Cleveland Sports Forum

Outlook:
This is a stacked team that hasn't gotten off to the start many expected. They're still the clear favorites in the AL Central and legitimate title contenders.

If we didn't have to face any left handers, we'd be in a great spot right now. Lefties have cost us a swing of six games.......at least.

And..............Guess what? We will be facing another very good lefty tonight.

EE has been a headache so far.
4 hits in 27 at bat is an ugly sight especially when that's the main reason we acquired him......to strengthen the lineup against left handed pitching. He's got a lot of holes that need plugging. Not very good numbers at all. Hopefully Detroit is the answer.

Under the Heading "Roster Moves Every Team Should Make Now", for the Indians BleacherReport suggests:

Recall Mike Clevinger, Move Him into Starting Rotation

Mike Clevinger would already have a spot to call his own in the starting rotation of a lot of other teams. Instead, he found himself back in Triple-A to begin the 2017 season as the Cleveland Indians trotted out a starting rotation of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin.

That group appeared to stack up to any in baseball, but instead, it's been the team's biggest weakness, ranking 29th in the majors and last in the American League with a 5.27 ERA.

While Kluber, Carrasco and Salazar aren't going anywhere, the team could consider shaking things up at the back end by moving Bauer (7.67 ERA) or Tomlin (8.87 ERA)—who are both out of minor league options—to the bullpen.

That would open up a spot for the 26-year-old Clevinger, who has been a man among boys in Triple-A with a 1.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 32-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 30 innings. He has the stuff to make an impact; he just needs an opportunity.

The ERA could improve if these guys quit grooving pitches right down the heart of the plate belt high. At my age I could probably foul off a few of those pitches.

Now we know why Kluber has been off his game.
Bauer has NO OPTIONS left, so only fallback with him is the bullpen.

I'm OK with Bauer to the bullpen. He's always very good for the first three innings of the ball game. It's the second time around where he fails most.

Jason Kipnis Should Move to the Outfield
Brandon Wells
BRANDON WELLS
04/09/2017

Why Jason Kipnis Should Change Positions. Jose Ramirez is a better 2B

The Coaching Corner

.................Kipnis should move to the outfield in the best interests of the team to allow Jose Ramirez to continue playing second base.

Kipnis isn't a terrible second baseman, but his defense has declined each of the last five seasons. Statistics don't show everything, but in baseball they sure do show a lot. Range Factor (developed by the original sabermetrician Bill James) shows Kipnis on the decline defensively (http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... ield.shtml). Fourth in the major leagues, and second in the American League in most errors by a second baseman, Kipnis' fielding percentage has decreased each of the last three years. This is not an anomaly, it is what economists and statisticians call, a trend.

Also, the seven-year veteran has struggled turning the double play. Kipnis often fails to have his hands in the correct position when receiving the front end throw in a potential double play. The throwing hand needs to be in closer proximity to the glove hand in order to make a quicker exchange. Kipnis has relied on a strong arm and athleticism to compensate in the past, but as he is getting older, this weakness is showing up more and more.

This isn't just the coaching eye on this, but statistically Kipnis is below average in turning the double play as well. As evidenced by the outrage of some fans and media types, analytics can't be used as the only qualification for judgment on players, ahem Browns fans, but it cant be used as a tool in conjunction with the trained coaches and player development types.

According to BaseballProjection.com and Baseball-Reference.com, Kipnis has a -1 Total Zone Infield Double Play Runs Above Average rating. Basically, this means he's slightly below average at turning a double play. In the previous four seasons, the 4-time all-star had a 0 or 1 rating, but this is also trending poorly for his future at second base.

The 30-year old Kipnis is under contract through 2019 with a club option for 2020 according to Spotrac (http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/cleveland-in ... pnis-8508/). This means he will be 33 entering the final season of the contract. The Arizona State product played mostly outfield in his college years before being transitioned to the infield by the Indians after being their 2nd round pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

Outfield may be one potential landing spot for Kipnis, as the Tribe could find playing time for him in right field....................



At the age of 24, and now under team control through 2023 (age 30), the diminutive Dominican has the time to improve and grow defensively at second base. His soft hands and strong arm were assets at third base last year as he tied for the major league lead in fielding percentage (.979), but his range and size translate better to second base. Lindor and Ramirez also spent parts of three seasons together playing the middle infield, so there's already some chemistry between the two rising stars................



With the arrival of the talented and athletic Yandy Diaz on the scene at third base, the Indians have the makings of a solid, if not spectacular defensive infield...well, except for maybe first base, but that's another story.

