Indians Tidbits (2006 season)..

[exhawg]

Between games, infielder Ramon Vazquez was designated for assignment to make room on the roster. The Indians have 10 days to trade or release Vazquez.

How pissed do you think management is that they gave up Brandon Phillips for this?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/14/06

Baker's dozen to a doughnut

Hafner's sixth slam caps 11-run first, Tribe's Royal flush

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Now that the Indians have tied their season-best winning streak of six, it's time to think about style points.
So, after three consecutive victories in its final at-bat, the Tribe dropped the hammer on the Kansas City Royals with 11 runs in Sunday's first inning, eventually earning a 13-0 win to make it a four-game sweep at Jacobs Field.
To say that the Royals are a talent-challenged team probably is an understatement, even though they are only one place lower in the Central Division standings than the venerable Wahoos.
If the first inning -- and the series as a whole -- signify anything it's that the gap between fourth and fifth is a chasm, at least this season.
Want proof? In Sunday's first inning, the Indians sent 14 batters to the plate and only one of them was retired by Royals starter Luke Hudson (5-4, 6.39 ERA), who was charged with all 11 runs and eight hits.
Among the hits were Travis Hafner's sixth grand slam of the season, Shin-Soo Choo's two-run double and Victor Martinez's two-run single, the hit that triggered the rally.
Almost an entire book of milestones emerged from the first-inning offensive explosion:
• Hafner's home run tied the major-league record for grand slams in one season set by Don Mattingly, who hit six for the New York Yankees in 1987.
• The slam was the Tribe's 10th of the season, which leads the majors. It is the second most in franchise history, matching the total of the 2000 club but two shy of the 1999 team record.
• The 11 runs were the most by the Indians in the first inning since July 6, 1954, when they scored 11 against the Baltimore Orioles.
• The last time the Indians scored at least 11 runs in any inning was Aug. 9 last year at Kansas City, the runs coming in the ninth inning.
• With 104 RBI, Hafner is almost assured of passing his big-league high of 109, achieved in 2004. He already has established a career best in home runs with 35, two more than he hit last year.
• Hafner tied the club record for home runs by a designated hitter (32), shared by Ellis Burks, who did it in 2002, and Hafner, who hit 32 last year.
• The first 10 batters in the first inning reached base, and the bases were loaded four times before Hafner unloaded them for good.
``I think that was pretty unusual,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said, understating the events of the first inning. ``Every day you see something different in baseball. The guys got going, and everything snowballed.''
Hafner was low key about the grand slam, but he will keep the ball, which was retrieved from a fan.
``It's pretty cool,'' he said of tying Mattingly. ``It's nice to be tied for a major-league record that's been around for a long time. But I probably won't think about it much until the end of the year.''
Because he had hit five slams this year and seven in his career, could Hafner have been thinking home run?
``You can't go up there trying to hit a home run,'' he said. ``You'll probably strike out.''
With 45 games left in the season, Hafner has a chance to make the grand slam record all his own.
``It's possible,'' he said. ``But a lot of it is getting an opportunity. It would be nice to get a couple of more chances to get a crack at it.''
So what happened after the first inning? Not much. Jeremy Sowers made certain of that.
Sowers, a rookie left-hander, made sure the Royals didn't entertain serious thoughts of rallying. After all, when a team is behind by 11 in the first inning, it has eight innings left to make some noise.
But the Royals remained mute, as Sowers scattered five hits, struck out two and did not walk anyone. The Royals bounced into one double play and lined into another, and only one runner reached third.
It's possible for a pitcher's concentration to wane when he has a big lead, but Sowers (4-3, 3.53 ERA) doesn't feel he was at a disadvantage.
``No pitcher should ever think of that as being tough to pitch with 11 runs,'' he said. ``You don't trade runs for anything.''
In his past five starts, Sowers is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA.
``I've been fortunate that seven of my nine starts have been at home, where the crowd always cheers for you,'' he said.
Sowers deserves at least some of the credit for giving the fans something to cheer about.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/14/06

Indians report

No barking from Buffalo

Brown family forced to leave dog behind

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Why would a wife be upset to see her husband called up to the major leagues? Because the family dog, an American Eskimo named Phoebe, had to be left behind.
``My wife is a little depressed about the dog,'' said reliever Andrew Brown, who arrived from Buffalo at 12:30 Sunday morning. ``We called the hotel to see if they allowed pets, but they declined our request.''
Nevertheless, Wendy Brown, as the dutiful wife, accompanied her husband on the 200-mile late-night drive to Ohio.
``The Gautreaus are watching the dog,'' Brown said. ``So we owe them a favor.''
Jake Gautreau is Buffalo's third baseman.
The Bisons were about to play Rochester when Brown got the call to report to Jacobs Field.
``They let me know about 10 seconds before the national anthem,'' Brown said. ``(Buffalo manager) Torey Lovullo told me to get my stuff and get out of there.''
Admittedly, Brown has had a season filled with peaks and valleys at Triple-A and even before.
``It's been a long season with a lot of ups and downs,'' he said. ``But it's gotten to a point where I think I can pitch with some consistency.''
Brown came to spring training as a contender for the final spot in the bullpen, along with Steve Karsay and Danny Graves, who eventually won the job.
But despite a fastball in the mid-90s, he fell out of contention because of erratic control.
``I think the problem was in my mind,'' Brown said. ``I'm 6-foot-6 and have a lot of long body parts.''
His point: Brown continually focused on trying to keep each part of his delivery intact instead of allowing his ability to control his mechanics.
``I needed to let my body just react,'' he said.
A talk with Buffalo pitching coach Greg Hibbard after the All-Star break helped.
``He told me to speed up my tempo,'' Brown said. ``I was a little lethargic between pitches.''
Brown's season at Buffalo included a 5-4 record, five saves and a 2.60 ERA in 39 appearances. In his last six outings, he pitched six scoreless innings and earned three saves.
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ABJ

8/14/06

INDIANS NOTEBOOK

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Tribe reliever makes
major-league debut
Andrew Brown made his major-league debut, pitching the seventh and eighth innings Sunday.
Brown allowed two hits, walked none and didn't give up a run.
``I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything different,'' he said. ``It was exciting, but I felt comfortable out there. Fortunately, I got the job done.''
Because of the Indians' big first inning and Saturday's doubleheader, Brown thought he might hear his name called.
``I could tell by the game, being up 11, and that everybody else (in the bullpen) worked the last couple of games,'' he said. ``I thought I had a good chance to get in.''
MORE HOME RUNS -- Franklin Gutierrez hit his first big-league homer in the eighth inning after entering the game for Grady Sizemore in the fifth. Ryan Garko hit his second major-league homer in the fourth and raised his average to .348 with eight RBI in eight games.
TRIVIA PURSUIT -- Another gem from Elias Sports Bureau. Travis Hafner is the first big-leaguer in 16 years to produce two game-winning hits in his team's final at-bat on the same day.
Hafner singled home the winning run in the ninth inning of Saturday's doubleheader opener and doubled to score the game winner in the eighth inning of the nightcap.
On May 6, 1990, Kevin McReynolds of the New York Mets hit an 11th-inning grand slam and an eighth-inning solo homer to drive in the winning runs in a Mets doubleheader sweep of the Houston Astros.
FARM FACTS -- Hyang-Nam Choi (7-5, 2.60 ERA) gave up one hit and no runs in six innings, and Kevin Kouzmanoff doubled, singled twice and drove in a run, as Buffalo defeated Rochester 6-2 in Class AAA.... Scott Lewis (1.40 ERA) worked four scoreless innings, allowing one hit in Kinston's 5-0 win over Lynchburg in Class A.... Jeffrey Stevens (3.19 ERA) worked six scoreless innings, but Lake County lost a 3-1 decision to Hickory in Class A.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/15/06

