the good news is that they won't finish in dead last place (like the Red Sox :P) and they won't lose 100 games, like the Cubs and Astros. What do the Indians have to do in the off-season to get better? Glad you asked because I'll go through that. What makes me an expert? Well, two 1st place finishes in both of my baseball Fantasy Leagues must mean I know something about baseball!
First, though, I want to give a shout-out to Pittsburgh Pirates fans who suffered through a 7-21 September, which not only knocked them out of playoff contention, but assured the Pirates of a 20th consecutive losing season. It'll get better. I promise.
As for the Indians, they need to let go and start over. Travis Hafner, you gave us some good years but when you can't even stay in the line-up for a full year at DH then it's time to go. The Indians can use the 13 million they're paying you to get a quality Free Agent first baseman.
Speaking of First Basemen, Casey Kotchman had a good year in 2011 for Tampa Bay (.306/10/48 in 146 games) and I thought he would be a good fit for the Indians so I was happy when they signed him. It just didn't work out for Casey, who stands at .229/12/55 in 142 games. Casey will be a Free Agent in 2013 but, as I said, there will be better options. The Indians can try to re-sign him but most assuredly he'll want more than the 3 million he's making this year and you're gambling that he'll have a bounce-back year. I would pass.
Grady Sizemore. If he doesn't retire I'll be surprised. He's too brittle. The Indians cut him and then re-signed him at a lower price, hoping he would be able to contribute down the stretch. His back and knees are shot. Let him go, Cleveland.
Between the three guys I mentioned above, the Indians have now freed up 21 million. All they really need in the field is a power-hitting, decent fielding first baseman. The rest goes to starting pitching.
Justin Masterson is eligible for arbitration so he's looking at a raise despite a sub-par year and Ubaldo Jimenez is locked up for 5.75 million. The Indians could try to trade Ubaldo and get at least one blue-chip prospect in return, preferably two. Chances are the Indians will hold on to him and try to make it work considering we gave up two high prospects for him. If he has another bad year, look for the Indians to try and move him at the trading deadline or, barring that, buy him out at the end of the year.
As for the rest of the rotation; Zach McAllister is a young arm with promise, I'm not too excited about Corey Kluber and
I'm not sure about upcoming Free Agents yet but when the list comes out I'll get into more detail. The Indians have the beginnings of a good team. A team possible of making the playoffs but they need to be smart and not keep bringing back players that are perpetually hurt because of some sense of loyalty. This is a business. Let's treat it as such.
Next up: The playoff field!
Science Footnote: A couple of posts ago I wondered about how fast a star collapses into a black hole. Well, as far as I can tell no one knows exactly how fast because it's never been observed. The consensus, though, is that it happens "very quickly."
Use your own judgement.
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