GO TRIBE

PROJECTED 25-MAN ROSTER

Starting Lineup
1 CF Grady Sizemore
2 SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3 RF Shin-Soo Choo
4 DH Travis Hafner
5 3B Jhonny Peralta
6 1B Matt LaPorta
7 LF Michael Brantley
8 C Lou Marson
9 2B Luis Valbuena

Bench
C Mike Redmond
1B/3B Andy Marte
IF Brian Bixler
OF Trevor Crowe

Starting Rotation
1 LHP David Huff
2 RHP Justin Masterson
3 RHP Jake Westbrook
4 LHP Aaron Laffey
5 RHP Fausto Carmona

Bullpen
CL RHP Kerry Wood
SU RHP Chris Perez
SU LHP Tony Sipp
MID RHP Joe Smith
MID RHP Jensen Lewis
MID LHP Rafael Perez
LR RHP Hector Ambriz

This is a new look Indians team all the way around. I don't really expect to them to do a whole lot considering all our experience either got traded or left in free agency. Manny Acta looks like a good manager, and Shapiro has an eye for talent so hopefully some of these new guys will fill in nicely.

Pitching is definitely a huge concern at this point though.

1/29/2010 9:35:34 PM

Quote :

"Pitching is definitely a huge concern at this point though."

The starting pitchers in game 1 of the WS last year are laughing

1/29/2010 9:48:15 PM

We could never play CC enough and Cliff Lee hurt to trade but we were out of it

the woes of the small market team

1/29/2010 9:53:51 PM

http://blog.dispatch.com/blog-18/2010/01/shapiros_snapshot_of_indians_s.shtml

1/30/2010 4:29:17 AM

I'm glad you started this thread, it seems like the last two times I started an Indians thread they tanked.

I've had high expectations the last couple of years, this year should be fun since we are so young (but with lots of talent) and the expectations are pretty low. Pitching is going to be an issue of course, we could have a decent rotation/bullpen if Westbrook, Carmona, R. Perez, Jensen Lewis and Kerry Wood return to their 2007-2008 form and if Masterson and Laffey start to round out their games.

I just really really hope that if we have a bad season we dont trade Grady.

1/30/2010 9:57:14 AM

I really couldn't imagine them doing now. It would have happened in last season's fire sale if he was to be shipped.

I would be really, really pissed if they did end up dealing him for some though! He's the cornerstone of the franchise.

1/30/2010 3:08:14 PM

bttt for signing Branyan to a one year contract (barring a physical)

this will help give us a little more time to groom Laporta into an everyday 1B

also, if anyone is interested, here is the complete season schedule

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/downloads/2010_reg_sched.pdf

[Edited on February 22, 2010 at 11:50 AM. Reason : asdf]

2/22/2010 11:49:59 AM

Central just got a little more interesting with the Tiggers signing Damon to a 1 year deal

2/22/2010 11:59:05 AM

yeah fuck Detroit and fuck Damon

2/22/2010 12:20:35 PM

I can't say I'm happy.

He's been with the tribe twice before and was a bust twice. Why resign a guy like this at a position where we might actually have something good in Laporta?

If we are truly rebuilding, then we should be letting these young guys get every game under their belt that they can and hope to build a solid core for the future. Laporta showed enough in ~50 games last year that he should be #1 option at 1B and let him play through his lumps this year.

The problem is that Shapiro wants to move Laporta back to LF and Acta thinks he should stay at 1B. Something's got to give, and it will be interesting to see which side crumbles on the issue.

2/22/2010 2:08:35 PM

Quote :

"Starting Rotation 1 LHP David Huff 2 RHP Justin Masterson 3 RHP Jake Westbrook 4 LHP Aaron Laffey 5 RHP Fausto Carmona "

Ouch that looks like a Texas Rangers starting staff. Maybe some these guys will develop into good pitchers and Westbrook and Carmona can repeat their career years. If all of that happens, you might finish 2nd or 3rd in the central. Otherwise you'll be battling the Royals for last again.

2/22/2010 2:10:59 PM

Quote :

"Andy is out of options," said manager Manny Acta, "so he's going to have to make the team. So far he's done well. It's only been 10 innings (two intrasquad games), but Andy had a very nice season last year and he's at that age (26) where anything can happen. He's right-handed with power and can play the corners. I hope he makes our decision very tough on us."

That's from the Plain Dealer. It doesn't sound good for Andy. Maybe Acta is trying to light a fire under his ass.

Saw another blurb on letsgotribe.com about Grady getting moved down to #2 and Droobs leading off. Most of those people on there don't like it, but it seems to make sense to me. Grady strikes out way to much to lead off, and having a fast stealing threat on at first will help open that hole between 1st and 2nd for him to pull the ball through. Thoughts DROD900?

[Edited on March 4, 2010 at 11:35 AM. Reason : ?]

