Tag Archives: indians

The future of the Indians outfield played together last night

March 30, 2016 Ai Leave a comment

(Bradley Zimmer actually DHed. Semantics.)

Here's Game 2's lineup!

And here's how a healthy @Yan_AGomes can be an X factor: https://t.co/pYrp87zr5Z pic.twitter.com/TVtI8S5rO4

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 29, 2016

Wow, @Bzimmer5 @ClintFrazierr & Yu Cheng Chang starting tonight at Goodyear. Great news for those who are interested in the future of CLE.

— Joe (@GBI_Joe) March 29, 2016

The numbers on the back of their jerseys may have added up to 249, but those weren’t just any minor leaguers running around with Chief Wahoo on their sleeve last night. An outfield of Clint Frazier, Tyler Naquin and Bradley Zimmer (first-round picks in 2012/13/14) is something we’re very likely to see over the next year or two, and will certainly be met with a spike in the number tents erected inside and in surrounding areas of Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Naquin has obviously already made the big league club this season, Zimmer seems to be a lock for Opening Day 2017 before even playing in a single game this year, and Frazier isn’t all that far behind him. The “Indians can’t draft” crowd (first cousins to the Dolans R Cheap clan) may not like to admit it, but when your outfield of the future includes three consecutive first round picks (and the two top prospects in your entire system) with that much upside, you’re doing something right.

That being said, last night wasn’t a particularly explosive showing. Against Mariners fourth starter Taijuan Walker, Frazier singled in the first and Zimmer doubled in the third. For the spring, they’ve both had 8 at-bats at the big league level. Frazier (21 years old) has 1 hit and a 5/1 K/BB, while two of Zimmer’s (23 years old) three hits have been doubles and he’s also driven in a run. Naquin (24 years old) really isn’t doing much of anything other than leading the regulars in hitting (.415 in 53 ABs) and triples (3), second in bombs (4), driving in 7, doubling three times and posting an OBP of .456 in his first extended action against big league pitching.

But what about Michael Brantley? Who? Who’s on first. Who, meet Michael Brantley. He’ll be taking your job in the near future. While he’s never played first base in a big league game, he did dabble in the minors and the idea was tossed around in the spring of 2011. Defensive metrics have never loved him as a left fielder, and a move to the infield would certainly help to keep him healthy and his legs fresh as he enters his 30’s. He would also provide a well above average bridge until Bobby Bradley (who DHed in the first game yesterday) is ready for the big show. Bradley hits baseballs hard and he hits baseballs far, but he also fails to connect on quite a few attemps at hitting baseballs and is only 19 years old. He’s a ways away from The Corner.

Yu-Cheng Chang is a guy the Tribe signed from Taiwan a few years back for $500,000. He’s risen to #13 on MLB.com’s list of our top 30 prospects despite being only 19 and having played just over 100 games at Lake County. He’s 1-3 with a triple this spring.

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/700446032040038400

https://twitter.com/tpaquette_IID/status/714880704761311232

KEEP THE CHIEF

Browns, Cavs, Cleveland, Indians

Being a Cleveland sports fan is exhausting

March 22, 2016 Ai 1 Comment

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a fan of teams from another city?

Patriots fans spend the week leading up to games talking about their upcoming opponent and what they can do to improve upon their performance from last week to give themselves the best chance to win on Sunday. Browns fans spend the week leading up to games talking about whether the team should start a below average journeyman, or a rookie who hasn’t had the chance to prove he’s below average yet, at like every position.

Spurs fans talk about potential playoff match ups, Pop’s latest sound bite and how they can beat the Warriors. Cavs fans ask each other if they saw __________’s latest Instagram post, what __________’s tweet means and how they can’t beat the Warriors.

Cardinals fans spend the winter talking about what complimentary pieces they can add in the off season, and the summer talking about how they’re the best in the world at rooting for a baseball team. Indians fans spend their winter complaining about how the front office never spends any money, and the summer complaining about how the front office never spends any money.

I, for one, am absolutely exhausted. Lately I find myself answering the vast majority of sports questions from friends and coworkers with “I don’t care.”

What do you think about RGIII? I don’t care.

Bosa or a QB at 2? I do not care.

Did you see LeBron unfollowed the Cavs on Twitter?

