Written by Brian McPeek

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It happens every spring. In fact, it’s pretty much happened every spring since I was 6-years old. I can’t help it. If I could turn it off I surely would as a defense mechanism against the physical issues it causes as well as the emotional effect it has.

I’m not talking about seasonal allergies. That’s alleviated somewhat by a steroid shot and 180mg Allegra. I’m talking about annual Tribe optimism and interest that returns every single year like the buzzards to Hinckley.

I can’t seem to stop it. It’s like a nicotine addiction or a deep love of bourbon. You know you shouldn’t partake in it, you go over the reasons it’s bad for you, you vow to stop doing it and yet you find yourself often saying, “Screw it, I’ll stop tomorrow”.

That’s how it is with the Indians and me. I’m not dumb. Like the guy constantly lighting his next cigarette with the last one or the guy putting a pinch of snuff between his cheek and gum at 10am I know the Indians are not good for me. I know the Indians aren’t good period. But here I am finding myself getting excited for baseball season despite knowing full well it will be a minor miracle if this baseball team wins as many games as it loses.

It’s a team that went out and signed four players of any note (and you’d have to be a serious fan or one of their parents to know any of them at that) and still spent seemingly less than what the Yankees spend on a hitting coach. Adam Everett, Jack Hannahan, Orlando Cabrera and Travis Buck are new Indians who will battle for pretty much utility roles with the Tribe.

The Orlando Cabrera signing is really fitting. Cabrera can play. There’s nothing wrong with him other than he’s getting old. But he’s been a very good SS for a lot of major league seasons. The issue I have is that he’s a better SS defensively than Asdrubal Cabrera yet the Indians will lilely play O-Cab at 2b for the year he's here while keeping AsCab at SS because, well, because moving AsCab out of the SS position would kill his confidence. Of course, the assumption is that O-Cab can actually play 2B. When I first heard this was the plan my mind immediately went back to Shawon Dunston who, while a fine major league SS, was a wreck at 2B for the Indians. And it also went back to Ricky Gutierrez who was a fine major league SS who broke his freakin' neck on a pop up while playing 2B with the Indians (though, to be fair, Gutierrez had a good deal of time in at 2B before coming to the Tribe).

It’s not an easy move regardless of what a manager or GM will tell you. It’s a different game on that side of the diamond and it’s different in nearly every way. The spin of the ball off the bat is different and a 2B is blind on a double play pivot that exposes his knees every time he goes to turn one. Also, the responsibilities are different on cut offs and bunts. Maybe O-Cab has enough 2B experience under his belt but the move is not one you should make under the assumption that a middle infielder is a middle infielder regardless of whichspot you put him. Flip Robbie Alomar and Omar Vizquel for a month, even in their primes, and see if what you got was anything close to what they gave you while at their comfortable position on the diamond.

So, while my mind is stuck on the fact that the best battle of the spring will be between utility infielders and that the best SS on the team will be asked to play 2B while a very good 2B (AsCab circa 2007) will be playing a mediocre SS my heart simply refuses to care.

It was 60 degrees here this past week, the snow is gone (for now) and baseball is off the back burner and back in our hearts. Add to that Al Ciammachella’s excellent series on the Indians Prospects and I just can’t help myself.

Hey, maybe there’s enough depth down on the farm to craft a respectable staff in the next couple years. Maybe some of these power arms will either lead that staff or find themselves dominating out of the bullpen. Maybe guys like Nick Weglarz, Lonnie Chisenhall and Cord Phelps will turn into Travis Hafner (pre-2008), Travis Fryman and Dan Uggla. And maybe they’ll all do it in a specific window of time that a small market team has to get all their best prospects and young veterans to perform at a high level in order to have a chance. Because once those guys actually become solid major league players and have a say in where they play, well, they don’t stick around here too long.

But maybe, just maybe this is the year when it starts coming together and sets the stage for some big, meaningful games in 2012.

Maybe.

That’s the heart speaking to you.

Back to the Head (so to speak)

A message to all of you prospect fanatics. I understand having a healthy passion for something. I love to hunt, like to write and I know how it is to feel strongly about certain pursuits. Looking after and keeping track of prospects would seem to fall into that category for many.