3/4/2010 11:35:03 AM

What's up with the Sizemore rumors?

3/4/2010 12:33:25 PM

what rumors? trade rumors?

3/4/2010 4:56:51 PM

I think it will be an alright move to have him hitting 2nd. He will probably get a few more RBIs that way and will be protected by Choo hitting behind him.

I really hope Pronk gets back to his old self. If Sizemore, Hafner, Peralta, Choo and AsCab can all play up to their potential, while throwing in the young studs of Laporta and Brantley, we could have a fun offense to watch.

Our pitching is going to be one of the worst in the majors though, which really will keep us from making too much noise this season.

3/5/2010 11:45:04 AM

^ Pronk will never replicate his past success because it was all steroid enhanced.




[Edited on March 5, 2010 at 2:49 PM. Reason : er]

3/5/2010 2:48:54 PM

Quote :

"Maybe some these guys will develop into good pitchers and Westbrook and Carmona can repeat their career years"

i'm confused....what/when was Westbrook's career year?



wow, that pitching staff is bad. hands down the worst in the Central [/brag because the Sox rotation is fucking awesome]

3/5/2010 3:03:24 PM

14-9, 3.38 is not too shabby

3/5/2010 3:14:09 PM

that was when he was 26

now he's 32 and coming off Tommy John surgery

they'll be lucky to get 7 or 8 wins from him this year

3/5/2010 3:16:13 PM

we talking about Brian or Russell?

3/5/2010 3:39:15 PM

Quote :

"Indians at the plate: The Indians' bats unloaded on Aaron Poreda and Jackson Quezeda in the bottom of the fourth, scoring nine runs on six hits with four walks. No less than 14 men came to the plate. The big blow came on Grady Sizemore's grand slam to right off Quezeda. Every member of the Indians' lineup scored a run in the inning. "

I like it.

3/11/2010 9:38:29 AM

spring.....














wait for it....
















training.

3/11/2010 10:12:36 AM

oh, sorry White Sox fan

Didn't mean to be reporting Indians news in the Indians thread or anything. I won't let it happen again.

3/11/2010 10:32:50 AM

I'm just saying..I don't want to spoil/jinx the white sox thread by celebrating the events of spring training!

3/11/2010 10:41:27 AM

lamest troll attempt ever

3/11/2010 10:51:10 AM

It looks like Talbot has locked down the #4 starter so you got Huff, Laffey, and Carrasco battling for that last starter spot.

After getting shelled at the end of last year I was worried about Carrasco, but he seems to have gotten his shit together this Spring. I doubt he gets the 5th spot on Opening Day, but he'll be up at some point this season and could fill in middle relief later on if the rotation doesn't change.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100325&content_id=8940806&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle&partnerId=rss_cle

I'm liking Acta already too. He seems to have knack for motivating these guys. We'll see what happens the next few months.

The tribe also fielded what is expected to be the Opening Day starters against the Mariners.

SS Asdrubal Cabrera, CF Grady Sizemore, RF Shin-Soo Choo, DH Travis Hafner, 3B Jhonny Peralta, 1B Matt LaPorta, 2B Luis Valbuena, C Lou Marson, LF Michael Brantley.

[Edited on March 26, 2010 at 10:22 AM. Reason : no Branyan yet as he is still nursing that back problem]

3/26/2010 10:17:12 AM

Quote :

"Laffey"

3/26/2010 10:29:28 AM

personally, I'd rather have LaPorta and Brantley playing everyday instead of Branyan. Both of the young guys look good, and this would be a perfect season to get them plenty of playing time

I hope we call up Carlos Santana early in the season, for the same reason stated above. He's going to be a beast once he gets his break in the majors

I'm also loving the news I've been hearing about Fausto Carmona, he's been having a great spring and it sounds like he might have his 2007 mojo back.

I'm ready for the season to start already, I love it when baseball starts, it always reminds me that summer is just around the corner

GO TRIBE!

3/26/2010 12:23:47 PM

Quote :

"The left-handed Laffey was competing with Mitch Talbot, David Huff and Carlos Carrasco for one of two open rotation spots. On Friday, manager Manny Acta announced that Talbot had won one job and Huff and Carrasco would compete for the other, with Laffey in the bullpen. "

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100327&content_id=8966406&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle&partnerId=rss_cle

3/27/2010 1:53:37 PM

3/27/2010 3:15:09 PM

I only got one thing to say to you... Strike this mother fucker out...

3/27/2010 5:58:22 PM

Carrasco didn't show too well at all today in his final start before the rosters are announced.

Looks like it will be Huff with the fifth spot in the rotation now.

Branyan to start the season on the 15 day DL.

3/28/2010 9:29:26 PM

I only got one thing to say to you... Strike this mother fucker guy out... (including the terrible dubbing)

3/28/2010 10:54:19 PM

When's Santana expected to come up?

