Parting Ways

I'm not exactly known for my optimism when it comes to the Indians, but I've been forcing myself all off-season to believe Sabathia would sign a contract extension before Spring Training. The odds of that happening took a near fatal blow yesterday as Sabathia posted an announcement on his official website that contract negotiations would be called off until after the 2008 season. Here's the meat of the announcement:

There will be time after the season for the Indians and my representatives to discuss my contract status. I remain hopeful that these discussions will result in a contract extension that will keep me with the franchise for many years to come. In the meantime, in order to avoid any distractions, my representatives and I will not make any further comment about my contractual situation beyond this statement.

First off, why was this announcement made through Sabathia's website and not as an official press release on the team website? According to Anthony Castrovince, "Shortly before he posted a message on his official Web site Wednesday night, [Sabathia] told the Indians what he was about to tell the rest of the world." That alone indicates a significant breakdown in negotiations, as if Sabathia's party had left Shapiro hanging in limbo much earlier. The situation is bad enough as it is, but it seems awfully suspect when a player informs a team he's breaking off negotiations at the same time he makes a public announcement on his own. That's not in line with how the Tribe usually does business and makes this sound even worse.

I don't think the way Westbrook and Hafner's negotiations were renewed and finalized after the regular season started are a valid comparison to Sabathia's situation. According to Shapiro, "there's not a lot of common ground" between the Tribe and Sabathia right now. Westbrook and Hafner were much closer to agreeing on the contracts' terms by the time the season started, thus making it possible for a quick resolution. If Sabathia were open to negotiating during the season (he's not), it would probably drag on for most of the season, at least.

Sabathia says extending negotiations into the season would be a distraction, but lets be honest here: his presence at the bargaining table has been minimal so far. Sabathia's agents are the ones doing the negotiating, so what kind of distraction is he referring to? I'm willing to question if Sabathia has even discussed his contract with Shapiro in person at this point. If both sides were still dedicated to getting a deal done, you can bet talks would have extended until April.

Frankly, I'm tired of all the BS being thrown around. Sabathia has said all the right things and maintained a positive demeanor throughout the off-season, but it's now perfectly clear that whatever loyalty he may have had to Cleveland is gone. I'm not saying Sabathia should have blindly taken the first contract put on the table, although reports indicate it was comparable to those of Roy Oswalt, Mark Buehrle, and Jake Peavy (5 years at $17-18 mil a year, including 2008). My point is that even with all the fluffy sound bites being leaked from both parties, the drive to reach a compromise has clearly died.

From a business standpoint, Sabathia is subjecting himself to significant risk in waiting until free agency. Jay at LGT sums up the gamble Sabathia is taking in snubbing the Tribe's offer:

There is no conceivable reason why he wouldn't instruct his attorneys to strike the best deal possible right now. At this moment, his value is at its peak, and he faces significant risk of a devaluing (or even career-ending) injury in the coming year. He simply stands far more to gain by re-signing with the Indians now rather than doing so at the end of the season, and the Indians' bottom line is not going to move much in that time. The inescapable conclusion, therefore, is that he does not intend to settle for a shorter contractual commitment with the Indians, now or at any future point.

I agree, in that Sabathia's value is at its peak and he is taking a big risk on being healthy at the end of the season. Jay is also correct in stating that the team's offer is not likely to change much in the future. It would have been foolish for Shapiro to not put the best offer on the table during the team's last shot at exclusive negotiations with its ace pitcher.

The only comparable value Cleveland will take from retaining Sabathia in his final year is that it vastly improves their chances at a deep playoff run. There is no reliable option to replace Sabathia's slot in the rotation this season (I'm citing Carmona's one full season and Miller's inability to stay healthy). Given the paltry returns for Minnesota in the Santana trade, the Indians stand little chance of getting a potential ace, like Phil Hughes, in return. The loaded trade offers Boston and New York were advertising earlier are long gone. Despite his "no-trade" stance on Sabathia, Shapiro should at least be listening to offers now. Just don't expect an offer to come along that will help the team win in 2008.

The Tribe made a generous contract offer; one of the largest in team history, yet it was not enough to even keep negotiations alive. Has anyone heard of a counter-offer from Sabathia's agents? There's no loyalty to be had at this point, it's all about the money. I'd also like to go on the record as saying Sabathia does not care about winning. He can't possibly care about winning a championship; where is he going to sign that will give him a better chance than the elite team Cleveland is fielding right now? New York? Boston? LA? They have the money, but Cleveland has shown it can meet or exceed the talent of any team in baseball.

