We’re paying? Ugh.

I have literally no idea why we’d be paying or why the Mariners are acquiring Branyan.

Kinda seems like treading water, or at least an inefficient way to “acquire talent.” We signed Branyan knowing we had Hafner and Laporta, paid him money that could’ve gone overslot, then acquire two turds who can’t hit. Championship?

Where did he say we fleeced them?

Look, it’s already well in the past. We haven’t fleeced them since 2006, but wow, it was epic.

That actually only took a year. Had to make sure he could replicate his 2008 performance at a more age-appropriate level of competition.

All that I’m correct about is that we should give it another couple of years. I’m not saying that answer will change, but we shouldn’t assume that it won’t. All you have to do is check out Sizemore, Lee and Phillips at the end of 2004 to understand why.

I say Valbuena can be a legit second baseman. He got into bad habits this year, but I still saw him drive the ball a few times.

I was thinking that could be a possibility, but I agree with Nick that it would seem awfully odd to trade for him then to trade him again, especially when Seattle WASN’T contending when they traded for him (I could see it if Seattle was still in the race and then fell out of it over the next month, but that’s not the case here).

It still seems they plan to have him for their 2011 club – whether they can truly contend next year remains to be seen, but being that Lee very likely won’t be back, that will be a very large hole to fill, not to mention any other potential holes that come about from 2010 to 2011.

I agree. Somewhere today—either Pluto or Hoynes—there was comment about Westbrook being the veteran in the clubhouse. I think they don’t trade him now.

Naw. I want Westbrook gone.

I have a gut feeling he won’t stay healthy.

Of the four mentioned, I think Westbrook could be the one to most likely stay, and I think there are two main reasons why this could potentially happen:

1. Westbrook seems to be the type (just a guess) who might be willing to stay in Cleveland at a reasonable salary and not a maximum or high-level contract.

2. Our rotation is in disarray – outside of Carmona and Talbot being mostly effective this season, Masterson is still a developing work in progress and is still not a lock long-term for the rotation, Laffey will need more time to get acclimated to the rotation, and like Masterson, still is not a lock for the rotation long term, and our AAA reinforcements are either injured or largely ineffective this season – Huff has been disappointing and is reminding more people of Sowers, which is not a good thing, Carrasco hasn’t dominated AAA as one would expect for someone who has considereable experience at that level, Rondon is injured and was struggling at AAA before the injury, Gomez has struggled at AAA as well, although this is his first year at the league, unlike Carrasco, and Tomlin and Pino are only really considered depth fifth starter/spot starter/reliever options at the ML level.

As a result, essentially our ML rotation and our first “wave” of arms at AAA are not ready to be locks in the ML rotation long term; this would signify that the Indians could use a steady, experienced pitcher in the rotation, and Westbrook would qualify, provided he can regain his consistent command after TJ surgery, something he has started to show signs of, but hasn’t fully gained yet.

Still, I think it will come down to what prospects a team is willing to give up for Westbrook; just like with the Branyan trade, if someone comes up with a better-than-expected offer for Westbrook, Shapiro/Antonetti might just take it, since there is no guarantee that Westbrook remains healthy and/or fully regains his command. Plus, we don’t know how much more Dolan and the Indians’ FO will restrict the budget for 2011, since 2010 isn’t drawing many people (this isn’t a surprise), but also, that 2010 still has many questions (the rotation, the bullpen, LaPorta’s still trying to get established at the ML level, etc.).

Only time will tell, but for now, he’ll remain on the foursome list – I think the chances of his getting traded are still 50/50 or even 60/40 of his getting traded – it will all depend upon what is offered and Jake’s demand.

I presume you are suggesting that Crowe hasn’t been “totally awful” at the plate, since Crowe really is the main competition for Carrera and Constanza as far as I can tell (4th to 5th OFer) – you have Choo and Sizemore for the time that they are here (no longer than 2012 for Sizemore in my opinion; whether Choo is here beyond 2013 is anyone’s guess), Brantley for enough spot (and I do see him as a starter, NOT as a 4th OFer at this point), and eventually Weglarz (likely for LF, possibly RF).

You have Henry as well, though I’m thinking he’s still part of the “next wave” after Weglarz, though with the Indians’ aggressive promotions, there probably wouldn’t be that much time between a Weglarz making it to the MLs and a Henry (provided both continue on their projected success paths, of course, and that’s not a given for any prospect)

That still leaves one spot in the OF long term, plus additional guys who fill in from the bench, which leaves one to two more spots. Even if Constanza and/or Carrera aren’t strong with the bat, if their defensive skills are strong, and from what I’ve heard, both are, then that would fit perfectly in that role – they wouldn’t need to be strong with the bat.

I’m not sure many think Crowe is better than marginally acceptable or awful, and his OF defense has been for the most part “totally awful,” so if you flip the “totally awful” to the offense and much better than marginally acceptable or awful to the defense, Carrera or Constanza could likely still displace Crowe, especially since Carrera is younger than Crowe and I believe Constanza is within months of Crowe’s age, making them essentially the same age.

Pino’s trying to make us forget about him.

Good point, though I was thinking of guys who project to have good potential, or in Jhonny’s case, showed something at the ML level (though, admittedly, that was years in the past) – that’s probably why Yohan Pino slipped my mind, but good catch.

I agree, though, Pino is falling off after his hot start – he actually could have made a case to get some starts if he had kept up his hot start or close to it, but his falling off is likely closing that door.

I can see why you’d think that, but it often isn’t the case.

That, plus their GM’s commitment to fielding a strong defensive team.

I have a hunch someone has studied this.