Cleveland Plain Dealer

[Indians GM (Gino)]

7-3-2013:

CLEVELAND INDIANS BLOCKBUSTER ACQUISITION 

        Late Wednesday evening, the Cleveland Indians completed a huge, mega, blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Angels. A deal that will go down in the annals of Cleveland Indians trade history as arguably the biggest deal ever made by the club. Now when thinking of the Angels, players that come to mind... Pujols, Hamilton, Trumbo? None of the above. The newest member of the Cleveland Indians is the 21 year old phenom, all-star center fielder, Mike Trout. Last year for the Angels Trout batted .326, hit 30 HRs, collected 83 RBIs, scored 129 runs, and swiped 49 SB. Put that together with 27 doubles and 8 triples he scattered a total of 182 hits last season. These are the numbers in his first full season in the majors, which totaled 139 games. At 21 years old, the Indians and everyone else around MLB feels his best years are still ahead of him, which is very scary for all the teams that is not playing for, but rest easy Indians fans you don't have that worry!
       
        Acquiring Trout came at a pretty steep price for the Indians. In order to finalize the deal the Indians shipped top prospects Trevor Bauer (SP), Francisco Lindor (SS), current MLBers Drew Stubbs (OF),  Mike Aviles (SS) Scott Kazmir (SP), Carlos Carrasco (SP), and their 1st (5th overall) and 2nd round (35th overall) draft picks in the 2013 Amateur Draft. 
     

          When asked about the decision to ship the teams top two prospects, first two picks of the draft, and a bunch of solid MLB talent in order to acquire Trout, Cleveland Indians GM Gino Bompiede had this to say...


        "It was a very tough decision for us to make. The MLB talent we traded wasn't viewed as a big loss for our club as we were planning on acquiring new pieces to replace those players anyways. Trading away the 13th and 16th overall prospects in all of baseball plus 5th and 35th best players coming out of the draft was a tough call. However, at the end of the day we did what we felt was best for our club. Mike Trout is a very special talent who is only going to continue to evolve as a player, and we are very excited that we get to watch the evolution of Mike Trout in a Cleveland Indians uniform. Indians fans have a lot to be excited about with him." 

        This concludes a historic column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. We look forward to more historic entries in the weeks to come! Until then GO TRIBE!!!


        

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 1 MATCH-UP/PREVIEW
(July 15-28)
V.S. 

             (0-0-0)                (0-0-0)    

        

        The time is finally here. The inaugural season of C.L.D. Baseball. In week one for your Cleveland Indians they clash with division rival Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are favored by many to win the division. They come into the season led by pe-

rennial All-Stars Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Justin Verlander. However, the Indians have made numerous offseason moves, acquiring phenom Mike Trout, young emerging third baseman in Josh Donaldson and combined with the continued emergence of second baseman Jason Kipnis they will be in the mix come September. This is an intriguing match-up that should be closely contested and highly entertaining. Who will come out on top? Check back for the post match-up review right here in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. And until then GO TRIBE!!!

                                                                                                                                     

Indians	Tigers
C: John Jaso	C: Alex Avila
1B: Nick Swisher	1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Jason Kipnis	2B: Omar Infante
SS: Adrubal Cabrera	SS: Johnny Peralta
3B: Josh Donaldson	3B: Miguel Cabrera
OF: Mike Trout	OF: Austin Jackson
OF: Michael Bourn	OF: Andy Dirks
OF: Michael Brantley	OF: Torii Hunter
UTIL: Alberto Callaspo	UTIL: Victor Martinez
SP: Justin Masterson	SP: Justin Verlander
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez	SP: Max Scherzer
SP: Corey Kluber	SP: Anibal Sanchez
SP: Andrew Cashner	SP: Rick Porcello
SP: Zach McAllister	SP: Doug Fister

                 

[Indians GM (Gino)]

    

WEEK 1 RECAP / REVIEW
v.s.

