Leo: “We need to schedule our schedules”

The Indians have released the minor league spring training schedule, here’s when, where, and who the Clippers will be playing in Arizona:

Friday, March 16^th vs. Nashville (Milwaukee)
Sunday, March 18^th at Round Rock (Texas)
Monday, March 19^th vs. Louisville (Cincinnati)
Tuesday, March 20^th at Albuquerque (Los Angeles NL)
Wednesday, March 21^st vs. Albuquerque (Los Angeles NL)
Friday, March 23^rd at Louisville (Cincinnati)
Sunday, March 25^th vs. Louisville (Cincinnati)
Tuesday, March 27^th at Albuquerque (Los Angeles NL)
Thursday, March 29^th vs. Charlotte (Chicago AL)
Friday, March 30^th at Nashville (Milwaukee)

Home games played in Goodyear, AZ
All games start at 1:00pm Arizona time

Every Monday evening at Huntington Park will be a Sugardale “Dime-A-Dog Night”. Here are those dates:

April 9^th vs. Indianapolis, 6:35pm
April 30^th vs. Pawtucket, 6:35pm
May 21^st vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 6:35pm
June 11^th vs. Charlotte, 7:05pm
June 25^th vs. Lehigh Valley, 7:05pm
July 16^th vs. Louisville, 7:05pm
July 30^th vs. Rochester, 7:05pm

* While we’re on the subject of schedules, here is a look at the Huntington Park promotional schedule. Keep checking back as things are being added all the time!

* When the Clippers visit Toledo, the broadcast will be originating from new surroundings. The Mud Hens are renovating the Fifth Third Field press area, to create a club area for fans to view the game from behind home plate. We’ll let you know how it looks when the Clippers arrive in the Glass City on April 21^st .

* Former Clippers catcher Damaso Espino has signed a minor league contract with the White Sox. Espino, 28, played in 2009 and 2010 with Columbus. He’s a career .266 hitter over twelve seasons. Damaso is the cousin of Clippers pitcher Paolo Espino. He actually aided in bringing Paolo’s family to Florida from Panama when the younger Espino was still in high school.

* Carlos Pena signed a one year, $7.5 million deal to return to the Tampa Rays last week. That means the Indians will likely either pursue Casey Kotchman to fill the perceived void at first base or they’ll enter spring training with the options they already have in the organization.

Matt LaPorta is the incumbent, but his struggles have opened the door for someone else to grab the job. Carlos Santana will see some time at first, but not on a regular basis. Shelley Duncan is thought to be another part-time option.

* Are you energetic and available during summer evenings? If so, you should join the Clippers on-field promo team. You’ll get to mingle with mascots Krash and LouSeal, throw t-shirts to the crowd, and serve as judge/referee for the many on-field, between innings, competitions at Huntington Park. Sounds like fun to me! Contact Seth Rhodes at srhoades@clippersbaseball for more info.

* Jorge Posada announced his retirement on Tuesday. I’ve often said if there was a Clippers players version of Mount Rushmore, Posada would be on it. He put together a 17-year big league career, which included five AL All-Star Game appearances. He finished with a .273 average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs in 1,829 games, including five World Championships.

Posada was never thought of as a superstar like Clippers teammates Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams, but he served as the glue for some tremendous Yankees clubs. He played three seasons at Cooper Stadium (’94-’96), suiting up for 306 games.

* Thursday night I’ll be serving as the MC for the Wright State University baseball banquet. The keynote speaker is none other than Indians reliever Joe Smith. Smith is a Wright State graduate (just like myself) and he follows former Seattle General Manager Bill Bavasi, Reds manager Dusty Baker,  Reds broadcasters Marty Brennaman and Jeff Brantley, George Foster, Steve Garvey, and Jim “The Rookie” Morris as featured speakers at the event.

Wright State, a member of the Horizon League, has made two of the last three NCAA Tournaments and three appearances over the last six years.

* Only 72 days until the Clippers open the season against the Louisville Bats. If you haven’t purchased tickets yet, what is wrong with you? Seriously, what’s the problem?

* According to sportsfangraph.com, the Clippers are 10^th among minor league baseball teams in Facebook and Twitter followers. If you haven’t jumped on board yet, check out the “Hometown Heroes” on these many social media platforms:
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
Google +
YouTube

Check back for more soon!