Casey Blake to L.A.

Casey Blake is going to be a Dodger. The tribe pulled off another move today, Casey Blake is moving out to the left coast, and in return the Indians are getting two prospects, Jon Meloan and Carlos Santana.

Blake is hitting .289 on the year, with 11 HR and 58 RBI, and has been one of the Indians hottest hitters over the last month. But Blake is 35 years old, and beginning to decline. Also, it actually looks like Andy Marte might possibly be just barely eeking out of his career long slump, both of his home runs on the season have come in July, and with more playing time he seems to be improving, so it makes sense to trade Blake now. After Nady was traded to the Yankees, Blake became the next best corner outfielder/infielder on the market, so the Dodgers jumped at him.

At first, looking at the prospects we got in return, I wasn't that impressed, but after thinking it over, the Indians really pulled off an excellent trade. Carlos Santana is hitting .323 with 14 HR and 96 RBI and a .994 OPS this year in single A Inland Empire. Getting Santana didn't make sense to me, with Wyatt Toregas ripping through the Eastern League this year, and another highly touted catcher Richard Martinez in Kinston, but Santana can flat out hit. And it couldn't hurt to get as many big prospects as we can, since next year we do plan on being competitive again, he could be used as a piece in a deal to get us a Casey Blake (hopefully better).

Also in the deal, whom I believe is even better than Santana, Jonathan Meloan. Don't let his 5-10 record and 4.97 ERA full you, he was a lights out reliever in the past. Last year, Meloan had 20 saves and a 2.03 ERA, and get this, 91 K's in 66.2 innings. That's 13.4 K/9IP, nice. Going even further, he has 335 K's in 262 career IP in the minors. Obviously he'll be used as a back end of the bullpen guy.

All in all, we traded a 35 year old over the hill third basemen who is riding a hot streak right now for two well above average prospects, one filling a major need. Shapiro really pulled off a gem in this one.

So uh...Carson Palmer, wtf?

I cannot stand the Buckeyes.

It's amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I gotta put up with being back there.

I just can't wait for two years from now when SC comes to the 'Shoe and hopefully we'll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf

I'm really getting sick of it and I just can't wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whoopin' and go back to the Big Ten.

Come on Carson, really? Just not a bright thing to say, considering the fact that while you are bashing Buckeye fans, you are bashing your own Bengals fans at the same time, genius. Just because you are an uneducated SC alum, doesn't excuse from the fact that you should know that the city you play in is located in Ohio, and Ohio State is...In Ohio....Get it Carson? Bengals fans = Buckeye fans.

I know, as a Browns fan, if Brady Quinn had said that exact same quote, I'd want him traded, no questions asked. I'm a Buckeye from birth, and will always be a Buckeye, you don't disrespect us and then expect to get cheered and rooted for by your home team fans. I really hope those inbred freaks down in Stinkinnasti boo you off the field, and if not, you hicks can just join Kentucky.

"Midseason" Grades: Pitching

The pitching has been a bit better than the hitting has been, to say the least. Our starting pitching, nearly immaculate, the bullpen, not so much, but there have been a couple of nice pieces out there as well.

Cliff Lee - A+
Who else could I possibly start with? The AL starter in the All-Star game this year (threw 2 scoreless innings), Lee is 13-2 with a 2.29 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and has allowed only 1.35 BB/9IP this year (Wow!). The numbers speak for themselves. He has completely regained his confidence, and is the front runner for the AL Cy Young this year, and should easily trump his career high 18 wins in 2005.

Paul Byrd - D+
I'm not knocking Byrd, in fact I like the Byrd man, but even for a 5th starter, his ERA is atrocious (5.28) and he has given up 23 long balls this year which is horrible. This from a guy who coming into this year won 10 and 15 games for the Indians. Byrd is only 4-10 this year.

Aaron Laffey - B+
Laffey is doing what we expected Adam Miller to be doing this year. Lee and Laffey battled out for the 5th starters job in spring training this year, and Laffey lost out, but with the injury to Jake Westbrook, the Laff man got his chance, and he has flourished. Laffey is 5-6 with a 3.61 ERA, and during the month of June was one of the most unhittable pitchers in baseball.

Fausto Carmona - A-
Started the year a bit rocky having serious control issues, but settled into an unfamiliar role, the ace of our staff. Yes, Lee has been amazing all year, but the leader of that staff who had the numbers to back it up that early was Fausto. He has been injured since May 24th, but in his 10 starts, he was 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA.

