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Opening Day vs. Cleveland 4-4-05


Who will win?  

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  1. 1. Who will win?

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I'm not impressed with the indians line up -- There were too many guys who had career years over there... think our 2000 rotation. Obviously they're not going to suffer the ridiculous amount of injuries we had from that staff afterward, but a lot of those guys are due for a backslide....

 

Does anyone think Uribe and Rowand are gonna hit better than they did last year? I know I don't. -- I know I don't expect the indians offense to be any better either.

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If Rowand puts up .310 24 69 .905 or if Uribe puts up .283 23 74 .833 again, I would be more then a little surprised.

 

I expect some falloff from both, so I guess some fall off from the Indians offense wouldn't surprise me either.

 

Then again, can I really expect 4 or 5 guys from the Indians offense to just fall off? I don't know. Maybe a couple, but I am not sure if I can expect half of them.

 

Also...FWIW...I don't like the Juan-Gone signing. Why didn't they just hang onto Escobar or get someone else young who could have a chance instead of going for a guy whose best years are in the rear view mirror?

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QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 12:42 AM)
If Rowand puts up .310 24 69 .905 or if Uribe puts up .283 23 74 .833 again, I would be more then a little surprised.

 

I expect some falloff from both, so I guess some fall off from the Indians offense wouldn't surprise me either.

 

Then again, can I really expect 4 or 5 guys from the Indians offense to just fall off?  I don't know.  Maybe a couple, but I am not sure if I can expect half of them.

 

Also...FWIW...I don't like the Juan-Gone signing.  Why didn't they just hang onto Escobar or get someone else young who could have a chance instead of going for a guy whose best years are in the rear view mirror?

They couldn't hang on to escobar -- In a bizzare situation where they claimed Phelps, they had to move someone from the 40 man, and they couldn't hide escobar on the 60-day DL(thus removing him from the 40 man) because he was injured after being sent to AAA.

CHICAGO - New Indians acquisition Josh Phelps reported to Cellular One Field on Sunday, as expected. And as anticipated, Kazuhito Tadano was optioned to Buffalo to make room for Phelps on the 25-man roster.

 

By contrast, the way the Tribe found a spot on the 40-man roster for Phelps came as a surprise and might create some controversy.

 

The squeeze on the 40-man forced the club's deep thinkers to designate outfielder Alex Escobar for assignment. Normally, when this is done, a player clears waivers and is outrighted to the minor leagues.

 

That could not be done with Escobar. Because he was on the minor-league disabled list with a stress fracture to his foot, and because the injury occurred after he had been sent to Triple-A, Escobar could not be placed on the 60-day disabled list and thus be removed from the 40-man roster.

 

Consequently, the Indians have but two options: Within 10 days from the date the trade for Phelps was consummated (last Friday), they must either trade or release Escobar, which means he probably is gone for good.

 

``We had a number of difficult decisions,'' assistant general manager Chris Antonetti said. ``We've had difficult roster decisions all year and will continue to have them.''

 

There is only one way the Tribe can keep Escobar: If he clears waivers and is not traded, he becomes a free agent and can sign with any team, including Cleveland.

 

``We would be interested in negotiating with him,'' Antonetti said. ``We will try to make a deal for him, but that's not likely to happen (because of the injury).''

 

It's unlikely that Escobar would feel inclined to return to the Tribe, which has an abundance of outfielders, including Matt Lawton, Coco Crisp, Jody Gerut, Grady Sizemore and Ryan Ludwick.

 

On a side note, I actually like the Lawton move... He was nothing more than a league average OFer, and Cleveland is a team with an abundance of corner OFer types... Blake is likely headed there with Boone stepping in. Rhodes was a such a good reliever prior to last season, that Oakland decided to hand him the closers role -- something he won't be asked to do in Cleveland.

 

Guys like Martinez and hafner are either gonna turn into superstars, or the slippers gonna fall an the clock is gonna strike midnight. If you look at that indians line-up from last year, it's just like our 2000 team. Hitting is contagious. Across the board that team had great years... It's not gonna happen again.

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QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 12:42 AM)
Also...FWIW...I don't like the Juan-Gone signing.  Why didn't they just hang onto Escobar or get someone else young who could have a chance instead of going for a guy whose best years are in the rear view mirror?

