Indians Tidbits (2006 season)..

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

4/30/06

Millwood gets help, beats Tribe

Former Indians pitcher leads Rangers to victory

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Saturday night's game looked all too familiar to Northeast Ohio fans, who in 2005 watched the Indians' bats fall silent whenever it was Kevin Millwood's turn to start.
The difference is that last season Millwood was employed by the Tribe.
Saturday night at Jacobs Field, he was the enemy, gunning down the Indians for seven innings, as the Texas Rangers earned a 7-5 win.
In addition to winning the American League ERA crown (2.86) last year, Millwood gained renown as the pitcher who almost never received support from his offense, which resulted in a 9-11 record.
Now that Millwood belongs to the Rangers, who is paying him $60 million for five years, not much has changed.
In his first five starts, Millwood had to make do with three or fewer runs three times, though the Rangers scored six runs in each of his other two starts, one of which he lost.
``It was nice to start off the game with three runs,'' Millwood said. ``It makes it a heck of a lot easier to pitch.''
Millwood has not displayed the fine edge he had last season, at least until Saturday night, when he held his old team to two runs and eight hits. He did not issue a walk but struck out seven and avoided serious threats to his well being.
``He looked like Kevin Millwood,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ``He has a purpose for every pitch and knows what he wants to do with it. Obviously, he has a great deal of ability.''
Only in the fifth was Millwood in any real trouble. Casey Blake doubled to drive in two runs with only one out, but Millwood struck out Grady Sizemore and induced Jason Michaels to bounce out to take the air out of the rally.
``This is the first time I faced a pitcher that I caught,'' said Victor Martinez, who singled twice and drove in a run. ``It felt weird. I know him, and he knows me. But it was a lot of fun. He didn't surprise me. He threw the ball good, like he did for us last year.''
Millwood echoed Martinez, saying, ``It was weird facing guys I played with last year.''
The Indians might have taken a more serious run at Millwood had they not -- for the second time this season -- run themselves into a double play in the third inning.
Ramon Vazquez was on third and Blake on first when Sizemore bounced to first baseman Mark Teixeira.
Vazquez became trapped between home and third, and catcher Rod Barajas took Teixeira's relay and ran down Vazquez for one out.
Blake tentatively crossed the second-base bag and Barajas kept running until he had also tagged him out.
``Vazquez did exactly what he was supposed to do,'' Wedge said. ``But Casey has to keep running to third.''
The rationale is this: If Vazquez gets hung up between third and home, the Rangers might make a play on him rather than turn a double play. If they do go for the double play, Vazquez will score.
Bottom line in reference to Millwood was this: ``What you have to do is take advantage of opportunities. Of course, we know that's when Kevin is at his best.''
Maybe Saturday night was a breakout game for Millwood (2-2, 3.89 ERA), who was treated to his highest run total of the young season. And never mind that he was opposed by a rookie making only his third major-league start.
That would be Fausto Carmona, who was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo after the game, making room for Fernando Cabrera, who has been on the disabled list with a bruised heel.
Carmona (1-2, 7.94 ERA) has been subbing for C.C. Sabathia all month. He has shown an exceptionally live arm, but he still needs polish.
A shaky first inning produced three Rangers runs, as Carmona allowed the first four batters to reach.
He righted himself after that (the final two runs of the inning scored on a force play and a sacrifice fly) and was not scored upon again until after two were out and nobody was on in the sixth.
Whether Carmona began to tire or let down his guard with one out to go in the inning is debatable.
But for whatever reason, Carmona gave up a single to Kevin Mench, a home run to Brad Wilkerson and a single to Barajas before being replaced by Jeremy Guthrie.
In 5 2/3 innings, Carmona was charged with six runs (Guthrie let in one), eight hits and one walk.
``Fausto is going to be a great pitcher,'' Martinez said. ``It's not easy to hit that 94-95 (mph) sinker.''
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

