The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Indians need to bolster lineup after moves
No matter how you measure run production, RBI or otherwise, the Indians lost a chunk of their offense. Jeff Schudel examines the offseason to this point. Plus, thoughts on Clay Matthews and Kevin Love.
Baseball analytics experts say RBI are not a true measure of a player’s worth to his team. That should be some comfort to Indians fans, because producers of 354 runs batted in for the Tribe in 2018 have scattered across the country in the past two months.
Edwin Encarnacion (107 RBI) was traded to the Mariners. Yonder Alonso (83) was traded to the White Sox. Yan Gomes (48) was traded to the Nationals. Infielder Erik Gonzalez (16) was traded to the Pirates and Yandy Diaz (15) was traded to the Rays. Michael Brantley (76) signed with the Astros in free agency. Lonnie Chisenhall (nine), limited to 29 games last season because of calf injuries, signed with the Pirates in free agency.
The long list does not include third baseman Josh Donaldson (seven RBI) because Donaldson was acquired as a rental from the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 31 for a playoff push.
Brandon Guyer (27 RBI in 103 games) is a free agent and is not on the list.
First baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana (86 RBI) was acquired from Seattle in the Encarnacion trade. Outfielder/first baseman Jake Bauers (48) was acquired from the Rays.
The Indians got prospects (pitcher Jefry Rodriquez, outfielder Daniel Johnson and infielder Andruw Monasterio) for Gomes. They got outfield prospect Alex Call from the White Sox in the Alonso trade.
Early in November, the Indians shipped versatile Gonzalez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Jordan Luplow. Luplow had 92 at bats with the Pirates in 2018, batting .194 with three home runs and seven RBI.
Analytics experts aren’t big on RBI as a measuring tool because they conclude the RBI total is a product of the player’s environment and where he hits in the order. Encarnacion had the benefit of hitting cleanup in most games with Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez hitting in front of him, so naturally his RBI total is going to be high.
But just because a player’s RBI total doesn’t measure his true value doesn’t mean manager Terry Francona can plug anybody into the cleanup spot and count on that player, perhaps Santana, driving in 100 runs. Lindor hit leadoff in 2018 and managed to drive in 92 runs.
Indians president Chris Antonetti is trying to cut salary because of the storm brewing. Lindor is projected to earn $10.2 million in 2019 – his first year of arbitration eligibility – after making $623,200 last season. Trevor Bauer, also arbitration eligible, is expected to get a $5 million salary bump to $11.6 million. He made $6.25 million last year.
Starting pitcher Corey Kluber, 20-7 in 2018, is set to make $17 million after making $10 million last season. He has been mentioned in trade rumors for more than a month, but for now is still with the Indians.
Fans expect owner Paul Dolan to just open up his wallet and spend, spend, spend. That isn’t realistic. The Indians have to find ways to pay for the salary increases due some players and the easiest way to do that is move others.
But Antonetti and Francona also have to find players to drive in runs – even if a guy with a laptop says that stat isn’t important.
Pro Bowl snubs linger
Pro Bowl selections annually cause as much disappointment for deserving players that don’t make it as they do joy for players that do make it.
Defensive end Myles Garrett and cornerback Denzel Ward were the only two Browns players voted to football’s All-Star game scheduled for Jan. 27 in Orlando. Joel Bitonio, a first alternate, has a good chance of being added to the AFC roster if a player ahead of him (David DeCastro of the Steelers, Marshal Yanda of the Ravens or Quenton Nelson of the Colts) pulls out for some reason.
Running back Nick Chubb and punter Britton Colquitt are second alternates. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (third), quarterback Baker Mayfield (fourth) and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler (fourth) were also named as alternates.
Two Browns who deserved to at least be alternates — middle linebacker Joe Schobert and safety Damarious Randall — were shut out completely. Schobert played in the Pro Bowl last year.
Pro Bowl voting is done by players, coaches and fans. Each segment accounts for one-third of the voting. Coaches cannot vote for their own players and players cannot vote for teammates. Coaches and players vote for players within their conference.
Pro Bowl snubs are nothing new. Former NFL linebacker London Fletcher, a John Carroll and VASJ product, recently sounded off on the subject during an interview on CBS Sports Radio. In doing so he inadvertently might have pointed out why former Browns linebacker Clay Matthews isn’t already in the Hall of Fame.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely, there was great frustration for me,” Fletcher said. “I didn’t make it, I don’t think, until my 11th year. It was ridiculous. There were years where I was clearly the best middle linebacker in whatever conference I was playing in and here I am, first or second alternate.
“There was one time where a guy who made it ahead of me missed like half the season and was still voted ahead of me in the Pro Bowl because he was more popular.”
Fletcher played 16 seasons with the Rams, Bills and Redskins. He made the Rams’ roster as a rookie in 1998 and retired after 2013 following seven seasons with the Redskins. He made the Pro Bowl four straight years from 2009-12.
Pro Bowl selections are used as leverage in contract negotiations. Hall of Fame voters look at the number of times a player is selected in deciding whether a player is Hall of Fame worthy.
Fletcher is in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. He did not make the list of 25 semifinalists. He believes if he made 10 Pro Bowls he might be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Matthews played linebacker for the Browns from 1978-93 and three more seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He made the Pro Bowl only four times in a glorious career. His 1,571 career tackles are third-most in NFL history.
Fletcher was talking about his own situation regarding the Hall of Fame, but he could just as easily been talking about Matthews when he said:
“Hopefully (the Hall of Fame voters) will start looking at really what a guy did and truly not be lazy about it and not just say, ‘Well, he only made four Pro Bowls. Let’s really dig and take some time and look at this guy’s career.’”
Matthews is a semifinalist for the third time. Steam is building toward him making the list of 15 finalists next month.
Fletcher is correct when he says the Pro Bowl voting can be a popularity contest. Players sometimes vote for friends or vote for players with a reputation of having been in previous Pro Bowls without researching how that player’s season is progressing.
Love on the block?
Kevin Love suffered a toe injury in the Cavaliers first preseason game in mid-October and underwent surgery to repair it on Nov. 2. He was projected to miss six weeks, which means he should be playing by now. And he is still a cheerleader on the Cavaliers bench.
The latest report has Love returning to the lineup in mid-January, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Meanwhile, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported the Cavaliers are taking calls from teams interested in trading for Love, but the problem is Love signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension over the summer, which makes trading him difficult.
The Cavaliers will be in a dilemma when Love does return. He obviously would make the Cavs better, but it is doubtful he would make them good enough to make the playoffs in the NBA East. Heading into games Dec. 22, the Cavs were tied with the Chicago Bulls at 8-25 (they host the Bulls Dec. 23) for the worst record in the conference and the worst record in the NBA
A healthy Love, and a healthy Tristan Thompson when he returns from a foot injury, could make the Cavaliers just good enough to not be among the worst teams in the league, thus decreasing their chances of a top lottery pick. That’s why the Cavs should be in no hurry to rush either player back into action.
I didn’t know that...
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap
The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters. … The blue whale’s heart is the size of a small car. … There are more than 2,000 kinds of cacti. … No only child has been a U.S. president. … A sneeze travels from one’s mouth at more than 100 mph.
... More than one million Earths would fit inside the sun.
Schudel can be reached at JSchudel@News-Herald.com; on Twitter: @JSProInsider