September Is The Future

By: Matt Alaburda

August 24, 2009

With September almost upon us, the smell of pigskin is in the air. For fans of a team that is 15 games under .500 and 11 games back of first place, that smell means interest may be disappearing soon.

However, all is not lost with this season for Indians fans; there are several things to watch for during the last month of the season:

Aaron Laffey

Aaron Laffey has continued to show he is capable of being the Indians future Ace. Since the All-Star break Laffey has been one of the best pitchers in the American league.

He has had 7 starts since the break, going 4-1 with a 3.22 ERA, including three starts of scoreless baseball. Laffey pitched 8 scoreless innings against Minnesota on August 5 leading the Indians to an 8-1 win. His very next start on August 11, Laffey went 6.2 scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over Texas.

If you get a chance to see Laffey pitch you have a good chance of seeing an Indians win, as they have won .667% of the games he has started.

Your odds of seeing a win are even better if you get a chance to see him in person; Laffey is 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA at home this season.

Overall in Laffey’s 12 starts, he is 6-2 with a 3.38 ERA. His K/BB is 34/34 and batters are hitting .261 in 72 innings.

The September Call Ups

It is still unclear who all will be getting the chance to come up and play in the big leagues for the month of September.

We do know that we will get the chance to see Matt LaPorta back in Cleveland. Since his call up on August 20th, LaPorta has hit .333 with 4 RBI and 2 doubles. September should give Indians fans a nice glimpse at the guy who will probably be the starting first baseman in 2010.

Other players of interest that have a chance to get called up include Lou Marson, Michael Brantley, Jordan Brown, Carlos Carrasco, and Hector Rondon.

Catcher Lou Marson was acquired from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal and should have a chance to make the big league club in 2010.

The guy many want to see is Center Fielder Michael Brantley, who was acquired from the Brewers in last years C.C Sabathia deal. Brantley might have the chance to come up and show what he can do. He has been playing an exceptional center field for the Clippers, but with a .259 average looks like he may need some extended time in the minors.

If the option of Brantley is not explored in September, then expect the Indians to call up outfielder Jordan Brown. Brown is hitting .336 with the Clippers and should be considered as one of the front runners for the left field position in Cleveland next year.

Carlos Carrasco acquired in the Lee deal, has been outstanding since joining the Clippers. He has gone 4-1 with a 3.57 ERA in 5 starts. Even more impressive is that in 35.1 IP he has 33 strikeouts and only 6 walks. Expect to see Carrasco get a start with the Indians sometime in September.

Another pitcher that might see some time with the Indians is Hector Rondon. Rondon is 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA in 9 starts with the Clippers. Both Carrasco and Rondon are expected to have a chance at cracking the starting rotation for the Indians in 2010.

Indians Review August 1-11

By: Matt Alaburda

The Good

The week after the trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez brought Indians fans one of the best stretches of baseball all year.

The Indians have won 7 of their last 10 games to start off August on a roll, which included 3 series wins over AL Central opponents.

The Indians pitching staff is starting to show signs of life.

Fausto Carmona went 6 innings giving up only one run in a 2-1 win versus Minnesota on August 6th. This is good news for the Indians as Carmona has shown more command, giving up 3 walks, then earlier in the year.

Jeremy Sowers went 7 innings giving up only 2 runs in a 6-2 win over the White Sox on August 7th. For the first time in the past month batters were unable to figure out Sowers on their third trip to the plate.

Justin Masterson performed well in his first appearance as a Cleveland Indian allowing no runs and striking out 4 in 3 innings of relief against Detroit on Aug 1. He continued to show why the Indians wanted him in the Martinez deal in his first start against Chicago on August 8th going 4 innings giving up one run with 4 strikeouts.

The star of the past week has been LHP Aaron Laffey. Laffey, with a 6.2 IP O ER win over the Rangers on August 11, has now pitched 14.2 innings of scoreless ball. Laffey is starting to show signs that he may be the guy capable of being a front end rotation starter for the Indians in years to come.

If Sowers can continue well past the 5th inning, Carmona can keep his control and limit his walks, and Masterson and Laffey continue on their current paths, the Indians might have solved 4 pieces of the confusing 5 piece puzzle that will be the Indians starting rotation in 2010.

The Bad

It is Tomo Ohka’s world and we are all just hitting in it. Ohka relieved Justin Masterson on Aug 8 versus Chicago with a 5-1 lead. Ohka then put together the stellar outing of 0.1 IP, giving up 4 ER blowing the Indians 4 run lead in a game they went on to lose.

Ohka has shown signs of life with his 7 inning performance versus St Louis and his 4 scoreless innings versus Detroit on July 31st.

