Cleveland Sports Forum

civ ollilavad wrote:I couldn't get on yesterday afternoon and evening. Could the rest of you?

There was a system error. I emailed Ryan, and he took care of it.

eocmcdoc wrote:Couple days late but happy birthday JR. My sister's was Sunday also. We just celebrated it about 2 hrs ago. 60 for her.

Thanks, LARRY. I've got a few years on your sister.

Actually we are rated with 7 of the top 70. And I cannot imagine the system is underrated by anyone any more.

Here's an example of how good they are:

Baseball America just ran an updated list of the youngest players at age level.
Frazier among the 10 youngest in IL.
Ivan Castillo [who?] among the 10 youngest in EL.
Triston McKenzie among 10 youngest in NYPL and probably the best pitching line to date in the league]
And in the Carolina League, Bradley, Sheffield, Mejia and Chang are all among the 10 youngest and the team has by far the best record in the league.

Yandy Diaz hit streak now 17 games.

Meanwhile Uribe hasn't had a hit in what seems like 17 games.

In 20 games in July Yandy Diaz has reached base at a .490 clip.

Meanwhile Uribe hasn't reached base in what seems like 20 games.

Aroldis Chapman threw 13 fastballs in his @Cubs debut last night.

101
101
102
101
102
101
103
101
101
100
100
102
103

seagull wrote:Aroldis Chapman threw 13 fastballs in his @Cubs debut last night.

101
101
102
101
102
101
103
101
101
100
100
102
103

Any of them strikes?

Aroldis Chapman pitching for Chicago

Chapman relieved Rondón. 1 8

Jose Abreu Strike (looking), Strike (foul), Foul, Strike (swinging), Abreu struck out swinging 1 8
Todd Frazier Ball, Strike (foul), Ball, Strike (swinging), Ball, Frazier grounded out to shortstop, García hit for Shuck 1 8
Avisail Garcia Ball, Strike (swinging), Strike (foul), Ball, Strike (looking), García struck out looking

Lucroy out of the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks'

No biggie, it's a day game. Catchers always sit if they played the night before.

HB - without knowing exactly how Diaz fields, I am totally with you he should be the next option. Even if he doesn't field too well, can always pull him for defense late in games.

here's a rumor posted at 3 p.m. at si.com

"Daniel Hudson may soon be on the move with the Mariners, Indians and Nationals as potential suitors"

My great-niece is married to a Daniel Hudson but he's not a baseball player. Who is this Daniel Hudson? Must be in that foreign National League.

"The talks of a trade for Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy are intensifying, and a deal is expected to be done before the trade deadline" espn

apparently are interested, too. Here's some stuff from one of their fanpages.

His numbers are a bit deceiving

Lucroy is hitting a robust .301/.362/.486 with 16 doubles and 13 home runs this season. He isn’t far off the pace he set in 2014, when he was worth 6.1 fWAR and finished fourth in the National League MVP voting. His 122 wRC+ in 2016 is third among major league catchers, and nearly 40 percent better than the major league average 85 wRC+ for all catchers. Ever since becoming a full-time starter in 2011, Lucroy has put up above average offensive numbers for a catcher.

This year’s numbers may be a bit of a mirage, though. He has a .938 OPS at home this year compared to just .766 on the road. A slight difference in home/road splits is common for most players, but that significant of a margin plus Miller Park’s propensity for yielding home runs — nine of Lucroy’s 13 homers this season have come at home — could signal a bit of regression if Lucroy is traded. He is also striking out at nearly double the rate he posted in 2014, and his swinging strike percentage and BABIP are at all-time highs, though the BABIP is supported by an elevated line drive rate.




The timing of a potential move is also significant. The Tigers would essentially be acquiring Lucroy for the next two months, with the added bonus (and cost) of getting another year out of him afterward. Catchers don’t age well throughout the year, and Lucroy has struggled at times in August and September throughout his career. He has sustained heavy workloads in the past (including another 92 games played already this year) and is a career .260/.333/.357 hitter in September and October.

