Opening Day: 3/31

Update 3/31 2:07pm: Akron roster is released:

Pitchers (12):
TJ Burton (RHP)
Bubbie Buzachero (RHP)
Kevin Dixon (RHP)
Ryan Edell (LHP)
Frank Herrmann (RHP)
David Huff (LHP)
Chuck Lofgren (LHP)
JD Martin (RHP)
Randy Newsom (RHP)
Shawn Nottingham (LHP)
Jeff Stevens (RHP)
Sung-Wei Tseng (RHP)

Catchers (2):
Armando Camacaro
Chris Gimenez

Infielders (6):
Michael Aubrey
Brandon Chaves
Chris De La Cruz
Wes Hodges
Josh Rodrigues
Matt Whitney

Outfielders (4):
Jose Constanza
Trevor Crowe
Ryan Goleski
Nathan Panther

Update 3/31 1:03pm: Just got the word that the Kinston roster I posted a few days back is official. Hopefully Buffalo, Akron and Lake County official rosters are released soon.
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Today should be a national holiday. There is nothing quite like the first day your major league baseball team takes the field. And for some of us minor league nuts, this Thursday April 3rd is even more exciting as that is minor league baseball's Opening Day. I don't spend really any time here writing about this as the focus is entirely minor leagues, but as a huge Indians fan I expect big things and I really have a feeling this is finally our year. Go Tribe!

Anyway, with all that out of the way, here are some updates today:

- First baseman Jordan Brown will be doing an on-line journal for MiLB.com all season, and this past week he posted his first entry. As most of you know, Brown is one of the Indians most heralded prospects because of his incredible bat-to-ball ability and handle on the strikezone. Not only is he a great guy, but as you can tell from the journal entry he has a pretty good sense of humor. I am not sure how often he will be posting these entries, but I would guess one at least every two weeks. Be sure to check out MiLB.com often to see his work.

- I gave the Kinston roster the other day (there may be a slight change or two). Here is the Lake County roster:

Pitchers (12):
Christopher Archer (RHP)
Garrison Campfield (RHP)
Dallas Cawiezell (RHP)
Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP)
Santo Frias (RHP)
Jonathan Holt (RHP)
Josh Judy (RHP)
Kyle Landis (RHP)
Ryan Miller (LHP)
Ryan Morris (LHP)
Vinnie Pestano (RHP)
Mike Pontius (RHP)

Catchers (2):
Doug Pickens
Michael Valadez

Infielders (7):
Jeff Hehr
Jansey Infante
Chris Nash
Dustin Realini
Karexon Sanchez
Mark Thompson
Matt Willard

Outfielders (4):
Matthew Brown
Lucas Montero
Roman Pena
Adam White

- The Lake County rotation with be De La Cruz, Frias, Miller, Morris, and Archer. Pontius should be the closer. One noticeable ommission is left-handed reliever Garrett Rieck who had a great year in Mahoning Valley last year.

- Here is the Buffalo roster as well (there may be a few last minute changes):

Pitchers (12):
Rick Bauer (RHP)
Bubbie Buzachero (RHP)
Scott Elarton (RHP)
Matt Ginter (RHP)
Jeff Harris (RHP)
Aaron Laffey (LHP)
Tom Mastny (RHP)
Eddie Mujica (RHP)
Reid Santos (LHP)
Brian Slocum (RHP)
Sean Smith (RHP)
Jeremy Sowers (LHP)

Catchers (3):
Yamid Haad/Dave Wallace
Wyatt Toregas

Infielders (6):
Josh Barfield
Jordan Brown
Andy Gonzalez
Aaron Herr
Ryan Mulhern
Danny Sandoval

Outfielders (4):
Jason Cooper
Ben Francisco
Brad Snyder
Jason Tyner/Nathan Panther

- About the Buffalo roster, some last minute changes expected are to decide between Haad or Wallace as the backup catcher, and Tyner and Panther as the fourth outfielder. Certainly a vet team where almost all the players are minor league veterans or prospects who are near the end of prospect status. The makeup of this team should change A LOT through the course of the season.

- Infielder Brandon Pinckney is another player who was left behind in extended spring training. With the rosters at Buffalo and Akron crowded, there was no room for him so he will be assigned to a roster when a spot clears up because of an injury or one of what seems like a thousand vets on the Buffalo roster is released.

- Adam Miller is also in extended spring training because he was sidelined a few weeks with a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. He needs to make up the two weeks he lost to where he can freely go out and make starts where he can go 80-90 pitches, and he is just not ready to do that. He'll likely join Buffalo in a week or so.

- I was out shopping for baseball gear for my 4-year old son's first T-Ball season at Dick's in Mentor, OH yesterday. It was probably the first time I had been in that store in about ten years or so. Well, to show it is a small world, as I was walking to the checkout counter, I saw four young guys come strolling in and one caught my eye because I recognized him. After I did a double-take, I realized I recognized two of the other three. Turns out, it was Jeff Hehr, Matt Brown, and Adam White (the fourth guy was Pickens or Willard, not sure). I talked to them briefly as to not be rude and just let them go about their business.....but man. That's crazy. I just saw these guys a week ago, they fly in from Winter Haven yesterday, and I freaking see them in Dick's their first day in town. Maybe I am meant to cover these guys.;-)

- The first preview should be up tomorrow, most likely on Lake County.

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Final Camp Update 3/30

Just a few final updates as spring training wrapped up for the minor leaguers yesterday:

- All players who have been assigned to full-season clubs are on their way to them today, while those who have not been assigned to a club are staying behind in extended spring training (EST) in Winter Haven.

