About the Indians...
1. I've driven down this journalistic road before, but it still makes no sense to keep Austin Kearns on the roster, especially with Shin-Soo Choo now on the disabled list with a broken thumb. The Indians need outfielders who can play a little bit, and the fact is that Kearns has been unable to produce as a part-time player.
2. Consider that he batted .217 in 2008, and .195 in 2009. He had 10 homers and 49 RBI in a combined 489 at-bats in those two seasons as he batted injuries in Washington. The Indians signed him in 2010, and he was solid: .272 (.772 OPS) with eight homers and 42 RBI in 301 at-bats. He then was traded to the Yankees for Zach McAllister -- gotta love that deal.
3. Kearns batted only .235 (.669 OPS) as a part-time player in New York. With the Tribe this season, it's .197 with zero homers and two RBI in 91 at-bats. Since his trade to N.Y., he's 42-of-193 (.218) with two homers and nine RBI. This is like 2008 and 2009 all over again. He is only 31, but his bat looks old and slow.
4. The Indians have brought back Travis Buck to replace Choo, partly because he plays a good right field. But they should look at another outfielder at Columbus. Jerad Head is 28 and never considered much of a prospect, but he's hitting .311 (.876 OPS) with nine homers. In the last 10 games, he's batting .324. A right-handed hitter, he's batting .328 vs. righties, .278 vs. lefties.
5. If not Head, then Chad Huffman (.261, 10 HR and 38 RBI, .812 OPS). Unfortunately, he's batting .189 in the last 10 games, and the righty hitter is only .194 vs. lefties. I liked him in spring training. He's 26 and this is his third year in Class AAA.
6. The 4-3 loss in San Francisco was perhaps Carlos Carrasco's most impressive of the season. He pitched eight innings, allowing only one run. He threw his glove in the dugout after suffering a nightmare inning where Carlos Santana made two errors, but then pitched two scoreless innings after that. In five June starts, Carrasco (7-4, 3.62) has a 1.77 ERA.
7. Carrasco used to be a fly ball pitcher until this season. In 67 innings before 2011, he was smacked for 16 homers. Now he keeps the ball down, allows more grounders and has yielded only five homers in 87 innings. It's a huge change, something that can alter his career.
8. Since being recalled in the middle of 2010, Josh Tomlin is 15-8 with a 4.32 ERA. He's started 27 games, and has only 31 walks. This season, it's 12 walks in 15 starts (9-4, 3.95). He allows homers (23 in 169 innings), but knows how to stay out of big innings.
9. Tomlin allows more fly balls than any Tribe starter, so they try to have their best outfield when he's on the mound: Grady Sizemore, Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo (when healthy). They also may start Orlando Cabrera at third in some of these games, as he doesn't allow many ground balls in that direction.
10. If the Indians need a reliever from Columbus, it could be Josh Judy. He has a 1.54 ERA with five saves in his last 10 appearances -- striking out 18 in 11 2/3 innings. Judy got off to a slow start, but now is throwing in the middle 90s. On the year, he is 2-1 with 36 strikeouts in 18 innings.
11. Veteran Nick Johnson is not ready for the majors as he returns from major wrist surgery. The first baseman entered the weekend at Columbus batting .222 with only one extra base hit (a double) and one RBI in 45 at-bats. It will be several more weeks before the Indians know if Johnson is physically ready to help them.
12. Since the 2010 All-Star break, Travis Hafner is 95-of-286 (.332) with 24 doubles, 12 homers and 50 RBI with a .950 OPS. With the Indians playing in National League parks (no DH), they decided against using Hafner at first for even a game. His surgically repaired right shoulder still can get a bit cranky, and he hasn't played the field for four years. The last thing they want to do is risk another injury
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_brow_13.html
