TDU wrote:
I'll let this go, because your dislike here really seems to be clouding your judgment.

It is opinion and observation about Shapiro.

I have no confidence he is the best guy to be Cleveland Indians President, and his track record as a key player in the front office for the past 13 seasons after nearly one quarter of a century in the organization does not exactly send up fireworks of celebration and spine tingling anticipation for the future.

Disagree, anyone?

Mark Shapiro has pushed the buttons in this franchise for over a decade.

He owns all that is in the organization through his "work."

Does anyone here believe there is an angle we will compete for even an American League Pennant in the next three seasons?

I doubt it.

I truly believe Mark Shapiro has operated and survived on the premise that Cleveland Indians Fans are rubes.

You seem to have completely avoided why nobody at any of the other teams Bradley played for was able to fix him, and instead took another opportunity to take a potshot at Shapiro and Wedge.

Actually, my premise was that Shapiro and Wedge might have given Bradley an anchor to carry.....and a label.....that was tough to impossible for him to overcome as he was kicked on.

As they both "kicked on" Brandon Phillips.

Shapiro and Wedge had the BEST CHANCE of all future teams to fix Milton Bradley, and they did not.

Again...."Larry and Curly."

rusty2 wrote:For TFISC to even try to justify his childish attacks against Shapiro is comical.

Pour another one.

Thanks for the heads up on the Michael Feinstein concert on PBS this evening, Rusty

Great renditions of Sinatra songs, and yes you are right, Michael Feinstein IS "The Pride of Columbus, Ohio."

(actually, the concert has been OK, and of course Rusty did not really recommend as he is still googling to see what the heck "PBS" is.....)

Wow, TFISC thinks I need to google PBS but he would have bet on Notre Dame and he actually thought his presidential candidate was going to win. He was also shocked that the city of Cleveland voted for Obama.

You need to stop wondering about others and put the bottle down.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said on MLB Network Radio on Wednesday that Victor Martinez (knee) will not catch at all in 2013.
V-Mart missed all of 2012 while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL and is expected to serve as the club's primary designated hitter in 2013. Meanwhile, Alex Avila and Brayan Pena will handle catching duties. Fortunately Martinez is still catcher-eligible in most fantasy leagues, though his value will likely take a big hit going into 2014.

Source: Jim Duquette on Twitter Jan 16 - 12:40 PM

Mariners Acquire Morse In Three-Team Deal With Nationals, A's
By Mark Polishuk [January 16 at 5:55pm CST]
The Mariners, Nationals and Athletics have combined on a three-team trade that will send Michael Morse to the Mariners, John Jaso to the A's and a three-player package to the Nationals that includes minor league right-handers A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen and a player to be named from the Athletics.

The Mariners have been searching for hitters all winter long and now add Morse, who has hit 64 homers over the last three seasons and posted a .291/.321/.470 line in 430 PAs for Washington in 2012. It's a bit of a homecoming for Morse, who spent the first four years of his career in Seattle before being swapped to the Nats for Ryan Langerhans. The right-handed hitter could see time in either corner outfield spot or at first base, possibly sharing time with Justin Smoak and other newly-acquired veteran bats as Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay. Jaso's departure also clears the way for Jesus Montero to catch everyday, and the M's also have top prospect Mike Zunino waiting in the wings.

Morse has been a strong trade commodity ever since the Nationals re-signed Adam LaRoche. At least five or six teams had shown interest in Morse, with the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox among those linked to the first baseman/outfielder. Morse turns 31 in March and is scheduled to hit free agency next winter.

Cole is on his way back to the Nationals organization after being dealt to the A's last winter as part of the trade package for Gio Gonzalez. Cole, 21, was drafted by the Nats in the fourth round of the 2010 draft and was rated as the 57th-best prospect in the game by Baseball America prior to the season. In 27 starts for two of Oakland's A-ball affiliates, Cole posted a 3.70 ERA, 133 strikeouts and 29 walks over 133 2/3 innings, though the major bulk of that success took place at low A-ball.

Treinen, 24, was the Athletics' seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft. The righty has a 4.13 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 10.1 H/9 in 133 innings over two pro seasons and made 15 starts last year.

The left-handed hitting Jaso enjoyed a breakout season in 2012, hitting .276/.394/.456 in 361 PAs, the large majority of which came against right-handed pitching. He will likely step right in as Oakland's regular catcher against righties, with the right-handed hitting Derek Norris in line for at-bats against southpaws. Jaso, 29, is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and is under Oakland's control through the 2015 season.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post first reported the trade and the major teams and players involved. Earlier this evening, Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the M's were close to acquiring Morse. Morosi, Amanda Comak of the Washington Times and the Nationals' Twitter feed also added more details about the package going back to Washington.


Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#AAW0Koz4EQwQkEdk.99

rusty2 wrote:Wow, TFISC thinks I need to google PBS but he would have bet on Notre Dame and he actually thought his presidential candidate was going to win. He was also shocked that the city of Cleveland voted for Obama.

You need to stop wondering about others and put the bottle down.

It was the enormity percentage of the vote for Barack Obama in The City of Cleveland that surprised me. I never would have expected the total percentage in The City would break out over 93% to 7%, as it did. It might have been over 95% really, but I did not crunch the final numbers from all the precincts in The City of Cleveland to get an exact overall percentage. I shared the individual precinct totals previously.

The media reported overall more politically gentle "Cuyahoga County" returns, whitewashing what occurred in Cleveland proper.

Yes, I touted that I would have wagered on Notre Dame if wagering. 65%+ of the money in Vegas was on Notre Dame, I read. I never called a certain wager or a "must play."

Not once did I ever say defeating Barack Obama was a sure thing.

About three out of four counties or more in the United States of America voted against him, as it played out.

Only the urban areas like Cleveland producing truly unfathomable polling numbers brought him his win.

TonyIBI

Should be noted that the Reds and Choo did not come to an agreement before today's deadline.

Today was only the deadline for exchanging offers.

According to the article by Dennis Manoloff posted in the Articles folder, "If players and teams don't reach an agreement after exchanging numbers Friday, hearings are set for February. A deal can be reached at anytime before those hearings."

Disagree, anyone?

I think you know where I stand on all of the Dolan / Shapiro / Wedge issues Tribe Fan.

I'm trying to put all that stuff in the rear view mirror. I don't think I'll be seeing a world series in my lifetime. The time to react was in the late 1990's and early 2000's. It didn't happen. So, I've kind of given up hopes for anything greater than a division championship. A lot still has to happen before we advance any further. I hope I'm still around when it does.

Don't forget 2007. We could easily have gone to the WS and beat Colorado.

J.R. wrote:Today was only the deadline for exchanging offers.

According to the article by Dennis Manoloff posted in the Articles folder, "If players and teams don't reach an agreement after exchanging numbers Friday, hearings are set for February. A deal can be reached at anytime before those hearings."

No, it was posted to say that Choo and Boras are not easy to get a long with. I believe the Indians have only gone to arbitration with one player I think.

J.R. wrote:Don't forget 2007. We could easily have gone to the WS and beat Colorado.

Come on JR. That never happened.

Tribe Happenings: Thome, Ramirez reunion might work

Jim Thome (Photo: AP)

By Tony Lastoria

January 20, 2013

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook:

Thome or Manny might fit DH need

The Indians still have a need at designated hitter. While I wrote a piece last month saying that there are several reasons they may prefer a rotation at the position for several reasons - and that it probably makes sense to do that - they have said several times this season they would like to add a bat to fill the designated hitter role.

Including all cash buyouts (Hafner option) and payouts (Choo trade), the Indians payroll at the moment is right around $76 million for next year. I’ve heard that the budget could go as high as $80 million, and if that is the case they could have up to $4 million in wiggle room to add a cheap bat in free agency.

While several pundits have said the Indians and Delmon Young may be a good match, I have yet to hear they have interest in him and I am unsure if he is the right fit. A more likely option that has been thrown around is a return of Travis Hafner on a one year deal.

But perhaps an even better option that might be had for a million or two is designated hitter Jim Thome. The Indians have interest in him and I have heard that they have even gone so far as to talk about a contract for next season. He definitely plans to play again next season, so he is considering a few offers and really wants one more crack at that elusive World Series ring. If the Indians were a sure thing, he might be a slam dunk signing, but since they are not he could end up anywhere.

Thome, who is now 42-years old, is limited to designated-hitter and pinch hitting duties and is no longer an everyday player. He is probably best as a part-time player that amasses around 300 plate appearances at most over the course of a season and matches up against right-handed pitching and is a big bopper off the bench. He can still hold his own against left-handed pitching, but against right-handers he is still very good as in 526 at bats over the last three seasons he has hit .276 with 34 homers, 97 RBI, and .937 OPS. His leadership, presence, and personality would be a welcomed fit in the Indians clubhouse.

