SSH2005

Any prospect is an unproven commodity until they get a chance to play in the majors (see Brian Anderson). I agree that the Indians have gotten worse on paper since last season but Marte could and should make the Indians better in the future. Afterall, Aaron Boone really sucks and the Indians had no replacement for him in their system. Bingo.

Rhodes only pitched 43.1 innings last season. He wasn't very good in 2003 or 2004 and he is old, injury-prone, and expensive. I don't see him being a huge loss for their bullpen. But losing Howry hurts a lot and they downgraded from Millwood to Byrd. Elarton to Johnson isn't really a downgrade though. They are both equally mediocre fifth starters. You also don't mention that they will reportedly get Marte and Mota in the Crisp trade. Mota is a downgrade from Howry but Marte would be a pretty big acquisition since they have a massive hole in their system at third base.

If the other trade goes through, Marte, Michaels, and Mota isn't a bad haul for Crisp and Rhodes. The Indians get their third baseman of the future (a massive hole for them) and cheaper replacements for Crisp and Rhodes.

And Mackowiak was busted for a DUI. Assaulting a cop is worse but I don't see how either event will affect their respective performances, unless they play games drunk/hungover.

Hafner = 30+ HR's Peralta, Blake, Sizemore, Martinez, Broussard/Perez = 20+ HR's each Belliard, Boone = 15+ HR's each I think the Indians can afford to lose some power for some OBP. And their bullpen is pretty damn good even without Rhodes... Fernando Cabrera Matt Miller Scott Sauerbeck Rafael Betancourt David Riske Bob Wickman

There's a difference between a .765 career OPS and an .822 career OPS. .057 points of OPS is pretty big. Michaels won't be a role player with the Indians, he will be their starting right fielder. Now whether or not he is good as a full-time starter is the question. But I'd rather have Michaels than a bum like Jock Jones or Juan Encarnacion. I can see why the Indians are making this move. They probably got tired of seeing balls fly over Casey Blake's head and would rather stick him in LF.

That part of the article is probably wrong. I'm pretty sure Sizemore would stay in CF and Michaels would play RF.

.291 career AVG .380 career OBP .442 career SLG .822 career OPS I guess it all depends on whether or not Michaels can put up numbers close to these as a full-time starter. If he can, he's a good right fielder. The Indians got a guy who can possibly fill a huge hole for an old, injury-prone, and expensive reliever who they really don't need since their bullpen is already stacked. They also improve on defense quite a bit with two good defensive center fielders filling CF and RF.

Michaels is a much better option than running Jason Dubois or Todd Hollandsworth out there. And all he cost was a 36 year old injury-prone reliever who will be owed $3.7 million in 2006.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/102...006-602271.html Great trade for the Indians. They now have a good right fielder.

If Coco Crispie plays good defense in CF for Boston, the trade will be a lot better. I'm just not sure how good Crisp is in CF.

Joe Cowley, because he seems to hate the Sox yet he covers them. The irony is delicious.

That's the key. But a $100 million payroll team like the Cubs shouldn't have to depend on so many "if healthy's" like Kerry Wood and Wade Miller. A $100 million payroll team also shouldn't have a starting outfield of Matt Murton, Juan Pierre, and Jock Jones. That's pathetic.

Well, the way I see it is that Sizemore is already a better player than Crisp. Crisp is a good hitter but doesn't have enough power to be productive in a corner outfield spot. His value is mostly in CF. But then again, without Crisp the Indians will have trash like Casey Blake, Todd Hollandsworth, and Jason Dubois in their corners. I guess that's better than dealing with Coco the Sox killer 19 games a year. I just hope that Marte doesn't pan out into a superstud in a few years.

The Cubs tried to get an option for 2007 but Miller refused. It will be his first year of free agency and he wants to prove he is healthy in 2006. He didn't want to explode and let the Cubs have him for nothing in 2007.

He's a mediocre player who refused to learn how to play SS in Winterball, which would have kept him on the White Sox. So all he can play is 2B and he stinks in CF. Yeah, I'm so sad to see him go. ROFL, there's no way a lineup with Willie freaking Harris and Alex Cora or Alex Gonzalez being possible starters is "one of the better line-ups in baseball." Youkilis isn't a proven major league hitter yet and has no power at a power position. Are you Peter Gammons in disguise or something?

I think the Red Sox got jobbed. The Indians now have a great replacement for worthless Aaron Boone at 3B and a decent reliever. Coco Crisp was a Sox killer but this trade will make the Indians better for the future, if Marte pans out of course.

Gold Gloves are as much about offense as defense. It's a pretty lame award.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...SPGENGORHK1.DTL

Yes. I'm not going to spend the time to figure out his numbers minus his 2005 season. The main difference between Hernandez and Perez against lefties is that Perez can actually draw walks against them. Hernandez is a strikeout machine. Perez's ability to draw walks against lefties should keep his numbers up, whereas Hernandez failed horribly in 2005. It's an improvement for the Indians but they didn't improve in enough other areas. They never brought in a good starting right fielder and they greatly downgraded from Millwood to Byrd. Add in the fact that they lost Howry and Wickman had a career year in 2005, I don't see them being better than last season except for their young players maturing.

You also need to be able to throw out runners to be a Gold Glove catcher.

Uribe. I don't think he will put up his 2004 numbers again but his new leg kick timing method and improved plate patience should help him put up numbers right between his 2004 and 2005 seasons. Juan Uribe (2005 Pre All-Star stats) 240 AB .246 AVG .276 OBP .379 SLG .655 OPS 6 HR 38 RBI 13 BB 41 K Juan Uribe (2005 Post All-Star stats) 241 AB .257 AVG .325 OBP .444 SLG .769 OPS 10 HR 33 RBI 21 BB 36 K Uribe improved his OPS by .114 points after the All-Star break last season. I think he will put up numbers in 2006 closer to his .769 OPS in the second half of last year.

Eduardo Pérez is a much better bet to put up good numbers against lefties because of his ability to draw walks against them. José Hernández is just a strikeout machine. José Hernández (career vs. Left) 1,367 AB .263 AVG .322 OBP .488 SLG .810 OPS 121 BB 374 K Eduardo Pérez (career vs. Left) 697 AB .263 AVG .368 OBP .501 SLG .868 OPS 106 BB 133 K But like I said, other than the washed-up players they signed to minor league deals panning out, Eduardo Pérez was the only real improvement they made.