Kouzmanoff Up, and a Nice Start...
by Fundamentals on Sep 2, 2006 9:13 PM EDT
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PrintKevin Kouzmanoff got a late promotion to the Indians tonight to fill in for Travis Hafner, who was hit on the hand by a pitch last night. On the first pitch he saw, he hit a grand slam. Just the third time in MLB history that has happened. While I'm still not overly sold on his ability to stay healthy, that is a mighty fine start to a major league career.
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Funny.
Each had unique characteristics!
The three players who have hit a GS in their first Major League at-bat all had unique characteristics:
Bill Duggleby did it for the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Giants on April 21, 1898 - Duggleby was a pitcher.
Jeremy Hermida did it for the Florida Marlins against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 31, 2005 - Hermida was a pinch-hitter.
Kevin Kouzmanoff did it for the Cleveland Indians against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 2, 2006 - Kouzmanoff did it on the very first ML pitch he saw.
Take care and have a great Sunday!
The Kouz
It's all about the Kouz who's a regular hit machine. I'm talking morning, day, night, afternoon-- hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit.
MR. BLUE
How many hits is that?
MR. WHITE
A lot.
1st hit off Millwood today too - another HR!
Kouzmanoff now has 2 hits in the Majors, both of them HRs - he got the first hit off Millwood today - a solo shot with 2 outs in the 5th inning to break up Millwood's perfect game.
2 HRs, 5 RBIs - not bad for your first two days in the Majors. :-)
Take care and have a great day!
position
by grandslam on Sep 3, 2006 8:54 PM EDT reply actions
Fair possibility
I could go with that too!
I could go with that idea as well. I haven't heard people talk about him being a RF, partly because many are concerned about his injury history (though I've pointed out that he's played in 295 games over the past 3 years, compared to Aubrey's 140 games played, so he's not Aubrey when it comes to injuries and missed time.)
As afh4 mentioned on LetsGoTribe, Kouzmanoff has a high-level intensity of going all-out, which sometimes can lead to injury; the back injury he suffered while falling down the stairs chasing a foul ball in the 2004 AFL was more-less a fluke, as was the ball that hit him last year (in the shoulder or wrist if I remember correctly,) which knocked him out of action for several weeks and prevented him from reaching AA last year.
The hamstring injury earlier this year might not be considered a "fluke" injury, but I don't think he's that fragile where he couldn't be a decent corner OFer, so I agree with your assessment and hope the Indians strongly consider that before even considering trading him. Perhaps in time, Kouzmanoff could make Casey Blake expendable and trade bait, since the role you describe sounds pretty much like the role the Indians want Blake to fill. Kouzmanoff has a better Minor League track record than Blake did, Kouzmanoff is 25, while Blake is 33, and Kouz would cost considerably less than Blake for virtually the same type of role with the ballclub.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Take care and have a great day!
uhhh
by nms on Sep 3, 2006 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions
True, but my point is...
I understand what you mean by that statement, but I'm clarifying the fact that Kouzmanoff isn't that fragile; I think many people are thinking that this guy can't stay healthy. For the most part, he has. Yes, he doesn't have a perfect or outstanding bill of health, but what player does? Very few.
I think some are thinking of comparing him with Aubrey in terms of him always being injured and missing a lot of playing time, but you can see from my post above that that comparison isn't even close to being true.
I'm not saying there isn't a concern about Kouzmanoff getting injured; just that it's not as severe as some people think it is. That's all I was saying with that statement.
Take care and have a great day!
That's a very good question! :-)
That's the big question everyone is asking. :-)
The positions most talked about are 3B, 1B, and LF. Right now, Kouz hasn't played in the OF at any level, but it has been talked about as a possible option. He did play some 1B at Buffalo (2-3 starts) before getting called up on Saturday. He's mostly played 3B, but with Marte here, that isn't likely to happen at the ML level unless Marte really continues to struggle hitting ML pitching.
I'd like to see one of two things happen -
Kouzmanoff gets some time in LF either in the AFL (if Aubrey can't go) or Winter Ball to allow him to handle that position as well. That would allow him to not be impeded since Jason Michaels likely won't be able to block him. Right now, the plan is for Kouzmanoff to play 1B in either the AFL or in Winter Ball.
Of course, if he plays 1B, he'd have to share the position with Garko, which is the second option for the Indians. As my friend Jay suggests, splitting 1B and 3B, and an occasional start at DH, between Marte, Garko, and Kouzmanoff wouldn't be a bad thing, as he believes we could still get about 400-500 ABs for each of them.
So, it seems that Kouz's best chance of playing every day is playing LF, but he hasn't played the OF yet. 1B is an option, but that cuts into Garko's time. Kouz's only chance at 3B at the ML level would come if Marte continues to struggle to hit ML pitching on a consistent basis.
It will certainly be interesting to see where he winds up, but I certainly would want to try him in LF or as a 3-way platoon between himself, Garko, and Marte before even considering trading him.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Take care and have a great day!
thanks
by grandslam on Sep 3, 2006 11:13 PM EDT reply actions
You're welcome! :-)
No problem - always happy to help! :-)
Take care and have a great day!
Let's make a trade
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by TheK @ Minor League Ball on Sep 4, 2006 3:18 PM EDT reply actions
That's certainly a possibility!
I think that is certainly a possibility this offseason. The question is, who will be involved?
My guess would be that Jason Michaels will not be here next year; I think he fits the NL-style of ball better in where he can be the 4th OFer and play regularly against lefties. I don't see him as an everyday OFer. Having Choo, Gutierrez, possibly Kouz and/or a FA out there will probably make Michaels expendable, in my opinion.
A trade of Kouzmanoff or Garko could be possible, but I certainly am not for that. I'd rather do one of the three things suggested above (two I mentioned, the other was mentioned by mrkupe.)
Take care and have a great day!
Vic?
Is it expected that Victor Martinez will keep playing catcher almost full-time next year? His throwing has been so bad this season that I have to think the Indians are almost better with him at 1b, but that just adds Shoppach to the crowd of righty bats being discussed here (since non-RHB's Vic and Pronk are going to get lineup spots no matter what, I assume).
I guess having 1 extra bat's not that much of a problem, but until they trade Michaels, they are at +2:
Bats(5): Marte, Shoppach, Garko, Kouz, Michaels
Pos(3): 3b, LF, C/1b (wherever Vic isn't)
He'll stay at C
I'd love to see a trade of some of these players for a young RP that could close.
Victor will stay at C for now!
As Fundamentals mentioned, Victor will most likely stay at catcher next year - the Indians were not seriously entertaining moving Victor from behind the plate even before Garko's solid performance.
Now, with Garko in line to possibly claim the 1B job next year, I think the chances of Victor moving out from behind the plate are remote. As Fundamentals mentioned, it's still possible he'll see some time over there against LHP and against teams with good speed, but I doubt Victor will be a long-term 1B for the Indians anytime soon.
Also, as Fundamentals mentioned, it's just been revealed in the media a few days ago that Victor has been playing with an injured big toe (on his left foot, I believe,) for some time, so that could partly explain his poor throwing for most of this season.
Granted, he'll likely never be Joe Mauer, Ivan Rodriguez, or the Molina brothers behind the plate with his throwing, but Victor was not this bad in the past, so I think he could rebound a bit next year after his toe heals. Besides that, Victor is solid in all other areas of catching - blocking balls, calling games, etc., so I think the Indians will stick with him at catcher for the time being.
Take care and have a great day!
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