Cleveland Indians Report

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

November 22, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Friday, November 22
Special E-Commerce Edition

Hi Everyone,

With the holidays right around the corner, if you're anything like me, your attention is starting to drift towards the feats of strength you'll be performing during your family's Festivus celebration. Not to mention the airing of grievances. Unfortunately, it also means it's time to start thinking about holiday shopping and if you plan on visiting Amazon.com for your gift-buying needs, please consider getting there via the link on the CIR website in the top left corner of the home page. It's simply a search box that links directly into the Amazon site but any purchases that you make after entering Amazon through the CIR gateway results in a small referral fee for CIR, Inc.

Here's an example. Let's say you enter www.amazon.com into your browser and then spend $50 on books and CDs for your family and friends. $50 goes to Amazon and your gifts are shipped out. However, if you were to first go to the CIR website, click the link to amazon.com, and then purchase your $50 of books and CDs, it would still cost you $50 but the CIR would receive a $2.50 referral fee from Amazon since you entered their site via the CIR gateway.

It's fairly simple and a really nice program setup by Amazon to improve their business while helping out the little guys. It's also programs like this that help to keep the CIR free of charge and diapers on James and Kelley's bottoms. Again, please note that the referral fee is paid by Amazon and is at NO ADDITIONAL COST to you. So if you're headed to Amazon to do some shopping, why not enter via the CIR and help support your favorite Indians website? Thanks again for your continued support.

Best Regards,
Joe.

Posted on 11/22/2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Friday, November 22

The Indians announced their minor league managerial staff yesterday. Marty Brown was hired to replace Eric Wedge at triple-A Buffalo after spending the last six seasons in the Pirates organization, including the last two managing the triple-A Nashville Sounds which he led to a 72-71 record and a 3rd place finish in the PCL's East Division last season. Before entering the coaching ranks, Brown had three cups of coffee in the big leagues as a third basemen/utility infielder with the Reds and Orioles between 1988 and 1990.   Carl Willis returns as the Bisons pitching coach and Carlos Garcia returns as the hitting instructor.

Brad Komminsk and his entire coaching staff (Terry Clark, Pitching Coach; Mike Sarbaugh, Coach; Todd Tomczyk, Trainer) will return to Akron for the 2003 season. This will be Komminsk's 5th season managing in the Indians system and 2nd with the Aeros at the double-A level.

Torey Lovullo has been promoted a level and will take over the managerial helm in Kinston.   He really did a great job last season in taking over a young Columbus team, that by the Indians own admission was not geared to be a contender, and taking it to the Sally League Championship series. Steve Lyons (pitching coach) and Lou Frazier (hitting coach and Daber favorite) will follow Lovullo to North Carolina.

Luis Rivera, who spent the last three years as a coach in Kinston, will make his managerial debut as the first manager of the Lake County Captains. He'll be assisted by hitting coach and former Indian Wayne Kirby along with pitching coach Tony Arnold who is in his 11th year with the Indians system and has spent the last three years as the pitching coach in Burlington.

Ted Kubiak drops down from Kinston to take over the reins in Mahoning Valley, a position he previously held through 2000. Ken Rowe returns as the pitching coach and Chris Bando will be the hitting coach after managing the Scrappers last year. That will certainly be an interesting situation although it makes me wonder if Bando is cutting back on his baseball responsibilities.

And finally, at Burlington, Rouglas Odor returns for his third consecutive year at the helm. Ruben Niebla drops down from Kinston to take over as the pitching coach which may be an indication the Indians expect an influx of hispanic-speaking pitchers (perhaps the young guns from Venezuela) at Burlington next season. Jack Mull returns to Burlington, where he coached in 2000, after spending the last two years as a coach for Eric Wedge in Buffalo.

Indians single-game tickets go on sale next Friday, November 29 at all the usual locations. Announcing the resigning of Jim Thome on Wednesday the 27th and allowing families to discuss and get all excited about it on Thanksgiving might not be a bad marketing ploy, would it?

