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Official: Lee to Phillies

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  • CIMO beat me to it, but I was going to say something similar. Far be it for me to question why anyone decides to stop being a fan, but *this* deal hardly seems like something that would push one over the edge. Maybe so if you think it's writing on the wall (tempted to feel this way myself) and that we're in deep financial trouble and sell-offs have been ordered across the board. But not this deal alone.

    We were sitting at 42-59 prior to this trade and had given up more runs than any team in the game. Obviously losing Lee isn't going to help those numbers, but we sure as hell weren't going anywhere with him either. That said, I'm dreading the possibilty of sitting here two years from now and trying to feel jazzed about the prospects we got for Sizemore.

    Beanpot

    @beanpot said:

    CIMO beat me to it, but I was going to say something similar. Far be it for me to question why anyone decides to stop being a fan, but *this* deal hardly seems like something that would push one over the edge. Maybe so if you think it's writing on the wall (tempted to feel this way myself) and that we're in deep financial trouble and sell-offs have been ordered across the board. But not this deal alone.

    We were sitting at 42-59 prior to this trade and had given up more runs than any team in the game. Obviously losing Lee isn't going to help those numbers, but we sure as hell weren't going anywhere with him either. That said, I'm dreading the possibilty of sitting here two years from now and trying to feel jazzed about the prospects we got for Sizemore.

    Beanpot

    Again, we all pretty much know how it is theoretically supposed to work. But it's translated to little success. It's gotten to the point that the few that panned out from last generation's prospects that we got for veteran trades are now veterans being traded for prospects. PERPETUAL REBUILDING.

  • @canton-mike said:

    What do we have to show for Colon

    Grady Sizemore

    Thome, Vizquel, Manny?

    Two trips to the World Series

    Sabathia

    Don't mean to pile on him, but if he pitched well in the playoffs we could've won a title.

    Players come and go. Right now, our roster just isn't very good. We got lucky in 2007 with CC and Fausto clicking on all cylinders and Borowski somehow saving 40+ games, not to mention Westbrook and Byrd carrying us in the playoffs. How many World Series teams have players like Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta at the corner infield spots? There are a lot of ways to win, but it's pretty damn hard to do without at least one cornerstone slugger in your lineup. If Hafner stays healthy, maybe he can be that guy. But would you really take him over any of the players like Manny, Longoria, Howard, Utley, A-Rod, Teixiera, or Youkilis?

    So we don't have a masher. We don't have the team speed to make up for it. Choo has been our best baserunner this year...but doesn't have the guys hitting behind him for it to make a difference. We're weak defensively. We have (well, had) one reliable pitcher.

    That's not a team where you re-up everyone's contracts and try to fill a hole or two. That's a team you need to completely revamp. There's no identity, no cohesion, but there are a lot of blue chip prospects coming up through the pipeline. I just don't understand how all of that would add up to people wanting to stand pat.

    (Edit) Just checked the stats...and before someone kills me for it, I admit, it seems like Westbrook and Byrd weren't as good in the playoffs as I remembered. Carry on.

    @cimo. said:

    Grady Sizemore

    Two trips to the World Series

    Don't mean to pile on him, but if he pitched well in the playoffs we could've won a title.

    Players come and go. Right now, our roster just isn't very good. We got lucky in 2007 with CC and Fausto clicking on all cylinders and Borowski somehow saving 40+ games, not to mention Westbrook and Byrd carrying us in the playoffs. How many World Series teams have players like Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta at the corner infield spots? There are a lot of ways to win, but it's pretty damn hard to do without at least one cornerstone slugger in your lineup. If Hafner stays healthy, maybe he can be that guy. But would you really take him over any of the players like Manny, Longoria, Howard, Utley, A-Rod, Teixiera, or Youkilis?

    So we don't have a masher. We don't have the team speed to make up for it. Choo has been our best baserunner this year...but doesn't have the guys hitting behind him for it to make a difference. We're weak defensively. We have (well, had) one reliable pitcher.

    That's not a team where you re-up everyone's contracts and try to fill a hole or two. That's a team you need to completely revamp. There's no identity, no cohesion, but there are a lot of blue chip prospects coming up through the pipeline. I just don't understand how all of that would add up to people wanting to stand pat.

    (Edit) Just checked the stats...and before someone kills me for it, I admit, it seems like Westbrook and Byrd weren't as good in the playoffs as I remembered. Carry on.

