It's that special time of year again that brings hope back to the weary in the cold urban wasteland that is Cleveland, Ohio. In Goodyear, Arizona it's always sunny (although a little chilly) and the optimism flows freely for 2013 version of your Cleveland Indians. Pitchers and catchers have reported to the desert for the unofficial start to the 2013 season. This year the pitching staff can be split into two parts, the rock steady bullpen, a unit that has been developed and honed for the past four seasons and a starting rotation full of question marks.

New pitching coach Mickey Calloway will have his hands full as every single pitcher has at least issue that needs to be worked out. Ubaldo Jimenez is the biggest problem as he holds the greatest difference between risk and reward. His biggest issues seem to be involved in his control, but like ace Justin Masterson, he could benefit by reigning in his delivery a little bit in an effort to remain consistant on the mound. Zach McAllister and Trever Bauer are simply young pitchers that need to work on maintaining and increasing their limited success to this point and avoiding a back slide. Bauer especially needs to continually work to make sure his quirks don't affect his performance on the mound. Carlos Carrasco is coming back from Tommy John surgery, making him one of the biggest question marks of all. Whenever a pitcher is coming back from such a significant operation it takes a long time to get back into stride and Carrasco had yet to really peak before his injury set back. He hasn't faced Major League hitting since 2011, so it will take some major work this Spring to bring him up to speed. The Indians are also bringing a lot of veterans into the fold including Brett Myers, Scott Kazmir and Daisuke Matsuzaka to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.

Overall, Indians fans should just be happy that baseball is returning and winter is coming to a close. They should also remain positive and remember, the Indians can't lose a game for another two months.

While not a pitcher or catcher, Ryan Rayburn is in Goodyear and ready to work hard trying to win that coveted utility infielder role.

Fans (autograph hounds) wait patiently in the hopes of catching a glimpse of such stars as Jerry Gil and Brian Jeroloman.

*2/10 Added Jason Giambi & Daisuke Matsuzaka

In order to fill up the Spring Training roster and possibly find some gems in what was a very shallow free agent class, the Indians have invited a few players to Goodyear that are not on the 40 man roster. Because these players are generally lower level or career minor leaguers or has-been Major Leaguers, Burning River Baseball will provide you with a primer, helping you learn about the new kids in camp.

Infielders

Luis Hernandez

Hernandez is essentially a AAAA middle infielder, bouncing from AA to AAA and the Major Leagues from 2006 to the present. Most of his time over the years has been spent at short stop, but he has a decent amount of experience at second and has played a little at third as well. Since the Indians have a very durable short stop and second baseman, he would have to make the team as the reserve corner infielder, extra outfielder and pinch runner. His stolen base efficiency is nothing to get excited about however, and Mike Aviles looks to be a super utility man, making a player like Hernandez seem unnecessary.

Brian Jeroloman

Jeroloman has been a catcher in the Blue Jays minor league system throughout his entire professional career, but is yet to make the pros. Toronto initially had high hopes for the young catcher, but as the years went by, he was passed over multiple times and ended up spending most of 2012 back in AA after making it to AAA for the first time in 2008. Now the Jays have officially given up on him, so the Indians will allow the 27 year old back stop to play catch with Indians pitchers this Spring. There is a good chance he will be out of the organization again by April, but in the meantime he will be able to bring his years of minor league experience to help along the Indians minor league pitchers and the other former Blue Jay, Yan Gomes.

Ryan Raburn

In an effort to "add depth to the utility position" the Indians are bringing former Tiger, Ryan Raburn to Spring Training. Rayburn is one of the worst all around players in baseball. Last season Raburn hit .171 in 66 games in what was either a fluke season or the beginning of the end of his career. The best case scenario with Raburn looks to be that if he returns to form (like when he hit .256 in 2011 with 14 home runs), he will provide a good versatile utility man for the Columbus Clippers.

Matt LaPorta

I refuse to write a section on LaPorta just because he is a non-roster invitee this you. You all know who he is. I just hope he doesn't take at bats away from young players like Chris McGuiness, Jesus Aguilar and Mike McDade who the Indians should be seriously taking a look at.