4/30/06

Ocker on the Indians

First 25 games show Tribe can be many things

Offense looks solid, Byrd's control is concern

By Sheldon Ocker

<!-- begin body-content -->The season becomes 25 games old today, yet the Indians already have shown they can be both dominating and weak, hot and cold.
They began the season winning six of seven, then promptly lost 9 of 13. Injuries to Matt Miller, Fernando Cabrera and Rafael Betancourt quickly put a strain on the relief corps, and C.C. Sabathia's pulled abdominal muscle forced the front office to test its claim that Fausto Carmona was ready for the big leagues.
Some things have worked and some things haven't. The Tribe hasn't played enough games to make definitive judgments, but we are beginning to get a feel for what kind of team this will be.
Generally, it looks like the Indians will score. The offense has been solid, even during the bad times, with the exception of a congenital dorkiness against left-handed starters, particularly those whose pitches can be clocked with an hourglass.
This is nothing new. And in the past, the Tribe has lived with the deficiency. Certainly, struggling against southpaws is preferable to being a patsy for right-handers.
In the area of the best laid plans:
• What seemed to be a solid move in signing Paul Byrd to replace Kevin Millwood has turned into the BIG QUESTION MARK.
The root cause of Byrd's 8.03 earned-run average is wildness, an ailment that most observers thought would never plague him.
Until his five-inning, one-walk start on Thursday, Byrd was averaging 4.1 walks per nine innings.
A pitcher with a 95-mile-per-hour fastball or nasty slider might overcome shaky command. Not Byrd. If he gets behind in the count and has to throw pitches over the fat part of the plate, he isn't likely to last long.
What will happen? My money is on Byrd fixing the problem. If he doesn't, there's always Carmona. Or is there?
• Carmona dazzled the Detroit Tigers in his first start, giving up one run in six innings. In his next outing, he looked more like the 22-year-old rookie he is, the Baltimore Orioles thrashing him for eight runs in 5 1/3 innings.
That prompted manager Eric Wedge to skip his next turn, a hint that maybe the Tribe's deep thinkers are having second thoughts about Carmona's readiness, though certainly not his innate ability.
If Byrd continues to struggle, Carmona will get another opportunity, unless Jeremy Sowers passes him by. In the meantime, after Sabathia returns this week, Carmona will be pitching at Triple-A Buffalo.
• Guillermo Mota generally has done a competent job as the setup man, but doing things the easy way hasn't been part of the bargain.
He is delivering an average of 20.5 pitches per inning, and if you want to put that in perspective, consider this: If he were a starter throwing a complete game, it would take him 185 pitches.
For a guy walking around with a time bomb in his right elbow, that is not exactly a positive number.
Because of the team's inconsistency, Mota has been used on consecutive days only twice. But if the Tribe routinely takes leads into the eighth inning, will Mota be able to get to Bob Wickman in the ninth?
• There is a silver lining that accompanies the injuries to Miller, Betancourt and Cabrera: Brian Slocum, Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Davis have received a serious opportunity to audition for jobs.
Davis doesn't need to try out anymore. He has demonstrated that he can remain calm, throw strikes and let his 96-99-mph fastball do the work for him.
I must admit I had doubts that Davis, as a reliever, could command the strike zone and keep his emotions in check. But Wedge believed he could do it, and with practice Davis has mastered the essential elements of self restraint.
Slocum might not be ready to pitch in the majors yet, but Guthrie seems to have regained command of the strike zone with his fastball.
• When the season started, Jason Johnson looked like the weak link in the rotation. He had experienced only one winning season (8-7 for the Orioles) and was reputed to be a guy who would find a way to lose.
But last year, at the behest of the Tigers' pitching coach, Johnson became a sinkerball pitcher, after having thrown a four-seam fastball his entire career. Changing primary weapons has had a transforming effect.
As one American League scout told me earlier in April, ``I used to hate watching the guy. Now, because he's throwing a sinker, he's a totally different pitcher.''
Maybe so. Johnson has been consistently effective to date. Time will tell if he has made himself into a winner.
• Yes, it's early, but General Manager Mark Shapiro's best offseason acquisition so far has been Eduardo Perez, who platoons with Ben Broussard at first base.
Not only has Perez been a pain in the neck to opposing lefties, his presence has given Broussard a chance to face pitchers he has the best chance to succeed against.
The combination has produced a .353 batting average (30-for-85), five home runs and 19 RBI in 21 games.
• Worried about Aaron Boone? Probably not.
Paying the mortgage on time and keeping the dog out of the yard of your neighbor (who has a pet mountain lion) take priority.
Nevertheless, many fans are ready to come down hard on Boone if he sinks into another two-month slump, as he did in 2005. So far, Boone has shown a tendency toward streakiness, but he's still keeping his batting average around .250, which is 100 points above the figure he was lugging around last year at this time.
And if necessary (I don't think it will be), Andy Marte is three hours away at Buffalo.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

