Alex Escobar Torn ACL!
 

He's done for the year. Look like Mr Boardgame(Milton Bradley) can breath a little easier.

I just read that - my thinking was that perhaps more time would go to Anderson, now that he could move to center field and Branyan could take up left.

Does this raise both of their stocks a bit, especially if Milton flakes out?

Does Anderson have the legs to play CF anymore? And does he have the bat to play at all anymore? From what I can tell the CF job is Bradley's to lose.

Escobar now looks to be (at best) on the Jeffrey Hammonds career trajectory, which makes the Alomar deal look even worse.

sigh

I really anticipated Escobar making the big club and contributing significantly this year. He was off to a nice spring, going 5-for-10 with a couple of steals. Shady Brady cranked two dingers Monday. He's definitely going to see more at-bats than he might have because of this. Don't forget about Wil Cordero. Given the fragility of Burks and Fryman, Cordero could also see more playing time.

Incidentally, according to the "Akron Beacon Journal," Corey Smith was called up from the minor league camp to play third yesterday. He hit .260-18-85 in 500 at-bats for Class-A Columbus last year. He'll obviously head back down - just an FYI. It seems Cordero missed the game for personal reasons.

If Escobar came up in any non-New York organization in baseball, would anybody care? That this kid is still considered a top prospect mystifies me.

I saw him in Trenton on several occasions over the last few years and I came away very underwhelmed every time. The guy has tools but no heart, no fire, no hustle. A shame.:(

Whether you subscribe to the five-tool or seven-tool theory, you need to add a few more intangible tools like heart, desire and hustle to really gauge talent. Hopefully Escobar uses this time to strengthen his heart and focus while rehabbing the knee.

Hey Ron-

With Escobar out for the year, Brady getting older by the second and Jolbert Cabrera not being able to recover from a bullet in the butt, does Milton Bradley have any fantasy value this year? Could he end up on the good side of a platoon with Cabrera once Brady gets hurt?

Hi John,

Since Escobar is out, I think Bradley will reign supreme in CF as far as the majority of the at-bats at the beginning of the season. Should he falter, then you can look at Cabrera picking up some time. However, when your teammates and coaches are just now talking about how you are "walking" fine after you took one in the buttocks, what does that mean with regard to, I don't know, maybe running around in center field? When healthy he's a very average hitter with a little speed.

Shady Brady, Burks and Branyan will share duties in left field as well as DH.

I took Burks, Bradley and Brady in a draft last night and was quite pleased. I usually shy away from Tribe players because their salaries can get ridiculous if you're playing with Tribe fans. I needed Bradley's potential speed, and Burks and Anderson could post some big numbers when they play.

Just my $.02.