Cleveland Sports Forum

Preferably a southpaw. At age 33, I like Clayton Richards. I think he might have a couple of years left in the tank. San Diego is rebuilding. Maybe they'll take a prospect or two off our hands.

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' fans buying tickets, players producing
Updated on June 24, 2017 at 10:56 AM Posted on June 24, 2017 at 9:35 AM


By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer

terrypluto2003@yahoo.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians have already sold more tickets for this season than they sold for all of 2016.

On June 23, the Indians passed the 1,591,867 tickets sold in 2016. They are on track to draw at least 2 million for the first time since 2008. So far, they have drawn 768,340 fans (a 23,283 average) through 33 home games entering Saturday.

Concession sales are up 43 percent from a year ago. It's the highest since 2007.

"It's been very encouraging," said Brian Barren, the Tribe's president of business operations. "We talk about winning off the field, in terms of giving fans a good experience at the park. We're starting to do that."

Barren explained that only now are some fans seeing the upgrades and changes that have made the stadium a better place to watch games in different ways.

"We are asking fans to come back and re-try us again," he said. "We have a terrific team. It's a great place to watch a game."

The Indians have sold 12,350 season tickets. That's up from 8,800 in 2016. It's also the most since 2008. The Tribe ranks 16th out of 30 major-league teams in terms of season tickets. Group sales are up 37 percent from a year ago.

The Tribe is coming off a World Series appearance. The team stumbled early, playing .500 baseball. But the Indians entered the weekend winning eight of nine games and are back in first place in the Central Division. With the Cavs season over and no Browns for a while, it can be an Indian summer.

Barren said at least 15 more games will draw more than 30,000 fans. The lower bowl is sold out for most weekend games.

Tribe ownership took what team president Chris Antonetti called "a leap of faith" by signing free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Boone Logan to contracts worth $25 million this season. Encarnacion signed a three-year, $60 million deal.

My favorite place to track MLB payrolls is Baseball Prospectus. They say the Indians' payroll has increased from $96 million in 2016 to $124 million this season.

ABOUT JOSE RAMIREZ

1. The rise of the Tribe in June is partly powered by three guys: Encarnacion, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez. They have combined for 15 homers and 41 RBI, batting .361 this month.

2. Last week, I wrote about Chisenhall and Encarnacion. They have been terrific. But the best player this month has been Ramirez. I'll take it one more step: He is the best player on the Tribe this season.

3. Ramirez went into the weekend batting .320 (.933 OPS) with 11 HR and 34 RBI. His 23 doubles are second in the American League. Only Boston's Mookie Betts has more.

4. Rarely mentioned is his defense. In the American League, Fangraphs.com only rates Baltimore's Manny Machado higher at third. That's remarkable because Ramirez played only nine games at third base in the minors. A career second baseman/shortstop, he learned third in the majors last season.

5. Ramirez brings a spark and swagger. He believes he can hit anyone. He bolts around the bases with desperation, his helmet often flying off his head. He has fun playing the game, and is entertaining to watch.

6. Ramirez is second in the All-Star voting to Minnesota's Miguel Sano (.286, 18 HR, 52 RBI, .958 OPS). Unless he has a total collapse, Ramirez should be named to the team.

7. In spring training, the Tribe signed Ramirez to a five-year, $26 million contract extension. They also have two more years of team options. So fans can enjoy him for a long time.

ABOUT BRADLEY ZIMMER

Just as Tyler Naquin made a huge impact coming up from the minors a year ago, now it's Bradley Zimmer claiming center field for his own.

Zimmer entered Saturday batting .308 (.904 OPS) with 4 HR and 20 RBI. His defense is above average. His base-running is outstanding, he seems to go from first to third ... even first to home ... as fast as anyone in a Tribe uniform since Kenny Lofton.

He is 7-of-8 in stolen bases, and he has not had a chance to learn pitcher tendencies. He simply out-runs the baseball.

The team's 2014 first-round pick, Zimmer has not looked overwhelmed. He will strike out (29 Ks, 103 plate appearances). At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, he is prone to do so. Tall players tend to strike out more because they have longer swings.

