The Dark Side of the Moon: A 2012 Cleveland Indians review (12.31.12)

Another year has come and gone, yet Cleveland is still waiting for its first World Series title since 1948. The team did not come together as planned, but there were still bright moments during the journey. The bright moments kept rolling in after the season, after the team made a huge splash in free agency and on the trading block.

2012 is over, and as we look back on it one more time here on New Year’s Eve, it is time for an Indians Baseball (Baseball!) Insider year-end recap piece. To avoid a generic, boring article, however, I framed the year around Pink Floyd’s famous The Dark Side of the Moon album.

Why an album released in 1973 instead of an album from 2012, you ask? Because it is one of my favorite albums by my favorite band! This is more fun for me!

Let’s go! Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 31, 2012

 

IPI Digest: 12/23/12-12/29/12 (12.29.12)

On Sunday, Chris Antonetti joined the thousands of last-minute shoppers trying to pick up one final item before Christmas Day. Luckily for fans, Antonetti was not shopping at Target or Wal-Mart, but for a legitimate major leaguer in Nick Swisher.

IPI/IBI was there to cover every angle of the Swisher signing, as well as bringing the level of coverage of the minor league system you have become accustomed to.

Here are all of the pieces that went up on IPI over the past week: Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 29, 2012

 

Around The Farm: December 27, 2012 (12.28.12)

Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Here is the rundown of what Cleveland players in fall and winter ball did yesterday:

Dominican Winter League

• Carlos Santana (DH): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB. This is the sort of outing everyone wanted to see out of Santana this winter. If he is spending his time in the Dominican working on adjustments, hopefully this is a sign that it is working. Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 28, 2012

 

Signing Swisher means Indians must contend NOW (12.23.12)

It is very easy to get excited about Nick Swisher coming to Cleveland, but since he is unlikely to hold his value for the long-term, the team better contend for the playoffs in 2013.

Swisher, 32, is the middle-of-the-order bat Cleveland desperately needs. He has hit at least 20 home runs in eight straight seasons, owns a 118 OPS+ and .256/.361/.467 line for his career, and averages over 3.0 fWAR per full season, easily making him one of the most valuable players in baseball since 2005.

Yet this move does not come without risks. Giving 32-year-old players four year contracts at $14 million per year (with a vesting option for a fifth year) is dicey, especially on at end of the deal. Teams expect to take a loss on the back-end of free agent contracts, hoping that the benefits at the beginning offset those losses, but that is harder to swallow in a small-market like Cleveland. Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 23, 2012

 

IPI Digest: 12/15/12-12/22/12 (12.22.12)

There were no mega-deals involving Cleveland over the past week, but IPI kept you up-to-date on everything that happened with the big league club. The biggest news of the week was possibly the name change the site is undergoing, but you can read more about that under the “Monday” heading.

Here are all of the pieces that went up on IPI over the past week: Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 22, 2012

 

Around The Farm: December 20, 2012 (12.21.12)

Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Note that the Dominican Winter League was off last night. Here is the rundown of what Cleveland players in fall and winter ball did yesterday:

Venezuelan Winter League

• Asdrubal Cabrera (SS): 1-for-4, 1 BB. Cabrera has done pretty well in Venezuela this offseason, still holding a .300 average after last night. He faded down the stretch, so hopefully this winter ball work will get him in shape for 2013. Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 21, 2012

 

Imagining the 2013 Cleveland lineup without a full-time DH (12.20.12)

For the first time in recent memory, a typical Cleveland lineup card will not feature the phrase “Travis Hafner, DH.” Not that there is anything wrong with carrying a full-time designated hitter on the team (especially when he is putting up a .308/.439/.659 line with 42 home runs like Hafner did in 2006), but it does limit flexibility.

That lack of flexibility really hurts a team like Cleveland when the full-time DH gets hurt. This leads to light-hitting players like Aaron Cunningham, Cord Phelps,Jason Donald, and Vinny Rottino finding “DH” written next to their name; a true nightmare to behold.

With Hafner a free agent and not expected to re-sign, Cleveland has a flexible DH spot for the first time in years. If the team does not fill it at some point later in the offseason, Terry Francona can use the DH as a way to give one of the regular players some rest while keeping their bat in the lineup.

So let’s take a look at what this could look like. Be warned: math and assumptions lie ahead. One such assumption is that each of the regular players will play 150 games. This is probably a bit low, but this should capture some of the nicks and bruises that accumulate over the course of the season. Or something like that. Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 20, 2012

 

IPI Digest: 12/8/12-12/15/12 (12.15.12)

It was a busy week here at IPI as we kept you up-to-date on all the breaking news on the free agent market, the Shin-Soo Choo/Trevor Bauer trade, and of course, the numerous minor leaguers playing winter ball throughout the world.

As Tony announced that IPI will become Indians Baseball Insider shortly, you can count on the future IBI to continue to keep you informed on everything from the big league club and all the way down minor leagues.

Here are all of the pieces that went up on IPI over the past week: Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 15, 2012

 

Cleveland finally adds right-handed bat in Mark Reynolds (12.14.12)

Now that Mark Reynolds agreed to become Cleveland’s first baseman for 2013, Chris Antonetti and Terry Francona finally have a right-handed power hitter for the middle of their lineup.

Reynolds, 29, is not the flashiest move Cleveland has been working on in recent days. He is a definite step below Nick Swisher, Cody Ross, or an Asdrubal Cabrera trade, but Reynolds is a move in the right direction.

In Reynolds, Cleveland is filling a gaping hole at first base. After the Casey Kotchman failure last season, the team decided to acquire someone with actual power. No one will be mistaking Reynolds for Kotchman in the batters’ box in 2013, as Reynolds averages over 30 home runs per season.

Of course, that power comes with a price. Reynolds strikes out almost a third of the time he goes to the plate (32.6 K percentage) and struck out over 200 times in three separate seasons. That number of strikeouts has only been eclipsed five times in baseball history and Reynolds is responsible for three of them.

This high number of strikeouts makes it impossible for Reynolds to hit for a high batting average. Reynolds is a career .235 hitter, which is not a number associated with a difference-maker on offense. Despite his power, Reynolds can never carry an offense. Read More…

From Daily Kent Stater, December 14, 2012

 

Around The Farm: December 13, 2012 (12.14.12)

Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game. 

Here is the rundown of what Cleveland players in fall and winter ball did yesterday:

Venezuelan Winter League

• Luis Hernandez (SS): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI. Hernandez only managed one hit last night, but it was enough to keep his average at .400. The shortstop continues to dominate the Venezuelan Winter League, with 15 hits during his eight-game hit streak. Read More…

From Indians Prospect Insider, December 14, 2012