Brantley Placed on Paternity List

today, on June 16, the Cleveland Indians placed Michael Brantley on the Paternity List and recalled right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko from the Triple A Columbus Clippers to take his roster spot. a player can be absent from the team for up to three days once he's officially placed on this list.

Michael was not with the Tribe for their afternoon home game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday on June 15 because his wife, Melissa, began having contractions during the night. Terry Francona told the story of what happened in his postgame presser via a video on the FOX Sports Ohio youtube channel. "he had tried to line it up where she was gonna, whatever, at 4:30, however, induce i guess. but last night in the middle of the night, things started happening. so he texted me and i told him, i said, 'get, get over there with her.' you never want to miss something like that. or even go bat to at bat here and run over there. my goodness. he kinda deserves the right to be with his family and do that so... so we'll miss him for the weekend."

that means Michael will be gone for all four road games, including a doubleheader, against the Minnesota Twins. he is expected to rejoin the club on Monday, June 19 in Baltimore for the second leg of their trip, so said WTAM 1100 radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton.

Melissa gave birth to the new Brantley baby yesterday, a

Brantley's First Career Two-Assist Game

for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley threw out two baserunners in one game. the feat occurred on June 10, 2017, in the contest versus the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. the last Indians player to acquire two outfield assists in the same game was Rajai Davis, and he did it almost exactly one year ago, on June 9, 2016, as the left fielder at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Mariners.

Michael's triumph began with the Indians already down, 4-0, in the top of the 2nd inning. Jose Abreu came to the plate to face Josh Tomlin with 2 outs and Melky Cabrera at 1st base. after a 1-1 count, Abreu sent a line drive double into left field. Michael retrieved the ball out of the corner, quickly spun around, and threw a laser to the cutoff man, shortstop Francisco Lindor. because Lindor knew Cabrera was on his way home, he made a relay throw to catcher Yan Gomes, who applied the tag on Cabrera to end the top half of the inning and also give Michael what would be his

Brantley's 2017 #s Through May (+ All Star Ballot Results)

as promised, this is the blog containing Michael's total numbers so far this year. not everyone is curious about a baseball player's statistics within a month, i get that, but most fans are typically interested in current overall numbers, and that is why i now will be writing two blogs at the end of every month. these types of posts feature Michael's 2017 regular season numbers up to the point in the year that we're at. this particular blog covers April 3 to May 31. the format is the same as in my monthlies, except certain sections have been eliminated because they're just not all necessary here.

the main difference between my two blogs is this: the cumulative season blogs focus solely on Michael's numbers, while the monthlies provide stats as well as detailed information that i feel is important to document in regards to each month.

in case you're new or need a refresher, let me quickly give a rundown of what you can expect to find in my 2017 #s Through... blogs this season:
--current overall #s recap
--batting average competition
--team leads and career highs
--HR:RBI ratio, LOB, K Rate, and Outs
--reached base vs. left stranded (new section this year!)
--streaks and situational statistics
--#s versus AL Central Division teams
--interleague play #s
--league rankings

Brantley's May 2017 #s

hi again, Brantley fans! let me begin by thanking everyone who read my Brantley's April 2017 #s blog. i know it was long, but i hope you at least found some of the stuff in there interesting! also, while i have no new viewers from the past month to acknowledge, i did notice an abundance of views from people in France. so i want to express my gratitude that you all took the time to check out my writing and read about Dr. Smooth! n'hésitez pas à partager mes publications si vous les aimez!😉

this blog contains Michael's numbers and additional pertinent information from the month of May. if you want season stats and details about his overall numbers so far in 2017, that separate post is linked at the bottom of this one.

and don't forget: if you haven't done so yet, please vote for Michael and your other favorite Cleveland Indians to go to the 2017 All Star Game this July 11. click here for all the voting rules and tips on how to ensure that your ballots are being submitted correctly.

now let's get into Michael's May!


May Overview

for Michael, the month of May was an anomaly. sure there were some definite highlights, but it was not

Vote Brantley for MLB's 2017 All Star Game!

calling all Michael Brantley fans! i hope you're ready to get your vote on because it's now officially time to start picking the 2017 MLB All Stars!

photo courtesy of mlb.com

Michael's first, last, and only appearance so far in an MLB All Star Game occurred in 2014 when he was selected to the American League team as a reserve player. he was not chosen to be part of the 2015 contest, and of course we all know that the 2016 ASG ended up being out of the question for him. (though i did push hard for fans to vote for Michael prior to his shoulder setback!) but with his injury issues finally out of the way, we need to get Dr. Smooth on the squad representing the Cleveland Indians this year.

after his first month of the regular season, Michael is currently batting

Brantley's April 2017 #s

hey there, Brantley fans! guess what? Michael played a full month in the regular season and had no physical health issues! when was the last time i could claim that, right? his rehab was such a lengthy process, and i want to thank each and every one of you who followed his journey back to the majors along with me by reading all my blogs about his post-surgery progressions. (and in case you missed the two previous posts containing Michael's Cactus League Rehab information, i will link those HERE and HERE.)