Another big part of Zimmer's game is defense. The Indians rate him above average in center. Fangraphs.com ranks him No. 8 out of 17 American League center fielders who have played at least 200 innings.

Center was a defensive problem. Naquin is better suited for right field. Early this season, Lonnie Chisenhall was in center. Like Naquin, he did not seem comfortable there. Right field is best for him.

As for Naquin, he missed six weeks with a back problem. He returned to action in Class AAA Columbus on June 13. Since getting healthy, Naquin is 5-for-23 with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

For the season, Naquin is batting .329 (.928 OPS) with 4 HR and 12 RBI for the Clippers.

ABOUT AUSTIN JACKSON

Also helping in center has been the rise of Austin Jackson.

In the off-season, the Tribe front office shrewdly signed Jackson to a minor-league contract. The 30-year-old was coming off knee surgery, playing only 54 games for the White Sox. There was some concern about him being physically ready for this season.

The Indians brought him to spring training and let him slowly work into shape. Jackson was a very good center fielder with Detroit from 2010-14. Tribe fans can see signs of that right now.

Entering the weekend, Jackson was batting .292 (.877 OPS) with 3 HR and 15 RBI. A right-handed hitter, Jackson plays mostly against lefties -- hitting .351 against them.

Terry Francona is platooning Zimmer and Jackson in center, and it's bringing out the best in both of them.

ABOUT THE INDIANS

1. They sound somewhat upbeat about Danny Salazar. He is supposed to pitch a simulated game on Monday after working with minor-league pitching coaches Tony Arnold and Ruben Niebla.

2. At least Salazar is heading back to the mound. An MRI showed some inflammation but no structural damage. We'll see how he progresses, because he's 4-8 with a 6.25 ERA since making the 2016 All-Star team.

3. In a recent Tribe telecast, broadcasters Matt Underwood and Rick Manning told the story of how I was conned by former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Ross Grimsley into writing a story about armadillos. Some readers wondered if it was true.

4. I didn't hear what was said on TV, but it sounds like they got the facts right. It was 1981. I was doing a story on Grimsley. He said he raised armadillos in the off-season. He said he fed them dog food. I don't recall any other details. I wrote it.

5. Grimsley was just putting me on, but soon others asked him about armadillos. I had to write a retraction. I still smile when I think about it. But it was not my finest moment as a writer.

MLB Network To Air Indians Documentary Titled “The Dynasty That Almost Was”


June 24, 2017 2:35 PM By Alex Hooper | 92.3 The Fan


CLEVELAND (92.3 the Fan) – Cleveland Indians fans never miss the opportunity to reminisce about their teams from the mid-to-late 90s, and now they have another chance.

MLB Network will debut a documentary on the Indians teams that had more sustained success than perhaps any stretch of club history, called “The Dynasty That Almost Was.” The film will run Wednesday, July 12th at 8 PM.

A few hundred season ticket holders got the opportunity to see an advance screening of the documentary on Saturday, sitting in the club level to watch on the team’s state of the art video board.

Prior to the showing, those same patrons had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A roundtable with former Tribe Manager Mike Hargrove, as well as Indians greats, Carlos Baerga and Sandy Alomar Jr.

The group spoke about how the team came together, which is also covered in the film, though the three in attendance came together through special circumstance.

Alomar and Baerga were teammates while at Triple-A Las Vegas of the San Diego Padres organization, often times clashing with Hargrove while he managed the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate from 1988-1992.

“We used to kick his butt every night,” Alomar laughed, garnering a retort from the man who would go on to manage the catcher.

“Funny how we remember that different,” Hargrove said.



When the Indians dealt Joe Carter to the Padres at the 1989 Winter Meetings, they receiver the pair along with outfielder Chris James in return. Though James was a major leaguer at the time, the pair of prospects were the centerpieces of the Indians’ package, largely in part to Hargrove’s input.

