MVN: Most Valuable Network

It appears as though the Cleveland Indians have made their final move of the 2008/2009 hot stove season when they went out and signed starter Carl Pavano to a low-risk, $1.5 million dollar contract laced with incentives.  There is still a possibility that the Indians have one major move left, either before the hot stove ends in early February, or during spring training.  I'm not talking about a garden-variety, low-risk move like the one they made for Carl Pavano either.

It's quite possible that the Indians and Red Sox will do a whole lot of talking over the next month with regards to needs that both clubs may have.  The Red Sox are looking for a starting catcher, while the Indians may still be hunting for a starting pitcher even with the recent signing of Pavano.  Wouldn't you know that both seem to have just the surplus that the other needs.  Thanks to both teams addressing key offseason wants, a deal between the two is certainly a possibility. 

It's interesting to note that the Boston Red Sox have signed former Atlanta Braves' starter and closer John Smoltz this week to help bolster a staff that had already seen the signing of former Marlins and Dodgers' starter, Brad Penny.  This now gives the Red Sox a starting rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Brad Penny, Daisuke Matzuzaka and John Smoltz.  Tim Wakefield will act as the fifth starter while Smoltz continues to recover, since there is speculation that he won't be able to start until late May or early June at the earliest.  The odd-man out of the rotation discussion is the Red Sox perenial top prospect Clay Buchholz, who will likely be bumped to AAA.

The Cleveland Indians have seemingly checked off all of their needs this offseason with the Wood and Pavano signings, and the Smith and Valbueno trade.  The one question-mark remains the starting rotation, with Carl Pavano hardly being the lock-sure answer since he hasn't pitched well since 2004.  Combine that with Anthony Reyes' seemingly 50/50 potential to either be solid or blow up, and you have an organization that might still be searching for starters.

It's quite possible that Theo Epstein would shake away either Buchholz or Justin Masterson for the services of Tribe catcher (and former Red Sox farmhand) Kelly Shoppach.  There's a lot of speculation that the Red Sox are focusing their attention on Texas and Jarrod Saltalamachhia or Taylor Teagarden.  I don't buy that either is the answer to the Red Sox in 2009.

The Red Sox are heading into the season with some major offensive questions.  Will David Ortiz rebound into an MVP candidate, or will he continue to decline with age?  Can Mike Lowell come back and hit like in 2007, or will injuries and age continue his decline as well?  The Red Sox need offense that they can be sure of, and with catcher Jason Varitek off in the land of the free, it's likely the Sox would turn to a catcher who is assured of hitting the ball, and not a prospect like Saltalamachhia or Teagarden.

Shoppach may be the best option available to the Red Sox, and acquiring a guy like Buchholtz (last year's top Sox prospect) and/or Justin Masterson (last year's fourth top Sox prospect) would make sense for a club like the Indians.  It would give the Indians one more option for their question-mark starting staff, as well as add a player that could be counted on in the future.  It would seemingly be the perfect trade at this stage of the game for a team like the Indians.

Of course, the Indians have the same type of issues that the Red Sox do as far as their offense goes.  Both Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez are question marks offensively heading into this season based on their injury issues of last season, and their age.  Sure, the Indians finished sixth in the league in runs scored last year, but I think it's safe to say that the Sox probably have better batting depth than the Indians do.

So what is more important?  Is the offensive insurance more important to the Indians as opposed to a cushion in their starting rotation?  It's not an easy question to answer.

For those wondering about Buchholz and Masterson, here's a quick breakdown.  Buchholtz was as automatic a prospect as you get for the Sox after he pitched a no-hitter in only his second start as a major leaguer.  Granted he struggled last season, but it was the first time this youngster hasn't been spectacular in his career.  He comes at you with a mid-90's fastball, a hard breaking curve and a slider, which are all plus pitches, and can throw in a change to keep hitters honest.

Justin Masterson is a giant at 6'6" and 250 pounds.  Masterson rolls out a low-90's fastball with hard sinking action, a plus slider, a curve and a changeup.  He also has a strange arm-angle which makes his pitches harder to figure out.  I don't see his potential as being as high as Buchholz because his arm isn't nearly as lively, but he does seem to fit the mold as an Indians sinker pitcher.  He throws a ton of ground balls.  He also can throw out of the pen, as the Sox have used Masterson as a set-up guy, and he was extremely successful at it.

There are other teams in play here, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, who has the Red Sox' interest with catcher Miguel Montero.  The Dodgers (Russell Martin) and the Angels (Mike Napoli) are also still in the picture.  All three teams may need starting pitching as well.  It might bode the Red Sox well to hold on to their starters as long as possible before deciding to deal, especially with health concerns following Penny, Smoltz and Beckett.

Yes, the Indians are likely done, but after we've had an offseason that has seen Mark Shapiro go on the attack, nothing would surprise me at this point.

Carl Pavano had a parting shot to the New York Yankees after signing a deal with the Cleveland Indians this past week, and I would say it doesn't really come as any surprise.

"When you're down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you're down. I've had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years."

Now granted, I hate the Yankees as much as anyone, but is Pavano for real? Seriously, the guy signs a four-year, $40 million dollar contract and can't quite figure out why the Yankees were ticked off about his lack of production?  No offense to Pavano, but you really have to give me a break.

From what I remembered, Pavano was considered a joke in the Yankees clubhouse because of the perceived lack of commitment to make it back into the rotation.  This was exacerbated in 2006 when Pavano missed a bunch of time early in the year with a bruised ass, then failed to make it back in August when he broke ribs in a car accident and didn't tell the Yankees until the day the Yankees told him he would be making his next start.  He had broken the ribs two-weeks prior.

Pavano was then forced to have Tommy John surgery mid-year in 2007.  The Yankees, irritated that Pavano had done nothing for them since they acquired him, then asked him to accept a minor league deal, which he turned down (he should have).  However, he stayed on the roster all year long and collected a playoff paycheck which likely irritated his teammates.

I have nothing against Pavano at all, but I do have to wonder why he didn't just keep his mouth shut.  After his four years in New York, he could have at least learned that.

When talking about the Cleveland Indians and the economy to the Boston Globe, Peter Gammons said,

"In a state like Ohio . . . the economics are really bad. The Indians may have had the best offseason of anyone [signing reliever Kerry Wood, among others], and they can't sell tickets."

I'm not surprised that the esteemed Peter Gammons thinks the Indians may have made the best moves of the offseason.  He may very well be right.  At the same time, what I've heard is that the Indians are nearly neck-and-neck with last year's numbers.  That's not an unimpressive feat considering the recession combined with the 81-81 record.  We'll see what the true numbers end up being.  I do suspect Cleveland to take a hit based on the economy, but it may not be as bad as initially thought.

Check out a new mvn site, Joe Loudmouth.  Loudmouth is a regular here at Tribe Report, and checks off the Indians as one of his top teams.  It should be an interesting take on the sports world...

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to check the rearviewmirror for all the Yankee fans hammering the hell out of Carl Pavano.  In this case, I may agree with them.

I can't believe I just said that...