Cleveland Sports Forum

This ABJ article is about possibly relocating the Thistledown Race Track and the openings of casinos and other race tracks in Ohio,

Just sharing this excerpt because it's interesting to note the gambling industry quoted here considers Northeastern Ohio to be large market.

We're normally told by the Cleveland sports franchises that they are handicapped being small market.

_____________________________________________

That agreement, announced last week, would let Penn National move a Columbus horse track to the Youngstown area and a Toledo track to Dayton. Both would be “racinos” with wagering on races and video slots. Penn waived a previous agreement’s restrictions on allowing gambling competition within a 50-mile radius.

The new agreement specifically mentions “potential relocation” of Thistledown to the Akron area, where it could infringe on the 50-mile zone. Kasich’s spokesman, Rob Nichols, acknowledged that Kasich’s staff and Rock Ohio Caesars are discussing the move.

“It’s something we have continued to work on,” Nichols said. “We don’t have an announcement yet.”

Penn National is not worried that a thoroughbred track the company plans to build in Austintown Township, near Youngstown, would lose business to a thoroughbred track in the Akron area, spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said.

“You’re looking at a very large market area, basically Northeast Ohio,” he said. “That’s a sufficiently large area. Those two tracks could co-exist.”


http://www.ohio.com/news/local/thistled ... a-1.284412

Just sharing this excerpt because it's interesting to note the gambling industry quoted here considers Northeastern Ohio to be large market.

Who is shocked that NE Ohio is a large market for gambling ? Also a large market for drugs and murder too. Also a huge market for poor people and the homeless.

rusty2 wrote:Just sharing this excerpt because it's interesting to note the gambling industry quoted here considers Northeastern Ohio to be large market.

Who is shocked that NE Ohio is a large market for gambling ? Also a large market for drugs and murder too. Also a huge market for poor people and the homeless.

Whoa.

Rusty, Captain Penny recommends a few extra sprinkles of sugar on your Cocoa Puffs.

(though I now suddenly realize a Youngstown area guy might never have never seen a "Captain Penny" show.....nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

We did get the Cleveland and Pittsburgh stations in Youngstown.

Don't hold your breath on the race track in Austintown. Lots of political (mob) hurdles before that will happen.

The Indians are still checking around for a left fielder or center fielder, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. They'd prefer a right-handed hitter to add balance to their lefty-heavy lineup.

Cleveland Indians CEO Paul Dolan talks Tribe: 'We want to win as much as the fans do' -- Terry Pluto
Published: Monday, March 26, 2012, 6:25 PM Updated: Monday, March 26, 2012, 9:27 PM
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- I sat down with Tribe CEO Paul Dolan for a long talk on the state of the franchise that his family has owned since the end of the 1999 season. This is their 13th year. In that span, they have had two playoff appearances (2001 and 2007). There have been four winning seasons.

Since the 2007 loss to Boston in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, the Indians are 295-353. They were 80-82 last season.

As I talked with Dolan, my goal was to allow him to explain his view of the franchise, not say, "Why don't you just sell the team?" OK, I did ask about a possible sale, and Dolan said that there have been no "serious buyers" during their ownership. He has been open to possible minority investors, and so far none have emerged.

In 2000, Major League Baseball approved the sale of the Tribe to the Dolans for $323 million. It was $3 million more than the Dodgers were sold for during that same time frame. Forbes Magazine recently estimated the worth of the franchise at $410 million. The Dodgers will soon be sold for about $1.4 billion.

Here is Dolan on several topics:

About Forbes' estimates of $30 million profit

According to Forbes Magazine, the Indians made $30 million last season -- the most in the majors.

According to Dolan, "No way we made that kind of money." He explained that Forbes "doesn't have access to the real data" on what teams make and lose, only Major League Baseball and the Players Association has it.

He said the Indians "made a little bit" of a profit last year. He added that the only time in their 13 years of ownership that "owners received a distribution" of profits was in the playoff season of 2007.

"Every other year, we put what we made back into the team," he said.

Dolan once again insisted Forbes wasn't accurate, then offered an interesting defense. He said during the labor negotiations between the owners and players, the Indians were brought in to discuss how to run a franchise and fairly use the money from revenue sharing.

"Both the union and MLB agreed we were doing it the right way," said Dolan. "That's why they had [President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Chris Antonetti] talk about how we operate. If we were just pocketing the money, the union would never agree to have us represented as the franchise doing it right. The union has called out other teams [for taking excess profits], but never us."

