One thing I completely forgot about is that Ubaldo is under team control, whether or not they picked up his option. They just would have gone to arbitration with him, and then it would have been an issue on whether or not his raise would be more than the option. They would have had to release him outright to get rid of him completely.

And speaking of train wrecks, I saw that the Royals traded for Ervin Santana. I was a little afraid the Indians may go for him, but he seems as unpredictable as Ubaldo and Fausto. The Angels also considering trading Dan Haren, which is a much more intriguing option. He may cost more, and has issues with injuries, but is good when healthy. I may put together a post on the possibility at some point, when I get a few minutes of extra free time!

But it is really sad that the Indians traded two pitchers who projected to 2nd/3rd starter and 2 other prospects for a guy who may end up as 5th starter. Say what you want about White and Pomerantz but White was destined to fail as a flyball pitcher in Coors Field and Pomerantz was brought on too early because the Rockies pitching made the Indians’ look good! I was happy that the Indians made the trade when they did, but I do regret it now. I would be more optimistic about 2013 if we still had White and Pomerantz to go with Hernandez, McAllister, and Masterson.

They may decide to keep Jimenez because they honestly believe they can fix him, but that seems kind of like wishful thinking at this point. And you’re right, wishful thinking does seem to govern everything they do lately.

I feel even worse for Sizemore if he has to miss another full year. I really hope (for his sake) that this isn’t the end for him.

I didn’t realize Kotchman’s WAR was that bad until after the season ended. I started tinkering around with a post on the most/least valuables on the team and saw it. He also had a -1.1 WAR in 2010, but it was around 3+ during his good year with the Rays in 2011.