Speaking of Thome, the ATM Reports note that he now ranks #72 on the all-time home run lists with 334, two bombs ahead of Bobby Bonds, and one behind Darryl Strawberry and Larry Walker. Another 40 homerun season should push him into the top 50. He also stands at #16 on the active homerun leaderboard, 11 dingers behind Ellis Burks who resides in 13th place. Thome (9.68) also trails only Barry Bonds (9.84) in the Active HR/100 outs list and led the AL last season in that category with 14.99 compared to second place A-Rod's 12.42.

More Thome: Did you see this article in the Chicago Sun Times where Jay Marrioti briefly talks about Thome's boyhood passion for the Cubs with a couple of interesting anecdotes? For those too lazy to click the link, apparently Thome refers to his mammoth jacks as "Torco homeruns" which refers to the Torco advertisement atop the right-field rooftops across from the Wrigley Field. Thome also grew up idolizing Dave Kingman and went into the dugout after him when Kong refused to sign an autograph. That's pretty funny.

The Indians signed right-handed pitchers Jason Boyd and Jason Beverlin to minor league contracts yesterday that include an invitation to spring training. Boyd made the Padres opening day roster thanks to a strong spring training and ended up working in 23 games (all in relief) for the Padres last season, posting a 1-0 record with a 7.94 ERA. According to rototimes.com, he had a clause in his contract that allowed him to become a free-agent if he was not in the major leagues on August 1 which he chose to activate to sign with the Red Sox where he spent the remainder of the season in Pawtucket. Of some note, even though he's right-handed, he fared much better against the lefties (.235 BA, .762 OPS) than against the righties (.356 BA, 1.058 OPS) which may interest you strato guys that like the "reserve righty" coming out of the pen. Boyd was originally an 8th round pick of the Phillies in 1994 before being selected by Diamondbacks in the 1997 expansion draft. Over the past five seasons he's spent time in the D-Backs, Pirates, Phillies, Brewers, Padres, and Red Sox systems. He'll be 30 in February and if you're looking for some hope, he pitched pretty well in triple-A last season, posting a combined 2.14 ERA and 1.143 WHIP in 42 innings, striking out 37 in the process.

Beverlin (29 next Wednesday) spent the majority of last season with the Bisons before making his major league debut with the Indians (4G, 0-0, 7.36 ERA) in August. When the Indians tried to outright him back to triple-A, he was claimed on waivers by the Tigers where he pitched pretty well in three triple-A starts (3-0, 1.93) and not so well in three major league starts (0-3, 9.49). Beverlin's overall triple-A numbers last season were pretty solid (13-8, 3.60, 1.231 WHIP, 137.1 IP, 119K) and I think he's a smart addition to the organization in that he can bounce back and forth between the bullpen and rotation depending on the promotions/demotions of the young guns throughout 2003.

If you click the link to the 1994 draft in the Jason Boyd paragraph above, note that recent addition Jose Santiago (whom I shall rant about next week) was drafted in the 70th round by the Royals that year. And if you're not feeling squeamish, take a look at the two players listed right under the Indians first round pick. You still not feeling a little sick to your stomach?

The Indians made some cuts in their minor league system over the past few weeks, letting go of first basemen Nick Dempsey (acquired from the Expos for Tony Medrano this past summer), catchers Heath Wilson, Carlos Parra (retired in July due to personal reasons) and Hose Gomez, shortstop Bryce Uegawachi (26th, 2001), and pitchers Todd Culp (37th, 2001), Simon Young (48th, 1999), and Paul Martinez. No big losses (or busts) there. Other minor leaguers leaving the organization include minor league free-agents Chris Coste (signed with Boston), Sean DePaula (signed with Cincinnati), Corey Erickson (signed with Toronto), Tim Young (signed with Toronto) and Mike Spiegel (signed with Detroit). Coste was interesting due to his indy league background and ability to put the ball in play but he's limited in almost every other aspect of the game. It still would have been nice to see him get a cup of coffee in September though. Spiegel's a decent lefty who's been in the Indians system forever and DePaula hasn't been the same since he blew out his arm a few years ago. Overall, no big losses here either. One caveat, these moves can be difficult to track down so if you know of any other minor league transactions, please send them in.

