The Official 2012 Cleveland Indians Thread

BR1986FB said:
Hmmmm....

Loede923TheFan Matt Loede
Chris Antonetti on a possible trade the # Indians are involved in: "one would be very surprising if we were able to get it done" # MLB

Antonetti: "I'm pretty sure I could give you 50 guesses, and you probably wouldn't get it." - so let the guessing game begin! # Indians
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I don't know why, but that quote from Antonetti kinda pisses me off. Don't start the tease. Don't act like you're maneuvering to create this blockbuster and then, ultimately, blame the other guy when it doesn't get done.

I'm so sick and tired of the Indians front office posturing like they're a player in the market and the best we get is Derek Lowe and Austin Kearns. They trade two Cy Young Award winners and an all-star catcher for players that haven't panned out, save for possibly Masterson. When they do make a legitimate trade, they over-extend by sending their top two pitching prospects for a pitcher that has had one good year. So, I guess my rant is based on Antonetti own words: yes, I would "be VERY surprised if he was able to get it done." What a stupid thing to say.
 
bedevil said:
I don't know why, but that quote from Antonetti kinda pisses me off. Don't start the tease. Don't act like you're maneuvering to create this blockbuster and then, ultimately, blame the other guy when it doesn't get done.

I'm so sick and tired of the Indians front office posturing like they're a player in the market and the best we get is Derek Lowe and Austin Kearns. They trade two Cy Young Award winners and an all-star catcher for players that haven't panned out, save for possibly Masterson. When they do make a legitimate trade, they over-extend by sending their top two pitching prospects for a pitcher that has had one good year. So, I guess my rant is based on Antonetti own words: yes, I would "be VERY surprised if he was able to get it done." What a stupid thing to say.
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Just trying to peak your interest and maybe sell a few tickets. He'll probably bring Casey Blake back on a 1 year laden with incentives.
 
With the Angels signing Pujols it makes one of Mark Trumbo/Kendry Morales possibly available. More likely Morales who is rumored to not be tendered now. He's still coming off of an injury sustained in 2010. However he is the type of guy the Indians usually go after, a risk due to past injury but that makes him cheap and a high upside. He won't be a free agent until the end of 2013.
 
The Indians are now out of the Josh Willingham sweepstakes, per Ken Rosenthal. To make up for the loss, the Tribe signed outfielder Felix Pie.
 
GOGE said:
The Indians are now out of the Josh Willingham sweepstakes, per Ken Rosenthal. To make up for the loss, the Tribe signed outfielder Felix Pie.
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Felix Freaking Pie???!!!??? :mad:

It's as if Larry Dolan dug up Gabe Paul's corpse and put him back in charge of player procurement. What a disaster!! Can't the Indians just once pony up and land a decent player in his prime?

I love the Indians but they break my heart and rip it into pieces every year. I'm going to be 54 in 2012 and I'm coming to grips with the realization that the Tribe will never win a World Series in my lifetime. :(
 
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Willingham signed a 3-year/$21 deal with the Twins. The more I read about him the more I didn't want us to sign him to the 3-year deal. He's a guy that brings no defensive value and just set career highs in HR and RBI at age 32. History shows guys with no track record prior will come back down to earth as they get older and I don't think he's ever going to touch those numbers again.
 
polarkid7 said:
Willingham signed a 3-year/$21 deal with the Twins. The more I read about him the more I didn't want us to sign him to the 3-year deal. He's a guy that brings no defensive value and just set career highs in HR and RBI at age 32. History shows guys with no track record prior will come back down to earth as they get older and I don't think he's ever going to touch those numbers again.
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A $21 deal?! And the Indians couldn't outbid Minnesota for that?;)
 
polarkid7 said:
Willingham signed a 3-year/$21 deal with the Twins. The more I read about him the more I didn't want us to sign him to the 3-year deal. He's a guy that brings no defensive value and just set career highs in HR and RBI at age 32. History shows guys with no track record prior will come back down to earth as they get older and I don't think he's ever going to touch those numbers again.
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Not only that, but power numbers have decreased at a pretty good clip throughout the Twins' line-up since they moved to an outdoor stadium.

I'm a little disappointed that the Indians aren't even among the rumored teams looking to sign Michael Cuddyer. There's a huge hole at first base he could fill.
 
Michael Cuddyer signed with the Rockies today... To be completely honest I like the Indians lineup as of right now. Assuming of course that Choo bounces back and Hafner has a season at least equal to last year and Sizemore plays more than 8 games. They will contend for the AL Central
 
Copley EB 2008 said:
Michael Cuddyer signed with the Rockies today... To be completely honest I like the Indians lineup as of right now. Assuming of course that Choo bounces back and Hafner has a season at least equal to last year and Sizemore plays more than 8 games. They will contend for the AL Central
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They have question marks at the corners and that's never good. Brantley might hit 12 home runs if he can stay healthy for an entire season. I do think Choo will have a bounce-back season. Chisenhall, who knows? I did like what I sw in the final months and a half of the season. LaPorta? I'm ready to cut bait.

