Matt LaPorta

[motherscratcher]

Fine, someone has to do it. I'll be the asshole. Is it time to give this guy yet another look? He's (once again) absolutely destroying AAA pitching.

Casey Kotchman...well...we all know what's going on there.

Third time's the charm?

[bookelly]

Per my post in the game earlier;

Laporta OPS+ 2011 = 97
Kotchman OPS+ 2012 = 41

[British_Pharaoh]

He strikes out in a quarter of his at bats. It seems quite obvious to me, without even watching a Clippers game, that he still chases the breaking pitches away. When he learns to hold off and stay on the ball then he can come back. Otherwise it will be the same LaPorta shit

[Toxicadam]

I think you still give Kotchman another 4-6 weeks. He's a defensive asset at least.

With Choo and Damon in the lineup, that at least lets you bury Kotchman in the bottom of the order. Kind of pathetic that our 1b is in the bottom of the lineup, but it is what it is.

If they are still contending by the end of June, I think they should go after a 1b. I have zero faith in LaPorta.

[andrew6586]

Dammit MS, you had to go and do this? When we're in first place? Dickhead of the year award goes to you.
Honestly, I'm fine with giving Kotchman another couple of weeks. LaPorta has always done great hitting against minor league talent. This could just be more of the same with him.

[peeker643]

Jesus.

People just never get it I guess.

All Hail Andy Marte (who could actually play defense).

[jb]

Jesus.

People just never get it I guess.

All Hail Andy Marte (who could actually play defense).

Why not?

No more delusional than thinking the team has the ability to hang in division or even WC contention. Or pissing away the future of your staff on a bust who had lost velocity and busted before the trade. Or as Eyesore would call it "the best run organization in Cleveland sports".

A LaPorta comeback may as well be part of that delusion.

Having pissed and moaned, you need to bring door matt back up even if it might mean, gasp, taking ABs away from shelly duncan. But leave Krotchman alone. He'll come around. Or not.

[rigs]

We traded the best pitcher in baseball for him. You can argue he still hasn't really gotten a full year, playing everyday, at the big league level. He is right handed, something we sorely need. He should be given every opportunity to succeed, let alone a screaming opportunity.

He needs not only to be up here, but playing everyday for a few months.

[peeker643]

[rigs]

What are the arguments against it? Kotchman is at .140. Are we afraid Laporta will hit .130?

[peeker643]

What are the arguments against it? Kotchman is at .140. Are we afraid Laporta will hit .130?

Because Kotchman blowing has absolutely no bearing on LaPorta blowing.

Just because Kotchman is struggling horribly doesn't make LaPorta any better an option.

God. Put Damon at 1B or Santana there more often or Donald or whatever until Kotchman either comes around or dies. Give ABs and time to guys that DON'T blow.

[Toxicadam]

This thread made me look up the potential 1b rentals that could be available and it's a real shit list. Carlos Lee was about the only highlight among guys that would be on teams that will be out of contention. Maybe Lyle Overbay if Arizona really falls apart, but I doubt that.


Sucks that we missed out on Carlos Pena. I wonder if a few more million dollars would have changed his mind.

[skatingtripods]

All Hail Andy Marte (who could actually play defense).

(And pitch).

[peeker643]

Sucks that we missed out on Carlos Pena. I wonder if a few more million dollars would have changed his mind.

They made the best offer by a wide margin. Hard to ask them to beat their own best offer by a 'few more million'.

Not to mention they ended up with a guy a lot of us wanted. Ride it out with Kotchamn for another month. If no signs of improvement then you need to do what you need to do.

YMMV

[Toxicadam]

They made the best offer by a wide margin. Hard to ask them to beat their own best offer by a 'few more million'.

Was it a wide margin? I remember reading that they offered just over 8 million, whereas Tampa offered 7.25.

That difference is lessened slightly when you consider the tax advantages of playing in FLA.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/carlos_pena/


Not being critical of the FO here. It's just hindsight. I think many people would have scoffed if we signed Pena to a 1yr/10mil contract back in January. Myself included.

[peeker643]

They made the best offer by a wide margin. Hard to ask them to beat their own best offer by a 'few more million'.

Was it a wide margin? I remember reading that they offered just over 8 million, whereas Tampa offered 7.25.

That difference is lessened slightly when you consider the tax advantages of playing in FLA.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/carlos_pena/


Not being critical of the FO here. It's just hindsight. I think many people would have scoffed if we signed Pena to a 1yr/10mil contract back in January. Myself included.

Guess it's a definition of wide. It was 12-13% more if I recall correctly.


Dude wanted to win and stay where comfortable. They also offered more for Beltran.

[motherscratcher]

Jesus.

People just never get it I guess.

All Hail Andy Marte (who could actually play defense).

C'mon dude. You knew this thread was coming. It was inevitable.

And I do get it. I'm not hanging some sort of hat or any other type of cranial covering on the Matt LaPorta bandwagon.

