Tuesday, May 25, 2010

This isn't an actual MLB team, is it?

I had an hour to kill tonight before CBS' Monday night line-up of Season Finales started, so I figured I'd watch the Indians. And I couldn't help but think to myself, is this really a Major League Baseball team? I watched a 19-minute top of the 1st inning that saw starter Justin Masterson throw 44 pitches, give up four hits, walk two guys, throw a wild pitch, get a visit from the pitching coach, and give up four runs. This is the same Justin Masterson who is 0-11 in his last 11 decisions. The same Justin Masterson that was traded to Cleveland for All-Star catcher Victor Martinez. The same Justin Masterson who has compiled a career 1-11 record with the Tribe with an ERA above 5.00.

How does a guy with numbers like that continue to start? Then, as I watched the Indians take their hacks in the bottom halves of the first few innings, I thought to myself, how do these guys actually get playing time? So I figured I'd come on here and break it down. Let's take a look at a position by position breakdown of the Cleveland Baseball Indians, and comment on whether they're an MLB-caliber player.
Catchers:
Lou Marson is the starter most nights. Marson is a career .225 hitter with 7 RBI's in his career.
MLB worthy? No.
Mike Redmond, who is primarily Marson's backup, has been in the majors for 13 years. His best season was a 1 HR/38 RBI/.294 AVG year.
MLB-worthy? No.

First base:
Russell Branyan is the everyday first baseman. He's played nearly 1,000 games in his career with 168 Home Runs. He's also a career .233 hitter.
MLB worthy? Only as a power bat on your bench.

Second base:
Mark Grudzielanek is the starting second baseman on most nights. He's a career .290 hitter who has more than 2,000 hits in his career.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Luis Valbuena was the Opening Day starter but is now the primary backup due to not understanding what 'defense' is. He's a career .232 hitter with more strikeouts than hits in his career.
MLB worthy? No.

Shortstop:
Jason Donald is now the starting shortstop due to Asdrubal Cabrera breaking his forearm. This year marked his MLB debut, and is 3-for-22 on the season thus far.
MLB worthy? No.

Third base:
Jhonny Peralta is the everyday third baseman. Career .264 hitter with 100 Home Runs.
MLB worthy? Bad teams would start him, so yes, he qualifies.

Designated Hitter:
Travis Hafner can be described very easily. He was amazing when he first came up and was one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Then he got hurt three years ago and hasn't been the same. He's still a decent bat towards the bottom of your lineup, but nothing like the 40+ HR guy we saw initially.
MLB worthy? Yes

Shelley Duncan is the backup DH. Doesn't get hardly any playing time, and is a career minor leaguer.
MLB worthy? No.

Left field:
Austin Kearns is the starting left fielder. He's a guy who's been in the majors for a decade now, and has only started a full season once. Typically, he's been a platoon player his entire career.
MLB worthy? Debatable

Matt LaPorta is the backup left fielder. He's a career .240 hitter who was supposed to be the next big thing but has yet to pan out. Also was supposed to be a big power bat, but has 8 HR's in his career.
MLB worthy? No.

Center field:
Usually manned by All-Star Grady Sizemore, Trevor Crowe is now the current starting center fielder. Sizemore has been bothered by injuries for the better part of two years now, and Crowe has taken over the spot. Crowe's only ability is to steal bases. Other than that, he's got no power and can't hit for a solid average.
MLB worthy? No.

Right field:
Shin-Soo Choo is the starting right fielder and is a five tool talent. He hits for average, he has power, he can steal bases, he can play defense, and he has an amazing arm. There isn't a single team in the majors who wouldn't want Choo.
MLB worthy? Absolutely.

Starting Pitchers:
Jake Westbrook is the 'ace' of the staff. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2008 and missed the better part of two full seasons. He's an ace on this staff, but he'd be an end of the rotation guy on better teams. Career record of 65-66 with an ERA above 4.50.
MLB worthy? Yes

Fausto Carmona is the only other starter in the rotation who has proven he can win games on a consistent basis. Only problem is that he's only done it once out of four seasons. When he can command his pitches, he's tough to beat. Generally, he can't though.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Justin Masterson has one win in his career with the Indians. He is capable of throwing one pitch, and one pitch only--a sinker. His career ERA is almost as bad as his career record.
MLB worthy? No.

David Huff's career ERA is 5.51 over his 31 starts. Enough said.
MLB worthy? No.

Mitch Talbot is at the end of this Indians rotation pitching in the majors for the first time in his career. So far, he's 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA. He has very solid stuff, and could turn into a solid young pitcher over time.
MLB worthy? Too early to tell, but all signs point to yes.

The Bullpen:
Kerry Wood is the closer. When he's not hurt, he usually pitches well.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Chris Perez, the love child of Ricky Vaughn and Kenny Powers, appears to be the closer of the future. He has electric stuff, and gets the job done most of the time. He does have a wild side though.
MLB worthy? Yes.

The youngster Tony Sipp has become a solid 7th/8th inning guy for the Tribe. He's usually good for a walk an inning, but overall he does what he needs to do.
MLB worthy? All signs point to yes.

