Cleveland Sports Forum

Indians looking to solve roster depth for 2017

http://m.indians.mlb.com/news/article/2 ... into-2017/

Phillips, 35, has spent the last 10 seasons in Cincinnati, including all three of his All-Star campaigns. He hit .291/.320/.416 with 11 home runs, 64 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 141 games in 2016.

Phillips keeps on ticking. Hard to believe he's 35. He may not enter the hall of fame but he sure left behind a ton of web gems to check out every now and then.

SI prediction gave Cleveland false hope in '87

By Joe Posnanski / MLB.com | @JPosnanski | February 11th, 2017

Believe it or not, something is happening in Cleveland." -- "Pow! Wow!" story in Sports Illustrated, April 6, 1987.

Thirty years ago. Pow! Wow! If I could point to one moment when the mysteries of baseball first overwhelmed me, it would be when Sports Illustrated picked the Indians to win -- the single worst prediction, I contend, in sports history.

"Believe it!" the biggest and best sports magazine in America pronounced. "Cleveland is the best team in the American League."

We believed it. We believed it with all our heart.

That Cleveland team lost 101 games and finished with the worst record in baseball.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/215695316 ... irst-time/

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Cinci is paying something like 14 of the 15 million due Phillips this year just to get him off the team...

Fifteen years after Bartolo Colon and Brandon Phillips swapped teams as part of a blockbuster trade that is still reverberating throughout MLB, the two will be teammates for the 2017 season. On Sunday, the Braves and Reds completed a deal that will send Phillips to Atlanta, where, every five days, he will position himself behind Colon on the mound.

Just thinking about Phillips is enough to make my blood boil. I even invented a new verb in regards to the trade. To Phillips someone is to dump someone because you dont like him even though you know that it certainly not in your best interest, the best interest of your team or your fans. It is an attempt by a gritty grinder who plays the game the right way to sabotage a team and really kill a city's interest in said team. The only think I can compare it to is to identify a supreme talent,say the best right handed hitter of his generation, give him away for nothing actually with this team they did it twice with both Joey and Manny and and maintain for years that you dont need such a talent. Why have talent when you can players like John Lowenstein or Victor Cruz or even Duane Kuiper on your team. I think it says someting that the stiffs I remember are those of childhood and not those that came after Shapiro/Wedgeeee almost killed the team. By the way whatever happened to Pancho Bartolo Colon's mule?

Funny, I thought the verb was Ken M'd. Meaning you sit around and whine about everything. Is the season over yet ?

Still rooting for the Infiniti !

returned to the ignore list.

NY Times today

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — It is a long climb up to the summit, to Game 7 of the World Series, at home in extra innings. That is where the Cleveland Indians found themselves in November, the apex of an especially jagged path. The Chicago Cubs knocked them down, stole their flag and planted it in baseball lore. The loss still hurts, and it always will.

“Those guys, they’re practically on a parade every day,” Andrew Miller, a star reliever for the Indians, said on Tuesday morning. “They earned it, but you just can’t avoid it. You can’t get away from it.”

Miller absorbs it all: the fans in Cubs championship gear, the commemorative Cubs magazines at his local bookstore, the Cubs players basking in the afterglow of victory. As the Indians started over on Tuesday, with their first spring training workout for pitchers and catchers, they did so with a renewed sense of purpose.

“We could be better than everybody else out there,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “However, if we don’t play the game the right way, we ain’t going nowhere. We’ve got to take advantage of every situation.”

The front office did that this off-season, seizing on a sluggish free-agent market for power hitters by signing Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million contract. Encarnacion, a designated hitter and first baseman, had 42 home runs and 127 R.B.I. for Toronto last season, and only Baltimore’s Chris Davis has hit more homers since 2012.
Lindor helped recruit Encarnacion, getting his number from his Indians teammate Carlos Santana and making his pitch. Encarnacion has not yet reported to camp — position players are not due until the weekend — but his locker is ready, tucked between those of two other players who were not on the Indians’ World Series roster.

To his left will be outfielder Michael Brantley, who is recovering from a shoulder operation, and to his right will be starter Carlos Carrasco, whose season ended in September when a line drive broke his hand. Add the All-Star Danny Salazar, who returns to the rotation after a forearm injury, and the Indians look even stronger than they did in the fall.