With Kluber on the 10-day disabled list with a lower-back strain and possibly out for more than just one start, Triple-A righty Mike Clevinger would be the most likely arm to join Cleveland's rotation. He has a 1.50 ERA with Triple-A Columbus and spent time with the Indians last year. As for Trevor Bauer, he has no Minor League options. If his struggles persisted to the point where the Indians wanted to make a change, a move to the bullpen would be the likely step. I don't think the Indians are near reaching that point, though..................

As of Wednesday, the Indians were fielding a nine-man bullpen, following the move to put Kluber on the DL and promoting righty Joseph Colon from Columbus. Francona made it clear that the team would not be going with that roster configuration for long. If the Indians want to fortify their bench, infielder Erik Gonzalez is a strong candidate. He can provide depth at second, shortstop and third base, as well as in the outfield. And, if Michael Brantley or Jason Kipnis were given days off, Gonzalez would provide better offensive upside as a fill-in starter than utility man Michael Martinez.

[ It appears we won't be seeing Diaz for a while ]

Not only are the Indians without Rajai Davis, but keep in mind that Kipnis missed most of April while on the DL, too. That said, you're right. The Indians' base running numbers have taken a hit early on this year. Stolen bases aside, Cleveland led the American League in 2016 with a 45-extra-bases-taken percentage. That rate has dipped to 29 percent (14th in the AL) so far. Last year, the Indians also led the AL with a 17.1 BsR (Fangraphs' all-encompassing baserunning metric). The Tribe ranks ninth in the AL with a minus-2.9 BsR. This will be something to monitor as the season progresses.

[ Like they say, you can't steal first base and you really don't want to be running when your constantly playing from behind ! Last year we constantly had leads. This is a different year ]

Yandy Diaz has been on an offensive tear with Columbus, posting a .400/.510/.575 slash line through 11 games (51 plate appearances). Given the current makeup of Cleveland's roster, though, there just isn't a spot for Diaz to garner everyday at-bats. At Columbus, Diaz can not only play every day but also get time at multiple spots. The Indians have been playing him at third base and in the corner outfield spots. Cleveland liked Diaz's work at third base, but his path back to the big leagues might be in the outfield for now. Jose Ramirez is at third and isn't going anywhere.

Commentary:
Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez
give Indians a lethal left side of the infield
Jim Ingraham | The Chronicle-TelegramPublished on April 30, 2017

You win with stars, and the Indians have stars.

Michael Brantley, Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Kipnis, Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Danny Salazar have all been selected to the All-Star team during their careers.

So has Francisco Lindor.

Jose Ramirez has not. Not yet. But Ramirez should and likely will be an all-star, perhaps as soon as this year, given that he’s quietly become one of the best all-around players in the American League.

In fact, name a better left side of the infield in the American League than the Indians’ combo of Lindor and Ramirez.

Toronto (Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki), Kansas City (Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas), Seattle (Jean Segura and Kyle Seager) and Texas (Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus) would all be in the discussion.

But if you were starting a team today, or even if you weren’t. If you were just trying to identify the best all-around shortstop/third base combination in the league, if not the majors, Lindor/Ramirez might be it.

They are both young (Lindor 23, Ramirez 24). They are both switch-hitters. They are both .300 hitters. They both can steal bases and hit home runs. And they are both elite defensive players.

What else is there?

The Indians have an all-star left side of the infield that should only get better in the years ahead. So much so that it could eventually become the best shortstop/third base combination the Indians have ever had.

The competition is impressive.

In 1921, the Indians had an excellent left side of the infield. Shortstop Joe Sewell hit .318 with 93 RBIs and third baseman Larry Gardner hit .319 with 120 RBIs, and the two of them, in a combined 1,158 at-bats, only struck out 33 times.

In 1987, third baseman Brook Jacoby hit .300 with 32 home runs and 69 RBIs while shortstop Julio Franco hit .319 with eight homers, 52 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.

Then came The Omar Era, when Omar Vizquel patrolled most of the left side of the infield spectacularly, and frequently by himself. He did have three partners who combined with him for monster seasons as infield duos.

In 1996, Vizquel hit .297, stole 35 bases and won a Gold Glove. Third baseman Jim Thome — the last year he played that position — hit .311 with 38 homers and 116 RBIs.

In 1997, Matt Williams took over at third base and hit 32 home runs with 105 RBIs while Vizquel hit .280 with 43 stolen bases, and Williams and Vizquel both won Gold Gloves.

