Mitchell: They’re Baaaaaack!

The Cleveland Indians have announced the field staffs for Columbus and Akron. The Double-A Akron Aeros staff remains unchanged for 2012 with Chris Tremie returning as Manager, Tony Arnold as pitching coach and Rouglas Odor as hitting coach.

In the Capital City, Mike Sarbaugh will return as the manager and Ruben Niebla will once again be the pitching coach.  Phil Clark will join the staff as hitting coach. He’s been with the Indians for 5 years prior to the upcoming season. Last season he was the hitting coach at High-A Kinston. The hitting coach position was opened when Lee May Jr. went to the Seattle organization to be their minor league hitting coordinator.

Michael Salazar, trainer and Todd Kubaki, strength & conditioning coach will also return to Columbus.

This group has a pretty tough set of expectations to live up to, after back-to-back IL and National Championships. Of course, coaching staffs have an impact of what happens on the field, but the most important thing is the talent on the ball club. With the departure of both Luis Valbuena and Jerad Head, the Clippers will have to hope there is an infusion of talent from the lower levels that can step in. As Scott mentioned, Juan Diaz looks to be the shortstop for next year, but  there did not appear to be a lot of outfield depth in the organization. The off season signings and losses will of course determine who will be on the Clippers Opening Day Roster, but next, let’s take a look at the probables for the Clippers and how next season shapes up.