House is nailing down the 4th spot. Salazar is seriously hurting his own chances, and could open up in Columbus, again. Might still win the 5th rotation spot and just be spotted in during the early going. Or McAllister may swing from bullpen to starting in April and Salazar gets a chance to return soon after. I'd prefer he work things out during the spring and make the team from day one.

I'd like to see Salazar start in Columbus and McAlister in the bullpen. Let the 5th spot come down to Tomlin, Marcum or Chen. We only need 2 starts in April from our 5th starter. Let Salazar get sorted out in AAA.....

not Chen. He's awful. But otherwise I agree with Frank on this one.

Naquin hitting 267 which is fine. His OPS is 534, which is not. And it means he has no walks, no extra base hits. That's the problem with him, I see no real chance for him to be a major league regular although his defense could make him a good backup. Hopefully Frazier and/or Zimmer will develop into stars. In the meantime, Moncrief is more erratic but has a lot more power than Naquin.

Seems to be very little interest this spring. Is there a new site everyone's hanging out at now, or are the Browns offseason maneuvers so exciting that the Indians are not worth following?

62 players remain in camp. I suppose if he were allowed Francona would like to keep them all. or at least all 30 pitchers.

Civ spring training means nothing. Tribe is well positioned for a playoff run if they stay healthy....

Civ - can only speak for myself, but the Cavs holding my interest over Tribe spring training.

I am following, but definitely 2nd place at the moment.

of course Spring Training does not mean nothing. How else does Francona choose his 4th and 5th starters? For this team ST doesn't mean as much as for teams of lesser ability but don't tell Sean Marcum that what he does in March doesn't matter to the rest of his season and his career. It could decide if Ryan Raburn keeps his job is released. It educates Tito on Lindor's entire skill set. For that matter it's the only time Francona gets to see our prospects live and do any personal evaluation.

Optioned RHP CODY ANDERSON, LHP RYAN MERRITT and C TONY WOLTERS to AA Akron.
Optioned RHP SHAWN ARMSTRONG, RHP CHARLES BREWER and INF GIOVANNY URSHELA to AAA Columbus.

Brewer remains on the 40 man roster, but not for long, I suspect.

Another effect of ST: Armstrong could've put himself in line for bullpen job later this summer, but not based on his spring performances.

Reassigned C JAKE LOWERY, OF TYLER NAQUIN, RHP WILL ROBERTS and OF JORDAN SMITH to Minor League camp.

Spring training means something to certain individuals. We all know who they are. But that's about it.

I could name a lot more guys who spring training is merely about getting reps.

When you see Tito put in a guy like Brewer and he totally blows a game, it shows how little TEAM RESULTS mean to a major league manager.

It's just fun to see baseball again, but nothing like the regular season.

civ ollilavad wrote:Seems to be very little interest this spring. Is there a new site everyone's hanging out at now, or are the Browns offseason maneuvers so exciting that the Indians are not worth following?

I've followed the Indians ST games a lot less since they moved to AZ, except for 2010, when I went to some games out there.
Now I go to a few games here in FL, but of course, they don't involve the Tribe. I've listened to parts of a few games, but the late starting time often makes me forget to tune in.
I miss Denver Lou's reports, but he doesn't go to AZ, either.

as long as no one's given up the Tribe, it's ok, but I think the problem remains that this forum has too small a population.

as long as no one's given up the Tribe, it's ok, but I think the problem remains that this forum has too small a population.

Oh yeah, agree, and that's obvious.

But I do think many will return when the season starts.

And I also think the resurgence of the Cavs, and large volume of Browns activity in the offseason keeps some riveted in those areas until the season starts.

Interestingly, in both basketball and football, the number of trades and transactions has really gone up in the past year or so. Used to be there wasn't much going on during transaction periods in those sports. Both have really exploded in that area.

If there's a way to open to the public, I would certainly support that. If you get trollers, you could always ban them if necessary.

civ ollilavad wrote:as long as no one's given up the Tribe, it's ok, but I think the problem remains that this forum has too small a population.

I'd invite someone, but I don't know anyone who follows the Indians, or has enough enthusiasm for baseball to join the forum.

Maybe I need new friends.......