Truck Day Marks Beginning of Journey for Tribe Indians' Longtime Driver
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Truck Day marks beginning of journey for Tribe Indians' longtime driver Fisher has trip down to science to help team prepare for Spring Training By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | February 3rd, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Ed Fisher looks forward to this day every offseason. The Indians' longtime driver knows that when he pulls out of Progressive Field, his truck emblazoned with Cleveland's logo on the trailer packed to the gills with baseball equipment and more, his journey to Arizona marks the beginning of the Tribe's journey through the season. "I like being a part of it," Fisher said. "I really do." On Friday morning, Fisher and his crew were busy in the bowels of the ballpark, stuffing a pair of 53-foot trucks with items that the Indians require for Spring Training. The trucks were set to embark on the three-day trek to Goodyear, Ariz., where the Tribe's staff is aiming to unload the semis on Tuesday to help the players get started out in the desert. The trucks are filled with bikes, weight-room equipment, personal belongings of players and staff, sunflower seeds, bottled water and much more. There was one pallet of gum, which may or may not have been only for Cleveland manager Terry Francona. When the trucks were nearly full, Francona did have one very important item rolled into the back of one of the trailers. "We need the scooter!" yelled an Indians clubhouse worker. A few minutes later, another team employee zipped through the tunnel on Tito's black moped. Things have changed a lot for the Tribe's clubhouse crew since the days when the team trained in Winter Haven, Fla. The facility in Arizona is modernized and operational year round. That allows the Indians to ship items -- such as the 1,500 baseballs needed for the preseason -- directly to the complex in Goodyear. That creates more space on the trucks for Tony Amato, Cleveland's home clubhouse and equipment manager, to fit items requested by the players and staff. Typically, Amato and his workers begin the process in October, but the Indians' deep 2016 postseason run added a wrinkle to the usual program. Within 48 hours of the Indians' loss in the World Series, Amato was working on the long to-do list in preparation of Spring Training. "[Truck Day came] a lot quicker, and [there were] a lot more challenges," Amato said. "From a logistics standpoint, as soon as the season was over, it rolled right into budgeting and ordering within two days from when the season ended. From that end, it was a lot more challenging from our end. But we got through it." What is Amato's biggest challenge every year? "Just making sure we have everything," Amato said. "There's stuff in the offices we have to grab. There's stuff in the weight room, from the trainer's room, people even bring ballpark mustard down here, to merchandising. We have to coordinate all that stuff. Scoreboard shoots. There's always stuff left behind." Fisher, who has been driving the trucks to Spring Training for the Tribe for a decade now, called this "the best day of my life every year." With nearly 3 million miles driven in his career, Fisher has this trip down to a science. He averages between 600-650 miles per day and plans out his stops in advance. With the Indians' logo on the side of his truck, Fisher hears his share of honking horns and shouts throughout his journey. And when he finally pulls into the Tribe's headquarters in Arizona? "I love it," Fisher said. "It's great. And it's a beautiful complex." If the Indians win the World Series this year, Fisher will feel like he played a role. "I feel like I've had a hand in it every year," said Fisher, who then let out a hearty laugh. "How are they going to do Spring Training without me? I've got all their stuff." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Source: Indians further bolster bullpen with Logan By Jason Beck / MLB.com | @beckjason | February 3rd, 2017 The Indians, already boasting one of the most reliable bullpens in baseball, added to it Thursday with Boone Logan. The veteran lefty agreed to terms on a one-year contract with a club option for a second year, pending a physical, MLB.com has learned. MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal first reported the agreement. The club has not announced the deal. The 32-year-old Logan becomes a second lefty for manager Terry Francona, but he'll be used in a different fashion than workhorse southpaw Andrew Miller. Logan is a more traditional lefty reliever, notoriously tough on left-handed batters. They hit just .142 (15-for-106) with 40 strikeouts against him last year with Colorado, where he spent the past three seasons. Right-handed batters didn't fare much better off him, batting just .211 (12-for-57), but in far fewer at-bats. Add up the matchups, and Logan went 2-3 with a 3.69 ERA, one save and 27 holds, allowing just 27 hits over 46 1/3 innings with 20 walks and 57 strikeouts. Francona hinted at such an addition during TribeFest last month, hoping to ease Miller's workload. "Having a second lefty would be great," Francona told reporters, "but it also has to be a guy that can do what's asked when asked. In a perfect world, you have one, because then you potentially let Andrew not get up as much." Logan, an 11-year Major League veteran, began his career in the American League Central, spending three seasons in the White Sox bullpen. He returns to a division with different left-handed hitters to confront, including Royals sluggers Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon, along with familiar Twins star Joe Mauer. Jason Beck has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2002. Read Beck's Blog, follow him on Twitter @beckjason and listen to his podcast. Lindsay Berra Kluber a workhorse even in offseason Ace training hard, hoping Indians can 'finish it off' in 2017 By Lindsay Berra / MLB.com | @lindsayberra | February 3rd, 2017 HUDSON, Mass. -- There is a quote painted on the wall at Cressey Sports Performance in big, bold red letters that no one can miss. It reads: "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." Underneath it, on this overcast and frozen first day of February, Corey Kluber is putting in his work. There is no disputing the talent. The lanky Cleveland Indians right-hander -- who features a breaking ball so tricky no one knows if it's a curve or a slider, plus a two-seamer to make Greg Maddux drool -- won the 2014 American League Cy Young Award and won two games against the Cubs in the 2016 World Series. But there are no accolades without the everydays, and today, Kluber will put in a three-and-a-half-hour training session, which I had the opportunity to participate in. "Corey understands that what we do in the weight room is a means to an end," says Eric Cressey of Cressey Performance, who has been training Kluber in the offseason since 2010. "It's not just about lifting heavy weight or trying to impress people on social media or randomly putting a number out there that you want to hit." Kluber has made more than 30 starts and pitched more than 215 innings in each of the past three seasons. In 2016, he added six more starts and 34 1/3 more innings in the postseason. Kluber attributes his durability, at least in part, to the offseason training he does with weighted baseballs. Though weighted balls are viewed by some as a controversial training tool, Kluber has been using them with Cressey from the get- go. "Training with the weighted balls helps me build a solid base for my arm and shoulder strength, and it helps me to be ready and where I need to be when Spring Training comes around, so I'm not caught playing catchup," Kluber says. "The day after throwing for the first month of the offseason was always pretty tough, and I feel like my recovery from throwing is easier when I'm using the weighted balls as opposed to when I wasn't. They also keep me from getting too long with my arm action and help me to find my natural arm slot. The weighted balls just really help me to get ready for the year." Kluber warms up his shoulder with a 32-ounce ball. Then, he does walking windup drills with an 8-ounce ball before doing most of his throwing work -- 75 or so tosses -- with a standard 5-ounce ball. His throwing partner is Royals pitching prospect Luke Farrell, son of Red Sox manager John Farrell. Following that throwing session, Kluber goes back to the weighted balls for some more aggressive work with balls from 6 to 9 ounces, as well as an underweight 4-ounce ball. "Just because we're making some throws with an 8- or 9-ounce ball, you can't lose sight of the fact that Corey will be making the bulk of his throws with a standard 5-ounce ball," Cressey says. "The weighted balls get all the love because they're controversial, but in reality, we still throw the 5-ounce ball more than anything else." Afterwards, Kluber continues his training session with a workout designed by Cressey to build general athleticism; the goal is to teach the body to move efficiently, build strength, then layer power on top of that before focusing on specific, baseball-related skills.