Monthly Archives: June 2019

Indians drop first game of road trip

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The Cleveland Indians dropped the first game of their pre-All-Star break road trip in Baltimore, losing to the Orioles by a score of 13-0.

Not a good start for the Indians in Baltimore. Only amassing six hits in their 13 run loss to the Orioles. Five players were able to get hits for the Tribe. Oscar Mercado was the only player with multiple hits, going 2-4. Carlos Santana went 1-3 with a walk. Jason Kipnis, Roberto Perez and Bobby Bradley all went 1-4. Yu Chang, Jake Bauers and Francisco Lidnor all were hitless in the contest. Things should turn around offensively in Saturday’s and Sunday’s games.

Mike Clevinger got the start for the Tribe and things did not go well. Clevinger only lasted 1.2 innings and got hit hard. Giving up seven runs on five hits while walking three. This was not exactly the performance that Clevinger expected and that the team needed. Mike Clevinger is a much better pitcher than what he showed Friday. Like the offense, Clevinger should be able to bounce back next time out.

Adam Plutko pitched some meaningful innings even though he also was hit hard. Plutko allowed five runs in 4.2 innings on nine hits and one walk. While this outing was also quite lackluster, Plutko did bail out the bullpen for the next few days. If Plutko would have been unable to pitch as many innings as he did the bullpen would be in quite a tough spot Not having multiple quality relievers in a close game is not optimal. Now they will have their best bullpen arms at their disoposal. This will allow the Indians to use their best bullpen arms when they are needed. Hopefully the games will be a bit closer and their outings will be a bit more important.

The Indians will look to rebound in Game 2 Saturday at 4:05 P.M.

Indians start off road trip in Baltimore

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The Cleveland Indians will begin their final road trip before the All-Star Break by taking on Baltimore Orioles in a three game series.

The Cleveland Indians have been on quite a run recently. Cleveland has not lost a series since the beginning of June. The Tribe have come out as the winner in five of their past seven series. Two series resulted in splits, a two game split with Cincinnati and a four game split with Texas. Cleveland has won seven of their last 10 games and arguably could have won nine if things turned out a little bit differently.

Cleveland is averaging 5.5 runs per game over dating back to June 17th. The pitching staff has also limited their opponents to four runs. This 1.5 run per game difference has certainly allowed the Indians to reel off their impressive run.

Baltimore has lost nine of their last 10 games and 13 of their last 15. The Orioles are scoring just over four runs per game while giving up an astounding 8.5 runs per game. This plays right into exactly how Cleveland have been playing as of late and could allow for some lopsided scores if things end up going the Tribe’s way.

The Indians head to Baltimore to take on the lackluster Orioles. Cleveland last faced Baltimore in May at home and took three of four games. Shane Bieber was the only pitcher who pitched in that series who will pitch this weekend. Cleveland will also have the surprising Zach Plesac pitch Saturday and the second return of Mike Clevinger. Clevinger returned back in Texas but landed back on the injured list with an ankle injury. After a precautionary IL stint, Clevinger appears ready to get things going against the Orioles.

The Orioles are not the best team in the league and yet another series win could be in the cards for the surging Indians.

Cavaliers: J.R. Smith to the Lakers?

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With deicison time coming soon for the Cavaliers, there is the possibility that the team may waive or trade J.R. Smith soon.

Sunday is essentially deadline day for the Cleveland Cavaliers and J.R. Smith. Smith is one of many players that Cleveland could move soon. After June 30th his entire $15 million salary becomes guaranteed, and that is a lot of money to take on for a rebuilding team. Although if he is waived before the 30th just under $4 million is guaranteed. That is a huge difference which could motivate the Cavaliers to waive him prior to Sunday. However there is a rumor gaining traction. J.R. Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The rumor is that Smith is expected to sign the Lakers and reunite with former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James. This is of course after being traded and/or waived. Smith would have to be waived by either Cleveland or another team acquiring him to make the move to Los Angeles. The Lakers have a lot of plans this offseason and taking on Smith’s current salary is not one of them. Smith would provide Los Angles with a three-point shooter they desperately need. This appears to be inevitable and Cleveland needs to either waive or trade Smith before they are on the hook for his massive salary. Although his appearance at the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game in Cleveland may be a bit awkward.

Smith is fan favorite in Cleveland and will without a doubt receive a warm reception. Even if he does end up with LeBron in Los Angeles.

J.R. Smith spent just over four seasons with Cleveland. During this time Smith averaged 10.3 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting from three-piont range. The play of J.R. Smith was integral in the Cavaliers run to the 2016 NBA Title which saw Cleveland becoming the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win The Finals.

Carlos Santana to enter Home Run Derby

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Cleveland Indians first baseman and designated hitter Carlos Santana will enter the Home Run Derby during the All-Star Break.

It is not a surprise that one of the Cleveland Indians players will participate in the Home Run Derby. Cleveland will be hosting the All-Star festivities this season and traditionally a player from the host team participates in the Home Run Derby. The last time a player from the host team did not participate in the Home Run Derby was 2012 in Kansas City. Robinson Cano infamously did not pick a Royals player and was subsequently booed during the contest. Carlos Santana gets the call for the Tribe and will look to be the third home team participant in the last five years to win the derby.

