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Author Archive
"No matter what I do, ain't good enough for you"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
They ask themselves the question in the Indians' front office, and the fact that it's a question at all gives us a hint at the answer:
Is this rotation good enough?
Good enough to outlast the Tigers in the American League Central race? Good enough to survive a postseason series?
Look, the Tribe rotation has been better than anybody — even those in the front office — could have reasonably expected, given the circumstances, and that's one reason the Indians find themselves in the division race post-Independence Day.
Going into the season, there was simply not enough track record or tangible upside to label the rotation anything other than a work in progress. And there has been progress, no question.
Justin Masterson is the ace he was in '11. Ubaldo Jimenez needs about 30 pitches to complete an inning (and he certainly didn't complete that sixth inning Thursday in Kansas City), but he's not the total train wreck he had been for too much of his Tribe tenure. Scott Kazmir has made an incredible comeback, Corey Kluber has shown some flashes of strike-throwing brilliance and Zach McAllister will provide a second-half boost, provided he's not dealing with the fickle finger of fate, a la Adam Miller.
These are good things.
But is that good enough?
Well, quite possibly not, which is why the Tribe's primary trade target will be an area that's costly and tricky to target. While the offense has shown a streaky side borne out of some instability in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, it's deep, balanced and multi-faceted enough to be left alone. While the bullpen has been a shell of its former self, the left-handed hole so evident in setup situations is likely repairable without sacrificing the future of the franchise.
The rotation, though, is tricky, and right now Chris Antonetti and Co. are weighing the benefits of going all-in on upgrading it.
They know they have depth. They know that with McAllister on the mend and Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco on the farm, they have enough bodies to get by, if nothing else.
But do they have the horses to truly tango with the Tigers down the stretch? If the season was at stake in a late-September, three-game series, how would the Indians' best three match up against the opposition's best three?
The problem with this rotation right now is that it can't be trusted to take the pressure off a beleaguered bullpen. The fundamental difference between the Indians' rotation and that of the Tigers is that Tribe starters have recorded an out in the seventh inning 31 times while the Tigers' starters have done so 45 times. That's the kind of difference that's going to assert itself over the course of 162.
With the Trade Deadline now less than four weeks away, the Indians would love to address that issue, if they can find a fit. They see no point in looking for back-of-the-rotation alternatives, because they already have plenty of those. Adding a veteran merely for the sake of adding a veteran solves nothing (and in the case of Brett Myers, it cost $7 million more than nothing).
We know the names in the rumor mill, for whatever that's worth, and the list of No. 1-3 types is predictably short. Cliff Lee makes too much money, Jake Peavy likely won't be dealt within the division, Ricky Nolasco is probably going to command a significant overpay. Jason Vargas would be a nice improvement if he was healthy (he's not), as would Matt Garza. But the Indians never envisioned 2013 as an all-or-nothing effort, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them place more emphasis on guys like Bud Norris, Jeff Samardzija and Yovani Gallardo, who are contractually controlled beyond this season.
Two years ago, the Indians were in a similar situation at this point in the calendar, leading the Tigers by a game and a half after the Fourth and searching for more starting stability. They wound up dealing their top two pitching prospects for Ubaldo, comfortable with the knowledge that he'd be around through at least 2012, with two team options beyond.
Well, to pull off a move of similar import (and hopefully of more impact), the Indians would have to get quite a bit more creative, for the majority of their prominent prospects are in Double-A or lower. They do, however, have a decent stash of middle-of-the-diamond talent (Francisco Lindor, Dorssys Paulino, Tyler Naquin, Ronny Rodriguez, Luigi Rodriguez, Tony Wolters), so an impact trade is not out of the question.
It's incredibly difficult to imagine the Indians trading Lindor, but, then again, it was equally difficult to imagine them trading Drew Pomeranz two years ago. There is a growing suspicion, internally and otherwise, that the Tribe's overall roster composition is more legit this year than it was in '11. And postseason opportunities are precious, so you can't rule anything out.
The Indians have a chance, but they also have a need that becomes a little more apparent just about every time a starter not named Justin Masterson takes the mound. This rotation is better than expected, but is it good enough? Right now, the Indians are asking themselves how far they're willing to go to address that question.
"Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
Back in Spring Training, Terry Francona was quick to tell people he truthfully did not know how good this Indians team would be in 2013. And nearing the halfway point, it remains a downright difficult club to get a firm read on.
That's because the Indians vacillate so seamlessly between the awesome stretches and the abysmal ones. They've had three win streaks of four games or more and three losing streaks of five games or more. And were it not for a botched pop-up and an untimely wild pitch, they'd be riding an eight-game winning streak right now, directly on the heels of an eight-game losing streak.
What a ride.
The Indians' home-run reliance made for fireworks in the season's first six weeks or so, but the power pace has cooled considerably of late, and losing Asdrubal Cabrera to a quadriceps strain (and, ergo, depleting the bench) hasn't helped. A back-end bullpen that once thrived on health and dependability now has neither, as questions linger not just about when Chris Perez (shoulder) will return but what the Indians will be getting when he comes back, particularly given the off-the-field issues that hang over him and his wife and dog.
Of course, bullpens are prone to flukiness and flakiness, so it doesn't take much for a good situation to become uncomfortable. And the Indians' starting staff, no matter the specifics (such as the surprisingly captivating improvement of Corey Kluber), has been neither remarkably better nor worse than anticipated, on the whole.
It's the lineup that seems most responsible for the Tribe's decidedly streaky side, and to this, I think, a great deal of credit must be given to the lack of a true No. 3 or No. 4 hitter.
Nick Swisher was brought in to be that focal point type of guy, but he hasn't really produced like that guy. Doesn't mean he won't, doesn't mean he can't. Just means that he hasn't, and his recent shoulder woes undoubtedly contribute to that bottom line, which is that Swisher's .739 OPS is below the MLB average for first basemen (.776). His struggle to produce like the so-called "traditional" cleanup man was one fear when the Indians gave four years and $56 million to a guy who was at his best batting fifth or sixth in a loaded Yankee lineup.
Mark Reynolds <i>can</i> be that kind of hitter, but only when he's on the good side of the hot-and-cold streaks you get with a guy whose 162-game average is 34 homers and 212 strikeouts. You take the bad with the good, and, lately, it's been mostly bad. Tribe fans are discovering that when Reynolds gets lost, it's the no cell phone service/GPS broke/no gas station in sight kinda lost. We're talking lost.
Cabrera is the Tribe's usual No. 3 hitter when he's healthy, but the trouble you run into with Asdrubal is when he actively tries to put together another 25-homer season. That was, after all, the primary problem with Cabrera in the season's first month, when he was largely invisible. If he focuses on contact, he's a .300 hitter, but not the dynamic hitter he was in that first half of 2011. In an ideal world, he's probably a No. 2 hitter, and the same goes for Jason Kipnis.
You know who has the second-most plate appearances in the cleanup spot for the Tribe this year? Michael Brantley. Nothing against the man they call "Dr. Smooth," but that's not ideal casting (although I write this just after he doubled his season home run total in a single night).
What would be ideal for the Indians is to have Carlos Santana raking in that No. 4 spot. But Santana's position simply gets in the way, and — let's be honest — his positioning is increasingly difficult to defend.
The Indians, dating back to the Victor Martinez days, have long been hung up on the idea of having a premium offensive presence behind the plate. With Martinez, it made sense, as, even in his prime, he didn't have the power potential to truly be an elite-hitting first baseman.
With Santana, though, the so-called premium is particularly costly. Not just because the abuse Santana takes behind the dish can affect his power production at the plate, but because Santana seems to be regressing as a catcher. Even if the recent spate of wild pitches can be shaken off as a slump, of sorts, the 13-percent success rate at throwing out opposing baserunners is a defensive liability that is tough to tolerate.
The Indians have wrestled with the question of what's best for Santana in the past, and the Swisher, Bourn and Reynolds signings essentially served to cement his catcher status for the time being, given their effect on first base. Then Yan Gomes' surge complicated matters, in a good way, and right now it's hard not to argue that the Indians are a better team — at least defensively — with Gomes behind the plate and Santana elsewhere (preferably DH).
It's not that Santana isn't putting up elite offensive numbers for a catcher. He is.
"If he were a position player," Francona said, "he'd still be really good. But the fact that he's a catcher makes him great."
Very true. But the mental and physical grind of catching does take a toll and does distract from the adjustments in approach Santana could stand to make at the plate. Teams started to put the shift on Santana when he bats from the left-hand side because he struggles to drive the ball the other way, and he also tends to get a little mechanically hyper with his swing. And even if those issues have absolutely nothing to do with catching, Santana's defensive role does lead Francona to believe his best bet is to bat him lower in the order.
"When our lineup is going good, we can hit him lower, so he's not coming in after the first inning and getting the shin guards off with the responsibility of hitting cleanup," Francona said. "So that's kind of on me. And at some point, we'll probably remedy that when we get Swish back and everything. I think that can help."
So, again, the Indians have a complicated cleanup situation. And the No. 3 spot isn't any clearer. If Lonnie Chisenhall starts hitting like he did in Triple-A, well, hey, that's a viable option for the three-hole. But obviously that's easier said than done.
Besides, Chisenhall has his own potential positional identity crisis. The Indians weren't really happy with what they saw from him defensively during his Columbus stay (for obvious reasons, as Chisenhall made eight errors in 27 games), and there is some question as to whether the hot corner is really a long-term fit (remember, Chisenhall was already moved from short to third after he was drafted to address concerns about his range at short).
