The Indians have completed their coaching staff and released the names of who've they hired to accompany Terry Francona in the dugout in 2013. Baring of course Sandy Alomar Jr. getting a managerial job elsewhere of course, but that looks to be very unlikely at this point with teams bringing in their favorite candidates and Sandy not really garnering much interest.

Mickey Callaway has been named the team's new pitching coach, replacing interim coach Ruben Niebla. Former catcher Kevin Cash will be the bullpen coach while to no one's surprise Brad Mills will coach third base and Mike Sarbaugh will be at first. Ty Van Burkleo will be the team's hitting coach.

Callaway will be the name other than Mills and Sarbaugh that Indians fans should be most aware of. Callaway has been in the Indians system for a few seasons now, most recently as the team's pitching coordinator for the minor leagues in 2012. He's been with Lake County and Kinston and pitched as recently as 2009, including a stint with the 2002 champion Angels. He has some high regard in the organization and has quickly moved up the ranks as a pitching instructor.

Rounding out the pitching staff is Kevin Cash, a former catcher for Toronto, Boston and Houston. He has actually played for both Francona and Mills as a player, most recently in 2010 for the Astros. He was Tim Wakefield's catcher back in 2008 and Boston's full-time backup, so clearly there is already a good relationship between Francona/Mills and Cash and that this was a hire that you could estimate Francona made himself.

We all know about the success of Mike Sarbaugh in the minor leagues and that his inclusion on the major league staff is a long time coming. He should be an asset for the club as he is gets some valuable experience on the major league diamond. He should be a major league manager one day and the fact that the Indians have him, a former manager and long-time bench coach in Brad Mills at third, and a manager-in-waiting in Sandy Alomar Jr. all on their staff under Francona is a huge plus.

Rounding out the entire staff is new hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo, who replaces Bruce Fields at the major league level. He seems to be not only more of a Brad Mills guy, but just a nice fresh face from outside the organization or the Francona tree. He spent time last season as the interim hitting coach for the Astros taking over when Mills' staff was released. He was the hitting coordinator for Houston for several years after being a bench coach in Seattle under Don Wakamatsu and a hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics from 2007 to 2008. He has just five major league hits to his name, but an extensive coaching resume since 2001.

The Indians have signed an outfielder!

Simmer down now, it isn't what you think.

The Tribe is going into International waters once again, jumping over to Asia to ink 18-year-old outfielder Takuya Tsuchida to a deal. He's a faster guy with athleticism who can apparantely also play second base. Perhaps he's a possible answer to the left field hole. With more room in the international spending cap, the Indians signed their second Asian player this offseason.

You remember the last time the Indians ventuerd down the Japanese path. It didn't go so well in signing Masahide Kobayashi. But he was a more established veteran who was expected to make an immediate impact. Where as the Indians have had more success with their young signings out of Asia. Currently Chun Chen is moving up the ladder and if not for an injury this past season, CC Lee might have made some sort of impact out of the bullpen. 

But let's not also forget the famed Kaz Tadano. Let's not forget, but let's just not go there.

Tsuchida joins fellow Japanese signing Naoki Hashimoto, who is a pitcher, in prospects the Indians have signed this year out of the international pool.

Other notes about Tsuchida include that he is a left-handed hitter and will be in spring training with the minor leaguers. He's very much a high school signing at this point and it will be years before he is even close to contributing, if he even makes it that far.

Another week, another Cleveland Browns player placed on season-ending injured reserve.

This time it is defensive lineman Emmanuel Stephens, who was placed on IR on Tuesday with a neck injury suffered in Sunday's win against San Diego.

Stephens joins linebacker Scott Fujita and left guard Jason Pinkston on the list of Browns players who are done for the season with injuries.

Stephens played in all eight games for the Browns this year, getting nine tackles. His biggest play was a strip-sack of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton that helped preserve the Browns first win of the season.

This is the second year in a row that Stephens has wound up on the IR list. Last year, a torn pectoral muscle knocked him out after 11 games.

(Photo by ClevelandBrowns.com)

The Cleveland Browns placed linebacker Scott Fujita on the injured-reserve list Wedesday, ending his season and possibly his career.

Fujita has been inactive the past two games with a neck injury that reportedly could lead the 11-year veteran to retire.

“I think retirement decisions, those are personal, whether it’s coaches, players," Browns coach Pat Shurmur said in his Wednesday press conference. "I think those are discussions you have with your loved ones, about is it time? For a player at times, that decision is made for you. If you’re no longer on a roster and you don’t get picked up, eventually it kind of sets in. I think we all want to be in control of our own situations. I think that’s fair to say. I think it’s fair to say that most of us aren’t. I think that’s the reality of it. To me, uncertainty in the world, tells me that, ‘Hey, we’re moving along.’”