Omir Santos

Santos is an older back-up catcher heading into his age 32 season. He has only played in the Majors for four professional seasons for a total of 121 games. His best season was a pretty solid year for the Mets in 2009 when he hit 14 doubles and 7 home runs. He will most likely just be an extra backstop during the first week after pitchers and catchers report when there are many more pitchers ready to throw than there are catchers to catch them. The idea of a 32 year old rarely successful catcher passing both Marson and Gomes on the depth chart seems outrageous at this point.

Jason Giambi

In an effort to increase the average age of the Indians roster, the Tribe has invited the 42 year old former AL MVP into camp for a chance to win the designated hitter role. After failing to secure Travis Hafner or Jim Thome to low cost contracts, Cleveland brought in Giambi with a minor league deal with a maximum salary of $750,000. Giambi hit just a single home run while batting .225 last season in Colorado and doesn't have a huge chance of making the team, but unlike the majority of the people listed here, he doesn't have much competition either. He could be used at the beginning of the season as the starting DH until another player shows they are ready for the position.

MiLB Invites

Jesus Aguilar - 1B
Roberto Perez - C

Outfielders

Cedric Hunter

Hunter is a centerfielder that was originally drafted by the Padres and most recently played in the Cardinals organization. He has spent the last three seasons at the AAA level, but is yet to make his Major League debut. His numbers have been ok, but not great by any standard and he will probably never be a Major Leaguer. His best attribute is that he doesn't strike out too much. In fact, he has walked more than he struck out in each season starting in 2010. This is a big turnaround from his first couple years, where he was striking out almost twice as often as he walked. There is essentially no chance of Hunter making the Indians or any other team this Spring.

Matt Carson

Carson has played in AAA since 2008 while playing in the Yankees, Athletics, Rays and Twins farm systems. The 31 year old has hit more than 150 home runs in his minor league career and almost 600 RBI. Carson has spent the majority of his time playing right field, but since he is past his prime, there is little chance of him improving with a jump to the pros. Unless signing aging minor leaguers is a new branch of the Cleveland Indians Charities, this signing makes no sense.

Nate Spears

Like the other two outfielders, Spears is a long-term minor leaguer that has yet to make his Major League debut. The Indians must have at least five players already in the system, but not on the 40 man roster that are more talented and closer to the Majors than any of these players. Hopefully, these three MiLB lifers will not be taking at bats away from those players (like Tim Fedroff, Jeremie Tice, Tyler Holt and others).

Ben Francisco

In the most exciting Spring Training signing, Ben Francisco will be coming back to compete for an outfield bench position on the 2013 Indians. With no favorite designated hitter or second utility man as of yet, Francisco actually has a decent chance of rejoining the Indians. He was a fan favorite while with the team prior to being traded to Philadelphia with Cliff Lee. While he hasn't been the same player since leaving Cleveland in 2009, he is still able to produce a little power and great defense from a bench role.

Jeremy Hermida

The former Marlins prospect will be in camp with the Indians after a disappointing career to this point. He spent most of the last two seasons with San Diego, but only played 43 total games at the Major League level during that time. Early in his career he showed a lot of power, hitting 43 home runs over three seasons with Florida, but he has only hit eight since leaving the Marlins prior to 2010. He is essentially a cheap chance for the Indians as they hope he can play somewhere near the level he was originally projected to. With the Indians still without a designated hitter, they could possibly hold on to Hermida as a platoon DH/PH against right handed pitchers.

Pitchers

Fernando Nieve

Nieve is a relief pitcher that is not only younger than most of the other invitees (at 30 years old), but has much more Major League experience (99 games over four years). While he is by no means a good pitcher, he could be used on the roster if the Indians lost about six pitchers to injury or trade before the season starts. His greatest use would be in AAA, waiting for a chance if someone else fails at the highest level. Nieve hasn't been in the pros since 2010 and spent the last two seasons in the AAA as a starting pitcher (between the Astros and Dodgers).

Jerry Gil

Gil is a reformed infielder who converted to pitcher in 2008. Since converting, he has played in the Reds and Blue Jays minor league systems, playing all of last season in Las Vegas. He went 7-1 as a reliever, but was not as impressive as that would seem, keeping an ERA around 5.00 and a WHIP over 1.30. He is nowhere near the talent level it takes to be in the Indians bullpen, but he should continue his progress as a reliever in Columbus.

