Nolan Writin' » Cleveland Indians

Restraint -Thy Names are Ryan and Daniels

Eric Kauffman — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:20:14 +0000

First things first, by the time this posts up something altogether different could have happened because I am posting this at the beginning of getaway day in Nashville. Most reporters are reporting this one of the most uneventful Winter Meetings in recent memory. But for Rangers fans, we had tons of things going on. The biggest of which was a possible four team trade. By the end of the day on Wednesday, most reports had the boys from Arlington responsible for holding every other team in the league. The four team trade appeared to be the Rangers, Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay and Cleveland Indians. The way the rumor mill went, a shortstop was headed from Cleveland to the Diamondbacks and Justin Upton would be in Arlington. But so could have James Shields. You can find this info all over the internet and that trade, or our lack of movement on Zack Grienke and Josh Hamilton, supposedly killed all of the possible action.

For all of that, I am impressed. I don’t know if it’s true we held up everybody else, but I do know that we had a ton of things we could have done (in the name of getting something done) but did not. It appeared Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels wanted everything just so.

photo credit: Dallas Morning News

If you check my mini-bio to the upper right, you know I have seen every general manager the Rangers have employed. I do not remember any of them having this much restraint in not moving Elvis Andrus or giving Hamilton or Greinke a ridiculous payday. That’s not to say we won’t, but for once, we are letting the market come to us.

We won’t be able to tell (until the off-season is over) if these actions are leading us to the Promised Land. But the one thing that it tells me after all of these years is that we are finally and once and for all, in this for the long haul. Every move is calculated as to whether it fits the big picture.

If you are a Ranger fan, you have to only look back to John Hart and Tom Hicks to see the definition of the opposite of this strategy. Even though nothing happened (as I write this) we should all celebrate the Rangers for dictating what is happening in the off-season.

Series Preview: Cleveland Indians (59-82) @ Texas Rangers (83-57)

Jared Book — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:02:06 +0000

The Cleveland Indians come to town tied for the last spot in the AL Central with the Minnesota Twins. The Indians have struggled mightily in the second half and are fighting to stay out of the division cellar.

Aug 31, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) throws to first base after forcing out Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) in the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Andrus was charged with a throwing error on the play. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

The Rangers, after taking two out of three against Tampa Bay come home after a well-deserved day off. They have been playing a lot of extra baseball lately so it is nice to have an extra day of rest this late in the season.

Matt Harrison had two extra days of rest getting pushed back from his Sunday scheduled start to start tonight. He will need to bounce back strong if the Rangers expect to make a push towards a third straight World Series.

Series at a Glance

Texas Record: 83-57 (1st AL West)
Cleveland Record: 59-82 (T-4th AL Central, 17.5 GB)

Season Series: 3-3
Record at Texas: 0-0

Notable Transaction: December 6, 1988: The Cleveland Indians traded Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for Jerry Browne, Oddibe McDowell and Pete O’Brien.

Probable Starters:

Tuesday 7:05 CDT TEX: LHP Matt Harrison (15-9, 3.37 ERA/3.95 FIP) – CLE: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (9-15, 5.58 ERA/5.08 FIP)

Wednesday 7:05 CDT TEX: RHP Ryan Dempster (5-1, 4.36 ERA/3.91 FIP) – CLE: RHP Jeanmar Gomez (5-7, 5.33 ERA/5.19 FIP)

Thursday 7:05 CDT TEX: LHP Derek Holland (10-6, 4.59 ERA/4.62 FIP) – CLE: RHP Zach McAllister (5-7, 4.31 ERA/4.30 FIP)

Projected Indians Lineup
1 RF Shin-Soo Choo (L)
2 2B Jason Kipnis (L)
3 SS Asdrubal Cabrera (B)
4 C Carlos Santana (B)
5 CF Michael Brantley (L)
6 1B Casey Kotchman (L)
7 DH Russ Canzler
8 3B Jack Hannahan (L) vs RHP
9 LF Ezequiel Carrera (L)

Bench
C Lou Marson
C/IF/OF Vinny Rottino
1B Matt LaPorta
3B Lonnie Chisenhall (L)
IF Jason Donald
IF Cord Phelps (B)
IF/OF Brent Lillibridge 3B vs LHP
OF Thomas Neal

Bullpen
CL RHP Chris Perez
SU RHP Vinnie Pestano
SU RHP Joe Smith
MID LHP Tony Sipp
MID RHP Cody Allen
MID RHP Esmil Rogers
MID LHP Scott Barnes
MID LHP Scott Maine
MID RHP Frank Herrmann
MID LHP David Huff
LR LHP Chris Seddon
(source MLBDepthCharts)

For more information on the Indians see FanSided’s Indians page, Wahoo’s On First.

Series Preview: Texas Rangers (77-53) @ Cleveland Indians (55-76)

Jared Book — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:16:31 +0000

There was a point this season when the Cleveland Indians were in first place. Really, there was. But, like last season, they had a significant collapse and now find themselves behind the Kansas City Royals who at one point were the worst team in baseball. And neither team is in the bottom of their division. Hi, Minnesota. Man, the AL Central has been weird this season.

Having said that, I have a soft spot for the Indians and actually enjoy when they do well. Maybe it’s the Major League-complex. Either way, success for the Indians will not come this season and the one reminder of success gone wrong for the Indians is pitching in the series opener: Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez was acquired by Cleveland when they thought they would contend and simultaneously both Jimenez and Cleveland lost what made them successful.

For the Rangers, after a winning series against the Rays, they just have to keep pace with the Athletics as the Angels somehow fall further and further out of the division race. It’s not assured for the Rangers – just need to remember last year – but barring a collapse they should be alright.

Series at a Glance

Texas Record: 77-53 (1st AL West)
Cleveland Record: 55-76 (4th AL Central, 17.5 GB)

Season Series: 2-1 Cleveland
Record at Cleveland: 1-2

Notable Transaction: December 6, 2002: The Cleveland Indians traded Einar Diaz and Ryan Drese to the Texas Rangers for Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette.

Probable Starters:

Friday 6:05 CDT TEX: RHP Ryan Dempster (3-1, 5.46 ERA/4.70 FIP) w/Texas – CLE: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (9-13, 5.58 ERA/5.23 FIP)

Saturday 6:05 CDT TEX: RHP Scott Feldman (6-10, 4.95 ERA/3.88 FIP) – CLE: RHP Roberto Hernandez [formerly Fausto Carmona] (0-3, 7.53 ERA/7.29 FIP)

Sunday 12:05 CDT TEX: LHP Derek Holland (9-6, 4.90 ERA/4.76 FIP) – CLE: RHP Zach McAllister (5-5, 3.82 ERA/3.77 FIP)

Projected Indians Lineup
1 2B Jason Kipnis (L)
2 SS Asdrubal Cabrera (B)
3 RF Shin-Soo Choo (L)
4 C Carlos Santana (B)
5 CF Michael Brantley (L)
6 1B Casey Kotchman (L)
7 DH Matt LaPorta
8 3B Jack Hannahan (L) vs RHP
9 LF Ezequiel Carrera (L)

Bench
C Lou Marson
IF Jason Donald
IF/OF Brent Lillibridge vs LHP

Bullpen
CL RHP Chris Perez
SU RHP Vinnie Pestano
SU RHP Joe Smith
MID LHP Tony Sipp
MID RHP Cody Allen
MID RHP Esmil Rogers
MID RHP Jeanmar Gomez
LR LHP Chris Seddon

(source MLBDepthCharts)

For more information on the Indians see FanSided’s Indians page, Wahoo’s On First.