So why don't you stop hiding behind your agents, man up, and tell us what you really want C.C.?

Shapiro Named Exec of the Year

General Manager Mark Shapiro was named the 2007 Baseball Executive of the Year by the Sporting News. Shapiro was awarded the honor during the GM winter meetings in Orlando on Monday. Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd (another Cleveland protégé) trailed Shapiro in votes, 13 to 11. The award is Shapiro’s second in three years. What makes Shapiro’s win all the more impressive is the fact it was voted on by his peers. Forty seven baseball executives were eligible to vote this year.

How awesome is the Tribe’s front office and coaching staff? In addition to fielding one of the best major league clubs, Cleveland boasts an outstanding farm system and some of the best minds in MLB right now. The organization’s success and numerous job offers flying at Tribe employees are evidence enough. John Farrell, former Director of Player Development, was hired as Boston’s pitching coach last season. Joel Skinner was apparently in the running for Pittsburgh’s next managing gig, while Neal Huntington moved up from special assistant to Shapiro to Pittsburgh’s GM.

Assistant GM Chris Antonetti fielded not one, but two GM job offers from other teams this season, but turned down both so he could stay in Cleveland. Now, one of those offers was from Pittsburgh, but the other was from the St. Louis Pujols’. That’s a serious statement about the respect Cleveland commands. According to a persistent rumor, owner Paul Dolan was willing to guarantee Antonetti the GM job down the road, making him the heir to Shapiro. Shapiro would become the Club President, but the time table for all this is still unknown. Like I said, it was just a rumor. Either way, it looks like Cleveland’s Dynamic Duo isn’t going anywhere, which is great news.

Plus, we have Louis Issac, who might as well be the team’s mascot at this point. Analyze that, Billy Beane.

Maintaining an elite front office team like Shapiro and Antonetti is as significant as keeping the one-two punch of Vic and Pronk together, or extending Wedge’s contract. All three provide a stable foundation for the team to continue to build on, rather than having to take a big step back every time key personnel leave. Keeping the front office intact from the top-down ensures the outstanding pattern of player development and acquisition Jon Hart created will go unbroken for years to come. Hart, Shapiro, Antonetti: all have played key roles in the franchise’s success from the 90’s to the present, with Shapiro working as Hart’s Assistant GM.

Hopefully I can get a handle on the Tribe's Hot Stove ventures this week. I hear Jason Bay is available....

Varejao Still on Vacation; Shannon Out in '08

What exactly is going on with the Cavs right now? First, they make no significant free agent signings and no trades. To be honest, I was busy watching the Tribe’s playoff run to monitor the NBA free agent market too closely, but I don’t think the Cavs necessarily failed in the acquisition department. Granted, I have no idea how close they came to getting Garnett (rumor alert), but who did people expect Ferry to go out and get? Mike Bibby? Wow, another aging, over the hill, guard. No, thanks. My beef is how the team’s two restricted free agents were handled.

Again, it’s tough to tell who’s been more unreasonable: Ferry or the players (or the agents). Fortunately Pavlovic is coming back, but not before missing two games. Pavlovic is said to have received a 3 year deal around $4 million per year.

Varejao still seems to think he’s worth a heck of a lot more than he really is. I’m not sure who’s done the bulk of the negotiating on behalf of Varejao to this point, but they should be fired. Varejao is pretty good at what he does, but there are very few teams where he would be starting. Whether Varejao is asking for too much or the Cavs are offering too little is difficult to decipher. Cleveland certainly wants to bring Varejao back, so it’s probably safe to say they’re offering him fair market value. The issue seems to be Varejao’s unrealistic expectation of what his market value really is.

Pavlovic played twice as many minutes per game than Varejao last season and seems to have a higher developmental ceiling. Varejao is valuable to the team from a depth perspective, given his versatility and rebounding ability, but he is not a critical piece of the puzzle for the long-term. Since Gooden and Ilgauskas are still with the team, it doesn’t seem like Varejao will see a significant increase in minutes either. So why is a role player rumored to be demanding a king’s ransom? Hopefully, details of these negotiations will be released soon after a deal is reached. The Plain Dealer reports that little progress has been made in negotiations.