    So how long are you going to give Shapiro and Dolan? As I said, Perpetual rebuilding. It's not working.

  • @beanpot said:

    CIMO beat me to it, but I was going to say something similar. Far be it for me to question why anyone decides to stop being a fan, but *this* deal hardly seems like something that would push one over the edge. Maybe so if you think it's writing on the wall (tempted to feel this way myself) and that we're in deep financial trouble and sell-offs have been ordered across the board. But not this deal alone.

    We were sitting at 42-59 prior to this trade and had given up more runs than any team in the game. Obviously losing Lee isn't going to help those numbers, but we sure as hell weren't going anywhere with him either. That said, I'm dreading the possibilty of sitting here two years from now and trying to feel jazzed about the prospects we got for Sizemore.

    Beanpot

    Again, we all pretty much know how it is theoretically supposed to work. But it's translated to little success. It's gotten to the point that the few that panned out from last generation's prospects that we got for veteran trades are now veterans being traded for prospects. PERPETUAL REBUILDING.

    @pumpkin-eater said:

    Again, we all pretty much know how it is theoretically supposed to work. But it's translated to little success. It's gotten to the point that the few that panned out from last generation's prospects that we got for veteran trades are now veterans being traded for prospects. PERPETUAL REBUILDING.

    EXACTLY.

  • Despite all the arguments to the contrary, I will stand by my original opinion of the trade. In a nutshell, IT SUCKS! I still believe Dolan needs to sell! His view on the whole aspect is, "We will start spending more money when the fans start spending more money and selling out Progressive Field every night." Horrble business view. You don't expect customers to buy before you put out a quality product. Give us quality, and we will buy. It's not like we ever had 455 consecutive sell outs here in Cleveland before. We have already proven ourselves as a fan base. Dolan has destroyed the momentum and the team that Dick Jacobs built. We need new ownership. From a fan's prospective and that of a businessman, the Indians ownership and management have mishandled this team.

    Also, why is Wedge still here? What's next...are we giving his sorry ass another extension? Wouldn't doubt it for a second. It's what this management does.

    This trade has very little to do about building a winning team and a lot to do with saving money. Dolan, you would have a nearly endless supply of income if you'd give us a winning team! How much more payroll are we going to cut while we build for long term success (where have we heard that before?)? Next year, who will we trade? By the time Carrasco, Knapp, Donald, or Marson become anything, we'll be trading them for more prospects too. I'm done drinking Dolan's and Shapiro's kool-ade. Give me a team I can be proud of. This team we have right now is a joke. I feel bad for all the fans and for players like Grady and Asdrubal and Westbrook. They...We all deserve a winner. At this point, I am not asking to win it all. Just give us a team that at least has a chance of winning a World Series!

  • @cimo. said:

    Technically I'm in Fort Worth, but point taken. 😉

    Which is probably why you are the only one who thinks this is a good trade. Come to Cleveland and find a job. Go down to the flats and watch the bums fight over some trash. The only thing we had at this point was watching Lee pitch some good baseball. Now we can watch Pavano give up 6 runs and be our #1 starter. Sorry man, there is more to this then stats and prospects, it about what us Clevelanders have left, which at this point is the Browns and Cavs. The Dolan's can kiss my ass. If I still worked at my old job (with Larry Dolan's son) I would of asked him to pass that message on to Larry myself.

    @kosar_for_president said:

    Which is probably why you are the only one who thinks this is a good trade. Come to Cleveland and find a job. Go down to the flats and watch the bums fight over some trash. The only thing we had at this point was watching Lee pitch some good baseball. Now we can watch Pavano give up 6 runs and be our #1 starter. Sorry man, there is more to this then stats and prospects, it about what us Clevelanders have left, which at this point is the Browns and Cavs. The Dolan's can kiss my ass. If I still worked at my old job (with Larry Dolan's son) I would of asked him to pass that message on to Larry myself.

    Very good points, except I'm not buying the Baltimore move as any kind of comparison.

    But living in DFW...I can give pretty good examples to both sides.

