Cleveland Indians Report

December 24, 2002

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

The Indians did some early Christmas shopping over the last few days, picking up a couple of starting pitchers and a pair of backup catchers from the free-agent pool. We'll discuss those moves and much more when the CIR resumes publication sometime around December 29 (or so). Until then, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season!!

Posted on 12/24/2002

December 19, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Thursday, December 19

Before I get into the regular report, I would like to pass along a message from John Sickels, whom many of you know as the author of the Minor League Scouting Notebook that Stats Inc. used to publish annually. Used to publish? What chu' talkin 'bout Willis? Well, since Stats Inc. announced a merger of sorts with the Sporting News annual baseball yearbooks, the Minor League Scouting Notebook was discontinued as of this season. Much to our relief, however, John has decided to self-publish the 2003 Baseball Prospect Book. Following is a message from Mr. Sickels himself that includes details about the book as well as ordering instructions. I will keep you updated over the next few months on the books status and you can also check out www.johnsickels.com for updates as well. If you place an order, make sure to tell him you heard about the new book through the CIR! Here's the message..

The Minor League Scouting Notebook is Dead. . .Long Live The Baseball Prospect Book!

Hello, everyone. This is John Sickels of ESPN.com. As most of you know by now, STATS is no longer publishing the Minor League Scouting Notebook, which I'd written for the past seven years. But I'm still going to publish for 2003. My new book is called, simply, The Baseball Prospect Book. It will be very similar in form and content to the old MLSN, except now I can function without the constraints of corporate oversight.

I am self-publishing the BPB, which has a variety of benefits, as well as hazards, but I'm very excited about this new challenge. At this point I will be selling it directly myself, and I am now taking pre-orders for the book. I anticipate publication and shipping dates in mid-February. The book will feature

****Prospect reports on over 800 minor league prospects
****A letter grade from A to C- assigned to each prospect
****Statistics for each player
****Top 50 Hitting Prospects
****Top 50 Pitching Prospects
****Commentary on the first round of the 2002 draft
****Some samples from the 2002 edition of the John Sickels Baseball Newsletter

The book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the future stars of the game, and is a favorite of both fantasy players and regular baseball fans.

The cost of the book is $19.95, plus $5 shipping and handling.

To order, send a check or money order to

John Sickels
Attn: BPB Order
PO Box 4066
Lawrence, KS 66046

Make check payable to John Sickels

BE CERTAIN TO INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS INCLUDING ZIP CODE.
If you have email, feel free to include that too. I promise not to spam you, but I will send you updates about the book, including an early Top 50/50 list to help fantasy owners with drafts that happen before the book is published.

I will have an ordering form on my website (Johnsickels.com) operational ASAP, but for now checks or money orders are the best method.

THANKS, everyone!!

Today is the deadline date for free-agents to accept or reject arbitration from their former clubs. Dave Burba and Terry Mulholland were offered arbitration by the Indians but it's been reported that the Indians made the offer with the understanding that it would be rejected by both players. Burba is a Type C Free Agent according to the Elias Free Agent Compensation Rankings which means that the Indians would receive a bonus sandwich pick between the second and third rounds if he signs with another team. Terry Mulholland is an unrated free agent which means that the Indians would receive no compensation if he signs elsewhere. The Tribe can negotiate with both Burba and Mulholland through Janaury 8 but if they are not signed by that date, the Tribe loses negotiation rights with them until May 1. I'm pretty sure, though, that they could sign them to a minor league deal and let them spend April in Akron or Buffalo.

The Indians picked up two players in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Monday. Both were acquired in the triple-A phase for $12,000 out of the Baltimore Orioles organization. They do not have to be kept at a certain minor league level or returned to the Orioles, although I believe the Tribe could offer them back for half of the purchase price if they were so inclined.

Rick Elder was the Orioles first round pick in 1998 (26th overall, 6 picks behind CC Sabathia) but has never made it past low-A ball mainly due to injuries. In five professional seasons, Elder has had only 740 at-bats and missed parts of the 1999 season and almost all of the 2000 season with elbow injuries. He also sat out all of last season with a shoulder injury. When he has played, Elder has demonstrated a power stroke that befits his 6'6", 221 pound frame, belting 10 homeruns in 158 at-bats in the Appalachian League in 1999 and 16 homeruns in 382 at-bats in the South Atlantic League in 2001. Unfortunately, he's also struck out at a Branyanesque pace of once every three at-bats throughout his career. His walk rate is pretty solid, however, so it appears he has a knowledge of the strike zone which is a plus. The inability to hit the breaking pitch, which the above strikeout rate implies, is not a plus however. Perhaps he needs to offer JoBu some rum? Elder was drafted as an outfielder but he's spent a lot of time at first base in his pro career with the general reports being that he's best defensively at DH, although he does move well for a big man. For a $12,000 claim, Elder is about as good as it gets. He's got a ton of untapped power potential that could pay huge dividends if the Indians can keep him healthy and laying off the curveballs. He was rated the Orioles #9 prospect in 1999 by Baseball America and John Sickels had Elder rated as a C in 2002 and 2001 and a B- in 2000. Look for Elder to start the season in Kinston.

Randy Perez was the Orioles 8th round pick in 1998 and is a finesse lefty who also sat out the 2002 season with a shoulder injury. Perez pitched pretty well for Delmarva in the Sally League in 2000, going 10-9 with a 3.56 ERA in 25 starts, striking out 123 in 154 innings and walking only 33 hitters. Promoted to the Carolina League in 2001, Perez did not fare as well despite a decent 8-7 record and a 3.96 ERA. In 122-2/3 innings, Perez yielded a troubling 145 hits but he did manage a decent BB:K ratio of 23:101. John Sickels rated Perez as a C prospect in 2001 and 2002. Coming off an injury, I would expect Perez to start the season at Kinston, although Akron is not out of the question, and a move to the bullpen may be in order as he rebuilds arm strength.

You can check out complete profiles on both Perez and Elder over on the Orioles Hangout.

The Indians also announced the signing of free agents Tim Laker, Mike Thurman, and Casey Blake to minor league contracts with an invitation to major league spring training camp extended to all three.

Tim Laker is slated to be the #2 catcher behind Josh Bard this season at the major league level, although he will have an as yet-to-be-signed spring training competitor for the backup role. Laker has a .221 average in 358 career major league at-bats over seven seasons and is the classic good field, no-hit, third string catcher.

Mike Thurman is a 29-year old right-handed pitcher who was originally a first round pick of the Expos back in 1994. A finesse/control pitcher who tops out in high 80s with the fastball, Thurman has a 26-36 career record and a 5.05 ERA in 105 appearances (87 starts) in portions of six minor league seasons. His best work was as a full-time starter for the Expos in 1999 as he went 7-11 with a 4.06 ERA and allowed only 140 hits in 146 innings in 27 starts, although his less than stellar 52:85 BB:K ratio hinted that he wasn't really dominating anybody. Thurman spent the 2002 season in the Yankees system, making 12 starts for triple-A Columbus (7-3, 3.54 ERA) and 12 appearances (2 starts, 1-0, 5.18 ERA) covering 33 innings for the Yankees. He could fit into Mark Shapiro's "innings-eater" role in the rotation, he could find work in the bullpen with a good spring, but more than likely, he's nothing more than triple-A insurance.

Casey Blake is a 29-year old third-basemen who was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 1996 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Wichita State. He's always been old for his league and, therefore, has never been considered a top prospect despite posting numbers like a .350 average and 11 homeruns in 300+ at-bats in the Florida State League at the age of 25. Considered a line drive hitter, Blake cranked up the power numbers in 1999, hitting 22 dingers, but at the expense of his average which fell to .245. Since then, Blake has settled in as a pretty decent triple-A hitter, posting consistent .300+ averages and showing decent power, including a .309/.383/.492/.874, 19 homerun, 25 double season last year for Edmonton (Minnesota) in the PCL. In limited major league duty with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Twins, he's managed a .232 average with two homeruns in 112 at-bats. Blake will most likely figure in as a corner solution at Buffalo although if he hits well in the spring and Ricky Gutierrez is not able to go at the start of the season, it would not surprise me to see him be in the mix at third base for the Indians this spring.

Jason Bere has reportedly turned down a 1-year contract from the Indians although the offer has reportedly been left on the table. Bere pitched (if you want to call it that) for the Indians in 2000, posting a 6.65 ERA in 11 starts, although he did manage to win 6 games. Moving onto the Cubs in 2001, Bere actually pitched decently, striking out almost a batter an inning (175 K in 188 IP) and posting a 4.31 ERA with a 11-11 record. However, he was back to his normal self last season as he went 1-10 with a 5.67 ERA in 16 starts. For that, he earned a cool $3.4 million. You can be sure the Indians offer is for far less than that. It's interesting that Bere is Shapiro's main target for one of his "200 inning starters" as he's only thrown more than 150 innings twice in his major league career. His stuff has never really been in question, although his major league career has certainly never matched the potential envisioned when he was a top prospect with the White Sox in the early 90s. It's his durability that I wonder about and if the Indians think they can get a guaranteed 200 innings and 30 starts from Bere, I think they might be sadly mistaken.

