You knew it was a reunion that wasn't going to last.

This morning it became official, non-roster invitee Ben Francisco was granted his release and, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, he signed with the Yankees on Monday morning, where he will compete for a roster spot.  Francisco was hitting .400 (8 for 20) in 11 games with the Tribe this spring, but unlike in years past, there was just no room at the inn, this time around.  The Indians figure to run out an outfield of Michael Brantley, Michael Bourn, and Drew Stubbs, with Nick Swisher available on their days off.

In other roster news, Rich Hill was added to the 40-man roster; Blake Wood was removed to make room for the former Chicago Cub southpaw.  In six appearances this spring, Hill was gone 5.2 innings, faced 26 batters, allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 8, and issuing 3 free passes.  Hill, who figures to be one of three lefties in a bullpen that should include Nick Hagadone and Scott Barnes, threw a perfect ninth inning in the Indians loss to Texas on Sunday.

In slightly more obvious and less relevant news, Matt LaPorta was sent to the Tribe's minor-league camp.

It's a universal truth that Cleveland has been Browns town since the team first joined the NFL for the 1950 season.

Through (long-ago) championships and (more-recent) crushing defeats, regime changes, coaching changes and more quarterbacks than we care to think about, Cleveland has always bled Orange and Brown. (And while it is cute that the Indians are trying to convince everyone, primarily themselves, that this is a Tribe Town, they need to come back when they draw more than 5,000 fans for weeknight games in April and May. Then we can talk.)

But we're starting to wonder if the Browns are losing their influence, however, following the announcement that the team will no longer charge a Personal Seat License to new season-ticket purchase.

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The Indians announced today that closer Chris Perez is dealing with a subscapularis strain in his pitching shoulder and will be out of action for the next 3-4 weeks. For Perez, the injury is a major blow, because it will prevent him from pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Perez, and fellow Bullpen Mafia member Vinnie Pestano, were selected to represent the USA in the tournament that begins tonight. Team USA's first game is scheduled for March 8.

Perez will be shut down for 7-10 days and could start a throwing program after that. With the injury, and Perez unlikely to get the necessary Spring Training work in, he would appear to be doubtful for Opening Day on April 2 in Toronto.

This is the second consecutive Spring Training where Perez has been slowed due to injury. Last season, Perez suffered a strained oblique and was doubtful for Opening Day. His rehab took shorter than expected and he was ready to go for the Opener, in which he blew a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning.

If Perez is unable to go at the start of the season, Vinnie Pestano would step into the closer role, with Joe Smith serving as the primary setup man.

In related injury news, the Indians announced that Frank Herrmann has been shut down with a right elbow injury and no timetable has been set for his return.

The Cactus League has claimed its second victim of exactly what you don't want in Spring Training.  After Michael Brantley was sidelined with a laceration from sliding awkwardly into third against the A's on Monday, another core player on Terry Francona's roster is going to miss some time, we learned this morning.

Chris Perez was scratched from today's roster for their exhibition game with the Chicago White Sox in Goodyear.  Officially, this is being defined a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder.  What it means to those of us without degrees in anatomy is that Perez will miss 3-4 weeks, and is said to have a cease fire order for the next 7-10 days.

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It looks like the Cleveland Browns may have dodged a bullet with free agent wide receiver Steve Breaston.

The Browns hosted the five-year veteran this week but Breaston left town without a contract and headed to Pittsburgh, where it was assumed he would sign a contract and reunite with Todd Haley, his former coach in Kansas City and the Steelers current offensive coordinator. (Interestingly, no rumors about Breaston wanting to reunite with Brian Daboll; one year with him in KC was enough).

Turns out that not only does it look like Breaston won’t be signing with the Browns or the Steelers, he may not be playing at all in 2013 as ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Breaston will be traveling to Germany to undergo Regenokine treatment to repair knee inflammation and early arthritic symptoms.

Yikes!

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Depending on what your definition of suspense is, Terry Francona isn't a fan of it.  In a town where the media had to infiltrate Berea to learn of who Eric Mangini would be starting the season at QB with in 2009, Cleveland likes to be in the know of who's who and what's what when the season starts.  What we didn't know yesterday, we do know today; Justin Masterson will be on the hill when the Tribe travels to Toronto to start the 2013 season against the Blue Jays.

Masterson was the Opening Day guy for Manny Acta a year ago.  He was brilliant in eight innings of work, allowing a run on two hits and striking out ten, but taking the No Decision in an extra inning loss to a Blue Jays team that won't look anything like the team that John Farrell brought to Progressive Field last April.  Masterson started a league high 34 games a year, going 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA.  In two 2012 starts against the Blue Jays, Masterson was 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA.