4/30/06

TALKIN' TRIBE
• The Indians are not surprised that Jason Michaels (.256) is off to a so-so start. He's a thinking-man's hitter who is seeing a lot of new pitchers after switching from the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. Manager Eric Wedge has told the front office that he's absolutely sold on Michaels, whom he first saw in Class AAA several years ago. Wedge wants Michaels to play nearly every day and believes he'll have a strong second half.
• The key for Michaels will be if he can consistently hit right-handers. He has been mostly a platoon player, facing lefties. Heading into Saturday night, Michael was batting .245 (13-of-53) with no extra-base hits vs. righties, .270 (10-of-37) with four doubles vs. lefties.
• I talked to a National League scout who knows Michaels well, and he said: ``Jason can hit for more power than he thinks. I mean, 15 to 20 homers, not 30. But he can hit maybe 20 homers and hit more than .280 if he looked to pull the ball once in a while. Right now, he really just wants to hit for average and draw a lot of walks. He's effective doing that, but I think he can be even better.''
• Jeremy Guthrie was saying that he doubted the radar gun at Jacobs Field that clocked him at 97 to 99 mph. But the Kansas City Royals gun consistently had him in the 97-mph range last week. He's throwing hard, but more important, he's keeping the ball low. His fastball moves when it's at knee level, but it's flat and very hittable near the belt -- regardless of the speed. The Indians also like his slider, which has been in the 87-mph range.
• One blessing of the rash of bullpen injuries has been the promotions of Jason Davis and Guthrie. Both have shown they can help in relief right now. Brian Slocum also had some decent moments and could be in the plans for next season.
• Guillermo Mota is set to pitch the eighth inning, but if he struggles or needs rest, the Indians believe that they have depth with everyone from Rafael Betancourt to Fernando Cabrera to Davis.
• The Indians might be set at first base for the next few years. Fans see that the platoon of Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez is working well. But even better news is Ryan Garko doing a decent job at first base for Class AAA Buffalo, and he's hitting .307 with 19 RBI, which is second in the International League.
• It's just a personal opinion, but Garko is one of the elite hitters to pass through Akron and Canton. He's like Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Sean Casey and Brian Giles. You watch him swing the bat for a few games, and you know he'll hit.
• Broussard is off to a super start. He obviously might cool off, but he just as obviously was overexposed. He's long struggled against lefties, hitting .242 from 2002-2005, compared to .269 vs. righties. Last year, he dropped to .225 vs. lefties. He's 1-of-12 this season. But with Perez crushing lefties and Garko being a right-handed hitter, the Indians can keep a strong platoon in place.
• Heading into Saturday night, Perez is 11-of-34 (.324). Of those 11 hits, five have been doubles and three are homers.
• The remarkable aspect of Bob Wickman tying the team record with 129 saves is that in that same span, he's blown only 15 saves. They're usually not pretty, but in the end, he walks off the field and shakes hands more than 90 percent of the time -- an elite save ratio. He's 63-of-69 since his elbow surgery, and 50-of-55 since the start of 2005.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

4/30/06

Sabathia to get start Tuesday

Sunday, April 30, 2006


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Andy Call REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]


CLEVELAND - The fans who booed C.C. Sabathia last year will get a chance to start off his 2006 season (in essence) by cheering him.
The Indians will activate Sabathia from the disabled list Tuesday to start against Chicago at Jacobs Field. The big left-hander has been on the DL since Opening Day, when he strained a muscle in his right ribcage while pitching in the third inning against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
“I just want to go out and have a good start,” Sabathia said. “I think it’s going to be good that it’s at home.”
Manager Eric Wedge also considered bringing back Sabathia on Wednesday in his hometown of Oakland but wanted his pitcher to maintain his normal five-day schedule. Sabathia last pitched Thursday, a minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo.
“We’ll try to keep him on schedule,” Wedge said. “We have some off days coming up, so we’ll be able to maneuver (the rotation) a little if we need to.”
Sabathia said he was fine with Wedge’s decision. He threw a 40-to-45 pitch bullpen session Saturday in Cleveland.
“I’m excited to be throwing with no pain,” Sabathia said. “I’m going to keep up my work and, hopefully, I’ll stay healthy the rest of the year.”
The 25-year-old has battled minor injuries, but has also averaged 31.4 starts over his five seasons in the big leagues.

CABRERA WATCH Right-hander Fernando Cabrera ( bruised heel) likely will be activated from the disabled list today.
THE SURVIVOR Jason Johnson pitched through six innings against Texas on Friday, allowing just four runs despite giving up 12 hits. “The (hitters) picked me up, so it didn’t feel like that bad of a start,” Johnson said. “Jake Westbrook told me he has had trouble with them. My assumption is they’re a pretty good sinkerball hitting team.”
ALUMNI REPORT Former Indians third baseman Brook Jacoby (1984-92) is the interim hitting coach for the Rangers. Jacoby was the organization’s roving minor-league hitting coordinator but was promoted when Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo was diagnosed with prostate cancer. ... Former Canton Indians catcher Don Wakamatsu also is on the Rangers coaching staff. ON THE FARM Jeremy Sowers allowed one run in 71/3 innings, and Steve Karsay worked 12/3 innings for the win during Triple-A Buffalo’s 2-1 victory Friday over Syracuse. Sowers, Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2004, has a 1.44 ERA after five starts. Reach Repository sports writer Andy Call at (330) 580-8346 or e-mail: [email protected]
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/1/06

