Friday, October 26, 2012

Tribe Needs: Looking Ahead To 2013

before 2012 was even over, the Indians fired their manager. then three days after the season officially ended, we got a new one. welcome to the team, Mr. Terry Francona.

Francona's hiring looks good because he's got a couple World Series rings and his experience should be very helpful to this team. i said before that we are not a 94 loss team. Francona is almost assuredly going to benefit here and come off in a great light because there's a pretty high probability that we will improve at least a little next season. so his return to managing will get him respect again and put him back on the map.

but the Indians are seriously kidding themselves if they think simply firing Manny and hiring Terry is going to be enough to turn things around with this franchise. Francona's not the guy on the field playing the game. he's going to need better effort from a lot of our players. he's also going to need some better players to work with, and i don't think he's going to get them.

the Dolans are not selling this team. and the firing of Manny ensured that Antonetti and Shapiro would be back next season. those facts don't exactly give fans a vote of confidence that positive changes are coming. the checkbook's not all the sudden going to open wide, as it never does. it would be a shock if our payroll even reached 70 million dollars next year. most people believe 2013 will be a lather, rinse, repeat cycle of 2012.

now let me bring it back to Francona for a minute. a big reason he liked this job opportunity was because of his relationships with Antonetti and Shapiro. keep in mind most fans want that duo gone. well, the only way Antonetti and Shapiro are getting pink slips is if we have yet another bad year in 2013. and, as was rumored all over the baseball circuits, if they go, Francona has the choice to go with them. that's kind of ridiculous.

how pleased would nearly all Tribe fans be if we finally got rid of Antonetti and Shapiro? and how displeased would fans be if we had to search for a new manager again because Francona was more concerned about his friends(hips) than this team? that's not exactly the kind of guy i wanna get behind and support, but i really have no other choice. who knows if Francona will actually be here for the full four years of his contract. it's just a very strange set of circumstances and i'm not gonna dwell on the oddity of this situation.

maybe Francona will get sick of the way Antonetti and Shapiro are running things now and will want them gone if next year turns out to be another disaster. Francona is not going to come out and make demands to increase payroll. wouldn't work anyways. and he won't demand that we sign certain players. he may wish it, but he won't openly ask for it. however, he should have enough of a voice to be able to put the kibosh on any dumb Damon type deals. and that alone is a step in the right direction for us.

i can't even pretend to know what the Indians are going to do during the offseason as far as trades and acquisitions go, but we do have some obvious needs. and as has been speculated already, we better hope that some decent players finally think of Cleveland as a desirable place to play now that we have the big name Francona attached to us. but we all know that money talks (and sometimes screams) to athletes, and we don't have much of it. so we shall see what happens.



there will be many rumors during the offseason about who might get traded. a lot of the rumored potential deals will merely be the Tribe's way of gauging interest from other teams. i think certain players are on the chopping block more than others, so i will go through my list and say what i think will happen.

Shin-Soo Choo
--i think he will begin 2013 with the Tribe and then be traded at the July deadline.

Chris Perez
--i think his odds of staying are 50/50. if the right deal comes our way, then he's definitely gone.

Grady Sizemore
--because he did not play 1 game in 2012, i think there's a possibility that the Indians will give him a spring training invite on a small minor league deal.

Asdrubal Cabrera
--i expect his name to be out there, but he's staying.

Justin Masterson
--another name i expect to be out there, but in the end i also think he's staying. (if not, then we're clearly in official rebuilding mode.)

Ubaldo Jimenez
--as much as he frustrates fans, they are not getting rid of him yet. that option will be picked up (3 days after the World Series ends).

Roberto Hernandez
--i've heard from some of my fav reporters already that they expect him to be let go, but honestly i think he's got a good chance of staying because we really need pitching. they won't soon forget how he did have that one good year and that he's an innings eater. so yes i can see him staying, but he'd be getting way less money.


who i think is definitely outta here:

--Travis Hafner (you've been on a long road with us, good luck in your future)

--Casey Kotchman (we're really gonna miss your glove, not your bat)

--Jack Hannahan (Supermannahan made some good memories here and his baby was definitely the cutest on the team)

--Brent Lillibridge (pointless acquisition who got worse defensively as the year closed out)

--Matt LaPorta (harsh reality is you were over-hyped and a huge disappointment)


major Tribe needs for 2013 include:

--a left fielder (but if they can get a center fielder, then Brantley would move to left)

--1st baseman

--DH

(and a few of the above need to be right-handed)

--a couple starting pitchers

--they also could use a backup right fielder for when Choo needs days off. or they might just need an RF from the jump if Choo does end up getting traded before the season begins.

--a pitching coach (hopefully credible and experienced)

--a hitting coach


how are we going to fill all those needs? we can't just go out and bring in free agents. the market's fairly dry to start with. and we probably can't afford anyone decent anyways. we're going to have to get new players by trading some of the players we have now. but we can't trade all our best guys, as that will create more holes. and there aren't many trading chips on the farm team anymore. our resources are very limited. some of the players we currently have are gonna HAVE to step up and perform better next season. and there's no two ways about it, we need help from the outside as well. if we somehow end up getting an outfielder, DH, and one starting pitcher, consider ourselves lucky.



i have a few ideas on how to address some of our problems. let's start with the outfield.

assume we still have Choo to start, then right now for 2013 we have

left - ?

center – Brantley

right – Choo


and who are their backups? i suppose you could keep EZ around if we can't bring in anyone better. there's also talk about Russ Canzler playing more left next year, which i'm not necessarily sold on. and if Choo does get traded during the offseason, then we've pretty much only got 1 good outfielder on the team at the moment. yikes. maybe trading Chris Perez could bring back an OF though.


now i'll move on to the infield.

3rd base – Chiz

shortstop – Cabby

2nd base – Kip

1st base – Canzler


i think that IF has potential to be good together. Russ is better playing 1st base, so i'd like to see him be our main guy there next year if we cannot acquire a 1st baseman from outside. and it's helpful that he's a right-handed hitter. you can also put Santana at 1st a few games a week. once again though, we don't have any tolerable backups for 2nd, short, or 3rd at the moment.


behind the plate:

catchers – Santana and Marson


we are also going to need a good 3rd catcher, even if he's kept in Columbus for most of the time. unless everyone is satisfied with Vinny Rotino, idk what we are going to do about that situation right now.


how about a DH?

well we have the option to pretty much use any position player in the DH spot when they need a bit of rest from the field, but that's not an ideal every game solution. Santana can and will DH sometimes when Marson is catching. Canzler can probably DH as well, but we need one main guy, who can actually hit and also play a position. gotta go outside to find this most likely. and maybe we can use some of our money for this acquisition.


let's do the bullpen next because this is a fairly bright spot for us.

assuming Perez sticks around, then we've got

closer – Perez

set up man – Vinnie

7th inning guy – Smitty


if we lose Perez, then i'd go with

closer – Vinnie

set up man – Esmil Rogers

7th inning – Smitty


another option could be

closer – Vinnie

set up man – Smitty

7th inning – Rogers


and there's always the option to have Cody Allen pitch the 7th or 8th. that'll depend on his progress in spring training though, and whether or not they'd prefer to have Rogers in a long relief role.


other people i wanna see in our bullpen next year:

Nick Hagadone

Raffy Perez (health permitting)

maybe Frank Herrmann (progress permitting)

maybe Scott Barnes

maybe Chris Seddon (depends on if they want him starting in Columbus or not)


definitely NOT Scott Maine or Tony Sipp. those 2 need to go.


we have enough in-house guys to fill up our bullpen. i am confident there. i would hate to see us waste some of our tight funds on acquiring a bullpen guy when we have many other more pressing needs to attend to. also, because we do have a lot of good relievers in-house, a few of the above could always be used in part of a trade.


now to the headache of starting pitching.

Masterson and Ubaldo are for sure still going to be in our rotation. whether they continue to be our #1 and #2 remains to be seen. that will depend on how things go in spring training and whether or not we can acquire anyone with better track records than them.

Carlos Carrasco is almost guaranteed to be part of the rotation because we have too many open spots at the moment. unless he does a horrendous job in ST, i think the Tribe will give him a chance to open the year as a starter. and it would be HUGE for us if he could perform well.

