Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

INDIANS NOTEBOOK

KANSAS CITY, MO. - Good and bad innings
for reliever Cabrera
Manager Eric Wedge sent Fernando Cabrera to the mound for another try Wednesday night, and the right-hander retired the side in order in the eighth but gave up a two-run homer in the ninth.
``I felt like he did a better job with his slider,'' Wedge said. ``There are some things he can work off of.''
Maybe Wedge should have pulled Cabrera after one inning.
``You can look at it that way,'' Wedge said. ``But where we were with our bullpen, I had to go ahead and use Fernando for two innings.''
MILLER STALLED -- Adam Miller was scratched from his scheduled start for Buffalo Thursday night shortly before game time.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

RBI single by Sizemore gives the Tribe a 5-1 lead in the 6th.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Hafner's triple seals the deal

8th-inning hit extends the lead. Byrd gets win against Tigers

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

• Tribe looks to contend for long haul
• INDIANS NOTEBOOK
• Tribe bosses seek to improve bullpen

DETROIT - What could be more predictable than Travis Hafner hitting a towering triple to drive in an important run?
Just about everything. Forecasting the weather on the moon is easier than figuring out when (if) Hafner might deliver a triple, and there is no weather on the moon.
At any rate, Hafner's eighth-inning RBI expanded the Indians' lead to two runs, the Detroit Tigers eventually falling 7-4 Friday night at Comerica Park.
Casey Blake began the eighth with a walk, and Hafner -- hitless in his previous seven at-bats -- took a mighty swing and the ball sailed into left-center field, bouncing near the bottom of the fence and careening back toward the infield.
``I'll take what I can get,'' Hafner said of his eighth big-league triple in 1,934 at-bats ``I thought (Curtis) Granderson might have a chance to catch the ball, so I didn't know it was a hit until I got around first.''

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Tribe looks to contend for long haul

By Terry Pluto

DETROIT - It's only May 26.
And yes, the Indians do have 17 more games with the Detroit Tigers following Friday's 7-4 victory at Comerica Park on Friday.
But don't you sense the Indians might stay in contention all season?
Consider that Paul Byrd is now 5-1 after Friday's victory. Byrd has more victories (five) than walks (three) this season.
Joe Borowski might have an earned-run average (7.50) higher than the Dow Jones industrial average, but he's tied for the American League lead in saves after notching No. 15 Friday.
And the Indians (29-17) lead the Tigers (29-18) by a half-game in the Central Division.
The best news is they're doing it without everyone peaking.
Jeremy Sowers (1-4, 6.29 ERA) has struggled, Jake Westbrook (1-2, 7.90) has been hurt and Travis Hafner (.270, 9 HR, 32 RBI) knows he's a better hitter than that. Others who have sputtered early include David Dellucci (.227), Fernando Cabrera (5.59 ERA) and Roberto Hernandez (5.60 ERA).

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Tribe bosses seek to improve bullpen

Recent moves indicate lingering dissatisfaction

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

DETROIT - The Indians' bullpen hasn't been a major problem, but it is obvious by the moves General Manager Mark Shapiro made this month, the Tribe's deep thinkers believe there is significant room for improvement.
Jason Davis was permanently removed from the roster. Rafael Perez and Edward Mujica made cameo appearances, and now Mike Koplove is here for a trial.
``We still have a lot to figure out in the bullpen,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said Friday. ``We need some help for Rafael Betancourt and Tom Mastny in the back end, so we're looking for guys who can step up.''
Betancourt and Mastny have done an acceptable job in the setup role, and despite a couple of explosive failures, closer Joe Borowski had 14 saves in 16 opportunities going into Friday night's game against the Detroit Tigers.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

INDIANS NOTEBOOK

DETROIT - Sidelined Miller to see
Baltimore hand doctor
Taking no chances with their best prospect, the Indians have arranged for Triple-A Buffalo starter Adam Miller to visit Baltimore hand specialist Tom Graham on Tuesday.
``Adam didn't feel comfortable warming up (before his start Thursday),'' head trainer Lonnie Soloff said. ``He didn't feel like he could compete. He was re-examined today.''
Miller has been sidelined for more than a week with a strained tendon in his right middle finger. He will not start again until the problem has been resolved, but even before he visits Dr. Graham, Miller will be permitted to throw a bullpen if he chooses.
ONE MORE STEP -- Jake Westbrook (strained abdominal) threw his second bullpen session Friday (40 pitches) with no apparent ill effects.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

TAKE A SEAT Indians second baseman Josh Barfield lands on the Tigers' Carlos Guillen after throwing the ball to complete a double play in the eighth inning Friday night at Comerica Park in Detroit.​

Michaels' big catch keys Tribe
Saturday, May 26, 2007
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

DETROIT Paul Byrd threw a lot of strikes Friday night - 60 among 73 pitches.

