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May 5

36 thoughts on the Cleveland Indians Emmanuel Clase and other baseball stuff – cleveland.com

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CLEVELAND, Ohio The Indians missed their 36th game of the regular season on Sunday because of the coronavirus pandemic. They were scheduled to play the San Francisco Giants in the final game of a three-game interleague set at Progressive Field.

San Franciscos rare visit to Cleveland may have offered a chance to see Buster Posey, a potential Hall of Fame catcher or a share a laugh with Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper, who played such a fine second base for the Indians a long time ago. Instead of those opportunities or the chance to dissect the Tribes 36th game of the season, we present 36 baseball thoughts.

No. 1. The Indians are taking heat for right-hander Emmanuel Clase testing positive for steroids and getting suspended for 80 games on Friday. How could they not have known that Clase was going to test positive for steroids when they acquired him from Texas in the Corey Kluber deal on Dec. 15?

Did Texas hoodwink them in the deal?

Its true a trade is still pretty much a buyer beware arrangement. Its not like free agency where a player has to pass a physical before the deal is official.

No. 2. Heres whats not true.

A player acquired in a trade still has to pass a physical. If something is wrong with the player physically, the acquiring team can protest the deal. What they cant do is administer their own test for performance enhancing drugs as part of that physical. Those tests are done by an outside agency approved by the owners and players association as part of MLBs Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Plan.

No. 3. Clase was tested several times for steroids last year in the minors and big leagues with Texas like every other player. He had no positive tests. Thats why its likely Clases positive test came after the trade. Did he take steroids before the start of spring training or after he injured his right shoulder early in camp to help speed the recovery time? Clase is the only one who knows.

No. 4. The Indians didnt know about Clases positive test or suspension until MLB announced it on Friday. Thats the way it works because tests are confidential, and the player has the right to appeal through arbitration. All of which must take place before an announcement is made. Its unknown if Clase appealed his suspension.

No. 5. The number of times a player is tested during a season is significant. It seems like the testing agents, theyre the guys in the black shirts, were in the Indians locker room every other week last year.

No. 6. Players must go through a mandatory unannounced urine test in spring training and the regular season. They are subject to random off-season urine tests as well. On top of that, 4,800 urine samples will be randomly conducted on players during the regular season.

Every player will be randomly tested for human growth hormone with a blood test during the season. In addition, 500 random HGH tests will be conducted during the season along with 400 in the offseason. The same player can undergo urine and blood tests an unlimited amount of time. In-season testing starts on the first day of spring training and goes to the last game of the postseason.

No. 7. Heres the big question with Clase? If there is no season this year, will he still have to serve his 80-game suspension next year?

If thats the case, it seems like hed be doing twice the time for one offense. On the other hand if there is no season in 2020, Clase did not miss 80 games as the penalty required.

Indians right-hander Adam Plutko.Getty Images

No. 8. Tribe right-hander Adam Plutko made a good point last week on The Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. He said that he and every player want to play this season. But he added that the players, coaches and staff members are the only ones taking an inherent risk of catching the virus if there is a season. It is a risk the owners, who are trying to cut the players pay one more time should there be a season, arent sharing.

No. 9. Veteran catcher Cameron Rupp, who was in camp with the Tribe in Spring Training I, has been getting quite a workout during the lockdown. Plutko and Rupp live near each other in Texas. Not only has Rupp been catching Plutkos bullpen sessions and simulated games, hes been catching Torontos Chase Anderson and Pittsburghs Derek Holland as well.

No. 10. Plutko says when hes not throwing bullpens, he works out throwing into a net on his front lawn. My neighbors heckle me. Its great. It feels just like the season, said Plutko.

No. 11. Longtime Indians fan Lena Rinella celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday. To help the celebration, Indians announcer Tom Hamilton participated in a Zoom call with family members from across the country and Canada to wish her a happy birthday at the North Park Care Center in Brook Park. Rinella, who is blind, had no trouble recognizing Hamiltons voice. Wonder if Hammy said, Swing and a drive.

