Cleveland Indians

Major League Baseball lost one of its special people Wednesday night. 

Bob Feller lost his fight with Leukemia and has left the baseball world in mourning.  Feller was not only one of the all-time greatest pitchers, but a great man as well.

Bob Feller, one of the greatest pitchers in major league history and a true icon in Cleveland sports, has passed away.

The 92-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in August and underwent several additional health problems before moving to a hospice and passing away last night.

"Bob Feller is gone. We cannot be surprised," said Indians owner Larry Dolan. "Yet, it seems improbable. Bob has been such an integral part of our fabric, so much more than an ex-ballplayer, so much more than any Cleveland Indians player. He is Cleveland, Ohio.

You know how people say a picture paints a thousand words? Well when you're talking about Bob Feller, a thousands words is not nearly enough.

Robert "Bob" Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa on November 3, 1918. He was never the smartest or most athletic but what he did have was a hard-working, farm-boy mentality, and his father who taught him everything in "life lessons." In 1931 his father built him a baseball field in which Feller called "Field of Dreams," and credits where he first learned to play baseball.

I have always had one major concern with Shin-Soo Choo and that was his average.  Those concerns came courtesy of a consistently elevated BABIP, but back-to-back 20/20 seasons certainly help to assuage these concerns.  It’s hard not to like an outfielder who posted the following numbers in 2010:

There's something strangely fitting that former Tribe starter Bartolo Colon is rumored to be a potential free-agent target for the Indians during the 2010-2011 hot stove season. 

No, I'm not talking about Colon now "fitting" into his old Tribe jersey now that he's allegedly lost 50 pounds, I'm talking about how he could fit on this team as a relevant starter.  Seriously, I know you all are chuckling.

Wednesday evening, Cleveland Indians vice president of public relations Bob DiBiasio announced that Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller has been transferred from the Cleveland Clinic to a hospice care center for the terminally ill. 

The 92-year-old Feller recently entered the Clinic suffering from pneumonia.  The illness was the most recent health issue for the Hall of Famer.  In August, Feller was diagnosed with leukemia, a month later a pacemaker was installed.

As the Indians' organization breathes a collective sigh of relief that Shin-Soo Choo's gold medal victory in the Asian Games will excuse him from his military duty to his native South Korea, we can all stop worrying that we'll have to watch a parade of no-name prospects in right field next season.

The Cleveland faithful are now free to shift the target of their worry over to that pesky, ever-problematic place on the diamond for the Tribe: Third base.

I've always been a thankful Cleveland Indians fan.  Perhaps the feeling is based in being a fan of this baseball team in the dreadful 1970s.  Not a single Tribe team during between 1970 and 1970 finished above fourth place in A.L. East, and only two teams finished above .500.

It's that time of year when the Major League Baseball top prospect lists start pouring in.  Normally, it's just a part of the normal hot stove season for each major league team. 

You know the drill: sign some free agents, make some trades and reevaluate your minor league system.  For the Indians, that drill should be a much simpler proposition thanks to Paul Dolan's recent revelation to Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer:

Miracles happen, especially in sports. 

After a decade of futility the Tampa Bay Rays stunned the baseball world by winning the AL pennant in 2008, the organization’s first ever winning season.

The following year the Mariners, a preseason footnote in the AL West, won 85 games under GM Jack Zduriencik’s inaugural season.