I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't think Eric Wedge will be our manager next year.  I'm going to assume that would make all coaching positions available as well.  Who are the people we would want in charge of our Indians for the next 7-10 years?

My first choices are Tony LaRussa as the manager and Leo Mazzone as pitching coach (or Dave Duncan).

Tony's contract expires at the end of this season and I've heard that he and Mozeliak don't really get along.  Although, St. Louis might lock up LaRussa simply because he has a really good relationship with Pujols and I've heard that Tony staying would be one of the biggest reasons for Albert to stay in "the loo". 

I'm surprised that Mazzone hasn't been picked up by anyone since Baltimore fired him.  He did have one of the best starting rotations (debatably) in MLB history, so he had a lot to work with in Atlanta.  Baltimore gave him nothing to work with, so I'm not sure how much of that rotation's lack of success was his fault.  Either way, I'd like to give him a shot here. 

For Dave Duncan.  Anyone that can get Kyle Lohse and Joel Piniero to look like quality pitchers is doing something right.

Have at it.  Who are your favorites if Wedge is shown the door?

According to Rosenthal it's Blake for Class A catcher Carlos Santana and P John Meloan.

So what can Dodgers Fan tell us about the guys they are sending to Cleveland?   It looks like Meloan was starting to develop as a reliever and then they moved him to the rotation this year.  As for Santana, it looks like he was pushed from Rookie ball to hi A in '06 and he did ok.  Then in 07 they put him at A and he struggled, while playing 3B & OF.  This year, it looks like they've got him at catcher and his eye has improved, as well as his power & contact.

Any additional insight?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8381628/Sources:-Dodgers-near-deal-for-Tribe-3B-Blake

Hello Progressive Field.

cleveland.com beat reporter Paul Hoynes is reporting that IMG has found a buyer for the naming rights for the Indians' home.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/01/tribe_to_play_in_progressive_f.html

I'm just wondering what us locals are going to shorten the name to for a nickname.  The Prog?  The P?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/11/06/bc.bba.indians.byrd.ap/index.html

They picked up the $7.5 mm option on Paul Byrd, $4 mm on Joe Borowski and $1.5 mm on Aaron Fultz.

Despite all the hogwash around Byrd's HGH order, he had a heck of a year and is probably the best #5 starter in the majors.  JoBo is another heart attack waiting to happen, but us Clevelanders are used to that (from Wickman).  Fultz gets traded because lefty specialists for $1.5 mm are always in need.

According to TSN, Joe Torre agreed to deal in principle.  3 years, $14.5 MM.  Apparently bringing Bowa, Mattingly, Mazzilli and Cardenal.

It'll be interesting to see how he uses a lineup with Furcal and Pierre and not a ton of power.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=298053                  

57 players filed today.  Very little impact players available after the NY three.  There will be more, but of those available, this is pretty weak.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071029&content_id=2287914&vkey=news_mlb&fext=. jsp&c_id=mlb

Ari: Cirillo, Livan Hernandez, Wickman
Atl: Julio Franco, Ron Mahay
Cubs: Kerry Wood
Cle: Trot Nixon
Col: Affeldt, Jorge Julio
Det: Casey, Todd Jones
Fla: Benitez
Hou: Ausmus, Lamb, Loretta, Trever Miller, Moehler, Orlando Palmeiro
KC: LaRue, Reggie Sanders
LAA: Colon
Mil: Francisco Cordero, Ray King, Koskie, Linebrink, Damian Miller
Min: Torii Hunter, Silva
NYM: Marlon Anderson, Luis Castillo, Ramon Castro, Easley, Shawn Green, LoDuca
NYY: Mientkiewicz, ARod, Posada, Rivera, Luis Vizcaino
Oak: DaVanon, Shannon Stewart
Phi: Lieber, Mesa, Nunez, Rowand
Pit: Tony Armas
StL: Cairo, Eckstein, Percival, Kip Wells
SD: Barrett, Bradley
SF: Bonds, Feliz
Tor: Stairs, Joe Kennedy
Was: Fick

I went to the Lake County Captains game last night against the Greenville Drive.  Daniel Bard was the starting pitcher for the Drive.  He was all over the place.  If you read the BA mini-update on him, you know that he had 3 wild pitches.  But he was missing his spots up, down, in, out.  He also had a hit batter that was called a ball.  I believe it was Beau Mills (lefty) that did a little bounce-back to try to move out of the way and the ball still hit him on the top of his back foot.  The next pitch was a ball and Mills walked.

