Tribe Happenings: Sizemore nearing return

A healthy Sizemore could add a much needed
boost to the Indians' lineup (Photo: AP)

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Tribe notebook….

What to do with Sizemore?

Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore is nearing a return to the big league lineup.

Sizemore is in the midst of a 20-game rehab assignment in the minors which kicked off on April 7th with Double-A Akron. He played in four games with Akron from April 7-12 hitting .357 (5-for-14) with 3 RBI, and then joined up with Triple-A Columbus on Thursday on the road in Toledo where he went 1-for-3 with a homer. He quickly left the Columbus team and returned to Cleveland and is expected to be activated from the disabled list soon.

Sizemore has been working his way back into full time duty playing everyday and in the outfield. His initial rehab called for him to not play on back-to-back days and to play six or seven innings, but he is now playing full nine inning games in the outfield and played in back-to-back games with Akron earlier in the week on Monday and Tuesday. Now that he has proven he can play a full game and on back-to-back days all that is left is for him to workout in front of the Cleveland training staff to get all the all clear.

As to when the green light to activate Sizemore will be given, it could happen today or on Monday. When Sizemore returns the Indians will then have to make a decision of which outfielder to remove from the roster as well as where to hit Sizemore in the lineup.

The roster decision is looking like an easy one at the moment as Jack Buck has played himself out of a big league roster spot and looks like the likely candidate to be removed. Because of the all left-handed starting outfield of Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Michael Brantley, the Indians need to keep right-handed hitters Austin Kearns and Shelley Duncan around for the time being. Since Buck has struggled at the plate and hits left-handed, it just looks too obvious at this point, which is too bad after he fought so hard to get on the 25-man roster with a monster spring. He has an option remaining, so would go to Columbus.

The most interesting thing with regard to Sizemore’s return may be where manager Manny Acta decides to hit him in the lineup. Acta has not hinted at anything, but my guess is they leave the top of the order alone and keep Brantley in the leadoff role for now and the hot hitting Asdrubal Cabrera in the two-hole. Choo, Carlos Santana, Travis Hafner and Orlando Cabrera should stay in the three to six slots. Sizemore should slide into the seventh spot of the lineup, which would put Matt LaPorta eighth and Jack Hannahan ninth.

By hitting in the bottom third of the lineup it should allow Sizemore a chance to ease his way back into the mix. If the old Sizemore returns or even 80% of his old self, he could force Acta to make a tough decision down the road on whether to put Sizemore back at the top of the lineup and slide Brantley to the nine hole, or just leave things as is and keep Sizemore in the seventh spot.

The other thing that may not come into play right away, but should over the course of the season, is how long Sizemore plays center field. The Indians have maintained their commitment to him as their center fielder when he returns, but Brantley is the future there and may be a better fit there defensively for this team now that he is starting to settle in. It is possible that Sizemore may make a slow transition to left field over the course of the season.

Either way, if Sizemore is healthy and returns remotely close to the player he was prior to the injuries in 2009 and 2010, then the Indians offense is going to get a huge shot in the arm. They have the makings of one of the more balanced and tough lineups in the game, and with a healthy Sizemore it would get even better.

Hot Start

The Indians are off to a much needed hot start at 10-4, which was helped by a nice eight game wining streak which ended on Tuesday night. It is their best start since they opened the season 11-1 back in 2002, a start that was helped by a ten game winning streak after they went 1-1 in their first two games.

While it is great that the Indians are off to a good start, that 2002 team should be a reminder that hot starts are just what they are: a good beginning. Things can come apart quickly, just as they did with that 2002 team who despite the 11-1 start still managed to end April with a .500 record at 13-13 and by the end of the season were 74-88.

But there is no doubt that the Indians could not have scripted a better start to their season. Momentum can be a big thing, especially for a young team still learning to win and looking to gain confidence. If the Indians continue to play defense like they have, get consistent production from a lineup which is not even hitting on all cylinders yet, and their bullpen doesn’t falter, it will really come down to the starting rotation in determining how long they can keep consistently winning.

A good start is also important for them to establish a relationship again with the fans and get people to believe. For the past six years the months of April and May have been dominated by the Cavaliers and LeBron James while they were in the playoffs, so the Indians were often forgotten until June. By the time people focused on the Indians in June they have often been so out of it that people immediately just shifted gears to the start of Browns training camp in July.

