Protection is a Beautiful Thing and Random Stuff

The last thing I want to do is what I, and many others, did last year.

Initially, the fact that Matt McBride didn't get rostered was sort of surprising and it almost feels as if it was a mistake.

But the more and more I think about it, the more and more I'm starting to realize how this works.

First, I will bring this up.

When is the last time the Indians lost someone of worth in the Rule V Draft?

Yeah good luck finding one recently.

The point is this, we get all in a huff about some of the protections and really, the Indians know what they are doing. They've talked to scouts, they've done their homework, they've looked at all angles of everything.

So let's get down to this.

The Indians decided to protect seven players, to fill up their roster to 40.

This for one, tells me that they're not planning on making many signings that will actually need to be immediately put on the 40 man and if they do, I'm sure Anthony Reyes will be the spot they use.

Jordan Brown, Nick Weglarz, Jason Donald and Jeanmar Gomez all were protected without surprise from anyone. I think we can all agree those four were pretty much assumed.

The three that surprised were Wes Hodges, Carlos Rivero and Kelvin De La Cruz.

Quite honestly, I thought De La Cruz was the only one of those three that would be possible.

But let's look at these.

Kelvin De La Cruz

The Indians are making it plainly clear with the additions of De La Cruz and Rivero that they value their prospects and are not going to chance it.

However I still think the chances of him actually getting rostered were rather low because of his unique situation. Tony at IPI laid it out the best.

The hoops a team would have to jump through just to stash him away is just something that isn't worth it. You run the risk of totally ruining the guy unless you really think he can contribute in some way this year.

I mean someone like Rondon last year, I could see. But De La is coming off an injury and hasn't pitched past Single-A. They always say Double-A is the level you can really tell, so they also run the risk of not knowing if he's actually for real.

The chances of him actually getting selected, filling a roster spot for an entire year or being stashed on the 60 Day DL (and filling the numerous requirements that are necessary for them to retain the player) are low and all of this is unlikely.

I can see the Indians stance though. They didn't even want to think of chancing it if they had the roster spot and they did. They'd rather risk a Chuck Lofgren or a Yohan Pino than someone with a super high ceiling.

I get it and it's probably why I'm not in the front office and they are. But it's of my belief that they could have gotten away with not rostering him.

Carlos Rivero

This is the one I really don't understand.

You can look at this two ways.. 1) Is the player valuable and 2) What are the chances he is taken.

I like to look at it in that order. Sure Carlos Rivero is valuable, but what are the realistic chances he's taken? Rivero still has some development to go through and unlike De La Cruz, he's a position player. Position players cannot be stashed away in your bullpen in a long relief role.

Rivero would have to play if he was on the active roster and he'd have to be used often because that's just how bench players are needed. Injuries happen, as we saw with the Indians last year, Jamey Carroll had to see starting time, hell Andy Marte got into the action.

So Rivero already was at Double-A, so logic tells you that he may be close. Wrong, Rivero didn't have a good year in Double-A in 2009. He did well in the AFL, but I don't think that will be enough for him to immediately go to Triple-A next year. He'll probably have to start at Akron and that still puts him at least a year and a half away.

So while Rivero is valuable, I think there is more of a chance someone like McBride gets taken than Rivero. I'm not sure which one is more valuable, that's another debate for another time, but if it were up to me, I'd probably have protected McBride over Rivero.

Wes Hodges

I actually totally see this. And really, I'm sort of disappointed I didn't point this out earlier.

Remember Wes Hodges was being called the third baseman of the future before Lonnie Chisenhall emerged and Hodges got injured.

Underline the word injured. Hodges didn't have a bad year like Carlos Rivero did. He just got hurt. Injuries were a big reason he didn't play well this year, not because he fell off. Hodges may not be looked at an important prospect because of that injury, but the man can still hit. The talent is still there.

Those are the types of players that get taken in the Rule V draft and those are the types of players that end up burning you. I think the Indians realized this and they made the smart move to roster him. Kind of like Jordan Brown last year, but the Indians survived that. Brown had the track record, had the bad year because of injuries, but the Indians didn't roster him and they avoided losing him.

No wondering about Hodges with that.

Matt McBride

Okay so this will be the big discussion piece, why wasn't Matt McBride rostered?

Personally, as I've mentioned, I would have added him over Rivero, but let's see why the Indians didn't.

He ripped it up in 2009 and in the AFL recently. He's showing he has the bat and he can hit the ball.

But he's exactly the opposite of someone like Wes Hodges and Jordan Brown.

He's had the one great year and all the other years, McBride has had issues, mainly with injuries.

Another thing working against McBride is his position. He was a catcher, moved to first and the outfield, but then was back for some catching duties in the AFL. But instead of being looked at as a man with many positions, he's sort of looked at as a man with none, which actually helps the Indians in the fact that it goes against a team thinking of selecting him. He needs work at his new positions, but there are still concerns about his original catching position, that the chances of him playing there are unlikely.

