Cleveland Sports Forum

McCallister going back to Columbus, Valbuena coming to Cleveland for the Friday contest.

Tribe is now 7-3 since being swept by the World Champions.

I never thought I'd say this - but Pronk just might be worth his big bucks this season.

Zach McAllister back to AAA and Luis Valbuena recalled.

Time to ax Talbot.

AC will be the AL starting shortstop in Phoenix.

Of course, buried in Thursday morning’s paper is this bombshell (which has some bearing on the whole RF situation), as Hoynes reports that “Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo had the cast removed from his broken left thumb Wednesday. Choo is telling friends he could be playing by the second week in August.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa…the second week in August?
Isn’t this the guy that was supposed to be gone for 8 to 10 weeks, perhaps putting in jeopardy whether he’d even be coming back this season?

Choo is trying to do a Pujols, maybe with an eye to his contract.

Didn't he come back early from a past injury?

Tigers hit the break .5 game in first place.

Tribe does have 1 less loss. The old game in hand trick.

Post break rotation SHOULD be:

Masterson, Tomlin, Carrasco, Fausto, Gomez.

Dodgers close to seller mode
All indications from Dodgers baseball operations sources are that the team will wait about two weeks and then begin selling off players. The Dodgers are waiting to see whether they come out of their malaise and turn things around, but the reality is the Dodgers will be sellers very shortly, capping a horrible year.
Dodgers scouts have been told to begin gathering lists of prospects from other teams who would be the most desirable for some of their veteran players.

Those who work there just shake their heads about how badly things have gone, not only due to the ownership mess, but the performance on the field. It’s an awfully tough position to have put Don Mattingly, but the rookie manager has begun to get better strategically with more experience. Much of his time has been spent having to answer questions about the latest Frank McCourt saga, and none of it has been pleasant.

It doesn’t appear the Dodgers would sell off Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, or James Loney, but the players who are available would include pitchers Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, Ted Lilly, utililtymen Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll, and when and if he returns from the disabled list, closer Jonathan Broxton.

The player who might get the most attention is the 37-year-old Carroll, who is having a very good season (.301 with a .372 OBP) and can play multiple positions.

“There are several teams who could use a player with his versatility and one who can give you some offensive boost as well,’’ said one prominent American League pro scout, who believes the Dodgers should have a wide selection of solid return packages available for Carroll, who might be a good fit for the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Giants, or Braves.

As for the bigger names, the feeling is Dodgers fans would rebel if some of their star players were sold off and would like to see the organization make a commitment to re-sign Ethier, for instance, who can become a free agent after next season.

There have already been reports of the Indians being interested in reacquiring Blake to share the load at third base, though they recently pulled the plug on the Jack Hannahan experiment and went with rookie Lonnie Chisenhall.

With Garland (currently on the DL with shoulder soreness) and Kuroda, AL teams are trying to evaluate whether they could thrive in the junior circuit. Lilly is more of a proven commodity in the AL.

the feeling is Dodgers fans would rebel if some of their star players were sold off

Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar.

Big deal, let them rebel.

The fact is, time after time, it is proven that if the team wins down the line, the fans forget in a hurry.

Fausto Carmona (quad) will pitch a simulated game at a team workout Wednesday.
If all goes well, he could rejoin the Indians' starting rotation next Monday against the Twins. Carmona has been sidelined since July 3 with a strained right quadriceps muscle.
Source: Paul Hoynes on Twitter

On XM radio this morning, ex-Twins manager Tom Kelly stated that he believes 85 wins will be good enough to win the AL Central.