Kluber’s Resurgence Sparks Tribe

When Corey Kluber took the mound on May 13th against the St. Louis Cardinals, he had an ERA over 5.00, and hadn’t won a game.

He showed his Cy Young Award winning form that night, striking out 18 hitters in eight scoreless innings, and allowed one hit in a 2-0 victory.

The Indians’ pitching staff seemed to rediscover itself on that night.

In the last 11 games, including that night, the Tribe pitchers have allowed just 30 runs, an average of less than three runs per night. You will win a lot of games when you hold the opponents like that.

And Cleveland has, they have won eight of those contests.

It seems that getting Kluber straightened out has sparked the club, and the other starters have followed the ace’s lead, starting with Trevor Bauer, who the next day, pitched a gem of his own, striking out 10 Cardinals in 7-1/3 innings, before Marc Rzcepczynski gave up a two-run HR to Matt Carpenter.

Yes, the offense is performing a little better, particularly since Terry Francona moved Jason Kipnis to the leadoff spot, but in this recent run, the Tribe is only averaging four tallies per game, scoring three runs or less in six of the 11 ballgames.

Everyone thought the starting pitching was the reason Cleveland would be a contender in 2015, and right now they are living up to those expectations.

When your starters perform like the Indians’ hurlers have over the last 10 days, you have a chance to win every single night.

And it helps that veteran Shawn Marcum gave his team a strong outing in his first start, beating the White Sox, giving up only two solo home runs in 6-2/3 innings of work last Wednesday.

Up to that point, the fifth starter spot had been a black hole for Cleveland since the first turn through the rotation.

Francona also made some changes in the bullpen too, as Nick Hagadone and Scott Atchison have taken a backseat after a few shaky outings.

Cody Allen seems to have better control and as a result is looking more and more like the pitcher we saw in 2014. He picked up his 9th save today, and has fanned 25 in 17-1/3 frames, although the 12 walks is still a scary statistic.

Zack McAllister seems to be the primary set up man, with a 1.64 ERA out of the ‘pen and 27 whiffs in 22 innings as a reliever. Rzcepczynski is the situational lefty of choice used by the skipper right now.

It was telling that the other night when Danny Salazar could only give the team six innings, that Francona went with newcomer Ryan Webb, who has allowed just five hits and three walks in 12-2/3 innings. Webb seems to be getting a more prominent role in the bullpen right now.

Bryan Shaw has been prone to giving up the longball, allowing three bombs in 13-2/3 innings to this point in the season. It appears he has lost the eighth inning spot he had in 2014.

But it starts with the starters giving Francona and Mickey Callaway six solid innings on most nights. That means the relief corps does not get overexposed and keeps them fresh.

That needs to continue.

If it does, the Indians may just be able to climb over the .500 mark and stamp themselves as the team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

It would be nice if they would hit a little better and catch the ball better too.

However, this is a team built on starting pitching and the ace of the staff seems to be back on the beam. That’s what got the Indians pointed in the right direction.

It’s Starting To Not Be So Early for Indians

If you were going to write a blueprint on how to contend for a division title in baseball, we would guess it wouldn’t say to start off 4-11 against your own division foes.

That’s what the Indians have done and in the process have dug a little hole for themselves.

They are now seven games out of first place and the calendar hasn’t even turned to May.

There is plenty of time for the Tribe, as they haven’t reached the 27 game point of the season, the one-sixth pole if you will, but it will come sometime next week, and right now, Terry Francona’s team looks moribund at best.

The culprit? The same as last year, an inconsistent offense that lacks hitters who provide professional at bats.

Last weekend’s series at Comerica Park was a perfect example of what we are talking about, as the Indians scored 13 runs in the first contest, and followed up the next day by tallying just one.

The team’s best hitter to this point has been a guy many people wanted to replace before the season opened, Ryan Raburn, who has hit .385 in 26 at bats and is tied for the club lead (with Brandon Moss) in extra base hits with seven.

Of course, three of Moss’ long hits game in the 13-1 rout of the Tigers we were speaking of earlier.

Granted, it is early, but the usual Indians’ line up features a lot of players batting anywhere from .240 to .150.

