A.M. Cleveland Indians links: Grady Sizemore expected back to start 2011

Grady Sizemore is expected to be ready to start spring training with the Indians in February 2011.

Cleveland, Ohio -- With five games remaining in the 2010 season, the Indians are already looking and planning for the 2011 season. Of course, being 26 games out of first place as of today, they COULD have been planning since mid-June.

Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon-Journal is reporting that one of the missing stars from this season -- outfielder Grady Sizemore -- is healing well from microfracture surgery on his knee and should be ready for spring training in February. But fans might want to use ink to write him in as the Tribe centerfielder.

Grady Sizemore is expected to be ready for spring training in February after recovering from microfracture surgery on his knee. Michael Brantley has played center field in his absence and shown he can perform at a high level.

So which player will open the season in center and which player will be in left?

''We won't even think about those decisions until Grady gets healthy,'' manager Manny Acta said Tuesday. ''Grady was just in Vail [Colo.], and everything went well.'' Sizemore visited the Vail clinic of Dr. Richard Steadman, who performed the surgery, for a progress check.

Cue John Fogerty: "Put me in coach / I'm ready to play / center fieeeeeeeeld."

Yesterday once more
Starting Blocks admits an affinity for some aspects of the good ol' days, when baseball was played in the summer sunshine, pitchers batted (and could actually hit)  and mitts, not mittens, were part of the uniform.

We don't miss the segregation, but we DO like the whole idea of old-school doubleheaders. Today, the Tribe and Tigers are doing the "let's play two" thing at Progressive Field because of Tuesday night's rainout.

The first game starts at 4:05, the second, 20 minutes after the first ends. This is only the second time this season that the Tribe has played a traditional doubleheader. But gee whiz, what a great thing. The Indians' Curtis Danburg said those who held tickets for Tuesday's game may exchange it for tickets to today's doubleheader, or for a single game in April or May 2011. Tickets for today's game will actually be good for both games of the twin bill.

By the way, the last game is the last time you'll see the Indians at Progressive Field until 2011. Which could be a boon or a bane, depending on your perspective.

From The Plain Dealer
Just because the Tribe was off doesn't mean beat writer Paul Hoynes was. His story in today's paper centers on the inspiration Indians manager Manny Acta takes from the memory of his late adoptive brother, Fernando. Fernando told Acta he'd be a big-league manager when the Tribe skipper was still a base coach with the Mets. Just before Acta was named manager of the Washington Nationals, Fernando died of a brain aneurysm.