                              (0-1-0)                                         (1-0-0)

    Week 1 of the shortened inaugural season of C.L.D. Baseball has come and gone. In week 1 for your Cleveland Indians they matched up with division rival Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, the Tribe fell to the Tigers by a score of 12-5-1. It was a very closely competed match-up all week long, more so than the score would indicate. The Indians were led offensively by off-season acquisition Mike Trout, as he went 12/38 (.316 BA), scored 4 times, drove in 6, homered 2 times, accumulating a total of 18 total bases, and stole 2 bases as well. Josh Donaldson, another off-season acquisition was the biggest disappointment for the Tribe this week as he went a miserable 5/34 (.147 BA) and only scored 3 times. He failed to homer or drive in a single RBI. He did draw 6 walks however. 

    For the Tigers it was the former Indians that haunted them all week long... Johnny Peralta stuffed the stat sheet as he produced a .325 BA (13/40), 6 runs scored, 7 RBI, 2 homers, and 22 total bases. Victor Martinez, the former Tribe backstop was just as impressive as he provided a .375 BA (15/40), 5 runs scored, 9 RBI, a homer, and 22 total bases of his own. 

Below is the final team box score.



                                               BATTING (6-3 TIGERS)

TEAM
NAME	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG
DETROIT TIGERS	77	46	13	130	43	21	-3	.274	.4626
CLEVELAND INDIANS	78	34	11	126	39	35	2	.260	.4220

                                            PITCHING (6-2-1 TIGERS)

TEAM
NAME	IP	K	QS	W	S	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
DETROIT TIGERS	78.0	56	8	8	2	1	2.654	1.090	2.667
CLEVELAND INDIANS	71.1	65	6	6	1	1	2.776	1.079	2.407

  

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 2 MATCH-UP / PREVIEW
(July 29 - August 4)

v.s.
           (0-1-0)                     (0-1-0)                

  The Indians head into Week 2 following a tough loss at the hands of division rival Detroit Tigers, to take on another division rival in the form of the Minnesota Twins. The Twins kick off their season here in Week 2. The Twins come into the season with familiar faces... All-Star Joe Mauer, slugging first baseman Justin Morneau, and powerful outfielder Josh Willingham. Aside from those players the Twins come into the season with a lot of young talent. Specifically Oswaldo Arcia, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, and Chris Parmelee. Keep an eye on those players throughout this series as they can be difference makers. As for the Indians, they played very well in Week 1 despite the loss and they will look to continue that in Week 2. The player Indians fans should have their eyes on is off-season acquisition Josh Donaldson, and whether or not he can right the ship for the remainder of this shortened season after a miserable Week 1. As the Twins continue to rebuild and their young talent continues to mature all things point to an Indians win in Week 2. But this is baseball and anything can happen. Be sure to check back for the post series review right here in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and until then GO TRIBE!!!

Indians	Twins
C: Yan Gomes	C: Joe Mauer
1B: Nick Swisher	1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Jason Kipnis	2B: Brian Dozier
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera	SS: Pedro Florimon
3B: Josh Donaldson	3B: Trevor Plouffe
OF: Mike Trout	OF: Josh Willingham
OF: Michael Bourn	OF: Oswaldo Arcia
OF: Michael Brantley	OF: Chris Parmelee
UTIL: Alberto Callaspo	UTIL: Clete Thomas
SP: Justin Masterson	SP: Kevin Correia
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez	SP: Scott Diamond
SP: Zach McAllister	SP: Samuel Deduno
SP: Andrew Cashner	SP: PJ Walters
SP: Corey Kluber	SP:

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 2 RECAP / REVIEW
v.s. 

