Lopez next on the DFA list, Herrmann recalled

[dazindiansfanuk]

I imagine Herrmann's just around for a couple of days to give the bullpen some more depth after they were abused the last two nights.

Maybe we get a chance to see Jared Goedert once (if ever) the pen situation settles down.

[Tondo]

Bout time Lopez gets the boot....guy was a streaky free swinger

Bring up Goedert, Donald or Phelps

[dazindiansfanuk]

I don't know if this says more about the Indians offense or Manny Acta's choice of lineups but, we've just DFA'd a guy for the second time who's batted cleanup for us in 20 games!!!

That's painful.

[Hermie13]

Bout time Lopez gets the boot....guy was a streaky free swinger

Bring up Goedert, Donald or Phelps

Lopez being an infielder would make ya think one would be called up as a replacement eventually. Canzler could probably be added to that list as well as Rottino (did play a few innings at 3B for the Mets this year). Personally hoping Goedert gets a shot (lots of open 40-man spots now), but guessing they go another route. Got a weird feeling Rottino could be the guy. Do have Lillibridge as a utility infielder so could go with more an OFer instead.

[GoTribe028]

Bout time Lopez gets the boot....guy was a streaky free swinger

Bring up Goedert, Donald or Phelps

I'm all about a "youth movement" so to speak. Take your pick of the litter. I see no reason that Fedroff and/or Goedert shouldn't see some time in September, if not sooner. With LaPorta, Canzler, and now Lars Anderson each on the 40 man, I figure we'll see one of them at some point. (Although, with how players are being handled this year...)

If the team moves on from Duncan obviously that opens up a spot. I often times think Duncan is sort of the enforcer in the locker room which I think helps his standing however. (Totally my opinion though, nothing to back that up).

EDIT: Of course Duncan goes yard 3 minutes after I post.

[Edible14]

If Tony's twitter is to be believed, Shelley Duncan is loved by Acta and will likely not be removed. I'm okay with that. Duncan is fine as the last bench guy, occasional pinch-hitter type who mostly plays against lefties. Used correctly, he's a useful player. LaPorta, Goedert, Canzler and Rottino all would be guys who could potentially be good in that role, but potentially wouldn't be as good as Duncan. What I'd like to see is Goedert get the chance at it once one of our relievers is sent down, and if he outperforms Duncan through the rest of the season then maybe you consider cutting Duncan. If he doesn't, there's the other three who will likely get some opportunities in September and will get a crack at it in spring training. The only way I see Duncan not winning that is if he's asking for a lot in arbitration and the Indians decide to non-tender him.

[Hermie13]

If Tony's twitter is to be believed, Shelley Duncan is loved by Acta and will likely not be removed. I'm okay with that. Duncan is fine as the last bench guy, occasional pinch-hitter type who mostly plays against lefties. Used correctly, he's a useful player. LaPorta, Goedert, Canzler and Rottino all would be guys who could potentially be good in that role, but potentially wouldn't be as good as Duncan. What I'd like to see is Goedert get the chance at it once one of our relievers is sent down, and if he outperforms Duncan through the rest of the season then maybe you consider cutting Duncan. If he doesn't, there's the other three who will likely get some opportunities in September and will get a crack at it in spring training. The only way I see Duncan not winning that is if he's asking for a lot in arbitration and the Indians decide to non-tender him.

Personally think Duncan is fine as the first bench guy. All he's done the last 2.5+ seasons with the Tribe is put up OPSs of .736, .808, .745 and OPS+ of 105, 125, 108. 32 HRs in 644 at-bats. Wouldn't want him starting 162 games but with Hafner potentially being gone I think he could end up being a very valuable bat as a platoon DH who could get some starts against righties (OPS the last 2 years actually been higher against righties than lefties). The Tribe has obviously struggled against lefties starters this year too....Duncan has 7 HRs and an .858 OPS in 31 starts against lefties this year.

