And a young team gets younger

As I'm sure everyone reading this blog already knows, the Indians pulled off a few salary dumps, er, trades over the weekend. It's kind of hard to keep straight everything that happened, so let me try to summarize, editorialize, and perhaps philosophize.

• Jake Westbrook, the Tribe's opening-day starting pitcher, went to the Cardinals in a three-team trade that sent us Corey Luber from the Padres. Luber, 24, a 6-foot-4 righthander, has spent the season in AA, where he was 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA. His stats indicate blazing stuff; he's struck out 136 hitters in just 122 1/3 innings, against 40 walks. That's promising, but it's hard to bet on a AA pitcher ever getting to the level of a Jake Westbrook. But he's obviously much cheaper, and that's the bottom line.

• Austin Kearns, who's been very solid in left field all year, went to the Yankees for a player to be named later and cash. The player the Indians eventually get for Kearns probably won't be of much significance. This was a pure salary dump. I understand why Mark Shapiro made this move, since the Indians aren't going anywhere this year, and since Kearns was on a one-year contract and not particularly likely to stay here beyond this season, but I sure hate it when the Yankees get a good player just because they're rich.

• Kerry Wood, who's had a rocky two years in Cleveland but is certainly a serviceable bullpen arm if he's healthy, went to the Yankees for a player to be named later OR cash. If the Indians get a player, the player probably won't be of much significance. This was a pure salary dump. I understand why Mark Shapiro made this move, since the Indians aren't going anywhere this year, and since Wood was not particularly likely to stay here beyond this season, but I sure hate it when the Yankees get a good player just because they're rich. ... I feel like I've written something very similar before, but I can't remember when or about whom.

These veterans join Russell Branyan and Jhonny Peralta as ex-2010 Indians, and the Tribe didn't get a whole lot for any of them. These Indians are drawing fewer fans than any other team in baseball, and this obviously isn't going to help the gate, even if it does help the bottom line. My dad told me yesterday he thinks Larry Dolan should just sell the Indians already, and I'm starting to think he's right. This team does have a lot of promising young talent, but if they can't afford to keep anybody after they get good, the prospects for the future are grim. They basically have to hope everybody gets it together at exactly the same time, before any of them get enough major league experience to command a large contract.

Being a fan of Cleveland sports has always been somewhat depressing, but as I look at the state my three teams are in right now, it almost makes me want to stop caring. ... Unfortunately for me, I'm not capable of that. So I continue to suffer along with the rest of you, as our teams continue to suck, with no end to the suckiness in sight.

Today's roundup involves Jeopardy!

• The Indians dropped their third in a row yesterday, as the New York Stinking Yankees came from behind to beat them 3-2, behind a two-run homer by Curtis Granderson off probable soon-to-be-former Indian Jake Westbrook in the eighth. Westbrook pitched pretty well, giving up three runs in eight innings on four hits and two walks against five strikeouts, while pitching to a very powerful Yankee lineup. But he gave up two home runs, and that was his undoing.

• Shin-Soo Choo again showed why he's the best player on the Tribe. Not only did he hit an RBI double that temporarily put the Indians ahead 2-1, he threw out Granderson trying to stretch a single into a double. Replays showed Granderson should have been called safe, but still, it was a heck of a play by Choo, who fielded it off the wall and gunned it to second in one motion.

• The game drew 27,224 fans, which is the Indians' third-highest home attendance of the season. (The top two were the home opener and Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg's second major league start.) That's due to two factors: One, the Yankees always draw well in Cleveland; and two, Alex Rodriguez is one home run away from his 600th. With Mr. Rod failing to go deep last night, we can expect another large crowd tonight. Too bad for the Indians' bottom line the Yankees are only in town for four games; the Tribe remains 30th out of 30 teams in home attendance.

• Westbrook's contract is up at the end of the season, and while he probably won't be all that expensive next year, given his injury history, it makes sense for the Tribe to flip him for prospects because they're not playing for anything this year. The trade deadline is this Saturday, so this might well have been his last start as an Indian. On the other hand, Westbrook seems like the kind of guy who might help a contender for the rest of the year and then come back to Cleveland. Who knows.

• Jhonny Peralta is also in the last year of his contract, and I don't see any reason not to get prospects for him too. No doubt Mark Shapiro will see what he can get for a lot of players, but off the top of my head, those two guys are the ones who seem most likely to go. Peralta's been kind of a disappointment the last couple of years, both with the bat and the glove, but he could help a contender who's got a hole in the infield, such as Colorado.

• The Cavaliers made a trade yesterday, sending Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to the Timberwolves for guard Ramon Sessions, center Ryan Hollins and a second-round draft pick. West has been a starter before, and has done some nice things on the court, but he was highly inconsistent this past year — possibly due to his legal troubles — and I'm not very sorry to see him go. Telfair is just a throw-in; he never contributed to the Cavs in any meaningful way. The 24-year-old Sessions only averaged 8.2 points and 2.1 assists last year for the Wolves, but that's in just 21.1 minutes a game, and he had 20 points and 24 assists in one game. He's got an upside. Hollins, 25, will probably never be more than a backup center, which is fine. We'll need one. Anderson Varejao will probably be the starter, with Z and Shaq both gone.

