Yeah, that would be my guess - assuming Brantley stays up.

And pretty cool, Peter Gammons picks us as one of 6 "teams to watch" this season.

5. Indians

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the economy and demographics are bad, season tickets are down to 8,000 ... Kerry Wood is already hurt ...

But this has been a very encouraging spring with Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona all looking as if they're all the way back physically.

Westbrook and Carmona are really important. Westbrook averaged 15 wins from 2004 to 2006 before he got hurt, and he looks close to his old self. Carmona has allowed one run all spring and looked very much like the guy who was fourth in the Cy Young balloting in 2007, when the Indians were one win from the World Series.

If they can get 400 innings from Westbrook and Carmona, the pressure is lessened for Justin Masterson (who still may end up a closer), David Huff and Mitch Talbot, with Aaron Laffey in the shadows and Carlos Carrasco coming off the kind of spring that gives them second-half hope. Those innings lighten the load on the bullpen, as they find out if Chris Perez can close.

If the pitching holds up, the Tribe will be back in the hunt with the Twins, White Sox and Tigers. Because they are going to score runs.

Asdrubal Cabrera will take his .308 average into the leadoff position. He rated near the top among offensive shortstops at the age of 23 last season.

Sizemore played through a hernia and bone chips the size of his fingernail and is completely healthy, which means he'll be one of the best players in the game. Manny Acta is batting him second, as it was pointed out to him that using his best player in the leadoff position means that if he starts 150 games, that means at least 150 times -- "A quarter of his at-bats," says Acta -- he comes up with no one on base. Acta remains the only manager who ever laid a VORP on me, and is a very bright, open man.

Then comes Shin-Soo Choo, one of the All-Star-level players few know.

Then Travis Hafner. Now, they expected Sizemore would be back. But Hafner at 32? Before his shoulder went, Hafner was the David Ortiz of his time. From 2004 to 2006, he hit 114 homers and in '06 had a 1.098 OPS; the last three years, he hit 45 homers and saw his OPS fall to .628 and .825.

But this spring, he has hit monstrous home runs, and even more important has regained his eye.

"When I was hurt and afraid I couldn't catch up to some pitches, I lost what I had developed in terms of never being afraid to hit with two strikes," says Hafner. "That allowed me to sit and wait for what I hit. But I couldn't turn on balls, and I became afraid to get to two strikes, so I was waving at the first pitch I saw. I feel just the way I did before I got hurt. With me, the best way to judge how I feel is watch how I take pitches."

They have Matt LaPorta at first, Michael Brantley in left, and some very good hitting prospects coming. It's not Sizemore's fault Cleveland hasn't had a champion in generations. But that and the crashing of the Greater Cleveland economy makes their comeback more difficult, necessitating the smallest payroll in the division.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

I meant to post this one earlier. Nothing too mind blowing, but a look at Acta and Belcher's pitching philosophy that's been paying off for some of the guys so far.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The late-February reporting date had the proverbial groups checking into the Indians' Spring Training complex in Goodyear, Ariz.: Pitchers and catchers and sabermetricians.

New manager Manny Acta, having spent much of the winter frowning his way through the 2009 record books, and pitching coach Tim Belcher came to camp with a message: Turn the tables in your favor by not being afraid to throw strikes, and early.

How well that message was delivered -- and received -- is reflected in the Indians' spring pitching, which has been borderline miraculous. It has been well-documented that Spring Training pitching performances are largely irrelevant, but they are still relative among all the teams, and the Indians are sticking out in the high-octane Cactus League.

The Tribe pulled into Scottsdale Stadium for Friday's visit to the Giants with a staff ERA (3.56) more than a run lower than the Cactus League runner-up (Texas, 4.57). Through Thursday, the 14 other Cactus League staffs had an average ERA of 5.15.

Justin Masterson dulled that glare a little, allowing six runs in his 3 1/3-inning stint to set up a 7-6 loss to San Francisco, but he recalled Acta's early sermon and its impact.

"I've been told about the importance of throwing strike one ever since college," said the product of San Diego State -- Stephen Strasburg U. "It all makes sense, and it's reinforced by the experiences you have."

