Hopes are riding high for the Indians, but the health of Michael Brantley remains a major wild card for the organization. Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on where things stand as camp opens. As was the case last year, Cleveland intends to proceed cautiously as Brantley ramps up from shoulder surgery. This time, though, there’ll be even more caution given the setbacks he experienced in 2016. Swinging the bat in game conditions seems to have caused Brantley’s problems last time around, Hoynes explains, so the team is taking the long view in helping the injured star to find a way to compete without aggravating his damaged joint.
Here’s more from the American League:
- The Rangers watched veteran righty Edwin Jackson throw yesterday but decided against offering him a contract, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Jackson, 33, struggled in stints last year with the Marlins and Padres, working to a cumulative 5.89 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 over 84 innings. He exhibited a notable velocity drop, delivering a career-low 91.7 mph average fastball, though he did still manage a 9.4% swinging-strike rate that landed in range of his career norms.
- The Blue Jays also showed some interest, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), but appear to have moved on after adding Mat Latos. As Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi further reports, Latos says he’s “willing to do whatever I need to do,” expressing a willingness to work from the rotation, out of the pen, or even at Triple-A. “I’ve got a lot of earning I need to do,” he said, “and I need to earn everything as it comes.” GM Ross Atkins, meanwhile, says he’s “excited” to bring Latos into camp, noting that the organization is hopeful he’ll earn a MLB job and wasn’t motivated to try to stash him in the minors.
- Indeed, the Blue Jays now seem largely set with their roster more generally, as Atkins further told Davidi. Per the general manager, the organization is still looking into trade opportunities, but sees additional signings as “unlikely.” Toronto also doesn’t appear inclined to further bolster its rotation mix, with Atkins calling it “a tough sell” to add a starter given the team’s existing stock.
This has nothing to do with anything this post is about but what happens when a team retires too many numbers?
You mean when they reach infity?
Infinity I mean. Damn it.
The world implodes, but due to some strange cosmic event, the stadium still stands, alone. Drifting is space for eternity, softly it whispers… “27 time WS Champs”
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA you just killed me
Hahaha
Go to fractions. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8kw3vrGNB1qgb8kp.jpg
*posted this before i saw lowtalker1’s response
Triple digits.
You’ll see guys wearing high numbers during the regular season, not just ST. Or triple digits.
they fold up shop
Believe it or not the Indians at one point in the 40s or 50s I believe had a midget wear number 3/8. He walked in his only plate appearance and holds the record for career OBP (along with many others).
1/8
Eddie Gaedel, who had dwarfism. Bill Veeck’s idea to use him as a pinch hitter. Not with Indians, but 1951 St. Louis Browns.
Which wouldn’t happen that why some teams won’t retire a number unless they’re going to the hof
But, at the same time this is why the NFL doesn’t retire too many you have to be really good.
Futuramma touched on this.
Using fractions
Now batting number 5/8th hank Aaron the 10th
Google Eddie Gaedel
Browns , midget
I know
Does anyone think Michael Brantley going to be like Grady Sizemore became? Like great outfielder but can’t avoid the DL
I sure hope not.
I dunno, brantley has put up a good season, but in his peak time, Sizermore was truly an awesome all around player. It’s a less severe fall I think. Bradley also doesn’t have the same type of game, so losing his legs like grady did wont have the same hit to his numbers.
Here is fWAR leaders from 2005-2008 http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2008&month=0&season1=2005&ind=0&team=&rost=&age=&filter=&players=
That’s the first thing that came to my mind. Grady Sizemore 2.0. However as chesterarthur pointed out , Sizemore was one of the best players in a 4 year period. Brantley has had just 2 very good seasons (2014-2015)
Lol. I was about to post something similar. Sizemore 2.0
i hope not
yes i do…just like him
Like I don’t like know.
I remember watching Brantley in 2013 and saying, “We’re looking at multiple batting championships down the road for this guy.”, and that still might happen. This shoulder problem has lingered far longer than anyone expected. As with Sizemore, Brantley is making me think of Mark Carreon. All the talent in the world is useless on the DL.
Great depth signing for the Jays, and nice to hear a veteran player eager to earn a spot. Especially coming from a guy who has earned over $25M in his career. Very humbling, and I hope he has a great year.
in his interview he said he chose Toronto because the guys he called said great things about the city. Sounds like he asked the wrong questions, bc he’s headed to Buffalo.