 

Why not? The most he can make next year is $2.55 million. Not bad for someone that can potentially be one of the best hitters in the league for pretty long periods of time for way less money than burnitz is gonna get. His ops and slugging is always very solid which is what you are looking for from him. If he stays healthy he will be an excellent pick-up. If he doesn't stay healthy he will not be costing them much at all either way. This is the definition of a low risk high reward type signing.

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QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 06:14 PM)
Why not? The most he can make next year is $2.55 million. Not bad for someone that can potentially be one of the best hitters in the league for pretty long periods of time for  way less money than burnitz is gonna get. His ops and slugging is always very solid which is what you are looking for from him. If he stays healthy he will be an excellent pick-up. If he doesn't stay healthy he will not be costing them much at all either way. This is the definition of a low risk high reward type signing.

And realistically the chances of Juan Gone staying healthy and contributing for a whole season, well they're just not that good, I think that's all most people are trying to say. Who knows, maybe Jody Gerut will rebound for them, they certainly have an abundance of corner OF's.

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QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 01:21 AM)
And realistically the chances of Juan Gone staying healthy and contributing for a whole season, well they're just not that good, I think that's all most people are trying to say. Who knows, maybe Jody Gerut will rebound for them, they certainly have an abundance of corner OF's.

 

Evene if he is healthy for half a season he will earn his pay check.

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QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 06:05 PM)
Am i honestly the only one that would take a combination of wickman, howry, riske, bentancourt, miller, rhodes, shuey, sauerbeck over our pen?

I wouldn't but hey that's just me. Wickman, Howry and Shuey are still very risk propositions for 2005. They've all had major arm surgery, and they probably wouldn't be able to throw a lot of innings. I'm going to say, I think 1 guy maybe 2, will be mildly effective out of that 3, most likely Wickman.

 

Rhodes is the wild card for me. If he can get back to his Baltimore and Seattle form, he'll improve the Tribe so much keeping leads in the 7th and 8th innings. I'm interested to see how he handles going from a pitcher's park in Oakland where he struggled (albeit mainly as a closer) to a hitter's park in Cleveland.

 

I think our pen is more reliable in that you are more likely to know what to expect from each guy, and where they fit in and what they're good in doing. e.g Politte in the 6th and 7th, Marte in the 8th, Shingo only being used for 1 inning in the 9th.

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QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 01:26 AM)
I wouldn't but hey that's just me. Wickman, Howry and Shuey are still very risk propositions for 2005. They've all had major arm surgery, and they probably wouldn't be able to throw a lot of innings. I'm going to say, I think 1 guy maybe 2, will be mildly effective out of that 3, most likely Wickman.

 

Rhodes is the wild card for me. If he can get back to his Baltimore and Seattle form, he'll improve the Tribe so much keeping leads in the 7th and 8th innings. I'm interested to see how he handles going from a pitcher's park in Oakland where he struggled (albeit mainly as a closer) to a hitter's park in Cleveland.

 

I think our pen is more reliable in that you are more likely to know what to expect from each guy, and where they fit in and what they're good in doing. e.g Politte in the 6th and 7th, Marte in the 8th, Shingo only being used for 1 inning in the 9th.

 

Betancourt, riske, and miller are no slouches.

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QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 01:22 AM)
Evene if he is healthy for half a season he will earn his pay check.

 

If it's half a season like 2003...yes(.294 24 70 .901 in 82 games)

 

If it's half a season like 2002...no(.282 8 35 .776 in 70 games)

 

If it's anything like he was in 2004...no(do I need to put his numbers up?)

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QUOTE(YoungstownIndians @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 07:08 PM)
Okay I am referring to your Bullpen #1. See we had a ERA at the break of nearly 5. You had about the same all Year. We brought ours down from the Break  to seasons end.

 

I am here to talk baseball. And I Like talkin with sox fans. All seem stubborn and are way to bias IMHO.

 

And I am one Indians Fan. Your baseball moderators was nice and welcomed me and you guys like try to kill me.

Since we're talking about splits before and after the all-star break, what did CC's and Cliff Lee's ERA's look like after the break?

 

Didn't Belliard hit .250 in the second half? You had some breakout seasons from guys like Belliard (actually just one half,) Hafner and Martinez, yet you assholes still couldn't finish above .500.

 

What makes you think this year will be any different?

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QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 12:25 AM)
Does anyone think Uribe and Rowand are gonna hit better than they did last year?  I know I don't. -- I know I don't expect the indians offense to be any better either.

I do.

 

Rowand didnt start hitting until June, and Juan Uribe played in only 134 games.

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