It's baseball season, which offers a nice change of pace to my daily routine, now characterized by school, election coverage, and the spare time I spend gaming. I am a huge fan of Cleveland Indians Baseball, and I've decided I'm gonna do a bit more coverage on the blog this year. I hope the regulars don't mind it. This year should be an interesting one, with the Indians coming back with a pretty similar team, spear-headed by amazing pitching and a dynamic lineup. The difference is, the team that came one game from the World Series will now be facing a tough challenge from the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. The story, as written on the Indians site:

In some ways, the pressure to repeat has been relieved for the Indians by the moves the Tigers made this offseason. Despite having the AL Central title banner hanging at Progressive Field, the Indians will enter this year as underdogs in the estimation of many onlookers.

They'll also enter the year enjoying remarkable familiarity with each other. The Indians took the rare opportunity in professional sports to return virtually their entire team, the one that walked off the field after a Game 7 loss to the Red Sox in last year's AL Championship Series.

As I watch and listen to all the Indians games this year, I'll be following them on Let's Go Tribe, a great site dedicated to the progress of Cleveland's finest. The site offers some unique perspectives on the team from some of the best amateur writers on the net. With all that said, before the Indians season officially begins (Opening Day is today, 3:05 PM Eastern start), here is my official prediction for the year:

The Cleveland Indians win the American League Central going 101-61, securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They face the AL West's champion, The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS, winning the series 3-0. The Wild Card Detroit Tigers beat the AL East's champion Boston Red Sox to set up an AL Central matchup. The Indians best the Tigers in the ALCS 4-2. The Tribe goes on to beat the NL champions, The Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the World Series, keeping the curse alive, and bringing glory to Cleveland. That's my Opening Day prediction.

An over-the-hill pitcher has decided to endorse an over-the-hill Presidential candidate. Surprising? I think not. I just like when celebrities (including sports stars) come out of the closet as Republicans. There are a lot more of them than you'd think. The video, via Hot Air, of the Schilling endorsement:

Fire this one under un-frickin-believable. This one doesn't have a political tint to it, so I couldn't file it under Liberal Lunacy. As far as I know, the sportswriter Bill Conlin, the subject of the story, is a Conservative, or Independent, or a GREENIE! Ok, maybe not a greenie, but he is a lunatic. Check out this quote from him, via Ace of Spades HQ:

The only positive thing I can think of about Hitler’s time on earth–I’m sure he would have eliminated all bloggers. In Colonial times, bloggers were called “Pamphleteers.” They hung on street corners handing them out to passersby. Now, they hang out on electronic street corners, hoping somebody mouses on to their pretentious sites. Different medium, same MO. Shakespeare accidentally summed up the genre best with these words from a MacBeth soliloquy: “. . .a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. . .”

Hitler should've killed Thomas Paine! Oh wait, no, that was before his time, but he was a pamphleteer so he should've died! Oh, wait again, he helped with the foundation of this country! I'm sorry, but it's hard to treat this man seriously when he goes out and says ridiculous things. For the record, the argument was over whether Rollins should've won the MVP, and the blogger said no. If it was up to me, it would've went to Holliday. Just my two cents.

Grady Sizemore is one of my favorite Indians players. He combines terrific defense, great outfield range, and tremendous hitting, for both power and average. If he had a better throwing arm, he'd be a 5-tool player. Add a Gold Glove, the most prestigious mark of amazing defense, to Sizemore's record.

Sizemore has earned a reputation for making plays in the outfield that are of the superhero variety, and that representation was solidified Tuesday when he was given his first Rawlings American League Gold Glove Award.

Managers and coaches from each Major League club vote for the best defensive players in their respective leagues and are excluded from voting for players on their own teams. Sizemore joined the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki and the Twins' Torii Hunter in landing the AL outfield honor in '07.

Congratulations to Grady Sizemore. Sorry for more sports coverage, but expect more if more Tribe players win awards.

GAME ONE: Indians Crush Yankees, 12-3