The Indians also signed Niuman Romero to a contract. I haven't been able to find much information about Romero but he is listed on the roster of the Oriente Caribes of the Venezuelan Winter League, although the BA stats don't show him as having seen any action yet.

That's all for today. Next week, Eric Wedge, Jose Santiago, Jack Cressend, and the prospects left exposed for the Rule 5 Draft. There's already a great discussion going on within the comments on the CIR website on this very topic. Check it out!

THE Ohio State University 17 Michigan 16
(and that's from a closet Michigan fan)

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Posted on 11/22/2002

November 21, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Thursday, November 21

Yesterday was the deadline date to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft in December. The Indians made several moves with the most important being the addition of minor leaguers Jody Gerut, Ryan Church, Fernando Cabrera, Francisco Cruceta, and Jhonny Peralta to the 40-man roster.

Gerut hit a combined .298/.379/.435/.814 in 439 at-bats between Akron and Buffalo last season in his first full year with the Indians since being acquired from the Rockies (along with Josh Bard) for Jacob Cruz in June of 2001. At the time, Gerut was out with a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2001 season. Interestingly enough, both Bard and Gerut are on the 40-man roster while Cruz was let loose by the Rockies and was last seen toiling in the Tigers system. Gerut's power numbers fell significantly from Akron (.461 slg%, 9 HRs) to Buffalo (.399 slg%, 1 HR) but he maintained a healthy K/BB ratio (57/50 overall) while increasing his BA and OBP with the promotion. The Stanford product should start the season with the Bisons and is a likely candidate for a midseason callup.

Ryan Church blossomed this season after two solid seasons in the low minors after being the Tribe's 14th round pick out of the University of Nevada-Reno in 2000. Church dominated Carolina League pitchers in the early months to the tune of a 1.002 OPS (.326/.433/.569) and 12 doubles and 10 homeruns in 181 ABs. A promotion to Akron soon followed and while the power stayed (.505 slg%, 10 HRs), he left the plate discipline in Kinston as he walked only 12 times in 291 ABs while striking out 58 times. Hopefully, this is just an aberration in the adjustment to a new level as Church has displayed solid plate discipline in his three previous stops in the system. Because of that (and a log jam ahead of him in the outfield), I think we'll see Church start 2003 in Akron with a midseason promotion to triple-A likely.

Jhonny Peralta is another homegrown Indians prospect who really burst onto the scene in 2002 as he posted career highs at the plate across the board despite advancing a level and starting the season at age 19. The Dominican native hit .281/.343/.457/.800 with 28 doubles and 15 homeruns and, most impressively, cut his strikeouts from 148 to 97 while basically maintaining his walk rate (58 to 45). And I'll repeat myself here, he did all this while making what is typically referred to as the toughest jump (single-A to double-A) and starting the season as one of the youngest (if not the youngest) player in the league. With Omar and Brandon Phillips ahead of him on the shortstop depth chart, Peralta saw his first action at third base in the Arizona Fall League and I think we will see him open the season at third in Buffalo in April.

Fernando Cabrera (10th) joins Jason Davis (21st) as the only two members of the 1999 draft class to make the Indians 40-man roster. If you're looking for a reason why the farm system was so barren before the trades this past summer, that statement alone pretty much sums it up. Anyway, Cabrera and his 95 mph+ heater spent most of the season in Kinston where he posted a 6-8 record and a 3.52 ERA in 20 starts. More importantly, he allowed only 83 hits in 100 innings while striking out 107 and walking 40. Cabrera struggled in a late season promotion to Akron, posting a 5.33 in seven outings which included three appearances out of the bullpen which is where his future is expected to lie. Don't be surprised if Cabrera starts the season in the Aeros pen and if he settles into that role quickly, the strength of his fastball alone could have him in the express lane down I-77 to Jacobs Field in a hurry.

