Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

We’ve been good for 61 years.  You gave us a legitimate shot 12 years ago and we blew it.  You teased us a few years back with a run to the ALCS.  You remember – when 40-year-old Kenny Lofton and some bugs got us out of the first round and then Lofton forgot how to hit in the ALCS.  So while this list may seem like we’re asking for a lot, we’ve been darn patient and we need a reason to cheer for a team that no one can imagine even finishing .500 in 2010.

• Jake Westbrook and Kerry Wood – We need these guys to be lights out the first 3 months of the season so that we can trade them for something – anything.
• Fausto Carmona – Please give Fausto the ability to  regain the form he showed in 2007.  He’s looked awful since and he’s driving us insane.
• Jeanmar Gomez/Justin Masterson/Yohan Pino – We need two of these guys to show us something at the big league level in 2010.  They don’t have to win rookie of the year, but they have to show enough promise that we have some quality rotational depth for 2011.
• Jhonny Peralta – We need to see the Jhonny from 2007 and 2008, not the one that posted a .690 OPS last year.
• Asdrubal Cabrera – We need to see the Asdrubal of 2009, not the one that bounced back and forth from the minors the two years prior.  We know there’s no way he hits over .300 again, but .280 with a .775 OPS and 20 steals would be lovely.
• Michael Brantley – We need a leadoff hitter that will set the table and steal some bases when we make our run in 2011.  Brantley should get the opportunity.  He just needs to prove that he can get on base consistently and he can start doing that in 2010.
• Grady Sizemore – We really want a healthy Grady that can hit the way he used to.  He should be at least 25/30 in 2010 so we can see a 40/40 season in 2011.
• Carlos Santana – He doesn’t have to live up to expectations this year, but we need to see him develop as a signal caller.  We’ll accept a promising season from Lou Marson  if the first part is too much to ask for.
• Matt LaPorta – We really need a healthy LaPorta that can hit the way we think he can.  We’ll accept a good season at the plate while developing good defensive skills at first base.
• Travis Hafner – We need him to earn his contract.  Come back, Pronk.  Please.
• Hector Ambriz or Chris Perez – One of them should develop into a closer that we can depend on in 2011.

That’s all we want for this Christmas.  What do you think Santa?  Think it can be done?  Don’t worry.  You’ll find lots of milk and cookies in Cleveland this Christmas.