Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Peralta likes to avoid snow and strikeouts But life's cold reality is that both can happen during March baseball
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Thursday, Mar 13, 2008
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.: Inasmuch as the Indians have been in Florida for three weeks, the topic naturally turned to snow, and how fortunate everyone was not to have to deal with the consequences of the kind of blizzard that struck Northeast Ohio last week.
Bullpen coach Luis Isaac, seeing the glass half full, joked: ''They're probably running out of snow in Cleveland. And it's a good time to run out.''
Isaac was raised in Puerto Rico and still lives in San Juan. He never saw a flake of snow until 1988 in Chicago, when he 41 years old.
Jhonny Peralta lives in Santiago, Dominican Republic, but came to Cleveland twice over the winter to work out at Progressive Field.


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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians' Kelly Shoppach an able, important piece to a vital duo


Thursday, March 13, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.- Kelly Shoppach is learning while he sits. He'd rather play, but as he said, "It ain't like Vic is hitting .100."
Vic is Victor Martinez, the Indians' All-Star catcher.
"In my book, Vic is one of the two best catchers in the Ameri can League," said Shoppach. "I won't tell you who the other one is because I'd probably catch some grief for it."

Shoppach is Marti nez's backup. How far back is he?
He had 161 at-bats last year. The year before he had 110, so at least he's moving forward.
It doesn't mean the Indians are unhappy with Shoppach. It's just that they're enthralled with Martinez.




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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians to keep injured reliever Juan Lara in their care


Thursday, March 13, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Winter Haven, Fla.- The Indians have released injured reliever Juan Lara and re-signed him to a minor-league deal that will pay him between $90,000 and $100,000. By releasing Lara, the Indians cleared a spot on the 40-man roster.
They will continue to pay Lara's medical expenses as he recovers from a near fatal off-season accident in the Dominican Republic. Lara is undergoing occupational rehabilitation at Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland.
"This allows us to keep Juan in the organization and supervise his rehab and help him return to a normal life," said Chris Antonetti, Indians assistant general manager.

Antonetti said Lara is "progressing well. He's starting to return to normal activities. It's just a question of rehabilitating the rest of his injuries."
It's still unknown if Lara, 27, will pitch again.
"We remain hopeful that at some point he can pitch," said Antonetti. "It's important, first, that he returns to normal activities and he's on his way to that."




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[osugrad21]

Canton

Ex-Rockie Jamey Carroll hopes to return to World Series with Tribe
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Indians fall to Braves in exhibition[/FONT]
Thursday, March 13, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. The Indians have spent most of the winter wondering what it would have been like to play in the World Series.

Jamey Carroll did play in the World Series, and says it was an unforgettable experience.

"It was my first time in the playoffs, and it was everything I wanted it to be," said Carroll, a utility infielder on the Colorado Rockies team that faced Boston in the 2007 Fall Classic.

The only downside for Carroll and the Rockies was the result. Boston swept Colorado in four games.

A month later, he was traded to the Indians for a player to be named.

He will likely finish spring training as the backup middle infielder, a veteran insurance policy should Asdrubal Cabrera or Jhonny Peralta struggle or be injured.

"It's a new challenge," Carroll said.

"I played my whole career in the National League. It should be interesting to see how a utility player survives over here. They had a great year last year and were one game away from playing in the Series."

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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Spring spotlight

Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:16 AM




Dispatch reporter Scott Priestle is in Florida, splitting time between Reds and Indians spring training camps. Today he brings you ? Jhonny Peralta

Indians shortstop

? Age: 25
? Major-league experience: Three years, 118 days



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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Word from Indians camp

Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:16 AM




? Yesterday's game: Lost to Atlanta 11-4. Aaron Fultz faced 10 batters and nine scored. Grady Sizemore hit his third homer in two days, and first-round pick Beau Mills hit his second of the spring.



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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Speeding up brings results for Laffey Pitching coaches find flaws by inspecting game videos
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Mar 14, 2008
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers have some catching up to do and not much time to do it.
Both starters are competing with Cliff Lee for the final spot in the Indians' rotation, and by virtue of his experience as a winner and his workmanship in spring training, Lee is the leader in the clubhouse.
Thursday, Laffey got his latest chance to turn around what so far has been a disappointing camp. And though he gave up two runs and five hits in four innings, Laffey put a stop to his slide.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Carmona hits a spring bump Indians' second starter appears 'a little bit flat,' but building up strength
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, Mar 14, 2008
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: Fausto Carmona doesn't have to worry about winning a roster spot.
He is the No. 2 starter in the Indians' rotation behind C.C. Sabathia, and if he pitches every five days from here on out, he will start the second game of the season in Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox.
Carmona made his third start of the spring Thursday in a 9-5 win against the Toronto Blue Jays, giving up three runs and five hits in four innings. He completed his throwing by delivering 14 pitches in the bullpen, getting his total up to 65.
''I thought Fausto looked a little bit flat,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''I'm looking forward to his next turn.''


