Joe the constant whiner......... Whine away !!!!!!!

Tommy Hunter - R - Indians

Indians manager Terry Francona said Saturday that Tommy Hunter (core muscle) could be sidelined until the middle of May.

Hunter was signed to a one-year $2 million deal this week after his agreement with the Yankees was voided due to a failed physical. He'll spend the first couple of months of the season on the disabled list before joining the Tribe's bullpen.

Memo to Carlos Santana - hit the freaking ball this year and you can play whatever position you want!!


Carlos Santana - 1B - Indians

Indians manager Terry Francona will sit down with Carlos Santana on Monday to discuss his role this season.

He mostly played first base last year but the addition of Mike Napoli has complicated things. Santana doesn't sound too thrilled about the prospect of serving as the team's primary DH. "I don't like to play DH too much, because I like staying in the game," said Santana. "I think I'm too young for that." Santana has played catcher and third base in the past. Francona has also hinted he could see time in the outfield.

For a guy that has been shitty at every defensive position he has played, he better start loving the DH position.

Once the mouth starts bitching, time to move him for anything they can get.

We heard a lot of Dick Pole jokes during his time as a coach, but the fact that he played for the "Beavers" and was labeled a "bust" just adds so much more.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Will Venable will be in Indians' camp Friday.


It sounds like maybe all he needs to do is take a physical before a contract is official. The terms of the deal aren't known. The Indians needed to bring in at least one outfielder this spring and Venable certainly is a fit, especially with his ability to play all three spots.

The 33-year-old figures to supplant Abraham Almonte in center field and then likely share center with Rajai Davis once Michael Brantley (shoulder) is ready

I really think the Tribe front office is thinking METS as they put this thing together.

Remember, last year the Mets had the great pitching, and their hitting sucked. For a few months they did ok, hung in.

Finally, they brought in veteran guys Kelly Johnson and our buddy Uribe and they really started to take off. Encouraged, they then got Cespedes and the take off was complete.

I never forgot the boost just having veteran hitters brought that struggling offense.

9:30am: Venable will take a physical with the Indians today, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets. Via Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com, Venable will receive a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

7:46am: Outfielder Will Venable will be in camp with the Indians today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes (Twitter links). That suggests that player and team have agreed to terms on a contract of some sort, although Rosenthal does not say that specifically. Venable is a client of Turner Gary Sports.

The Indians can use the outfield depth Venable will provide, particularly with Michael Brantley dealing with a shoulder injury. Brantley hopes to be ready in time for Opening Day, but if not, Venable could give the team a left-handed hitter to pair with Rajai Davis in left field until Brantley returns to the lineup.

The 33-year-old Venable hit .244/.320/.350 in 390 plate appearances in 2015, hitting passably in San Diego and then fading down the stretch after an August trade to the Rangers. His power output has faded since a 22-homer outburst with the Padres in 2013, although he maintains decent value due to his baserunning (he had 16 steals in 2015 while only being caught once) and his ability to play all three outfield positions. The longtime Padre has a career .251/.317/.406 line in parts of eight big-league seasons

In case anybody is wondering, the real reason we signed that bum, Will Vulnerable, is because Almonte has been suspended 80 games for PED use.

Tribe front office absolutely sucks.

An American League team fielding an outfield like ours and then act like they plan to contend. What a joke.

Here's the story on Almonte:


Almonte suspended 80 games for PEDs

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | 8:20 PM ET

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians' outfield situation just became a little more complicated.

On Friday, Major League Baseball announced that Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has been suspended for 80 games due to testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It marks the first positive test for Almonte, who is eligible to participate in Spring Training but must begin serving his suspension at the start of the regular season.

Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said that he and manager Terry Francona met Friday with Almonte, who plans on addressing his teammates and speaking with the media on Saturday.

"Tito and I talked to Abe as soon as we found out," Chernoff said. "Obviously, it's disappointing. We fully support Major League Baseball's program. The suspension is what it is: It's 80 games for a player that we had expected to contribute to the Major League team. At this point, we're just digesting the news as well, but we're going to have to rely on the depth that we have here and try to fill a hole that he otherwise would have filled."

Chernoff declined to delve into the specifics of Almonte's suspension, and the Indians issued an organizational statement that read in part: "We fully support Major League Baseball's policy and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outlined by Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement, we will not comment further on the circumstances surrounding this announcement."

Boldenone is classified as an anabolic steroid and was the same substance identified in a positive test by former Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia. Earlier this spring, Mejia tested positivie for a third time, resulting in a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball. A second positive test for a PED comes with a 162-game ban.

Almonte will be placed on the restricted list and will not be eligible for pay during his suspension.

Almonte, 26, was acquired from the Padres on July 31 last season in exchange for left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski, and the outfielder was initially sent to Triple-A Columbus. Almonte was soon in the lineup in Cleveland, and his first game (4-for-5 with two doubles, one homer and a pair of RBIs against the Twins on Aug. 8) was one of the more memorable debuts in franchise history.


From there, Almonte gave the Indians a solid replacement in center fielder for Michael Bourn, who was dealt to Atlanta, along with Nick Swisher, on Aug. 7 last season. The switch-hitting Almonte hit .264 with five home runs, nine doubles, five triples, 20 RBIs and a .776 OPS in 51 games over the final two months for Cleveland, while playing an above-average center field.

Overall, Almonte hit .250 with a .719 OPS in 82 games between the Padres and Indians last year.

"He paid attention to detail so well. I mean that in a complimentary way," Francona said of Almonte's showing with Cleveland last season. "It was just a really nice acquisition for us at a time when guys are leaving and some young kids are coming. He did a really good job of solidifying that."

Almonte's showing was strong enough to put him into consideration as the Tribe's starting center fielder for the upcoming campaign. With left fielder Michael Brantley currently rehabbing from November surgery on his right shoulder, only outfielders Rajai Davis (left and center) and Lonnie Chisenhall (right) look like virtual locks for the Opening Day roster. Almonte fell into that category, too, before Friday's development.

With Almonte effectively out of the mix until July, the spring outfield competition just became more interesting.

To add an extra body to the fold, the Tribe agreed upon a Minor League contract Friday with Will Venable, who will join camp as a non-roster invitee. Other outfielders jockeying for jobs include Collin Cowgill, Joey Butler, Tyler Naquin, Zach Walters, Shane Robinson, Michael Choice, Robbie Grossman and James Ramsey. Brantley, who has advanced to hitting off a tee, is not expected to be ready for Opening Day.

Asked if the Indians might look at the free-agent market for more outfield help, Chernoff said the Tribe's front office needed more time to digest and discuss the news about Almonte before reacting. Last week, it was reported that the Indians had shown interest in free-agent center fielder Austin Jackson.

"That's something that we'll have to figure out," Chernoff said of potentially exploring the free-agent market further. "The fact that we have a decent amount of depth in camp in the outfield, the fact that Will Venable happens to have signed around the same time and adds to that depth, at least gives us some options for the immediate future. But that's something we'll have to work through internally."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on Twitter @MLBastian and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The guys that do background checks for the Tribe must have been borrowed from the Browns.

Unbelievable.

Those guys have more than background check problems.

rise and fall of Abraham Almonte was pretty brief