In 2000, Vizquel hit .287, stole 22 bases and scored 101 runs, and third baseman Travis Fryman hit .321 with 22 homers, 106 RBIs, and they both won Gold Gloves.

Those are all nice shortstop/third base combinations, but the best one in Indians history, not surprisingly, came in 1948, the last time the Indians won the World Series. It was third baseman Ken Keltner and shortstop Lou Boudreau.

Keltner hit .297, with 31 home runs and 119 RBIs.

Boudreau hit .355, second in the American League to Ted Williams, with a .453 on-base percentage, also second in the league to Williams. Boudreau hit 18 home runs and had 106 RBIs. His WAR that year was 10.4, the highest single-season WAR in Indians history. He was also voted the American League’s Most Valuable Player. And, oh yeah, did I mention that he was also the Indians’ manager?

So in 1948 the Indians got a combined 49 home runs, 225 RBIs and an MVP Award out of the left side of their infield.

Lindor could win an MVP Award, but he probably won’t be the Indians’ player-manager anytime soon. Still, he and Ramirez do have one potential advantage over almost all of the above duos: longevity.

Boudreau and Keltner played side-by-side for nine years in that non-free agent era. Vizquel started at shortstop for 11 years, but had about six different third base partners.

Given their youth, Lindor and Ramirez could theoretically be the left side of the Indians infield for the next 10 years, if they and the Indians deem it economically feasible.

There’s a reason why the Indians recently signed Ramirez to a five-year $26 million contract, and why, according to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, they recently offered Lindor a $100 million extension. There’s also a reason why Lindor turned it down.

Lindor has been a star since the day the Indians drafted him eighth overall in the 2011 June draft. Ramirez, signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009, was considered to be just a guy until last year when he suddenly wasn’t.

“We’re thrilled,” said manager Terry Francona of the Indians’ dynamic duo.

This is not a Batman and Robin situation. Lindor and Ramirez are both Batmen. And Glovemen.

They are both young, charismatic, bankable stars, and they both play within about 30 feet of one another on the left side of the Indians’ infield.

Enjoy the scenery.

I wonder if Francona has ever considered flip-flopping Ramirez and Encarnacion? It's possible that Ramirez would get to see better pitches to hit rather than being pitched around. Wednesday, the Tigers intentionally walked and then on the next at bat intentionally/unintentionally walked him on four pitches to get to Kipnis and the lower half of the order. It worked each time. I checked Jose's stats from 2016. Hitting cleanup, he was 5-12 with a double and a homer. Small sample size but what the hell. It's worth a try in my opinion.

It's May! April has come and gone! Spring training is over for these guys and its time for Encarnacion to wake up from his hibernation (so they say) !

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, Yandy Diaz -- Terry Pluto

on May 06, 2017 at 7:47 AM, updated May 06, 2017 at 11:27 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Who is younger -- Mike Clevinger or Trevor Bauer?

Both are 26, and Bauer is a month younger.

I mention this because like many Cleveland Indians fans, I become frustrated watching Bauer. You can see the talent and the determination. He has a strong arm. He is in tremendous shape. He is obsessed with becoming a good pitcher.

Much of this season has been a nightmare. Bauer is 2-3 with a 7.67 ERA. That's only five starts. There should be no rush to yank him out of the rotation.

Meanwhile, Clevinger is considered the Tribe's top pitching prospect at Class AAA. He will join the team to take Corey Kluber's spot in the rotation on Sunday. Kluber is out for a while with a sore back.

Here are some thoughts:

1. At 26 (same as Bauer and Clevinger), no one saw a Cy Young Award in Kluber's future. The year was 2012. He was starting to put his game together in Class AAA, where he had an 11-7 record and 3.59 ERA. He joined the Indians late in the season and had a 2-5 record with a 5.14 ERA in 12 starts.

2. In 2013, Kluber opened the season in the minors. He was 27. He was called up at the end of April, finished with a 11-5 record and 3.85 ERA. He established himself as a big-league starter.

3. Last season, Bauer made progress. He was 12-8 with a 4.26 ERA. He helped out in the bullpen (2-0, 3.31 ERA) in seven games. He was 25 years old.

4. So I remain patient with Bauer. Just as the Indians are being patient with Clevinger. He is 14-2 with a 2.63 ERA in Class AAA over the last two seasons.

5. Clevinger pitched in 17 games for the Tribe in 2016 with a 3-3 record and 5.26 ERA. He threw hard, sometimes too hard, and lost control. This season, the Indians keep telling Clevinger that a 93 mph fastball with good location is much better than firing away at 96 mph and walking guys.