Edwin Jackson struggled last year. And most other years.
Yet, he’s made $77M over his career. That, combined with his sub-mediocre career numbers, made for a head scratcher.
great signing by blue jays, hopefully he makes it to the bullpen and becomes a great relief pitcher
Latos stuff is perfect for the pen as a 2-3 inning guy.
Why are you guys so optimistic about all these reclamation projects they’ve signed? I’m sure one will figure it out and maybe someone else becomes an unexpected surprise in the pen. But more than half of this list of Howell, Smith, Biagini, Latos and Grilli will be a complete flop this year, that’s how bullpens work.
Yeah, how dare people try to hope for the best when they can instead dread the worst?
How can someone be so pessimistic about signing lotto tickets as backup options. Who cares if they’re gone by July or don’t even make it. More options is a good thing. Every team scrapes the bottom of the barrel.
Osuna could flop too, don’t forget him.
Optimism stems from the fact that another Biagini or Grilli could be found just as likely as half the bullpen could flop. Seven bullpen spots and we’ll probably see 15 relievers throughout the year. I’d rather see some of these new wild cards before seeing youngsters again. Let Tepera, Barnes and anyone that can clear waivers serve as insurance rather than first choice options. If everyone sucks, trades can be made after 5-6 weeks. Bullpen is an everchanging beast. The sky is not falling.
Pushing the luxury tax threshold or trading prospects to bring in elite talent would be nice, but it’s not happening. Jays still look top 10 to me considering the outlook in previous offseasons and the outlook around the league. Again, the sky is not falling.
I agree, Bullpen’s implode regularly. It’s not pessimistic to say that, it happens every year, so when a team is STARTING off with reclamation projects the odds of injury and lousy performance are much greater. Kudos to the Jays for signing many reclamation projects, the more the merrier, but I disagree with some of the choices: Howell? Smith? Puuuullllease. The sky is not falling, but crappy relievers will soon. lol. This team as it is built is 3rd place, no playoffs. The Jays need another elite starter, to heck with the money and luxury tax. The reason they got Bautista is because ownership [Rogers Board of directors] ordered them to sign him. because Bautista is good for cell business. The 20 million or so, could have bought the Jays a top-flite starter which is needed much more than an aging slugger who is having trouble getting around on high heat and tracking down liners in right.
3rd place AL East gets a Wild card play-in game last I remember.
That’s being a total troll and ignoring everything that has happened since October though.
I’d say they signed Bautista because musical chairs. In what way would full court press to sign Edwin not be better for cell business?? Bautista turned heel fast, and the parrot is oh-so-marketable.
If any elite starter was available, I’d bet ownership would have approved a signing. Instead it was Bautista as the backup plan. This regime is clearly not trading prospects and seems to be following a pretty proven Cards blueprint.
Seemed an awful lot like Shatkins had to play chicken with ownership and commit to building a cheap roster according to the budget they were approved of. After ownership realized the fan reaction, they seemed to have backpedalled and approved more spending. The returning Bautista, (warts included), was the best remaining option by that time. Every other signing has been scraping the barrel.
In retrospect, spending almost $50m on Bautista/Morales/Pearce/Smoak/Howell/Smith/Gurriel this offseason is highly questionable. Full agreement. I’m guessing a lot of free agents still don’t want to sign in Canada without an overpay. There were a dozen better relievers that could’ve been signed, but did any of them want to play for Toronto?
Rays have skill but traded too much talent away, should’ve went for it. Jays/Orioles both slipped and Yankees didn’t commit hard enough to pass them. Three horse race for second realistically. Redsox are clearly cream of the crop, since they had some trade chips to work with and already some stud prospects paying off… buuuuut They could see injury just as easily as the Jays so I’m still calling the Jays to win the East. Redsox are the smart pick, but do the Yanks or Os really look better than the Jays right now?? Those staffs combined have more holes than the Jays staff. Good bullpen only helps if they can get leads.
Poor wording on my last post- I mean that the best 5 SP from Yanks/Os combined hardly stack up to the 5 Jays starters. The Jays might need another elite starter but the Yanks/Os need one worse. The Jays are closer to developing any caliber starting pitching than either team. And catching up fast in terms of positional trade chips.
Why is Paul Hoynes still covering the Indians? i mean, I would not stop loving them if I was him.. but the Indians don’t seem to be awful fond of him.