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Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

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Dispatch

Indians walk away winners on 3-run blast

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:38 AM
By Scott Priestle


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CLEVELAND -- As soon as the ball left his bat last night, Kelly Shoppach began to raise his arms in celebration. He was ready to savor his role in a remarkable ninth- inning rally before the ball even landed.

"I hit it really, really good," he said with a smile. "I didn't know it was going to land in the front row."
On this night, it could be no other way.
The Indians walked a fine line for nine innings, barely succeeding one moment and barely failing the next. Every action was tinged with doubt. When Shoppach's fly ball landed a few feet beyond the left-field fence, they had an 8-5 win over the Oakland Athletics that easily could have been a 5-3 loss.

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ABJ

Shoppach hits spot

Catcher leaves bench to hit clutch homer in ninth-inning rally

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter



CLEVELAND - With Dan Haren starting for the Athletics, the Indians didn't figure to set a franchise scoring record Tuesday night.
They didn't figure to win, either, inasmuch as Haren had a 9-2 record and his team was 12-4 when he took the mound.
But the Tribe eventually faced the Oakland bullpen, in particular Alan Embree, who has been asked to close games while Huston Street is on the disabled list.
Facing a two-run deficit in the ninth, the Indians stormed back against Embree to score five times, earning an 8-5 win at Jacobs Field.

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ABJ

Indians report

Things `good' for Mastny

Young reliever survives ups, downs of majors while gaining experience

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - Tom Mastny hasn't been a lights-out reliever for the Indians, but he's had his moments, and he seems to have the attitude and demeanor necessary for pitching in critical situations.
``Things are good,'' Mastny said Tuesday.
He's got that right. Gone are the long bus rides from one dusty minor-league ballpark to another. This is the big leagues.
It has been 11 months since Mastny made his major-league debut and 10 months since earning his first save. He made seven appearances as the Tribe's closer and succeeded in five of them.

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ABJ

A's sink Carmona in second

Normally stellar starter doesn't last two innings in Indians' loss

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter



CLEVELAND - Maybe the Oakland Athletics knew what was coming or own the services of a CIA agent who specializes in deciphering the game plans of sinkerball pitchers.
More likely, the law of averages kicked in Wednesday night. Fausto Carmona, after all, was not going to render opposing hitters harmless in every start for the remainder of his career.
So it wasn't Carmona's night. Same for the Indians, who lost 13-7 at Jacobs Field, despite hitting four home runs.

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ABJ

Indians report

Lefties waiting in the wings

With Fultz on disabled list, Perez and Stanford ready to step into his role

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - The loss of Aaron Fultz until after the All-Star break will not be felt as keenly, thanks to the emergence of Rafael Perez and the presence of Jason Stanford.
For the first month of the season, Fultz was the only left-hander in the Indians' bullpen.
Perez was summoned from Triple-A Buffalo on May 3 and has pitched his way into a late-inning job.
Stanford was called up from Triple-A to make two starts for an injured Jake Westbrook. He did so well the Tribe couldn't take a chance on losing him via the waiver wire and stashed him in the bullpen little more than a week ago.

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CPD

INDIANS INSIDER
Fans don't notice Tribe's success


Thursday, June 28, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Angels are the only team with a better home record in the American League than the Indians. The Tribe went into Wednesday's game against Oakland at 26-11. Los Angeles is 29-12 at Angels Stadium.
The Indians were tied for first place in the AL Central with Detroit. The Angels had a six-game lead over Seattle in the AL West.
The gap between the two widens considerably when the subject turns to attendance.

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Taking 3 of 4 from Oakland is a big boost.....

Yahoo!

Cleveland 4, Oakland 3

Cleveland 4, Oakland 3
Preview - Box Score - Recap
June 28, 2007

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Jason Michaels hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Cleveland Indians held off the Oakland Athletics 4-3 Thursday.
An ill-advised throw by Michaels from left field let the A's put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth against closer Joe Borowski.
But Shannon Stewart -- 10-for-20 in the four-game series -- popped out and Mark Kotsay flied out, giving Borowski his 22nd save in 24 chances.
The Indians trailed 3-1 when Michaels hit his sixth home run. He connected off Ron Flores (0-2) and extended his hitting streak to 11 game. Dan Johnson homered, doubled and singled twice for Oakland, which held an early 3-0 lead. The Athletics fell to 1-6 on their nine-game road trip.

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ABJ

Torrid Michaels rises up

Three-run homer saves day for Tribe in come-from-behind win against A's

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

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Cleveland Indians closing pitcher Joe Borowski celebrates a victory over the Oakland Athletics with teammate Casey Blake at the end of a game at Jacobs Field on Thursday, June 28, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)
CLEVELAND - Jason Michaels is the Indians' hitter with a hot hand, or maybe two when he grabs a bat.
It was Michaels' three-run homer in the seventh inning that propelled the Tribe to another come-from-behind win against the Oakland Athletics, this time 4-3 on Thursday afternoon at Jacobs Field.
Michaels is sneaking up on the public consciousness as a guy who counts. That was not the case last year, when he generated little excitement, a natural consequence of a .267 batting average, nine home runs and 55 RBI in 494 at-bats.
This year, and especially lately, Michaels has been making his presence known. He has hit safely in 11 consecutive games with an average of .395, two homers and 10 RBI, raising his overall average to .302 with six home runs and 25 RBI.

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ABJ

Betancourt's string shows

CLEVELAND - value of his bullpen work
Rafael Betancourt's string of 16 scoreless outings was broken Tuesday night, when he allowed a run in the ninth inning. He came back by pitching a scoreless eighth Thursday.
``He's been as valuable as anybody here,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the late-inning reliever. ``You have to have a guy like that for your closer to be successful.
``In the last three or four years, Rafael has continued to get better and evolve into the next level. We've seen that all come together this year.''
NO PROBLEMS -- Outfielder David Dellucci underwent successful surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to remove a tendon attached to his left hamstring.

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ABJ

Jacobs Field is beaming up with solar panel installation

Ribbon-cutting ceremony today will celebrate ballpark's energy system

By Bob Downing

Beacon Journal staff writer

Cleveland's Jacobs Field is going solar.
The Cleveland Indians baseball team and Green Energy Ohio will celebrate the $180,000 installation of solar panels to power 400 televisions inside the stadium with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. today.
Jacobs Field is the first American League ballpark to go solar, officials said.
The power -- 8.4 kilowatts of electricity -- will come from 42 solar panels atop a newly erected pavilion on the south-facing upper deck concourse at Jacobs Field.

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CPD

Betancourt has lots of setup-side


Friday, June 29, 2007 Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist
By definition, the setup man has a supporting role in a bullpen. The setup man is the second-best reliever on a staff.
The closer is the best.
The setup man's success is determined by a statistic that isn't even officially accepted, the "hold."
The closer gets the hallelujah chorus stat, the "save."
The hold is defined by the same criteria as the save, but it lacks the closer's, well, closure. For all the respect a hold gets outside player-evaluation reports, it could mean holding the closer's coat, as a loyal second would in a duel.

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