God Help Him

Blah, blah, blah, blah.  I have heard some of you whining about the demotion of Matt LaPorta, saying things like "He had no reason to be sent down. It wasn't his fault! #CallUpLaPorta" and "The demotion of LaPorta makes no sense. Let the guy play everyday and see what you have."  Well kiddies, the inference is quite simple: the Indians already know what they're going to get from LaPorta and they see no value in a .697 career OPS.  The handling of Matty is commonplace among washed out former Major Leaguers who are back up just to fill a roster spot.

Brad Eldred, a former top prospect in the Pirates system, hit .388 with 13 homers and 35 RBI in his first 20 games of the season with Toledo.  The Tigers tried to catch lightning in a bottle, but after 5 games and a 3-for-16 (.188) showing, Eldred was back at AAA, where he belongs.  Bill Hall, a ten year big leaguer (mostly with the Brewers), is now in the Orioles system as his career winds down.  The O's have seen fit to purchase his minor league contract, then DFA and outright him back to AAA, not once, but twice in the past month and a half.  In the interim, Billy managed to compile 9 MLB at-bats and 2 hits.  These are just a couple of examples, but you get the point.  LaPorta is no longer part of the Indians future, he's just a dude who can wallop AAA pitching and might get to ride pine in the show a few more times.  Don't take my word for it, just look at the way they're treating him. 

And before you conjure any predictions that Matty will be the next Brandon Phillips, recall that B-Phip was still 24 after languishing in AAA for most of '04 and '05, whereas LaPorta would be 28 after just one year of exile.  I'm not saying that it will be impossible for Matt to have a productive Major League career at this point, but the cards are now definitely stacked against him.

The best case scenario for Matty is a change of scenery.  Former Indian Ryan Ludwick overcame injury and parlayed a strong year or so into a Major League career.  Although I'll certainly never take anything away from Ludwick's 2008 (.299, 37 HR, 113 RBI, .966 OPS), it was truly his only great season.  I'll take his 2007 (.818 OPS) and 2009 (.775 OPS, 97 RBI), but you have to remember who was protecting him in the line-up (Um, Albert Pujols).   Since leaving St Louis, Ryan has batted .227 with a .675 OPS.  Get your mind wrapped around the fact that this is now the ceiling for LaPorta.  If he hopes to slide himself onto a card with an established masher and hang around for a few more seasons, he should best get to genuflecting.

While it's a shame that Matty turned out to be a bust, you have to give up on him sometime.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, for Matt LaPorta and the Indians, that day has come and gone.

Roll Tribe.

Cheers.