Cleveland Indians

Remember when the Cleveland Indians acquired Andy Marte in the 2006 off-season and all Tribe fans heard about how good he was going to be for the next couple of years? In 2005, Baseball Prospectus wrote of Marte:

The best prospect in baseball and a future superstar. As a 20-year-old toiling in the mostly hitter-unfriendly Southern League, Marte hit .269/.364/.525. In only 387 at-bats, he smacked 52 extra-base hits. He's got monstrous power and a broad base of hitting skills. In his prime, expect a few seasons of Adrian Beltre, circa 2004.

Since then Marte has been plagued by injuries and slumps. The worst case scenario for him is that he is a 4A Player. A player that is too good for Triple A but someone who never amount as much of a Major League Baseball player. The worst news for the Indians is that he becomes another Brandon Phillips. A player that never got it going here in Cleveland and turned out to star for another team.

Members of the Cleveland Browns and Indians front office will battle for supremacy in the bowling lanes on Wednesday. The Tribe leads the brown and orange in the annual event 3-2. The real winners, however, are Big Brothers and Sisters of Cleveland which the fundraiser benefits from the "Bowl for Kids Sake Program".

If you are downtown tomorrow evening from 5:30-8:00 you can watch the friendly rivalry at the Corner Alley which is located at East 4th and Euclid. For more information on the Big Brothers and Sisters Program call 216-621-8223

Cleveland Indians fans are starting to get worried and rightfully so. The team that was within an inch of the World Series last season is struggling. It is not the pitching, which was predicted to be stellar, but the offense that has given Tribe fans fits.

The Indians of 2008 have made average starting pitchers look like Walter Johnson on a nightly basis. In the last 7 games that Eric Wedge's team has played, they have averaged less than 2 and half runs a game. They have been shutout in two of the those games. If you throw out the game in which they exploded for 8 runs, they averaged 1.5 runs per game in those six contests. Something is broken, and it needs to be fixed desperately.

One of the problems is very easy to point out. His name is Travis Hafner, and for over a year now he has not been producing the numbers that you would expect out of slugger in the middle of the lineup. Hafner is hitting just 9 points over the Mendoza line this year with three long balls. In 2006, in just 129 games, he hit 42 homers and and drove in 117 RBI's. His numbers declined last season and seem to be ready to hit rock bottom this year. Do you think it may wake him up if the Tribe at least started talking about bringing in the the all-time, tainted as it may be, home run champion in the history of the sport? Could it hurt to see if Barry Bonds has something left in him?

The Cleveland Indians have lots in store as they kick off the 2008 season on Monday at Progressive Field. Gates open at 1 o'clock and the first pitch is set for 3:05. Prior to the first pitch, the 2007 Central Pennant will be lifted to the sky. Helping aid Ashley Nemeh, who has the honor of singing the National Anthem, will be 200 Progressive Employees who were picked by the company for their superior service. Fans attending the game will be a Progressive Field Cap and a Giant Eagle 2008 Indians Magnet Schedule.

While the game is labled a "sell out" more tickets openened up at the last minute in standing room and other locations were they the team had been expecting to sell last minute season tickets. If you act fast, you have the chance to go to the game if you head to an Indians Team shop location or you can buy the tickets on Ticketmaster.com.

Want to get a behind the scenes look into the daily operation of the Cleveland Indians? It has easy as signing up to take a tour of the Tribe's home. Tours of Progressive Field start in April and run all the way through the end of the regular season. Tickets are priced at $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for youths and will go to the Cleveland Indians Charities. Tours run from 75 to 90 minutes long.

Tours are not available on game days, for more information call 216.420.HITS or 1.866.48.TRIBE.

We have a winner in the compitition to be the Cleveland Indians 5th starter. Eric Wedge today stated that Cliff Lee will return to the starting rotation. This comes after a year where the former 18 game winner struggled mightily and was sent down to the minor legues. The 29 year old has impressed this spring and won his way back after the posting a 6.29 ERA last season.

Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey were in the running for the 5th spot in the rotation and have been optioned to AAA Buffalo. Sowers filled the role last season before he fell into a sophmore slump and was optioned. Laffey came to the Indians rescue posting a 4-2 record and 4.56 ERA for the AL Central Champs.

Cy Young Award winner and ace pitcher of the Cleveland Indians has declared he doesn't want to talk contract until after the season.

The left hander wrote on his website:

This off-season, through my representatives at Legacy Sports Group, I have discussed the possibility of a contract extension with the Cleveland Indians. At this time, we haven’t been able to reach agreement. Now that the reporting date for spring training is here, it is time to put aside contract discussions so that I can focus all of my energies and attention on preparing for the upcoming season.

I look forward to a successful 2008 season, both for myself and for the Indians as a whole. I will do everything within my power to help the club to its first World Series appearance since 1997 and its first World Series Championship since 1948.

There will be time after the season for the Indians and my representatives to discuss my contract status. I remain hopeful that these discussions will result in a contract extension that will keep me with the franchise for many years to come. In the meantime, in order to avoid any distractions, my representatives and I will not make any further comment about my contractual situation beyond this statement.

Casey Blake and the Cleveland Indians agreed to a one year contract as the two avoided arbitration. The Indians haven't went to arbitration with a player for an amazing seventeen straight years.

Blake, who has been a mainstay with the Tribe for this decade, will make $6.1 Million Dollars this season.

"Our preference is to always try to negotiate a deal," said Chris Antonetti, assistant general manager, who negotiated the deal. "In the end if we can't, there's a mechanism in place to determine a player's value. This is a very fair deal for Casey and the club in light of the comparable contracts."

While Cleveland Indians fans had a reason to celebrate when the Minnesota Twins dealt ace Johan Santana to the New Yorks Mets the news isn't all great for Wahoo faithful. The Twins, of course, are likely not going to be able to compete with the titans in the AL Central anymore but by going to New York Santana's contract will likely be a record breaker. If Indians ace CC Sabathia uses the Santana contract as a benchmark, which his agent probably will, the they will have to pay handsomely to keep the services of the left hander.

Santana reportedly turned down a 4 year contract worth $80 Million dollars forcing the small market Twins to ship him off elsewhere. The benchmark for a proven ace is currently Barry Zito's 7 year contract with the San Fransisco Giants that was signed for $126 Million. Santana will likely want much more than that.