What reasonable moves do you see us making? If any?

[Rat_Tail]

None of which are RH. Who has hit the most HR for the 2011 Cleveland Indians from the right side of the plate?

LaPorta has 8.
Orlando has 4.
Asdrubal has 3 from the right side.
Santana has 1 from the right side.
Duncan 3.
Kearns 2.
Marson 1.

22 Home runs from the right side of the plate. In 97 games. Or the same number as Paul Konerko. But shit, we are up 1 on Nelson Cruz and Mark Reynolds. Kiling Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera who only have 20. And that stiff Carlos Quintin? We have three more home runs from the right side than he does.

If RH power bat is not the acquisition, we might as well trade for more pitching.

Well as glamorous as those extra 12HR sound, if they go for a RH power bat I sure hope it's not Willingham.

Dude is striking out once every 3 at bats. Crisp is striking out once every 9 at bats.

[dazindiansfanuk]

I would give a lot for Shields. Sort of surprised, as that would mean the Rays are throwing in the towel. He will cost a lot, though. Don't know what the Tigers have to offer. Anyone familiar with what they have in AA and AAA?

I like Shields a lot but, his season to season inconsistancy has me a little worried.

No question though, 3 and a half years of 2011 James Shields is definitely worth giving up 6 years of whatever Drew Pomeranz may become.

[googleeph2]

I would be okay with Crisp, since its becoming obvious they are going to add a marginal player in a trade so as long as they give up a c level prospect, Im okay with crisp, who would be an upgrade.

There it is. ANd how hard will it be to pull something like this off? At least it will improve the team. It's not like they'll be in a bidding war. A Crisp gets too pricy, they move on to a Ludwick.

See, they can always try to get that C level prospect back in about 5yrs, as they try to upgrade the team for the 2016 stretch run, ha

Anyway, I thought all those experts in Boston told us that Crisp was very similar to the Second Coming.

Hey, whatever happened to Jimenez, who the Rockies were supposedly dangling. Going big with a stud who has team-controlled years left on a reasonable contract is something that a small market team should pursue- if their window is opening. This is not a ridiculous notion, a la Beltran. They have the currency. If Jimenez is a true ace, crown jewels should be considered if the situation is right.

[peeker643]

Kipnis just tweeted..."ITS TIME!!!!"

Any chance that means he's coming up?

Fair assumption to make.

Looks like it's time for OC to get pissy and pout again. Once he might be able to deal with, twice, he's mailing it in the rest of the way.

Meh... OC will be fine again in two weeks when a raw rookie w/no experience plays like it.

We can blow horns today and then bitch about him tomorrow though.

Congrats to the kid. I am truly happy dude realizes his dream.

Not sure how this actually has the least bit to do with a stretch run though.

You want an upgrade in the lineup? Go fucking get one you know is an upgrade. 23 yr olds making their debut and being expected to actually contribute production in this offense isn't fair to them. Shit, it ain't fair to the dudes who have you tied at this point.

[skatingtripods]

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
#indians top 2 SP targets are harang and kuroda ... seems like everyone wants kuroda, if only he'd leave LA
3 hours ago


Sign for me up for some Hiroki Kuroda. Can't see him waiving a NTC to come to Cleveland, though.

[googleeph2]

Yep, can't wait for him too long, either.

[TribeinLA]

If Crisp is our big move, then color me disappointed.

I wonder if Brad Komminsk would be available, too.

[fairvis]

ESPN Chicago has us connected to Kosuke Fukodome and passing interest in Soriano. Soriano's probably too expensive, but his production's around what we'd be looking for, right?

Soriano's line this year: .249/.445/.736 14 HRs 41 RBIs, but a defensive adventure.

Fukodome only has 1 more HR this year then Austin Kearns in 150 more ABs.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/po ... th-indians

[WiscTribeFan]

ESPN Chicago has us connected to Kosuke Fukodome and passing interest in Soriano. Soriano's probably too expensive, but his production's around what we'd be looking for, right?

