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Beanpot

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Just a few snippets from around the web:

 

Not surprisingly, Victor Martinez has quickly become a favorite in the Boston clubhouse. Sorry Vic's going to be breaking out the golf clubs tomorrow, not at all sorry for their fanbase:

 

"He's made everybody better because he's hit right in the middle of the order and he's been effective both left- and right-handed," Francona says. "It's been a terrific addition. His enthusiasm, all the things we heard in Cleveland, we're seeing now firsthand."

 

With a career .372 on-base percentage, Martinez fits well into a lineup known for grinding out at-bats and wearing down pitchers. He also has a reputation as a likable teammate more concerned with winning than his individual numbers.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al...z-red-sox_N.htm

 

Hoynes deals with a number of questions (including one about Omar - shocking) in his weekly mailbag:

 

Hey, Hoynsie: Shouldn't Larry Dolan and Mark Shapiro consider Mike Sarbaugh as manager? He has won everywhere he has been and he knows the young players and obviously knows how to develop them. Perhaps Scott Radinsky could be the pitching coach?

 

Let Sarbaugh manage for two or three years and later add Travis Fryman as a bench coach and possible replacement for Sarbaugh. -- Joe Eversole, Pelham, Ala.

 

Hey, Joe: Sarbaugh did a great job with Class AA Akron this year. During the 1995 strike, Sarbaugh was a replacement player for the Indians in spring training. How do you think that would play in a big-league clubhouse if he was named manager?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2...s_answer_3.html

 

Josh Weir at the Canton Repository takes a look at 2010 and doesn't see many changes for the Tribe:

Asked if the Indians aren’t in a position to look for the kind of player that could be at least a No. 3 starting pitcher or a six-hole hitter, Shapiro said, “I can’t answer that question ‘No,’ because do you put all (your available money) into one guy? Probably not a wise thing for us to do.

 

“I’m going to say I have no preconception about that going in (to the offseason). I’m certainly realistic enough to know we’re not going to be competing for John Lackey. But beyond that, I don’t know.”

 

....Shapiro had this to say about the prospects of OF Michael Brantley and OF-1B Matt LaPorta playing every day next year: “I think both guys showed some positive things (this season). Both guys present to be alternatives on the big-league club next year. Until we go through the offseason and examine what the alternatives are and what we’re choosing between, I’m not going to commit spots to those guys.”

 

http://www.cantonrep.com/indians/x59308011...he-same-in-2010

 

Don Masterson from the American Chronicle (?) blames a jinx for the lost season that was 2009:

 

So now we know why the Cleveland Indians staggered through the 2009 season like a bunch of extras from George Romero's 1978 classic, "Dawn of the Dead."

 

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/136331951

 

The terrific (soon to retire) Hal McCoy tries to answer a question about the Reds pursuit of Cliff Lee:

 

Q: Former GM Wayne Krivsky once intimated he was close to a trade with the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Cliff Lee, who threw 25 first-pitch strikes against the first 27 batters for the Phillies in game one of the NLDS. How close was that trade? — Bill, Villa Hills, Ky.

 

A: Krivsky was as tight-lipped about possible trades as a CIA agent with the FBI looking over his shoulder. However, there were rumblings out of Cleveland that there were talks. I don’t think a deal was close, unfortunately for the Reds. And what would the Reds do with a left-hander in the rotation?

 

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/springfi...ins-342024.html

 

Both Pluto and Rosenthal note that the Indians are interested in Bobby Valentine. I don't personally subscribe to the idea that a manager is often a difference maker, but I'd be *thrilled* to have Bobby V running this ship. Like setting off fire-crackers thrilled:

 

Bobby Valentine's managing possibilities for next season do not just include major-league clubs.

 

The Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League are making a "concentrated effort" to hire Valentine, according to a major-league source.

 

Valentine, 59, also is on the Cleveland Indians' short list of candidates who will receive interviews, sources say.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/1020396...-Japan-as-coach

 

1. The Indians are undertaking a much wider search for a manager than they did when Eric Wedge was promoted from Class AAA for the 2003 season. While the team refuses to comment on any names, it's believed former big-league manager Bobby Valentine and former Tribe third baseman and Mahoning Valley manager Travis Fryman are two of about a dozen names still under consideration. That's a wide range from a rookie league manager (Fryman) to Valentine, who has managed in Japan from 2004 to 2009. Before that, he managed the Rangers (1985-92) and the Mets (1996-2002). His big-league record is 536-467.

 

2. Valentine definitely wants to manage again, and he supposedly has at least a passing interest in the Tribe. The Indians definitely would like to pick the brain of Valentine and some other successful managers.

 

3. Valentine would probably prefer a veteran team ready to contend, but at the moment, the only other teams with vacancies are Houston and Washington. If it remains that way, it will help the Indians attract an experienced manager, if they want to the go in that direction. Others names being mentioned as a managerial candidate are Phil Garner and Bob Brenly, but they supposedly are not on the Tribe's list.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index....about_bray.html

 

And finally, for anyone who cares to torture themselves about the success of ex-Indians in the playoffs, the PD provides a look:

 

Betancourt, Lee, Francisco and Pavano's teams are still playing.

 

Following is a breakdown of how all seven players have done after being traded by the Indians.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/...dians_gett.html

 

Beanpot

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