Spring Training Notes, Tuesday, February 19th - 19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

GOODYEAR, AZ- Today was the first day of live batting practice. It's when the pitchers take the mound against various hitters who stand in the cage. It's a lot like regular batting except for the fact that it's actual Major League pitching, and not a coach throwing them in there. The hitters are in groups of four or five and rotate around the various practice fields taking cuts of whichever pitcher is throwing that session.

Trevor Bauer was putting his long-toss program on display. Throwing to a guy on the right field foul line, Bauer moved from right-center, to center field, to left center field and has even thrown from foul pole to foul pole. It's a program that some teams do not really approve of. The Arizona Diamondbacks bristled at it and it lead to some friction between the team and the player. The Indians don't mind it at all, they want him to be comfortable doing what he's doing. Bauer was acquired in the Shin-Soo Choo trade.

Terry Francona said today he does not know who his Opening Day starter will be. Some managers name their starter early in camp, others prefer to wait. Francona said he wanted to see how things shook out in camp, plus you never know about things like injuries. It would be a surprise if it were anyone other than Justin Masterson or Ubaldo Jimenez. Masterson likely has the inside track.