Big "Cy" For C.C.!

Congratulations to C.C. Sabathia as he is awarded the Cy Young Award this afternoon. Often quoted for having his focus on the team and not personal gains, C.C. finally gets the personal recognition he deserves. C.C. is only the second player in Cleveland Indians history to win the award, the other being Gaylord Perry in 1972. That in itself seems odd as Cy Young pitched for Cleveland from 1890 -1898 and again from 1909-1911.

Sabathia put up a 19-7 record with a 3.21 ERA in 34 starts. The win total, ERA mark and number of starts were all career bests for Sabathia, as were his strikeout total of 209 and his innings total of 241, which led the Majors.

A fitting finish to this story would be a signed contract with the Indians.

Here is hoping the two camps get together and get this done ASAP.

What You Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?

As the Indians attempt to play their hand from a position of strength (and depth), things are getting interesting. It is no secret that the Indians would like very much to get third baseman Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins in the Wigwam. It is also no secret that Cabrera would like to leave Florida. Interestingly, the Tigers are showing a keen interest in pitcher Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins to replace Kenny Rogers. The Indians cannot afford to let that happen! It is time now to put together the blockbuster trade that will bring both Cabrera and Willis to the Indians. Imagine our top three starters; C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Dontrelle Willis! With Cabrera at third and Casey Blake moving to right field, buy your World Series tickets now! The Indians truly can afford to make this trade happen. They have a crop of expendables in Andy Marte, Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Ben Francisco, and, if necessary, Franklin Gutierrez. Toss in Kelly Shoppach and David Delucci and that is an incredible talent pool to mix and match a huge deal!

Willis, who will be 26 years old in January, has a career 3.78 ERA. He is coming off a 10-15 season with the Marlins, a season in which he surely would have reached a higher winning record with the Indians.

Mark Shapiro, do not let this guy go to the Tigers...put him under a Wahoo ball cap!

This Week In (Indians') Baseball

• Grady Sizemore is awarded a Golden Glove!


• Vice-President and General Manager Mark Shapiro is awarded MLB Executive of the Year!


• The general managers agree to put limited instant replay on the docket for the baseball winter meeting. Mark Shapiro was in favor of this even before the Indians were involved in three "challenges" for fair-foul-in-out home runs during the playoffs. Mark makes a great point when he explains that the game is delayed while the umpires meet on the play in question, why not utilize technology and get the call right.


• Shapiro makes it clear that he intends to sign C.C. Sabathia soon. Negotiations are presently ongoing.


• Indians owner Paul Dolan stated that he is still not over the loss in seven games to the Red Sox in the playoffs, especially after being up three games to one. He sympathized with the Indians' fans as many of us are not over it yet either.


• The Indians signed Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, and Aaron Fultz to contracts this week.


• Mark Shapiro made overtures to Marlins talented third baseman Miguel Cabrera. The 24 year old batted .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs. Cabrera has made it known that he wants to leave Florida. His stock continues to rise based on A-Rod opting out of his Yankee contract. The deal appears to be dead but don't be surprised if it comes up again. The Marlins are looking for starting pitching and the Indians can answer that call with Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, and/or Aaron Laffey. I see a blockbuster trade on the horizon!

Golden Glove Grady!

Congratulations to Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore on his selection to receive the Golden Glove Award for the 2007 season. Grady's jump on the ball, incredible dexterity, and his penchant for making acrobatic catches has earned him this distinction.

Managers and coaches from each Major League club vote for the best defensive players in their respective leagues and are excluded from voting for players on their own teams. Sizemore joined the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki and the Twins' Torii Hunter in landing the AL outfield honor in '07.
Sizemore is the first Indians player to win a Gold Glove since shortstop Omar Vizquel and second baseman Roberto Alomar received the honor in 2001. He is the first Cleveland outfielder to win one since center fielder Kenny Lofton did so in 1996.

The 25 year old Sizemore made only 2 errors in 405 for a .995 fielding percentage.

Below are the 2007 Golden Glove recipients by position:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
C Ivan Rodriguez, DET
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
2B Placido Polanco, DET
3B Adrian Beltre, SEA
SS Orlando Cabrera, LAA
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
OF Torii Hunter, MIN
OF Grady Sizemore, CLE
P Johan Santana, MIN

NATIONAL LEAGUE
C Russell Martin, LAD
1B Derrek Lee, CHC
2B Orlando Hudson, ARI
3B David Wright, NYM
SS Jimmy Rollins, PHI
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF Andruw Jones, ATL
OF Jeff Francoeur, ATL
OF Aaron Rowand, PHI
P Greg Maddux, SD

The Indians and their management staff keep racking up the honors.

This is all good if the proper moves are made to win the 2008 World Series.

Nothing less will be acceptable.

For Byrd Watchers...

