Yardbarker: Cleveland Indians

Indians' Grady Sizemore starts legal action against racy photos on Web site

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:14:05 -0500

At least 15 pictures of Sizemore appeared on the Web site. In some pictures Sizemore is fully dressed. In others, he's in his underwear or nude.

Cleveland Indians Jake Westbrook gets through first winter ball start in good health

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:50:00 -0500

Jake Westbrook started his comeback Saturday night for Ponce in Puerto Rico.

Grady Sizemore Obviously Drank Too Much on Thanksgiving

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:54:36 -0500

By way of Deadspin’s Barry P. comes another athlete baring all or nearly all for no reason other than to send cellphone picks of his junk to some lucky lady. Sean Salisbury, and Tyrone Hughes can now welcome Grady Sizemore the Cellphone Cam Nude All-Stars. I don’t know why Grady would wanna put his bat and [...]

Grady Sizemore can Hide his ***** with a Tea Cup

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:37:18 -0500

Deadspin has the photographic evidence, as Grady Sizemore takes some beefcake photos for his girlfriend. Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to let the tea steep in a pot for five minutes before pouring it into a cup? By the way, I’d say the photos are not safe for work, or for browsing during a Sunday [...]

Grady Sizemore Does His Bit To Increase Our Female Readership

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Sizemore joins Santonio Holmes and Jeff Reed in the pantheon of Rust Belt athletes who take **** shots in the mirror with their cell phones. Grady's Ladies have declared a national holiday. These have been making the rounds in an email forward, purportedly meant for Grady's girlfriend, Playboy Playmate Brittany Binger... ...that's her spread propped up by the mirror. I think it's kind of creepy that he travels with her Playboy issue. Perhaps you remember the batshit lady who e...

Hey, Hoynsie! Your Cleveland Indians questions answered

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:28:02 -0500

Got an Indians question? Send it in. Submit your question to cleveland.com/heyhoynsie, and Plain Dealer Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes will choose at least one to answer each Sunday here in the sports section. All of Paul's answers are archived online.

The Coaches Exodus

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:59:00 -0500

It was a week in which three coaches found their way out of the Cleveland organization.

Carl Willis is off to Seattle.

Luis Rivera is headed to Canada, well not really, but kind of.

And the surprise that shouldn't be a surprise, Torey Lovullo is going to Boston.

Yep, it was a fun week for former Indian coaches.

Look these other moves.. Great for these guys. You have to be happy for Carl Willis and his new job as Seattle's minor league pitching coordinator. Luis Rivera is landing on his feet as manager of Toronto's Double-A team in New Hampshire. We'll see his Fisher Cats in the Eastern League six times next year when they face the Aeros.

But losing Torey Lovullo, kind of sucks.

I was fully expecting him to be a part of this staff. I talked as if it was a given. But it didn't happen. I maintain though that this guy is destined to manage in the major leagues and it will eventually happen.

He's making a bit of a lateral move though. Lovullo is going to Boston to manage their Triple-A team in Pawtucket. The opening was there because their former manager got prompted to the big league staff after Brad Mills left for Houston's managerial job. So in the end, by the Indians taking Acta away, Houston jumped to Boston's staff, and started the chain that put Lovullo in Boston. How odd.

So why make a lateral move? Well for one, it's not really lateral considering Boston is a better team right now and the chances for him moving up go up considering I'm sure most of the Indians current staff are going to be safe beyond this year. Where was Demarlo Hale could get a job after 2010, create an opening on Boston's staff and there goes Lovullo up to the majors.

So the chance for moving up increases. Not only that, you are coaching the Triple-A team of one of the best run organizations in the game, then you'll get more notice. So it makes sense sort of.

"It was a great relationship," said Lovullo, speaking of his time with the Indians, "and it will continue to be. There's no bitterness, no resentment. There is a little disappointment. We're all competitive, we all wanted the position.

"I'll miss the staff members I got to know daily in spring training. I'll miss my relationship with the players that's I've watched grow up over the last three to seven years. It's time to open my eyes to a new direction."

"It's unfortunate I didn't get a couple of opportunities that presented themselves with the Indians," said Lovullo. "Now I've got a different opportunity with a great organization in the Boston Red Sox."

Humor me Torey. There is disappointment. I know he can say that, but he got passed over for TWO major league jobs. After all the praise that was heaped upon him, after all the talk. After the thought that he was a bit of a lock. He HAD to be disappointed. Now I'm not saying that is the reason he left, but he had to be disappointed in the fact he was passed over twice. I would be.

