January 24, 200620 yr http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/102...006-602271.html Michaels dealt to Cleveland By RANDY MILLER phillyBurbs.com Convinced they couldn't land a No. 1 starter for All-Star right fielder Bobby Abreu, the Phillies opted to travel down different Rhodes. The Phils and Cleveland Indians agreed to a deal on Monday that will bring veteran lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes to Philadelphia for outfielder Jason Michaels, team sources confirmed. The Phillies plan to announce the trade today after the Indians finalize a deal that will bring them reliever Guillermo Mota from the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Coco Crisp. The only holdup appears to be Mota passing a physical today. Rhodes' arrival means Ryan Madson will get his wish and move into the starting rotation after spending his first two big-league seasons in the bullpen. Madson is expected to be the No. 5 starter in a rotation that includes Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle and Ryan Franklin. Rhodes, 36, will become the setup man for new closer Tom Gordon. Although he missed most of the final two months of 2005 due to an inflamed right knee and family illness, Rhodes was tough on hitters last season, going 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 47 games. For his career, he is 75-55 with a 4.26 ERA in 598 games with Baltimore (1991-99), Seattle (2000-03), Oakland (2004) and Cleveland (2005). Meantime, Michaels likely will get a chance to become the Indians' regular center fielder after hitting .291 for the Phillies from 2001-05. He batted .304 with 4 homers and 31 RBIs while splitting time in center with Kenny Lofton in 2005, but the Phils recently landed a new starter in center when acquiring Aaron Rowand from the Chicago White Sox. Michaels would have shared right with Shane Victorino had Abreu been dealt. Great trade for the Indians. They now have a good right fielder.
January 24, 200620 yr New GM, more of the same. I think we just need an old, expensive bullpen to get us over the hump.
January 24, 200620 yr Author He is a better Ross Gload. I doubt Michaels hits .270 if he gets 500 AB's. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Michaels is a much better option than running Jason Dubois or Todd Hollandsworth out there. And all he cost was a 36 year old injury-prone reliever who will be owed $3.7 million in 2006. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr Author That still doesnt change the fact that I dont think they got a "good RF" like you stated. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> .291 career AVG .380 career OBP .442 career SLG .822 career OPS I guess it all depends on whether or not Michaels can put up numbers close to these as a full-time starter. If he can, he's a good right fielder. The Indians got a guy who can possibly fill a huge hole for an old, injury-prone, and expensive reliever who they really don't need since their bullpen is already stacked. They also improve on defense quite a bit with two good defensive center fielders filling CF and RF. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr DId it just say he will get a chance to play in CF? Did Sizemore suddenly become terrible?
January 24, 200620 yr Author DId it just say he will get a chance to play in CF? Did Sizemore suddenly become terrible? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That part of the article is probably wrong. I'm pretty sure Sizemore would stay in CF and Michaels would play RF.
January 24, 200620 yr Author .284 career AVG .339 career OBP .426 career SLG .765 career OPS Like I said, he is a better Ross Gload. And once again, like I said, I doubt Michaels hits .270 if he gets 500 AB's. Im not arguing if it was a good trade or not. I could care less who they gave up. Im telling you the Indians didnt just get a "good RF" like you said. They got a decent role player. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There's a difference between a .765 career OPS and an .822 career OPS. .057 points of OPS is pretty big. Michaels won't be a role player with the Indians, he will be their starting right fielder. Now whether or not he is good as a full-time starter is the question. But I'd rather have Michaels than a bum like Jock Jones or Juan Encarnacion. I can see why the Indians are making this move. They probably got tired of seeing balls fly over Casey Blake's head and would rather stick him in LF. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr Im not too impressed with this trade too tell you the truth. Their bullpen gets weaker, and they aquire a light hitting OF'er
January 24, 200620 yr Author Im not too impressed with this trade too tell you the truth. Their bullpen gets weaker, and they aquire a light hitting OF'er <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hafner = 30+ HR's Peralta, Blake, Sizemore, Martinez, Broussard/Perez = 20+ HR's each Belliard, Boone = 15+ HR's each I think the Indians can afford to lose some power for some OBP. And their bullpen is pretty damn good even without Rhodes... Fernando Cabrera Matt Miller Scott Sauerbeck Rafael Betancourt David Riske Bob Wickman
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 12:56 PM) There's a difference between a .765 career OPS and an .822 career OPS. .057 points of OPS is pretty big. Michaels won't be a role player with the Indians, he will be their starting right fielder. Now whether or not he is good as a full-time starter is the question. But I'd rather have Michaels than a bum like Jock Jones or Juan Encarnacion. I can see why the Indians are making this move. They probably got tired of seeing balls fly over Casey Blake's head and would rather stick him in LF. id take juan encarnacion over michaels
January 24, 200620 yr Author He also assaulted a cop outside of a nightclub. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And Mackowiak was busted for a DUI. Assaulting a cop is worse but I don't see how either event will affect their respective performances, unless they play games drunk/hungover. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) Hafner = 30+ HR's Peralta, Blake, Sizemore, Martinez, Broussard/Perez = 20+ HR's each Belliard, Boone = 15+ HR's each I think the Indians can afford to lose some power for some OBP. And their bullpen is pretty damn good even without Rhodes... Fernando Cabrera Matt Miller Scott Sauerbeck Rafael Betancourt David Riske Bob Wickman Agreed. That bullpen is solid. I was hoping that the Phils would hold out for Betancourt over Rhodes but I guess they caved.