    The Mavericks went to the NBA Finals as the favorites to win it in 2006. Went up 2-0 on the Heat before Wade took over and won the next four games. There was no mention of how weak the rest of the league was at that point, just that they were the best team and should've won a title. Since then they've never backed off the idea that they're title contenders...keeping Dirk when they could've gotten Kobe for him, adding veterans like Jason Kidd and now Shawn Marion, giving absurd contracts to Sagana Diop and Jason Terry (not to mention Kidd and Marion), giving up young players (Devin Harris, who averaged 21 and 7 this year) for vets to "win now". And yet, they've won absolutely nothing and teams like LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and Denver have pretty much lapped them with better, younger talent. So they may have one of the biggest payrolls in the league and an owner who will spend anything to win it all, but have no shot at winning a title.

    Then we have the Texas Rangers. They signed A-Rod. A few times they got a big-time player in a deadline deal (Carlos Lee most recently). They constantly traded prospects for major leaguers to "win now". Unfortunately the huge money players amounted to 0 playoff apperances, and the prospects they traded turned into John Danks, Chris Young (Padres), Adrian Gonzalez, etc and none of those "proven players" (namely Brandon McCarthy, Adam Eaton) panned out. Finally they get a real baseball guy in the front office in Nolan Ryan, have held on to their talented young players, and are competing this year with a great future.

    Everyone here is crazy about the Rangers now (until the Cowboys get started again), and couldn't care less about the Mavs.

    And I just don't buy this "perpetual rebuilding" thing. We rebuilt when Shapiro got here, peaked in '07, and were completely falling off the cliff this year. When we looked like a contender, Shapiro got the veteran players like Delucci and Michaels and Nixon, re-signed Pronk, and picked up Kenny Lofton at the deadline. Last year we were 10 or 12 games out, knew we weren't going to sign CC or Blake and dealt them. This offseason, thinking we were contenders, Shapiro got us Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa, Pavano, and a couple more arms for the bullpen while overhauling our minor league system.

    Now it's clear the season wasn't going anywhere, so Shapiro decided to cut bait and get what he could to make sure we're not in the same position for 5 more years.

    I understand it sucks from a pure fan, emotional standpoint....but when you take a step back and just analyze what it does for the team, it was the right move. If there's anything to complain about, it's the lack of salary cap that makes it impossible for teams like us to keep quality starting pitching.

  • @kosar_for_president said:

    Which is probably why you are the only one who thinks this is a good trade. Come to Cleveland and find a job. Go down to the flats and watch the bums fight over some trash. The only thing we had at this point was watching Lee pitch some good baseball. Now we can watch Pavano give up 6 runs and be our #1 starter. Sorry man, there is more to this then stats and prospects, it about what us Clevelanders have left, which at this point is the Browns and Cavs. The Dolan's can kiss my ass. If I still worked at my old job (with Larry Dolan's son) I would of asked him to pass that message on to Larry myself.

    Very good points, except I'm not buying the Baltimore move as any kind of comparison.

    But living in DFW...I can give pretty good examples to both sides.

    The Mavericks went to the NBA Finals as the favorites to win it in 2006. Went up 2-0 on the Heat before Wade took over and won the next four games. There was no mention of how weak the rest of the league was at that point, just that they were the best team and should've won a title. Since then they've never backed off the idea that they're title contenders...keeping Dirk when they could've gotten Kobe for him, adding veterans like Jason Kidd and now Shawn Marion, giving absurd contracts to Sagana Diop and Jason Terry (not to mention Kidd and Marion), giving up young players (Devin Harris, who averaged 21 and 7 this year) for vets to "win now". And yet, they've won absolutely nothing and teams like LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and Denver have pretty much lapped them with better, younger talent. So they may have one of the biggest payrolls in the league and an owner who will spend anything to win it all, but have no shot at winning a title.

    Then we have the Texas Rangers. They signed A-Rod. A few times they got a big-time player in a deadline deal (Carlos Lee most recently). They constantly traded prospects for major leaguers to "win now". Unfortunately the huge money players amounted to 0 playoff apperances, and the prospects they traded turned into John Danks, Chris Young (Padres), Adrian Gonzalez, etc and none of those "proven players" (namely Brandon McCarthy, Adam Eaton) panned out. Finally they get a real baseball guy in the front office in Nolan Ryan, have held on to their talented young players, and are competing this year with a great future.

    Everyone here is crazy about the Rangers now (until the Cowboys get started again), and couldn't care less about the Mavs.

