Cleveland Sports Forum

Hi Joe (Seagull,

Should be up and running now, though this seems to be occurring fairly often lately - will keep a closer eye on it and look at options for upgrading the instance and forum software (something that is long overdue - we're running a pretty old version).

Thanks,
--Ryan

If you've logged in, you've probably noticed some changes. Not bad though.

I did update the board software from v3.1.10 -> v3.3.10 which is a long overdue upgrade. The old version was like 6-7 years old and I also migrated to a new OS/AWS image. I still need to figure out what to do with the Browns content. I'd prefer to pull it over as just another forum in the same phpbb install (which is not what I did when we set this up 12 years ago but will be much easier to maintain moving forward).

Alright, I got crazy and purchased a theme which is much better than what we had set before. I also stubbed out the Browns forum - right now I don't think I'll be able to bring the content from the old Browns board in, but it seemed pretty dead over there anyway.

AWESOME Ryan!!!
I like the new format.
Thank you so much for getting us back on line
Best,
Stay Safe!
Joez

Ryan

You must have the email addresses of all the forum registered members. How about sending an email blast inviting them to our new forums.

And if possible, could you please enlarge the "LOGIN" button? It's very hard to see.
Thanks.

Ryan, as always thank you for keeping this running. Wish we could have kept the history of the Browns forum but understand.

I thought the Browns forum was open to the public. Am I wrong about that ?

I was gone a few weeks but I guess the form was too most of that time. This one appears very pale on my screen but perhaps due just to my recent eye surgery,

Meanwhile a rather uninspiring spring training. No new BREAKOUT STARS like Kwan like year or Espino on the back lots last year.

HIghlights;
Bieber
Kwan and Rosario are doing what they did last year. Top of the lineup is topnotch.
Arias can hit and play all over
Maybe Josh Naylor is ready to step up his game

Concerns:
Gonzalez at least he hit 3 singles yesterday and hasn't struck out a ton
Zunino may hit just as well as Hedges
Hentges is out and Stephen has been bad
Josh Bell really cannot play 1st base: "don't try for a doubleplay" says Tito, just get the man at first. So he is the DH and Josh N the 1B
Espino same injury as last year repeats
Valera same injury as last year and once before repeats
1st draft choice DeLauter's same injury as last year repeats

Welcome news:
Gaddis is better
Straw hitting but no power
Sandlin is healthy
Civale is healthy
Plesac hasn't done anything stupid yet and pitched well once
Oviedo who was a very solid prospect a few years ago and is back from a sojourn with the Pirates where he clearly did not benefit from being on a big league roster without ever pitching in AA or above is looking good and if not on opening day should help later on
No bad news on Gavin Williams or Tanner Bibee

Nice summary, Civ

Glad you're back.

I was saying " Who are these guys?" as they sub the low A players into the games. Civ knows.

The kids they've been putting out there this past week were largely kids I'd never heard of either; teenagers who played in the Arizona Rookie League and no further along

Meanwhile some of the medium ranked prospects [in the 15-30 range] have been absent from major league games. Most notably Jake Fox a 2B-CF who has looked good in A ball and cold be ready for his Akron debut.
Little if any appearance by Gabriel Rodriguez a SS-3B who is also ready for Akron at age 20.

We get to see a tiny bit of another of those top round total flop picks: Carson Tucker. He got a $2,000,000 signing bonus as our No. 1 pick in 2020.
Here's a comment about him pre-2022:
Tucker may have great make-up, but it hasn’t led to results on the field just yet. He played just six games in the Arizona Complex League in 2021, and injuries have kept him from the field for most of this season. Thus far, he’s made his full-season debut at Lynchburg, slashing just .135/.297/.154 over 18 games.
He was just as atrocious last summer; only got into 38 games and produced his woeful line: 137/257/222

He makes Zimmer and Benson and Nolan Jones look like Hall of Famers by contrast. The kid is only 21 so it is theoretically possible he will accomplish something but pretty clear that was $2,000,000 wasted dollars by a small market low budget team.

Guess Oviedo is not ready with his command since he was returned to the minorleague camp
Not sure why Kelly remains in the running he's walked 5 in 7 1/3. He pitched reasonably well last year finally making his major league debut in 4 game for Philly at age 29
In 2021 he was dreadful, walking more than 1 per inning,.

Logical picks for the last 2 spots in the pen are Gaddis, who seems a lock; and I guess Herrin who is far from polished but been pretty good and would be the only lefty

I guess another reason for running out all those A ball players is they may be subjects in trade talks and interested teams may want to see them in stadium games.

I read that Kelly has gotten the Cleveland pitching factory quick fix and has been taught to throw the ball over the plate; last several outings they say were much better than the first couple
Keeping him would require dumping someone off the roster
So will adding Gallagher
And so would adding Quinn

Not too many guys on the 40 you'd want to get rid of.
1. Jason Bilous. Awful career stats. Unless the Factory fixes him he's no prospect
2. Cody Morris for the 60-day DL? He's a regular on that list and apparently is not near for gametime work. I don't think they can go retro to the day of his spring injur
3. Konnor Pilkington. Was our best spare starter in 2022 but had a bad spring and is not on any prospect lists
4. Valera on the 60 day DL? I hope not
5. Lavastida. His career ceiling is Bo Naylor's backup. BA report says h "still has potential as a big leaguer if he is able to get back on track at the plate" We have no catcher prospects of note lower in the system right now. They like David Fry who catches among other things; would he be satisfactory as a No. 2 to Bo?

Entertainment

‘Sudden’ Sam McDowell to sign books at Baseball Heritage Museum

Sam McDowell was known as one of the hardest-throwing left-handers in the game. He spent the first 11 of his 15 years in the Majors in an Indians uniform. This photo is from 1971. McDowell, 80, is scheduled to sign copies of his autobiography, “The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell,” at the Baseball Heritage Museum.ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Marc Bona,

Updated: Mar. 26, 2023, 7:10 a.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio –

Former Cleveland pitcher Sam McDowell and author Marty Gitlin will hold a book signing at the Baseball Heritage Museum on Sunday, April 16.

McDowell will be signing his autobiography, “The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell” 1 to 3 p.m.

The big lefthander - McDowell is 6 feet, 5 inches – played 11 of his 15 Major League seasons with Cleveland. He went 141-134 with a 3.17 ERA. His last season was 1975.

His book covers his life on and off the field, from career achievements to struggles with, and overcoming, alcoholism to becoming a counselor and helping players deal with addiction and other issues.

The museum is at 6601 Lexington Ave., adjacent to League Park.

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