Item: The Indians acquire second baseman Luis Valbuena and relief pitcher Joe Smith for Franklin Gutierrez.
Let's see. Gutierrez is an excellent defensive player, but his production at the plate dropped dramatically last season. He hit .241 and other teams learned in the 2007 playoffs that Gutierrez can't hit a breaking ball. That does not bode well for a major league future, so the Indians gave up a player from the outfield, where they have several players. In return, they got a major-league caliber second baseman and a very good relief pitcher. How does Mark Shapiro pull this stuff off?
Item: Kerry Wood is about to sign to be the Indians closer.
With the additions of Wood and Smith, Shapiro can check off his top offseason priority: Strengthening the bullpen. Wood brings it, which is always the preference for a closer. A guy who comes in and blows people away. Won't you miss those Bob Wickman/Joe Borowski nail-biter ninth innings though?
Item: CC Sabathia takes the $161 million from New York and heads to where he doesn't want to play.
Unless you believe Sabathia approaching the Dodgers to say he wanted to pitch on the West Coast, near his home, was a negotiating ploy.
Item: Sabathia signed for seven years.
I'd like to see the details on this contract because I think I read Sabathia can again be a free agent after three years. That is interesting.
Item: Sabathia got more than Johan Santana a year ago when he signed with the Mets.
Of course, it was not about the money.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
i don't understand the kind of greed that motivates cc sabathia. maybe it's because nobody ever asked me to choose between $100 million and $160 million. judging by the choices i've made in my own life i think i'd go where i am happiest and take the smaller stack. whatever cc.
Shapiro said he likes Valbuena's bat and thinks he can develop into an average fielder and runner. A team that claims to be small market should value defense and athleticism more than the Shapiro does. And I understand Smith is a submariner. Oh boy.
Who says Sabathia can't be happiest in New York? It seems like a great place to spend the summer.
How long into the season before Wood's elbow falls off? I say no later than July 20. O.K., maybe July 21.
And larry, I'm a submariner, too. If you want to have a happy marriage, you have to be.
Point taken, alan.
I'm hoping the folks at Cleveland Clinic can patch a working elbow together using parts from Hafner and Wood combined.
So far I like what the Tribe has accomplished. Wood is one of the premier closers and Smith is a pretty decent addition to the bullpen. Valbuena gives them some depth in the minor leagues. I still want them to acquire another ML infielder who can hit.
let's not forget the influence of the union (who gets their cut of CC's $) as well as his agent, who makes a percentage of what his client makes. they have the incentive to influence CC to make as much $ as possible.
also, let's not forget other potential influences; i honestly believe the bamboozler was ready to sign with the cavs, but his wife hammered on him to take the money and run.
and cc himself may not be completely aware if he's been manipulated. but what's done is done and the reality that the athlete *usually* takes the most money, so taking it so personally by expecting otherwise seems a little unrealistic.
Please. Sabathia wasn't "manipulated." I'm sure Sabathia and his wife had a nice long talk, and they agreed that the first three years with that kind of dough is worth waiting three years until the Giants pick up the remainder of the contract.
Jim Thome leaves for an extra nine million bucks and the press around here bends over backwards to be understanding. CC Sabathia leaves for an extra NINETY MILLION dollars and the press around here calls him greedy.
Jeez, I wonder why?
What nauseating is the Indians leaking their puny offer to him during the season so he could be portrayed as the bad guy in all of this, as if their offer to him was even legitimate. Good lord, the Brewers even offered 30 million dollars more than the Tribe.
Good for CC. I'm glad he got out of here and to a place where winning is the priority.
If memory serves, I think the Thome contract was purportedly $23 million more than the Indians' final offer, including the extra year, not $9 million. Regardlesss, anybody who knocks Sabathia for taking advantage of his opportunity to move on to much greener pastures is a royal goof. And the best thing about that contract is, assuming he doesn't have health issues and/or a huge downturn in performance, he'll still be in his early 30s and able to opt-out and finish his career on the West Coast.
Let me correct myself. The best thing about that contract is the money. The second-best thing about that contract is the opt-out to let him go home.