Wakeup Wahoo: Hafner to DH Tonight in Buffalo; Lewis gets the job done

Sunday we witnessed something that hasn’t happened awhile but has happened. We saw Jensen Lewis close out a game for Jeremy Sowers.

The tandem was at it again on Sunday after doing it in Vanderbilt years and years ago.

“I told him during the anthem, ‘This is your day and I’m going to come in and stop it for you,’ ” Lewis said. (Plain Dealer)

Not only that, but we continue to see these quotes from Jensen to demonstrate that this kid has the GUTS to close out a game.

Lewis said he “kind of went out there and said ‘Over my dead body are we going to give this one up’ ” — a welcome demeanor for a club whose bullpen has blown 15 saves in just 36 chances. (Plain Dealer)

He also understands the role and what it takes and what goes into it.

“This is awesome. When you’re in the bullpen, this is the opportunity you want,” Lewis said. “It’s a lot of fun right now and I’m just enjoying each opportunity they give me.” (Indians.com)

As for Jeremy Sowers, Eric Wedge is pleased with what his young starter has done these past few games.

“Jeremy has been pitching so much better,” said Indians manager Eric Wedge. “He’s been very consistent over his last five or six starts. He’s given us a chance to win most of those games.” (Plain Dealer)

Far be it from me to know what is wrong with Franklin Gutierrez. I really don’t understand or know why a kid with so much promise has fallen off like he has this year. It’s beyond me.

“I know I can hit against righties and lefties,” Gutierrez said. “I think [against right-handers] it has something to do with mechanics and recognizing the pitch. It takes focus and concentration. I have to keep learning. I’m starting to get more playing time. That will help.” (Plain Dealer)

He is hitting .349 in the last 9 games, so maybe he is turning it around. I hope. He has so much promise with that defense and arm and his speed. If he puts the bat in there he could be a dangerous player.

I got all excited about the Travis Hafner return on Tuesday, but I’ve been given a gift. HE RETURNS TONIGHT! With Josh Barfield at his side to play six innings at 2nd tonight, Hafner will DH and get two ABs tonight with Buffalo. Victor Martinez will be with the team tomorrow to catch six innings. He homered last night for Akron.

For all indiciations, they will be there throughout the week and be evaluated towards the end.

Asdrubal Cabrera has been using the bunt more and more since his return and it is a product of working with Derek Shelton and going out before games and practice it endlessly. Not just for sacrafices but in attempt to get on base of course.

“I went down and really worked on my hitting,” Cabrera said through first-base coach and interpreter Luis Rivera. “That gave me some confidence. I was swinging the bat well there. I came back with confidence that I could do the job.” (Indians.com)

It’s another reason Eric Wedge wants him in good shape. So he can run and get down the line quicker and beat the bunt out.

LOLTribe: Who Broke Paul Byrd’s Toaster?!

I’ve sort of thought about this and it is easily my most enjoyable feature so far. If only I were actually funny..

Here is Asdrubal Cabrera throwing a ball without the aid of ground under him.

Andy Gonzalez probably doesn’t have a Dough boy belly, but this was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture.

Looks like they are bullying around Shin-Soo Choo after his country’s team beat the United States.

Someone broke Paul Byrd’s toaster

I found the culprit!!!!!

The Ghost of Joba Chamberlain!

For all you arcade ski-ball fans..

Thank you and good night Jhonny.

Super Update: Byrd happy to be on a Contender

Here is a super-update of sorts.

Akron lost to Connecticut. Stephen Head picked up two more hits and Steven Wright gave up 3 in 4.1 innings.

Kinston posted a shutout and a 7 run victory. Kelvin De La Cruz, was solid, five innings just three hits. Jerad Head had a 3-run jack in support.

Another Lake County suspension…

Five Mahoning Valley Scrappers are going tot he NY-Penn League All-Star Game. While my voting for Isaias Velasquez paid off, Jeremie Tice didn’t make the team.