Edward Paredes

Paredes will be playing away from Seattle for the first time since being signed prior to the 2006 season. He spent 2012 away from American Baseball, but is attempting a comeback after pitching in the Dominican Winter League. He is essentially a left handed match-up reliever, but isn't particularly good at what he does. Through six minor league seasons, Paredes has thrown 444 innings and allowed 230 runs. Like the vast majority of Spring Training invites, Paredes only future with the Indians will be in the minor league system.

Joe Martinez

Martinez is back (played with Columbus in 2011) in what was one of the more confusing signings of the offseason. He will be 30 years old by the time training starts and has pitched in just 19 total games in the Major Leagues. Since 2011, he has thrown in just a single inning and allowed two hits and a run. A much more common place for Martinez to be is AAA, where he has spent time every year since 2009. During those four seasons he held an ERA of 4.59, incredibly non-impressive for a very old minor leaguer.

Scott Kazmir

Kazmir has the most professional experience of any of the invitees and is the most likely to make the team. After years where the majority of the Indians rotation consisted of left handed pitchers, the Indians have none slated to start during 2013. If Terry Francona decides the Indians need a left handed starter, the options are between Kazmir, Scott Barnes and David Huff and they would likely take the fifth place in the rotation instead of the recently recovered Carlos Carrasco. All three left handed options seem to be inferior to Carrasco, but there is still the option of using a left handed starter.

Matt Capps

Capps is an exciting late edition to the Indians Spring Training group. He has more major league experience than just about any relief pitcher in camp, breaking in with the Pirates in 2005. He has also been a very successful closer, saving 138 games in total with at least 14 saves in each season since 2007. Also impressive is the fact that he has more seasons with an ERA below 2.75 (4) than seasons above 3.75 (3). Most recently Indians fans should know him for his time in Minnesota where he recorded 45 saves and held a 3.61 ERA through parts of three seasons. He is a great (and thrifty) pick up for the Indians in an offseason that saw some relievers signing contracts in excess of $20M. Capps immediately has a legitimate chance of making the bullpen depending on his play during March.

Rich Hill

In an effort to take a flyer on every single washed up pitcher available, the Indians are bringing for Cub prospect Rich Hill into the mix. In 2007 Hill had a pretty good season when he pitched almost 200 innings, striking out 183 batters and holding and ERA of 3.92. In the five seasons since then, he has pitched just over 100 total innings. Last year he saw a slight resurgence with the Red Sox as he pitched 19 innings in 25 games. It seems unlikely that Hill will ever start again since he allowed a 7.80 ERA in 2009 the last time he started a single game (he started 13 that year). He could be used as a left handed reliever, but is not much of a match-up pitcher (allowed .340 OBP to LHB in 2012 and .333 to RHB).

Daisuke Matsuzaka

The pitcher who cost the Red Sox over $100M ($51M posting fee plus more than $50M in salary) to secure is coming to Cleveland for a fraction (just $1.5M if he makes the team with up to $4M in incentives) of the cost. The former Nippon League (and World Baseball Classic) superstar. Boston didn't get anywhere near their monies worth as he had a cumulative WAR of just 8.3 through his six years with the team. Last season was a lost year for Matsuzaka who was recovering from Tommy John surgery, but looks to be yet another very low risk/high reward player trying to make the Indians rotation this Spring.

MiLB Invites

Preston Guilmet
Matt Langwell
Giovanni Soto (Also Participating in WBC)

Ed McKean was the longest tenured Spider and the only player to stay with the team from their first season through their second to last in 1898 when he and the rest of the good players were sent to St. Louis. In his career he outpaced every other pre-American League Cleveland baseball player in almost every single career stat. In fact, the only positive counting stat he didn't rank number one in was walks, where he ranked second. This all should seem a foregone conclusion when you see that he played in 500 more games than any other player. Even compared to modern players, McKean would rank in the top two batters in games, at bats, runs, hits, triples, RBI and steals.

