Tweet
This is my attempt to get a team thread on every team going. Hopefully started by a local or hometown fan. I think it would be Great to get both local and national perceptions of every team.
You all know my pain:
Trade away stars before they leave for free agency because we're a "small market".
Hit on few prospects in return, bust on just as many and rarely pull a gem out. And when you do pull a gem, he takes pictures of his wanker
and fries his knees.
Terrible draft record and mediocre at growing other teams picks.
Offseason
After years of dissapointing offseasons and penny pinching by the Dolans the Tribe went out and finally spent some money.
The question is was it money well spent. Better than the typical "mirage" signings that cast the allusion of contention but will they actually
pay off in wins.
Swisher, Reynolds, Stubbs and Aviles certainly give the Tribe much needed right handed bats and power(18-35 against lefty starters last year and Santanas 18 homers led the team)
but the likely batting average drain on a team 251 average kind of makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
We pretty much know what we're getting from Reynolds, Stubbs and Aviles. Unless Stubbs can finally break the mold he's cast for himself
as an all or nothing guy with speed(I admit I havent seen a lot of him). His defense replacing Choo will be huge though. Have fun Cincy fans watching Choo wear circles in the center field turf.
Swisher is kind of different story in my opinion. I love the way he plays the game but I can't see him replicating his recent stats in Cleveland.
The Yankee lineup and Tee-ball right field porch aren't waiting for him here. Can he hold up to the pressure of his contract and being the
Big Kahuna? He's still a 256 lifetimer even with those nice Yankee years.
On the pitching side, the biggest impact may eventuallyl come from the Choo trade. As much as I love Choo's offense and see him bouncing back from
his DUI induced season, this trade seemed like a Houdini act to me. Can someone from Arizona please explain the Diamondbacks reasoning on
this one? Is Lars Anderson still a prospect? Seems like he's been around forever. Getting Bauer, Shaw, Albers and Stubbs for a guy who desperately wanted
out was brilliant. Choo really wanted to go to a team with a bigger Asian community so we send him to Northern Kentucky. Sorry buddy.
Brett (take that honey) Myers is this years prize in the annual "Veteran Pitcher Blind Dart Throwing Contest". The only explanation here is
to buy time for Bauer and Carrasco and a backup plan for Wierd Chris Yankovic. If anyone had any doubts about him being traded this year
let this sink in. Brett Myers, Matt Capps, Brian Shaw, Matt Albers and yes, Rich Hill(speaking of blasts from the past). I guarantee getting rid of this guy is high on Chris Antonettis list. Winehead if there ever was one.
Speaking of darts, we also signed Scott Kazmir. Theres showing faith in your rotation Chris.
I still love Masterson despite his setbacks in 2012. Guy is a ballplayer and great guy with a sweet curve when he can keep it down for strikes. Admittedly not a #1 though.
Ubaldo? Uhggg. I loved the move at the time and the high prospects we gave up look to be just as much of head cases as Jimenez. I have little faith left in
who might be the Dominican Rich Hill come to think of it. Can our third pitching coach in three years fix those gumby mechanics? Please?
Carrasco is a big wild card here. Super upside. At times was Dominant before succumbing to TJ surgery. When he keeps his sinker low he is
a joy to watch. I actually like McCallister as a 5 at times but so inconsistent. Bauer is the Big Prize here and I expect him to be really good but start
the year in AAA unless he just whips it good in spring. Hey, how come nobody comes out of the bullpen to Whip It?
Not much in the minors close here. TJ House?
Carlos Santana has been a dissapointment to me so far. I know we only gave up Casey Blake but the way this kid started gave us all a little
tingle in our pants. Perhaps these new bats will take a little pressure off him and he can spray the ball around a little and get that BA up.
My biggest problem with him is at catcher. He has to lead the league in getting shaken off immediately after having a mound meeting. I have actually seen
Masterson give the WTF look several times after meetings. Oyo Como Va, Carlos. We could move him to first but there his stats look more like Ryan Garko. Okay, a little harsh.
Asdrubal is another guy who probably looks better from another state. His defensive lapses and quit attitude have worn out their welcome here and I
would bet the Mike Aviles signing almost assures his ticket out of here. Aviles till Lindor arrives is fine with me. Especially if we can get a SP. There is no "team first" in Asdrubal and Perez
they just chewed up the Motherly Manny Acta. Will Tito straighten them out? I think he kicks them out.
Kipnis is definitely a ballplayer and decent option in the 2 hole but those early comparisons to Utley are not warranted. Maybe todays Utley.
Chisenhall will get his chance but I'm pretty sure the Mark Reynolds signing had as much to do with his ability to play 3B as his ability to hit the long ball.
I would not be surprised at all to eventually see a lineup of Reynolds at 3rd, Aviles at SS, Kipnis, Oyo Como Va at 1B and Marson and Yan Gomes at C.
I really like Brantley in the leadoff role and hope they just leave him there and in left field all year.
My expectations are modest this year. My heart hasn't been in it these last several years seeing the hopeless hanging on to Travis and Grady,
the terrible lapses in effort by our supposed best player Assdribble and the "mirage of contention" signings.
If I were a betting man, I'd say 5 games over 500 and third or fourth in the central but that might be enough for second in that division. If half the question marks
in the starting rotation pan out and we can consistantly get to the 7th inning, with our bullpen, we could stay with the tigers till August. I'd be okay with that.
Probably sounds like the rantings of a lunatic but that is one longtime Tribe fans feelings.
