Windhorst: Cavaliers looking to trade Haywood and first-round pick for playmaker
June 19, 2015Mo Williams interested in returning to Cavs
June 19, 2015In the four-game, couple here-couple there series against the Chicago Cubs, the Indians were finally rained out on Monday night, their first postponement of the season. In the remaining three games the Cubs outscored the Indians 20-10. But thankfully the 17-0 lambasting of the Tribe on Wednesday night counted for only one win. The Indians won the other two, 6-0 and 4-3, scores that were more representative of Cleveland’s top four starting pitchers.
In a game featuring two fifth starters, and knowing in advance that both the Cubs and Indians were having challenges finding a consistent fifth starter, we figured Wednesday night, one way or the other, could get ugly. And it did. And now, Shaun Marcum joins the other Indians fifth starters in some location other than Cleveland.
After taking two of the three games against the Cubs, the Indians are now 31-34, again edging up toward that elusive .500 mark. Strangely, Cleveland has one of the better road records in baseball, at 18-15. But their home record of 13-19 is worse than all other major league teams except for cellar dwellers Oakland and Colorado.
Next up come the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays entered major league baseball as an expansion team along with the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning with the 1998 season. For nearly twenty years Tampa-St. Petersburg served as an enticement to existing major league franchises: Not happy with your current home? Move to Florida. No fewer than five major league teams flirted with such a move. In 1992, San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie even had an unwritten agreement to sell the Giants to a Florida investment group before selling, eventually, to a different group that kept the Giants in San Francisco.
The Tampa Bay Rays entered the major leagues as the Devil Rays but their name was changed in 2008 to ‘Rays’ which is meant to refer to a ray of sunshine rather than a fish of some sort. Even so, the team uniform still has a manta ray logo on its sleeve. By the way, manta rays and devil rays are not identical, but then neither are Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg identical. Tampa Bay is the name of the large natural harbor on Florida’s west coast and is also the term used to describe the area around Tampa Bay. The team plays at Tropicana Field, the domed stadium in St. Petersburg, which is in the Tampa Bay area, so that makes the Rays the only major league team not named for a city or state.
The Rays are signed to a lease to play at Tropicana Field through 2027, but, naturally, the team doesn’t much care for playing there and they want a new ballpark, preferably in Tampa Bay. But, more naturally perhaps, St. Pete insists the team honor its lease agreement. Amidst all this quarreling, some reports have surfaced that the current owner might move the team to, of all places, Montreal. Well, what goes around comes around, I guess.
In the meantime, the Tampa Bay Rays of Sunshine are playing some pretty good baseball, but without much apparent interest from their fans. The Rays are near the bottom in the major leagues in attendance, but, then, so are the Cleveland Indians. The Rays are obviously one of several major surprises in baseball this season. At 38-30, they’re in first place, one, two and three games in front of the Yankees, Blue Jays and Orioles, respectively, and they’ve won seven of their last ten. They’re only .500 at home but, on the road, they have an excellent 19-11 record.
How are they doing it? With pitching mostly, but they’re also playing some pretty good defense too. Tampa Bay’s team ERA of 3.38 is second in the American League compared to Cleveland, ranked 12th at 4.02. The Rays starting pitchers are also ranked second in the AL at 3.24, compared to the Indians (13th) at 4.40. The Tribe’s bullpen, 3.38 (7th), is rated slightly better than the Rays, 3.62 (9th).
Tampa Bay’s fielding percentage (.987) ranks first in the AL compared to the Indians who, at .983, rank 11th in the AL. The Rays defensive efficiency ratio (DER) ranks 7th in the AL compared to the Tribe’s ranking at 14th. Artificial turf can improve a defense’s stats a little, but only the Baltimore Orioles with 30 errors on the season, have fewer than the Rays’ 31. The Indians have 38 errors.
Offensively, neither team stands out as a juggernaut in the American League but the Indians are out-performing the Rays in almost every category. The one set of stats that seems to separate the two teams is strikeouts and walks. The Indians are first in the AL in walks and near-best in fewest strikeouts. The Rays strike out a lot and don’t walk much. Also, the Indians’ on base percentage is third in the AL compared to the Rays’ OBP, ranked at 11. Getting on base, though, is one thing. Scoring is another. Cleveland and Tampa Bay are 10th and 13th in the AL in runs scored.
Starting pitchers (all right-handers) for the three game series:
Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.38) vs. Nathan Karns (3-3, 3.67)
Corey Kluber (3-8, 3.54) vs. Erasmo Ramirez (6-2, 4.45)
RHP Cody Anderson (first start in MLB) vs. Alex Colome (3-3, 5.14)
Terry Francona announced in his pregame interview with Tom Hamilton on Friday evening that Cody Anderson is scheduled to start Sunday’s game.
The Rays have 30 saves but, interestingly, six different Rays pitchers have recorded saves. Brad Boxberger, in his first season with significant closer responsibilities, has 16 saves.
The Rays have a good many players you’ve probably never heard of, but old friend Asdrubal Cabrera is not one of them. Asdrubal is the Rays starting shortstop and his stats are looking much like those of José Ramirez, before he was sent back to AAA Columbus.
