I doubt the "cash" for Valbuena was more than the 25K they could have used to look at him in the Rule 5 draft.

Pardon my ignorance, but is this whole "traded for cash considerations" just the *wink wink* way around some ban instituted years ago against selling players to a different organization? Not that in the Butthead Selig years the owners would need to resort to any kind of work-around ...

I've been MIA for a few weeks. Had my left hip replaced and am just getting back on my feet.

Damn. Serious good wishes.

Good thing your brains are not in your arse, as some here have sort of thought before.



Seriously again, be religious about your physical therapy. That's key.

And remember you can always request a young and pretty physical therapist!

Who did we drop when we signed Sizemore???

Good analysis Charlie. I think he should make a major league career based on his offense. Blue Jays were successful rescuing Johnny Mac from us, not so with Joe Inglett. Marco Scutaro and Macier Isturiz were other Indians minor league IFs who did OK after finding new homes. I'd rather have kept Valbuena over Cord Phelps who is really only a 2b and looked worse in his big league debut than Valbuena has

God speed, Frank!

The Indians are among the teams interest in free agent Casey Blake.
Blake has experience at both corner infield and outfield and would provide right-handed depth for an Indians team that's looking for insurance behind Grady Sizemore and Matt LaPorta. The 38-year-old is coming off a season that saw him hit .252/.342/.371 with four homers and a .713 OPS, but will likely only require a one-year deal this offseason.
Related: Indians
Source: Paul Hoynes on Twitter Dec 3 - 3:24 PM

Indians Among Nine Teams Interested In Casey Blake
By Luke Adams [December 3 at 2:39pm CST]
The Indians are one of nine teams to have expressed interest in signing Casey Blake, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland likes Blake as a super-utility type, who could back up at the corner infield and corner outfield positions.

The Dodgers turned down their $6MM option on Blake at season's end, electing instead to pay him a $1.25MM buyout and make him a free agent. The decision was unsurprising after injuries limited Blake's playing time and production in 2011. The 38-year-old hit .252/.342/.371 in 239 plate appearances. Agent Jim McDowell told MLBTR that his client expects to be 100% for 2012.

If the Indians were to sign Blake, it would be his second stint in Cleveland. The first ended in July 2008, after five and a half years, when the Tribe shipped him to Los Angeles in the trade that landed them catching prospect Carlos Santana.

I really admired the gumption of Casey Blake, and will remember him always fondly as a Tribe Player.

That said, I don't think he's any part of our best possible competitive option solutions going forward.

Hey dolan I thought you were going to spend when the time is right.

Didn't Casey was still active. He's RH, he's gotta be pretty cheap. He can play the corners. I suppose those are all qualities we relish.

I see where the Tribes deep thinkers are talking about Shelly Duncan, Jack Hannahan, and even Michael Brantley as first base options to La Porta'

So 1b is our new 2b, remember the Trevor Crowe experiment?

lf is on 2b
2b is on ss
everyone is on 1st
catcher (when he is not on first) was converted from 3rd
3b was converted from ss and not yet seasoned
cf has a bad wheel
dh has a bad shoulder

We should have a great defense

Still think julio franco would make a good first base option. It worked in 1999.

Other than that I would go with Wayne Cage.