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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Mother of Guardsman to throw out first pitch By Associated Press
POSTED: 01:41 p.m. EDT, Mar 13, 2008
CLEVELAND: Opening day for the Indians will have a patriotic flavor.
The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Kim Shockley-Hampton, the mother of Ohio National Guard Cpl. Andre Hampton. Her son expects to be deployed to Kuwait by opening day on March 31 at Progressive Field.
Cpl. Hampton was originally selected to toss out the first pitch by his civilian employer, Progressive insurance, which purchased the naming rights to the former Jacobs Field. Hampton picked his mother as his stand-in.
Hampton's unit with the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will supply U.S. troops in Iraq.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians' Aaron Laffey pitching for fifth spot in rotation


Friday, March 14, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Winter Haven, Fla.- Aaron Laffey needs to find that roller coaster again. If he does, it wouldn't be a surprise if Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers try to climb in with him.
Laffey won 17 games at three different levels for the Indians last year. His season began at Class AA Akron and ended it with 4 2/3 scoreless innings against Boston in Game 6 of the ALCS at Fenway Park.
"It was a roller-coaster ride that never went down," said Laffey. "It just kept going up."

This spring training the coaster has yet to soar as Laffey, Lee and Sowers compete to win the fifth spot in the Indians' starting rotation. Lee is probably the early leader after throwing three scoreless innings against Detroit on Tuesday. Laffey hadn't helped himself much until throwing four decent innings in Thursday's 9-5 victory over Toronto at Chain of Lakes Park. Sowers, carrying an 18.00 ERA in three appearances, starts today against Washington in Viera, Fla.




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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians' Andy Marte doing nothing to earn spot on team


Friday, March 14, 2008
INDIANS INSIDER
Marte doing nothing to earn spot on team

Winter Haven, Fla.- Manager Eric Wedge's review of Andy Marte's spring training to date is lukewarm.
"He's had good days and bad days," said Wedge. "I think he's been a little tentative defen sively. He's shown signs offensively. I want to see him be more consistent with his offense and defense."
Marte is a marked man. He's out of options, which means the Indians must keep him in the big leagues, trade him, or risk losing him on waivers. A natural third baseman, Marte is working out at first base and in the outfield. He's only taken fly balls twice this spring.




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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

WORD FROM INDIANS CAMP

Friday, March 14, 2008 3:27 AM




? Yesterday's game: Beat Toronto 9-5. Travis Hafner went 2 for 3 with a home run; he has eight hits in his last 10 at-bats, four of them for extra bases. Aaron Laffey had his best outing of the spring, allowing two runs in four innings with four strikeouts. "Today was a real good day for Laffey," manager Eric Wedge said. "He was trusting his stuff."



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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Indians option two to Triple-A Buffalo
Injured pitchers Slocum, Sipp sent to Minor League camp

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Two pitchers hounded by injuries in 2007 were sent packing for Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday morning.

In this spring's second round of cuts, the Indians optioned right-handed starter Brian Slocum and left-handed reliever Tony Sipp to Buffalo. The 27-year-old Slocum is considered a depth starting option. He missed the majority of '07 because of a strained right elbow and a strained left hamstring. Slocum left his third Grapefruit League appearance of the spring Wednesday night after just two-thirds of an inning because of a mild right groin strain. He had a 5.40 ERA in 3 1/3 innings of work.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Reds likely to join Tribe in Goodyear
Ohio teams to share stadium pending approval of city

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- It's looking more and more likely that the Indians won't be the only Ohio team trading in their grapefruits for cacti in the near future.
The city of Goodyear, Ariz., which will become the Tribe's new Spring Training home in 2009, has come up with the $33 million necessary to house the Reds, as well. All that's left is for the Goodyear City Council to approve the funding proposal at its April 7 meeting. If it's approved, the Reds will reportedly be Arizona-bound in 2010.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Marte wants to be real option
Third baseman out of options, struggling in Spring Training

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- If you didn't know any better, you'd think Eric Wedge was talking about a hospital patient, not Andy Marte.
"He has good days and bad days," Wedge said when asked to summarize Marte's spring.
That's not what you'd call a ringing endorsement of a guy slated to be a backup infielder on the Tribe's Opening Day roster. In fact, throughout camp, Wedge has gone out of his way to not heap praise on Marte. After publicly proclaiming that Marte needed to come into camp in better conditioning last fall, Wedge's assessment of Marte's physical shape at the beginning of camp was, "It's OK, it's not great."

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