The Marlins were one of the franchises most criticized a few years ago.

About the Tigers

While the Indians will increase their payroll from about $50 million last season (ranked 25th) to about $75 million in 2012, the Tigers will be spending about $136 million -- in the top five in baseball.
Tribe fans look at the Tigers' acquisition of free agent Prince Fielder ($214 million for nine years), and wonder why a team in Cleveland can't at least do something similar to what owner Mike Ilitch is doing across the interstate in Detroit.

"I understand that makes us look bad," said Dolan. "I don't understand the foundation of what they are doing ... OK, in the short term, I do understand it, but long term ..."

Ilitch is 82 years old. He is ranked No. 212 on the Forbes' top 400 richest people ... worth $2.4 billion. He owns Little Caesars pizza, the Detroit Red Wings and the Tigers, which he bought in 1992. The team has made the playoffs twice -- 2006 and 2011. He has been one of MLB's biggest spenders in the last few years, trying to bring a World Series title to Detroit during his lifetime.

"They [the Tigers] operate much different than most franchises," said Dolan. "Even the teams in major markets tend to operate as we do -- they spend what they take in and don't go way above that."

But he admits that as long as the Tigers spend freely, they will make it hard for everyone else in the Central Division.

About the new labor agreement

"We achieved labor peace," said Dolan. "But we didn't address the fundamental problems [such as a lack of a salary cap]."

About Sports Time Ohio

The Indians started STO in 2006 to market their own games and sell the rights to various cable companies. There have been rumors that STO may be sold.

"I won't speak about those," said Dolan. "We are always looking to add revenue on the TV side of things."
He said the real money comes from the rights fees of the cable companies, not advertising, "which is a small part of it."

It seems Dolan is very open to some sort of different business arrangement with STO.

The lack of players under contract beyond two years

Dolan is unconcerned about the lack of long-term contracts on the Indians' roster, choosing to focusing on the franchise's control of key players such as Carlos Santana prior to their ability to apply for free agency. "A lot of our key players are under control beyond two years."

Dolan said he didn't even realize that no Tribe player was signed to a contract beyond 2013, "until it came up when I did an interview with Les Levine." He then added that this wasn't significant.

"The real issue is how long do we have guys under control [before they reach free agency]," he said. "A lot of our key players are under control beyond two years."

His point is that key players such as Justin Masterson (2015 free agency), Jason Kipnis (2017), Chris Perez (2015), Michael Brantley (2017) and Carlos Santana (2017) are years away from becoming free agents.

About long-term contracts

During the Dolans' ownership, the Indians have given long lucrative deals to Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook and Grady Sizemore. All three players then suffered significant injuries.

"If Chris [Antonetti] and Mark [Shapiro] comes to us with a long-term deal they want to make, we will seriously consider it," he said. "They have not done that [lately]."

Dolan didn't say the Indians would simply refuse to make major, multi-year financial commitments.
"We will remain open," he said. "But in totality, how successful have those kind of deals been? More often than not, they have been failures."

About the Jimenez deal

When Antonetti approached Dolan with the idea of trading Alex White and Drew Pomeranz to Colorado for Ubaldo Jimenez, Dolan admits, "I was surprised. Like most fans, I'm used to us trading for prospects -- not trading some of our best prospects."

So what about it?

"I was happy to see us take that approach and try to win," he said.

But now that Jimenez has struggled, how does he feel about the trade?

"I've been around long enough to know that it's way too early to know how this will play out," he said.
"What will Ubaldo do for us? How will White and Pomeranz do for them? It could take years to know the answer."

About Roberto Hernandez

Dolan said he wasn't "shocked" when the Indians received word that pitcher Fausto Carmona really wasn't 28, but was actually 31-year-old Roberto Hernandez.

"About a year ago, there was a rumor that there was something with Fausto," he said. "These type of things [name changes, age changes] do happen."

Dolan said the Indians could never track it down. Now that Hernandez is awaiting clearance from the U.S. immigration department to return to the Indians, "I really can't say anything else."

About Grady Sizemore

"When we signed Grady [for $5 million], we knew there was some risk because of his knee problems," said Dolan. "It's disappointing that he got hurt again. But we thought it was worth the risk because no one else on the [free agent] market had even close to Grady's upside for that price."

About manager Manny Acta

"The fans love Manny and his passion for the game comes through," said Dolan. "He communicates well with the fans and players. I like the enthusiasm that the team shows under him."