Former Tribe right-hander Corey Kluber.cleveland.com

No. 12. If this was a normal season, Texas would be in town for a four-game series starting Monday. No doubt Corey Kluber would have started one of those games against the Indians. It would have been great to hear the reception he would have received.

No. 13. Former Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez, 47, reportedly is interested in making a comeback in Taiwan, where regular-season games are being played. Ramirez, who played in Taiwan in 2013, said one of the reasons he wants to return is that he likes the food there.

No. 14. MLB umpires agreed to take a cut in pay and per diem for the 2020 season. In exchange theyll keep their health and pension benefits and continue to get paid whether theres a season or not in 2020. They will also have a seat at the table when it comes to discussing health and safety measures if the 2020 season is played in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

In my conversations with infectious disease specialists, one of them said the plate umpire should wear a mask under his protective mask during games because its impossible for him to practice social distancing with the hitter and catcher.

No. 15. Weve been waiting for the season, one day after the next, so its part of the routine. But when this years Hall of Fame ceremonies at Cooperstown were canceled, it made the situation a lot more real. The family of my friend, the late Nick Cafardo, will have to wait until 2021 to see him honored with the J.G. Spink Award for his work covering the Red Sox.

No. 16. The day Commissioner Rob Manfreds three-batter rule was supposed to be unleashed in the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues (March 12) is the same day spring training was suspended for the coronavirus. Coincidence?

No. 17. Tribe fans just cant seem to get enough of The Bug Game. SportsTime Ohio will replay the Tribe beating the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2007 ALCS at Progressive Field with the help of an endless swarm of midges on Sunday at 7 p.m. The game will stream on FOX Sports Go.

No. 18. Shane Bieber (6-2, 2.95) went 7 2/3 innings on Saturday as the Indians beat the Giants, 4-3, in baseball-reference.coms simulated 2020 season. Jordan Luplow homered in the seventh inning for what proved to be the winning run. Phil Maton pitched the ninth for the save.

No. 19. The victory kept the Tribe in first place in the AL Central, one game ahead of the White Sox, with a 22-13 record. The Twins, Royals and Tigers filled out the last three spots in the division.

No. 20. In the simulated win over the Giants, Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer in the third. The computer says hes hitting .328 (45-for-137) with 12 homers and 30 RBI in 34 games. After 34 real games last year, Lindor was hitting .278 (37-for-133) with seven homers and 16 RBI. He missed the first 18 games of last season with ankle and calf injuries.

No. 21. For the sake of symmetry, the 2019 Indians were 19-16 and trailed the Twins by four games after their first 35 games. They were coming off a 5-3 walk-off victory over the White Sox on a two-run homer by Jose Ramirez with two out in the ninth.

No. 22. Theres always room for more symmetry. The Indians, who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their first World Series title in 1920, beat the White Sox, 8-6, on May 30, 1920 at League Park to improve to 24-11 in their first 35 games. Player-manager Tris Speaker hit a two-run single off Chicagos Eddie Cicotte in the eighth for the win. Cicotte was one of the Black Sox who would be banned for life for throwing the 1919 World Series.

No. 23. There is an uptick in confidence among MLBs executives that a season will be played this year. It wont be for several weeks, but the idea of conducting spring training in a teams big-league ballpark in June and possibly starting the season in July is gaining momentum.

No. 24. Baseball has always been accused of being so attached to its past that it is unwilling to change. This season, if it happens, that talk will be silenced. The young thinkers in the game have produced an endless number of scenarios to play a shortened season if the public health and virus allows it.

If one can cast aside the restrictions of a 162-game season and the boundaries of the American and National League, anything is possible.

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor.AP

No. 25. If there is a season of any kind, it will hasten the Tribes decision on Lindor. They made the decision to keep him this year to try and make it to the postseason one way or the other. If they get 80 games out of Lindor, and still make it to the postseason no matter how that postseason may look it would be worth it, right?