Velasquez, Lonnie Chisenhall, Robbie Alcombrack, Brock Simpson, and Eric Berger all made the American squad and will representing Mahoning Valley on August 19th.

Mahoning Valley did lost, but Tim Fedroff with 2-3 with a run knocked in.

Speaking of Fedroff, he signed for a $725,000 bonus, which is more than both the 3rd and 4th round picks combined. That goes to show you how much they like this kid and how he could be a much higher pick in years to come. Don’t ever say the Indians don’t spend money, this is a rarity.

They got a few days to get something done with Haley and Putnam, and they better or else they won’t have a shot at him for a few years. Haley is a high-schooler and you wanna get those guys when you can, especially high up.

Tracking Matt LaPorta

The US opened up play this morning against Korea in the Summer Olympics.. Matt LaPorta went 0-4 with a strikeout. Not cool… I’m pretty shocked, the United States lost. Jeff Stevens gave up 2 runs in the 7th inning.

While we are on the subject, don’t expect to see Matt LaPorta in the majors this year. I agree with this decision though. Keep him around Akron if they make the playoffs and just let him ride out the year. He’s had a hectic few months and I don’t think bringing him up to the big leagues is the answer. He has plenty of time to be added to the 40 man, let’s wait till next year.

Here is some good news for everyone to read though, straight from the horses mouth.

“It’s clear we’ve got to address our bullpen,” said Shapiro, whose club has the fewest saves (19) in the American League. “It’s safe to say it’s one of our highest priorities.” (Plain Dealer)

Mark Shapiro will be making it his highest priority. I just wonder who he is going to put on his list. I’m partial to guys like Will Ohman as middle relief help and someone like Brian Fuentes to close, but there really isn’t much to get excited about on the market.

Shapiro was pretty clear on why he traded Paul Byrd. It wasn’t about the return package. It was about the opportunity for others. Not to mention giving Byrd a goot shot to win something.

“This trade is about creating an opportunity for some of our players,” said Shapiro, “and giving Paul a chance to get to the postseason. It also gives us $2 million that ownership says we can allocate to next year’s team.” (Plain Dealer)

The reason there is no return on this trade is because Boston is paying the rest of his salary, so there is no reason to give up anything worthwhile. In the end I think the Indians will just say, okay thank you for that, let’s be on our way. You didn’t need to get a prospect for Paul Byrd, getting rid of him is more than enough because it gives us a chance to see Zach Jackson or get Aaron Laffey back up here.

Byrd was shocked, cancel those book signings he had scheduled.

“I was kind of ambushed,” Byrd said. “It kind of was a surprise to me and an emotional moment.” (Indians.com)

Kelly Shoppach is probably the one guy that will take the trade hard considering he was Paul’s catcher last year and they became friends. Poor Shoppach is losing all his friends with Casey being traded.

“It’s sad to see a friend go, but it’s an opportunity for him to make the playoffs,” said Shoppach, “We worked together a lot. But it’s part of the game and it will be a part of it as long as the game is played. (Plain Dealer)

The good news is Paul Byrd doesn’t really have to prepare for his first game on Friday. He’s gonna slide right in and start the opener against Toronto, the team he just threw a complete game again.

Paul is a gamer and he truly loves the organization and city that drafted him. So you can imagine putting on that Boston jersey will be tough for him. He’s played under Tito Francona before though, so I’m sure Byrd will adjust and fit in just fine.

Well there was a game last night if you didn’t know.

Asdrubal Cabrera was a big part of it.

“He’s had some good at-bats from both sides of the plate,” said Wedge, who used Jhonny Peralta at designated hitter. “He worked hard at Buffalo [after being sent down] and up here.” (Plain Dealer)

He certainly has. He has the average up and he’s looking good at the plate. He’s doing stuff he didn’t even do last year by showing bunt and threatening to add that as a part of his game.