On the other hand, at what point is it no longer early?

When the same things are occurring to start the year as ended last season, there may not be time to wait.

We had discussions over the weekend about CF Michael Bourn, who was finally dropped out of the leadoff spot after starting off 2015 the same way he closed last year: Striking out a lot, not getting on base, and not stealing bases.

At this point, it would be a shock if Bourn caught fire and wound up the year with an average of over .250.

Jason Kipnis is looking like the ’14 version which was an injury plagued campaign.

Lonnie Chisenhall is looking like second half Lonnie, not the one who flirted with .400 in the first half of 2014.

The defense continues to struggle. Thank goodness Cleveland pitchers lead the American League in strikeouts, lest more balls be put in play to challenge the tin gloves the Indians’ fielders use.

GM Chris Antonetti has built this team on pitching, yet continues to put subpar defenders behind his collection of power arms in the front of his rotation.

We have been clamoring for Francisco Lindor to be called up since the trading deadline last season, but once again, today we heard a bunch of corporate speak about how he is not yet a finished product.

And we say that despite the fact we like Jose Ramirez. Ramirez will be a good player someday, but he’s a second baseman, not a shortstop. Lindor is a shortstop.

Roster problems weren’t taken care of either this winter. When Antonetti traded for Moss this winter, they didn’t move David Murphy, despite the plan to play the newcomer in RF.

Therefore, the Tribe doesn’t have a backup centerfielder on the roster. Wouldn’t Tyler Holt fill a role with this team?

Anyway, based on past experience, Antonetti will wait and wait before making any changes with the roster. By that time, it may be too late.

We picked the Indians to emerge as the division winner, but right now, this team doesn’t have the look of a playoff team, except for the starting pitching.

Hopefully, the season doesn’t get away from them by then.

Some Things Bothering Us With The Tribe

The baseball season is still very, very young. That’s why no one should be too upset about the Cleveland Indians start after 14 games.

The Tribe is 5-9 for the season, and really the only problem with that record is that Kansas City and Detroit have launched the 2015 regular season on a hot streak.

The Indians were 5-9 at the same point in the season in 2013 and went on to win 92 games that season and made the playoffs.

If you are looking at how games behind Cleveland is in the standings, be advised that on May 18th last season, they were 10-1/2 games out of first. They still went to the final weekend of the season before being eliminated from the post-season.

However, there still are some disturbing trends that have shown up in the first three weeks of the season, and they are being carried over from a year ago.

Defense. The Indians thought this would be improved from last year because Jose Ramirez replaced Asdrubal Cabrera at SS, and Carlos Santana was established at 1B. It’s still a problem.

Ramirez has booted some routine plays in key situations giving opponents extra outs, and the fears about Brandon Moss in right have proven true. He has missed cut offs routinely, and several fly balls which looked to be outs off of the bat have fallen in safely.

On a team built on pitching, the hurlers deserve better defense behind them.

Let’s face it, shortstop and centerfield are the most important defensive positions, and the organization’s best defender at SS is in Columbus.

Michael Bourn/Top of the lineup. The centerfielder’s career has been in decline since arriving here, and to this point, nothing has changed.

In his years in the National League, Bourn was a career .272 hitter with a .339 on base percentage and a 704 OPS. In two years with the Tribe, those numbers have dropped to .257/.313/.667.

While it is very early, Bourn isn’t off to a good start, hitting below .200 and second on the team in strikeouts despite having just two extra base hits.

He’s never been a very good leadoff hitter because of his on base average, but he’s becoming a liability at the top of the order. It will be interesting to see how patience Terry Francona has with the veteran.

The guy batting after him, Jason Kipnis, is also struggling. He has just one extra base hit in 58 at bats. Just two years ago, Kipnis had 57 extra base hits for the season, today, he ranks last on the club.

It wouldn’t be as bad if Kipnis was getting on base, but he’s drawn just two walks on the season, meaning his OBP is just .246.

It’s difficult for the offense to get going when every game seems to start with two outs and nobody on.