About Chris Antonetti

"While he has been general manager for only a year, he has been involved in our decision-making process for a long time," said Dolan. "He has done a great job. On balance, he has made good decisions. I know his strengths. As I mentioned, both MLB and the union mentioned us as how a franchise should be run. Not every decision has worked out, but I like what Chris is doing."

Dolan then added: "I want our fans to know that we do want to win and care about winning. The franchise is in good shape. We know we have to keep getting better. We do want to win as much as the fans do and care about it as much as they do."

But the fact remains the Dolan family is not about to dramatically change how business has been done. To win, they have to draft better, develop young players faster, and trade wiser than most other teams. In other words, they have to do it the hard way -- much as Minnesota and Tampa Bay have done in recent years.

Tribe bats have been silent this spring: Cleveland Indians spring training briefing
Published: Monday, March 26, 2012, 2:23 PM Updated: Monday, March 26, 2012, 2:38 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians didn't score enough runs to hold off Detroit in the AL Central last year and they aren't scoring many this spring.

Among American League teams this spring they've scored 98 runs, the second fewest to Baltimore's 92. Average wise, they're hitting .246, the second lowest in the AL to Tampa Bay's .222. The Angels lead the league at .305, while Toronto has scored the most runs with 144.

Last year the Indians finished ninth in the AL with 704 runs, an average of 4.3 per game, during the regular season.

Regulars such as Michael Brantley (.280), Jack Hannahan (.222) and Casey Kotchman (.296) have been sidelined at various times for injuries. Asdrubal Cabrera (.211), Jason Kipnis (.262), Carlos Santana (.171) have been in the lineup, but haven't hit much.

Shin-Soo Choo (.300), Travis Hafner (.353) and Shelley Duncan (.235, five homers, 15 RBI) are the only projected regulars to hit consistently this spring. Lonnie Chisenhall, competing for the third base job with Hannahan, is hitting .205 with 16 strikeouts in 39 at-bats.

"The thing I can take out of it is the worst offensive season the Indians have had in spring training (over the last 12 years) was 2007," said manager Manny Acta. "That's my consolation prize. I think we all know what happened that year."

The Indians won the AL Central with 96 victories before losing to Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2007.
"Obviously, we want to do better than this," said Acta. "It's been very inconsistent. We've had some good games and a lot of low-scoring games.

"But we understand which guys we need to have ready for the season. We know those guys are going to hit and we know they're going to hit and we know they're swinging the bat pretty decent. Choo, Hafner, Cabrera (to an extent), Casey Kotchman, Carlos Santana, will be OK, too."

No decision: Asked if Jeanmar Gomez had guaranteed himself a spot on the big-league pitching staff after Sunday's performance, be it in the rotation or bullpen, Acta said, "We still have decisions to make before we get to that point. . .He has certainly made his case. That's all I can tell you."

Injuries: Hannahan returned to the lineup Monday after being sidelined since March 15 with a sore back. . .Outfielder Fred Lewis (right elbow) says he should be able to play in a couple of days.

Tribe Matters

Is Tribe interested in Vlad?


By Sheldon Ocker Published: March 26, 2012

GOODYEAR, Ariz.: A report by ESPN Deportes says that veteran outfielder Vladimir Guerrero worked out for the Indians at their facility in the Dominican Republc.

An anonymous source was cited saying the Tribe was interested in signing the 37-year-old, but the club's director of operations in the Dominican, Ramon Pena, refused to confirm or deny that he worked out.

Guerrero was released at the end of last season after batting .290 with 13 homers and 63 RBI in 562 at-bats as the desginated hitter with the Orioles. He has not played the outfield since 2010, when he played 18 games (17 in right) for the Rangers.

General Manager Chris Antonetti has been seeking help outside the organization to fill the left field spot, but he had all spring to contract Guerrero if he had real interest. The Tribe has been seeking a left fielder since Grady Sizemore got hurt early in camp and Michael Brantley moved from left to center.

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/tribe-matters ... d-1.284769

Cleveland Indians CEO Paul Dolan talks Tribe: 'We want to win as much as the fans do' --


Published: Monday, March 26, 2012, 6:25 PM Updated: Monday, March 26, 2012, 9:27 PM
Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- I sat down with Tribe CEO Paul Dolan for a long talk on the state of the franchise that his family has owned since the end of the 1999 season. This is their 13th year. In that span, they have had two playoff appearances (2001 and 2007). There have been four winning seasons.

Since the 2007 loss to Boston in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, the Indians are 295-353. They were 80-82 last season.