3/28/2010 10:55:03 PM

I think the plan for him all along was AAA and then coming up at some point this season for a few games.

Marson had that spot locked down already, and I don't think they even gave him a legitimate shot of being on the opening day roster.

3/29/2010 11:01:13 AM

1 SS Asdrubal Cabrera
2 CF Grady Sizemore
3 RF Shin-Soo Choo
4 DH Travis Hafner
5 3B Jhonny Peralta
6 1B Matt LaPorta
7 2B Luis Valbuena
8 C Lou Marson
9 LF Michael Brantley

Projected rotation
1 RHP Jake Westbrook
2 RHP Fausto Carmona
3 RHP Justin Masterson
4 LHP David Huff
5 RHP Mitch Talbot

Projected bullpen
CL RHP Chris Perez
SU LHP Rafael Perez
SU RHP Joe Smith
MI LHP Tony Sipp
MI LHP Aaron Laffey

[Edited on March 30, 2010 at 9:42 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2010 9:42:25 PM

season opening versus the Pale Hoes will be shown on espn2 tomorrow at 2pm

I know this is supposed to be a down year, and our expectations are supposed to be pretty low, but after the good spring training we had and the good news I've been hearing about Sizemore, Hafner, Carmona, Westbrook, Brantley, etc. etc. I cant help but get my hopes up. It will inevitably bite me in the ass 1/4 of the way through the season, but it feels pretty good right now. I love this time of year

GO TRIBE!

4/4/2010 8:37:48 PM

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

Hopefully Westbrook is dealing this afternoon and we can get the season started off right. To take this first series in Chicago would be huge for the team psyche IMO.

GO TRIBE!!!

4/5/2010 11:23:30 AM

That Buehrle play was some

Quote :

" N C STATE SHIT "

That said, man we suck this game.

4/5/2010 4:02:11 PM

Props to Buehrle on that play, but get that "NC State shit" outta here. I'm so sick of that stupid fucking term.

Westbrook looks like he hasn't pitched in 2 years. I'm hoping that Fausto can show up against Peavy on Weds and give this team some life. It's been a miserable game so far.

4/5/2010 4:17:53 PM

buherle and kornerko have both owned us for forever

4/5/2010 4:29:31 PM

I'm glad they got that monkey off their back in regards to the road losing streak. I saw the ticker run by at the bar and when we were down 3-0 I thought we were headed straight to another loss.

I'm liking that Carmona only gave up one hit (although it was a HR) in 6 innings, but he has to cut down on those walks. You can't give up 6 BB's and except to be the winning pitcher most of the time.

Masterson gets the ball for the rubber game tonight. Let's win this first series and get some momentum for the season!

GO TRIBE!

4/8/2010 9:29:34 AM

yeah I watched the entire game last night and must say that that was a gritty, tough win for the tribe last night. It wasnt pretty, but it was the kind of win that could spark some confidence in the team going forward.

Carmona looked good at times and bad at times. The biggest indicator on whether or not he will be successful this season is the amount of walks he gives up, and if thats the case it might be a long season for him. I think that he had some jitters from it being his first start in addition to the fact that it was around 38 degrees last night - I'm hoping thats the excuse for the high walk count. He was able to pitch his way out of some messes via double play groundballs, so that was good too.

I still want to see some early season production from Grady, Hafner and Peralta to get their confidence up.

All in all, I'm very happy that we got the win against Peavy, on the road, with Carmona on the mound. These are all great things to build off of.

4/8/2010 10:11:27 AM

Sox bullpen is going to be a big issue this season

congrats though. the Central should be quite interesting this year

4/8/2010 10:18:40 AM

w00t

Grady in the 2 hole has proven to be a great move so far!

Huge win tonight to grab the opening series of the year. I really like the moxy of this young team. They'll be some growing pains but I see a bunch of young guys playing some gritty baseball to start the season.

C. Perez has some dirty shit and works fast. He could be a dominant closer in the making...

4/9/2010 12:23:59 AM

^everything he said

4/9/2010 8:39:32 AM

I also wanted to point out that the MLB did a shitty job scheduling games for the Indians today. They had the latest 'east coast' team game slot last night - 8:10pm - then have to travel to Detroit for a 1:05pm start to the game today against Detroit. Forget the fact that they went into extra innings and didnt finish the game til around midnight, it was always going to be tough to make the trip and be rested.

4/9/2010 10:58:07 AM

Braves are playing in SF at 4 today after a 7pm game in Atlanta last night. MLB Native American mascot team conspiracy?

4/9/2010 11:00:07 AM

^ I was about to post something about that... Really don't understand why last night wasn't a day game for the Braves (and the tribe for that matter) or today was a late game

4/9/2010 3:04:24 PM

^^^maybe the indians should win their games in 9 innings? I dunno, that might help

4/9/2010 3:19:14 PM