MLB Daily Balk Morning Rundown 5/12

Last Night’s Games
American
Detroit 9	Minnesota 7
Oakland PPD	Texas
Seattle 2	Baltimore 4
Kansas City 4	New York 3 F/11
Tampa Bay 8	Cleveland 2
Boston 3	Toronto 9
Chicago 6	Los Angeles 4
National
San Diego 13	Milwaukee 6
Cincinnati 3	Houston 4
New York PPD	Colorado
Los Angeles 2	Pittsburgh 0
Washington 7	Atlanta 3 F/11
Philadelphia 5	Florida 3
St. Louis 4	Chicago 11
Arizona 3	San Francisco 4

 

Unbelievable final play!

Best of Yesterday May 11

Top Aces
Player	Team	Stats
Hiroki Kuroda W (4-3)	LAD	7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K, 3 BB
David Price W (5-3)	TBD	8 IP, 2 ER, 7 K
AJ Burnett	NYY	7 IP, 1 ER, 6 K, 5 BB
Chris Tillman W (2-3)	BAL	6 IP, 1 ER, 5 K, 3 BB

 

Hitting Heroes
Player	Team	Stats
Adam Dunn	CWS	4-5, HR, RBI, 3 R
Starlin Castro	CHC	4-4, 3 RBI, 3 R
Victor Martinez	DET	3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 1 R
Rajai Davis	TOR	4-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB
Jason Bartlett	SDP	4-6, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB

 

 AL News/Notes

BJ Upton will start serving his 2-game suspension on Thursday for the Rays.

Kendrys Morales is now going to miss the entire 2011 season for the Angels due to complications from his ankle injury.

The Athletics have announced that Dallas Braden will undergo surgery to repair a torn capsule in his pitching shoulder. He’s going to be out until at least early next season.

The Indians’ Grady Sizemore injured his “other” knee on Tuesday after coming up lame sliding into second base.

  

NL News/Notes

Stephen Strasburg is getting closer to throwing off a mound for the Nationals after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of last season. Strasburg’s recovery time will be a pivotal factor in the Nats chances in the NL East in 2012.

The Dodgers have put Hong-Chi Kuo on the DL due to anxiety issues that have affected his ability to locate his pitches. Manager Don Mattingly couldn’t even guess if Kuo would be able to return this season.

The Phillies still plan to start Joe Blanton on Saturday despite Blanton not being completely healthy. The Phillies need a healthy Blanton to shop around the league due to his $8M salary and the Phils pitching depth.

 

Streaks of the Day

• Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury ended his hitting streak at 19 games
• Astros Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to 15 games

 

Top Thursday Matchups

12:05 EDT Rays (Shields 3-1, 2.01) at Indians (Masterson 5-0, 2.11) — MLB Network

3:45 EDT Diamondbacks (Hudson 3-4, 4.47) at Giants (Cain 2-2, 3.38)

7:05 EDT Dodgers (Garland 1-2, 3.66) at Pirates (Morton 4-1, 3.13)

7:10 EDT Nationals (Zimmerman 2-4, 4.10) at Braves (Lowe 3-3, 3.22)

 

Yesterday’s Balks: 0

MLB Daily Balk Morning Rundown 4/29

 

Zobrist had a day for the ages!

Best of Yesterday April 28

The Giants beat the Pirates 5-2 and Ryan Vogelsong won his first game since 2005 for the Giants. Vogelsong earned his first career win with the Giants, who drafted him in 1997 and then traded him to the Pirates.

The Mariners broke out the brooms in Detroit as they beat the Tigers 7-2 in the finale of their 3-game series. Rookie Michael Pineda won his 4th game as he struck out 9 in 6 innings. With 24 runs in 3 games against the Tigers, maybe the M’s offense isn’t THAT bad after all?

The Rays swept a day-night doubleheader against the Twins on Thursday, 15-3 and 6-1. Ben Zobrist was enormous as he knocked in a Rays record 8 runs in the opener and then drove in 2 more in the nightcap. Zobrist was 7 for 10 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, 5 runs, and 10 RBI. AL Player of the Week, anyone? He also did something that hasn’t been done in the AL since Reggie Jackson in 1969.

The Blue Jays took 3 out of 4 against the defending AL champs by beating the Rangers 5-2 on Thursday afternoon. The Jays received a scare when Jose Bautista was hit by a pitch on his hands in the 7th inning, but he never left the game. Brandon Morrow pitched fairly well in his second start and Adam Lind hit his 4th homer for the Jays.