As I talked with Dolan, my goal was to allow him to explain his view of the franchise, not say, "Why don't you just sell the team?" OK, I did ask about a possible sale, and Dolan said that there have been no "serious buyers" during their ownership. He has been open to possible minority investors, and so far none have emerged.

In 2000, Major League Baseball approved the sale of the Tribe to the Dolans for $323 million. It was $3 million more than the Dodgers were sold for during that same time frame. Forbes Magazine recently estimated the worth of the franchise at $410 million. The Dodgers will soon be sold for about $1.4 billion.

Here is Dolan on several topics:

About Forbes' estimates of $30 million profit

According to Forbes Magazine, the Indians made $30 million last season -- the most in the majors.

According to Dolan, "No way we made that kind of money." He explained that Forbes "doesn't have access to the real data" on what teams make and lose, only Major League Baseball and the Players Association has it.

He said the Indians "made a little bit" of a profit last year. He added that the only time in their 13 years of ownership that "owners received a distribution" of profits was in the playoff season of 2007.

"Every other year, we put what we made back into the team," he said.

Dolan once again insisted Forbes wasn't accurate, then offered an interesting defense. He said during the labor negotiations between the owners and players, the Indians were brought in to discuss how to run a franchise and fairly use the money from revenue sharing.

"Both the union and MLB agreed we were doing it the right way," said Dolan. "That's why they had [President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Chris Antonetti] talk about how we operate. If we were just pocketing the money, the union would never agree to have us represented as the franchise doing it right. The union has called out other teams [for taking excess profits], but never us."

The Marlins were one of the franchises most criticized a few years ago.

About the Tigers
Ilitch-fielder-signing-horiz-ap.jpgView full sizeCarlos Osorio, Associated Press"[The Tigers] operate much different than most franchises," says Dolan of Detroit owner Mike Ilitch. "Even the teams in major markets tend to operate as we do --- they spend what they take in and don't go way above that."

While the Indians will increase their payroll from about $50 million last season (ranked 25th) to about $75 million in 2012, the Tigers will be spending about $136 million -- in the top five in baseball.

Tribe fans look at the Tigers' acquisition of free agent Prince Fielder ($214 million for nine years), and wonder why a team in Cleveland can't at least do something similar to what owner Mike Ilitch is doing across the interstate in Detroit.

"I understand that makes us look bad," said Dolan. "I don't understand the foundation of what they are doing ... OK, in the short term, I do understand it, but long term ..."

Ilitch is 82 years old. He is ranked No. 212 on the Forbes' top 400 richest people ... worth $2.4 billion. He owns Little Caesars pizza, the Detroit Red Wings and the Tigers, which he bought in 1992. The team has made the playoffs twice -- 2006 and 2011. He has been one of MLB's biggest spenders in the last few years, trying to bring a World Series title to Detroit during his lifetime.

"They [the Tigers] operate much different than most franchises," said Dolan. "Even the teams in major markets tend to operate as we do -- they spend what they take in and don't go way above that."

But he admits that as long as the Tigers spend freely, they will make it hard for everyone else in the Central Division.

About the new labor agreement

"We achieved labor peace," said Dolan. "But we didn't address the fundamental problems [such as a lack of a salary cap]."

About Sports Time Ohio

The Indians started STO in 2006 to market their own games and sell the rights to various cable companies. There have been rumors that STO may be sold.

"I won't speak about those," said Dolan. "We are always looking to add revenue on the TV side of things."

He said the real money comes from the rights fees of the cable companies, not advertising, "which is a small part of it."

It seems Dolan is very open to some sort of different business arrangement with STO.

The lack of players under contract beyond two years
Santana slam seals win for Tribe over TigersView full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerDolan is unconcerned about the lack of long-term contracts on the Indians' roster, choosing to focusing on the franchise's control of key players such as Carlos Santana prior to their ability to apply for free agency. "A lot of our key players are under control beyond two years."

Dolan said he didn't even realize that no Tribe player was signed to a contract beyond 2013, "until it came up when I did an interview with Les Levine." He then added that this wasn't significant.

"The real issue is how long do we have guys under control [before they reach free agency]," he said. "A lot of our key players are under control beyond two years."

His point is that key players such as Justin Masterson (2015 free agency), Jason Kipnis (2017), Chris Perez (2015), Michael Brantley (2017) and Carlos Santana (2017) are years away from becoming free agents.

