Corey Kluber narrowly wins 2014 American League Cy Young Award
November 12, 2014Cy Kluber and the Trades That Built the Tribe
November 13, 2014Happy Thursday, WFNYers! I’m pinch-hitting for Jacob today as he learns how to quack properly out in Oregon.. or something like that. Speaking of which, let’s start with that Jacob guy. Yesterday, Krossover named him one of the #RisingStars in Sports Analytics. Most everybody around these parts already knew that, but it’s really neat to see Jacob get the recognition that his hard work deserves. I started at WFNY almost four years ago now to fill the weekender spot vacated by Jacob as he began his additional responsibility as Editor-in-Chief at the Flyer News his senior year. Timing is everything, and Jacob running out of free time to write coincided with my March graduation from Ohio State, so I’m always grateful to him for taking that leave of absence and opening the door for me. Jakey Stats, as I sometimes affectionately call him, has been a constant resource for me as I try to dabble into the analytics world from time to time. It’s going to be really neat when Jacob graduates from Oregon and finds his way into some front office somewhere, because the secret is out. Well done, Jacob!
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Alright, time for more gushing! Cy Kluber, everybody! How about that?! As the season drew to a close, I had convinced myself that Kluber had done enough down the stretch to steal the thunder from King Felix. But, as time separated me from the end of the season and the act of watching the dominant Kluber pitch every fifth day, my confidence waned and I figured the mainstream media would make Captain Kluber wait until the second time he deserved the honor to actually take it home.
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Kluber remains under team control for the next four seasons.
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Sticking with the Indians, their core was named by Baseball Prospectus as the second best in baseball. BP identified five core players (Kluber, Carrasco, Brantley, Gomes, Santana) based off of last season, and they trailed only the Dodgers with an astounding nine core players in the rankings. Jonathan Judge had this to say when elaborating on the Tribe:
“Cleveland did extremely well in these rankings last year, ranking fourth in the league for roster core quality. I didn’t comment on it at the time, as Cleveland had just enjoyed a Cinderella season and its team WARP obviously reflected that. But here we are for a second year in a row, and Cleveland not only maintained its top-quartile status, but moved up. It did so by coaxing strong performances from additional core assets for a second year in a row. Whereas last year featured superb production from Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana, this year the club added outstanding performances from Michael Brantley and Corey Kluber (both 6+ WARP). In a fairly weak division, this emerging roster core has the needle trending up.”
With Tito Francona signed long-term, this core in place, and hopefully more core on the way (I’m looking at you, Francisco Lindor), there is hope the Indians can continue to contend year after year for the next several years. Obviously, financial considerations are always going to be there, but everybody except Detroit in the division has the same reality. If the Indians truly did fix their drafting pipeline, good things can continue to happen for the Tribe.
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I have a Cavs Zine in my hands right now, and you probably do not. The brain child of Jack Sanders (@WayneEmbrysKids) and Alex Raffalli (@AlexRaffalli) just printed its fifth edition, and this was my first opportunity to write for the publication. It was truly an honor to be considered for it, and with my corresponding move to Northeast Ohio, I got the opportunity to meet Jack and Alex among many others for #CavsTacos several times over the past six months or so. These guys are hardcore fans, and they’ve done so many creative and special things with the Zine over the last five years that I can’t even begin to explain them. You simply have to see it for yourself. For a little taste of what to expect, my article is about ten things you should NOT forget about the past four years of LeBron-less basketball (Mo Williams’s game winner, Kyrie’s All-Star appearances, and the opening night wins ring a bell?)
It’s been said several times before, but it’s great how people from many different blogs can come together, set egos aside, and create something truly unique across the blogosphere. WFNY, Fear The Sword, Cavs The Blog, Real Cavs Fans, Stepien Rules, and otherwise, we all unified as Ziners. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at Jack’s interview with Scene Magazine.
Look for Cavs Zine 5 outside of the arena on Saturday night, and be sure to thank Jack and Alex for all of their hard work in this process.
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Finally, as uniform guy, they’re not brand new, but they’re the first time I’ve seen them. Take a look at Bowling Green’s gray alternate uniforms that they wore in last night’s victory against Kent State. This, my friends, is gray done right. If we truly do believe the Browns are going to incorporate some sort of gray into their scheme, something like this with maybe a little bit more brown trim wouldn’t be bad.
Then, there’s gray done wrong…. sorry Celtics, you are green and white, and this much gray takes away from your brand’s classic appeal. The Browns do run the risk of this with anything tacky when it comes to adding a third color.
9 Comments
Congratulations, Jacob! I think Jacob was the first WFNY writer I followed on Twitter for the great stats.
Lighten up that gray and it’ll be even nicer.
Can’t wait for my Cavs Zine. Hoping it’s waiting for me when I get home tonight.
BOOM!
http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/11/12/nfl-power-rankings-week-11-new-england-patriots
Don’t worry, it’s coming…
http://www.he-manreviewed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/201-3-Obvious-Trap-Door-Gif.gif
I’m truly surprised that Kluber won. I thought that King Felix’s name recognition was just too much to overcome. Congrats to him, the front office for bringing him here, and our coaching staff for helping him develop.
http://www.monstersoffantasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/kluber.jpg
As for the Indians as a whole… I go from the poles: from kool-aid chugging true believer to despondent fatalist… but looking at our core…. if everyone does what they can, we will be really good.
I think your scarring might be too far gone…
To many ifs for me I think this team has the potential to be really good but honestly they’ll need to much to go right starting with Kluber and Brantley repeating their award winning seasons. The good news is there are other guys who could surprise with seasons but hey that’s why they play the games. I never expected the Royals to play the way they did in the playoffs so anything is possible in baseball.
I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd…