Recap: Cleveland won the AL East and 104 games in 1969, finished just a game out in 1970, and, following a 72-90 setback season of 1971, were a competitive 87-69 in 1972. Unfortunately for fans of the Indians, at least what's left of them, the Tribe sold off most of their assets last offseason and began the fans' worst nightmare known as "the rebuild". And oh boy did it start out poorly. They opened the year 4-17 and, following a small patch of decentness, were 14-33 and looking like they could be the worst team in baseball history by the end of May.
And then... things got weird. Cleveland had just one losing month from that point on and even that was a 15-16 July (31 games! There was an All-Star break!). They even finished the year 16-11, a run that included playing spoilers to the Red Sox and Yankees in the final 2 weeks of the season (they won 2 out of 3 in Boston from September 14-16, won 2 out of 3 at home vs the Yankees on the 22nd and 23rd, and swept the Red Sox on the 25th and 26th).
The hitting at least as a whole never quite got turned around. Cleveland Municipal Stadium will always be a hitters' haven but don't let that fool you: the Indians were 4th worst in average and 3rd worst in runs scored. A young defense wasn't good in the ways you'd expect a young defense to be but the pitching showed up and did a surprisingly good job of it anyway.
1974 Outlook: The AL East at this point is very clearly a stars-and-scrubs division with the Indians being the best of the scrubs. They're going to need big improvements from their young stars to catch up to Boston and several miracles to hope of catching up to Detroit. How confident you are about them going forward really depends on how confident you are that their pitching staff, which was decimated with injury last year, can rebound and be difference makers.
Tony Aguillon
2B/IF No. 30
RR, 6'2" 199 lbs.
Born 1945-10-02
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 WIC AAA | .300 | 120 | 446 | 49 | 134 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 50 | 41 | 30 | 2 |
| 1971 CLE MLB | .444 | 16 | 45 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1972 POR AAA | .244 | 110 | 365 | 30 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 15 | 1 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .342 | 19 | 38 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .312 | 74 | 218 | 18 | 68 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 20 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
There's going to be a lot of sad-sack stories coming through on this team, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Cleveland really struggled at points last year and really, if it were up to the projected talent in the lineup, this would be a 100 loss team. It's not all bad news, though! Tony Aguillon showed that his September callup in 1972 wasn't a fluke as he hit .312 last year and made a really good case for himself, at the ripe old age of 28, to be a regular starter in 1974.
The contact tool is a relatively recent add but it does seem to be for real (just ignore that 1972 season nspent in Portland). Aguillon protects the plate even with less than 2 strikes and will rarely strike out as a result. He prefers the low fastball and mostly what he hits come out as ground ball singles. As you'd expect from a guy with this profile and hitting philosophy, Aguillon will rarely draw a walk either. He's a really great hit and run guy although he hit too far down in the order for Cleveland to utilize the hit and run that much (I know IRL they ran the hit and run a toooon during this period so I might just have to goose up those rates and see what happens). Defensively, Aguillon lacks range but picks up most of what he gets to, and he's got a really strong arm that would make him a fine replacement at 3rd base... assuming he continues to hit .300 of course.
You don't normally see guys come out of nowhere to contend for a batting title and Aguillon has still yet to hit this well over a full season but I think he's earned the right to try. And hey, weirder things have happened, right?
Brandon Anderson
RF/CF No. 17
RR, 6'1" 201 lbs.
Born 1948-07-31
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 EUG AAA | .344 | 43 | 160 | 27 | 55 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 8 |
| 1971 PHI MLB | .274 | 112 | 368 | 52 | 101 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 46 | 57 | 71 | 10 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .243 | 96 | 276 | 37 | 67 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 47 | 37 | 11 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .287 | 156 | 596 | 90 | 171 | 26 | 2 | 23 | 83 | 64 | 65 | 13 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Anderson was the odd man out in a crowded Phillies outfield and so he found himself moved to Cleveland in what looked like a pretty clear cost-cutting move (veteran hitting specialist Nelson Vargas was sent out in the other direction). Instead, Anderson adapted well to the cozy confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, hit career highs in every category, and even made his first All-Star Game. It was a great season, all in all, and one that Indians fans hope will be one of many in the future.
The biggest surprise was the power. Anderson had never hit double-digit HRs at any step in his career before last season, when he led the Indians in that category. Well... there's that and then there's the way he got that power, somehow, by shortening his swing. Prior to last season Anderson had a big, looping swing that missed pitches an awful lot. This past season he concentrated more on taking what he was given and that seems to really have unlocked some potential. You can blame the low RBI totals more on a lack of opportunities than "clutch", although if we're being honest that's probably the one area where we'd like to see improvement.
Anderson is a fine fielder overall. Still only 25, he could definitely play more centerfield than he's been asked to so far. He's got a good first step and uses his natural speed to catch up to balls hit into the gaps. He also has good hands, committing just 3 errors in the field all season long. His biggest downside, which is not a small once given that he started 134 games in right last year, is that his arm is only average. He got ran on enough that that average arm still collected 8 OF assists but left is probably a better fit for him as he gets older. Harpst is a very good base runner but needs to work on his instincts out there a bit better: he was caught 11 times in 24 steal attempts and occasionally made outs on hits as well. He laid down 6 sacrifice bunts last season; while he can do that, he really, really should not.
Anderson is not really a natural leader except of course with his powerful bat. He's more of "a guy" in the clubhouse. Ideally you'd like a guy of his stature to take up that team captain role but that's not really Anderson's thing. Instead, he'll merely be a top RBI man for this team for the next decade.