Foremost, the numbers Acta studied had revealed an unsavory combination: Cleveland pitchers had the second-fewest strikeouts and the second-most walks among the 14 American League staffs. For Acta, it was a short leap from those ranks to the Indians being hit at a .280 pace and falling 11 runs short of allowing the most in the Majors -- and, by extension, to their 97 losses.

"Even during the winter, we kept in touch with them and told them how important it is to pitch from ahead. But we didn't just want to give them ABC-type of advice," Acta said. "Like, it's not enough to tell them to get ahead, you have to show them why it's important.

"So I wanted to make the point by showing them some numbers they probably weren't even familiar with."

So, cue the lecture. ...

"We had a meeting early on," Acta said, "showing them the difference between making pitches at 1-and-0 or 3-and-1 and 0-and-1, reminding them that even the best hitters make an out seven out of 10 times.

"The problem here was ... you can't have sinkerball pitchers walking people. It's a confidence thing -- but numbers don't lie."

The favorite set of numbers in Acta's dossier, and the one that elicited the most wide-eyed reaction, showed that of the first-pitch strikes put into play, only seven percent resulted in hits.

That's seven percent, as in a batting average of .070.

Powerful incentive for pitchers to not start off batters by pitching away from them, afraid of making too good a pitch too early in the count.

"And [it's] a good way to conserve pitches," Acta said. "You stay longer in the game. You help out the bullpen arms. But it's not enough to keep telling them that. You have to show them the numbers."

After having heard the advice throughout his pitching career, Masterson finally had the printout proofs in his hands during Acta's sermon.

"Numbers can get skewed," Masterson said, "but in one sense, it was cool, seeing the results laid out.

"I mean, you know that with the count 1-and-0, the hitter has extra confidence. Hitting is hard, and if they get in a situation where they feel better, they get more comfortable. But if you're ahead of them, they're more likely to swing at a pitch in the dirt."

That's straight out of Pitching 101, of course. But to get his hurlers into that strike-throwing mindset, Acta suggests some advanced approaches.

"I try to get them to sit behind the screen during batting practices," the manager said. "They'll see the batting-practice pitcher throwing 50 [mph], and every ball still doesn't get hit out. It's not that easy."

Through 13 exhibitions, the eight pitchers competing for the five spots in the Indians' rotation have logged 41 strikeouts versus 15 walks -- a ratio considerably different from last season's 986-to-598.

Even after being hit hard -- a stumble he attributed to sliders that broke too late and necessary work on his changeup -- Masterson remained the best practitioner of the Indians' new, aggressive mindset. One walk and four strikeouts Friday gave the 25-year-old right-hander three walks and 16 strikeouts in his 10 1/3 innings.

Acta expects him to keep showing the way once the whistle blows and games count. Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona have more extensive resumes that they are trying to revive, but Masterson is fresher ace timbre.

"I expect a lot from him," Acta said. "He can be that workhorse-type of guy."

And Masterson wants it, both the role and the responsibility.

"Being the workhorse is the coolest thing," he said. "You can be the one who starts to set the tone, and that can lead only to good things."

Couple of quick notes...

Talbot seems all but locked up as the #4 starter. Carrasco entered the conversation for #5 with Laffey and Huff. Acta says it's a "tie for first".

Fausto's allowed 5 hits and 2 walks in 13 innings.

----

And an update -

Talbot officially in the rotation, Laffey to the bullpen (I like it), Huff and Carrasco competing for last rotation spot.

Yeah, I actually saw that guy a couple times in Arlington. Didn't exactly get a good read on him, but the bigness was impressive.

One of those games was actually one of the most boring games I've ever seen in any sport. Chad Gaudin (a quick google image search shows why this is interesting) 1-hit the Rangers. Only the hit was in the first inning, so there was no drama or excitement about the no-hitter possibility. Just a colossally boring game between two boring teams. A lot of What a horrible waste of inter-league play.

Not that that has anything to do with sleepers.

I don't want to give away my brilliant strategies that led my to 13th place last year, but I will say to check out Fangraphs.com. Free projections from CHONE and Bill James.

Looks like Chris Perez will take over as closer to start the season.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Indians closer Kerry Wood may miss the first two months of the season after an MRI revealed a strained latissimus muscle as the source of the pain under his right shoulder.

Describing the injury, a recurring Spring Training issue for the 32-year-old reliever, as a "moderate strain," head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff pegged Wood's absence at "six-to-eight weeks from when the MRI was taken," which was on Thursday.