Maybe Chisenhall will have to pull an Alex Gordon and move to a corner outfield spot before he reaches his true big-league potential. Though Chisenhall is quick to note he's not looking to move, he's equally quick to admit his defense has been a slow process.
"In Triple-A, you've got a lot of the left field/first-base types who play different positions every night," Chisenhall said. "It's a little more comfortable knowing what position you're playing, but if something like that does occur, I don't think it would be an issue, athletically, getting there."
In the meantime, in Santana, Swisher, Bourn, Cabrera, Kipnis, Reynolds, et al., the Indians have a great deal of offensive talent, when healthy. But they don't have those true No. 3 and 4 types, and that makes a big difference in a 162-game schedule.
This team seems intent on making those 162 games as much of an adventure as possible.
"Yesterday I went shopping, buddy, down to the mall"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
This great debate erupted in the media dining room at Progressive Field about the proper way to identify Westlake's Crocker Park.
Well, I guess it wasn't a debate so much as it was one sportswriter (and Crocker Park resident) willing to go to great lengths to argue with much more sensible, reasonable individuals about whether or not he lives at a mall.
The writer in question shall remain nameless here, but he would prefer Crocker Park be identified as a "High-End Shopping District," rather than an "outdoor mall."
His point, to the extent that he had one, is that if Browns and Indians players are inhabiting Crocker Park's self-described luxury apartments and Michael Symon can open his burger joint there and Coach can sell its overpriced purses there, it is as high-end as a person could come to expect in suburban Cleveland.
Maybe that's true, but a rebuttal — and a pretty darned good one, at that — is offered merely by reading aloud some of Crocker Park's retail offerings and evaluating whether the term "high-end" indeed applies:
Gap (we're off to a bad start)
Bath & Body Works (getting colder)
Nordstrom Rack (not Nordstrom, mind you, but the place where Nordstrom sells all the stuff that didn't sell)
Best Cuts (do we really need to keep going?)
OfficeMax (seriously… what are we doing here?)
Giant Eagle (the high-end crowd doesn't typically go crazy for Fuel Perks)
And here's the kicker, which the Crocker Park web site is proud to announce as "Coming Soon!"…
Sears Appliances (not to be confused with the Sears Appliances on Rodeo Drive)
Understand, none of this is meant as a knock on Crocker Park, which is certainly more high-end than the wheat pasture that used to inhabit that land. It's just that Crocker Park is one roof shy being the kind of place where you'd find a Spencer's Gifts. It's a mall. A mall where people can live and dine and socialize. But a mall just the same. It has a Buckle.
This is, however, one of the great traits of the human species, our ability to reframe reality to our liking, be it positive (Parmatown Mall, by the way, is now known as "The Shoppes of Parma") or negative. And we see this in baseball — simply as a byproduct of it being played every freaking day — all the time.
We see it, especially, with these 2013 Indians, who have been streaky enough this season to offer plenty of opportunity for debate. You're either convinced that Ubaldo's turned a corner and the rotation is going to hang tough or you're just waiting for the wheels to fall off and burn. You're either undaunted by that stretch of six losses in seven games and the betrayal provided by the bullpen or you're convinced Chris Perez is one setback away from shoulder surgery and Vinnie Pestano's going to blow out his elbow and a funk is going to envelop the late-inning efforts. You're either utterly enamored with the offense or concerned it is too home run-reliant and strikeout-prone. The Trevor Bauer-penned theme song is either music to your ears or 99 seconds of your life you wish you had back.
I'm on record, for better or worse, that I believe this is a fundamentally different ballclub than the ones in recent years past. I don't believe the Indians are going to completely collapse. Do I think they can give the Tigers an honest, earnest run for their money (quite literally) in the AL Central? Well, that's complicated, to say the least. But with two Wild Cards on the table, if you can simply hover north of .500 into the late summer, you're in the conversation. And this is a town that could use a good conversation.
But the Indians will frustrate you, no doubt. They have a way, at times, of playing into the less-than-positive perceptions and negative noise. Certainly, when a cemented strength such as the bullpen becomes such a gaping, glaring hole in such a short span, it rattles the senses. But just as adamantly as the mall resident defended Crocker Park, Terry Francona defends his 'pen. He seems genuine in his enthusiasm over the bullpen depth guys like Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw have afforded him. He is unfazed by the current absence of a proven closer, and with good reason. Look around the game: The "proven closer" label is almost worthless, anyway.
Because the Indians are so power-prone and because their rotation doesn't have a great deal of track record on which to rely and because all bullpens – not just the Tribe's – can be a disaster waiting to happen, the streaks and stretches, both good and bad, are going to keep coming. This is not what you'd call an elite team — not a "high-end" team, if you will — and so at times it can be an utterly maddening team.
But it is a team that's already shown it is capable of some serious, sustained runs of positive play and one that could make things awfully interesting around here in the months that matter.
Maybe even the months when the weather cools and you need a coat to stroll the grounds of that outdoor mall in Westlake.
PS: Do people still do "shout-outs"? Is that still a thing? Because I want to send a shout-out to Ramon Diaz.
Ramon has worked for the Indians — first as a batboy, then as a clubhouse attendant — for the last eight seasons, and it's been a real pleasure to get to know him all this time. Born with nothing, Ramon's worked for everything he's got. And he's got a lot. Degrees from St. Ignatius and Columbia University, an extensive shoe collection and, now, a job opportunity with Jay-Z's Roc Nation in New York City (where I assume he will be pushing hard for Trevor Bauer's lucrative rap deal).
Because he's headed to bigger and better things, this is Ramon's final homestand with the Indians, and I just wanted to use this space to wish him well. Ramon used to ask me for my "Writing Tip of the Day." I ran dry after about three days because, well… you've read this blog, so you know my availability of advice in this area is probably pretty limited. But as a writer, I do know a good story when I see one, and Ramon's is both a great life story and a great baseball story. The connections and experiences he's made in his time with the Tribe will stay with him wherever he goes, and I'm sure glad I got to cross paths with him along the way.
PPS: You want to know something not-so-fun? When the Indians rattled off wins in 18 of 22 games, my boss and I wondered, "What's the worst that could happen?" I asked Elias to look up the worst final records among teams that won 18 of 22 at any point, thinking that would probably be a pretty high floor.
Well, uh, it's not.
1978 A's: 69-93
2004 Rays: 70-91
1978 White Sox: 71-90
1914 White Sox: 70-84
1994 A's: 51-63
2008 Tigers: 74-88
1966 Reds: 76-84
And there were several more in that range, but you get the idea. The lesson, as always: Never underestimate how long a 162-game schedule really is.
"People find some reason to believe"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
I believe in the Indians.
I believe that what's happening these last few weeks — the wins in 18 of their last 22, the plus-54 run differential in that span, the relentless pursuit of runs even against Cy-caliber arms and the opportunistic approach to the late innings — is more omen than mirage.
I believe that this is a deeper, more balanced, more complex club than the ones that faded — and faded thoroughly — in 2011 and '12.
I believe that while a manager's in-game effect is often overstated, the best ones know how to instill a culture of camaraderie and confidence, and that's what Terry Francona has done here.
I believe Francona when he praises the job first-year pitching coach Mickey Calloway has done with the pitching staff, which is exceeding all expectations.
I don't believe that the rotation will sustain a 3.24 ERA (which is what it has posted in this 22-game stretch) over the long haul, but I do believe that it doesn't necessarily have to.
I believe a versatile lineup with a deep bench, an array of switch-hitters and a ton of speed and power is dangerous enough that you need only an average assemblage of starting arms to survive.
I believe that, one way or another, the Indians can patch together at least an average rotation, particularly with the way Justin Masterson and Zach McAllister have looked from Day 1 and the way Ubaldo Jimenez has been pitching lately.
I believe bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. when he says this team has that "'95 style. You just come to the ballpark expecting to win and never say die."
I also believe Alomar when he compares this club to ones of recent past and says, "We have more depth. When you give guys a rest, you're not losing anything. That's the big difference between the past and now. You've got guys with track records — like Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn and Jason Giambi — who have been in winning situations before and can help the young guys stay on the path and keep from collapsing."
I believe that feeling rubs off on guys like Ryan Raburn and Yan Gomes and helps them make the most of their limited playing time.
I believe the Indians are not one injury away from a complete collapse at any given moment, as they were in '11 and '12.
I believe that if the Indians are still in the hunt come July, general manager Chris Antonetti will try to be as creative and aggressive in the summer trade market as he was in the winter one.
I believe his aggressiveness and creativity won't have to be quite as desperate as it was in '11, when he sold the farm for Ubaldo.
I believe that there won't be many days like Monday, when Vinnie Pestano, Chris Perez and Joe Smith each served up a late-inning home run.
I believe that the Indians were awfully lucky to win a game in which Pestano, Perez and Smith each served up a late-inning home run.
I believe it's better to be lucky than good.
I believe the Indians are both.
I believe the AL Central is more interesting than expected.
I believe the Tigers' bullpen is making it more interesting than expected.
I believe the next two days, when the Indians face the Tigers' Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in succession, will tell us quite a bit about the current state of both clubs.
I believe we'll probably read too much into the results.
I believe it's also kind of fun to read too much into the results.
I believe that it's the eighth week of a six-month baseball season, so my beliefs are very much subject to change.
I believe that, in Cleveland especially, some part of you is always waiting for the catch, the drawback, the booby trap.
But I believe that it's hard to watch a team win 18 of 22, sometimes in the wildest of ways, and not believe.
