Indians Confidential

From: The Indians

The Cleveland Indians today signed INF TONY GRAFFANINO & RHP JUAN RINCON to minor league free agent contracts.

Graffanino, who turned 35 on June 6, owns a career Major League batting average of .267 (743-2787) with 144 2B, 21 3B, 58HR & 302 RBI over 12 seasons with 6 different teams after debuting with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. Graffanino recently hit a combined .309 (117-379) in 2005 for Kansas City and Boston and in 2006 appeared in a career-high 129 games with a career-best 59RBI (.274) between KC and Milwaukee. He hit .238 (55-231) w/9HR & 30RBI in 86 games for the Brewers in 2007 before suffering a season-ending right knee injury in August. He underwent surgery in August for a torn meniscus and later in December for a torn ACL on the knee. He will begin to work out with the Buffalo club beginning today before advancing to game conditions at a future date.

Rincon was recently let go by the Minnesota Twins on June 12 after appearing in 24 games in relief with the Twins (2-2, 6.11ERA, 28.0IP, 33H, 19ER) to start the season. Rincon owns a career Major League record of 30-26 with a 3.69 ERA (441.0IP, 414H, 181ER, 412K) in 386 games (3GS) with the Twins from 2001-08. During each season from 2004-06 he appeared in 70+ games and recorded an ERA under 2.91. His 81 holds from 2004-07 were the 2nd most in the American League over that 4-year span. His 383 relief appearances are the 3rd most in Twins history. He will likely report to AAA Buffalo in the coming days.

From The Indians:

Today, the Cleveland Indians announced they have signed 3B MORGAN ENSBERG to a minor league contract and assigned him to the AAA Buffalo Bisons. Ensberg, 32, played in 28 games this year for the New York Yankees batting .203 (15-74) with 6 runs scored, a HR and 4RBI before being designated for assignment by the Yankees on June 2. A former 9th round selection by the Houston Astros in the 1998 draft, Ensberg has appeared in 731 games at the Major League level covering all or parts of eight (8) seasons and owns a career Major League average of .263 (579-2204) with 110HR and 347RBI. In 2005 with the Houston Astros he hit .283 with 36HR and 101 RBI in 150 games.

With the M.L.B. Amateur Draft being today and the recent milestone that was reached, I thought I would reflect on the best hitter and natural talent to put on an Indians’ uniform, in my lifetime. It was June 1991, when the Cleveland Indians selected a kid from George Washington High School in New York City, with the 13th pick, in the first round. His name was Manny Ramirez and at the time he played both third base and outfield. According to Mannyramirez.com, Manny was signed by scout Joe Delucca, and then sent to Burlington to begin his minor league professional career in the summer of 1991. Steve Phillips, ESPN analyst and former New York Mets general manager recently stated on a radio broadcast that New York Mets’ scouts were skeptical of picking Manny in the first round. They had a psychologist administer a test and the psychologist determined that Manny’s results showed that he would crack under the pressures of professional baseball. Phillips went on to state that he disagreed with the scouts and that he would have tried to fight to get Manny if he slipped to them at the 16th pick in 1991. Boy were those scouts and that psychologist WRONG!

Manny made his debut for the Cleveland Indians on September 2nd, 1993. In 1994, Manny’s first full season as an Indian he was named Rookie of the Year and the rest is history. He has long left Cleveland, but he still has a special place in my heart. His raw instincts and ability, coupled with his youthful exuberance has always made me a fan. I hated to see him sign that contract with the Red Sox, but my joy in watching him play has never waned. He has his, “Manny being Manny,” moments that makes you scratch your head, but his talent super-cedes all of that. With the draft being today and Manny reaching the milestone of his 500th home run last week, I wanted to praise the Indians for taking a chance on Manny in 1991 and in doing so, bring good karma to the Indians, in hopes that they can draft a similar talent this year!

Manny’s Career Stats

16 Seasons 7278 At bats 1380 Runs 2274 Hits 485 Doubles
18 triples 502 Homeruns .312 Average .408 On-base percentage

The month of May was none to kind to the Indians offense, as they batted just .218 for the month.  The only category where they rank high is strikeouts, which is not a good sign.  In 2008 so far the team is hitting .233 (last in the AL), have scored 226 runs (12 in the AL), have hit 48 homers (tied for 8th in the AL), have 217 runs batted in (11th in the AL), and have just 286 total bases (14 in the AL). 

Or are they?

Maybe you remember this famous outburst by the then-Arizona Cardinals’ coach, Dennis Green following an extremely embarrassing fourth quarter collapse to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

The Cleveland Indians are clearly not who we thought they would be, at this point into the season. Many people around baseball believed that the Indians were one of the best teams going into the season. Several TV and radio personalities even predicted that the Indians would win the World Series, this year.

So who are the Cleveland Indians 52 games into the season?

•A record of 24-28
•Third in the American League Central
•Currently 4.5 games back of their current opponent the Chicago Whitesox
•2-8 in their last 10 games
•Team Batting Average of .234, last in the American League
•Tied for last in all of baseball
•5th best team E.R.A. 3.60
•Cliff Lee is 2nd in the American League with 7 wins and a league leading E.R.A of 1.50 as a starter

One common thought amongst baseball analysts is that you can’t judge a team until Memorial Day. The belief is that by Memorial Day a team has developed its’ identity. Personally I don’t follow this train of thought. Baseball is a game of momentum! One minute you think your team is headed straight to the cellar of their respective division. Give it a week, your team then proceeds to win its’ next 5 games. Your perception and outlook of your team suddenly goes from bleak to bright. As the old cliché states, “Baseball is a marathon,” and within that marathon there are many ups and downs. The Indians may need a shake up of some sort, via a trade, or a roster move, but I can’t believe for one minute that this is the team that we are going to see all year. The bats will come alive and the pitchers will eventually receive the run support that they deserve. Like I said, “Give it a week!” Also, it doesn’t hurt to cross your fingers.

As wild as it is that the Indians pitching staff has been this good for this long of a stretch, here are some numbers to consider over the past few days here at Progressive Field and from last week at Yankee Stadium:

Tonight vs the A’s was the Indians 6th shutout of the season

The Indians have allowed just one run in their last 39 innings overall

Who needs an offense when the pitching staff is doing this?

CLEVELAND, OH — Members of the Cleveland Indians front office staff will battle members of the Cleveland Browns staff in the 2008 “CLEVELAND SPORTS BOWL”, a fundraiser to benefit the “Bowl for Kids’ Sake” program for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cleveland.

With the Indians leading the series at 3-2, this playful rivalry will take place on Wednesday, May 7 from 5:30PM-8:00PM at The Corner Alley (located at 402 Euclid Ave, just minutes from Progressive Field). The Cleveland Sports Bowl between the Browns and Indians began in 2003.

This annual event between the front offices of the Indians and Browns was established to help raise funds and awareness for the “Bowl for Kids’ Sake” program each year. All proceeds from the fundraiser provide guidance and support to children here in Northeast Ohio through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program.

For additional information on the 2008 “Bowl for Kids’ Sake” or the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program, call (216) 621-8223.