• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

Canton

Indians nearly no-hit by Atlanta
UPDATE: 4:37 PM, Wednesday, March 5, 2008
By Andy Call
Repository sports writer

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. The Indians (2-4-1) came within one out of being on the wrong end of a no-hitter Wednesday. Danny Sandoval's RBI hit off Atlanta's Colter Bean prevented it, but Cleveland still lost to the Braves, 4-1, at Chain of Lakes Park.

Sandoval's two-out single off the right-field wall had been preceded by walks to Beau Mills and Jason Tyner.

"That would have been another first," Manager Eric Wedge said.

Paul Byrd started for Cleveland and worked three scoreless innings. He also took some good-natured kidding when he lost track of the number of outs and began to walk off the field after striking out Tyler Flowers.

"I showed my first signs of aging," said Byrd, 37. "I still insist that I got four outs that inning. Everybody in the dugout was all over me. I knew I had to get the next guy out. Fortunately, I did."

Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Canton

Tribe's Adam Miller just wants to stay healthy for a season
Thursday, March 6, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Adam Miller, on occasion, tries to look at the bright side.

"I don't think there are any more parts of my finger I can strain," Miller says with a smile.

The Indians still are waiting for their first look this spring at their former first-round draft pick and No. 1 prospect. He sustained a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand early in camp and hasn't pitched a game since.

"It's frustrating when everybody else is throwing, and I can't even throw," Miller said. "I'll take care of it now, because I don't want to worry about it later.

"The blister was the last thing I was expecting."

Miller will throw a bullpen session Friday. He expects to throw about 35 to 40 fastballs and changeups.

Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Canton

Indians notebook: Byrd's outing solid, but about those outs ...
Thursday, March 6, 2008
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Indians catchers find themselves in a new role while working with Paul Byrd this season ? counting to three.

Byrd lost track of the outs during the third inning but otherwise pitched well during Cleveland's 4-1 spring-training loss to Atlanta at Chain of Lakes Park.

"I showed my first signs of aging," said Byrd, 37. "I still insist that I got four outs that inning. Everybody in the dugout was all over me. I knew I had to get the next guy out. Fortunately, I did."

Byrd got out eight of the nine batters he faced, including Atlanta DH Tyler Flowers on a called third strike for the second out of the third inning ? when Byrd began to walk off the field.

The only Braves hit off the veteran right-hander came on Kelly Johnson's single that led off the game. Johnson was erased when Yunel Escobar, the next batter, hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

"Paul was really good," Manager Eric Wedge said. "I really liked the way he threw the ball."


Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

WORD FROM INDIANS CAMP

Thursday, March 6, 2008 3:22 AM

Yesterday's game: Lost to Atlanta 4-1. The Indians managed only one hit, an RBI single by journeyman Danny Sandoval in the ninth inning. Travis Hafner went 0 for 3 and is 0 for 7 with three walks this spring. Joe Borowski allowed four hits and three runs in the fourth inning.
Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Link

Minor League Report: Meetings near
Tribe prospects' seasons start by meeting with farm director

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Imagine meeting with your principal just a few weeks before school starts and not knowing which grade he'll assign you to.
That's kind of how it feels to be a Minor League ballplayer in the early days of Spring Training camp. Many of them reported to the Chain of Lakes complex this week with no idea which team they'll be headed to in April. As farm director Ross Atkins meets with all 150 players individually, he tries to give them a general idea of what to expect in the year ahead, but it's impossible to pinpoint specifics.

Continued.....
 
Upvote 0
Link

Notes: No personal catcher for Byrd
Shoppach no guarantee to work all of right-hander's starts
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- There were only two outs flashed on the scoreboard at Chain of Lakes Park in the second inning of Wednesday's game against the Braves, but Indians starter Paul Byrd began walking off the mound and toward the dugout.

"I showed my first sign of aging when I could not keep track of the outs," Byrd joked. "I still insist I got four outs that inning. I don't know if that's ever happened to me before." Byrd might have just been out of sorts because of the mere fact that he wasn't working with his personal catcher, Kelly Shoppach. Rather, it was Minor Leaguer Yamid Haad behind the plate.

Continued....
 
Upvote 0
cnnsi.com

Heavy expectations

Sabathia enters walk year in line for a big raise

Posted: Monday March 3, 2008 1:32PM; Updated: Tuesday March 4, 2008 1:23AM


Also in this column:
? Manny checked with A-Rod before signing with Boras.
? What can the Yankees expect from Ian Kennedy?
? Dodgers kids get a message from the GM.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- If this is the farewell tour in Cleveland for reigning American League Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia, the Indians and their still-only-27-year-old left-hander are determined to make it as joyful and painless a final season as possible. While making no other guarantees, a smiling Sabathia promised to have a fun season, whether it be the finale or not.
When a reporter suggested that this was a "tough situation'' to be in, Sabathia looked at the fellow like he was an alien (which is possibly even lower than a sportswriter).
"Why's that?'' Sabathia said, smiling wide. "It's a great position to be in.''