"All you want to do is believe"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
The Indians have been a contending team at this late (and by late, I of course mean … not at all late) juncture of the season schedule for three consecutive years. They have established a tradition of early season excellence. Or at least competence, which, even when followed by second-half heartbreak, at least beats the alternative option of an all-uphill effort in which you truly feel each and every step of the 162-game schedule.
Now, contention means different things at different times. A year ago at this time, the Indians were in first place in the AL Central, but you still had to talk yourself into believing it. Their standing was a product more of their surroundings than their own success. Their top two starters (Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez) had ERAs north of 5.00, their best hitter (Shin-Soo Choo) wasn't hitting, their stopper (Derek Lowe) was striking out nobody and Jose Lopez, Aaron Cunningham, Shelley Duncan and Johnny Damon — none of whom are even in the Majors now — were getting plenty of playing time.
That Tribe team was still in "contention" — by the loosest definition of the word — in late July, but not enough to compel Chris Antonetti to add anything more than Brent Lillibridge (no, he's not in the Majors now, either). When they won just five games in August, it felt more cognitively correct than when they won 16 in May.
I'd say 2011's "contention" was more believable than '12, if only because of the mathematics involved. The Indians went 30-15 out the gate. I still can't wrap my head around that. While the Tigers certainly had star power, they had not yet gone overboard in their pursuit of a monster middle-of-the-order and they had not yet assembled a resplendent rotation beyond Justin Verlander. It didn't really seem a foregone conclusion, as it did in '12, that the Tigers would wake up one day and begin dominating the division.
Besides, did I mention? 30-15! All suspicions that the Indians were "out over their skis," as one scout told me at the time, were countered a little bit by the simple fact that the Indians had bought themselves some mathematical breathing room. It is, after all, hard to screw up being 15 games over .500 (and seven games up in the division) more than a quarter of the way through the schedule.
Naturally, they finished under .500.
All right, so here we are again. We're basically at the quarter-pole of the season, and the Indians are contending. Through 39 games, they are 22-17, a half-game back of Detroit. More to the point, they've won 14 of their last 18 and are "undefeated" in their last nine series (five wins, four splits). They are, as Yankees manager Joe Girardi put it the other day, "a much different club" than they were even a month ago.
"They're swinging the bats really, really well," Girardi said. "There's balance in their lineup, and there's speed."
The pitching has come a long way in a short time, too. If you watched Masterson shut down Girardi's Yanks for nine innings Monday afternoon, what you saw was a bona fide ace effort on a day when the Indians had to preserve their bullpen. If you were the most pessimistic of people when it comes to Jimenez (and my hand is raised), even you had to be intrigued by the way he tamed the Tigers in a ballpark where he has traditionally had nothing but trouble. I remain skeptical about a guy who had to, in his own words, "erase everything," shortly after a seven-week Spring Training camp, but not defiantly so. Furthermore, Zach McAllister continues to defy expectations based off his Minor League career, Scott Kazmir continues a strong comeback effort and Trevor Bauer seems to get a little bit better with each spot start. Where once I compared the Tribe's rotation outlook to turnpike dining, they are now starting to resemble that dive off the side of the road that has surprisingly good burgers. Hey, that's improvement.
Anyway, it's the lineup, when it's rolling, that makes this team inherently fun to watch. And while that lineup has provided enough power to push the Tribe to nine blowout wins, the most compelling stat is that the Indians have won 10 of their 13 one-run games. For that, you can thank the timely hitting, a defense that has been steady if not always showy and, of course, the continuing reliability of the relief corps, even though Vinnie Pestano has been missed.
How does all this compare to 2011? I have no freaking clue. I know the division is deeper now than it was then, thanks to the Tigers' elite standing and the Royals' revamped rotation. But I also know there's a little bit more conviction in that Tribe clubhouse, given that it's a more veteran club that can actually account for these early season accomplishments, to say nothing of the two-time World Series-winner at the top dugout step.
"Then [in '11], we were raking, and it was, at times, maybe playing a hair out of our shoes, if we were being honest and evaluating it correctly," Masterson said. "This year, we have guys who are still not where they'd like to be and everybody's not perfect every night. But the pitching is picking up the offense, the offense is picking up the pitching at times, the defense is helping everybody, and the bullpen's as great as it's always been. There's a little bit more consistency, guys are more comfortable, and I like where we're at and what we can do for the rest of the season."
It's a good sign that the offense has been as productive as it has (sixth in MLB in runs per game, fifth in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage) despite Michael Bourn missing more than 60 percent of the games so far, Lonnie Chisenhall earning a demotion to Triple-A and Jason Kipnis starting rather slowly. The performance of the bench has been encouraging, and, among the regulars, the only guys who might be accused of playing out of their minds are Mark Reynolds and Carlos Santana. Reynolds won't keep hitting a home run every 11 at-bats or so, and Santana won't slug at a .600 clip. But Reynolds' pure power is certainly not a novel development, and Santana strikes me as a breakout-player-in-waiting finally learning how to separate the offensive and defensive sides of his game.
Overall, the offense, it seems, still has more upside than downturn in its near future. And an offense this explosive can do quite a bit to overcome a merely average starting staff.
Again, though, I don't know what this means. I don't necessarily know that this team is any more equipped to handle 162 than the '11 and '12 teams were. I can certainly speculate that it is, based on that aforementioned managerial influence and the track records on the roster. But as this 2013 club began to come together over the winter, it became clear that it was going to be an especially difficult club to forecast.
The good news is that it's a team that's interesting and, in keeping with the Tribe's newfound tradition of early season strength, in contention at the quarter-pole. The better news is that there is a decent degree of believability that this is not necessarily the peak.
"You see where I'm coming from?"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
Naturally, nothing I write in this space can compare to the captivating nature of the Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight story. Or frankly, to the entertaining nature of the now-viral interview with Charles Ramsey.
But if you're up for a distraction from the biggest story in Cleveland — or anywhere — right now, let's talk a little bit about the Indians, winners of seven of eight. It's been a stretch worthy of a Ramsey-like thumbs up, and, in it, we've seen the "dead giveaway" as to what makes the Tribe offense click:
Mark Reynolds' 460-foot home run Monday night landed just shy of the scoreboard that sits atop the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field — a prodigious poke lacking only the satisfying smack of advertising signage that accompanied a blast off Mark McGwire's bat in these parts back in '97.
Even in batting practice, you simply don't see many baseballs hit in that area. But what you do see, thus far in this 2013 season, are plenty of balls leaving the yard when the Indians are at the plate.
They hit four of them in Monday's series-opening victory over the A's, and they've averaged 1.52 per game this season, more than any other team in the Majors.
"That's a good category to lead," Terry Francona said.
Indeed, hitting a home run every 23.05 at-bats, as the Indians are, stands out at a time when the Major League average is one per 32.64 at-bats.
But what also stands out about the Indians is the way that profound production has come not necessarily in a steady flow but in a series of flamboyant bursts.
"If you look at our games," Reynolds said, "we've either been getting blown out or blowing people out."
If we define a "blowout" as a game decided by five or more runs, as Baseball Reference does, then the Indians have been involved in 12 of them — seven wins and five losses — in 29 games played. It's made for somewhat erratic work for the back-end relievers, and it's also ensured that the Indians are either as entertaining and enticing an offense as exists in the game today or, well, a bit on the dull side, depending on when you happen to tune in. They've scored 7.8 runs per game in their wins and 2.29 runs per game in their losses.
It is difficult, then, to get a real sense of what kind of team the Indians are, especially when their prized leadoff pickup, Michael Bourn, has been limited to just 10 games played because of injury.
But if these outburst of offense are any indication of the Tribe's capability as the weather warms, then this could be a club that outhits the deficiencies in a starting staff that, while showing improvement, has a 4.85 ERA on the season. That's not a great equation, of course, but the Indians will take whatever works.
For now, the offense seems to work on a "boom or bust" cycle, though Francona doesn't see it that way. What he sees, he said, is a team that is not totally reliant on the long ball.
"I think we have a team that has a lot of speed," he said. "We swing and miss sometimes. I think we knew that [going into the season]. I think the last week or 10 days, we've done a really good job of extending innings, then taking advantage of it. We've been a little better situationally."
You saw that, notably, last Friday, when Jason Kipnis caught the Twins off-guard with a perfect bunt single to the left side of the infield, scoring Yan Gomes from third. But when 41 percent of your games are decided by five runs or more (and more than half are decided by four or more), such situational skills don't always shine through. The Indians' offseason acquisitions brought them two things that were obvious in their absence last season — power and speed — but thus far only one of those elements has made many headlines.
"There hasn't been a lot of opportunity for bags," Reynolds said. "Once the sample sizes get bigger and we play in closer games, especially with Bourn back [possibly later this week], I think you'll see the speed and the little things play out."
In the meantime, the Indians survive largely on the big things, with Reynolds' 460-footer (one of 10 homers he's hit in what has been a sensational start) chief among them. And they survive with what has been a productive bench. With Bourn out, Ryan Raburn slid into starting duties and turned in the hottest stretch of anybody in baseball last week (13-for-22 with four homers, one double and nine RBI, earning Player of the Week honors), and Mike Aviles (.744 OPS in 56 plate appearances) and Jason Giambi (.821 OPS in 36 plate appearances) have also made positive contributions in limited time.
"That's how your team starts to get personality and form its identity," Francona said. "We've used everybody on our ballclub."
