Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians bats keep lead safe from bullpen

Friday, August 01, 2008 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

The phone kept ringing in manager Eric Wedge's of fice minutes after the Indi ans beat the Tigers on Thursday afternoon to split a four-game series at Progressive Field. It was 3:34 p.m., 26 minutes to the trading deadline.
GM Mark Shapiro did nothing as the deadline came and went. Shapiro had already made his moves, trading the measurable talent of CC Sabathia and Casey Blake earlier in the month for the unknown promise of prospects.
The only thing left to do is answer the heartbeat of the schedule. The Indians' 107th game ended in a 9-4 victory over Detroit on a day that was much more pleasant than the season. As always, there were things to chart, decipher and evaluate in preparation for the last 55 games of this season and beyond.

Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Friday, August 1, 2008
Tired Indians gain sloppy win over Tigers
Sizemore's HR offsets Cleveland mistakes
By JOE VARDON
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
CLEVELAND - Surely the fatigue, obviously the sloppiness, and perhaps the heartbreak carried over for the Indians. Having blown leads of 8-1 and 11-7 to the Tigers Wednesday night in an improbable 14-12 loss that didn't end until after 12:40 yesterday morning, the Tribe needed a boost. It needed Fausto Carmona and Grady Sizemore. Carmona overcame some horrendous defense by his teammates and Sizemore socked a three-run homer for the second straight game in Cleveland's 9-4 victory. For Carmona, a usually dominant right-hander who pitched his way to 19 victories last season, the win was his first since May 12. Sizemore, an all-star centerfielder, extended his hitting streak to 11 games and recorded his team-high 27th homer.
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[LitlBuck]

Hafner update

Dispatch

The first item on general manager Mark Shapiro's to-do list in rebuilding the Cleveland Indians is getting some kind of answer regarding Travis Hafner's injured shoulder.

Hafner, the designated hitter, has been out since May 30, and it's nearly impossible for Shapiro to put together a blueprint without knowing whether he can count on Hafner next season.

Hafner was in North Dakota this week for his father's funeral, but look for Sharpiro to press him to return before the end of the season. If he can't, the Indians likely will ask him to make some plate appearances

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Joe Mauer spoils Sowers' effort in Twins win
Saturday, August 2, 2008
BY JON KRAWCZYNSKI
AP SPORTS WRITER

MINNEAPOLIS Joe Mauer's two-run homer in the seventh inning spoiled another strong start by Jeremy Sowers against the Twins in Minnesota's 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.

Mauer's seventh homer of the season broke a 1-1 tie, and Brendan Harris added an RBI double to back Nick Blackburn (8-6), who gave up just one run on six hits in seven innings as Minnesota won for the sixth time in seven games.

For the second straight start against Minnesota, Sowers (1-6) took a perfect game into the sixth inning before the Twins spoiled it with a leadoff double. On July 27, it was Craig Monroe who got to Sowers.

Continued......

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Twins 4 Indians 1
An imperfect ending
Left-hander perfect through five again before faltering
Saturday, August 2, 2008 2:56 AM
By Paul Hoynes


THE PLAIN DEALER

MINNEAPOLIS -- Perfection isn't worth it. At least not for five innings.
Cleveland Indians left-hander Jeremy Sowers, for the second time in as many starts, threw five perfect innings against the Minnesota Twins. Both times he lost the perfect game and the no-hitter to the first man he faced in the sixth inning. Last night, he lost the game as well.
Sowers allowed three runs in the seventh inning as the Twins beat the Indians 4-1 to continue their pursuit of first place in the American League Central. It was a tough loss for Sowers, who was so good for five innings.
Jhonny Peralta's pinch-single off Nick Blackburn (8-6) in the seventh pulled the Indians into a 1-1 tie. It didn't stay tied for long.
Nick Punto started the seventh with a single. Joe Mauer followed with a two-run homer to left-center field. Sowers retired the next two batters, but Randy Ruiz singled to right for his first big-league hit and rumbled home when Brendan Harris doubled into the left-field corner.
That marked the end for Sowers (1-6, 5.82 ERA), who allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and threw 96 pitches, 63 for strikes.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians pitcher acquired in CC Sabathia trade has sore shoulder

Saturday, August 02, 2008
Minneapolis -- Director of Player Development Ross Atkins doesn't think the Indians received damaged goods as part of the CC Sabathia trade.
Right-hander Rob Bryson, one of the four minor-leaguers the Indians received from Milwaukee, was placed on the disabled list Thursday with an inflamed right shoulder. Bryson, pitching at Class A Lake County, made only six appearances since the July 7 trade before getting hurt.
One report said Bryson has a slight tear in the labrum of his right shoulder.

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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Hafner needs testto assess shoulder
Published on Saturday, Aug 02, 2008
Hafner needs test
to assess shoulder


MINNEAPOLIS: Travis Hafner has returned to Cleveland from North Dakota, where his father, Terry, died last week.
Hafner was scheduled to undergo a test to determine the strength of his right shoulder, but his absence delayed that. Now, there is another impediment to making the assessment.
Head trainer ''Lonnie Soloff is the one who has to do it to keep everything consistent,'' manager Eric Wedge said Friday. ''But Hafner's going to start swinging a bat. He feels well enough; he's already done it a couple of times.''
A prerequisite for Hafner to begin swinging had been how much strength he had regained in the shoulder. But apparently the test can wait until the team returns home. Hafner will not join the club during the trip to Minneapolis, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Toronto.
MOVING UP ? With Jhonny Peralta getting the night off, Shin-Soo Choo moved into the cleanup spot and abandoned the outfield to be the designated hitter.
''It's just because he was batting fifth, so he moved up one,'' Wedge said. ''He played three days in a row, and we're still taking care of his arm.''
Choo underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow last year.
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[LitlBuck]

Nice outing by Sowers last night and that was probably the only good thing about the game. The lack of hitting this to the point of nausea.