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 01:10 PM) Hafner = 30+ HR's Peralta, Blake, Sizemore, Martinez, Broussard/Perez = 20+ HR's each Belliard, Boone = 15+ HR's each I think the Indians can afford to lose some power for some OBP. And their bullpen is pretty damn good even without Rhodes... Fernando Cabrera Matt Miller Scott Sauerbeck Rafael Betancourt David Riske Bob Wickman Is that bullpen better than it was last year? No. I would say its weaker, as is their starting rotation as well. Adding Michaels just weakens the team more IMO. If I was them I would look to add bullpen arms, not subtract.
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(3E8 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 01:19 PM) Michaels worth at least 2 more wins than Rhodes. That could be right, considering he would be playing full time and Rhodes will not.
January 24, 200620 yr Rhodes has been very inconsistent for the last several years (no wonder the Phils want him!), while Michaels is a good hitter (good obp, some power) in his first year of arbitration (? -- I think). Not young, but age-wise, should be around his prime, so the Indians are unlikely to see a big dropoff (unlike Rhodes). That's a good trade for the Indians.
January 24, 200620 yr Author If the other trade goes through, Marte, Michaels, and Mota isn't a bad haul for Crisp and Rhodes. The Indians get their third baseman of the future (a massive hole for them) and cheaper replacements for Crisp and Rhodes.
January 24, 200620 yr Arthur was absolutely fantastic last year. Whether he'll be that good this upcoming year who knows but the fact remains that they've lost two huge cogs from that pen last year with Rhodes and Howry. So their bullpen has been downgraded from last year, Michaels imo is a downgrade from Coco so I think their offense has been downgraded a bit from last season, then you got the Additions of Byrd and Johnson while losing Millwood and Elarton, so imo that's a bit of a downgrade as well. I don't see one aspect of that team that has been improved coming into this season.
January 24, 200620 yr Author Arthur was absolutely fantastic last year. Whether he'll be that good this upcoming year who knows but the fact remains that they've lost two huge cogs from that pen last year with Rhodes and Howry. So their bullpen has been downgraded from last year, Michaels imo is a downgrade from Coco so I think their offense has been downgraded a bit from last season, then you got the Additions of Byrd and Johnson while losing Millwood and Elarton, so imo that's a bit of a downgrade as well. I don't see one aspect of that team that has been improved coming into this season. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Rhodes only pitched 43.1 innings last season. He wasn't very good in 2003 or 2004 and he is old, injury-prone, and expensive. I don't see him being a huge loss for their bullpen. But losing Howry hurts a lot and they downgraded from Millwood to Byrd. Elarton to Johnson isn't really a downgrade though. They are both equally mediocre fifth starters. You also don't mention that they will reportedly get Marte and Mota in the Crisp trade. Mota is a downgrade from Howry but Marte would be a pretty big acquisition since they have a massive hole in their system at third base. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 01:37 PM) Rhodes only pitched 43.1 innings last season. He wasn't very good in 2003 or 2004 and he is old, injury-prone, and expensive. I don't see him being a huge loss for their bullpen. But losing Howry hurts a lot and they downgraded from Millwood to Byrd. Elarton to Johnson isn't really a downgrade though. They are both equally mediocre fifth starters. You also don't mention that they will reportedly get Marte and Mota in the Crisp trade. Marte is an unproven commodity and probably won't even be with the team until midseason, while Mota basically sucked last year and right now isn't close to as good as Bob is, plus adding Mr. Rhodes in there, their pen has definitely been downgraded from last year. I also wasn't saying if the trades were good or bad, just saying this team overall is not better anywhere then the team last year.
January 24, 200620 yr Rhodes was good but since he wasnt with the team for a lot of the 2nd half I dont think its that big of a loss.
January 24, 200620 yr Author Marte is an unproven commodity and probably won't even be with the team until midseason, while Mota basically sucked last year and right now isn't close to as good as Bob is, plus adding Mr. Rhodes in there, their pen has definitely been downgraded from last year. I also wasn't saying if the trades were good or bad, just saying this team overall is not better anywhere then the team last year. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any prospect is an unproven commodity until they get a chance to play in the majors (see Brian Anderson). I agree that the Indians have gotten worse on paper since last season but Marte could and should make the Indians better in the future. Afterall, Aaron Boone really sucks and the Indians had no replacement for him in their system. Rhodes was good but since he wasnt with the team for a lot of the 2nd half I dont think its that big of a loss. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bingo. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by SSH2005
January 24, 200620 yr Author The Indians want to play for the future(or so it seems) and thats fine. Rowand is right. The Indians have downgraded from last year. Not much, but they have. Adding Marte into the mix for 2006 isn't necessary because even if he does make the team in July, as hyped as he is, I cant imagine he is going to make that big of an impact for the Tribe in 06. The Indians have made some good/great deals to better this club in the future, there is no getting around that. However, this is 2006, and while the Tribe hasnt done much to make themselves better for the upcoming year, the Sox have. Were playing for right now,and the Tribe is playing for 2007-2010. I have no problem with that. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Indians will always have to play this salary dumping for prospects game until Cheapiro raises the payroll. They had the fifth lowest payroll ($40,684,100 million) in the MLB last season. Also, I'm pretty sure Marte can also play some LF so if Casey Blake really sucks he could get called up.
January 24, 200620 yr QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 01:46 PM) Any prospect is an unproven commodity until they get a chance to play in the majors (see Brian Anderson). I agree that the Indians have gotten worse on paper since last season but Marte could and should make the Indians better in the future. Afterall, Aaron Boone really sucks and the Indians had no replacement for him in their system. Bingo. Bah, that's exactly what I'm saying. I never once criticized the trades, but they have become worse on paper for this season, that's all. Edited January 24, 200620 yr by Rowand44
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