Archive for February, 2011

Shin-Soo Choo’s recent elbow soreness is unrelated to his 2007 Tommy John elbow surgery. Choo began feeling discomfort in the elbow but thankfully was reassured his injury was not related to the surgery via MRI. Good news for the Tribe seeing as Choo was virtually the only source of offense for the Tribe at times last year and was looking to again be a key cog in the Indians lineup this season that will see the return of Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana in addition to Orlando Cabrera.

Come again? I don’t know what it is about Sundays, but it seems that Sheldon Ocker’s pieces just keep getting stranger and stranger. This week he points out something that I didn’t realize anyone thought: saving money is more impressive than winning a World Series. … Alright, I have given Larry Dolan some slack and I am a huge supporter of the youth movement, but this reasoning just smells to high heaven. I am really hoping this article is sarcasm and that he rips me up for taking it too seriously. “So what if the club wins 75-80 games? The [...]

Many Indians fans keep hearing Lonnie Chisenhall’s name and wonder why he is not in the majors. He is a third baseman and the team is clearly weak at that position. Right now the lead candidates are Jayson Nix and Jason Donald. Anything can happen, but those two names do not sound very promising. Chisenhall was recently voted the Number 36 prospect in baseball by MLB.com. He spent the 2010 season in Akron and had decent stats. He hit .278 with 84 Rbi’s and 17 home-runs. He is still very young which is a main reason why he is being [...]

If you happened to read the sports page in today’s Akron Beacon Journal, you may have noticed a front page article by ABJ staple Sheldon Ocker. With all due respect, I think the whole thing is just ridiculous. He starts off by saying he may be the only media member that thinks the signing of Orlando Cabrera was a bad idea. Why do you think that is, Mr. Ocker? He argues that signing the veteran infielder is taking away playing time from younger players (similar to when Russell Branyan was brought in last year), and that Cabrera himself really isn’t [...]

It’s official, the announcement came today that the Indians have signed Orlando Cabrera to a one-year contract. This addition adds some stability to an Indians infield that looked a bit bleak in terms of quality available for filling the voids. This move also gives Jason Kipnis more time to develop in Columbus. In Cabrera the Indians are getting a capable bat to add to the lineup, a veteran who has playoff experience and two Gold Glove Awards,  a solid defender in the field and maybe most importantly someone who will be able to mentor this young Indians lineup. The transition [...]

It was reported yesterday that the Indians had agreed to a 1 year contract with 2B/SS Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera spent 2010 with the Reds and had an average season at best. In 123 regular season games, he had a .263 average with 42 RBI’s. He, and basically the whole Reds team, was a disappointment in the playoffs when the Reds were swept easily by the Phillies. His addition to the team is an obvious attempt at strengthening the weak infield by the Indians front office. There is uncertainty at second and third base. Cabrera is likely coming to camp with [...]

Guess what Indians fans? Part one of the two part question has been answered. Carlos Santana has been cleared to begin Spring Training with no restrictions. With “Smooth’s”  return the Tribe gets an integral part of the heart of the order back in time to begin getting back into baseball shape for the upcoming grind. All has gone seemingly flawless for Santana’s rehab and we can hope the same will continue for Grady Sizemore who began to add running to his workouts last week according to GM Chris Antonetti. Now it’s time for Sizemore to get  up to speed. The [...]

I’d like to give Indians beat writer for MLB.com Jordan Bastian a ton of credit for doing a great job thus far. Coming from Tampa Bay to Cleveland couldn’t have been an easy transition, not only just weather-wise but from an organizational standpoint as well. Continuing my last post, I continue to be optimistic about this season for the Tribe. Do I think they will streak through the regular season with the best record in baseball and knock off the Yankees and come one game away from making it to the world series? Well, no unfortunately. But I do see [...]

With about 10 days (depending on when you read this) until pitchers and catchers report, the trucks are on their way to Goodyear. Reading this yesterday made me even more excited for Spring Training to get started and to find out how some things will play out for the Indians. Will they sign Jeremy Bonderman or Kevin Millwood? How will the Indians starting rotation shake out? Will Grady and Carlos be ready for opening day? Despite the fact that the Indians won’t likely contend this year, I’m still excited to throw the first pitch in the 2011 season. Worst attendance [...]

Spring training is right around the corner as the Indians pitchers and catcher report the 15th. To get readers and MLB fans excited, Fansided has made a fun contest to find the best players in baseball. Each blog in each division gets together and picks an All Star team for their division. While thinking about who to pick, I knew that no Kansas City Royals would make my team. That narrowed it down to finding players from the White Sox, Twins, Tigers, and Indians. Joakim Soria of the Royals was a near consensus pick at Closer, but I truly feel that Chris [...]