On Fixing The Indians Offense: How To Rebuild A Team While Simultaneously Contending On A Tight Budget

The Indians are headed into their most important off season in quite some time. This season has shown what many of us already knew, that you can’t win with pitching alone. The Indians have become the talk of baseball for their development of starting pitching these last five to seven years. They have either drafted, or acquired via trade, young arms and then used their farm system to develop them into high quality pitchers. So much so, that they have traded three of them over the past two seasons and seemingly not missed a beat as young arms like Shane Bieiber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie have emerged taking over for traded aces like Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger. The four listed above will anchor this team for a few years to come. Logan Allen, Scott Moss, and Jefry Rodriguez are still down in Columbus developing as well. Carlos Carrasco may be traded this winter along with Francisco Lindor to try and infuse additional young hitters into the organization. More thoughts on that in a bit. 

That leads us to why this off season is so important, this winter the Indians need to take a serious evaluation of their developing hitters. They need to single out at least six or seven of these young men between all of their minor league levels and give them individualized attention next year with coaching. There has been such an emphasis on pitching that I feel the development of good, smart hitters has kinda fallen by the wayside. Hitters should also be the focus of next year’s draft the way pitching was in 2016, the draft that netted the Tribe Civale, Bieber and Plesac. 

Secondly, the time has come to trade Francisco Lindor. Yes, I know he is an exciting player, and yes I know we all wish we could afford to keep him, but with the small market being even smaller in 2020 due to lack of fans being allowed to attend games, there is no way the Indians can afford to keep him. The same is true of free agents Carlos Santana, Brad Hand and Cesar Hernandez. Lindor however, will at least allow them to get players in return via trade. The Indians need to focus on acquiring as many solid hitting prospects as possible in exchange for their star shortstop. 

As previously mentioned, I have read they may try and shop Carlos Carrasco as well, due to his somewhat expensive contract, and his overall impressive comeback season in 2020 after successfully battling leukemia in 2019. It likely depends on how hot the trade market will be this offseason as to whether or not both Lindor and Carrasco are dealt, but I think the Indians will at least take inquiries on Carrasco to see what he could net them in a trade. If some young hitting prospects are offered, the Indians should probably listen, as that is their big area of need.

However, they shouldn’t depend on trades alone to solve the offense woes. They should also select players from down in Columbus and give them a hard look in Spring Training. These are the five main guys I think deserve extended looks and some individualized coaching: Ka’ai Tom, Bobby Bradley, Nolan Jones, Daniel Johnson, and Yu Chang. Now three of these four have had limited major league experience, and it admittedly hasn’t been great, but if these players are willing to work, and I am sure they are, and we are willing to put some focused hitting coaching behind them, the potential they have shown in the minors could easily begin to translate to the majors. 

Bobby Bradley has been a minor league monster power hitter and decent first baseman. He is the heir apparent to first base with Carlos Santana leaving via free agency again. With Lindor likely being traded, Yu Chang emerges as the most likely replacement at short, and he hit with incredible power this year at summer camp, so the potential is there. Chang starting 2021 at shortstop will likely be determined by if the Indians acquire any other potential replacements in trading Lindor, and/or possibly Carrasco. Regardless though, he has potential to be a good hitter and should be given some focused attention this off season. Both Ka’ai Tom and Daniel Johnson are outfielders who have hit for good averages in Columbus as well as shown power. If we can help them not be overwhelmed by big league pitching I think they could become legitimate corner outfielders. Nolan Jones is the apparent third baseman of the future, but with MVP candidate Jose Ramirez being locked in there for at least two more seasons, it is likely Jones will get time in the outfield in winter ball this year to make him more versatile. I would even see if he could play second base, since there will more than likely be an opening there in 2021 as well. 

