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I know Tribe fans are getting impatient and panicking, calling for every young prospect from AAA to be brought up, but ITS NOT WORKING.

These guys are not helping us win games and many of them haven't had enough time in AAA to have any business being up here in the first place.

Crowe was outmatched at the plate (and is still in AAA, batting under .200), Francisco has been outperforming LaPorta (ditto when Laporta plays 1B over Garko or DeRosa), Carroll is a better option than Valbuena (also putrid at the plate), and at this point I'd take Sowers or Zach Jackson as the 5th starter over what we saw from Huff today (not enough time at Columbus!). Bringing up Hector Rondon would be another mistake!

The veterans are going to need to turn it around to save this team. I have faith in Francisco, Peralta, even DeRosa and Carmona to help turn things around over the youngsters who aren't ready!

On the injury front, Hafner coming back will bump LaPorta back to AAA (unless Dellucci's .270 average plummets in that time), Westbrook will eventually bump out the #5 starter (I want Jackson, Sowers or Tomo Ohka right now), and Joe Smith will bump out one of the over-the-hill pen arms (Herges, Vizcaino).

Right now, I think there are a couple moves that can be made to help the team in the short-run.


Sent Jensen Lewis down to AAA, bring up Rich Rundles - A lot of Tribe fans are anxious to see flamethrowing Jon Meloan (acquired in the Casey Blake deal) but the fact is that his over-6 ERA and tendency to walk people in AAA make him an unsafe option. Rundles has been pitching well for Columbus and has experience for the Tribe last September where he performed well in a short amount of time. He's also already on the 40-man roster which is a plus. I think everyone agrees that Lewis needs a sabbatical to figure out what is going wrong.

Give Sowers another shot - I know what he did in his first two starts, but the fact is that there isn't anything left to prove for Sowers in AAA where he has an impressive ERA hovering around 2 and won a 2-1 decision tonight. I'm all for giving him a handful of starts until Westbrook comes back later in the summer and deciding his future at that point. I'm still waiting for the 2006 Sowers to reemerge. I know, though, that even if Sowers will never work out for the Indians, that we can boost his trade value in that time with some more exposure and some good starts. David Huff hasn't been in AAA long enough to be up here in the bigs (3.2 innings and 7 runs today) and Laffey is our best bullpen arm at this point, no sense moving him from that role.

Barfield up, Valbuena down - Luis Valbuena is a promising young IF but he is just overmatched at the plate, batting around .100 at the time of this post. Josh Barfield was 3-3 with some runs scored in a very brief appearance earlier this month and I'd like to give him another shot as the starting 2B. Valbuena needs more time at AAA (see a pattern?) to work on his bat and Barfield can work at 2B with Peralta at 3rd, Cabrera at short with Garko/DeRosa getting a day off or DH-ing. At the worst, he can provide speed off the bench, something Valbuena does not.

Bringing em back - At some point, Lewis and Perez will need to come back to Cleveland and contribute to the pen. Perez may be ready soon, with an ERA of 0.00 in a handful of appearances, but Lewis would need some time. I'm gonna give Luis Vizcaino a chance to prove himself but if his one pitch walk-off Friday night was any indication, he's just another journeyman stiff. I'd consider removing some of those type of guys in our bullpen with those who have proven themselves for us in the past (Perez, Lewis, even Zach Jackson).

God bless us all

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The Tribe didn't make any earth-shattering offseason moves in 2009, but they did make a lot of solid ones. A recap of the team's offseason below:

Free Agents

IF Jamey Carroll (club option for ’09) option exercised
RP Brendan Donnelly (filed for free agency) signed by Texas
C Sal Fasano (filed for free agency) signed by Colorado
RP Scott Elarton (filed for free agency)
RP Juan Rincon (filed for free agency) signed by Detroit

Minor League Free Agents

OF Brad Snyder, placed on waivers, claimed by Chicago Cubs
RP Reid Santos, placed on waivers, claimed by Toronto
IF Andy Gonzalez, signed to minor league deal by Florida
P Bryan Bullington, signed by Toronto
P Brian Slocum, signed by Pittsburgh
OF Ryan Goleski, released

Trades:

OF Franklin Gutierrez traded to Seattle for RP Joe Smith and IF Luis Valbuena
IF Mark DeRosa acquired from Chicago Cubs for Ps Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub
OF Mickey Hall acquired from Boston to complete Paul Byrd trade
IF Isaias Velasquz traded to Tampa Bay for RB Juan Salas

Additions:

RP Kerry Wood (signed to 2-year deal)
SP Carl Pavano (signed to 1-year deal)