“We can’t claim ‘poor little us’ anymore,” Miller said. “We can’t say: ‘Everybody says we’re done — it was just a fluky run the middle of the year that carried them; now they’ve got these injuries; they don’t have a chance.’ We don’t have that chip on our shoulder.

“I doubt that we’re going to be able to go into a playoff series as an underdog because we’re ‘little Cleveland’ or whatever. That’s just not going to be the case. We showed what we’re capable of.”

Miller was a sensation for the Indians after he was traded from the Yankees in July, with a 1.49 E.R.A. in 36 appearances, including the postseason. He averaged more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings and redefined the role of bullpen ace, proving available whenever Manager Terry Francona needed him. He entered two World Series games in the fifth inning, upending the notion that a manager must save his best reliever for the eighth or ninth.

The Indians played 15 postseason games, and Miller worked 19 ⅓ innings — a pace that equates to almost 210 innings across a 162-game schedule. Clearly, he cannot be used the same way now, and neither can closer Cody Allen, who had a similar postseason workload. But Miller said he expected his role to be roughly what it was late last summer, when Francona often used him before the eighth.

Another veteran left-hander, Boone Logan, signed with the Indians to provide more depth for Francona, who will navigate a fine line: using his best relievers a lot but not too much.

“In theory, it’s wonderful, but every time a situation comes up, you have to get that reliever loose,” Francona said. “Situations come and go quickly — whether it’s a double play or a team scores and that situation goes away — and if you have to do that again the next inning, the next inning and the next inning, that’ll last about a week and then guys will be going on the D.L.”


He added: “I agree that it’s nice to have your leverage guys up at important parts of the game. I totally agree with that. I just think that you need to be cognizant of the fact that if you get them up throwing too many times, they’re not only going to be hurt; they’re not going to be as productive because they’re going to be worn out.”


That seemed to happen in Game 7 as Miller and another reliever, Bryan Shaw, combined to allow four runs in an 8-7 loss. Francona said he had not dwelled on the details of that game, citing another home loss — the 2013 American League wild-card game, in which the Indians lost to Joe Maddon’s Tampa Bay Rays — as more devastating.

That game abruptly ended a charmed late-season run. Last year, the Indians stretched the schedule as long as they possibly could.

“Yeah, you want to win — I mean, my goodness,” Francona said. “But I can’t sit here and tell you that I was really disappointed — other than we didn’t win — in anything. If you laid out what you want to be as a team, our guys did that. As a manager, that’s what you’re asking, and I thought they went above and beyond.”


The last team to lose a Game 7 of the World Series — also by one run, at home, with the winning run at the plate — was Kansas City in 2014. The Royals had also waited many years for a spot on that stage, and they returned the next year to win it all.

“That’s our model, what they did,” said Miller, who would soon climb back on a bullpen mound for his first official steps up the mountain.

The worst-case scenario for Michael Brantley and the Cleveland Indians? They've already lived through it once


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This is simple. The worst-case scenario for Michael Brantley and the Indians would be a case of deja vu.

The nadir would be a repeat of last year, when Brantley suffered setback after setback, limiting him to only 11 games, requiring a second surgery and prompting questions about whether he'll ever regain his All-Star form. It's one thing to know a player will miss a significant chunk of time and be able to plan accordingly; it's another to expect a return to prominence and never have it materialize.

At this juncture, there's no evidence to suggest that Brantley and the Indians will reach rock bottom. Then again, it's far from a foregone conclusion that Brantley will join Terry Francona's lineup in early April and provide that familiar, steady presence for the duration.

A second straight lost season could spell doom for his career. Grady Sizemore's presence around the team as an advisor could instead represent some twisted, haunting reminder of what can happen when a gifted player can't seem to heal properly while at the peak of his abilities.

For now, Brantley's status remains uncertain. He'll be a casual observer at the start of the exhibition slate next weekend. When he might appear in some games is a mystery.

When the Indians secured the American League Central in late September, they soaked the visitor's clubhouse at Comerica Park with champagne. Brantley stood just outside the double doors, away from the alcohol-infused frenzy. When the team knocked out the Red Sox at Fenway Park in the Division Series, Brantley stood by his locker, downing a plate full of food, as his teammates drenched each other in bubbly.