    And I just don't buy this "perpetual rebuilding" thing. We rebuilt when Shapiro got here, peaked in '07, and were completely falling off the cliff this year. When we looked like a contender, Shapiro got the veteran players like Delucci and Michaels and Nixon, re-signed Pronk, and picked up Kenny Lofton at the deadline. Last year we were 10 or 12 games out, knew we weren't going to sign CC or Blake and dealt them. This offseason, thinking we were contenders, Shapiro got us Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa, Pavano, and a couple more arms for the bullpen while overhauling our minor league system.

    Now it's clear the season wasn't going anywhere, so Shapiro decided to cut bait and get what he could to make sure we're not in the same position for 5 more years.

    I understand it sucks from a pure fan, emotional standpoint....but when you take a step back and just analyze what it does for the team, it was the right move. If there's anything to complain about, it's the lack of salary cap that makes it impossible for teams like us to keep quality starting pitching.

    @cimo. said:

    And I just don't buy this "perpetual rebuilding" thing. We rebuilt when Shapiro got here, peaked in '07, and were completely falling off the cliff this year. When we looked like a contender, Shapiro got the veteran players like Delucci and Michaels and Nixon, re-signed Pronk, and picked up Kenny Lofton at the deadline. Last year we were 10 or 12 games out, knew we weren't going to sign CC or Blake and dealt them. This offseason, thinking we were contenders, Shapiro got us Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa, Pavano, and a couple more arms for the bullpen while overhauling our minor league system.

    Yes perpetual rebuilding. The team has been doing this every decade (except for the 90's).

    Delucci, Michaels, Nixon, WHAT! DeRosa and Pavano, come on. Re-signed a hurt and damaged player in Pronk, NO ONE wants this guy.

    10 to 12 games out? We had the best record in baseball after All Star Break. So he trades CC and then the team does good? Where is the "genius" in that? And don't give me "he knew it all along".

    Then you got Wedge and Shapiro bringing up the same players you are talking about from the minor leagues, playing them for one day and then sitting them. Marte gets 2 hits the night before last and then sits him? Control of this team is completely lost. Wedge is a joke.

  • @kosar_for_president said:

    Which is probably why you are the only one who thinks this is a good trade. Come to Cleveland and find a job. Go down to the flats and watch the bums fight over some trash. The only thing we had at this point was watching Lee pitch some good baseball. Now we can watch Pavano give up 6 runs and be our #1 starter. Sorry man, there is more to this then stats and prospects, it about what us Clevelanders have left, which at this point is the Browns and Cavs. The Dolan's can kiss my ass. If I still worked at my old job (with Larry Dolan's son) I would of asked him to pass that message on to Larry myself.

    Very good points, except I'm not buying the Baltimore move as any kind of comparison.

    But living in DFW...I can give pretty good examples to both sides.

    The Mavericks went to the NBA Finals as the favorites to win it in 2006. Went up 2-0 on the Heat before Wade took over and won the next four games. There was no mention of how weak the rest of the league was at that point, just that they were the best team and should've won a title. Since then they've never backed off the idea that they're title contenders...keeping Dirk when they could've gotten Kobe for him, adding veterans like Jason Kidd and now Shawn Marion, giving absurd contracts to Sagana Diop and Jason Terry (not to mention Kidd and Marion), giving up young players (Devin Harris, who averaged 21 and 7 this year) for vets to "win now". And yet, they've won absolutely nothing and teams like LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and Denver have pretty much lapped them with better, younger talent. So they may have one of the biggest payrolls in the league and an owner who will spend anything to win it all, but have no shot at winning a title.

    Then we have the Texas Rangers. They signed A-Rod. A few times they got a big-time player in a deadline deal (Carlos Lee most recently). They constantly traded prospects for major leaguers to "win now". Unfortunately the huge money players amounted to 0 playoff apperances, and the prospects they traded turned into John Danks, Chris Young (Padres), Adrian Gonzalez, etc and none of those "proven players" (namely Brandon McCarthy, Adam Eaton) panned out. Finally they get a real baseball guy in the front office in Nolan Ryan, have held on to their talented young players, and are competing this year with a great future.

    Everyone here is crazy about the Rangers now (until the Cowboys get started again), and couldn't care less about the Mavs.

    And I just don't buy this "perpetual rebuilding" thing. We rebuilt when Shapiro got here, peaked in '07, and were completely falling off the cliff this year. When we looked like a contender, Shapiro got the veteran players like Delucci and Michaels and Nixon, re-signed Pronk, and picked up Kenny Lofton at the deadline. Last year we were 10 or 12 games out, knew we weren't going to sign CC or Blake and dealt them. This offseason, thinking we were contenders, Shapiro got us Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa, Pavano, and a couple more arms for the bullpen while overhauling our minor league system.

