Cleveland Sports Forum

I always like to see former Tribe farmhands make good. He would have no short term nor long term role with the Indians, with Encarnacion and Santana here now and Bradley on the way.

Went to the Giants/Dodgers ST game today. Cooked in the sun for 7 innings. Very little shade at Camelback Ranch.

Half the teams walked to the clubhouse after 5 innings. My neighbor asked "where are they going?" I said "tee times".

Ex-Tribe guys Tyler Holt and Franklin Gutierrez started for LA. Didn't see anything about them that I missed.

Good luck to LA trying to trade Puig. He showed up the ump by standing in the box after a called third strike. Then he loafed trying to catch a line drive that looked catchable to me but was scored a triple.

Joez may love him, but he's a punk.

Kershaw looked in mid-season form. 3 innings, no hits.

Jesus Aguilar is off to decent start. Hopefully he continues to do well and sticks with the Brewers this year.

I was really hoping Cleveland would get to see the new look Jesus Aguilar this spring. Aguilar changed his whole approach to hitting this winter. So far, it's paying off for the Brewers. Prior to the game today, these were Aguilar's stats: Today, Jesus is padding his stats, three run homer, base hit, and a walk.

Good for Jesus!

In light of the Yankees’ decision to make outfield prospect Clint Frazier cut his hair Friday, this is a good time to revisit a piece from 1991 on the team’s longtime first baseman, Don Mattingly. Then with the New York Times (and now with the YES Network), Jack Curry wrote that Mattingly refused to obey owner George Steinbrenner’s hair policy, so New York benched and fined its captain as a result. That came two months after the Yankees denied Mattingly’s request for a trade. “Maybe I don’t belong in the organization anymore,” a frustrated Mattingly said at the time. “I talked to [general manager Gene Michael] about moving me earlier in the year. He said we’ll talk at the end of the year. Maybe this is their way of saying we don’t need you anymore.” Mattingly added that Michael wanted an “organization that will be puppets for him and do what he wants.” Michael fired back, saying: “He’s the captain and he’s got a big contract. If we asked the captain to get his hair cut, he should get it cut.”

Despite Mattingly’s dispute with the Yankees, he went on to spend the next four seasons with the club before retiring after the 1995 campaign. The Bombers were the only team for which Mattingly played, of course, in an excellent career that began in 1982. As for the Yankees, although Steinbrenner passed away in 2010, his daughter, part-owner Jennifer Steinbrenner, has kept her father’s rule in place, per Billy Witz of the Times. Many, including River Ave Blues’ Mike Axisa, aren’t happy about it.

Now Frazier should really be able to make it as a superstar. Glad the Yankees know what's important in player development.

Bad news from Orioles' camp. Santander homered twice over the weekend. He might just convince the Birds to make room for him on their major league roster.

Clint Frazier, lf, Yankees. Frazier, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, has been overshadowed this spring by New York’s top prospect, Gleyber Torres, who is 11-for-23. Frazier’s been no slouch, but has drawn more attention for cutting his trademark flowing red locks. On Thursday, Frazier bashed his first spring homer in the Yankees’ 11-5 win over Toronto. Frazier needs to cut down on his strikeouts and improve pitch recognition, but he and Torres both hold places in the Yankees’ future.

Good news for Jose and for Joe:

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that former Tribe and current Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar has played well enough to earn a roster spot this season. He’s hit three homeruns this spring.

So a reporter has determined Aguilar has played well enough to make the team. Is he on the Brewer's decision making team? Has someone guaranteed him a spot? Might as well ask JoeZ.

5th homer and 12th rbi for Aguilar today. His 2-3 bumps his average up to .450. 7 Walks and 8 strike outs. OBP over .500, SLG over .800, and OPS over 1.400. Jesus is making a case for himself. I can't see how the Brewers can refuse at his point. But! It's only spring training. Aguilar is out of the game and Aguilar as replaced him (Ryan, that is).

Well, I hope I don't jinx Aguilar, but he has to be the hottest batter in spring training right now. He just boosted his batting average up to .500 with his 4-4 day and 3 more runs scored.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jesus Aguilar's big Spring Training prompted the Brewers to try something new Friday, one of several signs they are seriously considering the slugger for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The new idea was Eric Thames -- who signed a three-year deal to be the Brewers' first baseman -- starting a Cactus League game against the Reds in right field. Manager Craig Counsell characterized it as "related" to Aguilar's strong offensive showing in camp.

"[Thames] is not going to play right field Opening Day or anything," Counsell said. "But he was an outfielder [before playing three seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization] and has played a lot of outfield. As you kind of go through scenarios during the season, there's scenarios where he could play the outfield.

"So, to have a little recency to his outfield play, that's kind of the point of it."

The Brewers also were still debating whether to open with seven or eight relievers. Because of the makeup of the rest of the roster, that decision could determine whether Aguilar makes the team.

If it's a seven-man bullpen, Aguilar is in. If it's an eight-man bullpen, Aguilar is probably out.

I thought we'd heard that Aguilar was IN, a week back. It sounds like he's going to be no more than the 25th man on the Brewers.

News on other ex-Indians in today's Transactions:

Reassigned to Minors: Edw Mujica by Tigers, Nick Hagadone by Mariners;
Released: Mark Lowe by Tigers, Drew Stubbs Twins.
Last week C.C. Lee was reassigned