With the off-season action beginning to heat up, it's time for a reincarnation of the series we started last winter - Central Issues, which looks at not only rumors about the Tribe but also its competitors in the Central Division.

To kick things off we'll put the Tribe front-and-center. Specifically, the Tribe's search for a closer. The outlook on that got a lot brighter this week when the San Diego Padres more or less told Trevor Hoffman - a guy the Tribe nearly snagged a few years ago - to take a hike.

My colleague James Pete at MVN's Tribe Report makes a pretty good case for the acquisition of Hoffman by the Tribe and some thoughts on why that may be more than just talk.

Meanwhile, although he was officially traded to the Colorado Rockies this afternoon, Huston Street seems like he's still a definite possibility for the Tribe, if they are willing to part with some talent. The Rockies reportedly told Manny Corpas that he is still their closer. The Tribe has also been interested in Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins, so there seems to be at least the possibility of a semi-blockbuster there.

Speaking in the blockbuster realm, SI.com reported recently the White Sox are quiety entertaining offers for their closer Bobby Jenks. Why? God only knows. And who knows if it's true, but that would be some catch. Add in the fact that the Sox are also shopping outfielder Nick Swisher (who can also play 1B), and the imagine runs wild.

That is likely to be a pipe dream though since a.) I'm skeptical the Sox have Jenks on the market, b.) they would be unlikely to trade him to a division rival, and c.) I can't imagine what all the Tribe would have to give up and they are not big on passing along young talent.

Still, it makes for a fun daydream at this time of year.

Two other items of (mild) interest: The Twins' Pat Neshek is set to go under the knife for TJ surgery, putting the reliever out for all of 2009; and the Tigers remain in the market for a SS, figuring that Ramon Santiago is not the man for the job on a full-time basis.
(Photo credit: SD DIRK/flickr)

"Two runs, three hits, one error, and after three we're still scoreless."

Said as only Herbie could say it.
Herb Score took to the mic at Indians games for the first time late in the 1963, when I was six, about to turn seven. Back in the days when utility infielder Jerry Kindall was my favorite Indian because he was the first one whose baseball card I was able to obtain.
Herbie remained behind that mic, with one partner or another, for 34 more years - the one constant as I made my way through grade school, high school college and on to New York as a twenty-something.
Herb Score is my first and most-lasting image of the Tribe. He introduced me to baseball, talked me through the horrible years of the 70s and 80s and came along with me when I left the Cleveland area nearly 25 years ago.
In those days - 1984 to be precise - there were no mass-produced satellite dishes, and no MLB Extra Innings package. I had to wait for the sun to go down (not until the 6th or 7th inning during the heart of the summer) to pick up Herbie on my Walkman radio. His voice would come crackling into my suburban New York home from "Radio Free Cleveland," as my wife would tease.
My Walkman, newspaper clippings that my brother would send religiously every week, and Herbie were my only connections to the Tribe for about a decade, giving way only when I became the first on my block to have a satellite dish and my new connection to the Tribe.
Still, with the picture beaming in loud and clear, I'd find myself turning down the TV sound late in the game, turning on my Walkman and tuning into that familiar voice who made me know I was indeed watching an Indians game, no matter how well that team with Chief Wahoo on its cap was playing. Hearing Herbie describe the action I was seeing on my silenced TV set helped me to believe that those great teams of the mid-90's were indeed the team I had been living, and mostly dying with for all those years.
Today we hear the news that Herbie is gone.
No need to recap Herbie's great career both on and off the field. The Plain Dealer does a fine job of it here.
Instead let me just tip my cap to the man who was the Cleveland Indians for me and pretend I can hear one last "thwow to first, back safely" for old-time sake.

Call Casey Blake,

that's the name:

That name again

is Casey Blake

I saw the story in today's Plain Dealer about Casey Blake being under consideration to fill the Tribe's hole at 3B this winter.

For some reason that old jingle from an old Simpson's episode - the one where Homer starts a side business as a snow plow operator - came to mind.

Although I knew it was possible, I still can't quite believe Tribe fans may be seeing that name again in the Tribe's batting order.

Another famous television toss-away line comes to mind here as well (at least for those of us over 40). The one used by Major Hochstetter every time the exasperated Gestapo officer saw the mischievous Colonel Hogan on the old sit-com 'Hogan's Heroes.'

That line would be: "Vut Iss Diss Man Doing Heeeere!?"

Taken in their abstract Blake's numbers aren't so bad as 3B go (.274, 36 doubles, 21 homers and 81 RBI).

But, much like the unfounded Mark Teahen rumors of a week ago, the prospect of resigning Casey Blake to play 3B for another couple of years excites me not at all.

Blake is like the old living room couch that has indentations in all the right places. He's a comfortable fit. But you're tired of looking at him.

In this time of financial crisis you probably stick with the old couch. And Lord knows the Tribe seems to always be on the brink of financial crisis no matter what is going on in the larger economy. At least to hear them tell it.

Here's one man's wish that the Tribe resists the urge and keeps looking for the overstuffed leather model, with attached recliner and built-in cup holder on one end.

No one will argue that Opening Day is the best baseball day of the year, but for me - and other Tribe fans who have played the 'wait-'til-next-year' game all their lives - the start of the off-season trading season brings about almost as much anticipation.

That season got underway officially - and just a touch early today - with the Plain Dealer reporting about talks between the Tribe and Royals involving 3B Mark Teahen.

According to the report by Paul Hoynes, the Royals need a CF. Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez and Trever Crowe were mentioned as possibilities.

