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Happy Monday, Tribe fans. On to the day's news and notes:
Indians news
Jason Giambi a perfect fit for his role as mentor | Indians.com - Tracy Ringolsby profiles Giambi the Grey in his role as the elder Tribesman, discussing his baseball life before Cleveland and how he fits in among the young Indians. In my mind, Jason Giambi is the guy you point to when discussing whether or not PEDs have ruined the game - he's as likable as they come, PEDs or not.
Is there one good season left in Giambi? | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? - Bob Toth has his own profile of the Giambewok, discussing his importance to the team despite the lack of obvious statistical dominance. Maybe it's just the big moments from 2013, but Giambi does seem like a special type of player that we really haven't seen in a while.
Atchison looks to make team, prove whippersnappers wrong | Indians.com - Bastian profiles the Tribe's latest incarnation of Eddie Harris - Scott Atchison, 37 year-old relief pitcher. Atchison has been everywhere, to Japan and back, and has his sights set on a roster spot this year.
Francona thinks Bauer can become "dominating" | Cleveland.com - In a video interview, Tito discusses Trevor Bauer's performance so far. He is confident Bauer's hard work will pay off "at some point this year." I think that'd make us all happy campers, eh? Francona also has some notes on Ryan Raburn's health and batting Asdrubal Cabrera leadoff.
Santana at 3B "not a finished product" - five observations | Cleveland.com - Zack Meisel with his regular "five observations" column has some interesting tidbits from Terry Francona about the Carlos Santana 3B experiment. In some ways, he's reiterating what we already know - Carlos is a work in progress, but always willing to work hard. Meisel also wonders: OMG can Michael Brantley hit .300?!?!
Greatest Summer Ever: Chad Ogea | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? - Part of their ongoing series, DTTWLN looks at Chad Ogea's 1995. Sharing this mostly because I remember coming home from a Tribe game disappointed with Chad's autograph after being snubbed by Manny Ramirez.
Around MLB
Twins make three year offer to Ervin Santana | CBS Sports - Minnesota enters the game alongside Baltimore and Toronto, but word on the street is that Santana will still look for a one-year deal unless he can get something in the neighborhood of $50 million. Good luck, buddy.
De Aza a trade chip for White Sox | Boston Globe - Nick Cafardo writes that the Sox are willing to trade Alejandro De Aza and are getting some interest so far. He does, however, write that the Tigers are also listening to trade offers for Rick Porcello, but...
Tigers have no interest in trading Porcello | Detroit News - So who knows how seriously we can take Cafardo, but Dave Dombrowski quashed the rumors decisively.
Pharmaceutical drug use prevalent in minors | Fangraphs - Interesting stuff in the Fangraphs Sunday notes column, where an anonymous retired minor leaguer discusses his heavy usage of non-PED drugs that, um, enhanced his performance.
Is Grady Making the Grade? | Sports on Earth - Another long, agonizing profile on Grady Sizemore's attempted comeback, accompanied by several more agonizing pictures of him in Red Sox gear. Jason, what is the cutoff date where we're not legally obligated to link to Sizemore stories anymore?