Tick-Tock

[Beanpot]

As camp draws to a close, here's Castro's latest. I've got a full on man-crush for this guy and wish others in the local media were even close to his kinda goodness:

 

*The Indians looked lethargic and in need of "Cheers to You" agains the Giants today. Asdrubal Cabrera and Josh Barfield each made an error and, in general, guys were slow to get to balls and quick to make outs. "We're entering unchartered waters, in regard to the length of camp," Eric Wedge said. "We've got to sharpen ourselves and pick it up this final week, no doubt about it."

 

*Cliff Lee was roughed up again -- eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits with no walks and six strikeouts over five innings. He was much better late than early, and his defense didn't play well behind him, but it's still not the type of performance you expect from the reigning Cy Young winner in his penultimate spring tuneup. "It's definitely a little harder to get up for a game in Spring Training than it is in the regular season," Lee said. "It's a different intensity. But I've still go to work on locating my pitches and getting better at something each time I'm out there."

 

*The rather uneventful battle to be the guy sitting on the bench, occasionally but not too frequently inserted into the lineup and a little-more-occasionally inserted as a pinch-runner will probably draw to its anticlimactic close tomorrow or Sunday. It's still expected to go to Barfield, who started in left field today.

 

*Barfield still hasn't caught on at the plate. The Indians feel he has a better approach, but the results haven't been there. Barfield is an excellent athlete and a great guy, so you root for him to catch on in this utility role, because it's difficult to imagine him once again emerging as an everyday player... at least, in this organization.

 

*There's only one spot open on the bench. David Dellucci is indeed on the club. Or at least, "as of today," as Wedge said. Obviously, Dellucci's roster spot (and Masa Kobayashi's, for that matter) is tenuous, but it looks like the Indians will at least give him the benefit of the doubt at the outset of the season. He's still not expected to play much as the fourth outfielder, especially with Mark DeRosa and, I'm assuming, Barfield in the outfield mix.

 

*Trevor Crowe won't win the job. Wedge said Crowe is "still not exactly where he needs to be," and he's better off, in terms of development, getting regular starts in Triple-A.

 

*Tony Graffanino won't win the job. He's had a nice camp and can bounce around the infield. But the Indians don't have a need for another veteran infielder in his mid-30s. They need speed off the bench, and it looks like Barfield will be the one to provide it.

 

*Of course, we knew that in February, didn't we?

 

*While the bench job announcement is impending, it will probably be a few days before we know the winner of that seventh bullpen spot. Though Wedge won't call it a "long man" role, for all intents and purposes that's what it is, which is why Zach Jackson is a favorite and Vinnie Chulk will be stretched out to pitch two or three innings Saturday in Tucson. Jackson, who is already stretched out as a result of his inclusion in the rotation battle, will start that game.

 

*You have to figure Jackson is the favorite for that job. Though he has a fourth Minor League option available, he's already on the 40-man, whereas Chulk would have to be added. And the Indians would have about six weeks to look at Chulk in Triple-A before they have to act on him. He has an out clause in his contract that kicks in May 15.

 

*Rafael Betancourt was relieved mid-inning by Joe Smith today. It had nothing to do with the neck kink that Betancourt suffered while on the mound yesterday. Betancourt (two runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning) is fine physically. Wedge said he wanted an opportunity to get Smith into the middle of an inning.

 

*I'm sending a shout-out to my buddy Big Bob Petriella, who was in attendance today. We used to work as sports clerks together at the News-Herald in Willoughby, Ohio, in our youth. Until today, he had no idea I had this blog, so perhaps I can use this space to rip him.

 

http://castrovince.mlblogs.com/archives/20...art_enough.html

 

Beanpot

[Beanpot]

Barfield earns the spot:

 

Versatility pays off for Josh Barfield, who claims final roster spot for Cleveland Indians

Posted by jturner March 28, 2009 17:18PM

 

TUCSON, Ariz. -- For Josh Barfield, a willingness to learn the outfield, try third base, and be a pinch runner are why the former second baseman has earned what Eric Wedge called "the final spot on the roster."

 

The Tribe manager meant among the position players, as it was announced Saturday morning that Trevor Crowe and Chris Gimenez were sent to Class AAA Columbus.

 

Wedge indicated that David Dellucci was on the roster from early in camp, "once he showed he was healthy." The manager added the real competition was between Crowe and Barfield.

 

The edge went to Barfield for three reasons:

 

1. The 25-year-old Crowe needs more experience, having played only 46 games at the Class AAA level.

 

2. "I can put Barfield into the game in the ninth inning to steal a base, and I know he has experience to make the right decisions," said Wedge.

 

3. The Indians have a lot of depth in the outfield beyond starters Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco and Grady Sizemore. They view Ryan Garko as a viable option in the outfield. Mark DeRosa and even Jamey Carroll can play the corner position. Barfield can play all three spots. That means Dellucci may not see a lot of action.

 

More Crowe: Crowe had a strong spring, batting .289 with six stolen bases. He had a double, triple, homer and showed the ability to bunt for a hit and play all three outfield spots.

 

"If there were room for Trevor to play once or twice a week, he may have made the team," said Wedge. "But we'd rather have him go out [to Columbus and] play every day. There is no downside."

 

Or as assistant general manager Chris Antonetti said: "He is very close to big-league ready. We have three outfielders at Columbus [Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley and Crowe] and all three could conceivably be ready to help us this season. They all had good camps and give us real depth."

 

About Barfield: Despite hitting only .184 (9-of-49, 2 doubles, 2 walks), Wedge insisted Barfield is making some progress as a hitter. But more importantly, the Indians like how Barfield knew he had to learn new positions, "and he worked tirelessly," said Antonetti.

 

It remains a mystery to the Tribe how Barfield just seems to have been unable to hit. He was a .301 career hitter in the minors and .280 as a rookie with the Padres when he came to the Tribe and handed second base in 2007. He batted .243 in 2007, and .251 at Class AAA in 2008. Hard to know if he has any long-term future here with Asdrubal Cabrera at second base, while DeRosa and Carroll both have extensive experience at second.

 

In the picture: The Indians were very pleased with Gimenez, who batted .357 (10-of-28) and showed he can catch at the big-league level. The plan is for Gimenez to catch about four games a week at Columbus, then play left field and first base the other days. If a Tribe catcher is injured, it's a good guess that Gimenez would be recalled.

 

"Chris signed as a third baseman [in 2004]," said Antonetti. "We moved him to catcher [in 2006], but he continued to play first, third and the outfield, too. His makeup is off the charts. He gives us a lot of options if we need him."

 

Gimenez, 26, batted .304 between Class AA Akron and Class AAA Buffalo last season. The Tribe loves how the right-handed hitter batted .306 vs. righties, .300 vs. lefties. Tribe coach Joel Skinner works with the catchers, and he believes Gimenez has the ability to be a regular catcher in the majors.

 

One more guy: Veteran Tony Graffanino remains in camp as a utility infielder. He will stay in camp to give the regulars a day off -- and he's expected to report to Columbus, unless a big league team shows an interest in him.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2...f_for_josh.html

 

Beanpot