With nearly five months in the Indians organization under his belt, first baseman Mike McDade is finding comfort in his new surroundings. He spent all of 2012 in the Blue Jays farm system, but was put on waivers this past offseason and the Indians picked him up. The IBI's Ethan Day recently sat down to talk to him and gives the details how his adjustment is going with his new organization.

It is Monday, and that means it is time to review some of the hot and some not so hot performances from the past week in the Indians' system. In this week's Hot List, Tony looks at a few starting pitching options in the upper levels of the system with the likes of Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, T.J. House and Danny Salazar that could soon be in Cleveland, the red hot bats of Logan Vick, Eric Haase, Giovanny Urshela, some concerns about Tyler Naquin, and much more.

The Indians' offense has struggled significantly in the early going of the 2013 season, yet the team scored 26 runs in three games over the past weekend en route to a series win over the Houston Astros. Was this past weekend's performance just smoke and mirrors, or could the team's offense be ready to hit its stride? Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he ponders that thought in his weekly notebook, Notes from the Wigwam.

The Indians came in Sunday's game against the Houston Astros needing a win to take the series. They scored 19 runs on Saturday, which was impressive to say the least, but with Ubaldo Jimenez on the hill on Sunday, and the offense struggling overall, nothing was a given. Enter Mark Reynolds, with the bat and with the glove at third base, as the Indians took the game and the series. Join Jim Berdysz for his Sunday Second Thoughts...

The Indians minor league starting pitching had a banner night, with starters in Akron and Lake County pitching extremely well. T.J. House continued do dominate in Akron, and Jake Sisco and Dylan Baker both had outstanding nights in a doubleheader for Lake County. Which of the three were headliners in Sunday's games, and who else made the nightly ATF call here at IBI? Join Jim Pete, to find out the daily minor league scramble...

Cleveland third baseman Mark Reynolds blasted his seventh home run of the season, one of four Tribe shots on the day, as the Indians beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Reynolds hit a 3-2 pitch by former Indians reliever Hector Ambriz off the arches in left field to break a 4-4 tie.

Cleveland Sports Insiders is back on the cyberwaves for our second season talking Cleveland sports. The show is once again hosted by IBI editors Jim Pete and Steve Orbanek, and will discuss all the of the happenings regarding the Cleveland Indians, Browns and Cavaliers...and everything in between. Join us for our second full season on our new night and time...Sundays at 9:00!

The Mudcats certainly have seen the best of times...and the worst of times early in the 2013 season. They started off the year hitting the baseball at a league leading clip. Unfortunately, they followed that up by hitting only .230, with one homer in the second week of the season, and dropped six of seven games. Join Jim Pete, as he goes fishing with your 2013 Mudcats...

The Indians exploded for 19 runs on 22 hits on Saturday night against the Astros. It was a performance that was much needed, but going into the game there were several concerns with the offense. Tony touches on the offensive woes the first two weeks of the season, why today's start is a big one for Ubaldo Jimenez, what is going on with Brett Myers, Travis Hafner's hot start, and more!

The Transaction Rundown is back after a week hiatus, which means twice the fun this week as we recap all of the moves over the last two weeks up and down the Indians system. Michael Bourn went on the DL while Trevor Bauer, Yan Gomes, and Omir Santos all made their Tribe debuts. Those moves and more are recapped...

Finally! After a dismal stretch of baseball that left the Tribe in search of any offense, the bats rang loud in the heart of Texas as Cleveland toppled Houston, 19-6 ending their five game losing streak. Astros starter Philip Humber would record just one out in the first inning before yielding eight runs on eight hits in 1/3 of an inning on Saturday. It was the first time in the last five days that the Tribe not only scored first, but led a ballgame.

There was plenty of action within the Indians' system on Saturday as two teams took part in doubleheaders, and all four minor league affiliates were in action. Starting pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco both had arguably their most impressive starts of the season so far, and Lake County first baseman Nelson Rodriguez continued to impress. Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he recaps all the action and takes you Around the Farm.

The IBI Digest catches you up on anything you might have missed over the past week at Indians Baseball Insider and also notes some of the more popular columns posted at the major news sites and blogs.

The year was 1871. The country was in the shadow of the Civil War and General Grant was in the White House and what some consider the first Major Leagues was founded. The Forrest City Blue Stockings debuted and featured some of baseball's greats such as Deacon White, and IBI history guru Rick Lamborn takes us for a trip down memory lane on how that first season of Cleveland baseball went.

Remember when the Tribe traded for Ubaldo in the middle of 2011? The IBI's James Keene does, and he is not happy with what Jimenez has shown since being acquired. There is no doubt that Jimenez has been a major disappointment, which begs the question: is it time to move on?

The Indians lost to the Houston Astros. That pretty much sums it up. The offense continues to struggle with runners on base and in scoring position. Brett Myers gave up two home runs, but still managed to keep the Tribe within striking distance over five innings. The bullpen was once again outstanding pitching four shutout innings. However, it all came back to the offense and lack thereof in scoring opportunities. The IBI's Jake Dungan gives his "second thoughts" on the game...