Trade Deadline Primer

I have teamed with a number of other bloggers to produce a Trade Deadline Primer for fans. I have written several Indians-specific essays for the book, including report cards for all players (note: my submission deadline was early-mid June, so some notes are ... um ... less accurate now than I would have liked), a description of the season to date, and a discussion of what players we should be trading and what we should target.

Because I've teamed with other bloggers, you can see what players THEY see as reasonable and relevant targets from THEIR systems and perspectives as well. It's a nice, comprehensive guide to the July 31st Trade Deadline, or as Cleveland Fans know it, "The most relevant time of the year."  The book is in PDF format, and costs $9.95 to download from the folks at TwinsCentric.  (It's okay: I know they're evil, but they did all the editing.)


Here are some excerpts from the book:
How would I describe the Cleveland Indians’ 2010 season? I would probably start with the story of the three-run error.

The B-List Lite: 7/9 - 7/11

The Indians drop two of three to Tampa, and today's game recaps feature:

• The functional difference amongst the starters was tiny
• Tandem starting pair: Laffey & Masterson
• Suggestions for Andy Marte
• Mike Brantley should drop in the order
• (Eight slots)
• Santana, Kearns, LaPorta, and Peralta hit
• Hand-buttering relievers
• Jayson Nix: all or nothing machine
• (Mostly nothing)
• Welcome back, Chris Gimenez!

There are lots of places to watch Indians pitchers walk batters, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/8

The Tribe loses opener in Tampa despite several Apocalyptic Signs, and today's game recap features:

• Jake Westbrook's excellent K:BB ratio
• Jake Westbrook's execrable home run pitches
• Signs of the Apocalype: Mike Brantley
• Signs of the Apocalype: Andy Marte
• Signs of the Apocalype: Carlos Santana bunts, Jason Donald fields
• Signs of the Ordinary: Most everything else
• Salient observation about LeBron James

There are not many places to see Mike Brantley hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/7

The Tribe loses the rubber match of the Texas series 4-3, and today's game recap features:

• Mitch Talbot's great and terrible movement
• Jayson Nix cannot be contained
• Carlos Santana: still good
• Bottom of the order: still bad
• Tony Sipp: good once again
• Manny Acta's objectionable baldness
• Managerial Head-Scratchers

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run and have it matter not one iota, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/6

The Tribe drops a heartbreaker 12-1, and today's game recap features:

• Live weasels
• Coked-up Gila Monsters
• Very bad foul-catching technique
• Anderson Hernandez' 16th minute
• Michael Brantley, jack of no trades
• Nice hose!
• Pointless butchery

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run and have it matter not one iota, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/5

The Tribe takes the opener in Texas 9-3, and today's game recap features:

• Aaron Laffeybuss
• Clutch relief strikeouts
• A proper application of replay
• Matt LaPorta's soft head
• Chicks dig the long ball
• Middle infielders with sticks
• Poor Austin Kearns' body

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/2 - 7/4

The Indians drop two of three to Oakland through feeble hitting, and today's game recaps feature:

• Shin-Soo Choo's injury
• The Replacement Players Plus Three
• Variant-free starting pitching
• Run-free relief pitching
• Jason Donald: steel glove, or stone hands?
• Clutch LaPorta
• Mike Redmond: not fast
• Fausto Carmona, All-Star!

There are lots of places to watch low-scoring games, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 7/1

Justin Masterson completes the 4-game sweep of Toronto, and today's game recap features:

• Masterson's improved approach
• Masterson's improved luck
• Back-to-back jacks!
• Carlos Santana's amazing stamina
• Is Mike Redmond dead?
• Trevor Crowe's last week at leadoff
• We hope

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

Why we whipped Russell Branyan

Paul Cousineau laments the loss of Russell Branyan in an SBNation post. Actually, I should say he laments the perception that Indians fans treated Branyan unfairly, considering him a “whipping boy” for all the Indians’ problems, when in fact Branyan did pretty much what could reasonably be expected from him. This isn’t an unsupportable position, as shown by Cousineau’s excellent support. Yes, Russell Branyan struck out. Yes, Russell Branyan played subpar defense at first. But Branyan also hit 10 homers and finished the Cleveland portion of his stint hitting .263/.328/.491, good for an .819 OPS that was 3rd-best on the team at the time. In terms of reasonable expectations, it could credibly be argued that Russ actually exceeded them.