• OK, a game show is not a sport, but this too cool not to mention: The "Jeopardy!" Clue Crew spent some time at the Cleveland Clinic at November, filming an entire category's worth of clues for the show. The Cleveland Clinic category will come up Friday. I DVR "Jeopardy!" and look forward to getting all the questions correct.

Tribe takes second straight series

Jake Westbrook came within a single out of pitching a complete-game shutout yesterday against the Orioles, just one start after getting his first major league win since 1988. OK, it was 2008, but the point is, it was a long time. Westbrook gave up nine hits yesterday, but a lot of them were ground balls that happened to find holes. He struck out eight, against a single walk. If he pitches like that on a regular basis, he'll do just fine. He still got the complete game in the Indians' 5-1 victory, on 116 pitches.

Westbrook was aided by home runs from Matt LaPorta and Russell Branyan, the latter of which was Branyan's fourth home run of the year, all coming in the past week. There's no question that the guy can touch 'em all if he makes contact. ... Incidentally, you may remember that "touch 'em all time" was Jack Corrigan's signature home run call when he broadcast Tribe games on WUAB-43. A friend of mine used to think he was saying "touch of old time," which confused him because there were more home runs being hit than ever before. I found that amusing.

In other notes:

• The Celtics beat the Magic in Orlando to steal home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals yesterday. Maybe the Cavaliers weren't so bad in that series; maybe it's just that the Celtics are playing over their heads right now.

• WTAM has started a daily "LeBron watch" or whatever they're calling it at 7:45 every morning. The guy can't do anything until July 1, so what there is to talk about every single day between now and then, I can't fathom. But I'm sure they'll come up with something.

• In a non-sports-related note, heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer yesterday. At various times the lead singer of Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, his own band Dio, and Heaven & Hell, Ronnie had a unique, powerful voice, and while his lyrics could be a bit hokey, he had his own style, and this is a great loss to the music world. Rest in peace, Ronnie. Anyone who wants to hear Ronnie sing on a great song they've probably never heard should check out this youtube link.

Acta era begins today; go Butler; etc.

Very quick hits, because I don't have a lot of time this morning:

* The Indians open the season at 2:05 Eastern this afternoon on the south side of Chicago. It's not just any opening day, because former All-Star Jake Westbrook gets the start for the Tribe, in his first action since May 2008, after having Tommy John surgery. The White Sox counter with Mark Buehrle, who I will always remember as the guy who hit Travis Hafner in the mouth with a pitch in 2005. Like Westbrook, Pronk is also trying to return to his All-Star-caliber days, so maybe seeing Buehrle out there can get him going.

* Despite the Cavaliers' loss yesterday in Boston, they clinched home-court advantage throughout the postseason thanks to the Lakers' loss to the Spurs. So, with five games left in the regular season, the Cavs officially have nothing to play for. It is perhaps slightly ironic that their next game after clinching home court throughout is against their likely first-round opponent, the Raptors, tomorrow night. I don't expect the Cavs to take it too easy on them, but I don't expect them to play with fire in their eyes either. 

* It's worth noting that despite the loss yesterday, the Cavaliers came back from 22 points down against the Celtics to take the lead in the fourth quarter. And if LeBron James could have hit that three-pointer with four seconds left, the Cavs probably would have won that game. Ultimately, a loss is a loss, but that was awfully interesting.

* I don't have a whole lot of confidence that this will happen, but I'm very much hoping Butler can beat Duke tonight in the national championship game. (I rooted for Butler against Michigan State, even though my dad went to Michigan State, because I can't resist an underdog. So you can imagine how badly I'd like them to beat the Blue Devils.) Duke is probably the better team, but then, so was Syracuse, and Butler beat them too. The Bulldogs beating the Spartans on Saturday despite going over 10 minutes of the second half without hitting a field goal was one of the most unlikely things I've ever seen. Butler won it with defense, and they'll need more of that to beat Duke.

* Tiger Woods makes his return this week at the Masters. I wonder if that'll get any headlines?

Tribe rotation nearly set

I missed this the other day (sorry, loyal fans), but Indians manager Manny Acta on Monday gave the #4 spot in the starting rotation to Mitch Talbot.

WHO?

Talbot, 26, came over in December as the player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach trade. His major league career to date consists of 9 2/3 innings in three appearances (one start) with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. He did not make the most of his opportunity, to say the least. In those 9 2/3 innings, Talbot gave up 12 runs, all earned, so his career ERA is currently 11.17. More troubling, he walked 11 men while striking out just five, and gave up three home runs. You can't win in the majors that way. But that's a small sample size, and it was two years ago, when he was just 24.

His minor-league numbers have been much better. In five seasons, he has amassed a career record in the minors of 48-40, with a 3.85 ERA. He had some injury issues last year, but went 4-4, 4.47, at AAA Durham last year. This spring, he's gone 1-1, 3.71, in 17 Cactus League innings. ESPN's Rob Neyer believes he will be a solid, if unspectacular, major league pitcher. Neyer projects that he'll put up an ERA somewhere between 4.50 and 5.00. I hope he's right. A lot of clubs' #4 starters will do worse.

