I just read an interesting post on Rob Neyer's SweetSpot Blog by guest blogger Steve Buffum of the B-List Indians Blog. Buffum opines that the trades the Indians have made this year are less about getting players back, and more about getting some playing time for the young prospects who have been relegated to the bench or the minors because some expensive veteran is blocking their way. He starts with the example of Matt LaPorta, who's played very well since Russell Branyan was traded a few weeks ago. And he's got a point.

The vast majority of trades a non-contender makes serves [sic] one of two objectives: saving money or acquiring younger, cheaper talent. But it’s worth keeping in mind that sometimes, a less-obvious benefit is providing the opportunity for a player already in the organization to get the regular playing time he needs to develop. And every now and then, it’s almost like getting another prospect in the deal: one who was very close indeed to reaching the majors as an everyday player.

Meanwhile, the youngsters the Tribe is putting out there these days are actually winning. Yesterday's 6-5 win over the Red Sox was marred somewhat by the injury to phenom catcher Carlos Santana, who hurt his left knee in a collision with Ryan Kalish at home plate in the seventh inning. The trainers don't think he's badly hurt, but we'll have to wait for his MRI results to find out for sure. ... And if you ask me, this is evidence that baseball has to do something about collisions at home plate. There's something wrong when a runner has carte blanche to run over another player at full speed while that other player is almost totally defenseless because he's trying to field a throw. I don't blame Kalish, who was doing his job, but MLB should make it illegal for the catcher to block the runner's path if he doesn't have the ball yet. That's actually in the rules, but I've never seen it enforced.

Anyway, back to the winning Indians. After having lost six of seven, mostly against the powerhouse Rays and Yankees, they've won three one-run games in a row against the Blue Jays and Red Sox. Yesterday's winner was the comeback kid, Fausto Carmona, who's now 11-8. The previous two Tribe starters were each making their second major league start — Josh Tomlin in Saturday's 2-1 win in Toronto, on three days' rest, no less; and Jeanmar Gomez, who got the win in Sunday's 5-4 triumph over the Blue Jays. And Chris Perez, who is now the full-time closer after the Kerry Wood trade, saved all three of them.

Obviously, this Indians team won't contend for anything this year; almost as obviously, they won't contend for anything next year either. But maybe, just maybe, these kids can all come together in a couple of years. As fans, all we can do is hope.