SB Nation User Blog: Logodaedalus

WBC Game Thread: Korea at Venezuela Semifinal

Logodaedalus — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:01:02 -0000

I've been following the Korean team for the last several games, which has been a lot of fun, despite, or perhaps partially because of, the fact that I only know one player. Among major league teams, the Indians have a monopoly on the Korean roster, which has Shin-Soo Choo as the sole representative of MLB. In contrast, if I'm not mistaken, Venezuela has a major leaguer starting at every position.

Pitching matchup: Carlos Silva vs. Suk-Min Yoon

Of note:

-Choo is apparently starting in RF today, which I didn't think was supposed to happen, but there it is...

-Only two players in tonight's starting lineup for Korea have the family name "Lee".

Discuss.

Fausto Day-to-Day With Bruised Right Forearm

Logodaedalus — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:00:43 -0000

Fausto Day-to-Day With Bruised Right Forearm

He was hit by a line drive off the bat of Damaso Espino in an intrasquad game today. The X-rays showed nothing broken. Castro reassuringly compares this to Sabathia's bruised forearm at the end of ST in '07, which he recovered from in time to pitch on Opening Day. Let's hope this is some ado about little.

Espino's comment on the incident: "I got the one in I needed to get in...and I guarantee you he felt it."

Carmona immediately proceeded to put Espino in a headlock.

Sabathia Pinch Hits in Playoff Game

Logodaedalus — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:31:37 -0000

Sabathia Pinch Hits in Playoff Game

This probably didn't really merit a fan shot, but it's pretty great:
CC had a pinch hit appearance for Jeff Suppan in the third inning today. He struck out.

SLewis Up for Rookie of the Month

Logodaedalus — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:21:20 -0000

SLewis Up for Rookie of the Month

Scott Lewis is one of six nominees for the MLB Rookie of the Month in September.

The last of the four video highlights reviewing his accomplishments is probably the strongest piece of support for his candidacy, and a testament to his versatility and guile.

I didn't think Scotty Lew had finished a game, so I was surprised to hear Underwood say "Swiiing and a miss as Lewis strikes him out. The game is over ...", not to mention the fact that he apparently decided to pitch right-handed to that batter... On closer inspection, his hair had been trimmed as well, and he'd changed his number to 50. Sneaky SLewi...

Jon Lester

Logodaedalus — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:15:44 -0000

In thinking about potential off-season trades to acquire starting pitching, I've been tossing around the notion of trying to peel Jon Lester away from the Red Sox in exchange for Kelly Shoppach and Gutz/Francisco. With Lester starting against us tonight, I thought I'd throw this out there.

I have no idea whether the BoSox would even consider trading Lester, and there are certainly ways in which it wouldn't be the best of trades for the Tribe, but there are ways in which it makes sense as well.

Pros:

Why The Red Sox Might Like the Deal:

-Boston has a real need for a catcher, as Varitek's contract is up, and a right-handed power hitter like Kelly should be a good fit for Fenway and the Monster. Shoppach would constitute a way to cut some serious salary for the Beaneaters.

-Their present OF situation looks less than desirable to me. I don't know much about their depth in the minors, but a quick glance at their 40-man doesn't exactly give the impression that they're particularly deep. Ellsbury is a base-stealing machine, but is OPSing only .712, with an OBP of .331. He's only walked about 7% of the time. It doesn't look like they're counting on Coco to be an every day guy either. Gutz could get some starts in CF, at the very least. They have Bay and Drew in the corners, which figures to be a pretty solid offensive situation, but Gutz or Francisco could be upgrades over backups. In any event, Shoppach would obviously be the centerpiece of any deal

Why The Indians Would Like the Deal:

-Lester is coming off of what may be a breakout year, and might be just the kind of young, cheap, but somewhat established starter with long term potential the Indians would like.

Cons:

Why The Indians Wouldn't Like the Deal

-Lester is left-handed. Obviously given the rest of their rotation options, the Indians would prefer to acquire a righty if possible.

-Lester is coming off of what is perceived as a breakout year. It would not exactly be buying low for the Tribe.

-We'd prefer not to have to trade Shoppach. It's unclear how much Victor will be able to catch next year, and the other catching options for the Tribe are a ways from hitting the bigs

Again, this may be a silly thing to discuss, since Lester may be untouchable. I don't know much about the Red Sox pitching depth, and it seems fairly likely that trading Lester for Shoppach to fill a catching hole would simply open up a gaping pitching hole. Beckett and Dice-K are under control for a couple more years, and Wakefield is Boston's perpetual slave boy (though who knows how much longer he'll pitch), but Schilling and Byrd are free agents, and Buchholz is perhaps a question mark, though he has pitched well in the minors since going down.

State of the Rotation for 2009

Logodaedalus — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:43:07 -0000

This has obviously been discussed many times in various threads, but I thought I'd create an explicit topic for it. How do you see the starting rotation shaping up for next year/what rotation would you like to see?

