Well, at the end of this season, we can kiss goodbye to CC Sabathia. Sabathia stopped talks with the Tribe today. Apparently, 17-18 mil was not enough. I think he wanted more than 4 years, which honestly, is a risk when it comes to CY Young winners. Hopefully, since this is a contract year for CC, he can give us another good season before he becomes a Yankee. Because honestly, we can’t afford him and I think he has a no trade clause so we can’t even trade him for prospects. And honestly, if we are contending for the AL Central by July 31st, (as we should unless we really fall apart), trading him would be silly.

AP Story

After Travis Fryman made it to the Hall of Fame Ballot,  he thought it might be nice to manage the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Tribe’s short A affiliate. Fryman was always a smart 3rd basemen. His intuition matched his skill and leadership ability. When he played for the Tribe, he was always a leader in the clubhouse and one knew that eventually he would manage a ballclub. I think Fryman will do some good in the development of these young players. This could be a stepping stone to many good things to come for Fryman, especially if he is elected to the Hall of Fame. That likely will not come on the first ballot as this year’s class of candidates is a tough field, but, I think this will be a taste of things to come for Fryman. Travis is a natural leader and his intelligence will make him a great manager and role model for young players.

Also, the Tribe can’t seem to get over their obsession with Pirates outfielder Jason Bay in the Winter Meetings. Like I’ve said in previous entries, the Tribe does NOT need corner outfield help. They need to resign CC. Michaels, Francisco, Dellucci, even Choo (if he recovers from the Tommy John surgery) will step it up next year and fill in the missing hole in the outfield. There’s enough solutions internally which will solve the corner outfield hole, that the Indians do not need to give up Cliff Lee and Kelly Shoppach for Jason Bay. Ok, Cliff didn’t perform last year, but he did go a respectable 14-11 in 2006 and a very good 18-5 in 2005. There’s still a good possibility he’ll bounce back and be the pitcher we know he can be. And Kelly is too valuable with his defense to give up. Bay, like Lee, struggled last year while he had a respectable 2005 and 2006. He bated .247 last year and that alone is not worth both Lee and Shoppach. Maybe Lee alone, but not both. But I digress. Luckily, though, it looks like Shapiro isn’t going to budge on Bay which will be the smartest move in the end. Lee is still under contract, and a hefty one at that. I wouldn’t want to deal him prematurely. If Lee still isn’t performing in July, then deal him. But there’s still enough potential in him to be the pitcher he was in ’05 and ’06. I know all the hay sayers are yelling but oh, we have Aaron Laffey and ADAM MILLER, but, Miller was hurt last year and is unproven in the majors and Laffey, though had a good few months last year, did have just that, a few months. That isn’t enough to constitute being dependable. Then again, Lee didn’t either but he has a more proven track record then Laffey or Miller and I wouldn’t want to trade him so quickly for a guy like Bay, especially if they want Shoppach too.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted some Tribe updates, and since Sabathia has won the Cy Young, there has been a plethora of them. I’ve been pretty busy with end of the semester work and transferring universities. I’m now attending American University in DC. Due to a variety of different reasons, I’m going home to Kent State next semester. But its a good thing because I’ll be home to see a lot more Tribe games this season instead of seeing the Nationals constantly lose. Although, I’m going to be upset that I will not see their new stadium, which looks so much nicer than RFK. Too bad it’s in a bad neighborhood, but it might bring some life back to the Anacostia neighborhood in DC, which will be good for the city.

But now, let’s recap what the Tribe has done since CC won the Cy Young.

First, I would like to extend my hardy congratulations to Eric Wedge, the AL Manager of the Year. He truly was the best manager in baseball. He turned around a team which in 2006 struggled with a 78-84 record, to a 2007 team which turned in a 96-66, tied for the best record in MLB. Wedge worked with a low payroll and helped to bring out the best in his young players, which is alone a major accomplishment. Wedge commands the respect of his players and in return got the results this team needed so badly. Hopefully, next year the Tribe will continue its winning trends.

