SB Nation User Blog: InfiniteMonkeyTypists

Laffey, Reyes to DL, Sowers & Rundles called up

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:50:19 -0000

Laffey, Reyes to DL, Sowers & Rundles called up

Perez and Sipp must still have some work to do in Columbus because Rundles gets the call for the pen.

Shapiro discusses the offseason agenda

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:31:37 -0000

Shapiro discusses the offseason agenda

Castrovince has posted an article about Shapiro's annual postseason session with reporters, in which he discusses the need "to execute an offseason plan"; speaking of executing, there is mention of Marte, by Castrovince if not Shapiro.

Backup catcher if Victor needs to go on the DL

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:22:44 -0000

Somebody will have to challenge Marte as the least-used player off the bench if Victor is headed to the DL. Shoppach obviously becomes our starting catcher, but who is the new backup? Toregas is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, but he's struggling at Buffalo, it looks like he'd be overmatched in Cleveland. Any chance that we see Chris Gimenez instead? Westbrook could be moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Gimenez has played mostly at catcher this year, though in the past he's been a utility kind of guy, so his catcher defense probably isn't all that good. Anybody have a good grasp on what his defensive profile is?

He is fantastic at controlling the strike zone, so good that it actually makes his hitting numbers look a little weak. It's hard to amass extra-base hits when almost 25% of your plate appearances result in a walk.

April: 15/57 with 18 bb, 13 k - 263/440/421

May: 23/70 with 21 bb, 14 k - 329/484/571

June: 13/29 with 11 bb, 4k - 448/600/517

Did you know...?

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:01:03 -0000

Did you know...

... that the pnuematic-powered android that replaced the human known as "Eric Wedge" is imprevious to blunt force, acid, fire, and self-doubt due to the advanced design and metallic exo-skeleton created by the team of scientists who devised the Pneumatic Man and swapped it in for "Wedge" in June of 1993 when the inferior human precursor was undergoing elbow surgery?

... that those same scientists were unable to fashion punchcards that would enable Wedge 2.0 to feel human emotion? It took the beard and tender heart of Casey Blake to teach the android how to feel "love" and "mild irritability", though he was unsuccessful with the emotions of "fear" and "shame".

... that the name "Borowski" appears as an image of a clenched fist with the third digit upraised when programmed into the punchcards that Wedge 2.0 processes to manage a baseball game?

IT IS TRUE.

... that since his life was saved by Richard Gere on the set of Karate Kid IV, Jason Michaels has become a devout Buddhist, vowing never again to strike a baseball in anger?

... that the spawn of Joe Borowski dine on naught but bile and drink naught but the bitter tears of the righteous?

HAS YOUR KNOWLEDGE BEEN ENHANCED?

... that the anagram of Peralta, "Trap Ale", refers to the magniificent ale brewed by the Trappist monks of Belgium? These monks drew their inspiration from St. Peralta, an ancestor of Jhonny who drove the ocelots out of Belgium and the Low Countries?

... that one anagram of "Jhonny" is "Johnny"?

THESE ARE UNDENIABLE FACTS!!!

(tip o' the hat to John Hodgman)

2008 Projections at Baseball Think Factory

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:54:05 -0000

Dan Szymborski has posted the 2008 ZIPS projections for the Indians over at the Transaction Oracle at Baseball Think Factory. It's an interesting read, and a great way to get some outside perspective on what we should expect next year. I was interested to see the projection for Gutierrez; I've thought that the group here may be expecting a little too much from him next year. The mean projection for Franklin isn't all that thrilling, but look at the 'player spotlight' a little lower on the page, with the optimistic and pessimistic projections (15th percentile best and worst outcomes). There is a lot of variability; hopefully the consensus here is right, and Gutierrez' production is closer to the optimistic end of the spectrum.

Check it out, it's a good way to spend a Friday afternoon before the holidays. Certainly better than working.

Nationals listening to offers for Chad Cordero

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 19:20:33 -0000

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Nationals are considering offers for Chad Cordero, so long as the players acquired would help in their rebuilding program. They're looking for a package of even younger pitching in return.

Cordero has averaged something like 5-4, 30 saves, 77 IP, 27 BB, 74 K with a 2.66 ERA over the last three years (he's been consistent), at ages 22-24.

The only negative that jumped out at me in his numbers was the 30 HR allowed in those 230 innings. Washington is a pitchers park, so one HR every seven IP is high.

Would a package of Lofgren, Sipp or Perez, and Guthrie or Davis be enough to acquire Cordero? Would it be worth it?

Prospect list - position players

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:07:52 -0000

It's been 58 years and counting since we last won the World Series. I'm almost three times as old as my father was when the Indians knocked off the Braves in 1948. A little impatience can be excused at this point. So I was thinking about our chances of winning it all in the next couple of years. More specifically, I was thinking about who there was in our minor league system who could help us achieve that goal. The result - a prospect list.

First, a caveat. This is not a typical prospect list. It isn't about who is going to have the longest career, the best career, or who has the best tools (though tools help). It's about which players have the best chances of making a contribution to a Cleveland Indians World Series victory in 2007 or 2008. Most of these guys will not be regulars in the major leagues in the next couple of years; some of them never will. That doesn't mean that can't help us win a World Series though. If the Indians had been on the edge of the playoff race last year, Garko's half season might have been enough to get them to the post-season, and that has value even if the guy never has a decent full year. Besides, if a team with resource limitations like the Indians is going to win the World Series, they're going to need a few of these 'no sure thing'-guys to come through.

OK, I didn't consider the guys who already have a fair amount of big-league exposure - Marte, Garko, Shoppach, and Inglett. Marte and Garko would be 1st and 2nd if I had considered them, and Shoppach would be in the top 6, probably around Choo/Crowe. Inglett? I don't know. He's 28, so I'm not considering him a prospect (although I think he's a decent player). My list, my rules.

