SP: Lee, Carmona, Laffey, veteran, Huff
RP: Perez, Betancourt, Masa, Meloan, Stevens, Mastny, veteran reliever
OF: Sizemore, Francisco, free agent, Gutz
IF: Peralta, Cabrera, LaPorta, Marte, veteran like Blake, veteran like Carroll
C: Martinez (with lots of 1B and DH time), Shoppach
DH: Hafner, (Martinez), (LaPorta)

SP: Lee, Carmona, Laffey, Randy Wolf, Huff
RP: Perez, Betancourt, Meloan, Masa, Stevens, Mastny, Miller
C: Shoppach (100 games), Martinez (60 games)
1B: LaPorta (80 games), Martinez (80 games)
2B: Cabrera
SS: Peralta
3B: Marte
LF: LaPorta (80 games), Francisco (80 games)
CF: Sizemore
RF: Franciso (80 games), Gutz (80 games)
DH: Hafner
Bench: Crowe, Carroll, Aubrey

At this point (August) of next year, I’d expect Westbrook to be back. Given that, I’d imagine the roster looking something like:

SP: Lee, Carmona, Westbrook, Laffey/Sowers, Huff
RP: Perez, Betancourt, Kobayashi, Mastny, Stevens, Miller (please?), some scrapheap guy
OF: Sizemore, Francisco, Gutz, Dellucci (unless we cut him or find someone to take his contract, ha)
IF: Peralta, Cabrera, Marte, Garko, Barfield
C: Martinez, Shoppach
DH: Hafner

Obviously subject to change if we decide to package up some prospects for a bat or something like that.

I don’t see us doing much pitching-wise—I think a rotation spot is Huff’s to lose for 2009, really. Bullpen-wise, who knows what they’ll do.. bullpens are so fungible anyway. Betancourt could be lights-out again next year, he could be a batting practice pitcher, who knows?

As for the IF, I realize that the Peralta-to-third drum has been banged way too much around here, but I could see something like that happening with Cabrera at SS & Barfield at 2B. Alternately, maybe we’ll give up some pitching for Brian Roberts or something like that.

DH is Hafner’s to lose, I think, though I do think that with Shoppach hitting the way he has in his duty this year they’ll try to work him in as much as possible next year. Of all these people, I think Garko’s job is the shakiest.

Let’s see… August next year. I have one or two surprises. Explanations to follow:

SP: Sabathia, Carmona, Lee, Westbrook, Huff (Laffey on speed dial at AAA).
RP: Perez, Betancourt, Kobayashi, Stevens, Lewis, Matsney, some Veteran FA with closing experience. (Miller on speed dial at AAA – future closer?).
C: Martinez (90 Games), Shoppach (70 Games)
OF: Sizemore, Francisco, Gutz, Choo, LaPorta (25 Games)
MIF: Peralta, AstroCab, Barfield
3B: Marte
1B: LaPorta (130 Games), Martinez (30 games) (Garko)
DH: Hafner (140 Games), Martinez (20 Games)

As zempf points out, this is all subject to change with a trade for a bat.

Starters: I know it’s Fantasy Island with CC, but I honestly think that the FO will have another go with him in the fall. He’s seen what playing for another team is like (and seen how they fight) and that might factor a bit into his final decision. Does he feel invested in this organization? Who knows – but if he wants to play for Cleveland, I’m sure something could be worked out. I put the chance of this happening at roughly 10%. I think the 5th spot in the rotation is Huff’s to lose. Westbrook returns by August. Lee comes back down to Earth next season and is a #3 starter again.

Bullpen: Always a crapshoot – so who knows. “Veterans” will be signed to give depth. Reclamation projects will be brought in and maybe we’ll have one proven Vet with closing experience signed to give some stability. Still the team’s Achilles Heel and until we spend for a dominant closer, it most likely will be.

Catcher: Shoppach sees drastically more time. The degree of which he relieves Victor will depend on how well Pronk comes back and how well LaPorta adapts to the Show. If both do well, Vic will be pushed into catching more.

Outfielders: Sizemore continues to shine in CF. BenFran and Gutz get the starts in the corners with Choo backing them up. Dellucci is traded or DFA’d. LaPorta sees a bit of time as backup’s backup and to keep him in the lineup when Vic plays 1B.

Middle Infielders: Peralta gets SS with AstroCab backing him up. AstroCab starts 2B, moves to SS when necessary and Barfield backs up 2B.

3B: Marte’s job to lose. Wedgie is forced to play him since there is no one else (and is unhappy about it). Peralta backs up. If Marte flops by the All-Star Game, a trade occurs to bring someone else in. If this happens, Marte is traded and becomes an All Star within a year.

1B: This is LaPorta’s to lose. If he does well, Garko rides the pine. Vic gets some time here as well.

