I have been avoiding writing about the Indians so far because I didn't want to jinx them. If you're wondering why I've chosen to write about them now, don't think it's because I feel some sort of responsibility to my "readers" to write about what is definitely the biggest sports story under my jurisdiction. I've just decided this team is unjinxable. If they go on a horrible losing streak after I write this, it's because they weren't that good to begin with and Shin-Soo Choo is hurt and Fausto Carmona is one of the special pitchers who can be on the DL with emotional stability issues. Boy does he ever run the gamut.
The Indians already made it through the collapse and they find themselves in first place and now they're just struggling. I don't mean "struggling" in that they are playing poorly... that's not necessarily what that word means. When they lost nine out of ten in June, that's not just struggling, that's something else. Cowering? Tripping and falling? Sucking? One of those. There is an effort and a focus to real struggling, and what they're doing now--trying to hang onto a division (which isn't that good) with all these guys hurt and a team that wasn't supposed to win very much anyway--is, well, a struggle.
The player leading the struggle is Asdrubal Cabrera. He's been my favorite player on the team since he came up late in 2007 wearing pearls every game. Although I'm a little bit sad the pearls are gone, I couldn't really be prouder of old Droobie.
I liked him because he seemed like he cared. He played (and plays) hard in kind of an artistic way (behind all the back flips, irregular bare hand plays, AND PEARLS!!!). Nothing was really expected of him but he was productive anyway. The way I always described him was that he struggled to be competent--he was kind of sloppy and not strong-looking at the same time when he came up, and he would go on streaks where he COULD NOT hit. He also had, and has, a swing that doesn't seem that smooth and HAD no power--but when he got in a groove, he was super clutch. The other reason I liked him was that his name was "Asdrubal."
Well apparently I didn't give him enough credit because this sloppy/skinny guy with pearls is on pace to hit damn near 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. Asdrubal also is likely the best defensive shortstop in the league. He's the MVP in my mind. He is everything the Indians need.
Does there have to be an "Anti-Drubal?" Yes.
Grady Sizemore, though somewhat valuable, should be embarrassed by what Asdrubal Cabrera is doing. Grady, who was a much better prospect than Cabrera, continues to: bat .232, fail to get runners in from 3rd base with less than two outs, lead the team in strikeouts EVEN THOUGH HE'S ONLY PLAYED FOR ABOUT THREE-FIFTHS OF THE YEAR, and just generally piss me off at every opportunity. The thing is, he's still OK. He hits home runs and plays center field pretty well. My hangups on Grady are stuff like the fact that he's fast but doesn't get on base or steal bases when he's there. At one point he was supposed to be a lead off hitter yet less than half of his hits are singles. Getting lead off doubles is great, but being a lead off hitter who strikes out 200 times a year is just terrible.
(Sigh...) but anyway... I guess if you're going to bat .232, you might as well have all your hits be extra-base hits, but still... if you could make just 10 of those 73 strikeouts into singles... Grady would make a little more sense to me.
Now let's break up the rest of the position players (not Asdrubal, Grady or Choo) into five groups.
Young Guys with a Future
1. Michael Brantly (Age 24)
2. Carlos Santana (Age 25)
3. Lonnie Chisenhall (Age 22)
4. Matt LaPorta (Age 26)
This group can't help but be the most loved group. Ideally, you want to come home and find out that one or more of these guys contributed to the win.
The guy who needs to feel a little urgency is obviously Matt LaPorta, being the oldest. He was also the focal point of the Tribe's side of the CC Sabathia trade with the Brewers, which brings more pressure. And one last thing to throw on the pressure fire is that he's the Indians' ONLY right-handed hitter who has any threat of power. If it were me, LaPorta would be batting sixth instead of eighth. The top five of the batting order are all legitimate hitters.
Let's say that Choo is back. The ideal batting order is something like... Brantly, Asdrubal, Hafner, Santana, Choo, LaPorta, Sizemore, Cabrera, Chisenhall. That way we rotate lefty and righty as much as we can and have someone with a little bit of power (sorry, Orlando) to protect the top five. It also keeps Grady in the 7-hole, which pleases me.
Currently, Laporta is batting .247 with 8 homers and 33 RBIs. That's actually not that bad compared to his teammates, but he should be better. He has the most effortless power of any guy on this list and he needs to take advantage. Putting him in the 6-hole and letting him know how important it is for him to be productive I feel would be good for him. Give him a little pressure--I think he needs it.
Young or Old? No Future.
1. Austin Kearns (31)
2. Shelley Duncan (31)
3. Lou Marson (25)
4. Luis Valbuena (25)
5. Travis Buck (27)
Two of these guys are somewhat important, which worries me. With Shin-Soo Choo out, Travis Buck has essentially taken his place, which is not good. Travis Buck is not a platoon outfielder or a guy good enough to give someone a couple days off. This is really the only scenario in which he should play. It's not really a knock on Buck, it's just what he is.
The other guy who could be important (and actually has a chance to get out of this list at some point) is Lou Marson. He's already a good defensive catcher, but batting .239 with zero home runs in 117 at-bats is just not acceptable. Home runs really aren't just for show. Putting fear into the hearts of your opponents is what makes you a good player, really. The only fear fans or teams have of Lou Marson is this thought, "Oh my God, if Lou Marson gets the game winning hit I'm going to cut myself." You don't have to be a great hitter to be a career backup catcher (a real position, by the way... catching hurts the knees) but you can't be a non-hitter. That's why I feel pretty comfortable keeping him in this category. Sorry, Lou.
Not Young, But Helpful
1. Orlando Cabrera (36)
2. Jack Hannahan (31)
These guys are making a total of $1.5 million, and I feel better when they're up with a guy on third and less than two outs than when Sizemore and his $7.6 million are up there. I do feel bad about that comment a little bit, though. It's not Grady's fault that he gets paid a lot, but I do want to give these two guys credit. O-Cab and "Jungle" Jack Hannahan carried the Tribe through the first part of the season, something they shouldn't be good enough to do. And think about this: This Indians team was close to the worst team in baseball last year. Having a good start to the season, in my eyes, showed this team the way to be good. These days they look pretty used to winning, and I give these two guys credit for that.
Minor League Possibilities
1. Jason Kipnis (24)
2. Jason Donald (26)
3. Ezequiel Carrera (24)
4. Cord Phelps (24)
It's weird to me that three out of four of these guys play second base. The future looks to be Jason Kipnis (the only guy with any power on this list) at second, with Jason Donald backing up every infield position and Cord Phelps probably never doing anything. I still have no idea what Carrera brings to the table but he keeps coming up from the minors for reasons unknown.
Travis Hafner
1. Travis Hafner (34)
Travis Hafner is in his own group. A few years back he would've been in the "Most Overpaid Athletes" group. Now, Hafner's not young and he's not just "useful." He's the most irreplaceable player on the team and I'll tell you why.
As previously stated, someone in a lineup--just like someone in a starting five or starting anything of any sport--has to scare you or that group can't really function. Even though he's injury prone and can't play a single position in the field, he's the only hitter who scares anybody on any team. He's had two walk-off home runs this year, one of them being a first pitch walk-off grand slam when the Indians were down three runs. It's really scary that the Indians' team is secretly hanging on by whatever ligaments are keeping Hafner's shoulders and ankles together. Also, I'm really not sure there's anyone in the minors or available to be acquired that replaces what he brings to the table... and he's 34. You just need a mismatch guy, and Hafner's it.