Several times I've been in favor of moving on from Duncan, but this guy just won't go away. Looked as good as dead mid-June when his OPS was in danger of going under .600 and his average was down around .190. Since June 27th he's responded hitting .295/.362/.672/1.034 with 6 HRs, 5 doubles, 15 RBIs, and 6 walks to 9 strikeouts. Granted it's not even 70 plate appearances but with so many guys struggling it's good to see a guy step up and act like he wants to be with this team.

I'm definiltely in favor of giving some young guys opportunities now....but I think Duncan has earned more playing time down the stretch. IMO even if a guy like Goedert outperformed Duncan down the stretch you could potentially keep Duncan. I don't see Duncan breaking the bank in arby. Hanny got just over $1M. Duncan is likely looking at the same, something betweeen $1-1.5M I'd guess.

[ironmike]

Hey Hermie, you posted ...

Personally think Duncan is fine as the first bench guy. All he's done the last 2.5+ seasons with the Tribe is put up OPSs of .736, .808, .745 and OPS+ of 105, 125, 108. 32 HRs in 644 at-bats. Wouldn't want him starting 162 games but with Hafner potentially being gone I think he could end up being a very valuable bat as a platoon DH who could get some starts against righties (OPS the last 2 years actually been higher against righties than lefties). The Tribe has obviously struggled against lefties starters this year too....Duncan has 7 HRs and an .858 OPS in 31 starts against lefties this year.

Let me ask you, is the same Duncan that against the Twins tried to reach for an outside pitch and laid his bat in the opposite batters box with both of his hand on the ground and his rear end pointing at the 3B coach?

Is this the same Duncan who is hitting .210 as of this morning?

Is this the same Duncan that can't hit the ball only unless the pitcher makes a mistake and he pulls it?

Is this the same Duncan who can't hit the ball to all parts of the baseball field if his live depends upon it after more than a decade in professional baseball? Obviously he can't learn how to do it.

Is this the same Duncan who leaves more runners on base than fans in the stands/

Take those numbers you posted and stick'em where the sun don't shine. Learn to watch the game with your eyes. One of the dumbest posts I've ever read.

This team needs at least 3 professional hitters to have any consistency on offense. And by the way, the 850 runs necessary I told you about at the beginning of the year would have made them playoff competitive and allowed the Indians mediocre pitching staff to pitch relaxed and confident.

The Indians starting staff needs additions no doubt, but an offensive competent team would make a world of difference.

[Edible14]

Runs create wins, whether they're saved on defense, saved by better pitching or created by better offense is irrelevant. The question is what's the best path for this team to be upgraded. I don't think that 850 runs is a realistic goal in these modern times. The Indians, as of now, are on pace for less than 700 runs. You would need to find three hitters who, when combined, would each create 50 additional runs with their bats over what Casey Kotchman, Jack Hannahan and the LF-by-committee that exists this year. But let's mix defense in, because it's easier to bring that stat up - we have WAR! Assuming that those guys are roughly replacement players, you'd have to find three players who create 15 WAR (10 runs = 1 win, 150 runs = 15 WAR). That, roughly, is what Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman were for the Cardinals in 2011.

So I ask how realistic is it that you could acquire three guys at that level of play through some combination of trades and free agent signings? To do that exclusively through the offense would require us to grab Headley through a trade, and somehow afford Josh Hamilton and Melky Cabrera through free agency. In short... that's not going to happen. At BEST, we can do one of those things and hope it doesn't blow up in our faces (as all three of those guys have warts).

Pitching is even harder to get on the free agent market. Edwin Jackson cost $11M and he's slightly worse than Justin Masterson this year, with a lower BABIP (suggesting that he's getting lucky/likely to regress), playing in the pitcher-friendly NL, and he's turning 30 next year . That would be likely all of our free agent money on a pitcher who would still leave us with a mediocre top of the rotation, even if he works out well (and there's good reason to think he wouldn't).

Here's the thing. Roster management is completely over-analyzed these days. The free agent signings you make, and the mid-season trades you make aren't going to take a bad team and make them good. Free agency and deadline trades can help put you over the top, but you've got to be close before that really comes into play. And the Indians, sadly, are not close anymore. Because Lowe, Sizemore, Damon and Kotchman were never supposed to be the core of this team. They were supposed to be the ancillary pieces that could be replaced with slightly better ancillary pieces if need be at the trading deadline (or by some surprisingly productive AAA guy). What failed them was the core of the team.

