Jordan Brown gets no respect, no respect at all

Outfielder Jordan Brown will need arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in his meniscus in his right knee. Jordan will likely miss four to eight weeks, and any shot that he had of making the Indians has gone right out the window.

Tell me there isn't a small part of you that doesn't think that Jordan Brown is cursed. Don't get me wrong, the kid has had a promising career. We all know that he won the MVP of the Carolina League in 2006. We all know that he was named rookie of the year and MVP of the Eastern League in 2007. Still, you have to wonder what has happened since then?

Remember Victor Martinez? VMart won both the Carolina and Eastern League MVP's, and was heralded as the future of the franchise. Like Brown, VMart was viewed as lacking in defensive prowess, but whose offense would overshadow any catching deficiences. Brown? Well, he's been treated like second-hand clothing. If Rodney Dangerfield had a line about being a baseball player, he'd likely call himself Jordan Brown.

After an injury-filled 2008, Brown was left off the 40-man roster. Brown rebounded in 2009 with a strong season, batting .336, with 15 homers and 67 RBI. It did get Brown a spot on the 40-man roster, but no realistic chance at any playing time in Cleveland. The Indians thought so much of Brown that they signed left-handed first baseman Russell Branyan. With Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe all vying for outfield playing time, and Andy Marte likely ahead of him as well, Brown may never find himself in the majors with the Indians.

Hopefully Brown will find a way through the cracks at some point, because he's too good a player to be stuck in Triple A Columbus.