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Melkly Cabrera is officially slated to make his Cleveland Indians debut tonight against the Houston Astros. Earlier today, the Indians selected his contract and optioned reliever Evan Marshall (who you already forgot about) to make room on the 40-man roster.

By pure coincidence, I don’t think the Indians could have brought their newest outfielder up in a more pressure-field game in May. It’s Since last October and he’s playing on Sunday Night Baseball, against the Astros, facing Lance McCullers.

They’re also starting him in right field, and he’s not exactly what you’d call a defense standout. I’m not sure what exactly you’d call a career -37 defense runs saved as an outfielder, but it’s not great.

There’s a solid chance his bat is an upgrade over the Indians’ other lefty options right now, though. The 33-year-old journeyman doesn’t have a huge split either way, but he’s been a consistently average hitter throughout his career, culminating in a 99 wRC+ against lefties and a 104 wRC+ against righties. Conversely, Rajai Davis is not a good hitter anymore and Lonnie Chisenhall is still on the disabled list.

Even as late as last season Cabrera managed to hit 17 home runs and he’s not a guy that strikes out a lot (11.9 percent over his career), so it’s clear why the Indians were willing to risk basically nothing on a minor-league deal to bring him in.

Now, on about as big of a stage as you can possible get in mid-May, the Indians will see if they caught lightning in a bottle, even if it’s just for one nationally broadcasted night.

https://www.letsgotribe.com/2018/5/20/17374524/melky-cabrera-making-indians-debut-against-astros

I liked the addition of Melky Cabrera. He always seemed to be a thorn in our side when he was with NY and KC. He's a legit switch hitter too, not one of these guys who hits .280 from one side and .205 from the other. Definitely an upgrade over Rajai Davis or Greg Allen at the plate.

He had a nice throw to third already on that one play.

Sucks on that Alonzo error, mental mistake.

Ugh. I am turning the game back off.

I had laid down, because my back was killing me. It was 0-0, and Carrasco was cruising.

I start watching .... 2-0 Astros.

The DL List is a problem , Naquin , Zimmer , Lonnie ! Allen can not hit major league pitching , period .. Throw in Guyer and Davis ???

Another game, another loss. Their pitcher destroyed us.

Houston's pitching is phenomenal. IMO, they're the best, most complete team

The good news:

Francona always coaches for September (makes decisions during the season that may be negative short-term). (Like playing players who probably will always suck)

The bad news:

Francona always coaches for September. (Unless of course it is September.)

It's not selfish.. bat control is a thing of the past. Most of these guys don't know how to bunt, that's obvious by watching the few that are asked to try... very few practice going to the opposite field or any of that...

Bat speed and launch angle, that's what they work on... see how far you can hit it.

We are playing with one REAL outfielder right now ; Eddy E. should be paid half salary to match his half season play and Alonso needs to to start earning HIS .. Just a shame to waste good pitching like we have. Team is hard to watch right now !

On a positive note ; Gomes is having a better year at the plate , the steady's ( Brantley/Lindor/Ramirez ) are good at the plate .. Your Starting four are pitching very, very nicely !

The fact that Allen/Guyer/Davis and now Cabrera will see the field a lot, is depressing ..

If Melky Cabrera is still Melky Cabrera (ie, not washed up), you're going to like him. He's a good ballplayer. Allen, Guyer, and Davis should be replaced by Zimmer, Naquin, and Chisenhall when they return. Although, knowing Tito and his sometimes excessive loyalty to vets, he'll probably think of a reason to keep either Davis or Guyer around.

I get that it is arguable strategically whether the bunt is a good move or not with a man on 1st and no outs. I have read that a man on first with no outs actually scores more often than a man on second with one out. But when you bat left-handed and the defense shifts 3 guys to the right side of the infield, and the 3B moves over to the SS position shading towards the 2nd base bag, you are looking at 50 feet of undefended infield. You don't need to put it right down the line, just drop one 5-10 feet inside the line and you have a single. Do that 2-3 times and word gets around; you'll see less defensive shifts.

According to STATS, Alonso is credited with 1 sacrifice bunt in over 2700 at bats in the major leagues... it was 6 years ago.

And I think you are wrong... these guys have historically been the best hitters on their team at every level.. sure they might have done the obligatory, "Lay down 2 bunts" after every batting practice.... but most of them didn't practice it seriously because they were never asked to do it.

According to the same site, there were 8 guys with more than 3 sacrifice bunts all of last season... two guys led the majors with 5.... in a 162 game season...

