Baseball players are supposed to play baseball. That sounds like a simple idea, but that tautology does not always hold. More often than we all realize, injuries affect players and prevent them from reaching their full potential. Plus, pitchers are all time bombs waiting to explode. Add it all together and you get where Akron Aeros right-hander Austin Adams was last year. Jim Piascik recently talked to Adams about missing the whole season, the journey back, and how things are going for him in 2013.

For the first time since 1954, the Indians won a ballgame in the City of Brotherly Love, routing the Philadelphia Phillies and lefty Cole Hamels 10-4 on Wednesday. A 17-game winner just one season ago, Hamels (1-6, 4.61 ERA) went just five innings, giving up five runs on six hits for his National League-leading sixth loss of the season. Join Jim Berdysz as he recaps how Cleveland roughed up Hamels and split the two-game series Wednesday afternoon.

Justin Masterson can be an ace? I don't know that the peripherals necessarily match up, but if he continues to throw like he did on Monday, the Indians may have just found the guy that can carry the load for the 2013 Indians in that capacity. Regardless of numbers, Masterson is important to the future of the stability of the rotation. Join Jim Pete at the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario as he talks Masterson's future, Mickey Callaway's early brilliance, and the hunt for "Orbanek's fifteen minutes of fame."

The Lake County Captains went 2-4 since last Wednesday with one rainout, and the offense is still attempting to heat up. It has not been pretty offensively for Lake County this season, but there are a few bright spots in the lineup and on the pitching staff as well. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps the week that was for the Captains...

It was just one of those nights. There’s really no other way to describe it. After a two-run single by Michael Brantley in the second inning, the Indians batters did nothing despite having multiple scoring opportunities including a leadoff triple by Asdrubal Cabrera in the seventh inning. Scott Kazmir was okay but the bullpen allowed a few runs late to put the game out of reach. The IBI's Jake Dungan shares his second thoughts on the game...

It was a busy night around the farm on Tuesday as the Clippers played a 14-inning marathon while a number of other Indians affiliates took home rough losses. Despite the negatives, there were some positives as #WashTime continues to impress and Chun-Hsiu Chen recorded two more RBIs. Join the IBI's Arthur Kinney as he recaps all the action and takes you Around the Farm.

The stagnant Indians' offense continued to struggle Tuesday as the team scored just two runs and fell 6-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies. Scott Kazmir took the loss for the Indians, which have managed to scored just three runs and record 17 hits across their last three games. Join the IBI's Jim Berdysz as he looks back on all the action from Tuesday's interleague contest.

In this week’s first edition of the Happenings, I provide an update on what is going on out in Arizona with several players participating in extended spring training. I recently had a chance to sit down with the player development staff and discuss several players and I provide lots of comments from them on players such as D’Vone McClure, Josh McAdams, Tyler Booth, Kieran Lovegrove, Luis Lugo, Dillon Howard, and more. I also provide the details on Cord Phelps’ new role, the plans for Danny Salazar this season, and insight and info on the likes of Tim Fedroff, Jordan Cooper, Enosil Tejeda, Jake Sisco and more.

Smoke Signals is back on the cyberwaves tonight from 10:00pm – 11:00pm EST. In tonight's episode, Tony and Jim discuss the Indians recent run to first place and if the hitting, pitching and defense that have all been stellar of late can stay that way, the recent demotion of Lonnie Chisenhall, some thoughts on the bullpen involving David Huff and Nick Hagadone, and even some minor league updates.

Taking things one game at a time, the Akron Aeros made their way up to .500 over the past week and into a tie for second place in the Western Division of the Eastern League. As we approach the 40-game mark -- a point where we can start to leave small sample size caveats behind -- the Aeros seem to be finding their stride. To find out exactly how the Aeros did over the past week and everything you need to know about the team, join Jim Piascik and go Launching Off With The Aeros.

Monday at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario featured a traditional doubleheader against the Yankees, and a few people were actually there to see it and everything! The Indians scored a grand total of one run, but managed to split the day, thanks to the team's best pitching performance of the young campaign. The IBI's Kevin Dean provides his "second thoughts" on the matchup...

The Columbus Clippers were the only team in the Indians' organization that managed to pull out a win on Monday night, but that doesn't mean there weren't some interesting games, good and bad, from some of the organizations top prospects, and top surprises as well. The headliners tonight certainly won't disappoint, as we have a nice mix of those guys you'd expect to see, and those you can't believe you are seeing. Join Jim Pete for Monday Night's ATF.

It was a tale of two similar, yet totally different ballgames in the makeup doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Monday. When the dust settled, Cleveland would split the twin bill between their AL East rivals as both games came via the shutout. One word to describe game one: Masterful.

Baseball is full of the unexpected, and for Lake County Captains’ reliever Michael Peoples, the surprises started the day he was drafted. He was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round on the 2012 draft and to date has pitched well in his brief professional career. He is enjoying a good start to his season at Low-A Lake County, and the IBI's Stephanie Metzger recently caught up with him to discuss his start.

The IBI Hot List is back for another week and recaps the hot (and some cold) performances in the Indians system over the past week. This week Tony provides some insight and info on the recent hot performances from the likes of Danny Salazar, Ryan Merritt, Dylan Baker, Nick Pasquale, Justin Toole, D.J. Brown and others, and yes, he also looks at the recent cold showings from the likes of Dorssys Paulino, Ronny Rodriguez, Elvis Araujo, and others.

It was quite a week for the Cleveland Indians as the Tribe completed a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics and then took two out of three from the reigning American League Champions, the Detroit Tigers. Pitching and offense both played key roles in the team's strong week, and the IBI's Steve Orbanek recaps all of the action in the weekly IBI staple, Notes from the Wigwam.