If you thought production was thin for the Tribe the last two days, it was, again, more of the same for the Tribe in Surprise on Thursday in a 10-0 loss to the Texas Rangers.  For the third day in a row, a sustainable offense was nowhere to be found, but it was time for the pitchers to get into the act of virtual ineffectiveness. 

Things started well, but got ugly fast for the Indians, losers of three straight after a 5-0 start.  Drew Stubbs led off the game with a single, but it was quickly erased by Asdrubal Cabrera’s 5-4-3 double play, and a Jason Kipnis line out gave Texas starter Derek Holland momentum for his four inning outing.

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It just hit me so quickly. All this spring training madness. I don't think it slowed down once for me to breath it all in.

Maybe it took a crash down to the reality for our spring edition of the Cleveland Indians 2013 squad for me to stop and breathe, but I finally have stopped and started to breathe this team in.

That sounds weird. Phrasing. Okay look at it this way.

Spring began, Bourn signed, there was some hustle and bustle, then games started and the Indians came out on fire. Heck, they still may be on fire for all we know.

So it really has been tough to stop and take a look at this team. I went on a rant the other day about the whole "settling" thing that some free agents had to do, and that was fun, but that's a matter that just irked me to the point where I had to say something and not something necessarily pertinent to what's going on right now.

The truth of the matter is. I don't really know what's going on right now. It is still February. The only reason that spring games have even started right now is because of the World Baseball Classic. In a way, we are ahead of the game and there's still one long month left before we can actually get excited about results.

So that's where I am. At the exciting point of knowing this team may really entertain us this year but also coming to the realization that while we get to see them in action and watch results we think are possible come to fruition (at least in an exhibition sense), there's some waiting that we have to do.

Oh well, I guess the few stories and notes that relate to the actual first few days the Indians will be playing real games will have to do for now.

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It’s more of the same in the way of disappointment for the fans looking for a little pop in Terry Francona’s lineup today.  The Tribe mustered just 5 hits, 2 before the sixth inning, and scored a solitary run for the second straight day in a 5-1 loss to the Mariners in Goodyear, AZ on Wednesday.  A little credit for Seattle’s pitching, led off by the southpaw Danny Hultzen, is due.

Hultzen, Seattle’s 2011 first-round pick, was taken 2nd overall and pitched like a phenom should, even if it is only February 27th.  After a one out walk to Lou Marson in the first inning, Cord Phelps looked like he had the Indians in business with a single to center, but the 23-year from the University of Virginia worked his way out of it, even though he surrendered a 2-out walk before striking out Ben Francisco with the bases loaded to end the threat.

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Some things just weren’t meant to last forever, but when it comes to things ending with a thud, the Cleveland Indians could do a lot worse than dropping to 5-1 in Cactus League play on February 26th.  But, the 1972 Dolphins will need to hold off on the champagne celebration for right now, as it’s the other potential American League Central Division sleeper team that upped their record to 4-0 on the spring.

For Terry Francona’s squad, it was a bullpen day, but his Opening Day starter was the news of the day from Goodyear.  It will be Justin Masterson on April 2nd at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.  Francona confirmed after the game that Ubaldo Jimenez will be the #2, so barring an unlikely postponement of any of the Tribe’s first six games, which are all indoors, it will Jimenez on April 8th to open up the home slate at Progressive Field.

On the field today, there were a few less smiles for Matt Albers, one of the eight names in the Choo-Bauer-Gregorious trade between the Indians, Diamondbacks, and Reds in the off-season.  Though Albers was confident about getting the ball in the first inning today, it was a shaky outing for the 30 year-old reliever, who hasn’t started a game since 2008 with the Orioles.

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