The Bullpen. Francona has ridden his bullpen hard the last two seasons, and whether it has taken a toll or not remains to be seen. However, the relief corps has had a problem throwing strikes, and that is not good.

Cody Allen has walked six hitters in five innings. Nick Hagadone, whose control has always been an issue, has walked three in six innings of work.

Bryan Shaw has walked two in four innings, but has been behind in the count often, leading to allowing eight hits in that workload. Kyle Crockett, now at Columbus, walked three in less than three innings.

Putting extra men on base especially in key, late game situations is never a good idea. This is an area that could turn around quickly.

We generally don’t form a solid judgment on a team until they get to 27 games, or 1/6th of the season.

But the first two things noted here were around all last year, so it becomes more of a trend.

Sure, the Indians could start hitting this weekend in Detroit and come back home in a much better spot. The starting pitching, especially at the top of the rotation has been spectacular.

Let’s hope the Tribe starts playing much better starting Friday night.

Tribe Roster in Flux Already, No Need to Panic

The major league baseball season is a week old, and already the roster of the Cleveland Indians is in flux.

Even though the Tribe were swept in their first home series of the year by the Detroit Tigers, the biggest loss was that of Yan Gomes, who suffered sprained knee ligaments in a home plate collision on Saturday and will be out 6-8 weeks.

GM Chris Antonetti was forced to do some roster shuffling because of Gomes’ injury, as well as a back problem for Michael Brantley that has kept him out of the lineup for all but two games.

If he isn’t ready to play Tuesday night against Chicago, after three days off, he may join Gomes on the DL.

Brantley’s problem along with other teams throwing southpaws at the Tribe, forced the team to bring up OF/1B Jerry Sands, a right-handed bat to help in this regard.

Then after the home opener and Saturday’s debacle for the relief corps, Antonetti and skipper Terry Francona were forced to bring back Austin Adams, set back to active Sands, and also to bring up Shawn Marcum to provide innings in case T.J. House couldn’t provide innings on Sunday, which he couldn’t.

It just goes to show that major league teams really don’t have a 25 man roster, it is more like 30 guys, with all of the player movement between the big club and their AAA affiliate.

However, it’s still way to early to panic and worry, after there are still 156 games remaining.

This series against the Tigers reminded us of a weekend at home against Oakland last May, when the Tribe lost three games by scores of 11-2, 6-2, and 13-3. Everything the A’s hit that weekend either hit a hole or sailed over a fence, much like the Tigers this weekend.

How did the Indians respond last year? They won 5 of their next 6, including a three game sweep of? You guessed it, the Detroit Tigers.

And as for folks saying this year is the same as last, and Cleveland can’t beat the Motor City Kitties, let us remind you that the Tribe beat the Tigers in four of the first five games they played a year ago, and wound up the season at 8-11 against them.

Again, there is a long, long way to go.

Detroit is hitting .364 as a team, and we are fairly confident that won’t continue for the balance of the year. Also, if you want to have success against them, you have to get their first two hitter and the bottom of their order out.

Right now, Anthony Gose has a .450 OBP, Ian Kinsler’s is .480, and Jose Iglesias’ is .625. Lifetime, their figures are .306 (Gose), .344 (Kinsler), and .335 (Iglesias).

To summarize…the Tigers are red-hot and the Indians caught them at the right time.

Also, the Tigers only saw one of the Indians’ top three pitchers, Corey Kluber, and Saturday’s game featured a meltdown by the bullpen, which isn’t normal for Francona’s team.

Many baseball people say you can’t judge a team until the 40 game mark, but we disagree slightly, saying that at the 1/6th point of the season, 27 games, you can start to get a feel for what is going on.

So, relax. This week the Indians have two with the White Sox and three in Minnesota with the Twins.

Just think, a week from now, the optimism felt by everyone going into the season could very well be back.

Not Many Roster Decisions This Spring For Tribe

The exhibition season for the Cleveland Indians starts next week, but there really aren’t that many decisions for Terry Francona and GM Chris Antonetti to make in terms of who will make the Opening Day roster.

It’s another reason it should be a good season for the Tribe.

The biggest decision for Francona is deciding whether or not he is going to carry 12 pitchers, or have an eight man bullpen.