McAllister could be in the rotation to start the year as well, if he does a good job in spring.


we also have other possibilities with Kluber, Gomez, and Hernandez. Huff could still be around too if we give him another contract. i think they also mentioned Slowey getting another shot, but with the way he was hurt last season and the fact that he couldn't even pitch well in Columbus, i wouldn't bat an eyelash at him. we really have to try and bring in at least one decent pitcher from another team. two would be ideal but i doubt that's realistic since we have other important holes to fill as well.


and it's almost certain that we will have/acquire the usual "scrub" suspects in the role of utility players, otherwise known as guys who aren't noisemakers offensively or defensively. that's classic Tribe. we better not waste our precious money on too many of those guys.


as far as the pitching and hitting coaches go, it'd be nice to get some proven and experienced guys on the staff. guys who are very knowledgeable that the players would respect, and guys they could really learn from. i don't think an inexperienced young coach is the way to go here. we need more of an accomplished expert type. especially with the pitching coach because our pitchers clearly need help. (it's so disappointing that Belcher's out of the picture. he did such a great job when he was here.)



there are just too many "ifs" and "what ifs" (haha) right now, but i honestly believe that if we can get our starting pitching straightened out, we might do okay next year. at the very least, we should be able to avoid any long losing streaks and be closer to .500. we're working with incredibly meager finances here, so once again we will have to count more on internal improvements rather than big free agency splashes. we just have to keep our fingers crossed that bringing in Francona will interest some good players into coming here who may not have considered it before. yeah, idk if that's gonna happen lol

Go Tribe 2013!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Tribe 2012: What Happened & Boy Was I Wrong

68-94. never saw that coming. what a season. it wasn't all ugly, but it was mostly ugly. let's start with the problems we had before the season even began.

the biggest problem going into 2012 was left field. it was a concern from the jump and an ongoing issue all year. i think it was unfair to count on Shelley Duncan and hope he would turn his good September 2011 into a respectable full season both offensively and defensively. and bringing in Johnny Damon, who had no spring training under his belt, wasn't the answer either. not getting Willingham was the dumbest thing ever. it's right up there with actually believing Sizemore was going to come back and play well. so not.

then we had the 3rd base issue. Hanny was not supposed to be anything more than a backup platoon guy. he was not supposed to be our regular starter at the hot corner, and after a while, he got worn out. it was disappointing that Chiz didn't have a strong enough spring to take control of that job. but i do give him credit for how well he did right before he got injured, and then how great he played when he came back from the injury. sadly for the Tribe, by that time it didn't matter who was manning 3rd because too many other problems had arisen and taken us out of contention.

1st base could have used some help also. i was really excited about having Kotchman's glove over there, but we needed someone else who could swing the bat. platooning with Santana didn't quite work because what we lost defensively with Kotch on the bench, we didn't even make up for offensively, as Santana really struggled with his bat in the first half of the season. and Matt LaPorta certainly didn't pan out. the guy ended up being nothing more than a Triple A slugger, putting up good numbers only in Huntington Park. huge disappointment and now that CC trade can be deemed a fail. love Brantley, obviously, but he was not the big piece the Indians wanted when that deal was made. throwing Shelley or Lopez or Hanny at 1st wasn't a great solution either. the sad fact is our corner infielders were nothing to brag about.

we also didn't exactly have strong backups for any fielding position. if we had issues with the starters at 1st, 3rd, and left field, what does it even matter who the heck backed those guys up? we also didn't have a decent bat/arm to put in center or right when Brantley and Choo needed a day of rest. sorry to Cunningham, EZ, and Donald, but those names in the starting lineup didn't thrill anybody. and poor Kip and Cabby on the infield. once again, Cabby faded out in the second half, which could partly be attributed to playing a little too much in the first half. and Kip was not immune to the hardships of a first full year in the big leagues. he could have used some more days off as well. given who we had to work with, it took just about everyone playing to perfection on a nightly basis in order to be competitive. and for us, that just wasn't realistic.


to go along with the problems we had going into the season, we also developed other problems as the season got underway. first it was our hitting, or lack thereof, by many of our regular guys. then our starting pitching fell apart. we also did nothing at the trade deadline, much to the dismay of fans everywhere. although, by that time we probably could have used five new faces and bats, and even that may not have helped us break out of our slump and avoid those horrid losing streaks. let's start with dissecting the pitching.

finishing the year with a 5.25 ERA is nothing to be proud of. clearly our starting rotation was doing something wrong. at one point we had more Columbus kids in the rotation than veterans, never a good sign. between unexpected injuries, guys who just lost it, and guys who really never had it, it's amazing we were able to stay in 1st place in our division for as long as we did.

our ace, Justin Masterson, looked great on Opening Day. but over time, he became inconsistent and when he got beat, he really got beat. he was getting pounded by lefties, he couldn't stay out of the big inning, and just about every game he lost was a blowout. now i'm not saying an ace has to be perfect, put up nothing but 0s, and win every game he starts. but an ace is supposed to set the tone for the rest of the rotation and should be able to stop the bleeding before we flat line. an ace should not be 2nd in the AL in wild pitches. Masterson has a lot to work on for next season if he's still going to be our #1 guy.

when your ace is struggling, the #2 should be able to pick the team back up. Jimenez was NOT that guy. i've never been shy about expressing my unhappiness with the acquisition of Ubaldo. we traded for an ace type caliber pitcher, and what he displayed this season wouldn't even satisfy most teams for the backend of their rotation. he lost 17 games, led the AL in wild pitches, let just about everyone steal bases off him, rarely pitched deep into games, etc. since the All Star Break, he was 1-10 with an ERA of 6.96. does that resemble an ace to you? the scarier thing is, we have another year with this guy, and i don't see any signs of him becoming more reliable or consistent.

before Lowe's time with the Indians was over, he went from the top to the bottom. he was a first half of the season wonder. at one point, Derek was the best guy in the rotation. and then later, we saw why the Braves got rid of him. but he did what we brought him in here to do. he pitched decent in the first few months before he faded out. i don't have any issues with this acquisition, although i did have a problem when they waited a little too long to get rid of him. unfortunately, Roberto Hernandez was not ready to come back when Lowe began to lose it. so we had to plug a Columbus kid into the #3 spot and hope for the best. that's usually not how top of the line major league rotations operate.

poor Josh Tomlin. who expected him to still have elbow problems this year, and who thought he'd end up having Tommy John surgery? it was obvious something was wrong with him when he kept giving up all those hits and 2- and 3-run homers. Josh is a good pitcher, and what we saw this season was not his normal self. now we won't see him be a factor in our rotation again until 2014. why couldn't they just have done the surgery when he went on the DL last year? alas, it put another hole in our rotation, and gave another Columbus Clipper an opportunity to begin to prove himself in the bigs.

Gomez started out strong. he rightfully earned that 5th spot in spring training, as no other guy really came close to pitching as well as he did. but, as with most of the rest of our rotation, he fizzled out after a while. insert another Clipper here.

the last of the bunch all had their ups and downs. McAllister did well to start and then began to tire out. Kluber struggled in the beginning, then finished the year strong. Seddon pitched much better after we put him in the bullpen. Huff had some good outings at a point in the year when looks can be deceiving. and when Hernandez finally got back, we only saw a small sample size before he sprained his ankle. but it was enough to know that while his name may have changed, his delivery was the same. any combination of these guys in our starting rotation for an extended period of time was not going to help us make a run for the division.

when we were lucky enough to get a good start from Masterson or anybody else, there were countless times when our hitters did not back them up with much, or any, run support. pitching match ups pit our ace against other teams' aces quite often, and we'd end up losing games even after seeing a quality start from whoever took the mound. in turn, some losses came unfairly to our pitchers, but i will dive deeper into our offensive woes in a bit.

in total, we allowed 845 runs. a team like the Indians needs to have reliable starting pitching in order to be competitive. we got into all those losing streaks because our starting pitching failed us. bottom line, our entire rotation underperformed this season, and we cannot expect to contend when that is happening. some of these guys, the capability is there, but fans are losing patience waiting for everyone to reach their full potential and get themselves turned around.


another unexpected problem arose as a result of the first unexpected problem. because our starters were not getting deep into games, we ended up overworking arguably the best weapon of our team—the bullpen. consequentially, our strength became weakened. you can't go to your bullpen in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings as much as we did and still expect all those guys to remain sharp. on several occasions, when we finally had the ability to use our Smitty-Vinnie-Rage trio, usually one of them would be rusty due to not getting into games regularly. so, through no real fault of their own, there were times when they would either make the game interesting, or straight up blow the lead.

