Tribe Happenings: Dolan's Once Again Create Stir

The Dolan's have had a strained
relationship with Indians fans. (AP)

Some news and notes from my Tribe notebook…

Poor Timing

Hopefully everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and had a chance or soon will check out the new "Snow Days" at Progressive Field. Good times.

But in Indians land these days things are not so good. After the organization has purged just about every player from the team that went to the 2007 American League Championship Series, fans have let their disgust show not only at the turnstiles, but with their voices as well through sportstalk radio, message boards, and social networks.

With all that in mind, when Indians President Paul Dolan earlier in the week said that “the time was not right to spend”, well, it was of course met with a severe backlash from the fans.

But was what Dolan said really that off base? With where the team is currently at in their rebuild, what Dolan said is actually not too far out of line. With attendance last in the league and the team needing to fish out who the core players are at so many positions, it makes little sense to spend anything on any free agents for 2011.

Let's be real here. The Indians are not going to be players for any significant free agent even if they do spend. In addition to that, why should they spend just to spend just to acquire mediocre fill ins? Would you want to bother with a Paul Byrd-like signing for the rotation, or try and see what they have internally for the rotation with the likes of Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, Jeanmar Gomez, and others? A David Delluci-like pickup for the lineup, or see what they have in Michael Brantley, Nick Weglarz and others?

This is why while it was a poor decision to talk about their spending woes, Dolan actually makes some sense if you take a step back from the emotional ledge and look at where the team is currently at in their rebuild.

Besides, if the rebuild continues as hoped, expect the Indians to start spending next offseason. After the core of the team had been established from their rebuild that started in 2002 and they were ready to start contending, they began spending in 2005 and increased payroll each year. It topped out at $81 million in 2009, which was actually the 2nd highest payroll in team history.

In fact if you look at the payrolls since the Dolan’s took ownership of the team going into the 2000 season, they own the five highest payrolls in team history. Since the renaissance of the team coincided with the opening of Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in 1994, from 1994-1999 the average payroll under Dick Jacobs was $49.3 million a year whereas under the Dolan’s from 2000-2010 the payroll has averaged $64.8 million a year. While revenues are up in baseball due to network TV deals and more popularity with the sport, the Indians have still spent more even without the annual big playoff revenue pay days and about 60% of the ticket sales as those maxed-out revenue teams in the 90s had.

This is by no means an attempt to defend the Dolan’s as they have certainly made their mistakes. The execution with personnel decisions and the on field talent by ownership and the front office over their tenure certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

But while it is fair game to argue that the product on the field during their tenure may not be up to standard or that the organization is not a winner, it is hard to make a true argument that the organization is “cheap” based on their actual payroll numbers over the years in the economic climate they are up against, especially when comparing it to the previous ownership.

The Indians are in this mess because of some poor decisions on personnel from the draft up to the big league and a significant financial disparity between the have's and have not's in the game. When it comes to spending, the organization has proven in the past they will spend and I have no doubt when the time is right they will spend again.

Free agent options

One name to keep an eye on as a potential free agent signing this offseason is outfielder Austin Kearns. He is expected to get nothing more than a minor league deal by any team this offseason, and with the Indians looking to add a right-handed bat in the outfield mix next year, Kearns is someone they will surely consider bringing back. Another thing that works in the Indians favor is Kearns supposedly now lives in the Cleveland area year-round.

Another area the Indians may go discount shopping is at third base as a couple of former big name players such as Joe Crede and Eric Chavez could be signed and brought in on minor league deals with invites to spring training. The Indians only want a short term option to fill third base since they like internal options Lonnie Chisenhall and even Cord Phelps, but they will need someone to play there at least at the outset of the season. Jayson Nix is the incumbent starter at third base and likely will be the opening day guy there, but a couple reclamation projects like Crede and Chavez are signings they have made before and often done well with.

Scouting the Rim

The Indians have been busy scouting the Pacific Rim looking for every possible opportunity to bring in a player with upside at a reasonable cost to the organization. One player the Indians have interest in signing this offseason is Japanese right-handed hitting outfielder Hitoshi Tamura, though other players from the Pacific Rim are also being scouted as possible signing alternatives.

The organization had two of their scouts out in Guangzhou, China for the recently completed Asian Games to provide reports on two players from the organization outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and catcher Chun-Hsiu Chen. The scouts were also there to get a look at some of the talent on display for Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

The available talent in the Pacific Rim is thin, and the Asian Games provided little to evaluate a lot of players on because of the poor competition (Pakistan, Mongolia, and others were a part of the tournament). Most of the players the Indians have any interest in are already under contract with another team or are not available to be signed, so they are just keeping tabs on what is out there.

Signings update

There were lots of former Indians in the news this past week after they signed deals to play for new teams. Former catcher Victor Martinez was the biggest newsmaker of them all as he left the Boston Red Sox and signed with the Detroit Tigers for four years and $50 million. Indians fans will have the unfortunate pleasure of now watching a former favorite play against the Indians 19 times a season.

Two other smaller signings were announced this past week as well as infielder Drew Sutton signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Jose Constanza signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. As a second removal from the 40-man roster this offseason, Sutton opted for free agency. Constanza was a six-year minor league free agent who in 785 games and almost 3000 at bats is a career .300+ hitter in the minors.

One additional signing I failed to make note of in this column last week was that of former left-handed pitcher Chuck Lofgren with the San Francisco Giants. Lofgren was a minor league free agent after spending 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers who had selected him from the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft last December.

Kipnis Honored

Baseball America recently named Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis as one of the Arizona Fall League’s top ten prospects. The league is considered the best in the minors as a lot of the up-and-coming big league stars come out of there, and with over 200 players participating in the league it says a lot to be named as one of the ten best considering the presence of so much Major League talent.

Kipnis, 23, has been getting tons of love from the scouts since his time in the fall league, and why not after his sizzling performance at the plate where he hit .295 with 3 homers, 19 RBI, and had a .966 OPS in 19 games. He had at least two hits and one extra base hit in each of his last six games. All of this comes off a very good 2010 campaign where in 133 combined games at High-A Kinston and Double-A Akron he hit .307 with 16 homers, 74 RBI, and an .878 OPS. He is considered the everyday second baseman of the future, and could find himself in that role in Cleveland by the end of next season.

No other Indians were named to the Baseball America list, nor was anyone an honorable mention. That said, infielder Cord Phelps deserves a mention and lots of praise with not only a very good showing at the plate hitting .367 with 3 homers, 10 RBI, and a 1.031 OPS, but with his good performance in his experiment defensively at third base.

Parting Shots

The Indians have received official word from the Korean Baseball Office that outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has been granted a military exemption after he and his teammates won gold at the Asian Games. … Outfielder Nick Weglarz is back home after a brief stint playing in Venezuela. He only played in four games (3-for-12), but after a collision in the outfield he suffered a minor back injury which the Indians and Weglarz both felt best to just shut him down for the rest of the offseason. … Right-handed reliever Josh Judy returned home from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. In 12 appearances he went 0-1 with five saves and a 1.50 ERA.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI.  His latest book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on his site for a special year end closeout sale of $10.00 (including shipping and handling stateside).

Posted in: 1968 cleveland indians,Austin Kearns,Chuck Lofgren,Cord Phelps,Drew Sutton,Hitoshi Tamura,Jason Kipnis,Jose Constanza,Josh Judy,Nick Weglarz,Paul Dolan,victor martinez