About long-term contracts

During the Dolans' ownership, the Indians have given long lucrative deals to Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook and Grady Sizemore. All three players then suffered significant injuries.

"If Chris [Antonetti] and Mark [Shapiro] comes to us with a long-term deal they want to make, we will seriously consider it," he said. "They have not done that [lately]."

Dolan didn't say the Indians would simply refuse to make major, multi-year financial commitments.

"We will remain open," he said. "But in totality, how successful have those kind of deals been? More often than not, they have been failures."

About the Jimenez deal

When Antonetti approached Dolan with the idea of trading Alex White and Drew Pomeranz to Colorado for Ubaldo Jimenez, Dolan admits, "I was surprised. Like most fans, I'm used to us trading for prospects -- not trading some of our best prospects."

So what about it?

"I was happy to see us take that approach and try to win," he said.

But now that Jimenez has struggled, how does he feel about the trade?

"I've been around long enough to know that it's way too early to know how this will play out," he said. "What will Ubaldo do for us? How will White and Pomeranz do for them? It could take years to know the answer."

About Roberto Hernandez
Slam Sinks Tribe, 7-3View full sizeAP fileDolan isn't obsessing about the off-season revelations surrounding the pitcher once known as Fausto Carmona. "These type of things [name changes, age changes] do happen," he said.

Dolan said he wasn't "shocked" when the Indians received word that pitcher Fausto Carmona really wasn't 28, but was actually 31-year-old Roberto Hernandez.

"About a year ago, there was a rumor that there was something with Fausto," he said. "These type of things [name changes, age changes] do happen."

Dolan said the Indians could never track it down. Now that Hernandez is awaiting clearance from the U.S. immigration department to return to the Indians, "I really can't say anything else."

About Grady Sizemore

"When we signed Grady [for $5 million], we knew there was some risk because of his knee problems," said Dolan. "It's disappointing that he got hurt again. But we thought it was worth the risk because no one else on the [free agent] market had even close to Grady's upside for that price."

About manager Manny Acta

"The fans love Manny and his passion for the game comes through," said Dolan. "He communicates well with the fans and players. I like the enthusiasm that the team shows under him."

About Chris Antonetti

"While he has been general manager for only a year, he has been involved in our decision-making process for a long time," said Dolan. "He has done a great job. On balance, he has made good decisions. I know his strengths. As I mentioned, both MLB and the union mentioned us as how a franchise should be run. Not every decision has worked out, but I like what Chris is doing."

Dolan then added: "I want our fans to know that we do want to win and care about winning. The franchise is in good shape. We know we have to keep getting better. We do want to win as much as the fans do and care about it as much as they do."

But the fact remains the Dolan family is not about to dramatically change how business has been done. To win, they have to draft better, develop young players faster, and trade wiser than most other teams. In other words, they have to do it the hard way -- much as Minnesota and Tampa Bay have done in recent years.

CALI: I posted that article on Dolan just a few above yours.

Well it was worth seeing twice I guess.

The details

The Associated Press is reporting that Roberto Hernandez’s new contract has a base salary of $2.5 million with $2.7 million in performance bonuses. Before his contract was voided, he had been scheduled to make $7 million this season.

According to the new deal, Hernandez would receive $200,000 if he reaches each of the following plateaus: 20, 23 and 26 starts and for 150, 170 and 185 innings pitched. He also would receive $250,000 if he is on the roster for 95 days plus an additional $250,000 for every 15 days beyond that to 165.

His 2014 option was eliminated, allowing him to become a free agent after 2013. His 2013 club option was reduced from $9 million to $6 million, with any bonuses reached in 2012 added to the base. He could also make an additional $3 million next year based on how many innings he pitches.

The catch to all this is that Hernandez (the former Fausto Carmona) must persuade the U.S. government to issue him a work permit after it was revealed that his father had purchased a false identity for him as a teenager

Indians optioned 3B Lonnie Chisenhall to Triple-A Columbus.

Jack Hannahan has won the Indians' starting third base job. Chisenhall, 23, batted just .255/.284/.415 in the majors last year and was 8-for-39 (.205) this spring. He will be next in line if Hannahan isn't cutting it. The Tribe also optioned first baseman Matt LaPorta to Triple-A on Tuesday.


Mar 27 - 11:47 AM

Here is a fresh one then...




Oliva, Tiant recall coming to U.S. in a simpler time
David Dorsey ddorsey@news-press.com
March 27, 2012


Luis Tiant

When Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant left Cuba for the United States, times were simpler.