Thanks to Jason Michaels, however, Byrd was able to get away with throwing one strike too many.

Cleveland's left fielder reached over Comerica Park's fence to rob Craig Monroe of a three-run home run and a relieved Byrd went on to help pitch the Indians past Detroit, 7-4, in the first battle of the season between the Central Division's top teams.

"The story is not my pitching," Byrd said. "The story is Jason Michaels making a catch like Superman against the left-field wall. Nobody in the park was happier than me."

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

INDIANS INSIDER
Borowski's ERA: Every Run Amplified


Saturday, May 26, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Detroit- Joe Borowski likes a low earned-run average as much as the next closer. He's learning to make an exception this year.
Borowski has 15 saves in 17 chances for the Indians. He is tied for first in saves in the American League.
But what can be said about his 7.50 ERA?
"ERA can be misleading," said Borowski. "Selfishly, you want it to look good. But with what happened to me, I look at those two outings as mulligans."
The Yankees scored six runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning against Borowski on April 19, turning a 6-2 ninth-inning deficit into an 8-6 win.
On May 13, Oakland scored four runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning against Borowski to turn a 7-5 ninth-inning deficit into a 10-7 win.
Those two games have accounted for 10 of the 15 runs Borowski has allowed this season. If Borowski avoids another such outing, while continuing to pitch effectively, it might take him until after the All-Star break to pare his ERA back to respectability.

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[LitlBuck]

Michaels saves game last night with catchy in second inning. It will be interesting to see if he starts today against a RH starter. I mean he is only batting around 275 which is 60 points better than DD.


Also I was reading on another forum and a guy brought up a good point. In the top of the ninth last night, Hafner was the 3rd with no one out in Cleveland had a two-run lead. Why didn't Wedge pinch run for him with our utility infielder. I will grant the fact that Hafner did score on a sacrifice fly but is that right fielder had a better arm Hafner would have never made it. In addition, a faster person on third could have scored on a wild pitch which Hafner might not have been able to do. With our bullpen every run is valuable.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

cnnsi.com

Byrd's eye view

High-flying Indians making up for '06 disappointment

Paul Byrd has issued only three walks in 45 1/3 innings in winning four of his first five decisions.

The Indians were positively pumped coming out of spring training. It was clear to anyone who bothered to look their way that this was a team that could win -- it has been, truth be told, for a couple of years now -- and that, finally, they were ready to win.
They started off well, taking two out of three in their first series in Chicago. Then they flew to Cleveland for their home opener against the Mariners that first weekend in April ... and the snow came. And came some more. And kept coming. Almost before it started, the Indians' promising season fish-tailed to a stop.
That could have been a bad omen for the Tribe, maybe the most disappointing team in baseball last year. Sitting around for four full days during a whiteout with nothing to do but think. Watching future off days disappear into the snow. Getting stiff, getting lazy, losing that early-season fire. The season interruptus came at the worst of times.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

bottom of the 8th......Tribe up 6-3......

 

[Bucks21]

winner winner chicken dinner, CC gets his 7th

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

yahoo.com

Cleveland 6, Detroit 3

Cleveland 6, Detroit 3
Preview - Box Score - Recap
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer
May 26, 2007

DETROIT (AP) -- David Dellucci's tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Cleveland Indians to a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
Victor Martinez also hit a two-run home run and C.C. Sabathia tied the league lead with his seventh victory to help the Indians beat Detroit for the second straight day, giving them a 1 1/2 -game lead in the AL Central.
Marcus Thames homered for the Tigers, who have lost three of their past five games.
Sabathia (7-1) allowed three runs and six hits over eight innings. He struck out six and walked one. Tom Mastny pitched the eighth and Joe Borowski followed in the ninth for his AL-high 16th save in 18 chances. Sean Casey led off the ninth with a single and Ivan Rodriguez hit a two-out double, putting runners on second and third. Curtis Granderson popped out to end the game.

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[NFBuck]

Another big win!

 

[NFBuck]

Passed the first big test of the season...3 straight in Detroit to put us up 2 1/2 games. Now right into 3 in Fenway.