civ ollilavad wrote:I thought it was a spoof, too.

Got me.

Bazinga!

rusty2 wrote:No one other then you wants a wife beating, drug taking, piece of crap cheater. We do not want him trying to pick fights with our senior citizens.

If we could have lined up Ramirez, Thome and Vizquel on the roster for 2012, Cleveland would have been electric with Tribe Chatter and ticket demand at minimal for memory sake.

Of course Ohio no longer carries out capital punishment with electricity.

The Tribe needs an injection of a sure handed bat.

If the choice is manny for 112 games post steroids versus Casey BLake for 162 I am taking manny.

Doesn't Manny have to sit out 100 games? If so, Ken would you like him for 62?

kenm wrote:If the choice is manny for 112 games post steroids versus Casey BLake for 162 I am taking manny.

Really. Ramirez can not play any position on the field. Seems like a waste of time just to fulfill your man crush. Manny could not hit last year when he was cheating.

civ ollilavad wrote:Doesn't Manny have to sit out 100 games? If so, Ken would you like him for 62?

According to the article I posted above,
Ramirez has hired agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, and will be eligible to play in the 2012 season following a 50-game suspension.

Manny Ramirez draws no comment from Cleveland Indians: winter meetings chatter

Published: Monday, December 05, 2011, 12:09 PM

By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer


Manny Ramirez is seeking reinstatement to the big leagues.
DALLAS, Texas --News, notes and quotes from MLB's winter meetings at the Anatole Hilton Hotel.
-Indians GM Chris Antonetti had no comment when asked if he was interested in signing Manny Ramirez. The former Indians outfielder is seeking reinstatement from MLB's retirement list.
Ramirez, facing a 100-game suspension last season for violating MLB's drug policy, retired early last season with the Rays. MLB has announced that Ramirez would only face a 50-game suspension if he can find work with a big league club.
Since 2008, Ramirez has played with Boston, the Dodgers, White Sox and Rays. He hit 37 homers in 2008, but only 28 since. Ramirez's career numbers, without the two drug infractions, are Hall of Fame worthy at .312, 2,574 hits, 547 doubles, 555 homers and 1831 RBI.
He played with the Indians from 1993 through 2000.
-Ron Santo, the Cubs late third baseman, was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday by a vote of the Golden Era Committee.
A player needed 12 votes to gain admission. Former Indian Minnie Minoso received nine. Louie Tiant, another former Indians, received fewer than three.
-The Indians have told catcher Carlos Santana that he cannot play winter ball. Santana, just over a year removed from surgery on his left knee, is coming off a season in which he led the Indians with 155 games played and finished second with 552 at-bats.
Santana, Fausto Carmona and Ubaldo Jimenez have been conditioning with Nelson Perez, Indians athletic trainer, in the Dominican Republic for the last five weeks. The Indians want Santana rested and healthy when he reports to spring training in February.
The switch-hitting Santana batted .239 (132-for-552) with 35 doubles, 27 homers and 79 RBI, 133 strikeouts and 97 walks. Santana's 27 homers set a club record for switching hitters.
-Jimenez, who did not pitch winter ball last offseason, will make his first start for Licey on Dec. 15. Manager Manny Acta will be on hand to watch.
-ESPN is reporting that the Indians are one of nine teams interested in free agent outfielder Josh Willingham. No surprise there because they tried get him at the trading deadline in July.
Willingham, a right-handed hitter, hit .246 (120-for-480) with 26 doubles, 29 homers and 98 RBI for Oakland last season.
-Kosuke Fukudome did a nice job for the Indians after being acquired from the Cubs for the stretch run, but it's unlikely they'll re-sign the free agent outfielder. It may have been a different story if Fukudome hit right-handed instead of left-handed.
With the re-signing of free agent Grady Sizemore, the Indians are expecting to open the season with three left-handed hitting outfielders in Sizemore, Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo.
-Right-hander Chad Durbin, the Indians other free agent, will not be back.

Anywhere here upset about losing Chad Durbin?

I didnt' think so.

Indians Considering Casey Kotchman
By Tim Dierkes [December 5 at 12:05pm CST]
Free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman is on the Indians' radar, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Heyman says the Tribe is looking at every everyday first baseman aside from Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols. Earlier today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted that the Indians are "focused on either a first baseman or complementary outfielder."

Kotchman was one of the year's best minor league signings, as he hit .306/.378/.422 for the Rays in 563 plate appearances. He ranked 36th on my top 50 free agents list.

That 800 ops is a real game changer and he would put a lot of fannies in the seats.(NO)

Is julio Franco available?

No, but this guy is. Joe Z is slobbering somewhere right now. How about Brian Barton or Hector Luna ?


According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, the Indians have mild interest in free agent Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Bastian says the Indians were only "checking in" and that their level of interest, for now, is very minimal. Kouzmanoff posted a weak .235/.284/.372 batting line over 257 plate appearances this past season between the A's and Rockies. The 30-year-old infielder will likely have to settle for a one-year deal.
Related: Indians
Source: Jordan Bastian on Twitter Dec 5 - 2:59 PM

Very minimal sounds good to me.

Speaking of Brian Barton, who didn't quite pan out, wonder if he went back to his budding career in aerospace engineering? Hope they're hiring.

http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/?podcast_ ... .CLEVELAND

Antonetti on Day one of the winter meetings.

I'd take Manny on a minor league contract but I'm guessing he would want a better deal.

While I agree with Antonetti that it doesn't necessarily matter how many left handed hitters are in the lineup he has to realize that the Indians have pretty much sucked against left handed pitching for a while and that has to restrict who they can go after.

According to Lastoria's twitter it looks like Rondon will removed from the roster to make room for Sizemore.