Fidel Castro had just started his rise to communist power in Cuba, but diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States had yet to deteriorate.

These two men would succeed in major league baseball, with Oliva starring as an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, who retired his uniform No. 6.

Tiant excelled as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, who inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame.

Both men became U.S. citizens in 1969. They have spent years in Fort Myers during spring training as guest instructors for their respective teams.

In the early 1960s, Oliva and Tiant had a relatively easy path to major league baseball when compared to their defecting Cuban contemporaries.

Oliva, now 73, was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1964.

He finished his career with 1,917 hits and a .304 career average and now works for the Twins as a spring training instructor.

"I grew up in the country," Oliva said. "My father used to own a farm. It was a farm where he would grow a lot of stuff. Tobacco, corn, potato, sweet potato, yucca, a lot of different vegetables and rice.

"When I grew up, I would play baseball with my friends every time we had a chance. You see, it's something in your life that you love. I liked to go to school, go to the farm and in my spare time, I played baseball. We had a few kids in the neighborhood. We used to get together and play two-base baseball or one-base baseball, because we didn't have that many kids."

Oliva's father allowed his son to play whenever he could. As Oliva improved, he played on teams with higher profiles.

He eventually caught the attention of Roberto Fernandez Tapanes, who in turn alerted scout Joe Cambria.

Cambria scoured Cuba for talent, as he could sign the players cheaply for teams in the United States.

So did scout Bobby Avila, who recommended Tiant for a team in Mexico, which served as a springboard for Tiant to the United States.

Tiant, 71, works for the Boston Red Sox as a spring training instructor. He finished his playing career with a 229-172 record, a 3.30 ERA and 2,416 strikeouts.

"I went back in 2007," said Tiant, who was separated from his parents for almost two decades after coming to the U.S. "I had not come back to my country for 46 years. I wanted to see my country. I wanted to see my family. It's a shame, living in the United States, that you can go to Miami, and you're like 90 miles from Cuba, and you can't go there.

"You can't visit your country. You can't visit your family. That's not right."

Oliva and Tiant hope they live to see the day of a Cuba and United States with a renewed relationship.

"I could never be a politician," Tiant said. "I know nothing about politicians. But because of a politician, my mom and dad came to the U.S. in 1977. (A politician) wrote a letter to Castro to let my mom and dad come into the country. It was the first time I had seen my father in 17 years."

Defectors cannot return to Cuba.

"The bottom line is, there's nothing we can do," Tiant said. "They make it difficult for them, for their families who stay in Cuba. You have to think about it, when you defect, what are they going to do to my family? You don't know."

Vlad Guerrero not likely to wind up with Cleveland Indians according to GM Chris Antonetti
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 1:27 PM Updated: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 5:54 PM
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
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Indians GM Chris Antonetti wants third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall to work on his swing at Columbus.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Tribe General Manager Chris Antonetti spoke to a few reporters Tuesday about several topics, including Vlad Guerrero and the left field position. Here are his key points:
1. Guerrero worked out at the Tribe's facility in the Dominican Republic, "but don't read much into it." He said that twice. He mentioned that Guerrero has "an interest in playing again, and he asked us if he could work out." So the Indians did it.
2. Because of some physical problems, Guerrero can't play the field. The Indians already have Travis Hafner as a DH, and they don't want two players who can't play in the field. So it's doubtful Guerrero will join the Tribe.
3. Antonetti said Shelley Duncan "has stepped forward" in the competition for left field. He said Duncan "has done a very good job." He mentioned Duncan having a good second half for the Tribe last season. Duncan hit .265 with seven homers in September.
4. He said Kevin Slowey was not assured a job in the rotation when he was obtained in a trade from Colorado. He explained that Slowey remains in competition with Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff for the final spot, and that decision will probably not be made until after all three make their final spring appearances.
5. Lonnie Chisenhall has improved defensively and "looks as comfortable at third base as he ever has." But Chisenhall didn't hit (.205, 16 strikeouts and one walk in 39 at-bats). Antonetti said Chisenhall needs to go to Columbus and work on his plate discipline. "He still has a good swing. He's only 23 and has fewer than 300 plate appearances in Class AAA." The Indians are not close to giving up on Chisenhall.
6. Matt LaPorta, 27, had a poor camp and now needs to re-establish himself at Columbus.
7. The goal is to "take the best team North" to open the season. That means Jack Hannahan at third base. It might even mean one of the candidates for the fifth spot (possibly Jeanmar Gomez) in the bullpen.