All Entries Tagged With: "Cleveland Indians"

Tracking the Top Prospects: 11-20

No lengthy introduction needed here as we continue with the second half of the top 20 prospects in baseball thanks again to Keith Law of Scouts, Inc. We will start now with No. 11.

11. Tim Beckham, SS, Tampa Bay Rays organization

Last year’s number one overall pick in the MLB first-year player draft went to the best team in the AL last season. It is almost scary to think that in about two…

Indians After Two Months = Disappointing

While the Cleveland Indians are currently on a winning streak at the time of this writing, it is the first time in nearly a month that they have won at least two games in a row. Even though there were no huge expectations coming into this season like there were in 2008 when many, including ESPN’s Buster Olney, picked them to go to the World Series at the beginning of the…

America’s Pastime: The First 5 Innings

First Inning

“You can’t go to a baseball game without peanuts,” my dad said as he took a huge scoop of the salted variety from a bin in the local grocery store. At five-years-old, I had never been to a baseball game before and the whole day had been about him telling me what has to happen in order to go to a baseball game. It seemed like an awful lot of…

CD Review: Baseball Songs Sports Heroes

Baseball Songs Sports Heroes

While there are movies and books available for dedicated sports fans, most aren’t familiar with Joe Pickering Jr. and Phil Coley’s collection of CDs on baseball songs. The first in this series is entitled Baseball Songs Sports Heroes: People Who Have Made a Difference. On this album there are everything from songs about individual players to the last days of Fenway Park even to God’s feelings towards some…

Book Review: More Tales from the Tribe Dugout

Author Russell Schneider is well known to serious baseball fans around Cleveland from his coverage of the Indians in Cleveland newspapers for so many years. Now a freelance writer, Russell has put together two books of Tales from the Tribe Dugout. In the sequel to his first book, Schneider uncovers some not very well known stories about the Indians from various people who were once in the organization. No one is…

Cincinnati Reds Acquire ProBatter PX2 Pitching Simulators

On March 3, the Cincinnati Reds became the sixth major league club to agree to use what are being called “Flight Simulators” for hitters.

The Reds purchased two of ProBatter Sports’ flagship model PX2 pitching simulators. The model is considered to be the most complex baseball training tool ever invented and does by far the best job of simulating real life batting situations.

The Reds wasted no time bringing their new toys to…

The Comings and Goings in Cleveland

Indians Place Dellucci on DL; Recall Crowe from Columbus

With just one week until they open up against the Rangers in Texas, the Cleveland Indians tweaked their opening day roster once again to make sure that it is just right. Their basic moves are that they placed outfielder David Dellucci on the 15-day disabled list where he will be until the middle of April. To fill his spot on the roster, the…

Indians Continue Making Moves

Starting pitcher Aaron Laffey became the most recent Cleveland Indians to be given the news that he wasn’t going to start the season with the big league club when he was optioned to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. At the beginning of camp, many thought that Laffey would be on the roster when the team headed to Cleveland, but he will at least start the year in AAA. The left hander…

Indians Send Some Big Names to Columbus

It’s that time of the year again, when fringe players are told whether they are going to be sent down or they get to stay with the team. On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians optioned pitcher Jeremy Sowers and catcher Wyatt Toregas to the Columbus Clippers of the International League. The Tribe also assigned many players to the minor league camp. Included in those players are pitchers Greg Aquino and Kirk Saarloos, outfielders Michael Brantley and…

Stadium Review: Progressive Field Home of the Cleveland Indians

The Indians home ballpark was renamed Progressive Field before the 2008 season after being named Jacobs Field for the length of its existence. This did not make Tribe fans happy, and many still refuse to call the ballpark by its new name. Even though the stadium has only been around for about 15 years, it has still been witness to many historic events in the team’s history. In that short time span, the…

Stadium Review: Cooper Stadium the Former Home of the Columbus Clippers

The Columbus Clippers have had an interesting affiliation status over the last few years. They were the long standing AAA club for the New York Yankees and saw players such as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada come through their doors, but just a few years ago, the Yankees ended their more than 30 year relationship with the team from central Ohio and moved to another organization.

This left Columbus looking for a new team to use…

Stadium Review: Coca-Cola Field of the Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons’ stadium may not be new, but it does have a new name. After toting around the name of Dunn Tire Park for some time, this off season, those with the team accepted a deal from soda giant Coca-Cola to rename the ballpark Coca-Cola Field.

