The only thing better than Opening Day is Home Opening Day. And in honor of the home opener, I'm sitting on my butt at home waiting for my beer to chill and the game to start. No news today could be better than the first baseball in Cleveland since October, but I'm gonna try anyway.
Indians news/Home Opener miscellany
Kluber's success due to ditching 4-seamer | Fangraphs - If it seems Corey Kluber has come out of nowhere with to rise to the #2 starter spot, his abandonment of the 4-seam fastball may tell the story. The more efficient sinker, combined with good offspeed stuff, is a recipe for success.
Celebrating the first 20 years of Progressive Field, planning for the next 20 | Indians.com - Castrovince touches on a little bit of everything, from the history of the ballpark to the sin tax, to plans for future stadium upgrades.
Tom Hamilton's Top 10 moments in Progressive Field history | Indians.com - A bit cliche, but it's a nice recap of some of the stadium's best moments and a trip down memory lane. I suspect we could come up with a 10 of our own that's just as good, though, and with some unique color to boot.
Restored League Park set to open in July | Cleveland.com - The original home of the Indians, and the site of some iconic baseball moments, has undergone $6.3 million of renovations and is set to open this summer. I've mentioned it before here, but it's worth mentioning again - tossing the ball around on League Park grounds (with our very own Evan Dawson) before the renovation started was a surreal and beautiful moment (sidenote: please, please avoid comments on this story if you value your sanity).
The good and the bad from Oakland | Wahoo's On First - Not much that hasn't been said and discussed already on LGT, but it's worth hearing another perspective.
Lake County Captains 2014 roster full of promise | Did The Tribe Win Last Night- Despite Francisco Lindor moving onward and upward, there's still a lot to look forward to on this year's Captains roster. Man, I miss going to Captains games.
Opening day weather since 1901 | Cleveland.com - Not nearly as bad as I expected. CleCom has also compiled a the Tribe's opening day results since 1901, along with historical box scores.
Around the league
25 year anniversary of Ken Griffey Jr's debut | CBS Sports - There may never be anyone quite like him again. My lifelong favorite (non-Indian). Perhaps no other player in history evokes as many "if only he stayed healthy" hypotheticals, yet the dude still managed to hit 600 homers.
Risk evaluation in young pitcher contracts | Fangraphs - With the long-term extension for Chris Archer in the books, Fangraphs examines why it makes sense for pitchers to take the money and run while they're young.
Cubs may exploring selling minority shares to finance Wrigley renovations | CSN Chicago - I say they should do whatever it takes. Historic "gem" or not, that place is a hellhole.
The best possible team in baseball | Sports On Earth - One of those fluff articles that's linked here for debate purposes only. Really uninspired choices for from SOE here.
Closers sucking so far in 2014 | CBS Sports - It's not just Jim Johnson, apparently. Appreciate the Ax Man, folks!