Cleveland Sports Forum

Gold Glove Nominees Announced. Two are Tribesmen. Neither Swisher nor Kipnis qualified, surprisingly.

The Gold Glove finalists for the 2014 Major League Baseball season have officially been announced. There are always some surprises in this particular list because everyone has different ways of evaluating defense, but for the most part all the names in the field warrant consideration for the honor.

Here are the finalists at each position, as released by Rawlings Sports on Twitter:



2014 Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists

Position American League Finalists

Pitcher Mark Buehrle (Toronto Blue Jays), Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners), Dallas Keuchel (Houston Astros)

Catcher Alex Avila (Detroit Tigers), Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians), Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals)

First Base Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), Eric Hosmer (Kansas City Royals), Albert Pujols (Los Angeles Angels)

Second Base Robinson Cano (Seattle Mariners), Ian Kinsler (Detroit Tigers), Dustin Pedroia (Boston Red Sox)

Third Base Josh Donaldson (Oakland Athletics), Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers), Kyle Seager (Seattle Mariners)

Shortstop J.J. Hardy (Baltimore Orioles), Alcides Escobar (Kansas City Royals), Alexei Ramirez (Chicago White Sox)

Left Field Michael Brantley (Cleveland Indians), Yoenis Cespedes (Boston Red Sox), Alex Gordon (Kansas City Royals)

Center Field Jackie Bradley Jr. (Boston Red Sox), Adam Eaton (Chicago White Sox), Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles)

Right Field Kole Calhoun (Los Angeles Angels), Kevin Kiermaier (Tampa Bay Rays), Nick Markakis (Baltimore Orioles)

AL Champ Royals led the way with 4 nominees.
AL runnerup Orioles tie for second with 3.
AL playoff teams Detroit with 3, Los Angeles 2; wild card loser Oakland with 2.

Only teams with no one: Twins and Yankees. No not Derek Jeter.

Arbitration-eligible (with projected salaries from MLBTR):

(Tribe may "tender" or "non-tender" these guys. I guess that they will all be back other than the obvious one. Tomlin would be let go but they're thin on extra starters at the top of the farm system so he's probably worth the reasonable price. Great price for Shaw and Carrasco)
•Marc Rzepczynski (LHP): $1.9M
•Josh Tomlin (RHP): $1.7M
•Carlos Carrasco (RHP): $1.4M
•Chris Gimenez (C): $700K
•Bryan Shaw (RHP): $1.5M
•Lonnie Chisenhall (3B): $2.2M

Contract options (pick up or buy out):
•Mike Aviles (UTL): $3.5M for 2015 or $250,000 buyout

Cleveland Indians are able to keep Terry Francona because this is where he wants to be -- Terry Pluto

on November 04, 2014 at 7:40 PM, updated November 04, 2014 at 7:57 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Some people in baseball have to be wondering, "Why would Terry Francona want to stay with the Indians?"

That's not a knock on the city or the front office. But in a sport with no salary cap and a team destined to have a payroll in the bottom 10 of the Majors, Francona would seem to have better options.

Yet, he chose Cleveland in 2013 when he decided to return to managing. The man with two World Series rings from Boston never even bothered to interview anywhere else.

He wanted to work for team President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Chris Antonetti. He likes the Dolan ownership.

The 55-year-old Francona even has an "out clause" in his contract if the front office is fired. The Indians never talk about this, but the clause remains a part of his contract extension.

Before the 2013 season, Francona signed a four-year deal with a club option. The Indians added more years to his deal on Tuesday. Now, Francona is signed through 2018 -- with the team having options for 2019 and 2020.

Francona had no agent. He didn't approach the front office about an extension -- they came to him.

The manager exchanged emails with Antonetti. At one point, he asked Antonetti "tell me what I'm making now." He wasn't exactly sure, because he's not consumed with being the game's highest paid manager.

"Once I sign a contract and I'm comfortable, I don't look back (at the salary)," said Francona.

PEOPLE MATTER

The reason Francona originally came to the Tribe is the same reason that he quickly signed an extension -- he likes his bosses.

