Hello Tribe Fans Everywhere!

Three weeks ago, I would have defended Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro to the death for refusing to trade a prized prospect for a hitter or a relief pitcher. Ben Francisco for Octavio Dotel? Pulleeze! The Braves traded for Dotel and he's been on the disabled list ever since. No, I was absolutely convinced Shapiro made the right decision to hold off.

Of course, ever since then Cleveland's batters have been standing at home plate, looking as if they're using a wet noodle instead of a bat. The Indians' moribund offense is making me wonder if, perhaps, Shapiro should have parted with a couple of blue chippers for Jermaine Dye. I start to drool every time I see Dye lofting another high drive over the fence.

Maybe I've become brainwashed and believe the Indians should constantly build for the future. But what for? At this moment Cleveland stands a game and a half in front of second-place Detroit in the A.L. Central Division. Why wait for next year when a post-season playoff berth is within your grasp?

Lord knows the Indians need hitting. I think I'd promote Francisco now, and maybe a couple of other productive minor leaguers -- just to add some life to the lineup. Remember how the Indians were sleep-walking through the '06 season until they promoted Joe Inglett, Shin Soo Choo, Ryan Garko and Andy Marte? Marte didn't hit much, but the others injected real life into the Tribe lineup.

The Indians took a chance by benching Josh Barfield in favor of 21-year-old rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, and it's paying off. Cabrera may not be the second coming of Rogers Hornsby, but he's chipped in with several timely hits, including a big 3-run over against Tampa Bay last weekend.

This is no time to stand pat. Who knows when the Indians will be in the thick of the race again? I wouldn't make a foolhardy trade like the ones John Hart used to pull when he wanted a role player late in the season. Shapiro always points to the Brian Giles-for-Roberto Rincon deal, which he admits he had a small role in, as an example of a giving up way too much for a role player.

On another subject, if Fausto Carmona comes through against the Tigers tonight with another clutch pitching performance, he might start to build some support as a Cy Young Award candidate. The kid pitcher has been awesome this season. Of course, now that I'm pushing him for post-season honors, you know the Tigers will pound him tonight. I should have kept my big mouth shut!!

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The answer to the last quickie quiz is: Cleveland received Franklin Gutierrez from the Dogers in the Milton Bradley trade. The deal doesn't look so bad at the moment.

Today's quiz: The scouting report on Andy Marte is that he's playing at Buffalo as if he's bored out of his mind. Name the player, currently a member of the Tribe, who was described the same exact way midway through last season.

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-- Kevin Cuneo