McKean was one of the more powerful members of the Spiders, hitting six or more home runs seven times including a team record nine in 1898 (he also set single season Spider records for RBI (133) and triples (24) in 1893). Over his career he had a smooth transition, starting as a speed player and changing over to power as he aged. In his first three seasons he stole 76, 52 and then 35 bases all while his batting average, doubles and RBI increased. He had a significant peak from 1893 through 1894 seeing a dramatic increase in run production, average and a jump up in his speed numbers as well, hitting 24 triples in 1893 and stealing 33 bases the next year.

McKean wasn't a perfect player despite his gaudy offensive numbers as he did have one significant failing. He ranks tenth all time in career errors with 892, twice leading the league in this negative stat. However, back before the modern baseball mitt, errors were much more common, making it very hard to compare this stat with modern players. Poorly maintained fields and no stadium lighting also contributed, but this is an important thing to keep in mind when considering what look like great Earned Run Averages by the Blues and Spiders pitchers.

In 1899 McKean was moved to the St. Louis Perfectos along with the rest of the Spiders who had talent (including Cy Young, Nig Cuppy, Patsy Tebeau, Cupid Childs and Jesse Burkett). This was his last season and he only played 67 games in it after averaging almost 130 games per year while with Cleveland. He died less than 20 years later in 1919 at the age of 55.

Al Lopez was a Major League catcher during his playing career which spanned three decades, playing in almost 2,000 games and making it to two All-Star games during that period. He spent that duration with the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Bees and finally with the Pittsburgh Pirates before ending his career by playing 61 games in Cleveland. Of course, he did nothing during his lengthy playing career to garner any Hall of Fame interest.

After ending his career in Cleveland, Lopez was brought back as manager in 1951, taking over for player manager Lou Boudreau (the most successful manager in Cleveland history). Lopez picked up just where Boudreau left off, setting a new record for highest career winning percentage in club history. After three 90 win seasons, Lopez pulled out the greatest regular season in baseball history, winning 111 games (.721 winning percent) in 1954. What followed was what is considered one of the greatest let downs in sports history as the greatest team in MLB history was swept in the World Series by Willie Mays and the New York Giants.

The next two years Lopez still pushed his team to great finishes, but they never returned to the World Series and Lopez left the team in 1957 as part of the exodus from Cleveland. He then spent the rest of his time in baseball managing the Chicago White Sox. In his managerial career, Al Lopez won 1,410 total games with his two teams, placing him 25th in Major League history. In his Indians career, he ranks fourth all time in wins behind the Indians two great, World Series winning player managers, Boudreau and Tris Speaker, and Mike Hargrove.

Lopez was inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1977 as a manager by the Veteran's Committee and then into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2006. Al Lopez died in 2005 at the age of 97.

Unlike the positional lists, starting pitchers are being broken down into two separate lists, essentially giving them a top 20 instead of a top ten. This is to make sure not to leave out any of the fantastic starting pitchers the Indians have had over the years and to balance out the numbers of position players compared to pitchers. This particular top ten list is of non-ace starting pitchers. These pitchers often go unnoticed, spending the majority of their careers behind the stars of the team, but definitely deserve some recognition of their own. This list includes a couple of numbers that have been retired by the Indians and a Hall of Famer. Forget about Bob Feller and Stan Coveleski for a minute, here is the rest of the rotation. For this top ten, we will not only be listing the years that the player was a starting pitcher in the rotation, but also the main reason they were not an ace during their career, namely, the player that was the ace.

10. Sonny Siebert - Years Starter: 1965-68 - Ace: Sam McDowell

Siebert wasn't with the team very long and is the only pitcher on the list with less than 1,000 innings pitched, but he earns his spot as a throwback player, posting a career ERA of 2.76 despite playing in the modern age. In fact, he was the first Indians pitcher to hold a career ERA under 2.80 that ended his career after 1917 a feat only accomplished one more time since.

9. George Uhle - 1919, 1921-28 - Stan Coveleski & Joe Shaute

Like the next pitcher on this list, Uhle was a poor average pitcher who managed to stay around for a long time. In his later years, he was preempted as ace by Shaute, who was possibly the worst ace in team history. Uhle's rate stats are the worst of any pitcher listed, but his 2,000 plus innings earned him enough respect to break the top ten.