But it sure seems many who follow the fortunes of minor league ballplayers, especially those with just a passing knowledge or interest, believe there is either failure or stardom for these kids. I see it with the Chisenhall talk. There are people in and around the Indians boards on The Cleveland Fan that seem to believe this cat is the next coming of Evan Longoria or Chipper Jones. And that if that’s not what the Indians have in Chisenhall then he and/or they have failed in the development process.

Shake yourselves. I referenced Travis Fryman above for a reason. The reason being is that Fryman was a decent player who seems to be a fan favorite here in Cleveland and yet he won but a single Gold Glove in his lifetime and he finished his career with a relatively modest .274/.336/.443 posting and OPS+ of 103.

Again, Fryman was/is lauded here for his professionalism and his production. Rightfully so too. People here would seem to be happy with Chisenhall being Fryman.

But what if Chisenhall was this guy instead: .266/.337/.451 with an OPS+ of 108 and a similar defensive 3B to Fryman?

The second set of numbers belongs to this player during his Indians years.

Many of you may remember the man for this moniker and you may be interested to see where he stands on the all-time list of such guys. Since you asked, Baseball Prospectus has him at the top of the grinder list (and I’ll include the chart but not the article/numbers that went into it while I suggest all of you baseball fans sign up for access). But how great is it that there's an actual 'Grinder' list.

Simply awesome. The chart:

The definition that they use is available for freein the intro to the article so we'll give you that as well courtesy of Baseball Prospectus:

Among the many labels an executive or coach can assign to a batter, “grinder” is one of the more honorable. To be a grinder is to make the pitcher work, and the concept exalts physical and tactical effort without statistical incentive, if Williams’ definition is to be trusted. Grinders make the pitcher show his hand in certain situations to the entire lineup, thereby raising the likelihood of a mistake pitch later in the game. Grinding is a job without benefits or prestige, but it is a job nonetheless.

The point being that perception somehow becomes reality around here when a player like Blake, who’s actually the better offensive player and isn’t far behind defensively, is castigated for being that player while Fryman is worshiped for being a very similar, and arguably, lesser player.

And look, there are superstars on the anti-grinder list. You need a superstar or two, don’t mistake the message. Probably be better served somewhere else than with the #1 guy on the anti-grinder list though. Fat guys who drink scotch out of the bottle during their DUI arrest aren’t long for the game (or the world).

And, while I don’t want to rain on your prospect parade, there’s a very real chance that a guy like Chisenhall will fall short of the career that both Fryman and Blake put together. A very good chance as a matter of fact. I’ll go so far to say that there’s a much, much better chance Chisenhall won’t equal Blake or Fryman as there is that he’ll become Evan Longoria. Evan Longoria is not happening Tribe fans. Not in all likelihood anyway. Those guys are identified early and are the very best hitters at whatever level they’re playing. They’re generational talents (for Tribe fans, see-Ramirez, Manny).

That’s why it always makes me laugh to see people who put themselves up to be authorities or knowledgeable baseball fans bitch and cry and threaten to hold their breath if the Indians didn't get rid of a guy like Casey Blake when they were the same folks loved Travis Fryman and when they wanted Blake gone only so a prospect could replace him. A prospect like....ummm.... Andy Marte.

And you can apply the above logic and likelihoods to each of Al’s Top 50 for the most part. Weglarz, Phelps, Kipnis, all of them. Some of the Top 50 will exceed expectations and potentially develop into stars down the road. Most will not. And even the ones who do make it to the bigs will most likely not achieve what decent players like Casey Blake and Travis Fryman achieved.

To Al’s point, the best you can do as an organization is to jam the pipeline with quality players at every position and develop them to the best of their ability. Your chances of developing a star or two (Ramirez/ Longoria) plus quality major league players (Blake/Fryman) is much better when the system is healthy and started with quality players.

Did Anyone Die?

Talking with my boy Buddy this weekend and I made the following daring predictions regarding NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles:

• 1.     No one would be killed or paralyzed at the hands of Pacman Jones or his posse

• 2.     The over/under on number of dead as it related to the All Star game should be .5 until Vegas is the host city again. And yeah, I’m always taking the over.