Big inning propels Rangers past Tribe

Bullpen fails to hold lead for Westbrook

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - By the time the Indians had lost to the Texas Rangers 8-4 on Sunday night at Jacobs Field, the chartered jet carrying the Chicago White Sox probably was less than two hours from Hopkins International Airport.
That gets just about all of the Tribe's bad news out of the way.
Oh, except for this: Ben Broussard was hit in the right knee by a Vincente Padilla pitch in the fourth inning. Broussard stayed in the game until the eighth, when Eduardo Perez replaced him at first base.
Broussard is day-to-day with a bruise.
All the rest is good news. Well, almost. As usual, the Rangers got the best of the Indians. This is becoming habitual.
In the past four years, the Rangers have a 21-12 record against the Indians, and so far this season, nothing has changed. After losing the opener of the series, the Rangers won the next two.
Now for the good news. The Tribe does not play the Rangers again until September. The bad news within the good news is that both three-game series are in Texas.
The other good news is that Jake Westbrook pitched almost good enough to win. And at least, he didn't lose. That distinction went to Jason Davis.
Westbrook's resume does not include a long string of masterful outings against the Rangers, his 2-1 record belying a 5.19 ERA in six starts.
Through six innings Sunday night, though, Westbrook had no trouble keeping the Rangers in check.
In that span, he gave up three hits (all ground balls) and two harmless walks.
Westbrook's lethal sinker forced hitters to beat the ball into the dirt for eight ground-ball outs, including a double play, and he also struck out seven, an uncharacteristically high number.
If not for two bouncers that found holes in the fifth inning, Westbrook would have begun the seventh with a shutout. However, Hank Blalock and Kevin Mench led off the fifth with singles, Blalock eventually scoring on a ground out to short after a force play allowed him to reach third.
In the seventh, Blalock led off with a double off the center-field wall, and Mench singled to put runners on first and third.
Pitching coach Carl Willis trudged to the mound to buy time, as Davis warmed up.
Westbrook was permitted to face one more batter, Brad Wilkerson, who singled to score the Rangers' second run.
At that point, Davis was rushed into the fray and retired two consecutive batters.
But he walked Gary Matthews to load the bases then gave up a single and two doubles that produced four more runs.
In a flash, the Rangers had gone from 4-1 behind to 8-4 ahead.
Davis failed to finish the inning, having let in one run for Westbrook and four charged to himself.
The Indians carefully built a 4-1 lead with timely hits, going 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position for the first six innings.
• In the first inning, Grady Sizemore tripled, and Travis Hafner singled him home with two outs.
• In the third, Casey Blake walked, stole second with two outs and scored on Jhonny Peralta's single.
• Victor Martinez started the fourth with a double and, eventually, scored when Blake bounced into a force play.
• Martinez led off with a double again in the sixth and, promptly, scored on Broussard's single.
But in the eighth, inefficiency set in. The Tribe had a chance to get back into the game when Hafner singled and stopped at third on Martinez's third double with one out.
But Perez struck out, Ronnie Belliard walked to load the bases, and pinch hitter Aaron Boone bounced into a force play to end the inning.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/1/06

Self control is key to Davis' success

Indians' pitcher makes adjustment to bullpen

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Jason Davis has been on the Indians' staff before, but in one respect, he is their newest pitcher, a starter making a successful transition to the bullpen.
In the past, there had been a division of opinion between General Manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge. Shapiro viewed Davis as a starter, Wedge liked him in the bullpen.
Because of the rapid development of Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers as starters in the minors, the Tribe could afford to give Wedge's theory a test.
In eight appearances, going into Sunday night's game against the Texas Rangers, Davis had pitched 12 2/3 innings, giving up 12 hits, two walks and striking out eight while compiling a 2.83 ERA.
The biggest hurdles for Davis were keeping his composure on the mound and throwing strikes. And maybe those two objectives were inextricably tied together.
``When I was a starter, I stayed pretty calm, because I had the whole day to prepare,'' Davis said. ``But when they first put me in the bullpen, my heart would be pounding. I felt like I could throw the ball right through the catcher. So I had to learn to control my emotions.''
Wedge understands that making a serious personality adjustment isn't easy.
``Jason has come a long way to keep his delivery under control and to make his intensity work for him,'' Wedge said.
Davis said he is beginning to feel like a reliever and maintain his composure, even if he enters the game with runners on base.
``Now, I take it pitch by pitch,'' he said. ``I'm not seeing things before they happen. I go at my own pace. I'm not in a hurry to throw the ball.''
Davis gives part of the credit to bullpen coach Luis Isaac, who relays information from the dugout to begin warming up.
``When I hear Luis call my name, the adrenalin starts to kick in,'' Davis said.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/1/06

