Mark DeRosa is Casey Blake

As psuedo-resident Indians guy here at the FCF I felt I needed to at least say something in regards to the Indians New Year's Eve gift of a trade for Mark DeRosa.

While I thought of it a good four hours before the DiaTribe posted the comparison, here is the run down of DeRosa and Mr. Blake.

DeRosa 2007
.293 BA / .371 OBP / .420 SLG / .791 OPS with 28 2B, 10 HR, and 72 RBI in 502 AB

DeRosa 2008
.285 BA / .376 OBP / .481 SLG / .857 OPS with 30 2B, 21 HR, and 87 RBI in 505 AB

Blake 2007
.270 BA / .339 OBP / .437 SLG / .776 OPS with 36 2B, 18 HR, and 78 RBI in 588 AB

Blake 2008
.274 BA / .345 OBP / .463 SLG / .808 OPS with 36 2B, 21 HR, and 81 RBI in 536 AB

Not too bad. What DeRosa brings is a Casey Blake-like guy with a commitment of only one year. I've mentioned before how the Indians' bullpen depth was looking a little ridiculous and Shapiro goes and trades some away. I haven't heard anyone anywhere not like this move, well except for those Cubs-related people, but they don't count. It looks right now that DeRosa is slotted for third base. While this makes for a more comfortable 2009 you have to ask about 2010. For sure, 2009 is a must-win year for the Tribe, with a number of Indians contracts coming up in aught ten. But that's a different blog post. The DeRosa trade came out of nowhere and I couldn't be happier with it. Everything I've heard about this guy makes him sound like one heck of a clubhouse guy plus he's in a contract year which usually means good things.

Already the Indians have secured bullpen (closer and setup) help and now with the trade for DeRosa it looks like the Indians are one of the most improved teams this offseason. The big question marks are still Carmona and Hafner - sure, you could toss Martinez in there too, but I have faith Victor will be OK, well at least for a catcher anyway.

The one spot left untouched is starting pitching. Shapiro has a tendency to not want to rely on unknown or untested rookies. He likes having them as an insurance policy, but scrap heap players have always been his bread and butter. However, doing the numbers shows that the Tribe doesn't have more than $8M to deal with and that's before Shoppach gets his well deserved raise. I'm not panicking without a starter being added and suspect something will be done, but it could take a while for some guys to get a little desperate closer to spring training to take the Indians' one-year offer.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited for 2009. Go Tribe!