That creates a lot of holes on the infield for Bournie and he can change the game.”

Bourn, however, grounded out to first for the final out of the game.

“I’m just trying to win,” said Cabrera.

Asked if it was a good play, Francona said, “As long as he’s safe. He better always be safe. The last thing you want to do is run into an out in a situation like that.

“You can say, “What did it do because we still needed four runs.’ But Cabbie has been very aggressive in all of his game. He laid a bunt down, he moved up on a ball in the dirt. He’s out there trying to spark us.”

Cabrera is hitting .218 (19-for-87) with one homer, seven RBI and two steals.

“I pull so hard for Cabbie,” said Francona. “He wants desperately to be good and help us win. The other day, we had guys on first and second base. Right after the guy in front of him got a hit, he turned around and looked at me to see if I wanted him to bunt. Those are the little things that let me know guys are thinking about winning.”

Quirky Cleveland Indians keeping things interesting: MLB insider

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The drought-stricken state of California might never let the Indians go home. They’ve been here twice already this season and each time they’ve brought rain with them.

No surprise because the Indians have an unusual nature about them this year.

Close your eyes for a moment. Erase the first 23 games from your memory and think about this. If you had to name a Tribe third baseman who would be hitting .400 on April 26 and another third baseman who would be playing steady to great defense, the answers would be easy, right?

Guess what? Lonnie Chisenhall is the guy hitting .400, while Carlos Santana is flashing leather at third, but hitting only .133.

The Indians are 11-13 following Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Giants, and as Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto wrote last week, they’re lucky to be that good.

They’ve managed to stay close in the tightly bunched AL Central based mostly on the offensive efforts of Michael Brantley, David Murphy and Yan Gomes, the last four guys in the bullpen – Marc Rzepczynski, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw and John Axford – and some solid starts by Zach McAllister, Corey Kluber and Justin Masterson.

The fourth and fifth starters, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, are a combined 0-6 with a 7.43 ERA in eight starts.

The top of the order, headed by Nick Swisher and Jason Kipnis, has been lukewarm. The return of leadoff hitter Michael Bourn, who is swinging a hot bat, should create some opportunities, but Swisher, Kipnis and Santana have to cash them in.

Santana, hitting cleanup in all of his 22 starts, has three RBI.

“We need to be is more consistent in all facets of our game,” said GM Chris Antonetti.

The concerns of Antonetti and manger Terry Francona seem to grow every day.

Defensively, the Indians have been awful. Gomes, the man they handed

the starting catcher’s job to last year and a six-year $23 million extension to in spring training, leads all catchers with six errors. He had three last year.

It’s just not Gomes. The Indians are tied with Oakland for the most errors in the AL with 22.

Antonetti is not buying the excuse that the Indians have played most of their games in cold and unpleasant weather.

“It’s been cold for the other teams as well,” he said. “We need to play better defense.”

Francona did a great job handling the bullpen last year, but that was with a rotation that gave him innings. This year’s starters have protected the bullpen somewhat in the last two turns through the rotation, but they still rank ninth in the AL and 24th in the big leagues with only 130 1/3 innings.

Kluber’s complete game four-hitter over the Royals on Thursday certainly helped, but that’s the exception not the norm. What the Indians need are five starters consistently giving them five to seven innings a start.

Masterson’s lost velocity is another concern. Everyone involved says he’s healthy, but just not throwing as hard as he did for much of last year. Where Masterson goes from here will be an interesting case study, but since his velocity was down in spring training, it certainly played a part in his lengthy negotiations with the Indians not producing a multiyear deal.

The next concern is two-fold: Carrasco and Salazar. The Indians have Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin waiting at Class AAA Columbus. The Indians could move Carrasco to the bullpen, he’s out of option, and send Salazar to Columbus, but when do they do it?

Francona always talks about the balancing act a team must perform. How much time do they give a player to develop at the big leagues while trying to win as man games as possible? It sounds as if they’ve reached that stage with Carrasco and Salazar.

The main job of a starting pitcher is to give his team a chance to win. Carrasco and Salazar haven’t done that.

This week in baseball.

There are three strikes in an out and three outs in every half inning. Here are two more sets of three to think about from last week in baseball. (All stats through Friday).

Three up


1. Former Indians set-up man Joe Smith is the Angels new closer. He replaces Ernesto Frieri, 0-2 with two blown saves and a 8.38 ERA.

2. Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee beat the Dodgers on Monday with his 30th career game of 10 or more strikeouts – two with the Indians, three with Seattle, three with Texas and 22 with the Phillies.
3. Tuesday night, Atlanta’s Alex Wood (11), Tampa's David Price (12), Houston’s Collin McHugh (12) and Miami’s Jose Fernandez (14) all topped 10 strikeouts. (Courtesy of The Bill Chuck Files).

