Two Down; One To Go, Maybe?

With newly acquired Mark DeRosa in the fold, the Cleveland Indians have done two of the things they set out to do this offseason.

1.) Establish a bullpen, which mostly came in getting a true closer, but was topped when they added Joe Smith in addition to Kerry Wood.

2.) Add an "impact" infielder to the mix at 2B, 3B or SS.

The question now begs. Are they going to do the other thing that Mark Shapiro would like to do, but wasn't sure he could.

He certainly made quick work of the previous two needs and it seems as if he's exhausted all of what he calls "resources" in doing so. But he is in a better position than you would think.

He still has his hands on all of his young starting pitchers and outfielders minus Franklin Gutierrez. Gutierrez's trading probably makes it unlikely any outfielder gets dealt from here on. But it's not out the realm he considers throwing a young starter in a deal, is it?

Kelly Shoppach is the biggest chip Mark Shapiro has in his pocket. If he decides to use it is another story.

Where do we go from here?

I've highlighted for you some of the cheap starting pitching options. Brad Penny was a big one and probably the best one available. So set the market there and you can decide for yourself if Shapiro is going to spend anymore cash.

Roughly right now the payroll stands around 80 million, which is probably right around were Shapiro wants it. This is without a substantial increase to Kelly Shoppach's deal and salary bumps to a few players who are in the pre-arbitration stage of their careers.

Is Freddy Garcia an option? The Indians were interested in him the first time around when he signed with Detroit. He will certainly be one of those 1-Year Deal players looking to prove himself. He also seems like the one you'd probably feel the most comfortable in. He's had success and we are talking about one injury here.. This isn't Mark Mulder or Carl Pavano, who have had multiple injuries damage them.

You may not notice this, but if you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you'll see a counter.

We are a little over a month away before Pitchers and Catchers report. In fact, we are exactly a month and a week away from that February 12th date. The season is rapidly approaching and there are still a lot of players out there with no deals.

Anthony Castrovince details the "relentlessness" of Shapiro and the Tribe this offseason and wonders if it's going to continue as well.

"I wasn't comfortable with the starting pitching from Day 1, and I'm still not comfortable with it," Shapiro said. "I'm comfortable we can field a rotation. I'd still like to add a veteran starter. I don't know if we've ever had the resources to do that, unless that was our primary move."

Castrovince mentions specific names in Carl Pavano and Kris Benson as two of the team's possible "veteran starter possibilities."

Cut the Jon Garland talk out now.

Even Paul Byrd.

But Hold Up.. Something that caught my eye this weekend that you should put in the back of your mind come the middle of the season if this is how it unfolds.

Byrd is considering retirement OR a possible mid-season calvary move like Roger Clemens did a few years ago.

Of course he isn't going to command the bucks Roger did. But that probably is the most sensible move for Byrd to do. As we've seen, he can catch fire and pitch well but he can't always go deep into ball games. With just half a season, you have to wonder how good he can be if he and his manager knows he doesn't have to worry about "saving him" or anything like that. Then again, Byrd was more of a guy who just went 6 and he was spent. Who knows..

It's out there and keep it in the back of your minds if the Indians need someone in that rotation. Hopefully that isn't the case and we sign someone or multiple people step up.

Shaprio meanwhile is NOT DONE. Is he going to sign another impact free agent? No, but expect a flurry of non-roster invitees within the next month and a week.

Possible names include the guys that are still really part of the Indians. Sal Fasano, Juan Rincon, and Brendan Donnelly. I haven't seen their names peak up yet for any free agent deals, which is as expected, and if time keeps winding down, I'm sure the Tribe has made it known to them if the have spot or not if they want it.

You know he'll do that for a couple of starters though. Is Kris Benson one of them? I don't know but I wouldn't give him a major league roster spot on the spot if I were in charge.

Back to DeRosa who had his golf game ruined by the trade. That must suck. He was golfing when he got the call about the trade. Happy New Year Mark DeRosa, we've just traded you.

"It ruined my game," said DeRosa with a laugh. "But I've heard nothing but good things about the Indians and manager Eric Wedge. I'm looking forward to playing there. Two years ago they went to Game 7 of the ALCS. Last year they got bit by the injury bug."

First of all Mark, we'll bypass the mentioning of the 2007 ALCS and just say I'm sorry for golf game.

DeRosa and his wife, Heidi are coming to Cleveland sometime this week to meet with both Shapiro and Eric Wedge.

Good news is that Mark feels the most confident in the position he'll be playing primarily in Cleveland.

"I'm excited about playing third," he said. "I've always felt more confident on the left side of the infield. Making the switch to second base, learning how to make the pivot and where to be on different bunt plays, was always difficult for me."

Think about that. I'm a big believer in confidence and comfort and if this guy feels confident there and feels better that this team is going to use him primarily in one spot most of the time, then who knows how well he'll hit.

The WBC thing is something we'll explore as time moves on. Wedge has said its up to DeRosa, but DeRosa said if the Tribe want him in camp, it will "be a different scenario." I don't think the Indians are going to stop him from playing really. This isn't football, he doesn't need to read a playbook and get in too much sync with his new team on the diamond. There really shouldn't be anything he won't be able to pick up in the time he'll be there.

A new Hey Hoynsie is up, but there isn't anything interesting. Just a few people asking about Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, and Omar Vizquel. Same old same old, just adding in Barry Bonds.

Also from the Castrovince article linked earlier.. The Indians Press Tour is starting on the 19th. I flaked out on the Youngstown visit with Ryan Garko last year because I had class the next morning. I'm thinking the Akron visit is a definite possibility this year provided my schedule works out. Details have not been released yet but Anthony named the stops: Columbus, Sandusky, TBA Cleveland Suburb, Youngstown, Dover, Erie PA, Asthabula, Canton, Mansfield, Elyria, Fostoria, Akron, Toledo, and Medina. Actually.. Youngstown and Akron are on my days off, so it might be possible to do both. Depending on who goes. Plan accordingly if you are interested in going to any of the Press Tours in your area.

Site Update Front... Changes could be happening this week.. You'll be let know in advance.. News is slow right now and I'd like to get everything straight before it starts to ramp up.