For better or worse, Francona has always been the type of
manager who gives his players the benefit of the doubt. Even when a player
struggles, sometimes for months at a time, Francona hesitates to make a change.
It’s what’s fueled his reputation as a players’ manager. It’s also a reason why
his teams are viewed as appealing destinations for free agents.
Case and point: Would Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn have
ever signed with Cleveland had it not been for Francona?
That being said, in the rare instances where Francona does opt
for changes, it’s clear that it’s a drastic situation. This should help provide
some context as to just how bad things have gotten with Michael Bourn.
In the Indians’ 8-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday,
Michael Bourn did not hit leadoff, the first time in 252 career games with the
Indians that Bourn did not bat in that spot. To find the last time he did not
start elsewhere other than leadoff, you have to go all the way back to June 28,
2011, when he batted second for Houston.
Knowing that, one can only imagine how difficult of a
decision this was for Francona. Bourn is one of Francona’s guys, which is clear
every time you hear the Tribe skipper affectionately refer to the centerfielder
as “Bournie.”
However, if Francona is being honest with himself, it was
the only decision to make. Overall, Bourn is hitting just .169 on the young
2015 campaign. He’s stolen just one base while being caught twice, and
FanGraphs estimates that he’s been worth -0.3 wins this season. Yes, it’s been
that bad.
The sad part is that it was not supposed to be like this.
This offseason, Bourn spent time working with former Olympian Leroy Burrell,
head track and field coach at the University of Houston. Health has been a
factor with Bourn in the past, but it appeared as if he was taking all the
necessary steps to rectify the situation.
As Francona
said back in January, “You don't see a lot of veteran players do what
Bournie did. Brad Mills (bench coach) went and watched him workout and said
he's really getting after it. He understands what we need from him. When he
gets on base, he has to disrupt the game.”
Except, disruption has only really been a rumor with Bourn
since he signed on with the Indians prior to the 2013 season. He averaged 51
steals a year over a five-year period from 2008 through 2012, but has managed
just 23 and 10 steals, respectively, during his first two seasons with the
Tribe. He’s not off to a much better start this season either.
Hitting has been a rumor with regard to Bourn as well. His
OBP has never been above .316 in any of his seasons with the Indians. That’s
far off from the .348 that he averaged in the four seasons that preceded his
stint with the Tribe.
As noted above, injuries have often been pinpointed as one
of the reasons for Bourn’s struggles, but when does that argument change? Bourn
was supposed to be in the best shape of his life for this season. He was
supposed to “wreck havoc” on the bases. Instead, he’s wrecked havoc on this
lineup.
As EHC’s Jim Pete said yesterday
in his Corner of Carnegie and Ontario column, “What about Michael
Bourn? He's just not very good.
I've been an apologist of his over the past two-plus seasons. Maybe it was the
injuries. Maybe it was age. But, if he could just be healthy, he could reach
glories of year's past. Nope. You can pull out some weeks here and there where
he's been good, but it's never been consistent, and mostly horrifically
inconsistent. If you are hitting lead-off, you need to get on base... period.”
Yesterday, it finally appears as if Francona came to the
same conclusion that Pete, myself and much of EHC’s baseball contingent figured
out months ago: Michael Bourn is not who we thought he was, and it’s only
getting worse.
This is not to fault the Indians for the signing of Bourn.
I, like many others, was excited the moment that they signed Bourn. It’s not
worked out, but that’s a forgivable mistake. In his
open letter to General Manager Chris Antonetti, EHC’s Adam Burke touched on
this, writing, “Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher were justifiable gambles that
have not paid off due to injuries. I cannot slight you, or the organization,
for that. Sure, signing players on the wrong side of 30 to lucrative free
agents contracts is debatable, but the signs of aging were not entirely
prevalent and the expectation was to get market value or better in the first
two years of the contract to make the last two years bearable. This is my “I
forgive you” moment for those signings. I, as I always have, justified them,
came to terms with them, and agreed with them. They have not worked. That’s the
business of baseball.”
Unfortunately, the business of baseball basically requires
that the Indians continue to play Bourn for the remainder of his contract.
Including this season and next, he’s owed $27.5 million. Ponder that for a
moment. We still owe nearly $30 million to a player who has equaled exactly 2.2
wins in his two-plus seasons with the team. Are you cringing as well?
Without question, players like Tyler Holt, James Ramsey or
Tyler Naquin could join this club and at least offer the exact same type of
production, yet at a much lower cost. However, we know there are 27.5 million
reasons why that’s not going to happen.
As long as the Indians are strapped to this contract, Bourn
will be played, likely in high frequency. We cannot expect them to just eat
that type of money.
However, what we can expect the team to do is minimize the
damage. Sunday was a good step toward doing that.
In his first appearance in the No. 9 hole, Bourn went 0-for-4
with an RBI and a strikeout. It was nothing really dissimilar to what he’s been
doing in the leadoff spot.
However, even a 32-year-old Bourn has some baseball skills,
albeit declining ones. We already know that the Indians are never going to make
good on this Bourn contract, but having him bat No. 9 does help lengthen the
lineup a bit.
At the very least, Francona deserves some credit. The season
is barely three weeks old, but he’s taken a step toward fixing the lineup. It seems
minor, but given Francona’s personality, this not an easy decision for him to
make.
Baby steps? Perhaps. But it’s still progress, regardless of
how small these steps may seem.