and speaking of blowing leads, no one should have been panicked after Chris Perez blew the Opening Day game. it was most likely because he was over-hyped and didn't get a normal amount of work in during spring training. losing Game 1 was disappointing, but it didn't mark the end of the season as we knew it. (lots of other things did that.) Chris had 39 saves this year. he was basically a rock. let's not even think about how many more save opportunities he could have had if our starters had pitched better. maybe he should thank his lucky stars that he finished the season with the 39 saves that he did.

coming out of spring training, i openly disliked Asencio. i felt he would be our weakest link in the pen, and over time he proved me right. Wheeler also wasn't helping the bullpen's ERA any. eventually, we DFA'd both those guys. Tomlin in the bullpen was a disaster, but as i covered above, that was due to his elbow ailment, and he wasn't part of the mafia for long. as the season went on, many a Clipper got his chance up here as a reliever. again, there is some nice potential with Allen and Barnes, and the acquisition of Esmil Rogers may have been the best of the entire year. going into next year, i see another strong bullpen mafia as long as the starters don't force them to be overused and wear them out.


now let's move on to the other side of baseball: the offense. so many guys struggled this season and, inconveniently for us, at the same time. when we started losing game after game, guys were pressing, trying to hit home runs instead of putting good swings on pitches and just getting themselves on base. strike 3 was called way too much, and a few specific players were more prone to it than others. we rarely managed to get guys home when they were in scoring position, and the fact that we might have loaded the bases with less than 2 outs was never feared by the opposition. we left 1,162 runners on base. fail.

blowout games were few and rare, as getting blown out was more our speed. most of the games we won were by close margins. we only scored 667 runs and that's why we had the worst run differential in the AL. we averaged a measly 3.6 runs after the All Star Break, and honestly i'm shocked it was even that high. the team's batting average for the year was .251, we had a .324 OBP, and we were shut out in a total of 12 games.

remember all those times we faced a rookie pitcher or a pitcher making his big league debut, and then lost because we couldn't hit against him? we also had a tendency to make sub-par pitchers look like Cy Young winners. it was an all too familiar pattern, or as i always say, it was classic Tribe.

the team as a whole sucked against left-handed pitching, finishing with a whopping .234 average against the south paws. our heavy left-handed lineup was rendered useless quite often against lefty starters, as is evidenced by our 18-35 record. and teams always had the option to counter in late innings with a left-handed reliever in hopes of shutting us down. the arguments to having so many left-handed hitters on the team—Progressive Field is a good left-handed hitter's park and most of the teams we're going to face in the AL have more right-handed pitchers—fell flat. no right-handers down on the farm were hitting well enough to help us, and knowing that we don't have any amazing prospects there does nothing to reassure fans that things are gonna get better in the near future.


should i continue on and mention our lackadaisical defense? okay well first off, left field was a mess all season. Choo had a few mental mishaps in right and came off to some people as not even caring towards the end of the season. one infielder would commit an error, and then inexplicably, someone else would mess up, resulting in 2 or 3 errors in 1 inning several times. this, in turn, negatively effected the psyche of the guy on the mound. more than one ball ended up in the photo bay area or outfield when we were trying to pick off or throw out a base runner. (on the flip side of that, we displayed some ugliness on the base paths ourselves.) players were looking like total newbies on the field at times. it was unacceptable, oftentimes embarrassing, and really just brutal. this team has a laundry list of things to improve on for 2013.



before the season began, i listed a few reasons why this season would be better than last. specifically, here is what i was banking on for 2012.

what can make a difference this year that we didn't have last year:

--Kipnis will be in our lineup for a full season

--Brantley hopefully will be healthy all season and we won't lose out on his bat in August and September

--Choo should have a bounce back season and be much more like the Choo from 2009-2010 than the guy we saw in 2011

--we have better defense at 1st base this year (sorry LaPorta lol) and may end up with more run production coming from that corner too

and who knows, if we manage to get a better outfielder in a couple months and if Jimenez actually turns into the player we traded for, this team could be in a pennant race.

my prediction for the Tribe's 2012 season, assuming everyone plays to the max of their abilities and we don't get hit with too many major injuries, is 84-78. last year i said we'd finish 82-80, and we were 80-82.

Hoynsie says 86-76, Livy: 76-86, D-Man: 84-78, Terry: 76-86, Bud Shaw: 84-78.


basically we got a total of 2 of those things this year. Kip did decent, he was a thief on the base paths and was tied for the most RBIs on the team. but he also had some defensive issues and was pressing at the plate at times in the second half. that batting average was not pretty. now that his first full season's out of the way, next year we can probably count on him to perform the way i hoped to see from him this year.

Brantley's bat was in our lineup in August and September. well, most of September. he was playing hurt in the second half again this year, except this time his numbers didn't take a nose dive. he was a very consistent hitter, hitting righties and lefties well, and led the team with his .288 batting average.

Choo was not much like the guy from 2009-2010. yes his OPS was over .800, and he led the team in doubles and runs scored, but his home runs were below what he's capable of. he didn't come close to being a 30-30 guy. not to mention how now he can only hit well in the leadoff spot and nowhere else. his defense was lazy at times and he also needs some serious work against left-handed pitching.

the production we got from 1st base was laughable. yes defense is important, and i realize we were extremely fortunate to witness Kotchman digging all those balls out of the dirt. but when you look at all the top offensive 1st basemen in the league, we looked pretty pathetic.

the better outfielder never came, and Jimenez was still an erratic mess and pitched nothing like a #2 guy. after all was said and done, we should consider ourselves very lucky that we didn't end up finishing the year in the AL Central cellar.


my optimism was cute, and my hopes of building on last year were not all that far-fetched, but the lack of moves made by the front office combined with the unforeseeable collapse of our starting pitching killed the dream. nobody thought we'd lose over 90 games. we are not a 94 loss team. it was upsetting and sad that things turned out this way, but the positive to pull from all of it is that there's really nowhere to go now but up. right?

Friday, October 12, 2012

Wrapping Up Brantley's 2012 Season

i'm going to do this Brantley wrap up blog differently from how i did it last year, reason being i blogged his numbers per month this season and don't need to repeat all that again. those monthly blogs can be found here: April, May, June, July, August, September, and October.


now for the last time, here are Brantley's final #s for the 2012 season:

Michael had a total of 609 plate appearances and 552 at bats in 149 games. in total, he had 159 hits, 112 singles, 37 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs (4 sac flies), 63 runs scored, 53 walks (12 intentional), 56 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing).

2012 batting average: .288 (159-552)

OBP: .348

SLG: .402

OPS: .750

other overall #s while playing center: 336 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, .997 fielding percentage (144 games)

Michael played in 149 of 162 games. he had a hit in 111 of 149 games that he played and reached base safely in 126 games, including his final 10 games of the year. he played 132 complete games. he subbed into 6 games, by way of PR, PH, and/or late innings defensive replacement. he was subbed out early in 8 games. he was the DH for 3 games. he did not play at all in 13 games. he missed 10 games due to injury.


this year provided many highlights for Michael. he had numerous hitting streaks throughout the season, including a 13-game, 9-game, and 8-game streak. but probably the biggest highlight of his season was his career high 22-game hitting streak in May and June. no other Indian came close to that streak. in 2010, he had a 19-game hitting streak, so i knew he was more than capable of achieving another long streak. once he passed 19 games this season, i was beyond thrilled and so proud.

another highlight for Michael was his batting average. he started the year out slow and was really struggling to relax and find an approach that worked for him. but all that was behind him by the time June rolled around, and his BA remained very respectable from then on. July was easily his best month this season, when he peaked at .302. after that, he never got below .281. who else on the team can say that? not to mention Michael hit both righties and lefties very well, and was our best and most consistent left-handed hitter against left-handed pitching. another display of his consistency comes from the fact that Michael's BA was exactly .288 in both the first and second half of the season. Michael maintained the highest batting average of all the regulars on the team several times and, as of August 5, he took sole possession of that honor for the rest of the season. congratulations to Michael for finishing the year at .288, his best year yet.

i know Michael was excited when he tied and then passed his father's career high RBI total in a season. he said when that feat happened, he would have to make the nightly phone call to his father, because his father would not be calling him lol some of Mickey Brantley's numbers from 1988, when he also played a total of 149 games, are very similar to Michael's this season. like father, like son, right? i anticipate that Michael will beat all his father's career numbers, except maybe for the home runs, at some point in his career.

