Comments on: Thursday Thoughts: Lee, Hinske, Tribe

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:40:16 +0000

If I was an Indians fan – which I’m not – it would be enough to make me cry in my beer.

By: John Parent

John Parent — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:46:36 +0000

That’s an excellent point Chris. After Lee’s sparkling 18 win season in 2006, he completely fell apart in ‘07, spending part of the year in the minor leagues. He wasn’t a lock to make the 2008 club at all, then was able to right the ship and perform at a very high level. I am assuming he is unlikely to “lose it” once again, but stranger things have happened. I’m not disagreeing with the decision to trade Lee or even the timing of the deal when I pointed out his 2010 option year, but I do feel like the package they got in return was much less than they probably hoped for. But as they say, an item is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay you for it. Obviously, Shapiro felt he got good enough value out of the trade.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:49:38 +0000

Don’t forget – before Cliff Lee’s Cy Young winning renaissance he was one of the worst regular starters in the league. Nothing in his track record up to that point would have suggested that he was on the brink of becoming Halladay-caliber. I think the Indians were smart to sell high, even if the package they got doesn’t perform to expectations. If Lee keeps up this level of play, obviously the Indians couldn’t afford to resign him after 2010 but if he got off to a bad start in 2010 people would assume that ‘08-’09 was a fluke and they wouldn’t be able to get much for him.