Saturday, March 18, 2006

Here and There

The Tribe executed their second round of cuts earlier this week. Does anyone else wonder if they really put those red flags in these players’ lockers (like the one that sparked the epic Vaughn-Dorn melee of ’89)?

Kaz Tadano and Brad Snyder are the only widespread known names, though their demotions certainly aren’t unexpected. For those who have heard rumors about Kaz Tadano and are curious, go to Deadspin and do a search on Kaz Tadano. The third one down is the one to which I refer. I won’t link it here because this is NOT that kind of site.

John Farrell was on the radio earlier this week and said that Fausto Carmona will be the first starter called up to make a spot start. Part of that probably has to do with the fact that Jeremy Sowers is not on the 40-man roster, but more has to do with the fact that Carmona has pitched all Spring like the 5th spot SHOULD be his. In 9 innings, he has an ERA of 1.00, has a WHIP of 1.22 with no walks, and has impressed the Tribe brass to the level that they realize that he’s not far away from being a vital cog in the rotation.

It was mentioned recently that the 22-year old Carmona is 6-5, 240. To put that in perspective, LeBron is 6-8, 240 and looks like a freight train; so Carmona is a well-put-together physical specimen. The book on Carmona is that he’s a pitcher who induces contact (he’s not a strikeout pitcher), but his control allows him to spot his fastball with his changeup, while mixing a developing slider in. Let’s Go Tribe’s Top Prospect Listing (Ryan’s) compares him to Carlos Silva of the Twins, who projects as their 3rd starter this year. I’ll take that out of the 5th spot if somebody goes down or Jason Johnson doesn’t perform.

The readiness of Carmona underscores what has become the theme in this Spring Training, and that is that the Indians have young talent (Carmona, Brown, Marte, Garko) that may be ready for the Majors. But that talent is not necessarily needed right now and doesn’t need to be force-fed into the Majors. They can start the season in Buffalo and provide the Indians the kind of depth that they haven’t had in 10 years.

Finally, for those who needed a Cory Snyder fix for a Saturday, here’s the White Knight in his 1990 glory:

Someone out there has to know this: What was the premise of the poster that had Cory Snyder dressed up as a cowboy?

Enjoy a Survivors’ Day (the day after St. Patty’s Day) made for a Saturday on the couch with the Tourney and the afternoon Spring Training Game (if you get STO).

9 comments:

Krems said...

It so happens that I had the Cory Snyder "Gunslinger" poster hanging proudly in my bedroom as a young lad. It featured Snyder sporting a cowboy hat and armed with a couple of six shooters. Why the hell didn't I keep that sucker?

Baltimoran said...

krems has since replaced the "Gunsligner" with a Kaz Tadano movie poster.

Rockdawg said...

It's a nice time to be an Ohio sports fan. Even though the Cavs are getting pounded (36-22) by the Lakers right now, I am pumped for the playoffs, and the fact that they are on national TV (again) is great. OSU plays at 4:15, and that will give me about 6 staight hours of Ohio basketball. The Browns continue to make headlines for free agent signings that were not possible under Butch Davis or Chris Palmer. It is so nice to have a good coach that players actually want to play for. And, of course, the Tribe continues to tear up Spring Training, which means nothing, but it is still exciting to see Super Sizemore travel at light speed on his way to a bases clearing triple.

As far as "The Gunslinger" goes, it got me thinking about some other vintage Cleveland hype....Like the Cavs "6-pack" shirt, but I need some help with who was on it...I know it had Price, Nance, Dougherty, and Ehlo. But the other two spots are a little fuzzy. I believe it also had Hot-Rod and Mike Sanders, but for some reason I want to say that Terrell Brandon was on there too. Were there two different versions? This is literally driving me crazy.

Cy Slapnicka said...

ah, the magic of google. looks like Mike Sanders and Lenny Wilkens made up the rest of the 6-pack.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1989-CLEVELAND-CAVS-6-PACK-CARTOON-T-SHIRT-L_W0QQitemZ8776327597QQcategoryZ60589QQcmdZViewItem

Cy Slapnicka said...

sorry, here it is link

Baltimoran said...

i had the hot rod cartoon big head shirt and wore it just about every day

WJZ had the audacity to show college lacrosse over the CAVS game today...unconscionable

nice to read about the cavs winning another close one, and kobe to miss the game winner

the brownies have had a great off season and none of our division rivals appeared to have bettered themselves...especially the ravens, right now k boller is still the quarterback

Rockdawg said...

There had to be another version of that shirt...I swear T Brandon has been on one of those shirts.

I know that Kyle Boller is still the Ravens QB....but you realize in B-More, Cincy, and the Burgh, they've got to be saying, "The Browns QB's are still Dilfer and Frye." Granted, I'm a huge Frye guy, and he had some flashes, but he's still wet behind the ears.

P, what do you think I could get today on Ebay for that mit I had with the sigs of Swindell, Bails, Franco, Tabler, Butler, Grover, Snyder and Ernie "Macho" Camacho. Why did my dad actually let me play real games with that mit??? After 5 years of little league, it was worthless.

Cy Slapnicka said...

Don't bother getting excited about the Browns on the front page of espn.com. The insider story is just a cliff notes version of their free agent signings and really only contains a couple paragraphs about the browns. another reason why i will never, ever pay for insider access.

Paul Cousineau said...

Rock,
I think that glove would fetch the same amount as the ball that I have that's signed by the 1989 Indians that is inexplicably in a protective case.

Another case of our misguided youth was using the ball that I had Brook Jacoby sign at Tony LaRiche Chevrolet for something, probably Running Bases. You can still see the "J", but you have to look real close. That one too, for no good reason, is also on a bookshelf in the house.