Top prospect Adam Miller finally received some good news Friday when the Tribe announced that his injured finger is responding to an altered grip on the baseball.

Miller, whose career was threatened by the injury, may not need surgery if his finger continues to show progress.

Here are the three stories on it:

Akron Beacon Journal – Sheldon Ocker
Plain Dealer – Paul Hoynes
MLB.com Anthony Castrovince

And the pitching woes continue…

A day after fifth starter Scott Lewis was beaten around the ballpark, staff ace Cliff Lee took the ball for his turn. Lee allowed eight runs and 12 hits in five innings against the Giants Friday.

Although it is still spring training, Lee should be getting to the point where he is not tinkering as much and preparing himself for the opener April 6.

He should have one more spring training start before then, Hoynes wrote.

In other Indians news…
Terry Pluto took some time to watch the prospects yesterday.

Anthony Castrovince says that Josh Barfield is expected to take the 25th roster spot. the seventh bullpen spot comes down to Zach Jackson and Vinnie Chulk.

The Cleveland Indians will play its first spring training game of the season today as they meet the San Francisco Giants 3:05 ET today at Goodyear Park.

Left-hander Jeremy Sowers is set to pitch first as he opens the preseason as a contender for the fifth starter position.

The Indians played a five-inning intrasquad game yesterday where the bats were clearly ahead of the arms. Here are a few hitting stats from yesterday:

Trevor Crowe: 2-3, Home Run, RBI

Josh Barfield: 1-3, Home Run, 3RBI

Kelly Shoppach: 2-2, two Runs Scored, double, Home Run, three RBI

Beau Mills: 2-3, two Runs Scored, triple, RBI

Luis Valbuena: 1-2, triple, two RBI

Asdrubal Cabrera: 3-3, run scored

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times recently conducted an interview with Houston Astros General Manager Ed Wade about free agent outfielder Bobby Abreu.

Abreu is one of the best available free agents on the market and someone that Wade knows all too well from their time together in Philadelphia.

While Kepner’s post does not say much in the way of where Abreu will be playing next year, it does offer some interesting comparisons to former Phillie Aaron Rowand.

I found this passage the most interesting:

“Aaron Rowand is an outstanding player and he brings that blue-collar type of energy to the field, and that’s great. Fans gravitate to that, especially in Philadelphia. Bobby’s so good at what he does and so smooth at doing it, he tends to be underappreciated,” Wade told Kepner.

That would seem to be the case on the free-agent market, in which Abreu, who turns 35 in March, has not yet found a deal comparable to the Phillies’ Raul Ibanez (three years, $31.5 million) or the Cubs’ Milton Bradley (three years, $30 million) – not to mention the five-year, $60 million contract Rowand received from the Giants last winter.

I have always enjoyed watching Rowand for the very same reasons that Wade states. He plays all out, all the time. Yet I find it hard to understand how he is making more money than Bradley, Ibanez and most likely Abreu.

Rowand signed his contract after last season with the San Francisco Giants. Bradley and Ibanez were both signed in the offseason.

To make matters even more interesting Roger Rubin, of the New York Daily News, is reporting that Abreu has just recieved an offer from the Chicago White Sox. The deal: One year, $8 million.

Rubin reports that Abreu is only recieving one-year offers.

Rowand’s contract is back-loaded according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, meaning Rowand was paid $8 million last season. He will get $8 million this season and $12 million a year for the remaining three years.

Last season Abreu hit .296 with 20 home runs and 100 RBI in 156 games in the pressure cooker that is New York. His On base percentage as .371 and OPS was .872.

In Rowand’s seven seasons he has had just two years where he has hit above .300 and had 20 home runs (2004 and 2007). Rowand has never driven in 100 runs in a season, something Abreu has done six times. Rowand did hit.309 with 27 home runs in his contract season of 2007.

Abreu, who hits left, is a middle of the order type hitter with a career on base percentage of .405. His career OPS is .903. Rowand, a right-handed hitter, only bats in the middle of the San Francisco Giants order because of necessity. Does the three-four combination of Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand scare anyone? Ray Durham was once in that mix too. Rowand has a career .342 OBP and .795 OPS.

Rowand’s contract was signed last off-season and it is quite obvious that the unstable economy has contributed to less money being offered across major league baseball.

Rowand is 31 years old, while Abreu is 34. One argument could be made that the Giants aren’t exactly intelligent with its free agent signings. See: Zito, Barry; Johnson, Randy, Renteria, Edgar; etc. That is besides the point though.

Yet Ibanez’s contract makes Abreu’s situation even more puzzling. Ibanez is 36-years old and the Phillies gave him a three-year deal for $31.5 million. Ibanez, a left-handed hitter, received a $2 million signing bonus for this season to go along with his $6.5 million base salary. He will receive &11.5 million for the remaining two seasons, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

His 2008 numbers are nearly identical to Abreu’s: 23 homers, .293 batting average with a lower OBP (.358) and OPS (.857). Career wise, Ibanez does not offer as much as Abreu does. He has a career .346 OBP and a OPS of .818.

