Westbrook and Roster Moves Dominate Friday’s Aeros Action
Posted June 8th, 2007 by Stephanie Storm
Jake Westbrook made a rehab start at Akron Friday night and looked like he needed more rehab time. He said he felt fine, which is good news regarding his left abdominal strain. But in his two rehab starts with Triple-A Buffalo and Akron, he’s gotten hit hard. Friday he allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings. I wrote for Saturday’s story that results don’t usually matter as much as how a guy feels, but in this case, maybe it should mean something.
Before Westbrook’s start, there was a flurry of activity in the Aeros lockeroom.
Michael Aubrey was lounging around the clubhouse during the game, which means he will be activated as early as Saturday. While many Aeros fans welcome his bat (he hit .400 with five home runs in 13 games with Class-A Kinston) it’s tough to see first baseman Jordan Brown have move to accomodate Aubrey. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see what roster move the team makes for Aubrey. If Brown has to move, he’ll move to an already crowded outfield. The Tribe’s deep thinkers will have to decide - do they put another guy on the phantom DL? Do they dare send struggling Trevor Crowe down to Kinston to find his stroke and create room? Do they really want to bench veteran Jon Van Every, who has as hot of a bat as Brown right now?
It’ll definitely be a tough call. I’d send Crowe down if were up to me, but I don’t think the Indians would do that.
An hour or so before Aubrey arrived, Infielder Rodney Choy Foo was activated from the DL and Shuan Larkin returned to his coaching duties at first base.
Then about 45 minutes before game time, back up catcher Javier Herrera found out he had been traded to tha Washington Nationals. He was as stunned as his teammates. At the time he didn’t know for sure where he was headed, but a good guess is Double-A Harrisburg. The Senators just happen to play in Akron again on July 16-18 - giving anyone who wishes they had a chance to say good bye and good luck to one of the truly classisest guys to have worn an Akron uniform an opportunity.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Stephanie,
I am glad to see recognition of the “phantom DL”. A couple of players I have talked to and asked if they were ok have replied that they were fine. Nice to know that my thoughts on this whole thing aren’t crazy. Although, I don’t really understand the whole thing, I’m sure there is a good reason for it?
I, too, was stunned to hear Javi had been traded. He was and is a real class act. Always very friendly to the fans, always with a smile on his face. I will definitely be making a trip to the stadium for that series to say goodbye.
I’m glad to see Aubrey back and healthy, but agree that it’s tough to see Jordan have to move to make room. Even if he says he understands what needs to be done.
JV absolutely seems to be hitting his stride again…….glad to see it. Even though Trevor is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet, I agree with you on sending him to the K-tribe. I also agree with you that I don’t think the “big thinkers” will do that.
Love the blog, keep it up!!!!
Candace
June 10th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Candace - You’re not the only one interested in the workings of the phantom DL. It is notorious in minor league baseball.
Basically, it is a place to stash players a team wants to keep on the roster but doesn’t currently have room for. Players on the DL usually have some sort of “calf strain” - at least, that’s the usual dead give away.
That being said, the Aeros aren’t the only team to take advantage of it. Every minor league team at every level has used it at one point or another. It’s simply a wonderful little insider minor league “thing”.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Hello Stephanie,
I’m an Indians fan from the Fifties and forever, who fairly frequently writes to Terry Pluto. I live and work in Thailand and haven’t seen an Indians game since 2002. However, I keep up with the Tribe daily, following the team down two tiers to Akron. I found your observations about the movement of Tribe players, particularly farmhands, most interesting. The front office is often brilliant– but not necessarily in handling some of their ’surplus’ top minor leaguers.
I saw the Brandon Phillips thing coming at least a month before it happened, and actually wrote Terry about it. Then we have the Guthrie (isn’t he now 3-1 with an era under 4 with the Orioles?) and J. Davis situations. Davis is doing better with Seattle, while F.Cabrera lingers on the bench, when he should have been able to help out in yesterday’s 1-0 disappointment.
Then you have the other Cabrera in Akron and the new problem with how to treat Jordan Brown. Yes, I agree with you– Trevor Crowe should take a step back, just as your Cabrera had to (from Buffalo). The Marte situation should evolve over this season, for good or bad. No need at the moment to rush into decision. But I would think that the answer to the glut of good players at the same positions would be intelligent minor league trades.
Also, I see the probability of major league trades at some point, with players like Michaels and Trot potentially going elsewhere as soon people like Gutierrez, Francisco, Choo prove they’re ready. I agree with you on Peralta at 3rd in the long term future. The front office has some problems knowing which players are ready and when. Look at Garko who practically had to ram himself down their throats to get to stay in the Bigs.
Thought I’ve never lived in Ohio, I am a Clevelander at heart since the first game I ever saw was at Fenway Park where Bob Lemon started against Maury McDermott. I was 12 years old. The Tribe led 11-1 at the end of 4 innings. The Tribe lost 15-14. Bob Feller got the loss in relief. So, I think I qualify as a genuine Indians fan!
Best wishes,
Peter Alexander
June 11th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Talk about minor league surpluses–I see the Tribe drafted another 3b/1b/DH type.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Peter - Thailand? Wow, we’re going global here - hope the big wigs at the Beacon see this one!
Seriously, you sound like you have a good handle on the Tribe’s recent stocking of the minor leagues.
