As everybody knows, I am a huge Cleveland sports fan. So obviously, the Indians making it to the ALCS is a BIG deal. Even though the Tribe made the playoffs (and look very strong), any Cleveland fan (I'll coin the term Clevelandism) knows to start peering around the corner...just incase. We'll, yesterday I did that and I was happy/comfortable with what I found. For all of you Tribe fans, here is an excerpt from an article on www.indians.com:
Take a look at the Tribe's regular starting lineup of center fielder Grady Sizemore, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, designated hitter Travis Hafner, catcher Victor Martinez, first baseman Ryan Garko, shortstop Jhonny Peralta, left fielder Kenny Lofton, right fielder Franklin Gutierrez and third baseman Casey Blake.
Now, consider that, in that group, only Lofton will be a free agent after this season, while Hafner and Cabrera are under contractual control through 2013, Sizemore, Garko and Gutierrez through '12, Peralta through '11, Martinez through '10, and Blake through next season.
The Indians' four-man playoff rotation of C.C. Sabathia (signed through '08), Fausto Carmona (under control through '13), Jake Westbrook (signed through '10) and Paul Byrd (club option for '08) could be kept intact next year, with depth options Jeremy Sowers (under control through '12), Aaron Laffey (under control through '13) and Cliff Lee (signed through '09, club option for '10) also on board.
And in the bullpen, back-end relievers Joe Borowski (club option for '08), Rafael Betancourt (under control through '09), Rafael Perez (under control through '12) and Jensen Lewis (under control through '13) aren't necessarily going anywhere.
Has Cleveland's time finally come?
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