It might hit the fan pretty soon

It's been like a slow moving boat paddling up stream.

Pretty soon, it might start getting faster..

Then.. Boom we'll hit a waterfall.

Again, nothing is going on, even with the entire MLB. Nothing is getting done.

Why?

Money maybe?

Arbitration is one thing. The deadline is today.. Arb is important because if a player is offered it, and they decline, the team's get draft picks provided they are a Type A or Type B free agent.

The risky part is if a team offers arbitration, but they don't want the player back just the draft pick(s), the player might take them up on the deal.

We won't get into it.. It doesn't matter to us because no one on the Indians will be getting arbitration offered, none of them will garner draft picks and none of them need brought back on major league deals.

That's going to get things going though this week. Later though.. Winter Meetings!

The Winter meetings start next Monday and that is going to be the time when things really get moving. For whatever reason.

So it's going to probably be another slow week, then everything hits the fan.

For now though.. We only have a few things out there.

Let's start with the main story.

Rest easy on Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal.

The Indians are backing out and putting their focus into getting a closer.

For the record.. Furcal fits us better than Hudson if you ask me..

But.. Both are way too expensive for the Indians to put their faith in, especially coming off injuries. Not that they had a chance anyway. Furcal will probably sign with the A's sometime soon here and Hudson with a team willing to put the risk in for him, maybe the Mets.

That brings us to the closer. We all know the names.. The Indians have been talking to the agents of a lot of the closers, but do we really expect Fuentes or Rodriguez to be in the Indians' realistic plans or for those players to feel the same way?

No.

We talked about Valverde being available, Jenks is out there, but the White Sox wouldn't trade him inside division. Putz is a name as well that I'd love to have.

But really, I think signing a closer is a lot safer option at this point, especially with the talent in the pipeline. Don't trade a chip for something you can get without wasting a prospect.

Here is the Winter League Round-Up for this last week on Prospect Insider. Adam Miller and Matt LaPorta are done.

That brings us to what else. It's Monday which means question and answer time from our two favorite scribes. Meh, one of our favorite scribes, I guess... I guess.. Unrelated..

Start with Hoynes because there isn't much that is interesting here.

Q: Hey, Hoynsie: Why don't the Indians acquire Omar Vizquel and move Johnny Peralta to third base? --Carol Myers, Chattanooga, Tenn.

A: Hey, Carol: Believe it or not, you're not the first person to suggest this move. I just don't think Vizquel, 42 in April, is an option to play every day at shortstop. He had a bad knee last year and played only 92 games for the Giants.

Here is why I would tell CARRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

CARRROOOOOLLLL!! THERE IS NO CAROL IN HR!
caution, language.. I know, I'm an idiot. Don't tell me twice.

I'd say... No.. I love Omar as much as the next guy, but his bat is finally toast.. He can still play defense, but the bat is gone.

The juicy stuff..

Josh Barfield is a hot topic.

BUT FIRST.. Let's pick something else out of Castrovince's mailbag.

In 2005, the Indians drafted Tim Lincecum 1,261st overall. Why was Mark Shapiro unwilling to sign him based upon his mechanics, as we see now his mechanics are not a problem?
-- Cameron T., Streetsboro, Ohio

If the Indians had major concerns with Lincecum's delivery, they wouldn't have drafted him in the first place. On the contrary, the Indians -- and, in particular, West Coast crosschecker Paul Cogan -- were enamored with Lincecum, who was a sophomore-eligible at the University of Washington because he was within 45 days of his 21st birthday.

The Indians made what they believe to be an aggressive offer, but Lincecum rightly decided to stay in college another year. That move paid off when he was drafted 10th overall by the Giants the following year and signed for a $2.025 million bonus.

I get so saddened everytime I read about the mentioning of the Indians drafting Lincecum.. He probably would have been crazy to sign with the Indians when he got drafted, considering, hey he had the talent and if he felt he could be a higher draft pick, why not.

But yeah.. Just think about that.. The Indians drafted the NL Cy Young winner and own the AL Cy Young winner this year. They also drafted who is going to be the highest paid pitcher in the history of the game.

Rats.

Okay to Barfield..

This sticks out, obviously, something I did not know.

"I sense a slight discord between Barfield and the Indians that began when Eric Wedge would routinely pinch-hit for Barfield in clutch situations in '07. At the end of this past season, the Indians asked Barfield to play winter ball, and he opted not to, which I found strange. That's not to suggest he has a bad attitude, because he doesn't. It's just that this is a relationship that has yet to pan out as planned."

Interesting..

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I YELLED AT ERIC WEDGE FOR TAKING GUYS OUT IN CLUTCH SITUATIONS!?

HUH!?

MAN!?

GUY?!

THING!?!?!

HELLO!?

CAROL!?

THERE IS NONE.. GET OUT OF HERE.

Josh Barfield, brings to the forefront that is something I've freaking been saying all year. Wedge shows no faith in his young guys when he should be.. Are they going to fail? Yes they will.

Will they fail all the time? YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T TRY CAROL!

That's all I'm saying.. C'mon man.

As for Barfield himself.

I still believe in him. I still think it's there.. It's between the ears.

Michael Taylor provides a very telling side that looks at statistics and scouting reports.

I just think there is more there though. He's not confident and how coculd he be? you have to break Wedge's fingers before he starts doing things. That's the one thing that ticks me off more than anything about Eric as a manager.

I'm getting side tracked.

Josh has to go to Triple-A next year and prove he can hit.. I KNOW he can.. It's there, he has the talent he has the lineage to do so. He has to prove it at Triple-A and with no expectations, maybe he can. The faster he does that, the faster he'll be in the Big Leagues and the faster the Indians can get the shift on.

These things have a way of working themselves out.. Josh has to worry about what he can do, not what he can't. Hopefully he puts what he learned and fixed from his Dad to use in Columbus next year and he gets it done. I'm pulling for him because I still believe in him.

Before Plaxico shoots me, I'm going to get going. I made some changes on the site and going to try more to speed it up in the next few weeks.. It's kind of gotten out of control and I need to tweak it.