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Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

CPD

Cleveland Indians' Ben Francisco deserves to be on the team, writes Terry Pluto

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"][EMAIL="[email protected]"][email protected][/EMAIL][/URL] March 20, 2008 23:19PM

Categories: Indians, Terry Pluto columns

Winter Haven, Fla. -- Talking to myself about Ben Francisco.
Question: Does the 2007 Class AAA International League batting champion make the Tribe's final roster?
Answer: Should he, or will he?
Q: OK, should he?
A: Of course. Francisco is 26, has 908 official at-bats in Buffalo where he is a .298 hitter. Last season, it was .318 with 22 stolen bases and a .496 slugging percentage. It makes absolutely no sense to send him back to Buffalo.
Q: So will he make the team?

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CPD

Cleveland Indians Insider: Paul Byrd awaits Selig's decision

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"][EMAIL="[email protected]"][email protected][/EMAIL][/URL] March 20, 2008 23:11PM

Categories: Indians

Winter Haven, Fla. -- It was a normal spring-training start for Paul Byrd.
He pitched six innings against Tampa Bay, threw his revamped change-up against some left-handers and jumped for a foul ball in the bullpen. Byrd was throwing in the bullpen Thursday because it took him only 78 pitches to get through his required six innings in the Tribe's 4-4, 10-inning tie against the Rays.
"I kind of fell off the back of the mound trying to catch that foul ball," said Byrd. "In the back of my mind I said that was stupid."

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Canton

Peralta growing into role as veteran
Friday, March 21, 2008
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER


WINTER HAVEN, Fla. Jhonny Peralta sees things much more clearly these days.

It isn't just from the laser eye surgery that, he maintains, significantly improved his vision. His view of life and baseball is more clear now than as a younger man.

"(Manager) Eric Wedge said to me, 'Now you're one of the veterans on this team, and you need to talk to the younger players,' " Peralta said. "I had to think about that. I wondered if anybody would listen to me."

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Canton

Indians Notebook: Snyder among eight cuts
[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Byrd rouged up, but bullpen salvages tie with Tampa Bay[/FONT]
Friday, March 21, 2008
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. The Indians cut eight more players Thursday, including former first-round draft pick Brad Snyder.

Snyder, who grew up an Indians fan in Bellevue, has yet to achieve the promise he showed when Cleveland took him with the 18th overall pick in 2003. He hit .194 (7-for-36) with a double and two home runs in 14 spring-training games.

"This was the best camp we've seen Brad have," Wedge said. "He still needs some development, but he has all the tools. I think he's matured, and he's more comfortable in his surroundings. There were a lot of good things we saw."

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ABJ

Throwing strikes a fine start for pitchers Control as a youngster is career foundation for many on Tribe staff
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Monday, Mar 24, 2008
LAKELAND, FLA.: Who doesn't remember the 6-foot-2 Little League pitcher, a 12-year-old kid who looked like he should have an endorsement contract from Gillette?
Whatever happened to that subteen prodigy who threw 124 miles per hour? Actually, it only seemed that hard to the terrified 10-year-old (you) trying to put the bat on the ball.
Many of those youngsters went on to become doctors and lawyers, or machine tool operators and Realtors. A few others blew out their arms in college because they started throwing curveballs at age 9. Then there are the elite, a minuscule percentage of those pitchers who got drafted and climbed the minor-league ladder to the majors.


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ABJ

Indians add reliever; Fultz in jeopardy Left-hander Breslow claimed off waivers from the Red Sox
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Monday, Mar 24, 2008
LAKELAND, FLA.: Aaron Fultz's days with the Indians might be numbered.
The Tribe made a waiver claim from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, acquiring Graig Breslow, a 27-year-old, left-hander who pitches out of the bullpen. That gives him two things in common with Fultz: Both are relievers who throw with their left arm.
Because Breslow is out of options, the Tribe must either keep him or put him on waivers if they want to send him to the minors.
He has been placed on the 40-man roster for now, and surely team officials intend to make him part of the active roster, else why claim him? To make room for Breslow, someone will be lopped off the roster, and it's not going to be C.C. Sabathia or GradySizemore.


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CPD

Aaron Fultz's struggles lead Cleveland Indians to sign left-hander Craig Breslow off waivers


Monday, March 24, 2008Terry Pluto
Plain Dealer Reporter
Lakeland, Fla.- Apparently concerned by the spring struggles of Aaron Fultz, the Indians claimed Craig Breslow from Boston off of waivers.
Like Fultz, Breslow is a left-handed reliever. Fultz has been miserable this spring - 16 hits, 11 earned runs, and a .390 batting average off him in 8 1/3 innings. He also was hit hard in a minor-league game, giving up four runs on five hits with three walks in two innings against Class AA Akron.
Breslow is out of minor-league options, so that means the Indians claimed him with the intent of keeping him. Or at least, that appears to be the case. Breslow took Juan Lara's spot on the 40-man roster.
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"We liked Breslow for a while," said Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti. "We figured the cost of the acquisition [$25,000] is worth us taking a look at him."
Antonetti would not directly address the idea of Breslow replacing Fultz, who has a guaranteed $1.5 million contract. The 34-year-old reliever was 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 49 games for the Tribe in 2007, but he did miss six weeks with a pulled muscle in his side.




