INDIANS Team begins talks to re-sign free agent Thome

Cleveland is expected to present a package that would make him the highest-paid in club history..
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Indians are going to try and knock free agent Jim Thome's high socks off.
The club was to begin efforts to re-sign Thome today with a meeting with the team's career home run leader and his agent, Pat Rooney, at Jacobs Field.
Cleveland owner Larry Dolan, general manager Mark Shapiro and other prominent members of the Indians' front office were to participate in the meeting.
The Indians planned to make their first contract offer for Thome, who hit a club record 52 homers last season and is the most coveted slugger in this winter's free agent market.
"Our meeting will be a strong effort to communicate our respect, our admiration and our desire to have Jim Thome remain a Cleveland Indian," Shapiro said.
Stipulations
Thome filed for free agency earlier this week, but the Indians are the only team the popular first baseman can talk money with until Nov. 13. After that, he is free to negotiate with all teams.
The Indians are expected to present the 32-year-old with a complex package that will include incentives based on performance and attendance that would make him the highest-paid player in club history.
It will tap into all the resources and assets the mid-market Indians possess.
"We have to be creative," Shapiro said.
The deal will likely be a four- to six-year contract. The Indians have talked about offering Thome a job in their organization after he retires, and have reportedly considered renaming part of Jacobs Field as "Thome Terrace".
Bonuses
They may also offer a bonus if Thome one day makes the Hall of Fame, and have some other marketing and advertising tie-ins with team sponsors.
Cleveland knows it can't compete with teams monetarily, so it's going to sweeten the pot anyway possible.
"We're going to do everything we can to sign Jim Thome," said manager Eric Wedge, hired earlier this week. "Simple as that."
Rooney has said any deal would have to take Thome through the rest of his career.
The Indians aren't sure what kind of market there might be for Thome, whose power numbers haven't slipped in recent years. In the past, players of Thome's caliber have gotten deals from $12 million to $20 million.
"It's a very unusual free agent market, with a lot of unknowns," Shapiro said.
The Philadelphia Phillies are considered to be one of the main threats in Cleveland's race to re-sign Thome.
The Phillies need a first baseman and they want to make a big splash with their fans before moving into a new stadium in 2004. Third baseman Scott Rolen's departure has given the Phillies some extra money to throw around this winter.