"Today [Sunday, March 18, 2012], we’ll be voting on a new name for the Cleveland baseball and Washington football teams. I’ll leave the polls open all week and next weekend, the winners of the new names for both teams will be announced. After that, it’s pretty much going to be like the other contests on UW — using the new name, design a new logo and uniform for each team."

During game broadcasts, I see a lot of fans wearing white shirts with the block "C" logo on the front -- Gaylord Perry's wearing a polo version right now in the broadcast both. I live out of town (PNW), and I can't find them online. Are they only available at the team shops?

35: Pomeranz

Analysis: Looks like his delivery is a little cleaner than it was when Cleveland drafted him, although he's still going to have to work to repeat it enough to have average fastball command. His three-pitch mix makes him death to lefties and solid against righties as well. Preseason Ranking: 60

49: Kipnis

Analysis: He's a Kelly Johnson-type player but a better pure hitter than Johnson has been. Preseason Ranking: 56

(link: $)

the result of "advanced approach" at the plate.

Our collective belief will see us through the next 20 days.

"Victorino seems confused by the strange way we (Philadelphians) tend to speak our minds. That happens a lot with athletes. [Philadelphia] isn't Green Bay or Milwaukee or some other Midwestern hamlet populated by mindless lemmings thankful that they simply have a pro team to cheer so they can escape another exciting night of cow-tipping. In Philly, life moves at a faster clip and the expectations are high. With that comes a certain edge and attitude, but that seems like a fair trade-off in exchange for genuine passion."

-- John Gonzalez, Philadelphia Inquirer

"5. Indians | Chris Sale (LHP) | Florida Gulf Coast
With Pomeranz gone in this scenario, Cleveland will likely choose between Sale and Michael Choice. From what I'm hearing, I think they'll go for the arm, but there's a very good chance Choice fits here as well."
-- Frankie Piliere
National MLB Analyst

The Mariners were figuring out who to pinpoint as potential trade targets and Blengino ... had his eye on an outfielder he'd been monitoring since the prospect was in the Dodgers' system several years back. So, he researched some defensive numbers on Franklin Gutierrez, then a struggling young right fielder for the Indians, using traditional statistics like outfield chances, as well as some more advanced modern ones like Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Revised Zone Rating (RZR).

"We knew who the kid was," Zduriencik said. "But the numbers Tony showed us really opened our eyes."

These days, Gutierrez is regarded as possibly the best defensive outfielder in baseball.

Gutierrez is a prime example of the type of hidden gems the Mariners are hoping to uncover with their fledgling department of statistical analysis. The department is overseen by Blengino, and it has one full-time employee, four seasonal interns and two outside consultants.

Wonder what effect this could have on the PTBNL.

Rob discusses the scott lewis selection and ends with this:

"I like the Indians. I think they're going win their division. But their No. 1 starter isn't going to go 22-3 again, their No. 2 starter went 8-7 last season and Nos. 3 through 5 are question marks wrapped in enigmas surrounded by conundrums. So at the very least, it should be an interesting spring and summer in Cleveland."

"When you consider that Cleveland signed Blake as a minor-league free agent on a one-year deal in 2003, received almost five years of big-league production and flipped him for two prospects, the ROI on the original deal must be off the charts."

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