Good luck to Torey in Boston. Again the Red Sox, steal one of our gems in the organization. Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson better be awesome.

Now what are we going to do for a replacement at Triple-A? We'll here is how it goes.

Eric Wedge - Unemployed, Passed over for Mets Bench Job
Carl Willis - Seattle Minor League Pitching Coordinator
Jeff Datz - Baltimore Bench Coach
Luis Rivera - Toronto AA Manager
Derek Shelton - Tampa Bay Hitting Coach
Torey Louvllo - Boston AAA Manager
Joel Skinner - Unemployed

Okay so we've got three former coaches that landed on their feet in the same jobs they had. We've got two that took a few steps back. Our former manager is obviously still unemployed, but he's sure to land somewhere.

That leaves Joel Skinner. Who was mentioned as a replacement for Lovullo at Columbus along with Mike Sarbaugh.

It's obviously going to be one of the two. Now let's take a look at Skinner's track record. It's been a long time since he was a minor league manager, but he had tremendous success. He started at the bottom rung and worked his way up all the way to Triple-A and received tremendous praise for the work he did. He won the Eastern League and International League in 1998 and 2000 for the Aeros and Bisons. He took his first two teams to the playoffs in his first two years.

Waretown won the NY Penn League and Columbus won the second half. He won the NY Penn League manager of the Year award and then two years later won the Carolina League Manager of the Year award with Kinston. In six years, he hit just about every level and had success at every level.

Skinner is a company man. He obvious loves Cleveland and the organization. He's managed in Columbus before and if he wants to stay within the organization, I'm all for it.

Mike Sarbaugh is eventually going to be on a major league staff. I don't really think it matters if he goes to Triple-A or not. Eventually, he'll be there. I say you keep the continuity you have at Akron and keep the machine rolling as it has been with him there and you bring Skinner in to Triple-A.

I mean why not? He's had success, he knows the organization and the philosophy and he even knows some of these players.

Go with Skinner, keep the hierarchy intact. He's a good guy, a good baseball person and he's had success at the minor league level.

On a few final notes....

Hall of Fame Ballots were announced and a few former Indians are in the mix. The most popular one would be Roberto Alomar, who is surely one to get in. Had he not continued to hold on with the Mets, he'd been eligible a few years earlier, but that won't keep him out. And with John Hirschbeck (The umpire he spit on) saying he'd give Alomar his vote if he was voting for the HOF, that incident surely won't keep him out.

Robbie went to the playoffs many times with Baltimore, Toronto and Cleveland. He had an outstanding career with the bat and the glove. He probably won't go in with the Wahoo cap, but he's got history here and I'd support him. I did go to school with Hirschbeck's kids and what Robbie did was downright horrible, but if Hirschbeck can forgive him and put him in, there is no reason I can't get behind him.

The other candidates that have past experiences with the Indians. Relief pitcher Mike Jackson, who had one of his better years with Cleveland as their closer in the Post-Mesa era. And current Indians special assistant Ellis Burks. Neither really have much of a shot if you ask me, but it's nice to seem the get put on the ballot and have some recognition. Burks was a good player and could do it all, but he didn't end up with the final numbers to support his candidacy, which sucks. But he was a good player. Not a Hall of Famer.

Finally A Rule V Note..

It turns out that Kelvin De La Cruz will get a fourth option year when the time comes. Let's Go Tribe found out this particularly good piece of information and as Tony at IPI says, it makes the decision to roster Kelvin a lot more sensible and acceptable. Remember Tony Sipp still has one coming and De La Cruz's status as someone with not a lot of professional experience gives him the opportunity to have another option year if needed.

Speaking of this, check out the boards as they've reached ultimate update status. The 40 man is completely accurate now as AC confirmed the option years for every Indians player on the 40 man.

Enjoy your final Saturday with Tim Tebow playing in the Swamp and Charlie Weis coaching the Irish. Also enjoy the site updates that will be happening throughout the week as I get my ass in gear. Expect some cool stuff next week, including the hopeful debut of Indians Twitter Pages. Oh Boy.

Closer look at Shoppach who might be available...

