Indians Confidential

In this latest audio interview, site editor Matt Loede talks with our newest staff member and host of the 10th Inning on ESPN 850 WKNR - Greg Brinda.  The pair talk about the season to date, the injuries, the outlook for the offense, and if the team is going to make any moves as the trade deadline nears.  Click below to hear this latest interview with ESPN’s Greg Brinda.

 

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Interesting dinner conversation tonight in the Indians press dining room, as I had the pleasure of catching up with media pals Greg Brinda of WKNR and the always entertaining Bruce Drennen of “All Bets are Off” on SportsTime Ohio.  The topic turned to the Indians offense (or lack of), and the latest rumor mill that Bruce said was a topic on his show today, which was the rumor of the Indians having interest in Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins.

If you haven’t heard about it, Buster Olney of ESPN threw out the following on the possibility of the Indians taking a look at Atkins: If Colorado eventually turns the page on 2008, the Indians and the Rockies could match up well in a deal built around Garrett Atkins. The Rockies have a third baseman waiting in the wings, in Ian Stewart — although he is not faring well so far — and the Indians, as they look for ways to improve their offense, are flexible at first and third base.

Now if you don’t know much about Atkins, he’s a solid hitter (.335 with 7 homers and 26 RBI), and according to Drennen he’s more than serviceable at third.  The Indians need a stick, no doubt, and third base is a question mark for the future with Andy Marte not doing much of anything, and Casey Blake is playing well, but he’s not your 3B of the future.

Atkins is not going to come cheap, and two names that Bruce brought up in a possible deal would be pitcher Aaron Laffey and 2B Josh Barfield, who is playing OK in Buffalo.  Atkins last season had 25 homers, 111 RBI and hit .301.  Follow this one closely, and while the trade deadline is a long way off, there is no doubt that this is an interesting rumor that could gain more steam before it’s all said and done.

You can do a lot passing the time waiting for a rain dealy to pass. While the delay never ended Friday night, I had the pleasure of dining with two of my favorite vets in the Cleveland media - Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer and Greg Brinda, sports talk host of ESPN 850 WKNR. While it was fun to trade some personal stuff with these solid vets, we also talked some Indians. Here is a quick set of highlights of our discussions:

Travis Hafner - We all agreed that the issues that are hindering Hafner are not issues that are going to be solved quickly. Travis’ problems that started last year are far and away a complete mystery as to not only why they started, but what he can do to get it turned back around. Hoynes compared Hafner’s sudden lack of power to fomer Indian Carols Baerga, whose issues off the field and lack of production eventually got him traded to the Mets in 1996.

The Closer Role - We all agree that putting Joe Borowski right back in the closer role is a risky call, but as Paul pointed out - could it get any worse than it is right now? We also all came to the conclusion that one wild card in the closer mix could be Masa Kobayashi, who seems to have adjusted nicely in the Majors. One thing appears for sure - Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez and Borowski don’t appear to be the answer.

Adding a Spark to the Offense - Hoynes thinks that Mark Shapiro is going to have to make a move and add a bat to the lineup, and I don’t disagree with that. Bringing up Ben Francisco and keeping him on the Major League roster is something that should be done soon. As far as some of the players that could be on the bubble of being sent elsewhere or even being shown the door include Jason Michaels (.207), Andy Marte (.077) and maybe reduced playing time for Jhonny Peralta (.229).