• 3.     Blake Griffin would win the Dunk Contest (C’mon- anyone not betting this clearly isn’t paying attention to the fact that Michael Jordan beat Dominique Wilkins 100 years ago only because the event was in Chicago. And anyone who would give merit to commissioner David Stern rigging the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery with the ‘frozen envelope’ that put Patrick Ewing with the Knicks and believing Griffin wouldn’t win the Dunk Contest in his home town arena is just a moron).

• 4.     No one would play defense in the game.

• 5.     A lot of points and a lot of turnovers would be tallied.

• 6.     LeBron would act unselfish until the MVP was on the line in the 4^th quarter and then no one else from the East would see the basketball.

I didn’t watch any of it. How’d I do?

That’s all on the NBA ladies and gents. I’m still stunned and foggy over the Cavs win over the Lakers last Wednesday.  If you want a great article on what a joke the NBA All-Star knob-fest weekend has become then check out Andrew Clayman’s excellent (and wee bit sarcastic) article on the Skills Challenge.

Bloody Sunday

What an awful two hour period Sunday afternoon when Cleveland State was beaten soundly by a better team and the Ohio State Buckeyes looked like they were counting down the days until the NCAA Tournament pairings were announced.

Cleveland State, despite 35 points from Norris Cole, was simply beaten by a bigger, more physical team. The Vikings shot just 33% on the day, got next to nothing from anyone other than Cole and were beaten on the boards by a total of 51-22 by Old Dominion.  If the point of BracketBusters is too separate the mid major wheat from the chaff then Sunday was not a good sign for the Vikings. They’re going to have to win their conference to get to the NCAAs.

Ohio State, on the other hand, could use 10% of the energy and intensity that CSU Plays with if they expect to be anything other than a disappointment come the end of March. Alternating between sluggish, sloppy and bored the Buckeyes lost for the second time in 8 days, this time to Purdue in West Lafayette by a score of 76-63.

I’d love to be able to combine the intensity and hustle of Gary Waters’ team with the McDonald’s All Americans that Thad Matta has at his disposal.

Wake ‘em up Thad. It’s time to climb all over some asses at practice. You don’t have to kill them physically but a wake-up call mentally would be great. We’re getting to that part of the season where showing up matters and you actually have to come to play.

A Critical Skull Session Awaits

There’s never been a question about the size, speed or arm strength of Auburn’s Cam Newton. Truth be told, despite his old man’s cannibalistic ways, the kid seems well-spoken, intelligent and gregarious to boot. He seems like a likeable dude.

That’s all well and good and it will serve him well regardless of what happens at the April NFL draft. But Cam Newton is shooting up the draft boards because of his physical skills and the fact he’s as gifted an athlete at 6’6”, 270lbs as the QB position has seen in years.

Teams may make a move to grab him in the Top 10 as it stands right now.

But two big issues may stand in the way of Newton going any further up the draft board: accuracy and reading a defense.

That’s why the interview sessions with Newton at his Pro Day or at the Combine will be huge. If Newton shows he has an understanding of how to read a defense and can break them down the accuracy issue is going to be overlooked and Newton is going to be a top five selection.

If it looks like his grasp on NFL defenses is remedial then Blaine Gabbert will be the first QB off the board and teams will have to determine how long Newton will take to get up to speed (and that will depend on his work ethic and willingness to devote all kinds of time to improving) and how that affects his value at a given spot in the draft.

To put it a different way, if the kid is bright enough and has enough of an idea on reading an NFL defense now then teams will see NO weaknesses. The accuracy issue is something they’ll look to tighten up as he goes. But if he does not have the metal acuity or the work ethic to understand what NFL defenses are doing then teams will see two weaknesses: his brain and his accuracy.

The kid does continue to surprise. His video released by he and his agents is striking in showing just how gifted he is physically and I think it actually produced a marriage proposal from ESPN’s Trent Dilfer. If Newton shows the same ability in the classroom as he has on the practice field the Browns won’t have to worry about taking him at #6 because he’ll be gone before that. Either way, you have to Cam is a keen student too. The more guys that nudge their way to the top five makes sure the Browns are getting a great prospect at #6 and also ensures there’s some real quality at #37 (Browns have the 5^th pick in the 2^nd round if I recall correctly) as well.

 

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