A look at some items out of the Central divisions..
- The Reds' acquisition of right-hander J.J. Hoover from Atlanta kills any chance the Rangers had of shipping pitchers Mark Lowe or Koji Uehara to Cincinnati, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Reds sent Juan Francisco to the Braves earlier today to land Hoover.
- The Indians need to see a significant boost in attendance this year in order to allow themselves to spend, writes Sheldon Ocker of the Beacon Journal. One way or another, the Tribe should have some breathing room this offseason with the contracts of Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore coming off of the books.
- Pirates owner Bob Nutting expects his club to contend for the division title, write Bob Cohn and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Former Nats GM Jim Bowden also weighed in on the club's future and said that he believes they will hit their stride in two years when Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are ready.
- Royals General Manager Dayton Moore spoke to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times about employing the Rays' strategy of locking up players before they become too pricey. Over the weekend, Moore inked his third extension of the offseason when he signed Alex Gordon to a four-year, $37.5MM deal.
The Pirates are getting close but it’s hard to believe it as a Pirates fan. We just want some results now. However Sterling Marte and Matt Hague are ready to replace Garrett Jones and Alex Presley right now and both would bring better bats to the lineup that really needs offense.
I think they need to play Presley now, so that they can see what he can do. If he stinks, then oh well, but if he proves to be decent, they might be able to trade him for something good and then insert Marte into the lineup. I agree with you on Hague though.
If I can get a guy who can hit 25 homeruns a year and a guy who could hit for average, I would figure out a way to get both of them in the lineup (especially at the low cost). I was very happy to see Hague get a few innings logged in a 3rd this Spring which adds another dimension. I would love to see what he could do at 2b as well. I wonder if the Pirates ever considered playing Presley at 1b?
Better get Hosmer hooked up next
Don’t why the Tribe is getting “breathing room” by getting Grady’s contract off the books but not Lowe’s. They each are making $5M from the Tribe. Grady was off the books last year; Tribe simply decided to bring him back on a 1 year deal.
Hafner…yeah getting that deal off the books will help.
It doesn’t matter how many people attend the Ifinally Indians games. The Dolans are so cheap, they will not spend a dime to increase payroll. Here is hoping that they sell the team to someone willing to spend some of the money that team actually makes (check out the recent Forbes article on the Tribe POCKETING more than $30 million last year while telling fans they lost money).
Dolans Discounts are doomed until they are sold…
You and every Pirate fan have something in common. We have a billionaire who wants to buy them and were being held hostage by the Nuttings.
and who would that be?
In 2009 the Indians had a payroll in the top half of the league. The whole “dolan is cheap” arguement has no real basis. Just a bunch of fans who probably don’t go to games whining.
Hermie13,
I too am a huge Tribe fan and while the USA Today Database is neat to see how much teams payrolls are from year-to-year I’m not sure how accurate it is for situations like 2009 Indians.
Pretty sure abouth 2/3 of the way through the year Westbrook (10MM), Wood (10MM), Martinez (5.9MM), DeRosa (5.5MM), Dellucci (4MM), Peralta (3.65MM), and Betancourt (3.35MM) all went off the $81.5MM payroll via trades for prospects.
I’m pretty sure they hedged their bets in 2009 and were probably in the bottom half… but I see your point. The Dolans did pony up to try to win.
You know it’s funny or sad depending on your viewpoint with regards to Dayton Moore signing his younger players just like the Rays have done.
Soria stunk last year and now he’s hurt for 2012. Their catcher they just signed is hurt and Alex Gordon isn’t the best example because he’s more of a late bloomer. He was supposed to be the next George Brett, but now he’s playing left field. Although, I would love to have him on the O’s, he just isn’t a good example for this story.
PS If Dayton could have a chance to do it all over, I bet he would trade Soria.
PPS Bruce Chen is going to be the #1 starter for the Royals…. hahaha, now that’s funny. I still would love to see a trade involving the O’s and Royals. We need a clutch hitter (ahem, cough, Butler) and the Royals obviously could use another pitcher with a live arm (Arrieta). Although Jake had an ok spring and Billy hit over .400. I think I have wishful thinking again.
I don’t think that trade benefits either side at the moment. The Royals aren’t one mediocre arm away from contending (though I don’t think they are too much further) and the Orioles certainly aren’t a 20 Homerun DH away from contending. In fact both teams have the same need: young top of the rotation pitching. I like Arrieta (and am an O’s fan) but he’s unlikely to ever be more than a 4th or 5th starter.
I guess Shelton did not get the latest Forbes reports as MLB goes when they said that the Indians have made a profit every Shelton stop being a mark for the Liars owners of the Indians the Dolan better known as the cheapskates.
BTW have you looked at this roster what makes you think that the fans are going to come out to see this team of AAA players and end of the road rejects from other teams.
They should rename the Stadium Land Of Misfit Players.
Also in case you did not know it took them 5 months just to sell out opening day and most likely 25% will be no shows because Scalpers will be left holding the tickets that are not blown out on stub hub at $5.00 at ticket.
I will be attending the Akron Aero’s Opener and the Lake County Opener this year.
There is no way it took five months to sell out opening day you could only by those tickets starting feb 20 so thats wrong also the reporter’s name is sheldon and not shelton
Larry Dolan just doesnt get it. You dont get fans by doing nothing, and historically not spend. You spend and that will bring the fans in. Sell the team.
Look at the date that Pirates Owner Bob Nutting made his comments….that’s right April Fools Day