Of course ss has already been stated, all of this depends on what type of prospects we get for Lindor and/or Carrasco, and also what kind of spring Jake Bauers has next year, after he was left at the alternative training site in Eastlake for the entire 60 game 2020 season. Bauers can play both first base and the outfield, so he has some versatility on his side. There is also Josh Naylor whom the Tribe received in the Mike Clevinger deal, who admittedly was unimpressive in his final month of the year here, though he was very impressive in the quick two game playoff series with the Yankees. He seems to have potential to be a good contact hitter, but I would like to see him get some coaching on driving the ball more consistently, like he was doing in that brief playoff sample. The other two main hitting prospects they received from the Clevinger deal were infielders Gabe Arias and Owen Miller, who are probably not going to be ready until 2022-2023, so the Indians should evaluate them next year down in Akron and determine what kind of extra coaching they should receive. My understanding is they both have shown hitting and power potential, so it would behoove them to give them some extended looks. 

Basically to sum up all of this, the Indians need to put a conscious and intentional focus on offensive acquisition and development over the next two to three years, both in house and via trade. All of our young pitchers aren’t going anywhere and will continue to improve at the big league level, so there is time to shift focus to a glaring need in this area of team development. I truly believe this is one of the best run organizations in professional sports, so they should be able to accomplish this with a commitment to focus on offense development. Don’t count them out. 2020 was a frustrating season in a tremendously difficult year in many ways, but good years are still ahead!

We Somehow Made It Here: My Thoughts As A Most Unique 2020 MLB Season Kicks Off

It has been a long four months for our country. There has been a lot of unrest and general low morale among most of America’s citizens. Throughout our history we have had times of great turmoil and upheaval, and sports, especially baseball have always been there to help us heal. Due to the nature of one of the main sources of turmoil, the Coronavirus, sports have been unable to create some semblance of normalcy and unity this time around, and that has made 2020 extra challenging. There was much doubt any sports seasons would be able to resume or get off the ground. However, baseball is set to usher in the return of sports, though one unlike any other, as any major sporting events this year will more than likely be without any fans in stadiums and ballparks.

As we are set to finally begin the 2020 Major League Baseball season, it would be almost an understatement to say it has been a long, eventful, and unprecedented off season. In fact, it has probably been the most controversial and news making offseason since the 1994-1995 offseason that saw the players’ strike cancel the playoffs and World Series in 1994 and spill into the canceling of 18 regular season games in 1995. Fans were angry and outraged and for understandable reasons. This year, as we all know, we have had the first suspension of games at the start of the season for the first time since 25 years ago, and man it was a long suspension due to multiple factors, the main one being the Coronavirus. More on that later.

This off season was initially shrouded in the 2017 Houston Astros scandal and fans were, and are still, really angry and justifiable so. Yet, this time, and in this instance, unlike in 1995, not only are the fans angry, but the players on just about every other Major League club are ticked off, and many haven’t been shy about saying so! Despite Commissioner Rob Manfred’s warning that any pitcher that umpires deam intentionally through at an Astros batter will be suspended and fined, it is easy to anticipate some pitchers won’t care and will chuck pitches in the general direction of many Astros hitters. While there no longer will be fans in attendance at games this year, one wonders if pitchers will still ignore Manfred’s warning. It will be something to keep an eye on, especially early on. Will the Astros get off easy due to the long delay due to COVID19, or will they have to take their lumps? Only time will tell.

There is also the scandal associated with the 2018 Boston Red Sox cheating in similar manners, and the fallout from that, which some feel Manfred’s punishment was too lenient on them, as their replay guy J.T. Watkins took most of the fall on their behalf, along with the loss of a draft pick. Will they also have some backlash from pitchers? Again a storyline to follow as things get underway.

Then of course there is the biggest story, the Coronavirus epidemic that hit our country in early March, with the first confirmed cases in Ohio coming to light on March 9th. March 12th is a day that will live in the history books as the day the sports world and general entertainment industry as a whole came to halt. Following the example of the NBA on the evening of March 11th, MLB, the NHL and the MLS suspended their seasons. For baseball specifically, it meant the cancelling of the rest of Spring Training and the first three and half months of the regular season’s scheduled games. The Indians had already been off since sweeping a split squad set of games on March 9th due to a scheduled off day and back to back rainouts of exhibition games.

