Indians hire a bullpen coach, talk closers and a quick look at Tribe prospects

Tribe Report

November 19, 2008

Indians hire a bullpen coach, talk closers and a quick look at Tribe prospects

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By James Pete

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There's a little bit of actual news on the North Shore today. No, the Tribe didn't pull off a four-team deal, landing them a third baseman, second baseman, closer and starter, but there is some news:

The Cleveland Indians hired former Angels, Rays and Tigers pitching coach, Chuck Hernandez as their new bullpen coach, replacing Luis Isaac, who is slowly gaining mythical status in Cleveland. I've already seen several comments in the land of the internet slamming the Hernandez hiring based on his former performance as a pitching coach. I mean, how could the Indians hire a "failed Tiger" as a bullpen coach. He's replacing Luis Isaac, who just might be seen around town carrying his two story tall axe and walking with his blue ox Babe. I have no problem with the hire, and no problem with the fire. Isaac was here forever, and now he's gone. It's not like he hasn't hit the ground money. Combine that with the fact that he made a whole lot of money, and more than likely isn't hurting right now in a climate in this country in which people WITH JOBS are. As far as Hernandez, this guy isn't going to be our pitching coach, so who cares what he did in the role. Would I have hired him? Who knows, and who cares. He's obviously respected in this league, so the Tribe could have done a lot worse.

I was wondering about Chuck Hernandez' relationship with Freddy Garcia last season. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the Indians picking Garcia up, but maybe there's more to this than meets the eye. As for Garcia, he was reportedly ready to make a start in the Venezuelen Winter League on Monday, but I haven't been able to find that stats. As soon as I have them, so will you. I like Garcia as a cheap sign with good upside.

According to Anthony Castrovince, Mark Shapiro seems intent on signing a closer at some point this offseason, and it does appear as though the Indians are in discussions with Trevor Hoffman, who might consider signing a one-year deal with the Tribe. Castrovince goes on to mention Kerry Wood as a possibility as we did here at Tribe Report earlier in the week, and agrees that it's not likely the Indians will sign him based on the likelihood that he will want a 3-4 year deal. More interesting is that Castrovince mentions the possibility that the Pirates Matt Capps, the Mariners J.J. Putz and the Orioles George Sherrill may be available in a trade. I don't know that I like any of those three, but at least it's some new names in the mix.

Finally, Baseball America has released its new Cleveland Indians Top 10 Prospects. I have to admit that there are a couple on there that surprised me a bit. Check out Tribe Report over the next day or so for our analysis of the Top 10 from our new writer, Michael Taylor, and something from me on it as well in this Sunday's 'Sunday Drivin'.

No, we don't have the trade of the century, but we do have Chuck Hernandez!

Tags: Cleveland Indians, Indians, MLB, MVN, Tribe Report

Discussion

2 Comments on "Indians hire a bullpen coach, talk closers and a quick look at Tribe prospects"

Posted by Charlie, November 19, 2008 11:40 PM

Carlos Santana our number one prospect? That Casey Blake trade was a steal, wasn't it? Maybe we can sign him and trade him to the Dodgers again this year, haha.

And am I misreading the paragraph about Hernandez and Garcia, or did we sign Freddy Garcia and I missed it?

Posted by James Pete, November 20, 2008 6:53 PM

I just read it back, and it does look like I insinuated that the Indians signed Garcia. They absolutely have not.

I was just wondering if the signing of Hernandez was a help or hindrance into signing Garcia...since both were with the Tigers...

MVN: Most Valuable Network

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Indians hire a bullpen coach, talk closers and a quick look at Tribe prospects

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