“I was just so emotional because I spent six years in the organization in San Diego, growing up and developing as a player,” Alomar said. “The fact that we had an opportunity there, you welcome that with open arms.

“It just happened that the first year went my way.”

Alomar went on to win the Rookie of the Year in 1990, and play in six All-Star Games for the Indians. Baerga saw three Summer Classics in his first stint for the Tribe, hitting over .300 four times in that stretch.

Baerga went on to laud the efforts of the man who traded for him, Indians general manager at the time, John Hart. The former second baseman may have had a little bit of incentive to heap more praise on Hart, as Baerga announced that the man who acquired him 28 years ago had signed his son, Carlos Baerga Jr., to the Atlanta Braves organization the night before.

A fan also asked the trio to reflect on the team’s 455 game sellout streak and how it impacted them.

“You have to bring the best of your game when you have a crowd like that,” Alomar said. “If you don’t have energy, you’ll find it. If you’re sore, you’ll feel better. The atmosphere there felt like a playoff atmosphere every night. Also, the opposite team felt that. So that push the fans gave us, it was tremendous. It helped us win a lot of games.”

The team came from behind 27 times in 1995, including a 13-0 record in extra innings.

“A lot of that had a lot to do that you all were in the stands right in the middle of it with us,” Hargrove said

"Once we get Danny back, that's about as good an addition as you can make to a team

Only if Danny comes back with his full arsenal and his shaky confidence intact. He hasn't been effective for 12 months now.

Baseball Reference posting ratings of the "top 30" catchers in the majors. Here's a guy we're very very lucky we didn't acquire:

No. 30. Jonathan Lucroy, Texas Rangers (Preseason Rank: 2)

2017 Offense: .262 BA, .676 OPS, 56 H, 16 XBH (4 HR), 19 RBI, 19 R
2017 Defense: 33% CS (12/36), -3 DRS, 6.7 DEF, -15.4 Framing RAA

WAR: 0.2

Player Summary

Jonathan Lucroy posted an .885 OPS with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 47 games with the Texas Rangers after coming over in a deadline deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016.
A .284 career hitter who posted a 3.8 WAR last season and has ranked as one of the game's best two-way catchers for several seasons now, Lucroy has seen his production dip across the board on both sides of the ball this season.
The 31-year-old will need to pick up his production if he hopes to fully cash in on his upcoming free agency. He's done that to a point after hitting .205 with a .528 OPS in April, but he still has a long way to go.

Instead we have this pretty bad alternative, but didn't have to trade Mejia, Allen, Chang and Armstrong to get him:

26. Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians (Preseason Rank: 22)

2017 Offense: .224 BA, .666 OPS, 36 H, 14 XBH (4 HR), 19 RBI, 18 R
2017 Defense: 47% CS (16/34), 1 DRS, 6.5 DEF, -0.7 Framing RAA
WAR: 0.2

Player Summary

Yan Gomes was my pick for AL Comeback Player of the Year when we made our preseason award predictions here at Bleacher Report.
After a pair of injury plagued seasons had robbed him of his Silver Slugger-winning offensive form, he looked poised for a bounce-back at the plate following a strong spring training where he hit .370 with a 1.122 OPS. Instead, it's been more of the same, as his value has been propped up by his strong receiving skills and ability to control the running game while his bat has again been relatively silent.

Here is the #2 catching prospect in Minor League Baseball.

Player POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS E
Francisco Mejia C 50 192 33 67 16 2 9 30 114 15 32 5 2 .392 .594 .349 .985 3

On this date: The lasting impact of the Expos trade for Bartolo Colon

Bartolo Colon was briefly with the Expos, but his acquisition had long-lasting ramifications. Erik S. Lesser
1:03 AM ET
Mark Simon
ESPN Staff

With Bartolo Colon scheduled to return for the Atlanta Braves in the near future, it's an appropriate time to reminisce, as it’s the 15th anniversary of a historic trade in which he was the centerpiece.

On June 27, 2002, Colon was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Montreal Expos, who fancied themselves contenders for the National League wild card and NL East races despite deficits of 5 and 6.5 games respectively at the end of the day.