Before I came to Akron to cover the Aeros, I worked in California covering the San Francisco Giants Triple-A team in Fresno and then in Columbus covering the New York Yankees Triple-A team.
Coming home to the Indians organization (I grew up a Tribe fan growing up in Cleveland) has been a breath of fresh air, considering the Giants and especially the Yankees, mostly used their minor league players as nothing more than trade bait, and not necesaarily to devlope their future Major League players.
That being said, I think the Tribe is so deep in the minors, they need to start packaging some of their young players in trades. There is plenty of surplus at certain positions such as outfield. In fact, I think the Tribe is doing that right now with Franklin Gutierrez being up in Cleveland and playing so much.
Having a lot of good players in the minors is certainly a good problem to have. But it becomes a bit of a waste when there’s so much talent, the Indians have to keep crossing their fingers come the Rule V draft since can’t protect them all.
Yes, they are eventually getting a lot of them back (the Indians got both guys from last year’s Rule V darft back in outfielder Ryan Goleski and pitcher Jim Ed Warden). However, the whirlwind process has set each of them back, as both are struggling to this point to regain last year’s form.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Hi Larry. Indians scouting director John Mirabelli is a straight shooter. I like that about him. He tells it like it is and he made no bones about the fact that he was going to take the best “athlete” available.
If that guy - first rounder Beau Mills - happens to play a position that the system was already stocked at, so be it. And so, that’s what Mirabelli did. I hear Mills is an average third baseman, so really he’s just a DH/first baseman. But I hear he can flat-out hit. And when you’re best pure hitter in the system is injury-prone Michael Aubrey, well, you better grab a kid like Mills.
Obviously, Mirabelli and his staff weren’t thinking, “Hey, we don’t need Mills, we got Aubrey and Ryan Mulhern there at first and Pronk as DH”. Nope, they were simply thinking. “This kid can hit, and we’ll find him a position if we have to.”
And when you’ve only got one first-round pick and don’t pick again until the fourth round, I say that’s the way you got to go.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
I’m sure you have to take the best player available in baseball but I worry that the organization is a little hooked on a certain kind of player (who doesn’t actually seem to be the best “athlete”).
Maybe the Tribe’s deep thinkers believe it’s easier to teach a good hitter to field than it is to teach a good fielder to hit.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Stephanie, I really enjoy the blog. I’ve been going to 15-18 Aeros games a season over the past 4-5 years (usually with score sheet in hand), and it’s nice to hear someone else’s opinion on the players outside the “just the facts” format of the game reports.
Addressing Beau Mills… I think he’s actually a “certain kind of player” the Indians are short on — a legitimate power hitting prospect. He seems to have real tangible power rather than guys like Brad Snyder, who they crossed their fingers on when they projected power potential. Instead, Snyder has never shown enough power to offset his poor plate discipline. Maybe Jared Goedert is legitimate, but it’s much too early to tell.
I think Mirabelli has made his share of first round mistakes, but I can’t fault him for using the only high draft pick he had on what appears to be a major absence in the farm system.
A couple of years ago it looked like the organization was packed with first base prospects, but Ryan Garko has graduated, Ryan Mulhern has always been old for his level of play, Stephen Head has stagnated, and we get excited just to see Michael Aubrey stay on the field for a month. If that’s the position Mills ends up at, I think there’s room for him. We might not want to think about the possibility, but there’s nothing wrong with having backup plans for life after Pronk.
June 14th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Glen - I could not have put that better myself. Good job.
I’m glad the Indians aren’t waiting on Aubrey and Synder to finally become the players they were expected to be when they were drafted. I like the idea that they continue to draft Beau Mills types - drafting good players regardless of their position - and let the players in the farm system sort themselves out.
I’ve written before in the is blog that I previously covered the New York Yankees Triple-A team in Columbus. When I first started, I was concerned I’d have trouble being objective because I grew up in Cleveland as an Indians fan and always hated the Yankees and their ability to “buy” championships. They didn’t have to worry about drafting well, they could simply go out and throw cash at the best free agent players year after year.
But as it turned out, my three years in the Yankees system was exhilerating. There was always something going on, and the major league writers were forever calling about potential deals, keeping me on my toes with tips. Sure, the Yankees did buy the best players and shipped top prospects to other teams at an alarming rate.
But the one thing the Yankees did and continue to do well is create compitition at every position - at every level. They wouldn’t wait for a guy to come into his own, instead they’d test his mettle by putting another young prospect right behind him to push him. If the younger guy won, so be it.
I like that approach. I’m often miffed at the Indians constant coddling of “top prospects” especially those that aren’t performing. Take Trevor Crowe for example.
I wrote three days into the season on this blog that there was something wrong with him at the plate. Every one thought I was crazy - it was only three days into the season for heavens sake. Well, here we are quickly approaching the All-Star break and when the Indians have a chance to wake up young Crowe with a demotion to Class-A Kinston (needing to make a move when another coddled prospect came in to Akron in Michael Aubrey) they didn’t.
Instead, Crowe and his .180 batting average continue to weigh down the Aeros lineup and instead a guy who’s done everything the Tribe’s deep thinkers have asked of him - Jon Van Every - was pushed to Triple-A. If Van Every plays every day, then fine, I’ll accept the move as a promotion. But if he sits the bench, it’s a waste of a move and a crappy way to treat a player who has increasingly outperformed the “prospects”.