"That is the time we estimate he will be back in a Major League game," added Soloff, who expects Wood to begin playing light catch in 10-14 days.

Chris Perez, the hard-throwing 23-year-old, inherits Wood's closing duties in the short term.

Hurrah. Good for Perez, bad for trade value, depth, etc.

More things...

Russell Branyan is still dealing with his bad back. (3/10)

Acta said Branyan is taking ground balls at first base and taking swings as part of a "gradual" process of gearing up for the season. But where, just a few days ago, Acta was ready to announce Branyan's timetable for appearing in an exhibition game, the manager did not offer such a timetable Wednesday.

So far, the Branyan situation reminds me a little bit of '07, when the Indians signed Trot Nixon, and he arrived to camp barely able to move following back surgery. Nixon slowly eased his way into action and, of course, was able to assume his position as the Tribe's regular right fielder at the start of the season. The Indians obviously expect Branyan to be ready, as well, though I wouldn't classify Wednesday's change in plans as a great first step.

Fausto and Westbrook are trying to make the comeback (3/12)

Westbrook was making his second start of the spring. And though his line wasn't any better than his first time out, he was in and around the zone much more consistently. He was charged with four runs on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of work. Fausto Carmona came on in the third and looked sharp in his Cactus debut, efficiently working his way through three innings in which he allowed just one hit while striking out one.

Said Westbrook: "I gave up four runs, but I feel 100 percent better than when I gave up one run the last outing. I feel so much better, confidence-wise." Why? Because Westbrook was in and around the zone much more consistently in this start, and he feels he's getting good action on his sinker. Plus, his arm feels great, which is obviously a plus. "It starts with getting my mechanics solidified," he said. "What I'm hoping is to get stronger and better each time out."

Masterson still looking good. His changeup has been the big story of the spring to help him against left handed hitters. (3/13)

Justin Masterson was masterful on the mound against Texas, giving up one unearned run on three hits while striking out six in 3 2/3 innings. He credited a steady dose of changeups, his fastball and good command of his sinker for the effective outing. Masterson now sports a 1.29 ERA this spring.

Injury news (3/15)

Wood was expected to throw a bullpen session Monday and appear against the Reds on Wednesday. That was the word from Wood himself, anyway. But on Monday, manager Manny Acta announced that Wood did not throw that bullpen, and Acta did not offer a timetable for Wood's return to exhibition action.

"We're going to take it easy with Kerry," Acta said. "The medical staff will put together a plan for him. We want to be careful. He's our closer. He has plenty of time to get ready, and there's no reason to rush him back out there." It bears repeating that this could simply be a little spring soreness that will go away with extra rest. That was the case when Wood experienced similar soreness early in camp last year.

In other injury news, left-hander Jeremy Sowers is expected to make his Cactus debut Thursday against the Reds, working two innings. Sowers has been counted out of the rotation race because of the left shoulder soreness that has him behind in camp. Because he is out of Minor League options, and the Indians value him as a potential starting alternative, it appears likely Sowers will open the season on the disabled list so that he can be sufficiently stretched out.

Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, nursing a strained left groin, is taking dry swings and is not expected to return to Cactus action until late this week, at the earliest.

Mixed feelings on Carlos Carrasco.

On Saturday, Carrasco struggled in his Cactus League debut, giving up three runs on six hits in three innings in a 5-0 loss to the Rangers. He struck out one batter.

"He had a tough time keeping the ball down in the zone and that was the problem when he came up last year, too," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "But you know? We love Carlos. He's got great stuff. He's only 22-years old. That's a senior in college. We love the kid and we are going to keep throwing him out there. He's part of our future."

Sowers is out of the opening rotation race, Mitch Talbot is not.

Talbot worked three innings against the Sox(3/09), allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts and a hit batter. Five of the nine outs he recorded were on fly balls, which is a little disconcerting, especially to Talbot. "I'm not a fly-ball pitcher at all," he said. "I usually get a lot of groundballs ... This is blowing my mind."

Manny Acta thought Talbot's ability to change speeds might have contributed to the fly balls. He felt the hitters he was getting the hitters out in front with his changeup.

Talbot pitched 3 perfect innings today with 3 Ks and 4 groundouts, only 2 fly balls.

