Big Ten Hiatus

Howdy all,

Sorry for the delay in my next couple posts as I know a lot is going on with the Tribe right now.  Before I get to that I just want to explain where I have been.  I was at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament all weekend, and needless to say I was quite pleased with the teams I saw.  A lot of analysts say that it's the best conference in college basketball right now.  While I don't know that to be sure, I will say that every team is composed of a game changing star, and that is saying something.  Michigan State won the tournament and looks like a great team going into the NCAA Tournament.  However, watch out for Ohio State.  They dismantled Michigan, and can win any game with their three point shooting.  Keeping Sullinger out of foul trouble will be their key, but I like the scrappiness of Aaron Craft defensively. 

Now to some very fast Tribe tidbits, and then later this week I will start posting regularly again. 

-  Casey Kotchman is day-to-day with an injury.  I think he is fitting in great already.  Matt LaPorta and Russ Canzler have gotten the Spring Training starts during his absence.

-  The pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona had his false identity charges dropped pending a work release program.  Not sure when he will come back to the Indians just yet, but it sounds like he will be back MUCH sooner than later.  I am still a bit baffled, he doesn't have charges for a false identity, but he will have a different name when he returns to the states?  Legal systems baffle me, and to think I almost became a lawyer.  Get your Heredia jerseys ASAP

- Shelley Duncan I think has taken a leak in left field.  He has been lights out this spring according to the box scores since I can't catch all of these games, and if you can find me any OF candidates playing better than him then I am missing something.  He has marked his territory, and its starting Left Fielder. 

- The pitching is off to a rocky start.  However, they are "hitting their marks" so I guess its nothing to worry about.  Unless they are aiming for bats.  Just kidding, in spring training you can usually throw away a pitcher's statistics as a projection of how well they will perform over the season.  Pitchers are usually working on specific pitches each outing, new mechanics, or even new pitches just to see if they can throw them over consistently.  Hitters are usually not working on AS many items when at the plate, and are ready for the season well before pitchers are.  I am still not worried in the least about our staff, and if the lineup stays healthy, this is definitely a post-season staff.  And that's before Carmona returns.  We could have a Triple-A staff that has all major league experience and are all still young enough to be improving! 

-  I want David Huff to be our 5th starter.  It may be nuts, and he may of had a few bad spring outings, but we need a lefty somewhere in this rotation.  And I am blind or did I see him show flashes of what Cliff Lee was doing on the mound when he came up from Triple A midseason.  If he can control the ball like Lee or remotely close for the majority of his starts, he can be scary good too.  Which is why for him only, I would like to see Marson as his every start catcher.  He seems to call a better game for our guys who use more location emphasis to get batters out, like Tomlin and Lowe.  Santana can catch Masterson and Jimenez, because I think their stuff can get them by. 

-  For those of you who think Zach McAllister has a chance at the 5th spot.  He doesn't.  He is seeing the back end of most games, which means his stats are against a lot of non-MLBers.  I still like his potential a lot.  We got a lot of Triple-A guys who are owning that level of competition.  We just need a few more Kipnis's who take advantage of their call-ups from day one. 

That's what I got for now.