It's not ideal to have Brantley filling a bystander role. The worst-case scenario for the Tribe this season, though, would be an inability to overcome another Brantley absence.



Brantley approached the plate only 43 times last season. Rajai Davis filled in admirably, with a league-high 43 stolen bases in 49 attempts. Tyler Naquin emerged as a regular contributor in center field. Jose Ramirez spent the first half of the season patrolling left.

What if Brantley endures another lost season and the cast of outfielders can't replace his prolific production? That would be one way to wreck a promising season.

The Indians brought in Austin Jackson for some outfield insurance, but he's still working his way back from knee surgery. Davis relocated to Oakland on a one-year deal.

A full bill of health for Brantley would ease much of the burden on the front office and on Francona. First, he'll have to play in some spring training games and avoid any ensuing fatigue or soreness. At that point, perhaps, the Indians can remove the worst-case scenario from the list of possible outcomes for Brantley in 2017.

Until then, the injury bug lurks in the shadows of Goodyear Ballpark, waiting to strike again on the injured left fielder.

Slow-go for Brantley, Jackson: 5 things we learned from Cleveland Indians' spring training



CLEVELAND, Ohio - Five things we learned about the Indians on Wednesday in spring training in Goodyear, Ariz.

1. Slow go for Michael Brantley.

Manager Terry Francona said Tuesday that the Indians would have to "restrain their enthusiasm' on setting a date for Michael Brantley's return from August surgery on his right shoulder.

On Wednesday, Francona told reporters at the team's spring training headquarters that for the immediate future Brantley will not play in any Cactus League games, including the Feb. 25 opener against Cincinnati at Goodyear Ballpark.

"I would anticipate he'd probably be later," said Francona, when asked when Brantley might appear in a game. "There are going to be some guys (pitchers) who are held back. I would think he'd be a little bit later. Over the normal course of the way his schedule is, I would be surprised, I don't think that's even on the table (playing in early-spring games)."

Regarding the exhibition opener against the Reds, Francona said, "I don't think so. That's too quick."


Brantley's right shoulder has undergone two surgeries since November of 2015. The first repaired a torn labrum. The second moved his biceps tendon. He played only 11 games last year.

As for when Brantley might play, Francona said, "When he's ready. Not having him for a full year (last season) I want to do it right. He deserves to do it right.

"He's worked so hard and to have him back would be so nice. We're going to do it right so he can have his best chance at being successful."

The Tribe's Cactus League season runs through March 31. They open the regular season April 3 against Texas.
Michael Brantley discusses his right shoulder.

2. Ditto for veteran Austin Jackson.

Francona said Jackson, in camp on a minor league deal, will be on limited activity for "10 days to two weeks' until the Indians get a better feel for his surgically repaired left knee.

"I don't know if we really quite know," said Francona, when asked about Jackson's health. "Some of it, you almost have to guard him from himself. He wants to come in and show what he can do and he feels good. But it's different when you get into camp and you're pounding every day.

"So we'll keep an eye on him. I wouldn't think he'd be (ready) for 10 days to a couple weeks. He's another guy who won't be raring to go (from the start of camp)."

Jackson injured his left knee on June 9 with the White Sox and has not played since. He underwent surgery on the knee to repair a torn meniscus.

If healthy Jackson could challenge for the center field job or win a spot as a platoon outfielder.

3. Indians hope Danny Salazar benefits from peaceful offseason.

Danny Salazar was limited to two relief appearances in the postseason last year because of a strained right forearm. Francona felt the appearances in Game 2 and Game 6 of the World Series helped settle some issues in Salazar's mind.

"The idea was to get him back and pitch him in a game so when he went home he'd know he was healthy," said Francona. "We were really adamant that we wanted to see that before he went home. I think it worked out well.

"With the playoffs extending, it gave him something to shoot for. Also when he went home he knew he was OK. Now he can be the normal Danny, doing the normal schedule as opposed to wait and see."


4. Indians on the run.

Pitchers and catchers participated in their annual conditioning test. It's a series of timed sprints that keep going until one man is left standing.