One guy who didn’t have it for the first inning was Jeremy Sowers. But the team picked him up and while he didn’t get a win, he showed a little fight. I’m not sold on Jeremy, and don’t think I will be. He probably isn’t an answer but the Indians need to find out and find out now.

One last quote from the Byrdman, Thanks for everything Paul!

“Cleveland has been great to me. The fans have always cheered for me. When I walked off the field in my last start at home [Aug. 2], the fans gave me a standing ovation. It was very special for me.”

Whoa Nelly, How About a Tribe Win?

I don’t know if I’m on the record for this, so might as well.

If there is one guy in this system that is going to close games for the Cleveland Indians.. It will be Jensen Lewis. He has the mentality to get the job done and the live arm in the pressure situations to keep a hitter unbalanced.

With that said..

Five in a row and it feels so good.

Usual Tuesday duties so I did not get to see the first few innings, but how about Choo getting on, Marte bunting him over and Cabrera going up the middle.

That is a manufactured run my friends.

That opened up the Sizemore single and Francisco hit to bring Cabrera home. Just timely hitting when you need it most.

Ryan Garko knocked in yet another run, as did Peralta. Very quietly Asdrubal Cabrera has raised his average up to .221, which is far respectable than the .180 some one he was carrying earlier in the year.

No one had more than one RBI, which means to tell me that 1-9 thing is working well. Everyone but starting minus Shoppach had a hit, and it was just a well played offensive game.

I don’t know what Jeremy Sowers looked like but the important thing is he went into the 7th, rebounded from the two early runs. This was Jensen Lewis’ night though. Keep giving the kid some chances and he’s gonna be locking it down.. Mark IT DOWN!

Tomorrow A-Ray as he will be called goes against former Indian Jeremy Guthrie. Expect a What Could Have Been on him.. I’m gonna be getting into the Byrd stuff tomorrow as well, I think Laffey will be called up to take Byrd’s spot on Thursday. What a matchup though.. Guthrie and Reyes. Guthrie did what Reyes is trying to do with the Indians.. Change of scenary..

[BOXSCORE]

LOLTribe: Kelly Shoppach Now Owns Home Plate

I realized today was Friday.. So Joe Inglett will be put on hold till tomorrow.

Here is the second edition of LOLTribe! I might have to go Bi-Weekly considering how many pictures I have for this one.

Jamey Carroll and his amazing floating bat!

Joel Skinner chose the wrong time to give the stop-sign. Damn you Joel, shoulda sent Lofton!

He’s doing it again! This time, check out how small Asdrubal is.

Rafael Perez recognizes how good Kelly Shoppach is..

Kelly Shoppach shows his dominance by writing his name behind home plate.

Jhonny Peralta, verifies.

Kevin Slowey gave up a home run to David Dellucci.. I’m sorry Slowey.

Even Loochers thinks its comical.

Asdrubal must have had some bad chicken.

If you are a fan of the Office, you understand perfectly…

Wakeup Wahoo: Reyes To Start Friday

I’m also renaming this. Wakeup Wahoo!

Could something be in the works for Paul Byrd? Are they simply pushing him back a start to Saturday? Not positively sure right now, because his scheduled start on Friday is no more. Anthony Reyes will start the game against the Blue Jays Friday Night.

“I’m excited,” Reyes said. “Every time you get a chance to pitch in the big leagues, it’s exciting. I’m going to go up there and show them what I can do, and hopefully I can stay.” (Indians.com)

I’m excited too, for the fact that this is a big time prospect that fell out of favor because of issues with a pitching coach. The potential talent is there and we’ve seen it before. This could be a steal of a pick-up. Oh and as for Matt Ginter and the reason he was placed on the DL, the word is forearm strain.

Speaking of injuries. Asdrubal Cabrera left yesterdays game early after jogging out onto the field and catching a spike in the turf and collapsing to the ground. Droobs is Day to Day with an Ankle Sprain and we’ll see if he’s in the lineup tomorrow. If not Jamey will start a game or two at second, it isn’t expected to be anything DL worthy.