He's like Rivero though. If this was a pitcher, there's a higher chance he gets selected. But even NL teams now need to have these roster spots open for the long season and the chances of someone like McBride lasting the entire year are very slim.

There is enough working against McBride getting selected that the Indians can risk this. The chances of him getting taken are good, but remember this. The chances of him sticking on the roster for the season, are another animal.

So really, this is the one guy that we're going to need to keep are eyes on. McBride is the big chip that could get taken or not get taken. I would also pay attention to Chuck Lofgren and Yohan Pino, they are certainly not slam dunks in terms of being safe, but the chances are a little less-likely.

As it's been pointed out in many different places, including Tony at IPI. The Indians are with the high-ceiling prospects in this instance. They've favored, Rivero, De La and Hodges over McBride, Lofgren and Pino. They're favoring potential over chance and willing to risk that chance.

Last year, they came out smelling like roses. This year, we'll soon see.

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Let's talk other things now... First off, there is a new Hey Hoynsie out, but it isn't the least bit informative if you ask me. We've hit a point in the offseason when the questions aren't really timely and or just not very good. Especially with nothing really going on.

However Terry Pluto always has informative information.

The tidbit I'm most interested in this week.

The Indians used Travis Hafner to help them check out infield/third base coach Steve Smith. Hafner played for Smith in the Texas minor-league system, and Hafner called some players on other teams who also were coached by Smith. This could be fun because Smith has been suspended twice over the past three years for screaming at umpires when he coached for the Rangers and Phillies. The Indians consider Smith to be "an impact infield coach." He needs to work with Jhonny Peralta at third, and help find a way for Luis Valbuena to increase his range at second base.

This could be fun, hahaha. It will be fun. But it sounds as if Travis Hafner, who had prior relationship with Steve Smith, found out good things about him from other players. Fully supporting the idea that I've had in my head that this guy was a good coach, but maybe the Phillies management and current coaching staff really didn't mesh well with him because they differed in personality.

The Indians need this type of personality on the staff though. I can't wait to see him in action.

Many people are interested in the possibility that Kerry Wood is dealt. Personally, I've never really considered this a possibility this offseason. Not many have inside the people who actually know this team. Most of these ideas are coming from the national scale and the sites that like to bring up the big names.

Wood is too expensive and the Indians aren't going to eat his salary for another team to have him. They'd rather have him backend their bullpen for the money they are paying him. I will say this now too.

If Kerry Wood's 2011 option vests... It will be because the Indians want it to. They will not let it vest, just like they did last year, unless they absolutely want it to.

That and they could just trade him midseason if they aren't in contention and some team wants him, when they won't have to eat a big numbered salary for him to pitch for another team for a full-season.

This has now been "confirmed" or something from FOX.

I could have confirmed this with you a few weeks ago and I don't have any sources.

Okay, so I couldn't have confirmed it, but I could have told it to you.

Point is, Kerry Wood isn't going anywhere this offseason, so don't even think about it. Plus I think having him around will be nice for this clubhouse. This team still needs a veteran around and he is just that. Especially a vocal one.

Finally, let's take a look at this thing by Hoynes about Manny Acta.

I want to point this out, because I don't think I have, about the beginning of this piece.

As we know, the Indians do have a process for everything and they fully intended to go with that process in hiring their new manager.

But how refreshing is it to see them scrap their process for once, in order for something they felt their gut was telling them.

Let's take our time with pitcher A and move him up according to the process.

Bah humbug, the guy is ready, let's get him up.

Let's take our time hiring a new manager.

Bah whatever, this is our guy, let's hire him now before he goes somewhere else.

I love it. It is sort of the dawning of a new mentality, one that Mark Shapiro started to display when he fast-tracked Zach Putnam and made the statement that everything was going to be looked at differently.

He's making changes and he's realizing what's at stake. The whole process thing wasn't working in some ways. Sometimes you just have to go ahead and do it and that's what they did here.

Anyway, that whole piece is a Q&A with Manny Acta... Nothing really that we haven't heard or discussed here already in the past week, but read it if you'd like.

I do want to highlight a few answers though...

Q. Do you have a lot of rules as a manager?

A. I'm not a ticky-tacky rules kind of guy. I believe this job is tough enough to play. I like to keep my guys happy.

But everybody needs structure. ... The main thing will be to show up on time, play hard, and there's no excuse for not doing that, and respect. You respect each other, respect the game, respect the coach staff and respect the fans.

He's kind of like Eric Wedge then.. So it won't be much of an adjustment for the players in that way, which is good. Nothing was wrong with the effort the Indians players put forth, that is something you cannot deny.

In reading a little bit about how Acta has gotten to where he is, which is sort of what the middle part of the interview is about, Acta is Chris Nash. You know, players like him. Remember the Chris Nash story about how he and the other Captains visited the Indians late this past season?

Acta was that type of a player. He was the guy who was told he couldn't make it and didn't. There are players that are told that and a few bust through, but there are many that you root for, like Chris Nash, but ultimately don't make it and things fizzle out. But some still fight for it and like Acta, they have the skills to do more and become a manager.

So that's awesome.