Milton Bradley, a switch hitter, hit 22 home runs last year with a .321 average to earn his three-year, $30 million deal. Most impressive was Bradley’s .436 OBP. Bradley is only 30 years old, but has had a bevy of off the field problems.

Fielding wise, Rowand is the best of the group, but I feel his plus defense weighs out compared to a middle-of the-order type bat. Abreu isn’t a bad defender either.

I know this is only a light look at their numbers and true value, but I think it is pretty clear that Abreu has just as much value, if not more, than these three guys. So why is Abreu still sitting on the sidelines with less money and years being offered?

Although the Indians have closed the checkbook this off season, is this a player that the Indians should at least consider. Right now he is only being offered one-year, $8 million bargain from the Indians Central Division rival, Chicago. That is at least enough to consider a look by Shapiro.

One of the best offensive second basemen of the last 20 years has decided to call it quits. Jeff Kent, who once saw 102 at bats for the Indians in 1996, will announce his retirement Thursday.

Kent leaves the game with 2,461 hits, 377 home runs and 1,518 RBI in his 17-year career. His career line is: .356 OBP/.500 SLG/.290 AVG.

Kent was in the middle of two key trades during his brief stint in Cleveland. He, along with infielder Jose Vizcaino, were traded to the Indians midway through the 1996 season for infielders Alvaro Espinoza and Carlos Baerga.

After the season was over Kent — along with Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez and Joe Roa — were then traded to San Francisco for third baseman Matt Williams. Williams won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award in his lone season with the Tribe.

Kent used his time in San Francisco to become an NL MVP and, arguably, one of the better hitters in the game during the era.

Channel 4 San Diego’s Emmy winning sports reporter John Weisbarth reported yesterday former Indian short stop Omar Vizquel could join the San Diego Padres as soon as today.

Vizquel didn’t hit much last year for the San Francisco Giants, but his Gold Glove defensive hasn’t slipped much at all.

No word yet if Vizquel will begin an Omar Y’Amigos kids club at Petco Park.

San Francisco Giants beat writer Henry Schulman recently posted a little bit more on the possibility of former Indian/Red Sox/Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez signing with the Giants.

Schulman breaks down the financial demands of Scott Boras and implications of ManRam in the Bay. A signing doesn’t look imminent.

As speculated here before, at what point do mid-market — or even small market– teams begin to look at ManRam as a one or two year rental player at a lower market value price? it’s hard to imagine Scott Boras not getting top dollar for a client. Could the Indians be a team interested in ManRam in a short-term (one-year) situation?

Former Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel hasn’t packed up his ball glove just yet. The 42-year-old, 11-time Gold Glove winner is still out searching for a new contract despite hitting .222 in a reduced role for the San Francisco Giants last season.

So the question now is: Who will sign him?

The San Diego Padres, who would like a veteran presence at shortstop, are one of the teams who is tipping their cap and revealing that do have some interest in the three-time All-star.
We all should know next week whether that short stop is Omar.

On a side note, how many local Indian fans can say they were a member of Omar Y’Amigos Kids club during the mid 90’s?

Where, oh where will Manny Ramirez land? It wasn’t that long ago when ManRam had this to say after his Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs:

“I just want to go home and spend some time with my family. I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I.”

Well, unfortunately, ManRam, gas prices have dropped since then and so has your market value.

The Dodgers offered a two-year, 45 million deal in November and are sticking to their guns against super agent Scott Boras.

With the Yankees already adding over 420 million in payroll this offseason, they don’t seem like a likely landing spot. The Red Sox? been there, done that.

Now reports connect the former Indian to the San Francisco Giants.

Some say its baloney! I hear ya, Jayson Stark!
Some say it’s a fraud. Kam Brothers, point taken!

So with the mass confusion brought on by Manny mania, Giants beat writer Henry Schulman decided to clear our dread lock-filled heads a little bit with “Truth and Baloney, Manny edition.”

the Giants have not made an offer to ManRam just yet, but talks just haven’t reached that point yet, Schulman writes. Both sides are trying to find a creative way to make this work.

It is very much alive, but to reiterate a key point, a lot of things will have to fall into place for this to happen, and it remains a longshot.

If the Giants fall out of contention and the Dodgers remain the only major player, how long until mid-market teams start looking at ManRam as a one-year rental?

Ramirez on a one-year deal, playing for a large contract next season is a dangerous thought for any opposing team. Pure speculation but, If that happens would ManRam be in a position to come (back) to a place like Cleveland for a season?

Just like the “fluid” Giants situation, A lot of things would have to fall into place for this to happen, but I wouldn’t write it off just yet.