The Indians took two of three from the reeling Washington Nationals, depending on a pair of two-run outbursts to overcome the punchless Washington offense. In today’s B-List, Buff compares and contrasts the performances of Justin Masterson and Corey Kluber, who were both outstanding. He mentions Scott Kazmir’s performance, which, while standing out, was ironically not “outstanding.” He cheers Jason Kipnis as the new standard of baserunning while pointing out his baserunning wasn’t even the best on his own team this weekend.
Sometimes I have no words to describe my reaction to a game. This is one of those games. So I'll just ramble incoherent nonsense.
It was June 6, 2011, 67 years to the day after Generals Eisenhower and Bradley ordered the combined allied troops to begin storming the beaches of Normandy, France in what was the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler’s “1000 year” Reich. Coincidence? Absolutely. Because all we’re talking about is the 2011 Rule 4 Amateur draft. I was sitting nervously on my couch when Bud Selig announced that the Indians were on the clock. The 2011 draft was universally held as one of the most talented in years, and the Indians had the #8 overall pick. It would be almost difficult to screw up a top-10 pick in a draft that loaded, but if ESPN’s Keith Law and other “experts” were to believed, the Indians were about to do just that. Most of the so-called “experts” had the Indians selecting a low-ceiling, high-floor collegiate arm like Taylor Jungmann or Jed Bradley. A safe, signable pick, but a completely uninspiring choice that would have been a waste of the #8 pick in the draft
I caught up with Lindor a couple of weeks ago when the Mudcats were visiting the Potomac Nationals here in Virginia. I got to watch him take infield before the game, an experience I can only describe as baseball pornography. Lindor took a couple dozen routine groundballs, then proceeded to take balls far to his left and right, ranging far up the middle and deep in the hole. Bored with these seemingly routine tasks, Lindor then started fielding balls between his legs and behind his back. He would flip the ball to 2nd with his hands, glove, and I think I even saw him kick a ball over. It was a beautiful sight, and I stood there with Mudcats radio play-by-play announcer Darren Headrick, simply awestruck at the sight of Lindor fielding groundballs. When I expressed my feelings to Headrick, he simply chuckled, shook his head and said, “He does this every day. It’s incredible.”
Talking to Lindor, I was incredibly impressed by the teenager’s maturity and confidence. There’s very little that Francisco Lindor cannot do on a baseball field, and he knows it. That’s not to suggest that Lindor is cocky or overconfident; far from it. But he’s appropriately confident for a player of his age and ability, and is already a leader in the clubhouse despite his relative inexperience. Part of that leadership ability comes from Lindor’s experience with the major league team this spring. I asked him what he learned from the Indians in Goodyear, and Lindor responded, “I had a blast; I got to know the big leaguers and they made it pretty comfortable for me, and I learned a lot from them. It’s just a game; those guys go about their business, making sure they take care of their job and be consistent every day. Taking every pitch the same way, the same approach in the field and spending every day trying to get better.” Consistency is a theme for Lindor; it’s obvious he has the talent to succeed at the highest level of the game; he just needs to add strength/size to his frame and be more consistent. He’s created a catchphrase for himself, “Lindor B.C.” As in “Lindor, Be Consistent.” Coming soon to a bumper sticker near you.
Remember a few years back when Stephen Strasburg was being called up and he made one of his first starts in Cleveland? The Indians countered with their stud-call up of Carlos Santana and the two went head-to-head on Sunday. It was called Strasburg-Santana Sunday and honestly, I barely remember that the Nationals won or if the Indians even won that series.
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the McPeek residence. Soccer galore, volleyball galore and a newly graduated high school senior have dominated the time that would have otherwise been devoted to condensing all the Cleveland sports action into a weekly column for the past two weeks. This weekend will be no different as the previously aforementioned recent graduate gets a party in her honor. But there are a few things I wanted to talk about and touch on so, with all due respect to the legendary Hal Lebovitz, here’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that before the weekend actually arrives…