Cleveland Sports Forum

Giambi and Aguilar reached, but were stranded.
Game is not on the radio now, so I don't know about Hammy.
But I think his son plays for Avon Lake, and they won last night, and play again on Saturday.

Kluber pitching now, just gave up a single and a double.

Cozart doubles in 2 runs, then is out trying to make it to 3rd.

I have watched both games and I told my wife that both Francouer(sic) and Naquin looked lost at the plate. About 10 seconds later Tyler hits a Home Run.

Aguillar continues to set the state of Arizona on fire. But not much worse to date than Michael Bourn. Or maybe in fact Aguillar's .000 AVG is better than Bourn's .071 since Jesus has drawn a pile of walks and Bourn has none. They are even up in stolen bases this spring, too.

civ - Bourn (and all other veterans) pretty much get a statistical "mulligan" in my view.

Veterans can totally have goals in their at bats, (and innings pitched) that have nothing to do with short term results.

They (he) have jobs sewn up.

A couple nice defensive plays by Bourn so far. Another reason to love Bourn.
I figure we didn't have to give up a player for him and he's a "state of the art" defensive
outfielder. And base stealer. He was not 100% last year.

Works for me.

Trevor implodes and Salazar not great in his first outiing. Tomlin's stock is rising.

Winter Haven was good, seeing you guys every spring was Great!!!!

I know it's very early for Bourn; and he did drew his first walk and stroke his 2nd single of the spring today, so I guess I lifted the curse. But I am concerned about how he handles his sophomore season in the AL

One reliable hand came through as usual today: Hagadone again entered with 3 on and walked in a run. Nick really has what it takes to frustrate coaches, managers and fans. I assume that on his next team or perhaps the one after that he'll become a good reliever. But can't see him surviving the roster cuts here and that will make him a free agent.

Indians Notebook: Starting pitching has been strong

Starting pitching has been the key to the Indians' 9-1 Spring Training start

By Steve Orbanek

March 10, 2014

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If there's a such thing as a good omen, then the Cleveland Indians should be feeling pretty good right about now.

The Tribe was outstanding this past week as the team went 6-0-1. As you might expect, the Indians are alone atop the Cactus League standings with a 9-1-1 record.

It's hard to imagine anything really going better for the Indians so far. Almost every starting pitcher has looked good to this point, and the team seems to be getting ready for the season to begin.

As hard as it may be to believe, there is now just officially three weeks until the Indians begin their season against the Seattle Mariners. With that being said, here are some thoughts, both deep and shallow, in regard to this past week's Spring Training action...

Player of the Week

Mike Aviles — Shortstop

4 G, 5-for-11, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

It does seem a tad trivial to name a player of the week for Spring Training games, but Aviles definitely had a solid performance. After so many years of having players like Austin Kearns, Travis Buck and Jayson Nix round out the Indians' bench, it really is refreshing to know that Aviles will remain in the fold for the foreseeable future. He was a consistent performer last season for the Indians and that will probably remain true in 2014. Many fans have clamored for the Indians to trade Asdrubal Cabrera at one point or another, and there is merit to that argument. Cabrera's regression has been frustrating at times and there certainly is reason to believe that Aviles could at least match his performance as a starter. However, the Indians are very fortunate to have Aviles as a player on their bench and it would not be easy to replace that role on the team. Aviles' presence also ensures that the Indians are not rushed in their development of Francisco Lindor or Jose Ramirez. Any way that you slice it, it's hard to find a more valuable bench player than him.

News & Notes

— If you've remained cautiously optimistic in regard to Trevor Bauer, now may be the time to officially get excited. In his appearance on Thursday, Bauer pitched two innings, allowed three hits, zero runs, walked one and struck out four. The stat line is impressive, but the best thing about the outing might go beyond the actual stats. According to reports, Bauer was throwing 98 miles per hour in the contest. This is now the second time that we have heard that this spring. That is a stark comparison from last season when Bauer struggled to hit even 90 miles per hour in some Triple-A Columbus outings. If this is true, then Bauer could be in line for a special 2014 season. It obviously is going to take more than just velocity to have a strong season, but he also is making strides in many other areas as well. So far, his walks have been down and his strikeouts have been up. He remains a longshot to win the fifth spot in the Indians' rotation, but everyone knows that he still has the highest upside of any of the candidates. A player like Bauer can have a dramatic effect on the Indians' future, so if he is indeed on the right track, then this team becomes all the more dangerous. Because of his ace-like upside, Danny Salazar was viewed as a rotation savior at times last season. The remarkable thing is that Bauer has that same kind of upside. Just imagine what could be ahead if we are really starting to see a different Bauer on the mound.

— As noted above, the Indians' starting pitching has looked exceptional this spring and that was definitely the case this past week. One of the players who has been overlooked is Josh Tomlin. The right-hander is just a few seasons removed from a 12-7 campaign where he posted a 4.25 ERA in 26 starts, but no one seems to figuring he has a chance at this final rotation spot. While that may ultimately true, Tomlin certainly is still performing well as he has a 2.00 ERA in three games and nine innings. This past week he appeared in two games and allowed two earned runs in seven innings of work. He also struck out seven batters during that span, which is a tad unusual because Tomlin has never been much of a strikeout guy. Nonetheless, it's definitely a good sign, and it's an even better sign when you consider that Tomlin is not that far removed from Tommy John surgery. It will be interesting to see how the Indians handle Tomlin this season because the reality is that he probably will not earn a spot in the Opening Day rotation unless something drastic happens. Barring something crazy, that spot seems to be all but guaranteed to Carlos Carrasco. However, where does Tomlin then fit in? It probably does not make much sense to keep him around in the bullpen, so he probably will start the season in the rotation at Columbus. That will also allow the Indians to monitor his outings since he is still working his way back from the surgery. He could prove to be a valuable insurance policy down the line. Also, what if Tomlin starts to see his velocity increase a bit now that he is over a year-and-a-half past the surgery? This was around the time that Carrasco saw the jump, so could the same be expected from Tomlin? We know that Tomlin's precise control makes him valuable, but now imagine if he could consistently even sit in the lower 90s. That would certainly help his game, and it will be interesting to follow the radar guns on Tomlin this season.

— One interesting thing about the Indians' Spring Training contests is the fact that both Tyler Naquin and Carlos Moncrief have played in 11 games this spring. In fact, both players played in every spring game during this past week. It's hard to say what that means, but it's interesting that the Indians are getting the two players so much time in games. By default, Naquin and Moncrief are the Indians' top two outfield prospects and the team seems to be treating them that way by making sure that they play so much this spring. It's been a long, long time since the Indians have developed a quality major league outfielder, so it will be interesting to see if either Moncrief or Naquin have the chance to crack the majors some time this season. It's likely that neither player has the potential to be an All-Star, but if one of them could develop into even an everyday outfielder, then the Indians would be in good shape. So far, Moncrief is hitting .267 (4-for-15) this spring while Naquin is hitting .273 (3-for-11). These are obviously miniscule sample sizes, but both players have done a solid job of hanging in there against major league pitching thus far. Both Moncrief and Naquin are not too far away from the majors, so 2014 will probably be the biggest season of their careers to this point. It appears as if they've started the season out on the right foot thus far.

I watched Grady Sizemore leading off for the Red Sox today. He went one for three, and made a nice catch in center field. BUT (big "but") can he stay healthy?