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| Cleveland Indians Report--August 12
Story URL: http://indians.scout.com/2/167522.html | |||||||||||||
| Joe Ptak IndiansInk.net | Aug 12, 2003 | ||||||||||||
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Interesting note that I overheard in a Mark Shapiro interview on WTAM last Friday. While discussing the Ryan Ludwick-Ricardo Rodriguez trade, Shapiro divulged that the Indians were offering the Rangers another pitcher instead of Rodriguez...and much more inside. CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT -- Tuesday, August 12
For those with premium subscriptions to Baseball Prospectus, if you haven't been reading Under the Knife recently, I strongly suggest you click that link right now. Go ahead, click it. Interesting note that I overheard in a Mark Shapiro interview on WTAM last Friday. While discussing the Ryan Ludwick-Ricardo Rodriguez trade, Shapiro divulged that the Indians were offering the Rangers another pitcher instead of Rodriguez and (after some nice questioning from Mike Trivisanno) that the pitcher was not a left-hander and that he was a level below Rodriguez. But John Hart insisted on Rodriguez and intimated that they had another deal in place for Ludwick so the Indians agreed to part with Ricardo. So, a right-hander at double-A is whom the Indians were offering, huh? (note that I assume double-A because I doubt the Rangers would have dealt Ludwick for a single-A pitcher likely three years away from contributing at the major league level). That would seem to narrow the possibilities to Kyle Denney, Francisco Cruceta, and Fernando Cabrera. I exclude Paul Rigdon because, well, he's Paul Rigdon and Kyle Evans also is excluded due to his low K/BB (58/31) and K/IP (58/112.2) ratios. Cabrera is the only reliever include because of his live arm and the fact that no one ever said that he can't be converted back to a starter (which you have to assume is what the Rangers were after). In order, I suspect the Indians would have offered Denney (26 yrs old, 7-3, 2.52, .245 BAA, 100 IP, 94H, 24W, 85K), then Cabrera (22 in November, 9-4, 3.09, .243 BAA, 102-93-38-109), and then Cruceta (22 yrs old, 11-8, 3.23, .236, 136.1-120-56-118), although, to be honest, I don't think they would have offered Cabrera or Cruceta straight up for Ludwick. Of course, this is all speculation on my part but I would suspect that it's pretty close based on the information divulged on Friday. Milton Bradley sat out his third straight game last night with back spasms. With the hard Metrodome turf, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make an appearance in the outfield until late in the series (if at all). Good move by the Tribe in recognizing that there's nothing to be gained from having Bradley rush back and play on the turf. Matt Lawton took eight swings off Bob Wickman yesterday after which Wickman declared himself "pain-free" and will next throw on Wednesday. If all goes well, Wick will pitch in a minor league game on Saturday and then throw for whoever is at home amongst Akron, Lake County, and Mahoning Valley on the days he is scheduled to pitch. The goal is to get him 14-16 innings in the minor leagues before the end of the season. There are no plans on having him throw in the big leagues and I would suspect that insurance has a lot to do with that. Lawton, on the other hand, will likely go out on another rehab assignment in the near future and I suspect that the Indians would just assume let this stretch out into September when rosters expand and they can activate Lawton without having to send anybody down. Grady Sizemore is ranked number four on the Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet thanks to his two homerun game last Wednesday and his streak of 11 consecutive games with a run scored. Sizemore had two triples yesterday in the Aeros 8-2 victory over Harrisburg. Captains right-hander Sean Smith skipped his scheduled start yesterday due to arm soreness. The Burlington Times reports that Juan Valdes (.202/.258/.266, 1 HR) is out for the next few days with a heel injury. Valdes was the Indians 5th round pick this June out of Puerto Rico. Mark Budzinski was optioned to triple-A by the Reds after going 0-for-7 with four whiffs in his major league debut. Paul Abbott was called up by the Royals and was pounded for six runs in 4-2/3 innings yesterday. Abbott pitched in five games for the Tribe in 1993, posting a 6.38 ERA in five starts. Warning: I have Rick Reed inactive on my rotisserie team which means that you can expect a lot of zeros on the board tonight from the Tribe. BUFFALO (63-60, 3rd Place, 6.5 GB, 2.5GWC): One day after being no-hit by Bronson Arroyo, the Bisons remained silent on Monday as they were shutout 2-0 by Scranton. The feeble attack (four singles, an Alex Escobar double, and two walks from Lyle Mouton) wasted a stellar effort by Cliff Lee (6-1, 3.27) who spun seven innings of one-run ball, fanning five, walking none, and scattering six hits. AKRON: (77-46, 1st Place, 9.0 GA): Paul Rigdon nearly matched Cliff Lee's performance in Buffalo but he was credited with a win for his efforts as the Aeros defeated Harrisburg 8-2. Rigdon (1-0, 1.15) tossed seven innings of one-run ball and allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out two. Fernando Cabrera (3.09) finished by striking out four in two innings, allowing a run in the process. Grady Sizemore tripled twice and walked. Eric Crozier received three free passes. Brian Luderer had two hits and walk. Luke Scott singled, walked, and drove in two runs. KINSTON (28-22, 1st Place, 1.0 GA): The K-Tribe split a doubleheader with Lynchburg yesterday. Dan Denham spun a two-hitter in the opener to give Kinston a 3-1 victory. Denham (3-5, 6.10) allowed only a solo homerun, another basehit, and a walk while striking out three. Miguel Quintana (#4) and Dave Wallace (#1) belted solo homeruns. Eider Torres, Rodney Choy Foo, and Jason Cooper singled. In the nightcap, the Hillcats prevailed 6-3. Ryan Prahm (4-2, 4.67) allowed four runs in 3.1 innings. Jason Cooper doubled and singled while Matt Knox doubled. LAKE COUNTY (35-15, 1st Place, 6.0 GA): Like their elder A-ball brethren, the Captains also split a doubleheader yesterday. They lost the opener 2-1 to Hickory despite receiving another solid outing from Keith Ramsey (12-5, 2.69) who allowed just two runs in six innings on five hits and an uncharacteristically high three walks while striking out four. Nathan Panther doubled and singled. In the nightcap, Randy Perez (1-2, 3.74) picked up his first win with five innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits and two walks while fanning one. Bryan Kent belted a grand slam (#4) and Ben Francisco also went deep (#8). Francisco also singled while Shaun Larkin tripled and singled and Nathan Panther had two hits. MAHONING VALLEY (26-28, 2nd Place, 16.0 GB): The Scrappers defeated Staten Island 3-2. TJ Burton (7.16) was solid through five innings as he allowed just two runs on four hits and three walks while punching out four. Matt Davis (3-3, 1.36) was credited with the win after two innings of scoreless relief. Chip Southerland (1.80) notched his first save by striking out five in two innings. Mike Conroy (.275) homered (#4) and tripled. Ryan Garko (.277) also went yard (#4). Brad Snyder singled and stole a base (#12). Jonathan Van Every walked twice but was caught stealing three times. BURLINGTON (30-24, T-2nd, 2.0 GB): Chris Clem had a day to remember as the B-Tribe knocked off Princeton 5-3. The Aussie, now hitting .282, went 4-for-4 with two doubles and drove in three runs. Caleb Brock (.322) stayed hot with three hits, including a double, and two ribbies. He also stole a base. Brandon Pinckney doubled and walked. Aaron Laffey (2-1, 3.09) struck out five in five innings while allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. Hector Santana recorded his first save with two scoreless frames of relief. Copyright © Scout.com and IndiansInk.net | |||||||||||||