The Bisons have also switched which team they are representing in 2009. This year will be their first year with the New York Mets after being the main…

Stadium Review: Canal Park of the Akron Aeros

Canal Park can already be considered a rare ballpark these days simply because of its name. It is named Canal Park because it is right next to the canal in downtown Akron, Ohio, not because a company named Canal bought the rights to the park. Since 1997, Canal Park has been a staple of downtown Akron. Akron received the stadium when the Cleveland Indians decided to move their AA affiliate due to…

Stadium Review: Eastwood Field of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Built in 1999, Eastwood Field is the home of the Cleveland Indians’ rookie level club, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

The ballpark itself looks great from the outside with brick pillars that come down to give it sort of an old school feel. The entire stadium is well done with brick, mainly light red and grey, and the architecture is extremely nice for a minor league stadium.

The biggest drawback of the ballpark is the…

The Indians Add Another Cy Young Award Winner

The Cleveland Indians have added another Cy Young Award winner to their staff. Well, sort of. Frank Viola, who won the award with the Minnesota Twins in 1988, has signed on to work with the Indians’ pitchers during spring training in Goodyear Arizona.

The former big leaguer will work along side pitching coach Carl Willis. Viola’s main duties will be to work with the left-handers in camp on their mechanics and their approach to…

Baseball Reflections: Team Expansion

Baseball Reflections is now announcing it’s plans on team expansion and what that means to you, our most loyal readers and what it means (we hope) for the site itself. For those of you who are baseball fans that have a favorite team(s) and are not just fans of the game itself, you will be happy to know that we are expanding our team coverage every month. You may have…

The Bob Feller Story: A DVD Review

Bob Feller seems to be an almost forgotten baseball name outside of the city of Cleveland, but throughout the DVD, the viewers are reminded that he was without a doubt the greatest pitcher of his time and his accomplishments were such that he should be mentioned in the same sentences as Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.

The DVD chronicles Feller’s journey and provides fans with interesting tidbits about Feller’s life that many do…

Tribe Signs Free Agent Pitcher Pavano

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Carl Pavano was not the first name most Tribe fans were thinking when considering who to add to their team’s rotation in the off season. Nonetheless, general manager Mark Shapiro apparently thought the 33-year-old veteran was worth a look as he signed the former Yankee to a one year deal on Tuesday to come to Northeast Ohio.

Pavano is considered by many to be one of the…

Tribe Trades with Cubs; Acquire DeRosa

Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro made yet another move to bolster his infield this off season as he pulled the trigger on a trade with the Chicago Cubs to bring right handed hitter Mark DeRosa to Cleveland.

In exchange for the infielder, the Indians gave up three of their highly regarded minor league pitchers. The Tribe handed over right handers Jeff Stevens and Chris Archer along with left hander John Gaub in order to…

The History of African Americans in Baseball Part 3

Sometimes forgotten in the hype for Robinson was the man to break the color barrier in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, Larry Doby. This fact was even more surprising especially considering the fact that Doby entered during the same season as Robinson, just a couple of months later. This did not save Doby from numerous death threats and teammates who claimed they would refuse to play with…

Indians Hire Melendez as Area Scouting Supervisor

Yesterday, the Cleveland Indians bolstered their scouting staff by hiring Junie Melendez as an Area Scouting Supervisor. Melendez will oversee the scouting for a region that includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky.

Melendez played college baseball at the University of Toledo, but went undrafted and unsigned. Melendez comes to an already strong scouting staff that many consider to be in the top ten in Major League Baseball. Due to the fact that the Indians…

Indians Sign Former Cub Closer Wood

The Tribe filled their most dyer need on Saturday when they came to terms with closer Kerry Wood on a two year deal for $20.5 million. There is also an $11 million option for a third year in 2011 if Wood can save 55 games in either of his first two seasons with the Indians.

After going to the disabled list 12 times during the first ten years of his…

Indians Sign Pitcher Ohka to Minor League Contract

General manager Mark Shapiro made a move on Friday to add some more pitching depth to the Cleveland Indians by signing pitcher Tomo Ohka to a minor league contract.

Ohka has been around the league in the past nine years as be has played with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Nationals (Expos) and Red Sox, but has never really been able to establish himself in any system.

The most games Ohka has won…

Tribe Names Chuck Hernandez Bullpen Coach

The Indians named their first new acquisition of the off season, Chuck Hernandez who was chosen by Manager Eric Wedge to be the Indians’ new bullpen coach for the 2009 season.

Hernandez is just 48 years old, but will be entering his 31st season in professional baseball. His last three seasons were spent with the Indians’ division rival, the Detroit Tigers, as their pitching coach. During the two seasons prior to…