Aaron Laffey is a starter turned long innings bullpen guy. He still should be starting (see: Justin Masterson), but isn't. A solid bullpen guy and a solid fill-in starter.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Rafael Perez is one of the worst relievers I've ever seen. Shouldn't even be allowed in Single A ball, let alone the Majors.
MLB worthy? No.

Hector Ambriz, while young, is already proving to people that he doesn't have the capabilites to go an inning without giving up a run.
MLB worthy? No.

Jamey Wright has pitched 1,700 innings in his career, and has given up nearly 1,000 runs. You do the math. How in the hell has he been around long enough to pitch 1,700 innings?
MLB worthy? No.

Final Countdown:
MLB worthy players on the Indians: 9
Potentially MLB worthy players: 2
Debatable players: 2
Non-MLB worthy players: 12

So there you have it. Over half of the entire Indians roster is filled with guys who have no right being in the majors. Essentially, this is a glorified AAA team. The Dolans dragged the team into this hole, and until they sell the team to someone who is willing to spend money, they'll be at the bottom of the barrel for a while.

Hope for the Indians? Long gone, for the foreseeable future.

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Reign of Potato is over

Five years. Five great regular seasons. Five embarrassing playoff exits. If someone asked me to sum up Mike Brown's tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers in three sentences, those would be them. From day one Mike Brown always preached one thing--defense. I have no problem with that...but defense can only take you so far. You need to be able to execute offensive plays more than once out of every 20 possessions. You have to be able to make in game adjustments and play guys that match up well opposed to guys who need to play 'x' amount of minutes. Ultimately, Mike Brown's deficiencies in those areas is why he's no longer the coach. It's also the main reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers still don't have an NBA Championship to call their own.

I've hated Mike Brown for the better part of four seasons now...his offense/in game adjustments has just been so horrible, it's been impossible to actually like the guy. But this firing was one that I hoped I'd never see. If the Cavs had won a title within the past 5 years, Mike Brown would be coaching this team until he was ready to quit. (Don't get it twisted though...I'm glad he's finally gone.)

For the first time in over 5 years, I actually get the feeling that LeBron might not come back. The firing of Mike Brown feels like it's the beginning of the end for the Cavaliers. I really hope I'm wrong, but there's this weird feeling all of a sudden surrounding the Cavs. After the whooping Boston handed us in the 2nd round this year, you got the sense that this Cavs team really was just a regular season team. Part of that falls on Mike Brown's shoulders because, as stated earlier, he has no clue how to adjust to teams. Maybe the team really is just a smart coach away from a title. Who knows. But going into this off-season, you get the feeling that this team is gonna look drastically different come November. There isn't an actual center on the roster now that Z and Shaq are free agents, there isn't a coach, and there isn't a superstar if LeBron leaves.

Don't forget, LeBron was the one who wanted Mike Brown. He also wanted Larry Hughes, Mo Williams, Ben Wallace and Shaq. Every person he's asked for, Cleveland has given him. And every person he's asked for hasn't been good for the Cavaliers as an organization. But it's LeBron--the front office will give him whatever he pleases to make sure he stays. Where else is he going to get as much pull in the front office than he would in Cleveland?

Oh, and Mike? Thank LeBron for not only the opportunity to coach an NBA team, but for you being fired.

The Potato Head has officially left the building.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Change of Heart....

During the Cavs game, I was all set to come on here later that day (right now) and rant until the sun came up about everything pertaining to Cleveland sports, my grandparents moving to Cleveland some 50-plus years ago, figuring out a way to chop the entire city of Boston off into the Atlantic and other things.

But, I decided against it. As much as Cleveland sports drive all of us Clevelanders nuts, and as much as we all cursed LeBron to hell/New York/etc. during tonight's game, the fact still remains...not a single one of us has yet to utter the words "I'm done." Not yet, at least. My mom's lived through it her entire life. She was 7 when a Cleveland team last won a title, and I can guarantee you she remembers nothing about it, nor cared at 7. And after the Cavs got wally-wonked tonight by 54, or whatever the outcome was, you know what she said to me? "There's always next year. And if LeBron leaves, so be it. There's always a decade from now. We're past due. It's only a matter of time."

And that's when it hit me. There's no point in throwing tantrums about how much I hate being born to Cleveland-crazed fans. There's no point in cursing out LeBron (which I did more than a few times tonight). This is no different than a girlfriend breaking up with you. Sure, it hurts like hell at first, but you'll get over it. And all of us, as Cleveland fans, will get over another disappointing Cavaliers playoff run sooner or later. And what doesn't kill us will only make us stronger.

Hell, if LeBron leaves, he leaves. As fans, it's completely out of our control. And if he leaves, we'll all feel like we just lost a family member. But over time, it'll hurt less and less. No, the sting won't ever go completely away--just mention Craig Ehlo, John Elway, Earnest Byner, Jose Mesa or the Boston Red Sox--all of us cringe any time they are mentioned...but eventually we'll have something good happen with a Cleveland sports team. And even if it's just for a few brief seconds, we'll all think to ourselves "this is finally our year."

And when that time finally comes, and a Cleveland team finally breaks the Cleveland Curse and wins a professional championship, we're gonna party like hell. We're gonna set the world on fire. It's gonna be the biggest bash in the history of mankind. And we'll all remember it for the rest of our lives--even if it's the only one we ever see.

After all, we're past due. It's only a matter of time.