The Indians have largely hovered around .500, and that might wind up being the identity of a team with so much unproven on the pitching staff. Twelve of their 15 wins have come against teams that currently have a losing record. But we've said all along that if that starting staff can just be league average (and Ubaldo Jimenez's last two starts have been a particularly encouraging step toward that direction), the Indians' bats could make this an interesting season.
Thus far, the bats have done their damage in bunches, equal parts fascinating and frustrating, depending on the day. When they connect, they take this team a long way.
Up to 460 feet, in fact.
"That's when the DJ dropped my favorite tune"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
Spinning, I've come to learn in recent months, is a great way to expend a tremendous amount of energy while going absolutely nowhere. It is both exhilarating and defeating, offering all the physical benefits of performance cycling without any of the beautiful vistas or genuine sense of accomplishment in excursion.
That's why it takes a good spinning instructor to motivate you through the 60-minute nightmare that is pumping your legs and sweating profusely in a small, poorly ventilated room in a suburban Cleveland gym. And while some instructors will try to get you to use your imagination — "We're coming up on a big hill!" they'll shout excitedly, while you ponder which hallucinatory drug they have recently ingested — the best know that the way to galvanize people in an exercise environment is to fill the air with tunes. Glorious, pump-up tunes.
Naturally, this is where it gets tricky. Because if we know one thing about the world today, it's that our beliefs in politics, religious practices, social and moral standards and, most of all, music could not be more diverse, sometimes frustratingly so.
It is, then, with much chagrin that I report that my personal preference — a spinning class based solely on Springsteen (I would call it "Spinsteen") — has not yet been met. The instructors whose classes I've attended tend to veer more toward the Top 40 or the '80s hair metal or the early '90s club songs. And that's all right, I suppose. Although it must be noted that one woman did, fleetingly, inject a little Bruce into the proceedings. Somebody (not me, I swear) had requested a Springsteen song before class, and she obliged with the only such offering on her iPod.
The song? "Streets of Philadelphia," Bruce's haunting hymn about alienation and dispossession, written for "Philadelphia," in which Tom Hanks plays a lawyer afflicted with AIDS.
Not what you'd call a pump-up tune.
Some do it better than others. And with that in mind, let's see how the 2013 Cleveland Indians did in selecting their pump-up tunes, in our much-anticipated annual "at-bat music" installment of CastroTurf.
Tip of the cap, as always, to Annie Merovich, the Indians' manager of scoreboard operations, for providing the list.
Michael Bourn: "We Still In This B&*@#" by B.o.B. featuring T.I. and Juicy J. (Favorite lyric: "Stop blowing my buzz, quit killing it" reads like a comment on the Draft-pick compensation rules for free agents.)
Asdrubal Cabrera: "Limbo" by Daddy Yankee, "El Teke Teke" by Crazy Design, "No Me Corra Cantinero" by Vitico Castillo, "Dime Que Hago" by Farruko. (Favorite "Limbo" lyric: "Y esto esta como como pa como pa como pa rumbear," which loosely translates to, "Watch out for those dugout steps."
Jason Kipnis: "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi (RL Grime Remix). (Favorite lyric: "And then just touch me/'Til I can get my/Satisfaction." That's actually the only lyric, so I didn't have much to choose from.)
Nick Swisher: "Who I Am (What's My Name)" by Snoop Dogg. (NOTE: An all-time classic video. As for the song itself, not exactly similar to "Hang On Sloopy.")
Michael Brantley: "Started From The Bottom" by Drake. (Favorite lyric: "I've done kept it real from the jump/Living at my mama's house, we'd argue every month." A tale as old as time.)
Carlos Santana: Something called "Gibberish" (I tried Googling it, and I have no idea), "Solo Sucede" by Gabriel Cazali.
Mark Reynolds: "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line with Nelly. (Favorite lyric: "She was sippin' on Southern and singin' Marshall Tucker/We were falling in love in the sweet heart of summer." Another tale as old as time.)
Lonnie Chisenhall: "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne.
Drew Stubbs: "Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris, "Ima Boss" by Meek Mill featuring Rick Ross, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.
Mike Aviles: "Hit 'Em Up" by Tyga.
Jason Giambi: "Wolfpack" by C-Murder. (Note: This is the theme song for the New World Order team in World Championship Wrestling, but I'm sure you already knew that, right?)
Lou Marson: "What I Got" by Sublime (Note: No more "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins, but this will do.)
Ryan Raburn: "Kiss My Country #@$" by Rhett Atkins, "Whistlin' Dixie" by Randy Houser.
Justin Masterson: "Rebirth" by Skillet.
Ubaldo Jimenez: "Rie y Llora" by Celia Cruz. (Favorite lyric: "Lo que es bueno hoy/Quizas no lo sea mañana" or "What is good today/May not be tomorrow." Amen, Ubaldo, amen.)
Zach McAllister: "Return of the Mack," by Mark Morrison.
Brett Myers: "Answers To No One" by Colt Ford. (Favorite lyric: "A jealous man is weak, so think before you speak/If you love 'em let 'em know, if you hate let it go." Boom. Outta here.)
Carlos Carrasco: "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. (Favorite lyrics: "Dreams of war/Dreams of lies/Dreams of dragons fire/And of pitches high and tight" … or something like that.)
Bryan Shaw: "Sail" by AWOLNATION.
Matt Albers: "Sleep Now In The Fire" by Rage Against the Machine.
Cody Allen: "Take It Outside" by Brantley Gilbert.
Joe Smith: "My Kinda Party" by Jason Aldean.
Chris Perez: "Firestarter" by Prodigy.
Vinnie Pestano: "Walk" by Pantera. (Note: If you thought "Firestarter" was a strange choice for a closer, then what do you make of "Walk" for a setup man?)
"I'm disturbed, I'm depressed, I'm inadequate… I've got it all!"
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
We've spent the last few months talking about how interesting these 2013 Indians would be.
Well, they're interesting, all right.
In what was supposed to be the ninth game of the season, the Indians were set to use their seventh starting pitcher (Corey Kluber: No. 7 in your depth chart, No. 1 in your heart). That would have put the Indians on pace to use 126 starting pitchers this season (which would of course be a record… but let's not read too much into that, because I'm sure they won't actually use more than 100).
Anyway, rain intervened to momentarily pause the merry-go-round, and now it's Zach McAllister getting the nod in Game No. 9. So… six starters in nine days. That already sounds better, doesn't it?
Of course, the fun doesn't stop there. The Tribe has also already promoted two catchers — on the same day, no less. It's not often you get to see the backup backup backup backstop suited up in early April, so cherish this memory.
You might not be stunned to learn Chris Antonetti hasn't exactly cherished all the early transaction activity.
"Once the games start, a number of different things can happen," Antonetti said. "But I don't think we've ever had a situation — in my experience or Terry's experience — where you lose two catchers in a span of five days. Obviously, it puts a strain on your roster. There are a number of different things we have to work through."
The Indians tried to creatively work around Carlos Carrasco's five-game suspension by having him on the active roster at the outset of the season. They didn't imagine they'd need both Carrasco and Trevor Bauer in the first week and a half, and they definitely didn't imagine Carrasco would cause another ruckus with a post-homer hit-by-pitch that may or may not earn him yet another suspension (a suspension that would have to be served whenever he makes it back to the big leagues, as Carrasco was already bumped back to Columbus on Wednesday).
Meanwhile, Scott Kazmir is slowly working his way back from an oblique injury and Brett Myers has already given up seven home runs in 10 1/3 innings and Ubaldo Jimenez had a homely home opener and Lou Marson got steamrolled by Desmond Jennings and Carlos Santana's hot start was stalled by his inability to catch a Chris Perez pitch and Nick Swisher, Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera and Lonnie Chisenhall aren't really hitting yet and… geez… by this point in this paragraph the Tribe's 3-5 record really doesn't look so bad, all things considered.
On the bright side, we've seen Justin Masterson circa 2011 thus far, while Michael Bourn and Mark Reynolds have arrived as advertised. They've had a calming effect amid the chaos.
Actually, Francona — the first to admit, in his words, "If I don't think positively, who the heck is?" — doesn't really feel it's been quite as chaotic as it seems.
"The reason we're doing these [transactions] is to keep things in order," he said. "The hope would be things settle down and we go play baseball and see how good we can get. But sometimes you make moves just to keep things in order."
Some teams thrive on stability, while others develop their identity in the midst of motion. The Orioles, en route to a Wild Card berth, used 52 players and made 178 roster moves last season. They were one of four postseason teams — the Yankees, A's and Nationals being the others — to lose more than 1,000 days to the disabled list.
So, sure, the Tribe can certainly survive and maybe even be bettered by this spurt of uncertainty.
But if the rotation was a concern going into the season, it is downright alarming right now. Tribe starters not named Masterson have a 6.02 ERA, and stability does not figure to be a strength of that staff. Clearly, that's not the kind of "interesting" you want to be.
PS: I had the pleasure today of sitting in on a special meeting between Mariano Rivera and about 30 Indians staff members who work behind the scenes. Rivera just wanted to say thank you to the people who make Progressive Field churn. One of the classiest things I've seen in baseball, as I wrote here.
PPS: In case you missed these recent stories: On Nick Swisher and Travis Hafner and what they demonstrate about the directions of the Indians and Yankees; On Tito Francona's return "home" for the home opener.
"The Guide" abides.
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
You can't tell the players without a scorecard. Or so the old saying goes. But you really don't know the players' hopes, dreams, fears and quirks without a media guide. Or so the public relations departments would lead you to believe.
Media guides, both figuratively and quite literally, don't carry quite the weight they once did, in this Internet-savvy era. But even an Internet writer such as myself can be a big believer in the printed word.