Jon Lester and the Red Sox salvaged the third game of the series with the Orioles by winning 6-2. Lester won his third game with 8 solid innings, giving up 2 runs and Adrian Gonzalez got his 10th multi-hit game of the season for the Sox. Vladimir Guerrero hit his 4th homer for the O’s.  

Fausto Carmona won his 2nd game and Grady Sizemore continued his impressive comeback by hitting his 4th homer in under two weeks as the Indians completed the 3-game sweep of the Royals 8-2 on Thursday night. Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Santana, and Shelley Duncan all homered as well for the Tribe.

CC Sabathia easily won his 2nd game of the season as the Yankees beat the White Sox 12-3 on Thursday night. The struggling Nick Swisher broke out with his first homer and went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored.

Livan Hernandez helped the Nationals snap the Mets winning streak by throwing 8 strong innings with only 2 earned runs allowed in the Nats 4-3 win. New father Ian Desmond came off the Paternity Leave list to go 2 for 4 with a triple, homer, and 2 runs scored for the Nats.

Welcome home, Lance! Well, Lance Berkman might not have been welcome, but he made himself at home as he slugged two homers in the Cardinals win over the Astros 11-7. Berkman went 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI to go with the homers. He’s now alone in second place in the NL with 8 homers. Kyle McClellan did struggle, but he still won his 4th game of the season.

The Diamondbacks knocked out Cubs starter Ryan Dempster with a 7-run first inning on their way to an 11-2 win. Stephen Drew went 2 for 5 with a grand slam and 5 RBI and Miguel Montero continued his campaign for an all star selection with a 2 for 5 night, including a homer and double with 3 RBI.

 

What Happened (!!)Yesterday?

The Twins gave up 21 runs in their doubleheader loss to the Rays on Thursday and 29 runs in the 3-game sweep. The Twins now have the worst ERA in the AL at 4.95 on the season. The Twins are 4-0 when Brian Duensing starts and 5-15 when he doesn’t. But that’s not the only problem. They are 13th in the AL with a .236 team batting average and their slugging is an AL worst .323, thanks in large part to a MLB low 10 homers. Joe Mauer is still not ready to return and Delmon Young just joined him on the DL. The Twins are now 7 games behind the first place Indians and are in jeopardy of falling out the AL Central race before Memorial Day.

Ryan Dempster of the Cubs gave up 7 runs and didn’t escape the 1st inning against the Diamondbacks on Thursday night. He’s given up at least 4 runs in ALL 6 of his starts this season and his ERA is now 9.58 on the season. Dempster has given up 9 homers, walked 16, and 33 earned runs in only 31 innings for the Cubs. Dempster had pitched well over the past 3 seasons as a starter for the Cubs, but the time has probably come to move him back into the bullpen. The problem for the Cubs is that Dempster is making $13.5M this season and holds a PLAYER option for 2012 at $14M. Gee, I wonder if Dempster will exercise that. He’s as sure to receive that from the Cubs as Carlos Silva is to receive over $7M this season and another $2M next year.  

 

AL News/Notes

The Twins finally acknowledged that Joe Mauer wasn’t ready to start the season. He’s still a week or two away from returning as well.

Peter Bourjos is coming into his own as a hitter for the Angels. The second year player is batting .318 on the season, but despite possessing great speed, is still at the bottom of the order. Manager Mike Scioscia doesn’t have any plans to change that either.

The Indians top pitching prospect, Alex White, is being called up to make his big league debut on Saturday against the Tigers. White is filling in for the injured Carlos Carrasco, who was placed on the DL on Thursday with a right elbow problem.

The Rays‘ Sean Rodriguez dislocated his pinkie finger in the second game of the doubleheader on Thursday.

 

NL News/Notes

The Mets are thinking about starting Dillon Gee instead of Mike Pelfrey on Friday due to Pelfrey’s illness.

Pirates 2010 first round pick, Jameson Taillon, struggled in his pro debut on Wednesday. Bad weather and nerves played a role in his struggles.

The Phillies problems are beginning to mount now. Joining Brad Lidge, Chase Utley, and Jose Contreras on the DL is 5th starter Joe Blanton. Blanton is suffering from an elbow impingement. The Phils called up Vance Worley to take Blanton’s start on Friday. Roy Oswalt left the team on Tuesday due to the bad weather going through his home state of Mississippi.

