GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Things have been decidedly different for Grady Sizemore this spring.

He is batting in a new spot under a new manager and is coming off one of the worst years of his career, a season that ended with two surgeries (elbow and abdominal).

Still, Sizemore has looked like his former all-star self at the plate and in the field, and that’s a good thing for both him and the Indians.

“I’ve felt good all spring,” said Sizemore, who is batting .391 (9-for-23) with a home run, two doubles and nine RBIs in 10 exhibition games after an 0-for-2 performance Thursday in Cleveland’s 3-1 win over the split-squad Seattle Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark. “I haven’t had any setbacks. We took it pretty slow to start off. I didn’t know what to expect after surgery, but everything’s gone well so far.

“I can tell I had surgery, but I don’t feel like it’s holding me back.”

That wasn’t the case in 2009, when an ailing left elbow and left groin plagued Sizemore for the majority of the year and curtailed his production mightily. He hit a career-low .248 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs in 106 games before mercifully being shut down with a month left in the season.

As Sizemore was recovering from the surgeries, he learned his baseball life was about to change, when Cleveland hired Manny Acta to replace Eric Wedge. One of Acta’s first orders of business as the new manager was to move Sizemore to second in the batting order and out of the leadoff spot — a position Sizemore had occupied his entire five-year career.

It was a move many felt was coming at some point in his career, but it was still a change.
“The ability to hit with guys in front of him,” said Acta when asked why he decided to replace Sizemore with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera atop the order. “Gradually, we all know that this guy could potentially wind up hitting lower in the lineup.”

Sizemore has embraced the new spot this spring.

“I’ve actually felt really comfortable in that position,” he said. “I haven’t done anything different than when I was leading off. I still don’t approach it any differently.”

Something else Sizemore hasn’t altered is his approach to the leadership role. Though just 27, he is an elder statesman on a young Cleveland roster, but that hasn’t prompted the subdued Sizemore to consider being more vocal in the clubhouse.

“I just kind of let that come to me,” said Sizemore, who along with Jake Westbrook, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta, is one of the longest tenured Indians on the club. “I go about my business the same as I always have. You lead by example. I don’t feel I have to go outside of myself and become someone I’m not.”

So, when the season gets underway April 5 against the White Sox in Chicago, Indians fans can expect to see the same old Sizemore. Despite the injuries last year, that includes him diving and crashing into walls in the outfield and the overall all-out effort he has always produced.

“I don’t feel like I hurt it doing those things,” Sizemore said. “I’m not going to change the way I play.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Manny Acta said he would begin playing his regulars on a more consistent basis, and the manager was true to his word in an exhibition game against the Mariners on Thursday.

Providing some insight into what the Indians’ lineup would most likely look like to open the season, April 5, against the White Sox in Chicago, Acta had his starters on the field against the split-squad Mariners in a 3-1 victory at Goodyear Ballpark.

Atop the batting order was shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, followed by center fielder Grady Sizemore, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and designated hitter Travis Hafner. The bottom five consisted of third baseman Jhonny Peralta, first baseman Matt LaPorta, second baseman Luis Valbuena, catcher Lou Marson and left fielder Michael Brantley.

Though nothing is official in the catcher and left field spot, both Brantley and Marson appear to the front runners.

It is likely that the only thing that could alter the lineup would be the return of first baseman Russell Branyan, who is still dealing with a herniated disk in his lower back and has yet to make his exhibition debut.

“He’s accelerated his activities,” Acta said of Branyan, who according to the manager, needs to play over the final week of the exhibition season to have a chance of making the Indians’ opening-day roster.

When asked if the lineup he ran out against the Mariners was the one that would take the field against the White Sox, Acta said, “We’ll see April 5.”

Rotation race

Left-handers David Huff and Aaron Laffey, two of the three pitchers vying for the final two spots in the rotation, were on display against the Mariners.

Huff started and allowed a run on five hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings, while Laffey finished the game with four scoreless innings, while allowing just two hits.

In five exhibition appearances (four starts) covering 162/3 innings, Huff has posted a 1-1 record and 4.86 ERA. Laffey is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in five games (three starts) and 142/3 innings.

“They both had their ups and downs,” Acta said. “But at the end of the day, they’re trying to do what we want them to do.”

Acta said nothing has been decided in the competition for the two rotation openings, which includes right-hander Mitch Talbot (1-0, 0.79 ERA in four games and two starts).

Defense, defense

The Indians have played well defensively this spring, entering Thursday with 13 errors in 20 games — the second-fewest in the majors. Cleveland ranked eighth in the American League last year with a .984 fielding percentage.