If he keeps 13 hurlers, then the three position player reserve spots will go to Mike Aviles, Roberto Perez, and Ryan Raburn or David Murphy, unless the latter is moved during camp. This, of course, assumes that Nick Swisher and Brandon Moss are healthy and ready to go.

The only reason Murphy is still here is insurance in case Moss and/or Swisher aren’t ready to play in April, otherwise, the fact that Raburn hits right-handed, virtually assures he will make the team unless he has a disastrous spring.

If Tito keeps just 12 pitchers, then you may see Zach Walters, who can play both infield and outfield could stick. Or you may see another right-handed bat, like Jesus Aguilar come up with the team.

Either way, at bats will be limited for Murphy and that’s why he’s expected to be elsewhere come April.

As for the pitching staff, the only question in the starting rotation will be is Gavin Floyd’s health. If he is ready, he will take a spot along with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Danny Salazar.

If not, then T.J. House, Josh Tomlin, and Zach McAllister will battle for the open slot as a starter.

In a seven man bullpen, we know that barring an injury, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, ageless Scott Atchison, and Mark Rzepczynski are shoo-ins, and you can probably put another lefty, Nick Hagadone, in that class too as he is out of options.

That leaves two spots open and if McAllister isn’t in the rotation, he will be in the ‘pen because he is also out of options and the Tribe doesn’t want to lose his arm. Plus, he performed very well in relief last September.

That would leave the last opening to be a fight between holdovers Kyle Crockett, C.C. Lee, and non-roster invitees Bruce Chen, Scott Downs, and Anthony Swarzak.

Obviously, if Francona keeps eight relievers, then there are two spots open for those guys.

Swarzak is a name to keep an eye on. He’s 29 years old and just two years removed from a season in which he had a 2.91 ERA for the Twins in 96 innings. He and McAllister, if he’s in relief, are capable of giving Tito multiple innings out of the bullpen, as both guys have been starters.

And we know Francona likes to use his relief corps.

The main point here is that’s the only “drama” in camp, the first 21-22 players are pretty much etched in stone, and all the Tribe is looking for is who will fill out the last spot on the bench and in the bullpen.

After years when you are trying to figure out a third of the lineup and half the rotation, it makes for a much more relaxing spring training for Francona and the front office.

Any roster surprises would only occur if one of the players coming back from injury (Swisher, Moss, Floyd) aren’t ready to go.

Why Is Tribe So Bad at Selling Themselves?

Last weekend, the Cleveland Indians held their annual fanfest, bringing in former and current players, along with manager Terry Francona to meet and mingle with the fans.

Once again, it was a very crowded place to be, indicating once again that there is plenty of interest in the Tribe, but unfortunately it doesn’t translate into larger crowds filling Progressive Field.

Let’s face it, for all of success on the field the Indians have had over the last two seasons with Francona at the helm, they are a boring franchise in terms of making news.

With all of the wheeling and dealing that occurred within major league baseball this winter, the Indians made one trade, bringing Brandon Moss from Oakland for minor league infielder Joe Wendle.

And while watching MLB Network last week, they showed a list of least money spent on free agents during the off-season, and there were the Indians sitting in the top five, with only Gavin Floyd’s $4 million deal as of right now.

That really isn’t moving the fan base to dig into their pockets and buy tickets, which by the way, aren’t even for sale yet in terms of single game purchases.

So, even if there were a reason to buy tickets, you can’t unless you are interested in a season ticket program.

And the biggest thing the front office has been promoting this winter is the renovations to the ballpark, which will not seat approximately 10-15% fewer fans come April.

So we can add not very good at promoting itself to being boring in terms of making news.

We asked the people at the website, MLB Trade Rumors, if they even had someone monitoring the Indians since not only do they not make any moves, they also aren’t really involved in any rumors either.

By the way, they laughed at our question, and said in their opinion, Cleveland can look forward to a very good season.

We agree, that’s why it’s a shame more people can’t see that, and why the organization has such a hard time promoting itself.

We wrote an article a few weeks ago that gave nine things about the team that the front office should be pointing out, instead of saying how the team has limited money to spend, and talking about market size.