Vazquez sees action

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - in place of Boone
Aaron Boone was given the night off Sunday, with Ramon Vazquez subbing at third base for the Indians.
In his previous three games, Boone was 2-for-13 with six strikeouts.
Even when Boone isn't hitting, he is one of the top defensive third basemen in the game.
``When you need a guy to make a play at an important time in the game, he's the guy who's going to make that play for you,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said.
TOO MANY PITCHES? -- Setup man Guillermo Mota has been throwing an average of 21 pitches per inning, which might be detrimental later in the season.
``Once we get more into a routine as a club, I think he'll get more consistent work, and I think you'll see him become a more efficient pitcher,'' Wedge said.
Wedge has been careful not to overuse Mota because of concerns about his elbow. For example, until further notice, it's unlikely Mota will be asked to pitch three days in a row.
``That probably would be pushing it,'' Wedge said. ``I'm not saying I wouldn't do it, but early in the season, I'd want to stay away from that.''
LATE SCRATCH -- A half-hour before the start of the game, Jason Michaels was removed from the lineup because of flu-like symptoms. Todd Hollandsworth took his place in the left field and in the second spot in the lineup.
FARM FACTS -- Jason Cooper and Jake Gautreau both homered, but Buffalo was outslugged by Charlotte 12-10 in Class AAA.... Aaron Laffey (2-0, 1.29 ERA) worked six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in Kinston's 4-0 win over Salem in Class A.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

5/1/06

Tribe can't find relief from pen's frustration


Monday, May 01, 2006

Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Indians have already reached one of their objectives.
They finished April with a winning record for the first time in four seasons under manager Eric Wedge, but their bigger goals of contending and making the postseason are still cloaked in uncertainty because they keep playing games like Sunday night's against Texas.
Jake Westbrook looked great for six innings. When he faltered in the seventh, the bullpen turned a 4-2 lead into a 8-4 loss at Jacobs Field.
If an inconsistent rotation and an unsettled bullpen aren't enough to worry Wedge, Chicago and Detroit keep winning in the American League Central. While the Indians finished 13-12 in April, the White Sox went 17-7 and the Tigers 16-9.
It should also be mentioned, while a hint of despair still hangs in the air, that hot-hitting Ben Broussard left the game with a bruised right knee in the eighth inning. Vicente Padilla hit him with a pitch in the fourth inning.
"We knew this wasn't going to be a two-team race," said Wedge. "Everyone expected Chicago to be a good team. I knew Detroit would be a factor as well."
As for the Tribe's April, Wedge said: "To come out of this month with a winning record is a positive, but by no means are we satisfied. I don't think we're even close to playing our best baseball."
Westbrook is 0-2 with a 7.89 ERA (19 runs in 21 2/3 innings) in his last four starts. After holding Texas to one run through six innings, Westbrook gave up three straight hits to start the seventh before Jason Davis (1-1) arrived in his ongoing education as a reliever.
Hank Blalock rocked Westbrook with a leadoff double to center. Ground-ball singles through the left and right side of the infield by Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson made it 4-2 as Davis relieved.
Davis recorded two quick outs, but walked Gary Matthews after having him down, 0-2, in the count. Michael Young hit a two-run single to make it 4-4. Mark Teixeira doubled down the right-field line for a 5-4 lead.
Phil Nevin kept the rally going with a two-run double to make it 7-4.
Scott Sauerbeck relieved to end the inning, but the Indians' offense had nothing left.
"It looked like J.D. started to overthrow when he had Matthews 0-2," said Wedge. "He's a young pitcher and he has to make adjustments to get back in the zone. . . . He has to slow down and get the last out."
Texas put the Tribe away with a four-run sixth Saturday night. They used a six-run seventh Sunday, which does not speak well of the Tribe's middle relievers.
"We have to keep grinding to get to Guillermo Mota and Bob Wickman range," said Wedge.
The Indians carefully constructed a 4-1 lead against Padilla (3-1, 4.04). Travis Hafner muscled a two-out single into center for a 1-0 lead in the first. Grady Sizemore opened with a triple to the wall in right center.
They made it 2-0 in the third with the use of a seldom-seen tactic in the Tribe's offense - the stolen base. Casey Blake drew a leadoff walk, but Padilla struck out Sizemore and retired Todd Hollandsworth on a fly ball to left. Blake stole second and scored on Jhonny Peralta's single to center.
It was Blake's first steal of the year and the Tribe's seventh.
The Indians took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on Blake's bases-loaded grounder that scored Martinez. The Tribe's catcher started the inning with his first of three straight doubles to reach base in his 40th straight game.
After Martinez doubled, Padilla hit Broussard on the right knee with a pitch. Ronnie Belliard forced Broussard at second with grounder to short, but ran his way out of a double play. Ramon Vazquez walked to load the bases.
Eduardo Perez replaced Broussard at first in the eighth.
"Ben hung in there as long as he could," said Wedge. "It was really biting him. We'll have to see how he feels."
The Rangers made it 3-1 in the fifth on Mark DeRosa's RBI grounder, but the Indians took a 4-1 lead in the sixth on Broussard's single.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-5158

 

[PrincessPeach]

Anyone have any idea as to why Sports Time Ohio is currently broadcasting ShopNBC.com?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/2/06