In his one appearance this spring, Masterson got the win in Phoenix against the A's in two perfect innings of work that included a strikeout and 5 groundouts.

Cleveland Browns Grand Poobah Joe Banner - affectionately known by most Browns Fans as He Who Looks Like He Just Ate Some Rotten Tilapia - held a press conference on Saturday at the annual NFL Combine in Indy.  Since everything that occurs at the Combine is completely overanalyzed and blown out of proportion, it would feel neglectful not to do it for Banner.

This statement leads me to believe that the Browns will look closely at boom-or-bust candidates like BYU DE/OLB Ziggy Ansah or Oregon DE/OLB Dion Jordan at #6 overall:

"There will be no whims, there will be no flying by the seat of our pants. So the idea of having a team that's aggressive, the players we bring in will be aggressive attacking competitive, mad as hell when we lose type of people. We're going to have an offensive and coordinator who are going to call a game with that kind of aggressiveness that we want our opponents to be on the defensive. We never want to be on the defensive. They're willing to take chances, which will occasionally blow up in our faces, but overall we think over time will prove to be successful. That will be true by the way on the player personnel front as well as the coaching front. That will be the mentality of the of the organization. So we're hiring people that will fit that culture, whether they be players, marketing people or coaches.”

He said this when asked if #6 was too high to draft a Guard:

“I mean if you knew he was John Hannah I guess maybe not but it wouldn’t fit. Again I wouldn’t rule anything out but it wouldn’t philosophically fit with how we’re approaching the priorities and how we’re building the team. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t exception or unusual situation or a player that’s so special that you wouldn’t look at.”

So don't look for the Browns to take Chance Warmack (G - Alabama) in the 1st.  Also don't look for them to take a QB early:

"So I’m not telling you we would or wouldn’t pick a quarterback in the first round or the second round, I’m just not doing that. But I’m also kind of I think implying that that’s not what I expect to have happen."

And we don't have to take any of these statements with a grain of salt because Joe told us he wouldn't lie to us.

"I will not lie to anybody here. I will not mislead you. I may not answer you. I may be incomplete in my answer. You may be frustrated sometimes that you wish I would say more, I could be guilty of that. But if I answer a question directly, I’m telling you the truth to the best of my knowledge.”

This sounds like one of those things you promise on your wedding day and then find impossible to achieve in actuality, but, hey, you go Joe!

Reds - 10 | Indians - 11

[BOXSCORE]

That Terry Francona, sure knows how to win games!

It looked bleak early in the Indians first game of the spring, a 11-10 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Starter Gio Soto gave up five runs, couldn't finish the first, and put the Tribe in a hole before they could even get to hit.

But the Indians came roaring back, not only scoring three in the bottom of the frame, but putting up four more in the following two innings to take a 7-5 lead. The Reds came back, to eventually take a strong 10-8 lead hearing into the bottom of the ninth, before Mike McDade ended the first game on a positive, and winning, note. 

A walk-off? The first game of spring training? How do you react to that?

"I just don't know if everybody knew it was a walk-off," Indians manager Terry Francona said with a laugh. "Everybody was kind of looking around. Nobody knew how to act. Yeah, today was good. [The starters] got three innings just like we wanted. Everybody got an at-bat or two to kind of shake off the rust a little bit."

The win is nice, but let's dig a little deeper into the box-score. 

Tribe Debuts: Michael Bourn was 0-for-1 with a walk, Nick Swisher was 1-for-2 with a run scored and a run batted in, Mark Reynolds was 1-for-2 with a run scored, and Drew Stubbs was 1-for-2. Other at-bats included Jason Giambi, who popped out, Ryan Raburn hitting a solo home run and scoring a pair, and Mike Aviles going 0-for-1. The Tribe's new-look speedy outfield had a mix up early on, but are very aware that's why spring training exists.

Cincy Debuts: Let's not forget that it was Shin-Soo Choo who led off the game, but he did it in an unfamiliar Red uniform. Choo, acquired in the Indians/Reds deal this offseason, was 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored. Also seeing time at second was Jason Donald who went 1-for-2. 

Mike McDade?: Yeah it was Mike McDade who had the lasting hit, a three-run bases-clearing double off Drew Hayes in the bottom of the ninth. It was the only hitter that Hayes faced as Carlos Contreras loaded the bases to get yanked.

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Indians - 13 | Reds 10

[BOXSCORE]

I think it is safe to say what most have been saying.

