Indians Confidential

Indians Plain Dealer beat reporter Paul Hoynes writes the following in today’s paper in regard to a possible trade of ace C.C. Sabathia:

Tribe’s Antonelli downplays trade talk, but scouts think otherwise

The Indians say they’re not ready to trade C.C. Sabathia.

“Our focus is working to do what we can to make sure we’re playing meaningful games in September,” said Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti before Tuesday night’s game against Colorado. “We’re working to get back in the race. That’s our focus.

“We sit here today 5 1/2 games back. It’s not insurmountable.”

Sabathia, however, is a free agent at the end of the year. The chances of re-signing him haven’t improved since Sabathia tabled negotiations at the start of spring training. Not only that, but the Indians disabled list is loaded with big players — Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Westbrook and Carmona represent two-fifths of the starting rotation. Hafner and Martinez are the heart of the lineup.

“I watched them on their last road trip,” said one scout. “I was disappointed with the way they hit. Not too many teams can lose two starters like Westbrook and Carmona and withstand it. It doesn’t look good for them in the second half.”

Click HERE to read the rest of the story

Coming off their awful 0-6 road trip, the Indians look as if they will make some roster moves that could help the bullpen, and possibly the offense. Paul Hoynes’ Insider today says that the team will activate closer Joe Borowski today, this after he pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday night for Akron. Jo-Bo also looked close to ready when he pitched Monday night in Lake County. With the hitting null and void, the bullpen has also started to scuffle as of late, leaving the team hoping that Borowski, despite his issues already this season, can add a spark to the team. It’s been said all along that he’ll be the closer upon his return.

As for the offense, Eric Wedge also said that we could see our first appearance of outfielder Shin-Soo Choo in 2008 soon. Choo is on a 20-day rehab assignment in Buffalo, and could be with the team shortly. You can also expect Jake Westbrook to be back soon, meaning that Aaron Laffey’s spot in the rotation will be gone and he’ll likely be back at AAA Buffalo. As for who goes where when Borowski and Choo may be ready - Michael Aubrey, who showed some pop in his bat with two homers on this recent road trip, will probably go down. Hoynes also says that it could be time to cut the cord with Andy Marte. He has no options left, meaning that the team can’t send him down unless they designate him for assignment and he’d likely get picked up by another team.

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).

Time for another Sunday edition of “Hey Hoynsie” from Paul Hoynes, Indians beat writer of the Plain Dealer. In this edition Paul answers questions about David Delucci and Jason Michaels, MLB opening up in Japan, and his articles on the greatest players he ever saw. Click HERE to read Paul’s latest edition of “Hey Hoynsie.”

Plain Dealer Tribe beat writer Paul Hoynes reports in today’s edition of talk of moving second basemen Asdrubal Cabrera down to the bottom of the lineup. He had been entrenched in the No. 2 spot in the lineup since his call up last year. Eric Wedge thinks that maybe the pressure will be hot and heavy on Cabrera this year, and that by moving him down in the lineup it may allow him time to focus and not feel pressured.

Right now the plan could be if Cabrera moves down in the lineup to try one of three players there - Jason Michaels, Franklin Gutierrez or David Dellucci. Only three spots in the lineup are totally set as of today - Grady Sizemore leading off, Travis Hafner hitting third and catcher Victor Martinez in the four hole.

Hoynesie down in Winter Haven today talks about how important it is to the Tribe to get their pitching rotation set up as Spring Training and of course the regular season starts quicker than a blink of an eye. Hard to believe that we’re 37 days away from the opener on March 31st vs th White Sox. Here is the story from the PD today:

Cleveland Indians’ first order of business sets up pitching lineup

As Spring Training continues down in Winter Haven, one story that’s been talked about a lot is if Cliff Lee can rebound off his awful 2007 and have a comeback season in 08.  Lee got hurt early in camp last year, and simply never was the pitcher that had a solid career up to that point.

Paul Hoynes of the PD wrote a feature on Lee in today’s edition, and Lee, never one to be a man of many words (an can at times be downright rude) didn’t say much else other than he needs to stay healthy.  Yeah, and pitch better might be another factor, Cliff.  Anyway, here’s the story from Paul below:

Cleveland Indians pitcher Lee hopes to avoid another bad season