Hope this at least gets the ball rolling on other team threads.
You all know my pain:
Trade away stars before they leave for free agency because we're a "small market".
Hit on few prospects in return, bust on just as many and rarely pull a gem out. And when you do pull a gem, he takes pictures of his wanker
and fries his knees.
Terrible draft record and mediocre at growing other teams picks.
Offseason
After years of dissapointing offseasons and penny pinching by the Dolans the Tribe went out and finally spent some money.
The question is was it money well spent. Better than the typical "mirage" signings that cast the allusion of contention but will they actually
pay off in wins.
Swisher, Reynolds, Stubbs and Aviles certainly give the Tribe much needed right handed bats and power(18-35 against lefty starters last year and Santanas 18 homers led the team)
but the likely batting average drain on a team 251 average kind of makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
We pretty much know what we're getting from Reynolds, Stubbs and Aviles. Unless Stubbs can finally break the mold he's cast for himself
as an all or nothing guy with speed(I admit I havent seen a lot of him). His defense replacing Choo will be huge though. Have fun Cincy fans watching Choo wear circles in the center field turf.
Swisher is kind of different story in my opinion. I love the way he plays the game but I can't see him replicating his recent stats in Cleveland.
The Yankee lineup and Tee-ball right field porch aren't waiting for him here. Can he hold up to the pressure of his contract and being the
Big Kahuna? He's still a 256 lifetimer even with those nice Yankee years.
On the pitching side, the biggest impact may eventuallyl come from the Choo trade. As much as I love Choo's offense and see him bouncing back from
his DUI induced season, this trade seemed like a Houdini act to me. Can someone from Arizona please explain the Diamondbacks reasoning on
this one? Is Lars Anderson still a prospect? Seems like he's been around forever. Getting Bauer, Shaw, Albers and Stubbs for a guy who desperately wanted
out was brilliant. Choo really wanted to go to a team with a bigger Asian community so we send him to Northern Kentucky. Sorry buddy.
Brett (take that honey) Myers is this years prize in the annual "Veteran Pitcher Blind Dart Throwing Contest". The only explanation here is
to buy time for Bauer and Carrasco and a backup plan for Wierd Chris Yankovic. If anyone had any doubts about him being traded this year
let this sink in. Brett Myers, Matt Capps, Brian Shaw, Matt Albers and yes, Rich Hill(speaking of blasts from the past). I guarantee getting rid of this guy is high on Chris Antonettis list. Winehead if there ever was one.
Speaking of darts, we also signed Scott Kazmir. Theres showing faith in your rotation Chris.
I still love Masterson despite his setbacks in 2012. Guy is a ballplayer and great guy with a sweet curve when he can keep it down for strikes. Admittedly not a #1 though.
Ubaldo? Uhggg. I loved the move at the time and the high prospects we gave up look to be just as much of head cases as Jimenez. I have little faith left in
who might be the Dominican Rich Hill come to think of it. Can our third pitching coach in three years fix those gumby mechanics? Please?
Carrasco is a big wild card here. Super upside. At times was Dominant before succumbing to TJ surgery. When he keeps his sinker low he is
a joy to watch. I actually like McCallister as a 5 at times but so inconsistent. Bauer is the Big Prize here and I expect him to be really good but start
the year in AAA unless he just whips it good in spring. Hey, how come nobody comes out of the bullpen to Whip It?
Not much in the minors close here. TJ House?
Carlos Santana has been a dissapointment to me so far. I know we only gave up Casey Blake but the way this kid started gave us all a little
tingle in our pants. Perhaps these new bats will take a little pressure off him and he can spray the ball around a little and get that BA up.
My biggest problem with him is at catcher. He has to lead the league in getting shaken off immediately after having a mound meeting. I have actually seen
Masterson give the WTF look several times after meetings. Oyo Como Va, Carlos. We could move him to first but there his stats look more like Ryan Garko. Okay, a little harsh.
Asdrubal is another guy who probably looks better from another state. His defensive lapses and quit attitude have worn out their welcome here and I
would bet the Mike Aviles signing almost assures his ticket out of here. Aviles till Lindor arrives is fine with me. Especially if we can get a SP. There is no "team first" in Asdrubal and Perez
they just chewed up the Motherly Manny Acta. Will Tito straighten them out? I think he kicks them out.
Kipnis is definitely a ballplayer and decent option in the 2 hole but those early comparisons to Utley are not warranted. Maybe todays Utley.
Chisenhall will get his chance but I'm pretty sure the Mark Reynolds signing had as much to do with his ability to play 3B as his ability to hit the long ball.
I would not be surprised at all to eventually see a lineup of Reynolds at 3rd, Aviles at SS, Kipnis, Oyo Como Va at 1B and Marson and Yan Gomes at C.
I really like Brantley in the leadoff role and hope they just leave him there and in left field all year.
My expectations are modest this year. My heart hasn't been in it these last several years seeing the hopeless hanging on to Travis and Grady,
the terrible lapses in effort by our supposed best player Assdribble and the "mirage of contention" signings.
If I were a betting man, I'd say 5 games over 500 and third or fourth in the central but that might be enough for second in that division. If half the question marks
in the starting rotation pan out and we can consistantly get to the 7th inning, with our bullpen, we could stay with the tigers till August. I'd be okay with that.
Probably sounds like the rantings of a lunatic but that is one longtime Tribe fans feelings.
Hope this at least gets the ball rolling on other team threads.
Comment