2013 American League Playoffs -|- Wild Card Game -|- October 2nd.

[The Oi]

What's the solution to allowing small market teams to compete fairly with large market teams?

 

[Cayman13]

Bottom line is we need a feared power hitter. 95-97 lineup had them all up and down that line up.

Exactly. It really is that simple. I really like this team and what they accomplished, but what I watched last night was borderline embarrassing. Their offense is so poor and you can really see it when they're on a stage such as last night's. They MUST bring in some consistent guys who can bring in runs. We barely have any, aside from maybe Gomes, Raburn and Giambi (and even G I'm not sure of as far as consistency). What kind of goals do they intend to accomplish without being able to drive in runs? I get what they accomplished this year was cool, but damn, get some people who can hit the ball. I don't think I've ever seen such a poor hitting performance. Very disappointing with the Cleveland fans rocking the place out.

 

[Mr. Orange]

The Indians payroll is almost $25 million MORE than the team that just beat their ass last night.

$82 million is a more than respectable number, and while payroll may not increase there is a number of players coming off the books.

Brett Myers - $7M
Chris Perez - $7.3M
Ubaldo Jimenez - $5.7M
Matt Albers - $2.5M
Joe Smith - $3.1M

That is more than $25 million coming off the books they can use to fill holes and field a competitive team. I certainly don't expect them to spend all of that money this off-season, or be incredibly active among the big players in a weak free agent class. They can take on a number of players on short-term deals and/or look to re-sign guys like Kazmir or Joe Smith who could play a big role in staying competitive.

That is a good chunk of money. Hopefully we can add a bat, but it seems like we are going to have to rely on homegrown talent, overpaying for marginal playes like Bourn and Bro, and reclamation projects. It can be done though. We should compete the next few years. Would be great if Lindor and Bauer work out. But Bauer feels like a LaPorta, all hype.

 

[TheLand1287]

Exactly. It really is that simple. I really like this team and what they accomplished, but what I watched last night was borderline embarrassing. Their offense is so poor and you can really see it when they're on a stage such as last night's. They MUST bring in some consistent guys who can bring in runs. We barely have any, aside from maybe Gomes, Raburn and Giambi (and even G I'm not sure of as far as consistency). What kind of goals do they intend to accomplish without being able to drive in runs? I get what they accomplished this year was cool, but damn, get some people who can hit the ball. I don't think I've ever seen such a poor hitting performance. Very disappointing with the Cleveland fans rocking the place out.

There is a difference between hitting and clutch hitting. The Tribe hit the ball fine last night. They had more hits than the Rays did. The difference is the Rays did something when their runners got on base, and the Tribe folded in every big situation offensively.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

73 pages in a thread for one single game. How many pages did last year's final game get? Three?

 

[Cayman13]

There is a difference between hitting and clutch hitting. The Tribe hit the ball fine last night. They had more hits than the Rays did. The difference is the Rays did something when their runners got on base, and the Tribe folded in every big situation offensively.

You're right, agree and should have typed my response differently. I meant "hit the ball" with runners in scoring position.

 

[Frank Stallone]

I just watched a kid slam his mother's shopping cart into a BMW. I'm basically over this loss now due to comic relief.

 

[MJA1080]

At the end of the game, while the Rays were celebrating, the whole team just stayed there and watched. That has to be something that leaves an impact. I feel like you usually see the team walk straight to the locker room. It will be interesting to see how next year shakes out, but we have to be optimistic. As so many people mentioned this was not supposed to be our year, but we managed to make it a great year. I don't know how there is anything but optimism for next year.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

We need to add a starter and a big bat. If we had this exact same roster next season, I could easily see 15-20 fewer wins than this year.

 

[Marcus]

They don't have nearly as much of a sweetheart schedule next year as they did this year. There certainly have to be some moving parts, chief among them -

Solidifying the bullpen with another pitcher or two
Getting a bat for the middle of the order
Solidifying the starting rotation with at least one new addition (operating under the assumption that one or both of Kazmir/Jimenez will not be back)

I know it's slim pickings right now, but who/what do the Indians have from an assets standpoint that could help them fetch any of the three above listed options via trade? Who do you guys think are some realistic options to acquire via trade for this ball club?

 

[ice cream man]

At the end of the game, while the Rays were celebrating, the whole team just stayed there and watched. That has to be something that leaves an impact. I feel like you usually see the team walk straight to the locker room. It will be interesting to see how next year shakes out, but we have to be optimistic. As so many people mentioned this was not supposed to be our year, but we managed to make it a great year. I don't know how there is anything but optimism for next year.

Because we clearly overachieved (and didn't have any major injuries IMO), and it's going to be difficult to improve our offense this offseason. Unless you think we can get something for Bourn.
3B and SS are still question marks as well (although I think Cabrera can find himself again). I'd like to see us go after Michael Young (FA).
The way I see it - you got Brantley, Santana, Gomes, Kipnis, and I guess Swisher. Rayburn is not gonna play everyday. You need more help.
Pitching - well, if no one was a free agent, we'd be almost fine. Hopefully we can bring those guys back.

 

[Cayman13]

I DVR'd the game and just replayed the beginning, solely to see the Jake rocking and how crazy those fans were going with their red gear and white rally towels flying. I am not sure I have ever seen it like that, even back in the 90's, but maybe I just can't remember. That place was ROCKING, so awesome. No matter what happens, anyone who says our fans aren't great (and one of the best fanbases in sports) just don't get it. It's really too bad we couldn't keep that going, the feeling down there was unreal, I will never forget it.

 

[7foot3]

You're right, agree and should have typed my response differently. I meant "hit the ball" with runners in scoring position.

The Indians were one of the best offenses in baseball this year w/ RISP. Sometimes shit happens in one game.


The offense this year was good, but we have to keep in mind that the average AL team scored 4.3 runs a game, which is about a full run below what the average AL team scored a game in 2000. Even the Tigers, at 4.9 runs a game this year, would have ranked 11th in the AL in runs per game in 2000. We need to recalibrate what we think are good offenses in today's game.

 

[AZ_]

Because we clearly overachieved (and didn't have any major injuries IMO), and it's going to be difficult to improve our offense this offseason. Unless you think we can get something for Bourn.
3B and SS are still question marks as well (although I think Cabrera can find himself again). I'd like to see us go after Michael Young (FA).
The way I see it - you got Brantley, Santana, Gomes, Kipnis, and I guess Swisher. Rayburn is not gonna play everyday. You need more help.
Pitching - well, if no one was a free agent, we'd be almost fine. Hopefully we can bring those guys back.

The Indians are going to roll with Chisenhall at 3B and hope he comes into his own.

They'll most likely add a right fielder to take the pressure off Raburn (note: R-A-B-U-R-N) as a run producer. Michael Young is basically irrelevant at his age and provides below average production.

They can try and keep Kazmir, but Jimenez is gonezo.

 

[AZ_]

That is a good chunk of money. Hopefully we can add a bat, but it seems like we are going to have to rely on homegrown talent, overpaying for marginal playes like Bourn and Bro, and reclamation projects. It can be done though. We should compete the next few years. Would be great if Lindor and Bauer work out. But Bauer feels like a LaPorta, all hype.

LaPorta wasn't much hype.

He was alot of injury, though.