Here it is (age as of 7/1/2006):

Franklin Gutierrez - CF, 23, 806 OPS at Buffalo. It surprised me, but his 806 OPS was 13% better than the IL average. He has decent speed, a good defensive reputation, and was fairly young for the league. His bat could improve enough to make him a contributor.
Shin-soo Choo - RF-CF, 23, 893 OPS at Tacoma. Choo's raw numbers look good in 375 AB at Tacoma in the PCL, but the league OPS was about 760, so he was only about 17% better than the league. He's got more power than Gutierrez, and a higher upside, but his numbers in 2006 were well above the trend of 2003-2005 (and his defensive rep isn't as good), so I'm putting him below Franklin.
Trevor Crowe - CF, 22, 798 OPS between Kinston and Akron. Awesome at Kinston, he got hurt and struggled a bit in AA, but put up some good numbers in the AFL. Excellent speed, decent pop for somebody his size. I don't think he'll make it to Cleveland this year, but he could help in 2008.
Brian Barton - OF, 24, 923 OPS between Kinston and Akron. Awesome at Kinston, awesome at Akron. No longer a sleeper, he's got power, speed, talent, a good work ethic, and intelligence. His OPS at Akron was about 31% better than the league. He's a little bit old for the level of competition he faced, but given the relatively late start to his professional career and the ease with which he has handled each promotion, it's not too much of a knock on him. If he hits in Buffalo for the first half of the year, we could see a trade deadline deal to dump one of our veteran spare part outfielders and a Barton promotion.
Asdrubal Cabrera - SS, 20, 632 OPS at Buffalo. His bat seems weak (OPS 12% worse than league at Buffalo, about 10% worse than league in Tacoma) but that's not the most important number. 20. That's the important one. He's only 20. That's actually pretty good hitting for a 20-year old shortstop at AAA. He has a great defensive rep, so if age and experience bring his bat up to league average at AAA and Jhonny struggles again, we could see Cabrera as a part-timer.
Ryan Goleski - OF, 24, 948 OPS between Kinston and Akron. Destroyed the Carolina League, merely very good in the Eastern League. He's the same age as Barton, but lacks his tools and may have been expected to advance a little further since he started his pro career in 2003 (vs 2005 for Barton). Also, that down year at Kinston in 2005 makes me a little leery. His defense isn't so good, he doesn't run very well, but he has lots of power. Sort of reminds me of former Tribe prospect Luke Scott (Astros). Scott had a great half year in Houston, probably playing way above his head, but, like Goleski, has a legit bat and can produce respectable offensive numbers in the outfield for a couple of years in his prime.
Brad Snyder - RF, 24, 796 OPS at Akron. Meh. Disappointing. Still has tools, hit OK in the second half, strikes out a lot. But, with those tools, if he puts it together he could boost production at a corner outfield spot. What's with all the outfielders though? We really don't have many infield prospects that are anywhere near ready.
Ben Francisco - OF, 24, 799 OPS at Buffalo. Ben does a little of everything and had a pretty good year at Buffalo, with an OPS 12% better than the IL average. 17 HRs, 32 2Bs, stole 20 bases while being caught only 5 times. 4th outfielder possibility in the bigs. We need to package some of this outfield depth for some relief pitching.

And one more, a bit of a dark horse.

9. Jonathan Van Every - OF, 26, 814 OPS between Akron and Buffalo. Drafted way back in 2000, in the 29th round, he signed in May, 2001 and began a long trek up the minor league ladder. He's never been a heralded prospect, held back by low batting averages and tons of strikeouts. He's been old for his league in all of his strongest years. However, he draws quite a few walks, runs well, hits for power (475 SLG in his minor league career) and Baseball America recently called him the Indians best defensive outfielder in the minors. He's still on the roster at Buffalo, so I don't think he's a minor league free agent yet.

Others - Wyatt Toregas (C), Jordan Brown (OF), Jose Constanza (OF), and Max Ramirez (C/1B/DH) aren't really far enough along to expect anything from them by 2008.

Indians sign Taiwanese prospect

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 17:30:53 -0000

According to the AP, the Indians have signed Sung-Wei Tseng. He's 21, and pitched for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, the only amateur on their team apparently.

Anyone have any info on him? He pitched against the US team, shutting them down for 5 innings.

Any chance he's got a sure handed brother who plays third base and hits like Manny Ramirez?

Johnson designated for assignment

InfiniteMonkeyTypists — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 19:50:21 -0000

According to MLB.com

6/20/06 Cleveland Indians
Designated RHP Jason Johnson for assignment; Purchased the contract of INF Joe Inglett from Triple-A Buffalo.

It feels good, doesn't it? Hopefully Shapiro can work out a trade in the next 10 (?) days so we don't have to eat the entire contract.

UPDATE: We're waiting for official word, but apparently ...

Jeremy Guthrie was optioned back down to Buffalo, where presumably he will rejoin the rotation.

RHP Ed Mujica gets his first big-league callup, taking Guthrie's spot in the pen.

... and the big one ...

Jeremy Sowers is expected to be promoted from Buffalo to take Johnson's spot in the rotation on Sunday.

It would be fair to say that both Sowers and Mujica have terrorized Triple-A hitters this season. Sowers lacks imposing K rates but has allowed only 13 ER in 14 starts, averaging 6.5 innings, five hits and two walks per outing -- and he has allowed only one home run all season. Mujica has allowed zero runs -- yes, zero -- over 39 innings, a span of 24 appearances split equally between Akron and Buffalo -- with a healthy 35 K's along the way. [Jay]