Michael also finally proved to every doubter that he is a legitimate center fielder. he prefers playing center, and because the Indians had no other reliable CF on the team, every game he played in the outfield this year was in center. he made some web gem highlight worthy catches against the wall, taking a couple of home runs away from the opposition. more importantly, in 144 games, he only committed 1 error. he also had 5 assists and turned 3 double plays, the latter being another career high.


when looking at his numbers for 2012, a few things stick out to me, mainly his runs scored and stolen bases. i believe not leading off took away a lot of his opportunities to try and steal bases. being lower in the order, many times when we he came to bat, someone was on base ahead of him. it's also clear that most of the players batting behind Michael were not necessarily the strongest hitters, so Michael didn't cross home plate as much as he could have had he been leading off with stronger clutch batters behind him.

however, batting lower in the order did give Michael more RBIs for the year, so there's a bit of a tradeoff there. his .444 batting average with the bases loaded is not too shabby. then again, there were times when nobody was on base ahead of him, a big disadvantage to the team when he hit his doubles. and later in the season, when Michael started becoming recognized as a good hitter, he was being intentionally walked by opposing pitchers, disallowing him to get the big hit and even more RBIs.


now let's compare his 2012 numbers to his 2011 numbers.

Category
2012
2011

Batting Average
.288
.266*

Plate Appearances
609
496
At Bats
552
451
Games Played
149
114


Hits
159
120
Singles
112
85
Doubles
37
24
Triples
4
4
Home Runs
6
7
RBIs
60
46
Sac Flies
4
5
Runs Scored
63
63
Walks
53
34
Intentional Walks
12
2
Strikeouts
56
76
Stolen Bases
12
13
Caught Stealing
9
5
First At Bat Hits
36
DND**

OBP
.348
.318
SLG
.402
.384
OPS
.750
.702

Putouts
336
236
Assists
5
5
Errors
1
3
Double Plays
3
2
Fielding %
.997
.988



*if you remove the 19 games he played injured, he has a re-calculated .281 batting average for 2011

**i did not document this number last season

red denotes he did better last year in that category


Michael had a better year in almost all categories. his batting average, no matter which one you go by from 2011, was an improvement. he played 35 more games this year. last year he missed a lot of August and all of September due to the hamate injury. this year, he missed 10 games due to injury, most in September and October because of his groin.* even so, 149 games is a pretty full year, so i'm happy he finally had what can be considered a full season.

one area that Michael did not particularly excel in this year was the home run category. in 35 more games this year, he had 1 less home run than last season. now we all know Michael will never be a power/home run derby type hitter, but with over a month's worth more games and all those extra at bats, it is a bit odd that he couldn't hit a few more balls out of the park. he did miss a couple home runs by mere inches though, so he could definitely stand to gain a little more muscle during this offseason. and Michael is always talking about getting better, so maybe we can expect to see that come spring training.

Michael's runs scored remain the same from a year ago. and again, with playing 35 more games this year, you'd think he would have scored more. but, as i touched on earlier, that probably has to do with the fact that he wasn't batting leadoff all season and the batters behind him were not the greatest when it came to clutch hitting with Michael on base and in scoring position. unless Michael hits more home runs and drives himself home, he really can't do much to control his overall runs scored.

another issue is the stolen bases/caught stealing ratio. this year Michael was 12-for-21, while last year he was 13-for-18. so he made three more attempts to steal this year, which i like, it shows more aggression from him, but he still had 1 less stolen base this season and got caught stealing 9 times. now, one or two of those calls may have been sketchy due to blind umps, but Michael is one of the more speedy guys on the team and should probably be up in the 18-20 stolen bases range. part of the blame, once again, could also be put on his batting order position as stated above. or maybe that abdominal/groin issue in the second half of the season attributed to him holding back some. at the end of the day though, i'd rather have a healthy, cautious Michael than see him make one bad slide and take himself out of commission for a few months. still, this is something else for him to try and improve on in 2013.


before this season began, i wrote a blog about what i expected and hoped to see from Michael in 2012. to refresh everyone, here is exactly what i wrote:

my expectations for Brantley, assuming he stays healthy and plays a full season, are that he maintain a batting average between .280-290. will that be enough for Tribe fans to be content with his production and not consider him a mediocre player? i think he's got a chance to hit 10-12 home runs this year and drive in 50-60 runs. i love him in the leadoff spot and think he will get on base and set the table plenty. i wanna see him steal around 20 bases, because i believe he can. i also expect to get his autograph on my baseball card this year too lol


so i got a few things right and a few things dead wrong.

--Michael did stay relatively healthy (that we knew of anyways*) and played a full season. and he did end up with a .288 batting average. that's great. that's good progress. (i'm not going to let any ignorant comments about Michael irk me this time. i just don't care that some people are so negative about the Indians as a whole that they can't even give Michael props for a much improved season.)

--as for the home runs, no go. i will probably hope for 10-12 once again for 2013 though. i think he's got at least that in him somewhere.

--he did drive in 60 runs, so i nailed that one. really happy about that.

--the leadoff spot situation didn't work out for him this year, but maybe he will get more of a shot at it in 2013 now with a new manager.

--the 20 stolen bases may have been a little too ambitious, although he did attempt to steal 21 times. i know he set a goal of at least double digits for himself this year. next year i want 20 for real though lol

--and yes i did get him to sign my baseball card. both of them actually =D


after Michael was taken out of the leadoff spot, i recognized that that would probably affect his numbers, so i made a few new predictions. i reduced them all considerably due to the fact that i believed he would lose at least 1 plate appearance every game from then on. to curtail those revised predictions, i said: .265 BA, 10-15 SB, 8-10 HR, and 40-50 RBIs.

--well i guess i underestimated Michael's ability to hit lol or i was just thinking worst case scenario. either way, i'm happy to be wrong in this case.

--lowering the stolen bases helped me be correct. he definitely lost opportunities to run.

--even lowering my home run hopes, Michael still couldn't reach my minimum of 8. hopefully next year.

--and, as with the batting average, i worried that he would struggle not leading off and therefore not drive in as many runs. glad that wasn't so.


overall, i really can't complain about his numbers for this year. he finally played a full season, even though he did miss some time at the end with the left groin injury*, but i am happy that he was not seriously hurt at any point during the year and was not shut down like last year. it's also encouraging to see that he didn't let where he hit in the batting order affect his game. i like that he proved he can hit and hit well in other places in the lineup besides leadoff. he turned into one of the most consistent reliable hitters on the team and improved in almost every category from a year ago. he really did incredibly well this season and i am very happy for and proud of him. i can't wait to see how he does in 2013; i expect nothing less than what he accomplished in 2012.

you did good kid. you made these blogs enjoyable for me to write. it was a pleasure to document, analyze, and break down all your numbers all year long. you make me proud to be your #1 fan. have a fun, relaxing offseason, stay Smooth, and i'll see you again next year at the opener.


*Brantley just had sports hernia surgery today, October 11, and i learned that he had in fact been playing with some pain for the entire second half of the season. sigh. okay, first, i'm not happy that he once again played through pain and that it was kept under wraps. second, i am very grateful that he was even able to keep playing through the pain, that he wasn't shut down during the season, and that he still managed to hit well and put good swings on pitches this time around. (but if this left abdominal pain did hinder him in any way, imagine how much higher his BA/OBP/SLG numbers could have been…) and third, because he's had injuries in the second half of the season two years in a row, and as he now recovers from surgery during the offseason for the 2nd year in a row, there's the fear that he might be starting to become injury prone. hopefully that's not the case. but i am very thankful the surgery went well and i hope next year he can really be injury free and continue to build on his great 2012 season going into 2013 and beyond.


for even more Brantley details, be sure to read my other blogs:

Brantley's 2012 Game-by-Game Notes & Numbers

Brantley's 2012 Batting Order Position & CF/DH/PH #s

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Brantley's 2012 Batting Order Position & CF/DH/PH #s

in 2012, Brantley ended up hitting everywhere in the order except for the 9th spot. he bat in a few abnormal places due to coming in to pinch hit in a few games and certain guys getting days off. but he mostly bat 4th and 5th. Michael is by no means a cleanup hitter, but this team was struggling so much, and Michael ended up being our most consistent and reliable hitter, so he was ultimately thrust into the cleanup spot and 5th spot on numerous occasions.