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:13:00 -0500

Since the Mets are in the market for a catcher, anytime I come across any information on an available catcher I pass it along.I personally would rather see the Mets acquire a catcher through free agency and save their chips either for further development or bigger pieces they attempt to acquire. I just don't see the significant up-grade in players that can be traded for for those on the free agent market.With that said I've heard a lot of Mets fans who feel just the opposite, they don...

Top Prospects, part 1: The Injured

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:39:40 -0500

Today's piece is the first in a series which will outline my view of the Indians top prospects. As a preface, my rankings are based on a combination of age, position, performance and level. I am not a scout so I am not projecting how their tools will develop, but rather making an assessment based on how they have performed thus far in their pro careers relative to their peers and with respect to their defensive position. Because of my emphasis on pro performance, none ...

Torey Lovullo leaves Cleveland Indians to manage Boston's Class AAA team

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:43:49 -0500

Torey Lovullo, who spent the last eight years managing in the Indians minor league system, has moved on.

Just let Cleveland Indians Grady Sizemore play: 2009 proved Hall of Fame talk is premature

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:03:10 -0500

Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore is a three-time all-star at age 27. But, just as talk of him as the American League's best player a couple years ago may have been premature, so too is continuing chatter about his eventual Hall of Fame credntials - especially after his difficult 2009 season.

Grady Sizemore, Hall of Fame Material?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:00:02 -0500

With 2009 MLB award voting now in the rear view mirror, Joe Posnanski has deemed St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols a Hall of Fame lock at age 29. Winning his third MVP award in five years, and looking at his numbers, it would be hard to argue with such a statement. Thankfully, the non-debate then [...]

News and Notes: Acta Speaks, Again.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:28:21 -0500

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP Mark Shapiro, normally the public face of the Indians, has given way this offseason to Manny Acta. Browse more photos » Indians skipper Manny Acta: 'I want to become one of the elite six or seven' managers | Cleveland Indians - cleveland.com - - cleveland.comManny Acta sits down for a lengthy interview with Paul Hoynes. The major acquisition the Indians se...

Cleveland Indians Offseason News: 40-Man Roster, Rule V Draft and Free Agency

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:45:28 -0500

The Indians brought seven new minor leagues into the mix on their their official 40-man roster Friday morning. TD first mentioned the story on the blog yesterday in talking about how Jordan Brown finally received his well worth promotion to the big leagues. That was not the only story of the day however, or even [...]

Jordan Brown, Others added to 40-man Roster

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:26 -0500

This morning, the Cleveland Indians announced that they have purchased the contracts of seven players and added them to their 40-man roster. Among the seven is Jordan Brown, whom we have discussed around these parts for a good portion of the last two seasons. With Andy Marte getting his just due with the big boys last season, [...]

Indians Expected To Name Alvaro Espinoza to Staff

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:58:43 -0500

Manny Acta and the Cleveland Indians have announced a press conference for tomorrow morning where they will announce that Alvaro Espinoza has been hired to a newly minted position: On/Off-Field Coordinator With Regards To Preparing For A Mid-1990s Style Run Of Success. Acta was enthusiastic about the hire in a chat with the media on Thursday. "When we decided to create this position, there were a lot of big names that people threw out. Roberto Alomar's name came up. So did Albert B...

MLB Trade Rumors: Is Grady Sizemore Next?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:30:09 -0500

News flash: The Cleveland Indians are in rebuilding mode. A young core group of guys – at least on the offensive side of things – that may allow this team to once again compete, albeit in three years. A part of that core is center fielder Grady Sizemore. But for how long? When Mark Shapiro and company [...]

First volley of projections for 2010 Indians

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:00:25 -0500

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP Could Sowers finally be the number-four starter of our dreams? Browse more photos » ACTA Sports has begun taking orders for The Bill James Handbook 2010, which customarily will include James' projections for every major league player. (Full disclosure: ACTA occasionally sends me a review copy of one of their books, and I am totally in the bag for them.) Jame...

Breaking News: Acta Is the Man?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:57:00 -0500

Jon Heyman is breaking news via Twitter.

He is saying that the Indians are going to hire Manny Acta as their manager.

More on this as it develops, but what's causing this if it happens to be true?

Was Houston making a press for Cleveland's current favorite? Did Bobby V tell the Indians Thanks but no Thanks?

Did something happen with Don Mattingly that has effectively ended the interview process?

Only time will tell, but if Heyman's report is true, Manny Acta will be the next manager of the Cleveland Indians.