The Tribe have dismantled and rebuilt in surprisingly short order, competing for the postseason at least a year before most though possible. Cleveland won three of four against the rapidly declining White Sox, and the Indians now stand alone in second place for the first time in 2004 with a season-best record of 58-55. Last week, Cleveland split a four-game series with Toronto.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Division or Wild Card? Cleveland is a full five games behind Minnesota in the AL Central but only 4.5 games behind Anaheim for the Wild Card. Still, the division title may be the path of least resistance, as Cleveland would have to surpass Anaheim, Texas and Boston to claim the Wild Card. Cleveland and Minnesota play each other in thirteen of their last 49 games.
* The Indians lead the AL in runs scored (635) and on-base percentage (.357), but they're not doing it by pummeling opponents at home. Cleveland has scored 5.2 runs per game at Jacobs Field compared to 5.9 in road contests. A terrible relief corps (5.35 ERA, easily the worst in the AL) has undercut solid work from the starters (4.69 ERA, 4th in AL). Cleveland pitches slightly better at home.
* On August 2 in the previous Advanced Scout, Mike Denyszyn mentioned that Eric Wedge wanted another righthanded bat for the club. Who knew that Josh Phelps would be holding that bat? Phelps joined his new teammates on Sunday but has yet to earn a plate appearance. Manager Eric Wedge explained that Phelps won't automatically start against lefties. Cleveland wants Phelps to focus on his defense at first, but the organization also has him practicing in left field and behind the plate. While Phelps clearly has batted better against lefties than Travis Hafner and Ben Broussard, the two lefty-swinging 1B/DHs have performed capably. Broussard rarely bats against lefties but has quite a reverse split going for him this season:Player Vs. Lefties Vs. Righties
Phelps .321/.370/.633 .188/.252/.290
Hafner .258/.365/.394 .359/.440/.710
Broussard .308/.357/.513 .274/.385/.438
* The acquisition of Phelps had to cost a current Indian his job, so pitcher Kaz Tadano caught a flight to Buffalo. Cleveland will carry only eleven pitchers despite having just two more off-days in August. Tadano had pitched reasonably well after a slow start and will rejoin the team when rosters expand.
* The unhappy career of Alex Escobar took another turn for the worse when Cleveland designated him for assignment after acquiring Phelps. Escobar was already out for the season with a broken foot, but since the injury occurred with AAA Buffalo rather than Cleveland, the Tribe can't place him on the 60-day Disabled List. In fact, Cleveland can't even run him through waivers; they must either trade or release him. If Escobar becomes a free agent, Cleveland would try to negotiate a new contract with him. With at least four outfielders above him in the pecking order, Escobar might fare better in another organization. How did Escobar take the news? No one knows. Escobar returned to his home in Venezuela after his injury, and no one in the organization could reach him to speak to him personally.
The Venezuelan signed with the New York Mets all the way back in 1995 as a 17-year-old. Escobar achieved only 182 at-bats in his first two seasons because of various injuries. In 1998, a healthy Escobar batted .310 and slugged .584 for low-A Capital City, but in 1999 he had only eleven at-bats thanks to a stress fracture in his back and a torn labrum. Propelled to AA in 2000 as a 21-year-old, Escobar batted .288 and slugged .584 while walking at a good rate. 2001 marked his Major League debut as Escobar batted .200/.245/.400 in eighteen games.
In December 2001, New York traded Escobar, Matt Lawton, and three other players to Cleveland for Roberto Alomar and two pitchers. At that time, Baseball America rated him the #1 prospect for the Mets and #18 in all of baseball. The next spring, Escobar's knee had a disastrous blind date with an outfield fence and missed the entire season. In 2003, Escobar struggled in AAA (.251/.296/.472), and this year, he batted .248/.298/.430 until mid-June, when Cleveland optioned him back to the minors. In nine professional seasons, Escobar has just over 2,500 professional plate appearances to his credit (not including winter leagues).
* Has Cleveland given up on signing #1 pick Jeremy Sowers? The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports that the Tribe are interested in the latest Cuban defector, 1B/OF Kendry Morales. Furthermore, they may use the $2.2 million earmarked for Sowers as part of a package to entice Morales. The Yankees, Boston, Florida and Seattle also have expressed interest.
As for Sowers, Cleveland loses rights to him if he attends classes at Vanderbilt beginning August 25. Sowers also spurned Cincinnati as a first-round pick in 2002. Of the top ten picks in the 2004 draft, six were college pitchers, and only one has signed, Thomas Diamond with Texas's #10 pick. High-school shortstops Matt Bush and Chris Nelson and pitchers Mark Rogers and Homer Bailey also have signed. The top five pitchers, fellow college pitcher Jered Weaver, and shortstop Stephen Drew are the only unsigned first-round picks.
* With 61 games and 181 at-bats to his credit prior to 2004, catcher Victor Martinez isn't eligible for Rookie of the Year. If he were, voters would have an easy decision. Martinez is batting .300/.368/.522 and is on pace to swat 26 homers and drive in 119 runs. He's back in the lineup after missing three games with a sore hamstring.
* On U.S. Independence Day, proud Mississipian Matt Lawton was batting .323/.393/.478. Since then, he's batting only .210/.288/.345 over thirty games. Lawton painted a silver lining on his raincloud by hitting a ninth-inning, three-run homer against division rival Chicago on Saturday. Lawton will be Cleveland's wealthiest player in 2005, earning $6.75 million.
* Aaron Boone's surgically repaired knee has swelled up to the size of a basketball. Cleveland has delayed his return to action by at least two weeks, so the minor-league seasons may end before Boone can take the field. Trainer Lonnie Soloff still believes he will play this season.
* A cuddly cuttlefish to you if you predicted Cleveland's DP tandem of Omar Vizquel and Ron Belliard would be batting a combined .300/.367/.414 in mid-August.
* 2003 ROY candidate Jody Gerut has started only six of the last ten games. Since June 1, Gerut is batting .221/.288/.352 and finds himself behind similarly slumping Matt Lawton, Covelli Crisp and newcomer Grady Sizemore. All are property of the Indians in 2005.
* Cliff Lee's struggles continue. In his last four starts, Lee has pitched only fifteen innings and has allowed 21 runs and 35 baserunners. He does have seventeen strikeouts during this span.
* Cleveland's bullpen is devoid of lefthanders.
* Bobby Howry! Howry joined the Tribe's exquisitely putrescent bullpen in July and in 24 innings has a 1.50 ERA, 26 strikeouts and only two walks. The other guys: 5.61 ERA, 3.9 walks and 1.35 homers per nine innings.
* Reliever Bob Wickman receives three hours of treatment before every game and 45 minutes of hot-and-cold whirlpool treatments after games to keep him healthy. Wickman couldn't pitch last night due to back spasms.
Batting vs. Lefties:
7 Lawton
6 Vizquel
DH Hafner
2 Martinez
5 Blake
3 Phelps or Merloni
4 Belliard
8 Sizemore
9 Crisp or Gerut
Batting vs. Righties:
9 Lawton
6 Vizquel
DH Hafner
2 Martinez
5 Blake
3 Broussard
4 Belliard
8 Sizemore or Gerut
7 Crisp
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Tuesday: Chad Durbin vs. David Bush
Wednesday: C.C. Sabathia (L) vs.
Thursday: Cliff Lee (L) vs. Ted Lilly (L)
From The Pen:
Closer: Wickman
Setup: Bettancourt
Short: Howry, Riske, White
Long: Miller
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