Michael started the year batting leadoff. however, he struggled there out of the gate. between that and other extenuating circumstances, he was eventually moved down lower in the batting order. i of course think it was unfair for Manny to move Michael out of the leadoff spot so soon, because Michael had been starting to get going at the end of April and was getting himself leadoff hits again. he made adjustments in his batting stance that really helped. alas, the impatience of Manny gave Michael a chance to show everyone that he can pretty much hit anywhere.

it took Michael some time to adjust to the move at first, which was to be expected considering he was seeing different pitches in different spots in the order. that would throw anyone off after they'd been so used to leading off for the majority of their career. but he did settle in and get comfortable, and he ended up being one of our most consistent hitters, if not the most consistent, against both righties and lefties all season.

according to the numbers, Michael put up a better batting average when he was lower in the order, and he did remarkably well in the 5th spot. maybe playing the most games there had a little something to do with it, but considering he's not a typical #5 hitter, i give him credit. he overcame the adversity, and fully utilized his talents to maintain a respectable batting average, no matter where he hit, throughout the season.


Michael played in 149 (of 162) games in 2012.


Michael led off 22 games.

Michael bat 2nd in 5 games.

Michael bat 3rd in 1 game.

Michael bat 4th in 24 games.

Michael bat 5th in 65 games.

Michael bat 6th in 19 games.

Michael bat 7th in 11 games.

Michael bat 8th in 2 games.


Michael played center in 144 games.

Michael was the PR in 1 game.

Michael was the DH in 3 games.

Michael was the PH in 4 games.


Michael played 132 complete games. he subbed into 6 games, by way of PR (1 game), PH (4 games), and/or late innings defensive replacement (1 game, no ABs). he was subbed out early in 8 games. he was the DH in 3 games. he did not play at all in 13 games. he missed 10 games due to injury.


in 2012, Michael had a total of 609 plate appearances and 552 at bats in 149 games. here is how he fared:

159 hits

112 singles

37 doubles

4 triples

6 home runs

60 RBIs (4 sac flies)

63 runs scored

53 walks (12 intentional)

56 strikeouts

12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing)

36 first at bat hits

2012 batting average: .288 (159-552) (149 games)


now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.


when Michael led off in 2012, he had a total of 106 plate appearances and 97 at bats in 22 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

22 hits

14 singles

7 doubles

1 triple

0 home runs

7 RBIs

14 runs scored

9 walks (1 intentional)

10 strikeouts

2 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

5 leadoff/first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the leadoff spot: .227 (22-97) (22 games)


when Michael bat 2nd in 2012, he had a total of 20 plate appearances and 18 at bats in 5 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

5 hits

4 singles

1 double

0 triples

0 home runs

6 RBIs

4 runs scored

2 walks

3 strikeouts

1 stolen base

0 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 2nd spot: .278 (5-18) (5 games)


when Michael bat 3rd in 2012, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

0 strikeouts

0 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 3rd spot: .200 (1-5) (1 game)


when Michael bat 4th in 2012, he had a total of 99 plate appearances and 89 at bats in 24 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

20 hits

15 singles

4 doubles

1 triple

0 home runs

4 RBIs

6 runs scored

10 walks (1 intentional)

8 strikeouts

1 stolen base (1 caught stealing)

5 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 4th spot: .225 (20-89) (24 games)


when Michael bat 5th in 2012, he had a total of 265 plate appearances and 237 at bats in 65 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

73 hits

53 singles

15 doubles

1 triple

4 home runs

31 RBIs (4 sac flies)

27 runs scored

24 walks (9 intentional)

23 strikeouts

5 stolen bases (3 caught stealing)

15 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 5th spot: .308 (73-237) (65 games)


when Michael bat 6th in 2012, he had a total of 67 plate appearances and 60 at bats in 19 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

21 hits

13 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

2 home runs

5 RBIs

7 runs scored

7 walks

6 strikeouts

3 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

5 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 6th spot: .350 (21-60) (19 games)


when Michael bat 7th in 2012, he had a total of 42 plate appearances and 42 at bats in 11 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

14 hits

9 singles

5 doubles

0 triples

0 home runs

7 RBIs

4 runs scored

0 walks

4 strikeouts

0 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

4 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 7th spot: .333 (14-42) (11 games)


when Michael bat 8th in 2012, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 2 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

3 hits

3 singles

1 run scored

1 walk (1 intentional)

0 strikeouts

2 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 8th spot: .750 (3-4) (2 games)


when Michael bat everywhere other than leadoff in 2012, he had a total of 503 plate appearances and 455 at bats in 127 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

137 hits

98 singles

30 doubles

3 triples

6 home runs

53 RBIs (4 sac flies)

49 runs scored

44 walks (11 intentional)

46 strikeouts

10 stolen bases (6 caught stealing)

31 first at bat hits

2012 batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .301 (137-455) (127 games)


defensively, Michael only played center field this season, but because he played a few games as the DH and PH'd a couple times without playing center, his numbers while playing center are not all the same as the numbers above. so now i will get into the break down of his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup while playing center.


Michael played 144 games total where he was the center fielder for some portion of the game.

Michael started as the center fielder in 140 games.

Michael subbed in to play CF in 4 games.

Michael subbed out as CF early in 8 games.

Michael played 132 games where he stayed in center the entire game.


when Michael played center in 2012, he had a total of 594 plate appearances and 538 at bats in 144 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

156 hits

109 singles

37 doubles

4 triples

6 home runs

60 RBIs (4 sac flies)

62 runs scored

52 walks (12 intentional)

51 strikeouts

12 stolen bases (7 caught stealing)

34 first at bat hits

2012 batting average while playing center: .290 (156-538) (144 games)


when Michael played center and bat leadoff in 2012, he had a total of 106 plate appearances and 97 at bats in 22 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

22 hits

14 singles

7 doubles

1 triple

0 home runs

7 RBIs

14 runs scored

9 walks (1 intentional)

10 strikeouts

2 stolen bases (3 caught stealing)

5 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the leadoff spot while playing center: .227 (22-97) (22 games)


when Michael played center and bat 2nd in 2012, he had a total of 20 plate appearances and 18 at bats in 5 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

5 hits

4 singles

1 double

0 triples

0 home runs

6 RBIs

4 runs scored

2 walks

3 strikeouts

1 stolen base

0 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 2nd spot while playing center: .278 (5-18) (5 games)


when Michael played center and bat 3rd in 2012, he had a total of 5 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

0 strikeouts

0 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 3rd spot while playing center: .200 (1-5) (1 game)


when Michael played center and bat 4th in 2012, he had a total of 92 plate appearances and 83 at bats in 22 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

20 hits

15 singles

4 doubles

1 triple

0 home runs

4 RBIs

6 runs scored

9 walks (1 intentional)

5 strikeouts

1 stolen base

5 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 4th spot while playing center: .241 (20-83) (22 games)


when Michael played center and bat 5th in 2012, he had a total of 261 plate appearances and 233 at bats in 64 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

72 hits

52 singles

15 doubles

1 triple

4 home runs

31 RBIs (4 sac flies)

27 runs scored

24 walks (9 intentional)

22 strikeouts

5 stolen bases (2 caught stealing)

15 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 5th spot while playing center: .309 (72-233) (64 games)


when Michael played center and bat 6th in 2012, he had a total of 66 plate appearances and 59 at bats in 18 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

21 hits

13 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

2 home runs

5 RBIs

7 runs scored

7 walks

6 strikeouts

3 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

5 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 6th spot while playing center: .356 (21-59) (18 games)


when Michael played center and bat 7th in 2012, he had a total of 41 plate appearances and 41 at bats in 11 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

14 hits

9 singles

5 doubles

0 triples

0 home runs

7 RBIs

4 runs scored

0 walks

4 strikeouts

0 stolen bases (1 caught stealing)

4 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 7th spot while playing center: .341 (14-41) (11 games)


when Michael played center and bat 8th in 2012, he had a total of 3 plate appearances and 2 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

1 walk (1 intentional)

0 strikeouts

0 first at bat hits

2012 batting average in the 8th spot while playing center: .500 (1-2) (1 game)


when Michael played center and bat everywhere other than leadoff in 2012, he had a total of 488 plate appearances and 441 at bats in 122 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

134 hits

95 singles

30 doubles

3 triples

6 home runs

53 RBIs (4 sac flies)

48 runs scored

43 walks (11 intentional)

40 strikeouts

10 stolen bases (4 caught stealing)

29 first at bat hits

2012 batting average everywhere other than leadoff while playing center: .304 (134-441) (122 games)


other 2012 #s while playing center: 336 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, .997 fielding percentage (144 games)



when Michael was the DH in 2012, he had a total of 11 plate appearances and 10 at bats in 3 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

1 walk

0 stolen bases (2 caught stealing)

4 strikeouts

2012 batting average as the DH: .100 (1-10) (3 games)


when Michael was the DH and bat 4th in 2012, he had a total of 7 plate appearances and 6 at bats in 2 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 walk