Another pitcher rumored to be headed the Indians way earlier this week was Mariners lefty John Halama, although that deal reportedly fell through after the Indians lost four players in the Rule 5 draft on Monday. Halama is a soft-tossing lefty who went 6-5 with a 3.56 ERA for the Mariners last season in 31 games (10 starts). The Indians envision him as a starter, although he pitched much better as a reliever (2.31 ERA) than as a starter (4.83) last season. This mirrors his three-year splits (2000-2002) of 2.14 ERA as a reliever and 5.23 ERA as a starter (57 starts). Halama also is eligible for arbitration after making $1.4 million last season. It's interesting that the deal fell through (speculation on Hector Luna and Matt White -- M's signed lefty Norm Charlton yesterday), although it might work out in the Tribe's favor as there is speculation that the Mariners will non-tender Halama tomorrow as a cost cutting measure instead of going to arbitration with him.

Speaking of potential non-tenders, keep an eye on what the Rangers do with super-sub Frank Catalanotto. He made $2.45 million last season so his asking price may be a little too rich for the Indians budget but I really think his ability to play anywhere in the field and get on-base would be an excellent addition to the Indians lineup. The Tribe could probably guarantee him 400+ at-bats between third base, second base, left field, and DH, and he would instantly become the best leadoff option on the Indians big league roster. Those available at-bats should certainly be attractive to a player who has received over 300 at-bats only once in his major league career. Catalanotto also has a .395 average and 1.099 OPS in 38 Jacobs Field at-bats over the past three seasons, although I readily admit that's a pretty small sample size.

What does non-tendering mean? Tomorrow (Dec 20) is the final day for teams to offer 2003 contracts to unsigned players on the 40-man roster. This doesn't mean you have to sign the player, you just have to tender them a contract so that you can continue to negotiate a 1-year or long-term deal with them until early March when teams eventually have the option to renew player contracts. Failure to tender a player a contract by tomorrow makes the player a free-agent and this tactic is becoming an increasingly popular cost-cutting measure by teams on a tight budget as it avoids the huge raises usually received by players in the arbitration process (even if the arbitrator sides with the team).

John Sickels gives Hector Luna a fair chance of sticking with the Devil Rays, Derek Thompson a fair chance of sticking with the Dodgers, and Marshall McDougall a fair chance of sticking with the Rangers in his Rule 5 Draft report on espn.com.

Nothing against Bill Selby, but this is a scary thought from Eric Wedge..."We're still optimistic that Ricky will be there,'' Wedge said. If not, there's Bill Selby" Yikes.

The Lake County Captains have been granted approval to play in the South Atlantic League for 2003 only according to Baseball America. Minor League Baseball is apparently mandating a switch to the Midwest League for 2004 although the Indians seem to prefer their low-A affiliate staying in the Sally League. I just can't see that happening, however, as it just makes too much sense geographically to move the Captains to the MWL. Incidentally, the South Atlantic All-Star Game has been awarded to Eastlake in 2006.

Amazon.com can still guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve on those last minute purchases so don't forget about the Amazon link on the CIR website when you realize you forgot to get a gift for Uncle George. Every purchase made when entering amazon through the CIR link results in a small referral fee for the CIR and helps to keep all this free of charge. Thanks!

Posted on 12/19/2002

December 18, 2002

MARK SHAPIRO LIVE
Mark Shapiro is on the Sports Club Radio show right now on the web with Les Levine and Dan Coughlin. The interview will be rebroadcast at 5:00 on WERE 1300 tonight. If you've never listened to the show, it can be a nice diversion from Roda and Trivisano.

Posted on 12/18/2002

December 16, 2002

RULE 5 UPDATE
In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Indians selected 1B/OF Rick Elder and LHP Randy Perez from the Orioles organization. It's also been confirmed that the Indians traded Travis Chapman to the Tigers.

Posted on 12/16/2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Monday, December 16

The Indians lost four players in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft this morning and drafted one, although there are reports that player was drafted for another organization and will be dealt shortly. Overall, twenty-eight players were drafted, including a record seventeen in the first round which included three Indians. Remember that players drafted in the major league portion of the draft need to be kept on the major league roster for the entire season so the Indians will have an opportunity to reacquire these players if their new teams decide not to keep them. Results of the minor league portion of the draft were not available as I type this.

Hector Luna was the first Indian to go as he was selected with the second overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Even with the Rays having traded for Rey Ordonez over the weekend, I think Luna has a pretty good shot of sticking with them for the entire season in a backup capacity. His long-term future with the D-Rays (at least at shortstop), however, is uncertain as the Rays have added former top shortstop prospect Antonio Perez (Lou Pinella compensation) and uber-shortstop prospect BJ Upton (#2 pick in the 2002 draft) to the organization in the last six months. Luna is an interesting prospect but he's never played above high-A ball and the Indians have Brandon Phillips and Jhonny Peralta ahead of him so at least the loss is from an organizational strength. Off the top of my head, I have no idea who will play shortstop at Akron next season.

Derek Thompson went next, as the left-hander was selected with the 5th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs. Thompson was mentioned in a Rule 5 preview by Baseball America as a prime candidate to be selected thanks to the 95 mph fastball (wha-wha-wha-WHAT?) he flashed towards the end of the season and his solid work against left-handers (.225) that could serve him well as a situational reliever. With that, I'm not so sure that the Cubs will be willing to carry him on their major league roster for the entire season if he struggles in the spring given that they are preparing for contention this season and Dusty Baker tends to favor the veterans over the youngsters. In Thompson's favor is the fact that Mike Remlinger is the only guaranteed lefty in the 'pen and his competition for a second spot (for now) is Will Ohman and Steve Smyth. If I had to make a call today, I would say that Thompson would be returned to the Indians in the spring. As I write this, it's a very real possibility that the Cubs drafted Thompson for another team and that he could be traded later today.

And he was, as the Cubs dealt him to the Dodgers for cash considerations according to espn.com. Thompson will attempt to make a Dodgers bullpen that currently includes left-handers Victor Alvarez, Steve Coyler, Rick Roberts, and perhaps Kaz Ishii. I think we can safely assume the Dodgers will be bringing in several veteran lefties as further competition but it certainly looks good for Thompson if he shows he can get out big league hitters this spring.

The next Indian to be selected was infielder Marshall McDougall by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers front office (specifically assistant GM Grady Fuson) is extremely familiar with McDougall from their time together in the Oakland organization so on that basis alone you have to think their interest in McDougall is genuine. However, the Rangers have Herb Perry at 3B with mega-prospects Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira ready for the big leagues this season. They also have supersub Frank Catalanotto as the backup infielder and potent stick off the bench so is there room in Arlington for McDougall? There are reports that Catalanotto will be non-tendered on Friday (provided he's not traded before then) so perhaps this move hints at that. Blalock has also been the subject of trade rumors so perhaps McDougall serves as insurance for that route. Right now, I'm not seeing a fit for McDougall this season in Texas but that could change by opening day.

The final Indian drafted was left-hander Matt White who was selected by the Red Sox in the second round. Fresh off an excellent winter ball campaign, White has an excellent opportunity to stick in a Red Sox bullpen that is lacking left-handed alternatives beyond potential closer Alan Embree (remember him, Tribe fans?). Casey Fossum is the only other Red Sox lefty that would be guaranteed a spot but he could also be in the rotation or be included in any of the rumored deals for Bartolo Colon or Javier Vasquez. If White shows he can get major league hitters out this spring, I think he will stick on opening day.

All in all, this is pretty much what I expected. It's no surprise that White and McDougall were picked, Luna fits the profile of past selections, and if reports of Thompson touching 95 mph are accurate, then it's no surprise he was selected either. The non-selection I'm a bit surprised with is Lance Caraccioli. My initial assessment of that would be that teams were focusing on upside (Thompson-esque) in lieu of readiness (Caraccioli).

The Indians have added a ton of talent to the system over the past 12 months and without that talent, it's a given that Luna, White, and Thompson would have been protected. McDougall was acquired as part of that infusion of talent and his selection now turns Brian Giles into Ricardo Rincon for Marshall McDougall for $50,000 which is so sickening that I'm going to stop typing right now. Yes, the Indians can "afford" these losses as they are stocked at shortstop and they have a bevy of left-handed starters ahead of Thompson in the organizational depth charts but I say that with this disclaimer. The Indians lost these players for essentially nothing ($50,000) while protecting Jose Santiago, Chad Paronto, Chris Magruder, and Jerrod Riggan on the 40-man roster when it's unlikely that any of those four would have been selected in the Rule 5 Draft. If any of the above four players lost this morning ever develop into a solid major leaguer you can take your pick of the above four players protected and start complaining that"we lost (insert player here) because Shapiro protected (insert player here)". Myself, I'm going to use Jose Santiago.

