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

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.”

The Indians played their first intersquad game earlier today in Winter Haven, and from the reports out there it sounds like it was pretty solid offensive showcase. The report from Hoynsie is in the link below, but here is the quick recap:

* Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Garko hit back-to-back homers off of Joe Borowski in the first inning.

* Ben Francisco went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double. He also stol two bases and drove in a run

* Grady Sizemore went 2-for-2 with two singles

* Michael Aubrey hit a three-run homer

Here is the link for the rest of the gamer from Hoynes:

Recap from Cleveland Indians’ first intrasquad game

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     

In a move that does not come as a shock to me considering he’s as good as gone in my eyes, C.C. Sabathia put a post on his website about breaking off talks about a new deal with the Tribe until after the season.  WTAM’s Mark Schwab is in Winter Haven, and in talking to him the other night at the Cavs, he even said that if a deal didn’t get done before the season, the prospects of C.C. coming back would be bleak.  Well, get ready, becuase according to his site, that is what is going to happen, as no new talks will take place.

Here is the quote from C.C. on his site about the situation: “This off-season, through my representatives at Legacy Sports Group, I have discussed the possibility of a contract extension with the Cleveland Indians. At this time, we haven’t been able to reach agreement. Now that the reporting date for spring training is here, it is time to put aside contract discussions so that I can focus all of my energies and attention on preparing for the upcoming season.” In other words - SEE YA! Paul Hoynes has the story in the PD today, click the link below to check it out.    

Cleveland Indians’ Sabathia says talks over until end of season