1 caught stealing

3 strikeouts

2012 batting average as the DH in the 4th spot: .000 (0-6) (2 games)


when Michael was the DH and bat 5th in 2012, he had a total of 4 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

1 caught stealing

1 strikeout

2012 batting average as the DH in the 5th spot: .250 (1-4) (1 game)



when Michael came in to PH in 2012, he had a total of 4 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 4 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

2 hits

2 singles

1 run scored

1 strikeout

2 first at bat hits

2012 batting average as a PH: .500 (2-4) (4 games)


when Michael came in to PH and bat 6th in 2012, he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

0 hits

0 strikeouts

2012 batting average as a PH in the 6th spot: .000 (0-1) (1 game)


when Michael came in to PH and bat 7th in 2012, he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

0 hits

1 strikeout

2012 batting average as a PH in the 7th spot: .000 (0-1) (1 game)


when Michael came in to PH and bat 8th in 2012, he had a total of 2 plate appearances and 2 at bats in 2 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

2 hits

2 singles

1 run scored

2 first at bat hits

2012 batting average as a PH in the 8th spot: 1.000 (2-2) (2 games)


when Michael came in to PR in 2012, in 1 game, he did not come around to score a run.



next up, a blog about how my preseason hopes did or did not match up with Brantley's 2012 season, along with comparing this season to 2011.


Brantley's 2012 Game-by-Game Notes & Numbers blog

Friday, October 5, 2012

Brantley's 2012 Game-by-Game Notes & Numbers

keeping monthly blogs of Michael's stats made it so much easier to group all his info together now that the season is over. i will start with his game-by-game notes and numbers. you can clearly see he started out very slow, peaked in July, and then finished with a steady September and October.

Michael played in 149 of 162 games. he had a hit in 111 of 149 games that he played and reached base safely in 126 games, including his final 10 games of the year.

Michael played 132 complete games. he subbed into 6 games, by way of PR, PH, and/or late innings defensive replacement. he was subbed out early in 8 games. he was the DH for 3 games. he was the DH for 3 games. he did not play at all in 13 games. he missed 10 games due to injury.

Michael had numerous hitting streaks throughout the season, including a 13-game, 9-game, and 8-game streak, along with his career high 22-game hitting streak in May and June. Michael had the highest batting average of all the regulars on the team several times, and as of August 5, he took sole possession of that honor for the remainder of the season. congratulations to Michael for finishing the year at .288, his best year yet.


my game-by-game notes and numbers for Michael Brantley's 2012 season:
(**where not noted, Michael bat leadoff**)

Game 1, April 5: 1-6, double, walk. AVG: .167

Game 2, April 7: 0-5. AVG: .091

Game 3, April 8: 0-2, 2 walks, 1 caught stealing. AVG: .077

April 9: not in lineup

April 10: Game PPD

Game 4, April 11: 0-4, walk. AVG: .059

**this is when Brantley reviewed tape of his at bats and decided changes were needed**

Game 5, April 13: 2-5, leadoff single, RBI double, run scored. AVG: .136

Game 6, April 14: 1-6, triple, run scored, fielder's choice, run scored. AVG: .143

Game 7, April 15: 3-6, single, run scored, 2-run double, single. AVG: .206

Game 8, April 17: 1-5, leadoff single, stolen base, run scored, RBI, fielder's choice, run scored. AVG: .205
^^this is the game in which Michael tweaked his right wrist sliding^^

April 18: not in lineup

Game 9, April 19: 1-4, single, intentional walk. AVG: .209

Game 10, April 20: 1-4, walk, double. AVG: .213

Game 11, April 21: 1-5, single, run scored. AVG: .212

**Michael had a 7-game hitting streak until...

Game 12, April 22: 0-4. AVG: .196

Game 13, April 24: did not start due to sore wrist. defensive sub for 8th and 9th innings. no ABs.

Game 14, April 25: 1-4, single, stolen base, run scored. AVG: .200

Game 15, April 26: 1-4, drag bunt single, run scored, walk. AVG: .203

Game 16, April 27: 3-5, leadoff single, single, caught stealing, RBI double, run scored. AVG: .232

Game 17, April 28: 1-4, leadoff double. AVG: .233

Game 18, April 29: 2-3, leadoff single, walk, run scored, single. AVG: .250

Game 19/May 1: 0-4, fielder's choice, caught stealing. AVG: .237
(leading off)
^^prior to this game, Michael was informed that Damon would be taking over the leadoff spot, and i have to believe that news affected his performance^^

Game 20/May 2: 1-5, single, run scored. AVG: .235
(batting 7th)

Game 21/May 3: 1-4, single (first at bat), run scored. AVG: .236
(batting 7th)

Game 22/May 4: 1-3, single (first at bat), caught stealing. AVG: .239
(batting 7th)

Game 23/May 5: 2-5, double, single, run scored. AVG: .247
(leading off)

Game 24/May 6: 0-4. AVG: .238
(batting 7th)

Game 25/May 7 (Day game): 2-4, RBI single (first at bat), 2-run double, run scored. AVG: .248
(batting 7th)

Game 26/May 7 (Night game): 1-4, RBI single, run scored. AVG: .248
(leading off)

Game 27/May 8: 0-4. AVG: .239
(batting 7th)

Game 28/May 9: 0-3. AVG: .233
(batting 7th)

Game 29/May 10: 4-5, double (first at bat), run scored, 2-run double, single, single. AVG: .256
(batting 7th)

Game 30/May 11: 2-5, RBI single, RBI single. AVG: .262
(batting 7th)

Game 31/May 12: 0-4. AVG: .254
(leading off)

Game 32/May 13: 3-4, double, single, double. AVG: .269
(batting 7th)

Game 33/May 14: 0-4. AVG: .261
(batting 6th)
^^this is the day Manny decided Damon would no longer be leading off, and neither would Michael. he will now bat 6th unless Travis Hafner is not in the lineup^^

Game 34/May 15: 2-4, triple, single, stolen base. AVG: .268
(batting 5th)

Game 35/May 16: 2-3, double, RBI single, walk. AVG: .276
(batting 6th)

Game 36/May 17: 0-5. AVG: .267
(batting 6th)

Game 37/May 18: 0-4. AVG: .260
(batting 6th)

Game 38/May 19: 0-3. AVG: .255
(batting 6th)

Game 39/May 20: 1-4, single, stolen base, run scored, fielder's choice, run scored. AVG: .255
(batting 6th)

Game 40/May 22: 2-4, single, stolen base, run scored, single, stolen base. AVG: .261
(batting 6th)

Game 41/May 23: 1-3, double. AVG: .262
(batting 6th)

Game 42/May 24: 2-3, single (first at bat), single, stolen base, run scored. AVG: .269
(batting 5th)
^^this is the game in which Michael tweaked his left ankle after stealing 2nd base^^

May 25: not in lineup

Game 43/May 26: 1-4, 3-run double, run scored. AVG: .269
(batting 2nd)

Game 44/May 27: 2-5, RBI single, RBI groundout, single, run scored. AVG: .272
(batting 2nd)

Game 45/May 28: 1-3, fielder's choice, walk, run scored, RBI single, stolen base, run scored. AVG: .273
(batting 2nd)

Game 46/May 29: 1-4, fielder's choice RBI, stolen base, single. AVG: .273
(batting 5th)

Game 47/May 30: 2-4, single (first at bat), run scored, single. AVG: .277
(batting 6th)

Michael ended May and therefore started June on a 9-game hitting streak.