that's all in the past now, fortunately, as Dr. Smooth seems to be rapidly returning to his normal self. and that means i am back in business re: writing a standard monthly blog. it's been a loooooong time since i've been able to do so and you have no idea how happy i am about it. but because it's been a while, i want to provide an outline of what you can expect to find in my monthly compositions. whether you're new to my blog or already familiar with it, this should be helpful in navigating your way around and trying to find the topics that you're most interested in reading.

to keep everything clear and separated, i divide my blogs into sections. this season, i've decided to switch around the order of my presentation a bit, but each month will typically include:
--a monthly overview
--health updates (if applicable)
--batting order position information/changes
--areas of concern
--team batting winner

Brantley Wins the Indians' 2017 Home Opener with a Walk-off Double!

welcome back, Dr. Smooth! during the Cleveland Indians' Home Opener versus the Chicago White Sox on April 11, 2017, Michael Brantley reminded everybody just how vital a piece the Tribe was missing in 2016 when he won today's game at Progressive Field in walk-off fashion.

photo courtesy of @Indians on twitter

let me set the scene. the Indians took an early lead in the bottom of the 1st inning after Francisco Lindor hit a solo home run off James Shields. later, the White Sox evened the score in the top of the 5th inning on Todd Frazier's home run off Carlos Carrasco. from there, the game remained tied at 1 through 9, forcing the Tribe's first extra innings of the season.

Indians lefty reliever Boone Logan started off the top of the 10th inning by

Brantley's Cactus League 2017 Rehab #s and My Predictions

this is the second part of Michael Brantley's Cactus League Rehab information. this blog contains Michael's numbers, statistics, and game lines from his rehab game appearances. i've also included a section at the end with my predictions for his 2017 regular season. the main focus here is on the spring numbers, but if you're interested in all of the details of Michael's daily hitting progressions during spring, or more specific information about his individual rehab game at bats and plate appearances, or pictures and videos of him, then please read my previous blog: Brantley's Cactus League 2017 Rehab & Game Details.

the format of this post will be easily recognizable to those of you who are longtime readers of my blogs. i've basically set this up like a monthly post by sectioning it into an overview, situational stats, fielding information, number breakdowns, and game lines. on the other hand, if you're new and unfamiliar with my typical layout, you can now begin to get accustomed to how i write my Brantley blogs.

note: Michael played in two minor league rehab games during spring and, just like last year, i could not get all the usual details and data that i like to document. for games of this kind, fans have no access to what's going on unless they physically go to the field that the games are played on. there's no way to watch them on TV or online, there's no way to follow along pitch-by-pitch on a Gameday, and there's no way to listen to Gameday audio because it doesn't exist. the only avenue to get info, if you're not in Arizona, is by

Brantley's Cactus League 2017 Rehab & Game Details

Brantley fans! i have the best news for you all on this, our Indians' baseball eve! it was just formally announced today that we will see Michael Brantley open up the season on the 25-man roster and bat 3rd in the Indians' starting lineup tomorrow, April 3! Happy Day Before Opening Day, indeed! i could not be more ecstatic!😁

when i last left off in my previous updates blog post, Michael was starting to take live batting practice in the indoor batting cages. since then, he's taken live BP on the field, played in some simulated games, advanced to playing in minor league games, and then received clearance to play in Cactus League spring games with the Indians. he hit every benchmark that he needed to and now he's ready to begin the regular season.

making it to this point took a lot of hard work on Michael's part; it was such a long road back. i'm sure nobody wants the 2017 campaign to get underway more than him so he can finally join his teammates on the field again instead of watching and coaching them from the dugout. lead by example this year, boy!

i'm going to do this similarly to how i did it a year ago, by splitting Michael's Cactus League rehab information into two separate blogs so that there's not an overwhelming amount of stuff in one huge post. this first blog contains his daily rehab updates, quotes, pictures, and videos throughout the duration of Indians spring games. all of Michael's hitting progressions are included here, as well as

Indians Spring 2017 Recap, Player Evaluations, and Predictions

hello there, Indians fans! how happy are you that Cactus League play is finally over? i know a lot of us have been very anxious for the 2017 season to get underway ever since things did not end how we wanted them to on the night of November 2, 2016. and now, after a shortened offseason and a longer spring training, we are just TWO DAYS away from meaningful game action and Indians Opening Day! this may arguably be the toughest weekend of the year for Tribe fans. so while everyone's waiting, let me present a recap of the Tribe's spring, including a review of player performances, as well as some predictions about how the reigning American League Champions will do this season!

before i start though, i want to acknowledge all the new readers who discovered my blog over the winter. so here is a special welcome to the viewers in the following countries: Netherlands, Indonesia, Brazil, India, Croatia, Singapore, Finland, Georgia, Portugal, Venezuela, and Turkmenistan. many thanks to each one of you for reading, and i hope you enjoy the blogs i post this year! and if i left you out, let me know you were here by telling me where you're from in a comment below!


Spring Training 2017 Overview

Indians Cactus League games took place from February 25 - March 31, consisting of three split-squad days and just two