Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns vs. Lions live …
Akron Zips:
Akron trounces Howard to reach .500
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Past lineups provide evidence that not many Indians likely to remain
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, Mar 23, 2008
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: They won't be Indians forever. Though several Tribe regulars are younger than 30, for one reason or another, many are likely to move on in a year or three.
The odds are that C.C. Sabathia, for example, will be gone on the wings of free agency next winter, thanks to the deep pockets of the New York Yankees. The contracts of Casey Blake, Jason Michaels, Paul Byrd and Joe Borowski, integral parts of the team and older than 30, expire at the end of the season.
Five years from now, going into the 2013 season, who knows how many players on the current roster will still be around? If history is a guide, the answer is not many.
For example, five years ago, this was the Opening Day lineup:
CF — Milton Bradley
SS — Omar Vizquel
LF — Matt Lawton
DH — Ellis Burks
RF — Karim Garcia
1B — Travis Hafner
3B — Casey Blake
C — Josh Bard
2B — Brandon Phillips
The starting pitcher that day was Sabathia.
It doesn't take much imagination to speculate that five years hence, the Indians will have a vastly different look. Yes, Grady Sizemore, who is 25 and signed through 2012, might still be playing center field and batting in the leadoff spot. Ryan Garko, 27, could be the first baseman.
On the other hand, Sizemore can become a free agent before the 2013 season, and obviously there is no guarantee that the Tribe will be able to keep him. And if the team decided that Garko is becoming too expensive and a younger alternate is available, he might be traded.
It's impossible to make more than an educated guess about the composition of the team that far into the future, but it might be fun to try. Using rea
sonable assumptions about the movement of players and the front office's desire to keep certain players for the short term and others long term, let's assume the 2013 Tribe roster will be filled internally.
Who will be the biggest impact player to hit Cleveland by then? It could be last year's first-round draft pick, Beau Mills, who spent the first three weeks of spring training in big-league camp and hit two home runs. In his first season of pro ball, Mills played for three teams — Mahoning Valley, Lake County and Kinston — hitting six home runs, amassing 42 RBI and batting .261 in 245 at-bats.
That might not look impressive, but the best competition Mills had experienced until last summer was playing for Lewis-Clark State in the NAIA World Series.
He played third base in college, but there are questions about his arm strength. Consequently, Mills is learning to play first. If that doesn't work out, some day he might turn up as a big-league designated hitter, with the emphasis on big-league.
There aren't many power prospects in the Indians' farm system, and Mills could follow in the footsteps of Jim Thome and Hafner, though it's premature to make such lofty comparisons.
It was clear, however, that Mills was not overwhelmed by his first experience in the majors, in part because his father, Brad, played for the Montreal Expos and is the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, which means that Beau has been around major-league clubhouses since he was a kid.
''I'm really enjoying myself,'' Mills said of being in big-league camp. ''These guys are great. I feel real comfortable.''
Besides Mills, who else might populate the Tribe lineup in 2013? Because the farm system is filled with promising first basemen, let's say that Mills checks in at DH, and that for whatever reason, the club moves Garko. That would leave an opening for Michael Aubrey, if he can stay healthy.
There's a good chance that Asdrubal Cabrera, 22, will be around to play second.
Shortstop Johnny Peralta probably will be gone by 2013. Carlos Rivero, 19, is only in the early stages of his career, having batted .261 with seven homers and 62 RBI at Lake County, but he might be the shortstop of the future.
If not, maybe Jared Goedert, 22, who batted .364 in 46 games at Lake County and .256 in 35 games at Kinston, might take over at second, allowing Cabrera to return to his natural position at short.
The closest third baseman to the big leagues in terms of talent might be Wes Hodges, who will start the season with the Double-A Aeros. Last year, he batted .288 with 15 home runs and 71 RBI as a 23-year-old at Class-A Kinston.
If the Tribe can keep Sizemore, the rest of the 2013 outfield might be filled by Nick Weglarz, Ben Francisco, Shin-Soo Choo or Franklin Gutierrez, none of whom will be older than 31 in five years.
To most fans, Weglarz is an unknown quantity, but last year at age 19, he batted .276 with 23 home runs and 82 RBI at Lake County, before playing two games at Kinston.
A catcher to replace Victor Martinez might be difficult to come by. At the moment, only Wyatt Toregas has the defensive credentials to make the move upward. He will start the season at Triple-A Buffalo.
Fausto Carmona might be the ace of the staff by 2013, and the rotation could include Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey. Adam Miller certainly is in the club's plans, but after that it's largely a mystery. On the other hand, there are talented players in the low minors: Ryan Edell, Joanniel Montero, Santo Frias to name a few.
Predicting the composition of the bullpen is a crapshoot, but let's make Rafael Perez the closer of the future.
Making a statement
Cliff Lee solidified his claim as the Indians' No. 5 starter by throwing five strong innings in the Tribe's 5-2 win over the New York Mets on Saturday at Chain O' Lakes Park.
''I really like the job Cliff has done his last two outings,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers have gotten better, too. So we'll have to sit down and talk about it.''
Lee seems to have been the leader in the three-way competition almost from the first day of camp. Against the Mets, he allowed no runs, four hits and one walk, striking out five. He threw only 62 pitches and went to the bullpen afterward to get his pitch count to 80.
About his chances of winning the rotation derby, Lee said, ''I feel like I've just tried to go out there and pitch the best I can. That's all I can really do.''
More home runs
With three homers Saturday, the Indians have hit 37 for the spring, compared to 17 for their opponents.
Casey Blake, Francisco and Victor Martinez all went deep.
''I've said before that this is more about approach and putting up quality at-bats,'' Wedge said. ''If we do it, driving the ball will be a part of that.''
No Dellucci
David Dellucci has gone five days without playing in a game because of soreness in his left elbow.
''He took some good infield (and fly ball practice) and took BP,'' Wedge said. ''We'll see how he feels tomorrow.''
Box office draw
Possibly because the team is heading for Arizona next year, the Tribe is attracting more fans to Chain O' Lakes Park than usual.
So far, 64,500 have attended 12 home games for an average of 5,375. Moreover, after almost selling out the ballpark for the Mets on Saturday (7,992), Tuesday's game against the Yankees already is a sellout, a rare happening in Winter Haven.
Coming home
The Washington Nationals have returned Matt Whitney to the Indians, choosing not to keep him on the 25-man roster.
Whitney was taken by the Nationals in the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings, but once a player is chosen he must remain on the team's roster for the full season or be returned to his original club.
Last year at Lake County and Kinston, Whitney, 24, combined to hit 32 home runs and amass 113 RBI. In 28 spring at-bats with the Nationals, he had only three hits, a double, triple and homer, driving in six runs.
Marching onward
The Tribe travels to Lakeland to play the Detroit Tigers this afternoon. Carmona will start against Jeremy Bonderman, with Tom Mastny, Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis and Joe Borowski set to throw out of the bullpen for the Indians.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: They won't be Indians forever. Though several Tribe regulars are younger than 30, for one reason or another, many are likely to move on in a year or three.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
