AL CENTRAL

[KCK_Halo]

At Goodyear, Ariz., the Cleveland Indians had a scare when outfielders Grady Sizemore and Shin-Shoo Choo collided while chasing a ball in right-center during a drill.
Choo was escorted from the field by a trainer and had his right knee examined before returning for batting practice about 30 minutes later. He suffered only a bruise and felt lucky not to be more seriously hurt.
"We hit knees. I was really scared," said Choo, Cleveland's starting right fielder who will leave camp Tuesday to play for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic.
Sizemore, a high school football star who was recruited to play at Washington, was barely fazed.
"I guess Choo forgot I was a linebacker," he joked.
Indians manager Eric Wedge was relieved Choo was OK. "He was probably more upset when he saw Grady standing over him like Jack Tatum," he said

 

[HD MM]

At Goodyear, Ariz., the Cleveland Indians had a scare when outfielders Grady Sizemore and Shin-Shoo Choo collided while chasing a ball in right-center during a drill.
Choo was escorted from the field by a trainer and had his right knee examined before returning for batting practice about 30 minutes later. He suffered only a bruise and felt lucky not to be more seriously hurt.
"We hit knees. I was really scared," said Choo, Cleveland's starting right fielder who will leave camp Tuesday to play for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic.
Sizemore, a high school football star who was recruited to play at Washington, was barely fazed.
"I guess Choo forgot I was a linebacker," he joked.
Indians manager Eric Wedge was relieved Choo was OK. "He was probably more upset when he saw Grady standing over him like Jack Tatum," he said

Lol! Ah, the boys are back! :up

 

[Paul Wozniak]

24 hrs. to go! Zumaya impressed the Tiger's brass again yesterday. I sure hope this young man is back. He will solve a lot of problems in the bull pen for us.

GO TIGERS!!!

 

[SabresRule]

GO TIGERS!!!

By July, will that sentence be followed by the words "leave town, and take the Lions with you?"

 

[Jimbo]

"Go Tigers"

By July, will that sentence be followed by the words "leave town, and take the Lions with you?"

Hardly ......
I think any of the AL Central teams can be in the thick of things.
I think the Tigers and Indians will battle it out for 1st this year.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't ?
Please give us you reasoning for your comment ....

Jimbo

 

[HD MM]

"Go Tigers"



Hardly ......
I think any of the AL Central teams can be in the thick of things.
I think the Tigers and Indians will battle it out for 1st this year.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't ?
Please give us you reasoning for your comment ....

Jimbo

I think so too. Pitching will take these teams as far as they go.

 

[Jimbo]

I think so too. Pitching will take these teams as far as they go.

And the injuries to those pitchers ...

 

[HD MM]

And the injuries to those pitchers ...

Yep. Health and how well the pitchers pitch will determine the AL Central.

 

[Jimbo]

?'s

Q. Can Tampa repeat it's stellar year from last year ?

IF so, could both the yankees and Red Sox BOTH be looking in from the outside when playoff time comes around ?

All depends on how Tampa does this year ....

Would be a lot of fun to see the Tigers and Indians make the playoffs.

Jimbo

 

[HD MM]

Q. Can Tampa repeat it's stellar year from last year ?

IF so, could both the yankees and Red Sox BOTH be looking in from the outside when playoff time comes around ?

All depends on how Tampa does this year ....

Would be a lot of fun to see the Tigers and Indians make the playoffs.

Jimbo

I'm not sure if Tampa could repeat or if they were just a 1-hit wonder. We'll soon find out.

And I'm with you on the AL Central. This division is very capable of sending two teams to the playoffs this year.

 

[HD MM]

Indians Open Up Cactus League

Finally, the day is here!

vs.

Cleveland Indians vs San Francisco Giants
GOODYEAR BALLPARK
Goodyear, AZ
Wed, Feb 25, 2009 03:05 PM ET
TV: MLB.TV
Radio: WTAM 1100AM

Preview:

The Cactus League season begins today, and with it begins the Indians' most intriguing position battle.

When Jeremy Sowers takes the ball and delivers the first pitch at 3:05 p.m. ET on MLB.TV against the SF Giants at Goodyear Ballpark, (the Tribe's sparkling new spring home), he'll kick off the five-man fight for the Tribe's fifth and final rotation spot.

