Jake Westbrook says he is comfortable in Cleveland:
Jake's been in the organization since 2000, and is only one of two current Indians to have appeared with the team every year since 2001. And while we've been conditioned as Clevelanders for the jilt to come, I do think this is an instance where a player actually wants to stick around. If the price is right, of course:
When Gil Meche is making $11M a year, $6M/year just isn't going to make staying in Cleveland that comfortable. The money should be there, but CC Sabathia and Travis Hafner should be given priority treatment. I don't know if the team can afford the trio indefinitely, but the contracts could be stacked in order to keep everyone together through 2008 or 2009. Of course, a reckoning would be coming after that, but it would give the team a solid three-year window to win it all.
Eric Wedge's preliminary comments about the roster makeup are thus far encouraging. If everything goes as expected, the team will carry one utility infielder, meaning that Ryan Garko will make the team. He also said that Trot Nixon should be hitting second most of the time, moving David Dellucci down to fifth in the order.