Ownership, bad trades combined to sink Indians: Analysis
Published: Sunday, November 04, 2012, 7:00 AM Updated: Sunday, November 04, 2012, 7:09 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio — If a baseball team is built the right
way, the advance elements of its incoming talent should blend with the
remnants of the old like waves crashing onto a beach. As the old seeps
into the sand, the new washes over it.
When the Indians didn’t exercise future Hall of Famer Omar
Vizquel’s option at the end of the 2004 season, he represented the last
remnant of the franchise’s emergence from the muck and mire of 40 years
of disappointment. As Vizquel disappeared into the sand, the next wave
had already started to hit the beach to bid him farewell.
CC Sabathia, Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee were in the
rotation. Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez
and Casey Blake were making inroads in the lineup. Bob Wickman and
Rafael Betancourt were in the bullpen.
Last week, the wave that said bon voyage to Vizquel finally ran its course.
Sizemore became a free agent for the second time in as many years on
Monday. Hafner and Roberto Hernandez, who came ashore as Fausto Carmona
in 2006, became free agents Wednesday when their 2013 options were
declined. Unlike Vizquel, who still had quality baseball left in him,
it’s questionable how much Sizemore, Hafner and Hernandez have left.
It’s even more questionable if they’ll ever wear an Indians uniform
again.
For the last several years, Sizemore and Hafner have been
irrelevant from a production standpoint because of injuries. Sizemore
didn’t play this year and Hafner was limited to 66 games. Lies and
deception cost Hernandez almost the entire season following his January
arrest in the Dominican Republic for identity fraud.
The right wave can lead to great things for a ballclub.
The Indians appeared to have just that in the surge that dissipated last
week at the steps of Progressive Field. It produced two Cy Young
winners, a 20-game winner, 14 All-Star game appearances, a 30-30 season,
the most productive DH in team history, the franchise leader in saves,
two Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger awards, one manager of the year award and two executive of the year awards.
From all that came exactly one postseason appearance — which explains what’s wrong about the current Indians.
The tease began in 2005. Propelled by a 46-28 record
after the All-Star break, the Indians finished 93-69. On Sept. 25 at
Kauffman Stadium, they trailed Chicago by 1.5 games in the AL Central.
In the ninth inning of a 4-4 tie, Sizemore lost a fly ball by Kansas
City’s Paul Phillips in the sun and it fell for a game-winning double.
Whatever mojo the Indians possessed vanished.
They lost six of their last seven, getting swept by
Chicago at home in the last three games of the season. After former
Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen capped the sweep by giving Tribe fans the
choke sign, the Indians finished six games out of first and two behind
Boston in the wild card. Chicago went on to win the World Series.
Still, the wave was impressive. Hafner hit .305 with 33
homers and 108 RBI followed by Martinez (.305, 20, 80), Sizemore (.287,
22, 81, 111 runs) and Peralta (.292, 24, 78). Lee went 18-5 with a 3.79
ERA followed by Sabathia (15-10, 4.03), Westbrook (15-15, 4.49) and
Wickman (45 saves).
The glare of expectations ruined the Tribe in 2006. So did
a bullpen with the fewest saves in the league. Wickman was traded in
July to Atlanta for a minor-league catcher. They finished fourth at
78-84, 18 games out of first place.
But the production continued: Martinez (.316, 16, 93),
Hafner (.308, 42, 117), Sizemore (.290, 28, 76, 134 runs), Blake (.282,
19, 68), Lee (14-11, 4.40), Westbrook (15-10, 4.17), Sabathia (12-11,
3.22).
The crest came in 2007. The Indians won the division —
their only Central title in the last 11 years — and tied Boston for the
most victories in the league with 96. They beat the Yankees in the
division series and took a 3-1 lead over Boston in the ALCS before
losing three straight. In Game 7, third-base coach Joel Skinner
mistakenly stopped Kenny Lofton, acquired from Texas for the stretch
run, at third base for what should have been the tying run. The Red Sox
went on to beat the Tribe, 11-2, and sweep the Rockies in the World
Series.
It was the last hurrah for the core and it was a good one:
Martinez (.301, 25, 114), Peralta (.270, 21, 72), Blake (.270, 18, 78),
Sizemore (.277, 24, 78, 114 runs) and Hafner (.266, 24, 100). Sabathia
went 19-7 with a 3.21 EA to win the Indians first Cy Young award since
Gaylord Perry in 1972. Hernandez was almost as good at 19-8 with a 3.06
ERA. Westbrook and Lee were held back by injuries and poor performances.
Lee didn’t even make the postseason roster.
The lead element of the current wave helped as well.
Asdrubal Cabrera (.282, 3, 22, 30 runs) replaced Josh Barfield at second
base to assist in the stretch run. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo played
six games, but underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in
September after spending most of the season at Class AAA Buffalo.
After the season Eric Wedge was named AL Manager of the
Year. Two years later, he was fired. Why couldn’t the wave regenerate
itself? Four words: ownership and bad trades.
When the Indians came out of spring training in 2008,
Hafner, Martinez, Westbrook and Joe Borowski, who recorded 45 of the
bravest — but most unlikely — saves you’ll ever see in 2007, were all
playing hurt. They quickly broke down and the season went with them.