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The Cleveland Browns placed offensive lineman Jason Pinkston on season-ending injured reserve on Monday.

Pinkston was hospitalized on Thursday where a blood clot was discovered in his lung. Pinkston reportedly had been having difficulty breathing and other symptoms for about two weeks before doctors discovered the clot.

“I don't even think that’s a conversation where he’s talking about being done,” said fellow lineman John Greco, who will take Pinkston’s spot in the lineup. “I know he wants to be out there as soon as he can. Like I said all along, Jason’s just trying to figure out what’s going on with him right now, and we’re behind him. So anyway we can help, (we) will.”

The Browns signed offensive lineman Jarrod Shaw off their practice squad to fill out the roster and also signed offensive lineman Bryant Browning to the practice squad.

Browning spent the first six weeks of the season on the practice squad of the 1-5 Carolina Panthers before being released on Oct. 16.

Pinkston started 16 games as a rookie last season and the first six games of this season before missing the game against Indianapolis.

If you didn't know who Kenny Guiton was before Ohio State's (just short of miraculous) victory over Purdue in OT on Saturday, you certainly do now.  I don't think it's unfair to say that Ohio State is essentially a one-man show that begins and ends with the play of Braxton Miller, their sensational sophomore quarterback.  On Saturday, in typical Ohio State-Purdue fashion, it was an ugly showing for the school Ohio's capitol city.

Two big plays from Purdue, one from the special teams and another from the offense, appreared to have sunk Ohio State's aspirations at being perfect in lieu of a Bowl apperance, a feat that the NCAA has banned them from achieving.  Miller's best and worst moment of the game came at the end of the 3rd Quarter, when he broke off a run for 37 or his 47 yards rushing on the day.  His best run would be his last play of the game, and some worried it would his last of the season.

Enter Kenny Guiton, that Ohio State backup QB who has not caused a stir on Twitter this season.  The Buckeyes fourth-year Junior, playing the first meaningful snaps of his collegiate career, could not finish what Miller started, and a Drew Basil missed field goal attempt left Ohio State down six with 14:12 to play.  After the Joe Bauserman experience a year ago, Guiton's struggles surprised no one, but it was a wonder that he was even there.

There's nothing glamourous about the recruitment of the Aldine Eisenhower HS (Houston, TX) product.  He was only offered a scholarship after Tajh Boyd chose Clemson over Ohio State in 2009, just a week before signing day.  He was home sick the day Ohio State's recruiter visited his school in Texas, and his eventual recruitment was just a day spent watching film. (Source: @KyleRowland (Eleven Warriors))

Eighteen months ago, if you believed what his teammates told Bucknuts in anonymity, he was as good as gone...

"He's knows he's too good to never play," an OSU player said. "Once they dropped him to third on the chart, that was a clear sign to him. And he knows it's probably only a matter of time before Braxton passes him, too. [Guiton] didn't tell me he was definitely going to leave, but he said he's looking into things."

And...

"He's gone," the player said of Guiton. "He wants to play and he knows he's not going to play here. He's still thinking over things and won't make a final decision until summer, but I just don't see him coming back. The chances of him playing are not good and all he wants to do is play. He likes it here at O-State though, so we'll see. But I'm pretty sure he's going to transfer."

After the missed field goal, a Purdue drive stalled, but they were able to pin the Buckeyes deep in their own territory, and forced a penalty in the end-zone for safety.  The two points stretched the deficit to 8 with ten minutes to play.  Guiton struggled on the next possession, which ended with an interception, and the clock had become a serious issue at that point.  However, Purdue couldn't get anything going, and he got one last crack at it from his own 39 with 47 seconds on the clock.

Urban Meyer told his quarterback, "you're going to win us a game", and that's exactly what he did.  It started with 39 yard completion to Devin Smith, and eight plays later, he was hitting Chris Fields in the end-zone to set up the tying conversion.  Though the offensive line begged the staff to pound it in with Carlos Hyde, they had faith in their Heisman candidate's understudy, and brilliantly drawn up play for tight end Jeff Heurman tied the game at 22.

As you know, the Buckeyes won in OT to extend their undefeated record to 8-0.

Per CBS Sports:

Cleveland Browns starting left guard Jason Pinkston remains hospitalized with a blood clot.

