Erik Gonzalez picking up where he left off this winter.

He's 5-10 (.500) with 3 doubles and a walk. Best news of all, only 1 strikeout after fanning 47 times and walking only 3 times with Escogido in 45 games. He's 1-1 in stolen bases and has one rbi.

His overall line this winter was 45 G, .325/.341/.454, 6 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 3 BB, 47 K, 3 SB

As Tony noted with his Pollyanna-ish flair:

If you've remained cautiously optimistic in regard to Trevor Bauer, now may be the time to officially get excited.

Oops, then Trevor went out and pitched Monday.

Does it bother anyone that we are scoring most of our runs with the mimes playing in the later innings?

Just sayin'

Maybe our farm system is not as bad as most think.

Our Stiffs > Your Stiffs.

In part it's because our bullpen candidates have been almost uniformally good.

Santana leads the way in 12-7 win over Padres

Third base competition heats up as Santana stands out in the field, at the plate

By Robert Fuller

March 12, 2014

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Goodyear, Arizona -

Carlos Santana, deeply entrenched in a competition with Lonnie Chisenhall to win the everyday third baseman job, made his case Tuesday, helping the Indians run away with a 12-7 win at the expense of the San Diego Padres. Not only did Santana blast a two-run home run in the first inning, the catcher-turned-utility man looked very comfortable at third base and made two exceptional plays in the process.

In the top half of the third inning, leadoff hitter Chris Denorfia hit a sharp groundball down the third-base line that took an unusual hop roughly eight feet into the Arizona air. Santana ranged to his right, leaped to field the ball, and made a strong throw to gun down the speedy outfielder. Later, in the fifth inning, center fielder Rey Fuentes hit a soft grounder to Santana's left. Santana then ranged far into the third base-shortstop gap, fielded it, spun, and delivered a dart to first base to record the out.

On the day, Santana recorded four putouts and displayed a diverse skill-set at the hot corner. At the plate, the burly switch-hitter finished the day 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, a run scored, and a walk.


Offensively for the Indians, Lonnie Chisenhall notched a two-hit day, including a double off of the right-center wall to lead off the fifth inning. Justin Sellers, recently acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, added two hits, a run, and an RBI. Backup catcher Luke Carlin tacked on a bases-clearing double in the ninth.

On the mound for the Tribe, Corey Kluber made his fourth appearance of the spring, showing exceptional command and poise even when the Padres offense began hitting him hard. Kluber, who had a breakout season in 2013, cruised through three innings before getting into trouble in the top half of the fourth.

Xavier Nady and Alex Dickerson hit back-to-back doubles with one out in the inning, followed by an RBI single by Alex Castellanos. Though three runs scored in the inning, the right-hander, acquired from the San Diego Padres as part of the Jake Westbrook trade in 2010, was able to work out of the jam without allowing more damage.

On the day, Kluber surrendered three runs on six hits and didn't issue a walk. He struck out four. Immediately following the game, manager Terry Francona named Kluber the team's number two starter for the upcoming 2014 campaign.

Following Kluber's departure, newly-acquired closer John Axford pitched a perfect fifth inning. Axford has now allowed one run on three hits in four innings of Cactus League work.

Mark Rzepczynski surrendered his first run of 2014 in his lone inning of work, bringing his spring ERA to 2.25 in four innings.

Josh Outman, acquired from the Colorado Rockies via trade in the offseason, allowed one hit and no runs in one inning. The lefty-specialist has yet to surrender a run in four appearances this spring.

Also appearing in relief for the Tribe was Frank Herrmann, who struggled to put away the Padres in his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery. In the top half of the ninth, Herrmann allowed three runs on four hits, including a two-run home run to Rymer Liriano. Herrmann located his off-speed pitches well, but had trouble keeping his fastball down in the zone, resulting in all four hits coming via the fastball.

For the Padres, Nady had two hits, including a home run and double, while starting catcher Rene Rivera had two hits and an RBI. Starting pitcher Tyson Ross struggled through 3 1/3 innings and exited after allowing three runs on four hits and three walks.

Next up for the Indians will be a Thursday matchup with the Kansas City Royals. Right-hander Zach McAllister will make his third start of 2014, facing off with Jeremy Guthrie. McAllister has looked sharp early on, sporting a 0.00 ERA through four innings of work. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET at Goodyear Ballpark.

People that talk about a competition between Santana and Chisenhall for the 3rd base job are fooling themselves. Santana will be in the opening day lineup, no matter where he plays. Chisenhall will be on the bench, at 3rd base or off the team (traded). There is no competition. The only question is can Santana handle 3rd base without losing more games with his glove than he wins with his bat.

Kyle Crockett just made his debut and recorded a 2 pitch bases loaded ground out. Ross Atkins on the radio says nice things about Kyle: he said Crockett throws strikes, nothing fazes him, fastball and slider combo, watch for him to keep moving toward Cleveland.

Atkins said Lindor starts in Akron, could well be in Cleveland some time this season.
Likes Erik Gonazalez will start at Carolina, good SS when they finally gave him the chance to play there,

Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, where the Twins play:

Seagull!

That's been my assumption the moment I read that Santana was going to the DR to get re-acclimated to the third base position.

Port Charlotte:

Rained out in Bradenton today! Would have been Skankees-Pirates

This is from a few years ago, but we both look pretty much the same now as we did then.

At Clearwater for the Phillies and Tigers. Great pitching matchup:Verlander v. Cliff Lee. Both look ready to start their respective Opening Day games.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/verlander- ... --mlb.html