Once it was determined in May that MLB wanted to try and get as many games played as possible, a well documented fight between the Commissioner’s Office and Players Union began. I don’t need to rehash all that here, but I will say both parties embarrassed themselves as they squabbled over money and amount of games to be played, with an original plan to get the season started by July 4th with an 82 game schedule scrapped, and things coming down to Rob Manfred setting a schedule of 60 games, per his allowance in the March agreement all parties signed when the virus first halted Spring Training.

The fallout from these horrific negotiations will linger as a new bargaining agreement will be needed after the 2021 season, yet, if history teaches us anything, it is that baseball will survive that and come out the other side. It has survived many scandals and challenges in it’s now 119 years of professional status. It made it through the Black Sox Scandal, two world wars, multiple players strikes, and the steroid era, just to name a few. It survived those and it will survive this too.

This season, at least initially, will also be without fans in the stands, and that too is unprecedented. While teams are piping in crowd noise and blasting music over the PA system, as if fans were in attendance, things will still look a bit odd on TV. On a personal note, this will be the first baseball season I haven’t attended at least one Indians game since 1997. A 22 year streak will likely come to and end this year.

However, despite all these unique circumstances, when the umpire yells ‘play ball’ at all 15 major league ballparks between tonight and tomorrow, weather permitting of course, it will signal it is officially time to put the tumultuous off season in the rearview mirror, and look instead forward to a three hour distraction from ongoing challenges we are facing. The 2020 season should most assuredly bring a much needed break from the constant news! A 60 game sprint is about to take off! Hang on tight fans!

Remembering The Summer Of 1995: A collection of national and local news stories interplayed with personal stories about one of the great eras of Northeast Ohio's history

When I first began assembling this list back in January, I had no idea what was about to descend upon our country. I had no idea that a then mostly unknown virus would wrap it’s invisible hands around the world and cause it to come to a screeching halt in mid-March.I had no idea that the dawning of the Summer of 2020 would arrive Memorial Day weekend in Ohio and most of the country would still be on a semi stay at home order, and no Major League Baseball games would be taking place. Yet, here we are. On the precipice of a summer that will mark 25 years since the legendary Cleveland summer of 1995.

In the summer of 1995 I was eight years old and playing T-Ball in Parma’s Recreational Summer Little League. My sister was five and playing her first summer of T-Ball. Her games were in the morning and evening and my games were in the afternoon and evening. They somehow coordinated schedules for families so no two children had games at conflicting times.

I truly began to develop a love for morning hours that summer, as my sister had games at 9am, so I spent time outside in the earlier morning sunshine while accompanying my mother and sister to her games. I distinctly remember walking over to one of the empty ball fields in the Nike Park complex and sitting in the empty bleachers simply being thrilled to be outside and enjoying the warm summer sun when I saw a deer deep out in the outfield run across the grass. Back then, deer were a far rarer site in Parma than they are now.

Below begins a list by date of both historical news stories, and personal memories that I have, from that summer in Cleveland, Ohio. I hope you enjoy it and perhaps it jogs some memories of your own. Please share any stories you have from that summer in the comments section below. I would love to hear your stories!

May 28th- A Memorial Day Weekend storm blows through Bagley Rd in Berea. It rips the roof off of a section of Crest Apartments, and does heavy damage to the intersection of Eastland and Bagley Roads. No reports of any tornados touching down surface, but funnel cloud activity was in the area.

June 12- The Indians sellout streak of 455 straight games begins. It lasts until April 3rd of 2001.

June 13th- I attended my first ever Indians game with my parents and grandfather. The Indians beat the Orioles and Mike Mussina 11-0. Jim Thome and Albert Belle blasted home runs, while Dennis Martinez pitched a complete game. At the time, the game set the attendance record in the brief history of Jacob’s Field.

The OJ Simpson Trial runs from January 24th, and all summer (where the famous ‘glove incident’ happened on June 15th) until a ‘not guilty’ verdict reached October 3rd. The news coverage was a daily part of every cable news network.

