With Terry Francona now in the fold, the Indians were expected to be aggressive this offseason and make some moves to improve the ballclub. On Saturday, they added some experienced infield depth by trading Esmil Rogers to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder Mike Aviles and Triple-A player Yan Gomes.

Aviles, 31, has 478 games of Major League experience under his belt, having played second base, third base, shortstop, and a handful of appearances in the outfield with Boston in 2011. Aviles has a career slash line of .277/.308/.408/.715. Aviles hit 13 home runs for Boston in 2011 over 136 games, a career high. Gomes, 25, has batted .287/.344/.484/.828 in 301 minor league games. A lot of his damage has come in the offense-friendly Pacific Coast League with the Las Vegas 51's. Gomes batted .204 in 98 at bats with the Blue Jays this past season.

The Indians picked up Esmil Rogers from the Colorado Rockies in June via trade. The Indians gave the Rockies cash considerations to complete the deal. Rogers made 44 appearances for the Indians, posting a 3.09 ERA and striking out 54 batters in 53 innings. The emergence of 2011 draft pick Cody Allen made Rogers expendable. Also, the Indians may have sold high on Rogers, who is still a bit of an unknown. He struggled in Colorado, posting a 6.77 ERA in 70 appearances, but, pitchers obviously have difficult conditions to deal with in the high altitude.

Overall, the Indians got some insurance behind Asdrubal Cabrera, who has worn down late in the season the last couple of years. Aviles also gives the Indians a right-handed option, with a  career .295 average and a .797 OPS against left handers. 

In college football, many will agree that the BCS is flawed.  The truth is that it's setup in a way that offers no perfect solution to properly crown a champion from its 120+ team pool of learning institutions.  The premise behind the Bowl Championship Series is to determine who the top two teams are, then put them on the field for a Championship game of sorts.  If there is debate between who should be #1 and #2, it is argued very quietly because sixty minutes of football can settle that debate, but the drama comes with #2 and #3; only one gets a seat at the table.

Speaking strictly in hypotheticals, what if we agreed that Alabama is the undisputed #1 team in the country at the end of the season, but the second and third spots come down to complicated math.  Suddenly, we're looking at games that felt so meaningless, like Oregon vs. Akransas State and Kansas State versus North Texas.  What if it ended up being so close that the winner of Saturday's contest between the Mean Green of North Texas and the Red Wolves of Arkansas State tipped the scale towards Alabama's Championship opponent?

Pretty wild, huh?  Now, imgaine the result of that early November Sun Belt game is changed after the Championship game is scheduled.  We've got Alabama angry after spending a month preparing for the wrong opponent, plus the schools and fan bases in a frenzy, making or canceling travel plans.  Of course, that would never happen; that's the type of thing that could only happen in Ohio, and it's happening right now.

It's not the billion dollar industry that is the BCS, but we now have six schools in Northeast Ohio affected by this chaos.  There are a lot of things still up in the air, as the clock strikes midnight on the North Coast Friday morning, but we do know that Trumbull's County's Brookfield and Lakewood's St. Edward hold #1 seeds in their region, and hope to host the #8 seeds in the first round of the 2012 Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Playoffs this weekend.

This is a simple timeline of the events that have shaped the chaos that has put Opening Round games in Division I and Division IV in jeopardy, but more importantly, created controversy over the respective #8 seeds in those regions.

• August 31 - Cleveland Heights defeats Cleveland John Adams
• October 18 - Cleveland John F Kennedy (JFK) defeats Cleveland John Adams 14-8 on the field
• October 24 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that JFK forfeited the October 18 game to Adams because they used a player that ineligible, per the school district guidlines, but not ineligible per OHSAA standards
• October 26 - Ashtabula County's Edgewood defeats JFK
• October 28 - Playoff pairings are announced. Mayfield gets the #8 seed in Division I, and is set to play at St. Edward on Saturday; Edgewood clinches their first playoff berth ever, and is scheduled to play at Brookfield on Friday. (These pairings were based on the on-field result of the JFK win over John Adams, ignoring the foreit).
• November 1 - Cleveland Heights, who finished behind Mayfield in Division I, successfully files suit; the JFK forfeit is now recognized, and they are now the #8 seed.  The appeal also affects Division IV, where Edgewood, who is printing t-shirts for their playoff appearance, loses enough computer points to fall out of the playoffs because their win over JFK is not as strong.  So, it's Beachwood in the #8 seed, now getting ready to play Brookfield in a little more than 24 hours.  However, Edgewood didn't take the announcement lying down, and filed a suit of their own in Ashtabula County.  The court ruled in their favor.  So, in two different Ohio courts, Edgewood was legally bumped and legally put back into the playoffs.