            (1-1-0)                   (0-2-0)

Week 2 in C.L.D. is now complete this time resulting in an Indians win, evening up their season record at 1-1-0. The Tribe took the matchup by a final score of 16-2-0. Key contributors that led to the thorough trouncing of the Twins included yet again Mike Trout as he went 9/18 (.500 BA), scored 8 R, clubbed a homer, knocked in 2 RBI, tallied 15 total bases and most impressively drew 13 BB. Those numbers have come to be expected from Trout, however perhaps the biggest surprise of the week was bench player UTIL man Ryan Raburn. In 17 AB he had 7 hits (.412 BA), 2 of which were home runs. He also scored 3 R, knocked in 6 RBI, and had 15 total bases. The biggest disappointment for the Indians offensively this week was outfielder Michael Brantley. He was only 4/23 (.174 BA). The Indians pitching staff as a whole was very solid for the entire week posting the following numbers. In 55 2/3 IP they racked up 38 K's, 5 wins, 3 QS, 3 HD, and 3 SV, an ERA of 3.4 and a solid WHIP of 1.20.  

Below is the final box score... 

                                                    BATTING  (7-2-0 Indians)

Team
Name	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG
Cleveland Indians	50	24	3	70	20	33	3	.2674	.3743
Minnesota Twins	34	17	4	59	15	13	0	.2636	.4574

                                                    PITCHING (9-0-0 Indians)

Team
Name	IP	K	QS	W	SV	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
Cleveland Indians	55.2	38	3	5	3	3	3.395	1.204	3.455
Minnesota Twins	31.2	30	2	1	0	2	3.695	1.326	2.727

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 3 MATCH-UP/PREVIEW
(August 5-11)

v.s.   

                        (1-1-0)                                    (0-2-0)

    The Indians head into Week 3 of the C.L.D. Baseball season coming off the high of a convincing 16-2-0 win over division rival Minnesota Twins. Up next in Week 3 is another division rival in the form of the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are 0-2-0 through the first 2 weeks of the season, where the Indians are 1-1-0. The White Sox are in the midst of what appears to be the start of a rebuild. They have already added some real solid young players, most notably All-Star First Basemen Freddie Freeman, Second Basemen Jedd Gyorko, former Indian Mike Aviles, and Starting Pitcher Matt Garza. Emerging outfielder Dayan Viciedo and long time White Sox First Basemen Paul Konerko will be here to challenge the Indians as well. On the flip side for the Indians they will look to continue their solid consistent offensive play that they have showed through the first two weeks first of the season. Keys to that will be Mike Trout continuing to play team captain, Josh Donaldson who improved in Week 2, but he himself stated he is not satisfied with his play yet, and Dr. Smooth Michael Brantley will try to improve on a miserable Week 2 and revert back to form. This should be competitive series but comparing rosters and barring any setbacks all things point to another Indians victory. We will have the recap following the series so be sure to check back at the end of the week! Until then GO TRIBE!!!

Indians                                         White Sox
C: Yan Gomes                                  C: Tyler Flowers

1B: Nick Swisher                             1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Jason Kipnis                              2B: Jedd Gyorko
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera                       SS: Mike Aviles
3B: Josh Donaldson                          3B: Jeff Keppinger
OF: Mike Trout                                OF: Dayan Viciedo
OF: Michael Bourn                           OF: Caspar Wells
OF: Michael Brantley                        OF: DeWayne Wise
UTIL: Alberto Callaspo                     UTIL: Paul Konerko
SP: Justin Masterson                        SP: Matt Garza
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez                         SP: Gavin Floyd
SP: Corey Kluber                            SP: Jose Quintana
SP: Zach McAllister                         SP: Hector Gimenez
SP: Andrew Cashner                       SP: Dylan Axelrod

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 3 RECAP / REVIEW
V.S.

         (2-1-0)             (0-3-0)


Week 3 of C.L.D. is now in the books and it ends on a high for your Cleveland Indians as they topped the Chicago White Sox by a final score of 12-6-0 for their second consecutive victory. This week for the Tribe they were led yet again offensively by OF Mike Trout as he went 7/20 (.350BA /.650SLUG), hit 2 homers, knocked in 6 RBI, scored 5 runs, accumulated 13 total bases, drew 7 BBs, and stole 3 bags. Closely behind was fellow OF Michael Brantley as we saw a major rebound this week as he went 9/24 (.375BA / .625SLUG), hit a homer, knocked in a RBI, scored 5, and collected 15 total bases. This comes immediately following last week where we saw Brantley go 4/23(.174BA). The one blemish on this victory was the pitching this week. The team ERA was a disappointing 6.17 with a WHIP of 1.84, only 2 QS, and they did not earn a single victory in their 46 2/3 IP. They will certainly look to rebound in Week 4 against the Royals.   