In return for Colon and Tim Drew, the Indians received from the Expos an incredible combination of prospects -- Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips -- along with veteran first baseman Lee Stevens.

Colon delivered as promised, pitching like an ace. He went 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA and four complete games. He finished the season with a combined 20 wins, one of two times in his career he has won 20 games.

But the trade didn’t work out for the Expos because the rest of the team failed to deliver around him. After the Expos beat the Pirates that night, they followed by going 8-15 in their next 23 games to drop below .500. General manager Omar Minaya, who made other “go-for-it” moves (obtaining Cliff Floyd) quickly went from buyer to seller, but he hung on to Colon through season’s end. Colon wasn't traded until the offseason when he was dealt to the White Sox. The players Minaya got back combined for -4 WAR (yes, minus-4).

Colon’s post-Expos path included two stints with the White Sox, four seasons with the Angels (he won 21 games and a Cy Young in 2005 but faltered therafter), a brief stint with the Red Sox, a year with the Yankees, and then a rebirth with the Athletics (two seasons) and the Mets (three) after serving a PED-related suspension.

Colon, like another player in this trade, is now with the Braves, where the going hasn’t been good. He’s 2-7 with a 7.78 ERA and fighting for a roster spot.

The story of this trade is in what happened to the players the Indians received (other than Stevens, whose career ended that season). The three prospects in the deal combined for more than 100 WAR ... and then some.

What Expos Gave Up
Notable Prospects
WAR
AFTER TRADE
Cliff Lee 43.3
Brandon Phillips 31.5
Grady Sizemore 27.2
* Bartolo Colon: 2.4 WAR with Expos
Lee had his ups and downs early in his career. He was 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 2005, but had ERAs of 4.40 and 6.29 the following two seasons. In 2008, he turned the corner and became the best pitcher in baseball, winning the Cy Young with a 22-3 record and 2.54 ERA.

Lee is still paying dividends for the Indians in a different way. In late July 2009, the Indians traded him to the Phillies for four prospects, including one of Cleveland’s top current pitchers, Carlos Carrasco. The Indians have gotten a combined 30-WAR from Lee and Carrasco combined.

Sizemore made his major league debut at age 21 in 2004. In 2005, he hit 22 home runs and stole 22 bases, the first of four straight 20-20 seasons. The biggest benefit for the Indians came in 2007, when they came within one game of making the World Series. Sizemore played every game that season, hit .277 with a .390 on-base percentage and had 24 home runs and 33 stolen bases.

He followed that with a 33-homer, 38-steal season in 2008 and appeared headed toward an elite career until it was derailed by injuries. He played five more seasons, but played more than 100 games only twice in that time. He retired after the 2015 season with 150 career home runs and 143 stolen bases.

It took Phillips awhile to have success. In fact, it took him until he left the Indians. He was traded to the Reds in April 2006 after hitting .206 in 135 games with Cleveland.

But once in his new home, Phillips thrived. He spent 11 seasons as the Reds' everyday second baseman, making three All-Star teams and winning four Gold Gloves. He hit 191 home runs and stole 194 bases. Only two other Reds have as many home runs and steals -- Eric Davis and Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin.

Phillips has reached the tail end of his career but is doing so close to home (he was born in North Carolina, but went to school in Georgia) with the Braves. He’s hitting .301 with seven home runs and will probably start the next time Colon takes the mound. The two, linked by this trade, are now working together to get the Braves closer to respectability.

Mejia's No. 2 catching prospect? On some lists he's No. 1

Corey Kluber, RHP, Indians: The Indians’ ace has returned to form and carried the Tribe back into first place in the AL Central. After a 3-2, 5.06 start followed by a month on the disabled list with a lower back strain, there were legitimate concerns that last year’s 249.1 innings pitched, including the postseason, had taken a toll on the former Cy Young Award winner. Instead, Kluber has gone 3-0, 1.29 in five starts after coming off the disabled list June 1, with twice as many strikeouts (52) as baserunners allowed (26) in 35 innings.