Of course, this is part of the problem. The expectations for Branyan were that he would add value, but not a LOT of value. Which is exactly what happened: he added some value. But the team was still bad, and in terms of what fans wanted to see, there were basically two plausible camps:

1) The Indians are rebuilding and need to make every move in accordance with the Posnanski Treatise
2) The Indians might compete in a weak A.L. Central if they exceed expectations

Well, Branyan doesn’t serve EITHER of those purposes. He sure as heck isn’t a long-term solution to ANYTHING: the man is 34 with a balky back, and not really an everyday player despite what hard-core wishcasters would have you believe. Branyan hit 3 homers in 45 ABs against lefties, leading to a .467 SLG. That’s good. He also drew 2 walks and hit .222, leading to a .255 OBP. That’s nauseating. And in terms of competing in the Central, well, Branyan would have had to add a LOT of value QUICKLY, and instead added SOME value TOO LATE.

The B-List Lite: 6/30

Cleveland wins its third straight, all saved by Kerry Wood, and today's game recap features:

• Matt LaPorta's sustainable approach
• Afterthought Laffey
• Flyballs and first pitches
• Carlos Santana's amazing gap
• The bullpen streak
• No Break for Choo
• Speed and power from ... Jason Donald?

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/29

Cleveland wins its third straight, all saved by Kerry Wood, and today's game recap features:

• The "Fausto Fade"
• The bullpen glass three-quarters full
• Still-comical defense and pitching location
• Kerry Wood's giant neon sign
• Jayson Nix: miscast at 3B, or simply miscast at MLB?
• Matt LaPorta's extra-extra-base hit
• Lineup Construction for fun and no profit

There are lots of places to see the Tribe give up unearned runs, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/28

Cleveland wins back-to-back games and the first while scoring 2 runs since last year, and today's game recap features:

• Jake Westbrook's bad start
• Jake Westbrook's good recovery
• Travis Hafner, flashing the wheels!
• Kerry Wood's continued audition
• A new suitor
• Jayson Nix taking the bull by the ... ear, probably
• Matt LaPorta's extra-base hit
• The ol' Santana-Kearns one-two punch

There aren't many places to see Travis Hafner score on a suicide squeeze, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/25 - 6/27

The Indians snap a 7-game losing streak after a winless last week, and today's game recaps feature:

• The sub-umphant return of Aaron Laffey
• Justin Masterson's regression to the Cleveland K:BB ratio
• Mitch Talbot's smoke & mirrors
• Smash-Soo-Choo
• Carlos Santana, Two-sided Terror
• Russ Branyan's exit, stage inevitable
• Second Basemen of Death
• Trade for Kerry Wood, or you will die!

There are lots of places to watch three runs score without a hit, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/24

Philadelphia completes its sweep with a nine-run rain-delayed gorefest, and today's game recap features:

• Responsibly assigning responsibility for Fausto's runs
• (to Fausto)
• Long-winded ranting on Jayson Nix
• (who stinks)
• Farewell to Jensen Lewis
• (who was bad, but is not the worst relief pitcher on the roster)
• The dumbest rain delay in the world
• A good day for Jason Donald
• Flying monkeys

There are plenty of places to see more bad defense ... and offense ... but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/23

The Indians snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory, and today's game recap features:

• Jake Westbrook blah blah blah
• Smash-Soo Choo!
• The quality of a leadoff hitter
• Tony Sipp does not fold
• Useless relievers and Chris Perez
• Ducks on the Pond!

There are plenty of places to see the Indians give up homers, but only one place to read The B-List.