That lack of self-promotion is probably the biggest problem with the Cleveland Indians.

Because there is interest in this team. We know that because the local ratings for the games is very high. If you are on Twitter during a game, there is plenty of comments, both pro and con during the contest, the same as there is for a Browns’ or Cavaliers’ game.

And some of the players, particularly the young core of talent, are starting to be recognized by the fan base. You can see allegiances being formed with Michael Brantley, Corey Kluber, and Yan Gomes.

Many people are looking forward to this season so they can finally see one of the sports’ top prospects in SS Francisco Lindor.

We don’t know why the Indians are so bad about this aspect of the game, and along with the appraisals they do in regards to the men who are playing, they should examine why they cannot connect with the people who buy tickets.

They are like the terrible sales person who has a great product to sell, but because their spiel is so poor, they can’t get folks to try it.

That makes it a priority for the team to get off to a fast start so people will sit up and take notice. It will be especially difficult this spring because it is likely the Cavaliers will be in the midst of a playoff run, and that will consume the fan’s interest.

Here’s hoping the message can be received some how, because it appears the Cleveland Indians will be in the middle of a playoff race again in 2015.

In Sports, Consistency is a Talent Worth Having

Last week, we were involved in a debate on Twitter about the merits of Indians’ utility man Zach Walters, as we compared him (as we have many times before) to former Tribesman Russell Branyan.

We were quizzed that it sounded like that comparison was a bad thing, which we meant it to be. Our opinion is that wild, streaky hitters like Branyan and Walters aren’t effective major league players.

Our contention is that consistency is a tool just like hitting with power, speed, and defensive ability.

Walters came to the Tribe at the trade deadline from the Nationals for Asdrubal Cabrera, and did whack some home runs immediately after being called up, hitting six dingers in his first 48 at bats. The downside is he only had four other hits, leading to a .208 batting average and mixing in just three walks.

A true all or nothing hitter.

From August 27th to the last game of the season, when Walters went 2 for 4 with a home run, the switch-hitter went 3 for 36 with 16 punch outs and just two walks. Do you think Terry Francona was anxious to put him in the lineup?

To be fair to Walters, it is a relatively small sample size and he is just 25 years old and could (and really needs to) change his approach at the plate.

Let’s go back to 2013 for a larger sample, using former Indian Mark Reynolds as the example.

Reynolds famously started on fire in April, hitting .301 with 8 HR and 22 RBI helping get the Tribe off to a good start.

However, in May, June, and July combined, Reynolds went 44 for 243, a .181 batting average, with 7 homers and 25 RBI. Francona started easing him out of the lineup and when it was all said and done, the slugger wanted out and the Tribe was happy to oblige.

We understand that no one is perfectly consistent. A .300 hitter doesn’t hit for that average every month, and neither does a .250 hitter. However, from a manager or coaches’ standpoint, those guys are gold because for the most part, you know what you will get.

That’s why guys like Branyan and perhaps Walters get placed into reserve roles. In the NBA, players with up and down performances are bench guys. If they come in and are hot, the coach can ride them. If they aren’t, they can be taken out and not be a part of the game going forward.

In Walters’ case, he is still young and many times it takes players without a lot of experience time to develop a consistent level. When Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome first came to the Indians, they had severe ups and downs too, and Mike Hargrove had to manage that. Heck, Thome was basically a platoon player in 1994 and 1995.

That’s something the front office has to keep an eye on with Jason Kipnis. Kipnis made his season in ’13 with a tremendous June in which he hit close to .400 and he had a solid September as well. The rest of the season? He was below .250. Just something to watch in 2015.

Remember how frustrated fans got with Lonnie Chisenhall last season?

That’s why players like Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes are even more valuable than you think. They were consistent all year-long and have been for a while.

Gomes strikes out a lot, but more often than not, the guys who strike out at a high rate are players more prone to peaks and valleys.