Video of the 13 Ks:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/t ... RPUM3mM.97

CLEVELAND --

In one of those rare stretches when Jose Ramirez was fighting it, searching high and low for a hit, he told his teammate, Francisco Lindor, that he had a plan for that night's game: He was going to bunt every time he came to the plate.

This was in Class A ball in 2012, with the Indians' affiliate in Lake County, the kind of place where a player can experiment with such a slump-buster. Still, it was an unusual idea from an unusual player, one whose intense desire to do whatever it takes to get on base has made him the defending American League champs' most legitimate, deserving Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot candidate with less than two days left in the voting.

"He literally bunted all four at-bats that game," Lindor said with a smile. "And it worked. He got two hits out of that, and then he went on a rampage from there on. He just kept hitting and hitting and hitting. Impressive."

Even when he hit .354 in 67 games that season at Lake County, the experts did not rate Ramirez as a high-grade prospect.

Even when he ascended all the way to the big leagues the very next season, got more opportunity in 2014 and was starting at shortstop early in '15, Ramirez was viewed as little more than a placeholder for the more highly touted Lindor.

And even now, after Ramirez has definitively proven his 2016 breakout with the best overall numbers among AL third basemen, he needs help at the online ballot box to get his deserving spot in the starting lineup at the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on July 11 in Miami.

Ramirez leads AL third basemen in average (.323), OPS (.940), wRC+ (147), fWAR (3.0) and bWAR (2.7). He's solidified his case with an unbelievable June in which he's cranked out five homers, 12 doubles and two triples in 101 at-bats, including a streak of nine games with multiple hits.

"If he's not an All-Star," said manager Terry Francona, "I'm not sure who is."

Ramirez has been strutting through the Indians' clubhouse in a manner Francona has likened to that of George Jefferson from the day he got to the Majors, and well before that.

"I've always been the same person, ever since I was a little kid," Ramirez said through interpreter Anna Bolton. "I've always had the confidence I have now."

But just because Ramirez constantly projects confidence and churns out hits doesn't mean he's garnered the attention he deserves. Lindor is the Indians' more magnetic burgeoning superstar; Corey Kluber the stoic, October-tested ace; Edwin Encarnacion the high-profile pickup; Michael Brantley the one-time AL Most Valuable Player Award finalist; Andrew Miller the sensational shutdown setup man. But here in 2017, Ramirez has been the club's best player.

Slight of stature (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) but steady of bat, Ramirez has become the Tribe's modern-day version of 1995 Carlos Baerga, providing punch from both sides of the plate with a low K rate. And like 2016 Jose Altuve, he hasn't let his size get in the way of a potential power spike.

Whereas so much of Ramirez's value last year rested in his ability to play all over the field while contributing in the clutch, this year, he's been slotted into one spot and turned on a booming bat. With his 12th homer of the season Saturday, he exceeded his 2016 total in 319 fewer plate appearances. His homer/fly-ball rate has doubled, from 6.0 percent to 12.4.

And Ramirez is only 24.

"It's pretty impressive the way he's doing things right now," Lindor said. "It's fun to watch."

At last count, Ramirez trailed the Twins' Miguel Sano by 209,000 votes. Yes, Sano, who is roughly the size of two Ramirezes and has more home runs (18 to 12), but there is no question which player has provided more value in the field and on the basepaths, and Ramirez's overall offensive value is illustrated in the other, all-encompassing metrics.

Believe it or not, the Twins nearly had both of these guys. Back in 2009, Indians scout Ramon Pena saw a then-16-year-old Ramirez in the Dominican, liked him and offered him $50,000.

Ramirez agreed. But then the Twins swooped in and offered him twice as much. Ramirez wanted to renege on his deal with the Tribe, but Pena talked him out of it.

"If I had signed with the Twins," Ramirez said, "I could have been suspended. They would have sent me back to my house to fix things. Thank God I didn't do that, because everything changed, and I became a better player with Cleveland."