Continued........
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

Tribe batting order a work in progress Wedge to take time putting together lineup
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Mar 07, 2008
KISSIMMEE, FLA.: When frustration gives way to desperation, some managers pluck names from a hat in an effort to assemble a lineup that will snap their teams out of a slump.
It is hard to imagine Eric Wedge ever doing that, no matter how precipitous an Indians batting skid. Wedge takes great care to compile his lineup, whether the club is hitting well or poorly. And with almost a month of spring training left before the season starts, he has only begun to consider the multitude of options that will confront him on Opening Day against the Chicago White Sox.
Wedge allows that there are times when he quickly can fill out his lineup card and other times when several hours are needed.


Cont...
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

Sabathia sharp in three-inning outing Lefty dispatches Astros so quickly he continues day's work in bullpen
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Mar 07, 2008

KISSIMMEE, FLA.: That was the C.C. Sabathia everyone has come to expect.
Sabathia delivered three hitless innings Thursday, striking out three and allowing only one out to be recorded by an outfielder.
''I was pounding the zone today, and they were swinging early in the count, being aggressive,'' he said about the Indians' 11-5 win over the Houston Astros at Osceola County Stadium.
Sabathia needed only 28 pitches to retire nine batters and finished his 50-pitch outing in the bullpen.


Cont...
 
Upvote 0
CPD

Cleveland Indians third baseman Casey Blake knows what the deal is


Friday, March 07, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Kissimmee, Fla. -- There is another Indian entering his free-agent season in 2008 besides C.C. Sabathia. Like Sabathia, the Indians have made their intentions clear to Casey Blake.
The similarities end there.
While the Indians have offered Sabathia the richest contract in team history -- negotiations have been tabled until the end of the year -- and vow to pursue him even if he dives headlong into the free-agent pool, their negotiations with Blake were much more pointed.
@StoryAd
They signed Blake to a one-year, $6.1 million deal in February to avoid arbitration. No one is going to starve on that kind of money, but the key to the deal was its length, not its monetary value.
If the Indians wanted Blake to stick around past 2008, they could have added a club option for 2009. A one-year deal, however, carries a different meaning.




Cont...
 
Upvote 0
CPD

Cleveland Indians may move infielder Asdrubal Cabrera down in the batting order


Friday, March 07, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Kissimmee, Fla. -- Asdrubal Cabrera could be moving to the bottom of the lineup.
When the Indians promoted Cabrera from Class AAA Buffalo, N.Y., in August, he replaced Josh Barfield at second base and took over the No. 2 spot in the lineup. He took to the job like he'd hit there all his life, helping the Indians win the American League Central and reach the seventh game of the AL Championship Series.
Indians manager Eric Wedge is worried Cabrera might be overwhelmed in his first full season in the big leagues.
@StoryAd
He pointed to shortstop Jhonny Peralta's problems in 2006 in the No. 3 spot after he'd prospered there in 2005.
If Cabrera doesn't hit No. 2, Wedge said he'd try outfielders David Dellucci, Jason Michaels and Franklin Gutierrez there.




Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Word from Indians camp

Friday, March 7, 2008 2:59 AM

HOME FIELD: CHAIN OF LAKES PARK, WINTER HAVEN, FLA.
WEB SITE: The Official Site of The Cleveland Indians: Homepage
? Yesterday's game: Beat Houston 11-5. C.C. Sabathia retired all nine batters he faced. Rafael Perez allowed six hits and four runs in one inning. Ben Francisco had four hits and Franklin Gutierrez had three. First-round pick Beau Mills hit a two-run home run.

Continued.......
 
Upvote 0
CPD

Cleveland Indians prospect Beau Mills raised in the baseball life


Saturday, March 08, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Winter Haven, Fla.- Before Beau Mills was born on Aug. 15, 1986, his father sought the perfect name for the son he wanted to be a baseball player. It had to be melodious, rolling off the tongue without interruption, while sounding just right over a ballpark's public address system.
Family legend has it Brad Mills walked around the house testing one first name after another by saying, "Now batting, [insert name here] Mills." What else would you expect from someone who was Boston manager Terry Francona's roommate at the University of Arizona, played 106 games in the big leagues with Montreal and is currently the Red Sox's bench coach?
Finally, he found the right combination. It went like this, "Now batting, Beau Mills."
@StoryAd
"When I was born, I came out of the womb being announced as Beau Mills," said the Indians' No. 1 draft pick from 2007. "I had no choice."
This is Mills' first big-league camp after working his way through Class A Mahoning Valley, Class A Lake County and Class A Kinston last year. Then again, not really.




Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

Spring spotlight: Shin-Soo Choo

Saturday, March 8, 2008 6:45 AM




Dispatch reporter Scott Priestle is in Florida, splitting time between Reds and Indians spring training camps. Today, he brings you ? Shin-Soo Choo

Indians outfielder



Cont...
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top