Russell Branyan Will Start for the Indians

Some happy news coming out of Arizona today, as the word from Indians manager Manny Acta is that Russell Branyan “will get the majority of the playing time (at first base)”. This isn’t necessarily a big surprise, but it’s really nice to hear, as myself, and I’m sure a lot of you, really grew to like Russell over the course of 2009. And why shouldn’t we? He came in at a very low price and hit 31 home runs. At the beginning of this off season, most of us, myself included, really anticipated Branyan returning to the M’s for at least another season, so the fact that he’s officially gone is a bit saddening, but it’s really tough not to be happy for him. All he ever wanted was enough playing time to show that he can handle starting, and he’s now going to get that opportunity for the second year in a row.

Good luck, and thanks for all the fuck blasts, Russell the Muscle.