AP The Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto spoke to Indians CEO Paul Dolan, touching on many of the issues that have plagued the franchise since its last winning season in 2007. Of note, Dolan called his team’s 2012 season “the worst” in his family’s 14 years with the organization. Dolan also admits that, despite increased ticket sales as a result of the Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher signings, “we will lose money” in 2013.
More, via Pluto:
But he views it as a “long-term investment” in the franchise, something that had to be done.
“It’s self-evident that we should be a very exciting team with personality,” he said. “We certainly have challenges. How we deal with them will determine if we are playing meaningful baseball in September or not.
“But we are unequivocally a better team.”
Though the Indians are playing in a division that includes the reigning American League champion Detroit Tigers, the AL Central is seen as a weak division. If the Indians’ lackluster starting rotation can prove a lot of naysayers wrong, they could enjoy significantly more success than they saw in seasons prior, something which would justify Dolan’s refusal to put his team through a complete rebuilding phase.
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Reuters
Earlier this month the Diamondbacks traded Mark Teahen to the Reds as minor-league depth, but the deal was canceled due to questions about his health. Today the Diamondbacks released Teahen, who hasn’t played since April 30 and, according to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, asked to be let go from the Triple-A team. Teahen…
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AP
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times asked the M’s manager to explain something. Here’s his answer without context. It’s different. If I have to explain it to you, then you don’t understand. I can’t. I don’t have enough time to explain it to you, because if you don’t know, then you don’t know. And you’re never…
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Reuters
Toronto recalled outfielder Anthony Gose from Triple-A, which surprised Blue Jays fans and media members because he was hitting just .227 with a .667 OPS in 40 games at Triple-A after struggling in his first taste of the majors last season. And you know who else is surprised by the call-up? Anthony Gose. Gose, on…
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Is there some friction between Mike Rizzo and the Nats’ owner?
May 20, 2013, 11:32 AM EDT
AP
Adam Kilgore has an interesting article up about the job status of Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. The Nats just extended him per the terms of his current deal, so sure, that’s a vote of confidence. But there is some weirdness afoot too: In April, Mark Lerner, the Nationals’ principal owner, told the Washington Times that…
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John Danks made his fourth minor-league rehab start over the weekend and Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports that the White Sox left-hander could come off the disabled list to make his season debut Friday. It’s worth noting, however, that Danks hasn’t actually pitched all that well in the minors. He lasted just 4.2 innings in…
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Posnanski hits the nail on the head: What player in baseball do you think has the most ANT — Announcer Nonsense Talk — spoken about them? By ANT, I’m not just referring to stuff announcers say. I’m referring to a sort of universal praise that does not tie to logic or anything tangible but instead…
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Johnny Cueto is slated to come off the disabled list and start tonight for the Reds after missing the past month with a lat injury. His return was delayed by the same oblique problems that plagued Cueto last season and the right-hander revealed that he’s considering changing his mechanics to avoid similar injuries. Here’s what…
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Watch Robinson Cano play wiffleball in the street with a boy fighting leukemia
May 20, 2013, 10:32 AM EDT
Headline says it all. But this from the MLB Fan Cave is cool, dudes.
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Ryan Howard sat out Sunday’s game with a sore left knee and the Phillies first baseman is getting an MRI exam today. Howard told Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com that the knee “has been acting up a little bit since spring training” but “yesterday was when it really kind of kicked in more than normal.” Howard…
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The Yankees are ruled by different expectations than everyone else
May 20, 2013, 9:45 AM EDT
The Yankees average over 37,000 a game, yet get stuff written about how they are having attendance issues. If you’re savvy and go to the secondary market, you can still get tickets for a relatively decent price to most Yankees games, even if they’re not the best seats in the world. Compare this to basketball…
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Apparently Miguel Cabrera’s 2013 has made his 2012 better somehow
May 20, 2013, 9:18 AM EDT
AP
Bill posted about Cabrera’s big night last night, and this morning Twitter is dominated by folks noting just how utterly ridiculous Cabrera has been so far this year. And make no mistake, he has been. He’s hitting .387/.457/.659 and leads the AL in runs, hits, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and total bases. Just…
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I mean, yes, it’s totally reasonable to think his job is in jeopardy given how poorly the Dodgers have played amid high expectations. But Ken Rosenthal’s latest column is pretty bold in speculating that Mattingly’s days are numbered. Rather than just analyze the team’s struggles, Rosenthal talks about his gut feeling that Mattingly could be…
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I saw “The Great Gatsby” yesterday. Gatsby is my favorite novel of all time. The movie was not the book and if your basis for slamming it is that it’s not the book, well, your standards and expectations probably need to be checked. Deciding beforehand that I’d not make my judgment of it dependent upon…
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Phillies 3, Reds 2: Aroldis Chapman is usually automatic. But he surrendered back-to-back bombs to the murderers row that is Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis as the Philly walked off Cincinnati. Heck, the inning started with Chapman walking Delmon Young on four straight pitches, so you know he wasn’t on it yesterday. And Cliff Lee…
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The Giants lost their third game in a row, their fifth loss in their last six games as they went down 5-0 to the Rockies this afternoon. Starter Barry Zito labored into the sixth, allowing five runs on 11 hits in 5.2 innings. It marks the sixth consecutive game in which Giants pitching has allowed…
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Entering tonight’s game against the Tigers, Mitch Moreland has a .921 OPS with ten home runs and has arguably been the Rangers’ most dangerous hitter thus far in the 2013 season. Going into the season, first base was assumed to be a weak spot for the Rangers as Moreland had been more or less average…
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In the bottom of the eighth inning with the Marlins leading 2-0, Diamondbacks reliever Josh Collmenter was trying to keep the deficit at two as he faced the top of the lineup. Adeiny Hechavarria decided to attempt to bunt the first pitch he saw, but popped it up. Catcher Miguel Montero and Collmenter converged on…
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With a three-run home run to right-center in the third inning and a solo shot to straightaway center in the fifth — his ninth and tenth of the season, respectively — against Rangers starter Derek Holland, Miguel Cabrera put himself in a tie with Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg with 331 career home runs. Cabrera,…
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Daniel Murphy has hit out of the #2 spot in the Mets’ lineup throughout most of the season, but manager Terry Collins decided to shake things up today by moving up to lead-off. Murphy responded with an eighth-inning solo home run that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. The jolt of offense seems to have…
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AP
Pirates closer Jason Grilli spent most of his 20′s and early 30′s bouncing from organization to organization — he pitched for the White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, and Rangers. Between 2004-09, working almost exclusively as a reliever, he posted a 4.62 ERA. He suffered a knee injury during spring training in 2010 with the Indians, forcing…