If there were more sense to be made of it, I would offer a clearer picture, but this is where it stands.  There might be football in Brookfield on Friday night, and there might not be, but one thing is for certain.  Brookfield and St. Edward will wake up on Friday morning without a clear picture of who their next opponent will be.

Friday is going to be a long day; stay tuned.

_______________

Update (Friday, November 2nd 14:30)

#MAYFIELD confirms to @johntelich8 that Cats are in, at the expense of #CLEVEHTS, and @ohsaasports says case is "over". Playoffs are set.

— FridayNightTouchdown (@FOX8FNTD) November 2, 2012

The Cleveland Indians, as expected, have declined the options of Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez. Instead of picking Hafner's up, they'll pay him a $2.75 million dollar buyout. They've decided to pick up the $5.75 option on Ubaldo Jimenez. 

Hernandez, or Fausto Carmona, whichever you prefer, was scheduled to make $6 million while Hafner would have raked in $13 million. 

Both moves were expected, especially with Carmona not impressing much since his return from banishment. Jimenez's pick up was not a surprise considering that much was invested in him and if he exceeds expectations, he'd be well worth the price tag.

The decision to not pick up Fausto's option is intriguing, as it shows the Indians are either A)Comfortable with their current rotation options or B)They can potentially bring Fauxberto back on a lesser deal. Would another team out there pay around $6 million? Doubtful. 

Now that Travis Hafner is a free agent, it will also be interesting to see what kind of interest he garners. Certainly there will be teams out there that would take a shot on him in a one-year deal knowing full-well what they will be getting. But the Indians could be one of those teams that takes a shot on him and he may be more partial to returning to Cleveland, even at a lower price tag than somewhere else. 

He lives in Cleveland, his family is in Cleveland, the organization has treated him well, and if there is a spot for him, the Indians would probably like to have him around. So it is decision time for both sides. First with the Indians if they want to take up a roster spot with Hafner (and more than half of the games at the DH spot) and then secondly if Hafner wants to play ball with the Tribe both at the negotiating table and on the field.

Needless to say, the declining of both options now opens up the more intriguing pathway for both Fausto Hernandez and Travis Hafner, where as the journey with Ubaldo Jimenez is just beginning.

For more rationale on the subject, check out my pre-decision edition of the Offseason Rundown.

The Indians have completed their coaching staff and released the names of who've they hired to accompany Terry Francona in the dugout in 2013. Baring of course Sandy Alomar Jr. getting a managerial job elsewhere of course, but that looks to be very unlikely at this point with teams bringing in their favorite candidates and Sandy not really garnering much interest.

Mickey Callaway has been named the team's new pitching coach, replacing interim coach Ruben Niebla. Former catcher Kevin Cash will be the bullpen coach while to no one's surprise Brad Mills will coach third base and Mike Sarbaugh will be at first. Ty Van Burkleo will be the team's hitting coach.

Callaway will be the name other than Mills and Sarbaugh that Indians fans should be most aware of. Callaway has been in the Indians system for a few seasons now, most recently as the team's pitching coordinator for the minor leagues in 2012. He's been with Lake County and Kinston and pitched as recently as 2009, including a stint with the 2002 champion Angels. He has some high regard in the organization and has quickly moved up the ranks as a pitching instructor.

Rounding out the pitching staff is Kevin Cash, a former catcher for Toronto, Boston and Houston. He has actually played for both Francona and Mills as a player, most recently in 2010 for the Astros. He was Tim Wakefield's catcher back in 2008 and Boston's full-time backup, so clearly there is already a good relationship between Francona/Mills and Cash and that this was a hire that you could estimate Francona made himself.