8. Mel Harder - 1930-39, 1942-47 - Wes Ferrell, Bob Feller, Jim Bagby, Jr.

Harder is the only Indian to get his number retired without making it into the Hall of Fame with good reasons for both. As the longest tenured player in team history, he deserves respect, but his numbers need to be put into perspective as well.  While his counting stats (wins, innings, etc) are among the best of all Indians pitchers in history, his rate stats are among the worst on the list, keeping him low among the top ten. Unlike most of the pitchers on this list who were kept back by one great pitcher (usually Feller, Coveleski, Joss or McDowell), Harder had plenty of chances to take over the rotation for himself, but always took second as a new pitcher became the ace.

7. Jim Bagby, Sr. - 1916-21 - Coveleski

Bagby was an early Indians pitcher and was an amazing innings eater. From 1916 through 1920, Bagby held an ERA under three while throwing more than 240 innings each season. He was undershadowed by the one of the greatest Indian aces ever, Stan Coveleski. In 1920, Bagby set the current Indians record for wins in a season with 31, a record that will never be broken.

6. Mike Garcia - 1950-57 - Feller & Herb Score

The Big Bear had two straight 20 win seasons and four straight with at least 17 wins, but was still pushed back in the rotation time after time, behind Bob Lemon and Early Wynn in addition to those mentioned above. In his career, he is one of very few pitchers to crack 2,000 innings and 1,000 strike outs.

5. Willie Mitchell - 1910-11, 1913-15 - Vean Gregg

Mitchell is another early pitcher who had amazing rate stats and a lot of innings pitched during his Indians career. Mitchell spent a long time with the Tribe and wasn't a great pitcher until his last couple seasons. He spent time as a reliever in between his starting years, setting up his greatest years. He is one of a short list of pitchers who have finished their careers with the Indians with an ERA under 3.00 and a BAA under .230.

4. Earl Moore - 1901-05 - Addie Joss

It's no surprise that half of the 1905 starting rotation is listed in the top ten (the third is in the top 15 and last is inelligible) as pitching was paramount for the early Cleveland teams. There was a large disparancy in talent, as less people played the sport in the early 1900's. Even so, they deserve a lot of credit as they each threw over 1,000 innings and held an ERA under 3.00 for their careers. Moore himself won 82 games, an impressive number considering he only pitched in 161.

3. Bob Lemon - 1948-57 - Feller & Score

Lemon was the closest thing to an ace on this list as he took over for Feller during a two year transition to Score. Even so, he was second or third in the rotation during the majority of career. He ranks first among the non-aces in strike outs and is second to just Harder (who pitched in more than 120 more games than Lemon) in wins and innings pitched. His years at ace were the tie breaker that kept him behind the top two pitchers.

2. Bob Rhoads - 1905-09 - Joss

Rhoads was the best of the early non-ace starters winning 88 of his 185 games and holding the lowest ERA of all non-aces and the fourth best in Indians history. During Rhoads' first four years as a starter, the Indians had an amazing starting rotation and put forth some of the best seasons in Indians history. From 1905 to 1908, the Indians won more than 55% of their games with Rhoads winning 71 games over that span.

1. Luis Tiant - 1964-69 - McDowell

Tiant had a very special year in 1968, setting an Indians record for best BAA and holding an ERA of 1.60. During his time with the Tribe he was incredible, throwing 1,200 innings and maintaining a career ERA under 3.00, something only one starting pitcher (Gaylord Perry) has done since.

Borderline: Guy Morton, Bill Bernhard, Otto Hess, Cy Falkenberg, Willis Hudlin

Bill Bernhard joined the Cleveland Blues in 1902 (after being released by the Philadelphia Athletics) and immediately became the third of Cleveland's three aces alongside Earl Moore and Addie Joss. The trio stayed on top of the league from 1902 through 1904. During that span none of the three pitchers ever held a season ERA over 3.00 or a WHIP over 1.20 (except for Earl Moore in 1902), the best WHIP of the time being Bernhard's 0.94 in 1902 which still ranks in the top ten all time. Each pitcher also won at least 12 games every year during that time.