Richard Berman
LF No. 27
RR, 5'10" 184 lbs.
Born 1945-10-22
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 OAK MLB | .285 | 137 | 527 | 72 | 150 | 36 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 38 | 42 | 17 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .276 | 128 | 492 | 52 | 136 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 43 | 41 | 10 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .286 | 102 | 419 | 48 | 120 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 25 | 47 | 5 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Now in his second stint with Cleveland, Berman over the past 4 seasons has established himself as a contact hitter you can just about justify hitting 3rd for you when he's healthy. Berman was not always healthy this past year, missing 60 games due to injury, and the last one was the worst: he broke a bone in his elbow trying to break up a double play. It was a bad break that he'll be nursing all offseason and early reports are that he might not be back until May or June.
When he did play, Berman was... fine. He mostly hit 3rd for the Tribe but that's more a sign that the team was very undermanned on offense than him really being well suited for the role. He did hit .317 for Milwaukee in 1970 and .372 in AAA the year before (that year coming after the season spent in Cleveland as a pinch-hitter) so there's always that chance he'll break out and become a batting champion level guy. Berman doesn't hit for a lot of power and prefers spraying line drives into the gaps. He's shown more signs of speed than he did with Cleveland in the past; that's one area where the injuries are beginning to pile up. On defense he's adequate at best, with a lack of range hurting his cause more than an on-paper good arm (I say on paper because Berman recorded no baserunner kills this year) helps, especially in left. DH might be a better spot for him in the future although in order to play DH long-term he probably needs to do more with the stick than what he's doing now.
Whatever Cleveland decides to do with Berman, they aren't going to have a chance to make that decision until the middle of the season. He's still, along with Brandon Anderson, the best pure hitter on the team, and given how few good hitters the Indians have, it'd seem they're practically required to give him at-bats for at least another season.
George W. Bush
1B/OF No. 42
LL, 6'2" 202 lbs.
Born 1946-04-25
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 DEN AAA | .185 | 80 | 248 | 47 | 46 | 8 | 3 | 17 | 46 | 86 | 49 | 1 |
| 1971 TEX MLB | .281 | 74 | 253 | 47 | 71 | 24 | 1 | 13 | 40 | 47 | 38 | 2 |
| 1972 DEN AAA | .250 | 52 | 180 | 36 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 29 | 35 | 38 | 2 |
| 1972 TEX MLB | .172 | 63 | 192 | 24 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 36 | 54 | 1 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | .228 | 58 | 167 | 28 | 38 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 35 | 37 | 4 |
| 1973 SPO AAA | .175 | 35 | 120 | 17 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 2 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .174 | 40 | 109 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
It's easy to see why George W Bush keeps getting chances. The prodigious power is on display and pitchers are kind of afraid of him. He looked like a future star with the Rangers in 1971. Since then, though, he hasn't gotten close to .200 in 2 stints in the major leagues and it's all because of the strikeouts. He just can't get around it. He's at a point in his career where he has to in order to last but he's 27 already - this is his prime.
Bush is a very good defensive first baseman. If he could learn to make contact even a normal amount he could totally push Hodzik out to 3rd and form a very good defensive corner infield. He's got decent outfield range but a weak arm means he's pretty well set as a left fielder should the team decide to use him there (he didn't play in the outfield at all in the big leagues last year). You'd expect a guy with this hitting profile to be turrible slow but Bush actually has good speed. He's no leader (ahahaha) but he also doesn't stick out in the clubhouse.
This is pretty much the use it or lose it year for Bush. He's reportedly very unhappy that he was relocated from Texas last offseason - he talked about that team like he wanted to own it some day - but them's the breaks and when you are physically unable to make contact with the baseball, you either take what you can get or you follow your father into politics.
Giorgio Cavazzano
RHP No. 34
RR, 6'5" 202 lbs.
Born 1947-10-04
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SHE AA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3.71 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 36.1 | 39 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 35 |
| 1971 CHR AAA | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.81 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 1972 CHR AAA | 10 | 4 | 14 | 3.12 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 72.0 | 73 | 29 | 25 | 19 | 49 |
| 1972 PIT MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1973 OMA AAA | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4.34 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 | 33 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 23 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.75 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| 1973 KC MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2.38 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Cavazzano managed to finish 3rd in voting for Fireman of the Year in the combined IL/AA voting in 1972 and that, plus, let's be honest, salary was enough for the Tribe to ship off their top reliever in 1972 in Jake Duckett in exchange for this guy. Duckett did well with the new team but truth be told, Cavazzano was a nice add himself. An Italian inker and cartoonist in his spare time (he'd probably tell you that baseball is what takes up his spare time), Giorgio is a fastball/curveball pitcher who generated a lot of whiffs in AAA in spite of less than overpowering stuff. Is it a deceptive motion? Let's call it a deceptive motion. He pays zero attention whatsoever to runners whe they do get on board, a point which looks like it hasn't quite filtered around the league yet but probably will if he stays in the major leagues.
At this point in time the 26 year old Cavazzano has got a spot in the Indians' bullpen with his name on it.
Alfredo Contreras
LHP No. 32
LL, 6'4" 201 lbs.
