Indians '07 & Roger

I have to admit I don't pay attention to exhibition baseball. To be honest, didn't even watch a single Indians' game from beginning to end in '06. This is coming from someone who listened to the tribe's west coast games late at night on a small transistor radio back when I was in my teens during the 70s. As you get older, priorities change.

Regardless, I figured I would get on record as to how the Indians will do this summer. Even without paying close attention, I'm still brighter than most fans who hang on every move the Wahoos make. Remember, I have common sense on my side.

In '05, Shapiro had an excellent off-season and they won 93 games. In '06, his moves didn't pan out and they struggled - winning 78. A medium market team doesn't have much room for error. Plus, the Dolan family has shown absolutely NO inclination to spend money during the season to upgrade the product for the stretch run - see '04 & '05.

That leads us to '07. It's basically the same team coming back from '06 with the exception of a revamped bullpen. The odds are the bullpen will be better - it can't be much worse. Although, the lack of true closer bothers this observer. But without the flexibility to add pieces to the puzzle in-season, unless everything falls into place, we can't see the Tribe reaching the post-season. So let's go with a respectable 88-74 mark in '07, due mostly to a solid offensive core (Sizemore, Haffner, Martinez) and quality starting pitching, but no October baseball in Cleveland once again.

Roger Clemens
Am I the only one that is bothered by the annual Roger Clemens Watch? Granted, he's a first ballot Hall of Famer - no argument there. But this guy has re-defined the term 'hired gun." The last time I checked, he was playing in what is considered somewhat of a team sport. Meanwhile, Clemens chooses when he plays and how often he even has to show up in uniform. I guess if you are as good as Clemens, in a free agent driven sport where only a few teams can truly compete, you can name your price. But that doesn't make it right. What if others began pulling this stunt? I wonder if they would be given the same pass he's been given.