Also, Asdrubal Cabrera and Aaron Laffey won the two top honors minor leaguers can win within the Tribe organization. Cabrera took home the Lou Boudreau award for the top minor league position player and Laffey took home the Bob Feller award for the top minor league pitcher.  Both Cabrera and Laffey made big contributions to the Tribe down the stretch and will likely continue to do so when they enter into their first full year in the majors.

Prayers go out to Tribe pitcher, Juan Lara who is on the Tribe 40 man roster. Lara was involved in a car accident in the Dominican Republic last week. Lara suffered major brain trauma, though his condition is said to be improving. My prayers go out to him and his family for his speedy recovery. A full story is here.

In good news, though, the Tribe signed relief pitcher Masahide Kobayashi from Japan. This is the first player the Tribe has signed from the Japanese system. Kobayashi is the Japanese baseball league’s all time save leader. He should provide much help in the back end of the bullpen either as a setup man when Bentancourt cannot do it, or a closer if Borowski falters this season. While it is always a risk to sign someone who doesn’t have MLB experience, Kobayashi is a proven veteran who has dominated the Japanese league for years. This season will soon show how Kobayashi performs. I think, though, he will provide even more depth to a bullpen which is already, arguably, one of the best in MLB.

There seems to be a simple solution to the corner outfield/ middle infield situation which does not involve the Tribe picking up someone over the offseason. By not picking up someone over the offseason, it frees up salary cap room to devote to signing CC which is priority number one. There are a few possible solutions which leads to positive outcomes. One of these will work and lead to success. Let’s look over the options.

Scenario 1:
-Move Peralta to 3B. This puts him in a better fielding position to make up for his sub-par defense. Sure, it might take him a bit to adjust, but, I’d feel easier with him at 3B than at SS.
-Put Asdrubal at SS. It’s his natural position, and the kid has Omar like qualities. He’s bound to win a gold glove at some point in his career, and he is the SS of the Tribe future, so get him there now!
- Put Barfield back at 2B and pray. Sure, Barfield had a mendoza line year. One could attribute it to him adjusting to AL ball. I think if given the chance to play every day, we can get him hitting around .270, which is what we need. Of course, one has to cross their fingers about him, but his defense is never questioned, and he knows how to use his glove.
-Platoon Michaels, Blake, and Francisco in LF. One seems to forget Casey played a great deal in the outfield before becoming the regular Tribe 3B after the collapse of Marte in ’07. A lot of people are worried about losing Blake’s bat by taking him away from 3B, but, between him, Michaels, and Francisco, you aren’t going to lose much production.

I think this scenario is the most likely and the most favorable. The most important part, though, is getting Peralta away from SS. He had 19 errors this year. That’s unheard of by the person who’s supposed to play the most important defensive position on the field. Like A-Rod, Peralta is a power SS. He’ll benefit in moving to 3B, so he can concentrate on his swing and lowering his K count. (Peralta ranked 5th in the AL in Ks. That’s scary. I joked before and called him Ja-hon-ey HR or K Peralta. But, it’s time to get rid of that nickname and turn into a patient hitter, Jhonny.)

Scenario 2:
-Keep things the same.
-Use Barfield as a utility man. One drawback to that is that he’s limited to SS and 2B whereas Gomez could play everything in the infield. I’m still mad they didn’t try to sign him, but oh well.
-Platoon Michaels and Francisco in LF.

This leaves a hole at SS with Peralta’s defense. Also, there are less options in the OF if Michaels or Francisco do not step it up. But, honestly, that’s unlikely.

Francisco was having a good year until Lofton came to Cleveland, and I think if given a good chance, will have a healthy year to produce and make a big impact. Time will tell, though.

Both scenarios are ok. They leave positive results. The Tribe does not need to make any big moves to fill in any gaps, because everything can be fixed internally. It’s just a matter of who steps up.