RP Greg Aquino (non-roster invitee)
C Damaso Espino (non-roster invitee)
IF Andy Cannizaro (non-roster invitee)
P Tomo Ohka (non-roster invitee)
IF Jesus Merchan (non-roster invitee)
IF Wilson Valdez (non-roster invitee)
P Kirk Sarloos (non-roster invitee)
RP Vinnie Chulk (non-roster invitee)
RP Matt Herges (non-roster invitee)
P Jack Cassell (non-roster invitee)

RP Joe Smith (trade from SEA)
IF Luis Valbuena (trade from SEA)
IF Mark DeRosa (trade from CHI)
OF Mickey Hall (trade from BOS)
RP Juan Salas (trade from TB)

Subtractions:

OF Brad Snyder (claimed by CHC)
RP Reid Santos (claimed by TOR)
IF Andy Gonzalez (signed by FLA)
P Bryan Bullington (signed by TOR)
P Brian Slocum (signed by PIT)
RP Tom Mastny (sold to Japan team)
OF Franklin Gutierrez (traded to SEA)
P Jeff Stevens (traded to CHIC)
P Chris Archer (traded to CHIC)
P John Gaub (traded to CHIC)
OF Ryan Goleski (released)
RP Brendan Donnelly (signed by TEX)
C Sal Fasano (signed by COL)
RP Juan Rincon (signed by DET)
IF Isaias Velasquez (traded to TB)
IF Andy Marte (designated for assignment)

Non-Roster Invitees

Pitchers

Greg Aquino
Tomo Ohka
Kirk Sarloos
Dave Huff
Ryan Edell
Vinnie Chulk
Matt Herges
Jack Cassell

Catchers

Damaso Espino

Infielders

Andy Cannizaro
Jesus Merchan
Wilson Valdez
Michael Aubrey
Stephen Head
Beau Mills
Jordan Brown
Wes Hodges

Outfielders

Michael Brantley
Matt Laporta

Later: Indians 2009 Starting Lineup and Rotation

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Great Clevelander of the Week

Highlighting the Best of Cleveland (other than Lebron)

Danny Ferry

The Cleveland GM wisely didn’t pull the trigger on some bad deals at the deadline Thursday and kept the 41-11 Cavaliers intact. Rather than trade away draft picks and talented young JJ Hickson along with team leaders Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak for an aging Shaq or Antwan Jamison. The team with the 2^nd best record in the NBA (based on losses) will gear up for a title run with the guys that have been winning all year.

Feb. 3rd Blog Post!

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Support Mangini Despite Rumors

Over the last 24 hours, rumors have popped up on such sites as YahooSports! and ProfootballTalk.com that new Browns coach Eric Mangini is already being disliked in Cleveland. The source of this propaganda is Todd Porter of the Canton Repository. This is where we breath a sigh of relief, Cleveland. The Canton Repository! Not the Plain Dealer or the Beacon Journal, but this second-rate paper located multiple hours' drive from the heart of our sports world. If you dig further into the story and do some sleuthing, you will find that Porter is upset that his "moles" inside the Browns were fired (whether personnell or assistant coaches) and he is lashing out at the new regime. Calling out a coach and creating waves before the Combine has even started? That's complete bush-league no matter if you love the Mangini hire or hate it. I call to you, Browns fans, to not believe the garbage that is going to fly from the national media and instead look at the results: a Super Bowl ring in New England, 2 winning seasons out of three on a team with mediocre talent and awful quarterback play, and most important of all, a line of Jets outside Mangini's office begging for his job and wishing him well. Just look at what Browns' captain and Pro-Bowler Josh Cribbs had to say in a radio interview with Cleveland legend Michael Reghi. If the Browns players and media people want a guy like Romeo, they aren't getting him. They are getting a disciplinarian, but most importantly, a winner.

Williams to be All-Star?

Unless you have been comatose in the world of sports the last week or so, you know that Cavs guard Mo Williams was snubbed from the All-Star game this month in Phoenix. Well, perhaps justice will be served, just not in the way we wanted. Magic G Jameer Nelson, one of a trio of guards selected ahead of Williams, was injured in Monday's loss to Dallas with a dislocated shoulder. He will not be able to go in the ASG and may miss the rest of the season. More news on if Williams gets the nod in his third try (after fan voting and coaches' selection).

(Other) Williams Released

Jawad Williams' time with the Cavaliers is over -- for now. The rookie forward was not re-signed after his 2nd 10-day contract with the team expired on Sunday. Williams played in 8 games with the Cavaliers, 9 minutes total, and recorded 4 points and a personal foul on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three). The local product will possibly be re-signed to the roster for the remainder of the season once Eric Snow's contract comes off the books (more on that when there is news to report). To replace Williams on the 15-man roster, the Cavs signed G/F Trey Johnson from the Developmental League.