Coach Pat Shurmur said after Friday's practice that Pinkston is being treated for the condition, but provided no further specifics about Pinkston, a second-year guard from Pittsburgh.

Several of his teammates visited Pinkston on Thursday night, and Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas said "it's a little bit scary" to see a teammate who is ill. Shurmur would not say where Pinkston's blood clot is located and he does not know how long the 25-year-old will be sidelined.

Pinkston started last week against Cincinnati but became ill and was replaced by John Greco, who played the entire second half. Greco will start Sunday against Indianapolis.

Even though some might claim that Greco played better last week than Pinkston has all season - and at the very least there's not much drop off - it would be truly boorish of us not to wish Pinkston a speedy recovery.

Matt LaPorta underwent surgery on Thursday. It was arthroscopic and on his left hip, however he'll be out three to four months. 

That's it folks, thanks for reading!

Seriously does anyone really care? LaPorta has reached the status of "call me when he has a meaningful major league at-bat that results in something other than disappointment. LaPorta is just that, a large disappointment.

After arriving in the CC Sabathia deal just a few years ago, LaPorta has not lived up to what was expected of him. A right-handed power bat that would man the first base position for years to come. A regular All-Star, someone who would nail down the cleanup position in the middle of a lineup.

Yeah about that.

Now he's going to spend his entire offseason recovering from surgery to his hip. He couldn't crack a lineup that could not find a suitable left field option (a position he plays) and didn't inspire enough confidence for the Indians to not sign Casey Kotchman to play first base from the start of 2012. 

So what makes anyone think that he has any hope to be a factor in 2013? He did nothing at the major league level and yeah, he had some fun in Columbus, but when has he not had fun in at the minor league level? 

He can't hit the curveball and has a hole in his swing. He is not ever going to be what the Indians hoped and now he is out of options and going to need to knock off the rust of not being able to work out in the offseason. If he is clear to go all-out and is 100 percent by the maximum designated time, he is still already behind everyone else.

This may be the end of the road for Matt LaPorta as we know it. It's been real Matola, see ya, when we see ya.

Or when you suit up for the Colorado Rockies Triple-A team in two years.

Rejoice for now Cleveland, Sandy Alomar Jr. appears to be staying put. Although it is not a guarentee that he won't take a managerial job if offered, Sandy Alomar Jr. will not be leaving the Indians to join another staff unless he is in line for a promotion. Alomar told MLB.com he would accept Terry Francona's offer to join his staff.

Right now, Colorado and Boston are filling vacancies, with the Red Sox having interviewed Alomar Jr. last year, one would presume they'd at least target him as a candidate once again. Boston has not scheduled an interview with Alomar, having already interviewed former Indians Tony Pena and scheduled meetings with DeMarlo Hale and Brad Ausmus. The big name in the Rockies search is current player Jason Giambi.

With Alomar apparantely on board, it looks as if the rest of the staff will start to roundout. News leaked from Brad Mills himself that the former Astros manager will be signing with the Indians this week. He would naturally fill the spot of Steve Smith, who appears to be leaving on his own accord to watch his son play his senior year of college baseball. Also leaving is Bruce Fields, who reporetedly has latched on somewhere else already.

So far, both casualties of the coaching staff seem to be voluntary as the fates of first base coach Tom Widenbauer, interim pitching coach Ruben Niebla, and bullpen coach David Wallace are up in the air. You would expect Terry, like with Mills, would like to bring in some of his choices to round out his staff, but we will see.

It would also be interesting to see if the Indians make a press for Mike Sarbaugh to be involved in the major league staff some way. Of course a dream team of Francona, Alomar, Mills, and Sarbaugh would be preferred by most, we will see how things actually shake out.

Ultimately, it appears unlikely that Alomar is going anywhere in 2013. With only two jobs being open, and neither really hotly pursuing him, it appears he'll be an Indian once again. 

For what it's worth, the Colorado job seems like it is danger zone. I would avoid that at all possible if I was Sandy. The fact that Jason Giambi is in the mix seems like... Well that just doesn't seem like a good idea.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita has a neck injury that both Fujita and the Browns fear may end his 11-year career.

Fujita did not play on Sunday with what was reported as a shoulder injury, but had played in the team's previous four games, totaling 14 tackles and one sack.

During his time in the NFL, Fujita has played for Kansas City, Dallas, New Orleans and Cleveland, the 33-year-old Fujita has racked up 767 tackles and 23.5 sacks.

If the report turns out to be true, it will cap what has been a frustrating year for Fujita, who has battled the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell over his alleged role in the New Orleans Saints' bounty program.