The City of Cleveland has a ton of Ozone Action days due to several heat waves that slam the city hard (June 17th-June 21st, July 12th-July 17th, July 26th-August 4th, and August 11th-21st) This summer goes down as of the hottest summers in Cleveland history. I remember playing some afternoon T Ball games that umpires shortened to three instead of four innings because of the heat. Honestly, I wasn’t bothered by it too much. I drank water and dumped it in my hat periodically and was fine.

June 22nd- The still new collaboration between Major League Baseball and NBC and ABC known as “The Baseball Network” is dissolved due to both TV networks losing so much money in 1994 due to the MLB strike, and their desire to extend the six year deal an extra season into 2000, to make up for the strike. MLB refused to agree to that and thus the networks agreed that they would quit televising baseball after the 1995 World Series. Thus the 1995 MLB Playoffs and World Series would be one and only year these two networks had postseason coverage, and most were glad about that, as all playoff games started at the same time and were broadcast regionally, so for example in Cleveland, one could watch the Indians (yay!) but couldn’t see any of the other playoff games being played. The deal worked fine during the regular season, when a game either on Saturday night, Monday night or Friday night was aired on ABC or NBC, as most people just want to see their local team during the regular season, but to stick to that format for postseason play was proved to be a mistake.

June 23rd- Federal and state agents surround a home on Stratford Avenue around 7pm in Parma to question a man. The man answers the door in the company of a large dog and states he will comply with agents requests after securing his dog. He shuts the door and never comes back. Officers keep the house surrounded throughout the evening until it is determined the man is no longer in the house, having apparently slipped out the back door and crawled through a hole in the fence. Four years later the man, Michael R. Stedman is arrested in Bangkok by Thai police, having taken on a new alias of Duncan Robert Allen Smith, in connection with a two separate 1994 Cleveland crimes; a murder and an arson.

June 25th- Akron native cartoonist Tom Batiuk stirs local and national controversy when he portrays an attempted teen suicide in his comic strip “Funky Winkerbean.”

June 30th- Eddie Murray reaches the 3,000 hit plateau in a 4-1 Indians win in Minnesota. Many fans are downtown for the annual Cleveland Orchestra “Stars and Stripes Forever” performance, taking place the weekend before the Fourth of July, are watching the game on portable televisions or listening on transistor radios

July 1st- I witness a child get bit by a dog for the first time at my church’s Fourth of July weekend cookout. This caused me to develop a bit of a fear of dogs for the next couple of years, until I met other friends’ dogs who were friendly. Now I love dogs.

July 4th- Bob Ross, famous for his syndicated painting instructional program “The Joy Of Painting” passes away due to Lymphoma, an illness he had battled privately for a few years. Amazingly, Ross has become even more popular among Millennials today, who value his calm demeanor and love for nature in his artwork. Clips from “The Joy of Painting” episodes get millions of streams on YouTube each week.

July 5th- A Massive Thunderstorm hits town. Channel 19 loses it’s broadcast signal halfway through “Christie” episode, and the Indians 2-0 victory over the Texas Rangers is delayed twice by rain, and Jacob’s Field also suffers a power outage after a lightning strike near the stadium.

July 7th- The Wyndham Hotel opens to much fanfare in Playhouse Square on Euclid Avenue. The hotel still stands now 25 years later and is considered one of the finest in the city.

July 7th-9th- Steve Taylor headlined “Alternafest” a three day Christian alternative rock concert at Norwalk Alliance Church in Huron OH. Artists who performed included Steve Taylor, Starflyer 59, The 77’s, The Throes, The Prayer Chain, Sixpence None The Richer and Hoi Polloi. Boy I was I had been older than age eight and familiar with these artists back then. This had to be quite a festival! Sadly from what I can find, this was the first and last Alternafest.

July 9th- Vincent Drost, a Lakewood man who was a composer and musician, is stabbed and killed by five youths who were bored and looking for “something to do.” The horrific and senseless murder stirs fear in what was then, and still is now, considered to be a safe city. The teens responsible are all tried and found guilty of murder and manslaughter, and served time or a still serving time for their actions.