Carlos Santana is having one of his best years in his career at the plate this season. Santana is slashing .291/.413/.538 with an OPS of .951 in 77 games this season. This has led to 17 home runs, the most notable statistic when heading into the Home Run Derby. Santana is currently on pace to hit 35 home runs this season. This number would be a career-high. That is as long as Santana continues to hit at this pace.

Some thought that players such as Francisco Lindor or Jose Ramirez may enter the Home Run Derby. Either Lindor or Ramirez would have been fun to watch, however in the end Carlos Santana was the choice and that is not a bad thing. Ramirez struggled to get things going this season but is turning things around lately. The potential for a poor performance from Ramirez was a real possibility and it is best to not have someone come up and hit zero home runs.

Carlos Santana will look to be the Indians first Home Run Derby Champion. All of Cleveland will be behind him rooting for him to come out victorious.

Indians Hand lead to Royals in ninth

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The Cleveland Indians held a 6-3 lead heading into the ninth inning but a disastrous appearance from Brad Hand has the Royals coming out on top.

Perhaps it is time to give Brad Hand a few days off. Hand was making his fifth appearance in six days and things could not have gone worse. The Indians were up by three runs and a win seemed extremely likely. Unfortunately Hand gave up five consecutive hits including a grand slam to Hunter Dozier as Hand was unable to hold onto the lead in the ninth and the Tribe fell 8-6.. The Indians will now head into the rubber match on Wednesday needing a win to come out on top in the series.

The unfortunate part of the result is that a decent start from Shane Bieber was wasted. Bieber had to work around some baserunners throughout the contest, but only allowed two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work. A third run did score but that was unearned.

Here is some good news for the Indians. Cleveland got home runs from Roberto Perez, Mike Freeman, Tyler Naquin and Carlos Santana. The power surge for the Tribe has been a welcome sight for a team that could not hit their way out of paper bag back in April. In fact only one run did not come via the long ball. Oscar Mercado drove in Francisco Lindor in the bottom of the first. Lindor and Mercado both went 2-5 on the day.

There were only two hitters in the Cleveland lineup who did end up with a hit on Tuesday. Jason Kipnis went 0-3 with a walk and Bobby Bradley was 0-4. This was a rather unwelcome sight for Cleveland. Kipnis has been on fire as of late. Bradley had back-to-back games with RBI doubles to start his career.

The final game of the three game series at home takes place Wednesday at 1:10 P.M.

How will the Cavaliers draft impact their roster?

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The Cleveland Cavaliers added three players in the NBA Draft but just how will that impact their future roster decisions?

Adding Darius Garland, Dylan Windler and Kevin Porter Jr. is a step in the right direction for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team clearly lacked sufficient playmakers on their roster. This was one of the many reasons they struggled so much last season. Now that the Cavaliers are doing something to try and rectify the situation that leaves several players in limbo. The team is expected to part ways with J.R. Smith at some point this offseason, but others still may be moved.

Jordan Clarkson, Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight are players who Cleveland could move in an effort to give their younger players playing time. Garland is a point guard and his fit with Collin Sexton (also a point guard) has been questioned from the start. While some believe the team is following the Portland model in regards to their guards, this leaves the others on the outside looking in. Clarkson, Dellavedova and Knight are all guards. There simply is not enough time in a game for everyone. Of course there is the possibility that the Cavaliers go super-small with their rotations. Although having that many guards on the roster is still not the best way to build their team.

Part of the reason that Collin Sexton was able to develop last season was having enough playing time. Moving some of their other guards who may help out contenders could give minutes to some of their rookies and other younger players. This is the most optimal way for the team to develop at this moment in time. The reality is the team is not necessarily a contender this upcoming season. Allowing the young players on the roster the chance to gel will help the future of the Cavaliers. A concept that the team truly needs to embrace.

Jason Kipnis walks it off in extras for Indians

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In the bottom of the tenth with the game tied Jason Kipnis came to the plate and hit a walk-off home run to secure a 3-2 win for the Indians.

A two hour rain delay could not stop the hot-hitting Jason Kipnis. The Indians second baseman was the hero in extras as he hit a walk-off homer for a 3-2 victory. Kipnis finished the game 3-5 at the plate, his other two hits being singles. Kipnis now has his season average just below .250 as he just continues to hit. This is a welcome sign for the Tribe as they need players such as Kipnis to produce at the plate and that is just what he is doing.

Another player that had a good day at the plate was Jose Ramirez. Ramirez went 2-2 with two doubles and reached base via a walk twice. His average is also a work in progress, but if he can continue to display patience at the plate it should increase in no time at all.

Rookie first baseman Bobby Bradley came through with another RBI double. Bradley has two hits in two games to start his career, both hits are RBI doubles. The Indians moved Bradley up one spot in the order after his debut on Sunday. Right now the sixth spot seems to be a good spot for Bradley. There is not a lot of pressure on him to produce so if he does run into a rough patch it will not have as much of a negative impact.