Owners face key winter in building Tribe

Paul Dolan says team payroll will top $60 million, likely exceed revenue. Fans need reason to believe

<!-- begin body-content -->Indians owner Paul Dolan has a far more serious problem than the Indians falling out of contention by June.
He needs to give his customers a reason to believe.
The Indians have a shaky fan base in a soft economy (Ohio leads the nation in job losses) with a superstar named LeBron James playing in the building next door for the Cavaliers.
As always, the Browns rule the Northeast Ohio sports market. You could put an empty orange helmet on the 50-yard line at Cleveland Browns Stadium and 50,000 fans would show up to stare at it.
It doesn't matter to fans how many games the Browns have lost, and they've lost more than any other NFL team since 1999.
The Indians are a different story. To draw big crowds, they have to prove themselves to many of the fans who have abandoned them since 2001, the last playoff season.
The Tribe is on pace to draw about 2 million fans, slightly below the 2.1 million that was projected. But more than 60 percent of those tickets were sold in the offseason, when the Indians were coming off a 93-69 year.
Despite its current six-game winning streak, the Tribe is at 53-64 and is headed for its fourth losing season in five years.
``It has been enormously disappointing,'' said Dolan. ``In the seven years that we've owned the team, this is the first time that we've varied so widely from our expectations. We thought we had put a championship-caliber team in place, so you can't help but be concerned by what happened.''
What did happen?
Dolan mentioned the obvious: A bullpen collapse ``and some bad fundamental baseball.''
He also said the team, ``at times looks lethargic.''
He has been encouraged by the Indians' recent performance, especially with the addition of young players such as Jeremy Sowers, Joe Inglett, Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Garko, who have made an impact.
``We're not kidding ourselves; we have a lot of work to do in the offseason,'' Dolan said. ``We still like our core players -- our starting rotation, plus Victor (Martinez), Travis Hafner, Grady (Sizemore) and (Jhonny) Peralta. Our job is to rebuild the bullpen and get some other players to complement the guys we do have.''
It takes money
Dolan and his father, Larry, have to spend more than they have in recent years. Yes, the three highest payrolls in team history were under the Dolans: $78 million in 2000, $96 million in 2001 and $82 million in 2002.
Since then, their highest has been this season's $56 million payroll, which ranks 24th in baseball. By comparison, Central Division contenders Chicago (fourth at $102 million), Detroit (14th at $82 million) and Minnesota (19th at $63 million) are outspending the Tribe.
If a team doesn't have a budget that at least matches that of the frugal Twins, it has no chance to compete consistently in the division.
``I agree,'' said Dolan. ``We will spend more money next year. We plan to be aggressive. We will probably spend more than we will anticipate taking in, but I won't say how much. It's too early to know.''
Dolan said he approved a budget that could have gone as high as $60 million, ``assuming we had signed some of the free agents that we pursued.''
The Indians came up short in most of their quests for free agents. Then the team fell apart, and General Manager Mark Shapiro wisely conducted a recent fire sale to shed contracts of some veteran players who soon would become free agents (Ronnie Belliard, Bob Wickman, Eduardo Perez) or who were not going to be part of the future (Ben Broussard).
That probably dropped the payroll to the $51 million range, and should set up the possibility of the Indians actually making significant moves in the offseason to upgrade the talent.
Tricky financing
This will take some risk on the part of the Dolans.
The Indians can't just spend what they project to take in, because offseason ticket sales seem destined to drop because of the team's disappointing showing this year.
``We would have liked to draw more this year, but it's understandable,'' Dolan said. ``We had a great first week (6-1), and then we didn't have a real winning streak until we won six games in a row now. Some of the games this year have been hard to watch. We know we have to get better.''
The Indians are averaging 25,507 fans. That's 24th out of 30 teams, which is the same ranking they have in total salary.
Dolan said next year's payroll will be ``north of $60 million.''
Realistically, the payroll must approach $70 million if ownership is serious about returning the team to contention.
The front office also has to change some tactics. So often, they spend the winter chasing free agents and signing none of them. A better approach would be to explore the trade market, dealing for talented players on teams looking to cut payroll, and using prospects as bait.
``That is a possibility,'' said Dolan. ``We will be in a compete mode this winter, not development.''
Doing that will take money, brains and daring in what is the most critical winter in theseven-year history of the Dolans' ownership.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/15/06

View from Pluto

Tribe should have Peralta play second

His strong arm would allow him to play deep; his long-term contract actually would ease trade

By Terry Pluto

<!-- begin body-content -->• Some fans have been complaining that the Indians are nothing more than a Class AAA team. But ask yourself: Would you rather watch Jeremy Sowers or Jason Johnson start? Would you rather have Shin-Soo Choo or Ben Broussard? Would you rather watch Ryan Garko play first base, or Eduardo Perez? The only drop-off has been at closer, where Bob Wickman has not been replaced.
• The Tribe traded Ronnie Belliard for Hector Luna, and you can see why St. Louis made the deal. Luna is not a good second baseman. He's just another utility guy, and Joe Inglett seems superior. Belliard will be a free agent, and the Indians probably would not sign him.
• Since joining the Cardinals, Belliard is batting only .205 with one extra-base hit in 44 at-bats. He seems to be pressing with his new team.
• Here's why it made sense to deal Belliard: The Indians should move Jhonny Peralta to second base, then find a shortstop. Peralta's defenders say he has not made an error in the past 27 games. There is a fielding statistic called ``range factor,'' and Peralta, amazingly, ranks FIRST among all shortstops. Omar Vizquel is No. 14. That says all anyone needs to know about this statistic, which measures assists plus putouts, divided by innings played.
• Peralta does have a strong arm. He could play a deep second base, much like Belliard did for the Tribe. He's hitting .249 with 10 HR and 49 RBI. He has come to the plate with 138 runners in scoring position -- third most in the league -- and is batting .217 in those situations. He is fourth in the AL in strikeouts, and is batting only .237 since the All-Star break. His hitting is in as much of a funk as his fielding.
• Some fans think it was a mistake for the Indians to give Peralta a five-year, $13 million deal. Actually, that contract makes him more appealing in a trade because teams know exactly what he will cost them -- and it's affordable by big-league standards. And yes, some teams might be interested in Peralta because he was the Class AAA International League MVP in 2004, then hit .292 with 24 HR for the Tribe in 2005.
• Since Aug. 1, 2005, the Tribe is 20-11 in C.C. Sabathia's 31 starts. His record since the All-Star break is 1-4, but his ERA is 2.81. He has pitched well for a year.
• Be wary of Brian Sikorski, who is 1-0 with a save and 3.75 ERA since joining the Tribe. He has given up four home runs in eight innings. With San Diego, he served up four in 15 innings, making it eight homers in 23 innings this season. The last time he pitched in the majors was 2000, when he gave up nine home runs in 38 innings. Yes, he throws 95 mph, but it can be very straight and can get hit very hard. He's also 32 years old, so it's hard to imagine him suddenly getting much better.
• Sowers has given up two or fewer earned runs in five of his nine starts. Only once has he failed to survive five innings. In three of his last five starts, he has not allowed a run. Since the All-Star break, he's 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA in six starts.
• After Sowers, Choo has been the biggest plus among the young players. He has played an above-average right field and can throw well. He's hitting .375 with 2 HR and 15 RBI in 14 games. The question will be if he can hit lefties; he's 2-for-9 with the Indians and at .186 in the minors this year against left-handed pitchers. But he certainly is a viable player and has a history of hitting right-handers hard. He's a little like Coco Crisp -- someone who hustles and has a great name and a quick smile. Fans have loved him at every minor-league stop, and it is starting to happen here.
• One of the most amazing things was Ramon Vazquez complaining that the Indians and manager Eric Wedge didn't give him a chance. This guy did nothing with the opportunity to be the utility man, and it was an insult to Wedge, who pushed to keep Vazquez over Brandon Phillips.
• Is there any question that Kelly Shoppach can catch? He threw out more than 40 percent of stealing base runners in his last two years of Class AAA. He's at 7-of-15 for the Indians in 25 games. Often, teams don't even try to run on him. He's hitting .261 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 69 at-bats. He's at .367 (11-for-30) vs. lefties. Clearly, this suggests the Indians play him full time against lefties (and some righties), while Victor Martinez plays first base when he doesn't catch.
• It's disheartening that Wedge refused to use Shoppach early in the season. In spring training, it was obvious he could catch. At one point, the Indians sent Shoppach to the minors because Wedge wanted Tim Laker. Well, base runners were 9-for-9 stealing against Laker. This season, they are 73-for-81 against Martinez.
• It's not a big difference, but in his 16 games as a first baseman, Martinez is batting .327 compared with .310 when he catches. Martinez basically just hits: .314 vs. lefties, .317 vs. righties, .316 before the All-Star break, .312 after the All-Star break, and .331 with runners in scoring position.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