Aaron Fultz also threw an inning for LC.  He looked good in his rehab outing.  His breaking ball was in full effect and his fastball also looked good.  1, 2, 3 inning.

The best outing of the day had to be from the Darts catcher Ryan Smythe.  He had two home runs, the second of which was a no-doubt shot out of the stadium in the eigth (I think).  He was also very active behind the plate, getting into good position on a short pop foul and just missed a catch while diving for a foul bunt attempt.

Saw Ryan Juhl start at catcher, but he didn't do anything that I thought stood out.

Josh Papelbon (John's brother) also played.  He's a righty submariner that did pretty well.  He kept the ball low, but that's about all I recall.

Sorry there isn't more to this, but it was an outing with co-workers and I wasn't really paying full attention to the game.  Just some things that stood out.

For those of you that still check ESPN for some baseball info, the cover story is on Kyle Drabek.  They basically say that he'll fall to the mid-first round due to makeup concerns.  They initially gloss over the fact that he's 5-11 and throws 94-95.

This is probably the first time I've heard a (mostly) positive review of a pitcher under 6-2.  Most of the time, the review focuses on the fact that the guy's 3 inches shorter than "ideal".

I know we've had this discussion before, but I still think that not drafting/believing a guy can be a successful pitcher under 6'2" is rediculous.  I don't know if Drabek will be good or not, but I know that there's plenty of good pitchers under 6'2 right now in the majors.  Glavine, Oswalt, Maddux, Hoffman, Wagner, Street, K Rod and Kazmir are all listed at 5'11-6'.

I still contend that it doesn't matter how tall a guy is, if he can pitch, he can pitch.  An extra 2 inches probably wouldn't have made Maddux a better pitcher, and there's more guys on their way that will be good without the 2 inches to be "ideal".

What story line has saturated the headlines so much you're completely sick of it?

I have plenty that I'm sick of hearing about, but thankfully, with Bonds' age and the sale of the Nats, at least parts of the things I find most annoying will be going away soon.  (the last paragraph was a nice form of filler).

This is the first of 2 posts I'll create along these lines.

What should the Lerner group do?  Rebuild through the decimated farm system?  Throw more money at the problem and try to get a bunch of free agents during the off-season?  Make trades now?

Personally, I'd say everyone is available and make trades for prospects and build around Zimmerman (the only untouchable).  They shouldn't make the mistake the DRays made when they first came to be and hire FA's that really won't help build a contender.

Multiple answers allowed, but if you select the obvious answer, please also select an additional answer.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5453860

Cleveland signed the ladies' heartthrob Grady Sizemore to a 6-year $23.45mil contract.  It includes a club option for 2012 at $8.5.

It's good to see the Indians identifying and keeping the right players in place for a long time.  Grady, Hafner, Vic, Peralta, CC.  We're gonna be really good for a really long time.

Being an Indians fan, this signing is "nice".

So I'm not sure how many of you caught this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2362369

The Frontier League Gateway Grizzlies have a new food item - the Donut Burger.

"The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon -- all between a "bun" of Krispy Kreme Original Glazed donuts.

Calorie counters predict the monster will set you back about 1,100 calories and 60 grams of fat. "

I'm not sure if I want to try that or not.  I know I'll have to scrape away the fresh coating of lard that will line my arteries the minute I begin eating that.