Below is the final box score...  

                        BATTING (9-0-0 INDIANS)

TEAM
NAME	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG
CLEVELAND INDIANS	53	27	7	91	26	21	4	.257	.442
CHICAGO WHITE SOX	27	12	4	44	15	9	0	.241	.393

            
                      PITCHING (3-6-0 WHITE SOX)

TEAM
NAME	IP	K	QS	W	SV	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
CLEVELAND INDIANS	46.2	42	2	0	1	2	6.17	1.84	1.45
CHICAGO WHITE SOX	43.2	49	1	3	0	3	4.33	1.24	3.50

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 4 MATCH-UP / PREVIEW
(AUGUST 12-18)
V.S.

          (2-1-0)                    (2-0-0)


Week 4 of C.L.D. is about to commence and it will be a tough highly competitive match-up for your Cleveland Indians when they clash with their A.L. Central Division Rival Kansas City Royals. The Royals have been re-built and they have added a lot of solid players. Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Curtis Granderson, Adam Dunn, Cole Hamels, and Jeremy Hellickson are all now Kansas City Royals. Last week against the Twins the Royals put up both offensive and pitching numbers that were very close to what the Indians did against the White Sox. If that is any indication we should be in store for a very competitive match-up here in Week 4. If the Indians are going to come out on top this week they are going to need for Trout's outstanding play to continue as well as his supporting cast in Kipnis, Brantley and Donaldson and perhaps most importantly the pitching staff MUST be better. They cannot afford to drop 6 out of 9 pitching categories to the Royals like they did the White Sox, as offensive categories will be hotly contested. Make no mistake the Royals offense is no where near as anemic as the White Sox is and the Indians will not win if they do not pitch better. This one can go either way so be sure to check back right here in the Cleveland Plain Dealer for the full series recap! Until then GO TRIBE!!!
                                                                                            

Indians	Royals
C: Yan Gomes	C: Jarrod Saltalamcchia
1B: Nick Swisher	1B: Mike Napoli
2B: Jason Kipnis	2B: Chase Utley
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera	SS: Alcides Escobar
3B: Josh Donaldson	3B: Mike Moustakas
OF: Mike Trout	OF: Shane Victorino
OF: Michael Bourn	OF: Curtis Granderson
OF: Michael Brantley	OF: Brandon Barnes
UTIL: Alberto Callapso	UTIL: Adam Dunn
SP: Justin Masterson	SP: Cole Hamels
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez	SP: Jeremy Hellickson
SP: Zach McAllister	SP: Wade Davis
SP: Andrew Cashner	SP: James Shields
SP: Andrew Albers	SP: Ervin Santana

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 4 RECAP / REVIEW

V.S. 

            (3-1-0)                   (2-2-0)


Week 4 of the shortened 2013 season of C.L.D. Baseball is completed and yet again it ends on a high note for the Tribe as they defeated A.L. Central rival K.C. Royals by a score of 15-3-0. The win extends the Tribe's win streak to three. The final box score would indicate that this was an easy victory for the Tribe but that was not the case. As you can see in the final box score below there were several categories that could've gone either way, fortunately this time they fell the way of the Indians. For the Tribe they were led to victory offensively by yet again Mike Trout as he went 9/23 (.391 BA), a .609 SLUG, 14 TB, 6 R, 5 RBI, a HR, 6 BBs, and had 2 SB. Where it is becoming expected that Trout will lead the offense, Week 4's biggest surprise player was UTIL man Alberto Callaspo. He went 6/19 (.316 BA), .571 SLUG, a HR, scored 3R and had 3 RBIs. Other notables for the week included Jason Kipnis (9/24 .375 BA), Josh Donaldson (8/24 .333 BA), Michael Brantley ( 7/21 .333 BA), and Ryan Raburn (2/6 .333 BA) both hits were HRs. Lastly, the most important factor that contributed to the win was the ENTIRE pitching staff did a 360 from Week 3. They collectively posted an ERA of 2.33 and a WHIP of .898 in their 65 2/3 innings of work.