Talbot seemed to have his best changeup, and then some, today. He was so efficient against the Brewers that he had to throw 20 extra pitches in the bullpen, so that Rafael Perez could get into the game. "He's flying high right now," Acta said of Talbot.

And the bullpen...(3/15)

Speaking of the bullpen, Acta has confirmed jobs for Wood, Chris and Rafael Perez, Joe Smith and Tony Sipp. That leaves several guys (Hector Ambriz, Jensen Lewis, Saul Rivera and Jamey Wright) competing for two spots, with the potential for Talbot and, to a lesser degree, Laffey, to enter that mix.

I haven't been able to see as much baseball as I'd like so far, but just as I turned on today's game Lonnie Chisenhall belted a double to right field.

Our infield could be really good for a good while, with LaPorta, Asdrubal, Chisenhall and whoever plays 2nd. I'm hoping Donald starts showing us what he did for his whole career in the Phillies organization. He only hit .238 over the '09 season, but before that he was a top prospect. Has a career .285 avg and a .804 OPS. And he came up as a shortstop, could be the white Asdrubal.

I hope Hodges gets a look, better him than someone like Marte at this point, but it's hard to see a real future for him with the Tribe.

I'm still not sure what I think of Choo. Good hitter with power, speed and patience? Sure. Superstar? I don't know. I'd love to see him take that leap to stardom, but I'm more expecting (and happy with) the .300 avg, 20/20 type player.

As for more things....

Lonnie Chisenhall is impressing. He hit a dinger off Fausto, who's working on his mechanics against lefties.

Carmona was, of course, just getting his work in. And his work this spring includes an attempt to gain effectiveness against left-handed hitters by shifting to the first-base side of the rubber.

Manager Manny Acta said he was going to suggest that move to Carmona when he visited him in the Dominican over the winter. But Acta was pleased to find that Carmona's winter ball teammate at Aguilas, Jose Lima, had already made the suggestion.

"It worked for him in winter ball," Acta said. "It was only 13 innings, but it worked. ... Being on that side of the rubber gives him a better opportunity to hit both sides of the plate."

Carmona worked one inning in the intrasquad, and Chisenhall's blast was all that marred it. Carmona struck out Travis Hafner on a nice changeup. And the home run pitch didn't bother Acta, because it came when Carmona was trying to challenge Chisenhall with a first-pitch fastball.

"This kid is walking around the clubhouse like he's been there before, without being cocky or anything," Acta said of Chisenhall. "He's not intimidated by anything. He's just a ballplayer, and he's going to be a nice player for this franchise."

We might've finally found our next Kenny.

Manny Acta took Grady Sizemore out of the Indians' leadoff spot, and that move was viewed as a long time coming.

What wasn't anticipated was Acta slotting designated hitter Travis Hafner into the leadoff spot. It happened for Wednesday's 6 1/2-inning intrasquad game at Goodyear Ballpark, and it had the man known as Pronk reassessing what he brings to the table.

"I must have shown them a few things running sprints," Hafner joked. "I told [starter] Fausto [Carmona] that if he walks me, it's a triple."

After not being able to play 3 days in a row most of last year, Hafner's expected to be back to full duty this year.

When the regular season starts, Acta is expecting to have Hafner available to him on a daily basis, without all the precautions and protections that pervaded Pronk's 2009 season. And when talking about the top of his lineup the other day, Acta mentioned Hafner as his likely cleanup hitter.

Again, the "real" games start Tomorrow, against the Reds.

Here's the lineup the Manny Acta will write out for the opener against the Reds: SS Asdrubal Cabrera, CF Grady Sizemore, RF Shin-Soo Choo, DH Travis Hafner, 3B Jhonny Peralta, LF Jordan Brown, 1B Andy Marte, 2B Luis Valbuena, C Lou Marson. RHP Justin Masterson.

As far as the position players are concerned, that should be pretty close to the real Opening Day lineup, with the obvious exceptions of Brown (Matt LaPorta) and Marte (Russell Branyan). LaPorta, recovering from hip and toe surgeries, isn't scheduled to appear in a Cactus League game until March 10. He initiated a running program today. Branyan, who battled back issues at the end of '09, is currently doing limited work at first base.

With Masterson getting the start, let's hope he picks up where he left off. In case you forgot...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=290930305

Good stuff as always from JoePos.

