A Fresh Start (Indians)

[petrel]

A great start. I suggest you get Jake Taylor as a manager. He was a catcher for the Indians, until bad knees drove him out of the game. He had a reputation for being a party hound in the 1980s, but he seems to have settled down.

--Pet

[Coach Owens]

A great start. I suggest you get Jake Taylor as a manager. He was a catcher for the Indians, until bad knees drove him out of the game. He had a reputation for being a party hound in the 1980s, but he seems to have settled down.

--Pet

Not Lou?

[Coach Owens]

Also: Woo! Grady Sizemore! Representin'!

[CatKnight]

OPENING DAY 2006

ROSTER (continued)

STARTING ROTATION

C.C. Sabathia (94) [25] (15-10 4.03 1 CG)
CON: $5.66m thru 2006 / ACQ: 06/98 Amateur Draft (1st round)
DEBUT: 2001 Cleveland Indians (6th season)

Cliff Lee (79) [27] (18-5 3.79 1 CG)
CON: $2.32m thru 2006 / ACQ: 06/02 Trade with MON
DEBUT: 2002 Cleveland Indians (5th season)

Jake Westbrook (82) [28] (15-15 4.49 2 CG)
CON: $4.85m thru 2006 / ACQ: 06/00 Trade with NYY
DEBUT: 2000 New York Yankees (7th season)

Fausto Carmona (84/93) [22] (Rookie)
CON: $348K thru Arb 2009 / ACQ: 12/00 Amateur Free Agent
DEBUT: 2006 Cleveland Indians (Rookie)

Horacio Ramirez (76) [26] (11-9 4.63 1 CG)
CON: $348K thru Arb 2007 / ACQ: 03/06 Trade with ATL
DEBUT: 2003 Atlanta Braves (4th season)

C.C. has already made a name for himself around here, though Cliff Lee was our ace last year. Carmona's very young, but should show some potential. Horacio's a stopgap while more pitchers develop in the minors.

BULLPEN

Rafael Betancourt (90) [30] (4-3 2.79 1 SV)
CON: $1.1m thru Arb 2007 / ACQ: 01/03 Free Agent
DEBUT: 2003 Cleveland Indians (4th season)

Rafael Perez (82/89) [24] (Rookie)
CON: $348K thru Arb 2009 / ACQ: 01/02 Amateur Free Agent
DEBUT: 2006 Cleveland Indians (Rookie)

Matt Miller (82) [34] (1-0 1.82 1 SV)
CON: $348K thru Arb 2007 / ACQ: 02/04 Free Agent
DEBUT: 2003 Colorado Rockies (4th season)

Bob Wickman (79) [37] (0-4 2.47 45 SV)
CON: $2.95m thru 2006 / ACQ: 07/00 Trade with MIL
DEBUT: 1992 New York Yankees (14th season)

Danny Graves (75) [32] (0-0 5.75 0 SV with New York(N))
CON: $1.45m thru 2006 / ACQ: 12/05 Free Agent
DEBUT: 1996 Cleveland Indians (11th season)

Paul Byrd (76) [35] (12-11 3.74 2 CG with Los Angeles(A))
CON: $4.1m thru 2007 / ACQ: 12/05 Free Agent
DEBUT: 1995 New York Mets (11th season)

Betacourt and Miller came up rather late. Hopefully they peak late also. Wickman was last year's closer, but he's fading. Graves and Byrd are...there. Byrd was to be our fifth starter until Ramirez came along. Perez is our only young guy in the 'pen.

On the Farm:

Jeremy Guthrie (73/78) and Jason Davis (74) could start later in this season depending on how they do. Fernando Cabrera (73/84) and Andrew Brown (77/82) could find their way into the bullpen before this is over.

[petrel]

Not Lou?

S**t! I thought Lou was dead, but he wasn't. Of course, Lou Brown!

No nonsense on the field.
Knows how to deal with cranky vets.
Knows how to handle the rookies.
Great tire salesman.

