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Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

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ABJ

Indians notebook

Pitchers producing almost without flaws

Monday's only score was result of an error. Lee is throwing again

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. - One overlooked aspect of the Indians this spring has been the pitching, which has been almost monotonously effective.
Monday's 2-1 win over the Mets at Tradition Field brought home that point, as seven Tribe pitchers combined to give up one unearned run.
Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd each got his second chance of the spring to work and turned in two scoreless innings apiece. Westbrook yielded one hit and walked none; Byrd gave up two hits and one walk.

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CPD

INDIANS INSIDER
Hafner sees more first base


Tuesday, March 06, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Port St. Lucie- Last year, Travis Hafner was a virtual no-show at first base. The Indians' record-setting designated hitter played four games there because of a sore right elbow that prevented him from throwing.
This year, he could be a little more visible.
Hafner is scheduled to start today's Grapefruit League game at first against the Yankees at Chain of Lakes Park.

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CPD

INDIANS SPRING TRAINING
Rookie pitcher's spin turning heads


Tuesday, March 06, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Port St. Lucie, Fla.- C.C. Sabathia could have gone home. He was done for the day, but he stuck around last week at Chain of Lakes Park to watch Adam Miller pitch in an intrasquad game.
"I was impressed," said Sabathia, the Indians' No. 1 starter.
Manager Eric Wedge watched Miller make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the American League champion Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. He threw two scoreless innings, striking out two, while Detroit still had many of its regulars in the lineup.

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ABJ

Indians notebook

Carmona keeps Yankees' bats under control

Pitcher allows one hit, fans three after being battered in first outing

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

WINTER HAVEN, FLA - Fausto Carmona had things more under control in his second appearance of the spring in Tuesday's game against the New York Yankees.
Carmona started the game and worked two innings. The Indians gained a 6-5 win, handing the Yankees their first loss in six exhibition games.
In his first outing, Carmona gave up three runs, three hits and two walks in one inning. This time, facing a lineup that included Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, Carmona yielded only one hit -- a ground ball off his glove -- and struck out three.

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ABJ

Rookie Miller slow to learn cliches

Otherwise, he's swift in most areas of game necessary for pitching

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

Apparently, Adam Miller never saw Bull Durham nor internalized the wisdom of Crash Davis, the film's lead character, portrayed by Kevin Costner.
Costner was an aging catcher whose job it was to teach the finer points of the game to Nuke LaLoosh, a clueless young pitcher with a great arm. One of Costner's cardinal rules: learn the cliches, so you can say nothing of substance but give the impression you're cooperating with the media.

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Canton

Indians spring training: Elusive goal for Aubrey: Get healthy
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Michael Aubrey's day starts early.

He arrives at the Chain of Lakes Park complex at 7 a.m. and begins a stretching and flexibility program designed to help overcome the injuries that have derailed his professional baseball career. Overcoming the discouragement that accompanies those setbacks, however, is something no trainer can devise a plan for.

"Family and faith," Aubrey said. "I've got a wonderful wife. I've got a 16-month-old girl. The Lord helps all of us, me included, every day. Those things are a lot stronger than any negatives I've experienced."

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Canton

Carmona is able to relax
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Fausto Carmona, faced with his first big test of spring training Tuesday, passed with flying colors.

Carmona started for Cleveland against the New York Yankees in front of 6,625 at Chain of Lakes Park and found himself in a dire situation almost immediately. A walk and stolen base by Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui's infield single off Carmona's glove put runners at the corners with one out and cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez coming to the plate.

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CPD

INDIANS INSIDER
Wedge: Hafner 'fine' at first base


Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Winter Haven, Fla.- Tuesday was a good day for first basemen Travis Hafner and Michael Aubrey.
Hafner, a designated hitter by trade, made his first start of the Grapefruit League season at first base against the Yankees. He handled all chances that came his way.
Aubrey, a first baseman by trade, replaced Hafner in the seventh. Aubrey, injured for most of the past two years, singled in a run and made a game-ending double play in the Tribe's 6-5 victory at Chain of Lakes Park.

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CPD

Let Sizemore's star cut through gloom


Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Winter Haven, Fla.
- Grady Sizemore drives a '66 Lincoln Continental convertible that's only slightly smaller than the QE2.
"My dad had an old car, a big, long boat," Sizemore said Tuesday. "I used to make fun of it, but when he got rid of it, I kind of missed it. I'd been looking for something like it for a while."

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Canton Repository

Marte is thinking about ?D?
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Andy Marte's bosses sat down with him on the first day of spring training and explained exactly what was expected of him.

They didn't mention hitting.

"When we had that one-on-one, they told me, 'We've got pretty good hitters here. We don't need you to hit .300. We need you to play defense,' " Marte said. "So, that's what I'm focusing on."

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Dispatch

INDIANS
Sowers has ascended, with more to follow
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ? Last spring, Jeremy Sowers had a locker along the far wall of the Cleveland Indians? clubhouse, with the rest of the rookies awaiting a demotion to minor-league camp. He was nervous on the mound and quiet around the veterans. This spring, Sowers has graduated to a side-wall locker, near veterans Paul Byrd, C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook. He has been replaced on Rookie Row with a fresh batch of wide-eyed prospects, including Adam Miller, Tony Sipp, Chuck Lofgren and Scott Lewis. It is the type of progression every organization hopes to witness.

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ABJ

Barfield's speed gives options

Wedge, though not enamored of steals, bunts, sees more opportunities to run

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Former Indians catcher Sandy Alomar extolled the virtues of the Tribe's new second baseman, Josh Barfield, on Monday.
``He'll steal 50 bases in the American League,'' said Alomar, now a spring invitee with the New York Mets. Alomar was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006 when he watched Barfield play several games as a rookie with the San Diego Padres.
Now that Eric Wedge is Barfield's manager, some observers are of the opinion that Barfield's stolen-base total might shrink. Wedge is seen by many as a manager who prefers to avoid the steal and the bunt as weapons.

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ABJ

Notebook

Sowers unhappy with mechanics

Pitch count limits him to 2 innings. Rivas has 2 doubles plus single

By Sheldon Ocker

Beacon Journal sportswriter

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Jeremy Sowers is a master of finding flaws in his performance.
Wednesday at Al Lang Field, he gave up one run and three hits in two innings as the Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-2.
Sowers was not sharp, but he did not walk a batter and struck out two in his second outing of the spring. He was scheduled to pitch three innings or throw 50 pitches. Because he had unleashed 48 in two innings, he was forced to leave early.
``Maybe I felt a little too good today,'' Sowers said. ``I think I was faster than normal. I had trouble staying back.''

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CPD

INDIANS SPRING TRAINING
Tribe remains sweet on Sowers


Thursday, March 08, 2007 Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
St. Petersburg, Fla.- The Indians turned Jeremy Sowers into an accidental tourist last September.
Happy with his season - OK, ecstatic with his season - they shut him down on Sept. 12 after his start against Kansas City.
He can't tell you anything about the Oakland A's lineup in September, but he can tell you about Alcatraz. He missed out on the Texas Rangers but visited the Texas School Book Depository.

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