Rookie Dylan Baker won the test Wednesday with catchers Yan Gomes second and Roberto Perez third. Baker has made one start for the Indians in the last two years as he recovers from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

"Today Dylan Baker got to be front and center. Good for him," said Francona. "Everytime those guys do something, they'll grow from it. He's going to get to call home tonight and tell the family, "I kicked everybody's butt.'"

Francona was impressed with the work of veterans Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister and Andrew Miller. He also tipped his hat to Gomes and Perez.

"It's hard for them," said Francona. "They're not built for that. I show how hard they work and how mentally tough they are."

The training staff did not allow Boone Logan, Ryan Merritt and Kyle Crockett to run. Crockett (back) and Merritt (shin) were excused for medical reasons. Boone just reported to camp.

5. The old man and the World Baseball Classic

Left-hander Bruce Chen threw a bullpen session Wednesday. The 39-year-old Chen, who retired in 2015, is not attempting a comeback. But he is attempting to get ready to pitch for China in the World Baseball Classic.

Chen was born in Panama, but his grandparents are from China. He will travel to Tokyo for China's first game against Cuba on March 8.

"It's great for him," said Francona. "Whether he's throwing a bullpen, or sitting in the coaches room in the morning telling a joke, he's a valued guy. Everybody feels the same way about him.

"We're just so glad he's with us because he brings so much to everybody. He crosses every culture. He can find a way to bond with anybody in that room and it's fun to watch."

Chen works with the Indians in cultural development for players in the minors.

With the luck Dylan Baker has had over the past several years, I wouldn't have been surprised to read that he won the race and pulled up lame. Supposed to have good stuff, I've been puzzled that he stays on the 40 man roster using up his limited options, but I think that players can earn an extra 4th option if spend full season on DL. But I don't think he'll earn a 5th and he's still hardly worked in High A.

On obit list I see Jackie Brown, one of our pickups from Texas for Gaylord, made 30 starts with Cleveland in 76 and 77. I know we also picked up Jim Bibby in that deal and I believe a couple more but I'd have to look them up.
Brown died at age 73.

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' about 1 million tickets sold -- Terry Pluto
he Plain Dealer
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on February 18, 2017 at 9:01 AM, updated February 18, 2017 at 10:10 AM

ABOUT TRIBE FAN INTEREST

Yes, fans are starting to seriously buy into the Tribe. Consider the following:

1. If the Indians don't sell another ticket, they will already draw slightly more than 1 million fans this season.

2. They didn't have 1 million in ticket sales in 2016 until Memorial Day weekend.

3. They are close to 12,000 season tickets, up from about 8,000 a year ago.

4. Within four weeks of signing free agent Edwin Encarnacion, the Indians sold $3 million worth of tickets.

That's just some of the information I picked up recently after a conversation with Brian Barren, the new Indians president of business operations. Barren has been with the Indians since 2014, and was a vice president of sales & marketing before his recent promotion.

Tribe owner Paul Dolan had been serving as team president after Mark Shapiro left for the Toronto Blue Jays in September 2015. Dolan now has two team presidents with distinct responsibilities -- Chris Antonetti runs the baseball operation, Barren is in charge of business.

"The key is for us to work together, and Chris has been great about that," said Barren.

The two men stay out of each other's territory. Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff assemble the roster and handle the baseball matters. But when the Indians were looking at acquiring Andrew Miller in a trade last July, that meant adding $3 million in payroll. The business department was able to supply Dolan and Antonetti with data on how ticket sales were trending, projected income for the rest of the season. It helped ownership decide to bring on Miller and his contract.

That's how the two sides work together -- baseball is a business. It's a combination of dollars and common baseball sense.

Along with the Miller deal, ownership gave the green light to smaller in-season trades for Brandon Guyer and Coco Crisp. That added about another $1 million to the 2016 payroll.

Without the late-season acquisitions, it's doubtful the Tribe would have reached the World Series.

LEAP OF FAITH

That's how Barren characterizes the ownership decision to sign Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million contract. Encarnacion averaged 39 HR and 110 RBI in the last five seasons for Toronto. It's the largest contract in franchise history.

The Indians also signed reliever Boone Logan to a contract worth $6.5 million. The payroll will rise from about $95 million to about $130 million this season -- the largest in team history.