Bunting is a skill that most of these players don't have and don't practice... bunting for a sacrifice is a skill, bunting for a hit (which you are suggesting) is a different skill... bunting major league pitching isn't easy... good bunters make it look easy but there aren't very many of them any more.... and national league pitchers generally aren't very good at it either...

I agree with the , Zimmer/Naquin/Lonnie comment .

I have been a Naquin fan since he first come up . How much time has Lonnie spent on the DL the last four years ? Zimmer still has a way to go with big league pitching ..

Now on to the Bullpen , lol ..

I was just reading an article about bunting for base hits on ESPN.com. The defensive shifts of recent years resulted in 55 bunts for base hits last year. Among the non-speedsters who tried and succeeded bunting in the face of infield shifts were Cody Bellinger, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Belt, and Victor Martinez. I was also surprised to read the following excerpt from the article:

'Did you know that Mickey Mantle bunted for 87 singles in his career, and that he apparently would lay down bunts even with two strikes? Did you know that Roger Maris bunted for three singles during his home run chase, including one on Sept. 7, when he was only five home runs behind the Babe? For that matter, did you know that Ruth was credited with 10 bunt singles after 1930, at which point he was already 35 years old?'

The article went on to say that Derek Jeter batted .629 when bunting for a hit. That's amazing, and it makes me wonder why more guys don't at least try it to beat the shifts. I get that chicks dig the long ball, and that's where the money is, but man, if you're Jason Kipnis and your average is stuck around .170, you gotta try something.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22189794/the-bunt-base-hit-dead-long-live-bunt-base-hit

Yeah... I heard that he starts slow and is known for it after we signed him, but Eddy E. needs to start hitting. I mean, not only do we need it but...

And the amount of good pitching games being rewarded with a poor offense is becoming all too familiar. It truly is, as you'd say, a waste. Outside Tomlin, most our starting pitchers have all been doing pretty well. I mean I think it was Kipnis, who has been in a total hitting slump, gave us our first hit last night. We need people to step up. After they scored last night, I turned the channel. I knew that was it.

J/c

It’s just not how baseball players train nowadays. Baseball is more of a specialized sport now.

Players work on what gets / got them to the big leagues. With so many players fighting to get to the big leagues, players focus on what has worked for them.

I posted an article either last year or the year before talking about this subject. It was written by a former player. I thought it was a good read. I’ll see if I can find it.

Found it

——————————————————



By Dirk Hayhurst

Sure, I've been asked about the shift before.

I usually duck the question, the one about why hitters don't flick the ball the other way, or at the very least bunt when the other team has migrated to the other side of the ballpark and left so much prime real estate unoccupied. That's because the answer -- my answer -- usually induces more argument than satisfaction. It's not what stats men or baseball purists like to hear. It sounds trite and selfish, and, truth be told, the answer is: Hitters don't try and beat the shift because it's not worth their time.

When I think back to my (regrettably) extensive time in the minors, I can't think of a time the shift was ever used. Big data wasn't a thing in the arranging of minor league defenders. The baseball was and still is dictated more by getting prospects their at-bats, pitchers their innings and raw talents their experience. No thought is put into advanced defensive alignments.

That means that, for the bulk of a player's developmental career, he'll never be placed in a shift situation.

That doesn't mean a player won't be asked to hit the ball the other way. But, often times when the shift is employed, it means that a pitcher won't go down and away to give the batter something he could, even accidently, spray to the opposite field were no one is. The pitcher is working into the pull.

Furthermore, most minor league hitters are focusing on what they believe will get them to the big leagues. I once asked my first basemen in Triple-A, with the Las Vegas 51s, why he didn't try to walk more and take more pitches to the opposite field.

"Because I'm hunting that mistake pitch that I know I can hit out of the park," he said. "That's what's going to get me back up to The Show, not singles to opposite field."

I had to agree with him. He was big and slow, a three-true-outcomes type hitter. It made sense for him to specialize.

If this was a pure game, hits, no matter where they end up, are all that matter. But since it's not a pure game, but an enterprise with specialists getting paid for specialized skills with power being near the top of that skill set, why opt for singles when purists, old school scouts, saberists and check-cutting GMs are all keen on the long ball?

Ever wonder why more pitchers don't throw knuckleballs? Sure you do. Hell, when R.A. Dickey had his Cy Young season back in 2012, everyone wanted to learn the pitch. It was all the baseball community could talk about: Why don't more pitchers learn to throw the knuck'?"

The simple answer to that question is, because they don't have to.