The Indians also acquired a player this morning as two slots (one pick) after the Rangers selected McDougall, the Indians selected 1B/3B Travis Chapman from the Phillies. Chapman is a 24-year old who hit .301/.388/.473/.861 with 35 doubles, 15 homeruns, and a 54:77 BB:K ratio for double-A Reading this past season. There's also reports that he has a shoulder injury with the severity dependent on what report/rumor you read. Additionally, there are reports that the Indians have traded Chapman to the Detroit Tigers for cash but I haven't been able to confirm that yet. On the surface, it appears Chapman would be a candidate to play thirdbase for the Indians next season but I'm going to hold off on further analysis pending confirmation of the reported Tigers trade.

The Indians will receive $200,000 ($50k each) as compensation for the four players lost. Should they be offered back to the Indians this season, the Indians can buy them back for $25,000 apiece. They could also choose not to not buy them back and keep the entire $50,000. So at a minimum, the Indians will pocket a minimum of $100,000 with the assumption that the Tigers will cover the Indians cost of selecting Travis Chapman and throw in a little extra for their time and effort.

The winter meetings are ending today but the Indians may not be done wheeling and dealing. There's conflicting reports on Jason Bere, some say he could sign today, others say the offer remains on the table. The Indians and Mariners are also reportedly talking about a deal involving John Halama that could be much larger if the Internet rumors are accurate. We'll get into this more tomorrow.

Quick comments on some of the deals from a pretty boring Winter Meetings...

The Blue Jays must have really soured on Felipe Lopez if all they're getting in return is Jason Arnold from the A's. Arnold's a nice prospect but I don't think he's worth Lopez straight up and if the A's can acquire Durazo for just Arnold, well, I guess that's why Billy Beane is one of the best GMs in the game. It would not surprise me to see the A's add another PTBNL to the deal besides Arnold.

What is wrong with Jeremy Giambi that in the previous eight months, all he can fetch on the trade market is John Mabry and Josh Hancock. Who? Exactly. All Giambi did last year is post a .919 OPS and knock out 20 homeruns. He's an on-base machine (.414 OBP) and should fit in nicely at Fenway as a first basemen and DH. Seriously though, is the guy such a cancer in the clubhouse that all he can bring in return is a journeyman and a grade B prospect?

I actually like the D-Rays acquisition of Rey Ordonez in the sense that it's not going to cost them much dollar-wise or player-wise (marginal prospects at best from the initial reports), it's only for one season, they may receive draft picks as compensation if he signs elsewhere next offseason, and his defense should help out the young pitching staff they are putting together. With no one else in system ready to play short this season, he's not a bad one-year fit even if he's completely useless at the plate.

Brett Tomko could be a nice pickup for the Cardinals if they get the "good" Tomko on the mound for 2003. It's a definite gamble with the money he's expected to ask for/command in arbitration. How could they give up LUTHER! though?

The Indians avoided arbitration with Karim Garcia by agreeing on a 1 year, $900k contract on Friday. He can also earn a reported $37,500 each for reaching 400, 450, 500, and 550 plate appearances. Garcia will be the starting right fielder for the Indians this season. For an excellent review of Garcia's prospect history check out At the Plate (scroll down a little).

On Friday, the Cardinals and Chuck Finley had reportedly agreed on a one-year contract in the $8 million neighborhood. On Saturday, those talks had apparently stalled. Yesterday, the Cardinals traded with the Padres for Brett Tomko. The Phillies are now apparently back in the running for Finley's services.

Jolbert Cabrera resigned with the Dodgers for 1 year and $435,000.

Ellis Burks was named MLB's Outstanding Designated Hitter in recognition of his .301/.362/.541/.903, 32 homerun season. Honestly, I didn't even know such an award existed.

The list of Veterans Committee candidates for the Hall of Fame was announced last week and among the candidates are former Indians Vada Pinson (.800 OPS, 24 home runs in 1970), Joe Gordon (.878 OPS, 32 homeruns for the 1948 world champions), Wes Ferrell (won 102 games between 1929-1933), Minnie Minoso (.867 OPS, 21 homeruns in 1959), Allie Reynolds (won 51 games between 1943-46 before moving on to greater pastures in New York), The Rock (190 career Indians homeruns, 1.024 OPS, 41 dingers in 1958), and Bobby Bonds (.830 OPS, 25 homeruns, 34 steals in 1979).

Cub Reporter, MLB Forums, Purgatory Online (Angels blog), and
Broad and Pattison (Phillies blog) have all been added to the links on the CIR website. Incidentally, the CIR is listed as the top referring site over on Sports-Wired.

Posted on 12/16/2002

RULE 5 UPDATE
The Indians lost Hector Luna (Devil Rays), Derek Thompson (Cubs), Marshall McDougall (Texas), and Matt White (Red Sox) in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. Coincidentally, or not, with the pick after the Rangers took McDougall, the Indians selected 1B/3B Travis Chapman from the Phillies, whom you can read about in the Rule 5 preview below. More on this later today.

Posted on 12/16/2002

RULE 5 PREVIEW
Baseball America lists Derek Thompson as a prime candidate for selection in today's Rule 5 Draft, along with Matt White and Lance Caraccioli in a Rule 5 Preview article.

Posted on 12/16/2002

December 14, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Saturday, December 14

Perhaps nothing in baseball is as well-known but as misunderstood as the Rule 5 draft. Hardcore fans live for it, casual fans know about it, but when the names are announced, even the hardcores generally wonder, "Who the heck are these guys?" Still, it's a draft, and that's enough to pique the interest of most baseball fans in the dead of winter. This years draft will be held on Monday, December 16, the final day of the Winter Meetings.

So what is the Rule 5 draft? I've put together a Rule 5 FAQ that will answer most of your questions but here's a cliff notes version for your weekend reading enjoyment....

The Rule 5 draft allows teams to select players not on the 40 man roster of other teams provided that those players have played either three seasons (19 years old when drafted) or four seasons (18 years old when drafted) in the minor leagues. In the major league phase, it costs $50,000 to draft a player and drafted players must spend the entire season on the major league roster or be offered back to the original team for $25,000. This requirement does not apply in the minor league portion of the draft where the cost of drafting a player is much less. Teams must have an open spot on their 40-man roster in order to select a player in the major league portion of the draft.

Rule 5 draft picks are typically either long-term prospects or players who fill a need at the major league level. Because drafted players are forced to take up a major league roster spot for an entire season, teams tend to select players that are easier to "hide" on the big league roster, such as middle infielders and relievers (or starters converted to the pen). Teams also tend to lean towards positions where there is a general scarcity throughout baseball, such as catchers, shortstops, and left-handed pitching. These players also tend to have skills that play well in those roles, such as multiple positions, good defense, speed for pinch-running, good platoon splits, situational splits in the pen, etc. All traits that can be useful as the 12th man on the staff or last man on the bench. Of course, there's also players that are drafted for their raw talent (i.e., 98 mph fastball) where teams figure it's worth $25,000 to see if they can teach the player how to throw strikes in spring training.

George Bell is perhaps the best Rule 5 Draft pick of all-time and mlb.com highlights the top 10 picks since 1990 which includes Fernando Vina, Frank Catalanotto, Antonio Alfonseca, Matt Mantei, Johan Santana, and Jay Gibbons. They also offer a preview of this years draft with a capsule on 25 draftable prospects that includes Indians Alex Requena, Maicer Izturis, Marshall McDougall, and Martin Vargas. Didn't we sell Vargas to Japan last May?

With all the talent brought into the organization over the past 12 months, the Indians list of unprotected players makes for an attractive group. It would not surprise me to see the Indians lose anywhere from 1-4 players in the major league portion of the draft and then a couple more in the minor league portion. They do have an open roster spot (the 40 now stands at 39) but with all the prospects issued tickets for the Cleveland-Buffalo shuttle this season, they would really have to like someone to commit a season-long roster spot to a Rule 5 pick. In the minor league portion, I think you may see the Tribe pick up a catcher or two as they're thin in the lower levels after several catchers were either released or retired in the offseason. These guys will be strictly organization filler so it most likely won't be anything to get excited about.

Here's a list of the Indians top rule 5 eligibles, along with their 2002 stats and a brief comment or two on their draftability. They are listed in no particular order.