With Thome on the roster it would allow the Indians to have the right-handed hitting Yan Gomes as the designated hitter against lefties (or anyone else on the roster to rest them). The other option is Chris McGuiness who could still make the roster even with Gomes and Thome on it since the Indians do not need a true fourth outfielder because Michael Brantley and Drew Stubbs can both handle any outfield position.

Thome seems like a realistic possibility since the Indians have sincere interest and he might want to finish his career as an Indian. Another interesting possibility, though more of a long shot, is Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez, 40, did not play in the Major Leagues last season because he had to serve his mandated 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. When the suspension was lifted he played in 17 games for the Athletics’ Triple-A Sacramento affiliate and hit .302 but had just three extra base hits – no homers – and had a .349 slugging percentage and 5-17 walk to strikeout ratio. He requested his outright release, it was granted, and he did not surface with another team the rest of the season.

But Ramirez resurfaced this offseason and has been playing winter ball in the Dominican Winter League and has looked good. Going into last night, in 43 combined regular season and playoff games for the Aguilas Cibaenas he was hitting .301 with 8 homers, 27 RBI and .849 OPS in 166 at bats.

Ramirez has no chance of landing a guaranteed Major League contract this offseason, but he would certainly be worth a flier on a minor league deal and see what happens with him this spring. Considering the Indians need for another bat on the cheap, he might make some sense. Sure, he brings some baggage with him, but as a former Indian and fan favorite, a lot of people would overlook the issues and be happy to have him “come home” to potentially finish his career.

I’m not one to typically endorse such moves to bring in a former hero from the 90s as I think those days are gone and it is time to move on from that era; not to mention these players are a far cry from what they once were. Yet the Indians could use a bat to fit the designated hitter role and I think either one may actually fit or help in some degree.

While it probably won’t happen, it would be interesting to bring in two former great Indians players back to the organization, see if they can help the team, and have them retire as an Indian. It would be a low risk move to sign either of them or even both of them, but could add some excitement and the cherry on top of the sundae to an offseason which has already been the best in years.

MLB All-Star Game coming back to Ohio: Cincinnati Reds to host game at Great American Ball Park in 2015

By Sporting News
on January 22, 2013 at 10:52 AM Print


MLB All-Star Game 2015: Cincinnati is in line to be the host city for a Midsummer Classic. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Major League Baseball will hold the 2015 All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, sources told The Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is expected to make an official announcement on Wednesday in Cincinnati, according to the Enquirer's sources.

The Reds declined to comment.

Reds owner Bob Castellini said last opening day that Cincinnati would be getting an All-Star Game, but he would not say which year, according to the Enquirer.

The last All-Star Game in Cincinnati took place in 1988 at Riverfront Stadium, the predecessor to Great American Ball Park. The '15 game will be the fifth all-time to be played in Cincy (1938, 1953 and 1970 were the other years), the Enquirer noted.

This year's All-Star Game will be held at Citi Field in New York, home of the Mets. The Minnesota Twins will host the 2014 game at Target Field in Minneapolis.

CHICAGO --

Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig certainly won't be calling Chris Sale any time soon, probably never, to use him as part of a celebrity endorsement deal. But the slender left-hander, coming off a Cy Young-caliber effort in his first year as a starter, gained 15 pounds in the offseason.

The 6-foot-6 23-year-old exited the 2012 season at 170 pounds and weighed in on Friday at a bulky 185.2.

"I learned how to grill," said a smiling Sale of the reason behind his weight gain. "Hopefully I can maintain that through spring and through the season.

"Chicken, steak, pork, corn, anything. It's been fun. I've been working out hard. I actually got a trainer this offseason down there in Naples, [Fla.], my hometown. He's been great. I go there Monday through Friday and work out, and I've just been eating."

With or without the weight, Sale's goals haven't changed. He posted a 17-8 record with a 3.05 ERA and 192 strikeouts over 192 innings under Chicago's watchful eye. He wants those same positive results in helping the team succeed, while pitching at least 200 innings.

Caution will still be there where the organization's prized hurler is concerned, but there won't be as many extended breaks for Sale in 2013, even though manager Robin Ventura wants to hold off his Cactus League debut until later into Spring Training. Sale's teammates trust wholeheartedly in his ability, even if they don't trust in his weight gain boast.

"I told these guys I put on some weight and they didn't believe me," Sale said. "I told them my shoe size got bigger, that it went all the way down to my feet.

"I'm feeling good. Everything is great. My body feels good, I feel loose. I'm just excited for Spring Training to start and ready to get going."