- In Buffalo's last spring game on Saturday, 1B Jordan Brown went 2-3 with a pair of singles and an RBI, finishing the spring with a .286 average (6-21) with three home runs and six RBI. RHP Adam Miller started for Buffalo and threw three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three. In his two spring starts he gave up two runs on four hits with six strikeouts (3.00ERA). Some other stats for Buffalo players this spring: 1B Ryan Mulhern hit .414 (12-29) with six doubles and five RBI; OF Jason Cooper hit .375 (6-16) with three doubles, a triple and one RBI; C Wyatt Toregas hit .375 (6-16) with three RBI; RHP Eddie Mujica was 2-0 with a 0.00ERA in four games (6.0IP, 6H, 2K); RHP Rick Bauer pitched five scoreless games (8.0IP, 6H, 4BB, 8K); and RHP Jeff Harris posted a 1.29ERA in two spring games (7.0IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 8K).

- Outfielder Stephen Head has remained in EST because he is still recovering from offseason surgery to his labrum on his right shoulder. He was noticeable absent from many of the games all through camp, and is still not 100%. He is expected to be ready to go and in Akron by mid-April.

- While I had mentioned that left-hander Dan Cevette had requested his release to look for a better opportunity after being left behind in EST, apparently the Indians still want him and did not grant the release. There is a good possibility that if Cevette stays healthy in mind and body, he will get a shot in Akron or Kinston sometime in April.

- Outfielder Mike Butia was released in final cuts on Saturday.

- I'm still uploading video, but here is one of catcher Chun Chen taking batting practice. And, here is another that I found hilarious of the young Latin players playing some hot potato while they waited for stretching exercises to begin. I have a second hot potato video I will be uploading shortly which is even more hilarious.

- Previews should start posting tomorrow or Tuesday, so be on the lookout for them.

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News Update and Winter Haven Photo Gallery

Today is just a mish mash of things as I close the book on the spring training coverage of the young Indians down in Winter Haven, and start to focus on the start of the minor league season this coming Thursday. In the coming week I will have in-depth previews for each of the four full season affiliates at Buffalo, Akron, Kinston and Lake County, and on Thursday I plan to post my first Minor Happenings of the season.

Also, be sure to check back throughout the weekend and next week as I will be providing any additional updates with player releases and roster assignments. I'll also be adding links to more video I shot while in Winter Haven.

Before I get to the photo gallery, here are some other random bits of news from the last 24-48 hours:

- Some major injury news which has surfaced in the last 24 hours has left-hander Scott Lewis out for at least two to three months with a strained lat muscle on his pitching arm side. Apparently, he hurt it Monday while warming up. He'll likely rest for four to six weeks and do little throwing if any, and then go on a return to throw program sometime in mid-May where he could be back pitching at Double-A Akron the second half of June.

- In addition to the player releases I posted on Tuesday, three others were released on Thursday morning: infielder Brian Finegan, catcher Argenis Tavarez, and outfielder Daryl King. King is somewhat of a surprise, Tavarez is not, and Finegan just ran out of time after being hampered by injuries the last few years. A few final cuts are expected today or tomorrow.

- The most surprising news of the week came on Thursday as it appears many "vets" are going to start in extended spring training (EST). Pitchers Dan Cevette, Chris Niesel, Joe Ness, Scott Roehl and some other notably higher level guys are sticking behind in EST. These pitchers are healthy, but they are in EST because there is no room at Double-A Akron for them as a result of the backlog of major league pitchers being kept in Buffalo. Still, most of these guys deserve a shot to pitch now, so it will be interesting to see if all of them remain with the club when camp officially closes on Sunday morning. Allegedly, Cevette may ask for his release.

- Still no official word on the Indians moving their Triple-A operation from Buffalo to Columbus, but as has been mentioned in the past the Indians allegedly are all set to go to Columbus. The good news is that the Indians and Kinston are expected to renew their affiliation for another few years. An official announcement could be made sometime in the next week or two.

- Official rosters are not available at this time, although I do have an unofficial roster for advanced Single-A Kinston. I'll post the rosters on my blog when I get them most likely sometime over the weekend, but here is the unofficial Kinston roster:

Pitchers (12):
Jim Deters (RHP)
Paolo Espino (RHP)
Jeanmar Gomez (RHP)
Matt Meyer (LHP)
Luis Perdomo (RHP)
Hector Rondon (RHP)
Carlton Smith (RHP)
Erik Stiller (RHP)
Heath Taylor (LHP)
Josh Tomlin (RHP)
Neil Wagner (RHP)
Steven Wright (RHP)

Catchers (2):
Alex Castillo
Brian Juhl

Infielders (6):
Adam Davis
Jared Goedert
Todd Martin
Beau Mills
Carlos Rivero
Niuman Romero

Outfielders (5):
Jason Denham
Cirilo Cumberbatch
John Drennen
Nick Weglarz
Jerad Head

- A few notes on that Kinston roster. The starting rotation will be Wright, Espino, Rondon, Gomez and Smith to start the season (not necessarily in that order, although Wright is expected to start the opener). However, there are several guys in the bullpen with Tomlin, Deters, Taylor and Stiller who could all start at some point. Perdomo will be the closer. Head will be all over the field playing outfield, infield and also at catcher. Deters is expected to be the first pitcher moved up when an opening is created in Akron.

- And finally, the pictures. I took well over 2500 pictures while down in Winter Haven, but deleted most of them for quality and duplication reasons. Still, I ended up with over 600 pictures to put in the photo gallery, so feel free to check it out the full photo gallery slideshow on-line at PhotoBucket. You can also see the pictures individually without using the slideshow here. It is amazing how you can be there for over a week, and never see certain players. Even so, I was able to get shots of I believe 80-90% of the players in camp. Remember, I am but an amateur photographer, so I did my best with these. Here are a few samples of the pictures (scroll your mouse over the picture for names of players):

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