Those outings are the exception and not the rule for Ohka. Batters are hitting .289 against Ohka this year and he has an ERA of 6.11.

Reclamation projects are not the Indians strong suit, and Carl Willis is not Dave Duncan. It is time for the Indians to move on without Ohka, and give a young pitcher the chance to prove himself in long relief spots.

The People v. Mark Shapiro

Written by: Matt Alaburda

In the past month and a half, Indians fans have seen the front office trade away 6 players including reigning AL Cy-Young Cliff Lee and 3-time All-Star Victor Martinez for RHP Justin Masterson and 10 prospects.

It is hard to defend Mark Shapiro, especially after trading away Victor Martinez, captain, and heart and soul of the Indians.

But this is America, and everyone has the right to a good defense.

Shapiro was faced with two decisions, keep the current team together and try and make a run next year, or make the trades now to try and contend in 2 years.

As we have learned, owner Larry Dolan, informed Shapiro that they would not be a player in the up coming free agent market.

That meant that they would have to win next year by only adding Jake Westbrook and probably some of the AAA talent.

Shapiro decided not to take the risk of trying to compete with a team that finished .500 in 2008 and was 18 games below .500 at the time of the deal.

Small market clubs in baseball have to play for windows of opportunity or face large rebuilding efforts like the one we witnessed in 2002. It was pretty clear that the window was shut on the team that was one win away from a World Series in 2007.

So Shapiro made the moves now, when the 2010 free agents Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez had their highest value.

In a much needed effort to re-tool their pitching staff the Indians received 11 players overall and 9 pitchers. Eight of those players are under the age of 23 and six of them were either 1^st or 2^nd round draft picks.

The Indians now have a core of players that will include the young talent of LaPorta, Brantley, Santana, Rondon, and Brown added with Sizemore, Choo, Cabrera, Valbuena, and Peralta.

That means that if around half of the 11 players received can end up contributing on the big league level, this franchise will be a legitimate contender in 2011 and for many years beyond.

If Mark Shapiro is guilty, he is guilty of not wanting the fans to sit through another 3 year Matt Lawton and Jody Gerut project.

Now That Cliff Lee Is Gone, It's Time For Mark Shapiro to Trade Himself Away

Written by Daniel Wolf

Article originall posted on Wahoo Pow Wow: An Unofficial Cleveland Indians News Source

So now Cliff Lee has been traded away and there are also rumors that Victor Martinez is getting shopped before the trading deadline.

What is wrong with the Cleveland Indians upper management?

For the second straight year, the Indians have traded away the reigning Cy Young award winner for a bunch of future prospects.

How is it that Mark Shapiro can even keep his job anymore?

He is not improving the team for now, he is trying to improve it for the future (which he has been doing ever since he came onboard), but who really cares about the future anymore.

Sports are about winning now and fans want to see a winning team right now too.

Future prospects may never pan out, but a proven major league player is just that...a proven player, especially when it is a Cy Young pitcher.

The Indians are once again the butt of all the jokes in the MLB, and look more like the team in the movie Major League, than the team from the mid-1990s.

Shapiro should just trade himself to another team for a future general manager because right now Indians fans would rather have a future GM in office than the guy that currently resides in it.

A poll was taken by Fox 8 News in Cleveland and an astounding 95-percent of voters said that they hated the Lee trade.

Get a clue Shapiro, or get out of Cleveland.

It may be time to start the "Mike Hargrove for GM" club asap.

Halfway Through 2009, Can the Indians Give Fans More Than "Dollar Dog Night?"

Written by Daniel Wolf
Provided by Wahoo Pow Wow

The All-Star game is over and so is the All-Star break.

What does this mean for the Cleveland Indians?

Maybe putting everything together to make a run in their division?

Maybe if there is some kind of miracle.

So far during the 2009 MLB season, Indians fans have really only had one thing to look forward to and that's "Dollar Dog Night!"

When I attended this wonderful event in June, I was amazed that even $1 hot dogs can't fill Progressive Field to capacity.

In all honesty, I don't even remember who the Indians were playing or even what the outcome of the game was, because the game was extremely mundane.

I do remember that there were over 28,000 hot dogs sold.

The 2009 season may still be half over, but the optimist in me says that there is still half the season left to turn it around.

Regardless of what the Indians really do in the second half of the 2009 season, there are going to be major changes in the organization.

Cleveland sports reporter Tony Rizzo even said, during one of his reports on Wednesday, "I can guarantee that there will be many changes for the Indians in the off-season. Especially in the front office." (paraphrased)

As an Indians fan, I hope that owner Larry Dolan makes the right decisions in the offseason, otherwise one of the best ballparks in baseball will continue to be two-thirds empty during home games and not even "Dollar Dog Night" can help fill those seats.