http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060726&content_id=1576695& ;vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle

LF Gutz/Choo
CF Sizemore
RF Blake (or Gutz in LF, Choo in RF, Blake to 1B?)
1B Garko/Vic
2B Inglett/FA
3B Marte
SS Peralta
DH Hafner

If Gutz and Choo pan out, maybe we will put the $$ into a SP rather than a hitter.

This year: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Shin-Soo%20Choo&pos=&sid=milb& amp;t=p_pbp&pid=425783

From BP this year:
'Choo put up another year of solid OBP, with lots of steals, and very good defense. The problem is that the Mariners are flush with players like him: lefty hitters who get on base, run, and catch the ball (or some combination of the above, if you include vets like Ibanez and Lawton). There may be a trade to be had by packaging one of the young lefty outfielders, one of the top MI prospects and one of the back-end pitching staff members for a legit power bat.'

So I guess we're going to see a lot of Vic at first (gag), maybe some Casey Blake at first with JMike and Shoo at the corners? Maybe some Inglett over there?

I guess we are going to find out what Garko can (or more importantly cannot) do. Who else besides Martinez (which I think is a mistake) will play 1B reguarly? Blake?

My guess is that Gutz and him platoon next year? L-R and Michaels becomes the 4th with Blake being super utility with Inglett. Our roster would look very very flexible if that is the case. Garko covers as the 3rd C, Blake can play CI, COF, Inglett IF, OF ... lots of flexibility in case of injuries/poor performance.

He was #51 of 100 in 2005, #61 in 2003.

He was #3 in 2005, #5 in 2004, #4 n 2003, and #7 in 2002 in their Top 10s.

Shin-Soo Choo will immediately take over as the Indians' right fielder against right-handed pitching, GM Mark Shapiro said Wednesday.
Casey Blake will remain a full-time player. He'll start at first base against righties and in right field versus lefties.

The Indians will continue using Victor Martinez at first base against lefties, with Kelly Shoppach catching. Ryan Garko gets left in Triple-A. Choo is worth grabbing in AL-only leagues. He's probably not ready to hit for average right now, but he could be good for a half dozen homers and 6-10 steals over the rest of the year.

1B - Garko, Kouz?, Head and Vic down the road??
2B - AsbCab, Crowe, Inglett
3B - Marte, Kouz
SS - Peralta, AsbCab
DH - Hafner
C  - Vic, Shppach, Max
OF - Sizemore, Gutz, Choo, Crowe, Mulhern, Goleski, Drennan
P - I'll skip, too many too mention.

If they all pan out (they won't I'm sure) we are gonna have to deal somebody ...

Hello everyone,

afh4 - Regarding Inglett, maybe he hasn't finalized a roster spot next year, but he is certainly on the right track.  Besides, who else is a lock to be a part of the Indians' bench next year?  Outside of Shoppach (that may even be in doubt - I'm still not that impressed with his offensive game, though he does have a strong arm; I still think he could be traded if the right deal came along,) who else will be on the bench?

Not Hollandsworth; Vazquez is doubtful in my opinion - AAA backup insurance, maybe.  I can't even think who else is on our bench at this point - that's probably why I don't think they will prevent Inglett from having a solid shot of being on the '07 Indians.

Even if you move Michaels to the bench next year and call up Garko (though I doubt he'll be a bench guy - he will either start everyday here or in Buffalo or he will get traded, opening the door for Kouzmanoff at 1B in Buffalo and eventually in Cleveland,) I still think there is a roster spot for a super-utility guy.  

And besides, who else are you going to get to fill that role?  I don't see anyone out there who is going to fill that role and do that much better than Inglett at this point.  

No starting players with better offensive games are going to move around to different positions and provide you with significantly better offense than what Inglett will likely provide, based on what he has done so far.  

As far as I know, Mark McLemore isn't playing anymore - unless there is a clone of him out there somewhere, I don't know if you can do much better than Inglett for that role.  

Right now, I think Inglett has a solid shot of making the ballclub next year - that's why he is getting the playing time right now, more so than Vazquez.  

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Sorry, I meant no offense; I thought you had more of a disagreement over him being on the 2007 Indians.  

I agree with you that he's probably not the best choice to be the regular #2 hitter, though I suppose he could fill in as a #2 hitter a few days out of a season, if need be.

No, I got the impression moreso that you're still not convinced about him yet.  I'm not saying he's the next "star" in the making, but when it comes to options off the bench, I don't see where we will be much better off with anyone else, outside of a Mark McLemore type, and as far as I can think of, no one really strikes me as being that type of quality player off the bench (maybe Eduardo Perez was the closest in terms of offense and being a part-time player, but doesn't play as many positions as McLemore did, so he's not quite a super-utility guy.)

Sorry, afh4 - I certainly wasn't trying to bash on you; I just thought you meant more that Inglett really has not distinguished himself enough to be in line to make the 2007 Indians.  I agree he needs to keep this going, but at this point, I think he has the inside track.

And by the way, I agree with you about Flip Murray; for a time last year, I was hoping the Cavs would resign him to back up Larry Hughes, but as the season wore on, I grew lukewarm about that idea; it's probably better that the talented, young draft picks have their chance now, rather than later.  Plus, I didn't think Murray would be resolved to stay as a backup, though that's likely what he will do with the Pistons, but I think in the long run, the Cavs are better off with their youthful draft picks backing up Hughes and Snow (or whoever starts at PG.)

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Just to add to what Ryan said, Gutierrez has the range to play CF; Choo supposedly doesn't have the range, though he is "passable" in CF if need be.

If Gutierrez develops offensively as Jay and some others think he will, I don't see where Michaels will be able to block him.  Michaels could even be trade bait eventually, though I'm not sure he will be during this offseason.