Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Lewis likes position as closer for future Season is rehearsal for Indians pitcher, who has third save
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Aug 18, 2008
CLEVELAND: Jensen Lewis: closer.
Sounds pretty good to Jensen Lewis. Some day, it might happen. Technically, it already has, but that's just this season, which is kind of a rehearsal for the future.
Lewis earned his third save of the season the hard way Sunday, as the Indians beat the Angels 4-3 at Progressive Field.
With Grady Sizemore playing very deep to prevent a ball going over his head for a double, Juan Rivera dumped a single into shallow center to lead off the ninth. After a bunt moved him to second, pinch hitter Kendry Morales singled to center, and Rivera had to hold at third.
Lewis warmed to the task and retired the side without allowing the tying run.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Three Indians playerson rehab assignment... Published on Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Three Indians players
on rehab assignment

CLEVELAND: Victor Martinez (arthroscopic elbow surgery) will take today off and go to Buffalo to catch six innings Tuesday night. Josh Barfield (finger surgery) will move from Akron to Buffalo and play tonight, and Travis Hafner (rotator cuff weakness) will begin his rehab assignment at Buffalo tonight with two plate appearances.
Will all three players have to wait until Sept. 1 to be activated, when rosters can be expanded to 40?
''Not necessarily,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''We'll evaluate them after a week.''
RARE FEAT ? With the Tribe taking two of three over the weekend, the Angels lost a series to an American League team for the first time since May 9-11, when they were swept by Tampa Bay.
They also lost a series to the Dodgers June 27-29.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Martinez rediscovers his power with Aeros By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Victor Martinez's first home run of the season didn't come in front of the kind of audience he expected when the Indians' season began on March 31, but the Tribe's All-Star catcher earned a standing ovation nonetheless.
In front of a meager crowd of 4,508 at Canal Park Sunday afternoon, Martinez smashed a two-out line-drive homer down the left-field line in the first inning to hand the Aeros an early lead against New Britain.
The full-count blast came in Martinez's second start with the Indians' Double-A club, just two days after going 0-for-2 with a walk Friday in front of a packed house.
After rounding the bases, a smiling Martinez headed toward the home dugout with his teammates sitting on the bench giving him the silent treatment, until the group finally burst out in laughter and mobbed him with high-fives.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Pitcher Jeremy Sowers' work is winning ingredient in Cleveland Indians' 4-3 victory over Los Angeles Angels

Sowers is key as Indians take series from Angels
Monday, August 18, 2008 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

Jeremy Sowers pitched like a winner Sunday, and this time the box score agreed.
There were several elements in the Indians' 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field. Some redemption for catcher Sal Fasano, a big hit by outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and a tight save by closer Jensen Lewis were factors, but if Sowers didn't pitch 6 2/3 innings to keep the bullpen from being overexposed, none of it may have mattered.
"This game was all about Jer- emy today," Lewis said.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians outfielder Franklin Gutierrez trying to find focus

Monday, August 18, 2008
When the season started, the Indians wondered if Franklin Gutierrez would hit well enough against right-handers to be their regular right fielder.
The numbers tell the story. There are 39 games left and Gutierrez is hitting .225 (45-for-200) against right-handers.
He isn't doing much better against left-handers. He went 3-for-3 in Sunday's 4-3 victory over the Angels and two of the hits were against Joe Saunders to give him a .242 (23-for-95) average against lefties.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians closer Jensen Lewis shows true grit in closing down Los Angeles Angels

Monday, August 18, 2008 Chris Herring
Plain Dealer Reporter

Jensen Lewis may have just been trying to put friend and teammate Jeremy Sowers at ease when he whispered to him during the national anthem Sunday afternoon. But the words he spoke turned out to be an omen.
"I told him during the anthem, 'This is your day and I'm going to come in and stop it for you,' " Lewis said after throwing a scoreless ninth inning to collect his third career save, one that meant more than the other two.
Sure, Lewis was happy to be reminded how it feels to close one out for Sowers, who played at Vanderbilt with him. But the 24-year-old was more ecstatic about finishing off the Angels, who threatened in the final frame with the tying run 90 feet away.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Indians notebook: Much-maligned Gutierrez is getting into the swing
Monday, August 18, 2008
BY JOSH WEIR
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND Don't close the book on Franklin Gutierrez just yet.

Mired in a disappointing season, the Tribe's 25-year-old outfielder has kept working, "kept swinging," as he says.

"It's not been easy for me," he said. "But I think I'm getting to a good point now."

Gutierrez went 3-for-3 with a walk and a key two-run single in the Tribe's 4-3 win Sunday against Los Angeles at Progressive Field.

His bright spots have been sparse. Gutierrez is batting .231 with six home runs after a promising 2007 season when he hit .266 with 13 homers.

However he's showing signs of life, batting .349 (15-for-43) over his last 14 games.

"I don't think anything's different," Gutierrez said. "I'm just having more playing time, trying to concentrate a little bit more every time I go out there, trying to make adjustments. I'm swinging the bat well right now. I feel good."

Gutierrez pointed to swing mechanics and pitch recognition as his main obstacles.
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[LitlBuck]

marginal offensive production from him, he's decent enough defensively

I'm not so sure about this regarding Marte. He is not even close to being "marginal" for a 3rd baseman right now and I, personally, do not think his defense makes up for any of this offense. In fact, I think he is more of a liability on defense. I would be interested in seeing his fielding percentage. He would really have to go gangbusters next Spring with his hitting for me to want to keep him at third base next year and the question is can we wait until next Spring to see if he can be a run producer. I really don't know if we can take that chance. Why bother with the rest of the team for next season if we are great to have a 3rd baseman who can not even hit the Mendoza line.