“Coming into camp, we addressed our defense, because it wasn’t very good last year,” Acta said. “I’m very pleased with our defense, because it’s going to be a big part of our game. We’ve got a bunch of sinker-ball pitchers in the rotation.”

Milton moment

Cantankerous Mariners left field and ex-Indian Milton Bradley made a scene in the fifth inning when he tried to plow over Cleveland catcher Lou Marson on a play at the plate. Bradley used both forearms in an attempt to jar the ball from Marson, who did not go down and held onto the ball.

It was a play that is usually reserved for the regular season, but Acta said he had no problem with Bradley’s maneuver.

“That’s the only way I know how to play,” Bradley said. “I just reacted. There was no ill intention. It was a baseball play.

“If it was anyone else, you probably wouldn’t have asked that question.”

Roundin’ third

Today, 4:05 vs. Colorado at Goodyear Ballpark. WEOL 930-AM. Jake Westbrook (2-0, 4.97) vs. LHP Jeff Francis (0-1, 6.92).

Indians (13-6-2) 3, Mariners (8-13-1) 1 (ss)

Hits

• Starting pitcher David Huff allowed five hits and three walks but only one run through 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander worked out of a number of jams during the outing.
• Designated hitter Travis Hafner reached base in all three of his plate appearances with a single, double and a walk.
• Left-hander Aaron Laffey didn’t allow a run and just two hits over the last four innings of the game.
• Left fielder Michael Brantley produced Cleveland’s only RBI with a double in the fifth inning.

Misses

• Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and catcher Lou Marson each went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.
• First baseman Matt LaPorta went 0-for-3 and failed to pick a ball that would have completed an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

Branyan sighting

Though he did not play and has yet to make his exhibition debut, first baseman Russell Branyan (herniated disk lower back) was in the dugout for the first time this spring. Manager Manny Acta said Branyan has accelerated his activities in hopes of playing over the final week of the exhibition season, a deadline Acta has placed for Branyan to make the opening-day roster.

Attendance

3,534 at Goodyear Ballpark.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

Indians (13-6-2) 3, (ss) Mariners (8-13-1) 1

Hits: Starting pitcher David Huff allowed five hits and three walks but only one run through 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander worked out of a number of jams during the outing. … Designated hitter Travis Hafner reached base in all three of his plate appearances with a single, double and a walk. … Left-hander Aaron Laffey didn’t allow a run and just two hits over the last four innings of the game. … Left fielder Michael Brantley produced Cleveland’s only RBI with a double in the fifth inning.

Misses: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and catcher Lou Marson each went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. … First baseman Matt LaPorta went 0-for-3 and failed to pick a ball that would have completed an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

Branyan sighting: Though he did not play and has yet to make his exhibition debut, first baseman Russell Branyan (herniated disk lower back) was in the dugout for the first time this spring. Manager Manny Acta said Branyan has accelerated his activities in hopes of playing over the final week of the exhibition season, a deadline Acta has placed for Branyan to make the opening-day roster.

Attendance: 3,534 at Goodyear Ballpark.

LORAIN — Police are seeking a man who robbed a West 24th Street couple at gunpoint and stole their car and robbed another man less than five minutes later overnight.

The first robbery took place about 10:38 p.m. in the 2300 block of West 24th street, where a man and his girlfriend had just returned home from shopping. As the woman went inside, the man was unloading bags from his car when a black man dressed all in black came up, put a gun to his head and demanded everything the victim had, reports said.

The man, 35, gave his $200 cell phone to the robber, who then demanded the keys to the man’s Buick Regal. The man told police the robber repeatedly threatened to kill him. After the man handed over his car keys, the robber ordered him to walk away, again threatening to shoot the man and anyone inside the house if he returned.

The bandit then fled down West 24th Street before disappearing on Sunset Drive.

The victim told police he did not know the man but said he recognized his eyes.

About five minutes after police arrived at the scene of the first holdup, a Lorain patrolman checking reports that the assailant was driving the stolen car toward Admiral King High School was flagged down by another robbery victim at West 23rd Street. Reports said an 18-year-old male told police he had just been robbed at gunpoint as he walked near West 23rd and Sunset Boulevard.

Reports said the robber came up behind the teen and asked for a cigarette, after which the man showed a revolver, pointed it at the man’s head, and demanded his possessions. The teen turned over a $280 cell phone, after which the robber ran to a Buick Regal parked down the street and drove off.

The Buick Regal was later found abandoned in a driveway in the 1400 block of Madison Avenue. Police suspect the robber left the car in a hurry, as a computer and knife were left inside.

The suspect was described as six-foot-one, wearing gray or black pants, a black hooded sweatshirt, and black ski mask that showed only his eyes. The robber’s gun was described as a black .38 caliber revolver.

No one was injured in either holdup, police said.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.