It's a fight that has implications beyond the Opening Day roster. While Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona are locks for the rotation's top two spots, No. 3 starter Carl Pavano has pitched only 45 2/3 innings over the past two seasons and likely No. 4 starter Anthony Reyes has a chronic elbow condition that makes him a question mark.

So Sowers and fellow young left-handers Aaron Laffey, David Huff, Zach Jackson and Scott Lewis have plenty of incentive to impress the higher-ups. If a big league job isn't offered to them by the end of camp, it just might be at some point this season.

 

[BigTimMN]

Anyone care to revise their predictions with Crede now landing in MN?

I had my Twins middle of the pack this year, but with Crede for even half the games, I put them as a favorite to win the division, and if he stays healthy all year, they have a shot to go to the Series.

 

[HD MM]

Anyone care to revise their predictions with Crede now landing in MN?

I had my Twins middle of the pack this year, but with Crede for even half the games, I put them as a favorite to win the division, and if he stays healthy all year, they have a shot to go to the Series.

Crede is a decent player and certainly fills a void for the Twins at 3B. However 1 person, particularly Crede, won't be the golden ticket for a World Series.

 

[BigTimMN]

Its more than the hole at 3B, it gives them another power type player to help balance the batting order, and protect Morneau, health is the only issue with him.

They lost the division in the playoff last year, but this year they have added Crede, they have Cuddyer back after basically a lost year, Liriano has showed he has rebounded from his surgery and helped down the stretch last year. Only issue i really see is they need some Relievers to emerge in spring training.

 

[DanLee]

Hey guys. I haven't posted on this site in a long time, but when it comes to Baseball, I can't resist.

This year might be one of the most exciting since '06 when we had three teams win at least 90 games. I doubt they will reach that mark this year, however, due to the parity in the division. I have to defend the decisions of the White Sox this offseason and give you a warning not to forget about the defending division champs for a couple reasons:

1. the players we released (Swisher, Crede, Vasquez, Uribe, Griffey, and Cabrera) rarely had an impact on any big game we won this past season. Many of these guys had sub-par years and had clubhouse issues/conflicts etc. Vasquez Killed us last year game in and game out. Many of you fans of other teams are sad we got rid of him because that was a guaranteed win for you guys.

2. We are younger and faster. With the addition of Jerry Owens, Josh Fields, and/or Chris Getz/Brent Lillibridge, we have the potential to steal 60 plus bases and actually score from 2nd on a base hit. We were too old and too slow last year and actually remember games when we would get three base hits in a row and not have any runs. PATHETIC!!! These guys will have some growing pains, but I will take them over Arthritis any day!

3. Our pitching will be better than advertised. We have three returning starters, plus several young hurlers (Lance Broadway, Clayton Richard, Jeff Marquez, and Aaron Poreda) who are competing for the 5th spot. All are top prospects and many believe are already capable of a big league workload. We also have Colon who might give us a few good games and Jose Contreras is about 3 months ahead of schedule. Our bullpen is healthy and unhittable when they are on their game (I remember the 1.8 era they had last season before Linebrink and Jenks went down with injuries). Not to mention Don Cooper is the best pitching coach around

4. Carlos Quention is healthy. Remember he missed the last month of the season with a broken hand (self-inflicted). I am going to go out on a limb and say if he was with us during that time, we wouldn't have needed the one game playoff to win the division.

I personally think the division will be between Cleveland and Chicago. Minnesota needs Crede to stay healthy and if he is....you will be there to. Kansas City will battle Minn. for third and Detroit will bring up the rear.

In saying this, when was the last time the Central division actually went the way it was supposed to? Not since the glory days of the Indians throughout the 90's?

Good luck, and may whoever wins the Central, represent the AL in the World Series.

 

[HD MM]

Good luck, and may whoever wins the Central, represent the AL in the World Series.

Amen. And welcome back DanLee. Positioning for the AL Central Pennant will be a mighty battle this year.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Almost game time!

 

[KCK_Halo]

Got mine on DVR for tonight. But I'm off tomorrow and Friday and will be watching LIVE!!!!!

 

[HD MM]

PLAY BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SabresRule]

I know baseball's a long season, but how you start your season can play a big role in your team's fortunes.

2007- HD, your Indians thumped the White Sox 12-5 on Opening Day, including Grady Sizemore hitting a homer ON THE FIRST PITCH OF THEIR SEASON! That should have been an omen of the greatness that team would achieve.

2008- Detroit took the Royals too lightly, and it cost them dearly. Slow starts can be what derails a team.