Soriano's line this year: .249/.445/.736 14 HRs 41 RBIs, but a defensive adventure.

Fukodome only has 1 more HR this year then Austin Kearns in 150 more ABs.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/po ... th-indians

As a Cubs fan, I can't say that Cleveland should want either, especially Soriano, unless Chicago is picking up the entire tab on his salary, which amounts to $36M over the next two years. Defensively he's horrible.

Fukudome is a superior defensive OF with an arm better than Choo's. He has always been a guy who hits great in the first half and fades in the second (he's hitting .143 since the All-Star break, in limited action). Three years in a row, same story.

If the Cubs picked up the full tab on the rest of his $13.5M salary for this year and we gave them basically nothing, I'd take him just because he'd be a huge defensive upgrade and not totally suck at the dish. His OBP is still fairly good, but he's not going to be much of an upgrade offensively. I'd rather take Byrd than those two, given the choice. I believe both AS and KF have no-trade rights as well.

Signings like Soriano and Fukudome, and, of course, Milton Bradley will be the reason they probably can Hendry in the off-season. He's spent a lot of money for very little return, and now the fans are starting to stay away. The new ownership is going to clean house in the off-season, I think.

I'd love Aramis Ramirez, but he's stated multiple times that he'd refuse a trade anywhere.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Indians, Pirates Interested In Iannetta
By Zach Links [July 22 at 6:10pm CST]

A number of teams, including the Indians and Pirates, have inquired on Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta, major-league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It was reported on Wednesday that the Rockies are not actively shopping the veteran.

Iannetta, 28, is under contract through next season with a club option for 2013. He's set to earn $2.55MM this season, $3.55MM in 2012, and his option is worth $5MM with an affordable $250K buyout.

Morosi writes that the BoSox have had off-and-on interest with the backstop but they appear to be content with their catching situation at the moment.

I guess upgrading the backup catcher spot is important

[StewieG]

Could be to get Santana more time at 1b without putting Marson's bat in the lineup?

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Could be to get Santana more time at 1b without putting Marson's bat in the lineup?

That would mean they have all but given up on LaPorta which is ......frustrating to say the least

[Prosecutor]

That would mean they have all but given up on LaPorta which is ......frustrating to say the least

It might also mean they are not thrilled with Santana's work behind the plate. He's throwing out 22% of base stealers as opposed to nearly 49% for Marson. Also, Marson's catcher ERA is 3.59 versus 4.33 for Santana with the same pitching staff.

The only reason the Tribe would be trading for a catcher is if they want to set up a left-right platoon at catcher and make Santana a full-time first baseman. I wonder if they're still looking at Santana as the next Victor Martinez - a switch-hitting catcher who can hit .300 with 20 HR power. Santana doesn't look like anywhere near the hitter Victor is, to me anyway. I can't imagine him ever coming close to .300 the way he lunges at the ball.

Maybe the Tribe wants to acquire a left-handed hitting catcher with good defensive skills to platoon with Marson. That way Santana could play exclusively at first base and concentrate on hitting. I think the Tribe expected better than .220 out of him considering his numbers in the minors. Maybe they think there's too much on his plate and the catching is taking away from his offense.

Nick Johnson is starting to hit in Columbus, and hit for both average and power. I'm hoping he'll be ready to go next season so we can have Johnson, Santana, and Marson be a three-man platoon at the catcher and first base positions. That's assuming they're OK with Santana continuing to catch most of the time.

[Symbolic47]

I think Santana is a .280 hitter wiith 25+ homer power. He doesnt have Victors contact skills, but he sure does have more power. I still miss Victor :(

[Am I Here Again?]

^Me too^ And after Bahstun "stole" him from us they didn't even have the decency to offer his a good enough contract to make him want to stay. Bet those Red Sux would like to have Justin back now. BwaHaHa!!! I know, we'll probably have to sell Masty off when his asking price gets too high...