And so, with the excitement about the Cleveland Indians higher than it has been since… oh, I don't know… since Andy Marte arrived… and with so many new names on the roster, let's do as we did a couple years back and dip into "The Guide" to see what we can learn:
- I never realized Terry Francona, who grew up in western Pennsylvania, was actually born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, while his father was playing for the Aberdeen Pheasants, an Orioles affiliate. So to the extent that the Indians actually have a Dakota quota (and isn't that fun to say?), they have filled it with Francona in the wake of Travis Hafner's departure.
- The only photo of former Guide cover boy Grady Sizemore in this or any media guide this year comes in the "Indians History" section. God, that's sad.
- Ubaldo Jimenez lists "America's Funniest Home Videos" as his favorite TV show. I don't know, man. It's just not the same without Saget.
- Justin Masterson and Joe Smith share the same birthday (March 22) and so do Lonnie Chisenhall and Drew Stubbs (Oct. 4).
- Speaking of which, birthdays are also listed for Urban Meyer (July 10) and Thad Matta (July 11), only because Tribe PR man and unabashed Buckeye fan Bart Swain wanted to see if anybody was paying attention.
- Stubbs' favorite movie is "The Sting," starring Shaker Heights' own Paul Newman.
- Sandy Alomar Jr. has a soon-to-be-25-year-old daughter, and now many of you reading this feel ancient, don't you?
- Scott Kazmir is part-Czechoslovakian.
- New bullpen coach Kevin Cash played in the 1989 Little League World Series as a member of Tampa Northside.
- Triple-A starter Scott Barnes' favorite athlete is Lou Marson. Hey, I don't blame him. Marson sometimes uses Phil Collins' "Easy Lover" as his at-bat music, so why shouldn't he be somebody's favorite athlete?
- Francona and third base coach Brad Mills were teammates on the Arizona Wildcats' College World Series team in 1979.
- Mike Aviles' uncle, Ramon Aviles, played parts of four seasons with Boston and Philadelphia from 1977-81.
- Well, we already knew Trevor Bauer is a little bit different from the norm, and this confirms it further: His favorite band is Amon Amarth. I've never heard of Amon Amarth, but the 100-percent reliable Wikipedia confirms that it is a "melodic death metal band from Tumba, Sweden, founded in 1992. It takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien′s Middle-earth." So… there's that.
- Bauer, much like my wife, is also a big, big fan of Duke basketball. I wonder if Coach K listens to Amon Amarth…
- First base coach Mike Sarbaugh had a minor role as a Pirates shortstop in "Major League II," which, if you remember from my 2011 Media Guide entry, was, strangely, Fausto Carmona/Roberto Hernandez's favorite movie.
- Cody Allen's favorite TV show is "Everybody Loves Raymond," which is fortunate for him. Because you literally cannot turn on the TV and flip through the channels without landing on an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode at some point. Go ahead, try this right now. I'll wait. … See? It was on TBS, wasn't it?
- Oh, Allen also lists Eric Church as his favorite musician. That is, unfortunately, about the closest any player on this roster is going to come to listing Springsteen as their favorite artist. As a Springsteen fan, I appreciate Church spreading the gospel, as it were, with his big hit. I look forward to future songs in which he references more obscure tracks like "Reno" and "Car Wash."
- Michael Brantley aka Dr. Smooth's favorite TV show is "The Price Is Right," which makes sense given that ballplayers typically sleep in until (at least) 11 a.m. and work nights. On an unrelated note, Brantley got married over the winter and his wife, Melissa, is already expecting the couple's first child. Smooth moves, indeed.
- Carlos Carrasco likes "Titanic." This will not go over well with the Man Card Committee (but as a guy who inexplicably has "Party In The U.S.A." on his iPod, I'm in no position to judge).
- Bryan Shaw was asked to list his favorite group or artist, and he replied, "Everything." This can't possibly be, can it? I mean, I know there are people who don't have specific preferences, but to say you like "everything" is to embrace some truly miserable musical experiences.
- Hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo had one home run in his 38 Major League at-bats — Aug. 16, 1993, off Bill Gullickson. The more you know…
- Matt Albers' favorite movie is "The Big Lebowski." The Dude abides.
- One of Brett Myers' favorite athletes growing up was Roger Clemens. And you know how Clemens has four kids whose names begin with a "K"? Well, same with Myers – daughter Kylie and sons Kolt, Koda and Kace.
- Myers loves him some Skynyrd.
- Chris Perez's middle name is Ralph, which is exactly what he did on the mound after one of his saves last year.
- Want some truly obscure trivia? In the last 10 years, just two rookies or sophomores have hit five home runs in the first eight games of the season. One is Miguel Cabrera (with the Marlins in '04) and the other is Mark Reynolds (with the D-backs in '08).
- Reynolds' favorite musician? Colt Ford, a former member of the Nationwide professional golf tour who now operates in the oft-overlooked genre of "country rap."
- Nick Swisher's favorite movie is "For Love of the Game," which I've never seen. I can only hope it is better than a certain other Kevin Costner baseball movie.
- I never knew Carlos Santana's favorite team growing up was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Good thing I read "The Guide."
PS: Did you read the Little Lake Nellie story? If not, here's another chance.
PPS: Our MLB.com preview of the AL Central is here.
Returning to Little Lake Nellie
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince
We watched Steve Olin on that old television set in my mother's living room. It was 1989, and my brother and I were tuned into the Triple-A All-Star Game. Olin represented Colorado Springs and, therefore, represented the Indians. They were our team, so he was our guy. And when we saw that submarine delivery — the one in which Olin seemed to fling the ball from his shoelaces — we were instantly enamored with the strangeness of it all.
A few years later, when Olin and Tim Crews were killed in a boating accident on Little Lake Nellie, it was hard for me to wrap my 11-year-old mind around it. How could that guy from the screen, with so much life in his arm, playing a boy's game, be gone so soon? How could a sport that was supposed to be a distraction from the trauma of life and loss now be an invitation to it?
As I got older and learned more about what Olin and Crews left behind — a grieving wife and three young children apiece — I gained a greater understanding of the gravity of the situation. And as the 20th anniversary of the accident drew closer, I felt a desire to catch up with those families and see what the last 20 years of their life have been like.
What I couldn't have expected was how gracious with their time and how open with their thoughts Laurie Crews and Patti Olin and their families would be.
It was surreal to visit Laurie's ranch and see the exact spot where the accident occurred. We were gathered there – Laurie and her three kids and I – when I asked if it would be all right to take a picture of them together. "Yeah," Laurie said, "but let's turn around and get the dock in the background. That's what people want to see, anyway, right?." That, I quickly learned, is the essence of Laurie — no filter, no fear, no phoniness. An amazing woman.
And Patti, though a polar opposite to Laurie's personality, is equally amazing and inspiring. We spoke for hours on end while I was reporting the story, and it was a joy to get to meet her in person at a Cactus League game last week. "You're like Oprah, Anthony," she had said to me between tears during the interview process. And maybe, with those probing personal questions, I was summoning my inner Winfrey. Except I was crying, too.
Anyway, the end result is a story that is very special to me and, I hope, to the Crews and Olin families. If you have some time, I hope you'll give it a read and think good thoughts for those families during this gut-wrenching anniversary.


text:
Five things to watch: IMG Southeast Regional 7-on-7
Here are five things to watch headed into the weekend.
Five things to watch: New Orleans Opening Regional
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McElwain discusses new Florida football
2015 Spring Football Tour: Florida
Unique perks of being a coach
Before the Head Ball Coach moniker had taken hold and before his Hall of Fame coaching career had taken flight, Steve Spurrier once left a $30,000 raise sitting on the table.
That was more than 25 years ago when he was at Duke, where Spurrier was making around $75,000 in base salary when he was hired as head coach in 1987.
At the time, Spurrier's head-coaching counterpart at North Carolina was Mack Brown, who was making substantially more money than Spurrier was. So after the Blue Devils won seven games in 1988, and Spurrier won the first of two straight ACC Coach of the Year awards, he asked then-Duke athletic director Tom Butters if a bump might be in order. Butters knew what a commodity he had in Spurrier and offered to give him another $30,000, but only if Spurrier would agree to stay at Duke for an extended period of time.
"I never signed it and ended up going to Florida the next year," recalled Spurrier, whose 1989 Duke team won the ACC championship. "That was a lot of money in those days, too."
Fast-forward to the present, and Spurrier could pocket an extra $100,000 as South Carolina's coach for simply making the Capital One Bowl or even the Outback Bowl. A 10-win season would mean $100,000, and that total goes up to $200,000 for an 11-win season and $300,000 for a 12-win season.
Early Offer: Levonta Taylor next big FSU get in Virginia?
Will Be Making My College Choice April 3rd!
@ Ocean Lakes High School 6pm...
Anyone Can Come, No Charge
Decision, Decisions, & Decisions.=— Levonta Taylor (@iamlevonta) March 24, 2015
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Booger McFarland talks Florida football
SEC morning links
It's OK everyone, the NCAA tournament will continue in a few days and "Empire" will return soon enough!
- Florida's offense isn't exactly moving at the most appropriate speed this spring, but while that side of the ball continues to fall behind the defense, Geoff Collins' group is just out there fired up and having fun.
- At South Carolina, there's no more delegating ball plays by the Head Ball Coach.
- Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell says he "feels great" nearly five months after his gruesome leg injury he suffered in the Rebels' home loss to Auburn.