    Now it's clear the season wasn't going anywhere, so Shapiro decided to cut bait and get what he could to make sure we're not in the same position for 5 more years.

    I understand it sucks from a pure fan, emotional standpoint....but when you take a step back and just analyze what it does for the team, it was the right move. If there's anything to complain about, it's the lack of salary cap that makes it impossible for teams like us to keep quality starting pitching.

    @cimo. said:

    Now it's clear the season wasn't going anywhere, so Shapiro decided to cut bait and get what he could to make sure we're not in the same position for 5 more years.

    I call BS on this. This was the same team who almost made it to the World Series. Why aren't they preforming? I think they need to address that issue before getting rid of a CY Young pitcher signed through 2010. I could see some sense in the trade if this was 2010 and Lee was leaving. What does this tell me, the team, and the city, there is no chance of you winning next year or for the next 3 years for that matter.

    We are now in Pirate territory in every sense of the word. Payroll, talent, pride. All gone.

  • CIMO, even you admit that the team played way above their heads to get to the ALCS. Now he admits he doesnt expect to win in '10 even.

    So they were rebuilding when they traded for Lee and now they are rebuilding by trading Lee with nothing to show for it but a luck ALCS appearance.

  • What defines rebuilding then?

    2007, a mere two years ago, Shapiro was getting players to win now (well, win then). Veterans to fill out the roster, and he makes the huge trade to get Kenny.

    2008 we were satisfied coming off the ALCS, rode it out with what we had, were out of the race and traded two players that were going to be lost as free agents.

    2009, encouraged by the '08 2nd half, and a few guys coming off injuries, Shapiro decides we're contenders. We had gaping holes at 2B/3B, depth in the rotation and the bullpen, and closer. So he goes out and gets DeRosa for the infield, Pavano to fill a spot in the rotation, Wood to be our closer, picks up Smith for the bullpen and Valbuena as the future 2B.

    You can say those were the wrong moves to make....but that's not "rebuilding". So break it into the 6 parts of the last three years

    2007 pre-season - bring in vets to fill out the roster.

    2007 deadline - Kenny Lofton

    2008 pre-season - stand pat

    2008 deadline - sellers

    2009 pre-season - spends money, fills some gaping holes

    2009 deadline - sellers

    You can't stand pat for years at a time in baseball. When Shapiro came in, it was definitely a complete overhaul. The last three years were dedicated to winning though, until we got to the deadline out of the race.

    Worth noting that the previous overhaul brought us Lee, Sizemore, Hafner, Choo, Cabrera, Gutierrez, and just about everyone else that made us so-called contenders the last three years. Now we're in the same process, but have more than a handful of top-notch prospects that will be ready by NEXT YEAR.

    I don't know, it's not something where either side can change the other's mind...it just doesn't make sense to me to keep one player who doesn't have any impact in the short term besides being fun to watch...and absolutely zero impact long term when he's playing for a big market.

  • This was the same team who almost made it to the World Series.

    Only CC is in New York, Fausto is in Columbus, Blake is in LA, Kenny is retired, and Westbrook and Hafner are coming off major surgery.

  • CIMO, even you admit that the team played way above their heads to get to the ALCS. Now he admits he doesnt expect to win in '10 even.

    So they were rebuilding when they traded for Lee and now they are rebuilding by trading Lee with nothing to show for it but a luck ALCS appearance.

    @pumpkin-eater said:

    CIMO, even you admit that the team played way above their heads to get to the ALCS. Now he admits he doesnt expect to win in '10 even.

    So they were rebuilding when they traded for Lee and now they are rebuilding by trading Lee with nothing to show for it but a luck ALCS appearance.

    Nicely put Eater. I wouldn't say luck, they were a good team playing well together. The question is what happened?

    What the hell do the players have to play for, now?

    OK so for the last 10-12 years the fans stuck by the team owned by the Dolan's, even though they were producing a bad product. Some glimmer of hope that we can put a team out there to compete. The Dolan's basically said F'CK YOU to the fans. So in the coming years we are going to hear the ownership bitch about attendance and money. You know they can go F'CK themselves.

    This was not a decision that Shapiro made, this was 100% the Dolan's. And 100% about money, NOT PROSPECTS. F'CK Larry Dolan. Sell the team and get the F'CK out of Cleveland.