"We have 21 of 25 players who were in the World Series expected to be back," said Barren. "We have the Manager of the Year (Terry Francona) and the Executive of the Year (Antonetti). We want to continue to grow the fan interest in the team."

1. The Indians drew 1.6 million fans last season. That ranked 28th out of 30 teams.

2. That was up from 1.4 million fans in 2015, when the Tribe was 81-80 and never in any race for the postseason.

3. While attendance is one number, even more important is revenue -- how much money is coming in? That was up quite a bit from 2015, although it's nearly impossible to come up with those stats. Teams zealously guard their revenue totals.

Here are some facts:

1. The Indians have sold out the lower bowl (about 18,500 seats) for most of the 2017 weekend games during the summer. The bleachers, family deck and club suites are considered part of the lower bowl.

2. Group sales are up 50 percent from a year ago. The Indians believe the group sales are beginning to grow as opening day approaches.

3. Even the total of 8,000 season tickets for 2016 is a bit deceiving. The Indians sold a lot of pro-rated season tickets during the season, especially as the playoffs became a real possibility. That did show fans were starting to embrace the team.

4. "Our partial season tickets (20-to-40 game plans) have tripled," said Barren. "That's a very good sign."

HOME FIELD MATTERS

1. The Indians were 23-11 when they had at least 20,000 fans in the stands in 2016.

2. Their home record of 53-28 was the second best since the team moved into what is now Progressive Field -- trailing the 54-18 mark in the strike-shortened 1995 season.

3. When the ballpark opened in 1994, there were 130 suites. That was when fans wanted suites. It's totally changed. The new ballparks for the Mets have 49 suites, the Yankees have 56. The Indians have cut their total to 72.

4. Many fans (mostly younger adults) love the Corner Bar area down the right and left field lines. The Indians can accommodate about 1,000 fans with a $13 District Ticket that includes a free beverage at the game.

5. As Barren said, "A lot of us grew up with a scorecard and a No. 2 lead pencil. That has changed as many fans now follow the game on their phones."

ABOUT THE MARKET

Cleveland is the smallest big-league market with teams in the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball. It is ranked as the No. 18 media market.

The Indians are in the same type of market as the following: Tampa Bay (No. 14), Pittsburgh (No. 23), Baltimore (No.27), Kansas City (No. 31), Milwaukee (No. 34) and Cincinnati (No. 35).

Some fans compare Cleveland to Detroit, but the Detroit market (No. 11) is larger and has a wider reach. Tiger games are broadcast in Marquette, about eight hours from Detroit in the Upper Peninsula.

I don't have the numbers, but the Indians business side wants to outperform those other teams in their market size in terms of ticket sales, groups, etc.

THE ROYALS COMPARISON

In 2014, the Royals had about 9,000 season tickets. They surprised baseball by going from a wild-card team to the World Series. The next season, their season ticket total rose to about 13,000. It's possible the Indians could approach that level.

A season ticket number often is a combination of plans. For example, four 20-game plans will equal one season ticket. The team plays 81 home games.

That's why the math is tricky and why baseball doesn't make its season ticket totals public. Teams have different ways of counting them.

Some other things:

1. Monday is the last day to buy a season ticket that includes Opening Day.

2. The deadline for 6-packs on sale is Feb. 24.

3. March 6 is when single game tickets go on sale -- at 10 a.m., online only.

4. The real indication of what the Tribe could draw will come from single-game demand. Obviously, they will draw more than the 1.6 million of last season.

5. In 2014, the Royals drew 1.9 million fans as they reached the World Series. That rose to 2.7 million in 2015 -- and they went back to the World Series. Last season, the Royals had an 81-81 record, and they drew 2.5 million.

6. A good start in 2017 would also add more demand for single game tickets. That's what happened to the Royals in 2015. On May 15, they were 23-13 and on their way to a 95-67 season.

When the ballpark opened in 1994, there were 130 suites. That was when fans wanted suites. It's totally changed. The new ballparks for the Mets have 49 suites, the Yankees have 56. The Indians have cut their total to 72.

Too bad they had THREE LEVELS of suites, making the upper deck one of the highest in baseball.