Category Archives: Carlos Santana

Guillen Suspended for Thoughtless Remarks Regarding Fidel Castro

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Ozzie Guillen headed home to Florida to further apologize to Cuban baseball fans who are angry over his comments about Fidel Castro, and have threatened to boycott and picket the Marlins at their new stadium.  Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal wrote that Guillen deserved a suspension for his “thoughtless remarks”.  The Marlins agreed, suspending the Marlins manager for the next five games.  [FoxSports]

Judith Reese was celebrating her 69th birthday on Sunday when she was struck on the head by a line drive that hooked foul off the bat of Michael Cuddyer.  Reese suffered a concussion and was released later in the afternoon.  [FoxSports]

Chipper Jones was activated Tuesday, missing just four games following minor knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  The Braves legend homered in his first game back…  [MLB]

Mets third baseman David Wright fractured his right pinkie finger, requiring a splint.  Wright jammed his finger diving back to the bag on a pickoff throw.  The broken finger cannot be operated on, so it’s just a matter of time before he and doctors decide he can play.

Andy Pettitte‘s first minor league outing was considered a success.  Pettitte went three innings, fanned two, and gave up a run.  The Yankees might need him…  [ESPN]

Washington closer Drew Storen‘s injured elbow is going to get a look-see from Dr. James Andrews.  He felt discomfort following a simulated game on Monday.
Other Transactions:

San Diego placed pitcher Dustin Moseley on the 15-Day DL with a strained shoulder, while first baseman Daric Barton returned to the A’s after a short DL stint.  To make room for Barton, Brandon Allen was designated for assignment – he could be picked up by someone, or he could be heading back to AAA.

Let’s Make a Deal!!!

The Red signed second baseman Brandon Phillips to a six-year deal with $72.5 million.

The Indians signed catcher Carlos Santana to a five-year, $21 million contract.

Ian Kinsler‘s deal was waiting on a required physical and should be signed on Wednesday.  Kinsler’s deal is worth $75 million over five years.

Happy Birthday!

Those celebrating with cake, cards, or remembrances include:

I missed a day – here are birthdays for 4/9 first…

(1870) Ollie Pickering
(1888) James “Hippo” Vaughn
(1909) Claude Passeau
(1946) Nate Colbert
(1963) Jose Guzman
(1985) David Robertson

Ollie Pickering, in one of his first games since being called up from the minors, hit a couple of bloop singles to reach base.  As Pickering had played in the Texas League, they became known as Texas Leaguers…  Pickering was a pretty quick outfielder who bounced around a few teams and leagues over a long career at the turn of the last century.

Now for the 4/10 celebrants…

(1868) Tacky Tom Parrott  (See below.)
(1897) Ross Youngs  (See below.)
(1930) Frank Lary (The Yankee Killer)
(1946) Leroy Stanton
(1948) Lee Lacy
(1950) Ken Griffey – the kid on the Big Red Machine…
(1963) Mike Devereaux and Marvin Freeman
(1982) Andre Either – who homered today in a Dodger win…

Ross Youngs is probably as little known as any Hall of Famer, Youngs played on the Giants in the 1920s and was a fantastic hitting outfielder.  He died in 1928, he was barely into his 30s, which was among baseball’s biggest tragedies prior to Lou Gehrig’s death in 1941.

According to “Major League Baseball Profiles” a two-volume set edited by David Nemec that gives amazing details about the lives of hundreds of players who played in the various major leagues from 1871 – 1900, Tom Parrott was one of the original characters of the name.  “Tacky” is an old slang term – we might call him “Weirdo” or “Crazy” or “Whacky” or something like that now.  He had large gyrations prior to pitching, threw one of the original lobbed pitches (high arching slow pitches), was quite the entertainer and airhead, and was also one of the best hitting pitchers who ever played.  His days in the big leagues were rather short – about four years – but he played in the minors for at least a decade after that, mostly in Texas.  When his baseball career was over, he used his skills as a cornet player and served as a professional musician for the rest of his days.

2011 Season Forecast: Cleveland Indians

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Last Five Years:

2010:  69 – 93  (Fourth in AL Central)
2009:  65 – 97
2008:  81 – 81
2007:  96 – 66
2006:  78 – 84

Remember 2007, anyone?  the Indians were a game away from getting to the World Series.

Runs Scored: 646 (12th in the AL)
Runs Allowed: 752 (12th in the AL)

With this combination of runs scored and allowed, the Indians would have been expected to win 69 games – which is what they did.

Season Recap:

Most experts had the Indians and Royals battling for the bottom of the AL Central, and the Indians did just that – edging the Royals by two games to claim fourth in the division.

The Indians got off to a moderately slow start, but fell way off the pace in May, going 9 – 18.  Other than that month and a rather poor August (10 – 18, but played better than that), the Indians roared down the stretch with a 15 – 12 September, catching the Royals to get out of the cellar.  Part of this was adding a few nuggets – like rookie catcher Carlos Santana and infielders Jason Donald and Jayson Nix – who were happy to get playing time and helped lead the charge.