Are there any other local items that would rival this beauty that you have seen?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2361207

Ok, so is he just one of the worst GM's in the game or has he just been unlucky?  Trading for Soriano assuming he'll change positions was bad.  Signing Vinny Castilla and Christian Guzman were bad.  But he got lucky when he dumped Vinny for a solid #4, but unlucky when that #4 (Brian Lawrence) got hurt.

BAD MOVES:
Soriano
Vinny Castilla signing
Christian Guzman signing

GOOD MOVES:
traded Castilla for Brian Lawrence
re-signed Brian Schneider
signed Esteban Loaiza for peanuts (or thereabouts)
Acquired Jose Guillen
Drafted Zimmerman
Has taken fliers on LeCroy, Astacio, Felix Rodriguez, Royce Clayton, Daryle Ward, Ramon Ortiz, Mike Stanton, Robert Fick.

UNLUCKY:
Jose Guillen hurt
Brian Lawrence hurt
Vidro getting his annual injury (not yet, but it's coming)
Soriano still refusing to move
Still no ownership, thus no true increase in payroll

Is he officially done?  I know that the only team that offered him a contract was the Nationals, but has he put through all of the paperwork to join the "retired" list officially?

I think we all know that he was done about 2 years ago, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Feel free to use the rest of the space for building up his case for Cooperstown or knocking it down to keep him out.  But if someone could throw in the answer to the question first, I'd appreciate it.

Apparently he's going to try to play through a torn labrum.  

He says it only affects him when he's throwing, not at the plate.  Now, I haven't seen Counsell play much recently, but I don't remember him having the strongest of arms.  I'm thinking this pushes up the timeline wherein we see Drew as the SS in Arizona.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5371852

For those not interested in commenting on the quality of the Tigers rotation vs. the Yankees or Red Sox rotations, here's another one.

As we all know, Justin Upton and Stephen Drew are both playing SS for the Diamondbacks in the minors.  Something has to give.  Does Upton move to LF/RF/3B to accomodate Drew?  Or does Drew shift to 3B/2B/LF to accomodate Upton?  This is all considering, and contingent upon, Chris Young will be manning CF.

Having seen no actual live play or film of either guy, I'd venture to take a wild shot in the dark and say I would probably move Drew to 2B and leave Upton at SS.  With those two gloves up the middle, with Young behind them, Brandon Webb should sign a very long extension with the DBacks.

Poll question allows for 2 years of growth in the minors for Upton.

BP lists the bottom 5 rotations in the AL, by SNLVAR, in order, as the Mariners, Tigers, Rangers, Devil Rays and Royals.

While although I don't truly understand the SNLVAR statistic, I looking around the AL, I find it hard to believe that the Tigers are the second worst rotation.  There are plenty of teams that are worse, and the Tigers rotation might have the highest upside in the entire league.

I immediately can think of a couple that are worse: Yankees and Red Sox.  I'm taking into consideration park factor and the frequency of facing most of the best hitters in baseball.  

The Sox' "rotation" currently consists of Beckett (an NL transfer that has some noticable splits away from Florida), Arroyo (a solid #4), Schilling and his bum ankle, Wells and his bouts with gout, Clement (who pitched like a #4), Wakefield (a solid #2/3) and Papelbon (a rookie).  Hmm, looks a little overrated to me.

Yankees.  Randy Johnson (didn't pitch like an ace last year, but was still the best pitcher on either staff), Mussina (pitched like a #4), Chacon (results were ok, but K/BB are big reason for worry), Pavano (still can't stay healthy), Wright ('nuff said) and Wang (decent #4 when healthy).  Money aside, with that rotation they were still 0.01 points behind Detroit in ERA.

I'd be more excited about Detroit's rotation than either of those.  Bonderman has the highest upside of almost any pitcher in the majors, but needs to stay healthy, Maroth is a tough pitcher that has improved almost every stat in the past 3 years (except HR), Robertson took a step back last year, but will get help by being around Rogers, Rogers is a terrific 1st half pitcher and can help mentor the young kids, and Verlander, who might make the #4 spot out of ST.