Francisco (or Alberto) Cruceta was acquired (stolen) by the Indians in the Paul Shuey trade with the Dodgers. Cruceta only made seven starts in the Indians system after the trade, but he was extremely impressive in posting a 2.50 ERA and allowing only 31 hits in 39-2/3 innings. Numbers made even more impressive considering he did that after being promoted from the low-A Sally League with the Dodgers to the high-A Carolina League with the Tribe. For the season, Cruceta struck out a combined 148 hitters in 152-1/3 innings while walking 59 and allowing only 129 hits for a 1.234 WHIP and a 2.72 ERA. It will be interesting to see what the Indians do with Cruceta next spring as they are going to have 9-10 solid candidates (Columbus Fab Five, Brian Slocum, Jeremy Guthrie, Kinston holdovers) fighting for the five spots in the Kinston rotation. I think they would prefer he starts the season in the Carolina League but if he has a good spring, I would not be surprised to see him in Akron for the start of the 2003 season.

The Indians had already cleared out some roster space for the above players over the previous month, but they freed up two more spots yesterday by releasing Eddie Taubensee and outrighting Jack Cressend to Buffalo. An injury settlement was not announced for Taubensee so, for now, assume the Indians are on the hook for the full $900k they owe him next season. Nice move by Larry Dolan to eat the contract and remove Taubensee from the roster in order to protect an additional prospect. Cressend, claimed on waivers from the Twins, is not expected to be ready for spring training after undergoing shoulder surgery in September.

With the above moves, the 40-man roster now stands at

Pitchers (19): Danys Baez, Fernando Cabrera, Francisco Cruceta, Jason Davis, Ryan Drese, Jeremy Guthrie, Alex Herrera, Cliff Lee, Chad Paronto, Jerrod Riggan, David Riske, Ricardo Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Carl Sadler, Jose Santiago, Brian Tallet, Jake Westbrook, Bob Wickman, Mark Wohlers

Catchers (3): Josh Bard, Einar Diaz, Victor Martinez

Infielders (9): Ben Broussard, Travis Fryman, Luis Garcia, Ricky Gutierrez, John McDonald, Jhonny Peralta, Brandon Phillips, Earl Snyder, Omar Vizqual

Outfielders (9): Milton Bradley, Ellis Burks, Ryan Church, Covelli Crisp, Alex Escobar, Karim Garcia, Jody Gerut, Matt Lawton, Chris Magruder

You'll notice that Travis Fryman remains on the roster despite announcing his retirement at the end of the season. I can only surmise that this is a technical requirement because he does have a 2003 contract/option and Paul Hoynes notes in the Plain Dealer that Fryman is expected to be removed from the roster in the next few days. If anyone knows the requirements under which Fryman needed to remain on the roster, I would love to hear it.

FYI...the Phoenix Desert Dogs final AFL game will be broadcast on MLB Radio this afternoon at 3:00 PM ET. It's your last chance to hear Brandon Phillips, Johnny Peralta, and company until Tom, Mike, and Mike take the mic in Florida next spring.

Posted on 11/21/2002

November 20, 2002

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT
Wednesday, November 20

Has it really been one month? Man, time flies. Thanks to all who e-mailed over the past month asking as to my whereabouts. Everything's fine and it was nothing more than a short sabbatical. One thing I learned, though, just like when dieting and exercise, it's much easier to fall out of your routine than it is to fall back into it. And that's one to grow on, my friends. A lot has happened over the past month but we'll start with #25.

The Indians need to resign Jim Thome. The Indians have to resign Jim Thome. I want the Indians to resign Jim Thome. But after all that, there's still a small part of me that isn't so sure that letting Thome sign elsewhere wouldn't be the best thing for this franchise over the long-term. Before I get into that though, let's take a moment and review the reported offers on the table.