Born 1942-07-10
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 ROC AAA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5.68 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 50.2 | 54 | 34 | 32 | 18 | 36 |
| 1971 BAL MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.41 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 8 |
| 1972 WH AA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.52 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15.1 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 17 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.57 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.95 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4.11 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 39.1 | 38 | 19 | 18 | 7 | 27 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Contreras is... a crazy reclamation project. After playing at 3 different levels in 1972, the 31 year old excited someone in the Cleveland front office enough to trade reliever Elias Sanchez to the Yankees to pick him up. Contreras has been, really, nothing but bad at his previous 2 stops: 2-3, 6.54 in 23 games at Baltimore, 2-0, 5.79 in New York. And then in Cleveland... he was kind of good. Maybe "good" is too strong of a word but Contreras definitely did the job against left-handed hitters, holding them to a triple-slash of 239/292/489 and overall put together a pretty nice K/BB ratio in Cleveland.
If you squint you can see how at one point - granted it's been almost a decade now - Contreras was considered a top 100 prospect. He throws a lot of heat and mixes in a change of pace against lefty hitters. A guy who throws as hard as Contreras does and with his history of wildness is almost guaranteed to allow dingers, and he most certainly did last year, with 8 HRs allowed in 39.1 Cleveland innings. He was still effective enough to pick up an AL-leading 9 holds, all of them with the new team.
We are not in the era of the LOOGY by any stretch but Contreras seems like he could be effective enough against righties to stick around on this team... if he mostly plays on the road.
Lorenzo Escobedo
DH/RF No. 12
RR, 6'1" 204 lbs.
Born 1946-04-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 JAX AA | .250 | 15 | 60 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 1971 WIC AAA | .227 | 97 | 300 | 33 | 68 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 36 | 43 | 31 | 0 |
| 1972 SPO AAA | .218 | 110 | 390 | 33 | 85 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 47 | 45 | 37 | 0 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | .237 | 45 | 152 | 22 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 33 | 17 | 18 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .281 | 94 | 331 | 35 | 93 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 57 | 38 | 39 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Escobedo was a 27 year old rookie last year who didn't get the call to the major leagues until June but really made the most of it. He's got major league power and while he's not super fast he seems to avoid strikeouts enough to where a .287 average seems repeatable (I should note that he hasn't hit to that level since a good stint in AAA Wichita in 1970, but hey, look at the numbers). Last year he had reverse splits at the plate, which I do not expect to continue. Defensively he's got a gun for an arm but not a lot of range; if the Tribe decide to put Brandon Anderson in centerfield to open 1974, Escobedo could be at least a decent fit in right.
Escobedo is a hard worker and a great camp story. The fans don't pay him much attention but man, if I was a Cleveland fan I sure would.
Lee Evans
RHP No. 37
RR, 6'0" 198 lbs.
Born 1947-08-03
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 DEN AAA | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2.80 | 23 | 23 | 7 | 166.2 | 116 | 59 | 52 | 60 | 97 |
| 1971 TEX MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.49 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 18.0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 1972 DEN AAA | 4 | 1 | 10 | 2.45 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 40.1 | 31 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 31 |
| 1972 TEX MLB | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3.87 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 58.0 | 53 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 22 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.11 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 81.0 | 35 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 75 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2.77 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 165.1 | 150 | 56 | 51 | 65 | 85 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
The only thing holding sprinter Lee Evans, who won gold at the 1972 Olympic Games, from stardom is a lack of stamina. If he can just last a bit longer in games, he has it all: a sinker/splitter combo that rarely gets above the middle of the plate and will cause hitters to swing and miss (at least in the minors), decent control (although it wasn't the best in the major leagues last year). Evans throws almost underhanded so there's a tooon of left-right break to all of his pitches. I guess that might be thing #2 standing in his way: he held righties to a triple-slash of 212/278/275 but lefties hit 289/369/363 against him. They didn't get a single HR off of him though.
Okay FINE I guess maybe Evans might be better suited to the bullpen in the long term. For now the Indians will surely try him as a starter owing to how they don't really have anything better to do with him.
Kevin Freeman
LHP No. 11
LL, 5'9" 171 lbs.
Born 1942-07-15
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 WAS MLB | 11 | 15 | 0 | 3.26 | 33 | 32 | 10 | 239.2 | 221 | 102 | 87 | 63 | 126 |
| 1972 TEX MLB | 10 | 14 | 0 | 3.29 | 33 | 26 | 9 | 202.0 | 177 | 81 | 74 | 56 | 118 |
| 1973 TEX MLB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.23 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 39.0 | 38 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 21 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 11 | 14 | 0 | 4.73 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 190.0 | 209 | 105 | 100 | 56 | 139 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Freeman came over to the Indians in what can only be described as a somewhat bizarre move. Last year's fire sale left them without a first baseman or enough front-line pitching, so they made a trade with the Texas Rangers in May to try to get both: Freeman and 1B George Bush. The price for those 2 was then 22 year old RHP Robbie Coltrane, who'd just come off of a 10-10, 3.72 rookie year and was just 2-2, 5.20 at the time of the trade. Coltrane instantly turned into a staff ace with his new team while Kevin Freeman and Bush were pretty bad. Freeman got worse as the year progressed and finished the season with a 2-3, 5.45 August and a 3-2, 6.08 September.
Freeman's always been a guy who throws a lot of gas but never quite has the Ks you'd expect from all that heat. In Cleveland at least he seemed to turn that around, and he continued to display his always-impeccable control. On the other hand, he allowed 25 HRs in 190 IP - he'd always been a bit HR prone in Washington but it was masked somewhat by the large confines of Griffith Stadium - and hitters still managed to hit the ball away from the fielders behind him last year to the tune of a .279 opponents' batting average. Freeman does to his credit have a great pickoff move that keeps runners absolutely nailed to the base: people tried to steal on him just 10 times last year, including pickoffs, and were successful just 3.