[Symbolic47]

Victor was my favorite Indian after Thome and Omar left. That press conference after he was traded to Boston sucked, he was crying. We finally had a star again that loved it here and we had to trade him. Heartbreaking.

OT- My favorite player growing up was Joey Belle. Loved that guy.

[smalls1129]

Andre Knott just said we've been rumored to have inquired about Upton and that TB just brought up some stud prospect so the timing would be right. Also, and I hadn't heard this before, that CA came out and said we will be making a move sooner rather than later.

[scrambler]

I think Santana is a .280 hitter wiith 25+ homer power. He doesnt have Victors contact skills, but he sure does have more power. I still miss Victor :(

Even hitting .250 Santana would be a huge offensive asset as it looks like 110-120 walks a season will be a norm for him. If he ever hits .280-.300 we have something!! I'm all for taking the tools of ignorance off him permanently and putting him at 1B full time. LaPorta does not thrill me in any way, shape, or form. Guys a poor man's Ryan Garko!! Ianetta isn't that bad a guy. Marson is a perfect backup MLB catcher.

[WiscTribeFan]

Marson could easily be a starting catcher on a team that has adequate offense elsewhere. His defense and handling of a staff gives him starting catcher potential. If he can hit like Brad Ausmus, he'll have a very long career.

If they pick up Ianetta, I'd be it would be with the intention of making Santana a full time 1B and Marson the starting C. He's shown enough improvement this year at the dish to make me think what he brings to the team when he plays is worth the tradeoff of his non-impact bat.

Either way, it's not an endorsement of LaPorta. His time may have come and gone already.

[onlyindreams]

I'm not really enthused about the names out there. I still think we're miles away from being able to knock off the best teams in the playoffs, so giving up blue chip talent for a merely solid player seems like bad business. If we can give up a decent prospect for an OF that hits lefties, I'd be for that, but I don't think we're a player or even three away from winning it all. Of course, you always have a chance if you make it to the playoffs, but I don't want to mortgage the future for such low odds of winning 3 series against more talented teams. We've been below .500 since the hot first month and a half.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

M

If they pick up Ianetta, I'd be it would be with the intention of making Santana a full time 1B

Im just not okay with a Hobbit playing first base and a frustratingly inconsistent Mat Laporta at 1st is still light years offensively better than Marson offensively when he is behind the dish.

I would say defensively Laporta is a little ahead of Santanna at 1st. But Marson is far superior to Santanna right now. So i guess it depends on whether or not they feel Santanna has the ability to close the gap defensively on Marson.

personally I would still stick with Laporta, you gotta try to ride him out this year to see if he can put it together. The last thing we need is Laporta being compared to Brandon Phillips by people and then having 4 years of constantly rehashing that situation again.

[leadpipe]

Bottom line is that Lou Marson's defense/handling of staff is worth waaaaay more than LaPorta's offense - and this would be the case if LaPorta stepped it up a bit.

Or

At this juncture the Cleveland Indians are a better team with Marson catching - no matter what it does to the offensive side of the line-up.

On LaPorta, as I mentioned earlier in the year - it's not enough if he develops to the point where he simply doesn't blow. It's pretty clear he's a first baseman exclusively, and he ain't, or can't, do anything else to help the team besides hit. And if you're a big league first baseman, and all you can do is hit, well, you'd better H-I-T. Scrapping up to .265 and 22 ain't gaining you any ground on anyone.

So, if you are taking the above player out, and replacing him with a guy that makes the team better - IN ANY WAY, then, if you wanna win, that's what you do.

Receiving/throwing and handling the staff - getting pitchers comfortable - that has a ton of value. If you don't think so, take a look around the league. It's not like the 55 teams in the league that could use some more offense at catcher can't find some big dope to hit better than their current catcher.

[Am I Here Again?]

