Friday, February 24, 2017

Brantley's February 2017 Hitting Progressions (Pre-Spring Games)

Indians spring training games begin tomorrow! finally, the boys are back in action! well, all except one. sadly, Michael Brantley is not ready to play in spring games yet because the team is being extra careful with him and taking his rehab slowly. so as we wait for Michael to get the all clear, i thought i'd post an updates blog with details about his February hitting progressions--from tee work to batting practice!--prior to Cactus League games. there are a lot of photos of Michael in here, too!👍

and, in an unprecedented twist, FIVE different baseball writers published false information regarding Michael this month. not on purpose, of course, but it's quite astonishing that so many people would make mistakes within a similar time period and in relation to the same player. for three of these guys especially, that's a rarity because they are typically some of my most credible sources when it comes to all things Tribe. nevertheless, i called attention to those faux pas, as you would expect, and then corrected them, as you will soon discover.

before i get started though, if you'd like to see any of the updates between Michael's biceps tenodesis surgery on August 15, 2016, and Tribe Fest on January 28, 2017, check out

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Brantley Ranked 74th in MLB Network's Top 100 Players Right Now

spring training games are set to start in just over a week, which is a little earlier than usual this year due to the World Baseball Classic. so for some of us, Indians fans especially, this baseball offseason flew by very quickly. but before the games get underway, it's time for MLB Network to reveal their annual list of "Top 100 Players Right Now." Greg Amsinger, Bill Ripken, and Ron Darling once again hosted the three-day countdown of the Top 100 Players currently in Major League Baseball going into the 2017 season. the list was unveiled from February 15-17 in five one-hour installments featuring 20 players per show. tonight, on February 15, the second part of the series aired at 10 pm ET.

photo courtesy of @MLBNetwork on twitter

MLBN's Top 100 list is assembled by their research staff and based on

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Save the Chief! Revised

i posted a blog about this at the end of 2014, but because i didn't have a lot of viewers back then, not many people ever read it. now, after the January 27 announcement that the Cleveland Indians are set to host the 2019 All Star Game, fans are suspecting that the terms and conditions of the Tribe winning the bid were that they'll have to get rid of the Chief Wahoo prior to the event. so i figure this would be a good time to revisit this topic and write up a revised version of my initial post.

talks about the Wahoo are currently ongoing between the Indians' owner and MLB's commissioner. from Paul Hoynes' article on cleveland.com, Commissioner Rob Manfred said, "i think we'll produce a result that will be good for the Indians and good for baseball. but what exactly that is, i don't want to speculate." that certainly doesn't sound like he plans on just leaving the Wahoo alone. i'd guess there's a high probability that it be will completely abolished within the next two years. i strongly believe this change would be a mistake, however, and i'm going to support my pro-Wahoo position right now.

the following contains excerpts from my Where Are You, Chief Wahoo? Save The Chief! blog, published back on December 15, 2014, combined with corresponding thoughts and updates of how things are today in 2017. i've also included some brand new sections that address subjects that most people don't usually bring up when referring to this hot button issue.