To hear Freeman say it, he's the best there is and the only reason he's not at the top of the leaderboards is that people don't support him enough. In years past there was a case to be made for that. In 1973 Freeman was just plain not good. He's still 31, in the prime of his career, and you can never discount a left-hander who gets into the low to mid 90s with his fastball, but Freeman does indeed need a comeback year this year.
Larry Gatlin
IF No. 17
LR, 6'0" 194 lbs.
Born 1948-04-29
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CBS AA | .243 | 83 | 226 | 23 | 55 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 28 | 60 | 4 |
| 1972 CBS AA | .310 | 103 | 210 | 37 | 65 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 33 | 43 | 26 | 0 |
| 1972 OKC AAA | .333 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | .256 | 64 | 160 | 21 | 41 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 16 | 33 | 1 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .200 | 30 | 65 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Gatlin is a tweener type prospect, not a good enough fielder to stick in the infield, not a good enough hitter to stick anywhere else. He filled in for 3 weeks last year when Mauricio Mendez went down with an injury and his play seemed to back that up, to the point that Cleveland didn't even add him to their September roster.
Gatling has a short, line drive swing that allows him to take pitches wherever they come. In theory that could lead to a lot of doubles into the gap. In practice, it's been a lot of singles, even where he hits well, such as AA Columbus in 1972. He's patient enough to take a walk as well when offered, although one wonders how well that will translate to the major leagues given that he's no threat with the bat. Defensively he played throughout the infield in the minors last year, which was enough to inform the major league team that Gatlin is a 2nd baseman and only a 2nd baseman. He does have decent speed, even if he'll never be a weapon with that, and can lay down a bunt when needed.
Even on a team with issues as big as Cleveland's, it's hard to see them finding a place for this guy. More than likely, in 5 years time if he makes the news at all it'll be in the country band he's a part of with his two brothers.
Dylan Hamilton
RHP No. 16
RR, 6'3" 197 lbs.
Born 1943-06-04
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CLE MLB | 10 | 13 | 0 | 4.20 | 32 | 32 | 8 | 222.1 | 241 | 116 | 104 | 83 | 105 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | 13 | 16 | 0 | 3.64 | 32 | 32 | 9 | 224.2 | 230 | 99 | 91 | 63 | 133 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 13 | 15 | 0 | 3.46 | 32 | 32 | 8 | 221.0 | 233 | 91 | 85 | 81 | 113 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
At this point a 5 year veteran and acknowledged staff ace of the Indians, Dylan Hamilton had arguably his best season in the Forest City (do they still call it that?). It still led him to a losing record because of Cleveland's anemic offense but hey, you do what you can with what you have. At that, the 13-15 record is only as "good" as it is thanks to a 4-1, 2.57 September. As late as August 24, Dylan was 8-14, 3.76. Hamilton's been a really nice fit for the park, as he's a groundball guy who keeps the ball low in the zone. Last year he allowed only 14 HRs all season long, including just 5 in 110.2 IP on the road. Hamilton throws a change of pace and a curveball that, owing to his throwing motion, breaks straight down.
Hamilton was actually one of the pitchers most adversely affected by the AL DH rule in 1973. A career .222 hitter, he'd hit .247 with an OPS approaching 600 in 1972 and actually picked up 22 RBIs as a pitcher the year before. He is one of the worst men in the league at holding runners: last year 29 out of 37 men were successful in stealing on him. At times Hamilton just plain forgets who's over there. Speaking of his demeanor in the field, he comes off the mound awkwardly and doesn't field the bunt well.
Should the Indians decide that his time in Cleveland is up, they should fetch a decent return for Dylan Hamilton. He'd be a solid guy in most places, perhaps not a #1 but a #2.
Corey Harpst
OF No. 19
RR, 6'0" 201 lbs.
Born 1942-07-05
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .225 | 46 | 173 | 11 | 39 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 2 |
| 1971 DET MLB | .231 | 32 | 104 | 11 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 1 |
| 1971 CLE MLB | .179 | 29 | 117 | 10 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 24 | 1 |
| 1972 POR AAA | .233 | 122 | 348 | 36 | 81 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 35 | 38 | 7 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .224 | 57 | 165 | 22 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Corey Harpst is a 2 time Gold Glove award winner in 68 and 69 with the Phillies and is still only 31 years old. Time, she is a harsh mistress in this league. It doesn't help that Harpst hasn't even had an above average bat since 1968. At this point he's a .255 career hitter with 20 career HRs in 2,277 at-bats. To his credit he did toil in AAA Portland last year and while he wasn't exactly good he filled a positional need enough for the Tribe to recall him and put him on the roster all season long. Harpst got most of his appearances early - 28 of his 43 starts came prior to July 1 - and like a lot of vets on bad teams the opportunities dried up as the season progressed.
Harpst is still everything, virtually, that he once was in the field: he won those gloves in right and he still has that same cannon for an arm. Due to the emergence of Brandon Anderson he wound up playing mostly left field for Cleveland last year, further lowering his value, but hey, you know, he covers a ton of ground for a left fielder and that's an advantage of sorts. At this point in his career he's a big zero offensively and doesn't smash lefties the way some righties do so there's no real added value there. Harpst once had decent speed on the bases but that's gone now.
I would be very, very surprised to see Harpst get 165 at-bats with this or any team in 1974. In fact, this is almost certainly the last time he shows up in this... book?
Miguel Hernandez
RHP No. 8
RR, 6'0" 203 lbs.