Three down


1. The Diamondbacks, off to their worst start in franchise history, will be without slugger Mark Trumbo for an extended period because of a stress fracture in his left foot.

2. Seattle center fielder Abraham Almonte it hitting .215 (20-for-93) while leading the American League with 3 strikeouts.

3 Kansas City’s Salvador Perez has hit Cincinnati Aroldis Chapman and Royals coach Rusty Kuntz with line drives, sending them both to surgery.

Tribe talk


"I didn't want Bournie (Michael Bourn) going back on a ball in center field and look down and see a squirrel. I don't think they can review that play,” Cody Allen on the Rally Squirrel that appeared at Progressive Field on Monday night.

MLB talk

“When you go through three years of constantly hoping, you kind of run out of hope. Come to a team like this, where every day we’re going out to win – not hoping to win – it’s a lot different,” Brewer right-hander Matt Garza to mlb .com Friday after beating his old team, the Cubs.

Stat-o-matic

1. Improvement: Last year the Rockies No.4 and No.5 starters were a combined 8-32. This year No.5 starter Jordan Lyles, acquired from Houston over the winter, is 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA.

2. Strikeout machine: Miami’s Jose Fernandez, who struck out 14 in eight innings Tuesday, has at least one strikeout in in his last 14 straight innings.

3. More over Kirby: Minnesota’s Chris Colabello on Friday drove in his 27th run in April to break Kirby Puckett’s franchise record set in 1994.

400 hitter may get the call, briefly. Unfortunately he's not on the 40-man roster, so this might be difficult to achieve. But then there's no other catcher on the 40-man except Gomes. Even for paternity leave callup, they'd have to DFA someone to make room for Perez.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Indians are expected to add a catcher in the near future depending on when Yan Gomes’ wife, Jenna, goes into labor.

It would be quite a story if the catcher turns out to be Roberto Perez at Class AAA Columbus. Perez is currently hitting .410 (16-for-39) with two doubles, three homers and 27 RBI. It’s a big improvement from last year when Perez hit .172 (33-for-187) with 12 doubles and 24 RBI at Columbus. The reason for Perez’s resurgence is simple – he has full use of both eyes.

Ross Atkins, Indians director of minor league development, said Sunday that Perez was suffering from Bell’s palsy last year. Bell’s palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve. Atkins said Perez was unable to close his left eye. “He literally could not close his eye for months,” said Atkins. “He had to put a patch over it to try and sleep. It really affected his ability to see the ball for months.

“The whole time he was in Columbus, he had Bell’s palsy. He just started getting over it in spring training this year. It was a slow and gradual improvement. You can still see it in his face.” The Indians talked about putting Perez on the disabled list. “We left it up to him, but this kid is really tough,” said Atkins. “He couldn’t blink. He had deal with dryness (in the cornea), fatigue and the mental drain.”

The Indians drafted Perez, 25, in 2008 out of Mayaguez, P. R. He’s gone to big league spring training the last two years.

Hey, Joe: Joe Smith, who spent the last five years in the Indians’ bullpen, will be in the other bullpen Monday when the Indians open a three-game series at Angel Stadium. Smith, who signed a three-year $15.75 million deal with the Angles over the winter, just moved into the closer spot last week.

“The first thing I can think of is when Smitty is walking to the Angels bullpen, which is right in front of our bullpen in Anaheim, is the amount of grief Cashie (bullpen coach Kevin Cash) is going to give him,” said manager Terry Francona. “When we play him for three days, I don’t want him to carve us up, but I think so much of Smitty.

“I mean if you’re looking to not like Smitty, you’ve really got to try. He shows up everyday. He wants the ball. I mean I hope he comes in and he hangs a breaking ball and somebody hits it a mile, but that doesn’t change how I feel about him.”
Smith is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 11 appearances for the Angels. He replaced Ernesto Frieri as closer.

Reason why: Corey Kluber was told before Saturday’s game that he could pinch run for Jason Giambi if he got on base late in the game. Kluber did just that in the ninth inning when Giambi was hit by a pitch to start the inning in the Tribe’s 5-3 loss. Francona said he used Kluber in that situation because he didn’t represent the tying run. He was saving Elliot Johnson to pinch run for Nick Swisher if he got on base later in the inning. Swisher, however, grounded out.
Kluber did reach second base before the game ended.

“It was fun until I got to second,” said Kluber. “It was so loud I couldn’t hear Sarbie (third base coach Mike Sarbaugh) to make sure I wouldn’t get picked off.”

