The Indians made a series of announcements on Wednesday afternoon as they made it official declining the club options for Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez and picking up the club option on Ubaldo Jimenez. That was not the only major announcement as they also released their complete 2013 Major League coaching staff. See all the new coaches and more after the jump...
Halloween is a day of celebrating for many every October 31st, and that isn't any different on the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario. While many are dressing up in their favorite costumes, carving pumpkins and eating candy corn, Tribe fans are busy egging enemy players' houses, and dodging SUV's. Join Jim Pete on this Halloween look at the Hot Stove League's unofficial start on the last day of October...
With the offseason officially here thanks to the Giants finishing off their sweep of the Tigers in the World Series last night, it is time to start tracking what the Indians do this offseason. IPI will be all over all the news and developments with the Indians this offseason on the trade and free agency market, and to help prepare for what is coming (or not coming) here is their current payroll and player control situation for the next six years.
Now that the Indians season is over - and the MLB season for that matter with the conclusion of the World Series last night - the IPI's Jim Piascik takes a final look at the Indians' roster in his quarterly rankings. In part one of two pieces that will post this week he takes a look at the bottom half of the 48 players that played and donned a Cleveland uniform this season.
This past week, Mark Shapiro gave a detailed interview in which he gave some insight into how he values free agent players with regards to the WAR statistic. This weekend, IPI's Jeff Ellis takes a detailed look at the current Indians' roster, and discusses who just might be a core player for the Indians future based on Shapiro's statements. Find out who they are, after the jump...
Tony chimes in with his weekly Tribe Happenings piece and this week discusses how much he has disliked the Indians' "what if" tagline the past two seasons and takes a look at key moments in Indians history over the last 20-25 years and looks at what if things would have ended up different. He also talks about the hiring of Mike Sarbaugh to new manager Terry Francona's staff and what it means and lots more!
Chun-Hsiu Chen has been one of the best offensive performers in the Indians system for years. Yet, because of his lack of power, his future is now uncertain since he made the switch to first base prior to the 2012 season. What does the future hold for Chen? The IPI's Steve Orbanek takes a look as he recaps Chen's career in this week's edition of Then & Now.
The Indians have a massive undertaking in front of them if they are to win in 2013. Their current roster needs to find new consistency, their starting rotation needs to find new blood, first base, DH and left field need to find new residents, and the team as a whole needs to find a new culture? Can it happen? It's easier than you think. The only question is, will the Indians have the guts, if not the cash, to do it?
The IPI's Steve Orbanek returns with the Winter Ball Notebook. In the piece, Steve provides all the winter stats for Indians players and touches on the hot-hitting Ronny Rodriguez as well as the slumping Jesus Aguilar. Plus, left-handed starter T.J. House continues to make a case that he could one day be a Major League contributor.
This week's Corner of Carnegie title likely caught your attention, and for good reason. The Cleveland Indians can absolutely contend in 2013. Join Jim Pete as he takes an in-depth look on what the Indians COULD do if all things were perfect for a front office heading into this offseason, and no, he's not completely insane. Well, maybe a little. This two-parter starts with the current team...after the jump...
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.
The 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!
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