Starters:

Fausto Carmona returned to form, tossing sinkers and sinking fastballs, and giving the Indians 210.1 innings of solid baseball.  Justin Masterson’s first season as a regular in the rotation wasn’t a complete loss.  Sure, he allowed a lot of runs, but he had decent strikeout numbers and hung in there for the whole year.  He needs to work on his control, but there’s something to build on here.  Mitch Talbot won 10 games, but I’m not sure how.  He doesn’t strike a lot of guys out and he tends to walk even more guys than Masterson.  Jake Westbrook returned to make 21 fair starts before being shipped off to St. Louis for the stretch run.  David Huff, Josh Tomlin, and Jeanmar Gomez served as fifth starters – only Huff looked way out of place and of the three, Tomlin looks to be ready to take a turn 30 times and be successful.

Looking forward, a rotation of Carmona, Masterson, Talbot, Tomlin, and another kid named Carlos Carrasco has some potential for growth.  I see Talbot falling off a little, but if Carmona can hold form, the other three guys could certainly shave 30 – 40 runs off the runs allowed side of the ledger.

Relievers:

Chris Perez did a great job as the closer and returns for another season.  Tony Sipp, Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Jensen Lewis, and Frank Herrmann will tote some innings as well.  Justin Germano did an okay job last year and gets a non-roster invitation to training camp.  He has a shot at being the 11th man on the staff.  Of these, I am less inclined to believe that Perez and Smith will be as successful, so Lewis, Herrmann, and SOMEBODY will have to step up.  I think the bullpen may be off by 10 runs over the course of the season.

Catching:

Carlos Santana had a great first 40 games.  He’s a convert – came to the Dodgers in 2005 as a third baseman and played all over the infield and outfield – an Elmo Plaskett sort of career.  I 2007, he was switched to catcher and has shown himself to be a quick learner with a strong arm.  As a hitter, he has a .401 OBP in the minors with 25 homer potential.  His backup, Lou Marson, has solid defensive skills but struggled at the plate last year – even after being sent to AAA.  I don’t think this will happen again.

Infield:

Last year’s infield started out as Russell Branyan, Mark Grudzielanek or Luis Valbuena, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Jhonny Peralta.  By August, Grudzielanek was released and now is retired.  Branyan was returned to Seattle, and I have no reason why they would have done that – but what the hey.  Matt LaPorta came in to play first.  Jayson Nix outplayed Andy Marte to win the third base job, and Jason Donald earned a shot at second base.  Only Cabrera played most of the season – but even he, by the end of the season, was seeing less playing time because his bat had tanked from where it was in 2009.

Looking forward, Donald or Nix looks to be the third baseman, LaPorta will get one more shot at first base, and Asdrubal Cabrera will get a shot to return to form at short.  More importantly, the Indians have imported Reds infielder Orlando Cabrera to play second base.  Jayson Nix and Valbuena return as depth.  I like adding Orlando Cabrera, though he’s getting long in the tooth and hasn’t really played a whole lot of second base in his career.  Donald can hit as well as Peralta these days, and LaPorta has room for growth.  Defensively, it’s not awesome – but it’s not bad either (well, LaPorta didn’t impress me).  If nothing else, it’s an infield that gives a manager a lot of daily options if necessary.

Outfield:

In right field, Shin Soo Choo is awesome – 20/20 with a high batting average and on base percentage.  He’s one of the best in the game.  The problem is the other two positions.  In center, the Indians are hoping that Grady Sizemore can return from microfracture surgery on his left knee.  At peak, and Sizemore is just 29, Sizemore is a potent bat in the middle of the lineup.  He hasn’t had centerfield range in years, though, so I’d rather see him play left field.  That leaves Michael Brantley or Trevor Crowe in left (or center) and neither impressed at the plate, being low average, low power guys with speed.  Crowe might be the better defensive option in center, but neither has 1000 innings in the field yet, so it’s still open for debate.  Austin Kearns returns to be a fourth or fifth outfielder and DH option.

DH:

Travis Hafner, no longer the threat he once was, still helps put runs on the board.  Carlos Santana, Shelly Duncan, or Austin Kearns will be the other half of a platoon arrangement.

Down on the Farm:

The guys at AAA who looked like they could play a little, Brantley, Crowe, Donald, LaPorta (who caught in AAA), all got shots with the parent club.  Of those who did not, Jose Constanza hit .319 with less power and a lower OBP than Brantley, so that won’t work.  Cord Phelps moved up from AA, is just 24, and hit .317 with a little power.  Phelps is a 3rd round pick out of Stanford in 2008 who has been moved up quickly and played better at each level.  That being said, the entire Columbus AAA team hit .285, so I wouldn’t put stock in those averages holding up at the big league level.  None of the guys who hit .300 in AAA hit anywhere near .250 in the bigs in 2010.  A couple of pitchers were rushed to the bigs, including Gomez and Huff, while Carlos Carrasco pitched better than all of them (10 – 6, 133Ks in 150.1 innings, good control, 3.65 ERA in a hitter’s park).  So of the young arms in camp, I like his the best.

