Indians officially sign Ben Francisco and Ryan Raburn

if either of these STIFFS make the team then the indians arent gonna be very good. I do not think that raburn or fransisco are gonna get one iota better in 2013 than they have been the last few years why waste the time what is this affirmative action, and i dont mean that in reference to any ethnicity it is affirmative action to experienced stiffs. Dombroski didnt build 4 world series teams by missing out on quality talent, and ben fransisco was with several teams since he left here all of them found him wanting. You dont strike lightning in a bottle with the WBC we have a chance to let some of the kids who are brilliant propects get a taste of big league camp instead we are bringing in STIFF's who are not even wanna-bes, they are never were's to take up valuable time away from guys who have a chance in the scheme of things. does fedroff hav eto hit 360 in columbus to get a cup of coffee, and how many guys do you need to play in both infield and outfield. There comes a time when you have too many moving parts and you start muddying up the water and then all of sudden you got to make a decision and they have done that before with breslin the lefty and others in the pitching dept cause they had excess in camp and had to let some go and low and behold they picked the wrong guys. Based on what i have seen anto and shap dont go to the race track cause you dont seem to know how to read a track record. There is ONE JOSE BAUTISTA or MICHAEL MORSE usually a stiff in one organization is a stiff in another bautista morse and encanacion are the exceptions to the rule. Finding lightning in a bottle is rare.

I like these deals. It gives the Indians the outfield depth that they need. Both players are very versatile also.

I agree with you Tony. If Raburn is healthy and returns to form, he could be a great fit on this team. An excellent bat against LHP, he is capable of platooning and subbing at a number of positions. Not a great player offensively or defensively but utilitarian. Would allow the Tribe to use McGuiness or a LH DH as the 25th spot depending on how things check out from here. This could be much better than our usual depth fills.

Francisco will probably be the primary callup if an OF goes down from injury or performance. He is unlikely to embarrass the team the way our LFs did last year.

The off season acquisitions all seem to have been purposeful. They might not work out but I cannot fault the effort.

really never could understand the love affair with ben francisco, indians drafted him out of high school and he didnt sign. then a year later they drafted him out of ucla... dude is a serious under performer who has bounced around in the past 3 years. i understand this is just minor league depth but geez, arent their better options out there. i seriously thought he was one of wedge's grinders (chris gimenez, ben francisco, david delucci) but apparently not.

I think Raburn has a good shot to make the team. With Brantley and Stubbs able to handle CF and multiple outfield positions, the need for a true 4th outfielder is negated, so it is possible the Indians instead choose to have a versatile bat off the bench that can play OF and INF instead of a traditional 4th outfielder.

Ben Francisco ... brings back memories of 2009, when I thought the Indians' outfield would be set for the next few years with Sizemore, Choo and Laporta, and Francisco as the 4th outfielder. That did not work out at all.

Insurance more than anything. This is more of a depth move than a low risk/high reward type of deal like with Kazmir or Matsuzaka (if that one happens for the Tribe).

Raburn makes some sense due to the versatility. Francisco due to experience. But the OF looks set, barring injury. Carrera is a proven commodity and a decent 4th outfielder. Fedroff appears to be about the same, but with a little more pop. There's also Phelps trying to add some versatility as well, so I doubt Francisco gets the call unless he has an incredible spring or we have a lot of injuries. I think he'd be pretty interchangeable as a 4th OF. So he adds some depth.

Raburn adds more Ks, but also a little more pop over the other guys as well.

So nothing to get excited about but also nothing to complain about.

I'd personally love to see them decide to spend some money on Lohse, though not the kind of money that some have talked about ($15M per season). I'll take the chance on Matsuzaka at a much lower cost.