Consistency equals dependability. And that’s part of a player’s profile, one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Does Tribe Still Need Pitching

Yesterday was a good day for the Indians’ organization because the ace of their staff, Corey Kluber, won the American League’s Cy Young Award. He is the fourth Tribe pitcher to win that award, joining Gaylord Perry, C.C. Sabathia, and Cliff Lee.

Kluber deserved the honor, leading the league in wins with 18 and finishing second in the AL in strikeouts and complete games.

We knew this last season, but Terry Francona has a legitimate top of the rotation starter going into next season. The question is, does GM Chris Antonetti still need to add another starter, or should he be satisfied with the performance of the starters over the last two months of the season.

The answer here is you can never have too much pitching, and although the rotation was fantastic in August and September, there really isn’t much of a track record for any of the starters, including Kluber.

Before anyone goes crazy, to us, a proven track record is two to three years at a certain performance level. And while Kluber has been solid in both 2013 and 2014, the fact remains he threw only 147 innings in the prior year because of injury, and this year he pitched 235 frames. How will his arm react to the additional workload?

The only starting pitcher who toiled in the major leagues prior to 2013 is Carlos Carrasco, who was tremendous after returning to the rotation last season, but outside of the first half of the 2011 season, before needing Tommy John surgery, has little track record of success in the big leagues.

This isn’t to denigrate Carrasco, who has tremendous stuff. We are only saying it is a big leap of faith to assume the right-hander will pitch the entire 2015 season the way he finished ’14.

Trevor Bauer has the next most starts in the majors with 34, the same number Kluber had this season. His career ERA in those appearance is 4.18, which is a solid figure, but not earth shattering.

We like Bauer, and for most of last season he was the second most consistent starter for Cleveland. But, he’s thrown less than 200 innings (186) at the big league level. You simply don’t know for certain what he is going to do in 2015.

Danny Salazar? He has 30 major league starts and 162 innings under his belt.

T. J. House made 18 starts and has just a little over 100 innings in the bigs.

Josh Tomlin and Zack McAllister have more of a track record than the three guys we just mentioned. Tomlin is 29-28 lifetime with an ERA approaching 5.00 (4.89) in 477 innings. If he could pitch like he did in 2011 (12-7, 4.12 ERA) that would be nice, but that’s the last time he was effective.

McAllister is 19-25 with a 4.38 ERA lifetime in 65 starts, a total of 363 innings. He was solid in 2013, but had a mediocre season in ’14. He showed promise working in relief at the end of the season, and could be taking the same career path as Carrasco.

We wouldn’t want to bank on those two as backups if one of the youngsters falter.

It may sound like doom and gloom, but these are the things Antonetti needs to think about when constructing the pitching staff. He has to assume things will go wrong.

Think about it, Bauer and House weren’t in the rotation that opened the 2014 season.

That’s why the Tribe still needs to add another starting pitcher, preferably someone who can come in and the management can be reasonably certain they can soak up innings and pitch effectively.

The old adage is still true…you can’t have enough pitching.

Will Tito Staying Lead to Bigger Emphasis on Winning?

During this past baseball season, we speculated that we wouldn’t be surprised if Tribe skipper Terry Francona decided to resign this off-season because of the inactivity of the front office at the trading deadline.

Yes, we knew that Tito took the gig because of his relationship with team president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti, but we felt experiencing what we perceived as a lack of interest in going for it would show Francona that this wasn’t the job for him.

How wrong were we?

This morning, it was revealed that Francona signed a two-year contract extension to remain the manager of the Indians, meaning he is signed through the 2018 season.

Perhaps the only bad thing this means is the ownership will not be making any changes to the front office group through that same time period.

Antonetti’s comments today trumpeted the “stability” mantra, claiming it is a positive thing. And it would be if this was one of the most successful organizations in the sport over the last 15 years. However, it isn’t.

If keeping Francona means more of the last two seasons, both of which finished with an above .500 record and in 2013 ended with a spot hosting the wild card game, then we are all for that. There is no question that although people have had questions with the manager’s in-game strategy (including us), he gets the most out of the talent on the roster.

And maybe Shapiro and Antonetti understand their best chance at remaining the contender the Indians have been the last two seasons is to have Francona at the helm. Because before Tito arrived, this was a franchise that couldn’t put two consecutive good seasons together.