As we all know, the Indians kicked off the bidding per Pat Rooney's request (Thome's agent) on Halloween with an offer that is rumored to have been for 4 years and $40-45 million dollars and has been used as the barometer in comparing Thome offers for the past three weeks. Interestingly enough, Sheldon Ocker notes in the ABJ this morning that the Indians initial offer could have been for as much as 4yrs/$50mil with two option years added on (no mention on whether these are club, player, or mutual options). If those figures are accurate, the "new" offer works out to $12.5 million per season which is approximately $1.5 million more annually than Mike Sweeney (5yrs/$55mil) received from the Royals and $1.25 million more than Scott Rolen (8yrs/$90mil) received from the Cardinals. For an opening salvo, the Indians may not have come out with all cannons firing, but I don't think they necessarily embarrassed themselves either.

Of course, those numbers do not compare with the offer that has reportedly been placed on the table by the Phillies, which is a 5-year deal worth $75 million with two option years added on that could bring the deal to $100 million for seven years and carry Thome through his 39th birthday and comfortably into retirement. Annually, that's a difference of $2.5mil per season and $25mil over the length of the contract (less options). Most importantly, the Phillies added an extra year (5th) onto the deal (compared to the Indians offer) which is a HUGE factor considering that Thome would be 36/37 in that 5th year and the chances of him receiving a $15mil contract on the open market in the 2006 offseason at the age of 36 is significantly less than simply locking in at that rate right now. In this market, the Phillies offer is extremely significant.

Who else might be interested? Well, Thome and Rooney are in Chicago today for lunch with the Cubs brass at Wrigley Field. The general perception of this meeting is that it's nothing more than the Cubs doing Pat Rooney a solid while serving as an opportunity for the Cubs to ascertain if Thome would be interested in a "hometown" discount since he grew up as a Cubs fan in Peoria. Fortunately, for the Indians, the Cubs have an excellent prospect in Hee Seop Choi (23 yrs old, 287/406/513, 26 HRs in AAA and .354/460/732, 8 HRs in the AFL this fall) waiting to take over at first base and it appears the Cubs have identified more pressing needs in which to allocate their expected $20 million of offseason money. Of course, 50+ homers at a good price can change things in a hurry and any time a player sits down with another team you never know what can happen in the course of the negotiations. Personally, if I were the Cubs, I would go hard after Thome and use Choi as trade bait to land a 3B and/or starting pitcher if they're unable to land a Jeff Kent, Jamie Moyer, etc. in free-agency, but that's just me. I would also see what Mark Shapiro could offer me for Choi in trade. Think that's strange? The Indians and Phillies have already reportedly talked about Jeremy Giambi, who would be out of a job in Philly if Thome signs there. Of course, this discussion would be moot if the Indians had made a play for Giambi when he was dumped on the Phillies last spring for John Mabry and it makes me wonder, why the interest now but not then? But that's another rant for another time.

The other team rumored to be interested in Thome is the Baltimore Orioles but no reports have surfaced as to contact beyond an initial interest call. With all the holes the Orioles have on their roster, I would think they would have to match or exceed the Phillies offer to be a serious contender. Put it this way, if Thome loves Cleveland as much as he says he does, why would he leave the Tribe for a team that has no immediate chance of contention and has the worst farm system in baseball unless they are throwing gobs and gobs of money at him. And that's not something anyone is expecting from Peter Angelos these days. I think we can rule the Orioles out.

One team who has not gotten involved (yet) in the Thome discussions is the Boston Red Sox despite a glaring need at first base and the Grady Little connection. While Thome would be a perfect fit in that lineup, the Red Sox have major payroll problems and I think they are very much aware of the financial constraints such a contract would place them under in the next 1-2 years when they need to resign Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra. Between Manny, Thome, Pedro, and Nomar, you could conceivably have 4 players account for $60-70 million of payroll and with the debt load of the new ownership, those days are most likely gone in Beantown. Like the Orioles, I think we can rule the Red Sox out.