Game 48/June 1: 1-4, RBI double. AVG: .277
(batting 5th)

Game 49/June 2: 1-4, fielder’s choice RBI, RBI single. AVG: .276
(batting 5th)

Game 50/June 3: 2-4, single, single. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)

Game 51/June 5: 1-2, walk (first at bat), RBI triple, walk. AVG: .283
(batting 6th)

Game 52/June 6: 1-4, 3-run home run (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .282
(batting 5th)

Game 53/June 7: 1-4, reached on fielding error, single. AVG: .282
(batting 6th)

Game 54/June 8: 2-5, RBI groundout (first at bat), single, single, run scored. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)

Game 55/June 9: 2-4, single, single. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)
^^before this game, it was reported by Nick Camino that Michael had "soreness"^^

Game 56/June 10: 1-5, single. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

Game 57/June 12: 1-4, single, caught stealing. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

Game 58/June 13: 1-4, single. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 59/June 14: 1-4, double, run scored. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 60/June 15: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)
^^Michael's 22-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 61/June 16: 0-3, walk (first at bat). AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Game 62/June 17: 1-4, RBI double. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Game 63/June 18: 2-3, double (first at bat), run scored, double, run scored, RBI sac fly. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 64/June 19: 1-4, single. AVG: .284
(batting 5th)

Game 65/June 20: 1-5, single. AVG: .282
(batting 3rd)

Game 66/June 22: 1-3, walk, RBI single. AVG: .283
(batting 5th)

Game 67/June 23: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .283
(batting 5th)

Game 68/June 24: 0-4. AVG: .278
(batting 5th)

Game 69/June 25: 1-3, single (first at bat), reached on force out. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 70/June 26: 1-4, double. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 71/June 27: 0-4, fielder's choice, run scored, RBI walk. AVG: .275
(leading off)

Game 72/June 28: 2-3, walk (first at bat), run scored, double, single, walk. AVG: .279
(batting 5th)

Game 73/June 29: 1-4, RBI single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .278
(batting 4th)

Game 74/June 30: 2-5, walk (first at bat), single, single. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Michael ended June and therefore started July on a 3-game hitting streak.

Game 75/July 1: 0-0, intentional walk. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)
^^Michael did not start this game because he was supposed to have an off day. but he came in the 8th inning to pinch run, and then had 1 plate appearance in the 9th inning.^^

Game 76/July 2: 1-4, single. AVG: .280
(batting 4th)

Game 77/July 3: 1-4, single (first at bat), run scored, RBI groundout, fielder's choice RBI, stolen base. AVG: .280
(batting 5th)

Game 78/July 4: 1-5, 3-run home run (first at bat), run scored, fielder's choice, run scored, fielder's choice. AVG: .278
(batting 5th)

Game 79/July 5: 2-3, home run (first at bat), run scored, single, caught stealing, walk. AVG: .282
(batting 6th)

Game 80/July 6: 1-3, single. AVG: .283
(batting 6th)

Game 81/July 7: 1-4, double (first at bat), run scored, RBI groundout. AVG: .282
(batting 4th)

Game 82/July 8: 3-4, single (first at bat), double, walk, single. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)

Game 83/July 13: 3-4, single (first at bat), double, single. AVG: .294
(batting 6th)

Game 84/July 14: 3-4, single (first at bat), walk, run scored, single, 2-run home run, run scored. AVG: .299
(batting 6th)

Game 85/July 15: 2-3, double (first at bat), walk, double. AVG: .302
(batting 6th)
^^Michael's 13-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 86/July 16: 0-1, walk (first at bat), walk, walk. AVG: .301
(batting 4th)

Game 87/July 17: 0-2, walk, walk. AVG: .300
(batting 4th)

Game 88/July 18: 2-5, triple (first at bat), RBI single, run scored. AVG: .301
(batting 4th)

Game 89/July 19: 0-3. AVG: .299
(batting 4th, DH)

Game 90/July 20: 0-4. AVG: .295
(batting 4th)

Game 91/July 21: 1-4, single. AVG: .295
(batting 4th)

Game 92/July 22: 1-3, walk, single, run scored. AVG: .295
(batting 5th)

Game 93/July 23: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .294
(batting 4th)

Game 94/July 24: 1-4, single. AVG: .294
(batting 4th)
^^Michael jarred his hand, wrist, and shoulder sliding into Prince Fielder's leg in this game^^

Game 95/July 25: 1-4, double, stolen base. AVG: .293
(batting 4th)

Game 96/July 26: 1-4, single. AVG: .293
(batting 4th)
^^Michael's 6-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 97/July 27: 0-3. AVG: .291
(batting 4th)

Game 98/July 28: 0-2, walk (first at bat). AVG: .289
(batting 2nd)

Game 99/July 29: 1-4, single. AVG: .289
(batting 5th)

Game 100/July 31: 2-4, single (first at bat), run scored, double. AVG: .291
(batting 4th)

Game 101/August 1: 0-4. AVG: .288
(batting 4th)

Game 102/August 2: 1-4, double (first at bat), run scored, RBI sac fly. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)

Game 103/August 3: 1-3, single. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)

Game 104/August 4: 1-3, single. AVG: .288
(batting 5th)

Game 105/August 5: 3-4, RBI single (first at bat), double, double, walk. AVG: .293
(batting 5th)

Game 106/August 6: 1-3, double. AVG: .293
(batting 5th)

Game 107/August 7: 2-4, walk (first at bat), run scored, single, single, stolen base. AVG: .295
(batting 5th)

Game 108/August 8: 1-4, single. AVG: .295
(batting 5th)

Game 109/August 9: 1-3, double (first at bat), RBI sac fly. AVG: .295
(batting 5th)
^^Michael's 8-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 110/August 10: 0-3. AVG: .293
(batting 5th)

Game 111/August 11: 0-2, walk, run scored, RBI sac fly. AVG: .291
(batting 5th)

August 12: not in lineup

Game 112/August 13: 0-4. AVG: .289
(batting 5th)

Game 113/August 14: 3-4, 2-run home run, run scored, single, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .293
(batting 5th)

Game 114/August 15: 0-4. AVG: .290
(batting 5th)

Game 115/August 17: 2-4, single (first at bat), single, run scored. AVG: .292
(batting 5th)

Game 116/August 18: 2-4, single, single, run scored. AVG: .294
(batting 5th)

Game 117/August 19: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .294
(batting 5th)

Game 118/August 20: 0-3, walk. AVG: .292
(batting 5th)

Game 119/August 21: 1-4, single, caught stealing. AVG: .291
(batting 5th, DH)

Game 120/August 22: 1-3, single, walk. AVG: .292
(batting 5th)

Game 121/August 24: 1-4, single. AVG: .291
(batting 5th)

Game 122/August 25: 1-3, 3-run home run (first at bat), run scored. AVG: .292
(batting 5th)

Game 123/August 26: 1-4, reached on passed ball, caught stealing, single. AVG: .291
(batting 5th)

Game 124/August 27: 1-4, single, reached on error. AVG: .291
(batting 5th)
^^Michael's 6-game hitting streak comes to an end^^

Game 125/August 28: 0-4. AVG: .289
(batting 5th)

Game 126/August 29: 0-3, walk, reached on error. AVG: .287
(batting 5th)

Game 127/August 30: 1-4, walk (first at bat), double, fielder’s choice. AVG: .286
(batting 4th)

Game 128/August 31: 0-3, walk, caught stealing. AVG: .285
(batting 4th, DH)

Game 129/September 1: 1-4, single, run scored. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)

September 2: not in lineup (day off)

Game 130/September 3: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .284
(batting 4th)

Game 131/September 4: 1-2, RBI double (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, walk. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 132/September 5: 1-3, RBI single. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)

Game 133/September 7: 2-3, single, run scored, intentional walk, RBI single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .287
(batting 5th)

Game 134/September 8: 0-3. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

Game 135/September 9: 1-4, walk, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .285
(batting 4th)

Game 136/September 10: 1-4, single. AVG: .285
(batting 2nd)

Game 137/September 11: 0-1. AVG: .285
(PH, batting 7th)
^^Michael did not start this game because he was supposed to have a day off. but he came in in the top of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the bottom of the 8th.^^

Game 138/September 12: 1-4, single. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)

September 13: not in lineup
^^Michael was originally in the lineup batting 4th, but was a late scratch due to left pectoral soreness he suffered during batting practice.^^

September 14: not in lineup

Game 139/September 15: 0-1. AVG: .284
(PH, batting 6th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left pec injury, but came in in the bottom of the 9th inning to pinch hit.^^

Game 140/September 16: 0-3, walk (first at bat), reached on force out, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .282
(batting 5th)

Game 141/September 18: 1-5, single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)

Game 142/September 19: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)

Game 143/September 20: 2-4, single (first at bat), single, intentional walk. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)

Game 144/September 21: 1-3, intentional walk (first at bat), RBI single. AVG: .283
(batting 5th)

Game 145/September 22: 1-4, single, reached on fielding error. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)

Game 146/September 23: 3-5, single, intentional walk, run scored, double, run scored, single. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)

September 24: not in lineup
^^Michael will miss the next couple games because of a sore left groin according to Acta. he injured his groin during a rundown in the 6th inning of the September 23 game.^^

September 25: not in lineup

September 26: not in lineup

September 28: not in lineup

Game 147/September 29: 2-3, single (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, single. AVG: .288
(PH, batting 8th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left groin injury, but came in in the bottom of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the top of the 9th inning. because the game went 14 innings, Michael came to the plate 3 more times and remained in center through the 14th.^^

September 30: not in lineup

Michael ended September and therefore started October on a 7-game hitting streak.