After reviewing our record for the last almost-two months since June 1st we've played below .500. Something like 10-16 in June and 9-10 as of right now (with Sunday's game yet undecided). We've lost series against the crappy teams and, more disturbing, within the division. I see no logical reason spending prospects, and probably $$ too, to improve a team that is still "one year away" from their original target date. Let the kids play and get settled into their positions and the speed of the ML game and be ready to run out of the gate next year. *sigh ~ waiting for next year again...*

[scrambler]

After reviewing our record for the last almost-two months since June 1st we've played below .500. Something like 10-16 in June and 9-10 as of right now (with Sunday's game yet undecided). We've lost series against the crappy teams and, more disturbing, within the division. I see no logical reason spending prospects, and probably $$ too, to improve a team that is still "one year away" from their original target date. Let the kids play and get settled into their positions and the speed of the ML game and be ready to run out of the gate next year. *sigh ~ waiting for next year again...*

This is pretty much 100 percent correct I believe. It was a lot of fun for awhile, but I think it's just reality setting in. ryan Ludwick, BJ Upton, Hiroki Kuroda, Marlon Byrd, Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp would all be massive waste's of time I think.

[TribeinLA]

Chris Ianetta and Coco Crisp moves could be done and would upgrade our offense and defense especially. If we can't be a major player, we can at least do that. I am not for making a move just to make a move. There are several players I have severe concerns with the pulp of them lies in Matt LaPorta and Zeke playing everyday. Ianetta and Crisp could fix that. Crisp is more of a defensive upgrade. His bat would be best suited at 8th in the order. Ianetta impresses me behind the plate and handles that Rockies staff well. Santana can move to first full time. We can trade laPorta for some prospects to make up what we'd give up for Ianetta and Crisp. LaPorta is either going to get good in the next 3 years or he's a poor man's Garko.

[smalls1129]

We may not want to over spend now, but the RH with pop and OF help issues are not going away anytime soon. So even if they are'a year early' same issues are going to be there throughout this next' window of opportunity'. And also, just me personally, I don't give a rats ass what their recent record is, the whole year is what counts and according to their YTD record the worse case is we're 2 out tomorrow morning. Just too many variables with injuries and schedules to let one or two months tell the story. No matter what the tribe is in a pennant race going into August, how they got there don't mean a thing because either way its still a fact.

[dazindiansfanuk]

I don't think you can write this season off yet.

Let's face it, this division isn't very good..... if you can make a move without mortgaging the future, then you do it.The division is winnable so try and win it.

If you make it to the postseason, who knows what will happen.

And anyway, even if you bomb in the playoffs, we all still want to see playoff baseball. Plus, the extra revenue that it would bring can't be ignored.

[dazindiansfanuk]

From Manny Acta via Jordan Bastian on Twitter referring to trade talks

"The truth will come out. A lot of people will be shocked, surprised and be quiet for a long time after they find out every effort that the team put into it."

Whatever that means!

[Prosecutor]

Not being a Rockies fan I've never heard of Chris Iannetta, but a quick look at his stats shows why the Tribe is interested.

Against lefties: .230/.405/.590/.995. He has 6 HRs in only 61 ABs against lefties. Wow. Maybe it's the altitude.

How does a guy hitting .230 have an OBP of .405? Against lefties this guy is Carlos Santana, only he walks more.

Against righties he's not great, but a huge improvement over Marson: .215/.694 for Iannetta versus .177/.429 for Marson. Iannetta's OPS against righties is 265 points higher than Lou's.

The questions I have are:

1. Are the Indians looking to move Santana to first base permanently and give up on him being an everyday catcher? He's not a good defensive catcher and he's not hitting as well as expected.

2. Are the Indians ready to give up on LaPorta? The guy is 26 years old and he still can't hit well enough to be an every day first baseman on a playoff team. His defense is adequate, but his inability to hit lefties on a team that is stacked with left-handed hitters is a real liability.