With a glut of outfielders at the major and minor league level, and Andy Marte as the only guy with a 3B officially next to his name on the Tribe's current roster, the gut reaction is to say this makes plenty of sense from the Tribe's point of view.

But lets look at a few things before we jump to any conclusions.

Teahen has been in the outfield the past couple of years, but he broke in with the Royals at 3B. He moved to the outfield to make room at 3B for Alex Gordon in KC. He played some 3B, 1B, and all the outfield spots for the Royals in '08, but mostly he played right field. Still, I would have no problems with his defense atr 3B.

He hit only .255 with 15 HRs and 59 RBIs. His OPS, a lackluster .715.

The Indians shed a 3B with better numbers (a certain fellow who ended the season with the Dodgers and who may be seen again in NE Ohio once he officially becomes a free agent shortly after the World Series.) They also have another corner infielder, Ryan Garko, who despite a penchant to hang himself by swinging for the fences, put up numbers that eclipsed Teahen's at least by a little.

Still it is true the Andy Marte is - at the moment - the Tribe's only 3B. And they do have outfielders of a similar quality to one-another coming out of their ears.

Tribe fans, like fans of most teams, tend to overvalue the young, developing players in their organization. Franklin Gutierrez is one of those guys whose ceiling may not be as high as many seem to believe it is. With his lackluster performance at the plate in '08, Gutierrez' star is falling - at least as I view it. That defense and that arm would be hard to part with. But outfield defense - especially with Grady Sizemore roaming center field - is a secondary asset for a corner outfielder. Gutierrez, in my book, is expendable.

Ben Francisco came up a little short of expectations in '08 as well, and in fact his final numbers were not unlike those of Teahen. Francisco tailed off in the second half of the year, which might be attributed to his playing pretty much his first full year in the bigs, and to the pressure of batting third due to the plethora of injuries the Tribe had in the middle of the lineup last season. But, it could also be that the league figured out Francisco and got the better of him in the second half. No way to say for certain if that was the case. Nor is there any way to be sure he will readjust and be a seriously productive hitter. While I'd be less likely to deal Francisco, it's not out of the question.

With the addition of Michael Brantley from Milwaukee in the CC deal, Crowe becomes someone the Tribe could deal as well.

Nabbing Mark Teahen might make some sense, as the Tribe would be dealing from surplus to fill a shortage. But I would wait a while to make a move on this deal, until the Tribe can figure out if the player that would be traded for him might better be used in a package to acquire someone more exciting to play third, or second - or to pitch (starter or reliever).

If the Tribe waits and Teahen is snapped up by someone else (doubtful) then what have we lost really? A younger Casey Blake. If the off-season drags on and no solution at 3B is evident, than maybe you make a deal.

The best part about the Teahan deal is that it gets the ball rolling on what will hopefully be an off-season full of rumors and - more importantly - real action.

The off-season ahead is going to require lots of activity by the Tribe's front office if the team is to make a strong run at the Central Division next year.

The moves are already underway. The first one - I must say - is not one I had anticipated.

Bullpen coach Luis Isaac has been whacked. We're going all the way now.

Luis Isaac has been in the Tribe organization for 44 years.

Have we won a championship in those 44 years?

Case closed.

I have no way of knowing what goes on in the Tribe bullpen, in coaches meetings and in the locker room in general.

So perhaps the firing is justifiable.

But Isaac seems to have been able to do whatever job was put before him for four decades.

He's worked for numerous managers and managements. I've never read anything but good things about Isaac.

In a Plain Dealer story about the firing, Isaac took the dismissal in stride, and one of his former charges - possible 2009 closer Jensen Lewis - had good things to say.

"Louie was like a father to all of us in the bullpen. Last year down the stretch and in the playoffs we really leaned on him. He was always steady, always calm. You could ask him anything."

Again there may be reasons why the first move of the off-season was to get rid of the old guy who carries the catchers mitt around in the bullpen.

And Tribe manager Eric Wedge sure gave Isaac every chance to find another job - firing him pretty much the minute the plane touched down on the last flight of the last road trip of the season.

But to me, this move seems rather Yankee-esque.

Someone's head should roll, why not Isaac's?

Speaking of Wedge, he talked of plans for next year with the Plain Dealer. There weren't too many surprises.

He expects another solid year out of Cliff Lee next year and that Fausto Carmona - who never got it together this injury-plagued year - will be back on track next year. The rest of the rotation - in addition to a likely acquisition of a veteran from someplace - will come from the following group: Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Scott Lewis, Anthony Reyes, Zach Jackson and David Huff.

The Tribe will look for a closer, but is thinking of Jensen Lewis as a Plan B.

Wedge also said Jhonny Peralta's position will be determined by whether the team is able to get a second baseman or a third basemen during the off-season. Again, no surprise.

The manager also said Josh Barfield will get another shot at 2B, if there's an opening there.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the interview is the depth to which Ryan Garko apparently is still in the Wedge dog house:

"Instead of saying, 'I had a great year, I tied for the team lead in RBI,' he needs to say, 'I did OK, but I need to do better.' I think he's capable of being a part of this. He can be an everyday player or a role player, depending on which guy shows up. . . . It's nothing I haven't said to him." Ya think Garko's name will be uttered on the Tribe's end of any trade talks?

The off-season ahead is going to require lots of activity by the Tribe's front office if the team is to make a strong run at the Central Division next year.

The moves are already underway. The first one - I must say - is not one I had anticipated.