Kind of on topic, I always wonder why it seems like people always want to reach for excuses to bash baseball. "I'd watch if the Yankees didn't win every year," "I'd watch if everyone wasn't juicing," etc. As if there's not sleazy backroom dealings and problems in all of the major sports, hell, the Cavs added three all-stars in exchange for Damon Jones, Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, and 30 days of Ilgauskas. If you think steroids destroyed baseball.....look at a picture of Dick Butkus (in his playing days), then look at a picture of Ray Lewis. Every professional athlete playing at the highest level is on something.

But I think the main thing I love about Posnanski is that he realizes it's just a fun sport. You can watch it on warm, sunny days. There's a game on every night when there's nothing else in the summer. Every season, every game has its own storyline. And he doesn't worry about the other stuff. It's gonna happen in pro sports.

Hoorah for baseball.

From the early days of Spring Training

Russell Branyan looks to be the full-time first baseman for the time being. That would move LaPorta back to left field, and Brantley to Columbus. It's a shame LaPorta is still getting kicked around, but I'll take anything that gets his every-day ABs. Brantley getting demoted would just be a service clock issue, and most people expect him to get called up sooner than later.

The right-handed-hitting LaPorta, who can spell Travis Hafner at the DH spot, if need be, is also on track to be a full-time player, no matter what position he happens to occupy on a given day.

"He's going to get 500 at-bats, if he's healthy," manager Manny Acta said. "That's what's important here."

Choo is signed on with Scott Boras.

When the subject of Boras came up Saturday, Choo's eyes opened wide.

"Hot issue," he said.

Choo said the Indians have yet to approach him about a long-term deal, but he planned to speak with Boras about that possibility. The prospect of signing such a deal with the Indians seems to appeal to Choo, who pointed out that, no matter who is representing him in negotiations, he will have the final say.

"I really want to stay long term," Choo said. "I have good teammates here. A good team. Everything I like. I feel at home here. I like the Indians."

Choo, of course, won't be eligible to explore outside options until after the 2013 season. But if the Indians intend to lock him up through his arbitration years and perhaps into his free-agent eligibility, the Boras affiliation could make matters more interesting.

Like I said earlier, Cabrera and Sizemore are now 1-2 in the order.

Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and designated hitter Travis Hafner will follow Cabrera and Sizemore in Acta's lineup. The rest is not confirmed, though it's probably safe to assume newly acquired first baseman Russell Branyan and third baseman Jhonny Peralta will be somewhere in the middle.

"I'm not going to change my approach in any way," Sizemore said. "[Manny] doesn't want me to. It's just what he thinks is going to help us offensively to score more runs."

Batting in the No. 2 spot should conceivably allow Sizemore to take greater advantage of his power.

"It will give me a chance to have guys on base more often," he said. "If you're leading off a game, you know there's going to be nobody in front of you. If you get those early homers or those early balls in the gap [as a No. 2 hitter], you have a chance to score more runs."

The two pitchers out of minor league options, Sowers and Mitch Talbot, seem to be going in separate directions. Sowers is behind schedule with a sore shoulder, and Talbot is looking for a spot in the rotation.

Talbot, who threw his first bullpen session this morning, said he's excited to be in the rotation mix here. "I knew Tampa wasn't sure what to do with me," he said. "To come over here, where they seem to have a plan for me, is encouraging. With [David] Price and [Wade] Davis, [the Rays'] golden boys, I knew it wasn't looking too good for me, as far as being a starter, and that's what I want to be. I was not really looking forward to being a long reliever and pitching once every two weeks or so. I'm really happy to be here where I can actually compete for a starting spot."

No real word on Hector Ambriz yet.

What the Indians do need to do this spring is get a read on Rule 5 Draft pickup Hector Ambriz. If he doesn't make the Opening Day roster, he must be offered back to the Diamondbacks. "Obviously, we have to give the guy an opportunity," Acta said. He said getting a good look at Ambriz will be more important than gauging veterans like Jamey Wright or Jason Grilli, who have more of a track record that can be counted on.

Hector Rondon might be closer than we think.

Hector Rondon threw live BP today. Though it's generally been assumed that Rondon will begin the season in Triple-A, Acta said he considers Rondon part of the rotation battle. "He has a good arm and good life to his fastball," Acta said. "The organization talks about him needing to refine his secondary pitches. He looks like a guy who could get up here based on his fastball and continue to work on his other pitches at this level."

