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Indians Tidbits (2009 season)

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I like that he's coming over from the NL...it takes hitters a while to get a playbook on a pitcher, so he should have some early success.

20 mil is an awful lot. I guess its worth it when you put last season into perspective. Too lazy to look it up, but hpw many games were blown in the 8th-9th innings?

If Wood gets you to the post-season or close, he pays off his contract in ticket sales down the stretch.

Baseball has become a year-to-year sport, so I would not be shocked to the Tribe have a good year. Its almost expected for teams to be competitve one year and tank the next. Would anyone be that surprised to see Tampa or Philly miss the post-season? I'm expecting at least one to miss...quite possibly both.
 
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well Gute was most likely going to be moved eventually

we get

24 year old Reliever Joe Smith- 3.51 ERA in 107.2 careers MLB innings

23 year old Second Basemen Luis Valbuena

Valbuena, who just turned 23 on Nov. 30, made his major league debut in September after hitting .303/.382/.431 between Double- and Triple-A. He went on to hit .245/.315/.347 in 45 at-bats, and he's currently at .280/.333/.510 in 37 games in Venezuela. If he can stay at second base, he could turn out to be a pretty good regular by 2010. However, he'll have to get into better shape to make it happen, and his bat wouldn't play nearly as well at third. Expect him to head to Triple-A for the beginning of next year. For what it's worth, the Indians have had pretty good luck in picking up infielders from the Mariners, first with Omar Vizquel and much more recently with Asdrubal Cabrera.
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baseball american also pointed out that Valbuena had the "best strike zone discipline" in the Mariners system

good move in my opinion, Smith was a solid bullpen guy for the mets the past 2 years and improves the depth of the bullpen and from what I read Valbuena is a decent 2B prospect
 
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CPD

Indians deal Gutierrez, receive reliever Smith, infielder Valbuena in 3-team deal

by Paul Hoynes/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 11, 2008, 12:30 AM


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David Zalubowski/Associated PressJoe Smith struck out 52 batters in 63.1 innings last season for the Mets, specializing in getting out right-handed batters with a sidearm delivery.
LAS VEGAS -- The Indians acquired a reliever for their bullpen and a potential big-league infielder Wednesday night at the winter meetings in a three-way trade with Seattle and the New York Mets that involved 12 players. The Indians sent Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners as part of the deal. Gutierrez is expected to be Seattle's starting center fielder.
Right-hander Joe Smith, who went 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 82 appearances last season for the Mets, will go into the Indians' bullpen.
"He's a side-armer," said GM Mark Shapiro. "He's an extreme ground-ball guy. He's extremely tough on right-handers and should help us at the back end of the bullpen."
The Indians acquired left-handed-hitting infielder Luis Valbuena from the Mariners. He'll go to spring training and compete with Jamey Carroll and Josh Barfield for a job, but is expected to be the starting second baseman at Class AAA Columbus.

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I like the addition of Smith to our bullpen because he should help out immediately. Like this coming season. I have read where the 2nd baseman is a pretty good hitter but needs a lot of work in the field. Maybe they are saving Shopach to get a quality middle infielder or 3rd baseman who can help out next year. I am sort of getting tired of waiting for these younger players to develop. It will be nice to have them in Columbus but the Al pennant is decided in Cleveland.
 
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LitlBuck;1353271; said:
I like the addition of Smith to our bullpen because he should help out immediately. Like this coming season. I have read where the 2nd baseman is a pretty good hitter but needs a lot of work in the field. Maybe they are saving Shopach to get a quality middle infielder or 3rd baseman who can help out next year. I am sort of getting tired of waiting for these younger players to develop. It will be nice to have them in Columbus but the Al pennant is decided in Cleveland.
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As a Met fan, Smith was the player I most regretted losing in this deal. He's only been pitching professionally for 2 years now I believe. Before that he was at Wright State. If he can figure out a way to get left handers out (they hit .320 against him this past year), he'd be a great 8th inning guy. As of right now, he'll fit nicely into your pen as a 7th inning guy/ROOG.
 