Born 1943-01-09
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 TUL AAA | 3 | 1 | 13 | 2.14 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 54.2 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 24 | 49 |
| 1971 STL MLB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.21 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 38.0 | 46 | 23 | 22 | 12 | 23 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1.91 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 75.1 | 50 | 16 | 16 | 38 | 47 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.59 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 49.0 | 58 | 29 | 25 | 24 | 40 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
When the Cardinals left the 30 year old Cuban on the waiver wire at the start of the season, Cleveland must have thought it was too good to be true. Turns out, it was. Hernandez, who'd been stunning as a swingman for the Cards in 1972, saw his ERA balloon in 1973. Some of that you can probably put down to the DH league and the new park but some of it, too, is that he's never had great control and last year he just got a bit lucky with not allowing a lot of hits. If anything, his fastball/slider combo was more devastating to the new league than the old but when hitters did make contact they managed to tattoo him for a .287 BA (compared to a .190 the year before).
Hernandez is all about himself at the end of the day. If we had free agency he'd probably try and go off to the highest bidder. Come to think of it, that might be a good reality check: I don't think there are a lot of bidders for a guy like this.
Nick Hodzic
1B/DH No. 9
LR, 6'0" 203 lbs.
Born 1946-11-21
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .270 | 126 | 422 | 88 | 114 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 58 | 118 | 56 | 2 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | .500 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .278 | 110 | 385 | 58 | 107 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 52 | 63 | 57 | 1 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .147 | 22 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .280 | 149 | 500 | 73 | 140 | 25 | 0 | 21 | 75 | 95 | 71 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Hodzic was one of three players to come back for Ernesto Garcia last season (John Lennon and SS Massimo D'Alema being the two others) and he essentially slipped into the Ernesto Garcia role for this team last year. On the one hand, he's simply not at Garcia's level of incredible HR power, and the boo-birds in Cleveland need to be cognizant that guys like Garcia come around once a generation if at that. On the other, he's most certainly less of a headache than his predecessor.
Hodzic is a patient hitter who loves the high inside fastball but is savvy enough to not be fooled by balls that come in looking like high heat but wind up elsewhere. His trip to the All-Star Game last year was probably more due to his being the best player on a bad team than him being a top offensive force at the position. He did heat up in the last 2 months of the year, pitcing up 8 HRs and almost half of his RBIs (35) in that time frame. Hodzic is a very good fielder at first base, which you'd expect from him given that he's a converted 3rd baseman. In fact, he could slip into 3rd should Tyler Knight continue to struggle.
Most of all, Hodzic is "just a guy" in the clubhouse. He's there a lot to work on stuff but isn't the kind of guy to keep a little book on every pitcher the way some top hitters do. The power, such that it is, is almost certainly elevated by his home park and it's probably unwise to think that the 26 year old is capable of 30 HR seasons. What he actually is, though, is a good, solid corner infielder.
Bobby Kaplan
CF No. 1
RR, 5'12" 192 lbs.
Born 1946-11-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 WAS MLB | .303 | 137 | 512 | 61 | 155 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 55 | 37 | 60 | 10 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .274 | 131 | 551 | 68 | 151 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 33 | 68 | 16 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .257 | 121 | 491 | 59 | 126 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 35 | 30 | 50 | 7 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Kaplan won a Gold Glove for 1972 but, even though awards voting won't be released for a little while yet, it seems unlikely that he's going to repeat. Kaplan was good if not overwhelming in the field, with decent range for a centerfielder and a nice arm (9 assists!). His season also ended in the beginning of September when he broke his wrist on a hit-by-pitch (he led the league in them with 10, so this is kind of an occupational hazard for him), although unlike Richard Berman he figures to be fully healed and ready to go by spring training.
Kaplan hit leadoff for the Indians all season long but frankly was out of place there, as the very low 59 runs total would suggest. His .313 OBP was the lowest of his career and where he'd flashed good speed in the past, Kaplan was just 7/13 in steals this year. He did hit a career high 7 HRs so that's nice. Kaplan is willing and able to lay down the bunt when needed and is a good enough contact guy that the hit and run makes sense. He's consistently one of the first guys at the park and last to leave.
Kaplan's a good guy to have around but good guy to have around only gets you so far and, taking the offensive surge of 1973 into account this was his worst season as a pro. If his September replacements had played well I'd be talking about him going into 1974 as a backup but they did not and so he'll get at least another season to prove last year was a fluke.
Bae-hee Kim
RHP No. 38
LR, 6'6" 209 lbs.
Born 1945-11-29
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CBS AA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.33 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27.0 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 20 |
| 1971 OKC AAA | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5.95 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 42.1 | 39 | 30 | 28 | 34 | 31 |
| 1972 OKC AAA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.93 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 34.2 | 38 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 31 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.96 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 37.1 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 26 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 6 | 7 | 0 | 4.14 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 100.0 | 85 | 53 | 46 | 69 | 43 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
A 3rd round draft pick back in 1968, the 27 year old Kim had basically been an organizational soldier in the Indians farm system before a combination of a hot start and some rotational desperation pushed him into the major leagues. Kim actually looked pretty okay at times: it's hard to argue with a 3-2, 3.16 July, for instance (although looking at that a little more closely, it's easier to argue with 25 walks vs just 10 Ks in 31.1 IP). However, an awful August (2-3, 5.79) basically ended his season; he pitched just twice in relief following a 4.2 IP, 5 run debacle at Detroit.
Kim's big issue is control. Always has been. When he can keep the ball in the zone, he can be an effective pitcher. He's just never been able to do that with any kind of consistency. When he does get his curve ball over for a strike he can make a lot of knees buckle but the scouting report last year was for hitters to just lay off that pitch entirely. Unlike a lot of wild pitchers Kim misses away more than he misses over the plate. He's a solid if unexciting fielder, although why you'd ever want to bunt on this guy when you can just wait him out is beyond me.