This just in from ESPN...
CLEVELAND

Pitcher Paul Byrd, whose admitted use of human growth hormone served as a backdrop to the end of Cleveland's season, had his $7.5 million club option for 2008 picked up by the Indians on Tuesday. Before Game 7 the American League Championship Series in Boston, Byrd acknowledged taking HGH after the San Francisco Chronicle reported he spent nearly $25,000 on the banned drug and syringes between 2002 and 2005. The 36-year-old Byrd claims he took HGH for a medical condition and did so only under a doctor's supervision.
Byrd is expected to meet with Major League Baseball to discuss his use of the performance-enhancing drug.
The Indians also exercised their $4 million option on closer Joe Borowski, who led the AL with 45 saves last season, and $1.5 million option on left-handed reliever Aaron Fultz.
Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said he was unaware of Byrd's use of HGH until two days before Game 7. The newspaper reported Byrd had purchased HGH while pitching for Kansas City, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Angels.
Last week, Shapiro said he had not heard from baseball officials about Byrd. The GM added that in deciding whether to pick up the option he would consider only the right-hander's performance on the field.
Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA in 31 starts during the regular season.
It was his highest win total since 2002, when he was with the Royals.
During the AL playoffs, Byrd beat New York in Game 4 as the Indians knocked out the Yankees. He also won Game 4 of the ALCS over the Red Sox, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate Cleveland before sweeping Colorado in the World Series.
Byrd held a news conference before Game 7 at Fenway Park, where he said he was taking HGH for a "pituitary tumor." He wouldn't elaborate on his condition and would not answer questions about whether he was still taking the drug.
Byrd strongly denied hiding his use of HGH, banned by baseball in 2005. The newspaper reported Byrd made his final purchase of HGH a week before the ban began.
Byrd said baseball officials knew he had been taking the drug, which he said he often stored in clubhouse refrigerators.

Exec Of The Year!

Congratulations to Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro for being named the 2007 Major League Baseball Executive of the Year by the Sporting News. The Cleveland Indians tied the Boston Red Sox for the best record in all of baseball by winning 96 games. They beat the New York Yankees in a best of 5 series in the playoffs, but fell short of going to the World Series when they lost to the Red Sox in 7 games after being up 3 games to 1. Mark last won this award after the 2005 season when his Indians won 93 games but failed to make the playoffs due to a collapse, losing 6 out of their last 7 games.
Mark, want to win it two years in a row?
It will not be enough to just get into the World Series…you gotta win the World Series!
How will he do it?
Rock n' Roll baby, Rock n' Roll!

It's A Long Way To The Top...

There is quite a bit on Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro’s plate right now. He has three pitchers due to be signed; Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, and Aaron Fultz.
Joe Borowski should be signed without hesitation. Yes, he gave us all cardiac arrest attaining 45 saves in 53 chances, but without those 45 saves, we would not have tied for the best record in all of baseball in 2007.
Aaron Fultz is a different story. This pitcher is highly rated with a career 4.26 ERA and a 25 and 15 won/loss record. Thinking back to the second half of the season, he was pretty much ineffective, getting into trouble often. Remember game 3 vs. the Yankees in the playoffs? He faced 3 batters and 2 scored. Supposedly he suffered an oblique muscle pull half way through the season. I don’t recall that but if he is OK, let’s trade him while he has value. So yes, let’s sign him with the intention of trading him. What is up with the oblique muscle pulls on this team? Fultz, Westbrook, and Lee this year and Sabathia last year…sounds like a conditioning issue!
What about Paul Byrd? Faced with a possible HGH suspension from the league, Byrd had a very good year. He was 15 – 8 with a 4.59 ERA. He will be 37 years old next month. The fact is, if we sign him and he receives the suspension, we do not have to pay him during that time off. Sign him, even if to trade him.
Soon the baseball winter meetings will take place. Shapiro will go to the meetings probably not looking to shop the free agency market again. According to Shapiro, he feels comfortable with the offense and defense of this team but is looking to improve the bullpen. I agree with improving the bullpen but not with standing pat on the offense. With Kenny Lofton destined to leave again, are we strong enough in the outfield with Sizemore, Gutierrez, and Michaels? With Nixon filing for free agency, we do not have a lefty pinch hitter. Is Ben Francisco ready to play everyday? What about Marte and Barfield? Lots of question marks remain, too many to overlook the one-time purchase of a free agent that secures the outfield question with a big stick as well.
What about replays? This is sure to be on the agenda for the winter meetings. Shapiro has been quoted as being in favor of replays in a limited capacity. Why not? We have the technology…use it! The game is delayed anyway while the umpires huddle on a fair/foul or in/out home runs!
Lots going on and the Indians will not get to the series unless they improve.

108 days until the start of spring training...tick, tick, tick...