  • This was the same team who almost made it to the World Series.

    Only CC is in New York, Fausto is in Columbus, Blake is in LA, Kenny is retired, and Westbrook and Hafner are coming off major surgery.

    @cimo. said:

    Only CC is in New York, Fausto is in Columbus, Blake is in LA, Kenny is retired, and Westbrook and Hafner are coming off major surgery.

    All the more reason you don't trade a CY Young lefty with a year left on his contract.

    Agreed about '07, but without CC, Blake, Kenny, Westbrook and Hafner (Fausto pitching bad) we had the best record after all star break last year, it was the same team. I'm not buying it.

  • I'm just not following it. We played well after the all-star break and look like contenders, so Shapiro goes out and fills the holes in the offseason. How is that considered rebuilding?

    Now we're at the deadline 18 games under .500 and everyone wants to stand pat. I can't understand that. Would you rather be Toronto and waste another year and a half of your great pitcher and stink for 5 more years?

    Moving forward we have Sizemore, Choo and probably Hafner as our proven guys, with Santana, LaPorta, Weglarz, Brantley, Rondon, and Carrasco as legit difference makers in 2011.

    2009 was already in the toilet.

    2011 we'll be reaping the rewards.

    It's just a matter of one wasted year in 2010...but if some of things we expected to happen THIS YEAR...i.e. Carmona coming back to form, Wood being an effective closer, R Perez and Lewis as reliable setup men, Westbrook filling a spot in the rotation...to go along with the big league-ready prospects we have in LaPorta, C Perez, Huff, S Lewis, etc continuing to improve....we seriously aren't that much worse off than we'd be with Lee (or Betancourt, DeRosa, or Garko).

    Like I said... at this point, neither of us are telling the other anything we don't know...I just truly don't see trading Lee as a reason to give up on the team if you're a true fan.

  • I'm just not following it. We played well after the all-star break and look like contenders, so Shapiro goes out and fills the holes in the offseason. How is that considered rebuilding?

    Now we're at the deadline 18 games under .500 and everyone wants to stand pat. I can't understand that. Would you rather be Toronto and waste another year and a half of your great pitcher and stink for 5 more years?

    Moving forward we have Sizemore, Choo and probably Hafner as our proven guys, with Santana, LaPorta, Weglarz, Brantley, Rondon, and Carrasco as legit difference makers in 2011.

    2009 was already in the toilet.

    2011 we'll be reaping the rewards.

    It's just a matter of one wasted year in 2010...but if some of things we expected to happen THIS YEAR...i.e. Carmona coming back to form, Wood being an effective closer, R Perez and Lewis as reliable setup men, Westbrook filling a spot in the rotation...to go along with the big league-ready prospects we have in LaPorta, C Perez, Huff, S Lewis, etc continuing to improve....we seriously aren't that much worse off than we'd be with Lee (or Betancourt, DeRosa, or Garko).

    Like I said... at this point, neither of us are telling the other anything we don't know...I just truly don't see trading Lee as a reason to give up on the team if you're a true fan.

    @cimo. said:

    2011 we'll be reaping the rewards.

    I just don't think you've been around Cleveland enough.

  • It seems more like you don't follow baseball enough.

    Are you trying to say our prospects never pan out?

    CC came up through our system and won over 100 games

    Cliff Lee came up through our system and won a Cy Young

    Grady Sizemore came up through our system and became a 30/30, gold glover

    Fausto came up through our system, won 19 games and carried us through the ALDS

    Victor came up through our system and turned into the best catcher in the game

    Betancourt came up through our system and had some great years for us in relief

    Choo, Hafner and Westbrook all came here as complete unknowns and turned into impact players

    Brandon Phillips never got his shot in Cleveland but has turned into a hell of player

    Now we have the best pool of prospects since the early 90s (who turned into Manny, Thome, et al) and everyone just assumes they'll fizzle out, yet I'm the naive one.

  • we've been hearing about reaping rewards from prospects acquired in trades for almost a decade. only one year did we come remotely close to reaping anything. Yes we got some good players, but what difference does it make when we lose 90 games and trade them away? obviously they are doing something wrong.

    we've also been hearing that the indians have the best pool of prospects since god knows when for almost a decade. I remember Dolan/ Shap talking about winning the world Series in two years after breaking up the team we had in the nineties. We see how that worked out.