Bullpen coach Luis Isaac has been whacked. We're going all the way now.

Luis Isaac has been in the Tribe organization for 44 years.

Have we won a championship in those 44 years?

Case closed.

I have no way of knowing what goes on in the Tribe bullpen, in coaches meetings and in the locker room in general.

So perhaps the firing is justifiable.

But Isaac seems to have been able to do whatever job was put before him for four decades.

He's worked for numerous managers and managements. I've never read anything but good things about Isaac.

In a Plain Dealer story about the firing, Isaac took the dismissal in stride, and one of his former charges - possible 2009 closer Jensen Lewis - had good things to say.

"Louie was like a father to all of us in the bullpen. Last year down the stretch and in the playoffs we really leaned on him. He was always steady, always calm. You could ask him anything."

Again there may be reasons why the first move of the off-season was to get rid of the old guy who carries the catchers mitt around in the bullpen.

And Tribe manager Eric Wedge sure gave Isaac every chance to find another job - firing him pretty much the minute the plane touched down on the last flight of the last road trip of the season.

But to me, this move seems rather Yankee-esque.

Someone's head should roll, why not Isaac's?

Speaking of Wedge, he talked of plans for next year with the Plain Dealer. There weren't too many surprises.

He expects another solid year out of Cliff Lee next year and that Fausto Carmona - who never got it together this injury-plagued year - will be back on track next year. The rest of the rotation - in addition to a likely acquisition of a veteran from someplace - will come from the following group: Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Scott Lewis, Anthony Reyes, Zach Jackson and David Huff.

The Tribe will look for a closer, but is thinking of Jensen Lewis as a Plan B.

Wedge also said Jhonny Peralta's position will be determined by whether the team is able to get a second baseman or a third basemen during the off-season. Again, no surprise.

The manager also said Josh Barfield will get another shot at 2B, if there's an opening there.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the interview is the depth to which Ryan Garko apparently is still in the Wedge dog house:

"Instead of saying, 'I had a great year, I tied for the team lead in RBI,' he needs to say, 'I did OK, but I need to do better.' I think he's capable of being a part of this. He can be an everyday player or a role player, depending on which guy shows up. . . . It's nothing I haven't said to him."

Ya think Garko's name will be uttered on the Tribe's end of any trade talks?

It was an incredible "closing day" today.

It was especially so if you take off your Tribe-fan hat and view the day as a baseball fan. Or if you have some allegiance to the Milwaukee Brewers, or CC Sabathia.

First the Tribe.

The Indians finished the year with a rather ho-hum 5-1 loss, but that doesn't really tell the story.

They finished off the season at 81-81 and 7 games out of first.

In April, no one expected that kind of finish. We expected much more.

Back in July no one expected that kind of finish either. We were looking at finishing last and about 20-25 games under.

The Tribe was mugged early by injuries, but even more so by underperformance by a number of players and a horrid bullpen.

To the credit of the players and their manager, they turned the chicken crap of a first half into a chicken salad of an ending. Not quite as good as a big, juicy playoff cheeseburger, but at least a digestible ending.

With their play in the second half, the Tribe players managed to offer themselves and their fans a good deal of hope for next season. Eric Wedge should be credited with keeping the team up, and playing hard. And, after sitting out the off-season and helping to put an early kibosh on this season, Mark Shapiro should be credited with getting some legitimate talent to further bolster hopes for next year.

We'll look back - and ahead - at the Tribe in more detail in the next few weeks. But let's get back to an incredible final Sunday.

This will be a day that Brewers fans in particular, and real baseball fans in general, will remember for a while.

Tied with the Mets for the N.L. wild card spot heading into the day, the Brewers were tied 1-1 with Cubs in the 8th in their own park. CC Sabathia was through 8 innings, with 7 Ks and having allowed only 3 hits. But he was due to bat first in the bottom of the eighth and was already well over 100 pitches. The obvious move was to pinch hit for Sabathia.

But, with the season on the line, Breweres interim manager Dale Sveum went against the book and let CC bat so he could pitch the ninth. CC struck out, but three batters later Ryan Braun launched a bomb to left to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead.

At virtually the exact same time at Shea, two different members of the Mets bomb-squad bullpen gave up back-to-back homers in the bottom of the 8th, allowing the Florida Marlins to take their season from them for the second season in a row.

In Milwaukee, with a raucous crowd going nuts, CC finished off the Cubs in the 9th - putting up his 11th win for the Brewers and launching them into the playoffs.

I've watched a fair number of CC's starts since he was traded by the Tribe to Milwaukee, and I've been rooting for the Brewers - because of their small-market kinship with the Tribe- to make it into the playoffs. In spectacular fashion this afternoon, they did.

In the battle for the A.L. Central, which was also up for grabs on the final day, both the White Sox and Twins won rather routine games against the Tribe and Kay-Cee respectively.

But by beating the Sox two of three this weekend, the Tribe exacted revenge from the Sox and their wise ass manager Ozzie Guillen.

The Tribe not did not allow the White Sox to clinch against them, and they sent them into next week still a half game behind the Twins and having to beat both Detroit (in a make-up game) and the Twins (in a tie breaker) to get to the playoffs.

Good enough for me.

It's been a pleasure following the Tribe with you this season. Thanks to all who clicked on this site and especially to those who kept coming back.

Even though the season has ended, we aren't going anywhere. There are some important decisions to be made by the front office between now and the holidays and we'll be around to report and comment on those moves.

Hope you will stick with as the leaves fall and the snow starts to fly.