With the NFL season an unknown at this point, the Indians have a chance to capitalize on the opportunity where all eyes and attention in this town is really on them for the next two to three months. This is why it makes it even more important for them to continue to play well and prove the good start is more real than just a mirage. No one expects them to continue to play .700 ball, but if come mid-June they are still at .500 or above, they may have succeeded at laying the foundation to becoming a winner again not only on the diamond, but in the minds of Cleveland fans as well.

Riding Santana

The Indians in the offseason mentioned that catcher Carlos Santana would be playing some first base this year to keep his bat in the lineup. Coming off a significant knee injury last year, when fans heard this it apparently sent some mixed signals as talk quickly spread that he would be playing much less at catcher this year and play a good amount of games at first base.

So far that is not the case as the Indians appear intent on playing Santana as much as they can at catcher. This is something that Acta hinted at several times in spring training, but was somehow lost as people seemed convinced he would play first base or designated hitter as many as two to three times a week.

Santana started the Indians’ first twelve games before getting his first day off on Friday night against the Orioles. Only one off day factored into those first twelve games, and he started ten of those twelve games at catcher, including five straight days. So much for taking it easy and him and getting a lot of time at first base (one game so far).

As the season progresses Santana will surely get more time at first base and designated hitter, but there is no doubt that the Indians plan to continue to play him a lot at catcher this year, which is a good thing. He has the potential to be an elite major league catcher both offensively and defensively, and when you combine his impact potential in the lineup with his impact skills behind the plate, you have the makings of a perennial All Star at the catching position for years to come. First base is only an option for him to remain in the lineup, not to keep him healthy or eventually transition him to full time.

Donald may be back soon

Indians infielder Jason Donald is close to a full recovery from the hand injury that has sidelined him since the beginning of March.

Unlike Sizemore, however, there is no guarantee that Donald will be activated to the big league roster when he is ready. With Jack Hannahan playing exceptional defense at third base and holding his own offensively, Adam Everett playing well in a utility role, and the Indians off to a good start, Donald may have to stick around with Triple-A Columbus once his 20-day rehab stint ends.

Even though Donald was considered the favorite to win the opening day gig as the everyday third baseman, that probably will not matter when it comes time to make a decision on what to do with him when his rehab stint ends at the end of the month. Things can surely change between now and the end of April, but unless one of the Cabrera’s or one of Hannahan or Everett go down with an injury, it appears that Donald will stick around with Columbus and just have to wait for his next opportunity.

Smith in, Herrmann out

The Indians made their first roster move of the season on Thursday and Friday when they activated right-handed reliever Joe Smith from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-handed reliever Frank Herrmann to Triple-A Columbus.

Smith was sidelined with a strained abdominal muscle in spring training so had to open the season on the disabled list. After a few rehab outings with Double-A Akron, he was cleared and deemed ready to go so was activated and added to the Indians bullpen. His addition to the bullpen should provide a much needed matchup right-handed arm the team has lacked in the late innings.

With Smith’s return it meant someone in the bullpen had to go in order to make room for him, and Herrmann drew the short straw. Herrmann made four appearances out of the bullpen this season going 4.1 innings and allowing four runs, six hits, one walk and had seven strikeouts.

In Parting

As some may have noticed my Sunday notebook did not post last week. The reason for this was because I was hospitalized all last weekend where it was determined that I had suspected renal (kidney) cancer.

Long story short, I have seen more doctors and had more tests done on me in the past week than I have in the 36 years of my life prior to this week. An emergency room visit last Friday and subsequent CT scan produced information that I had a softball sized tumor on my left kidney. After consulting several surgeons over the past week, they feel it was caught in time and that they can save the kidney by doing a partial removal of the kidney along with the suspected cancerous tumor. I go in for surgery this Thursday.

With that in mind this space will probably be vacant again next Sunday as I will be in the beginning stages of my recovery; however, I plan to be back writing about the Tribe as soon as possible. Thanks to all of the fans, players, families, Indians executives, and so on for their kind words and thoughts as I go through this ordeal.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

Posted in: Carlos Santana,Cleveland Indians,Frank Herrmann,Grady Sizemore,Jason Donald,Joe Smith