8/15/06

Tribe runs out of adjectives for Hafner
Tuesday, August 15, 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 - Travis Hafner has moved past the point of being described by everyday baseball adjectives. Ask Indians players about their designated hitter and, often, they shake their heads in disbelief and try to come up with something that hasn’t already been said.
“I’m glad he’s on my team,” catcher Victor Martinez said — after shaking his head. “He’s a tough out. He doesn’t have a hole. He can hurt you pretty good everywhere.”
Outfielder Jason Michaels shook his head for several seconds before coming up with a viable answer.
“He is special,” Michaels said. “That’s the best word to describe him, right there.”
How special? Special enough to be among the American League leaders in almost every offensive category entering tonight’s game at Minnesota. Special enough to have tied Don Mattingly’s big-league record of six grand slams in a season Sunday.
Special enough that Cleveland Manager Eric Wedge was asked after the game if Hafner might be a viable candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player award, though Hafner wasn’t selected for the All-Star Game and plays for perhaps the most disappointing team in the big leagues.
“He certainly deserves consideration,” Wedge said. “I know (individual awards) are not something he thinks about. His focus is on his team.”
If that’s the case, one would think the man called Pronk would be battling severe depression. His production hasn’t suffered as his team has stumbled, however. Hafner’s spirits appear to have been buoyed recently by the infusion of enthusiasm from new, younger players and the six-game win streak the Indians will carry into tonight’s game.
“The young guys who have come up have done a good job of playing with energy,” Hafner said. “Guys are playing hard, and winning seems to be the main thing on everyone’s mind. It seems like we’re headed in the right direction.”
There is no doubt as to the direction Hafner is heading at age 29. He leads the league in walks, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging percentage and ranks in the top four in the AL in four other major statistical categories.
Perhaps the most astonishing number is his .615 average (8-for-13) and 29 RBIs when coming to the plate with the bases loaded.
“When I’m up there, I just try to keep it real simple,” Hafner said. “I just look for a good pitch I can hit and try to drive it back up the middle of the field. You have to stick with your approach. You can’t go up there trying to hit home runs.”
Hafner’s approach since before being traded to Cleveland by Texas in the winter of 2002 has been patience. He waits for just the right pitch in just the right location, then puts his lumberjack arms to work.
His approach includes countless hours of refining the mechanics of his swing and studying tendencies of opposing pitchers, even between at-bats.
“What people don’t see is his work before he comes to the plate, his preparation,” Wedge said. “There are factors beyond his ability that are contributing to his success.”
Hafner has demonstrated the ability to make adjustments. He went through a mini-slump in July (.258 average, .917 OPS), but discovered along the way he was having difficulty tracking pitches because of excessive head motion during his at-bats, a distraction he has battled in the past.
“I just wasn’t seeing the ball well because of that,” said Hafner, who corrected the problem and began hitting again (.356 in August).
Elbow problems have been a constant battle since Hafner came to Cleveland, but he maintains there were no physical issues plaguing him during what Wedge termed his “human moments.”
“Maybe that was the problem,” Hafner said with a laugh. “Maybe I felt too good.”
Opposing pitchers won’t be feeling too good about seeing Hafner come to the plate the rest of this season, especially with the bases loaded.
“A lot of it is just having the opportunity,” Hafner said. “It’d be nice to get a couple more opportunities and have a crack at it.”
Breaking Mattingly’s record isn’t his sole focus, of course.
“It’s nice to tie a record that’s been up there a long time,” said Hafner, who has met the New York Yankees hitting coach. “He was one of the best players in the game for a number of years and a great run-producer.
“I don’t get caught up in a lot of stuff like that. At the end of the year, maybe I’ll look back on it and say, ‘Hey, that was a pretty cool accomplishment.’ ”
Pretty cool indeed. So cool, he might even have to shake his head before describing it.
Reach Repository sports writer Andy Call at (330) 580-8346 or e-mail: [email protected]

Season
of Pronk
Season statistics for Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner, and his rank among qualifying American League batters, through Sunday:
Category Stat AL rank
BA .303 19th
HRs 35 2nd
RBIs 104 2nd
Walks 84 1st
Runs 86 4th
On-base pct. .428 3rd
Slugging pct. .640 1st
On-base-slug. 1.068 1st

INDIANS
AT TWINS
Tonight 8:10
Metrodome
Minneapolis TV SportsTime Ohio PITCHERS Jake Westbrook (9-7, 4.18) vs. Johan Santana (13-5, 3.24)


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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/16/06

Santana stops streaking Indians

Twins starter throws eight shutout innings and strikes out nine to end Tribe's winning streak at six

