Tribe Down Braves; Mastny/Julio Pitch

Sabathia Starts: Once again the season nears so pitchers are starting to take on more work. C.C. Sabathia pitched 6 innings of 3 run ball against the Braves today.

He gave up 8 hits and struck out three.

Regular Lineup: It was pretty much a regular game for the Tribe. They only used two subs and the only regular not playing was Travis Hafner. Garko was the DH while Victor played 1st and Shoppach did the catching. Jason Michaels played in left.

Offensively Asdrubal Cabrera was on base 4 times. He had two hits and two walks.

Peralta had a big two run double. Gutierrez, Garko, Michaels and Blake all knocked in runs.

Julio and Mastny: Everyone meanwhile had their eyes on the battle between Jorge Julio and Tom Mastny.

Mastny pitched in the last game but also in the one this afternoon.

Julio was the first one in and he pitched 2 innings of 1 hit baseball. He walked a few more but struck out three.

Mastny on the other hand worked only one inning. While he did earn the save he gave up a run. It brings his Spring ERA to 6.75, while Julio’s stands at 1.80.

Let’s not forget Scott Elarton who is in the mix. Eric Wedge said he expects to make a decision by Thursday before the Indians leave for an exhibition game in Atlanta.

Miller Makes Debut: Adam Miller made his debut this year. He pitched in a minor league intrasquad game.

Hafner won’t play first base until Interleague

Eric Wedge has put the questions of Travis Hafner playing any first base to rest.

“Basically, you start all over again in a couple months,” Wedge reasoned. “So we’re just going to ramp him up closer to Interleague Play.” – Eric Wedge (Indians.com)

Last year they gave him some time there to initially keep him and Victor in the lineup when they needed to give him a break catching.

But past the point where they had Garko and Vic playing first they didn’t really use him.

So really what’s the point this year. With that being Vic’s spot when he doesn’t catch, Garko starting full-time and Andy Marte taking reps at first, why bother?

Travis won’t play first still Interleague starts up, after that he won’t at all.

Minaya and Shapiro Meet

“Shapiro and Mets GM Omar Minaya, who talk on the phone frequently, met before Wednesday night’s game.” – Paul Hoynes (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

That certainly is interesting. Considering the Mets are interesting in finding a 3rd outfielder due to the injury of Moises Alou. According to MLB Trade Rumors they are also interested in finding another starter.

Obviously not right now because he is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery but Shin-Soo Choo might be a candidate. If they want a more proven guy then obviously David Dellucci or Jason Michaels would be the candidates(but as mentioned yesterday Michaels might not be an option to trade).

While on the subject of Choo, that very post at MLB Trade Rumros caught my eye. Turns out Shin-Soo Choo is obligated to spend 24-28 months in the South Korean military before the age of 30.

Let’s not get into the debate of foreign countries military policies but there are two ways for Choo to avoid it.

Become an American citizen. Or get an exemption from the Korean government if he helps them win a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games.

That’s settling. Choo isn’t thinking about the citizenship and he doesn’t think winning a gold medal will be as easy as it was for two previous Koreans, Chan Ho Park and Byung-Hyun Kim.

That’s just a cruddy thing for a guy who could have a promising career in the bigs. Obviously he’s only 25 right now, he has 4 and years and a few months to go before he hits 30. So he has a year or two to see where he stands and the Asian Games before he has to make a decision.

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