If anything, we got to see Sal Freaking Fasano play first base, somethine he actually has done before. But it was fun to see it. The MAIN reason he had to play first base?

Well because Ryan Garko went and got himself yanked from the game, which made Andy Marte take over as DH, effectively losing their last infield option.

Wedge was pretty disappointed as you can imagine. Garko broke the number one cardinal sin you can break as a player under Wedge. His words were quick and painless to the media, but I’m sure Garko got an earful. Ryan being a good kid realizes what a bonehead he was probably took it like a man and I wouldnt’ be surprised if this turned his year around. He might get benched one more time but who knows, this could be the kick in the ass he needs.

Speaking of Wedge.. The one thing he hates the most other than not hustling is telling Grady Sizemore he won’t be starting. That has happened like maybe 5 times since Grady became a full-time player? I mean seriously it’s like going to the Dentist for him. He only has to do it like twice a year.

Victor Martinez took swings from both sides of the plate yesterday but he won’t be ready for his rehab assignement as first thought. Victor will put in a few more days and probably be sent out after the weekend series in Toronto when the team returns home. That could be a guess though. His elbow might not be ready to go full out, but for the most part, his elbow feels free and easy for the first time in a long time.

“My elbow feels great,” said Martinez. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this. But we still have some work to do.” (Plain Dealer)

Eric Wedge watched Travis Hafner take cuts off a tee from Cleveland via video. As we know, today is Hafner’s next strength test as Lonnie Soloff returns to Cleveland to see how much Hafner has progressed. Let’s hope for some good news.

Josh Barfield ran the bases with Victor Martinez and says he feels close to returning. He’s given his legs a good workout during his time off and could be off on rehab assignment this weekend sometime.

The fan-fallout from yesterdays’ ridiculous loss is in full-force. Call-in shows were probably flooded on the Clevelan Radio stations and it was a popular topic on Bruce Drennen’s show from what little half hour I saw of it. The Cleveland Fan also has some thoughts on it.

I think though, this is a big reason for Mark Shapiro to go out and get a closer with some money. I’m all for spending the dough to bring in a guy who’s done it before. I’d also like to go get another arm like Will Ohman, Dan Wheeler, or bring back Bobby Howry.

Check out all the former Tribe players making waves in baseball this year.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s Red Bat Rebound

I’ve pointed out the new use of the Red Bat by Asdrubal Cabrera.

Well I have stats to back it up!

I’m estimating that Asdrubal Cabrera started using the red bat full-time when he hit his home run against the Tigers on July 28th..

Since that game. Cabrera has hit .290 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 6 BB, 8 SO.

Red Bat POWER!

Tribe Make It Five In A Row Over Rays

That was a rather entertaining game to watch.

Cliff Lee is always entertaining.

He made it interesting allowing those silly hits like Aybar’s bunt, Iwamura’s hit up the middle, the bloopers from Gabe Gross. For the most part, he was in command and getting the hitters to hit his pitch. Can’t argue with the job Clifford did tonight to get number 15.

Cliff went 7 innings, giving up the eight hits and two walks for two runs and he only struck out two. Weird night for Cliff but I thought he pitched well. He had some quick innings but then some long ones.

How Dellucci? You think he was pointing to that heckler after the Home Run? I hear that guy all the time.. He’s just as annoying as the cowbells.

But he did shut the heckler up, thank god. Maybe he can get on fire here and at least make his playing time worth it. Maybe some team will take interest if we put him on waivers.

Asdrubal Cabrera provided the other home run. He had some niffty glove-work as always. Basically saved Cliff in the 7th with that diving stop.

Jhonny Peralta got on in the 2nd and none other than Kelly Shoppach knocked him in with a double. Then after Peralta stole second and went to third on a catcher’s error, Kelly singled up the middle for another RBI. He’s just getting everything going his way right now.