The Cardinals offense has been very good this season, but they’ve hit into an inexplicable 34 double plays so far this season. That’s 11 more than any other team in the majors.

Ty Wigginton could land on the DL because of a sore oblique and that would require the Rockies to make a move. It looks like Alfredo Amezaga could get called up due to his versatility.

Former Padres GM and current Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers comes clean about the deceiving radar gun at Petco Park in San Diego. It turns out that the Reds‘ Aroldis Chapman might not have been having velocity problems after all last week.

Carlos Lee has been struggling so far this season, but Astros manager Brad Mills has no plans to move him in the batting order.

Ryan Zimmerman is throwing now, but is still at least a week away from rejoining the Nationals. He’s currently on the DL with an abdominal strain.

 

Streaks of the Day

• Royals Jeff Francouer extended his hitting streak to 17 games

 

Top Friday Matchups

7:05 EDT Blue Jays (Romero 1-3, 3.00) at Yankees (Garcia 1-0, 0.69)

7:35 EDT Cardinals (Carpenter 0-2, 3.90) at Braves (Hudson 3-2, 3.57)

8:05 EDT Brewers (Marcum 2-1, 2.73) at Astros (Myers 1-0, 3.31)

8:40 EDT Pirates (Correia 3-2, 3.48) at Rockies (Chacin 3-1, 2.67)

10:05 EDT Rangers (Wilson 3-0, 3.51) at Athletics (Cahill 3-0, 2.30)

 

Yesterday’s Balks: 1

• CC Sabathia of the Yankees against the White Sox

MLB Daily Balk Morning Rundown 4/27

Masterson goes to 5-0 for the Tribe

Zach Britton won his 4th game for the Orioles as they beat the Red Sox 4-1 on Tuesday night. The game’s loser, Clay Buchholz, continued to struggle as he dropped to 1-3 with a 5.33 ERA.

Justin Masterson won his 5th game and Jack Hannahan hit two homers for the Indians in their 9-4 win over the Royals. Grady Sizemore continued his blistering start that began late due to his recovery from knee surgery. In 8 games, Sizemore has 3 homers, 6 doubles and is hitting .406. Unfortunately, less than 10,000 fans saw the Indians go to 8-2 at home on the season.

Gavin Floyd pitched really well for the White Sox and Rafael Soriano struggled again in the 8th inning for the Yankees in the Sox 3-2 win. Floyd is now 3-1 and Sergio Santos picked up his second save in as many nights.

The Mets won their 5th straight game 6-4 over the Nationals on Tuesday night. Ike Davis had 3 hits and Francisco Rodriguez saved his fifth game. Wilson Ramos hit two homers in the loss for the Nats.

The Dodgers‘ Andre Ethier extended his MLB record hitting streak for April to 23 games with a double in the first inning against the Marlins on Tuesday night. But Clayton Kershaw struggled and the Marlins won 4-2.

The Blue Jays stopped Michael Young‘s hitting streak at 15 games and beat the Rangers 10-3 on Tuesday night. Adam Lind blasted two homers, scored three times, and drove in five the Jays. Jesse Litsch got the win after being recalled from AAA for the start.

Todd Helton hit two homers for the Rockies in their 4-3 win over the Cubs. Jorge De La Rosa won his fourth game and lowered his ERA to 2.61. Alfonso Soriano hit his 7th homer of the season in the 9th innning for the Cubs.

Bill Hall drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the 9th for the Astros in their 6-5 win over the Cardinals. Cards closer Mitchell Boggs blew his first save opportunity of the season. Lance Berkman went 2 for 5 with a RBI in his return to Houston.

Rickie Weeks‘ go-ahead solo homer in the 8th inning provided the margin of victory in the Brewers 3-2 win over the Reds. Ryan Braun hit his MLB leading 9th homer earlier.

The Diamondbacks beat the Phillies again, this time 7-5 on Tuesday night. Roy Oswalt struggled for the Phils as he only lasted 3 innings and gave up 5 runs. It was Oswalt’s first start without a strikeout since getting injured against the Nationals on July 11, 2008 while with the Astros. There was speculation after the game about his back.