If they're seriously pursuing a trade for Iannetta, then they must also be serious about dumping LaPorta and moving Santana to first base full time. They might be looking to put LaPorta back in the outfield. He would be an upgrade over Kearns, offensively at least.

[scrambler]

All the Rocky games are on TV out where I live. Ianetta is a low avg, high OBP guy with power. I got into heated debate on this board when in the game Carmona blew against the Rockies when no one could understnad how Carmona walked Ianetta with 2 outs and I tried to explain that is what the guy does with regularity...sort of like Carlos Santana. As disappointing as Santana has been at times this year, the guy is patient to a fault and walks a ton. Same with Ianetta. I'm not sure I want him, but he's not the worst thing out there. Santana is simply not a good defensive catcher, and his knee blowup I think has made him even worse as people have mentioned him not wanting to block home plate and I can understand his fear. LaPorta has shown nothing much and I would support a move to Santana to first at some point. Sooner rather than later. LaPorta is better defensively than Santana, but Santana has showed flashes of great play at first of course followed by incompetence. I think he can play there. LaPorta is not enough better defensively to excuse his patheticness on offense at that position however.

[pup]

As I said close to a week ago. If this team is not adding a stud (Pence/Upton...) then we should be selling.

No combination of Mike Morse, Chris Ianetta, Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham is doing enough, so what is the point.

Go get a stud RH bat, or trade Joe Smith and Raffy Perez for what the market is paying. Hopefully that is a power RH OF who is six months away or ready today and blocked or worn out his welcome.

[jerryroche]

You guys are all whistling past the grave. The Tribe needs at least two more hitters, maybe three, to even come close to competing with the Bostons, New Yorks and Philadelphias of the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it would be nice to make the playoffs, but it’d probably be three-and-out with this weak-hitting crew. Why give up any promising arms or bats now just to make a quick exit from post-season?

Glad to see that more of you slugs are finally coming around to my way of thinking. 2012 or bust!

[bookelly]

Not being a Rockies fan I've never heard of Chris Iannetta, but a quick look at his stats shows why the Tribe is interested.

Against lefties: .230/.405/.590/.995. He has 6 HRs in only 61 ABs against lefties. Wow. Maybe it's the altitude.

How does a guy hitting .230 have an OBP of .405? Against lefties this guy is Carlos Santana, only he walks more.

Against righties he's not great, but a huge improvement over Marson: .215/.694 for Iannetta versus .177/.429 for Marson. Iannetta's OPS against righties is 265 points higher than Lou's.

The questions I have are:

1. Are the Indians looking to move Santana to first base permanently and give up on him being an everyday catcher? He's not a good defensive catcher and he's not hitting as well as expected.

2. Are the Indians ready to give up on LaPorta? The guy is 26 years old and he still can't hit well enough to be an every day first baseman on a playoff team. His defense is adequate, but his inability to hit lefties on a team that is stacked with left-handed hitters is a real liability.

If they're seriously pursuing a trade for Iannetta, then they must also be serious about dumping LaPorta and moving Santana to first base full time. They might be looking to put LaPorta back in the outfield. He would be an upgrade over Kearns, offensively at least.

We're interested in Iannetta because they're thinking they could move LaPorta to the OF, play Santana everyday at 1st, and then they'd need a platoon C with Marson. Just reading the tea leaves, this is the backup plan should they not land Upton or Pence or whomever.

This is a pretty good backup plan I think. Choo is back soon, and maybe Grady later. And LaPorta would only play against lefties.

[pup]

LaPorta is not going to the OF.

If that was even a possibility, we would not have seen the Luis Valbuena Massacre in LF.

[leadpipe]

Have you guys watched Laporta move around? It shouldn't be happening to fast for you (literally).

Christ.

Might not be a team in worse shape as far as outfield depth/outfield prospects in the league. If they thought the guy had a CHANCE of not being a disaster out there.....