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - What is the last thing a team riding a six-game winning streak wants to see?
How about rain? Worse, how about no rain and Johan Santana.
That was the Indians' dilemma Tuesday night in the Metrodome. The good news: The Tribe is eligible to initiate a new string of victories beginning tonight after the 4-1 loss to Santana and the Minnesota Twins.
Win streak or not, running into the Twins' left-hander is no picnic. He limited the Indians to three hits and one walk in eight innings. Santana struck out nine, including Jhonny Peralta and Kelly Shoppach three times each.
``Santana was as good as I've seen him in awhile,'' Tribe manager Eric Wedge said. ``He had it all working.''
Santana's fastball zips to the plate in the mid-90s, and he has one of the best change-ups in the game. But Tuesday night, he also hurt the Tribe with his slider.
``He threw it hard, then he'd throw it not so hard,'' Wedge said. ``But he had great command of that pitch.''
Second baseman Hector Luna produced two hits off Santana and was retired on a long fly to the track in left. Ryan Garko almost hit a ball out against Santana, but his drive was caught just shy of the left-field fence.
``Luna had a great game at the plate and on defense,'' Wedge said.
Luna robbed Joe Mauer of a hit with a diving stop of hard ground ball in the sixth and snared Torii Hunter's line drive in the seventh.
Santana came into the game 13-5 with a 3.24 ERA and a career record of 6-2 (3.32 ERA) against the Indians.
The Tribe did beat him once this season. On April 9, Santana was charged with a 3-2 defeat, giving up all the runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The Indians actually scored five runs against him on May 23 but lost the game 6-5, with Santana getting a no-decision.
Give the Indians this: They used the correct approach against him Tuesday night. They used the whole field: hitting fly balls to the right side and the left side, but they kept the bouncers to the third base side of the infield almost exclusively.
It really didn't matter what the Tribe did. If Santana is on his game, and he usually is, he probably will carry the day, unless the opposing pitcher throws a shutout.
In that regard, Jake Westbrook was close until the eighth inning.
If not for a routine ground ball that found a hole on the right side of the infield, Westbrook would have matched shutout innings with Santana through the seventh.
That ball was struck by Mauer with two outs in the third inning and drove home Jason Bartlett, who had begun the inning with a bloop double that put Westbrook in a world of hurt.
Luis Castillo bunted Bartlett to third, but even though Castillo was 90 feet from the plate, Westbrook was one out closer to escaping.
With the infield in, Jason Tyner slapped a routine ground ball to second, putting Westbrook one out away from getting out of the inning. But Mauer ruined the inning and the evening for Westbrook.
Westbrook put five runners on base in the first three innings, but only the two base runners in the third created problems for him. And from the fourth through the seventh innings, the only Twins runner to reach was Michael Cuddyer, who singled with two outs in the sixth.
But it all unraveled in the eighth, when the Twins scored three times.
``You know when you're in the same game with a guy like that (Santana), you have to be on your game,'' Westbrook said. ``Maybe I put up a lot of zeros, but I didn't put up enough.
``I didn't do my job. My job is to keep my team in the game. I didn't do that. My job was to put up a zero in the eighth.''
Castillo started the rally with a one-out single and advanced to second on Tyner's ground out. Westbrook walked Mauer intentionally and the Twins answered by pulling a double steal to put runners on second and third.
Cuddyer made it pay off by ripping a two-run single to left. After the Twins' No. 1 run producer, Justin Morneau, was walked intentionally, Torii Hunter singled to score the third run of the inning.
Neither of the intentional walks worked, but they were the right moves, nonetheless.
Twins closer Joe Nathan took over for Santana in the ninth and lost the shutout. He walked Grady Sizemore, who eventually scored on Travis Hafner's single.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/16/06

Notebook

A look at the future now

Putting Martinez or Shoppach at catcher among the most popular topics

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - The shape of things to come.
It's far too early to know what changes the Indians will make by April, but the Tribe's deep-thinkers already are working on them.
A popular subject with the fans is whether Victor Martinez should continue to catch or give way to Kelly Shoppach, which would leave first base open for Martinez.
``Nobody is saying that Kelly is not capable of being an everyday catcher,'' manager Eric Wedge said Tuesday. ``But obviously, there's a special player in front of him.
``Victor has been working hard behind the plate and it's paying off. We have a nice complement (of players) with those two guys. So right now, I don't see any scenario of Victor moving.''
That's doesn't mean Martinez will be asked to catch 150 games next year or abandon first base entirely.
``It depends on things that happen in the winter and what type of moves we make,'' Wedge said.
If Martinez is not the primary first baseman, who will be? It could be Ryan Garko, maybe even Casey Blake, who has been the regular in right field this year and last until he was sidelined by a sprained ankle Aug. 5.
On the other hand, maybe General Manager Mark Shapiro will sign a free agent or trade for a first baseman in the offseason.
``It's really too early to speculate,'' Wedge said. ``But we do have the versatility of Casey. He's a guy who will play every day. It's just a question of whether it will be in one spot or all over the place.''
Blake is certified to play first, third, left or right. And who knows that he won't make appearances at second, which was the tentative plan a couple of years ago.
Obviously, Garko will get strong consideration to take over regular duties at first, depending on his performance the rest of this season.
``We're taking a hard look at all our young players,'' Wedge said.
Give it time
It's early, but so far Andy Marte has not played as advertised. He was touted as a strong hitter with power, who needed work defensively at third.
Instead, he has made some over-the-top plays at third but is struggling at the plate.
``It's going to take time for him to settle in offensively,'' Wedge said. ``But we know he is a guy who is able to drive the ball. He's been strong mentally on defense, and he has some presence.''
Wedge said Tribe operatives knew Marte was a capable defender.
``We knew he was a good third baseman before we traded for him,'' the manager said.
Disputed claim
When Ramon Vazquez was designated for assignment last weekend, he said he did not get a fair chance this season or last season.
Wedge was surprised to hear that, saying: ``He handled it like a pro with me. A player needs to take responsibility for his own performance.''
Baseball America says
The current issue of Baseball America ranks players' tools from the big leagues down through Class A.
The publication rated Grady Sizemore the third most exciting player in the American League and ranked Travis Hafner first in strike zone judgment.
In minor-league categories: Jeremy Sowers was rated the top pitching prospect and No. 1 in pitch command for the International League. Andy Marte was named the top defensive third baseman, and Buffalo skipper Torey Lovullo, best managing prospect.
Among Eastern League players, the Aeros' Eider Torres was rated the best defensive second baseman and Tim Bogar the top manager prospect.
Several Kinston players made the rankings: Trevor Crowe was selected as the Carolina League's best batting prospect, best at strike zone judgment and most exciting player. Chuck Lofgren was named best pitching prospect; Scott Lewis was rated tops in command. Wyatt Toregas was named top defensive catcher.
Several of these players have been promoted to higher levels since they were rated.
Farm facts
Jordan Brown homered, singled three times and drove in three runs, and Jose Constanza added three singles and three RBI in Kinston's 12-11 win over Salem. Stephen Head also drove in three runs, hitting his 14th homer of the year.... Jared Goedert homered and had three RBI in Mahoning Valley's 6-5 win over Tri-City.... Jansy Infante had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs, but Burlington lost 9-5 to Elizabethton.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