After two World Series titles with Boston, it is doubtful that Francona wants to wallow in mediocrity here over the next four to six seasons. So, does this contract extension mean the front office is going to make another push to bring in more talent this off-season?

Remember that before his first season as manager, the Indians brought in Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn as free agents and also traded for Trevor Bauer. Now, the club has a solid, younger nucleus in Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and Yan Gomes among the position players, and a young starting rotation led by Cy Young Award candidate Corey Kluber that will be in place for the next few seasons.

So, it is incumbent on the general manager to add some pieces, some productive veteran pieces, to this young core to push them over the top. Did Francona get assurances that this would happen going forward?

Probably not, but his friends have to know how he feels.

We have maintained that this roster doesn’t need an overhaul, it just has to add one or two pieces, and those will likely come via the trade route. Both MLB Trade Rumors and Baseball Prospectus listed the top 50 free agents this winter and neither site had the Tribe signing anyone on the list.

The good news is the best manager the Indians have had in a long time is going to be here for at least the next four years. The bad news is the tie in with Shapiro and Antonetti, and Tito’s link to them probably insures they will be here for that period as well, which is fine if the Indians are regular participants in the playoffs.

If they aren’t, it will be almost 20 years since Shapiro took control of the organization without the success of his predecessor, John Hart. How long will fans accept it if Francona can’t continue to work the magic of the last two seasons.

Tribe Shouldn’t Trade Starting Pitching for a Bat.

A lot of discussion has gone on over the past few days about the direction the Cleveland Indians need to go in this winter. While no one questions whether or not the Tribe needs to get more hitting, the question remains, how to do it.

The Indians finished in the top half of the American League in both runs scored (7th) and in ERA (6th), but no one who watched the team play this season has any doubt the ballclub needs another proven hitter and better defense.

One of the ways suggested to get the hitting Terry Francona’s team needs is to trade one of their pitchers, based on the outstanding work of the starting rotation over the last two months.

However, we would suggest this is not the proper move.

First, it would be a repeat of the pattern the Tribe front office used throughout the 70’s and 80’s, when they would collect hitters and have no pitching. Then, they would trade those hitters to get pitchers, thus creating a team with solid pitching but could not hit.

And then they would repeat the cycle all over again.

Quite frankly, beyond the five pitchers Cleveland used in the rotation at the end of the year (Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and T.J. House), there isn’t a lot of depth in the system.

And of those five starters, beyond Kluber, only Bauer demonstrated effectiveness over more than the last two months in 2014. This isn’t to say the others are flashes in the pan, it is only to show the lack of an established track record.

We have said this before and will repeat, the two areas where the Indians have some depth is in the bullpen and in the middle infield.

With youngsters on the horizon like C.C. Lee, Austin Adams, and guys coming up like Shawn Armstrong, Louis Head, and Tyler Sturdivant, and the emergence of Zack McAllister as another power arm to use in relief, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Bryan Shaw included in a deal.

Shaw has been used hard by Francona and Mickey Callaway over the past two years, and it may be prudent to sell high on the right-hander before his performance drops from the excess use.

In the middle infield, the Indians have 2B Jason Kipnis, coming off a bad year, SS Jose Ramirez, just 22-years-old, and the team’s best prospect, SS Francisco Lindor. They also have Ronny Rodriguez and Erik Gonzales, who both finished the year at AA Akron.

Kipnis is established and if the front office wants to make room for Lindor, then Ramirez is a solid trade chip, a middle infielder who has great speed, and hit .262 playing regularly over August and September. There are many teams around the majors who are always looking for help in the middle of the diamond.

Another possible chip could be reserve catcher Roberto Perez, who hit .271 in 85 at bats backing up Yan Gomes after Carlos Santana was shifted to first base. Perez is just 26-years-old and probably too young to be in a back up role, so teams looking for catchers could be interested.

Besides, with Gomes getting the bulk of the time behind the plate, the Indians don’t need to look too hard to find someone to play 30-40 games in a season.

There is no question the Indians need to get a bat or two, but dealing a starting pitcher isn’t the way to do it.