Enjoying the ride so so far but, I think losing 2/5th of the rotation to elbow injuries will hurt over the long haul unless they show some balls and promote White, which I doubt will happen. It's more likely that we will see Huff or McCallister.

Hannahan has been a big surprise so far and is someone that can actually hit left handed pitching.

Santana needs to be moved out of the cleanup spot for a while.

TDU wrote:Enjoying the ride so so far but, I think losing 2/5th of the rotation to elbow injuries will hurt over the long haul unless they show some balls and promote White, which I doubt will happen. It's more likely that we will see Huff or McCallister.

Hannahan has been a big surprise so far and is someone that can actually hit left handed pitching.

Santana needs to be moved out of the cleanup spot for a while.

If we reach May 1 and we're still in 1st place in this season and our guys up top are paying attention, I suspect they'll try something unsuspected until now.

Think there may be some expectations about Alex White that he he may not be able to meet. Alex White is not a lock to be a good major league starter. Projects more as a reliever.

A crowd of just 9,650 was at Progressive Field, while Cleveland’s minor league hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters, drew 10,277 for their Game 7 playoff game at Quicken Loans Arena.

Stat of the day: Indians catchers have failed to throw out a base stealer this season. The opposition is 12-for-12 in stolen bases through 21 games.

Where did we get this Hannahan guy and who did he play with previously?

I am enjoying this season a lot but wish to add a negative- Looks to me like Perez does not have the fastball yet that he enjoyed last year,this is purely an observation since the feeds I have watched do not show pitch speeds. I estimate he is down some even though the results have been good. At this point Pestano seems to have a better fastball.

gaylord perry wrote:Where did we get this Hannahan guy and who did he play with previously?

It is no secret that the Cleveland Indians (and not to mention the Indians fans) have suffered through some certainly inept third base play over the last couple seasons.

We needn't not be reminded...but here it goes anyway: Andy Marte, Jayson Nix, Luis Valbuena and Jhonny Peralta.

Opening the 2011 season, the hot corner was one of the club's biggest question marks; who would fill the gap while Lonnie Chisenhall matured and put his time in the minors?

On December 3, 2010, the Indians signed Jack Hannahan, a 30-year old (at that time) veteran who since debuting in 2006 had less than 900 career at-bats. There was virtually no fanfare surrounding the signing. Why would there be? He hadn't seen time with a Major League team since 2009, and was a career .224 hitter entering this season. Additionally, he was only signed to a minor league contract. With just a Spring Training invitation, there was absolutely no guarantee that he be on the big league club.

Only after Jason Donald was injured, and Jayson Nix was dealt to Hannahan's former team, the Seattle Mariners, paired with the fact that he hit .340 in Spring Training while committing no errors in 88.1 innings did he get the nod to be the Opening Day third basemen.

I am sure at this point I was not unlike many Tribe fans, believing that Hannahan got the job completely by default and due to the lack of options the club seemed to have. Sure he did have a good Spring Training...so do a lot of folks.


What ensued next would certainly raise some eyebrows. Through the first six games of the young season, Hannahan was hitting .333 and playing some of the best third base the Indians had seen in a couple seasons.

Hannahan had joined the hodge-podge group of promising youngsters, "wash-ups", cast-offs, surprises and Shin-Soo Choo (who doesn't seem to fit any of these) who have propelled the Cleveland Indians to their best start in years.

More recently, Hannhan is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, including a three-for-four performance last night against the Kansas City Royals which included two solo home runs in a 9-4 winning effort by the Tribe.

His defense has not come in question either, he has only committed one error in 56 total chances. He has a number of stellar defensive plays to compliment his .982 fielding percentage.

Through 18 games worth of action, Hannahan is hitting a respectable .286. His four home runs are tied for the team lead, and his 11 RBI are tied for third on the team.

While Hannhan's future is Cleveland is somewhat uncertain, it seems like a formula at this point: hold down a position until a prospect is ready or the regular returns from injury. The savvy veteran will continue to hold down the third base duties, and I must say it has been a pleasure thus far.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7774
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Loufla-

I initially thought the same thing about CPs velocity, but he has had appearances when he has gotten it up there at 94-95. I don't recall him ever going beyond that during his Tribe tenure. Some outings he's been closer to 90, but the weather has been pretty rotten for some of those appearances .

And he is getting the job done!

Awesome effort by Pestano.

Also, could be part of the reason Santana is still in cleanup is because he switch-hits between Choo and Hafner.

Thanks, J.R.! Maybe Hannahan is a late bloomer like Casey Blake?

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There has been question about Alex White as starter or reliever; but I've read this year that his much more effective (sinker? I forget what pitch) evidenced by his much better K/IP ratio is making him look more likely to have a role in the rotation. The report is probably posted in Minor Matters about a week ago.

Just want everyone to understand that Alex White is not a can't miss prospect.