Will Kim get more PT this year? He'll be 28 years old going into spring training so this is probably as good as it gets.
Bruno Kirby
LHP No. 15
LL, 6'1" 191 lbs.
Born 1949-04-27
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 AUS R | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 1971 STP A | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.96 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 1971 CBS AA | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1.47 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 24.1 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
| 1972 STP A | 6 | 4 | 11 | 2.33 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 61.2 | 55 | 16 | 16 | 23 | 59 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0.56 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 32.0 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 37 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 2 | 3 | 14 | 3.42 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 44.2 | 40 | 18 | 17 | 23 | 29 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
I want to make nothing but "City Slickers" references but a. that movie won't come out for another 20 years yet, and b. Kirby was also in "When Harry Met Sally". Instead, I will focus on Bruno Kirby the pitcher: he was fine. 14 saves in 19 opportunities isn't the greatest in the world but it won't kill you. The same can be said for the 3.413 ERA and the .241 OBA. I think ideally you want your ace reliever to be more than okay but that's the position Cleveland is in right now and hey, Kirby's also 24 so could still get better, right?
Kirbu throws 2 kinds of fastballs, neither one of them a riser, for strikes and that's pretty much it. If he ever starts a game, fire that manager immediately. His stuff seemed to fool AAA hitters a lot more than major league guys, which, you know, is how the major leagues work but still: there's reason to think the K rate will rise in his sophomore season. If so, maybe he can justify the use in short relief. And if not, Jamie Lee Curtis will never, ever ask for his wagon wheel table if they get divorced.
Tyler Knight
3B No. 44
RR, 5'10" 196 lbs.
Born 1941-08-12
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TEX MLB | .266 | 149 | 482 | 53 | 128 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 69 | 57 | 89 | 4 |
| 1972 TEX MLB | .231 | 54 | 173 | 19 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 41 | 1 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .194 | 62 | 222 | 17 | 43 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 26 | 43 | 2 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .239 | 139 | 465 | 49 | 111 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 37 | 54 | 102 | 6 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
At this point, on his 3rd team in 3 years, Tyler Knight is at less of a career crossroads and more of a dead end. The 32 year old former Gold Glove award winner at second base (3 times with the new Senators in the 60s) is now not even an average fielder and his bat never quite woke up from the mini-deadball era. Arriving over as the "main piece" in the Tommy Pron trade to the A's (which, let's face it, was about cutting payroll), he played every day mostly because Cleveland didn't have anything better. Sorry to be so down on the guy but Knight just does nothing really outstanding. The only tool you can chalk up as even average for him is speed and, well, you generally need to get on base to make that happen. Anyone thinking about moving him back to 2nd is just thinking wishfully, as his range is way, way down from where it used to be.
I have a 75 PA (rough) cutoff for writing these reports. I think this will be the last one I write about Knight as a starter and I would not be surprised if this is his last report, period. Even a bad farm system has to have more guys here than this (Nick Hodzic, for example, which of course just opens a hole at first base but first is easier to find bodies for).
John Lennon
C No. 28
RR, 6'2" 198 lbs.
Born 1949-02-14
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 WH AA | .313 | 21 | 83 | 15 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| 1971 SYR AAA | .255 | 95 | 341 | 51 | 87 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 58 | 46 | 48 | 2 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | .160 | 7 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .259 | 74 | 239 | 20 | 62 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 31 | 37 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .239 | 125 | 456 | 52 | 109 | 26 | 0 | 11 | 57 | 32 | 58 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
So far, Lennon's baseball star hasn't risen as high as his former Beatles bandmates. While Paul, George, and Ringo all look like stars or close to it, John just seems like a merely decent catcher. Initially signed by Cleveland, Lennon was sent to baseball purgatory in the big Ernesto Garcia trade last November. In some respects this was good news for him as he got a chance to play full-time. In other respects, even setting aside New York to Cleveland, it meant John was constantly having to shuttle between his home in Manhattan and the new "home" town. He did, at least, seem to get used to the situation as time progressed: following a horrible June (.187, 3 HR, 14 RBI), he settled in with averages of .232, .250, and .250 over the final three months.
Lennon tries to be a contact hitter but as a catcher lacks the speed to be a really effective one. "Imagine" if he was faster (I'll stop now). Mostly what it does is it makes him liable to get doubled up on the basepaths. He does have decent pop for a 2, pop that will hopefully only improve as Lennon gets used to the game. He's not blessed with the best arm but is decent at making his pitchers look good through pitch framing and he gets along with everyone, which surely must calm a wild pitcher down sometimes: what could they possibly be going through that's any wilder than Lennon's days in the Fab Four?
Lennon is for sure the Indians' starting catcher in 1974 and the foreseeable future. I'm less sanguine about his chances to stay in that role for the next decade than I might have been a year ago.
Jose Martinez
RHP No. 2
RR, 6'6" 201 lbs.
Born 1945-01-24
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CLE MLB | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3.53 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 124.2 | 129 | 58 | 49 | 29 | 97 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | 22 | 7 | 0 | 2.36 | 31 | 31 | 14 | 240.0 | 178 | 72 | 63 | 53 | 220 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8.10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16.2 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 18 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 3 | 7 | 0 | 4.01 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 92.0 | 112 | 45 | 41 | 21 | 71 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Coming off of a Cy Young level 1972, Jose Martinez' 1973 can best be described as a. short and b. disappointing. In May, carrying a 1-5 record with a still salvageable 3.79 ERA, Martinez left a game vs the Red Sox in the 7th inning complaining of tighness in his forearm. He didn't appear again in the major leagues until September 1, and then in 39.1 IP he was less than fantastic, posting a 2-2, 4.12 ERA the rest of the way. Perhaps most distressingly, his K rate, which was a solid 8.0 up to the point of the injury, plummeted to 5.5 in that final month.
