I had such high hopes for J Mike

I think the one point Ryan missed here is that BenFran has an upside. He’s probably not going to ever be an All-Star outfielder, but Michaels was never going to be one. That’s an important difference when you’re a team like the Indians, at least in my opinion. Francisco isn’t really young anymore (26, turning 27 in October), but he’s had success in the minors and hasn’t had a real shot in the bigs (68 ABs in 2 seasons).

So while Ryan is right on that it wasn’t Michaels struggles that got him DFA’d, they didn’t help. He’s definitely struggling, and if we gave him 250-300 ABs for the year, we know we we’d get; around .270, maybe a bit lower as he’s not as young as he was, a couple of homeruns, and an OPS+ in the high 80s. BenFran might not end up giving us much more, but there is a chance that he might give us quite a bit more, and at this point, that’s important enough to say goodbye to Michaels, wish him well, and hope that BenFran helps spark us in May the same away Asdrubal seemed to last August and September.

In a way, this will be the easiest move the Indians will have to make all year. The next few will be much tougher (if we continue this way).

I honestly don’t see them dumping anyone else, unless it’s someone like Julio. A trade is another story; that might require them either to include someone like Dellucci or Garko in the deal (to make room for the “replacement”). I think that would be easier for them to do, especially if it was Dellucci who was the one who got traded, since he’s an older player who won’t be here in a couple of years anyway. Demoting Cabrera can happen any time, I suspect—if Barfield were tearing it up in AAA, I think it would have happened already.

From this month’s indians.com mailbag: “Yes, they loved having Nixon as a teammate, but this team’s problems can’t be erased by a pie in the face.”

I’m all for change for the sake of change, when the cost is so low. I mean, that’s why we have hitting coaches – right?

We’re turning this crap around, soon, and it’s just a matter of what arbitrary non-event the columnists will feature when it’s time for the season recap.

We can do our part too: at some point I say we organize a massive and thorough avatar switch out.

I was hoping for Karim Garcia, but we don’t always get what we want, do we? BenFran it is…

From Hoynes, today:

“This is the business side of the game,” said Michaels. “The Indians feel they need to make this move. In Francisco, they’re getting a good player.”

Michaels, like Francisco, had a great spring training. He started the regular season slowly, and was hitting .207 (12-for-58) with nine RBI when he was designated.

“The slow start got me,” said Michaels.

Michaels had one hit in his first 21 at-bats.

Say what you will about his performance on the field, but Michaels does appear to be handling this with some class. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up in Buffalo . . . ?

My guess is Michaels ends up with the Padres.

What I read was just speculation, I think. But, it had to do with Brandon Moss having an appendectomy and speculation that Coco might get traded (since he’s not happy being a fourth outfielder). Michaels might fit that role better than Coco, I suppose.

Not really important, but since we’ve been speculating: the St. Petersburg Times thinks the Rays might be interested in Jason Michaels (who hails from Tampa, or went to school there anyway). Here’s a link (the item is part way down the story).

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article492024.ece