DAVID ELDER
CLASS W-L ERA  G GS SV   IP   H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   3-1 2.65 22 1 5 34.0 32 11 10 1   0 14 42
AKR    2-1 2.00 23  1 9 36.0 19 8 8 1   0 18 42
CLE 0-2 3.13 15 0 0 23.0 18 10 8 1 1 14 23

Elder already passed through waivers this offseason when the Indians designated him for assignment and removed him from the 40-man roster so you would think that a team would not spend $50,000 on a Rule 5 selection when they could have had him for free a few weeks ago. Rosters have changed since then, however, and I really think that Elder is a prime candidate for selection. He's a reliever who throws hard and has already experienced some success at the major league level.   If you're forced to keep the player at the major league level for the whole season, you could do a lot worse than those qualifications.

DEREK THOMPSON
CLASS W-L ERA   G GS SV   IP   H ER R HR HBP BB K
KIN    2-3 3.87 13 13 0 74.2 72 36 32 1 11 32 41
COL    3-4 3.42 14 14 0 73.2 71 39 28 3   0 27 50

Thompson has some skills and he's left-handed, which always helps, but with only 13 starts at the high-A level, it's doubtful that a team would keep him at the major league level for the entire season. Also note the decrease in the K:BB ratio and increase in HBP when he was promoted from low-A to high-A. A team would really have to like Thompson to select him this year. Incidentally, even though Thompson was a HS draft pick in 2000, he's eligible for the Rule 5 draft this year because he was 19 years old when the Indians selected him.

ERIC CROZIER
CLASS     BA OBP SLG G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
AKR     .296 .398 .387 43 142 42 8 1 1 13 21 50 1 0
KIN     .326 .423 .508 72 258 84 16 2 9 55 42 57 4 3
AFL     .237 .359 .395 23 76 18 3 0 3   9 15 27 1 1

Crozier really burst onto the scene last year, posting a .931 OPS in a half-season at Kinston, after not showing much during his first two years in the system. Those numbers are tempered by the fact, however, that he was old (23) for the Carolina League and his OPS fell to a more pedestrian .785 with only one homerun after his promotion to Akron. His performance in the AFL didn't help matters much although he did maintain his plate discipline while rediscovering the longball. He definitely has value but is a 24 year old gap-hitting first basemen with only 142 at-bats at the double-A level someone to keep on a big league roster for the entire season? Let's say you take him and he gets 100-150 at-bats in the majors this year, then gets sent back to the minors in 2004 at age 25, plays at triple-A, and is then ready for the bigs again at age 26? I'm not sure there's enough value in that to merit a selection. Crozier could be compared to Jay Gibbons of a few years ago, but Crozier has not yet displayed the raw power that Gibbons exhibited in the minor leagues.

HECTOR LUNA
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
KIN     .276 .334 .404 128 468 129 15 6 11 51 39 79 32 11

Luna is an interesting Rule 5 prospect. He's solid with the glove, can steal a base, and has intriguing pop for a middle infielder. With the Indians, he's blocked by Omar, Brandon Phillips, and Jhonny Peralta, and that's one reason why the Indians chose to protect another player/position instead of Luna. His raw skills alone (defense and speed) could enable him to stick with a club for the whole season as the 25th man on the roster (see Luis Ugueto last season with the Mariners). The drawback is that he has no experience above the high-A level so any team selecting him would be making a big projection. He's definitely a candidate to be drafted.

JAMIE BROWN
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV    IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
AKR    9-5 2.78 18 17 0 103.2 98 41 32 5   8 17 72

A year removed from Tommy John surgery, Brown pitched extremely well for the Aeros last season. Most impressive was his low BB-IP ratio. Brown will be 26 on opening day so he's old for a prospect and his recent injury history won't help his cause, but I think he could help a team as a long reliever and spot starter. I don't think he'll be drafted and, most likely, he'll leave the Indians organization after the 2003 season as a minor league free-agent and bounce around as a 4A starter waiting for an opportunity at the big league level (see Beverlin, Jason).

JASON PHILLIPS
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   7-4 3.39 16 16 0 98.1 88 37 37 8   7 17 71
CLE 1-3 4.97 8 6 0 41.2 41 24 23 1 7 20 23

Like Elder, Phillips has already passed through waivers and it's doubtful a team would allocate a season-long roster spot on a journeyman 29-year old starter who underwent offseason shoulder surgery when they could have claimed him for free a few weeks ago.

JASON STANFORD
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV    IP   H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   3-1 2.78 6 5 0 35.2 33 12 11 5   1 11 23
AKR    7-6 3.43 18 18 0 102.1 108 44 39 3   6 33 86

Stanford did everything right last season but was caught in a numbers game with all the prospects the Indians have brought into the system over the last 12 months. He's a lefty with decent stuff and those are always in demand. Prime candidate to be drafted.

KYLE DENNEY
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
AKR    3-1 1.56 6 5 0 34.2 23 7 6 2   3 5 32
KIN    7-6 3.60 15 14 0 85.0 76 37 34 5   2 41 68

Denney is another hurler whose 2002 season went largely unnoticed thanks to all the new players in the system.   Like Brown, Denney is a year removed from Tommy John surgery and pitched extremely well at Kinston and was even tougher after a late season promotion to Akron (note the sensational BB:K ratio). But, with only 6 appearances at the AA level and a recent major injury, would a team take a shot on a player like this? My guess is probably not.

LANCE CARACCIOLI
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   4-0 3.05 8 6 1 44.1 45 16 15 2   3 19 33
LVG    4-3 4.14 10 10 0 58.2 58 30 27 4   2 28 39
JAX    4-2 3.06 10 10 0 61.2 53 21 21 2   1 25 48
AFL    1-2 3.91 9 6 1 25.1 33 18 11 1   1 5 20

I would be very surprised if Caraccioli is not drafted. He's a left-hander with a live arm who has experienced success at both the double-A and triple-A levels. He's also reportedly very tough on left-handers which should interest teams looking for a situational guy in the bullpen. Why the Indians chose to sign and protect Jose Santiago instead of Caraccioli is a mystery to me.

MAICER IZTURIS
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
AKR     .277 .326 .379 67 253 70 12 7 0 32 17 28 8 4
KIN     .262 .332 .339 58 233 79 13 1 1 30 24 26 24 6

Izturis falls into the Hector Luna category of possible draftees in that he's solid defensively with good speed. He also has good bloodlines as his brother is a shortstop with the Dodgers. I'm still not that sold on his draftability, sub .700 OPS and a small frame (5'8, 155) don't project well offensively, but the raw tools are there.

MARSHALL MCDOUGALL
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
AKR     .389 .542 .667   7 18   7 2 0 1   4 6 2 0 0
MID     .303 .374 .486 84 323 98 22 5 9 56 38 57 7 4
MVS     .200 .333 .200   2   5   1 0 0 0   0 1 1 0 0
AFL     .259 .333 .370   7 27   7 3 0 0   4 3 5 0 0

The Indians have a huge hole at 3B at the major league level. They acquired McDougall for Ricardo Rincon at the trade deadline. McDougall posted a .860 OPS in double-A and has decent pop with good plate discipline. He plays third base. He can also play other positions. With all the above, why did the Indians not protect him on the 40-man roster? Do they have that much confidence in Jhonny Peralta making the switch to third base this year? Do they have that much confidence in Corey Smith having a breakout season in double-A this year? Or do they have that little confidence in McDougall developing into a major league third basemen? I suspect it's probably a little of all the above but the exclusion of McDougall from the 40 is certainly a head-scratcher. Perhaps they are betting that his less than stellar performance in the AFL and his nagging injuries last season will dissuade teams from selecting him. I'm not so sure that's going to work.

MATT WHITE
CLASS W-L ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   0-0 4.76 7 1 0 17.0 23 13 9 1   2 6 12
AKR    6-2 3.93 27 11 1 89.1 97 42 39 9   0 39 63
DWL    0-0 3.00 17 0 4 18.0 16 8 6 0   0 5 22

White is my darkhorse candidate to be selected.    Moved to the bullpen this summer after four years as a starter, he pitched well as a reliever for the Aeros and even better for Aguiles in winterball. Being a left-hander with a live arm always merits interest and if a team has good scouting reports on him from the winter, I would not be surprised to see them take a flyer and bring him in for a closer look this spring.

RYAN LARSON
CLASS W-L   ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
BUFF   0-0 10.80 1 0 0 1.2 3 2 2 1   0 1 1
AKR    2-3 1.78 32 0 8 35.1 37 10 7 3   1 6 30
KIN    1-3 3.05 23 0 8 38.1 35 14 13 3   1 15 33
AFL    3-0 4.05 17 0 1 20.0 14 9 9 4   1 6 19

Larson is another reliever who may benefit from his winterball experience. The 4.05 ERA and four dingers allowed are not all that impressive, but the K:BB, K:IP, and H:IP certainly are. I don't expect Larson to be selected but I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if it happened either.