6. The idea of control vs. velocity is obvious. Clevinger is a very emotional pitcher. His tendency is to try to throw harder when under pressure. I also see that at times with Bauer.

7. Carlos Carrasco was another young pitcher who tended to throw too hard at times. He also had to learn to control his emotions. When he was 26, he was coming off Tommy John elbow surgery. He was 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA for the Tribe in 2013. He also spent time in Columbus.

8. Carrasco didn't begin to establish himself until 2014 (age 27) when he was 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA. It was a trip to the bullpen that helped him cut down his motion, refine his pitches and then figure out what it takes to start in the majors.
That's why the idea of patience with Bauer and Clevinger makes so much sense.

ABOUT YANDY DIAZ

1. The Indians entered the weekend batting only .216 vs. left-handed pitching. Lefty starters against the Tribe are 8-2 with a 1.98 ERA. It's early, but this is emerging as a problem.

2. That's one of the reasons the Indians are having discussions about promoting Yandy Diaz from Class AAA Columbus. Another reason is Diaz is batting .400 for the Clippers. Diaz opened the season in Cleveland, batting .236 (.550 OPS) and was sent back to the minors when Jason Kipnis came off the disabled list. The Indians were not concerned about Diaz, as they believed he would soon begin to hit. They also were pleased with his play at third base.

3. Diaz did exactly what the Tribe asked. He went back to Columbus and really hit. In 40 at-bats, he has 10 walks compared to only two strikeouts. He is batting exactly .400 vs. lefties and righties. He is playing third base along with right and left field.

4. If the Indians do promote Diaz, they want to make sure he plays at least a few times a week. Having him replace Michael Martinez on the roster only makes sense if he can get some at-bats. If he's just the 25th man who rarely plays, Diaz is better served to stay in Columbus. If problems continue against lefties, he could be summoned soon.

5. Meanwhile, the Indians are having all kinds of problems vs. lefties. Yan Gomes (.333), Francisco Lindor (.311), Jose Ramirez (.268) and Michael Brantley (.267) are excused from this discussion. The same with Jason Kipnis (2-of-17) and Abe Almonte (2-of-16) because they haven't faced that many lefties.

6. A major problem is Carlos Santana, who is 6-for-44 (.136) vs. lefties. He batted .267 (.742 OPS) vs. lefties last season. In general, Santana is off to a slow start, batting .209 (.641 OPS) with 2 HR and 16 RBI.

7. Edwin Encarnacion hasn't been hitting much off anyone. Against lefties, he's batting .176. Overall, he's batting .210 (.719 OPS) with 5 HR and 11 RBI. He has struck out 39 times in 122 plate appearances. That's a Mark Reynolds pace. Encarnacion generally is a slow starter. MLB's Jordan Bastian outlines how Encarnacion tends to hit better as the season goes along.

8. Brandon Guyer was a .316 hitter vs. lefties from 2014-16. He batted .336 against them last season. But right now, he is 6-for-39 (.154). The Indians signed Guyer to a two-year, $5 million extension because of his numbers vs. left-handers.

9. Yan Gomes can help. He is a career .285 vs. lefties. It's .228 vs. righties. Gomes had a dismal 2-for-30 start to open the season. Since then, he's hitting .264 (18-for-68).

10. Last season, the Indians had a 31-20 record vs. lefty starters. That winning percentage (.608) was higher than against righties (63-47, .573). Can they turn it around this season?

Cause for concern with Encarnacion?
Beat reporter Jordan Bastian answers Tribe fans' questions

http://m.indians.mlb.com/news/article/2 ... =218325368

Behind the Box Score: Clevinger keeps it low in the zone

JOHN ALFES

Some noticeable strides were taken by Mike Clevinger this off-season as he showed better location at the string of the strike zone on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Inducing groundballs, evading home runs and escaping run-scoring opportunities has been the plan of attack for Mike Clevinger in 2017.

The 26-year-old righty had a 38.7% groundball rate (38.2% career average), 0.90 HR/9 (1.36 HR/9) and a whopping 97.2% (70.8%) of runners were left on base during his 30 dominant innings with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers – arguably the best of his minor league career – 30 IP, 23 H, 5 R/ER, 10 BB, 32 K, 1.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and .215 opposing batting average.

With a premier starting rotation chock full of talented arms, it is no surprise to see Clevinger elevate his game and make his case to be a part of a magical team that came one win away from their first World Series title since 1948.

But why has he been so successful through seven starts (six MiLB, one MLB) this season?

