What should we do to get ready for Choo?

Yea, Hodges. Ranked as one of our top five prospects. That was tongue firmly in cheek. Way too early on him.

Blake has been our worst hitter in the clutch until this year. Now he is batting .219. That does not warrant everday play. With two out and RISP he is batting .368. Thats wonderful, but not our best. That would be a tie between Martinez and Cabrera. They are both hitting .385 with two out and RISP.

Atkins and Holliday? Yea, thats not just a dream, but a wet one. I think Shapiro is not the blockbuster trade kind of GM. Cool thought though.

Atkins and Holliday...blockbuster trade

That's just the kind of bold move that would put the Tribe in position to win it all - this year. Generate a buzz, draw more fans.  As you said, Shapiro is not that kind of GM, and its a dream, but they are at the point now where this kind of move makes a lot of sense. Tinkering around is fine; I sure like the suggestions in this thread a lot more than that, as most fans would.  Very cool thought!

Number 1....You know its bad when some of you are counting on Shin Choo coming back and making the difference. How come none of you have considered Shin Choo being released? He hasn't played in a year. He has only played in 65 major league games and most of you think he is some kind of God or something. He spent almost 8 years in the minors and had a total of 68 home runs. Not exactly a savior?

Number 2.... Agreed upon all of us I think...Marte is a waste of a spot. You are a legit contender this year. You can't waste his spot on someone who can make a difference this year. I would hate to see another Phillips go by, but you can't afford to keep sitting him on the bench when this team isn't hitting or pitching good relief.

Number 3....Hodges is not two years away like some would say....At best next year if he continues to dominate Double A pitching this year. If the Tribe can bring up Aubrey who until two weeks ago never played above Double A to the majors, they can bring this kid up. He has more power potential then anyone else in our minors. He was hitting better than Aubrey was in Akron. Right now he is hitting .287 with 7 HR and 34 RBI..

Number 4....Someone please show me where this dream rumor trade for Garrett Atkins is at? I am not saying I wouldn't welcome him, but I am always cautious of inflated stats that come from hitting in Coors Field?

Lastly, I would love to see the Tribe make a move already for a hitter. I am tired of hearing us say that we are saving our pitching prospects when Sabathia and Byrd leaves next year. You can only have five starting pitchers in your line up. Once everyone is healthy, you will have Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook, Byrd and Lee. Leaving you Miller, Laffey, Sowers in Triple A and David Huff and Lofgren waiting in the wings in Double A.
SHAPIRO MAKE A FREAKING MOVE ALREADY.....WHAT YOU GOT AINT WORKING!!!!

I  really really think you are overvaluing choo.

send francico down no way.

Aubrey will go down

Buckeyes1414,

I don't think any of us are over-evaluating Shin-Soo Choo, I think we are just excited for him to finally be with the team after all of this time.  He is an above average outfielder and he has put up decent numbers when he was in a Tribe uniform.  Plus he is only 25.  Remember we are a team that is very weak at 3rd and the outfield corners so when guys like Choo and Ben Francisco are ready and available it's easy to get excited about them.

And the Garrett Atkins was from MLB Trade Rumors, I did state in my earlier post that it is just a rumor.  I was just throwing out ideas that are floating around the internet cause it's fun. Wasn't trying to rattle anyone's feathers.

Finally you wrote: "I am tired of hearing us say that we are saving our pitching prospects when Sabathia and Byrd leaves next year. You can only have five starting pitchers in your line up. Once everyone is healthy, you will have Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook, Byrd and Lee. Leaving you Miller, Laffey, Sowers in Triple A and David Huff and Lofgren waiting in the wings in Double A."  If you recall last year Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook got hurt and Jeremy Sowers was horrible.  If we didn't have pitching depth we would have never made it to the playoffs. 

I've been a fan of Andy Marte and wrote several posts this last winter supporting the guy.  As I've said before, I've seen him make dazzling plays at 3rd, then muff a routine grounder.  I've seen him find his stroke and be a hitting machine - for a few days.  He hits a few homeruns and then swings for the fence and strikes out.  He has trouble with curveballs and outside pitches.  He feasts on fastballs in AAA, but gets little or no practice on his weaknesses there.  I have seen the POTENTIAL, but that is it.  He can't focus on his talents and develop them, at least not on the 2008 Indians.

He did have a very disappointing spring training.  That made it really tough to put him in the lineup for a good long while to see what he can do.  Now, even with half the team