Who was that masked man? That was not the Ubaldo we have all come to loathe, and to his credit he pitched a wonderful ballgame and helped the Indians cruise to a much needed 9-0 win and more importantly finish the road trip with a 5-4 record. Ryan Raburn got into the action and clubbed two home runs, Carlos Santana continues to sizzle, and Asdrubal Cabrera looks to be heating up. All of that and more in today's "second thoughts"...
The Indians lower level affiliates have begun to produce some interesting position players over the past couple of season, but there aren't many as intriguing as Lake County's LeVon Washington. He has an abundance of talent, but has had a tough time staying on the field, as injury issues have sideline him over the past three seasons. After a 5-for-5 outing on Saturday, the centerfielder was at it again on Monday Night. Find out what he did in today's ATF...
Ubaldo Jimenez pitched seven plus innings of shutout baseball and right fielder Ryan Raburn went 4-for-4 with two home runs, as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 9-0. Nathan Kemp enters the Indians' twilight zone with his recap on the Indians big victory over the first place Royals.
The IBI Hot List is back for another week and ranks the hot (and some cold) performances in the Indians system over the past week. Last week saw LeVon Washington return with a fury with five hits on Saturday, Diasuke Matsuzaka looked to turn a corner, Preston Guilmet is squarely on the big league radar, Jordan Cooper is rising, Cord Phelps’ struggles continue, and much more. Tony ranks the good and bad performances and provides some commentary on each player.
The offensive woes continued for the Indians this past week as the team went 2-3 and averaged only 1.33 runs per game in their three losses. There were some positives though as Carlos Santana continued to rake, and Mike Aviles showed why he's such a valuable member of the team's bench. Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he recaps all of the action from the past week in the latest edition of Notes from the Wigwam.
It was a tale of two completely different ballgames on Sunday, as the Indians split a day-night doubleheader with the first place Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Indians were ice cold again in the first game as the Royals trounced them 9-0, but the Indians came back in the second game and pounded the Royals 10-3. The IBI's Jim Berdysz shares his "second thoughts" on the doubleheader.
It was a rough night for starters on the farm, but for two totally different reasons. In Columbus, the Clippers' starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka flirted with perfection through three innings before an injury took him out of the game. The Mudcats starter, Jacob Lee, got lit up like a pinball machine. Tune into today's ATF to find out which Indians players deserve to sit at the top of the prospect food train.
The transaction nuttiness continues as the Big Club's inability to stay healthy continues to result in a domino effect of upheaval throughout the organization, especially at Class AA Akron and above. Lou Marson came off and went back on the DL, Cord Phelps hit the DL, several minor league players made their season debuts, and much more.
Week two of Cleveland Sports Insiders commences tonight as Jim and Steve are back with an analysis of the Cleveland Browns' 2013 draft. The two will also touch on Mike Brown's return to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers as well as the continued struggles of the Cleveland Indians. Be sure to tune in tonight at 9 p.m. to not miss a minute of the weekly IBI radio staple.
It is something that has not been talked about much yet, but right-hander Justin Masterson is getting closer and closer to free agency with every start he makes. At the same time, with every good start he makes, his price tag goes up and up as well. Tony discussed why the Indians have to extend now him and ensure he does not get away. He also touches on how close Yan Gomes is to taking Lou Marson's backup catching job, the close scare with Carlos Carrasco, moving on from Brett Myers, and more.
They say pitching is the key to winning in baseball. But there also is another key saying that should go along with that: you can’t win if you can’t score. This was exactly the case again for the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night as they fell to the first place Kansas City Royals, 3-2. The IBI's Jim Berdysz shares his second thoughts on the game...
After pulling his hamstring early this season, LeVon Washington is now healthy, and it showed Saturday. The outfielder recorded five hits in an impressive performance for the Lake County Captains. Also, Francisco Lindor continued his great start as he enjoyed a three-hit performance for the Mudcats. Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he recaps these performances and more as he takes you Around the Farm.
The IBI Digest catches you up on anything you might have missed over the past week at Indians Baseball Insider and also notes some of the more popular columns posted at the major news sites and blogs.
The 2013 MLB Draft is less than six weeks away, which means all 30 MLB organizations are busy scooting all across the country getting several final looks at some of the top talents in order to finalize their big boards for draft day. IBI draft guru Jeff Ellis has put together his first big board of the Top 30 players in the draft and provides some insight and commentary on each.
Will the Indians ever play baseball again? It certainly feels like the Tribe has been in Mother Nature’s doghouse wherever they go this season as they now have four postponements and four games to make up. Fortunately, the team will still be able to get in all four games this weekend as they’ll make up Friday’s series opener on Sunday in a day-night doubleheader. The IBI's Jake Dungan touches on some topics surrounding the team in this rained out edition of Second Thoughts.
While the big league team was rained out, the Indians took three out of four games in the minor league circuit on Friday night. The two biggest highlights of the night came from Columbus where starter T.J. House was impressive in his Triple-A debut and Yan Gomes settled back into his everyday catching duties and raked.
The 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!