If anyone can explain the SNLVAR stat, please do.  For now, I'm going to say that considering the lineups that each team has to face 18 or 19 times per year, the park and the potential to stay healthy and improve on last season's numbers, I'd take the Tigers and move the Yankees to #2 on the aforementioned Bottom 5 list (behind the Mariners) and the Sox #3.

I was just looking over my available pitchers list for my fantasy draft and noticed (again) that the Pirates have some amazing young arms.  

-Maholm had 5 quality starts in 6 outings to go with a 1.16 WHIP, 2.18 ERA and at least a decent K/BB/IP ratio to start a career.  

-Duke had a good K/BB/IP ratio, 3 HR allowed in 84 IP, and only 90 P/start.  Oh, and 1.20 WHIP and a 1.81 ERA.

-Perez was lights-out 2 years ago.

-Kip Wells is a servicable #4/5 but hasn't really progressed.

SOooo, what are the chances that Maholm, Duke (and Snell to a degree) can progress into an above-average duo?  Has anyone seen them pitch?  If Gorzelanny makes the rotation and Perez returns healthy, will 4 lefties in the starting rotation be good or bad for the success of the Pirates?  Will Snell make the rotation and who will be left out?  Will the Pirates be able to compete in the NL Central with this rotation core?

I've been tired of the "Who should I draft" posts, but this was more a baseball question that was brought about during draft preparation.  More of a tangent than anything.

How good is Liriano, overall, as a prospect?

I'm looking to take into account his likelihood of getting a spot in the rotation, likelihood of avoiding injury (aka does he have good mechanics?), time to develop into a useful guy in the rotation, home field and overall ceiling.

I'll even put a short list of guys to compare to Francisco with these criteria.

Feel free to comment, and please restrict your answers to these guys only.

Thanks!

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/01/27/done_deal_sox_land_crisp/

According to the Boston Globe, the trade is Crisp, Riske, Bard for Mota, Marte, Soppach, a player to be named later and cash.  The cash is thought to be over $1 mil as the deal's apparently waiting on Selig's approval.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1138095375222040.xml&coll=2

According to the never accurate Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mota's in Cleveland to take a physical.  The trade, as posted by the almost-always-wrong Paul Hoynes, has Cleveland shipping Crisp, Riske and Josh Bard to Boston for Marte, Mota and possibly Soppach.

I would just like to note that Hoynes, who is typically wrong, does little to none of his own research and quotes other papers and sources without doing any following up and verification.  In this piece, he's quoting the Boston Globe.  Take it with a grain of salt.

Apparently, the reason Bagwell flew to Alabama was to see Dr. James Andrews.  The Astros want Andrews to say Bagwell can't play any more so they can collect $15.6 of his $17m salary for next season.

This is a bittersweet report to me as Bags was one of my baseball idols growing up.  The reality of the situation is Bags can't throw, has limited range in the field, can't run and last time we saw him in the WS, couldn't hit.

It's frustrating watching your baseball heroes grow old.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2288392

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060110&content_id=1293807&vkey=news_mlb &fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

It's basically consensus that Johnny Damon's contract for 4 years, $52 million is overpriced.  However, is this a good move for the Yankees in the short-term?  Just for the '06 and '07 seasons, the Yankees have the premier leadoff hitter getting on base in front of Jeter, ARod, Matsui, Sheffield, Giambi and Posada.

Poll question

So I can't get over how the Red Sox are apparently still interested in current Nationals GM Jim Bowden.  AJ Burnett is going to get a 5 year deal from someone.  Vinny Castilla was actually viewed as a desirable player by someone.  Johnny Damon wants a 6 year deal.  Jose Lima almost became the only guy with an ERA over 7 in both leagues.

Poll question: Which deal has the biggest potential for failure?

I'm personally voting for Bowden.