I. Do. Not Care. I don’t care because I’m tired.

I’m tired of:

of LeBron on social media
of conversations about LeBron’s leadership
of Kevin Love not being Minnesota Kevin Love
of Kevin Love trade rumors
of anything having to do with the Cavs locker room
of David Blatt vs Ty Lue
of LeBron in Miami
of LeBron leaving
of Kyrie being a ball hog
of our star player and leader intentionally screwing with us
of who is or isn’t in an Instagram picture
of personal “brands”
of poolside chats
of ESPN
of Stephen A’s sources that are close to people
of Steph Curry
of Johnny Manziel
of Josh Gordon
of exclusive cell phone footage obtained by TMZ
of looking to the NFL draft as our only hope
of failed draft picks
of “we could have had…”
of constant front office turnover
of stupid new slogans and uniforms
of other people genuinely feeling sorry for me because of the football team I root for
of other people making fun of me for the football team I root for
of being more excited for press conferences and press releases in the spring and summer than for Sunday afternoons in the fall
of FBI probes
of “analytics”
of people not going to baseball games
of talking about people not going to baseball games
of complaining about the Indians payroll
of asking bars downtown to turn on Indians games
of fake Chief Wahoo outrage
of Zack Reed
of Sports Illustrated curses
of right handed power bats
of wins, losses, batting average and ERA
of jersey burning
of forced optimism
of hereditary pessimism
of you being completely wrong and also an idiot if I don’t agree with you
of criticizing local media because they deserve it
of criticizing local media when they don’t

But most of all, I am completely and utterly drained by the saying:

“Only in Cleveland.”

Only in Cleveland do we have the largest scoreboard in the NBA, the best player most of us have ever seen, the first place team in the Eastern Conference and the second best odds of winning a championship.

Only in Cleveland do we have the largest scoreboard in the MLB inside a completely renovated park, one of the best shortstops, pitching staffs, left fielders, second basemen, managers and radio announcers in baseball, a farm system full of even more pitching and prospects that fit our big league needs and the projected AL Central champions per Fangraphs.

Only in Cleveland do we have a fan base loyal (slash dumb) enough to keep supporting their football team year in and year out, regardless of the incompetence displayed by the players and front office.

(That last one was admittedly tough, but despite all preconceived notions of this new regime failing “because Browns,” we’re not even close to being close to it being too early to tell)

This is sports, people. An outlet to escape from the every day grind. This feeling of being a soap opera of a city is like the social battles kids used to wage in middle school. At the time, yeah, jumping off the 480 bridge seemed like the only solution to the problem. But sitting here 15 years later, I’m kind of glad I decided not to jump because Scotty intercepted my love note to Sarah and read it to everyone.

So if you want to talk to me about what the Indians lineup should look like when they square off against David Price in 13 days? Let’s do it. Wondering what sort of defensive match ups we could use against the Bulls or Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs? I’m all for it. But open your mouth and start spewing about a TMZ Sports report or a locker room tiff or a Cleveland sports curse? Get lawst.

Because I’m tired.

And I don’t care.

Indians

Michael Brantley to play in minor league game tomorrow

March 16, 2016 Ai Leave a comment

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/710142010347270144

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/710143447840067585

The hump day to beat all hump days, folks. Our lord and savior Michael Brantley will hit the on-ramp and merge onto the road back to major league baseball tomorrow afternoon. I’m still tempering my expectations, because Cleveland, but this is better than great news. The sooner we have our PhD back in the three hole and roaming the green grass in front of our brand new scoreboard, the better.

Thankfully, it hasn’t necessarily been all crabgrass in the outfield in his absence. In his pursuit of being our center fielder come April 4th, Tyler Naquin has slashed a manly .417/.440/.667 and is second on the team with 10 hits so far this spring (2 doubles, 2 triples.) Jose Ramirez, who made his debut in center a few days ago, is the only player on the Indians who has more hits than Naquin (11.) The others (Grossman, Cowgill, Butler, Robinson, Davis) have been rather yawnish, although Davis did have a three hit game yesterday. And Lonnie’s not not 1 for 21. So, yeah, the sooner the better for Smooth.

I’m still not expecting The Return until late April, but at the rate he’s been going, he’ll be available to pinch hit later this afternoon.

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