Most players will make it to the big leagues without a knuckleball. In fact, they'll make it there because their other stuff is good enough to play at the top, and if they could simply maintain it, they should be jut fine.

Of course, not all pitchers will maintain their stuff. In fact, many will get hurt, flounder, die of attrition and be ruined by a small but horrible sample size. Such is life at the top of the sport, but learning a knuckleball isn't a panacea.

The knuckleball is a long-odds pitch, especially if you wait until you're in the pros to learn it. By then, it's not about learning a pitch you might someday use. Your someday is now. You need to show the world you can get the job done with what you've got in a very short period of time, or you're going to get released to make room for the next player trying to make a case for his future on a more reliable skill set.

The knuckleball could very well extend a player's career for years if mastered, but that's a big if. Take the mound a few times throwing a last-resort pitch like the knuckleball, and if the result is bad, you're deader than you were when you were simply trying to hold on with your diminishing, normal repertoire.

In a job of what have you done lately? there isn't a lot of time to experiment, and the risk isn't always worth the reward.

You may be inclined to ask what any of this has to do with beating the shift, or learning how to drop a bunt don't when there are no fielders on one side of the field?

The issue isn't so much that extra hits are bad, or that trying something new can't be efficacious on offense or defense. It's that time is short and setting up a new learning curve when one isn't needed is rarely helpful.

Pull hitters -- the kind of hitters the shift is employed against -- are playing a different set of odds. They know they can hit a mistake over the fence. That's what they're expected to do now, and that's what they'll get paid for in the future. The single that ups their batting average by a few points and gets them on first base doesn't factor into their gamble. Unless specifically asked to shoot the ball the other way by a coach, they want doubles, home runs and sac flies.

I've heard it said that hitting the ball the other way should be simple for the world's best athletes. But that's if you believe baseball players are some of the world's best athletes. I think it's a bit of a misnomer. It's more apt to say that major league baseball players are the world's best baseball specialists, with the vast majority of them gifted in only a few aspects of the game.

Driving the ball to all fields is a skill. Getting the bunt down against the world's most specialized pitchers who throw mid-90s fuzz with sink and cut is a skill. Pulling the ball out of the park with regularity is a skill. Focusing on one can and often does bring neglect to the others. At the end of the day, most players will continue doing what keeps them in Escalades with Gucci bags.

There is a time and a place to learn new skills in this game. If a player's career lasts long enough, he earns grace. Some players, on the strength of past accomplishments, can fail for an extended period of time until they develop a new skill that will help them compensate for a diminished one. This is the time power hitters learn to spray the ball, and waning pitchers learn the throw junk. The rest have to stick it out with what they've got.

The hardcore purist may say that a player's primary goal should be to do whatever it takes to win a ball game. I hear you, but, even as far back as college, when money wasn't a factor, I was told that I should always pitch to my strengths, even if they're not the best statistical matchup for the situation. For a hitter, it's much the same. If you're very good at one aspect of the game, and that's the aspect you've made your living on, there is no need to alter your approach when your career doesn't depend on it.

* * *
Dirk Hayhurst is a former pitcher who spent nearly a decade in professional baseball between MiLB and MLB.


link

I understand that.. baseball used to be littered with players who could go the other way with the ball, many could even inside/out a swing and hit an inside pitch the other way.. it wasn't something everybody could do and the number of people who can do it effectively is getting smaller and smaller all the time..

I'm not arguing what was the right thing to do if you had the personnel to do it.. I'm arguing that if he can't do it, then he can't do it and it's silly to ask him to do it.

I forgot all about Plutko. He's a nice pitcher, and I look forward to him taking over for Tomlin.

A spot in the Cleveland Indians' starting rotation opens for Adam Plutko | cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2018/05/a_spot_in_the_cleveland_indian.html#incart_2box

CHICAGO - The door to the Indians' rotation is open for Adam Plutko. All he has to do is walk through it starting Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs.

The Indians are expected to recall Plutko from Class AAA Columbus and activate him on Wednesday to face Jon Lester at Wrigley Field. They've put Josh Tomlin in the bullpen and are looking for someone to take the fifth spot in the rotation and make it their own.

Plutko gets the first shot at the job.

In April he made a spot start against Toronto in the second game of a doubleheader. He allowed three runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings in a 13-4 win. The Indians shipped him back to Class AAA Columbus the next day, but his stay should be longer this time around.

Manager Terry Francona announced on Saturday that Plutko would start Wednesday against the Cubs, but cleveland.com reported that the move was a spot start and that Tomlin would rejoin the rotation and start against Houston on Thursday.