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Canton

Indians notebook: Is Fultz out of a job?
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Tribe claims left-hander Breslow off waivers[/FONT]
Monday, March 24, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

LAKELAND, Fla. It's safe to say Aaron Fultz has pitched poorly this spring.

But, has he pitched poorly enough to cost himself a job?

The Indians on Sunday claimed left-hander Craig Breslow off waivers from Boston and added him to their 40-man roster. The 27-year-old worked 13 games for Boston in 2006, but spent all of 2007 at Triple-A Pawtucket (7-1, 7 saves, 2.69 ERA).

He has 27 games of big-league experience with San Diego and Boston, all in 2005 and 2006. Left-handers have a .200 average against him in those games. Breslow was drafted by Milwaukee in 2004, then released by the Brewers in 2006.

Oh, one more thing ? he has a degree in biochemistry from Yale, where he studied molecular biophysics.


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Canton

Indians taking time to determine No. 2 hitter in the order
Monday, March 24, 2008
BY Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

LAKELAND, Fla. A good No. 2 hitter can make a batting order run as smoothly as a finely tuned engine on a foreign sports car. A bad No. 2 hitter can make that same order look as if someone has poured sugar in the gas tank.

The Indians entered the final week of spring training still unsure as to the identity of the man who will hit behind leadoff man Grady Sizemore. The significance of that decision is one reason for the delay.

"It's an important spot for us," Manager Eric Wedge said. "You saw how important it was last year."

Why is the No. 2 spot especially important for Cleveland?

The more effective the No. 2 hitter, the more teams will be forced to throw hittable pitches to Sizemore and the less inclined teams will be to pitch around him. If the No. 2 hitter is ineffective, Sizemore will instead see a frustrating diet of perpetual breaking balls just off the plate. Sizemore, in his frustration, might just decide to chase them ? and he struck out 155 times last season anyway.

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Blade

Indians have an ace or 2 up their sleeves
Sabathia and Carmona are a tough pair to beat

By JOE VARDON
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


The Cleveland Indians will open the 2008 season against the Chicago White Sox next week with incumbent Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia on the mound. Fausto Carmona, equally as dominant last year, will follow Sabathia in Cleveland's second game. Indeed, the Indians have a good thing going with Sabathia and Carmona atop their rotation, and all of baseball knows it. "They may have as good a one-two punch in C.C. and Carmona as anybody," Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland said earlier this spring. But due to Sabathia's expiring contract, that good thing could end after the Indians play their last game this season. If Sabathia pitches anything like he did last year when the left-hander went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA - and even if he doesn't - he could command huge dollars on the free agent market and effectively end his tenure with the only organization he's ever known. Or he could sign a new deal with the Tribe, thus forging a long-term partnership with Carmona, a partnership that saw each pitcher win 19 games last year and become the first Cleveland duo to win that many games in the same year since Early Wynn, Bob Lemon and Herb Score won 20 apiece in 1956. "This is a great position to be in," Sabathia said. "All I want to do is focus on playing this season. Anything that comes after that I'll deal with when it comes."

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Dispatch

Spring spotlight: Victor Martinez

Monday, March 24, 2008 2:54 AM




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

Indians catcher

? Age: 29
? MLB experience: four years, 114 days
? Last season: hit .301 with 25 home runs and 114 RBI and threw out 30 percent of attempted base stealers



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Dispatch

Word from Indians camp

Monday, March 24, 2008 2:54 AM

? Yesterday's game: The Indians and Detroit Tigers tied 3-3. Jhonny Peralta had a two-run double in the fourth inning. Travis Hafner tied it with a home run in the sixth.
? Today's game: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 p.m., Winter Haven. Jake Westbrook will start. The game will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.



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CPD

In spite of his struggles, Marte likely to be on Cleveland Indians opening day roster

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"]Terry Pluto, Plain Dealer Columnist[/URL]
March 24, 2008 14:23PM

Scribbles in my Tribe notebook ...

WINTER HAVEN, FLA. -- The reason Andy Marte is expected to make the Tribe's opening day roster is the same reason they traded for him after the 2005 season -- the Indians still don't have a long-term third baseman and he is out of minor league options. They are disappointed by his lack of progress, but not ready to write him off. Not when he'll play this season at the age of 24. As GM Mark Shapiro said, "We want to be patient." Yes, losing Brandon Phillips at the end of 2006 is a factor.
* Some fans will want to cut Marte and keep Ben Francisco. That would make Francisco the fifth outfielder and he'd rarely play. If the Indians keep Francisco -- and they should -- he should be among the four outfielders who play.

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CPD

Indians insider

Posted by [URL="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/about.html"]Paul Hoynes[/URL] March 24, 2008 19:33PM

Categories: Indians

Winter Haven, Fla. -- Cliff Lee is in. Aaron Fultz is out, but the Indians' 25-man roster isn't complete.
"We'd like to have the roster tightened up before we leave for Atlanta," said General Manager Mark Shapiro on Monday morning.
After announcing that Lee had won the fifth starter's job and Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey, his main competition, were optioned to Class AAA Buffalo, Shapiro said that Fultz was "no longer on the team."
It's believed the Indians will designated the veteran left-hander for assignment.

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