AA Akron features a couple of pitchers who might make you look for them in a year or two.  Alex White is just 22, had a 2.28 ERA in 17 starts, and had good control, decent K numbers, and kept the ball in the park.  The UNC grad was the #1 pick of the Indians in 2009 and appears to have a fast track to the majors.  Chen Lee pitched relief, fanned 82 and walked just 22 in 72.2 innings of work.

The second round pick of the 2009 draft, Jason Kipnis, hit well at A+ Kinston, batting .300 with a .387 OBP and power, earning a trip to Akron, where he continued to hit well (.311/.385/.502).  I like him because he’s from Northbrook, IL – a graduate of Glenbrook North, where a bunch of my cousins went to school.  He’s still figuring out second base, but he will be in the majors before you know it.  The 2008 #1 pick, Lonnie Chisenhall, has migrated to third base and shows power – but right now projects out as an Andy Marte clone – and that’s not MLB ready yet.

2011 Forecast:

Let’s call it guarded optimism.  The young pitchers should be able to build on 2010, but I think the defense will suffer if Sizemore is allowed to play center and with Orlando Cabrera learning a new position (and LaPorta likely getting 1000 innings at first).  It’s not a total wash, but it’s at least mitigating some of the potential improvement.  If Sizemore plays left and Crowe plays center, the team will remove 30 runs from the runs allowed side.  If Sizemore is still in center, I don’t see any change.

The offense will certainly be better at catcher, and if Sizemore can hit, that’s another huge plus – possibly 80 extra runs on the board between the two positions.  Cabrera or Donald or Nix will be better than a full season of Luis Valbuena, too.  When I feel optimistic, the system says that the team should score 725 runs and allow about 740 – but managerial decisions and Sizemore’s health aren’t guarantees, so I’ll hedge my bet and guess it will be more like 700 and 750 instead.  That puts the Indians at 75 wins – a nice step in the right direction.  On the other hand, the potential is there to get to 80 games if a lot of things work in their favor.  Besides, Cleveland could use some good news from a sporting standpoint.  As such, I’ll be rooting for the pleasant surprise…

A’s Feel Devine; Enberg Back in Booth

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Maybe because I didn’t grow up in California, where he was the voice of the California Angels for the better part of a decade, but when I think of Dick Enberg, I think of AFC football games and Merlin Olson.  Still, the 75-year-young master of the microphone will be calling out an occasional “Oh My!” when Adrian Gonzalez (assuming he stays put) hits a late inning homer for a win.  The Padres inked Enberg to voice the television broadcasts for 2010.  (I’d LOVE to have that job.)  [SI]

News and Notes…

The Oakland As signed reliever Joey Devine to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration.  Acquired for Mark Kotsay (brilliant!) from the Braves a couple of years ago, Devine had an amazing 2008 but his elbow went awry in 2009 and he had Tommy John surgery in April.  Devine will earn about $560K.  [MLB]

Two guys playing ball in the Dominican Republic are heading home…  Jarrod Saltalamacchia, he of the long name and sore shoulder, reinjured his throwing wing swinging a bat.  “Salty” has thoracic outlet syndrome – which is when a rib contracts a nerve or artery heading into the arm.  Some players have had the rib removed (Jeremy Bonderman) to deal with the problem…  [MLB]

Meanwhile, Indians catching prospect Carlos Santana (not THAT Santana) came home with a pretty nasty case of the flu…  [MLB

The Cleveland Indians added four players to their roster…  Brian Buscher, a mobile third baseman who looks to be able to get on base but isn’t adding a lot of power, joins the infield.  Luis Rodriguez, a shortstop, was added likely as a utility infielder – but isn’t much of a hitter.  To the bullpen, the Tribe added Mike Gosling – who at best projects as a long reliever with control issues – and Jason Grilli, who had a really good year in 2008 but not many others like it.  Obviously, the Indians are hoping he can find his good form and fortune and help in the later innings but he looks to be about a seventh inning guy at best these days.

Tampa released reliever Ramon Ramirez, whom they had acquired from the Reds.  Must be a roster limitation move because this Ramon Ramirez had shown little reason to think he might not be an okay pitcher.  Somebody will sign him.

Happy Birthday! I noticed that the last couple of days were not loaded with birthdays – and it makes sense.  There are a lot of people born at the end of September or early October (like, say, my dad) because the parents hook up for the holidays and share a little holiday cheer.  Is anyone not surprised at the number of people born in February, March, and April?  I mean, there are a lot of weddings and anniversaries between May 15 and late July.  But to be born in December – what was the occasion?  I mean, other than Valentine’s Day (meaning a lot of mid November babies), what reason is there to get a couple in the sack around March first?

I digress.

Those celebrating with cards, cake, or remembrances include:  Patrick (Cozy) Dolan (1872), Harry “Suitcase” Simpson (1925), who played for 17 different Negro Leagues and Major League teams in his long career, Clay Dalrymple (1936), Chico Salmon (1940), Wayne Garrett (1947) – and for some reason I can still see his Topps baseball card in my head when he was with the Mets, Larry Anderson (1952), Gene Nelson (1960), Damon Berryhill (1963), Darryl Hamilton (1964), Paul Byrd (1970), and Chad Durbin (1977).