Lewis likes position as closer for future Season is rehearsal

I would not mind seeing more of Lewis as a closer but is he really the answer for an entire season. While I like him because of his strike throwing capability, he has had a few ups and downs in the past two seasons but if you can close for the remainder of this season with some consistency I would be willing to let him start out as our closer next Spring but I sure as h would have a backup plan.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Matt Laporta took a pitch to the head during the US game against China.

 

[OHSportsFan]

Pretty sure Marte is an above average fielder. He won Double A third baseman defensive Player of the Year by League managers. Fielding percentage is .980 this year. Range factor is 2.81. League averages are .958 and 2.44, respectively. He's very good at turning double plays. His hitting woes have not affected his glove this year.

Tribe just needs him to hold the position as a stop-gap until they can afford someone better or have Hodges move on up. Hit maybe .250 with 15 homeruns and 50-60 RBIs. So far, he's shown no ability to do even that.

 

[NFBuck]

Pretty sure Marte is an above average fielder. He won Double A third baseman defensive Player of the Year by League managers. Fielding percentage is .980 this year. Range factor is 2.81. League averages are .958 and 2.44, respectively. He's very good at turning double plays. His hitting woes have not affected his glove this year.

Tribe just needs him to hold the position as a stop-gap until they can afford someone better or have Hodges move on up. Hit maybe .250 with 15 homeruns and 50-60 RBIs. So far, he's shown no ability to do even that.

I'm holding out hope they bring Blake back during the offseason. He's a good clubhouse guy, semi-productive and is head and shoulders above anything Marte will ever be. He's said he loves Cleveland and won't be too expensive, plus we know Wedge loves him. Marte will never be anything more than a .220-.230 hitter...and it will take considerable improvement to get there. Let Blake hold it down until Hodges is ready.

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Gutierrez in process of figuring it all out Indians player is showing improvement at plate
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008

It's not surprising that the Indians continue to give Franklin Gutierrez a chance to overcome his offensive problems.
He is an All-Star quality performer in the outfield, with speed, a strong and accurate arm plus an innate sense that enables him to take the shortest route to the ball.
Lately, he also has shown signs of upgrading his play at the plate, but there is no way to know if that is just a temporary spike in a long season or a more permanent change.
Gutierrez is batting .349 with two home runs and six RBI in his past 14 games, a hot streak he regards mostly as business as usual.
''I don't think I'm doing anything different,'' he said. ''I'm getting more playing time and concentrating on making adjustments. This whole year has not been real easy for me. I just think I'm getting to a good point right now.''
His numbers tell a lackluster story. He is batting only .231 with
19 doubles, six home runs and 27 RBI in 295 at-bats.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians outfielder David Dellucci finds his swing but must wait for playing time

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Chris Herring
Plain Dealer Reporter

Frustrated is likely the best word to describe the way David Dellucci is feeling.
For 3? months, the Tribe outfielder couldn't find a rhythm at the plate. His struggles - arguably the worst of his 12-year career - led him to question everything from his swing to whether he'd returned from his 2007 hamstring surgery too soon.
Now, finally having navigated his way through a season-long slump, the 34-year-old often has had to watch from the dugout. Manager Eric Wedge has said he's holding auditions for next season's corner outfield spots by giving each outfielder a chance. That means Dellucci is splitting time with Ben Francisco, Shin-Soo Choo and Franklin Gutierrez - all of whom are 26 or younger.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Former Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove has Hall of Fame class, says The Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
So glad that Mike Hargrove was inducted into the Tribe Hall of Fame. He's a class act who has lived in the area since 1980, even after he was fired in 1999 and then managed in Baltimore and Seattle. In seven seasons with the Tribe, he was a .292 hitter on some very awful teams. As a manager, he is the only man to take the Indians to a pair of World Series appearances. Like Al Lopez in the 1950s, the job he did for the Tribe will never truly be appreciated.
It's encouraging to see what infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has done since returning to the Tribe from Class AAA Buffalo, N.Y., after the All-Star break. He's hitting .290 in that span with a .385 on-base percentage and .841 OPS. (That's on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, and anything over .800 is excellent, especially for a middle infielder.) His defense is superb. I'd still love to see him as a regular shortstop with Jhonny Peralta moving to third in 2009. Cabrera batted only .184 before being sent to Buffalo in June. In 80 games between second and short, Cabrera has only five errors. His internal stats (kept by the Tribe) rank him near Gold Glove-caliber, especially at second base.

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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Wedge wants three back ASAP Hafner, Martinez, Barfield could make difference in wins. There's also next season to think about
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008

CLEVELAND: Sooner rather than later. That's when manager Eric Wedge wants Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Josh Barfield back with the Indians.
All well and good, except that if the three players are activated from the disabled list before Sept. 1, three players will lose their roster spots. That is not to say it would be difficult to find three players that Wedge can do without.
But why the rush?
''I want to get them back as soon as I can without getting in the way of their rehab,'' Wedge said Tuesday.
Winning games is part of the reason. Despite the team's lowly place in the standings, managers get paid to win; they are bred to win. In addition, the more at-bats the three players can accumulate, the better prepared they will be when next season begins.
Wedge already has said that Martinez, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips and other debris from his elbow, would not be catching nine innings, six days a week.

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