Jose Ramirez, 2B-AKR: 1-5, RBI, R.

Jose Ramirez did not appear on my top-51 prospect countdown prior to the 2012 season. In fact, prior to the 2012 season, I did not know the Indians had a player named Jose Ramirez in their system. I consider myself a pretty informed person when it comes to the Cleveland Indians organization, so when I say that Jose Ramirez came out of nowhere to rank as a consensus top-15 prospect in the Indians organization, I mean he REALLY came out of nowhere. Ramirez signed as an international free agent following the 2009 season, and made his stateside debut in 2011. He hit .325 in 48 games for the AZL Indians in that year, but with just one HR and a 17/7 K/BB ratio. Not terrible by any means, but not remarkable either. In 2012, Ramirez opened in extended spring training, then appeared in three games with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers before advancing to low-A Lake County. All he did in Lake County was hit .354/.403/.462 with 3 HR, 27 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He also walked 24 times while striking out 26, an impressive ratio for a 19-year old in his first exposure to a full-season league. His performance in the difficult offensive environment of the Midwest League was so impressive the Indians decided to have Ramirez skip high-A Carolina and open this season with AA Akron. So far, so good for the young Dominican 2B, as he’s opened the 2013 campaign with hits in all 6 contests, going .417/.462/.471. Oh, and he won’t be able to order a beer in the States until September. I obviously don’t expect him to hit .400 for the season, but he’s now a career .346 hitting in 124 minor league games, and with every passing week his overall ceiling gets higher and higher.

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Home sweet home! Cleveland returns to Not The Jake to face the hated Yankees, and produces … refuse. Stuff and nonsense. All that was missing was the sound and fury, because it certainly signified something approximating nothing. Prodigal son Travis Hafner cranked up a big day in his return, while Ubaldo Jimenez pitched like he had both middle ears removed and replaced with spray cheese. The big offensive blow came from Mike Aviles, who replaced Drew Stubbs, who is a myxomycete. The B-List is nothing if not educational.

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The best part about Opening Day, or at least a Home Opener, is the fun and excitement that surrounds the opening of the park. It is awesome and a lot of fun, having been a part of an Opening Day before myself. There's all sorts of pomp and circumstance, usually something special happens, as was the case on Monday when the Indians welcomed the Yankees to open up Progressive Field.

The problem that has been the case with the Indians the past few seasons? They never really win the game. So all the fun and excitement is quickly poked with a needle and popped. Or in this case, a slight slit that causes a slow leak, because that game took forever!

The Indians pulled out all the stops this year, having five fathers throw to their sons. The fathers of Zach McAllister, Nick Swisher, Michael Brantley, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Terry Francona all threw the first pitches out to their sons all at once. Talk about a family affair, talk about tradition, talk about something incredibly cool for everyone watching, and those particular families.

"It's something unusual," said Sandy Sr. "It's something that hasn't been done before. It's something special for all of the fathers here."

A lot of big league talent past and present were on the field in that moment, except for Zach McAllister's dad Steve, who probably had the best line.

"I knew that a lot of the guys who were going to throw out the pitch were big leaguers," Steve McAllister said, "so I said yes before they could tell me no."

But the former Double-A player now Major League scout got his chance to be a part of it all, with the elder Sandy Alomar, the original Tito, Steve Swisher, and Mickey Brantley.

"Having the opportunity to do something like this, it goes way deep," Steve Swisher said. "It means an awful lot to me. I want the people to know how proud I am to have the opportunity to do that."

Castrovince has a great piece on Francona and his father and you can see the video there as well, but while that was fun to watch, there was a game to be played, one really long game. The slow leak of a tire, or a balloon. Painfully deflating as it had just been filled up hours before and was flying sky high. Five years in a row now.

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Facing the 4-5-1 portion of Tampa Bay’s rotation, the Indians learned that “#4 starter” and “#5
starter” mean something different in Tampa than they mean most other places. The Indians’
versions held their own, but very few games are won with a zero, and Buff looks at whether panic
is warranted with respect to the Indians’ offense, Trevor Bauer’s wildness, Zach McAllister’s
ordinariness, the preponderance of right-handers in the bullpen, Nick Swisher’s slow start, or
Tampa Bay’s powder blue uniforms.

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