Below is the final box score... 

BATTING (8-1-0 INDIANS)

TEAM	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG
NAME
CLEVELAND INDIANS	57	28	6	87	30	25	2	.277	0.90
K.C. ROYALS	52	24	3	78	16	14	5	.269	1.30

PITCHING (7-2-0 INDIANS)

TEAM	IP	K	QS	W	SV	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
NAME
CLEVELAND INDIANS	65.2	47	4	4	2	4	2.33	0.90	3.13
K.C. ROYALS	56.1	39	6	3	3	2	2.72	1.30	2.60

    

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 5 MATCH-UP / PREVIEW
(AUGUST 19-25)

V.S. 

        (3-1-0)                       (2-2-0)



Fresh off of another victory, in Week 5 the Cleveland Indians will put their modest 3 game win streak on the line as they take on their in state rival, the Cincinnati Reds in the Battle for Ohio. The Reds at 2-2-0 have a potent roster that can pose a threat to that 3 game win streak. An attack that features All-Stars in Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Mat Latos, and former Indians Brandon Phillips and Shin-Soo Choo. The Reds squared off against the St. Louis Cardinals in Week 4 and fell in a very close contest scored at 9-8-1. Looking at both the Reds and Indians roster and box scores one thing that can be concluded is that pitching categories should be hotly contested and could be the difference maker in the contest. Although, the Reds are working with a three man rotation, so the edge has to go to the Indians. Another glaring advantage for the Indians is that the Reds are working with an incomplete roster offensively as they have no catcher or shortstop assigned. If the Indians hot bats maintain form they should not have any issue winning the offensive categories. The Indians should be able to pull off a victory, but it wont be any surprise if they don't. The Indians must be at the top of their game in all facets if they hope to extend the win streak to four games. We will have the recap as usual following the end of the series so be sure to check back right here in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Until then GO TRIBE!!!

Indians	Reds
C: Yan Gomes	C:
1B: Nick Swisher	1B: Joey Votto
2B: Jason Kipnis	2B: Brandon Phillips
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera	SS:
3B: Josh Donaldson	3B: Todd Frazier
OF: Mike Trout	OF: Jay Bruce
OF: Michael Bourn	OF: Derrick Robinson
OF: Michael Brantley	OF: Chris Heisey
UTIL: Alberto Callaspo	UTIL: Xavier Paul
SP: Justin Masterson	SP: Mat Latos
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez	SP: Tony Cingrani
SP: Zach McAllister	SP: Bronson Arroyo
SP: Andrew Cashner	SP:
SP: Andrew Albers	SP:

                

[Indians GM (Gino)]

WEEK 5 RECAP / REVIEW

V.S. 

        (4-1-0)                        (2-3-0)    



The last week of regular season play in the inaugural season of C.L.D. baseball has concluded and yet again the Tribe is victorious pushing that win streak to 4 games. This time it was the in state rivals Cincinnati Reds that fell victim to the Tribe 12-4-2. For the Tribe the bats were held in check for most of the week, however the one guy that broke through was perhaps the one that we have been waiting for in Nick Swisher. Swisher this week went 7/25 (.280BA / .560SLUG), hit 2 HRs, had 14 TB, drove in 6 RBIs, and also scored 3 R, while most impressively drawing 5 BBs. While those numbers aren't elite they are a major improvement for the struggling Swisher this season and hopefully he can continue it, because it may have come just in time. Also, on the positive side was the pitching staff in its entirety. Collectively they posted the impressive following stat line... 70 IP (16 ER / 60 HA), 68K/23BB, 6QS/5W, 3HD/2SV, and an ERA 2.06/WHIP 1.19. Very impressive. Now on to the negatives. Aside from Swisher there were four players who failed to reach the .200 BA mark. These included key guys in Kipnis (3/25 .120BA), Donaldson (4/23 .174BA), Gomes (3/17 .176BA), and Brantley (1/25 .040BA). Mike Trout was absent for most of the week due to an injured hamstring. Needless to say these numbers must improve.  

