Batting Practice Blasts Top Behind-the-Scene Highlights in Zebulon

By Kevin Schneider

Beyond the outfield fence, as I chatted with a few local reporters hours before the Indians played their exhibition game on Tuesday, a Mudcats grounds-crew member shouted a friendly warning.

“I wouldn’t stand there,” he yelled.  As the Mudcats staffer scurried into a shed to resume his pre-game preparations, he pointed back toward the field, where the Indians had started taking batting practice.

Less than a minute later, a ball sailed over the right-field fence and landed about 10 feet in front of us. We rushed to the area under the light stand, beneath a protective batting cage.

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Indians Welcome Minor League Affiliate With Whacking; Indians 13, Mudcats 0

By Kevin Schneider

Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Donald, and Shelley Duncan all homered Tuesday as Cleveland blasted its new minor-league partner, the single-A Carolina Mudcats.

Derek Lowe added three scoreless innings as the starter for the Tribe as 6,362 attended in the 6,500-seat stadium in Zebulon, N.C. for an afternoon game. Indians Manager Manny Acta pulled most of his starters after the fourth inning on the way to a 13-0 Tribe win.

The score didn’t matter much. In fact, left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes donned a navy Indians uniform as he started for the Mudcats. The big-league club touched him for 4 earned runs, 5 hits, and 3 walks in 4 innings.

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Cunningham In Make Or Break Season

By Craig Gifford

Is this the season Aaron Cunningham figures out how to succeed at the Major League level or the season in which the 25-year-old outfielder will be labeled a bust?

The Cleveland Indians and their fans are certainly hoping for the former after Sunday’s final roster cuts made Cunningham the Tribe’s extra outfielder when the season starts on Thursday.

Cunningham did not have a particularly good spring, nor has he done a lot in parts of four years at the big league level. However, Cleveland management felt he gave the team what it needs coming off the bench. The plus is Cunningham has played all three outfield positions. The Indians were able to opt for just one utility outfielder and were able to put two utility infielders on the roster in Jason Donald and Jose Lopez, who also made the final cut Sunday.

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Donald’s Versatility Gives Tribe Value Off Bench

By Craig Gifford

If Jason Donald could play only one position, there likely would not be a spot for him on the Cleveland Indians’ Opening Day roster. However, because he can and has played all three infield positions at the Major League level, the third-year utility man is looked at very favorable by the Tribe brass and as someone who can fill very important role off the bench.

Last season, Donald’s year was derailed by injuries. He was hurt in Spring Training and never really got to do much to help Cleveland until late in the season, when the Tribe was out of playoff contention. Still, in just 39 games at the big league level, Donald showed his range in the field and actually provided a better bat than most would have expected.

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Tribe Has Several Trade Options Over Next Few Days

By Christian Petrila

Spring Training is wrapped up and some fans are still extremely disappointed in what the Indians did (or in this case, didn’t do.) Plenty of their offseason additions didn’t pan out very well this spring, so the Indians would benefit from looking to acquire one of the following guys.

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DTTWLN? Fan of the Week: Johnny Smatana

By Matthew Van Wormer

Abreu Trade Talks Spark Fans Dislike

By Vince Guerrieri

Smith A Key Piece In Back End of Bullpen

Each week through Spring Training the DTTWLN staff will profile and break down the players in camp for the Indians at Goodyear, Arizona and examine their potential roles for the season to come. This week, we continue our Goodyear coverage by breaking down the players who the glue to the team if the Tribe is to make the playoffs.

By Christian Petrila

Since being acquired from the New York Mets after the 2008 season, Joe Smith came to the Indians and was expected to be one of the most efficient setup men in the American League. 2011 saw Joe Smith take a huge leap in the right direction.

Smith has the unmistakable sidearm release and also bears one of the more unhittable sliders in the Majors. In 2011, he finally put all the pieces together. In his career-high 67 innings, he sported a tidy ERA of 2.01. Not only that, but he only allowed one home run all year.

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Kotchman’s Defense Will Shore Up Infield

Each week through Spring Training the DTTWLN staff will profile and break down the players in camp for the Indians at Goodyear, Arizona and examine their potential roles for the season to come. This week, we continue our Goodyear coverage by breaking down the players who the glue to the team if the Tribe is to make the playoffs.

By Christian Petrila

By no means is he the long-tern answer at first base, but Casey Kotchman is giving Indians fans reason to be optimistic going into the 2012 season.

Kotchman is entering his ninth Major League season with his sixth team. In 2011 with TampaBay, he hit a career-best .306 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI. However, the Indians brought him in for more than just his bat.

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Bench Battles Rage To The Last Days Of Camp

By Christian Petrila

With Spring Training winding down, there are still plenty of battles going on. Chisenhall’s demotion to AAA all but solidifies Hannahan’s spot at third base, but other than that, there isn’t much certainty. Instead, it’s all speculation. However, a battle that should not be overlooked is the one for the bench spots. It’s pretty safe to assume that two will go to Lou Marson and Jason Donald. However, here are the candidates for the other two spots:

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Tomlin’s Consistency Necessary For Tribe Rotation

Each week through Spring Training the DTTWLN staff will profile and break down the players in camp for the Indians at Goodyear, Arizona and examine their potential roles for the season to come. This week, we continue our Goodyear coverage by breaking down the players who the glue to the team if the Tribe is to make the playoffs.

By Craig Gifford

Josh Tomlin will never overpower anyone with a blazing fastball. He’s likely to never put up the gaudy statistics of baseball’s great starting pitchers. However, what he will do is consistently pitch well and keep his team in any given game. That’s what Tomlin did in the first 37 starts of his career and if that kind of consistency carries into this year, the Cleveland Indians will continue to have one of the back-end rotation guys in the game.

From his call-up to the Major Leagues in July 2010 until August 24 of last year, Tomlin worked five innings or more in every start. That stands as a record for a pitcher to start his career on such a streak. The only thing that may have prevented the right hander from really making it an even more staggering number was a late-season injury. Tomlin’s streak ended against the Seattle Mariners on August 24 and he was shut down for the remainder of the season, days later, with a strained right elbow.

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Cabrera Of 2011 Necessary To Stabilize Infield, Strengthen Offense

Each week through Spring Training the DTTWLN staff will profile and break down the players in camp for the Indians at Goodyear, Arizona and examine their potential roles for the season to come. This week, we continue our Goodyear coverage by breaking down the players who the glue to the team if the Tribe is to make the playoffs.

By Mike Brandyberry

Was last season a breakout season for Asdrubal Cabrera, or a career year? The outstanding season Cabrera had in 2011, now has raised expectations for the upcoming season.

A year ago in Spring Training Orlando Cabrera suggested to Asdrubal that he try to utilize his power, trying to hit the ball out of the park at least once a game. He took Orlando’s suggestion and had an outstanding early part of the season, crushing home runs at a rate that had not been seen from the slick-fielding, slap hitter.

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