Martinez throws a fastball with eerie side to side movement. If he were to throw a pure riser he'd probably hit the mid to upper 90s but this ball stays just a bit below that. It's very, very hard to hit, though, or at least it was before the injury. He goes after everybody, which worked well when he was getting all those Ks but isn't so great when he's not. Still, even with the late-season woes, he had a really nice K/W ratio (24-8 the final month). He has the stamina to go deep into games when his stuff is on and even sometimes when it's not.
You don't normally look to a pitcher for leadership but Martinez bucks that trend. Martinez is a great guy to have in the clubhouse. Hopefully he'll be in that clubhouse all season long.
Mauricio Mendez
2B No. 14
RR, 6'0" 190 lbs.
Born 1946-09-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CAL MLB | .273 | 113 | 400 | 53 | 109 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 44 | 30 | 54 | 21 |
| 1972 CAL MLB | .227 | 112 | 410 | 47 | 93 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 29 | 42 | 47 | 22 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .247 | 118 | 457 | 51 | 113 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 43 | 36 | 60 | 25 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Mendez is one of those guys who does a lot of things fairly well but isn't great at any one of them. The Angels had long looked at him as a second choice at 2nd but also a guy they'd wind up turning to eventually when the first choice wasn't ready or wasn't very good. The Indians got him back for Bobby Ramirez in, let's face it, a pure cost-cutting trade last year and he just continued to do what it is that Mauricio Mendez does. He got all but 8 of his at-bats at the top 2 spots in the order last year thanks to his speed (8th in the league in steals, his 3rd straight top 10 finish). It's maybe not the best position to put a guy who's carried OBPs of .304 and .306 the last 2 seasons but it's a philosophy. Mendez continued to swing for the fences at times, for better or for worse, although as always line drives into the gap eluded him.
Mendez at this point tries hard out there but isn't a really great fielder. In spite of that speed he just doesn't seem to have the instincts to make a good first step on the ball and at age 27 it's unlikely he's going to figure that out. He did a surprisingly decent job at avoiding errors with just 10 last year for a .983 FA; he's gotten double that number in the past. Maybe that's a good sign, although coupled with that extreme lack of range, some scouts think he's among the worst in the league in terms of regular players there. Mendez' arm is only average, which isn't an issue at 2nd of course but would be if they tried to use him at 3rd. He's only okay with the sacrifice and seems to be good for around 2 sacrifices a year. He doesn't really make enough contact to be a good hit and run guy but there are worse.
Mendez is a guy who tries hard all the time and tries to get little edges in games. On a better team he'd surely be a fan favorite. On a better team, he'd be a backup.
Claudio Rainieri
RHP No. 6
LR, 5'11" 162 lbs.
Born 1951-10-27
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 REN A | 12 | 14 | 0 | 3.48 | 31 | 31 | 10 | 232.1 | 218 | 100 | 90 | 118 | 165 |
| 1972 PAR R | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.99 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 45.0 | 37 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 56 |
| 1972 REN A | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3.65 | 25 | 25 | 13 | 189.2 | 163 | 81 | 77 | 95 | 171 |
| 1973 OKC AAA | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2.97 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 181.1 | 139 | 64 | 60 | 72 | 149 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2.14 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 88.0 | 79 | 25 | 21 | 27 | 60 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Rainieri is a very, very young Italian footballer who has yet to really cash in on his huge potential. Even what he has harnessed so far, a nasty curve ball and a rising fastball that might one day approach the mid to high 90s, was enough to stun opposing hitters last season. Some guys have a deceptive motion: I wouldn't call Rainieri deceptive, I'd say you know exactly what you're getting and you still can't hit it.
Rainieri was named the #64 prospect in all of baseball at the All-Star Break, even pitched in the Futures game, and then made his first major league start on July 29, pitching into the 8th inning against the Boston Red Sox. He could probably still use some seasoning in AAA but then... how can you "season" this guy?
Robert Rivera
LHP No. 7
LL, 6'1" 200 lbs.
Born 1939-10-12
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SF MLB | 14 | 15 | 0 | 2.91 | 32 | 32 | 14 | 246.2 | 223 | 86 | 80 | 43 | 173 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | 12 | 10 | 0 | 3.22 | 31 | 31 | 6 | 234.1 | 227 | 90 | 84 | 67 | 162 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 10 | 11 | 0 | 3.63 | 22 | 22 | 9 | 163.1 | 158 | 70 | 66 | 42 | 75 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Robert Rivera missed the last 2 months of the season with a torn meniscus in his shoulder (the old "biscuit meniscus" like I always say)(to myself). Even before then though he was facing a worrying trend, seeing his ERA climb for the 2nd straight year following a pair of hard-luck years in San Francisco (combined record of 16-34 but an ERA of 3.15). He's always been a finesse guy but last year, in spite of a slightly faster fastball (it still maaaybe hits 90 on a good day) reported in spring training, Rivera's K rate went into the ground. Now 34 (it's literally his birthday at the time of this writing), he's not at a point where you can just shrug off a big dip in the stats as a one-year slump.