The Angels 6-7-8-9 hitters (Howard Kendrick, Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos, and Alexi Amarista) went 9 for 15 with 6 runs and 6 RBI as they beat the Athletics 8-3. If those young hitters at the bottom of the order continue to hit, the Angels might have the best team in the AL.

Thanks to the 13 inning game on Monday night, the Braves used David Ross instead of Brian McCann at catcher on Tuesday night. All Ross did was hit two homers and drove in four runs in the 8-2 win over the Padres. Jair Jurrjens went the distance to win his 2nd game and lowered his ERA to 1.23.

 

What Happened (!!)Yesterday?

Out of the 8 players who started in the field for the Padres, only Nick Hundley ended the night with a batting average over .250.

The Pirates drew 9,832 to their game against the world champion Giants on Tuesday night. The first place Indians drew 9,650 to their game against the second place Royals. Four digit attendance figures are disappointing, even in April’s bad weather.

 

AL News/Notes

The Twins aren’t sure when Joe Mauer will be able to return. Mauer’s eligible to return on Thursday, but he still is working on his legs and might need a minor league rehab assignment.

Evan Longoria is on track to start a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday and return to the Rays next Tuesday. The Rays have done a pretty remarkable job of staying close in the AL East standings without their best everyday player for most of the season.

The Athletics‘ Josh Willingham missed Tuesday’s game with back stiffness. Also, catcher Kurt Suzuki is going on paternity leave on Wednesday and should only miss that game.

Phil Hughes underwent his tests on Tuesday and is still waiting on the results. The Yankees righty underwent tests on his elbow, shoulder, and also a circuit of vascular tests.

The Angels expect to activate starting pitcher Joel Pineiro by the weekend. Early speculation is that Pineiro would replace Matt Palmer from the rotation.

 

NL News/Notes

Despite last year’s Chris Coghlan postgame celebration that ended with Coghlan’s season over, Logan Morrison joined in with his teammates after the Marlins Monday night’s walk off win. Morrison had just gotten his cast off of his foot earlier in the day and manager Edwin Rodriguez wasn’t happy.

Xavier Paul has been claimed by the Pirates off waivers from the Dodgers. Paul is another former prospect that the Pirates have claimed this week. A few days ago, the Pirates claimed Brandon Wood from the Angels.

Lance Berkman, now a member of the Cardinals, returned to Houston on Tuesday night where he was met by criticism by the Astros‘ radio announcer. Berkman had injury problems in his final few seasons with the Astors and there were questions about his commitment to conditioning.

Jose Contreras is out for up to a month with his elbow problem for the Phillies. Good news for the Phils is that Dominic Brown will begin a minor league rehab stint in Clearwater on Wednesday.

Dodgers’ embattled owner Frank McCourt will be in New York on Wednesday to meet with MLB officials about his proposed TV deal with Fox.

The Mets GM Sandy Alderson is a former Marine who thinks that war clichés are overused in sports. Oorah.

The Padres have been using Cory Luebke out of the bullpen and he’s beginning to learn how to pitch out of the pen. Having a manager who experienced a similar role when he broke in has to help.

 

Streaks of the Day

• Dodgers Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to a MLB record for April 22 games
• Royals Alex Gordon extended his career long hitting streak to 19 games
• Royals Jeff Francouer extended his hitting streak to 15 games

 

Top Wednesday Matchups

12:10 EDT Dodgers (Billingsley 2-1, 4.13) at Marlins (Sanchez 1-1, 3.55)

3:35 EDT Braves (Hanson 2-3, 3.21) at Padres (Latos 0-3, 5.94)

7:05 EDT Red Sox (Beckett 2-1, 1.93) at Orioles (Guthrie 1-3, 3.12)

7:05 EDT Royals (Francis 0-2, 4.06) at Indians (Tomlin 3-0, 2.33)

7:05 EDT White Sox (Buehrle 1-2, 5.40) at Yankees (Colon 1-1, 3.50)

 

Yesterday’s Balks: 0

Cleveland Indians Opening Day Overview

Cleveland Indians Opening Day Overview

Manager: Manny Acta   GM: Chris Antonetti

	Lineup:
1	CF Michael Brantley
2	SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3	RF Shin-Soo Choo
4	C Carlos Santana
5	DH Travis Hafner
6	2B Orlando Cabrera
7	LF Austin Kearns/Grady Sizemore
8	1B Matt LaPorta
9	3B Jason Donald(DL)/Jack Hannahan

 

Brantley came over a few years back in the Sabathia deal and got a chance to become established as the fulltime center fielder with Grady Sizemore’s injuries. To stay in the leadoff spot and in the lineup, he needs to improve his walks as his OBP was under .300 last year and has to get up over .350 in order for Brantley to be an effective leadoff hitter.