That is not the case. If Plutko pitches well Wednesday, even if he gives a lukewarm performance, it's expected he'll stay in the fifth spot for a while.

Plutko, 26, is 4-3 with a 2.25 ERA in seven starts at Columbus. He's struck out 35, walked nine and allowed 27 hits in 44 innings.

"If you look at Adam's track record, one of the key reasons for his success has been his fastball command," said Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations. "Last year he was not able to do that whether it was because of health or performance.

"This year he's pitched like he did early in his minor league career and in college at UCLA."

Last year Plutko, drafted in the 11th round in 2013, was dealing with a torn labrum in his right hip. He pitched like it, going 7-12 with a 5.90 ERA in 24 games, including 22 starts, at Columbus. He struck out 103 batters in 135 2/3 innings, but walked 53 and allowed 153 hits.

In October, Plutko had surgery on his hip.

In his win against the Blue Jays, Plutko threw 104 pitches, 76 (71 percent) for strikes. In his seven starts at Columbus, Plutko averaged 91 pitches, 71 percent of which were strikes.

What kind of workload the 6-3, 215-pound Plutko can handle has not been determined. Manager Terry Francona is asking his starters to cover as many innings as possible because the bullpen has performed so poorly. The rotation has thrown the second most innings, 295, in the big leagues this year. Houston has thrown the most with 308.

While veterans Corey Kluber and Carrasco have pulled this kind of load in the past, Mike Clevinger has already thrown 100 or more pitches in six of his nine starts. Last season he topped 100 pitches three times in his first nine starts.

Even relentless Trevor Bauer has been tested this season. He's thrown 100 or more pitches in all nine of his starts. Last year he topped 100 in seven of his first nine starts.

"It's something Tito (manager Terry Francona), Carl (Willis, pitching coach) and I have talked about," said Antonetti. "The one good thing our starters have done is to make sure they've conditioned themselves to be able to carry the workload."

Still, Antonetti and the rest of the front office knows that the bullpen needs help. They are talking to other teams with the understanding that it's difficult for trades to be made May and June.

"I continue to believe the guys we have (in the bullpen) will help us win games going forward," said Antonetti.

Those guys include holdovers from last year's 102 win team - Zach McAllister (0-2, 7.16 ERA), Dan Otero (0-1, 7.47), Tyler Olson (0-1, 6.08), Nick Goody (0-2, 6.94), Andrew Miller 1-2, 3.09) and Cody Allen (2-1, 3.32, six saves). Goody is on the disabled list.

While Miller and Allen have escaped much of the criticism directed at the pen this season, it should be pointed out that the Indians won 22 straight games last season with Miller appearing in just one of those games because he was on the disabled list.

Here's what those holdover relievers did during the streak: Otero (1-0, no runs allowed in six games covering 6 2/3 innings), Goody (0-0, 2.57, two runs allowed in eight games covering seven innings), McAllister (0-0, 4.77, three runs allowed in five games covering 5 2/3 innings), Olson (0-0, no runs allowed in nine games covering 5 2/3 innings) and Allen (2-0, 0.00 six saves in 11 innings covering 11 games).

It is one of the reasons Antonetti believes there is still hope for the pen.

As for relief from the minors, Shane Bieber has started the season in a good way, first at Class AA Akron and second at Class AAA Columbus. The Indians will continue to develop him as a starter, but should the pen continue to hold the rest of the team back, anything is possible.

Yeah, Tomlin has been a good soldier, but I'm looking forward to that too.

I don't know the player, but replacing Tomlin is a bright spot in my eyes.

Alonso with a base hit on offense, and a nice play on defense so far!

good start here

Tomlin understands, embraces move to bullpen

Indians righty 'happy' to join 'good group'; Plutko to be called up for start

CHICAGO -- Josh Tomlin was not surprised when Indians manager Terry Francona decided it was time to move the pitcher to the bullpen. Tomlin was given nearly two months of the season to regain his footing on the mound, and the starter's struggles persisted throughout his series of adjustments.

Now, Tomlin will embrace his relief role while continuing to get back on track.

"I understand the poor performance in the rotation merits going to the bullpen," Tomlin said on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. "We've got a good group down there. I'm happy to be a part of it and happy to do whatever I can to help this team win. Whatever the best situation is right now for me to pitch in to help this team win, that's what it's about, and I'm all for that."

Heading into Tuesday's game, Tomlin was 0-4 with a 7.84 ERA in seven appearances, including six starts. The right-hander had logged 31 innings, in which he allowed 29 runs (27 earned) on 46 hits, including 15 home runs. Both Tomlin and pitching coach Carl Willis felt there was progress within the righty's past two outings, but not enough to stop Cleveland from switching things up at the back end of the starting staff.