And yes, he still loves to win. Anyone who saw Francona's face after some of the tough defeats could attest to that.

There were moments when you'd have sworn that his last friend had just left him ... Or that his house burned down. He looked that distraught following some games.

Francona likes the Tribe because he senses this is pure baseball. Most mornings, he is at the park by 7 a.m. He has dealt with major knee surgeries and other health issues. He has battled blood clots. He needs to swim nearly every day to keep his battered body in shape.

He also likes to have all his preparation finished early so that he will have time to talk to players once they arrive around 3 p.m. for a night game. The need to be around baseball people and in the clubhouse is like oxygen to him.

THE CHALLENGES

Yes, the spending on salaries is low, but the politics are minimal. He felt betrayed by the front office in Boston. It's also a safe guess that he was worn down by the constant second-guessing that is a part of managing in that sizzling baseball bowl of great expectations.

In 2013, Francona took a team that was 68-94 and led them to a wild card spot in the playoffs with a 92-70 record. He was voted the American League Manager of the Year.

But last season, he may have done an even better job. The Tribe finished 85-77, but high-priced players Justin Masterson, Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and Asdrubal Cabrera all had either major injury problems and/or the worst seasons of their careers.

Yet, the Tribe remained in contention until late September. He delivered the first back-to-back winning seasons since 2000-01.

WHY HE STAYED

While respect, trust and friendship were major factors in Francona's decision to extend his contract -- he also must believe that he can contend in Cleveland. He knows the attendance is near the bottom of the league. He knows the Tribe payroll will be modest.

The team will have to win with savvy drafting, smart trades, excellent player development and a certain degree of over-achievement on the big league level.

He knew that when coming to Cleveland in 2013. But more importantly, he still wants more of the Tribe after experiencing it for the last two years.

"I wanted to be part of the solution," said Francona. "I didn't want to come here and move on. That was never my goal. I wanted to come and stay."

Francona knows there is some talent on the roster. Corey Kluber is in the top three in Cy Young voting. Michael Brantley is in the top three in MVP voting. The bullpen has some strong young arms led by Cody Allen. The young rotation is one of the most promising in baseball.

The team needs more and better veteran hitters. The defense requires a significant upgrade. Francona and the front office are always looking for more pitching.

But for Tribe fans, the good news is that their favorite team isn't in need of a manager -- they already have one of the best in the game under contract for a long time.

Corey Kluber is in the top three in Cy Young voting. Michael Brantley is in the top three in MVP voting.

That's pretty cool. I didn't really realize just how good a season Brantley had until I read a season-wrap piece in national newspaper that voted for him second behind Trout. Same author thought Kluber deserved the Cy Young.

The ESPN "Cy Young Predictor" ranks Kluber No. 1.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung
These rankings after the first 3 are kind of bizarre and where is Chris Sale? There must be a better "ranking" app out there.

My son swears by Grantland, at least for NBA, content. Here are their predictions:

AL MVP Ballot
1.Mike Trout, OF, Angels
2.Corey Kluber, SP, Indians
3.Felix Hernandez, SP, Mariners
4.Michael Brantley, OF, Indians
5.Jose Bautista, OF, Blue Jays
6.Robinson Cano, 2B, Mariners
7.Josh Donaldson, 3B, Athletics
8.Jose Abreu, 1B, White Sox
9.Adrian Beltre, 3B, Rangers
10.Chris Sale, SP, White Sox

I doubt that the pitchers will rate that high among voters, which suggest 2nd place for Brantley.

Much more time spent by Grantland analyzing the Corey/Felix showdown for the Cy:



AL Cy Young: Corey Kluber

Chris Sale was outstanding this season, but he fell short in the end since he pitched 60-some fewer innings than the league leaders. That means the AL Cy Young race boils down to two top candidates: Corey Kluber and Felix Hernandez.

Let’s go to the tale of the tape, starting with the basics:

Stat Kluber Hernandez
IP 235.2 236
K 269 248
BB 51 46
HR 14 16
ERA 2.44 2.14

Pretty damn close.

