The Central Division loses all 6 first round series. Further proof that our positive stats are overblown and our flops were even worse than they looked.

In a full season Mercado might not have hit 100. Bieber ERA would've been in the mid 2's. Santana might have been about .175. Hand would have blown several saves. Our record would have been about .500.

civ - while I agree with you I do think if we had won the 2nd game of that Yankee series we look at things differently.

1. Should Plesac have started that game?
2. Should Carrasco have been left in to pitch out of the mini jam that was really DeShields created?

So many crazy things happened there. I chalk that up to the Indians' jinx - the same one that bit in '97 and '16

Just hire a player manager and it will all turn out right in the end.

If they just listened to us armchair managers, think about how good they would be.

I suppose any complaint we might have had on the (broken down) Clevinger return is now rendered silly. In fact I sure hope San Diego did all kinds of doctor checks on Clevinger before the trade - they got swindled. (Swindled - not Swindelled)

Might turn out Quantrill alone would have been enough.

Mike got in an inning last night Not through yet Well, probably

Yeah, they have now taken him off the roster.

For reference - pro-rated payrolls 2020

New York Yankees ($113.9 mil)
Los Angeles Dodgers ($105.5 mil)
Chicago Cubs ($89.1 mil)
Boston Red Sox ($83.2 mil)
Houston Astros ($81.4 mil)
New York Mets ($79.4 mil)
Philadelphia Phillies ($74.8 mil)
San Francisco Giants ($72.9 mil)
St. Louis Cardinals ($70 mil)
San Diego Padres ($69.5 mil)
Los Angeles Angels ($69.2 mil)
Washington Nationals ($66.9 mil)
Atlanta Braves ($65.3 mil)
Texas Rangers ($65.1 mil)
Arizona Diamondbacks ($64 mil)
Colorado Rockies ($60.1 mil)
Cincinnati Reds ($53 mil)
Chicago White Sox ($51 mil)
Toronto Blue Jays ($50.9 mil)
Minnesota Twins ($48.7 mil)
Seattle Mariners ($48 mil)
Cleveland Indians ($46 mil)
Detroit Tigers ($43.1 mil)
Milwaukee Brewers ($38 mil)
Oakland Athletics ($35.4 mil)
Kansas City Royals ($34.8 mil)
Tampa Bay Rays ($28.6 mil)
Miami Marlins ($28.1 mil)
Pittsburgh Pirates ($24.3 mil)
Baltimore Orioles ($23.5 mil)
(h/t spotrac)

If the financial problem is as bad as Antonnetti made it sound I would not be surprised if Perez is the only infielder brought back. Ramirez will never have more value performance and contract wise.

Jose gets $9M next year. They'll be rid of Santana; probably of Hand both of whom are $10M or above. They could keep Ramirez and still have a mini budget; but could be even smaller if they choose. Nolan Jones could stay at 3rd and possibly be a replacement. Of course they could field a mostly AAA team with a lineup of something like:

c Perez and Hedges
1b Bauers
2b M or T Freeman
SS Chang
3b Jones
lf Naylor
cf Mercado
rf Luplow and Johnson'
dh Bradley

Lots of 1-0 games. if the bullpen can hold the fort late.

Well if they do trade Lindor AND Jose Ramirez I assume they would actually get guys back so the above lineup is unlikely.

I really don't think they'll trade Ramirez. Antonetti keeps saying that they dont' intend to tear down to the foundation and rebuild and up to now that's the way they've proceeded. They'll keep doing with the Indians and the As and the Rays have been successful with.

I sure hope Lindor nets them an outfielder who has already got a couple major league seasons and is ready to go. I don't want yet another star just ready to break out like Charlie Spikes, or Matt LaPorta or even Josh Naylor.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Mike Clevinger (elbow) "is likely headed for nothing more invasive than arthroscopic surgery."

Clevinger dealt with an elbow issue late in the season and lasted just one inning during an NLDS start after it flared up on him again, but he's not going to need anything more than a relatively simple scope. It's not clear when the operation will likely occur, but the righty should have a pretty normal offseason.

SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune

Cesar Hernandez

Grade: A

Numbers: 58 games, .283 (66-for-233), 35 runs, 20 doubles, 20 RBI, .763 OPS, 106 OPS+, 1.5 bWAR, 1.9 fWAR.

Notable: Hernandez became the fourth Indians hitter to lead the American League in doubles since 1996 (Grady Sizemore, Michael Brantley, Ramírez) and was third in hitting with runners in scoring position (.386). He batted .375 (21-for-56) after moving from the leadoff spot to No. 2 in the lineup. Hernandez became the first player in club history to hit leadoff home runs in consecutive games on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24.

I never heard of Hernandez before we got him and he's not been and never will be a star but a team with 9 of him in the lineup would be a nice complement to our pitching staff. I used to laud Casey Blake as a "major league average" 3B which is a compliment! And Hernandez deserves similar description as a 2B. He cannot be counted on to be among leaders every year as he was this year but would still be quite a nice member of any team.
And since we need a player manager to win the World Series, I'd hire him for that job, too.

Definitely - Cesar seemed quite professional in all aspects of the game and as such is quite a value.