Coco Crisp Trade

The Tribe pulled the trigger on the Coco Crisp deal last night, but only after Boston sweetened it a bit by throwing in more cash and a player to be named later and more cash. Did I mention more cash? Now Larry Dolan can afford to buy the baseballs for Spring Training.

Shapiro's take on all of this is "trust me," and he's certainly earned that much from Tribe fans. With the Sox desperate to replace Damon, Crisp's value may never have been higher. There's a lot of upside potential in this trade, although most of it is long-term. Based on what Shapiro's saying, my guess is that stud 3rd base prospect Andy Marte, whom the trade is all about, isn't likely to make a big impact until 2007. (Sorry gang, it looks like the Aaron Boone and Casey Blake show again at the hot corner this year).

Guillermo Mota could be a nice pick-up if healthy, but the jury's out on whether Jason Michaels is an every day player. The guy certainly put up decent offensive numbers as a part-timer for the Phillies last year. He doesn't have Coco's speed, but you can't steal first, and Michaels' OBP is 60 points higher than Crisp's. However, the rap on him in Philly was that he was better suited to play left or right field, but with Abreu and Burrell on the roster, he was never going to get that chance. If that's right, then maybe he'll be able to come into his own in Cleveland (and if he posts the kind of numbers that Vinny thinks he might, I'll be happy). Unfortunately, there's also evidence to suggest that Michaels is a bit of a knucklehead, as demonstrated by his arrest last season for taking a poke at a Philly cop.

Like Vinny said, it's a shame that the Tribe's only able to make roster moves by giving up young talent. Without the resources to play effectively in the free agent market, Shapiro really does have to do his job with one hand tied behind his back. That's too bad, because he deserves better. Come to think of it, so do we.