- Former Alabama tight end Brian Vogler hopes to see more pass-catching opportunities for tight end O.J. Howard with the Crimson Tide this season.
- New Georgia offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer doesn't plan to change the Bulldogs' offensive philosophy this year, but he is changing the terminology.
- Fast riser Dontavius Russell is in position to start on Auburn's defensive line this season.
- LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings says he feels his confidence and ability growing this spring.
- Texas A&M returned to practice on Tuesday. Here are some notes and here's a little of what coach Kevin Sumlin had to say about the day.
- Former coaches believe in new Missouri athletic director Mack Rhoades.
- Head coach Butch Jones said the host of injuries is the biggest setback for Tennessee's football team this spring.
Tweet of the day
Just for you @jefflongUA @BretBielema. Throwing the A with the Florentine pig. pic.twitter.com/e0cwqOmbCv
— Christina Long (@christinalong99) March 24, 2015
SEC East: Who will be missed most?
Attrition hit the SEC hard this offseason, for some more than others, but every school has a player moving on that left a mark, a player that can't easily be replaced. So we asked the question, which player will be missed most on every SEC team? And more importantly, how does that team plan to fill the void left behind?
First up in the two-part series is a look at the SEC East.
Florida: DE Dante Fowler Jr.
New defensive coordinator Geoff Collins will have his hands full trying to replace Fowler. The All-SEC star led the Gators last year in tackles for loss (15) and sacks (8.5), and it's going to take more than one player to replace that type of production. As Florida moves to a more traditional 4-3 scheme under Collins, defensive ends Alex McCalister and Bryan Cox Jr. will be responsible for getting to the quarterback. The two combined for 10 sacks last season. Five-star CeCe Jefferson is another name to watch, but he won't arrive on campus until the summer.
Georgia: C David Andrews
Don't get me wrong. Running back Todd Gurley will be missed. But Georgia has Nick Chubb, one of the nation's top rushers, coming back and that should help ease the pain of losing Gurley. But losing Andrews hurts. He played in 50 games during his UGA career and started every game the past three seasons. It will look a little different with somebody else snapping the ball, but Mark Richt has already tabbed Hunter Long and Isaiah Wynn as the two main contenders to win the job this spring. Long has the experience, but Wynn has more upside. Take your pick.
Kentucky: DE/LB Alvin "Bud" Dupree
There wasn't a better ambassador for Kentucky football over the past couple years than Dupree. And to think, he never even got to play in a bowl game. Now he's taking his game to the next level, and it's up to former ESPN 300 recruit Jason Hatcher to fill the void. Hatcher played some last season, finishing fourth on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss, but how will he fare as an every-down player? The Wildcats need him to be the elite pass-rusher they recruited out of high school if they want to take that next step and reach a bowl game.
Missouri: DE Shane Ray
Really, this could go to Ray or teammate Markus Golden. They formed the top defensive end duo in the SEC last season and played a major role in getting Missouri back to the SEC title game. With both moving on, who's next in line at D-Line Zou? Redshirt freshmen Marcus Loud and Charles Harris are the two most viable candidates, as the coaches are high on both, but junior-to-be Rickey Hatley will also be in the mix as will five-star recruit Terry Beckner Jr. when he enrolls this summer. Though at 6-foot-4, 298 pounds, Beckner is better suited to play inside.
South Carolina: QB Dylan Thompson
It was a disappointing season for South Carolina, but Thompson, in his first full year as the starter, led the SEC in passing with 3,564 yards. Coach Steve Spurrier probably wishes Thompson had one more year of eligibility. But instead the Head Ball Coach has to find a new quarterback this spring. Connor Mitch served as the primary backup last season and looks to be the early favorite to win the job, but he's no lock. Perry Orth and Michael Scarnecchia are competing this spring, and true freshman Lorenzo Nunez will have a say when he arrives this summer.
Tennessee: CB Justin Coleman
With more and more teams going to spread offenses, the nickel cornerback has become a valuable asset to SEC defenses. Coleman was a perfect example. As a senior, he led the team with four interceptions. Now Tennessee, who could have one of the top secondaries in the conference, has to find a new nickel corner. Rashaan Gaulden impressed as a freshman on special teams and could be a perfect fit with his size and instincts, but juniors Devaun Swafford and Malik Foreman will also get a look. Swafford played there in 2013.
Vanderbilt: LB Kyle Woestmann
Learning a new defense is not easy, let alone a new position. Just ask Woestmann, who moved from defensive end to linebacker last spring. But he was a gamer. He did it, no questions asked. The only problem now is that Woestmann has moved on. That means it's up to the likes of Stephen Weatherly and Jonathan Wynn to fill the void at outside linebacker. The good news is that both Weatherly and Wynn are already familiar with the position. In fact, Weatherly led the team with 12.5 tackles for loss while Wynn finished with 13 tackles and a sack.
SEC morning links
Alabama returned from a 10-day break from practice on Monday, and one of the Crimson Tide's most intriguing players this spring worked at two different positions. Kenyan Drake, who broke his leg during a game last season, worked at both running back and at wide receiver during the media viewing periods on Monday. Drake flashed impressive rushing and receiving skills last season before suffering the devastating leg injury, so it's not exactly a surprise that he took some practice reps at both spots. What might be a bit surprising is how quickly he's already back on the field, roughly five months after the injury. If he returns to previous form by the time the season starts -- and those at Alabama seem optimistic that he will be -- his unique set of skills will make Lane Kiffin's offense much more dangerous this fall.
Add another chapter to the John Chavis-LSU squabble. LSU's legal team lobbed some grenades at Chavis -- the school's former defensive coordinator -- and his new employer, Texas A&M, in response to his lawsuit claiming that he does not owe LSU a buyout. According to a story in the Baton Rouge Advocate, LSU's response said that "Chavis happened to defect to Texas A&M to begin working for A&M before his service to LSU was complete. Notwithstanding the Aggies' dire need for defensive help, Chavis could have defected to a college or professional team in any state, or even a foreign country." Dang. "Dire need for defensive help?" Not that such a statement is false. A&M's defense has been atrocious for the last couple of years. But this situation has officially gotten ugly, with Chavis claiming that LSU owes him back pay and LSU insisting that he violated terms of his contract by refusing to pay a $400,000 buyout when he bolted for A&M after last season. It's going to make for an interesting subplot when these two programs meet in November.
Around the SEC
- With his team set to open spring practice today, Tennessee coach Butch Jones addressed the media on Monday to set the stage. Find the official transcript and video from the presser here.
- Sometimes 6-foot-7, 325-pound recruits don't know their own strength. UGA offensive line commit Ben Cleveland accidentally crushed a glass bottle in his hand last week during science class, forcing him to get stitches that caused him to miss two prospect camps and time with his high school baseball team.
- Bryson Allen-Williams started at linebacker and moved to defensive end as a South Carolina freshman, but he's back at linebacker for the Gamecocks this spring.
- Jonathan Jones says he won't become complacent after earning All-SEC honors at cornerback for Auburn last season.
- Athlon's Braden Gall delivers a spring breakdown for Florida.
Tweet of the day
When Peyton met Hulk... pic.twitter.com/Lufop5S7kF
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) March 23, 2015
Early Offer: Jarrett Guarantano's decision will create domino effect
#VolNation =6=6=6 pic.twitter.com/8ouUZeHXVx— Jarrett Guarantano (@Guarantano18) March 22, 2015
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Haney discusses SEC football in 2015
Scarborough: Filling out my fictional SEC football brackets
It didn't turn out how I thought it would. Then again, it never does when it comes to NCAA tournament time, so why should my fictional SEC football bracket be any different?
In what's become an annual tradition on the blog, Edward Aschoff and I seeded all 14 SEC teams to play out our very own spring tournament. Aschoff published his bracket earlier today, so now it's time for me to get in on the action.
It was a painstaking process -- filling out my 64-team bracket for the actual NCAA tournament was easier -- but I eventually got the seeding down and let the matchups dictate the rest.
I had upsets by NC State, UAB and Georgia State on my mind, so it's no coincidence that the underdog came out on top a few times.
Note: Since this tournament is based on the spring, injuries are taken into account.