Rafael Perez with the two inning save, no hits, no walks, a pair of punchouts.. Great job by Rafael tonight.

Tomorrow it is Fausto The Great against Edwin Jackson. Should be a good one.

[BOXSCORE]

LOLTribe: Ben Francisco’s Grady Impression and Masa’s Gift To Sal Fasano

Leading off is Masahide Kobayashi’s gift to Sal Fasano.

Next it’s Ben Francisco’s best Grady Sizemore impression. Mark Out

Grady tells Drubes to RAISE THE ROOF!

Asdrubal Cabrera’s Rikishi Impression from the other day.

He got Ichiro better a few weeks ago.

Morning Update: Sabathia takes out ad in Plain Dealer

What a kick in the gut.

Look..

I’m grateful for C.C. Sabathia and I expected nothing less from him.

Take a look at the $12,870 ad he placed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“Thank You for 10 Great Years…
You’ve touched our lives
with your kindness, love and generosity.
We are forever grateful!
It’s been a privilege and an honor!”

-CC & Amber Sabathia & Family

It just hit me like a ton of bricks….. This is it.. The final moment wasn’t when he was traded and introduced as a Milwaukee Brewer… It was the moment I read this ad. I’m sort of in shock. CC is gone and there is nothing more to it. I’m actually kind of sad. Him putting it in right now says he won’t be back, which is another story in itself.

I just.. I don’t know what to say about this.

“It was something that was in the works almost from the moment he was traded,” said Kathy Jacobson, the pitcher’s spokeswoman in San Francisco. (Plain Dealer)

I want to move on.. I didn’t expect this when I woke up this morning.. it’s just wow…. I’m a little mad about the timing of this.. But I’m still shocked by it.. Not only what he did, but just the fact that this is the exact moment that I’ve realized he isn’t coming back and he’s totally gone.

Just… More Sad News.. Travis Hafner went home to North Dakota for a family emergency. It turns out his father Terry has passed away. Just.. The news is matching weather so far.. Really Really Cruddy.

Terry Hafner used the games against the Twins to come down and see his son play in Minnesota. Condolences to the Pronk Family in this time. I feel for him. Terry was battling cancer.

Kelly Shoppach makes no bones about the way he swings the bat.

“It doesn’t do me any good to try to beat out an infield single,” he said. “I might as well get the ball in the air and see what happens. My swing’s structured with some elevation to it, anyway.” (Plain Dealer)

Shoppach will be splitting time with Victor Martinez when Martinez returns. Vic can’t do the everyday thing and you know he’ll be playing an awful lot first base. The thing isn’t simply catching though.. He had stuff done on his elbow, so it effects his swinging more than anything. He’ll get days off from the start, he prob won’t play two days in a row for awhile.

Since getting shelled in an extra-inning game against the Padres last month, Edwin Mujica has been prepared for battle.

“After that game, I put it in my mind to be ready for anything, any situation,” he said. (Plain Dealer)

With that said, Eric Wedge is going to mix and match and play every game one night at a time when it comes to his bullpen. He doesn’t have any defined roles, which makes it tougher on the guys in the pen in prepartion. But, no one wants to seem to step up so..

“We’re going to keep mixing and matching with it,” said Wedge. “Depending on where I feel we are and where I feel the guys down there are. There may be three or four guys I use to close down there. The same thing with setting up.” (Plain Dealer)

Terry Pluto was scribbling in his notebook.. I liked this from him.. It’s something I would do.

Asdrubal Cabrera is working his tail off, which has gotten Wedge’s eye.

“I tell you, this kid’s working hard,” manager Eric Wedge said of Cabrera. “He’s out there early, he’s spent a lot of time with [hitting coach] Derek [Shelton]. He’s working hard to make that positive repetition.” (Indians.com)

That’s great to see Cabs working hard.. He is a young guy and maybe now that work-ethic thing is coming around.