What I Think/Hope We'll See

I'm sure I'm jumping the gun here, but I would like to point out that I called Jensen Lewis as future closer last year. I'm just sayin'.

After much deliberation, some thought as to the Tribe's money issues, and some consideration of the free agent market, I've decided that this will be our line-up next year (and I'm hoping beyond hope on some of it):

1) Grady Sizemore, CF: I'm willing to concede Grady batting lead off. Why? Because I think we'll have enough power in the rest of the line-up with Pronk and Martinez back. And Grady does tend to set the tone for games, particularly when he goes yard.

2) Ben Francisco, LF: I think Benny's done a good job of proving himself this year, particularly getting stuck in the three hole so often. He's hitting for average these days and he's got some untapped speed.

3) Travis Hafner, DH: If he's healthy, we're great. If not, well, I think we'll have some depth next year.

4) Victor Martinez, 1st: Yes, put him at first base. He can catch when Shoppach needs a day off and we can keep Garko on the bench as back-up catcher/first baseman.

5) Jhonny Peralta, 3rd: Yes, put him at third base. He clearly isn't the defensive short stop that we need, but he has a big bat, something we haven't had at the corners in some time.

6) Shin Soo Choo, RF: He's definitely turned it on lately. He's got a great arm and he's really hitting the ball.

7) Asdrubal Cabrera, SS: Yes, put him at short stop so the Cleveland fans can get the short stop they're used to having. He's starting to get more disciplined at the plate these days, which is why I have him batting seventh and not ninth.

8) Kelly Shoppach, C: Yes, put him behind the plate full time. He's got nice pop that will be good to have towards the bottom of the order, just like we used to have with Casey. His power will be nice behind Cabrera, too.

9) Josh Barfield, 2nd: I'm assuming a lot for Barfield here, not the least of which is that he'll start hitting the ball. He's got speed, though, so if he can just start getting on base more often he'd be a great threat, particularly with Grady hitting at the top of the order.

Bench:

Jamey Carroll
Ryan Garko
Franklin Gutierrez
David Dellucci (yes, I know)

Rotation:

Cliff Lee (hopefully as good as he's been this year)
Fausto Carmona (fully recovered)
Aaron Laffey
Adam Miller
Anthony Reyes

I think Laffey will be fine after some down time in Buffalo to end the season. Assuming Miller is healthy, he can be huge. I think Reyes will get the nod over Sowers, who has still been inconsistent. Zach Jackson's performance has been interesting. He and Sowers should provide some good depth for us.

David Huff is an interesting case. His ERA is under 3 and he's average a K per inning. He can be pretty dominant, but I have to wonder, given our needs, if he might be the flamethrower out of the bullpen that we've been looking for.

Keep in mind that I'm not counting on Jake Westbrook for anything, since he'll be coming back from surgery. But there's a chance we could see him in time for the post-season.

So my theoretical bullpen would be:

Jensen Lewis
Rafael Perez
David Huff
Rafael Betancourt (I know)
Masa Kobayashi (I know)
Unnamed free agent reliever
Unnamed free agent reliever

I don't think the Tribe will give up on Betancourt or Kobayashi given the money they've invested and, honestly, a good off season program could get them where they need to be.

I'm currently of the opinion that we should save the money we'd spend on a closer and use it to get two middle relievers. We need more bang for our buck and I have faith in Lewis.

That is the team that will win us a World Series.

No, really!