SHANE WALLACE
CLASS W-L   ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
KIN    3-4 4.21 9 9 0 51.1 54 28 24 1   3 28 24
MVS    2-2 3.42 5 5 0 26.1 31 12 10 3   4 6 15

Like Denney and Brown, Wallace is a year removed from major surgery but he's simply too far away from the majors to be a serious candidate to be drafted at this point in his career.

SCOTT PRATT
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
BUFF    .250 .286 .300   4 20   5 1 0 0   3 1 2 0 1
AKR     .267 .363 .437 115 446 119 17 4 17 54 62 88 19 4
VWL     .197 .307 .263 23 76 15 1 2 0   4 11 19 1 0

Pratt had a very solid season for the Aeros, finally displaying the offensive potential the Indians envisioned when they made him their third round pick in 1998. Unfortunately, Pratt was 25 and in his third full season at double-A. He's got some value with his versatility, decent pop, and decent speed, but I think most teams have a middle-age prospect with those same skills who is learning to play all over the place somewhere in their system.   He'll be an interesting minor league free-agent in a few years but I don't think he's that attractive as a Rule 5 pick.

ZACH SORENSEN
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
BUFF    .264 .300 .389 120 445 120 12 12 7 54 24 72 13 6

See Scott Pratt. Interesting minor league free-agent, not so attractive as a Rule 5 pick. You better be a defensive whiz (Johnny Mac) to be considered a prospect with a sub .700 OPS in triple-A.

ALEX REQUENA
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB   K SB CS
KIN     .230 .312 .283 128 512 118 13 4 2 21 57 132 72 19

Tremendous speed. Unfortunately, it's difficult to take advantage of it when you're only getting on base 31% of the time and have a sub .300 slugging percentage. His speed alone gives value as a pinchrunner but his other skills are so raw that he's undraftable in my opinion.

WILY TAVERAS
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
COL     .265 .385 .355 85 313 83 14 1 4 27 45 68 54 12

A level behind Requena but more skilled offensively (.385 OBP) and defensively. Still, is a team going to guarantee a season-long roster spot to a player who is three levels from the major leagues? Probably not.

MINOR LEAGUE DRAFT
The minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft differs from the major league portion in that the players selected do not have to be kept at a certain level for an entire season. The cost of drafting a player is also different, $12,000 in the triple-A phase, and $4,000 in the double-A phase. Only players at the double-A level or lower are eligible for the triple-A phase and only players at the single-A level or lower are eligible for the double-A phase.   Typically, these phases of the draft are used to fill organizational needs at the lower levels (catchers, middle infielders, etc.) and not used as a means of acquiring top prospects.   Following is a list of Indians prospects who are eligible to be selected and may draw interest as organizational fillers.

AQUILES PINALES
CLASS W-L   ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
KIN    3-4 2.67 48 0 14 60.2 48 23 18 4   3 20 63
DOM    0-1 0.96 11 0 0 18.2 10 3 2 0   0 4 15

Pinales is old (28) so his numbers at Kinston should be taken with a grain of salt. But he still throws in the mid-90s and those winterball numbers are impressive. He could be an interesting filler for a team that has an opening or two in the bullpen in the low-to-mid minors.

JORGE MORENO
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
KIN     .206 .283 .307 82 267 55 8 5 3 20 24 75 2 1

Moreno hasn't done much with the Indians, but he's toolsy and that might be worth a look from a team in need of outfielders in the low minors.

SHANE ARTHURS
CLASS W-L   ERA G GS SV   IP H ER R HR HBP BB K
FSL   0-10 5.13 23 10 0 72.0 87 55 41 1   7 40 42
COL    1-1 1.53 6 1 0 17.2 7 3 3 1   3 2 15

Arthurs pitched extremely well after being acquired by the Indians mid-season and a subsequent move to the bullpen. He was dropped a level (high-A to low-A) and he was old for the Sally League, but he does have a power arm which could play extremely well in the late innings. He's one of my sleeper breakout candidates for next year and I think he could an interesting selection for a team with a few open bullpen spots in their system.

TYLER MINGES
CLASS     BA OBP SLG   G AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS
KIN     .231 .292 .429 113 394 91 20 5 16 58 32 71 8 10

See Jorge Moreno, although Minges has put up better numbers.

Posted on 12/14/2002

December 13, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Friday, December 13

The computer is working again, I'm back from a one day trip to the Windy City, and the Winter Meetings are upon us. Methinks the Indians will be slightly less active than last year, when they kicked off the meetings with the Roberto Alomar deal, but you never know what can happen when all thirty teams and a mess of agents get together. At a minimum, the Indians should be heavily involved in the Rule 5 draft on Monday as they're a likely target for teams looking to pickup prospects on the cheap. Before I delve further into the winter meetings (and that may come in a separate e-mail), here's a recap of the Indians news and notes from the previous week.

But before I get into that, as an FYI to the newsletter subscribers, while there were no newsletters sent out this past week, I was blogging on the CIR website so don't forget to check there if you haven't heard from me in awhile. Sometimes it's easier (like when my home PC is down) to simply blog on the website instead of sending out complete newsletters.

Also, don't forget that today is the last day for free shipping at Amazon.com on large purchases. If you plan on doing any holiday shopping at amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you would enter Amazon through the link on the CIR website which, in turn, earns the CIR a small referral fee. Amazon is also now part of Upromise for those that are part of that particular college savings program so you can help out two causes with one purchase at no extra cost to yourself by shopping at amazon this holiday season.

Baseball America released their list of the Indians Top 10 Prospects this week. Subscribers can read analysis on the entire top 10, non-subscribers are teased with the top prospect only.

1) Brandon Phillips
2) Victor Martinez
3) Cliff Lee
4) Jeremy Guthrie
5) Travis Hafner
6) Ricardo Rodriguez
7) Grady Sizemore
8) Billy Traber
9) Brian Tallet
10) Jason Davis

The most impressive aspect of the list is who was left off: Francisco Cruceta, Matt Whitney, Travis Foley, Jhonny Peralta, JD Martin, Corey Smith, Luis Garcia, etc. From my prediction (on the website), I had seven of the 10 players picked correctly. BA snuck Travis Hafner in on me (I did not think they would update so quickly) and they had Brian Tallet and Jason Davis (interesting) while I had Cruceta, Smith, and Peralta. Aside from Jeremy Guthrie and Grady Sizemore, the list leans heavily towards the more advanced prospects and I suspect that if the case between two prospects was close, the nod went to the more advanced player which is plausible enough.

Brandon Phillips was also ranked as the number three prospect in the Arizona Fall League by Baseball America. The link is for subscribers only.

Jim Ingraham, Indians beat writer for the Lorain Journal and author of BA's top 10 list, participated in an online chat yesterday discussing the list. You can read the chat transcript here.

More on the Hafner and Myette deal. Baseball America accuses Mark Shapiro of grand theft slugger and offers this quote from an AL scout: "He's an animal. He had the best strike-zone judgment I saw all year. He stays inside the ball well, and his pull power will come.".

Peter Gammons writes in his Diamond Notes column that one AL General Manager says the Hafner trade is a "is a great trade for Cleveland. For where they are building, he can be a very productive hitter. We wanted him badly." Who could that GM be? My speculation is on either young Boston GM Theo Epstein or Oakland GM Billy Beane.

The Indians will pay a portion of Einar Diaz's 2003 contract with the reported amount in the $700-750k range. That number simply represents the difference between Einar Diaz's salary ($1.75 mil) and Travis Hafner's salary ($300k) with each side paying half (or close to it).

The Indians will receive the 18th pick in the June draft (not the 16th as I originally reported) along with a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds as compensation for losing Jim Thome as a free-agent. The NL drafts in the even-numbered slots next season and the Phillies had the 9th worst record in the N.L. The Tribe will also have the 11th pick (their own) in the first round.

More from Gammons' Diamond Notes as he reports that the Devil Rays offered first basemen Steve Cox to the Indians for John McDonald prior to the Hafner trade going down. Gammons notes that the Indians turned down the deal because they did not want to deal McDonald but I think it also has to do with the fact that Cox has three full seasons in the big leagues and would be heading for a big bump in pay ($1-$1.5 million estimate) after three decent/mediocre seasons in the bigs. Cox was once an intriguing prospect but he's no longer young (28) and has had two mediocre seasons at the plate (.750, .727 OPS) and paying that kind of a money for what is essentially a non-prospect and non-future all-star is not something that would be in the best interest of the Indians. It actually sounds like something the Brewers or Royals might do. Anyway, while Cox for McDonald may be a fair deal in terms of the talent involved, I'm glad the Indians realized it didn't make sense for this organization at this point in time. Besides, Hafner is a better player who just happens to be younger and cheaper. Cox, incidentally, was sold to the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japan Central League where he'll make a reported $2.4 million annually over the next three years.

