The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Zimmer testing Indians’ patience
The Indians keep waiting and waiting and waiting for Bradley Zimmer to match what he did as a rookie in 2017.
And as Manager Terry Francona said on March 26 when they told Bradley he would not be part of the 26-man opening day roster on April 1, the Indians are willing to wait even longer for the 6-foot-5 outfielder to find his hitting stroke.
“We wanted Zim to have a chance to be more consistent,” Francona said. “We think April can be a pretty cruel month in Ohio, and we want to give him the best chance to succeed, and for that, we think we need to send him to the alternate site.”
Columbus will be the alternate site for the Indians throughout April, similar to the way Classic Park in Eastlake was the alternate site for all 2020 when the novel coronavirus forced MLB to shorten the season to 60 games.
The 2021 season for minor-league teams begins May 4. Zimmer will start the season with the TripleA Clippers if he isn’t recalled before then.
Zimmer began spring training competing with Oscar Mercado to be the starting center fielder. Now both are banished to Columbus, leaving Ben Gamel as the starting center fielder by default.
The hard truth is, Zimmer has been in a major slump since the All-Star break in 2017.
Zimmer, picked 21st in the first round of the 2014 draft, made his Major League debut with the Indians on May 16, 2017, when he was 24 years old. He batted 41 times in 14 games and hit .306 over the rest of the month. He hit .282 with two home runs and 14 RBI in June his rookie year. Then a steady decline began — a .277 batting average in July, .141 in August and .150 in September.
He was sent to Columbus on June 5, 2018, to work on his swing after striking out 44 times in 106 at-bats. Five days later, he suffered a right shoulder injury taking a onehanded warmup swing. Surgeons repaired his labrum. He didn’t play again for the Indians until September 2019. He played in nine games without a hit.
Zimmer, 28, played in 20 games last year and hit .162. He hit .290 in spring training this year, but did not do enough to stick. He was a star in spring training 2.0 last year and then faltered when the games began to count.
Still, the Indians are being patient, thinking that someday …
“We tried to explain that to Zim,” Francona said. “You want to be honest. But you don’t want to beat guys over the head because that doesn’t help.
“But I think we all know that if Zim can reach his potential, there’s a really good center fielder in there. We feel like there’s
still some things offensively where there’s some inconsistency, or he’s gonna need to be more consistent to be successful. And we tried to explain that to him.”
• So who is the new guy?
Gamel arrived in Goodyear with a minor league contract as a non-roster invitee to the Major League camp. He has played in 442 games with the Yankees, Mariners and Brewers. He batted .248 with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 134 games with the Brewers in 2019. He hit .237 in 40 games last year with the Brewers with three home runs and 10 RBI.
“He’s a really reliable center fielder,” Francona said. “You can put him anywhere in the outfield and he’s gonna be really reliable. He controls the strike zone. He’s had really good at-bats this spring.”
Gamel hit .212 with no home runs and four RBI in 15 Cactus League games through March 26.
Andres Gimenez beat out Amed Rosario at shortstop, so the Indians are converting Rosario to a center fielder. That project is going well, but Rosario isn’t ready to play the position regularly.
“The plan is to put him out there,” Francona said. “Whether it’s opening day — I don’t know, I have to work through that a little bit. I want to try to put him in the best position to succeed.”
Linebacker with speed
Adding a linebacker with speed was right at the top of the Browns’ wish list when free agency began. And although signing him didn’t make the same noise that signing safety John Johnson III did, Anthony Walker checks that box.
Walker replaces B.J. Goodson as the middle linebacker for defensive coordinator Joe Woods. He can also play the weak side.
“The name of Anthony’s game is really speed and instincts,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. “He is one of the fastest linebackers in the league. He’s a very quick
processor and is very smart. We think he’s a guy whose range and tenacity fits really well with how we view the modern day linebacker. We also think that he’s a good cover guy, specifically with his ability to match running backs out of the backfield.”
Walker, 25, made 105 tackles with the Colts in 2018, 124 in 2019 and 92 last season. He missed only one game over the last three seasons.
“He has a level of veteran experience,” Berry said. “He called the defense in Indianapolis and he’s an exceptional human being both on and off the field. He will have a really strong presence in our locker room.”
Too many times in the past to count, the Browns suffered because the defenders weren’t fast enough. Adding Johnson at safety plus Troy Hill at cornerback, along with Walker, changes that. Walker said Johnson and Hill choosing the Browns in free agency influenced him to sign with the Browns.
“When you see a team trending in the right direction, you want to be a part of that,” Walker said. “Seeing them play last year, seeing the pieces they are adding this year, you know they are building something special.”
Walker signed a oneyear, $3.5 million contract. The Browns will have enough cap room to sign him to an extension if he lives up to his reputation.
Crunch time
It was a joy to cover the game last week between the Cleveland Crunch and Colorado Inferno of the Major Arena Soccer League 2 at the North Olmsted Sportsplex.
So many athletes are driven by how much money they can earn, but the Crunch and every other player in MASL2 are truly playing for the love of the game. They are on amateur contracts and earn no salary, although I would imagine the camaraderie being built is something that will outlast a paycheck. And the bus trips to Muskegon, Mich., Chicago
and Omaha, Neb., will be something to remember.
True, there is always the chance a scout from the MASL could be in the stands or see a player on tape and offer him a contract, but realistically that isn’t likely.
And what can you say about Eric Davis, the 2012 graduate of Mentor High School and 2016 graduate of Lake Erie College and his friend, Luciano Ruscitto. Davis is owner and president of the Crunch. Ruscitto is the vice president.
Last May they concocted the idea of reviving the Crunch, and it all started when Davis found a Crunch shirt and a Force shirt while unpacking a box after moving into his new home.
Davis and Ruscitto have no one with deep pockets backing them financially. But they put the team together. They put on an excellent show for the fans who watched them sweep the Inferno on March 20 and 2.
The next game for the Crunch is 8 p.m. April 3 in Muskegon, Mich. They aren’t home again until May 8 and 9 when they host the Omaha Kings. At $10 a ticket, they are definitely worth a look. Check out their website at thecevelandcrunch.com.
Fans can stream games live at NEOsports.com or listen to Mark “Munch” Bishop’s exciting play-byplay on the NEO sports I Heart Radio app.
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