So, it appears (for now) that it's going to come down to the Indians and Phillies. The Phillies offer is on the table and Mark Shapiro is scheduled to present a new offer to Pat Rooney sometime this week. Depending on what happens in the next few days, a final decision by Thome could come as early as next week. What that revised offer entails, we shall see, and I really don't want to get into speculation as to whether Thome would accept $13mil/yr or $13.5mil/yr because I personally don't buy into the notion of the hometown discount. If the player is worth X amount of dollars, than he should be paid X amount of dollars. For the Indians (and fans) to think that we can simply subtract $1-2mil/yr from the best offer and expect Thome to accept that in order to keep playing in Cleveland is simply absurd. I know the argument, "what's two million dollars when you're making that much already" and the answer is very simple. It's TWO MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS. Over five years, it's TEN MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS. That's more money than most of us will ever make over a lifetime and yet we toss that around like it's petty cash. Point blank, if Jim Thome signs with Philadelphia for more money, he'll hear nothing bad from me. As if we would care, right?

The other thing I would like to mention is this. If the Indians do not resign Jim Thome, it's not because they don't have the money. They do. The reason why they did not resign Jim Thome is because they did not feel that paying him X amount of dollars over X amount of years was the best thing for this franchise. Ignore all the spin coming from Jacobs Field. The Indians could match the Phillies offer today and still stay within their projected budget. Sure, it may mean they would have to finagle a waiver of a no-trade clause from Ellis Burks and/or Omar Vizqual but it's not like that is mission impossible. Money talks (see Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson) and if the Indians really want this to happen, I don't see any reason why an agreement could not be reached with Burks and another team to make a deal that works for everyone. The same goes for Omar, although his ties are deeper and that alone might make it a little more difficult. The Indians also have insurance money coming from Bob Wickman and perhaps Ricky Gutierrez and Matt Lawton and Lawton himself could become a tradable commodity next summer if he returns to his previous form. The money is there, the Indians just need to get creative with how they manage it. One needs only to look at the recent Mike Hampton deals to see how being financially creative can free up money. It's not easy, but it can be done.

So if the money is there, why would they not simply match the Phillies offer and resign him? Well, if you remember from the top, this is where I hesitate and that small part of my brain kicks in and says this. The Indians master plan is geared towards having the Tribe in contention by 2005. Perhaps 2004, but we'll stick with 2005 for now. When that happens (and I believe it will), how much of a factor will a 35 year old Jim Thome be in that lineup? How about in 2006 when he's 36? Or 2007, when he's 37? (notice that I have extended the Indians offer to five years which I believe they will have to do thanks to the Phillies). Factoring in his bad back, the aging process, and a guaranteed $15mil for each of those years, that's a lot of risk for a player that old. Sure, he could still be hitting .285 with 40 HRs but with each passing years, the odds of a decline start to increase. Fortunately, for the Indians, they can always stick Thome at DH which is a luxury the Phillies won't have and is one reason I was really surprised about the length of their offer. But it's still a lot of risk and a contract that could really hamstring an organization that would still be operating under a larger, but no less tighter, budget. And that's the hesitation. I'm not saying this would be a deal killer in my mind, I'm simply saying, Dude, where's my car. I mean, Dude, we think need to think about this a little. And that's what I think Mark Shapiro and company are doing right now. Weighing the long-term risk implications (2005-2007) against the short-term revenue protection (2003-2004) when the Indians are not expected to be in contention.

In my heart, I want the Indians to resign Thome. In my head, 80% of my brain knows the Indians have to resign Thome. If it happens, I'll be happy. If it doesn't happen, I can accept that. What I won't accept is if the Indians cry poverty and blame their failure to match the Phillies offer (or come pretty darn close) on everything from the economy to George Steinbrenner. Hopefully, they'll get this deal done. If not, hopefully, they'll simply admit that they felt this was not the right move long-term for the franchise. The next few weeks should be very interesting.

Posted on 11/20/2002

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