"Real" games kick off Friday.

Justin Masterson will start Friday's Cactus League opener opposite the Reds' Mike Lincoln. That game will be carried live on MLB.TV. Kerry Wood, Aaron Laffey, Rafael Perez, Chris Perez, Joe Smith and Saul Rivera are all scheduled to follow Masterson in that game.

Of course, all quotes from Castrovince in some form. Hopefully everyone knows where to find him by now.

I'm sure this will make some people happy...

From Castro's twitter

"Grady Sizemore told Matt Underwood of STO that he's moving to No. 2 spot of the #Indians lineup. Asdrubal Cabrera will lead off"

----------

I suppose the full lineup should be something like...

Cabrera

Sizemore

Choo

Hafner

Branyan

LaPorta

Peralta

Valbuena

Marson

Love the top 3, at least. I've always thought Choo would be a better hitter at the 3-hole than Grady. He might never reach 30 HR, but I love his blend of power, contact and patience hitting 3rd.

Great stuff, Bean. Could use more Bryce Harper, though.

And what is becoming a spring tradition almost as good as the Major League DVD, Castro's Excruciating Minutiae is back.

http://castrovince.mlblogs.com/

From Sunday...

• Russell Branyan will be here Tuesday to take the physical examination that would complete his one-year, $2 million deal with the Indians. It's no slam dunk, of course, as the Indians are rigorous in their demands for such an exam and Branyan dealt with a back problem that sidelined him the last month of the '09 season in Seattle. But all reports indicate that Branyan has made significant progress with the back.
• How are the Indians planning to use Branyan? That's a bit of a mystery, and Manny Acta wasn't coughing up any clues. "Let's wait until everything becomes official," Acta said. "Then we'll answer all those questions."
• It could be that the left-handed Branyan and the right-handed Matt LaPorta share first base. Or LaPorta could go back to left field and bump Michael Brantley, who might be due for a little more seasoning at Triple-A Columbus. Or maybe Branyan bounces around between first base, third base and left field (though he hasn't played third since 2008 and the outfield since 2007, so that seems a bit doubtful).
• Acta has indicated all winter that LaPorta will see the bulk of his time this season at first base, because that's where his big league future lies. However, every time I asked Mark Shapiro about LaPorta, Shapiro said left field remains a possibility for him, depending on what the Indians do this winter. Keep in mind that LaPorta hadn't played first in his professional career prior to last season, and he was still a work in progress at the position at season's end.
• In a perfect world, who would be Acta's first baseman? "In a perfect world," he said, "Albert Pujols."
• Regarding second base, Acta said Luis Valbuena enters camp as the everyday starter at the spot, and he's interested in seeing how Valbuena fares against left-handed pitching in Cactus League play. "We're not in the business of developing platoon players at 24 years old," Acta said. "We're going to give him opportunities [against lefties]."
• Acta said Jake Westbrook, nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery, should have no restrictions this spring.
• Nearly every member of the 59-player spring roster (Branyan would make 60) is already here, even though position players aren't due to report until Wednesday and the first full-squad workout won't take place until Friday. "I'm excited," Acta said. "For me to show up a week before pitchers and catchers report and to see [Travis] Hafner, [Grady] Sizemore, [shin-Soo] Choo and [Asdrubal] Cabrera on the field one week before they're supposed to be on the field excites me."
• By the time I arrived at the complex around noon local time today, virtually all of the players had shuffled out. I'm told it was a light workout day, with much more activity on Saturday. The big league coaching staff went into a meeting at 2 p.m. that was expected to last several hours.
• The Indians are wearing new batting practice caps this year. No Chief Wahoo. No script "I." These blue caps feature the old-school, block "C" in red lettering, with a red brim.
• Speaking of uniforms, if you're looking to run out and buy an Acta jersey, he's wearing No. 11. The No. 14 he wore in Washington is spoken for in these parts. It's Larry Doby's retired number.

And today...