Gammons also notes that the Indians had contacted Fred McGriff as a possible replacement for Jim Thome before the Hafner trade. Does anyone realize that McGriff is only 22 homeruns away from 500 for this career?

John Sickels has some favorable things to say about Ricardo Rodriguez in his Down on the Farm column on espn.com. Sickels compares Rodriguez to Pedro Astacio and projects him as a solid #2 starter. Good stuff.

Two former Indians will attempt to resurrect their career in San Diego as Jaret Wright and Brady Anderson signed contracts with the Padres. Wright's is a one year deal for $725k while Anderson's is a minor league deal that includes an invitation to spring training. If Anderson makes the big league club, he'll reportedly receive $500k.

The Indians offered arbitration to Terry Mulholland, Dave Burba, and Jim Thome while declining to offer arbitration to Lee Stevens, Charles Nagy, and Eddie Perez. Thome was simply a procedural issue to ensure the Indians receive draft picks as compensation for his signing with the Phillies. Burba and Mulholland have until December 19 to accept or reject arbitration and they can continue to negotiate a new contract with the Indians through January 8. If they don't sign with the Indians by then, they would not be able to return to the Indians until May 1.

Why would the Indians offer arbitration to Burba and Mulholland? That's a good question. I've googled until I can't google anymore and I still can't find the 2002-03 Elias Rankings, which breakdown the free-agents into Type A, B, and C players for compensation, anywhere online. I'm not sure whether or not this is the case, but offering arbitration to Burba and Mulholland would entitle the Tribe to compensation if either of those two are Type C (most likely ranking) free-agents. You would have to assume that the Indians are also not worried about paying either of them an exorbitant amount of money should they accept the offer of arbitration. At least, let's hope that is the case. This is probably the main reason why they elected to not offer arbitration to Lee Stevens, out of fear he would accept and the arbitrator would award Stevens a decent amount of jack for little production. If anyone has those rankings or knows of a link to them, I would appreciate it if you could forward them to me. Thanks!

Heath Murray signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Chuck Finley is reportedly close to resigning with the Cardinals for a 1 year, $8 million contract.

Enrique Wilson signed a 1 year, $700k contract with the Yankees.

The Beacon Journal is reporting that the Indians and Karim Garcia are close to agreeing on a 1 year, $1 million contract for the 2003 season.

Lorain County is in the very early stages of developing plans to lure a minor league team to the area according to the Lorain Journal.

Baseball Reference has been updated with statistics from the 2002 season. Another site that has revamped its stats offering is Sports-Wired which, as far as I know, is the only site that lists complete major and minor league stats for individual players. It's a nice feature and you'll see that I've started to reference their data in some of the links above.

Posted on 12/13/2002

December 11, 2002

BA CHAT
Baseball America will host a chat with Jim Ingraham, Tribe beat writer for the Lorain Journal and author of BA's top 10 Indians prospect list, this afternoon. The exact time is not on the BA site but chats like this usually start at 3:00 PM ET

Posted on 12/11/2002

BA TOP 10 PROSPECTS
Baseball America has released their list of the Indians Top 10 Prospects. Subscribers can read analysis on the entire top 10, non-subscribers are teased with the top prospect only.

1) Brandon Phillips
2) Victor Martinez
3) Cliff Lee
4) Jeremy Guthrie
5) Travis Hafner
6) Ricardo Rodriguez
7) Grady Sizemore
8) Billy Traber
9) Brian Tallet
10) Jason Davis

The most impressive aspect of the list is who was left off: Francisco Cruceta, Matt Whitney, Travis Foley, Jhonny Peralta, JD Martin, Corey Smith, Luis Garcia, etc. From my prediction yesterday, I had seven of the 10 players picked correctly. BA snuck Travis Hafner in on me (which I did not expect) and they had Brian Tallet and Jason Davis (interesting) while I had Cruceta, Smith, and Peralta. More on this tomorrow (hopefully). We've been having computer problems at home that have rendered our PC useless for the last few days but it should be resolved this afternoon.

Posted on 12/11/2002

December 10, 2002

BA TOP 10 PROSPECTS
Baseball America will release the Indians top 10 prospects tomorrow. Here's my prediction on how it will look.

1) Brandon Phillips
2) Victor Martinez
3) Cliff Lee
4) Grady Sizemore
5) Ricardo Rodriguez
6) Francisco Cruceta
7) Jeremy Guthrie
8) Billy Traber
9) Corey Smith
10) Jhonny Peralta

Keep in mind, this is not necessarily my ranking, just how I think BA's list will look. Back tomorrow with a daily report.

Posted on 12/10/2002

December 09, 2002

FIVE FOR ONE
Twenty years ago today, the Indians and Phillies rocked the baseball winter meetings with the infamous "five for one" swap of Von Hayes for Julio Franco, Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jerry Willard, and Jay Baller. I remember listening to Pete Frankling break the news of the trade like it was yesterday.

Posted on 12/09/2002

December 06, 2002

TRAVIS HAFNER UPDATE
From the excellent Newberg Report (12/4).....
And Travis Hafner, spanking Puerto Rican League pitching to the tune of .319/.433/.514, has returned stateside, reportedly due to recurrent discomfort in his right wrist. While reports are conflicting as to whether he might need a third surgery (he has had the wrist operated on twice in the last 20 months), this development could thwart any possible trade that Texas had in the works involving the 25-year-old first baseman. Perhaps Hafner was simply returning stateside so he could be checked out by the Indians team doctors. Either way, let's hope they did a thorough evaluation of that wrist.

Posted on 12/06/2002

TRADE UPDATE
The Indians official website is reporting that the Einar Diaz, Ryan Drese for Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette trade is official. The Rangers have called a press conference for 4:00 PM ET. I haven't heard anything about the Indians. Once again, this is a good deal for the Tribe.

Posted on 12/06/2002

[BigBody]

Posted on 12/06/2002

[BigBody]

Posted on 12/06/2002

December 05, 2002

[BigBody]

Posted on 12/05/2002

[BigBody]

Posted on 12/05/2002

December 04, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Wednesday, December 4

Yesterday, I was sick to my stomach (literally). Although I know it had nothing to do with Jim Thome, it was still a strange coincidence. Anyway, I feel much better today but I'm still not 100% so the next CIR will be posted sometime on Thursday.

Take care,
Joe.

Posted on 12/04/2002

December 02, 2002

THOME UPDATE
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Jim Thome has accepted the Phillies offer of a guaranteed $85 million over 6 years. An official announcement is not expected until tomorrow at the earliest because Thome must first pass a physical. Jayson Stark of ESPN is also confirming the report with Peter Gammons adding that as of 2:00 this afternoon, the Indians had still not been informed of Thome's decision. More to come, including "what's next?", in the CIR tomorrow.

Posted on 12/02/2002

November 28, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Thursday, November 28

THE THANKSGIVING SONG
(with apologies to Adam Sandler)

Love to eat turkey
Love to eat tur-r-r-keyyyyy

Love to eat turkey cuz it's good
with Stadium Mustard like a Tribe fan should
cuz its turkey
to eat
so good

Turkey for me, turkey for you
the New York Yankees we love to boo
Love to eat the turkey at the table
why are all the tribe games shown on cable
Eat the turkey all night long
what the heck is up with this stupid song
Turkey-turkey doo, turkey-turkey that
with the bases loaded, I want Tabler at the bat

Thanksgiving......is a special night
Jim Thome.....resigning would be DY-NO-MITE
That's right

Turkey with gravey and the cranberries
can't believe David Justice divorced Halle Berry
Turkey for you and turkey for me
the handsomest Indian was Brook Jacoby (Hi Jeff)

OOOOO white meat and dark meat
you just can't lose
Slider fell off the bullpen and he got a bruise
Turkey in the oven and the buns in the toaster
I'll neva take down my Joe Charboneau poster

Wrap the turkey up in aluminum foil
Gaylord Perry used to doctor the ball with baby oil
Turkey and sweet potato pie
Oscar Gamble's afro was oh so high

OOOOO turkey for the girls and turkey for the boys
Jacobs Field crowds make lots of noise
Gobble gobble goo and gobble gobble giggle
I remember when beer only cost two nickels

OOOOH, I love turkey on Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Posted on 11/28/2002

November 27, 2002

THOME UPDATE
According to ESPN, the Indians submitted a revised offer to Jim Thome this afternoon after Pat Rooney approached the Indians about guaranteeing a 6th year in the contract to match the Phillies offer in length. While the Indians did not guarantee the 6th year in the revised offer, it is believed that they revised the vesting language to make it much easier for Thome to meet the statistical criteria that would automatically activate, or pick up, the option year. It's now expected that Thome will take the weekend to make his decision and it's anybody's guess if this latest proposal will result in a revised offer from the Phillies and/or the Indians in another counter. Stay tuned, but this news bodes well for the Indians as they are very much in the game.