But right now, if someone had a gun to your child's head and was making you screw Jack Elam every day, Rosie O'Donell would start looking pretty attractive real quickly, even if you've screwed her before and puked in the toilet afterword.

And the fact that Jack Elam gives great hand jobs is nice, but still pretty far down the list of important attributes for a first baseman.

And yes, that absolutely makes perfect sense if you have my brain.

And what's more unlikely, that LaPorta might have figured something out enough to be better than what we've seen from Kotchman/ Or that I actually found a woman willing to marry me? And that happened.

[peeker643]

Jesus.

People just never get it I guess.

All Hail Andy Marte (who could actually play defense).

C'mon dude. You knew this thread was coming. It was inevitable.

And I do get it. I'm not hanging some sort of hat or any other type of cranial covering on the Matt LaPorta bandwagon.

But right now, if someone had a gun to your child's head and was making you screw Jack Elam every day, Rosie O'Donell would start looking pretty attractive real quickly, even if you've screwed her before and puked in the toilet afterword.

And the fact that Jack Elam gives great hand jobs is nice, but still pretty far down the list of important attributes for a first baseman.

And yes, that absolutely makes perfect sense if you have my brain.

And what's more unlikely, that LaPorta might have figured something out enough to be better than what we've seen from Kotchman/ Or that I actually found a woman willing to marry me? And that happened.

Of course I knew it was coming. Just thought it'd be Prosecutor who brought it.

[scrambler]

In essence it's the same situation as we were in with Orlando Cabrera and Hannahan last year. As long as we were in first place, the "veteran" presence of Cabrera was cute and nice...when the losses started piling up the horrid offense of Cabrera eventually became too oppressive. A .250 hitting Hannahan is an asset to your team due to his great defense (despite his plethora of early errors this year). Eventually Hannahan's offense became so bad last year he got replaced...when he got the job back last year he hit well again and so far so good this year. The future of Kotchman depends on the team. I don't think defense is so important at first you can continue to survive with a sub .200 hitting first baseman. Kotchman's offensive history despite not impressive is way better than Hannahan's. Hannahan isn't a .300 hitter and Kotchman isn't a .140 hitter. I'd at least give him to Memorial day to get it going. My first option should he fail would actually be LaPorta...

[motherscratcher]

Of course I knew it was coming. Just thought it'd be Prosecutor who brought it.

I have a great curveball sometimes.

Probably the biggest reason I started it was to see you LP Pup and Tripods react.

[gotribe31]

No. No. No. He's mashed at AAA before. He's always mashed at AAA. He's 27 years old, and he's not doing anything we haven't seen from him in the past. He's shown a downright remarkable inability to make the adjustments necessary to hit major league pitching. Don't be fooled by the stats. Eyes don't lie, and the eyes still say he's not going to hit major league pitching.

He and Russ Canzler are going to wage some epic battles over the next 5 years for the International League MVP though

[motherscratcher]

No. No. No. He's mashed at AAA before. He's always mashed at AAA. He's 27 years old, and he's not doing anything we haven't seen from him in the past. He's shown a downright remarkable inability to make the adjustments necessary to hit major league pitching. Don't be fooled by the stats. Eyes don't lie, and the eyes still say he's not going to hit major league pitching.

He and Russ Canzler are going to wage some epic battles over the next 5 years for the International League MVP though

This thread is not about LaPorta. It's about Kotchman.

[pup]

Someone else already gave you some WAR number or something. What do you need me for?

[motherscratcher]

Someone else already gave you some WAR number or something. What do you need me for?

I was hoping you'd talk about your eagle eyes.

[peeker643]

Someone else already gave you some WAR number or something. What do you need me for?

I was hoping you'd talk about your eagle eyes.

Dammit. I can't find a bigger picture.

[Erie Warrior]

That's an owl, Mr. Hanna.

[pup]

That's an owl, Mr. Hanna.

Shhh. Nap time on his way to class.

[peeker643]

It's an eagle, dipshits. Believe me.

[leadpipe]

Worrying about a guy who's ceiling is "mediocre DH" should be way down on the list of worries. Not to mention he almost as old as the Browns rookie QB.

What?

The reality is not having 4 guys in the everyday lineup that blow so badly, that a seemingly ridiculous post concerning another awful player taking one of those fours place, isn't really ridiculous.

[peeker643]

That's an owl, Mr. Hanna.

Shhh. Nap time on his way to class.

You can all suck it now. I went to the webmaster himself and am all set up.

Weels on the bus, my balls.

[British_Pharaoh]

Fuck LaPorta, Indians need to keep tabs on Carlos Quentin

If he comes of the DL and hits well for the rebuilding Pads then I want him. A right handed power bat who will come relatively cheap since he will be a FA by season's end.
Have him, Brantley and Choo in the OF

[peeker643]

Fuck LaPorta, Indians need to keep tabs on Carlos Quentin

If he comes of the DL and hits well for the rebuilding Pads then I want him. A right handed power bat who will come relatively cheap since he will be a FA by season's end.
Have him, Brantley and Choo in the OF

Love it!!

