Cleveland Sports Forum

I think I read somewhere that Neal has elected to become a FA.

Pitchers and catchers report in about a month!

I'm ready.

You're in game condition already?! Been busy working out this winter, huh?

I'm always in shape.

The important thing is that I am satisfied with what the tribe has done so far this winter.

For better or worse, they did SOMETHING this off-season. Choo was gone anyways, and they addressed the dearth of RH hitters, and tried to improve the rotation. Still think we need a pitching coach or two that can straighten out guys like Ubaldo and Bauer.

Still think we need a pitching coach or two that can straighten out guys like Ubaldo and Bauer.

Is Leo Mazzone still alive? Apparently he is according to Wikipedia; he's a color commentator for Fox.

Unfortunately George Bamberger died in 2004.

At least the team has created a little buzz. This is supposed to be about fun. Now go get manny.

Wait, they just FIRED Manny.

kenm wrote:At least the team has created a little buzz. This is supposed to be about fun. Now go get manny.

Buzz?

This 2013 Cleveland Indians rendition will get no more future buzz than Jose Mesa received for having a gun in his car.


Book the reduced price late April cruise, and forget about The Cleveland Indians for 2013.

Earl Weaver, former Orioles manager, dies at 82

By Bart Barnes, Saturday, January 19, 10:52 AM

A scourge to umpires, goad to his players and a delight to fans, Earl Weaver was among the winningest managers in the history of major-league baseball. In his 17 years as chief helmsman of the Baltimore Orioles, his teams won 1,480 games, four American League championships and the 1970 World Series.

Mr. Weaver died Jan. 18 while on a cruise, the team announced. He was of 82. The cause and other details of his death were not immediately known.


Mr. Weaver’s winning percentage as the Orioles’ manager was .583 — the ninth best of all time. Three times he was named manager of the year. Five times his teams had 100-win seasons. The in-your-face bantam was thrown out of 98 games for arguing overzealously with umpires. The Orioles retired his No. 4 uniform, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

As a 5-foot-7 minor-league infielder, Mr. Weaver learned that his dreams of playing in the big leagues were unrealistic.

“It broke my heart, but right then I started becoming a good baseball person,” he told Time magazine in 1979. “When I came to recognize and more important accept my own deficiencies, then I could recognize other players’ inabilities and learn to accept them, not for what they can’t do, but for what they can do.”

He managed the Orioles from 1968 through 1982, when he retired the first time. By 1985, Baltimore’s beloved O’s had fallen upon hard times, and at the behest of the team’s front office, the “Earl of Baltimore” returned in what proved to be a futile effort to right the ship. At the end of the 1986 season, Mr. Weaver retired for good.

After a sixth-place in the American League in 1967, the Orioles came storming back behind Mr. Weaver’s leadership in 1968, finishing second.

The next year, they won the American League East division championship with a record of 109-53, the best in team history. The Orioles swept the Minnesota Twins 3-0 in the AL championship series, but lost the World Series to New York’s “Miracle Mets.”

In 1970, Mr. Weaver led the Orioles to 108 victories, paced by the slugging of first baseman Boog Powell, who had 35 home runs and 114 runs batted in and was named the American League’s most valuable player.

After again defeating the Twins in three straight games for the AL pennant, the Orioles advanced to the World Series and beat the Cincinnati Reds, four games to one. Twice more, in 1971 and in 1979, Mr. Weaver took the Orioles to the World Series, only to lose both times to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As an on-the-field manager, Mr. Weaver was primarily a motivator who seldom dwelled on the techniques of hitting, fielding or pitching.

“The only thing Weaver knows about a curve ball,” Oriole Hall-of-Fame pitcher Jim Palmer once said, “is that he couldn’t hit one.”

Off the field, Mr. Weaver kept his distance from his players, sitting alone on airplanes when the team traveled. He could be harsh and sarcastic, and his verbal clashes with Palmer were well publicized.

“Any difference we ever had was overshadowed by the fact that his teams always won,” Palmer said in 1996, after Mr. Weaver’s election to the Hall of Fame. “I enjoyed our relationship even though there was some tension.”

Another HOFer gone today:

Stan Musial, Cardinals Hall of Famer, dies at 92


January 19, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Stan Musial, one of baseball's greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades, died Saturday. He was 92.

Stan the Man won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s.

The Cardinals announced Musial's death in a news release. They said he died Saturday evening at his home in Ladue, Mo., surrounded by family. The team said Musial's son-in-law, Dave Edmonds, informed the club of Musial's death.

Musial was so revered in St. Louis, two statues of him stand outside Busch Stadium. He spent his entire 22-year career with the Cardinals and made the All-Star team 24 times — baseball held two All-Star games each summer for a few seasons.

A pitcher in the low minors until he injured his arm, Musial turned to playing the outfield and first base. It was a stroke of luck for him, as he went on to hit .331 with 475 home runs before retiring in 1963.

Widely considered the greatest Cardinals player, the outfielder and first baseman was the first person in team history to have his number retired. Ol' No. 6 probably was the most popular, too, especially after Albert Pujols skipped town.

At the suggestion of a pal, actor John Wayne, he carried around autographed cards of himself to give away. He enjoyed doing magic tricks for kids and was fond of pulling out a harmonica to entertain crowds with a favorite, “The Wabash Cannonball.”

Humble, scandal-free, and eager to play every day, Musial struck a chord with fans throughout the Midwest and beyond. For much of his career, St. Louis was the most western outpost in the majors, and the Cardinals' vast radio network spread word about him in all directions.

Farmers in the field and families on the porch would tune in, as did a future president — Bill Clinton recalled doing his homework listening to Musial's exploits.

Musial's public appearances dwindled in recent years, though he took part in the pregame festivities at Busch Stadium during the 2011 postseason as the Cardinals won the World Series. And he was at the White House in February 2011 when President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor for contributions to society.

He certainly delivered at the plate.

Musial never struck out 50 times in a season. He led the NL in most every hitting category for at least one year, except homers. He hit a career-high 39 home runs in 1948, falling one short of winning the Triple Crown.

In all, Musial held 55 records when he retired in 1963. Fittingly, the accolades on his his bronze Hall plaque start off with this fact, rather than flowery prose: “Holds many National League records …”

He played nearly until his 43rd birthday, adding to his totals. He got a hit with his final swing, sending an RBI single past Cincinnati's rookie second baseman — that was Pete Rose, who would break Musial's league hit record of 3,630 some 18 years later.

Of those hits, Musial got exactly 1,815 at home and exactly 1,815 on the road. He also finished with 1,951 RBIs and scored 1,949 runs.

All that balance despite a most unorthodox left-handed stance. Legs and knees close together, he would cock the bat near his ear and twist his body away from the pitcher. When the ball came, he uncoiled.

Unusual, that aspect of Musial.

Asked to describe the habits that kept him in baseball for so long, Musial once said: “Get eight hours of sleep regularly. Keep your weight down, run a mile a day. If you must smoke, try light cigars. They cut down on inhaling.”

One last thing, he said: “Make it a point to bat .300.”

For his career Musial's OBP 417, SLG 559. Walked 1599 times and struck out only 696 in 3026 games!

Which looks pretty amazing until compared with his American League contemporary Ted Williams

Career OBP 482!! Career SLG 634!! 2021 walks to 709 Ks.

I dunno, even with that comparison it's pretty amazing. All things taken into account, a good argument can be made that Williams was the best overall hitter ever in the majors.