Most seem to agree that Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona will occupy the #1 and #2 spots at the outset, barring some blockbuster signing/trade (an unlikely event, by most accounts), although I've heard doubt among some about whether Carmona will rebound adequately to be the #2. I'll go out on a limb and say that Carmona being the Game 2 starter will be contingent on him showing a substantial return toward his 2007 mechanics and control during spring training. Personally, I'm optimistic on this front, as I think no small part of his control problems this season can be attributed to his injury and subsequent lost time. His high walk rate before the injury may remain something of a concern, however. In any event, the amount of improvement he will need to display in order to hang on to the #2 mantle is obviously dependent on who else could conceivably bump him. I don't see anyone internal right now that is likely to set the bar too high for Carmona, if for no other reason than unprovenness over any substantial stretch.

The biggest questions, then, are a) what will the ranking of the internal options be? and b) who would be good options for acquisitions, either through FA or trade?

The list of internal candidates to occupy #3-5 appears to include (in alphabetical order): David Huff, Zach Jackson, Aaron Laffey, the recently impressive Scott Lewis, Anthony Reyes and Jeremy Sowers. Adam Miller is another possibility, although it appears to be increasingly likely that he'll be shifted to relief work. I doubt anyone considers Brian Bullington a serious candidate, but feel free to argue on his behalf. Have I left anyone off?

I doubt Zach Jackson will receive much serious consideration, barring some stellar performances between now and the end of the Cactus League season. I suspect the top two (i.e. those who would make the opening day roster assuming one external acquisition) of the remaining 5 will be Laffey and Reyes, probably in that order, but easily swappable dependent on spring performance, with either Huff or Sowers rounding out the last spot if there is no new acquisition. Although I feel an affinity, and hope the best, for Sowers, I'm not convinced he's going to figure out how to return to a solid, major league viable form, let alone his own 2006 form any time soon, and that Huff may deserve a look. That said, more long term practical considerations (e.g. option situations) may come into play, and give Sowers the edge. Scott Lewis has been impressive in his first two starts, but his very limited playing time at Triple-A will probably mean that he starts 2009 there.

The second issue is what new acquisitions can we reasonably hope for? Top of the line FA acquisitions like Sabathia are obviously unrealistic for our market. Probably even someone like A.J. Burnett would be too steep, though if other holes can be filled cheaply enough, he might be a possibility (I doubt, for example, that he will command as much as we offered Sabathia), and at 32 makes something like a 3-year deal perhaps reasonable. If the team has enough confidence in guys like Laffey and Reyes, then a FA acquisition of Paul Byrd/Scott Elarton caliber, such as Derek Lowe, to be a #4 or #5 guy may be a possibility. If the team wants to add a #2 or #3 type starter, however, I would assume it will have to come via trade, likely moving outfield depth (e.g. Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez) and/or a multiple player package including relatively young, cheap AAAA types (e.g. Josh Barfield, Michael Aubrey, Ryan Garko) and/or prospects. I have to imagine Shin-Soo Choo will be floated as well if the return is good enough.

Zach Greinke is one attractive possibility that's been discussed, although it's unclear what the asking price would be. He may be worth a high price (e.g. Choo), but the respective number of years must be taken into account. Admittedly, I don't pay enough attention to other teams and their guys' contracts and organizational needs to offer up many of my own suggestions on this front.

Summary: I see the rotation looking one of two ways.

1. Cliff Lee

2. Fausto Carmona

3a. Burnett/Greinke/other

3b/4a. Aaron Laffey

4b/5a. Anthony Reyes

5b. Lowe/other

(6.) Jeremy Sowers

(7.) David Huff

(8.) Scott Lewis

with the actual order of 6-8 having a great deal of flexibility depending on performance and when they're called on. And, of course, any of those guys could be part of a trade for an infielder (or even a closer?).

Some Modest Goals for the Season

Logodaedalus — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:55:02 -0000

In this lost season I find myself looking for scaled back goals for the team. With a record of 71-73 as I write this, and 18 games left to play, what are some realistic things to hope for?

There's the obvious: Finishing above .500

This seems highly realistic, requiring a record of 11-7 going forward to be above, 10-8 to be *at* .500.

Winning the Pythagorean race

This is a stretch, as we're 4.5 back. If the White Sox and Twins both Play .500 ball from here on in (or, say, 9-8), we'd have to go 13-4 to tie, assuming "average" run distributions. If we win our wins by a lot and lose close ones as we've been doing, however, it may not be such a reach. If we achieve this goal, we get to play in the hypothetical Pythagorean playoffs on a series of right-triangular fields. Should be an interesting challenge for our diamond-accustomed players.

Finishing closer to 1st than the 2007 Tigers

We're pretty close to this goal. The Tribe buried the Tigers under an 8 game lead by the end of last year. We're 9.5 back now, so this is more than feasible, especially with a series each against the teams ahead of us.

Obviously there are some goals for individual players that could be discussed, but does anyone else have any suggestions for team goals?