Finally, a few rays of sunshine in this Indian summer.
UPDATED: 9:23 p.m.
Carlos Santana has shown no difficulty in succeeding at the major-league level since arriving from Columbus. That kind of potential stardom is keeping Terry Pluto's attention despite the Indians' lowly status in the AL Central.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It began when the Indians finally promoted Carlos Santana, and Mr. Line Drive came exactly as advertised.
Suddenly, I could really watch the Indians out of something more than a sense of duty.
This is not a story about how all is right with the Tribe, or that the Indians are suddenly a contender -- even next year.
But let's not stare into the rear-view mirror of Cy Young award winners traded, free agents lost, deals gone bad. There are some good things happening at Progressive Field, at least if you're a baseball purist.
Santana's big-league debut (.300, 1.038 OPS) is just as sensational as Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg, only few are playing attention to the Tribe's catcher -- even in Cleveland. Heading into Monday's game at Texas, Santana had more walks (18) and nearly as many extra base hits (13) as strikeouts.
The Indians finally traded Russell Branyan, and handed first base to Matt LaPorta. He's not going to hit three homers every week, as he's done recently, but he's hitting .310 with seven RBI in 29 at-bats since returning from the minors.
When the Indians picked up LaPorta as part of the C.C. Sabathia deal in the summer of 2008, he was leading all of the minors in home runs while playing for Milwaukee's Class AA Huntsville team. The other part of that deal is Michael Brantley, who hit .353 in June at Class AAA Columbus and is now with the Tribe.
These are the Indians. When something good happens, so does something bad -- Shin-Soo Choo's thumb injury that has the team's best all-around player on the disabled list for at least two months.
Can the Indians have a pretty good lineup once Asdrubal Cabrera is healthy and back at short?
Because he's been out since early May, it's easy to forget Cabrera is a .307 hitter with a .350 on-base percentage in 853 at-bats since the 2008 All-Star break. Manager Manny Acta loves Cabrera, insisting the shortstop has that special "it" in terms of confidence that makes him a productive hitter and a bold fielder who is not afraid to make a big play -- or risk a mistake.
Just as Santana and LaPorta have added some fire to the middle of the lineup, Cabrera could be a spark at the top.
Yes, second base remains a mystery. Jason Donald (.258, .702 OPS) looks like he can at least be a utility infielder, and is a major upgrade over Luis Valbuena. But a starter at second? Who knows?
Third baseman Jhonny Peralta is slogging through his final season, as free agency looms. So far, there has been no trade interest in him. Travis Hafner? Hard to know what to say about him.
The Indians like to talk about how it wasn't that long ago -- 2007 -- when they won 96 games and were within one game of going to the World Series. That's accurate. But the truth is only these players remain from that team: Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Grady Sizemore, Rafael Perez, Aaron Laffey, Cabrera, Peralta and Hafner. That's eight guys, and only six have been playing lately because Sizemore and Cabrera have been injured.
That's why they were 32-49 heading into Monday's game.
They have turned over the team to a new group of prospects, hoping find enough diamonds in all the minor-league rough. The Indians have superb prospects in third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and second baseman Jason Kipnis at Class AA, who may be in Cleveland at some point in 2011.
Then there's 25-year-old Jared Goedert, who suddenly emerged as a third-base option at Columbus.
There have even been some bright spots in the rotation. It was hard to imagine Fausto Carmona (7-7, 3.69) pitching like this after being 13-19 with a 5.89 ERA and looking like he forgot how to throw strikes the previous two seasons.
At the very least, Justin Masterson could be dominant in the bullpen. As a starter, he's 3-7 with a 4.85 ERA. In his last six starts, he's 3-2 with a 3.51 ERA. Stat freaks grouse and gripe because Mitch Talbot doesn't strike out many hitters, but he doesn't walk many, either. I'll just say he's 8-7 with a 3.86 ERA for a last-place team, so he must be doing something right.
Jake Westbrook (5-4, 4.69) has been respectable, but he'll be a free agent at the end of the season. He may not be back, so the Tribe will have holes to fill in the rotation. The bullpen will always need work, although it has been effective recently.
Acta has been a reliable rock as the manager, exactly what this team needs right now.
I know, they are a losing team. I know, they are a low-spending team. I know, it's not been any fun since 2007. But I also know that lately, I like some of what I've seen.