The Cavs are looking pretty ragged already and the season’s just started. The roster has not been at full strength because of injuries and holdouts. Eric Snow has a left knee tear dating back to early October; he won’t be back for at least another week. Donyell Marshall will miss several games with a wrist injury. Forward Cedric Simmons has been battling an ankle injury, but may be called on to play now that Marshall is out. Varejao has apparently lost his mind. I suppose the good news is, the team can only get better from here on out.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Cavs locker room is a little tense right now. My concern is a combination of discontent and injuries will put the Cavs in a funk, followed by a drop in the standings. Cleveland lost to Phoenix on Sunday and faces Golden State, Utah, the Clippers, Sacramento, and Denver on their six game road trip. You would hope the Cavs could handle the likes of Sacramento and LA, but there’s something about those West Coast swings that always seem give Cleveland trouble.

On Shannon Brown

I wasn’t too thrilled about this move. Cleveland has never had a real chance to evaluate Brown in the NBA, since a serious leg injury derailed his rookie season for 2006-2007. Now, with a grand total of 6 minutes playing time in his sophomore season, Cleveland has announced they won’t be exercising his third year option. The Cavs must have seen something good in Brown to draft him, so why the sudden turn around?

Brian Windhorst provided a scouting report of Brown on his blog:

Brown did not play well in summer league in my opinion, even though his scoring stats looked good. He scored a bunch of points in the preseason but did not handle the ball well, shoot the ball well or make good decisions.

Isn’t that like judging a baseball player on his Spring Training performance?

In addition to his poor showing in the preseason, Cleveland had until midnight, October 31 to make a decision on Brown’s third year option. I understand the timing of it, but I’m curious if the decision was discussed with Brown beforehand. I doubt carrying that kind of uncertainty into the season is going to do Brown’s game any favors. Cleveland may look to use Brown as trade bait, but wouldn’t he have been more attractive if he didn’t become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end?

This move would make some sense if Cleveland had a replacement lined up, but I haven’t heard any rumors on player movement. I suppose Cedric Simmons would qualify, but he hasn’t proven anything either and could easily be a non-factor. Not only did Cleveland waste a valuable draft pick, but they never gave him the proper time to mature. Brown may not be a perfect fit on the roster right now, but what makes Ferry so positive he won’t improve? Drafting a player is a long term investment, not a movie rental; you don’t get your money back if you make a poor choice. Plus, it’s not like the Cavs are in a position to be releasing players this season; not after failing to acquire any outside talent.

Even if Brown makes positive strides this season, he’ll likely feel snubbed by Ferry and walk. If Brown does leave, the Cavaliers will have made two draft picks in two years and retained only one in Daniel Gibson.

Don’t Look Now…

…but here come the Browns. No really, stop laughing. Your Cleveland Browns are 5-3 after beating Seattle 33-30 in overtime on Sunday. How about that? If Baltimore beats Pittsburgh on Monday, all three teams will sit with 5 wins going into Week 10. Even I’m a little excited about that, and I’m not even a big football fan. Actually, I’m more of a cautious (i.e. fair-weather) Browns’ fan, as it took a long time for me to come back to the team even after the despised Butch Davis skipped town.

The way the team has been drafting and acquiring players the last couple years piqued my interest though and I’m very pleased to see the team doing well again. The Browns are 2-1 in their division and 2-2 against teams with a winning record. Are the Browns truly contenders this season? I think so, but their next game against Pitt will go a long way in measuring their progress. Cleveland has built a three game win streak and a fourth may propel them into the playoff hunt. You never know…

Deadlines

I know I promised an ALCS preview, but apparently my college professors don't appreciate the fine art of blogging. So this week it came down to blogging or meeting a deadline for my thesis project. Hmmm.... I'm always disappointed when I can't cover a Tribe event, but I'd rather not rush it and end up with something that stinks.

I did find a nifty story (in the Washington Post, no less) on some former Jon Hart protegés. I'm as big a fan of Cleveland's front office as I am of the players (yes, I'm a baseball nerd), so I think it's kinda cool that three of the four remaining playoff GMs, Dan O'Dowd (Colorado), Josh Byrnes (Arizona), and Mark Shapiro, all got their start under Hart in Cleveland. Each team tends to follow the home-grown, youth movement technique that many small-market teams thrive on. I'll take a closer look at this trend in the off-season.

Game 1 is on Friday, so LET'S GO, TRIBE!