8/16/06

Indians being patient with Marte


Wednesday, August 16, 2006


Minneapolis -- Third baseman Andy Marte hasn't left anyone awestruck by his power since joining the Indians from Class AAA Buffalo on July 28.
A couple of days before his much-anticipated promotion, General Manager Mark Shapiro said Marte looked better in spring training than he did at that moment. Shapiro, who had just spent three days watching Marte, was probably trying to cool expectations.
Marte was the key acquisition in the Coco Crisp trade with Boston in January. He could be the middle-of-the-lineup, right-handed hitter the Indians have been searching for the last few years.
Now it appears Shapiro wasn't kidding. Marte has been underwhelming.
He went into Tuesday's game against the Twins hitting .111 (4-for-36) with one extra base hit -- a double. He's struck out 10 times, walked three times and was in a 1-for-17 slump.
Marte arrived from Buffalo in a similar funk, but the Indians have been patient. He's batted at the bottom of the order. He hasn't started every day, giving him more time to work with hitting coach Derek Shelton.
"I like the early signs I've seen from him," Shelton said. "He's still getting acclimated to the big leagues."
Marte, 22, hit .261 (93-for-357) with 23 doubles, 15 homers and 46 RBI at Buffalo.
"I think he's going to drive the ball," Shelton said. "I think he's going to use the gaps. He does a lot of good things in batting practice. We haven't seen it as much as we'd like in the games, but you can tell in BP that he's a good young hitter."
Manager Eric Wedge said Marte's power "will come with time."
It is the one thing the Indians have in good supply over the last seven weeks of the season.
Buffalo II:
The Tribe's roster includes eight players who started the season at Buffalo and one, Tom Mastny, who opened at Class AA Akron.
"Once we made a decision that we were out of this thing, we wanted to find out as much as we could about our young players," Wedge said.
No switch:
Wedge said no plans have been discussed that would involve a position change for shortstop Jhonny Peralta or catcher Victor Martinez.
He said it's possible next year Martinez could continue to bounce between catcher and first base with Kelly Shoppach filling in behind the plate.
"But that could change if we get a regular first baseman during the winter," Wedge said.
You never know:
Last year, Andrew Brown spent 34 days with the Indians and never appeared in a game. This year, he was activated Sunday and made his big-league debut the same day with two scoreless innings in a 13-0 victory.
"When we scored 11 runs in the first inning, I figured I might get in," Brown said.
He's back:
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has changed his diet after missing four games from July 31 through Aug. 3 with an intestinal virus that cost him "16 to 17 pounds."
Gardenhire rejoined the Twins on Aug. 4 after being hospitalized for a day because of dehydration. Gardenhire says he's stopped drinking beer and eating red meat.
"I feel better," Gardenhire said. "I don't wake up with a headache after those ugly losses."
Extra eyes:
Chris Antonetti, assistant general manager, will make the first two stops with the Tribe on this three-city, nine-game trip.
Shapiro and Antonetti are traveling more with the Indians in the second half to evaluate the club for the off-season.
Finally:
Shin-Soo Choo watched Travis Hafner hit deep into the upper deck in right field during batting practice and just shook his head in wonder. . . . Bart Swain, Indians director of media relations, helped out by throwing early batting practice at the dome.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

8/17/06

Twins race to win with five-run eighth

Thursday, August 17, 2006


ASSOCIATED PRESS

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>

</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Cleveland’s Jason Michaels holds his knee after fouling the ball off it in the fifth inning. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


MINNEAPOLIS — Jason Bartlett had four hits and Luis Rodriguez added three, and the Minnesota Twins scored five runs in the eighth inning to break open a tie game and beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 last night.
Luis Castillo drove in the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded infield single in the eighth. Michael Cuddyer added a three-run homer that broke the game open, and Minnesota got 17 hits to move within one game of American League wild-card leader Chicago.
"We just couldn’t string together a bunch of hits at the same time," Cuddyer said. "It wasn’t until the eighth when we were able to sustain a rally."
Jason Kubel singled off Indians reliever Fausto Carmona to start the inning. Carmona then walked Rodriguez before being replaced by Rafael Betancourt. Bartlett greeted Betancourt with a bunt single to load the bases with none out.
"The story was that bunt by Bartlett," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "That bunt was about as perfect as it could be."
Castillo pounded a chopper off the plate, resulting in an infield hit and allowing pinchrunner Jason Tyner to score for a 3-2 Twins lead.
After Joe Mauer’s sacrifice fly scored Bartlett, Cuddyer hit a 421-foot shot over the center-field wall for his 18 th homer.
It was the second consecutive night that Cuddyer added a key hit late in the game.
"Every big situation is nothing but an audition for the next one," he said. "Tonight I was able to come through again."
Sidearm specialist Pat Neshek (2-0) earned the win in relief. The Twins’ bullpen tossed four scoreless innings, lowering its ERA to a leaguebest 3.09.
Carmona (1-8) took the loss.
"Our bullpen did a super, super job for us," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You can go to just about any one of them and plan on getting the job done. They give us a lot of chances to win games."
Cleveland threatened to take the lead in the eighth, putting runners on first and second with two outs before Neshek came in and struck out Ryan Garko.
The Twins struggled with runners on base, stranding 10 the first seven innings.
The Twins wasted no time in jumping on Cleveland starter Cliff Lee. The first three Twins reached base in the first inning. Minnesota took a 1-0 lead on Mauer’s RBI single, but Lee escaped further damage in the inning by striking out Cuddyer and getting Justin Morneau to ground into a double play. Twins starter Carlos Silva retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced before getting into trouble in the fourth. Cleveland scored twice on singles by Garko and Joe Inglett.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/17/06

Indians report

Peralta's defense improves

Shortstop has longest errorless streak in career

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - It's probably too late to change the way he is perceived by the fans, but going into Wednesday night's game against Minnesota, Jhonny Peralta had not made an error in 28 consecutive games.
The Northeast Ohio sporting public thinks of Peralta as a butcher at shortstop, despite the errorless streak -- the longest of his career.
Nevertheless, it appears that Peralta has turned a corner.
``I've been impressed with Jhonny the last month,'' manager Eric Wedge said.
Peralta has 13 errors in 113 games, compared with 19 in 141 games a year ago. At his current pace, Peralta will commit 16 errors if he plays in 141 games this year.
``If you look at the statistics last year and this year, they're not that much different,'' Wedge said. ``The difference is timing.''
Translation: Peralta's errors came in bunches. At his worst, Peralta committed four errors in a 12-game span from May 28 through June 9. In addition to complaints about the errors, observers have taken note of Peralta's limited range.
``When we're home in Cleveland, I do early work with (infield coach) Luis Rivera,'' he said. ``I've been working on going side to side lately, which is something I need to do.''
Peralta's dropoff in offensive production is the biggest difference between this year and 2005, his first full season in the big leagues.
In 504 at-bats last year, Peralta hit .292 with 24 home runs and 78 RBI. Compare that with his current average of .248 with 10 homers and 49 RBI in 436 at-bats.
``I'm swinging at a lot of bad pitches,'' Peralta said. ``The pitchers are also pitching me different than last year.
``They go in and out, up and down. I'd like to see some pitches down the middle. I have to be more patient. Now, they see me swing at a crazy pitch, so they throw it again.''
Peralta's demeanor is so low key, at times he appears to be nonchalant.
``I worry, because I want to hit, I want a good average,'' he said. ``I just have to keep working and see what happens.''
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ABJ