The only legitimate power bat they have is Santana. I think Hafner is toast and Sizemore doesn't exactly inspire confidence that he's a 130-game player. I wish I shared your confidence.
 
I want LaPorta to have one more shot. Since he once was a great prospect with a ton of power and I think we should give him at least half a season as the starter as one more chance. Maybe it doesn't work out but I'm not selling just yet... If they do give up on LaPorta, however, I'd like to see Santana at 1B full time and give Marson the catching job at least in the beginning. Marson's not an All-Star bat but he had some clutch hits last year and the dude's a he!! of a defensive catcher.

Kipnis was solid when he played, I also think Choo will bounce back, and I don't think Hafner is completely done just yet based on the fact that he had an OK season last year. Asdrubal is one of the best SS in the game, and I do like Brantley a lot. Maybe Brantley only hits 12 home runs, yes, but I don't think anyone's ever considered him to be a HR threat. His game is defense, base-hits, and baserunning, and he's good at it.. The rotation is above average and we have a very good 1-2... Will we win a World Series? Highly doubtful but there are definitely reasons to be optimistic
 
So far with the players the front office has brought in shows how much they are not really serious about making this team any better.

3 straight losing seasons and 2012 is all but sure to make in 4.
 
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I don't think Beltran is a serious possible deal. He wouldn't wave the no-trade clause to go to Cleveland in July last season. Besides, OF isn't really the Indians' glaring weakness, I'd say C/1B is more of a priority. Brantley, Sizemore and Choo isn't a bad OF, and Duncan/Crowe as the 4/5 OF isn't bad on the bench either. Plus you have Carrera and his speed as a backup as well.

Really, there's not a lot of spots open. They don't want to sit prospects like Kipnis and Chisenhall, it seems they want to move Santana to 1B, and Cabrera is obviously your starting SS. Outfield depth isn't too bad, which is necessary considering Sizemore's history. The catcher market is thin, so Marson/Santana at C is as good as it's going to get. The only other spot is DH, and Hafner is entrenched there at least half the season, with the other half being on the DL. With Hannahan, LaPorta, Donald and now Andy LaRoche ( :laugh: ) covering utility/backup roles, where are you realistically going to put any new additions?
 
newarkcatholicfan said:
Brantley had 13 stolen bases and was caught 5 times.
That's not good. Is it?
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The year before he was 10 of 12 in only 70 some games for an 83ish % rate I'd say that's pretty good, yea.

He played 114 games last year... Brantley's a 20 SB guy in a full year and yes 20 SB would be good. Although a 72% success rate isn't spectacular, Jacoby Ellsbury did have the same rate in 2011. Would you consider him to be a good baserunner? I'm not saying Brantley is as good as Ellsbury, of course, but yes Brantley is a good baserunner.
 
I don't think getting Beltran is likely either, but if you can get a player of his caliber, you find a way to get him into your lineup as a starter.
 
As one who follows the minor leagues(go ahead insert your joke here)

I really do not like this trade, at all.


• RHP Cory Burns who put up some impressive numbers as a reliever in the Indians’ minor league system, was traded to San Diego in exchange for OF Aaron Cunningham. Pitching for Akron last season, Burns led all of Class AA with 35 saves. He had a 2.11 ERA and averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The Indians felt Burns, 24, was expendable because they have outstanding bullpen depth at the major and minor league levels.
 
For one, I don't think anyone's saying Brantley is a big speed guy. "Baserunning" involves more than just steals.

As for the Burns trade, I'm not sure I agree with it being a bad trade. Burns has been lighting up the minors and I saw him play a couple times in person last year and he looked very sharp. But I do understand where the Indians are coming from regarding the depth. Bullpen depth throughout is a strength, but the cupboard is looking somewhat bare in the outfield. Jerad Head was about the only major breakthrough, and he's 29 and with Detroit now. Aside from that, Tim Fedroff might be ready for AAA after .338 with AA Akron last season, and held his own for a half season at AAA, but he's a light hitter with virtually no power in his minor league career. Maybe Chad Huffman, who was decent at AAA last year as well.

Cunningham has shown decent power in the minors plus some speed, picking up a few triples and stolen bases. Basically it's just trading from strength to bolster a weakness. I don't have a real problem with the move. As with all minor league moves, no idea if it will pan out in the long run, but I don't think it was a bad one on their part.
 
I'm curious ncf which part you don't like about the trade? Is it giving up Burns or is it getting Cunningham in return?

Also with regards to Brantley, I still think he can be an important piece to our team but he definitely needs to improve in some areas. I think his defense is just average and he's going to only be able to play LF. Also, last year he only got on-base at a .318 rate. That's not good. He is going to have to improve either that number or his power numbers or else he's going to end up being a 4th outfielder.
 
It honestly sounded like the Indians were betting on Burns's unorthodox delivery not being able to get people out at the higher levels. They better be right because his K/9 was insane.
 
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