I didn't plan this! I swear!

I'm just watching this Travis Henry thing on Outside the Lines. That's pretty sad for those kids. I also brought up this link about Dustin Pedroia having to miss the rest of the classic. I don't know what those two things have to do with anything, but I do remember Davey Johnson said he'd tried to avoid playing DeRosa at second per Eric Wedge's request.

But if the US continues, he might have to play it all the time.

I say if though, the US lost last night against Puerto Rico, which isn't a good thing for the US team.

Mark DeRosa went 0-3 in the game with two strikeouts.

Oh well...

The Indians played themselves a game yesterday and they won.

Fausto Carmona returned to form with four scoreless innings. Carmona recorded nine of his twelve outs via the ground ball, gave up one hit, struck out two, but did walk three.

Carmona's performance was good though and Wedge was pleased with the way Carmona battled back.

David Huff meanwhile struggled in his appearance, Huff went two innings, giving up two runs off four hits. I don't think you should worry about Huff though, I don't think the Indians even want him to win the rotation spot, so they are just bringing him along.

"I guess I'd call it baby steps," Huff said. "They're taking their time with me. They're not too worried with how I perform out there [in Cactus League games]. They're worried about the start of the season. And we're all pushing for the same thing."

I think that is for the better to. Let him dust up the Triple-A level one more time and wait until someone at the next level starts to break down.

And why not? Huff is still young. Don't waste him in spring when we might need him down the stretch. You aren't going to be sharp in-game with the breaks he's been getting. I think the Indians are playing this perfectly.

At least he wasn't bad like Masa Kobayashi was though, and Masa has pitched more than him. Masa's struggles continue and I think it was Bud Shaw last week when I posted that 10 things he saw from spring that said Kobayashi looked just as tired as he did at the end of last season.

In just one inning, Koby walked one and gave up four hits to allow three earned.

His ERA is now higher than Edwin Mujica's, that's pretty sad.

I lowered the Mujica meter, mainly because I feel a little less angry at him now that it's been awhile since he pitched, the performance of Masa, and the fact that he actually went out and pitched a scoreless inning.

Mujica however did give up a hit and a walk in his one inning, but he kept the runs at bay.

Matt Herges struggled as well, going an inning, giving up a few hits and a run.

Offensively the Indians ran wild as well as hit.

Ben Francisco played like a leadoff man, going 1-3 with two runs, a walk, a run batted in, and a stolen base.

His fellow outfielders, Trevor Crowe, stole two bases and went 2-2 with two runs scored and a walk and Michael Brantley went 1-3 with a run scored and walk, a stolen base, but he was also picked off.

Elizier Alfonso was behind the plate for all the stolen bases, and Hampson was at the mound for all but one. Colt Morton was behind the plate for the Brantley catch and the failed attempt by Luis Valbuena.

So interesting to see Wedge get the guys running. Four stolen bases, pretty cool to see.

Jhonny Peralta knocked in two more runs on the spring to bring his total up to nine. Victor Martinez hit his third double and walked, and Michael Aubrey knocked in a run.

The big hitter was Asdrubal Cabrera though, going 2-3 with a run scored and two runs batted in with a double. AC might have had the jinx on with that no-left-handed stuff, because the double came while Cabrera was batting left-handed.

And since he's been doing it since he was three (three, really?) let's not touch it after all.

And he's down below 200 pounds now? That's awesome.. I used to be in that 210-220 range and let me tell you, it isn't like, fat, but it's out of shape and it makes you feel like crud. I'm a bigger dude too, so I can't imagine Cabrera handling himself at 210, even if some of it is muscle. He plays middle infield for a major league baseball team damnit.

Travis Hafner got three at-bats and struck out twice. Darn.

Oh and Michael Brantley threw out a guy from the outfield at second base and for once, no Indians errors.

Let's rewind to Masa Kobayashi though... Is he in any danger? I mean if what Bud Shaw said was right and he looks just as tired as he was at the end of last year, what is going to change? He's struggling every time out there.

And while Wedge hasn't admittedly Koby's job is on the line, he sure is leading on to that idea if he continus to throw up bomb performances.

"This is a time when you need to see some performance to have an idea of what you can count on," manager Eric Wedge said.

He also said he needs to see him turn the corner. Which leads me to that idea that if he doesn't do something positive here real soon, he'll find himself in Aaron Fultz territory, Zach Jackson will be a lock for the roster, and the final spot will go to anyone from Juan Salas to even Ed Mujica.

Again... Koby has option years left, because technically last year he was a rookie. But I'm not sure if the Indians will be using them or if they went to an agreement that they wouldn't do that to him when they signed him. I'm not sure, but they are officially, there.

Other reliever news... Joe Smith is working on getting left-handers out, something he really wants to prove he can do so he doesn't fall into a designated role.

"That has been my biggest problem," he said. "Throwing from that angle, the ball runs a lot, and it runs back over the middle of the plate. That gives them a chance to get a piece of it.

"If I go to the outside part of the plate against a left-hander and he's any kind of smart hitter, he's just going to take the single the other way or double into the gap. If he's a big guy, he could take it out opposite-field against me."

Meanwhile, I don't know what to make of Paul Hoyne's comparison of Jensen Lewis to a Chihuahua. But whatever, Jensen isn't changing a damn thing from what he did last year, and it's working.

"I took the mind-set that I was going to train to be a closer until we signed somebody," said Lewis. "Then when we did, it was easier to keep that mind-set because now you take that closer's mentality into the seventh or eighth inning, so whenever that closer's situation presents itself again, there's no drop-off."

Mr. Vanderbilt didn't know if he was over thinking or anything, or if he was just wiped out from the previous year, something Wedge thinks is the case, but now he's corrected himself and he's even better.

Word is that the 63 man roster is getting trimmed soon. But AC says it will be no one that impacts the race. My guess is some of the younger guys are probably getting sent to minor league camp. I think Mujica will stick around obviously.

I'm not even going to bother with this Hey Hoynes.

Okay Yes I Am.

Q: Hey, Hoynsie: Wow, you really have some angry readers. The responses some of those people post after your stories are amazing. Almost makes you wonder why they follow the team. -- Mike Hatchadorian, Philadelphia.

A: Hey, Mike: I don't blame the readers, I blame myself. Ever since I was a child, I've been able to do one thing exceptionally well -- tick people off. Just ask my wife.

Okay actually.. I don't even want to touch that....

Interesting notes from Terry Pluto, who said heading into this weekened, Scott Lewis was the favorite to win the fifth rotation spot. Not sure if this idea was in his head before Laffey's start, but given what he said about Laffey pitching, I'd imagine so. Scott Lewis starts today though, so we'll see what he's made of.

I've got some stuff later today and of course the lineup and then probably the game recap. I'm working next week, from early in the morning till the afternoon, so all recaps at the end of the day and nothing during the days. Sowry..

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