And hey, remember one thing. It could always be worse. You could be a Mets fan tonight.

For anyone who has been watching the Indians for at least the last three years, there's no explanation needed as to how the headline of my post and the picture to the left fit together.

It was three years ago, the Tribe was making a surprising run for a wild card playoff birth.

All they needed was one win to get in.

The White Sox, already assured of the Central Division crown, were in town.

They were loose. And they were cocky - just the opposite of the young, uptight Tribe.

We all know what happened, and we all know just how much White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen rubbed it in.

Well, this weekend there's a chance for the Tribe to prove the old truism: "what goes around comes around."

The Tribe is in Chicago with a chance to shove the apple further down the throats of the Sox, who already have begun to choke away their shot at the playoffs after having been swept in a three game series by the Twins, who now lead the ChiSox by 1/2 game in the A.L. Central.

For months now the Tribe has been playing games that, while not meaningless, were only important for what they could mean for next year.

Virtually every position except center field is up for grabs next year and players have been auditioning for those parts.

With each player making their best case to win a spot for next year, the Indians have managed to put up an excellent second half, which brought them from their low-water mark of 16 games under .500 to their current mark of 1 game below breakeven. (They were 2 games above .500 until running into the Red Sox this week.)

So, with the other team in town seemingly dead in the water after three games, the Tribe has given Cleveland fans something to live for this weekend.

Sweet revenge.

It's not the playoffs, but it will certainly do - for this year at least.

By the way, one of my dreams has come true, though it took an injury to Andy Marte to make it happen. Jhonny Peralta is being moved to 3B for tonight's ballgame. Let's hope that is a precursor of what is to come next spring.

Well I'm off to find a loose floorboard to hide what little money I have left. I suggest you do the same.

The most talked about man in Cleveland sports - at least in recent days - spells his name incorrectly.

But he's swinging a hot bat for the Tribe and with the trading deadline getting ever closer, some Tribe fans are pulling back on their earlier enthusiasm for a trade of SS Jhonny Peralta.

With the Tribe faltering badly and Peralta hitting .225 in April and .230 in May, while playing his usual cement-footed SS, Tribe fans started to talk about Peralta as trade bate.

It didn't help that he averaged virtually one K/game for the first two months, and often resembled the ADHD-afflicted player that manager Eric Wedge had complained about in the past.

In June Peralta hit .293, but with only one homer.

As the Tribe sank further in the Central, the cries to trade Peralta grew louder.

But late last month something happened.

In a move that left Tribe fans scratching their heads (mine was rubbed red from the scratching), Wedge put Peralta in the clean-up spot, and he produced.

Since moving into the No. 4 hole on June 22, the Tribe SS is hitting .341, with 12 doubles, five homers and 20 ribbies.

With his current hot streak running for a month now - something unusual for Peralta, who is often criticized for running very hot only to turn very cold for much too long - he has picked up a throng of allies among fans who say the Tribe would be nuts to trade a power-hitting SS.

(Either their minds have been changed, or they have become more vocal about their support of Peralta because this crowd was not heard from back in May.)

Others say they'd like to keep Peralta, but move him to 3b since the Indians have the slick-fielding Asdrubal Cabrera waiting in the wings. (The Tribe bigwigs shot that idea down again today.)

And there is still a vocal contingent who would like to see Peralta traded since he is too one-dimensional, has no real natural position and could help bring back someone who could fill one of the many holes anticipated on the 2009 roster.

From those in the first camp, the best arguments I've heard have come from a guy who posts regularly at MVN's Tribe Report, another Web site I write for.

The logic is Peralta makes the routine plays well, and puts up numbers offensively. He does lead all AL shortstops in homers and is second in RBIs. But his OBP is a mediocre .309 and his OPS is an equally ordinary .790. And for me, a SS should be required to do more defensively than make the routine plays with regularity.

Those who advocate that Peralta should stay right where he is also argue that there is no sure-thing replacement for him in the organization.

It's hard to argue that Cabrera has proven anything - except that he can be a standout fielder.

To quote JB, the guy who comments regularly at the Tribe Report:

"How long would it take watching a shortstop flirt with .200 before Shapiro would be called a fool for letting someone who played the same position while hitting .260/20/75 get away?"

I have to say, the pro-Jhonny camp does make some strong arguments, and when I'm at my flip-floppiest, I sometimes think they are right.

But then I remember the slumps, and the waving at curve balls in the dirt, the attempts to pull every pitch no matter where it's thrown and the lackadaisical attitude when Jhonny isn't into it.

The pro-Jhonny faction also argues that a deadline trade of Peralta won't bring a major-league-ready piece in return because contenders don't want to create one hole to fill another.

I agree completely.

But the same would not hold true in the off-season, when Peralta would bring a riper return.

As for those who would like to move Peralta to 3B, I would say now would be the time to find out if that's possible. He could get two or three days a week there, with Andy Marte getting the rest of the time while Perlta moves back to SS or DHes.

My suspicion, though, is that might not work out so well either. Peralta was determined to not have the tools when he was tried at 3B in the minors.

To argue the point another way, try to picture Jhonny charging a swinging bunt, or diving over the bag then setting to throw to first. Case pretty much closed - although, again, now would be the time to test it.

Those who want to keep Peralta at short argue that his offensive numbers are great for a SS, but just OK for a 3B. But Joe Crede made the All-Star team at 3B with numbers pretty much the same as Peralta's.

And so that brings us to those who want to trade Peralta.

The main name that comes up as a possible interested party is the Dodgers, because of the injury to Rafael Furcal.