Just substitute 'Any Other Human on the Planet Other Than Brantley' and we're golden.

[British_Pharaoh]

Brantley shall never play in any other colours thank you.

He's the next Kenny Lofton

[Parker_ASN]

Matt LaPorta is a AAAA player, and AAAA players are great trade bait. I wouldn't mind seeing him go for the right price while his stock is up.

[Pressrunnr]

Crushing the ball in AAA is better than NOT crushing the ball in AAA. If Kotchman doesn't pick things up soon, I say give it another shot for a couple reasons:

* OK, LaPorta might be out of the "future superstar" nexus, but while Mike Easler-type late arrivals by Quadruple-A types to have decent mini-careers isn't common, they do happen occasionally. If he keeps hitting and Tribe keeps needing a hitter at 1B or LF, give it a shot.

* Yes, I know "who else we got" is the last refuge of a LaPorta-defending scoundral. But then again, who else we got? If Kotchman starts hitting and Damon stops hurting, fine. If one or both don't ...

* If nothing else, moving LaPorta up to bigs could then be followed by moving Chen to Triple-A and Aguilar (2 HRs today) to Double-A

[bookelly]

During this brief ran delay STO just ran a story about how LaPorta is mashing the curve in AAA. They say he's made the adjustment. MLB curves and MiLB curves are different animals, but you'd have to believe he's better than his 97 OPS+ last year.

Again, you just cannot survive with a guy hitting .140 on your team. I don't like LaPorta, but he's at the very least a massive upgrade over what we currently have at 1B.

[motherscratcher]

Hey Boo, I think you might need to edit your post. It says something about LaPorta being a "massive upgrade" over something. I'm sure it's just a typo.

No need to thank me.

[gotribe31]

Hey Boo, I think you might need to edit your post. It says something about LaPorta being a "massive upgrade" over something. I'm sure it's just a typo.

No need to thank me.

Stop it. You started this.

[motherscratcher]

Hey Boo, I think you might need to edit your post. It says something about LaPorta being a "massive upgrade" over something. I'm sure it's just a typo.

No need to thank me.

Stop it. You started this.

1. I started this because it was going to be started. It needed to be started.

2. I didn't call LaPorta a massive upgrademover anything.

3. How fucking bad is Casey Krotchman? I mean....wow.

4. Massive upgrade...lol.

5. Yeah, I did start it, didn't I? I rule.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I saw LaPorta vs Pawtucket launch 2 massive HRs and then look insanely bad swinging at an eye high fastball for a K.

[gotribe31]

Hey Boo, I think you might need to edit your post. It says something about LaPorta being a "massive upgrade" over something. I'm sure it's just a typo.

No need to thank me.

Stop it. You started this.

1. I started this because it was going to be started. It needed to be started.

2. I didn't call LaPorta a massive upgrademover anything.

3. How fucking bad is Casey Krotchman? I mean....wow.

4. Massive upgrade...lol.

5. Yeah, I did start it, didn't I? I rule.

All I know is that on Wendsday morning, there was no Matt LaPorta thread. There is now a Matt LaPorta thread where people are calling him an upgrade, other people are saying he "might be out of the future superstar nexus" and Peek is posting pictures of yet to be determined birds of prey. Again, this is because of you.

I hope you're happy with your creation.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

It's a goddamn owl, it's missing the pinnea mandela. Eagles have those.

[motherscratcher]

All I know is that on Wendsday morning, there was no Matt LaPorta thread. There is now a Matt LaPorta thread where people are calling him an upgrade, other people are saying he "might be out of the future superstar nexus" and Peek is posting pictures of yet to be determined birds of prey. Again, this is because of you.

I hope you're happy with your creation.

Wouldn't you be?

[Cerebral_DownTime]

And i'd bet it's a snowy owl too.

[gotribe31]

All I know is that on Wendsday morning, there was no Matt LaPorta thread. There is now a Matt LaPorta thread where people are calling him an upgrade, other people are saying he "might be out of the future superstar nexus" and Peek is posting pictures of yet to be determined birds of prey. Again, this is because of you.

I hope you're happy with your creation.

Wouldn't you be?

Yeah, I'm just jealous. Tip of the cap to you, sir.

[motherscratcher]

I want to get some of those vintage owl lights to hang from the gutter over the new patio but my wife won't let me.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I want to get some of those vintage owl lights to hang from the gutter over the new patio but my wife won't let me.

I have a bunch of those. If you want a strand let me know. Red, white, and blue too.

[motherscratcher]

I want to get some of those vintage owl lights to hang from the gutter over the new patio but my wife won't let me.

I have a bunch of those. If you want a strand let me know. Red, white, and blue too.

Really? You have some of those?

If I can figure out where to plug the fuckers in I must might take you up on that.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I found 'em at a garage sale, haggled the guy down to $4 for all 4 strands.

[motherscratcher]

I found 'em at a garage sale, haggled the guy down to $4 for all 4 strands.

Those things are going from $30-75 a strand on eBay.

The guy must have been worried about what you might do to him if he didn't agree to your terms.