July 13th- The now famous and well documented midwest “Right Turn Derecho” slams NE Ohio out of the blue, coming off Lake Erie, wiping out power everywhere including my Parma home where it went out while my sister and I were watching an episode of the Three Stooges, (“Flat Foot Stooges”) I had recorded from Channel 55 the previous weekend. It also wiped out the Indians game versus Oakland downtown that night in the third inning of a 2-2 tie. This would be the only rainout in Cleveland that entire summer; though many games had long rain delays.

July 17th- On Bader Ave in Old Brooklyn, a home owned by William Cristwell explodes around 10:32am, damaging over 20 houses on the street. Cristwell survived despite suffering burns to over 90 percent of his body and spending months in the hospital. Investigations later pinpointed a gas leak in Cristwell’s home being the cause, and some still felt it was a suspicious explosion, perhaps intentionally set by the man himself, who had at the time recently suffered from depression. Cristwell was never charged with anything and eventually moved down to Florida to be near family.

August 1st-15th- Heather McLaughlin, a three year old on Cleveland’s West Side is murdered by the roommate and friend of her mother Misty McLaughlin, after she was put to bed on August 1st. After a two week long search, her body is found in a revine a mile from her home. The story captivated the local West Side community with many volunteers pitching in time to aid in the search.

August 9th- Jerry Garcia, leader of classic rock band The Grateful Dead dies from heart complications, ending the yearly run of touring the band had done since the 1960’s.

August 12th-26th- My first family car caravan road trip with my parents and grandparents to Colorado and back to Ohio takes place. We travelled to visit my Uncle, Aunt and cousin in the Denver area. It was a lot of fun, as I took turns riding in our family’s Dodge Caravan, and my grandparents Toyota, with my trusted cassette player next to me to listen to my favorite tunes on. We encountered a thunderstorm driving at night in Nebraska that featured some of the most majestic cloud to cloud lightning I have ever seen! It was epic! We would do this whole trip again in the same manner in 1998, and it also was fun, but there was nothing like this first one for me!

August 22nd- The first Wal-Mart in Cuyahoga County opens in Strongsville. Yes, you read that right! It is hard to believe that Wal-Mart really has only been the main Big Box store in America for the last 15 years or so.

August 31st- Miller’s Dining Room, the popular Lakewood family restaurant, burns down in the wee hours of the morning. The investigation seems to indicate a problem with the furnace in the basement of the building was the cause of the blaze. Sadly, the owners were never able to rebuild the restaurant, and apartments that were above, and the burned out building was eventually turn down, and an Auto Zone now sits on the site today.

September 1st- The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Opens and a full Labor Day weekend of rock concerts take place at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to commemorate the occasion including Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and many others.

September 6th- Cal Ripken officially breaks Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak as he plays in his 2,131st straight baseball game. A sellout crowd at Camden Yards gives him a nearly 20 minute ovation after the top of the fifth inning when the game became official. Ripken reluctantly at the encouragement of his teammates took a victory lap around the ballparks periphery as Whitney Houston’s classic “One Moment In Time” player over the PA system. Many credit this as a major healing moment for players and fan relations still strained from the players strike that cancelled the 1994 playoffs and World Series, which had also bled over into wiping out 18 games of the 1995 season.

September 8th-Indians clinch first division in 41 years. The city celebrated jubilantly, and many home videos from folks who attended that night exist on YouTube.

Autumn then arrived, where the Indians marched to the World Series, the Browns opened what would become their final season in Cleveland before Art Model sold them to Baltimore, and I started third grade. That summer though was spectacular, and one that’s good fortune helped carry this town to the much finer reputation it has today.

Once again, any stories and memories you have from the summer or 1995 are ones I would love to hear! Maybe you were at one of the 12 walk off wins the Tribe had that year, or maybe you remember taking part in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame corranation celebration. Maybe you were a high school or college graduate that year or perhaps you got married over that amazing summer or remember some of the events I have listed. I would love to hear about it from your perspective! Any story is welcome! Share them if you are so inclined.