But Nomar is playing fairly well at his old position for the Dodgers. And they are rumored to be interested in Jack Wilson, and John McDonald, so they are apparently not as interested in adding an offensive SS as has been rumored in the past.

Casey Blake's name has come up with the Dodgers as well, so a package deal might bring a pretty good haul.

And Rafael Furcal's contract is up at the end of the year, so Peralta's team-friendly contract would appeal to LA.

Still, I'm brought back to the reality that contending teams don't like to fill one hole by creating another.

I don't think - and certainly don't hope - that Peralta will be at SS long-term for the Tribe

But I'm reasonably convinced that Peralta won't be going anywhere by July 31 and I think it's probably best that he isn't.

If I were the Tribe, I'd test Peralta out at 3B some during the last two months of the year.

And then , during the off-season, I would see if someone is willing to give me equal value that is major league-experienced or, at least, major-league-ready an attempt to fill one of the many holes the Tribe is going to have in the off-season.

Tribe fans - much like all fans - like to point fingers when things are going poorly.

The biggest targets seem to be Tribe GM Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge.

I guess there's no surprise there.

But Brian La Shier, one of my partners at MVN's Tribe Report says dropping the blame for this year's fiasco in the laps of GM Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge is unfair.

"I was asked to compile a review of Cleveland's front office and coaching staff. That sounded easy enough at first considering all the poor decisions, botched trades, and managerial shenanigans. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that Shapiro and Wedge really aren't to blame for the season getting off track so dramatically. Some of the more pessimistic fans in the crowd might want to sit this post out because (gasp!) this team was managed much better than their place in the standings would indicate."

Read the rest of Brian's comments here, in the final installment of MVN's three-part series looking at the Tribe's first half.

Meantime, the second-half of the season has gotten off to a pretty rotten start. Aaron Laffey was awful, allowing eight runs in 3 2/3 innings in Seattle Friday night, although five of the runs were unearned.

While that bothers me, a couple of other things bother me more.

David Dellucci was in the frickin' lineup again tonight. There is just no logical reason for him to be there. He's been awful, and he has no role in the future. His appearances at DH are taking ABs away from Ryan Garko and others - at-bats they need to prove that they either belong in the big leagues, or they don't.

Every decision made from here on in must be made with next year in mind. I don't see how Dellucci playing contributes to that goal.

The other thing that bugs me is the statue-like play of Jhonny Peralta at short. It was his booting of a routine groundball that opened the floodgates for the five unearned runs off of Laffey in the second. Peralta and Marte should be splitting 3B to see if either is a viable alternative there for next year, while Asdrubal Cabrera should be given the chance to make a bid for the 2009 shortstop job.

I have to admit with the four Tribeless days completed, I was looking forward to things getting started again so we could start watching the "next-year" folks - Marte at 3B, Cabrera as SS, Peralta at 3B, Raffy Perez as closer.

These moves make sense to me, but I'm not sure the powers that be see it the same way. For them - for some reason - it's important to get David Dellucci some more at bats.

Yesterday I posted the first of a three-part series reviewing the Tribe mid-season.

The piece, which I wrote, is part of a series put together by myself, James Pete and Brian La Sheir for MVN's Tribe Report.
In today's installment, James Pete likens watching the Tribe's pitchers to an afternoon at Cedar Point - the undisputed amusement park king of roller coasters.
Click here for James' top-notch report, and be sure to check back tomorrow for Brian's look at the performance of the manager and the GM.

Cliff Lee's magical season continued tonight in the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.

The Tribe's new ace mowed down the best the N.L. had to offer as if they were, oh, let's say, the Seattle Mariners.

Cliff struck out three and allowed just one rather sickly single to Chipper Jones in his two-inning starting stint.

It's all I really needed to see at tonight's game, though I'm sure to stick around to see what will likely be Grady's one AB.

Speaking of Grady, here's a note from today's All-Star parade.

The parade went past the office where my son is interning this summer. He took a lunch break and went down to watch.

Instead of trying to outdo the other guys in terms of having the hottest lady sitting next to him in his parade car, Grady invited his brothers to join him along the route instead. Pretty cool! One other parade note: After the "ovation" he got from Yankee fans last night, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz tried a little bribery to soften up the locals. Much like civic groups who toss out bubble gum to the kids at the Memorial Day parade in your town (wherever you live), Ortiz was tossing out stogies to the crowd on his way up 6th Ave. Judging by the reception he got during tonight's player introductions - it didn't work.Have to say Ben Sheets looked pretty good tonight too. Whattaya say we take most of that money we were going to give CC after the season and give it to Sheets?One final note:

A blog called Epic Carnival is doing a takeoff on ESPN's Titletown series. It's called "Loserville" and the first city mentioned is Cleveland. I've already put up a post letting them know what I think. Maybe you want to do the same.

As some of you know, I've recently been asked to join MVN's Tribe Report, where a team of three writers - myself, James Pete and Brian La Shier - provide extensive and sophisticated (well the other two do any anyway) coverage of the Tribe.

Below is the first part (my contribution) of a three-part series which will look at the Tribe's first-half and a bit of what we might see the rest of the way. The other two posts will be coming over the All-Star break.

You should check out the site. You'll be glad you did.