Asdrubal Cabrera broke out with a big season in 2009 but took a step back last season as his numbers dropped and he missed almost half of the season with a broken arm. At 25, the Indians have high expectations for Cabrera and a return to his 2009 production and some improvement would make for a successful season for him.

Choo performed like a star last season and then continued his great play in the Asian Games, leading South Korea to the title. That championship excused Choo from his military obligation. At 28, Choo should be in the middle of his prime and could improve his production even more with his increased comfort level in the US. In a lineup with more power, Choo might be better hitting second, but his .885 OPS is very good hitting third too. The Indians need him to take the next step and get over a .900 OPS to help them surprise this season.

Santana had his promising rookie season ended with a knee injury in August, but is healthy and ready to break out this season. He’s possesses all of the skills at the plate as he already walks a ton and hits with power. Assuming his batting average increase this season, an OPS over .900 isn’t out of the question. Not even a full season in the majors and Santana already might be the best catcher in the AL, if not the entire major leagues.

Hafner got healthier physically and produced similarly to 2009 last season. The Indians are paying Hafner $13M per season this year and next and need him to produce at a similar level over 140+ games this year. If he can do that, the Indians should have some pretty good production in the middle of the order this year.

Orlando Cabrera comes from Cincinnati and moves to second base this year. At 36, he’s really not much of an everyday player anymore, but should hold down second until highly regarded prospect Jason Kipnis is ready in a few months. When Kipnis comes up, Cabrera can move to a utility role or maybe fetch a borderline prospect in a summer trade with a contender.

Kearns is getting the nod in left field at the start of the season and will probably share time with Brantley when Grady Sizemore comes off the DL. Kearns was solid last year with the Tribe before being traded to the Yankees for a formerly highly regarded prospect Zach McAllister. They would definitely take last year’s production again this season.

LaPorta has been an enigma since headlining the Sabathia deal in 2008. He’s clobbered AAA pitching in 2009 and 2010, but struggled mightily with the Indians. At 26, this is the year for LaPorta to fulfill his potential or the Indians will look in another direction. The good news is that he did improve his walk rate, but his batting average deteriorated enough to wipe out the OBP gains he made. He has to hit at least .260 and produce at his established power levels for the Indians to feel any encouragement about LaPorta’s future.

Donald starts the season on the DL and Hannahan takes over until he returns. But all of that might be moot if top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall hits well enough in AAA. It’s only a matter of when with Chisenhall and that should be sooner than later.

	Starting Pitching
1	RHP Fausto Carmona
2	RHP Carlos Carrasco
3	RHP Justin Masterson
4	RHP Josh Tomlin
5	RHP Mitch Talbot

 

Carmona heads the rotation again and is hoping to improve again on last year’s comeback season. He won 19 games on the ALCS losing team in 2007 before his ERA blew up in 2008 and 2009. If he really is over those two seasons and can improve his ERA to under 3.50, then Carmona could win at least 15 games and the Indians should be in the hunt for .500 or better.

Carrasco was one of the players acquired for Cliff Lee from the Phillies in 2009. He struggled in his 2009 call up but pitched decently last year when he arrived. He approached 200 IP with AAA and the Indians last year and the Tribe will hope that the 24 year old can approach it this season in the big leagues. If he can keep his ERA under 4.00, then the Indians should be pleased and Carrasco could win 12-14 games.

Masterson has walked too many hitters in his year and a half in Cleveland to be successful. He needs to improve his K-BB ratio to at least 3 to 1 if he’s going to be an effective starter. Mota will probably give him a month or so to see what Masterson’s got this year and if he struggles, he’ll probably be sent to the pen or AAA.

Tomlin had a solid year in AAA last year, but too many walks and homers made his 12 starts in Cleveland mediocre. If he’s better in those areas this season and can improve his strikeout rate, then Tomlin should be a solid back of the rotation starter for the Tribe this year.