DH: Pronk is back after finally agreeing to off season surgery. FO requires he gets regular time off.

If we are not in contention at this time next year (Defined as being in a place to be a buyer instead of a seller) then I think Wedge needs to be fired. A lot of arguments can be made as to whether or not he is to blame for this season and the ‘06 season – just like a lot of arguments can be made as to what impact he or any manager actually has. Regardless, if the team is not performing well then there needs to be some sort of accountability within the organizational ranks and I don’t see that landing with the FO (even if the blame resides there).

SP- Lee, Reyes, Carmona, Westbrook, Sowers/Laffey/Huff
RP, Perez, Betancourt, Mastny, Meloan, Stevens, Miller, FA
DH- Hafner
LF- LaPorta/BenFran
CF- Sizemore
RF- Choo/Gutz
3B- Some Guy
SS- Jhonny
2B- Barf/Asdrubal
1B- Victor/LaPorta
C- Shoppach

I don’t have a clue. I just want Reyes to make the team.

god this is so depressing… finally we have lifted the veil of Casey Blake from the hot corner and all we can hope for to replace him next season is “a veteran like Blake” and “some guy”,...my god its going to happen isn’t it. Casey Blake will be brought back in the offseason on a two year deal as Shapiro’s “big move” ..... oh say it ain’t so

SP: Lee, Carmona, Westbrook, Laffey, Huff
RP: Perez, Betancourt, Kobayashi/Meloan, Stevens, Lewis, Miller, Borowski/Wickman-Type Closer

Martinez – C (60),
Shoppach – C (100)
Sizemore
Benfran – OF (70), Hopefully some DH
Gutierrez
Choo
Laporta
Peralta, AstroCab, Barfield, Marte/Carroll
Hafner – DH (won’t last more than 90 games)

Be bold, and help will come from unexpected places.

Purely a guess, while throwing some names in to make it more interesting…

SP- Carmona, Lee, Laffey, Reyes, Huff
RP- Brandon Lyon, Betancourt, Perez, Meloan, Kobayashi, Miller, Stevens

C- Shoppach
1B- Martinez
2B- Cabrera
SS- Peralta
3B- Chad Tracy
LF- LaPorta
CF- Sizemore
RF- Francisco
DH- Hafner
UT- Carroll
UT- Gutierrez
UT- Javier Valentin
UT- Choo

^Free agent acquisition
Acquired via trade

perfect world (aka I am filling out lineup cards):

rotation – Lee, Carmona, Sowers, Reyes, Huff to start, with Westbrook coming in mid-season and Laffey in Buffalo. In my world, Huff wins the #5 spot in spring training and by virtue of his AAA performance this year.

bullpen – core is formed by a healthy Miller/Perez/Meloan. Perez is closer/relief ace who can come in the eighth and finish a game out. Miller and Meloan are set-up. Hope for a good year from Betancourt, but don’t count on it. Add a LOOGY from within or without the organization, and have Lewis/Kobayashi as middle or long low-leverage relief.

Lineup -

the givens:

CF – Grady
2B – Asdrubal
SS – Jhonny (he’s a lock for 2009, at least, as long as he’s healthy). Of course, one thing I’d try to do with JP is see if he can play 2B in spring training. If possible, flip the middle infield and maximize the value of AC’s glove while retaining the value of JP’s bat.

Where it gets sketchy:

LF/1B/C/DH

These four positions are pretty much dependent on the health of Vic and Hafner and the ML-readiness of LaPorta. I’m going to assume that Vic will not be a full-time catcher next year, and that Hafner will require days off. Ideally,

LaPorta – 80 games in LF, 80 games at 1B
Vic – 80 games at C, 80 games at 1B
Shoppach – 80 games at C, DH against LH pitching
Hafner – DH against RH pitching
Ben – 80 games in LF

As for RF and 3B: in my dream world, we pursue Pat Burrell and he becomes our full time RF. Realistically, Ben and Choo split time in RF. If Ben can maintain an OPS that hovers around .800, I have no problem with that.

3B is a big hole. Hodges might be ready, but we might be best served to trade for a guy like Garret Atkins, who can fill the spot for a couple of seasons. I don’t see Marte with this team in 2009.