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I could sum up the Tribe's first-half offense with one five-letter word. S-U-C-K-S !!But since you came to this Web site for info, I assume you are looking for a little more than that.So here goes.For much of the first half of the season, the Indians' offense was just plain dreadful. The team was last in the league in hitting - with a team BA in the low .230's. Those are 1968-like (Year of the Pitcher) numbers.Watching the Tribe bat for most of the first half of the season was painful to the eyes - and the nose (the stink made it all the way through to my TV set).Making it even tougher to watch was the fact that the Tribe had a stretch of games in late April and early May where the starting pitchers were throwing like it was 1968, but they could never get more three games above .500.In a stretch from April 18 to May 15, Indians pitchers gave up three or fewer runs in 20 of 25 games - 7 of which were shutouts. The team was 22-19 at the end of that stretch - the high-water mark of the season.With its low-.230's BA, the Tribe was last in the league in hitting and also at, or near, the bottom in runs scored for most of the first half.Hobbled by injuries to, and ineffectiveness of, the three-hole and clean-up hitters - Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner respectively - most of the rest of the hitters (term used loosely) in the Indians' lineup uderpeformed. ( Ryan Garko, David Dellucci, Franklin Gutierrez you know we're talking about you.)Others - Grady Sizemore, Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta - are performing at about expected levels . Jamey Carroll is about the only Tribesman who is performing better than expected simply because he is now an everyday player, something no one had imagined during spring training.No one really could say with any certainty they knew what Ben Francisco and Shin-Soo Choo would do. Choo started out hot after returning from Tommy John surgery but has been a bit of a disappointment after the hot start. Ben Francisco is having a solid first full season and was on fire heading into the break.But, the Tribe's offense has gone from unbearably bad to about average in recent weeks.In the past 30 days the team has hit a more-respectable .263 and the team BA is now at .248 - still last in the league but lot's better than the low .230's and just behind 13th-place Oakland at .250.The turning point seems to have come in a series in Texas at the beginning of June, when the high winds and hot temperatures helped both teams propel balls out of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington . Since the first game of that series, in which the Tribe scored 35 runs in three games, Cleveland has averaged 5.08 runs a game in 36 games. That's up from 4.03 average in the first 56 games of the year.While the Texas series seems to be the jumping off point for the offense, some folks point to the insertion of Peralta into the clean-up spot as the a catalyst. But that doesn't seem to have been the difference, at least for the team overall. The Tribe is averaging 4.9 runs a game in the 17 games since Peralta was put into the No. 4 hole, virtually the same as their output since that memorable series in Texas.The change has done Peralta a world of good though. He's hit an even .300 in those 17 games, with four homers, 11 runs scored and 14 RBIs.To me, the key to the Tribe's offensive surge-ette has been the decision to correct two serious mistakes.Hafner last appeared in a game on May 25, and Martinez on June 11 - both roughly around the time the offense started to pick up. It seems clear to me that the long-overdue decisions to put two hurting and hampered players on the DL instead of the middle of the lineup has made all the difference.How can a team expect to score runs with their No. 3 hitter (Martinez: hamstring and elbow surgery) and No. 4 hitter (Hafner: shoulder) unable to swing a bat anywhere close to normal and making weak outs in the middle of the order? Of all the mistakes the Tribe deep thinkers have made this year, allowing these two to try to play through debilitating injuries was the biggest.Other reasons for the offensive brownout in the first half include:- The regression of Garko who at .237 is hitting nearly 40 points below his lifetime average- The utter failure of Gutierrez, who is hitting only .215 with three homers and is now riding the bench- The failure of the David Dellucci/ Jason Michaels platoon (Dellucci .226; Michaels DFA'd)- Literally no contribution from Asdrubal Cabrera (hit .184 before being sent to Buffalo in June)On the other side of the ledger, the brights spot in the first-half were:- Blake, who has hit so well in the clutch that he has 51 RBI on only 82 hits- Sizemore - has 21 SB's and a league-leading 22 homers, making a 30-30 season very likely- Francisco - .288, 8 HRs, 34 RBIs and 816 OPS Kelly Shoppach is not exactly ripping it up, but he is hitting about .250 with a little bit power in his first full-time role, which are typical starting-catcher numbers.Peralta, another Tribesman tearing it up heading into the break, is having his typical season overall - spurts of greatness and periods where he looks like he's never grabbed a bat in his life. That usually amounts to roughly 20 homers a year and a .260-or-so average. That seems to be where he is heading this year as well, with his .257 average and 15 dingers at the break.Carroll is at .267, has taken over as the starter at 2B and plays an intelligent game. He's able to bunt, move a runner and slap a single when you need it, which is just what you want in the No. 2 hole.While the offense seems to be hitting its stride as the teams take a three-day break, it's hard to say what to expect the rest of the wayWere Hafner's hitting woes a result of his shoulder injury, as seems likely? Or were they just a continuation of the deterioration that Pronk had started to show throughout most of last season? Will we even see Hafner - whose shoulder is at about 50% - again in '08.Will Victor get his power back with his elbow repaired and his hammy rested? He didn't hit a single homer prior to his injury.The team's second- and third-highest RBI men, Blake (51) and Peralta (45), are also the most-often-mentioned players in trade rumors, with the deadline looming.Cabrera - now ripping up Triple-A - is likely to come back up in the second half. Will he resemble the confident, competent creative hitter of last year or the early-season disaster we saw this year?Will we see the newly acquired Matt LaPorta? What can we expect from him given he's never played above Double-A and has the weight of fan expectations on his shoulders as the key piece in the CC Sabathia trade?Unfortunately the answers to those questions won't matter much for the rest of this season. But they will make a big difference in the planning for '09, as the Tribe and its fans wait - once again - for next year.(note to nit-pickers: The stats in this article are through Friday night's games and do not include Saturday or Sunday due to edit time requirements .)