He might not be that good defensively

Remember last season when everyone got mad at us for pointing out James McCann’s awful pitch framing numbers? He has improved, though the magnitude of that improvement depends on which site you prefer. StatCorner considered McCann the worst pitch framer in baseball last year, and has him at -4.1 runs (bad, but not the worst) this season. Baseball Prospectus actually considers him above average now, at +1.8 runs.

Lucroy, meanwhile, has long been considered one of the best pitch framers in baseball. He certainly was at one point, ranking among the very best backstops in the game from 2011 to 2014. Things fell off in 2015, when he was worth just +1.2 framing runs. It was a decline steep enough to warrant Jeff Sullivan’s attention, who identified that drop-offs in pitch framing are usually permanent. Lo and behold, Lucroy is at -0.9 framing runs this year (per Baseball Prospectus), which actually ranks worse than McCann. StatCorner is in Lucroy’s camp, but Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA), Defensive Runs Saved, FanGraphs’ Defensive Rating, and Baseball Reference’s defensive WAR all favor McCann in 2016.

Paul Hoynes this morning wrote:

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Monday's trade deadline is approaching and the Indians continue to churn the waters in search of help for their offense and bullpen.

It's believed their talks with Milwaukee concerning catcher Jonathan Lucroy and some of their late-inning relievers have gained momentum, but a deal is not imminent. The Brewers continue to talk to several other teams about the same players.

It appears Milwaukee is trying to package Lucroy and a reliever such as left-hander Will Smith. The Brewers are looking for at least two top prospects, with an emphasis on pitching, and a couple of other players for such a package.

Milwaukee GM David Stearns worked for the Indians in 2012.

The Indians have also been linked to Tampa Bay's Steve Pearce and Minnesota's Eduardo Nunez. The Indians negotiated with Pearce, 33, before the start of this season when he was a free agent. Pearce and Nunez, 29, are utility players, who have swung the bat well this year.

The Tribe was one of the last teams standing in its pursuit of closer Aroldis Chapman, but the Yankees sent him to the Cubs. The Indians reportedly made a strong offer for Chapman, but the Yankees preferred the four-player return they received from the Cubs.

A trade that would bring Lucroy to the Indians makes sense in terms of immediate help. Starting catcher Yan Gomes is out for the next six to eight weeks with a separated right shoulder. Roberto Perez, just off the disabled list from a broken right thumb, is 1-for-22. Chris Gimenez, acquired from Texas when Perez was injured on April 30, is hitting .204 (19-for-93).

Lucroy, 30, is hitting .301 (99-for-329) with 13 homers, 50 RBI and a .849 OPS. The Brewers hold a club option on him for 2017 worth $5.25 million.

Smith is 1-3 with a 3.72 ERA. He's done a nice job against righties (.158), but lefties are hitting .303 against him. [that's not the lefty we're looking for, I don't think] Closer Jeremy Jeffress (2-2, 2.13, 23 saves) and set-up man Tyler Thornburg (4-4, 2.21) could be in the conversation as well.

When the Indians signed free agent position players Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis and Juan Uribe last offseason, they also negotiated with Pearce. This year he's hitting .313 (62-for-198) with 10 homers, 29 RBI and a .916 OPS. Pearce is hitting .337 (20-for-53) against lefties and .290 (42-for-145) vs. righties.

He's played 27 games at first, 14 at second and two at third for the Rays this season.

Nunez went to the All-Star game this season for the Twins. He's hitting .298 (108-for-386) with 12 homers and 46 RBI. He's stolen 26 bases in 32 attempts and has scored 48 runs.

He has played 49 games at shortstop and 33 games at third.

With Ramirez, Gonzalez, Diaz, and Urshula. I don't think we need a 3b or utility player. We need relief pitching. Also Brantley is still a possibility.