First, a few assumptions. We are in one of those years where we are rolling mostly 1’s & 2’s (i.e., underperforming) and very few 5’s and 6’s (overperforming, eg. Lee). Next year it should be a bit more balanced and I would think that by 8/9/09 it will be clear where things stand. So, my predictions -

perform consistent with the “expectations” I sense on this site:
Sizemore
Peralta
Martinez – i.e., good average, lower power
Carmona – between ‘07 and ‘08
Perez
Carroll
Cabrera – between ‘07 and ‘08
Torregas
Barfield
Kobayashi

Outperform expectations:

Marte – this just means he’ll hit better than .200
Gutierrez
Sowers
Jensen Lewis
A Miller – he’ll contribute
Byrd – he’ll still be here

Underperform:

Lee – but still good
Francisco
Choo
LaPorta – expectations are too high for ‘09
Betancourt – put a fork in him, he’s done
Laffey
Huff – expectations are too high for ‘09
Hafner – until somebody tells me that his current problem is the cause of last year’s downward spiral (and that he will be 100% in ‘09)

Gone:
Garko
Shoppach
Ginter
Delucci
[Sabatthia]
[Blake]

Put this all together and you get a 08/09 lineup that looks something like this:

SP – Carmona, Lee, Sowers, ?? (acquired in Shoppach trade), Huff
BP – Perez, Lewis, A. Miller, Byrd, Kobayashi, ?? (acquired in Garko trade), ?? (from minors)
3B – Marte
SS – Peralta
2B – Carroll/Cabrera
1B – free agent/Martinez
C – Martinez/Torregas
LF – Francisco/Choo
CF – Sizemore
RF – Gutierrez
DH – LaPorta

Maybe a .500 season.

Holy crap – what, 50% of us have Reyes in the rotation?

Hello everyone,

Just a few observations on other people’s lineups for 2009.

1. I’m a bit surprised people are forgetting Sipp so easily, especially when many are expecting Westbrook to be back. Keep in mind that Sipp is only about 12 months or so removed from TJ surgery, which is where Westbrook will be at this point next season, so expecting Westbrook to be a major factor at this point next season is probably wishful thinking. He may be back, perhaps (though it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s out for all of 2009), but expecting him to be much of a factor for the second half of next year seems unlikely to me, no offense.

Conversely, Sipp will be over 18 months removed from TJ surgery by the early part of next season, and will likely be 100%. While his performance so far has been less than his former stellar self, a return to that next season is certainly not out of the question, and if he returns there or even close to there, chances are, he’ll likely have an opportunity to be part of next season’s bullpen, especially since it is pretty-well wide open with the volatility shown by many members of that bullpen this season.

2. With the last part of #1 said, I wouldn’t write off Betancourt yet – recall that last season was a long season for many of the relievers, including Betancourt, and this season was really his first poor season, compared to his strong season in 2007 and several solid to above-average seasons before that. As a result, I would think his track record would suggest that he’s more likely to bounce back to his solid to above-average seasons in 2009. While duplicating 2007 may be unlikely, I’d think he’ll be better next season than he’s shown this season after not having to throw as many pitches and innings, along with not having as many stressful situations to deal with this season. As mentioned in other posts, the Red Sox 2005 bullpen wasn’t nearly as good as the one in 2004 when they went on to win the World Series. I think that partly explains why Betancourt (and partly Perez and Lewis) as well why they haven’t been as effective and throwing as hard as they normally do this season.

3. Regarding 3B, I could see them bringing in a veteran, such as Blake, especially if Marte doesn’t start showing some strong consistency in these final two months. With that said, I think Hodges’ ability to finish strong this season and adapt to AAA pitching will greatly determine whether the Indians need a long-term option like Atkins there or if Hodges can provide solid production there for a few seasons beginning with late 2009.

I think the returns of Martinez and Hafner (closer to his former self, not the form he’s shown since May 2007), along with consistency from Sizemore and Peralta and the continued usage of Shoppach, will also greatly determine whether Hodges, provided he’s ready for his ML debut, will be part of the late-2009 club. I don’t think the Indians will expect Hodges to carry the ballclub, so as long as Hodges plays solid defense over there (there’s been conflicting reports over there how good he is there, but there’s been positive reports on his ability as a defender there in the past) and can hit some (say .250-.260 with a few HRs), that too could help determine whether Hodges will remain as the 3B starter in late 2009 and could be the likely starter there to start the 2010 season.

Just my 2 cents – no offense.

From reading people’s responses, I only see a few potential trades or FA pickups. Does anyone believe there could be one or two significant trades?

SP- Lee, Carmona, Laffey/Sowers, Reyes/Huff/SLewis, FA (or maybe a guy like Halama)
RP- Perez, JLewis, Betancourt, Kobayashi, Mujica, Mastny, FA signee.

C- Shoppach
1B- Martinez
2B- Cabrera
SS- Peralta
3B- Marte
LF- Francisco
CF- Sizemore
RF- Gutierrez
DH- Hafner
OF – Choo (he, Ben and Gutz will split the corner PAs)
UT- Carroll
UT- Garko (if LaPorta tears up AAA next summer, Garko is gone)
UT- Dellucci (unless we find a taker for him next season)