Grand time wasn't had at all

Early mistakes by Indians defense, Lee proved too much to overcome

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - A simple loss would have sufficed.
After all, the Indians were playing the best team in the American League and the second-most popular team in Chicago, the White Sox.
Instead of going quietly, with a minimum of fuss and ostentation, the Tribe had to make a scene, several in fact, in its 8-6 loss on Monday night at Jacobs Field.
There were four errors, a hit batter and a rare first-inning meltdown by Cliff Lee, who gave up a three-run bomb to Paul Konerko before anyone had set foot in the batter's box for the Indians.
Not that anything magical occurred when a Tribe hitter took his place at the plate. Unless you were a White Sox fan or that rare devotee of groundouts, flyouts and strikeouts, there wasn't much to watch.
Travis Hafner's at-bat in the seventh was the exception. He raised false hopes by delivering a grand slam to trim the deficit to two runs, after the Tribe had trailed 7-0 through the fifth.
Now with eight homers, Hafner began the season on a blistering home run pace but went 53 at-bats (since April 15) without going deep.
``We got a little sloppy defensively,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ``That didn't help us. And we have to do a better job of not getting in those deep holes, then it's not as tough to come back.''
The most fascinating aspect of the contest was the sideshow that the Tribe created.
It began in the second inning, when Scott Podsednik singled and decided to steal second.
Podsednik mistimed his jump, and Lee had him dead to rights, making a throw to Ben Broussard at first.
Broussard's throw would have beat Podsednik to second had it not hit the runner on the left hand for an error that allowed Podsednik to continue to third.
Nevertheless, Broussard's throw stopped the Tribe's unbroken string of stolen bases at 23 (the White Sox stole two in the first inning). That's because the official scorer awarded a ``caught stealing'' the play, presuming the throw would have been successful if not for the error.
The funny stuff continued in the third, when Lee hit A.J. Pierzynski on the shoulder with a pitch, probably on purpose.
Pierzynski is possibly baseball's No. 1 trash talker. If major-league players decided to market their own dart board, the target would be a facsimile of Pierzynski's face.
Wedge said hitting Pierzynski was accidental.
``Cliff was just trying to pitch inside there,'' Wedge said. ``He has a live arm. Somebody walked in front of me, so I didn't see where it got him, the arm or shoulder, I guess.''
One out later, Pierzynski was on second and Rob Mackowiak was on first, when Juan Uribe bounced to the shortstop, and Aaron Boone put a body block on Pierzynski just before he arrived at third.
With bases loaded, Brian Anderson hit a slow roller to third, but the ball eluded Boone and shortstop Jhonny Peralta, backing up the play. The error allowed two unearned runs to score.
In the sixth, Podsednik singled and stole his second base. One out later, Jim Thome walked, and reliever Brian Slocum delivered a wild pickoff throw to second for an error that sent Podsednik to third.
Later in the inning, Slocum made his second errant pickoff attempt to keep the White Sox's rally going, a rally that eventually netted two more runs.
The White Sox made a lame attempt to even the score in the purpose-pitch competition, when Javier Vazquez threw behind the legs of Ronnie Belliard in the third inning.
Plate umpire Jeff Kellogg immediately warned both benches, bringing an end to that little game. At least until tonight.
Was the warning justified or was Vazquez's pitch unintentional? ``They (umpires) thought something of it,'' Wedge said. ``They gave a warning at the end of it.''
It was left for former Indian Thome to drive in the final run with a single in the ninth off Scott Sauerbeck. It was his only hit.
Broussard's broken-bat single drove in the sixth run in the ninth, as the Indians managed to keep it close despite their blunders. It boggles the mind to think what might have transpired had they played a clean game.
``They outplayed us in every way possible,'' Lee said. ``We gave them runs. Hafner gave us a chance with his grand slam, but that wasn't enough.''

