Is Time Running Out on the Tribe?

The lockout has ended and players are now able to report to their respective facilities and workout until training camp officially opens up on Friday July 29^th. So the Indians have until today to generate some kind of buzz before Browns fever fully kicks in. The Indians have had the luxury of the Cavs being terrible this past season so the entire spring was theirs and with the NFL lockout taking place there were no Browns activities to distract fans from the ups and downs the Indians would go through. Well all of that is over, and soon fans will have to choose between spending their viewing and sports interest on the Indians and the Browns and considering the Browns are king in this town, the Indians better do something. Since the all star break the Tribe is 5-8, and the offense is looking worse and worse, they’ve averaged 2.3 runs in their last 8 losses. Once again, the name of the game is to end the game with more runs than your opponent, and as long as this team continues to put the pressure on the pitching to win them games, they will struggle. Now with the Browns returning to business as usual ALL attention will be on them for the next few weeks, with all the signings that will take place and the intrigue of is Colt McCoy the guy, who will he throw the ball too, and who will we have to rush the passer. So is tribe time running out? No…based on the condition the Indians do something to take advantage of the position they are in. They’re only 2 games out of first place, and we’ve seen that all it takes is for you to get into the playoffs and anything can happen. Now is the time where the Dolans’ can destroy the perception of them being cheap. They were rumored to be going after Carlos Beltran, but the Mets demands were outrageous. If so, then understandable, but they can’t just stand pat and think this team will come out of this scoring slump. The offense needs some help and making a move would catapult them back into the headlines and the front of minds of fans. Here’s a few guys that I think could help the tribe, and give them a spark; Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins a right handed batter who has an on base percentage above 350, 24 doubles, 16 homeruns and 58 RBI, the only snag could be, he plays first base, a position in which the Indians like to play Carlos Santana at a lot. Seth Smith from the Rockies a guy that can play the outfield, a left handed batter who has hit 25 doubles and a .288 batting average. This is the only guy of the four I will name that I’m not so sure of, but Carlos Lee, who is 35 years old and is subject to make between 16 and 19 million dollars next season which is the last year of his contract. However, he can still produce, and being traded might do him some good. Only 9 homeruns this year, but 58 RBI, and 27 doubles, on a bad Astros team and a pitchers park down there in Houston. The last guy I think the Indians should go after, Cameron Maybin of the Padres. He’s hit 6 homeruns has 22 stolen bases and a .333 on base percentage and could add some more speed to the top of the lineup. His walk (26) to strike out (77) ratio isn’t that great, but that could just be a case of a young player trying to do too much on a bad team. Three of these players would be under control of the Indians until at least 2015, and all but Carlos Lee are eligible for arbitration in 2012 or 2013. And for these guys you shouldn’t have to give up a left arm and a leg. They should be able to make a reasonable deal and most of these guys are still young so you still keep that youth factor that the Indians love so much. So for now time hasn’t run out, but the sand is running down the glass pretty fast.