Last year Kluber walked and scored a run against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Zach McAllister started Saturday’s and got his first big-league hit, a single in the second inning. “Most pitchers like to think we’re pretty good athletes who can make plays and get hits,” said McAllister. “It’s always fun when you can get a hit.” McAllister kept the ball as a memento. In the fourth, with runners on first and second and one out, McAllister put down a bunt, but the Giants turned it into a double play.

It’s a part of Interleague play that Francona dislikes. “It’s a huge disadvantage to ask a guy who might do this once a year to try and get a bunt down or get a hit,” said Francona. “It’s probably one of my most least favorite things about (interleague play) because I don’t think it’s fair.”

Finally: Here are the Tribe’s pitching matchups against the Angels: Justin Masterson (0-0, 4.50) vs. LHP Tyler Skaggs (2-0, 3.21) Monday at 10:05 p.m.; Corey Kluber (2-2, 3.90) vs. RHP Jered Weaver (1-2, 4.11) Tuesday at 10:05 p.m. and Carlos Carrasco (0-3, 6.95) vs. LHP C.J. Wilson (3-2, 3.69) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

This comes from some Fantasy site:

Just look at the way Santana's 2013 went. He had a month-long stretch beginning in early May in which he hit .169. He had a 13-game stretch a couple weeks later in which he hit .146 and a 14-game stretch in August in which he hit .115

A precursor of diminishing skills ??? I hope not.

No that means that he also had a number of very hot streaks in 2013. We can look those up, if we're so inclined.

But I still don't see why Chisenhall shouldn't play some more 3rd and Giambi DH against more right handers and Carlos stays out of the lineup a little bit. He certainly isn't helping the team by playing.

And I look forward to Sra. Gomes' delivery and Sr. Perez's major league debut. He's supposed to have another great arm and is having a career month at the plate.

I read the story about his Bells Palsy. It's amazing he played through it last year. My wife had Bell Palsy and it took her a long time to recover. That's enough to make anyone slump. Maybe they should check four or five of our starters and see if that's their problem.

Carrasco Headed For Indians Bullpen


By T.J. ZUPPE, 92.3 The Fan Indians Beat Reporter April 29, 2014 2:06 AM



(92.3 The Fan) - Following Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona informed reporters that pitcher Carlos Carrasco had been removed from the Tribe’s starting rotation, and will now pitch out of the club’s bullpen for the time being.

In Carrasco’s place, Zach McAllister will pitch Wednesday’s contest against the Angels on short rest.

Because of the club’s off-days, the Indians will not need an additional starter until May 6. When asked if Carrasco would rejoin the rotation then or remain in the bullpen, Francona told reporters, “We’ll see.”

The 27-year-old hurler won the Tribe’s fifth starter job in Spring Training, but has remained an enigma as a starting pitcher. He is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in four starts this season.

However, he seemed to find comfort in a bullpen role last season, logging a 1.32 ERA in eight relief appearances. He struck out 11 in 13.2 innings, allowing only seven hits and two runs.

If the move to the pen becomes permanent, conventional wisdom would suggest 23-year-old Trevor Bauer is a strong possibility to replace Carrasco.

Bauer’s last start at Triple-A Columbus came on Sunday. He improved to 3-0 in four starts with the Clippers, posting a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings.

He made a spot start with Cleveland on April 9 against San Diego, striking out a career-high eight batters in six innings. Bauer allowed two runs, one earned, but was saddled with the loss.

After pitching well in Spring Training, Josh Tomlin is also a possibility. Tomlin is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts with the Clippers this season.

Makes sense

What's happening with Nick Swisher's defense at first base? Hey, Hoynsie


Hey, Hoynsie: I have often heard that first base is Nick Swisher's best position and that he is among the better first basemen in the American League. In watching the games this year, I've been astonished at the poor quality of his play. Granted, the throws have often been bad and the errors not his. However, his failure to at least prevent the ball from getting past him has been surprising. He doesn't come off the base to get the ball and at times looks like he simply whiffed on the throw. His defensive play, in general, seems substandard. What is your impression? -- John Eckhard, Rochester, N.Y.

Hey, John: The Indians in general and Swisher in particular have played poor defense in the first month of the season.

Swisher made a critical error in the eighth inning Monday night that set the Angels’ victory in motion. Even if he had handled the ball cleanly on J.B. Shuck’s swinging bunt to start the inning, I’m not sure he would have been able to flip the ball to Justin Masterson at the bag, but at least he would have given himself a chance.

Swisher has spent most of his career in the outfield. At the start of the season, according to baseball-reference.com, he had started 932 games in the outfield (705 in right, 125 in center and 102 in left) and 349 at first. The inexperience didn’t show that much last year when he made only eight errors in 112 games and displayed good range. Perhaps it’s catching up to him this year.

As you pointed out, there have been times when Swisher stayed on the bag too long trying to get the out instead of playing it safe and conceding the base so he could catch the ball. Other times throws have hit him square in the glove and he’s dropped them.