Third baseman, Evan Longoria, is having another solid year and he’s been hot. Designated hitter, David DeJesus, and first baseman, James Loney are some other players you’ll recognize, but another hot hitter right now for the Rays is Joey Butler. He’s batting .331.
And speaking of old friends, Tampa Bay is managed by 37-year-old Kevin Cash who is in his first year as manager, having succeeded Joe Madden. Madden managed the Rays from 2006-2014 and opted out of his contract with the Rays to become the manager of the Chicago Cubs. But Cash, of course, is the former bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians. He must have shown some pretty special promise to move so quickly into a manager’s job. And apparently he’s a pretty good judge of talent. While still with the Indians, he recommended to general manager, Chris Antonetti, that the Tribe pursue a Toronto catcher named Yan Gomes
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Approaching Progressive Field on Wednesday evening for the Indians-Cubs game, it was hard to miss all the Cubs jerseys and hats among the fans streaming in. Later, in the second inning when the Cubs scored the first run of the game, it was also hard to miss the impressive cheer from the sizable Chicago contingent.
From the last row of the lower deck behind home plate we had a good view of the entire playing field (see photo above), and with a portion of the center-field stands completely removed during off-season renovations, the city-scape views beyond the ballpark are much expanded. Of course, if you’re going to remove seats from a baseball park (or leave them out in the first place), center-field is the logical place to start. It’s just not a very good vantage point from which to watch a game. Look at virtually any minor league ballpark, in fact, any ball field with built-in seats, and you’ll immediately see the seating priorities: behind home plate and then down each foul line. Who, besides John Adams with his bass drum at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, really wants to sit in center field to watch a game?
Of the 360 degrees around a baseball field only about one-half of that circle is what you’d call good seating for watching a ballgame. Beyond the 180 degrees centered on home plate it’s much more difficult to appreciate the finer points of a game, the focus of which is on the confrontation between pitcher and batter, but radiates outward, away from the batter from the right angle formed by the foul lines at home plate.
Ironic, then, that baseball games are televised almost exclusively from center field — from behind the pitcher — with a zoom-lens camera that so foreshortens the view that it gives an almost irritating false picture of proportion, size and speed. When the pitch is made the view changes instantly from behind the pitcher to a point behind the batter, but there’s a great deal lost in almost every at-bat when the camera shows only the pitcher, catcher, batter and home plate umpire as the pitch is being made.
First, there’s the positioning of the fielders which often changes from pitch to pitch. If a runner is on base, fans at the ballpark can watch him edging off the base, can watch the middle infielders edging toward second base to keep a runner there closer to the base, or cutting over for a pickoff attempt. If a runner attempts to steal, a wider view of the field can see the runner break as the pitcher starts his delivery.
When watching from behind the pitcher when a batter makes contact it’s almost impossible to tell if it’s hard hit, where it’s going, or even whether it’s a fair ball. Then there’s the movement of all the players the moment the batter makes contact, how good a break does a fielder get when bat hits ball? Where are the infielders running to defend against a bunt with runners on? One of the most exciting plays to watch live is on a hit that scores a run with a play at the plate, especially involving relay throws.
But in the multi-billion dollar industry that covers baseball for television, these finer points are not the top priority. What is? Given the direction sports coverage has gone over the past twenty-five years, it’s apparent that the industry sees coverage of personalities, more than of the sport itself, as most important to their bottom lines. Hence the directors pushing the buttons choose more closeups over views of the field. They choose to emphasize closeups of a batter spitting and adjusting his gloves between pitches rather than wider views of the field.
Emphasis? In every sport, and baseball is no exception, coverage of a ballgame becomes coverage of an Alex Rodriguez. Coverage of the Browns becomes coverage of a backup quarterback. Coverage of the Cavaliers’ remarkable playoff run becomes a story about the personalities of superstar and his coach. Golf? Let’s emphasize the story about the struggling, bottom-of-the-heap Tiger Woods.
And on it goes.
This brings to mind a game in 1974 pitched by former Tribe great, Gaylord Perry, against the Oakland Athletics. Perry that year had won 15 consecutive games, amazingly all of them complete games. His attempt at a 16th consecutive victory against the A’s was not originally scheduled to be televised, but the A’s managed to locate a cameraman at the last minute and the entire game was broadcast back to Cleveland with one camera … behind home plate. Perry pitched all ten innings in a 4-3 loss. What drama!
Which brings us back to 2015. Many more cameras … and lots and lots of closeups.
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Out-of-town Indians fans can catch the next Kluber start at Progressive Field to create an entertaining baseball getaway. Watch the Indians at home by using Hipmunk.com for Cleveland flights that can be reserved through most major airline carriers. Hotels in Cleveland can be booked too, with rates starting from $80 near both the airport and ballpark.
4 Comments
There’s no city of “Tampa Bay.” It’s Tampa and St. Petersburg. “Tampa Bay” refers either to the body of water itself or the region as a whole.
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