Tribe GM Mark Shapiro says finding a closer is likely to be the Tribe's top priority this winter, that the closer is most likely not currently in-house and that he hopes to sign a free agent - but not anyone at the top of the free-agent list.

He also said Jhonny Peralta is not likely to be moved from SS - at least for now; Akron's Matt LaPorta and Wes Hodges will likely start 2009 at Triple-A, but will be on speed dial if the lineup falters early; David Huff will get a long look in spring training; and Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez and Andy Marte will be under the microscope for the rest of this season.

In his fourth-inning gabfest on STO tonight, Shapiro said finding a closer is "at the top of our list" as far as off-season priorities are concerned, and that the free agent market is the place he'll likely find one.

The list includes names like Francisco Rodriguez and Kerry Wood. That's the good news.

The bad news? Shapiro says the Tribe front office has to set its sites a little bit lower.
"Everybody wants that lights out one, two, three guy. .... But the reality is there's maybe 10 of those out of 30 teams and to find one you're probably going to have to go out and develop your own. You're probably not going to be able to compete in free agency in a market like ours for that guy."So Shapiro says he'll look to free agency for now and hope to come up with the "lights out" guy on his own.
"Adam Miller we won't know for a year or two but maybe. We're going to be able to find someone with some experience. There's 8 or 9 free-agent closers in the market. .... Could Rafael Perez close? I don't know. Masa Kobayashi? Can he grow into that role? I can't answer those questions. That's why there's still a lot of time to take advantage of this season and get some answers."

As for 3B, don't look for Jhonny Peralta to be there next season. Shapiro says "for now" Peralta is staying right where he is, at SS.

"That's kind of a sore subject for me because I think Jhonny gets kind of beat up unjustly. I think the reason why is the easiest tool to identify in the game is speed and so guys see a guy that a€" they look for a shortstop and they think it should be a guy who can run fast. But Jhonny is as dependable and reliable on the average play as any SS in the game. He doesn't have exceptional range but he makes the plays he needs to make and he's developing into a hitter who has some tremendous ceiling. Though I do think his body is so big he's going to outgrow that position at some point, but that point may be two, three, four years down the road, I'm not sure."
Another thing Shapiro is not sure of is what kind of 3B Peralta would be if a switch were made.
"It's a different position. It requires different reactions and skills. He does have enough arm to play third base. His hands should be good enough but what kind of range he'll have over there you don't know. Put it this way, in the list of things we have to deal with that is so far down there so we're not going to get into that one."It's no surprise, but Shapiro says a lot of spots are up in the air next year and that Garko, Gutierrez, Choo and Marte will be given a long look in the last two months of this year.He said the newly acquired LaPorta, and the Tribe's top minor league 3B prospect, Hodges, will be pushing the guys mentioned above.
"I look at Wes and maybe Matt LaPorta as guys that maybe we can adjust with next year - guys that their proper level next year is going to be Triple-A. If they go to Triple-A and they go off there and we're in the month of June and we're struggling up here at that position, they're guys that can come to the rescue. They need to go at least to start next season. We're not going to plan the team around them but I'm going to use them as guys we can make adjustments with."
For example:
"We may say hey, you know it's a bit of a risk to go with Andy Marte next April, but we've got Wes Hodges coming. If Andy can't do it, we got Wes. We can make an adjustment in mid-May or June." He gave a similar scenario with LaPorta and Francisco/Garko/Choo et al.

As for the rotation, the only guy touched on in the interview was Huff.
"It's hard to see any scenario where he is not one of the top six of seven coming into next year. He's struck out more guys and gotten better at every level he's gone up. It's very rare that that happens and when it does it's a guy who's tasting the big leagues, he can see it in his sites. He's got that killer instinct. He keeps upping his game and upping his level. His stuff right now is as good as it's ever been. He's a guy that has a chance to help us next season, either out of the gate or sometime during the season."
Despite making veteran-for-prospect deals in recent days, Shapiro insists this is a retooling and not a rebuilding that's underway.
"I don't think we've done anything to impact our chances next year at all. What we have done is replenished the upper levels of our system with both some ceiling and some depth. We haven't at all compromised our chances to win next season."

Put me down as quite satisfied with the Tribe's latest round of wheeling and dealing - the biggest part of which was the trade of Casey Blake to the Dodgers.

They picked up once-touted pitcher Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals today as well, but we'll get to that later.

It looks to me like the Tribe got two legitimate prospects for Blake, including one that stands a pretty decent chance at being somewhere in the back end of the Tribe's pen next year - and just might get a look with the big club before this season comes to a merciful close.

In addition, they got a guy who - from what I've been able to dig up - was one of the Dodgers better hitting prospects and who is a switch-hitting catcher to boot.

First the pitcher.

(Before I go any further let me just say I'm borrowing (stealing) these stats from my colleague Paul Cousineau at the DiaTribe, since it is 10:20 PM as I begin to write this and this is the first chance I've had to sit down all day.)

Anyway.

The pitcher in question is righty Jon Meloan who is having a not-to-great year as a starter for AAA Las Vegas this season.

But he throws low-to-mid nineties, as a decent curve and was lights out as a reliever in the past two years at three minor league levels.

Here are the numbers:

2007 (in AA and AAA)
2.03 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 91 K, 27 BB in 66 2/3 IP over 49 games

2006 (in A and AA)
1.90 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 91 K, 16 BB in 52 IP over 21 games

Not sure what the Dodgers were thinking when they looked at those '06 and '07 numbers and said "let's make him a starter," but the Tribe intends to quickly move him back to the pen in Buffalo.