In 1905 Bernhard fell off after throwing the best season of his career. His ERA ballooned to near 5.00 and he lost more games than he won for the first time with Cleveland (every year prior he had won at least ten more games than he lost). In 1906 Bernhard returned to form one last time, posting a 16-15 record and an ERA of 2.54. During his swan song season, he threw 255 innings, dropping his BAA (.235) and WHIP (1.11) back to respectable dead ball era levels.

In his career, Bernhard ranks in the top five Indians ever in ERA an is ranked among the top Cleveland starting pitchers of all time. He left the Naps in 1907 after pitching just 42 innings and bounced around the minor leagues for a few seasons before leaving baseball altogether. Bill Bernhard died in 1949 at the age of 78.

The Indians still are without a definite designated hitter for the 2013 and have apparently been linked to two former Indians players, Travis Hafner and Jim Thome. In what is a sad state of events for Hafner, both players are essentially at the same point in their career, despite Pronk starting his career over a decade after Thome. Both players have seen decreases in playing time in recent years with neither player playing in more than 100 games since 2010. If the Indians did sign one of the two former Tribesmen, he should be expected to have at least two stints on the disabled list and not be able to play in more than three consecutive games and never in the field.

As much as bringing either former great back into the fold would warm the hearts of Indians fans, the move just doesn't make sense logically at any price. Picture this prospective situation: Pronk/Thome plays DH for game one of a series with Mark Reynolds at first and Carlos Santana catching. The next game would feature Reynolds at DH, Santana at first and Lou Marson/Yan Gomes at catcher. The third game would see Reynolds and Santana back at their prospective positions with either Nick Swisher or the Pronk/Thome combination at DH. Either way the Indians would handle the situation, the new DH would be likely to play in 60 or less games.

The Indians have no obvious great in house options, but given a chance there are a few players who could surprise if given even those 60 games that the Indians would otherwise be overpaying for. Below is a chart that takes a weighted average of the last five years for both Hafner and Thome and the last three seasons (mostly minor league) for two other players. The numbers have been standardized to see what they would produce in 60 games.

These numbers are incredibly close and are all probably over estimates of how these players will perform. The question is, how much are the Indians willing to pay for a player that will at most hit ten home runs and strike out 50 times. The two options listed below are Yan Gomes and Chris McGuiness in that order. McGuiness has never played above the AA level, but is a rule 5 pick, meaning he has to be on the 25 man roster or be relinquished to his old team. If the Indians sign either Hafner or Thome there will likely not be room on the roster for McGuiness. 

Gomes on the other hand should make the roster either way and unlike McGuiness, has had some Major League experience. He is also more versatile, being able to play catcher, first or DH, making him fit in well in the Santana/Reynolds rotation.

No other teams have been linked with either Hafner or Thome to this point. In fact, the Orioles, Astros and Yankees have all announced that they have no interest in the 42 year old DH, despite having holes on their rosters. Because of that, both players have no market driving their price up, although either could decide to retire rather than play for the league minimum. The Indians can't afford to take on a pity player, monetarily or in roster space.

If the Indians do decide to pick one of the two aging players, Thome seems to be the better fit. It would allow him to retire as an Indian (again) cementing his place in the Hall of Fame as a Clevelander, making him even more worthy of the statue being built for him in centerfield. He also is miraculously less injury prone than Hafner despite the longer career and has produced more in the past few seasons. The final benefit of bringing Thome back would be an increase in jersey and ticket sales for nostalgia's sake. This would help pay for his salary, but will not likely last longer than the first month or so, unless he produces enough to deserve his place on the team.

Doug Jones was the first great closer for the Cleveland Indians and maintains the Indians record for most career save opportunities. He happened to come around at the perfect time for closers as for the first time in baseball history, pitchers were put into save situations simply to earn the save, rather than teams using the best pitcher in the most important situation despite the inning. Jones came to the Tribe in 1985 after being released by Milwaukee. After two good seasons, Jones became the full time closer in 1988 and posted one of the best relief seasons in Indians history. Over the next three seasons, Jones set marks in the top ten for save chances each year and saves twice. When he saved 43 games in 1990 it was an Indians record (broken four seasons later by Jose Mesa)

In 1991 Jones struggled over his first 31 games before the Indians decided to turn him into a starter. After making three straight all-star teams and garnering MVP votes in two of the past three seasons, Jones dropped to a 5.54 ERA (his worst ERA as a closer was 2.56 in 1990). This struggle was enough for the Indians to give up on the 35 year old pitcher and he left the team through free agency to Houston. He then pitched eight more seasons between five other teams, with some great seasons and others where he struggled.