[Coach Owens]

S**t! I thought Lou was dead, but he wasn't. Of course, Lou Brown!

No nonsense on the field.
Knows how to deal with cranky vets.
Knows how to handle the rookies.
Great tire salesman.

Doesn't fall for lame excuses like a legthing or a spiritual thing or a psychological thing or a heart attack!

[HoustonGM]

Byrd was to be our fifth closer until Ramirez came along.

Fifth starter, you mean.

[Coach Owens]

I just realized. You...have...HoRam....

[EVEN11323]

Have fun losing to the Twins Good luck, I'll be reading.

[CatKnight]

Houston GM: Sh!

petrel: See what trouble you're about to start?

Coach: Now that's the problem with not knowing the modern players. I didn't know anything about HoRam til you spoke up and I did a Google search. I guess 'I' fell for the Braves' rhetoric just like Bavasi

EVEN: At last! A target for my editing! Lessee...Johan Santana (55/63)...
*******

April 1, 2006


"And remember, tune in at six o'clock for a special edition of Tribe Talk. Indians owner Edward Sinclair will be holding a press conference."

"What is this about, Schwabbie? There won't be anything to report until tomorrow."

"I'm not sure, but..."

I turned off the radio. I didn't know either, which I thought was a pretty big problem. I'd called Ed the second I heard about this mystery press conference, and he asked me to drive on over.

Sinclair's estate makes Shapiro's home look like a hovel. Steel picket gates and a six foot tall brick wall defended him from intruders. After speaking briefly to the intercom, the gate swung open allowing me to enter.

I found him in his study - an oriental rug that, if sold, could put a child through one year of college, sat under an obsidian colored desk that could easily pay for the second. A bookshelf sat along one wall full or out-of-print collections that he didn't read. Paintings lined the other walls.

Sinclair smiled and waved me to a chair next to a man I didn't recognize - short, pudgy, black hair fading to grey with a moustache. Ed was, as usual, in a nice suit as if planning for a party. This guy wore a polo shirt and jeans.

"Sorry Ed, I didn't know you had company."

"That's alright, Rob." His smile broadened. "You would have met soon anyway. I want you to meet Lou Brown, your new manager."

He tipped an imaginary cap to me as I simply stared. "Uh...manager of what?"

"The Indians!"

"We have a manager. Eric Wedge."

Brown read my face. "Surprised the h*** out of me too, kid."

It took me another three full seconds to recover. "Mister...Brown? Could I have a moment alone with Ed?"

Lou glanced at Sinclair, who shrugged. "Sure. I need to take a piss anyway." He winked at me then left.

I smiled at his back until he was out of sight, then stood and gripped Ed's desk. "Are you out of your mind?"

He leaned back, startled. "What do you mean?"

"Opening day is tomorrow!"

"Yes?"

"And you want to change managers now?"

"Is there a problem? I thought better now than in mid season."

"He...no! Wedge handled spring training and you fired him?"

"Yes." Sinclair folded his hands. "I'm doing you a favor, you know."

"How do you figure that?"

"As long as any member of the old regime is around, there will be people comparing you to Mark Shapiro. Wedge is of the same cut as them: A sabretooth who likes statistics."

"Sabre...Sabermetric?"

"I don't get into subspecies."

This was like a bad dream. Or maybe a bad movie. "This guy doesn't know any of our signals. He doesn't know our players! Did you at least keep the coaches?"

"Certainly. I'm not worried about staff."

"How do you expect him to lead a ballclub with one day's notice? Does he even have any experience!?"

Brown poked his head in. "Hey, Rob? Is that your Ford out front?"

I turned. "Yeah?"

"Your tires are wearing down. I can get you a real deal on white walls..."

[SrMeowMeow]

*cry*

[petrel]

I can't wait till Lou pisses on some high priced vet's contract....

--Pet

[bigpapi]

Or gets a naked picture of Sinclair to motivate his players!

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I've never heard of Lou Brown (I'm a young'un ), whats his story?

[bigpapi]

*cries* Dawg....go out right this minute and rent Major League, please.