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Auburn Tigers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Missouri Tigers
- LSU Tigers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Florida Gators
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Vanderbilt Commodores
In Memphis, Tennessee
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt: Who's Nick Saban's quarterback? Who cares? With one of the best D-lines in college football and an O-line that should come together nicely, Alabama has the right ingredients to control games where it counts most: in the trenches. The Commodores are better than in 2014 and they're benefitted by Alabama being without starting cornerback Cyrus Jones and starting linebacker Denzel Devall, but in the end they don't stand a chance. Winner: Alabama
No. 6 Arkansas vs. No. 11 Florida: Losing Alex Collins for the first round due to an appendectomy hurts, but Jonathan Williams is more than capable of carrying Arkansas' offense. And with an even bigger and better offensive line, the Hogs impose their will on the Gators, who are still learning the ropes under new coach Jim McElwain. Winner: Arkansas
In Kansas City, Missouri
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Kentucky: Butch Jones' Vols might be a year away from competing for a national title, but the SEC East is another story. With a slew of talented pass-catchers (Marquez North, Pig Howard, Von Pearson, Josh Malone, Ethan Wolf) and a running back that's a safe bet to reach 1,000 yards (Jalen Hurd), quarterback Josh Dobbs orchestrates an offense that leaves Kentucky feeling dizzy. Winner: Tennessee
No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 South Carolina: Steve Spurrier crumpled up his 2014 defense and threw it in the trash, bringing in a new co-coordinator and a number of junior college transfers. But it won't be enough to stop the SEC's leading Heisman Trophy contender, Dak Prescott, who wills the Bulldogs to a first-round win. Winner: Mississippi State
In Jacksonville, Florida
No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Texas A&M: The Aggies' defense doesn't need to be the best in the conference to win games. It takes some time, but John Chavis coaxes marginal improvement out of that side of the ball, enough that Kyle Allen and the high-flying offense earn the upset over the Rebs. Winner: Texas A&M
No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 LSU: This is a bad matchup for Missouri, which should find itself in the thick of the SEC East race yet again in 2015. But it hits a buzzsaw as Leonard Fournette negates its pass-rush by running right at it and its QB struggles by throwing too many risky passes into LSU's opportunistic secondary. Winner: LSU
In Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 9 LSU: All the wins and all the NFL-level talent don't mean much when put up against Georgia's nine-year drought of failing to win an SEC title game. Losing the big game has become all too familiar, whether you look at a loss to Georgia Tech last season or go further back to a four-point loss to Alabama in 2012. And in this matchup, it will be more of the same as Nick Chubb's 200 yards isn't enough. Fournette breaks the century mark rushing, Travin Dural hits a few long-balls over the top of the defense and a field goal in overtime sends LSU to the semifinals. Winner: LSU
In Orlando, Florida
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Mississippi State: You can't give a team like Tennessee an inch, because when they start believing and gaining confidence in themselves, they're scary. Mississippi State will learn that lesson the hard way as its defense struggles and its quarterback is dinged up early, putting it in a hole it can never quite come out of. Winner: Tennessee
In Houston
No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 10 Texas A&M: Change out the light bulbs in the scoreboard before we get this one started. It's going to be a barn-burner. Neither team plays much defense and in the end, it's Auburn's balance on offense that tips the scales in the Tigers' favor as Jeremy Johnson throws for 300 yards and Jovon Robinson and Roc Thomas team up for 200 yards on the ground. Winner: Auburn
In New Orleans
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 Arkansas: Remember what I said about who the QB is, not mattering for Alabama? Scratch that. In a close game it will. Arkansas runs the ball to control the tempo, keeps it a low-scoring affair and gets a late interception to sub out last season's one-point loss for this year's one-point win. Winner: Arkansas
In Arlington, Texas
No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 9 LSU: This is the game where Will Muschamp earns his paycheck, stacking the Auburn defense against the run and forcing LSU to be one-dimensional. Brandon Harris is pulled in favor of Anthony Jennings early, but it makes no difference. Auburn's offense struggles to less than 300 yards, but wins the turnover battle to advance. Winner: Auburn
In Nashville, Tennessee
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Arkansas: Ground-and-pound works, but only if you have the defense to back it up. And as it turns out, Arkansas doesn't against Tennessee. The Vols jump out to a two-touchdown lead in their home state and the Razorbacks don't have the firepower in the passing game to claw their way back, falling just short of a Cinderella season. Winner: Tennessee
In Atlanta
No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 4 Tennessee: The Tigers have been on the big stage before and the Vols have not, and that's no small matter. So while Tennessee is able to score quickly against Auburn and jump out to another double-digit lead, it's not enough. Jones' offense goes stale in the second half while Gus Malzahn's uptempo attack gets hot, demoralizing the young Vols with a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to win. Winner: Auburn
Aschoff: Filling out my fictional SEC football brackets
The NCAA tournament has hit the SEC, even if the conference just has one team to root for in the Big Dance.
But we here at the SEC blog are all about the madness and wanted to continue a fun tradition that gives us our own fictional March tournament. Today, we are unveiling our SEC football brackets in honor of this week's Sweet 16.
Esteemed colleague Alex Scarborough and I have seeded all 14 SEC teams in a tournament of our own to crown our rightful spring SEC champion(s).
The first College Football Playoff did a great job of exciting the masses, but imagine if we had even more teams. I'll show off my seedings and bracket first, and Alex will post his later.
After letting my cat Meeko take over most of the responsibility with this whole thing, here are my seeds for all 14 teams:
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M
- Missouri
- Mississippi State
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
In Memphis, Tennessee
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt: This year's NCAA tournament saw two 14 seeds topple No. 3 seeds. That ain't happening in our bracket. Both teams are trying to figure things out at quarterback, but Alabama just has too much talent all around. Bama running back Derrick Henry will make quick work of Vandy's defense, giving OC Lane Kiffin the option to play every QB the Crimson Tide has. Winner: Alabama
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 South Carolina: The Vols are a trendy pick in the SEC East this year, and it makes sense when you realize Tennessee brings back 18 starters. South Carolina was a mess on defense last year and has its own quarterback battle to worry about. The Vols have rising star Josh Dobbs at QB and stud running back Jalen Hurd to lead the offense. The Gamecocks will have flashbacks of that horrendous fourth quarter against the Vols last fall. Winner: Tennessee
In Kansas City, Missouri
No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 13 Kentucky: Shocker, another SEC team with a quarterback issues, but we expect Chad Kelly to get most of the snaps in his game. Not having Laquon Treadwell (leg) will take a major part of the passing game away, but Cody Core will make a couple of big plays on Kentucky's defense, which will open things up for Jaylen Walton to slice up Kentucky's rebuilt defensive line. Winner: Ole Miss
No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Florida: Ah, the classic 12-5 upset. This has been such a fun pick to make in the NCAA tournament, but like this year's Big Dance, we'll have no 12-seed waltzing into the second round. Florida's offense is under construction, and even with Alex Collins recovering from an appendectomy, Johnathan Williams will tire out Florida's front seven, and the Hogs will force a couple of turnovers. Winner: Arkansas
In Jacksonville, Florida
No. 7 LSU vs. No. 10 Mississippi State: These aren't the same Bulldogs who pulled off an upset in Death Valley last year. However, LSU doesn't have the best quarterback situation. I think Brandon Harris gets the majority of the snaps and Leonard Fournette wears down the Bulldogs' line, but in the tournament you need a solid point guard, and that's where quarterback Dak Prescott comes in. LSU's lack of a pass rush gives Prescott the time he needs to lead a game-winning drive. Winner: Mississippi State
No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 Texas A&M: We get a little Big 12 feel with this game. The Tigers have won back-to-back SEC East titles, but don't have elite talent at defensive end this spring, and quarterback Maty Mauk has a completely rebuilt receiving corps to work with. The Aggies got a major defensive upgrade with the hiring of John Chavis, and he'll be the difference. Quarterback Kyle Allen will make some plays, and we'll finally see a defensive stand by the Aggies! Winners: Texas A&M
In Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 9 Texas A&M: Oh baby, we have a battle of new defensive coordinators. Chavis vs. Will Muschamp. This one should be one of the more exciting games of the tournament, but the Tigers will have a more balanced offense with Jovon Robinson and Roc Thomas beating down that A&M front and quarterback Jeremy Johnson making plays on the Aggies' secondary. Winner: Auburn
In Orlando, Florida
No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 Mississippi State: Georgia will start the game with Brice Ramsey at quarterback, but will use Jacob Park in special packages. But does it really matter? With Mississippi State trying to figure some things out up front, running back Nick Chubb will have a field day with that defense. Georgia won't need to throw much with Chubb going to work and the defense forcing key turnovers. Winner: Georgia
In Houston
No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Arkansas: Last year's game didn't go so well for the Rebels, and they'll have another tough go down in H-Town. With Ole Miss' defensive line clamping down on the Hogs' running game, Arkansas will have to get more out of Brandon Allen. This is where we see the maturation of Allen's game inside new offensive coordinator Dan Enos' more spread-out passing offense. Winner: Arkansas
In New Orleans
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 Tennessee: The Vols haven't beaten Alabama since 2006, but the Tide will have to settle on a quarterback in this game. I'm going with Jake Coker, who will have his hands full with pass-rusher Derek Barnett and one of the SEC's best secondary duos in Brian Randolph and Cameron Sutton. A Dobbs to Marquez North touchdown late is the difference in Tennessee's upset win. Winner: Tennessee
In Arlington, Texas
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 5 Arkansas: This could be the best game of the bunch: Auburn's potent uptempo offense vs. Arkansas' downhill, sledgehammer approach. Quarterback play will be essential in this game, and the key matchup to watch is Auburn edge rusher Carl Lawson against Arkansas LT Denver Kirkland, who just made the position switch this spring. Lawson is coming back from an ACL injury, but he's up to speed. Auburn's line will hold Arkansas' rushing attack back -- even with the return of Collins -- but Auburn's ability to force turnovers will be the difference. Winner: Auburn
In Nashville, Tennessee
No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 6 Tennessee: A great SEC East rivalry makes it to the Final Four, and Georgia's questions at quarterback remain. This will be the battle of pass-rushers, with Barnett trying to frustrate the Dawgs' backfield, and Georgia's trio of Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Lorenzo Carter hunting Dobbs. The Dawgs will get to Dobbs a few times, but having four reliable receivers in the fold will push Tennessee's offense. Dobbs works some fourth-quarter magic to pull another upset. Winner: Tennessee
In Atlanta
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 6 Tennessee: Will time run out on our Creamsicle-colored Cinderella? To this point, Dobbs has been exceptional through the Vols' run, but Auburn's defense is getting more comfortable with Muschamp's scheme and teachings. Running the football will be a major advantage for Auburn with that pace and space. That's where the Tigers put it away. With Robinson and Thomas wearing down Tennessee's line, Johnson makes plays with freak receiver Duke Williams, bringing an SEC title back to the Plains. Winner: Auburn
Picture worth a thousand words in recruiting?
