By: Lukehart80

Lukehart80 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:42:20 +0000

I agree that neither of these guys is a massive upgrade, but I’d be interested to see the price tag on Kotchman. His offense is not going to match last season, but he is a fine fielder, and while 1B defense isn’t the most important thing in the world, the team is planning for their pitchers to get a lot of ground balls, and a strong glove at first could mean a decent number of extra outs.

By: largebill

largebill — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:12:46 +0000

This is the sort of garbage move that irritates fans that actually look deeper than the surface. Some people want the team to do something – do anything – spend some money, etc. Some people don’t like LaPorta’s production. I think some of the feelings towards LaPorta is due to anger over not getting an immediate star for Sabathia. Thing is neither Kotchman nor Pena are much if any upgrade over LaPorta. Kotchman had less homers and RBI than LaPorta even though Kotchman had more than 200 more plate appearances. LaPorta is not a finished product and strike out too much, but Pena is finished and strikes out even more. LaPorta is 27, Kotchman will be 29 by opening day and Pena will turn 34 soon thereafter. I’d rather give LaPorta 550 AB’s and see what we get. My guess is with regular consistent playing time he’d hit .275 with 25+ homers and learn strike zone enough to draw a few more walks than last year. Don’t get me wrong, if Tribe was making a serious upgrade I’d say spend the money and goodbye to LaPorta. If it isn’t a serious upgrade don’t bother making a move just to say you did something.

Comments on: Carlos Pena and Casey Kotchman are “two names high on Cleveland’s list”

By: Lukehart80

By: largebill