In 1998 the Indians traded right handed reliever Eric Plunk to the Brewers in exchange for an elderly Jones and the Indians were able to take him to his first career playoff appearance. After becoming famous with the Tribe and having his best seasons in Cleveland, Jones had finally returned and had another good partial season. At the end of the season, he joined the Athletics for two years, making the playoffs one more time before retiring.

In his career, Jones remains one of the top closers in Indians history and ranks in the top ten in save conversion percent and top five in total saves (just ten behind Bob Wickman). 

2013 is going to be the first season in the history of professional baseball when there are an odd number of teams in each league, making it the first season with interleague play all year. This has lead to a few peculiarities in the Indians schedule this year that make it a little different than the norm.

• Instead of the regular three game series, the first of the interleague series will take place at the end of April (4/30) in Cleveland against the Philadelphia Phillies. It will consist of two, two game series concluding in Philadelphia later in the month (5/14).
• Instead of playing the normal six games against Cincinatti, the Indians will play consecutive road and home series against the Reds (and new centerfielder Shin-Soo Choo) from 5/27-30. This is the first time in my memory that the Indians have played a team on the road, then immediately played them at home. The Battle for Ohio will be played in just four games in 2013.
• Other NL opponents include three game series against the Nationals (6/14-16), Marlins (8/2-4), Braves (8/27-29) and Mets (9/6-8).
• Because of the new scheduling, the Indians will be playing many more four (and two) game series than normal. They have 12 four game series scheduled along with four 6 game series. There were 8 four game series in 2012 and no scheduled two game series. This will make it a lot harder to judge teams by their series win/loss record as there should be a lot more series ties.
• The Indians will be playing against the Houston Astros as an American League team for the first time ever  on 4/19.
• The All-Star break will be four games for the Tribe this year, spanning from 7/15-18. It should be a good vacation for almost every player as the Indians attempt to trade away every player who ever had a chance at playing in the contest.
• The Tribe won't play the Angels and their new outfielder Josh Hamilton until 8/9, making them the last American League team for the Indians to play their first game against.
• There will only be 14 total games against the Red Sox and Yankees, including just seven home games that will all be over before the end of April. These are two of the best selling series for the Indians, so it will be interesting to see if people will show up during the normally cold month of April to see the AL East teams. Last season the Indians averaged just over 11,000 fans per game in April excluding Opening Day, partially because there were no high profile games.
• The season closes out in the cold open air of Minnesota, in what could be a very depressing four game bout if neither team makes any more improvements before the season starts.

Otto Hess was one of the early pitchers for the Cleveland Blues and Naps, pitching alongside Addie Joss, Earl Moore and Bob Rhoads for the original Cleveland teams. Like the others listed, Hess had an incredibly low career ERA, WHIP and BAA, but unlike the others, he was very inconsistant. His 1904 and 1906 seasons were two of the greatest years ever by an Indians pitcher (his 333 IP in 1906 ranks among the top ten all time), but he had a very below average year in 1905 and wasn't able to pitch 100 innings in his other three seasons.

In his career, the good seasons have outweighed the bad, mostly due to the incredible amount of innings thrown in those two great seasons. He remains among the top ten best Indians ever in ERA and innings per game (7.1). His great rate stats do show through, but his wildness is also apparent as he hit 51 batters in less than 1,000 innings pitched. He also ended his career losing more games than he won (each of the other three pitcher peers listed above had a career winning percent of above .545).

 Hess retired after the 1915 season after being released by the Boston Braves. He had originally been let go by Cleveland in 1908 and played in the minor leagues for a few years trying to make his way back to the pros. Hess is the only player in Major League Baseball history to be born in Switzerland. Otto Hess died in 1926 at the age of 47.