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/2/06

Indians notebook

Thome receives mixed reaction in his return

Ex-Indians slugger still calls Cleveland home. Broussard co-player of week

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - It was a homecoming for Jim Thome, and his 3-year-old daughter, Lila Grace, celebrated by asking her father for a favor.
``Dad, hit me a tater,'' Thome said, repeating the girl's request for a home run.
``She definitely puts those 0-for-4s with four strikeouts in perspective,'' Thome said with a smile.
Until Monday night, Thome had not played a game at Jacobs Field since 2002, the season he became the Indians' all-time leader in home runs with 334.
Then came free agency. The Indians offered $60 million for five years, the Philadelphia Phillies offered $85 million for six years. Goodbye Thome.
Who wouldn't take an extra $25 million?
``The end result seemed like it was that way,'' Thome said of his decision. ``But I think you have to know the person before throwing out any comments. And those are fans being fans, being loyal to their city.''
Ozzie Guillen, who manages the Chicago White Sox, Thome's current team, said Monday, ``People who say he (left) because of the money, well, no (bleep). This is our job. This is how we feed our family.
``It's just like a lawyer or a doctor. You go where they pay you the most money. I'll tell you one thing, you can't feed your family with your championship ring. You can't take your kid to a college, show them your ring and say, `Can my kid go to this college?' They'll tell you, `No, let's see some money.' ''
That's probably not the way most Northeast Ohio fans looked at Thome's departure. That's why he wasn't sure how he would be greeted the first time he stepped to the plate.
``I don't know,'' he said. ``But it's special being here, where I have a ton of memories. To me, it will be nice either way.''
For the record, Thome was booed by most in the crowd but cheered by some, several of whom stood and clapped.
Thome, the White Sox's designated hitter, still makes his offseason home in a Cleveland suburb, partly because fans that he encounters here have been unfailingly friendly.
``If they weren't, it would be hard to come back,'' Thome said. ``When I'm here in the winter, the fans have been great. They have definitely kept me here.''
How close was it?
During the winter, General Manager Mark Shapiro asked the Phillies what it would take to acquire Thome?
``There was some discussion, but nothing got close to being a reality,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ``They asked for a lot and got a lot (from the White Sox).''
Wedge was asked if center fielder Grady Sizemore was a target of the Phillies.
``Among others,'' he said.
Broussard honored
First baseman Ben Broussard and Texas Rangers outfielder Kevin Mench were named American League Co-Players of the Week.
Broussard batted .625 with four homers, 13 RBI and 23 total bases for the week ending Sunday. Last Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, Broussard hit a grand slam, a solo homer and drove in eight runs.
Mench batted .435 with four homers, 10 RBI and had a .957 slugging percentage.
Last Friday, Mench became the fifth player in history to homer in seven consecutive games.
One more day
Jason Michaels, who sat out Sunday's game with flu-like symptoms, was given Monday night off, too.
``He feels a lot better today, but I thought we'd give him another day,'' Wedge said of the outfielder. ``It also gives us a chance to get Todd Hollandsworth in there two days in a row.''
Moving up
Right fielder Casey Blake vaulted from ninth in the order to second, but Wedge said the move was temporary.
``It's just for today,'' he said.
However, if Blake continues to bat .333, it's likely that he eventually will abandon the bottom spot in the lineup.
Farm facts
Jason Dubois hit his fifth homer of the year in Buffalo's 14-8 loss to Charlotte in Class AAA.... Lake County's Carlton Smith yielded only one run in six innings but lost as 1-0 decision to Lakewood in Class A.
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end -->

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

5/2/06

To Victor go toils of slowing stealers


Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Burt Graeff
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Indians aren't sitting idle in an attempt to control the running game of opposing teams.

Bench coach Joel Skinner and bullpen coach Luis Isaac, both former catchers, spent about 10 minutes working with Victor Martinez on Monday before the Indians took batting practice.

"We do this about every other day," Skinner said. "You've got to consider what it does to the arm when you do this."

Martinez is 0-of-26 in throwing out runners attempting to steal in the Tribe's first 26 games. In four previous seasons, he was 60-of-276 (22 percent).

"Baseball is a game of constantly making adjustments and that's what we're doing here," Skinner said. "We are trying to get everything together working in one piece."

Manager Eric Wedge said it's not the catcher alone who controls the running game.

"It obviously starts with the pitcher," Wedge said, "but it's Victor and the middle infielders that are involved as well.

"It's very much a collective effort. We worked hard at this in spring training.

There is no doubt we need to get better at it."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he would not look to run more because Martinez is behind the plate.

"We try to run against anyone we can," Guillen said. "You run on pitchers. It's the pitchers' job to keep runners close."

The White Sox, who were 2-of-2 in stolen bases when they played the Indians three games to open the season, pulled off a double steal in the first inning Monday night. Scott Podsednik stole third and Tadahito Iguchi stole second before Paul Konerko homered off Cliff Lee.

He's honored:

Ben Broussard was named American League co-player of the week after hitting .625 (10-of-16) with four home runs, 13 RBI and 23 total bases.

He shared the honor with Texas' Kevin Mench, who hit .435 (10-of-23) with four home runs, 10 RBI and a .957 slugging percentage.

Broussard was back in the starting lineup for the series opener against Chicago after leaving in the eighth inning of Sunday's game against Texas with a bruised right knee.

Broussard was hit in the knee by a Vicente Padilla pitch in the fourth.
"The knee swelled up as the game went along," he said, "and I couldn't move too good as the game went on. It's much better now."

Making progress:

Relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt, out since April 20 with a strained muscle in his upper back, threw on Monday for the first time since being disabled.

He threw 45 pitches ranging from 40 to 75 feet.

"I felt fine," he said. "The plan now is to do this every day."

Betancourt said he will remain in Cleveland while the team is playing in Oakland, Seattle and Kansas City over the next eight days.

Wedge said the he's hoping to have Betancourt back in two weeks.

He's back:

First baseman Michael Aubrey, a minor-league prospect whose career has been injury-riddled since the Tribe made him the 11th overall pick in June 2003, began his season on Monday night for Class A Kinston, N.C.
A stress fracture in his lower back has sidelined Aubrey since June 10.

When healthy, Aubrey has shown he can hit. In 164 minor-league games, he's batting .314 with 24 home runs and 121 RBI.