8/17/06

INDIANS NOTEBOOK

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - Tribe starts Aeros' Crowe
working toward second
Indians officials have talked about it before, now it will happen. Akron Aeros center fielder Trevor Crowe is about to learn the art of playing second base.
``Trevor has started doing early work at second, taking ground balls,'' Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti said Wednesday.
Crowe has not played second in a game, but the plan is to use him in the infield before the end of the minor-league season. Even if the conversion to second continues, Crowe won't necessarily abandon the outfield.
``Hopefully, this will give us an option,'' Antonetti said. ``Trevor will go to the Arizona Fall League and play second, and we'll see how that goes.''
Crowe has been on a fast track since being the Tribe's first pick (14th overall) in the 2005 draft.
``Conceivably, Trevor could be up here sometime next season,'' Antonetti said.
BACK IN THE FOLD -- Maybe he didn't mean it when he said he wanted out of the Tribe organization. Ramon Vazquez cleared waivers Wednesday and has accepted an assignment at Triple-A Buffalo.
He could have opted for free agency but would have had to forfeit his salary.
MOTA STILL IN LIMBO -- The Tribe had 10 days to trade or release Guillermo Mota when he was designated for assignment last Friday. Four days remain, and no team has stepped up to acquire him.
``We'd like to try and place him,'' Antonetti said. ``Guillermo was a good teammate, and he worked very hard. Hopefully, a change of scenery will benefit him.''
If Mota clears waivers and is not traded, the Tribe would be willing to keep him at Buffalo, but that decision would be Mota's.
``We're not really expecting that outcome,'' Antonetti said.
FARM FACTS -- Jason Stanford (5-6, 4.23 ERA) gave up two runs in six innings as Buffalo defeated Pawtucket 5-2.... Rodney Choy Foo had three hits and two RBI, but Kinston lost 8-3 to Salem in Class A.... James Deters (10-8, 3.39 ERA) gave up two runs in seven innings as Class-A Lake County beat Delmarva 7-2.... Alan Brech did not get the decision, but he allowed one run and three hits in five innings in rookie-league Burlington's 4-3 win over Princeton.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/18/06

Tribe's Byrd starts, finishes

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

Jim Mone/Associated Press
Minnesota Twins third base coach Scott Ullger (left) shakes hands with Justin Morneau after his solo homer off Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd in second inning on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006, in Minneapolis.
More photos

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - Sometimes, the best closer is the starting pitcher.
That was the case Thursday, when Paul Byrd saved his own game, and the Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 at the Metrodome.
There were two special conditions that allowed Byrd to come out for the ninth: His pitch count was ungodly low, and manager Eric Wedge would have had to reinvent the meaning of the word closer to find a qualified save artist in the Tribe bullpen.
``Byrd was about as efficient as you can be,'' Wedge said. ``And he did a pretty good job of keeping them off balance.''
Unbeknown to most observers in the ballpark, Byrd was pitching under a handicap: His fastball, none too swift any time, was gliding to the plate at speeds of 82-84 miles per hour.
``I didn't have great stuff,'' Byrd said. ``There are games when I don't have my good fastball, and today was one of them.''
But pitchers who know their craft can compensate.
``It just shows you the importance of location,'' Byrd said.
``I still felt like I could compete. The temptation is to overthrow, but that's the kiss of death, because all you do is sacrifice location.''
So Byrd tried to throw his fastball to more precise spots, keep it out of the hitting zone to dangerous fastball hitters and change speeds even more than usual.
Through seven innings, Byrd had thrown only 67 pitches, and by the time he retired the first two batters in the eighth, the count had grown to only 71. That's when he ran into trouble, mostly not of his own making.
With the Indians leading 3-1, Luis Castillo hit a high chop to shortstop Hector Luna, whose throw to first was late.
Jason Tyner followed with the second hit of the inning to put runners on first and third, then Joe Mauer slapped a hard ground ball to Luna's right. He dived and stopped it but failed to pick it up cleanly (he had a play at second), and Castillo scored.
Three singles, two of which never left the infield, had put Byrd on the critical list. Michael Cuddyer followed and worked the count to 3-and-2 before striking out.
There are certain Twins hitters who beat Byrd like a drum. Mike Redmond came into the game 6-for-12 against Byrd; Luis Rodriguez was 4-for-8, and Castillo 10-for-19.
But the guy who concerned Byrd most was Justin Morneau, who had 30 home runs and 103 RBI this season going into the game. He started the game 8-for-15 with three extra-base hits against the Tribe starter.
``Justin Morneau is the best hitter in the world,'' said Byrd, exaggerating to make his point. ``I would rather face anybody but him.
``Even when he doesn't hit the ball hard, it falls in. I don't know if he puts up a force field or what. So when he flied out in the ninth, it gave me a huge lift.''
In explaining why he left Byrd (8-6, 4.55 ERA) in for the ninth, Wedge said: ``The way his pitch count was and with Morneau leading off instead of coming up with the bases loaded, I wanted to give Paul a chance.''
Morneau flied to the track for the first out. ``Byrd used the whole field,'' Wedge joked.
It was the second time in the game Morneau had driven Grady Sizemore almost to the fence to catch his fly ball. Morneau also homered and singled.
Byrd's final pitch was his 100th of the game, and 71 were strikes. He gave up seven hits and no walks and struck out three.
Morneau's home run probably should have been caught by Franklin Gutierrez in left.
``I tried to look for the ball, and the wall stuck me in the back,'' Gutierrez said. ``The ball hit the top of my glove. If I don't hit the wall, I catch that ball.''
Rookie right-hander Matt Garza was making his second big-league start, and either he learned volumes from his first outing or the Indians didn't know how to take advantage of his inexperience as well as the Toronto Blue Jays did.
The Blue Jays were able to limit Garza's workday to 2 2/3 innings after scoring seven runs on eight hits a week ago.
Against the Tribe, Garza threw far too many pitches (102 in five innings), but he kept the Twins in the game.
He gave up two runs in the second inning on Ryan Garko's one-out single and Luna's triple plus a sacrifice fly by Joe Inglett.
In the third, singles by Gutierrez and Travis Hafner plus Victor Martinez's sacrifice fly produced the Indians' third run. Garza finished out his start by retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced, beginning with the Martinez sacrifice fly.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/18/06

