Cleveland Indians: Shop 'Til You Drop, Please

Headed in to Friday's series opener with the Twins (47-38), the Indians are 11.5 games back, and 0-3 on their make-or-break road trip. I have already thrown the towel in on the season, despite having half the season remaining, and now I believe that it is time to stock up for 2009 and beyond.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

If the Tribe is going to get anything done in the next few weeks, it is up to Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge to tell the truth and call this season what it is, a colossal failure. Perhaps not publicly, but behind closed doors, I expect these two to come clean and start the fire sale.

Anthony Castrovince wrote that Shapiro and his staff have been evaluating the trade market for "quite some time." Now is the time to act; let's see what we can get.

C.C. is moving on, so let him go.

I hate to admit it, but the Indians simply do not have the resources to retain C.C. As much as it pains me to let him go, it is something that simply must be done.

Receiving one blue-chip prospect and a proven big-league hitter would make a deal for C.C. worthwhile. Many teams have appeared to be the front runners in the past weeks, but few of them appear to have the resources necessary to make a deal possible.

The Brewers, Rays, Yankees, and even Phillies have been noted as possible suitors, among just about every other contender. Shop him and get the best deal as soon as possible. Every week is one less week a possible suitor will be able to reap his benefits.

Analyze the team as it is now.

Somewhere, in the current roster, is a reason why the Indians have struggled so mightily this season. Dr. Jeff Poove' mentioned a few flaws with the team: Andy Marte, Ryan Garko, and the overall lack of athleticism. However, I feel there is more.

The coaching staff needs to re-evaluate everyone on the team, and decide who really deserves to don the Tribe jersey. Players such as David Delucci, Paul Byrd, and Scott Elarton have no business here anymore. Now is the time to bring up the younger players, and let them prove their worth or to trade them and gain better prospects.

Trade, and then trade some more.

Shapiro should realize that Cabrera is ready to take over at short, Francisco and Gutierrez are ready for the corners, and the team has no third baseman. At this point, he should be taking care of it!

Bring in someone who can hit and play the hot corner, drop Marte, and use Blake as trade bait while his stock is high. Stock up the minors again—the team is not where it was a few years ago, so build it up again. Let the team grow from within again. It almost worked last year, so trust your methods.

But seriously Shappy, do some shopping. The longer it appears that you are doing nothing, the longer Cleveland is going to be mightily ticked at you.

Derek Shelton must go.

Everyone's first instinct is to blame the coaches. However, I have given him the benefit of doubt until now. Now I am truly fed up, and his approach simply isn't working. An article in ESPN the Magazine about the imminent rise in Japanese managers in MLB helped me to reach this decision.

In Japan, coaches run teams like drill sergeants run boot camp, and with such an unathletic Indians team, what could be better than a little conditioning? Besides, improving fitness levels on the team means Japanese coaches espouse the fundamentals of the game, such as playing small ball.

The 2005 Chicago White Sox won the World Series with small ball, and I think the Indians are a bit too far removed from that aspect of the game. The dramatic shake-up a Japanese coach would have might be the spark this team needs, so start shopping for a new hitting coach.

Make 2009 our year.

Sure, it sucks that this year has turned out to be 2006 part deux, but it is. Now it is time to make sure that 2009 is the even better sequel to 2007, something with a ring at the end and a happy ending for Tribe fans everywhere.

Make it happen, Mark! Go forth and shop!