Indians’ Pitchers and Catchers Report, Team Ticket Packages Reduced

Though many players have been in Goodyear, Arizona for a week or two, today is the official day for Cleveland Indians pitchers and catchers to report to Tribe Spring Training.

Jordan Bastian has been down at the team’s facility in Goodyear, attempting to learn the names of a few players – as unofficial sessions are done without names on the backs of jerseys – with each passing day.  Naturally, all eyes are on Grady Sizemore who the team is hoping can return to form following two injury-plagued seasons; last season saw Sizemore’s slate end prematurely with left knee surgery.

Bastian reports that Sizemore has not experienced any setbacks and is still aiming to return for opening day, but the team will not push it if he needs an extra week or so of rehabilitation.  Sizemore stated that he wants to play in “the end of October or the end of September — not just at the beginning of April.”  But in the event that Grady can not go on a given day, look for Michael Brantley to move to center field with Austin Kearns getting the bulk of the time in left field.

For more notes, including updates on Carlos Santana, Fausto Carmona, and Orlando Cabrera, I recommend catching the rest of the report.

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With that said, the Indians front office has also had a bit of an update revolving around Spring Training as 2011 will reportedly be a “Focus on Fan Value.”

Nearly half of the seats within Progressive Field will be at a reduced price compared to last season, with nearly a quarter of the park being reduced by at least $8.  Bleacher seats will be $10 for every game (and are already sold out for Opening Day), and the team’s tiered system will allow fans to get Diamond Box seats – the best seats in Progressive Field – for as little as $35 per seat during “Super Value” games.  Interestingly enough, the team has included the series against the Boston Red Sox within this tier.

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And to end on an interesting note, the Indians will only be giving away one bobblehead this summer and it is of former Tribe Manager (and current Tribe Advisor) Mike Hargrove.  While we insinuated that Hargrove’s hire was based on nostalgic purposes, the fact that he received the bobblehead treatment over any current player is pretty surprising.  Perhaps the team is tired of fan reaction on bobblehead nights for players who have been traded within the last 24 hours.  Even the Cavaliers have two bobblehead nights this season and their rosters size is a third of that of the Tribe.  Apparently, all that analytical research has gone for naught.