Posted on 11/27/2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Wednesday, November 27

And still we wait.

While Jim Thome remained hunkered down in his Aurora compound (always wanted to use the term "compound"), reports began to leak out yesterday regarding the Indians and Phillies final offers that were presented to Pat Rooney on Monday.

The Philadelphia fishwraps are reporting that the Phillies revised offer is actually in the $85-88 million range for 6 years guaranteed instead of the $90-95 million range as was initially reported. This lowers the annual salary into the $14.1-14.6 million range which is still significantly greater than the Indians offer of $12 million annually.

The Philly papers are also reporting that the Indians offer did come in at a guaranteed $60 million over 5 years but also included incentives tied into attendance figures as well as some honorary gestures which would most likely include the "Thome Terrace" designation we have heard bandied about over the past month.

Both offers include a vested option for the final year, which for the Indians would be the 6th year (2008) of the contract and for the Phillies, year seven (2009). A vested option is neither a club option nor a player option but, rather, an option that is automatically picked up if the player reaches certain statistical levels. What exactly those levels are have not been revealed and depending on how high or low they are set, could go a long way towards basically making the extra year guaranteed as long as Thome stays healthy. This could be something the Indians are working on as you'll read below.

Both teams talked with Pat Rooney yesterday, although both clubs stated that they are no longer discussing guaranteed money. Mark Shapiro indicated that he has talked with Rooney five or six times since the Indians final offer was made and that he also attempted to reach Thome yesterday and left a message saying (I'll paraphrase here) that it was an honor to have watching him play for the Indians, it'll be an honor watching him player wherever he signs next year, and if he needs any questions answered to give Shapiro a call.

The infamous "baseball sources" who churn the rumor mill also report that Rooney is pushing Thome to sign with the Phillies but that Jim is still wrestling with the strong ties to Cleveland he has developed over 12 seasons.

The most interesting development in my mind yesterday was the statement that reads "we are no longer discussing guaranteed money". I find it interesting that the distinction was made between guaranteed money and just plain old money and that leads me to believe the Indians are trying to find ways to load enough reachable incentives into the deal to bring them close enough to the Phillies offer that Thome can accept it and not lose face within the players union (and himself) for leaving $20-30 million dollars on the table. This thought was echoed in newspaper and web reports this morning as there are rumors floating around that the Indians are doing exactly that as well as working on different types of payment methods which may mean deferred (or removal of deferred) monies.

While I said yesterday, and still somewhat believe, that the longer a decision is delayed the less likely it will be that Thome resigns with the Indians, it is also possible that a delay could work in the Indians favor and indicate that Thome is stalling to give the Indians every last opportunity to come close enough to the Phillies offer to get him to stay. It's all speculation at this point but I think I am a little more optimistic this afternoon than I was yesterday. Although, if I was a betting man, I would still say that the Phillies have the upper hand.

Both clubs seem to think that a decision will be made sometime today although an official announcement will not be made until next week once Thome passes a physical and the exact contractual language is hammered out.

One rumor from last night that turned out not to be true was the Orioles coming in with a surprise offer on Monday that forced the Phillies to submit a higher offer with a guaranteed 6th year. Otherwise, they were bidding against their own high offer, or so the thinking went. The Baltimore Sun, however, reports today that while the O's had numerous conversations with Pat Rooney they chose not to make an offer because they believed that Thome was going to remain with the Indians and there was no sense in jacking up the price for the Indians. Not to mention they help to keep the overall market depressed and lower the expectations of other big-name free-agents this year and into the future which works in the Orioles best interests.

In other Tribe news, Eric Wedge's coaching staff was announced as follows: Buddy Bell (Bench Coach), Eddie Murray (Hitting Coach), Jeff Datz (1st Base and Organizational Coach), Mike Brown (Pitching Coach), Luis Isaac (Bullpen Coach), and Joel Skinner (3rd Base Coach). Bell moves from the front office to the bench, Datz moves from the bench to the 1st base coaches box, and Robby Thompson moves from the 1st base box to another organization.

The CIR will be taking the Thanksgiving holiday off except for Jim Thome updates as warranted. Have a great holiday everyone!!

And don't forget, if you choose not to battle the hordes at the mall over the weekend, you can always enter Amazon.com through the link on the CIR website and do all your holiday shopping from home while helping to support your favorite Indians website which receives a small referral fee for every purchase you make. Thanks again for your continued support!

Posted on 11/27/2002

November 26, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Tuesday, November 26

And now we wait.

The Indians made their final contract proposal yesterday to Jim Thome via e-mail. The Phillies sent team president David Montgomery, general manager Ed Wade, and assistant general manager Ruben Amaro to Pat Rooney's offices in Northwood, IL (suburb of Chicago) to hand-deliver their final proposal in a three hour face-to-face meeting with Thome and his agent. The Philly papers did note that Thome was not present for all three hours as he had to drive back home to Aurora last night. Anyone see a Hummer heading east on I-90 yesterday?

The Indians reportedly upped their offer to a guaranteed $60 million over 5 years with a club option for the 6th that could push the total to $72 million over 6 years. This represents a $1 million increase along with a guaranteed 5th year compared to the reported original offer of $44 million over 4 years. There is no word yet on whether incentives will significantly increase the value of the offer. Mark Shapiro was quoted as saying that the offer "was a significant increase in commitment" and that the Dolans "surprised me a little knowing what our limits are". He also indicated that if the Indians do resign Thome and attendance dips into the 2 million range as anticipated, the Indians will have a significant operationing loss next season.

The Phillies then delivered a revised offer of a reportedly guaranteed $90 million over 6 years with a club option for the 7th that could push the total to $110 million over seven years. While the base salary figure remains the same, the guaranteed 6th year at $15 million is extremely substantial since Thome will be 37 entering the 2008 season and it's unlikely he could command that much on the open market if he was entering the free-agent pool. Additional reports note that the offer could also be as high as $95 million over 6 years. This comes on the heels of the Phillies signing of third basemen David Bell to a 4-year/$17 million contract that some sources claim as indicative of Thome also heading east.

Everyone involved in the process says that Thome wants to make his decision ASAP and it sounds like it could happen as soon as tomorrow. From my standpoint, the longer it drags out, the worse it looks for the Indians. Thome must have some dollar figure in his head that the Indians have to come close to in order for him to forego the larger dollars from Philadelphia and stay in Cleveland. With Mark Shapiro basically saying that this is a "take it or leave it" offer, Thome should now have all the information he needs to make his decision. If the Tribe has hit that number, you would think he could notify both teams today and the Indians could schedule a press conference for tomorrow and kick off their single-ticket sales on Friday with a big bang. If we don't hear anything from Thome in the next few days, that would lead me to believe that Pat Rooney is working out the fine points with the Phillies and he's headed out of the town.

One important factor to keep in mind is the enormous pressure the players union is most likely placing on Thome to accept the larger offer from the Phillies. With the market already depressed, Thome could cost his fellow players millions by setting a new salary benchmark for players of his caliber. I'm not sure how closely Thome associates himself with the Union but don't discount how much of a factor this could play in his decision-making process.

$60 million over 5 years and a high comfort level
versus
$90 million over 6 years and the unknown

That must have been a heck of a ride home to Aurora last night.

The Indians officially removed Travis Fryman from the 40-man roster yesterday according to the Lorain Journal, reducing the count to 39 players. I still haven't seen any reasoning for why this wasn't done before rosters had to be finalized for the Rule 5 Draft in December but, according to the Canton Repository, the Indians will be allowed to protect another player by adding him to the roster prior to the Rule 5 draft.

Bob Wickman is scheduled to have right elbow reconstruction surgery on December 6. The operation will be performed by Angels team doctor Dr. Lewis Yocum and Wickman is expected to miss the entire 2003 season.

Chad Allen signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins. Former Indian minor leaguer Mark Budzinski signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Russ Branyan will undergo shoulder surgery on December 3 and is expected to be out for at least four months. He was hitting .205 in 14 games for Licey in the Dominican Winter League when he injured his shoulder.

P.S. My gut says that Thome is gone. $30-35 million is too much money to leave on the table no matter how much you love a city.

Posted on 11/26/2002

November 23, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Saturday, November 23

More news and notes....

