The 2009 season is mercifully over for our boys.  We are sick of it.  The only reason to think about the 2009 season anymore is to try to figure out what it tells us about the future.  In particular, I was interested in what we learned about the future of our middle infield in 2009.  What do we have to look forward to from Asdrubal Cabrera and Luis Valbuena?  The following essay reads the entrails of 2009 with respect to the fortunes of our youthful double-play combo.

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Making your pitching debut for a new club is like showing up for the first day of school.  You are eager to make a good first impression, so you feel a bit of pressure.  The intensity of that pressure varies with the volume of the scrutiny you will be under and the newness of the experience.  If you’ve been going to that school for years and you have a well-established reputation (Cliff Lee), there is only a little pressure.  There is quite a bit more if you’re new to the school, even though you’re used to the idea of going to school in general (Carl Pavano).  Worst of all is when it’s your first day of school anywhere, anytime (Carlos Carrasco).  But no matter what, you have been given the opportunity to establish, refine, reinforce, or enhance your standing with the population at large based upon this first appearance -  you want to do your best.

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Somebody will have to challenge Marte as the least-used player off the bench if Victor is headed to the DL.  Shoppach obviously becomes our starting catcher, but who is the new backup?  Toregas is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, but he's struggling at Buffalo, it looks like he'd be overmatched in Cleveland.  Any chance that we see Chris Gimenez instead?  Westbrook could be moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Gimenez has played mostly at catcher this year, though in the past he's been a utility kind of guy, so his catcher defense probably isn't all that good.  Anybody have a good grasp on what his defensive profile is?

He is fantastic at controlling the strike zone, so good that it actually makes his hitting numbers look a little weak.  It's hard to amass extra-base hits when almost 25% of your plate appearances result in a walk.

April: 15/57 with 18 bb, 13 k - 263/440/421

May: 23/70 with 21 bb, 14 k - 329/484/571

June: 13/29 with 11 bb, 4k - 448/600/517

Did you know...

IT IS TRUE.

HAS YOUR KNOWLEDGE BEEN ENHANCED?

THESE ARE UNDENIABLE FACTS!!!

(tip o' the hat to John Hodgman)

Dan Szymborski has posted the 2008 ZIPS projections for the Indians over at the Transaction Oracle at Baseball Think Factory.  It's an interesting read, and a great way to get some outside perspective on what we should expect next year.  I was interested to see the projection for Gutierrez; I've thought that the group here may be expecting a little too much from him next year.  The mean projection for Franklin isn't all that thrilling, but look at the 'player spotlight' a little lower on the page, with the optimistic and pessimistic projections (15th percentile best and worst outcomes).  There is a lot of variability; hopefully the consensus here is right, and Gutierrez' production is closer to the optimistic end of the spectrum.

Check it out, it's a good way to spend a Friday afternoon before the holidays.  Certainly better than working.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Nationals are considering offers for Chad Cordero, so long as the players acquired would help in their rebuilding program.  They're looking for a package of even younger pitching in return.

Cordero has averaged something like 5-4, 30 saves, 77 IP, 27 BB, 74 K with a 2.66 ERA over the last three years (he's been consistent), at ages 22-24.

The only negative that jumped out at me in his numbers was the 30 HR allowed in those 230 innings.  Washington is a pitchers park, so one HR every seven IP is high.

Would a package of Lofgren, Sipp or Perez, and Guthrie or Davis be enough to acquire Cordero?  Would it be worth it?

It's been 58 years and counting since we last won the World Series.  I'm almost three times as old as my father was when the Indians knocked off the Braves in 1948.  A little impatience can be excused at this point.  So I was thinking about our chances of winning it all in the next couple of years.  More specifically, I was thinking about who there was in our minor league system who could help us achieve that goal.  The result - a prospect list.

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According to the AP, the Indians have signed Sung-Wei Tseng.  He's 21, and pitched for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, the only amateur on their team apparently.

Anyone have any info on him?  He pitched against the US team, shutting them down for 5 innings.

Any chance he's got a sure handed brother who plays third base and hits like Manny Ramirez?