Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 56 of 96)

The Cleveland Indians and GM Mark Shapiro are changing the way players look at the organization. After recently signing Jhonny Peralta to a long term deal, Indians players are talking about Cleveland and not about how much money they will make. Shapiro and Eric Wedge have always stressed how essential it is to evaluate talent and character. The signings of Travis Hafner, C.C. Sabathia and Victor Martinez show that they are signing team players and quality talent.

Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore, both young rising stars in major league baseball, have openly expressed their desire to stay in Cleveland and play for this organization. Shapiro has been doing a great job of communicating with players and has a good name around the baseball world. If team president Paul Dolan does the right thing, the Indians could lock up a core of talent that may be better than the Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle and Omar Vizquel days. The next couple weeks may be pretty exciting for the future of Indians baseball.

Jhonny Peralta gets a 5-year, $13 million deal as Mark Shapiro and the Dolans continue to lock up their core players.

“They have to have a combination of talent and personality,” Shapiro said. “You want someone who is dependable. You want someone whose primary motivation is not money and fame, but for using their skills to get better.

Shapiro will now turn his attention to Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore. Fans might not like the failures by the Dolans to land big free agents, but with the leadership of Mark Shapiro they are building this team for the long haul.

Can’t say I’m upset about this one:

New York Mets closer Billy Wagner and Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia withdrew Wednesday from the U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic and were replaced by Washington right-hander Gary Majewski and Yankees left-hander Al Leiter.

“Although I would love to pitch in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and am proud to represent my country, I will not be ready to pitch in a competitive-game environment when play begins on March 7,”Sabathia said in a statement released by the Indians.

It would’ve been kind of cool to see C.C. out there but this could be the year Sabathia finally steps up as a true staff ace. I’m not saying him skipping the WBC will propel him to a 20-win season, but it should help ensure that he doesn’t wear down at some point during the year.

My only question would be, why did he wait so long to drop out? Now the U.S. Team is left with…Al Leiter? Really? Ugh.

After the two Indians trades a month ago, several questions and concerns began to surface about the Tribe’s bullpen for the 2006 season: They’re losing David Riske and Arthur Rhodes and only getting an injury-prone Guillermo Mota in return. How are they going to replace Bob Howry? Howry did have his share of success last year and was effective as a back end reliever, but are the Indians really losing much in Riske and Rhodes? Riske totaled zero holds in 2005 and Rhodes was MIA the last month of the season.

Despite losing these three relievers and regardless of how Mota turns out with his injury history, the Tribe may be in possession of a secret weapon who is flying underneath the radar. Often the forgotten man in the Indians bullpen, Fernando Cabrera could become a household name as this season progresses.

Cabrera, 24, entered the 2005 season as one of the Tribe’s top 10 prospects. In 15 appearances last season he posted a terrific 1.47 ERA while striking out an average of one per inning. He’s a big, imposing figure on the mound who throws in the mid to upper 90s and possesses a nasty splitter. The young flamethrower, who stepped up as a reliable late inning reliever last season, gets his chance in a full-time role this season. Considered the possible closer of the future for the Tribe, Cabrera has the stuff to dominate hitters. As long as he continues his development as a pitcher, he has the ability to be a vital piece in the Indians’ pen for this season and years to come.

I was reviewing the Cleveland Indians’ 2006 schedule to determine how many games are going to be nationally televised this year. This number is a good indication of what the experts think of the Tribe for the upcoming season. So far, the baseball world believes Cleveland is a middle contender, as they tentatively have the Tribe slated for a handful of games on the national stage.

While reviewing this, I wanted to see how many games my local cable company was covering (Comcast) or my families (Adelphia) and as of today the answer is none. That’s right, zero.

I attached the article so fans understand that the Indians are asking us, the fans, to call our cable companies to petition for airing the games on cable. Fox Sports Network announced that the Indians were “ridiculous” in their demands to keep the team on their station. Did I miss something, or are the Indians still an “up and coming” team that need fan support? The organization really can’t be trying to squeeze money out of these networks before they are even winning, can they? That being said, it’s time for the Dolan family to put up or shut up. This city needs an owner that believes in winning by spending money. I know I have said this at least ten times, but do we really have to call our cable company to plead or should the Dolans put some money into this team and PROVE their worth? I think we should all call THE INDIANS and demand they start making the playoffs before wanting more money to watch games on TV.