We don't know who will be paying it, yet speculation from a couple of notable reporters says that Johan Santana will be signing a contract for around $25 million per season.

Most think the best fit for the Twins is the Yankees due to Melky Cabrera and pitching prospects coming back in a major trade. No matter whether it is the Yanks or Red Sox or Mets or some other team, Mr. Santana is about to become the richest pitcher in baseball history.

If, in fact, he signs that type of deal (five years, $125M or more), what does that mean for C.C. Sabathia?

Don't know. I used to think it would be better to trade C.C. now rather than during the season, but you know, you only get so many shots at a World Series title. I say keep him, offer him arbitration after next season so you get the draft picks when he signs somewhere else. I don't think the Indians would offer anymore than four years at $80M, and that probably isn't enough in years or money. But if the Tribe would sign him to five or six years and he would get hurt, it would set the franchise back years.

Be happy you had him, ride him, hopefully, to a championship and then wish him well.

The Indians can't have one player be more than 33 percent of the payroll or three (Hafner and Westbrook with C.C.) being more than 50 percent of the payroll.

It just doesn't work.

As you guys can see I haven't blogged much in November. Partly due to vacation, partly due to some time to reflect on where to take this blog.

We have a Browns and Cavs blog, and our Indians writer has a weekly Q/A with readers, so I think it would be better for you guys to communicate with our writers on those subjects. We also have a great UA Zips blog that gives our coverage there some depth. We also have had great success with the high school blog, Varsity Letters.

The ideas I want to float are: should this be a blog that reflects on national stories or trends, or one that just offers a view of our thoughts inside the Beacon on local sports.

Comment or e-mail me with your thoughts.

The free-agent market is open, and in my opinion, it is bleak.

I don't see much here for the Indians or any other team to be interested in. Other than Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds, I don't see any future Hall of Famers or maybe even all-stars available.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports! ranks the 144 free agents here. I don't necessarily agree with his rankings but thought you all would like to see the names and comments.

A friend of mine who has been working on a formula for ranking NFL teams for about many years sends me a weekly rundown. I thought you all would like to see this week's. The Browns are rated as the fourth best team in the AFC.

WEEK 10
1. New England (9-0) 108.9
2. Dallas (8-1) 79.9
3. Indianapolis (7-2) 78.4
4. Pittsburgh (7-2) 70.8
5. Green Bay (8-1) 68.7
6. Jacksonville (6-3) 48.6
7. N.Y. Giants (6-3) 47.1
8. Cleveland (5-4) 44.7
9. Detroit (6-3) 43.6
10. Tennessee (6-3) 43.1
11. San Diego (5-4) 40.7
12. Tampa Bay (5-4) 37.8
13. Seattle (5-4) 36.8
14. Arizona (4-5) 31.3
15. Washington (5-4) 30.6
16. Buffalo (5-4) 30.1
17. Philadelphia (4-5) 30.0
18. Houston (4-5) 23.7
19. New Orleans (4-5) 23.6
20. Chicago (4-5) 23.1
21. Carolina (4-5) 18.1
22. Kansas City (4-5) 17.0
23. Minnesota (3-6) 15.2
24. Cincinnati (3-6) 15.0
25. Baltimore (4-5) 14.8
26. Denver (4-5) 13.4
27. Atlanta (3-6) 8.0
28. Oakland (2-7) 3.2
29. San Francisco (2-7) -6.4
30. N.Y. Jets (1-8) -10.8
31. Miami (0-9) -11.4
32. St. Louis (1-8) -11.8

Ohio State did lose to Illinois but the Buckeyes still should win Saturday against Michigan and then go to the Rose Bowl.

The Browns did lose to the Steelers on Sunday but their schedule sets up for a playoff run.

The Cavaliers don't look like they will return to the NBA Finals but they have played fairly well on the West Coast trip and LeBron James still is one of the best, if not the best, players in the NBA. Barring any major injuries, the Cavs are still a playoff team that plays strong defense.

The weekend didn't go as hoped for many but not all is lost for these teams.

At least that is something the folks in Baltimore can't say. Brian Billick and his Ravens are D-O-N-E. Just like the Orioles.

Two Indians items caught my attention.

Picking up Paul Byrd's option on his contract. As a franchise you either have standards or you don't. There really is no middle ground. With Byrd admitted use of HGH and baseball still investigating, Mark Shapiro needed to pass on Byrd. If he gets suspended for 50 games before the beginning of next season, it will have proved to be a major blunder with the Indians' window of opportunity small.

The second part was comments by owner Larry Dolan on the signing of C.C. Sabathia. It sounds to me like he is waiting for C.C. to present numbers first. I think if the Indians have any chance (I don't think they do) to sign C.C., they need to be proactive. Offer the same deal that Carlos Zambrano got from the Cubs and hope that is enough. I think C.C. can get Barry Zito money (7 years, $126M) if he wants, but there is no way he is taking less than Zambrano money (5 years, $91.5M). Actually, I think the likely route is C.C. pitches for the Tribe next season and then becomes a free agent.

The Cavaliers have morphed into the Los Angeles Lakers.

They have come to rely on LeBron James to score more than 30 points per game much like Kobe Bryant needs to score for the Lakers to win.

They probably will make the playoffs but not go as far as last season.

Why is this?

Bad contracts. The deals for Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas really didn't allow for much movement this offseason. And those deals make any trades tough to pull off.

Who is responsible? One, GM Danny Ferry. Now he can be credited for getting the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals but these deals that he facilitated also probably will cost him his job at some point. I don't think that will happen this season unless the Cavs really get derailed.

I, for one, thought the Z deal was too much at the time and that the Hughes deal was a good one. I have come to think the opposite. The Z deal is more on target for his production and position, and Hughes is out of whack, particularly when you factor in his injury problems.

But that is how the NBA works. Depending on the market, at the time, and your needs, good deals aren't always sitting there for the taking. Neither Z's nor Hughes' deal was out of whack for the market at the time.

To get out of this situation will take some maneuvering. Something that Ferry has not demonstrated, yet, in his career.

Marla Ridenour looks at the call from some in the NFL that the Patriots should stop running up the score.

Patrick McManamon looks at the Browns rise, the Cavaliers fall and other random thoughts in his Beside the Point.

Brian Windhorst offers his view of the early going in the NBA as the Cavs depart on a six-game road trip.

Sheldon Ocker and George M. Thomas are covering the Ohio State-Wisconsin game.

Nate Ulrich, Ben Plassard, Michael Beaven, Tom Gaffney and David Lee Morgan Jr. will be covering high school playoff games in football and soccer.

Stephanie Storm will take a quick snapshot of the Kent State basketball team as it begins play with an exhibition game against Hiram.