Game 148/October 1: 0-2, walk (first at bat). AVG: .287
(batting 6th)

Game 149/October 2: 1-1, single (first at bat). AVG: .288
(PH, batting 8th)
^^Michael did not start this game because it had been a rainy day in Cleveland and Sandy Alomar didn't want him playing in center and possibly re-injuring his groin. but he came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, got a hit, and then was replaced by a pinch runner.^^

October 3: not in lineup
^^i had hoped Michael would at least get a chance to pinch hit in this game, but because we got blown out, there was no need to give him an at bat.^^


**Michael Brantley finishes the 2012 season with a batting average of .288**


in 2012, Michael had a total of 609 plate appearances and 552 at bats in 149 games. in total, he had 159 hits, 112 singles, 37 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs (4 sac flies), 63 runs scored, 53 walks (12 intentional), 56 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing).

2012 batting average: .288 (159-552)

OBP: .348

SLG: .402

OPS: .750


next up: a blog breaking down Michael's #s according to where he hit in the lineup.

My Final #s for the 2012 Cleveland Indians Season

i'm at the point now where i like to try and outdo myself each year. sadly, i did not back up my final #s from last year so they are now gone, but i think it's safe to say i topped out in all categories. and yet, i wish there was more i could have done. i feel like it wasn't enough. i wish i could have gone to more games and i wish i could have made a difference in the outcome of our season. but even though we had a losing year, i still feel like a winner as far as making memories is concerned.

in this 2012 season, i was present for every single inning of every single game in real time. (i can't say "watched" because i have to listen to the majority of games on my computer.) i went 162 strong. i was present for every game dating back to the preseason games as well. in fact, the only preseason game i missed was the very first one, and that was because it was the Saturday before my birthday and i went birthday shopping that day. however, i did wait to leave until after Brantley's first at bat. (leadoff double, who remembers that? haha)

for the second year in a row, i was lucky enough to arrange my schedule/social life around Indians games, and i have no regrets. i did not turn the audio off on my computer before any games ended, and i never walked out on a game before the final out was recorded. you will be hard pressed to find anyone else who can say the same other than the true diehard fans.


i went to 11 games this year, three of which went to extra innings, and i sat through them all.

--compare this to 7 games in 2011 and i think i've set a high record that will be tough to beat in future years.


i took 6680 pictures

--including during batting practice, warm-ups, the actual game, and of course parking lot.


of those pictures, 2010 were of Brantley

--don't forget, i am his #1 fan, so this should have been expected haha


i took 300 videos

--and that isn't even due to all the extra innings, because by the time those games got into extras, my Bloggie battery was just about dead.


other mentionables:

--i got 4 baseballs

--i got my picture taken with 3 players

--i got 40 autographs

     --6 of which were from Brantley



and between game tickets, food, souvenirs, merchandise, and hotel costs for the 2 overnighters, we spent approximately $2500. which is about what we spent last year oddly enough.

as long as i live, you better believe i will never NOT go to games because i disagree with the cheap allowance allotted to this team's payroll. i won't deprive myself of loving and supporting the team, my team, my Tribe. it doesn't matter to me if the team is good, bad, or collapsing. my ass is going to games every year because i am ride or motherfucking die for this team. and because i know there are some people out there who have adopted this "i won't spend until the Dolans do" attitude, it only makes me want to contribute more of my own money to the Tribe as a counterbalance. i got ya covered, no worries.




anyways, the bar has been set pretty high now and if i don't at least meet these #s again next year, i will not be happy lol i consider myself very lucky to have gotten all of the above and i will always cherish these things. i will definitely use them to help me get through my offseason withdrawal. so to every guy who wore an Indians uniform this year, from my least favorite player to my #1 boy, thank you for making my 2012 Tribe experience amazing.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Brantley's October and Final 2012 #s

i know i said i would not be writing an October blog, but even with Michael only playing in 2 of the final 3 games, the break down is still a bit lengthy. so i decided to write a blog for this month, not so much focusing on his monthly #s, but mostly just to finalize his 6th spot, 8th spot, and PH #s.

the only thing to really note about October is that Michael had a hit in 1 of the 2 games he played and reached base safely in both games. dating back to September, he had safely reached base in his last 10 games of the season.

Michael finishes the year with the highest batting average on the team. he had maintained the highest batting average out of all the regular players on the team since August 5.

i'm sad Michael finished the season watching from the bench. maybe next year he'll get in there for Game #162. hasn't happened since 2010 lol but more on these thoughts in a future blog.


now i am going to document his October #s, the October 6th spot/overall 6th spot #s, the October 8th spot/overall 8th spot #s, his October PH/overall PH #s, his October center/overall center #s, and the overall #s of everything other than leadoff. i will include his final #s here as well.

 
October batting average: .333 (1-3) (2 games)
 
OBP: .500
 
SLG: .333
 
OPS: .833


and just so his final #s don't look completely ridiculous lol
 
September & October batting average: .313 (21-67) (21 games)
 
OBP: .425
 
SLG: .343
 
OPS: .768


Michael played in 2 (of 3) games in October. he started and played center in 1 game, and he came in in late innings to PH in 1 game. he had 1 plate appearance in the game that he did not start. he missed 1 game due to injury.


Michael bat 6th in 1 game.

Michael bat 8th in 1 game.


Michael played center in 1 game.

Michael was the PH in 1 game.


in October, Michael had a total of 4 plate appearances and 3 at bats. here is how he fared:

1 hit

1 single

1 walk

0 strikeouts

1 first at bat hit
 
October batting average: .333 (1-3) (2 games)


when Michael bat 6th in October, he had a total of 3 plate appearances and 2 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 walk

0 strikeouts
 
October batting average in the 6th spot: .000 (0-2)
overall batting average in the 6th spot: .350 (21-60) (19 games)
overall batting average in the 6th spot while playing center: .356 (21-59) (18 games)
overall batting average in the 6th spot as the PH: .000 (0-1) (1 game)


when Michael bat 8th, he was the PH in October for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

1 hit

1 single

1 first at bat hit
 
October batting average in the 8th spot as the PH: 1.000 (1-1) (1 game)
overall batting average in the 8th spot as the PH: 1.000 (2-2) (2 games)

 
October batting average in the 8th spot: 1.000 (1-1) (1 game)
overall batting average in the 8th spot: .750 (3-4) (2 games)
overall batting average in the 8th spot while playing center: .667 (2-3) (1 game)

 
October batting average as a PH: 1.000 (1-1) (1 game)
overall batting average as a PH: .500 (2-4) (4 games)

 
October batting average while playing center: .000 (0-2) (1 game)
overall batting average while playing center: .290 (156-538) (144 games)

 
October batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .333 (1-3) (2 games)
overall batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .301 (137-455) (127 games)

 
other overall #s while playing center: 336 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, .997 fielding percentage (144 games)


now my game-by-game numbers and notes.
 
Michael started the month on a 7-game hitting streak.

Game 148/Game 1, October 1: 0-2, walk (first at bat). AVG: .287
(batting 6th)

Game 149/Game 2, October 2: 1-1, single (first at bat). AVG: .288
(PH, batting 8th)
^^Michael did not start this game because it had been a rainy day in Cleveland and Sandy Alomar didn't want him playing in center and possibly re-injuring his groin. but he came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, got a hit, and then was replaced by a pinch runner.^^

October 3: not in lineup
^^i had hoped Michael would at least get a chance to pinch hit in this game, but because we got blown out, there was no need to give him an at bat.^^

 
**Michael Brantley finishes the 2012 season with a batting average of .288**


in 2012, Michael had a total of 609 plate appearances and 552 at bats in 149 games. in total, he had 159 hits, 112 singles, 37 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs (4 sac flies), 63 runs scored, 53 walks (12 intentional), 56 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing).
 
2012 batting average: .288 (159-552)

OBP: .348

SLG: .402

OPS: .750



i have a couple more blogs planned, including a blog with all of Michael's game by game #s and notes, a blog with all of Michael's total #s according to where he hit in the lineup, a blog with my thoughts on Michael's 2012 season where i'll compare it to his 2011 season, a wrap up blog including my preseason 2012 Tribe expectations and what went wrong along with other thoughts on the year, and a blog with hopes for the 2013 season. stay tuned.