It's hard to say that when Kipnis and Choo are having such good years (and they are). Asdrubal is even having a good year (not his best, but nothing to complain about). But Carlos Santana hasn't. Justin Masterson and the rest of the young guys in the rotation haven't. Lonnie Chisenhall was supposed to be part of that core that helped them contend. Instead, he's been outplayed by Jack Hannahan and hurt. This team is supposed to be built on young guys, especially in the rotation. And those guys have not come through. Some of them because of injury (Rondon, Chiz, Adam Miller, Knapp, Carrasco), some of them because they weren't as good of prospects as they were made out to be (LaPorta, Weglarz, LaPorta, Kluber, Marte, LaPorta).

When Antonetti said they need to play better, it was criticized because it seemed like he was saying he wouldn't even try to make the team better. But he was absolutely correct. They need to get more out of their starters, more out of Carlos Santana, and more of out Lonnie Chisenhall. That's the only way this team has any shot to compete next year. What they do in free agency and at the trading deadline will be irrelevant if we don't get more out of those guys.

[GeronimoSon]

....When Antonetti said they need to play better, it was criticized because it seemed like he was saying he wouldn't even try to make the team better. But he was absolutely correct. They need to get more out of their starters, more out of Carlos Santana, and more of out Lonnie Chisenhall. That's the only way this team has any shot to compete next year. What they do in free agency and at the trading deadline will be irrelevant if we don't get more out of those guys...

Herein lies the crucial difference between a team that contends and a team that has an 11 game losing streak that, for all practical purposes, becomes a 'spoiler', instead of a contender.

A couple of.. perhaps.. salient points..

1. The 850 run myth.. is crapola with no means to achieve.. it's 'rustymike the blowhard's way of defining a path to contention without the depth of knowledge or understanding the game.. By spreading the solution over everything like peanut butter over bread, all will be well. YEAH !!.. score lots more runs and you win more games !! (duh). It's a panaceac dream that only the incredibly stupid or the incredibly naive would proffer as a solution in lieu of actual knowledge and insight.. perhaps both, but you keep trying, my padawan learner..

2. The Thread Title: Jose Lopez..is a decent bench guy, but, clearly, not a starter. Him being DFA'd was the right move. Shelly Duncan could have just as easily been the DFA candidate (and probably should have from a performance perspective), however, he apparently has some value as a leader in the clubhouse. His value isn't in posting OPS this.. and OPS that. It's his lifestream being a part of major league baseball from his dad's days to today that make his intangible value what it is..

3. Realistic: At the outset, it has to be noted that this is ML baseball.. realistic waived BYE BYE to realistic a LONG time ago.. Headley?.sure.. Melky?.. why not.. BJ Upton? maybe.. Josh Hamilton?.. no chance in hell.. Realistically, after the west coast swing (and, perhaps, the Yankee series at Progressive Field) the Indians will begin in earnest the process of bringing up the AA and AAA kids, that will not affect their current teams' status in the minor league playoffs, to give them 'auditions' or opportunities. It looks like C-Bus is going to miss the playoffs.. Akron will be there with bells on as they attempt to become Eastern League Champions ! ( Go Aeros !. ) Look for Tim Fedroff to be one of the first players rewarded for his performance during the course of the 2012 season followed by, and in no particular order: Goedert, LaPorta, Lars and Phelps on the offensive side.. Pitching wise, with Tomlin shut down, the back of the pen guys (CP, Vinnie and Smittie) will be given less or a work load thereby allowing the likes of Scotty Barnes & Cody Allen more chances to prove they can perform.

This is all in preparation for the 2013 season, which, like EVERY season is a window to compete. The stated window of 2012 - 2014 as this alleged window is nothing more than a media contrived promulgation of a quote from Mark Shapiro. Truth be told, Mr Dolan, Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti will ALWAYS work to compete every season.