Location. Location. Location.
Clevinger kept the ball low throughout his start on Sunday against the Royals as not one batted ball was hit in the top half of the strike zone. One double off the bat of Salvador Perez (yellow dot) and four walks (navy blue dots) proved to be the only five runners vs. Clevinger, all of which were stranded on base (100% LOB percentage).

While command remains an issue, Clevinger has taken a significant step forward in understanding the importance of keeping the ball low in the zone to avoid home runs (career-high 1.36 HR/9 with the Tribe in 2016) and overall traffic on the basepaths (1.49 WHIP with Cleveland in 2016).

One particular trend that stands out in Clevinger's refined approach is his location of the two-seam fastball vs. right-handed hitters (low-and-away with solid command)...
And left-handed hitters (low-and-away with decent command)...
Thirty-three of Clevinger's 91 pitches were two-seam fastballs (36.3% usage rate), 21 were curveballs (23.1%), 16 were changeups (17.6%), 15 were four-seam fastballs (16.5%) and six were sliders (6.6%). In other words, Clevinger is using his two-seamer to set up any of the other four pitches he has under his belt.

Most impressively, opposing batters hit the two-seam fastball – Clevinger's second fastest pitch on Sunday (92.5-mph) – at an average exit velocity of 81-mph, a mark well below the average exit velocity on all of his pitches (85-mph).

On the contrary, opposing batters hit the four-seam fastball – Clevinger's fastest pitch on Sunday (92.6-mph) – at an average exit velocity of 91.2-mph, a mark well above the average exit velocity on all of his pitches (85-mph).

This helps explain the amount of movement Clevinger is getting on his two-seamer (one swinging strike, five called strikes) and why it overrides the four-seamer (zero swinging strikes, three called strikes) as his primary offering.

If Clevinger can sustain his control of this pitch and live at the bottom half of the strike zone, then he will be able to stay ahead of opposing hitters while posting even more one-hit (or less) outings of scoreless baseball.

Probably nothing but Yandy was not in the Clippers lineup today.

Gomes erasing '16 demons with steady surge
Catcher homers among two hits Tuesday to continue hot streak at dish
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | 12:11 AM ET

TORONTO -- For the first two weeks of this season, it looked like the nightmare was not over for Yan Gomes. All the misfortune the Indians' catcher experienced last year -- the injuries and offensive droughts -- were being followed by another painful slump to start his comeback campaign.

In Tuesday's 6-0 victory over the Blue Jays, Gomes continued to look like he has woken up. With one swing, the catcher eased the tension of what had been a tight contest for most of the night. Gomes got a fastball at his shoetops from Aaron Loup and pulled the ball out to left field for a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
Full Game Coverage

"That looked like the Gomer of old," Indians manager Terry Francona said.

The good news for Cleveland is that Gomes' showing in this win -- one walk, two hits and the no-doubt shot to Rogers Centre's home bullpen -- was not a one-night wonder. Over the past three weeks, the backstop has displayed more discipline, drawing more walks than usual and chipping away at his early-season slump with a consistent string of hits.

In his first nine games, Gomes turned in a .067/.152/.167 slash line in 33 plate appearances, looking mired in a slump similar to the one he experienced a year ago (.167 average in 74 games). Over the past 14 games, though, Gomes has hit at a .378/.489/.568 clip in 46 plate appearances. The catcher has nine walks through 23 games, compared to nine walks all of last year.


"Really, it was just a matter of getting my mind right," Gomes said. "Once you start seeing things starting to spiral, it's hard to stop it. I tried to get out of a slump in one swing. That's not the way it's going to happen. You've just got to start trying to create good at-bats, so the situations you come [into], you're more relaxed and you can control yourself."

That mindset has in turn helped Gomes' approach.

According to Statcast™, Gomes hit .048 against fastballs and .111 against offspeed pitches in his first nine games this season. Heading into Tuesday's game, he had hit .333 off fastballs and .385 on off-speed offerings in the previous 13 games. Against the Blue Jays, Gomes went 1-for-2 against fastballs, and he collected a fifth-inning single off a curve from Mike Bolsinger.

"He's giving himself a chance more often," Francona said. "He's taking better passes at the ball, whether it's hitting the ball to right field and then, when he gets something -- like tonight -- he can drive the balls down."

For Gomes, it has been nice to move on from last year's nightmare.

"Really nice," he said. "It's been good. It comes from the point of just going up there, going in the box and making sure you just come out of this with a good at-bat no matter what happens. I think that's helped a lot mentally."

https://video-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42 ... e=59136C58