Carmona mishandled by Wedge

By Terry Pluto

<!-- begin body-content -->It's going to sound like a second-guess, but it really bothered me when Tribe manager Eric Wedge sent Fausto Carmona to the mound for a second inning Wednesday in Minnesota.
This isn't like screaming at a manager when he fails to call for a bunt or to intentionally walk a hitter. It's even more serious than making most pitching changes.
It's about handling one of the best young pitchers in the Tribe organization.
Carmona threw a scoreless seventh inning against the Twins. As he took the mound for the bottom of the eighth, it was a 2-2 game.
I had one thought, ``Don't let him pitch another inning.''
Carmona is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound bundle of energy and nerves in the midst of a major crisis of confidence. Losing four games in a week will do that to any pitcher. Losing them as Carmona did in spectacular fashion in the eighth and ninth innings would bring a tornado of doubt around any pitcher, much less a rookie.
Which is why one of Wedge's main jobs this season is to help Carmona believe in himself again. Not to try to make make him a closer again, just put him in situations to succeed.
After the door was shut on his brief career as a closer, Carmona pitched twice. The first time was two innings in a 14-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. He didn't allow any runs, but gave up four hits.
The next was a scoreless inning during the Tribe's 13-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Those were perfect spots for Carmona. No pressure.
Back in the fire
Then came Wednesday night, when Wedge squeezed a scoreless seventh out of Carmona in the Metrodome, where the Twins have the best home record in the American League. It would have been a great time to pat Carmona on the back, letting him savor a third consecutive appearance without a smashup.
The bullpen was rested, and Wedge could pick from the likes of Rafael Betancourt, Jason Davis, Tom Mastny and Andrew Brown to pitch the eighth. Not that any of those guys inspires tremendous confidence, but neither does Carmona.
The point isn't just trying to keep the score at 2-2 and win the game. It's salvaging the season for Carmona, who should be a key part of the team next year.
Instead, Wedge sent Carmona out to start the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single. The next batter wanted to bunt, but a hyper Carmona walked him on four pitches. He was then taken out of the game, replaced by Betancourt, who fell apart as the Twins scored five runs en route to a 7-2 victory.
Carmona took the loss, his fifth in 18 days.
Role change
Carmona has had one of the most astounding seasons in recent Tribe history. He began the year in the minors as a starter. He was promoted, had a couple of so-so starts for the Indians, then moved to the bullpen.
Suddenly, the 22-year-old was nearly unhittable.
He had a 1.03 ERA in 26 innings with zero homers allowed and 24 strikeouts.
As the season went into the abyss, General Manager Mark Shapiro began trading off veterans to obtain prospects, cut payroll and create room to try out young players for next season.
Bob Wickman was shipped to the Atlanta Braves and saved his first seven games. He didn't allow a run. The idea was a worthy one: Let's see if Carmona can close.
The answer came quickly and painfully: not yet.
This is not to second-guess the Wickman deal. He would be gone after the season as a free agent. Carmona's week of misery in Wickman's job tells the front office that signing a closer is a top offseason priority.
The Indians must handle Carmona carefully, even if the plan is for him to return to being a starter as he was in the minors (13-9, 3.68 ERA in 2005).
They need to build him up, not break him down. But that's what happened Wednesday night, and Wedge has to take part of the blame for it.
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ABJ

8/18/06

Garko settles in right off bat

Hitting slump at Buffalo disappears with call-up; he credits batting coach

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->MINNEAPOLIS - It doesn't seem to make much sense.
In 102 games against Triple-A pitching at Buffalo, Ryan Garko batted .248. When he was called up by the Indians on Aug. 8 with two big-league at-bats to his credit, he began hitting like a veteran.
Garko isn't sure why he struggled with the Bisons, but he thinks he knows why he's hitting now.
Of the cause of his disappointing numbers at Triple-A, he said: ``I wish I knew.
``When I got here, (hitting coach) Derek Shelton broke down film with me, and he made a couple of little adjustments.
``And they helped, absolutely. I'm seeing the ball better, and I'm getting myself in good hitting counts.''
That hardly accounts for a raw rookie batting .313 with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in his first 32 major-league at-bats.
``Maybe I felt trapped into trying to do too much at Buffalo,'' Garko said. ``I was trying too hard to put up numbers to get noticed. I know that was part of it.''
Getting a chance to play for the Tribe seemed to alleviate all the stress of battling to get to the majors. ``I know this sounds kind of weird,'' Garko said, ``but I feel more relaxed and comfortable up here than I did at Buffalo.''
Bisons manager Torey Lovullo seemed to understand Garko's anxieties.
``Every time I would talk to Torey, he'd say, `You're fine,' '' Garko said. ``He saw that I was having good at-bats. He would tell me, `Throw your numbers out the window, because you're one of our better hitters.' ''
The use of high school and college umpires during the strike by minor-league umpires also factored into the equation, according to Garko.
``For the first 60 games, we had replacement umpires,'' he said. ``Everybody's numbers were down because of that. If you had four at-bats a night, three were taken away by the umpire.
``It got so bad we just laughed about it. These guys were trying. But they didn't see 80-mile-an-hour fastballs in high school, and now they were having to see 95-mile-an-hour fastballs.''
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/19/06

Bullpen supplies another letdown

Relievers blow victory, give up three-run rally to Devil Rays in ninth

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - The Indians proved conclusively Friday night that their bullpen can blow a ninth-inning lead against any big-league team.
This time, it was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays overcoming a two-run deficit with a three-run rally in the last inning to eke out a 6-5 win at Tropicana Field.
The Rays are the only major-league club whose fan base is just that: a fan. And for good reason. Tampa Bay ranks last in the American League in runs, hits, batting average and on-base percentage. Only Kansas City has lost more games.
But that didn't stop the Devil Rays on Friday night.
Maybe the next step is to test the Tribe's relief corps against lesser competition. There are several 70-and-over teams on the West Coast of Florida, and fans in Cleveland would never know the outcome.
To be fair, had a sure double-play ground ball not taken a bad hop off the suddenly outstretched glove of shortstop Jhonny Peralta, the bullpen would have gotten off the hook.
On the other hand, Tribe manager Eric Wedge, quietly seething in the aftermath, wasn't willing to pass the defeat off to bad luck.
``I still thought he could have made the play,'' Wedge said. ``It hit his glove. But it did take a bad hop.''
Others were more inclined to give Peralta a break.
``Off the bat, I thought we got the double play, and it hopped over him,'' said Brian Sikorski, who threw the pitch that Rocco Baldelli slapped toward Peralta.
``The ball hit the lip (where the artificial turf meets the dirt) and took a big hop. There's nothing you can do about that.''
Here's what happened:
With the Indians leading 5-3, Sikorski came on in relief of C.C. Sabathia to work the ninth inning. He was greeted by Travis Lee, who doubled, and pinch hitter Dioner Navarro, who singled, putting runners on first and third.
Greg Norton struck out, and Baldelli turned from goat to hero in the matter of a millisecond, as his ball rolled into left field, driving in one run and leaving runners on first and third.
``We got what we needed,'' Sabathia said. ``But the ball bounced over Jhonny's head.''
Wedge summoned Jason Davis from the bullpen, and he walked Ben Zobrist on four pitches then yielded a single just inside the first-base line to score the tying and winning runs.
``A couple of pitches were close, but I have to do a better job of getting strike one,'' Davis said of the walk.
Obviously, several elements -- in addition to the bad-bounce single -- went into losing the lead. But since Bob Wickman was traded to the Atlanta Braves on July 20, only Davis (once) has been able to hold a lead of three or fewer runs in the ninth inning.
Is the constant failure beginning to affect the entire bullpen?
``You can't let it carry over,'' Davis said. ``Somebody has to step up and put a stop to it. Once we do that, we'll be fine.''
Added Sikorski, ``Every day is a new day. Today is over. We have to get ready for tomorrow.''
Until the ninth, three players stood out for the Tribe: Sabathia, Travis Hafner and a surprise hero.
For the first time since Andy Marte was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on July 28, he looked like the hitter the Indians were hoping to see. Did he ever.
Marte had his best offensive game by far, ripping a double and scoring in the third inning; leading off the fifth with a double and scoring again; then walloping the first home run of his big-league career to start the seventh.
Coming into the game, Marte was batting .122 with one double and two RBI in 41 at-bats.
``I've been waiting for this day,'' Marte said. ``But what can I say. We lost the game.
``I've got to keep doing what I did tonight. I'm still hitting only .200 (actually .178).''
Hafner drove in the first Indians run with his 36th homer of the season in the first inning. It gave him 33 home runs as a designated hitter, enabling him to break the franchise record held jointly by him (last season) and Ellis Burks (2002).
In the third, Hafner delivered a two-run single to boost the Tribe's lead to 3-1.
Sabathia gave up three runs and eight hits, but Wedge was not going to send him out for the ninth when he had already thrown 105 pitches.
``You know me,'' Sabathia said. ``I always want to keep going. That's just how I feel. But I didn't really think I was going back out there, and I understand that. I wasn't disappointed at all about that.''
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