Right-hander Adam Plutko is scheduled to come up from Triple-A Columbus to start for the Indians against the Cubs on Wednesday, and he will assume Tomlin's place in the rotation. In seven starts this season for the Clippers, Plutko has posted a 2.25 ERA with 35 strikeouts against nine walks in 44 innings. He also made a spot start for the Tribe in Game 2 of a doubleheader against Toronto on May 3, allowing three runs over 7 1/3 innings for his first Major League victory.

"We're excited about it," Willis said of getting a more extended look at Plutko. "He really picked us up [during the doubleheader]. Obviously, he was aware of where we were at that particular point with the bullpen and everything else. And to go out and command the baseball like he did, I guess speaks more than anything else of the mental toughness.

"I think that's, a lot of times, the first hurdle a young pitcher has to get over at the Major League level. I think he certainly showed us enough and has earned another opportunity to show us what he can do."

Worth noting

• Center fielder Bradley Zimmer (10-day disabled list, left rib contusion) resumed regular batting practice with the Indians on Tuesday in Chicago. Francona noted that Zimmer appears on target for a return to games by the weekend, though it is undetermined whether the outfielder will need a Minor League rehab assignment.

"He probably needs it," said Francona. "But, depending where we're at -- we'll see. It would probably serve him well, but we'll see."

• This series in Chicago marked the Tribe's first trip to Wrigley Field since the 2016 World Series. Francona did not waste much mental energy thinking about that fact: "We move on pretty quick. I think we even said when that season was over, 'We don't want to be that team that's always talking about 2016.' They're great memories, but we need to move on."

• Right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall (10-day DL, right calf) went 2-for-2 with a double in his first Minor League rehab game with Columbus on Monday. Chisenhall will work out with the Clippers on Tuesday and then will play again with the affiliate on Wednesday, per Francona.

• Without the use of the designated hitter against the Cubs, Edwin Encarnacion was out of the starting lineup for the Indians, who stuck with Yonder Alonso at first base for Tuesday's game. Through 14 games played in May, Encarnacion has hit .304 with four home runs, 15 RBIs and a .942 OPS.

https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/josh-tomlin-ready-for-new-role-as-reliever/c-277836324

Fun game...

Run-ruling the Cubbies.

Bob DiBiasio

Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my friend Dave Garcia at age 97. What a remarkable man. A true baseball lifer. Friend to all. Taught me so much. He would post a .503 winning % over four seasons (‘79-‘82) as Tribe Manager. Here with Rick Manning in dugout talking ball.



https://twitter.com/BDbaseball6/status/999093232515665920

Sad to hear of his passing. He lived as long life, and got to do what he loved for most of it. There are worse legacies.

His grandson, Greg, is with the Cardinals this season.

My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

j/c...

Nice win for the Tribe tonight. Bauer pitched well and Miller got some minor work in w/o facing pressure.

Brantley extended his hitting streak to 11 games,

Ramirez got things started w/ a 3-run HR.

Yonder Alonso had a 3 hit and multi-RBI game.

Even Kipnis had two hits!

Love drilling Chicago like that

We do not see the Tribe down here much unless national game. This was fun to watch tonight. Bauer looked tough.
Go, Tribe! Wahoo!

Plutko called up and starting tonight. Indians place Brandon Guyer on DL to make room for him. Tito can finally rest easy; he has his 5 man rotation and a fully stocked 8-man bullpen with the addition of Tomlin. The bullpen's not better, it just has more options. You think pitching's not the name of the game? The Indians use 13 of their 25 roster spots to fill that one position out of 9 on a baseball field. The other 12 guys on the roster fill 8 positions, which doesn't leave Tito much latitude for lineup "strategery".

Very tough game tonight.

Tough opposing pitcher.

Jon Lester is 7-2 lifetime against the Tribe with a 3.09 ERA.

Francona is putting Adam Plutko to the test tonight.

Indians are a heavy underdog. Though in baseball “heavy underdogs” still win 1 out of 3 games.

RIP Dave Garcia.

1980? A million years ago.

Ron Hassey, Len Barker, Joe Charboneau, Rick Manning.

And mind-numbing mediocrity. Garcia's .506 winning percentage (basically 50/50) was pretty evenly spread over those 4 years.

Heck of an outing for Pletko... now close it out.

Indians sweep the Cubbies!

Plutko with a real gem tonight.