Rivera still showed some ability to stick around into the 9th although if he completes 14 games again it's because the Indians don't have a bullpen. The biscuit meniscus should be -
should be - all healed in time for spring training. If he's ready to go, the Indians almost have to put him in there every 5th day until he shows he's straight up not adequate.
Mitt Romney
SS/IF No. 20
RR, 6'2" 202 lbs.
Born 1947-10-06
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 JAX AA | .232 | 104 | 357 | 28 | 83 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 30 | 70 | 1 |
| 1971 CLE MLB | .263 | 48 | 160 | 20 | 42 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 17 | 27 | 2 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .206 | 101 | 277 | 33 | 57 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 23 | 40 | 1 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .221 | 98 | 222 | 21 | 49 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 22 | 53 | 4 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Romney, or "the Romneybot 5000" as his teammates like to call him, is a great defensive player but the 26 year old has now had 3 years to show that he can hit and the results - 659 at-bats, a .225 average, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 120 strikeouts - don't indicate that he's good enough to supplant German Ybarra. He did get into a good number of games for this team in the first half but once again failed to hit and had just 42 at-bats from August 1 to the end of the season.
Defensively is where Romney shines and where he could still fashion a major league career as a utility guy. He mostly played sort last year but has a more than good enough arm (if not the bat) to play third base. He did commit 21 errors in just 65 starts last year at short (he had another in 43 innings at 3rd) for a .940 fielding average. Hopefully a less important role will allow him to concentrate a bit better in the field. Romney will gladly do the "little things" at the plate when he's asked to, although more often than not if it's a close game and he's starting, what he'll be asked to do is hit the bench in favor of a pinch-hitter.
Romney can probably stay in this league as long as his glove holds up. It looks pretty clear by now that he just doesn't have what it takes to be an every day player. Something something 2012 Presidential election.
Jorge Sanchez
OF No. 5
RR, 5'11" 191 lbs.
Born 1942-11-27
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 WIC AAA | .385 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 CLE MLB | .245 | 35 | 110 | 15 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .269 | 48 | 130 | 19 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 21 | 10 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .229 | 40 | 131 | 17 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 6 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Sanchez has been with the Indians since 1969 and has carved out a role as a right-handed hitter who can play all 3 outfield positions with leadoff hitter speed. There's a lot of value to this when he hits .269 but not so much when the average is at .224. Sanchez adds zero power and his aggressive approach at the plate just results in a lot of ground balls and pop ups. He did sock lefties to the tune of a .257 average although the flip side of that is that he was practically unplayable vs RHPs (197/246/279 triple slash).
Sanchez isn't getting any younger - he'll be 31 in November - and although I wouldn't say the Indians have
better options in the outfield, they definitely have younger ones.
Ray Varner
C No. 3
LR, 5'10" 201 lbs.
Born 1943-01-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 JAX AA | .279 | 24 | 68 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| 1971 WIC AAA | .281 | 13 | 32 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 1971 CLE MLB | .125 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .233 | 116 | 322 | 32 | 75 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 33 | 28 | 45 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .206 | 45 | 141 | 7 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Varner was maybe the biggest loser of the Ernesto Garcia deal, seeing his playing time dimished from at least half-time starter level to straight up backup this year. He didn't take it well and now his future with the Indians is in doubt. Varner is slow, doesn't hit particularly well, and even the paltry walk rate in 1972 was boosted by hitting in front of the pitcher all season long: his 13 intentional walks actually led the league last year. This season he posted an isolated walks number of just .016. Also, whatever power he had in 1972 was gone in 73.
The one thing that Varner does bring to the plate, or rather behind it, is defense. He's got a nice arm, blocks the plate well, and can pick up a bunt quickly. He was only used twice last season to sub for Lennon as a defensive guy late as the Indians were trying to train the "young" catcher into the position but that might be a way he gets used more going forward... assuming he's still here.
Varner's got a skillset that can probably get him a job in the major leagues or in "AAAA" for another 5 years. Will those years be with Cleveland? He reportedly wants out so maybe not.
German Ybarra
SS/2B No. 36
RR, 5'10" 182 lbs.
Born 1947-07-10
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NYY MLB | .248 | 137 | 435 | 50 | 108 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 59 | 89 | 1 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .207 | 20 | 58 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .180 | 88 | 222 | 18 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 61 | 0 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | .258 | 102 | 271 | 21 | 70 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 32 | 57 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Following an awful 1972 season with the Yankees, Ybarra was one of several players sent back to Cleveland in exchange for Ernesto Garcia, and he bounced back pretty well with the bat. I don't know how this man made the All-Star Game in 1971 and I doubt he'll make another one but when he wasn't hurt, Ybarra was effective enough on offense that the Indians could take advantage of his good-to-great glove. His swing is still a little bit long for his power but I guess on the other hand if he shortened things up he might lose what little gap power he currently has.
Defensively Ybarra will never win a Gold Glove, not with Oniji Handa in this league, but he's definitely in the next tier down. He's got good range, soft hands, and a good arm. He did get put on the disabled list twice last year and sometimes back injuries like the ones he was suffering from wind up sapping a man's defense but it hasn't happened yet. Ybarra is no threat to steal at all and any speed he shows is purely on the defensive side of the diamond. Even though he's often in a position to lay down a sacrifice, he's had just 1 in the last 3 years, which is a reflection of the fact that he's not very good at it.
Ybarra probably won't concede quite as much time as he did to Mitt Romney this year, as Romney didn't look very good and Ybarra's got fewer questions to answer with his bat. Look for a return to more full-time play, assuming he remains injury free.