• As you may have seen on the Indians.com site, Jeremy Sowers' rotation hopes will probably take a hit because of the left shoulder inflammation he's dealing with. He said the shoulder gave him some trouble off an on throughout the '09 season, and he came here a month early to get treatment for it. Sowers estimated that he'll be "a couple weeks" behind his teammates in camp, which has to hurt his chances of a starting job. Acta estimated that Sowers will be "a week to 10 days" behind.
• Even if he doesn't make the rotation, Sowers, who is out of Minor League options, might have a chance of landing in the bullpen, though his stuff is hardly suited for the role. Still, given the expected problems in the rotation this season, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the Indians carrying a guy like Sowers as a long man.
• Shin-Soo Choo says he hopes to participate in the 2010 Asian Games in November. If the South Korean baseball team wins the gold medal in that event, its members would likely receive an exemption from their two-year obligation to the Korean military. Obviously, that's something that appeals to Choo. He's spoken about this situation with the Indians, and it will likely be revisted at season's end. He'd like to get their permission to participate. Here's the full story on Choo.
• Top prospect Carlos Santana, who had surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in his right hand in December, said he has no restrictions and should be ready to play when the Cactus League season opens next week. It will be interesting to see if Santana's power is affected by that surgery this season.
• Jhonny Peralta's been around here long enough to know that players often get moved in the final guaranteed year of their contracts. And given Peralta, who is due to make $4.6 million this year, is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, he's curious to see what happens. "I don't know what they're going to do," he said, "but I want to be here. I don't know what's on their mind. There's nothing I can do about it. I'll just try to play how I play."
• Peralta became a father over the winter. His wife Molly gave birth to a daughter, Analise, in October. "It's a great experience," he said of fatherhood.
• Peralta still sounds a bit mystified over how the third base situation played out last year. "In Spring Training, they didn't say to me that I'd be playing third base [during the season]," he said. "Then one day in the middle of the season, they say I'm playing third base."
• Anthony Reyes, who had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and an ulnar nerve transposition surgery last June, said his arm feels stable and strong. He's throwing long toss right now. He's not sure when he'll start throwing off a mound. Reyes probably won't be a big league option until July, at the absolute earliest.
• Chris Gimenez raved about his Venezuelan winter ball experience. He left for Venezuela in November, just eight days after he and his wife, Kelly, were married. "I told my wife [going to winter ball] was our honeymoon," he said. "She probably loved that. ... I was a little worried about here down there, a tall, skinny white girl walking around. But everything went great." Gimenez admitted he needed the winter ball grooming time because he found his offensive performance in the second half last year to be "embarrassing."
• Gimenez is still being groomed as a super utility type. He's probably one of the guys on the bubble when/if the Indians have to clear a spot on the 40-man for Russell Branyan.
• Speaking of Branyan, I'd expect that deal to be made official on Wednesday, if he passes Tuesday's physical exam. It usually takes a day to process the results of those tests.
• Jamey Wright is roughly 9 feet tall, give or take a few feet.
• The pre-camp meetings the began today serve to let a player know where he stands coming into the season. Acta said he didn't have these meetings in Washington, but he loves the idea. "It's tremendous," he said. "It's a step toward building communication and making things clear to every one of the guys."
• The pitchers and catchers will hold their first official workout Tuesday morning. Position players officially report Wednesday, even though they all seem to be here already.

An oft-injured left handed power hitting DH. I can't think of any bigger hole on the Tribe, eh?

Maybe Shapiro can "Broussard" him into another good prospect. Or maybe they're still just adding LaPorta insurance at 1B. Not too exciting either way.

@clevelandfanforlife said:

yeah, titles like: al central winner, consistent winning seasons, and the biggie: world champions. i guess those aren't important.

Zing

Anthony Castrovince

The wheels were set in motion for these moves quite a while back. Antonetti, who joined the Tribe's baseball operations department in 1999, has seen his role in player acquisition and contract negotiations increase in recent years. He has been rumored as a candidate for multiple GM vacancies around MLB and, in fact, turned down an offer to become the GM of the Cardinals after the 2007 season.

At the time Antonetti turned down that job, ownership assured him of its intentions for him to succeed Shapiro as GM.

"It's impossible to simulate sitting in that chair," said Antonetti, who won't name his assistant until season's end. "But because of the opportunities Mark has provided to be the point person on [trade and free-agent] discussions, I do feel prepared."

In many ways, it will be business as usual at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario both in 2010 and beyond, because Shapiro figures to remain involved in player personnel discussions.