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Maybe they are saving Shopach to get a quality middle infielder or 3rd baseman who can help out next year.
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I think they will probably sit to see how Carlos Santana develops for a while (year or so) before they ship Shoppach off, if they trade him now it leaves a hole at Catcher behind Victor

also I wonder if trading for another 2B prospect means the end of Josh Barfield in Cleveland, maybe he will get traded at some point this year
 
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CPD
Indians GM Shapiro buoyed by successful moves at winter meetings

by Paul Hoynes/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 11, 2008, 10:14 PM


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Marvin Fong/PDAfter adding Kerry Wood and Joe Smith to the bullpen, Indians GM Mark Shapiro is hoping Adam Miller's strong off-season work signals a move to the big-league staff in 2009.
LAS VEGAS -- Mark Shapiro promised relentlessness at the end of the 2008 season to improve the 81-81 Indians. Relentlessness is what he delivered at the winter meetings that ended Thursday on the Vegas strip. Closer Kerry Wood, providing he passes his physical, and side-armer Joe Smith should improve a bullpen that helped ruin last season. Shapiro threw a net over them this week at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. The net he used to capture Wood cost an estimated $20 million over two years if he's healthy.
Wood took a physical Thursday in Cleveland.
Smith, a Cincinnati native, came to the Indians late Wednesday night as part of a three-team, 12-player trade with Seattle and the New York Mets. The Indians also received Seattle infielder Luis Valbuena, while sending outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners.
"Joe Smith goes right into our major-league bullpen," said Shapiro.
Said Smith, 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 82 appearances for the Mets last season, on the possibility of pitching in front of Wood, "Kerry Wood is unbelievable."

Acquiring Wood and Smith in 4 1/2 days was something Shapiro needed to do, but there's another reliever the Indians are reluctant to talk about who could make the bullpen even better. It's Adam Miller, who after an impressive run through the Arizona Instructional League and winter ball in the Dominican Republic, could make the pen out of spring training if he doesn't hurt himself.

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CPD

Winter meetings chatter: Friday could be D-day for Kerry Wood and the Cleveland Indians

by Paul Hoynes/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday December 11, 2008, 8:52 PM


UPDATED: 8:45 p.m.
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John Bazemore/Associated PressAlthough he's had shoulder and elbow troubles earlier in his career, Kerry Wood missed time in 2008 only because of a finger blister.


LAS VEGAS --- The Indians, with the winter meetings ending today, should know by Friday if Kerry Wood is their closer or not. Wood is in Cleveland today taking his physical. If MRIs are necessary, they probably won't be read until Friday. A deal could be announced then if he's sound.
The Indians and Wood have agreed to a two-year deal worth a reported $20 million. The deal is contingent on him passing the physical.
Wood, one way or the other, won't be staying in Cleveland. He's expected to head back to his home in Arizona on Friday. If the deal goes through, he'll return for an official press conference next week.
Last season, Wood's only health problem was a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He went 5-4 with a 3.26 and saved 34 games in 40 attempts for the Chicago Cubs. It was Wood's first year as a closer.

Wood pitched 66 1/3 innings in 65 appearances last season. He struck out 84 and walked 18.
GM Mark Shapiro feels confident that Wood will pass the physical, but as he's said so many times before, "I'm not a handicapper."
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I think they will probably sit to see how Carlos Santana develops for a while (year or so) before they ship Shoppach off, if they trade him now it leaves a hole at Catcher behind Victor
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I am a fan of keeping Shopach but most of the other guys in this thread want to trade him now because his value is so high because of last season. I would like to keep him and led him split time with Victor and let Victor take some of Garko's bats. As I mentioned above, I am tired of waiting to see if certain players can develop because I would like to win sometime in my lifetime:wink2:
 
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good to hear Adam Miller is now being looked at as a bullpen pitcher. Seems like the obvious thing to do considering his injury history.

I like the Wood signing and trade for Joe Smith, it makes a lot of sense. I'm always concerned about that position in baseball, just because of how fickell it is. Our bullpen was great in 07 and a mess in 08. It has been good every other year for a while now. Not sure what causes that, but everyone said the Indians had one of the best bullpens in the league going into last season, and it was a joke.
 
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