[peeker643]

LaPorta's hip is fucked. Looks barely functional really and it's not going to get better. Straight line movement and only limited amounts of that. Watch him run the bases and you wince along with him.

That hip injury affected the dude's ability to play the OF and I can't see him ever going back out there.

I'd say it affected the rotation in his swing as well but I didn't see much rotation there before he was hurt. Guy doesn't use his lower body much at all in his swing and I'm not sure he did before getting hurt.

[WiscTribeFan]

Have you guys watched Laporta move around? It shouldn't be happening to fast for you (literally).

Christ.

Might not be a team in worse shape as far as outfield depth/outfield prospects in the league. If they thought the guy had a CHANCE of not being a disaster out there.....

For what it's worth, finding a serviceable OF usually isn't an issue on the FA market (insert Jason Michaels/Dave Dellucci/Trot Nixon comments at will).

If our infield prospects pan out like we hope, plugging in a veteran guy on the market wouldn't be the worst thing we'd have to do. Doesn't have to be great, just has to be decent, assuming Choo becomes Choo again and Brantley continues to improve his game. Sizemore won't be back next year, unless it's under a new contract laiden with incentives rather than the $8.5M option he's got.

[skatingtripods]

Hopefully that is a power RH OF who is six months away or ready today and blocked or worn out his welcome.

Just so hard to find "blocked" OFs with the three OF spots available. If a guy's good enough, odds are he's better than at least one of the three.

Their prospect depth at OF is bottom heavy. Lots of Low-A/High-A guys having good seasons, but nobody really knows what they'll become as they move up.

Bad, bad spot to be in.

[Bigfist]

Hopefully that is a power RH OF who is six months away or ready today and blocked or worn out his welcome.

Just so hard to find "blocked" OFs with the three OF spots available. If a guy's good enough, odds are he's better than at least one of the three.

Their prospect depth at OF is bottom heavy. Lots of Low-A/High-A guys having good seasons, but nobody really knows what they'll become as they move up.

Bad, bad spot to be in.

I am not even sure there is much at the high A level. Abreu is in his second season here (Kinston), and has gotten hot the last couple of weeks, but was very poor before that. Cid, Gallas, Holt..don't see much in those three. Maybe Greenwell has a shot, but he has been out for about 6 weeks. In short, no real can't miss OF prospects in Kinston, as far as I can tell.

[peeker643]

How'd the radio gig go the other night? Launching a new career?

Hopefully that is a power RH OF who is six months away or ready today and blocked or worn out his welcome.

Just so hard to find "blocked" OFs with the three OF spots available. If a guy's good enough, odds are he's better than at least one of the three.

Their prospect depth at OF is bottom heavy. Lots of Low-A/High-A guys having good seasons, but nobody really knows what they'll become as they move up.

Bad, bad spot to be in.

I am not even sure there is much at the high A level. Abreu is in his second season here (Kinston), and has gotten hot the last couple of weeks, but was very poor before that. Cid, Gallas, Holt..don't see much in those three. Maybe Greenwell has a shot, but he has been out for about 6 weeks. In short, no real can't miss OF prospects in Kinston, as far as I can tell.

[Bigfist]

Well, I thought it was fun, but I found it difficult to fill in the time between pitches. I had prepared a number of stat sheets, etc., and tried to keep reminding the listeners as to the count, score, and game situation..probably too much so, to be honest. I got to call a HR by Abner Abreu and that was fun.

Haha....at age 58 I don't there are any new careers on the horizon.

[peeker643]

Well, I thought it was fun, but I found it difficult to fill in the time between pitches. I had prepared a number of stat sheets, etc., and tried to keep reminding the listeners as to the count, score, and game situation..probably too much so, to be honest. I got to call a HR by Abner Abreu and that was fun.

Haha....at age 58 I don't there are any new careers on the horizon.

Ha! That's cool Bigfist. The good ones make it sound way easier than it is I'm sure.