Jeremy Sowers - D-
Only reason why Sowers doesn't get an F is because he was the last option we would have liked to use in the rotation this year, but due to injury, he's been forced to pitch. Even though he has been more than ready to pitch in the bigs, things just haven't clicked for him yet.

Masahide Kobayashi - B
Masa has been a very solid back end of the bullpen guy. A closer in Japan, he took on the setup role and was great. And since the release of Borowski, Kobayashi has been our closer, and has 6 saves with a 3.30 ERA.

Rafael Betancourt - F
Absolutely awful...Raffy Right has been a complete and total bust this year. He has a 6.00 ERA...Yes, the man who was the best setup man in baseball last year now has a 6 ERA this year. I can't explain it...He doesn't look injured, he still has the velocity and the control...I just can't explain it.

Rafael Perez - B
Raffy Left in the Raffy equation on the other hand has turned his season around. There was a time early in the year where Perez was struggling just as badly as Betancourt, but Perez has been money this summer with a 3.18 ERA.

Jensen Lewis - D+
A key part of the bullpen during our playoff run last year, Lewis had his good outings and his bad this year. A 4.41 ERA and 0-3 record just don't cut it.

Joe Borowski - F--------
I hate you.

I'd also like to know why we ever got rid of Craig Breslow. He had a 3.24 ERA in 7 games with us, and has a 1.76 ERA in 15 games with the Twins...I don't understand that one.

But there you have it, your Indians "Midseason" grades for pitching and hitting.

Overall season grade - D+
A team that was supposed to go to the World Series at 44-54 this year...Injuries have taken their toll, and a lot of players that have good track records in their careers are having down years. The good news is once this team is healthy, it should be an easy transition back into the playoffs next year.

"Midseason" Grades: Offense

A bit behind, but hey we only just passed the All-Star break, so technically.....


Grady Sizemore - A-
Grady has had a surprising power surge this year, hitting 23 home runs, which is tops in the American League. It's just too bad they are all from the leadoff spot, giving him only 54 RBI. But with 23 stolen bases, he's got a pretty good shot at going 40/40.

Jamey Carrol - B-
Carroll only has 8 doubles and 4 triples (12 total XBH), but he didn't even start the year as our starting second basemen, and he has filled in nicely for Asdrubal Cabrera, hitting .271.

Casey Blake - B
Blake was pretty awful for the first few months of the season, really only hitting on the road, but he has steadily raised his average up to .286, and leads the team in RBI with 56.

Ryan Garko - D
Garko is really skating on thin ice. With Michael Aubrey and Beau Mills waiting in the wings, if he doesn't get his act together he could be gone very soon. He has never been able to match what he did in his rookie year, and his 7 HR and .237 average this year have been a big disappointment.

Johnny Peralta - C+
Exactly what a C+ grade means, a bit above average. Peralta does have 16 home runs, but they are all empty HR's. He never hits the meaningful home run. He also has a .309 OBP and has 15 GIDP which is by far the most on the team, yick.

Ben Francisco - B
A spark mid-season call up, really tore it up in June, has cooled off since, but he seems to have leveled off at his .290 average. Twenty doubles and 8 home runs, he has shown solid power.

Franklin Gutierrez - F
Totally fell on his face this year, a complete disappointment. Lost his job to Francisco/Choo.

David Dellucci - D-
Dellucci has been just above useless this year. I cringe whenever I see him in the lineup. Eight home runs, great! But a .225 average and nearly a 4/1 AB:K ratio is um...Not.

Shin-Soo Choo - C
Choo hasn't been amazing, but has a .454 SLG% if given a full season would be a 20 HR/34 double guy.

Kelly Shoppach - B
One of the few bright spots on the team, Shoppach was pushed into the starting role in place of Victor Martinez when VicMart went on the DL. Shoppach has hit 8 HR in 172 ABs, with 24 RBI and a .250 average. Not mind blowing, but he at least we don't have a hole in the lineup without Vic Mart. Way too many K's though (61)

Travis Hafner - Incomplete
Victor Martinez - Incomplete
Both guys were having awful years, (although Hafner was still on pace to knock in about 90 RBI), but both were also playing hurt all year.

Tomorrow, "Midseason" grades: Pitching

CC Sabathia is now 3-0 with the Brewers

Three starts into Sabathia's NL career, he is 3-0 and absolutely eating up NL hitting (and pitching). He threw his second consecutive complete game last night, and was only one run from throwing a shut out.