  • It seems more like you don't follow baseball enough.

    Are you trying to say our prospects never pan out?

    CC came up through our system and won over 100 games

    Cliff Lee came up through our system and won a Cy Young

    Grady Sizemore came up through our system and became a 30/30, gold glover

    Fausto came up through our system, won 19 games and carried us through the ALDS

    Victor came up through our system and turned into the best catcher in the game

    Betancourt came up through our system and had some great years for us in relief

    Choo, Hafner and Westbrook all came here as complete unknowns and turned into impact players

    Brandon Phillips never got his shot in Cleveland but has turned into a hell of player

    Now we have the best pool of prospects since the early 90s (who turned into Manny, Thome, et al) and everyone just assumes they'll fizzle out, yet I'm the naive one.

    @cimo. said:

    It seems more like you don't follow baseball enough.

    Are you trying to say our prospects never pan out?

    CC came up through our system and won over 100 games

    Cliff Lee came up through our system and won a Cy Young

    Grady Sizemore came up through our system and became a 30/30, gold glover

    Fausto came up through our system, won 19 games and carried us through the ALDS

    Victor came up through our system and turned into the best catcher in the game

    Betancourt came up through our system and had some great years for us in relief

    Choo, Hafner and Westbrook all came here as complete unknowns and turned into impact players

    Brandon Phillips never got his shot in Cleveland but has turned into a hell of player

    Now we have the best pool of prospects since the early 90s (who turned into Manny, Thome, et al) and everyone just assumes they'll fizzle out, yet I'm the naive one.

    Sweet and ZERO trips to the World Series. Next time you drive to downtown Cleveland, pay $20 for parking, $60 to get in the game and $10 for a beer and watch them get shelled, let me know. Until then, you need to stick in Texas my friend, Ummm K.

  • @cimo. said:

    Now it's clear the season wasn't going anywhere, so Shapiro decided to cut bait and get what he could to make sure we're not in the same position for 5 more years.

    I call BS on this. This was the same team who almost made it to the World Series. Why aren't they preforming? I think they need to address that issue before getting rid of a CY Young pitcher signed through 2010. I could see some sense in the trade if this was 2010 and Lee was leaving. What does this tell me, the team, and the city, there is no chance of you winning next year or for the next 3 years for that matter.

    We are now in Pirate territory in every sense of the word. Payroll, talent, pride. All gone.

    @kosar_for_president said:

    I call BS on this. This was the same team who almost made it to the World Series. Why aren't they preforming? I think they need to address that issue before getting rid of a CY Young pitcher signed through 2010. I could see some sense in the trade if this was 2010 and Lee was leaving. What does this tell me, the team, and the city, there is no chance of you winning next year or for the next 3 years for that matter.

    We are now in Pirate territory in every sense of the word. Payroll, talent, pride. All gone.

    I agree. We are becoming like the Pirates in a sense we bring up these kids and trade them away when they are in their prime. We are becoming the top two contending Farm Clubs for the rest of the league.

  • Not to add fuel to the fire, but according to Yahoo today, The Tribe's looking to get rid of Victor and the Red Sox, Rays, and Giants seem to all three want him? What should we settle on getting for him? I'm thinking Shapiro will do it for essentially what equates to a Single A pitcher that MAY do something 3 years from now, but is on the injury report now, and a bucket of sunflower seeds! That seems to be the going rate for a repeat All-Star catcher right?

  • Not to add fuel to the fire, but according to Yahoo today, The Tribe's looking to get rid of Victor and the Red Sox, Rays, and Giants seem to all three want him? What should we settle on getting for him? I'm thinking Shapiro will do it for essentially what equates to a Single A pitcher that MAY do something 3 years from now, but is on the injury report now, and a bucket of sunflower seeds! That seems to be the going rate for a repeat All-Star catcher right?

    @lcdawgfan13 said:

    Not to add fuel to the fire, but according to Yahoo today, The Tribe's looking to get rid of Victor and the Red Sox, Rays, and Giants seem to all three want him? What should we settle on getting for him? I'm thinking Shapiro will do it for essentially what equates to a Single A pitcher that MAY do something 3 years from now, but is on the injury report now, and a bucket of sunflower seeds! That seems to be the going rate for a repeat All-Star catcher right?

    They are trying to get Clay Buchhol for him. And if his girlfriend comes with the deal, so be it.

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