Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Goodyear, AZ on Sunday and these two groups will be the keys for the Indians this season. The starting rotation has to be the chief concern, for both the Indians and for the fans, and the catchers will be called upon to help navigate troubled waters. The rest of the team must report by February 16 and Spring Training games begin February 22.

The Indians will go as far as their pitching staff takes them. The offense should be at or above league average, so the pitching staff will have to be good. I won’t go so far as to say that new pitching coach Mickey Callaway has to be a miracle worker, but there’s no question that some guys absolutely need to be better than they were in 2012. The good news about the rotation this season is that the Indians have some better depth for the fourth and fifth spots, even with Josh Tomlin’s Tommy John surgery and Carlos Carrasco’s return from missing a season due to Tommy John surgery.

The locks for the rotation, much to the chagrin of some people, are Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Brett Myers. If Trevor Bauer makes the ballclub, which I would generously set 50/50 odds on, he’s obviously in the rotation. The battle for the fourth and fifth spots includes Bauer, Zach McAllister, Corey Kluber, Scott Kazmir, and on the far reaches of that group is David Huff.

Read more...

It dawned on me, finally. After several slaps to the face, I composed myself.

By George, it is already February. Where has time gone? All of a sudden February is here, pretty soon it will be gone and two months of this 2013 year are going to be in the books. Is it October yet?

With the realization that it is already February, this whole Spring Training thing snuck up on me. I guess I continued to wade through the offseason as if it was a flowing thing that was going to keep changing and keep us on our toes.

I'm not saying that that didn't happen, in fact, I'm saying that it did. It did so much that I can't believe where we stand right now with P's and C's just about ready to officially arrive. February ushers in the hope and optimism that everyone has at this time of the year in regards to their baseball team. What's sweet about that is the hope and optimism lasts a few months, well into the excitement and anticipation of Opening Day. Regardless of a team's spring training record, everyone has a chance. Yeah okay, football may have the same feeling or a bit, but after the first game, if you lose, you're already in the hole and especially in Cleveland, depression sets in.

For two whole stinkin' months, we can sit around, and we will, and posture about this club, talking about the What Ifs (you know I will), the how abouts, and the it can happens. The start of that begins real soon. The start of that begins, after this.

It's the last Offseason Rundown. As sad as it is to say goodbye to what has been an eventful and fun offseason, it is just as joyful to welcome in what will be an equally exciting spring. There's a new manager, a ton of new faces, and a different type of outlook and expectation towards this team. There will be just as much to watch out for.

Next week for you I will kick things off with the annual Spring Training Primer, a rite of Spring passage around these parts, and one of the most comprehensive posts I do all year. It kicks off spring and it feeds the fire before real news starts rolling in. The first few days of spring are fun, but it really is the same each year and nothing of substance as players are unpacking, having meetings and getting their check-ups.

As that happens, I want to prepare you for what's next.

Read more...

While more than 2,500 miles may separate Alaskan artist Nicholas Galanin from Northeast Ohio, one of his more creative projects would look right at home outside of Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.

Galanin, a Tlingit-Aleut artist from Sitka, Alaska, and the recent recipient of a Rasmuson Fellowship from the United States Artists organization, works in a variety of mediums to create art that touches upon aspects of authority, authenticity, representation and the commoditization of Native American culture.

His work has taken him across the world as he earned degrees from the University of Alaska Southeast, Guildhall University in London, and Massey University in New Zealand. In addition to his artwork, he spends time as a lecturer and instructor and recently finished a term as the 2012 Audain Professor in Contemporary Arts of the Pacific Northwest at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Galanin tapped into his heritage in 2010 when he decided to create a series of Indian petroglyphs, similar to the design and symbols carved into volcanic rocks by American Indians and Spanish settlers between 400 and 700 years ago.

And it was his whimsical side that led him to use the Cleveland Indians script logo as the symbol and create something that would be familiar to Tribe fans everywhere.

Read more...

Spring Training is just around the corner, which is a warm and welcoming thought since six inches of snow fell outside my house Thursday night. The baseball offseason, which is usually seems long, has felt even longer this season, in large part because of the personnel moves that the Indians made and my eagerness to see what the new on-field product will look like.

With the only Indians news from this week being a couple of minor signings and a former player signing with the Evil Empire, I have a good opportunity to finish what I started last week. In last week’s View from the Porch, I put together a 13-man roster of the top position players born in the state of Ohio. It’s an article I had a lot of fun with and one that I hope you enjoyed.

The history of baseball is important to me. I had just turned 15 when my grandfather passed away, and I never met my grandfather on my father’s side. Even though I already enjoyed history in school, and used it as a second major in college, I never sat down with my grandfather, a life-long Cleveland resident, to ask about his time in World War II or about Cleveland baseball history. As I look back, it’s one of my biggest regrets. With what’s left of the greatest generation growing smaller and smaller by the day, having the opportunity to research and write about Ohio’s rich baseball tradition (and having somebody read it!) is an honor.

Read more...