Infield coach Mike Sarbaugh says Swisher has good enough hands and range to be a Gold Glove first baseman. Francona said some of Swisher’s problems come from moving his head too much and not getting a true read on the ball.

Hey, Hoynsie: Is Carlos Santana’s slump at the plate really due to the efforts he’s made in making the move from catcher to third base? Or is it just part of a slump that every player goes through? – Rich Smith, Columbus.

Hey, Rich: I think both things have played a part in Santana’s slump. I’ve never seen him struggle at the plate like this and you can tell it’s bothering him.

Monday night Santana homered and singled so perhaps he’s coming out of it.

Two things that have been impressive about Santana during his slow start – he’s played a solid third base and still has as many walks (21) as he does strikeouts. It shows just how disciplined he’s been able to stay.

Hey, Hoynsie: With attendance and weather always spotty in the spring, why do the Indians charge more for tickets on game day and discourage a walk up crowd? Do they want to reduce ticket office staff? – Joe Carroll, Cleveland.

Hey, Joe: The Indians have asked fans to buy their tickets early because that’s where fans can save the most money. If fans wait until the day of the game, the tickets are going to be more expensive in many cases under the dynamic ticket pricing system that they use.

I don’t think they’re trying to discourage walk-up crowds, but when they have an idea of what kind of crowd to expect, they are better able to serve the fans at Progressive Field. Besides, how many walk-up crowds are they going to get in April when it’s 40 degrees and the wind is howling?

Hey, Hoynsie: Do the Indians’ coaches worry about relievers not throwing enough pitches to stay sharp? If pitchers throw too few pitches for an extended period of time, how does the coaching staff help make sure they maintain their mechanics? – Jefferson Wolfe, Dumfries, Va.

Hey, Jefferson: With the Indians’ starting rotation not pitching many innings in the first month of the season, there’s been plenty of work for the relievers. Manager Terry Francona likes to use his bullpen and goes to it often.

If a reliever hasn’t pitched in a few days, and feels like he needs some work, he’ll throw a brief bullpen session or stay sharp by playing catch with teammates. They usually don’t throw a whole lot between appearances because they never know when Francona will need them in a game.

Relievers have to save their bullets.

Hey, Hoynsie: When are the Indians going to finally accept that the Cliff Lee trade was a complete failure and let Carlos Carrasco go? – Bobby Reichert, La Crosse, Wis.

Hey, Bobby: I think the Indians accepted the shortcomings of the Lee deal a long time ago. But I wonder if you have?

As for Carrasco, the Indians announced Monday night that he’s going to the bullpen and it sounds like he’ll be staying there for a while. He’s out of options and unless he pitches well in the pen, I would imagine this would probably his last year in the organization.

Hey, Hoynsie: In 1972 at age 33, Gaylord Perry went 24-16. He started 40 games and finished 29 of them. His ERA was 1.92 and he pitched 342 plus innings. Nowadays 200 innings mark a Herculean effort and 100 pitches in a game make managers cringe. Are today’s pitchers that much more fragile? Is Nolan Ryan correct saying pitchers need to pitch more, not less? -- Larry Wiley, South Euclid.

Hey, Larry: You have to realize that Perry was an exception rather than the rule. He’s a Hall of Famer and had the help of a “magic" pitch.

Look at how many starting pitchers have gone down just this season with Tommy John surgery. Is it because they didn’t pitch enough, pitched too much, did too much weight training or not enough? It’s a debate without an answer.

The Texas Rangers pitching staffs that Ryan helped put together have been marred by injury. So no one has the perfect remedy.

Teams have millions invested in pitchers and they go to extremes to protect those investments and they still lose pitchers to serious injuries every year. Remember how careful the Indians handled CC Sabathia in Cleveland? Is that the reason he’s still pitching effectively for the Yankees at this stage of his career or is it just a matter of being dipped in the right gene pool?

No one knows.

Hey, Hoynsie: Does the transfer rule apply only to an outfielder or to every other position player, like the shortstop, second baseman and catcher? Does the new transfer rule apply to all positions? Please convince me that MLB is not changing the rules that have survived over years and years of playing the game. -- Keith Conklin, Twinsburg.

Hey, Keith: Great question and I’m glad I don’t have to answer it. As Indians utility man Elliot Johnson, victimized by the strict interpretation of the transfer rule earlier in the season, said over the weekend, “common sense’ has returned to the game.

The MLB Rules committee last week instructed umpires to review “transfer" plays in the outfield and on the bases as they’ve been doing in years past. They said if an out is made by a player catching the ball or tagging a base and the player drops the ball while moving it from his glove to his throwing hand, the out will stand.