We are talking 3 years $21 million, not Jayson Werth money. This is also the range the owner said we would sign free agents for.

We should be holding the front office more accountable. As much as Antonetti is praised around the league, he put this team in a vulnerable position with his decisions. Let’s cool talk of “the process”, and “the window” because it looks like another rebuild may take place. I wish the organization would of traded Chris Perez to the Angels this off-season to get someone like a Trumbo (before his great season took place). Easier said than done, but trading Choo impacts this ball club far greater than Perez. I do however like Antonetti’s story of how he became a GM.

FYI I have been to many big time sporting events and still contend to everyone I know that the 2007 playoffs and Cavs playoff games were the best experiences I’ve had because of the passion you feel. The fans here will come and spend if you take some risks and don’t feed them stuff that never happens. We need passion and risk taking that fits the mold of Dan Gilbert.

I could see Gilbert having interest, but I just don’t see the Dolans relinquishing (at least not any time soon). I thought when they didn’t have anyone under guaranteed contracts after 2012 for a while (under team control, just not guaranteed) that it may be a signal they would consider selling. This is just my opinion, but I feel like because he paid at peak value (or even overpaid) that he’s being stubborn about hanging onto it.

Wishful thinking time – maybe he’s hoping that the package of the team plus STO may entice someone. Plus that Dodgers sale was just astronomical. I know that it’s LA, but it may show that even a team in Cleveland may be worth more than the price the Dolans paid 10+ years ago.

I’m glad you mentioned STO, because I’ve been wondering that myself. You keep hearing about teams signing players to these big deals (like Pujols and Votto) because of recently signed TV deals, or TV deals that are on the horizon. Why isn’t that money helping the Indians? Would Fox Sports Ohio have given them one of those super deals? It’s possible those TV deals are entirely over-valued in the first place, but the money is still flowing into team coffers because of them.

And I’m glad you enjoy the site! Please stop back!

Also, Mark Shapiro admitted to lacking the correct formula to construct a quality bullpen (hurt us greatly). The team changed their approach literally over night after the 2007 playoffs when they realized soft tossing lefties just will not cut it. What followed was a young power arm in literally every trade made and a draft philosophy overhaul.

The Hafner and Westbrook deals at the time were market value contracts and no one knew Hafner would never be the same (even though 2007 may have shown some signs). Hafner rivaled Ortiz in production and Westbrook’s numbers compared to Javier Vazquez somewhat so both were rewarded fairly. However, the Indians got somewhat unlucky but did recover some insurance money on Westbrook. I will give them a pass on this one because both showed few signs of breaking down.

I completely agree with your point about spending, but the strategy and decision making the last few years has left me puzzled. I was on board with the “quick rebuild” strategy and the research that backed the prospect haul we got in the C.C. and Lee deals. However, we only have Brantley to show for both deals. The Ubaldo trade left us bare in the minor leagues to a point where making a deal for a legit player is not feasible unless you trade a valuable asset. I think it’s time to take some accountability and call into question the front office player evaluation techniques.

You cannot be aggressive out of the blue with Ubaldo and then spend the whole winter idle with a weak offense. You have a fan base that is upset and going a third year for Willingham is a risk worth taking because so much money is coming off the books. Even Oakland gave a huge deal to Cespedes this off-season! The Nationals had to make a statement with Jayson Werth and got burned by it, but it proved to baseball that the team is serious. The broke Padres even made a deal for Carlos Quentin! Explain to my why they could not sign Ryan Ludwick for the same 1 year $2.5M deal the Reds gave him? Add up all the money we have spent on finding cheap alternatives or “diamond in the rough” players and apply it to a third year for Willingham or little more money to a Jason Kubel. I’m not taking huge concessions here, but enough for someone to want to come to Cleveland.

Oh and what happened to the promise of STO? This was supposed to infuse more money into the team. Let’s also attack the credibility of Forbes Magazine and deny everything to the fan base, but openly tell the public the team was going to lose $15 million if Cliff Lee and Victor were not traded.

I have been following this team closely for 15+ years now literally every day, but I’m shaking my head over a lot of things right now.

P.S. You provide in depth insight on the team that many do not. This is my first day on this site and I love the writing.

I’m not of the mindset that you need unchecked spending (i.e. the Yankees) to win, nor do you need to steadfastly adhere to the “Moneyball” model in Oakland. I think that if you’re going to spend money, you spend it wisely…the Indians haven’t always been great with that. They handed out a 3-year deal to David Dellucci a few years back, but wouldn’t go to three with Josh Willingham. Yes, Dellucci was for significantly less money; but with the way inflation in baseball works it probably would end up being roughly even. Dellucci signed for 3/$11.5 million prior to the 2007 season; Willingham signed for 3/$21 million this offseason. The way contracts soar in baseball, 5 years would probably make this somewhat similar. Hafner’s contract seemed insane to me even at the time. You don’t need to give a DH or a closer that kind of money, you can almost always find a cheaper alternative (especially at DH).

You capped this article off brilliantly by saying how frustrated you are with the decision making. I’m perplexed by all the praise Shapiro and Antonetti get around the league because the results do not merit the

Let’s just penny pinch some more and end up paying Johnny Damon $1.5M, Sizemore $5M, Jose Lopez almost $1M and then not be aggressive enough on Josh Willingham, Jason Kubel and EVEN pass on Ryan Ludwick (signed for $2.5M). This is like shopping at Aldi and paying bargain prices for something we feel is the “real brand” and in most cases the food never stacks up against the best. Sometimes in life, you have to pay a little more to get results or be satisfied. We all know this feeling with the Mac vs. PC argument.

There are no excuses to be conservative now and not spend “a little”. This is our “window” and Antonetti mortgaged a big chunk of our farm system to get Ubaldo. What is even more demoralizing is watching the Tigers make big acquisitions and the White Sox looking good despite a “rebuild year” while sporting one of the worst farm systems in MLB. I’m seriously considering a webpage lobbying support for Dan Gilbert to buy the Indians since he is the only rich person in Cleveland that shows passion and wants to revitalize the city (even if it takes spending his own money). Cut it out with whatever statistical analysis and player evaluation techniques you guys use because bottom line is we do not have a capable offense and you probably have to pay your pitching coaches overtime for the amount of time spent trying to fix Ubaldo and Masterson.

Rotation: Masterson, Jimenez, Hernandez, McAllister, Gomez/Kluber
Bullpen: CPerez, Pestano, Smith, Rogers, Allen, RPerez, Sipp, Tomlin
Batting Order: Brantley (CF), Kipnis (2B), Choo (RF), Laporta (1B), Cabrera (SS), Santana (C), Hafner (DH), Fedroff (LF), Hannahan (3B)
Bench: Carrera (OF), Lopez (IF), Marson (C)

I’m all for playing the young guys, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. They suffered through Brantley’s struggles and now its paying off. They’re still suffering through Santana’s struggles, and hopefully it pays off soon. Chisenhall will be in the lineup again as soon as he’s healthy. If you want to see the Indians young talent, this is it. There’s no one left in Columbus.