Cleveland%20Indians%20

Fresh off an Eastern League Championship, the Akron Aeros made more waves on Wednesday when they introduced new owner Ken Babby. The 32-year-old Babby is the owner of fast Forward Sports Group and will replace former team owners Mike and Greg Agganis.

New Indians manager Terry Francona is still working through the interview process to finalize his coaching staff for the 2013 season. Other than Sandy Alomar Jr and Brad Mills, it is unknown as to what other coaches will be joining his staff. The most important decision Francona makes probably is who comes in to be the new pitching coach, and Adam McGavin chimes in with his thoughts on that and lists several potential candidates that Francona may be considering for the job.

In Tony's regular Sunday notebook he takes a look at starting pitching being the main area of focus the Indians will look to upgrade this offseason and how they will attempt to do it. He also discusses the latest injury and surgery to Matt LaPorta which could be the final nail in the coffin to his Indians' career, the coaching options for Francona's staff, the much different manager search this time around than three years ago, and lots more.

Today's special edition of Carnegie and Ontario will take a look at the Detroit Tigers starting rotation, and showcase just why it's more than just the Benjamins.The Indians will never be able to compete with some of the clubs because of cash flow, so they better be the smartest team in the room.

It's hard to believe but numerous winter leagues have already been in action for over a full week now. The Indians have a handful of players competing in the different leagues, so there's certainly plenty of reasons for fans to pay close attention. Though sometimes that can get pretty difficult, so the IPI's Steve Orbanek is here to help as he recaps all the action and provides all the stats in his Winter Notebook.

While the Indians have already been hard at work this offseason with changes to their coaching staff and organizational philosophy, the player procurement process does not start for another few weeks. As the Indians prepare to add talent to the roster this offseason, they also need to decide which players to remove from it, and Tony breaks it all down with which players leave as free agents, have club options declined, are non-tendered, or designated for assignment.

Terry Francona was the first move in an intricate offseason that will see a front office try to reinvent themselves on the fly. Each move this team makes will carry a massive amount of weight. Phase one was the hiring of a credible manager. Phase two begins as that manager shapes his coaching staff. Join Jim Pete as he takes an inclusive look at potential candidates, talks bullpen, Michael Brantley and playoff baseball, after the jump

The lack of impact arms in the Indians farm system has been addressed on many occasions. However, thankfully, there does seem to be one pitcher that currently projects as an "impact arm." Danny Salazar just completed a brilliant 2012 campaign and is now very much on the radar of the big league club. The IPI's Steve Orbanek looks back at his career in this week's edition of Then & Now.

Minor league free agency opens tomorrow, Tuesday October 16th, and with that Tony provides a listing of the Indians current 2012 minor league free agents. A few former top prospects that have struggled with injuries are included in that listing, and some recent good performers as well.

Today we wrap up the 2012 Tony Awards with the announcement of the All-Tony teams for 2012. These are the first, second, and third teams as I see them in the Cleveland Indians organization based on their performance this past year. Again, this is not a top prospect listing by position, but a listing based 100% on performance from the 2012 season.

The Cleveland Indians made the first move in major league baseball when they hired Terry Francona as their 42nd manager. While that's clearly a move of major importance, if it becomes the Indians biggest move of the offseason, the Indians will be in serious trouble in 2013. Can Chris Antonetti build on his early momentum with the hiring of Terry Francona, or will this offseason turn into another winter of discontent?

In the final Instructs ATF, the Parallel League "Goodyear" team sang its swan song with a look at a handful of future Indians taking part. A couple of players that call Cleveland home both had hits, as they continue their slow-but-sure climb through the system. A shining potential top-ten prospect continued to showcase a .300 bat...again, while the Sabour-Tooth tigers were given another multi-hit ballgame from their favorite over-achiever. Check out ATF with yours truly, Jim Pete...after the jump...

Today we continue the IPI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Offensive Player of the Year. This award goes to the position player in the Indians organization that had the best year offensively and like with all the awards so far is 100% based on performance and not on prospect standing. This is the final “Tony Award” to be handed out, but this weekend the "All-Tony" team will be posted as Tony lists the best players this season position-by-position in a “1st team” and “2nd team” format.

The Arizona Fall League started up on Tuesday, the Dominican Winter League starts up tonight, and several other offseason fall and winter leagues start up in the coming weeks. Here is a listing of players that are currently set to play in all of the offseason fall and winter leagues as well as an update on the coverage coming from the IPI over the next three months with all the action this fall and winter.

Today we continue the IPI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Pitcher of the Year. This award goes to the starting pitcher in the Indians organization that had the best year from a performance perspective, not necessarily from a prospect standing. Later this week the Offensive Player of the Year and All-Tony Team will be announced.

The city of Cleveland is used to being a second, third or fourth tier option for free agents and top tier coaches and managers. Terry Francona may not have changed that mentality, but he certainly proved that there are more things to choosing a team than location. Will Francona bring a new culture to Cleveland Indians baseball, or will Chris Antonetti and Mark Shapiro override the momentum?