The Indians sold right-hander Roy Smith to the Oakland A's for cash last week to free up a roster spot on the 40. Smith is a side-armer who was signed by the Tribe out of the independent leagues after the 1999 season. He pitched well for Kinston and Akron in 2000 and then really burst onto the scene in 2001 by posting a 2.19 ERA and 1.189 WHIP at Buffalo in 74 innings. Mixed in with those numbers were a less scintillating 6.06 ERA accumulated at the big league level in 16-1/3 innings. Smith did not fare as well this past season, posting a decent 3.84 ERA in 70-1/3 innings in triple-A after a rough start and only seeing 6 innings of September mop-up duty with the Tribe. To hear the Indians tell it, Smith's problems in the big leagues lied in the fact that his velocity would sit in the low 90s in Buffalo but only 87-88 mph when promoted to the big leagues. When he was sent back to triple-A, he would start throwing in the low 90s again. The Indians have a lot of potential setup/long relief guys so I'm not going to lose too much sleep over the loss of Roy Smith but be aware that the A's have gotten some nice work from fellow submariner Chad Bradford over the last two seasons and it would not surprise me at all if they can do the same with Smith. I still like him as a deep, deep sleeper for vulture wins next year.

The Indians made another minor trade back on October 29 when they acquired minor league catcher Ben Margalski from the Phillies. I haven't seen anything official but I suspect this is the PTBNL from the spring training deal of catcher Edgar Cruz to the Phils. Margalski is a 23 year old who was the Phillies 16th round pick in 2001 out of Southwest Missouri State. He was also drafted by the Angels in the 35th round out of high school in 1998. Jeff Manto (2002 manager) calls him the best defensive catcher in the South Atlantic League and praises his ability to call a game which is a good thing considering he has a lifetime .215 batting average and .656 OPS covering 396 at-bats over two seasons. Sounds like an organizational type backstop player to me but, at a minimum, he should provide solid defense and call a good game for the young pitchers in Eastlake or Kinston so that's a plus.

Ellis Burks had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

Dave Maurer had Tommy John surgery last month. He'll be out awhile.

Bill Selby broke his left hand sliding into home plate in Mexico and is done for the winter. Surgery is not required, he'll be in a cast for the next few weeks, and he should be able to start swinging a bat in the next 3-4 weeks. He's expected to be 100% for the start of spring training in February.

WINTERBALL UPDATE
The Arizona Fall League regular is complete with the championship game scheduled for this weekend. No Indian player really distinguished themselves satistically but there were some interesting developments worth noting. Chief among them was the professional debut of 2002 1st round pick Jeremy Guthrie who struck out 12 AFL hitters in 9-1/3 innings, including a scoreless three inning stint in his second-to-last start. Eric Crozier made some plays in the outfield as he seeks to expand his versatility. He also demonstrated some nice patience at the plate (15 walks in 76 at-bats) despite struggling with a .237 batting average. Brandon Phillips flashed his athleticism but showed signs he still has some work to do in terms of developing into a baseball player. Ryan Larson started slow but finished strong and ended up striking out 19 in 20 innings and Jhonny Peralta struggled at the plate but gained valuable experience at third base as did Brandon Phillips at second which is what the AFL is all out.

As an FYI, the following stats come directly from the Indians and it's interesting to note that they continue to include Mike Spiegel on the list despite reports he had signed with Detroit as a minor league free-agent.

PLAYER                AVG  G  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS  SLG  OBP 

Canizalez, Jose (VZ) .250 17  24  6  6  0  0  0   1  0  6  0  0 .250 .250  

Crisp, Coc (DR)      .333  7  24  3  8  1  0  0   4  2  6  2  0 .375 .385

Crozier, E. (AZ)     .237 23  76 17 18  3  0  3   9 15 27  1  1 .395 .359

Luderer, Brian  (AZ) .350 12  40  6 14  4  0  0   6  3  4  1  0 .450 .386

Malave, Dennis (VZ)  .235 15  17  1  4  5  1  0   0  0  3  2  0 .294 .278 

Marin, Sergio (VZ)   .182 17  11  3  2  0  1  0   1  1  2  2  1 .364 .250

McDougall, M.(AZ)    .259  7  27  6  7  3  0  0   4  3  5  0  0 .370 .333

Peralta, John (AZ)   .255 37 137 15 35  8  1  0  14  9 31  0  2 .328 .299

Phillips, Brandon(AZ).238 32 122 18 29  6  1  4  20 14 24  5  4 .402 .321

Pratt, Scott (VZ)    .197 23  76 11 15  1  2  0   4 11 19  1  0 .263 .307

Requena, Alex (VZ)   .000 11   7  2  0  0  0  0   0  1  3  0  1 .000 .125

Selby, Bill (MEX)    .282 19  78  6 22  7  0  1  11  5 14  3  1 .410 .321 

Snyder, Earl (DR)    .088 10  34  0  3  0  0  0   0  2 12  0  0 .088 .139 

                                                                                      

PITCHER                W-L   ERA  G GS CG SHO SV   IP  H  R ER HR HB BB SO  

Alvarado, Carlos (VZ) 0- 0  6.75  5  0  0   0  0  1.1  2  2  1  0  0  3  1 

Alvarez, Oscar (VZ)   1- 4  3.07  7  5  0   0  0 29.1 30 11 10  2  3 12 20  

Cabrera, Fernando (PR)0- 0  4.22  5  0  0   0  0 10.2 14 10  5  1  1  6 10  

Caraccioli, Lance(AZ) 1- 2  3.91  9  6  0   0  1 25.1 33 18 11  1  1  5 20 

Guthrie, Jeremy (AZ)  0- 1  3.86  4  4  0   0  0  9.1 14  4  4  0  2  3 12 

Herrera, Alex (VZ)    0- 0  2.38 11  0  0   0  5 11.1  8  3  3  1  0  5 19 

Larson, Ryan (AZ)     3- 0  4.05 17  0  0   0  1 20.0 14  9  9  4  1  6 19 

Mendoza, Marcos (AZ)  1- 1  7.45  9  0  0   0  0  9.2 13  8  8  0  0  4  4 

Neil, Dan (AZ)        1- 2  8.31 14  0  0   0  1 17.1 24 18 16  4  1 12  9 

Spiegel, Mike (DR)    0- 0  7.11  7  0  0   0  0  6.1 12  8  5  0  0  6  4  

Pinales, Aquiles (DR) 0- 0  0.00  6  0  0   0  0  9.2  4  0  0  0  0  2  8  

Vargas, Jose (DR)     2- 1  4.20 12  0  0   0  4 15.0 13  7  7  0  0  3 17  

White, Matt (DR)      0- 0  2.63 13  0  0   0  3 13.2 10  6  4  0  0  3 16

Note that Fernando Cabrera continues to work out of the bullpen, Alex Herrera appears to be bouncing back from a disappointing season, striking out 19 in 11-1/3 innings, and Matt White looks like he is taking to the bullpen well as he's struck out 16 in 13-2/3 innings. Between Herrera, White, Carl Sadler, Lance Caraccioli, Brian Tallet, and Marcos Mendoza, the Indians have some interesting left-handed options to evaluate for the bullpen over the next 1-2 years.

Baseball America gave the Indians a thumbs-up in their 2002 Draft Report card. Ben Francisco (.349-3-23, 22 SBs), Keith Ramsey (71-10 K/IP in 62 IPs, 2.04 ERA), and Shea Douglas (51-10 K/IP in 35 IPs, 1.29 ERA) were noted as having the best pro debut. Francisco was rated as the best athlete with Nathan Panther listed as "intriguing". Micah Schilling was compared to Will Clark and noted as the best pure hitter. Jason Cooper was listed as having the best raw power while Matt Whitney was the runner-up for both raw power and pure hitter (not a bad combo, huh?). Panther was noted as the fastest runner while Pat Osborn was the best defensive player. On the mound, Michael Hernandez's power slider earned him best breaking ball honors while Jeremy Guthrie has the best fastball. Guthrie is listed as the closest to the major leagues while Panther was noted as the best late-round pick due to his high ceiling.

Jim Thome won the American League Babe Ruth Award, which is Baseball Immortals version of the AL MVP. Thome led the AL in RCAA by a comfortable 88-75 edge over Jason Giambi. He also led the AL in OPS (1.122), RC (152--tied for the lead), HR/100 OUTS
(14.99), HR/100 PA (8.48), HR/100 AB (10.83), BB (122), SLG (.677), OWP
(.829), RC/G (11.83), ISO (.373), SEC (.625), TA (1.323) and BPA (.728),
and finished 2nd in OBA (.445), HR (52) and IBB (18--tied). In short, he had a hell of a year.

Former Indian Alex Cole was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to possess and intent to distribute heroin. Cole burst onto the baseball scene in 1990 when he hit .300 and stole 43 bases in 61 games for the Indians which resulted in the Tribe's ill-fated move to move back the fences for the 1991 season. It also earned him a "Alex Cole Day" from then-Mayor Mike White. My, how times have changed for Mr. Cole.

Posted on 11/23/2002

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