How about the ballparks? While Cleveland’s Progressive Field has a bit of a reputation as a hitter’s park (dating back to when it opened two decades ago), various park-factor rankings consider it a friendly park for pitchers, just like Seattle’s Safeco Field.

A pitcher’s ERA can also be affected by strand rate, a stat that measures the frequency with which he leaves runners on base, and that can be heavily influenced by factors beyond that pitcher’s control, such as bullpen support or dumb luck. It’s tightly fought here, too: Kluber posted a 78.6 percent strand rate this season, compared to a nearly identical 77 percent figure for Hernandez.

We can also examine each pitcher’s quality of competition to see if either benefited from a softer schedule. Thanks to Elias Sports Bureau, we have weighted OPS figures for the collective opponents of Kluber, Hernandez, and several other top AL Cy Young candidates:

Pitcher Weighted Opp. OPS
Corey Kluber .739
Chris Sale .736
Felix Hernandez .729
Jon Lester .729
Max Scherzer .728
David Price .727

It’s still too close to call, so let’s go to our final tiebreaker: team defense. The Mariners were roughly a league-average defensive team according to Baseball Info Solutions’s proprietary Defensive Runs Saved ranking, at two runs saved below average, and ranked 22nd in the majors according to Ultimate Zone Rating, at 9.5 runs below average. Meanwhile, the Indians were … absolutely atrocious. Per UZR, Cleveland ranked second to last in team defense, costing its pitchers about 82 runs compared to league average. By DRS, the Tribe ranked last in the majors, at minus-68 runs. Kluber managed to excel despite riding a defensive Hindenburg for 34 starts this season.

Sure enough, if we strip out the impact of team defense, we find that Kluber gains a small but noticeable edge over his formidable Seattle rival.

Defense-Independent Stats
Stat Kluber Hernandez
FIP 2.35 2.56
FIP- 64 70

So, after weighing all of those factors, I’m going with Kluber by the slimmest of margins. Now, let’s go live to the press conference to see how the notoriously emotional Klubot is handling the news.

AL Cy Young Ballot
1.Corey Kluber, SP, Indians
2.Felix Hernandez, SP, Mariners
3.Chris Sale, SP, White Sox
4.Jon Lester, SP, Athletics
5.Max Scherzer, SP, Tigers

So next year and the year after with Ramirez and later Lindor at SS and Urshela at 3rd Corey's stats will be even better.
As will Salazar's, Bauer's, Carrasco's and House's. [Actually could help House the most since doesn't he get mostly ground outs?]

Not quite sure what to do about 2nd [perhaps Kipnis will return to average from his lousy 2014 afield] and 1st [perhaps Santana will improve when concentrating at one position, but will his range expand with practice? or perhaps Chisenhall can convert his substandard left side of the IF skills into standard or better right side fielding?]

I think Chisenhall played some SS and 2B early in his career.

Kipnis needs to lose some weight and show up at ST in shape.

While in college and breaking into dorm rooms for a hobby, Lonnie was as shortstop.

2015′s Far Too Early Sleeper Team

by Mike Petriello - November 3, 2014

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/clevelan ... eper-team/

Paul Hoynes:
New age, same goal for Cleveland Indians prospect Francisco Lindor -- get to big leagues


PHOENIX, Ariz. – Francisco Lindor is a goal setter.

When the Indians made him their No.1 draft pick in 2011 out of high school, his goal was to make it to the big leagues by 20. Lindor, who turns 21 Friday, didn't get there so he's had to adjust.

"Now my goal is make it when I'm 21," said Lindor. "If it doesn't happen, it will be to make it at 22. I'm going to make it, God willing."

Lindor is playing for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. This is the last week of a long year of baseball that started in February.

The switch-hitting shortstop reached Class AAA Columbus this year, the last stop before the big leagues. He went home to Florida after the season waiting to see where he was going to play winter ball – Puerto Rico or the AFL.

