Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Designated LHSP Jeriome Robertson for Assignment
 
I don't really like this at all. While fomer Astro phenom Scott Elarton is on his way to winning the Worst Starting Pitcher in Baseball Award, former Astro Jeriome "15-game winner with a 5.00 ERA" Robertson is designated for assignment. Picking between the two is like picking between the gas chamber and the electric chair, but I'd rather take my chances with Robertson than Elarton. While all this hand-wringing by yours truly will be made moot if Robertson clears waivers, I don't see it happening. A lot of teams are desperate for starting pitching, and pretty much everyone could use a left-hander, so Jeriome should be playing for another team this time next week.
 
Reinstated LHSP Brian Tallet from the 60-day Disabled List; Optioned him to Akron (AA)
 
The reason why Robertson was DFAd. Tallet had exhausted his rehab time-limit, and he was healthy, so the Indians had to put him back on the 40-man roster. It's doubtful that he'll help the Indians this season, but if his arm holds up, he might be in the Tribe's bullpen next year in some capacity.
 
Traded 3B Russell Branyan to the Milwaukee Brewers for Cash
 
I view this more as a favor to Branyan than anything. The Bisons' offense definitely takes a hit, but the way Russ was hitting, he deserved a shot somewhere. I would have liked to see him in Cleveland coming off the bench, but the combination of a preponderance of left-handed hitters and Ben Broussard finally resembling a league-average first baseman probably sealed his departure. The Brewers are probably going to have him play everyday, as Wes Helms has been slugging an abysmal .324 this year; Branyan could do that with his eyes closed.
 
Demoted LHSP Aaron Laffey and RHSP Nelson Hiraldo to Mahoning Valley (SSA) from Lake County (A-)
 
Laffey has struggled in his first full season as a professional. The left-hander has struck out 67 batters in 73 innings, but has had control problems off (44 walks) and on (79 hits) the plate. Likewise, Hiraldo, a product of the Tribe's recently bountiful Latin America program, has been just as hittable (5.38 ERA), but has managed to keep his walks down (26 in 72 innings).
 
Promoted RHSP Chris Niesel to Lake County (A-) from Mahoning Valley (SSA)
 
Niesel was dominating batters in the NYPL, so he'll be given a shot against more advanced competition. He's one of the multitude of college arms drafted by the Indians in this year's draft, but he's the first one to see a full-season league.
 
Site Update
 
I'm going to try to update the depth chart within the week; I personally feel that it's the most useful tool for visitors looking for a quick overview of the team's system. I'm trying to pare down on the amount of external pages that I have to update, as I'd rather condense all the info down onto one page (this one). Some of the salary info will eventually make it onto this blog, as will the options; but right now I haven't figure that out. So please bear with me; before moving to blogger, the site was essentially a bunch of Word documents. Hopefully by the end of the year, everything is HTML-ized, including the player profiles. And yes, I will get to making new profiles eventually, but I don't want to waste time making them the old way when I'd have to convert them into the new format this fall.
 
So essentially, please bear with me :)

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