Right-hander Rob Bryson, one of the four minor-leaguers the Indians received from Milwaukee, was placed on the disabled list Thursday

If I were the Indians management, and heaven knows I am not involved, I would not take any chances with this guy and tried to get a refund from the Brewers.

 

[Mac]

I'm surprised C.C. hasn't been dead tired since joining the brewers. His last start, he threw like 125 pitches and the previous one he threw around 110. And with his fatass, it's got to be hard for him to throw more than 100. It's a shame I can't make fun of his neck rolls anymore

 

[NFBuck]

Nice outing by Sowers last night and that was probably the only good thing about the game. The lack of hitting this to the point of nausea.

Just shows you how low the bar has been set this year when giving up 4 runs in 6 innings is considered a nice outing. :!

 

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland.com

Indians Insider: Next round of evaluation on Hafner's recovery comes Thursday
by Paul Hoynes
Saturday August 02, 2008, 10:26 PM

Indians head trainer Lonnie Soloff and batting coach Derek Shelton will spend Thursday's off day in Cleveland evaluating how close Travis Hafner is to rejoining the Indians.

Hafner has been on the disabled list since May 30 with a strained right shoulder.

Soloff will give Hafner a strength test to see how his injured shoulder compares to the left. If it's at 75 percent or better, it will determine how aggressive the Indians can be with Hafner's hitting program.
Hafner has been taking practice swings since returning to Cleveland following his father's funeral last week. The Indians are videotaping Hafner's swings and sending them digitally to Shelton and manager Eric Wedge.

Victor Martinez and Josh Barfield, who are on the current road trip, could start rehab assignments when this trip ends in Toronto. Martinez is recovering from right elbow surgery and a strained left hamstring. Barfield underwent surgery on his left middle finger on June 17.

Martinez has been hitting underhand pitches from Shelton for the last two days.

"He's doing extremely well with that," said Soloff. "We're hoping to progress him to coaches' batting practice early next week and team batting practice when we are in Toronto."

Continued

Article also says that Adam Miller would start throwing in the Arizona Instructional League if he is healthy enough to do so.

I am not sure if I would bring Hafner back this season. The way Shopach is hitting the ball I might let him continue catch, maybe sharing time with Victor when he is ready, but I think I might give Victor a lot of time at first base.

Nice outing by Birdie last night. Lucky he didn't pitch that way in June and for the majority of July or he might not be with the Indians. Seems like the tip from Bert B regarding his curveball has really helped him out. It will be interesting to see how Dellucci performs the rest of the season. Is it possible that he is coming out of his season-long slump. Something to keep our eye on.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach homers in victory

Shoppach's homer carries Tribe to win
Sunday, August 03, 2008 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

Minneapolis- Kelly Shoppach has always had a swing as big as his native Texas. It's a grip-it-and-rip swing, and he makes no apologies for it.
"It's safe to say I don't get cheated," he said.
Shoppach used that swing to hit a 3-1 pitch over the right-field fence in the fourth inning Saturday night against Kevin Slowey to give the Indians a lead they never lost in a 5-1 victory over the Twins at the Metrodome. It was Shoppach's 12th homer as Victor Martinez's fill-in, two more than he hit in his career before this season started.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Indians chatter

Sunday, August 03, 2008
Clubhouse confidential: It seems like the Twins' lineup would be vulnerable to a left-handed starter or reliever because Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, their No. 3 and No. 4 hitters, are left-handed. A look at the stats tells a different story.
Mauer went into Saturday night's game hitting .369 (41-for-111) and Morneau .297 (44-for-148) against lefties. They've hit 12 of their combined 25 homers against lefties.
"They're two great hitters," manager Eric Wedge said. "One guy is an MVP [Morneau] and the other guy is a batting champ [Mauer]. It doesn't get much better than that."

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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Indians in a giving mood Loss puts Minnesota in first place. Ginter's flaws beginning to show
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Aug 04, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS: At the very least, the Indians should be on the Twins' Christmas card list.
Then again, the Tribe ought to be inundated with holiday cards from its American League rivals, not to mention the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers, who plucked C.C. Sabathia and Casey Blake from the large stockings hung from their mantels.
The Tribe's 6-2 loss in the Metrodome on Sunday, combined with the Kansas City Royals' drubbing of the Chicago White Sox, lifted Minnesota into first place in the Central Division by one-half game.
Unfortunately for the Indians, that's as close to a pennant race as they will get for the rest of this year. They are playing for pride or because they must fulfill their contractual obligations.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Wedge wants new closer by spring Possibilities are many, but Indians manager sees need for decision
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Aug 04, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS: Here's the preliminary list: Salomon Torres, Francisco Rodriguez, Brandon Lyon, Jason Isringhausen, Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes.
These relievers are prospective free agents, though Torres has an option for 2009. All save games for a living. Will any of them end up as the Indians' closer next season?
Or, if the Tribe chooses not to sign a free agent, or can't, what about a trade, possibly for Huston Street or Jose Valverde?
Maybe it will be none of the above. It's possible General Manager Mark Shapiro will acquire a reliever who has not closed in the past, but looks promising in that role. It's far too early to tell what direction Shapiro will go, but one thing is almost certain: By the time spring training begins, manager Eric Wedge will have his man.
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