The Indians decided to send him to the AFL. Not only would they have better control of his workload, but the AFL is MLB's finishing school. It's where big league prospects are buffed and burnished.

"Francisco is knocking on the door," said Carter Hawkins, the Indians new director of player development.

To knock is one thing. To force the door open is another.

When the Indians traded Asdrubal Cabrera, their two-time All-Star shortstop, to Washington on July 31st, it seemed like the path was cleared for Lindor. OK, so maybe it wouldn't be immediate, but a September call up had to be just around the corner, right?

Not so.

Jose Ramirez arrived from Columbus to replace Cabrera and played the heck out of shortstop as the Indians entered the last weekend of the regular season still in wild-card contention. Ramirez, like Lindor, is a switch hitter and he's only 21. So he's not going anywhere.

"Jose is a gamer," said Lindor. "He's a good player. He was in the big leagues the year before so I'm not surprised at what he did."

As for the September call-up, Lindor said, "I never expected it. I hoped for it and I prayed for it. It didn't happen.

"Whatever, it only made me a better player. I knew I had to go out this offseason and work my tail off and hopefully put myself in a better position to have Chris Antonetti (general manager), Mark Shapiro (president) and Terry Francona (manager) feel I can help the Indians win.

"That is the ultimate goal – to win."

The Indians, like most teams would, were looking at Lindor's arbitration clock. There was no need to give him a head start toward super-two status when there was no place to play him in September. But his time will come.

"He's going to be a big-time player," said Vance Wilson, Peoria's manager and a former big league catcher. "Sometimes we get caught up looking at the stats. But you can look at players' actions and the way they carry themselves. The instincts, the intangibles, he has all that.

"He has the type of overall game that you lay an organization on. He can have a huge impact."

Lindor is hitting .256 (23-for-90) with one homer and six RBI for Peoria. He ranks second in the AFL with 90 at-bats, third in games with 22 and fourth in hits with 23. He's struck out 12 times and drawn seven walks.

In the minors this year, Lindor hit a combined .276 (140-for-567) with 11 homers, 62 RBI and 75 runs at Class AA Akron and Columbus. He hit .273 (45-for-165) with five homers and 14 RBI in 38 games at Columbus.

Lindor, according to baseball-reference.com, was almost seven years younger than the weighted average of all position players at Class AAA this year.

"Not a chance," said Lindor when asked if he felt overmatched. "I felt great. I liked it. I didn't feel like I was the youngest player. I can't use that as an excuse."

Dave Wallace, the Indians manager at Akron, is coaching for Peoria. Wallace has managed Lindor at Class A Mahoning Valley, Class A Lake County, Class A Carolina and Akron.
He's going to be a big-time player.

"Offensively, Frankie has been pitched tough out here," said Wallace. "He's seen a lot of off-speed pitches. He gets into a hitter's count and sees a lot of off-speed stuff, which is great.

"I know he saw a lot of that in Triple-A and he will in the big leagues, too. He's going to face guys who can do more than just lay a fastball in there when they're behind in the count."

The Indians want Lindor to become a more consistent hitter. On defense they want him to concentrate on every pitch.

In Peoria's 5-4 victory over the Salt River Rafters on Friday, Lindor made a great catch in the second inning against Max Kepler, sprinting far into left field to catch the ball with his back to the plate.

"Those are the special plays you're going to see from him," said Wallace. "What we want is for his focus to be is locked in on every pitch. Take into account the game situation and not take a single pitch off."

The routine play is the bane of all shortstops, especially ones just shy of their 21st birthday and in a hurry to do big things. Patience is required and Lindor is learning it while still pounding on the door to the big leagues.

"When they think I'm ready, I'll be there," he said.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Along a cross-country road trip, this would be the point at which the driver acquires that last necessary tank of gas, the one that pushes the car to the finish line.

The Indians aren't too far from the ticker tape. Every small-market baseball operation dreams of possessing the young, cost-controlled talent that the Indians now boast. Now it's time to supplement the group already in place with pieces that will propel the club from a development-based, 85-win campaign to one with end-of-October aspirations.