Cleveland can take the series with a win on Tuesday. This would be the sixth straight series that has the Indians earning at least a split and the fourth of the winning variety.

The second game of the series will take place at 7:10 P.M. Tuesday with Shane Bieber on the mound for the Indians.

Indians look to continue winning ways

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The Cleveland Indians are coming off their second straight sweep of the Detroit Tigers and look to continue their winning ways against the Royals at home.

It was quite the weekend for the Cleveland Indians. Not only did the Indians sweep the Tigers for the second straight series, the arrival of Bobby Bradley punctuated Sunday’s victory. The Tribe have won three out of their past five series, the only two non-wins were splits. Now Cleveland is looking to win yet another series as they play host to the Kansas City Royals.

Cleveland has gone 8-2 over their past 10 games. The only two losses saw Cleveland struggling to score as they only managed two runs in each loss. Cleveland’s victories saw the offense explode as they are averaging 7.75 runs per game in their eight wins. The lowest run output came in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Detroit.

The Indians pitching staff has been outstanding during this stretch as well. Cleveland is only allowing 3.3 runs per game over the last 10 including only 2.75 runs allowed in their eight wins.

Adam Plutko, Shane Bieber and Trevor Bauer will start this series for the Tribe. They will look to continue Cleveland’s excellent stretch of pitching against the division rival Royals.

Jason Kipnis’ turnaround at the plate over the past six games is certainly helping the production of the offense. As Zack Meisel noted, Kipnis fixed his swing and has been on fire since.

Expanding upon the time frame, Kipnis is slashing .448/.515/.862 with an OPS of 1.377 with three home runs, one double, one triple and 13 runs driven in. Kipnis has also limited his strikeouts (2) and increased his walks (4). Kipinis only has 19 walks on the year and his four over the last eight games have accounted for nearly one-fifth of his overall total. Even if Kipnis does experience a dip in production any contributions from plate should help the Indians offense against the Royals.

Bobby Bradley doubles in MLB debut

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The Cleveland Indians finally called up first baseman Bobby Bradley and he did not dissapoint at the plate in his first career game.

The Cleveland Indians Twitter account is probably happy that Bobby Bradley is finally in the Major Leagues. Day after day fans would complain about Bradley still being in Columbus while other noteworthy players struggle mightily. Now that Bradley is in Cleveland those replies and comments will disappear until the next prized prospect is waiting his eventual call up.

Bobby Bradley was given the start at first base and was inserted in the seven spot in the lineup. In his first career at-bat Bradley would hit a game-tying ground rule double to left field. Jose Ramirez would score on the play and the Bobby Bradley era got off with a bang. Bradley would finish the day 1-3 with a double, walk and one strikeout.

Bobby Bradley’s first career game is essentially what the Indians will get production wise. Bradley will hit for power, walk a little bit and strike out, a lot. Bradley struck out 717 times in 607 games in the minors. This is nearly 1.2 times per game.

Bradley’s career slash line in the minors is .256/.344/.508 with an OPS os .851. This slash line was accompanied by 138 home runs, 119 doubles, 17 triples, 471 runs driven in and 283 walks. This is in addition to his incredibly high strikeout rate.

The key with Bobby Bradley will be patience. Bradley will hit for power and drive in runs. Bradley will also strike out a ton. The bright side is that players with Bradley’s stat line are the norm in this age of baseball. Cleveland will just have to follow the footprint of many other MLB teams in regards to how they handle Bobby Bradley and the ups and downs he will have at the plate.

Cavaliers add three players in NBA Draft

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to add three players in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Darius Garland, Dylan Windler and Kevin Porter Jr.

By coming away with three players in the NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on their way to building their roster back up. Cleveland draft two players while trading for a third.

Darius Garland

With the fifth overall pick Cleveland selected point guard Darius Garland out of Vanderbilt. Garland only played five games at Vanderbilt, but was able to impress Cleveland with the little he did play. In five games Garland averaged 16.2 points per game on 53.7 percent from the field which includes 47.8 percent from deep.

Garland will be paired with Collin Sexton in the Cleveland backcourt. Some have compared it to the Portland combo of C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard. Even if they are a lighter version of this duo that will still be a great starting point for the Cavaliers rebuild.

Dylan Windler

Cleveland added a versatile forward with the 26th pick in Dylan Windler. Windler averaged 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game as a senior at Belmont. These 21.3 points came on 54 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. Windler should figure to get some playing time at the small forward position. At this moment in time there is only one other small forward on the roster, Cedi Osman. Windler and Osman should see a lot of time sharing the role this upcoming season.

Kevin Porter Jr.

Kevin Porter Jr. was initially selected by the Milwaukee Bucks, but the Cleveland Cavaliers made a trade to acquire the talented guard after he was dealt to Detroit. The left-handed guard should be able to see ample playing time coming off the bench as a shooting guard for the Cavaliers. Cleveland figures to move some of their other bench pieces at some point this offseason which should open up playing time for the rookie out of USC. Even if his playing time is limited during his first year, there is upside with Porter. The only issue of course is his suspension for personal conduct issues while in college.