Below is the final box score... 

BATTING  (5-2-2 INDIANS)

TEAM
NAME	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG
CLEVELAND INDIANS	37	16	6	61	20	25	3	.197	.324
CINCINNATI REDS	29	16	6	51	13	8	-1	.250	.440

PITCHING (7-2-0 INDIANS)

TEAM
NAME	IP	K	QS	W	SV	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
CLEVELAND INDIANS	70	68	6	5	2	3	2.06	1.19	2.96
CINCINNATI REDS	41	29	3	3	1	4	4.83	1.24	3.63

[Indians GM (Gino)]

A.L. WILD CARD MATCH-UP
(August 26-September 1)

V.S. 

        (4-1-0)                          (4-1-0)        


The regular portion of the inaugural season of C.L.D. baseball is now complete. The American League side of the postseason has been determined with the Detroit Tigers winning the Central, the Baltimore Orioles winning the East, and the Oakland Athletics winning the West. Now all that is left to determine is the fourth and final team that will represent the A.L. in the postseason, and that will either be the Boston Red Sox or your Cleveland Indians. Now lets take an in depth look at both teams. In what was a shortened season at 5 weeks both the Red Sox and Indians finished with identical records at 4-1-0. To further gauge how close these two clubs are, below are the team statistics through the 5 week season. 

TEAM	H	R	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SBN	BA	SLUG	IP	K	QS	W	SV	HD	ERA	WHIP	K/BB
CLEVELAND INDIANS	275	129	33	435	135	139	14	.253	.400	309.1	260	22	19	9	13	3.14	1.20	2.5
BOSTON RED SOX	256	114	33	408	118	87	8	.260	.414	307.1	269	24	20	14	5	3.43	1.23	2.9

The season numbers give an edge to the Indians 10-7-1. However, many of the categories the Indians lead the Red Sox are right there and vice versa. This should be a very closely competed contest as the numbers would indicate as well as the rosters would. Below are the projected starting lineups. 

Indians	Red Sox
C: Yan Gomes	C: Ryan Lavarnway
1B: Nick Swisher	1B: Mitch Moreland
2B: Jason Kipnis	2B: Dustin Pedroia
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera	SS: Xander Bogaerts
3B: Josh Donaldson	3B: Jose Iglesias
OF: Mike Trout	OF: Nate Schierholtz
OF: Michael Bourn	OF: Gerardo Parra
OF: Michael Brantley	OF: Raul Ibanez
UTIL: Alberto Callaspo	OF: David Ortiz
SP: Justin Masterson	SP: Jon Lester
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez	SP: Jose Fernandez
SP: Andrew Cashner	SP: Patrick Corbin
SP: Zach McAllister	SP: Brandon Workman
SP: Jason Vargas	SP: Drake Britton

Looking at the rosters some positions are edged to the Indians while others to the Red Sox while some are equal. This contest can go either way. It is going to come down to which club executes better and which clubs guys get hot at the right time. For the Indians they must be better offensively. Guys like Kipnis, Donaldson, and Brantley have to hit higher than their sub-par averages last week. The pitching staff must maintain form as well as they were excellent the past two weeks. If they don't it will spell the end to the Indians season as the Red Sox are coming off of a solid all around performance both offensively and pitching. Its really hard to pick a winner so lets just pull for our Cleveland Indians and root them on past the Red Sox and on into the postseason! GO TRIBE!!!