Finally:

Jason Michaels, held out of Sunday's game with flulike symptoms, was held out again Monday. Todd Hollandsworth, who replaced Michaels in left field, batted eighth. Casey Blake, who was hitting .333 with two home runs and 18 RBI in April, was moved up to the second spot in the lineup. In 24 previous games, he batted eighth or ninth. Wedge said this is a one-game move. . . . Guillen said winning a World Series has increased media coverage. "I've seen people I haven't seen in 20 years," he said. "They want to see if I'm crazy or not."

 

[Crashcup]

Boy that Hafner is a mensch!

Too bad thier a Millwood away from the division title especially since the socks got Thome.

I know it's early but only Thome gets better as the season goes on.

 

[buckeye247]

Boy that Hafner is a mensch!

Too bad thier a Millwood away from the division title especially since the socks got Thome.

I know it's early but only Thome gets better as the season goes on.

its only may and as long as we get our bullpen fixed will be in the race with everyone.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/3/06

Sabathia returns in winning form

Back from injury, he helps Tribe finally beat White Sox at home

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Two questions were on the minds of Indians fans Tuesday: How would C.C. Sabathia respond after a month on the disabled list, and was taking two out of three in Chicago to start the season an illusion?
Sabathia (1-0, 4.91 ERA) wasn't dominant, but he performed more than adequately in a 7-1 win over the Chicago White Sox at Jacobs Field.
The victory also answered the second question. The White Sox had not lost a game in Cleveland since April 14, 2005, so Tuesday's triumph snapped their string of eight wins on Tribe turf and lifted the Indians' 2006 record against the World Series champs to 3-2.
``Oh, I didn't realize they won that many games (here),'' the Indians' Travis Hafner deadpanned. ``I guess this was an important game.''
Hafner had the biggest hit of the game, a three-run homer in the first inning that gave Sabathia room to maneuver.
Sabathia stuck around for only five innings, but by that time he had a 5-1 lead and had thrown 89 pitches, so Indians manager Eric Wedge decided that he had spent enough time on the mound.
``C.C. did great,'' Wedge said. ``I know he was excited to get back out there. He was prepared, and he was under control throughout.
``He also had very good command for not having been out there for a while.''
The DL was not a comfortable place for Sabathia.
``I was real anxious,'' he said. ``It's hard to explain. But when you're on the DL, and your team is struggling, you feel like you should be out there helping.''
Except for an outburst in the fifth inning, when the White Sox scored a run on three singles and two walks, Sabathia kept them under his thumb.
``I'm pretty sure I was on some kind of pitch count,'' he said. ``They told me if I hadn't struggled in the fifth, I would have gone back out there the next inning.''
Grady Sizemore made a sensational diving catch on the warning track in center field to take away an extra-base hit from the White Sox's Joe Crede in the fourth. Aside from that, Sabathia didn't need any extraordinary measures to maintain control of the game.
``That catch was sick,'' Sabathia said.
Hafner put the catch in a different light.
``It was a pretty good catch,'' he said. ``The best part is that when Grady got up, he had dirt on his face, and he didn't wipe it off. That made him look tough.''
A reporter asked if Hafner was suggesting that Sizemore wasn't tough.
``Grady's `GQ,' '' Hafner said.
Sabathia allowed five singles and one walk, striking out two. He hadn't pitched since the season opener in Chicago, where he strained an abdominal muscle and began his four-week stint on the DL.
The Indians didn't give White Sox ace Mark Buehrle much time to coast. Hafner came to the plate in the first inning with runners on first and second and sent a drive soaring into the right-field seats for his ninth home run of the season and second in as many games.
Theoretically, Hafner isn't supposed to hit homers against left-handed pitchers because he bats from the left side. In 28 career at-bats against Buehrle, however, he has homered twice, although his batting average is .214.
The Tribe probably isn't Buehrle's favorite team. He came into the game with a career record of 7-7 and a 4.25 ERA against the Indians. He faced them in the season opener and had to leave because of a rain delay after giving up three runs in four innings.
On Tuesday, he was thrashed for all seven runs on 13 hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He has a 9.31 ERA against the Tribe this year with a batting average against of .386.
If the Indians' struggles against lefties don't include Buehrle, it's probably because he is not a soft tosser. For the season, the Tribe is 7-5 when a left-hander starts.
``I think that thing about lefties is a little overblown,'' Wedge said. ``If that's not behind us, it's very close to being behind us.''
In addition to his home run, Hafner drove in a run with a single, lifting his team-leading RBI total to 24. Jhonny Peralta showed signs of breaking free from his season-long slump with a double and two singles in five at-bats, raising his batting average 17 points to .248.
Eduardo Perez, Casey Blake and Victor Martinez each had two hits. Martinez's average ballooned to .386.
The victory was encouraging in that it followed Monday night's debacle, in which the Tribe made four errors and a base-running mistake to lose 8-6.
``We had to forget about last night,'' Jason Michaels said. ``Last night was last night.''