Corey Kluber, 28, earned $514,000 in 2014. He might win the American League Cy Young award. Michael Brantley, 27, earned $1.5 million and is a finalist for the AL Most Valuable Player honor. Combined, they earned about $2 million and contributed 14.4 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) last year. Both players finished in the top six in baseball in WAR. No other team placed two players in the top 10.

None of Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer or T.J. House has reached birthday No. 28 yet. Carrasco will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. The other three are years away from commanding considerable contracts.

The Tribe rotation logged the league's lowest ERA over the final seven weeks of the season. With run-of-the-mill starting pitchers garnering upward of $12-15 million per season on the free-agent market, Cleveland's situation is quite enviable.

And because of that, now would seem to be the time to strike.

The lucrative deals handed out to Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, a pair of aging, underwhelming veterans, are the anchors weighing down Cleveland's cruise liner. The Indians, though, need to accept those sunk costs and give themselves some financial wiggle room. Swisher and Bourn cannot serve as a reason for winter front-office hibernation. The club can't let business decisions from two years ago hinder the opportunity at hand.

By the time the arbitration numbers for the team's youthful crop escalate, the contracts for Bourn and Swisher will come off the books. Thus, now is the time to spend. Wisely, of course.

Should the Indians maintain their payroll figure from last year, they will have somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million to play with this offseason. Is that enough? It depends on what the team plans to add and the avenue in which it plans to use to add it.

Regression in certain areas should be anticipated. Hence, manager Terry Francona and general manager Chris Antonetti both indicated the desire to reinforce the rotation, the strength of the team in 2014. The defense needs help. The offense could use a boost or two.

The Indians aren't going to fork over $200 million to Max Scherzer or even $80 million to Victor Martinez. They do, however, have plenty of trade chips with which they could part. They have a surplus of well-regarded outfield prospects in Bradley Zimmer, Tyler Naquin, Clint Frazier and James Ramsey. The exercising of Mike Aviles' option gives the team one too many middle infielders whenever Francisco Lindor joins the big league fold. There are pieces that could fetch the Tribe some quality help.

"If there's the right guy available via trade or free agency, we'll look at it," Antonetti said. "We have to figure out exactly how he'd fit on our team or where he'd play.

"We have the depth in our farm system now to make a trade if there's the right trade there. It's an area where we've made steady progress over the last three years and we want to continue on that path and be in a better spot a year from now than we are in today. We have the players in our farm system to make a meaningful trade if that's the direction we decide to go."

Prior to the 1994 season, the Indians bolstered a young core with the free-agent additions of Eddie Murray and Dennis Martinez. They traded for slick-fielding shortstop Omar Vizquel. This isn't 1994. Progressive Field, even in its soon-to-be renovated state, won't be packed to capacity every nightfor the next decade. There are parallels, however, in the foundation of the roster.

The Indians have Brantley, Jason Kipnis, Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana locked up on affordable deals. The glut of pitching talent is in place and on the cheap for the foreseeable future. Now, the manager has a contract that could keep him in Cleveland through 2020. There is stability. There is young talent. There were shrewd business decisions executed to arrive at this point.

"We had a lot of young guys that were coming together and now that we're starting to be established major leaguers, it should be fun to watch," Brantley said. "I know I'm very excited for next year."

The Indians could enter 2015 with the same roster and, reasonably, hope for things to fall into place. And they might. The group could conceivably win the division if certain variables unfold in its favor. But if there were ever a time to be aggressive, to operate with a more flexible payroll and to prove to the rest of the league and to the city of Cleveland that the Indians not only expect to dip their toes in the playoff waters, but make a splash -- isn't it now?

LeBron James and the Cavaliers will likely hog the town's attention come springtime. All the Indians can do to spark some interest is win. They can't sell their product on the goals of hoping, wishing and praying for meaningful games in September. They shouldn't have to, either.

Their work to this point has blessed them with a bounty of young, cost-controlled talent. Will they add to it and convert it all into an extended October stay?