If the Indians have some pitching, look out. This new-look offense has taken off. Granted it is the confines of Arizona, the Indians are mashing in their first two games.

From the outset, both teams started piling on the runs, with not a single inning going by without either team scoring a run. The Indians scored in all but the third, fifth, and eighth. If there was another inning, who knows what the outcome might have been.

And for a lot of these guys, specifically the ones coming in off the bench in these games, it's about competing and showing what you have.

"You've got to respect that this is like the regular season for these guys," Indians manager Terry Francona said after Saturday's game. "[Raburn] understands that. It's the second game, but it's still nice to see. He's taken a couple of nice swings. It's fun to watch."

He mentions Raburn, because he was the one who likely had the best day of anyone.

Rakin' Raburn: It's been two games, but the former Tiger already has three home runs. Ryan Raburn hit two, two-run homers one in the seventh and another in the ninth to pad the Indians late lead. What a few games he's had already. Inside track to a bench job?

More Runs: Asdrubal Cabrera was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs batted in, and yesterday's hero Mike McDade also knocked in another run. Cord Phelps scored twice and hit a solo home run. Adding a RBI was Juan Diaz who scored a pair and was 2-for-2. Michael Brantley and Jesus Aguilar both had two hits and Lonnie Chisenhall knocked in a run for the second straight game.

Myers goes two: Brett Myers made his debut for the Indians and said he felt fine. He mainly worked on his fastball and changeup, trying to establish those before he incorporates everything else. He noted that the changeup is his fourth pitch, so he's trying to work on it, something he probably didn't need as a reliever the past few years. He went two innings giving up an earned run (two total) off three hits and a walk. He struck out a pair.

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The Cleveland State men's basketball team never got its offense on track on Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center, as the Vikings were held to a season-low in points in a 50-41 loss to Wright State.

CSU's previous season low for points was 47 at Michigan on Nov. 13.

"We defended well enough to win, but we didn't hit any shots," said Vikings head coach Gary Waters. "When you go 16-for-61 [from the floor], you can't beat anybody."

CSU (13-16, 5-10 Horizon League) shot just 26.2 percent for the game and were 4-of-22 on three-pointers. They also missed 10 layups.

"We couldn't get anything going offensively," said Charlie Lee, who led the Vikings with 12 points, but struggled from the floor shooting 4-of-15. "We just couldn't execute on offense." 

Freshman Bryn Forbes, CSU's leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, was held to six points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Despite the loss, CSU still has an outside chance to host a first round game in next month's Horizon League tournament because of Illinois-Chicago's 64-53 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

If UIC (6-8 HL) losses its two remaining conference games, then CSU could get the No. 6 seed, if the Vikings win at Loyola of Chicago on March 2.

WSU (18-9, 9-5 HL), who played without Cole Darling (foot) and Reggie Arceneaux (concussion), weren't much better offensively, as they made the same amount of field goals (16) and three-pointers (four) as the Vikings. But the Raiders held a huge advantage at the line, going 14-of-17 (82.4 percent), while CSU went 5-of-10 (50 percent).

The Vikings were consistently bad in both halves. CSU made just nine of 35 shots (25.7 percent) in the first half and were seven of 26 (26.9 percent) in the second half.

CSU only managed to score 13 points in the game's final 15:38.

"What really hurt us was our bench," said Waters. "Our bench has been averaging 25 points over the last five games, but today we only got two points from our bench."

CSU's bench shot a combined 1-of-13 from the field and were out-scored by their counterparts 19-2.

Waters said what hurt the Vikings was having Marlin Mason in foul trouble.

Mason, CSU's top reserve, fouled out after playing only 11 minutes. He went scoreless.

WSU scored the final four points of the opening half and took a 25-21 lead at the intermission.

A pair of free throws from Lee gave CSU its only lead of the second half 32-31.

With 7:12 left and WSU leading 36-35, the Raiders would start to pull away, using a 11-2 run over the next four minutes to take control of the game.

With Mason sitting on the bench in foul trouble, WSU's bigs took advantage, as juniors AJ Pacher (10 points) and Matt Vest (12 points) stepped back and knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to 47-37 with 3:27 left.

"I got to give [WSU] coach [Billy Donlon] credit because he did a good job of isolating our four and five," said Waters. "They put the four and fives in a position where they can step back and they knew our big kid couldn't get out to guard them." 

CSU would answer back with a four-point play from Forbes to cut it to 47-41 with 2:08 left, but it was too little, too late.

Junior forward Devon Long was the only other Viking in double-figures with 10.

The Raiders also got 11 points from junior forward Jerran Young.