I know some fellow Indians fans who want him to totally bomb for the Brewers, just want him to completely stink it up. I on the other hand, am loving his success in the NL. I'm very happy for him and what he is doing for the Brewers. CC is our guy, the guy that we brought up from the age of 17. It doesn't matter where he goes after the end of this year, I will be a fan of his for the rest of his career. I just can't help it, I love the big guy. Keep throwing complete games and clobbering homers CC, show those brat lovers up in Wisconsin how CTown plays ball.

What do I love about baseball?

What do I love about baseball?

I love the dirt
I love the grass
I love the sacrifice bunt
I love stretching a single into a double
I love the sound of the crack of a bat
I love double headers
I love hard grounders kicking up the infield dirt
I love watching a ball sail over the fence, not just seeing it, but watching it fly
I love the sting you get from the bat
I love inside the park home runs
I love wearing my socks high
I love the unbreakable records
I love the hitter trying to out think the pitcher, and the pitcher trying to out think the hitter
I love the smell of the dirt
I love the smell of freshly cut grass
I love the smell of the ball
I love the smell of my glove
I love double play depth
I love the knuckle ball
I love the sound of my cleats on the concrete floor in the dugout
I love the white ball in the blue sky
I love the wheel play
I love a pitcher's duel
I love a 13-10 game
I love the pop from a catcher's glove after a 95 MPH fastball
I love the bleachers
I love hitting with no batting gloves
I love white sweat stains on my hat
I love cup checks
I love to block a pitch in the dirt
I love seeing a guy steal second, and then third in the same at bat
I love a 12-6 curve ball
I love the fact that it's played during the best season of the year
I love the superstitions
I love the history
I love full catchers gear, on a Saturday afternoon in 95 degree heat
I love that you can pick up a stick and a ball anywhere and start a game
I love that the mound isn't 60 feet from home plate, but 60 feet 6 inches
I love hitting streaks
I love 100 win seasons, and 100 loss seasons
I love sunflower seeds
I love getting dirty
I love tagging up from third base
I love the conversations you can get into in the dugout
I love watching, playing, reading, hearing, writing, drawing and thinking baseball
I love everything about baseball

Player to be Named Later, Taylor Green and....?/Minor League Updates

Even though Shapiro and the Indians aren't budging with the two players they have to choose from as their PTBNL, it is universally believed that third basemen Taylor Green is definitely one of the two.

Green, playing in single A Brevard County, is hitting .288 on the year with 10 home runs and 56 RBI. The Indians are waiting on whether they want to take Green or not based on how well he plays at second base the rest of the year. Green does have experience at second base, in 2006, his first year in professional baseball, he played 60 games at second, committing 10 errors.

The other player is up for debate. Some believe it is Brevard County outfielder Lorenzo Cain, who is hitting .288 with 7 home runs, 41 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Cain seems like a good player, but the guy who's name has been brought up recently, whom I now have become a fan of, Michael Brantley. Brantley is hitting .326 with 4 home runs, 15 doubles, 35 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He has some pop, and excellent speed. He could be the answer at the leadoff spot that the Indians haven't been able to fill in years. Putting Brantley in that leadoff spot would allow Sizemore to move down into the 3 hole, making much better use of his power. The best part about Brantley, a .402 OBP and 2:1 BB:K rate.

Moving on to some other minor league notes, In his first 3 games with Akron, Matt LaPorta hasn't disappointed. He has 5 hits through his first 13 at bats (counting tonight's game against Reading), with an RBI. He hasn't gone deep yet or busted out the lights out in left field in Canal Park, but he is hitting. You can check the Aeros' games box scores here, I've been refreshing them nightly since LaPorta checked in at Akron.

To conclude this post, I'd just like to point out some other notables in our system...

Lake County Captains (A)
Roman Pena: .299/9/57
Ryan Morris: 7-2, 3.18 ERA
Kelvin De La Cruz: 7-3, 1.74 ERA, 9.8 K/9IP
Ryan Miller: 7-4, 2.47 ERA, 9.7 K/9IP

Kinston Indians (A+)
Beau Mills: .276/13/57
Luis Perdomo: 3-1, .92 ERA, 9.9 K/9IP

Akron Aeros (AA)
Wes Hodges: .315/10/72/.861 OPS
Trevor Crowe: .325/4/26/.921 OPS
Wyatt Toregas: .321/8/25/1.280 OPS
David Huff: 5-1, 1.92 ERA, .88 WHIP
Jeffrey Stevens: 5-1, 2.51 ERA, 11.6 K/9IP

Buffalo Bisons (AAA)
Brady Snyder: .232/7/36
Jason Cooper: .223/9/37
Aaron Herr: .245/9/32