"What makes our culture special," Shapiro said, "is when we get up on that floor and we're working, titles are irrelevant. We're looking for every person to contribute and to make us better and more efficient in our operation. That's always been our underlying understanding. I've never once felt up there that anybody's ego was getting in the way of us getting better. That starts with a leadership relationship that those walls don't get built up that are so traditional in most organizations."

The difference after this season will be that Antonetti will be the one who makes the final call and the proposal to ownership on major decisions.

"I'd be foolish not to continue to use [shapiro] as a resource," Antonetti said. "I look at that as a clear asset and clear benefit. Mark won't have to push ideas on me. I'll actively solicit those from him."

Shapiro, on the other hand, will see his interests in the organization expand considerably. The Indians announced these moves now largely so that Shapiro can spend the upcoming season learning and evaluating the ins and outs of the Indians' business operation in a transparent manner.

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/arti...sp&c_id=cle

If LeBron leaves, it doesn't matter. Amare wouldn't re-sign, and Hickson would be in Phoenix.

Jamison is a better fit for this team. By the time Jamison starts showing his age, Hickson should be ready to be the feature PF.

The team right now is a legit contender for the title this year, and the next two years if Shaq and LeBron re-sign.

In three years we'll look at the next step. No point worrying about it now.

In the summer of 2012, when Jamison's deal runs out and this "contention window" is closed.....Dwight Howard will be a free agent. Just sayin.

Be happy with where we are.

So since last year's Eastern Conference Finals team, the supporting cast has gone from

Ben Wallace

Wally Szcerbiak

Sasha Pavlovic

Joe Smith

Tarrence Kinsey

to

Shaquille O'Neal

Antawn Jamison

Anthony Parker

Jamario Moon

JJ Hickson and Jawad Williams (yeah, "techincally" they were here last year)

Leon Powe (returned to practice this week)

Sebastian Telfair

Just think about that.

@johng71097 said:

Jamison and Telfair to Cavs, Z and Thornton Skinner and No. 1 to Wiz, Drew Gooden to LAC

http://twitter.com/jadande

I wonder what happened to Thornton, he was looking like a future star as a rookie. Can't believe they gave him up for Drew.

I've actually liked Telfair since he was coming out of high school. He obviously hasn't lived up to the hype, but he seems like a great throw in. Kind of the exact opposite of Gibson....Telfair is a pure, pass-first point guard who can't shoot, but should be much better than anything we had at PG after Mo and Delonte.

Cavs give up Ilgauskas and first rounder, get Jamison and point guard Sebastian Telfair.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/20...3-way_trad.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers have agreed in principle to a 3-team trade with the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers that brings forward Antawn Jamison to Cleveland, sources said Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers are sending Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Wizards and this year's first-round draft pick to the Clippers as part of the trade. The Cavaliers are expected to receive Clippers point guard Sebastian Telfair as part of the package.

The Washington Post first reported the trade.

The Cavs made the move after they were unable to complete a trade with the Phoenix Suns for Amare Stoudemire. After nearly a week of talks the Cavs pushed for an answer Wednesday afternoon. Either they were told no or told to wait by Phoenix, who was hoping for better deals to mature.

So they moved on to Jamison, who has been one of their top trade targets since the fall.

Jamison, who is averaging 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Wizards, is the good-shooting power forward the Cavs have been looking for since last summer. He has two years and $28 million left on his contract, which prompted the Wizards to look to move him as part of a rebuilding process.

Telfair has played in 39 games this season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 assists.

Windhorst lays it all out on Twitter

Here is the latest on Cavs based on sources. Waiting on PHX to accept trade or not. PHX stalling, waiting for other offers to mature.

The Cavs can save Suns more $ than package Miami is currently offering. But PHX are allowing Heat time to put things together

As such, Cavs have lined up other options with the leading candidate being Antawn Jamison. But there are others, too.

Reports of interest in Corey Maggette, much to my surprise, are true. But that is down the list.

Bottom line: Cavs deal gets Suns under luxury tax, saves $10mm+. Heat deal cannot. But MIA trying to find way to take J-Richardson, too.

People asking for my opinion. Have said for month, I'd go with Jamison. But I realize extreme value of Amare deal.

Interesting stuff, but Maggette would just make things worse. Ball hog, bad attitude, terrible contract. Can't believe Ferry would go for that.