I was reading an article about this upcoming Indians season and it mentioned Wood being shopped early and Westbrook as well (if healthy). The article did note that these things would happen IF the Indians are out of contention early.

I am not expecting this team to contend but, what if they do? What if it's the middle of June and we're right there in the hunt? Dolan has such a "SELL TRADE SELL!!!" mindset right now that I wonder if us being in contention at the half way mark is enough for him to stop trading anyone who makes more then a bag boy.

So my topic of discussion I bring to you is, if this team is contending mid season will Dolan do what he can to help the team continue to contend and make a playoff push or will he continue the fire sale?

If the team is contending in June/July, I do not think Dolan will sell. I don't expect him to be a buyer either. I think he'll go with what he has & hope for the best.

If the team is out of contention in June/July as I suspect they will be, then I think we'll see another sale even though we don't have many parts to sell this year. Jhonny, Wood &/or Jake is about it.

I'm for trading Wood no matter the circumstances. He's expensive, he prone to injury and he's not a lock-down closer...which you should be if your salary makes up about 1/6th of the entire team's payroll.

Westbrook is another story. They need him to get back to being a frontline starter for any hope of making a surprising run over the next two years. If he's injured and can't go anymore, then take the insurance money and go. The worst scenario with Jake is if he comes back and is able to pitch but has lost all movement on his sinker. It's a possibility and would be a disaster in the mold of Hafner. (And I truly do blame that contract for much of the pain this franchise will experience over the next few years...without that contract, I think this team would have had opportunities last offseason to make the team a legitimate contender).

Tells you how bad the current system is when 1 bad contract cripples a small market team from making moves. Pronk's contract wouldn't put a dent in the Bankees budget.

What a farce.

IMHO,

Based on the Lee trade, by which the front office signaled that it had already given up on 2010, all moves this year will have 2011 in mind.

Wood and Westbrook are expensive and unsigned for 2011 (assuming no vesting for Wood) and do not figure into long term plans. It looks like they are goners, if there is a market for them. I think the team would make this move by opening day if they could.

If the team is in contention at the All-Star break, they might make a move if they can trade for a player who is not a "rental" and who can help the team in 2011.

If they fall out of contention, Jhonny seems to be a goner too, to make room for the Chiz in 2011.