We all know about the success of Mike Sarbaugh in the minor leagues and that his inclusion on the major league staff is a long time coming. He should be an asset for the club as he is gets some valuable experience on the major league diamond. He should be a major league manager one day and the fact that the Indians have him, a former manager and long-time bench coach in Brad Mills at third, and a manager-in-waiting in Sandy Alomar Jr. all on their staff under Francona is a huge plus.

Rounding out the entire staff is new hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo, who replaces Bruce Fields at the major league level. He seems to be not only more of a Brad Mills guy, but just a nice fresh face from outside the organization or the Francona tree. He spent time last season as the interim hitting coach for the Astros taking over when Mills' staff was released. He was the hitting coordinator for Houston for several years after being a bench coach in Seattle under Don Wakamatsu and a hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics from 2007 to 2008. He has just five major league hits to his name, but an extensive coaching resume since 2001.

The Indians have signed an outfielder!

Simmer down now, it isn't what you think.

The Tribe is going into International waters once again, jumping over to Asia to ink 18-year-old outfielder Takuya Tsuchida to a deal. He's a faster guy with athleticism who can apparantely also play second base. Perhaps he's a possible answer to the left field hole. With more room in the international spending cap, the Indians signed their second Asian player this offseason.

You remember the last time the Indians ventuerd down the Japanese path. It didn't go so well in signing Masahide Kobayashi. But he was a more established veteran who was expected to make an immediate impact. Where as the Indians have had more success with their young signings out of Asia. Currently Chun Chen is moving up the ladder and if not for an injury this past season, CC Lee might have made some sort of impact out of the bullpen. 

But let's not also forget the famed Kaz Tadano. Let's not forget, but let's just not go there.

Tsuchida joins fellow Japanese signing Naoki Hashimoto, who is a pitcher, in prospects the Indians have signed this year out of the international pool.

Other notes about Tsuchida include that he is a left-handed hitter and will be in spring training with the minor leaguers. He's very much a high school signing at this point and it will be years before he is even close to contributing, if he even makes it that far.

Another week, another Cleveland Browns player placed on season-ending injured reserve.

This time it is defensive lineman Emmanuel Stephens, who was placed on IR on Tuesday with a neck injury suffered in Sunday's win against San Diego.

Stephens joins linebacker Scott Fujita and left guard Jason Pinkston on the list of Browns players who are done for the season with injuries.

Stephens played in all eight games for the Browns this year, getting nine tackles. His biggest play was a strip-sack of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton that helped preserve the Browns first win of the season.

This is the second year in a row that Stephens has wound up on the IR list. Last year, a torn pectoral muscle knocked him out after 11 games.

(Photo by ClevelandBrowns.com)

The Cleveland Browns placed linebacker Scott Fujita on the injured-reserve list Wedesday, ending his season and possibly his career.

Fujita has been inactive the past two games with a neck injury that reportedly could lead the 11-year veteran to retire.

“I think retirement decisions, those are personal, whether it’s coaches, players," Browns coach Pat Shurmur said in his Wednesday press conference. "I think those are discussions you have with your loved ones, about is it time? For a player at times, that decision is made for you. If you’re no longer on a roster and you don’t get picked up, eventually it kind of sets in. I think we all want to be in control of our own situations. I think that’s fair to say. I think it’s fair to say that most of us aren’t. I think that’s the reality of it. To me, uncertainty in the world, tells me that, ‘Hey, we’re moving along.’”

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The Cleveland Browns placed offensive lineman Jason Pinkston on season-ending injured reserve on Monday.

Pinkston was hospitalized on Thursday where a blood clot was discovered in his lung. Pinkston reportedly had been having difficulty breathing and other symptoms for about two weeks before doctors discovered the clot.

“I don't even think that’s a conversation where he’s talking about being done,” said fellow lineman John Greco, who will take Pinkston’s spot in the lineup. “I know he wants to be out there as soon as he can. Like I said all along, Jason’s just trying to figure out what’s going on with him right now, and we’re behind him. So anyway we can help, (we) will.”

The Browns signed offensive lineman Jarrod Shaw off their practice squad to fill out the roster and also signed offensive lineman Bryant Browning to the practice squad.