Though the performances of the prospects were at the forefront, there were plenty of recruiting notes and some subtle messages delivered by prospects before the event began.
#ESPNJr300 WR's #Clemson commit TJ Chase & #SouthCarolina verbal Kyle Davis at Atlanta #GetOpen pic.twitter.com/4CCy1nb2mq— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) March 22, 2015
One of the best pictures of the day was ESPN Junior 300 wide receivers Tavares Chase and Kyle Davis. They could become rivals at the next level with Chase being committed to Clemson and Davis to South Carolina. The kink in the chain is the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Davis being a very "soft" verbal to the Gamecocks with Georgia, Auburn, and Tennessee all being in the mix. Though Chase was decked out in Clemson gear, Davis was very neutral. In this case, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words considering Davis sounded like anything but a solid pledge Sunday.
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McElwain discusses new Florida football
Thursday, 9/3
Saturday, 9/5
TBD Bowling Green Tennessee TBD Wisconsin Alabama TBD UTEP Arkansas TBD Louisville Auburn TBD New Mexico State Florida TBD Louisiana-Monroe Georgia TBD Louisiana-Lafayette Kentucky TBD McNeese State LSU TBD Southeast Missouri State Missouri TBD Tennessee-Martin Ole Miss TBD Mississippi State Southern Miss TBD Arizona State Texas A&M TBD Western Kentucky Vanderbilt


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'Good Wife' Star on Surprising Twist: It Was Like My Husband Leaving (Video)
"I thought it had the element of surprise, of shock," Josh Charles said of his character's send-off in Sunday's episode.
CBS continued its media blitz following Sunday's shocking episode by offering more behind-the-scenes insight on the decision.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]
In "Dramatics, Your Honor," Lockhart Gardner attorney Will Gardner (played by Josh Charles) was shot in the courtroom by his unhinged client and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
STORY: 'The Good Wife' Bosses Sound Off on Shocking Exit
"I thought that I felt, however much I've enjoyed the experience, that I was ready for the next chapter of my life, both creatively and personally," Charles said of his decision to leave. Producers knew that the actor wanted to move on at the end of last season and, along with Julianna Margulies, persuaded Charles to stay for season five in order to write his character out in a fitting way. It was vital for Charles that Will receive "a proper goodbye." When the co-creators, Robert and Michelle King, shared their send-off plans, "I was really excited about the idea. I thought it had the element of surprise, of shock."
"It was like my husband telling me he was going to leave," Christine Baranski said, whose character, Diane Lockhart, takes on Will's attitude in being more "opportunistic" and "survivalistic." "I just didn't want to hear it. I'm still sad, very sad. I feel it as a loss of a family member."
Margulies admitted she "cried," saying, "[Alicia]'s going to miss the excitement of Will. He was a powerful aphrodisiac in her life. It makes her start to rethink everything."
"We're hoping from a story sense that we're going to be able to capitalize [on] it, that this is going to be an opportunity to see how it changes Alicia, how she grows and how she moves forward," Michelle King said.
POLL: 'The Good Wife' Bids Farewell to Beloved Character in Shocking Twist
CBS released the official synopsis for the next episode, "Last Call," airing March 30: "Alicia searches for answers as she tries to make sense of Will's death in the aftermath of the courthouse shooting. Meanwhile, Diane delivers the somber news to the partners at Lockhart/Gardner who must decide how to move forward."
"I feel like I'm leaving the show on a very good note, and I know that the show is going to continue to get better and better," Charles said. "I understand there will be audience members who will be upset. I guarantee you, it will continue to be an excellent show. I know I'll keep watching."
Following the episode last night, the Kings penned a letter explaining their reasons for killing off Will and not shipping him off to another city. "The brutal honesty and reality of death speaks to the truth and tragedy of bad timing for these two characters," the Kings wrote of Will and Alicia's story. "Will's death propels Alicia into her newest incarnation." Charles will also make an appearance on Monday's Late Show With David Letterman to discuss the surprising exit.
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Around 35,000 people showed up in London this past weekend for the return of the Irish Feis music festival.
The new Feis Festival replaced the annual Fleadh that ran for 14 years at Finsbury Park in north London, which ran from 1990 until 2004.
The headline acts of the two-day festival included Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. More than 50 acts took part in the multi-stage festival including Cranberries, the Undertones, the Waterboys,
Thin Lizzy and the Saw Doctors.
Renowned Irish folk artists including Christy Moore, Clannad and Shane McGowan also took to the stage.
Commenting on the large volume of Irish now immigrating to the UK, Feis promoter Vince Power said it was a "nice bonus".
"The Irish people who come to the UK now are not the same as 21 years ago," Power told the Irish Times. "This is a special anniversary and there is also a fresh appetite for an Irish music festival in Britain."
"The market in Europe is quite fragmented and there is a great opportunity there," he said.
"Small independent companies like us can be more creative and that's what we want to do with the Feis for years to come."
Read more:
Top ten Irish rock n' roll songs of all time
Photos: Great Irish musicians and singers
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OP Member
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Join Date:Joined: Nov 2010
First of all i've been running cm10.2rc for the past month or so and was having no problem whatsoever. Then out of the blue last night, my screen started flicking on and off, then it'd reboot off for no reason. It goes into apps of widget for no apparent reason either. Even in recovery mode (recovery touch) it clicks options without me touching anything.
I've flashed a dirty/clean, Cm11 (don't like it came back to cm10).
It's as if my power button gets stuck.
I'm wondering if this is a common hardware issue that i could solve by changing a part myself off ebay or any kind of solution for this insane phone?


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How People Watch TV in Nikolai, AK
At CableTV.com we love TV. Here are a few tidbits we know about it and Nikolai, AK. One-third of Americans have at least four televisions in their home. Roughly half of us stream video online, even though 97% of us still watch traditional TV. Around 72% of Americans are now bundling their cable services with high-speed Internet subscription. There are about 70 people living in Nikolai all enjoying television in different fashions - 23 with four or more traditional televisions, 34 streaming online, and 50 of these Nikolai residents bundle their services.


text:
Husqvarna Rose - need power cord
organic_sisterSeptember 20, 2009
I recently purchased a used Husqvarna Rose embroidery machine. It is missing the electrical cord for the card reader/writer. I'm sure it is only an adapter, but I don't know the size to buy (i.e. 6v, 8v, 12v, etc).
If anyone has this machine and would be willing to check their adapter to see what the voltage is I would really appreciate it.
Thank you!


text:
garage floor
beatducksFebruary 28, 2011
I do not want to paint it - any other options for do it yourself flooring? Rubber tile? Any one out there installing rubber tiles or self stick tiles please tell me your pros and cons. Thank you!
Try asking you question on the Flooring forum on this:
Here is a link that might be useful: garage journal


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What Ubuntu 12.10 Won't Be Codenamed
Published on 20 April 2012 07:22 AM EDT
Written by
Michael Larabel
15 Comments
With the release of
Ubuntu 12.04
due out next week, Mark Shuttleworth will soon be announcing the codename of the six-month successor to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, which carries the codename of
Precise Pangolin
Following in past tradition for Ubuntu codenames, the
Ubuntu 12.10
should be a codename that's two words with each letter beginning with a
for the 12.10 cycle. The first word is generally an adjective followed by the name of an animal. This name is decided internally by Canonical / Mark without a community voting process like what happens with Fedora.
The Ubuntu codenames tend to be much more formal than what's now happened with Fedora codenames where the community process is effectively a loose cannon. Fedora 17 is codenamed the "
Beefy Miracle
" and it looks like
Fedora 18 will also lead to an "interesting" codename
like Spherical Cow, Ketchy Ketchup, Frankfurter, or Tandoori Chicken.
When meeting up with some Phoronix readers earlier this week in Boston over beers, an off-topic conversation began to be what would be the Ubuntu 12.10 codename if it were chosen by Fedora developers... While still complying with the traditional Ubuntu code-naming convention but involving what Fedora developers/users seem to like more than animals: food.
Here's a list of some of the oddball Fedora-inspired potential codenames for Ubuntu 12.10, but don't look for Mark to be picking any names off this list for the next Ubuntu Linux release.
- The Quirky Quesadilla
- The Quintessential Quiche
- The Questionable Queso
- The Quimsical Quaaludes
- The Quilled Quinoa
- The Quadrangular Quale
- The Qualified Quark
- The Quintessential Quiche
- The Quaint Quetsche
You can share your serious or light-hearted codename suggestions for Ubuntu within our forums.
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About The Author
Michael Larabel is the principal author of Phoronix.com and founded the web-site in 2004 with a focus on enriching the Linux hardware experience and being the largest web-site devoted to Linux hardware reviews, particularly for products relevant to Linux gamers and enthusiasts but also commonly reviewing servers/workstations and embedded Linux devices. Michael has written more than 10,000 articles covering the state of Linux hardware support, Linux performance, graphics hardware drivers, and other topics. Michael is also the lead developer of the
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WIPO Director General Francis Gurry visited the Netherlands on August 30, 2012, and met with a range of senior Government officials, including State Secretary for Security and Justice, His Excellency Mr. Fred Teeven.
The Director General also met with users of the intellectual property services that WIPO administers as well as other stakeholders, on subjects ranging from innovation policy to access models in the digital age. On August 31, the Director General delivered a Keynote address at the conference 'A Century of Dutch Copyright'.
© Hanneke van Lith.