Then what? Do you keep him for the 2021 season and let him walk as a free agent? Or do you try to trade him in the offseason in what could be a virus-depressed market?

No. 26. The sounds of baseball, thats one of the things I miss. STO has been replaying Game 2 of the 2016 ALCS between the Indians and Toronto. In the third inning, with the score tied, 1-1, Rajai Davis was on third base with two out and Lindor was at the plate against lefty J.A. Happ.

Lindor lined a single through the middle to score Davis for a 2-1 lead. Even on TV you could hear the noise of the crowd change in tempo and start rolling through Progressive Field. Were almost 40 games into this season and we have not had a moment like that.

The Indians won that game, 2-1.

No. 27. Its unclear how the Indians, for instance, would play spring-training games other than intrasquad games at Progressive Field. Could they bus to Columbus and play the Reds at Huntington Park? How about busing to Toledo and play the Tigers at the Mud Hens home ballpark?

Just as an aside, manager Terry Francona hates intrasquad games.

No. 28. The most memorable intrasquad game I ever saw happened in Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla. Omar Vizquel hit a home run off Jose Mesa and did a cartwheel across the plate. Fans loved it, but it planted the seed for the Mesa-Vizquel feud that came to light when Mesa departed the Tribe.

No. 29. From bats to non-medical face masks, Hillerich & Bradsby Co., is changing with the times. Hillerich & Bradsby, makers of the Louisville Slugger for Wilson Sporting Goods, has joined the protective mask market in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indians outfielder Franmil Reyes.AP

No. 30. Read a story last week on what players and teams have lost the most because of the coronavirus. I started thinking about Franmil Reyes of the Indians. He lost weight and worked hard all winter on his defense to show Francona that he could play the outfield.

Then he had a great spring, hitting five homers and driving in 11 runs in 10 games. Now, one of the most promising young power hitters in the game, has been shut down for almost seven weeks.

No. 31. Talk about a lot to lose, how about the minor leagues? Teams can train 40 to 45 players to get ready for a big league season, but how about preparing multiple minor-league teams to get ready?

The Tribe has minor league affiliates in Columbus, Akron, Lake County and Mahoning Valley. If theres no minor league season, could their top prospects train in one of those ballparks or would they have to go to Goodyear, Ariz.?

No. 32. Its interesting that Victor Martinez and Mike Napoli, two former Indians and big-league catchers, became involved in horse racing once they retired. Wonder if they have an owner-horse meeting before races like they used to do with their pitchers?

No. 33. The draft will be held as scheduled on June 10. In late March the owners and players agreed that the owners could cut the draft from 40 to as few as five rounds because of lost revenues caused by the virus. In their latest proposal, according to the Athletic, the owners offered a 10-round draft. It would include the top five picks getting their slot bonuses from last year, but the bottom five picks would get half their bonuses from last year. The players said no.

No. 34. The players association wants more young players coming into the game. So do teams like the Indians who have made good use of the draft in recent years. The Tribe drafted Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac in 2016.

No. 35. The Indians are in line to draft three of the top 56 players in June draft. They will draft at 23, 36 and 56. The 36th pick is a Competitive Balance Round A selection.

No. 36. Random non-baseball thought. Its May 3, sunny and 67 degrees. Perfect weather to take down the outdoor Christmas lights.

More Indians coverage

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MLB umpire negotiations, draft changes and spring training ... in Cleveland?? Podcast

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What to expect from Sandy Leon for the Indians in 2020

How will Indians assemble their roster for the coronavirus season? Hey, Hoynsie!

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Adam Plutkos rising fastball holds the key to his 2020 pitching arsenal

Plutko: The pieces are all there, now its about making them fit in the puzzle: Podcast

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36 thoughts on the Cleveland Indians Emmanuel Clase and other baseball stuff - cleveland.com

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