Browning spent the first six weeks of the season on the practice squad of the 1-5 Carolina Panthers before being released on Oct. 16.

Pinkston started 16 games as a rookie last season and the first six games of this season before missing the game against Indianapolis.

If you didn't know who Kenny Guiton was before Ohio State's (just short of miraculous) victory over Purdue in OT on Saturday, you certainly do now.  I don't think it's unfair to say that Ohio State is essentially a one-man show that begins and ends with the play of Braxton Miller, their sensational sophomore quarterback.  On Saturday, in typical Ohio State-Purdue fashion, it was an ugly showing for the school Ohio's capitol city.

Two big plays from Purdue, one from the special teams and another from the offense, appreared to have sunk Ohio State's aspirations at being perfect in lieu of a Bowl apperance, a feat that the NCAA has banned them from achieving.  Miller's best and worst moment of the game came at the end of the 3rd Quarter, when he broke off a run for 37 or his 47 yards rushing on the day.  His best run would be his last play of the game, and some worried it would his last of the season.

Enter Kenny Guiton, that Ohio State backup QB who has not caused a stir on Twitter this season.  The Buckeyes fourth-year Junior, playing the first meaningful snaps of his collegiate career, could not finish what Miller started, and a Drew Basil missed field goal attempt left Ohio State down six with 14:12 to play.  After the Joe Bauserman experience a year ago, Guiton's struggles surprised no one, but it was a wonder that he was even there.

There's nothing glamourous about the recruitment of the Aldine Eisenhower HS (Houston, TX) product.  He was only offered a scholarship after Tajh Boyd chose Clemson over Ohio State in 2009, just a week before signing day.  He was home sick the day Ohio State's recruiter visited his school in Texas, and his eventual recruitment was just a day spent watching film. (Source: @KyleRowland (Eleven Warriors))

Eighteen months ago, if you believed what his teammates told Bucknuts in anonymity, he was as good as gone...

"He's knows he's too good to never play," an OSU player said. "Once they dropped him to third on the chart, that was a clear sign to him. And he knows it's probably only a matter of time before Braxton passes him, too. [Guiton] didn't tell me he was definitely going to leave, but he said he's looking into things."

And...

"He's gone," the player said of Guiton. "He wants to play and he knows he's not going to play here. He's still thinking over things and won't make a final decision until summer, but I just don't see him coming back. The chances of him playing are not good and all he wants to do is play. He likes it here at O-State though, so we'll see. But I'm pretty sure he's going to transfer."

After the missed field goal, a Purdue drive stalled, but they were able to pin the Buckeyes deep in their own territory, and forced a penalty in the end-zone for safety.  The two points stretched the deficit to 8 with ten minutes to play.  Guiton struggled on the next possession, which ended with an interception, and the clock had become a serious issue at that point.  However, Purdue couldn't get anything going, and he got one last crack at it from his own 39 with 47 seconds on the clock.

Urban Meyer told his quarterback, "you're going to win us a game", and that's exactly what he did.  It started with 39 yard completion to Devin Smith, and eight plays later, he was hitting Chris Fields in the end-zone to set up the tying conversion.  Though the offensive line begged the staff to pound it in with Carlos Hyde, they had faith in their Heisman candidate's understudy, and brilliantly drawn up play for tight end Jeff Heurman tied the game at 22.

As you know, the Buckeyes won in OT to extend their undefeated record to 8-0.

Per CBS Sports:

Cleveland Browns starting left guard Jason Pinkston remains hospitalized with a blood clot.

Coach Pat Shurmur said after Friday's practice that Pinkston is being treated for the condition, but provided no further specifics about Pinkston, a second-year guard from Pittsburgh.

Several of his teammates visited Pinkston on Thursday night, and Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas said "it's a little bit scary" to see a teammate who is ill. Shurmur would not say where Pinkston's blood clot is located and he does not know how long the 25-year-old will be sidelined.

Pinkston started last week against Cincinnati but became ill and was replaced by John Greco, who played the entire second half. Greco will start Sunday against Indianapolis.

Even though some might claim that Greco played better last week than Pinkston has all season - and at the very least there's not much drop off - it would be truly boorish of us not to wish Pinkston a speedy recovery.