8/19/06

Indians notebook

Martinez to stay in cleanup position

Manager plans to wait until offseason before reconsidering options

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Travis Hafner has batted third in the order for a month, one spot ahead of Victor Martinez.
Indians manager Eric Wedge's experiment hasn't had any noticeable impact on either player, but that's only part of the equation.
``We'll probably give it the rest of the season,'' Wedge said Friday. ``Part of it has to do with what we do over the winter.''
From the results so far, it appears that Hafner and Martinez both are comfortable batting where they are now or going back to their original spots in the lineup, with Hafner fourth and Martinez fifth.
There are two questions to be resolved: If Hafner and Martinez hit in the third and fourth positions, respectively, who bats fifth?
If Hafner hits in the cleanup spot and Martinez bats fifth, who will take over the third slot?
Those questions won't be answered until next year. In 2005, it was not a problem, because after starting the season batting ninth, Jhonny Peralta was elevated to sixth and then to third and took advantage of the opportunity.
This season, Peralta's production has fallen off precipitously, leaving Wedge without a No. 3 hitter.
General Manager Mark Shapiro has not enumerated his priorities for the offseason, but one is likely to be the acquisition of a hitter who drives in at least 90 runs.
``With Casey Blake's versatility, it gives us some options,'' Wedge said. ``So it depends on what's out there and how we're able to compete for it. But it would be nice to have another bat.''
Because Blake can play third, first, right and left, it gives Shapiro the flexibility to seek out a hitter without limiting him to a specific position.
It would be desirable to bring in another hitter, but it's probably not a crucial need.
``Our offense has been pretty good, just a little inconsistent at times,'' Wedge said. ``But I think that's always the case.''
On course
Blake has been on the disabled list with a sprained ankle since Aug. 5 and is not expected to return for a while.
``Casey has made progress,'' Wedge said. ``We were going to have him come to Kansas City (Tuesday), but we decided against it. But don't read anything into that. We probably are still looking toward having him back toward the end of the month.''
When and if
The Tribe isn't likely to call up many players from the minors in September, when active rosters can be expanded to 40.
But team officials must determine which players will be protected on the 40-man roster in anticipation of the Rule 5 draft in December.
According to Assistant GM Chris Antonetti, decisions must by made on Adam Miller, Ryan Goleski, Ryan Mulhern and Kevin Kouzmanoff, all of whom have been in the organization at least three years and thus are eligible to be snatched away in the Rule 5 draft.
Consequently, one or more of those players might find his way to Cleveland next month.
Spring forward
The Indians still have hopes of moving their spring training headquarters to the Disney sports complex near Orlando, Fla., but there's a rumor that the Washington Nationals also would like to relocate to the Disney facility.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have held spring training in St. Petersburg, might be moving to Port Charlotte, farther down the West Coast.
Farm facts
Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 3.09 ERA) gave up just five hits and one run in eight innings, but Buffalo lost 1-0 to Ottawa in Class AAA.... First-round draft pick David Huff made his second start and gave up four runs and six hits in two innings, as Mahoning Valley lost to Staten Island 9-2 in Class A.... Lucas Montero homered twice and doubled, but the Gulf Coast League Indians lost 6-5 to the Tigers.
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ABJ

8/19/06

Triple-A Buffalo

<!-- begin body-content -->News from around the Indians' minor-league system. Statistics are through Thursday.
Triple-A Buffalo
STATUS: The Bisons are 66-59, third in the International League North Division, six games behind Rochester.
WHO'S HOT: Right-hander Brian Slocum took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Wednesday at Ottawa. In the game, he allowed two hits and a walk while striking out eight, but thanks to a pair of unearned runs, he was tagged with a 5-3 loss. In 24 games (13 starts), Slocum is 6-2 with a 2.86 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings.
PROSPECT UPDATE: Right-handed starter Jeremy Guthrie rejoined the team last week after he was optioned to Buffalo from Cleveland when reliever Andrew Brown was called up to make his major-league debut. Although Guthrie gave the Bisons another quality start Thursday in allowing one run on five hits over eight innings, Buffalo lost 1-0 to Ottawa. Guthrie is 7-5 with a 3.09 ERA in 18 starts.
Double-A Akron
STATUS: The Aeros are 75-48 in the Eastern League and lead Altoona in the Southern Division by six games.
PROSPECT UPDATE: First baseman Ryan Mulhern is still working back from a right knee injury. He had a pinch-hit single in his first at-bat Tuesday and was 1-for-2 in five innings Wednesday. Mulhern is batting .276 with 23 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and 59 RBI in 107 games. He also has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games while batting .392 with five home runs and 15 RBI.
ROSTER MOVES: The Aeros swapped a right-handed reliever for a left-hander Tuesday, sending Scott Roehl back to Class-A Kinston in exchange for Reid Santos. In 35 appearances with Kinston, Santos was 2-0 with four saves, 65 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA. Roehl struggled in seven games with the Aeros, posting a 9.82 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. Santos relieved Adam Miller on Wednesday. He faced four batters, allowing two runs on three hits.
High Class-A Kinston
STATUS: The Indians are 29-24, second in the Carolina League Southern Division, four games behind Salem.
WHO'S HOT: Right fielder Jose Constanza has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games, batting .359 with a home run and 15 RBI. In 61 games with Kinston, he is batting .313 with 11 doubles, four triples, a homer and 24 RBI.
PROSPECT UPDATE: First baseman Stephen Head is batting .228 in 115 games but has reached base in 35 consecutive games.
Low Class-A Lake County
STATUS: The Captains are 28-23, second in the South Atlantic League Northern Division, seven games behind Lakewood.
WHO'S HOT: Right-handed reliever Julio Pinto is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 32 games. He also has 59 strikeouts, compared with 21 walks, in 67 1/3 innings.
PROSPECT UPDATE: Catcher Max Ramirez is batting .306 in 22 games. In 102 games this season, he's hitting .289 with 21 doubles, 12 home runs and 51 RBI.
Short-season
Mahoning Valley
STATUS: The Scrappers are 30-25 in the New York-Penn League, first in the Pinckney Division and one-half game ahead of State College.
WHO'S HOT: Catcher Matt McBride is batting .312 with nine doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI in 35 games.
PROSPECT UPDATE: Left-hander David Huff made his debut last week and is 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA in two starts spanning 3 2/3 innings. Huff was the Tribe's top pick in the June draft out of UCLA.
ALL-STARS: The New York-Penn League American League All-Stars defeated their National League counterparts 4-1 Wednesday in Aberdeen, Md. Six Scrappers made the trip. Right-hander Luis Valdez started the game but did not earn a decision. He allowed an unearned run on one hit and a walk while striking out two batters. Right-hander Neil Wagner also allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two in an inning of relief. McBride doubled and scored in his lone plate appearance, while infielder Andrew Lytle and outfielder Jason Denham both were 0-for-2.