[skatingtripods]

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
#astros are telling folks now they are not intending to trade @HunterPence9. He's face of franchise, fine example for young players

Not surprising.

[WiscTribeFan]

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
#astros are telling folks now they are not intending to trade @HunterPence9. He's face of franchise, fine example for young players

Not surprising.

....and no-one offered us what we wanted for him.

We'll see what they think when he's about to hit free agency.

[pup]

Not saying he gets moved.

But it would be total fail if Astros were telling folks this kid is Amy Winehouse* in his free time and they can't wait to get twenty five cents on the dollar for him.


*sure hope e0 doesn't read this

[pup]

Hopefully that is a power RH OF who is six months away or ready today and blocked or worn out his welcome.

Just so hard to find "blocked" OFs with the three OF spots available. If a guy's good enough, odds are he's better than at least one of the three.

Their prospect depth at OF is bottom heavy. Lots of Low-A/High-A guys having good seasons, but nobody really knows what they'll become as they move up.

Bad, bad spot to be in.

New crush.

Paul Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks. They have no LH in their bullpen. They just started Micah Owings in a game. Their bullpen is in the bottom third and even worse against RH hitters.

Fausto, Perez and Joe Smith.

[WiscTribeFan]

New crush.

Paul Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks. They have no LH in their bullpen. They just started Micah Owings in a game. Their bullpen is in the bottom third and even worse against RH hitters.

Fausto, Perez and Joe Smith.

Arizona makes that deal in a heart-beat, although losing Drew has really got them looking around quite a bit. The kid's got great looking numbers in AA, but even BA stated in their recent top 50 (he was #50) that scouts are concerned with his projectability. He wasn't listed as being in their top 10 prospects before the season.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/ ... oldschmidt

Problem is, you throw up the white flag when we're 2 games out, there would be 500 people at the following home game. Make no mistake, dealing three pitchers on your major league roster for a AA 1B is throwing up the white flag.

I could see them being interested in O-Cab, potentially.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Arizona has a lot of prospects like Goldshimdt i.e Boerching, Davidson. Big power guys who strike out a ton with very uncomfortable projectability.


Personally its just me but im always scared of guys who arnt rated that high in their own systems and / or then have breakout statistical years above their previous history and that is coupled with a scouting report that talks about plate discipline/too many strikeouts.

Too risky in my opnion to give up Carmona, Perez, and Smith. I woudl take the chance on Goldschimdt if the D0backs just took Smith, but not all 3.

[TribeinLA]

Damn it, I made a long drawn out post of the moves I think we should make and why I thought each made sense...I'll just shorten up. Feel free to criticize me. I can take it. Here is me playing GM:

Trade R Perez and J Smith to SD for Ryan Ludwick and a PTBN.

Trade M La Porta and J Gomez to Colorado for Chris Ianetta. Helton is 38 and the Rockies are going to need another 1b soon. Let Santana play 1b everyday. Let Marson backup Ianetta.

Trade C Phelps and lower level prospect to Oakland for Coco Crisp. Crisp is over 30 now and has lost pop in his bat, but he's a better base stealer now than he was when he was 25.


Lineup by September should be:

1 Crisp, cf
2 Cabrera, ss
3 Hafner, dh
4 Santana, 1b
5 Ludwick, lf
6 Choo, rf (ease him back into the 6 hole)
7 Ianetta, c
8 Chisenhall, 3b
9 O Cabrera, 2b

bench:

Brantley (but still muct get PT when he can)
Hannahan
Marson
Donald (assuming we have him back?)

Cut Kearns or trade him for three Easton bats. Send Buck back to AAA or trade him.

I would give analysis as to why, but I am outta time. Let me know what y'all think. It's meat grind time and we have to be contenders. But I'm no GM. I just wanted to try to make some deals that will make us better.

[jerryroche]

Feel free to criticize me. I can take it.

Where does Michael Brantley fit in your grand scheme?