In 2017, no third baseman has been better. Ramirez no longer has to prove '16 wasn't a fluke, no longer has to put down a bunt to spark himself. He has been as All-Star worthy as they come.

I would say that Mejia is the #1 catching prospect in baseball right now.

Last time I looked Mejia was ranked the #2 catching prospect by MLB Pipeline at MLB.com. But that was when season was starting. I just went and looked. The guy they rated ahead of him is hitting .279 with 7 homers. I think Frankie has passed him up.

I went and looked at BA, and they have Mejia as the highest ranked catcher in their top 100 list right now too. #21 overall best prospect.

Independence Day means a little extra to Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco

Updated on July 3, 2017 at 10:12 AM Posted on July 3, 2017 at 8:00 AM

By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com

DETROIT -- When he returned home after the Indians' visit to the nation's capital, Carlos Carrasco considering tossing out the Uncle Sam uniform.

When would he ever again wear the patriotic ensemble?

Then, his wife stepped in. She labeled the outfit a keepsake.

"Every time I see it," Carrasco told cleveland.com, "I think of my teammates."

They surprised him with the costume as the team prepared to depart Washington, D.C., last August. They had helped him study for his U.S. citizenship test, quizzing him about Supreme Court justices and the 13 original colonies and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

cookie_carrasco Verified Flying home like this after I passed the U.S. Citizenship test last week
August 10, 2016

"He wanted to get all of the questions right," said teammate Dan Otero. "He didn't want to get the minimum. He wanted to get them all right."

Carrasco will celebrate his first Independence Day as an American citizen this week. He passed the exam last year, posed in the red, white and blue uniform a week later and penned a heartfelt essay about the significance of the achievement in The Player's Tribune in March.

It's not something he takes lightly.

"I've been living here for a long time and this country means a lot to me," Carrasco said. "July 4 is coming, Independence Day. It's something that's really important to me."

When he had down time last season, Carrasco buried his face in his U.S. history notes. He spent his mornings in the clubhouse sitting on the floor beside Jason Kipnis' locker, listening closely as his teammate asked him when the Constitution was scripted.

"He had a vision of actually understanding what it takes to become a citizen as opposed to just memorizing it and going to take the test and passing it," said Josh Tomlin. "He actually tried to learn it and become more involved."

On the short trip, Carrasco went patriotic with his outfit. He sported red-and-white-striped pants, a blue blazer, white gloves and a red, white and blue bow tie and top hat.

Carrasco arrived at the immigration office last August, more nervous and jittery than he would be for one of his starts on the mound. Then, he heard the first question.

"I was like, 'OK, this is easy now,'" he said. "I responded right away."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIs6k_ADWyD ... v=7&wp=663

Carrasco spent the first 17 years of his life in Venezuela before he joined the Phillies organization. He can recall sitting in a classroom as a kid and learning about the value of reading. A few days before he attained U.S. citizenship, Carrasco established his own foundation. Over the last year, he has directed book drives for children, read to classrooms, spoken to others and visited hospital patients.

"The way that I grew up," Carrasco said, "a lot of people helped me, so that's the way that I pay back."

Carrasco was the Indians' nominee for the 2016 Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best represents baseball through character, community involvement, philanthropy and off-the-field contributions.

"I think that's an inspiration to a lot of people from his homeland," Otero said. "They can look up to him."

This week will bring plenty of fireworks and symbols of patriotism. It might mean a bit more to the guy in the star-spangled No. 59 uniform.

It's been quite a first year as a U.S. citizen for Carrasco.

"The fact that he did everything -- passed the test, got the citizenship and embraced it," Kipnis said, "I think he's done a great job and I think everyone's happy for him."

Nice to see a positive immigration story for once.

More Cookies, please.

I in no way what to argue politics today. Today is a day to celebrate our freedoms and liberties with all our countrymen, even those we don't agree with. But let me just say, I know you and I don't agree on much, especially politically, Sea. But people like me, all we want is for all immigrants to do what Cookie did.

Since last year he has quickly become one of if not my favorite Indian. In large part because of the above story. I love it