Talbot was rather underwhelming last year with the Indians as he didn’t have many more strikeouts than walks. It’s going to be tough for him to improve his 4.41 ERA if he fails to get more K’s. If he doesn’t he’ll probably get sent to the bullpen or AAA.

	Bullpen
CL	RHP Chris Perez
SET	LHP Tony Sipp
	LHP Rafael Perez
	RHP Vinnie Pestano
	RHP Chad Durbin
	RHP Frank Herrmann
	RHP Justin Germano

 

Perez took over for Kerry Wood last year and did very well as he converted 23 of 27 save opportunities and had an ERA under 2.00. If he can do that again over a full season, the Indians won’t have any worries about a 9th inning lead this season.

Sipp took a step back last season as his walk rate continues to haunt him. But what really hurt him was the increase in home runs allowed to 12. No reliever can have an effective season giving up that many long balls and in order for Sipp to become a reliable 8th inning setup man, he’ll need to cut that HR rate by more than half and improve his K-BB ratio to better than 2 to 1 this season.

Perez could end up as the 8th inning guy if he can revert back to his pre-2009 form. Last year his ERA improved to 3.25 from his disastrous 2009 season but there was a lot of luck involved. This year he needs to be the dominating force he was a few years back.

Pestano had a very good year closing in AA and AAA last year and could emerge as a setup man if he’s able to adjust to big league hitters. Durbin is a quality pitcher who is best in middle relief but who could spot start if needed. Herrmann lacks the strikeouts but doesn’t walk too many hitters. His problem is the long ball. Germano pitched fairly well in limited time last season for the Tribe, but will provide long relief.

	Farm Prospects who could help in 2011
1	3B Lonnie Chisenhall
2	RHP Alex White
3	2B Jason Kipnis/OF Nick Weglarz

 

Chisenhall is a hitting machine and should be in Cleveland sometime around Memorial Day if Tribe fans are lucky. White is the top pitching prospect and should get the call if he dominates AAA the way he’s done in both of his stops last year. Kipnis and Weglarz are both potential call ups this season as well especially if Cabrera struggles to hit at second base and Weglarz could be called up if Brantley struggles.

Three Questions:

1. Can this Indians lineup score enough runs to get the Tribe to .500?

• This lineup has some very good potential, especially if they can find a leadoff hitter with an OBP over .360. They should be solid all season and will get a boost with additions throughout the year. Grady Sizemore should return by the end of April, Lonnie Chisenhall should debut around Memorial Day, and Jason Kipnis could take over at 2B sometime in the summer. This lineup could be one of the best in the AL by season’s end and a top 3 offense in the AL in 2012.

2. Will the Indians be able to develop enough pitching to match their hitting?

• Developing top pitching talent is difficult for any team and the Indians are no exception. Trading free agents to be CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee in 2008 and 2009 restocked the farm system but left the Tribe with a major void in their rotation. Fausto Carmona hasn’t regained the form that made him a 19 game winner in 2007 and none of their prospects have enjoyed prolonged success. The Tribe’s offense is going to be very good, but their pitching is what will lead them back to meaningful October games. Out of Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, Alex White, and Jeanmar Gomez, they need two or three to become established, above average starters this season. Next year, highly regarded prospect Drew Pomeranz could be ready as well.

3. Will Chris Antonetti trade Grady Sizemore when he returns and reestablishes his ability?

• Sizemore only has an option year remaining on his contract. At $8.5M, it was a no-brainer for the Tribe to pick it up two years ago. But injuries have robbed Sizemore of over a season’s worth of games over the past 2 years and his production wasn’t good when he did play. If he can come back and be pre-2009 Grady, they have to keep him for another year, right? Or do they try to strike while the irons hot and sell him high? The standings will most likely play the biggest role in this decision as if the Indians are in striking distance and Sizemore is playing well, it’s doubtful that another big trade will be made this summer.

 

Projection

The Indians have a lot of potential, but their lack of established starting pitching is alarming. If their young pitchers can finally fulfill their potential, this team has a good chance of getting over 80 wins. If they are within 4 or 5 games at the end of July, Antonetti will be in a challenging position, try to make a deal to win now or just let the kids play. With great depth on the farm, the Indians should be aggressive to add players if they’re in the hunt. This will be an interesting season in Cleveland no matter what. It kind of has a 1993 feel to it with all of the young talent and questionable pitching. That team was two years away from the World Series. Is this team?