Ahead of the game: Outfield
11/02/2005CLEVELAND -- Ask general manager Mark Shapiro what his thoughts on the Indians outfield are, and his reply is this: "I am comfortable with our starting outfield but would like to add some depth to our outfield bench through free agency this winter."
Does his answer come as a surprise?
Well, not really.
Shapiro had talked about putting a group of core players together and building around those players.
Coming into Opening Day in 2005, the core he was looking for in the outfield wasn't set. Not that Juan Gonzalez, Coco Crisp and Casey Blake didn't have talent, but each of them had uncertainty tied around their credentials.
In the wings, though, were Ryan Ludwick and Jody Gerut, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 2003. Ludwick and Gerut were rehabbing from injuries, so nobody knew how soon they would be ready to contribute. Their experience, however, made them more viable options than someone like Grady Sizemore, who was ticketed for duty in Triple-A Buffalo.
But as camp broke, Gerut's injury hadn't improved enough to make the team out of Spring Training, and even Ludwick was rebounding a little slower than thought. Then Gonzalez sprained a hamstring, which put him on the disabled list. That led to an outfield shuffle, which put Sizemore in center, Crisp in left field and Blake in right field. The season ended with the same lineup, and it would be hard to argue that the three weren't productive.
Sizemore and Crisp had very good years; they have emerged as core players, as Shapiro described them. Both handled their first full year as starters better than anybody could have imagined, and they provided an effective one-two punch at the top of the batting order.
Blake's production, some might say, could be called disappointing. But not to Shapiro.
"Casey had about the year we expected him to have -- a little less," he said. "Somewhere in between his first and second year."
Such expectations, if compared around the league, weren't very high then for a right fielder. Blake batted .241 with 23 homers and 58 RBIs, a run total that falls below Sizemore's 81 RBIs and Crisp's 69.
Blake's best position might be as a utility player, but who would take over his spot in right field -- Jason Dubois or Jeff Liefer?
Not likely. Prospects like Franklin Gutierrez might get a look. But the timetables for others like Jason Cooper, Ben Francisco, Mike Conroy and Brad Snyder might be down the road a piece. All represent a future that Tribe fans should find palatable.
So what can Shapiro do if he has no internal candidates? Stick with Blake as the starter and rely on youth for depth, maybe? Or jump into the troubled waters of free agency? Can Shapiro afford to play that pricy game?
"My assumption about payroll and my feeling for the juncture in time that our team is at is that we're probably going to examine both -- examine, it doesn't mean execute -- contracts and trades that are outside our comfort zone," he said.
No matter what direction he goes, Shapiro will be able to use Sizemore and Crisp as cornerstones, and better production from Blake might improve his value and make concerns about right field disappear, too.
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
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