Talbot joins Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Justin Masterson in the rotation, and there are big question marks with all of those guys. We all remember how Carmona had a Cy Young-caliber 2007, but has fizzled since then. But he's had a phenomenal spring (20 innings, 3-0, 0.45), and all observers say he's doing what he wants to out there, so there's reason for optimism. Westbrook has been an All-Star before, but hasn't pitched since early 2008, when he got shut down to have Tommy John surgery. Lots of pitchers have come back from TJS to be great, though, so we'll see. Masterson just turned 25 and has only made 25 major league starts, and though he has pitched reasonably well in the majors, he has had a tough spring — though he has struck out 22 hitters in just 16 innings, which is encouraging.

The last rotation spot is between David Huff, Carlos Carrasco and Aaron Laffey. Former future star Jeremy Sowers appears to be out of the running. Those are all guys who've got some major-league success. I'm going to guess it'll be Laffey, but that's just a guess.

Pronk!

It sure was good to see Travis Hafner hit what turned out to be a game-winning two-run homer in the top of the ninth last night. Not just because it won the game, but because Pronk had an off-year (for him) in 2007. But we know all that.

Not to be a wet blanket, but this doesn't necessarily mean he's turned the corner. We're only eight games into the season, but Hafner's hitting .267 so far -- one point better than his average in '07. Last night's dinger was his second of the season, in 30 at-bats, or one per 15 ABs. That's an improvement over last year, when he hit one per 22.7 at-bats, and it's actually better than his career average of one per 16 at-bats. But 30 at-bats is practically nothing, and I'm perhaps doing him and you a disservice by drawing any conclusions from 30 at-bats. I'm just observing what there is to observe.

Jake Westbrook made his second solid start of the season, which was also good to see. He had a better year last year than his 6-9 record would indicate, but it was still something of an off-year for him. If the Indians can win the AL Central and nearly go to the World Series with Westbrook and Hafner having off-years, imagine what they can do if those guys have a good year.

One other note: The notoriously slow-footed Hafner got thrown out by a mile at home in the first inning, trying to score from second on a base-hit to right by Victor Martinez. Play-by-play announcer Matt Underwood originally thought Pronk ran through Joel Skinner's stop sign, but it turned out Skinner did send him, he just didn't use his usual windmill motion to do so. Most people would say that was stupid, challenging Vladimir Guerrero's famous gun with a lumbering DH like Pronk. And it's easy to say that because he was thrown out. But I liked it. There were two outs, Guerrero's arm isn't always accurate, and if he'd stayed at third, it's relatively unlikely that he would have made it across the plate.

I recently read this post by someone identified as "Pizza Cutter" about how third-base coaches are generally too conservative, and I will excerpt a little bit:

In 1993, there were 329 times when a runner was held at third on a fly ball. (I only had hit location data on 251 of them). So league-wide, third base coaches cost their teams about 120 runs on would-have-been sac flies by being too conservative. Over 28 teams (in 1993), that’s a little more than 4 runs per season. And that’s just one of the calls that a third base coach has to make.

Of course, 1993 was a long time ago, but I don't think third-base coaches have gotten a whole lot more daring since then. And it's easy to understand why. If a guy gets thrown out at the plate when he could have stayed at third, the base coach takes the heat. If he gets stuck at third when a teammate can't get a hit to bring him in, nobody remembers the decision not to send him on the previous play -- they just remember the hitter's failure to get the RBI.

So I say, attaboy, Skins. It didn't work out this time, but it might next time.

Three weeks until opening day!

Baseball blogger Joe Posnanski previews the AL Central in rhymed couplet form here. He did the AL East in haiku form, and the AL West in limericks. Here's what he says about our Tribe (and yes, the 2 means he predicts they'll finish second, behind the Tigers):

2. Cleveland Indians

The best pair of pitchers East of Arizona?
Must be Sabathia and Fausto Carmona
Travis needs to find that home run trot
The slogan this year: Hafner or Have Not

I've been remiss in following the Indians in spring training, in their last year in Winter Haven. My excuse is that the Cavaliers have been going through such an interesting period, and it's not until about mid-March that guys really start to round into shape. It being March 10, I'll try to do better, starting with yesterday's split-squad split against the Nationals.

In a 5-2 win in Winter Haven, Jake Westbrook pitched pretty well over three innings, and reports his arm is feeling good after he rested it to overcome some tightness. The Indians will need him to step up this year, after an off-year in '07. And fellow could-be-busts Josh Barfield and Andy Marte homered on consecutive pitches, which is a good sign. It's hard to find spring training stats online, though, so I don't really know how they're doing overall.

In a 9-0 loss to the Nats in Viera, former phenom Jeremy Sowers got lit up for six runs in two innings. I like Jeremy Sowers a lot -- how could you not like a pitcher who reads books in front of his locker? -- but I'm doubting whether he's going to be the great starter we thought he'd be after his impressive '06 showing. But I'm rooting for him like crazy, and not just because he's wearing my team's uniform.