Walks have been his problem, particularly this year, but it could be that as a starter he has to mix in some pitches he's not all that comfortable with as the game wears on. As a reliever he doesn't need to mix it up so much and so he may be able to limit himself to his bread-and-butter, helping his control

Whatever the case, it appears he has closer stuff if he can get it under control.

It's been a long time since the Tribe has had a closer who can blow somebody's doors off. His K to IP ratio is ridiculous in the pen., so I don't think it is out of the question that Meloan could work his way to that spot - starting out in a lesser role on the big club first of course.

For next year, he could be a good 7th or 8th inning guy, giving the Tribe the chance - maybe - to give Raffie Perez a look in the closer's role.

If they open the wallet and hire an established closer, all the better. Add in Kobayashi and you could have a serious back end of the pen.

I commented earlier somewhere that if the Tribe got a solid bullpen arm for Blake I would be happy. I was thinking more along the lines of someone who has done it at the big league level. But this guy appears to have a big "upside." (as the professionals like to say)

But, the trade looks even better when you add in the high-A ball catcher the Tribe got - Carlos Santana.

Here are his numbers, thanks again to The DiaTribe.

2008 (single-A)
.323 BA / .431 OBP / .563 SLG / .994 OPS with 14 HR, 96 RBI, and 34 doubles in 99 games.

Santana is new to the catcher position and from what I've read his defense needs a little work, but those offensive numbers look pretty darn good.

As a Tribe fan, it's too hard not to draw the comparisons to Victor Martinez - also a converted infielder, with a solid bat that he swings from both sides of the plate.

It is A ball, but this guy is intriguing, and in many of the stories I read he was the key to the deal.

Did we get enough for two months worth of Casey Blake?

I'd say so.

But it might be more useful take a look at what is being said elsewhere about the trade - particularly in L.A., where - presumably those doing the writing know more about these prospects than I do.

This blog may be a little biased - since Ned Colletti is the guy who pulled the trigger on the deal for the Dodgers - but over at Fire Ned Colletti Now, they hate the deal from the Dodgers' point of view.

At this point, the Dodgers are a tossup to even make the playoffs, and even assuming they do, is that really worth sacrificing two chips that may have been much larger a year from now? You have to look at it from the context that Ned is likely giving up a solid bullpen arm and a Top 5 prospect for Casey freakin' Blake in a season that will most likely end up as nothing more than a nice try at the playoffs and a pat on the back.

6-4-2 bills itself as an Angels/Dodgers double play blog (meaning that it covers both teams). Since the most typical double-play is scored 6-4-3, the name of the blog is either an attempt at cleverness or raises serious doubts about the baseball knowledge of the writers there.

But from reading this blog, they seem to know what's going on, and they don't like the deal that much either - again from the Dodger perspective.

In short, it's not as bad a deal as the Denny Baez/ Lance Carter for Edwin Jackson/Chuck Tiffany deal, but it represents the same wastefulness, an inability to read the team's true needs, and a failure to properly value prospects.

At True Blue L.A. they hate it too:

It seems like all Ned did was look at Casey Blake, see he was hitting decently and decided he would be an upgrade without looking at the context of the team. Paul DePodesta got taken to task for making "fantasy baseball" moves but this trade is far worse in that regard than anything DePo did. An absolutely terrible move, even for Ned.

Ken Davidoff writes for Newsday, the daily on Long Island. Except for the fact that the Mets were in on Blake, Davidoff really has no real "local angle" on this, but I think he is one of the better baseball beat writers I've come across. So I decided to link his comments too. He thinks both teams will be happy with the deal.

The Dodgers, very much in the race in the weak NL West, owed it to their players to make this trade That said, one official from a team not involved in the deal thought that the Dodgers overpaid for Blake, giving up two good pieces in Santana and Meloan. So let's call this one even.

So, from either coast, this trade looks pretty good for the Tribe.

The Blake deal got all the attention, but Tribe GM Mark Shapiro picked up another arm in a deal today who may be part of the competition for a rotation spot next year.

The Tribe picked up Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals for minor league reliever Luis Perdomo.

Reyes has been a starter in the Cardinals' system for the past few years but made the parent club as a reliever this year. He has not had much success in either role in the majors, but has put up some good numbers in the minors.

He will be stretched out and put back into a starter role in Buffalo.

Perdomo was the closer at class-A Kinston and put up 18 saves before being promoted to double-A Akron, where he been decent.

As with any deal the Tribe is likely to make at this juncture, it's impossible to tell how this one will turn out.

But the Tribe needs potential starters at the big-league level pronto and so it seems worth the gamble that the Indians can figure out how to make Reyes as successful in the big leagues as he has been in the bushes.

I'm going to bet we see him at Cleveland just as soon as they can get his pitch count up at Buffalo.

And, finally, speaking of Buffalo, the Indians sent Aaron Laffey back there today to work out his control problems.

The move was a bit of a surprise to me since Laffey has had a fair amount of success for the Tribe this year and last.

I guess they felt Laffey could get himself back in gear in a low-pressure situation and then call him back up ASAP.

As for Jeremy Sowers - your guess is as good as mine. Sowers has done the job in a few stints in at Buffalo, so the Tribe must feel he needs to prove to himself that he is capable of making the jump to the majors - something he can only do by pitching in the majors.

Who knows?