Borowski was released on July 4. Sabathia, a free
agent-to-be, was traded to Milwaukee on July 7 because the Indians
couldn’t afford to keep him. Blake, who went from spring training
invitee to core player, was traded to the Dodgers on July 26. Paul Byrd,
who won 15 games for the Tribe in 2007, was traded to Boston on Aug.
12.
Sabathia turned into Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Rob
Bryson and Zach Jackson. LaPorta has been a bust, Brantley finally put
together a solid year in 2012. Bryson and Jackson were non-factors.
The deal for Blake worked out better as the Indians acquired catcher Carlos Santana.
Amidst the bodies flying off the roster, members of the
core were still producing. Lee went 22-3 to win the team’s second
straight Cy Young award. Sizemore, meanwhile, became only the second
Indian to go 30-30 in a season (38 steals, 33 homers). For Sizemore,
2008 would be his last healthy season. For Lee, it guaranteed that he
wouldn’t be an Indian long.
The fire sale continued in 2009 when ownership told GM
Mark Shapiro that deals had to be made to offset what at one time was
thought to be $16 million in losses. The two biggest deals involved Lee
and Martinez, each with a year left on their contracts.
Lee and Ben Francisco were traded to the Phillies on July
29 for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp and Lou Marson. Knapp,
supposedly the key to the deal, was released by the Indians earlier
this year after two shoulder operations.
Martinez was traded to Boston on July 31 for Justin
Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. The trading continued in 2010
as Peralta was sent to Detroit for a minor-league pitcher and Westbrook
to St. Louis for right-hander Corey Kluber, who made 12 starts for the
Tribe this season.
A big part of the latest wave is already ashore. Cabrera,
Santana, Jason Kipnis, Brantley, Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach
McAllister, Kluber, Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, Tony Sipp,
Cody Allen all played a part in the Indians’ 94 losses this year.
Going, Going, Gone | Timeline of the Tribe's core group
July 25, 2000: Jake Westbrook and Zach Day acquired from Yankees for David Justice and Ricky Ledee.
July 28, 2000: Bob Wickman acquired from Milwaukee for Richie Sexson, Kane Davis, Paul Rigdon and Marco Scutaro.
April 8, 2001: CC Sabathia goes 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore in his big-league debut.
Feb. 23, 2002: CC Sabathia signed a four-year, $9.5 million deal.
Dec. 18, 2002: Casey Blake signs minor-league contract with the Indians.
June 27, 2002: Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens acquired from Montreal for Bartolo Colon, Tim Drew and cash.
Sept. 10, 2002: Victor Martinez goes 1-for-4 against Toronto in his big-league debut.
Dec. 6, 2002: Travis Hafner and RHP Aaron Myette acquired from Texas for RHP Ryan Drese and C Einar Diaz.
June 13, 2003: Jhonny Peralta starts at shortstop against San Diego in his big-league debut.
July 13, 2003: Rafael Betancourt lost to the White Sox in his big-league debut.
April 5, 2005: Victor Martinez signed a five-year, $15.5 million deal.
Sept. 18-24, 2005: Travis Hafner homers in six straight games.
March 6, 2006: Grady Sizemore signs five-year, $23.45 million deal; Jhonny Peralta signs
six-year, $13 million deal.
April 15, 2006: Roberto Hernandez, known as Fausto Carmona, won his big-league debut with a victory over Detroit.
May 7, 2006: Bob Wickman saved his 130th game as an Indian to make him the team’s all-time leader.
July 20, 2006: Bob Wickman traded to Atlanta for Max Ramirez.
April 7, 2007: Jake Westbrook signs three-year, $33 million deal.
May 20-June 17, 2007: Casey Blake hits in 26 straight games, longest AL streak that year.
July 12, 2007: Travis Hafner signs four-year, $57 million extension, biggest in team history.
Aug. 8, 2007: Asdrubal Cabrera starts against Chicago in his big-league debut.
Sept. 28, 2007: CC Sabathia beat Kansas City for his 19th victory on his way to the Cy Young Award.
Oct. 5, 2007: Hernandez/Carmona pitches nine innings in Game 2 of ALDS against the Yankees at bug infested Progressive Field. The Indians won, 2-1, in 11 innings.
April 10, 2008: Hernandez/Carmona, signs four-year, $15 million contract.
July 7, 2008: CC Sabathia traded to Milwaukee for Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Rob Bryson and Zach Jackson.
July 26, 2008: Casey Blake traded to the Dodgers for Carlos Santana.
Aug. 25, 2008: Grady Sizemore, facing Detroit, hit his 30th and 31st homer to become the second 30-30 man in team history.
Sept. 1, 2008: Cliff Lee threw a five-hit shutout to beat the White Sox for his 20th victory on the way to Cy Young Award.
May 1, 2009: Jhonny Peralta homered against Detroit to pass Woodie Held and become the Indians’ all-time home run leader among shortstops.
July 3, 2009: Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with two homers, four runs and seven RBI against Oakland.
July 29, 2009: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco traded to the Phillies for Jason Donald, Lou Marson, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp.
July 31, 2009: Victor Martinez traded to Boston for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price.
July 29, 2010: Jhonny Peralta traded to Detroit for Giovanni Soto.
July 31, 2010: Jake Westbrook traded to St. Louis as part of a three-team deal in which the Indians receive Corey Kluber.
Oct. 29, 2012: Grady Sizemore granted free agency.
Oct. 31, 2012: The Indians declined the 2013 options on Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez, making them free agents.
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