Re: Cleveland Cavaliers

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It's been a frustrating time lately for Indians reliever Nick Hagadone.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Left-handed reliever Nick Hagadone has been placed on the minor-league disqualified list as a result of a self-inflicted injury to his pitching hand, Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti said today.

Antonetti said Hagadone suffered the injury in anger after his appearance Friday night. The Indians officially optioned Hagadone to Class AAA Columbus on Saturday and recalled lefty Scott Barnes today.

Hagadone being on the disqualified list means he will not receive salary or service time.

Antonetti said the injury is significant, and that Hagadone will visit with hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham on Monday. A source said Hagadone fractured the hand and could be done for the season.

Hagadone gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning Friday night in the Tribe's 10-3 loss to Tampa Bay. It is part of a slump in which Hagadone has allowed 15 runs in 11 1/3 innings after a strong start to his season in Cleveland.

"I think we all shared Nick's frustration, and we're certainly disappointed with the reaction,'' Antonetti said. "We wish he would have handled it differently. But he's very remorseful, he's sorry that it happened, and he's been very accountable for it.''

It is unclear exactly how Hagadone suffered the injury.

Disclosure of Hagadone's injury solves the mystery of why the Indians were short one player for Saturday's game. Barnes was not eligible to be activated until today because 10 days had not elapsed since he was sent down, raising questions as to why the Indians did not simply wait until today to option Hagadone.

Hagadone is 1-0 with one save and a 6.39 ERA in 27 appearances. On May 26, his ERA was 1.93. He has struggled with fastball command and lack of a consisent off-speed pitch.

Hagadone, 26, was acquired from the Boston Red Sox on July 31, 2009, in the Victor Martinez trade. Right-handers Justin Masterson and Bryan Price also came to Cleveland.

Hagadone made his major-league debut Sept. 1, 2011. He was 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in nine appearances with Cleveland last season.

Barnes has allowed six runs on six hits in seven innings of five appearances with Cleveland this season. He gave up five of the runs June 14 at Cincinnati.

Back to business: The day after reserves helped produce a victory, all but one of the Indians regulars are in the lineup against the Rays and nasty right-hander James Shields. The Tribe counters with right-hander Zach McAllister.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis, designated hitter Travis Hafner, first baseman Casey Kotchman and left fielder Johnny Damon return as the Tribe attempts to take three of four from the Rays. The only regular not in the lineup is third baseman Jack Hannahan (day off).

Indians -- 1. Shin-Soo Choo rf; 2. Asdrubal Cabrera ss; 3. Jason Kipnis 2b; 4. Travis Hafner dh; 5. Michael Brantley cf; 6. Carlos Santana c; 7. Casey Kotchman 1b; 8. Jose Lopez 3b; 9. Johnny Damon lf; and Zach McAllister rhp.

Rays -- 1. Elliot Johnson ss; 2. Carlos Pena 1b; 3. Ben Zobrist rf; 4. B.J. Upton cf; 5. Luke Scott dh; 6. Jeff Keppinger 3b; 7. Desmond Jennings lf; 8. Jose Lobaton c; 9. Will Rhymes 2b; and James Shields rhp.

A bench bunch that included Aaron Cunningham, Shelley Duncan, Lou Marson and Lopez contributed to a 7-3 victory Saturday night.

With a victory, the Indians would improve to 45-40 at the All-Star break. The winning percentage of .5294 would be a hair better than last year's club at the break (47-42, .5281). Last year's team began 30-15.

Re: Cleveland Cavaliers

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Below is a Steve Kyler, Hoopsworld, post. If true, it would seem like the Cavs are already willing to bail on TT.


Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed like a willing trade partner and midday yesterday it seemed like a deal was not only workable but close. But as these things tend to do, it unraveled quickly when word surfaced that Kris Humphries would not do a deal on a one-year contract which then started a back and forth that ended the day with Cleveland backing out according to sources.

The Cavs were supposed to be the landing spot for Humphries on a one-year $9 million deal to which the Cavs would get a first round pick for playing broker. The deal expanded pretty aggressively with Luke Walton’s contract being tossed in at some point. Late last night, as the deal was said to be gaining serious traction, sources close to the process said the Cavs appeared to be backing out after making a demand to obtain Brook Lopez for themselves, too. There was talk of second-year forward Tristan Thompson being packed in to Orlando in exchange for not getting Lopez and that’s when things seemed to derail.

Re: Cleveland Cavaliers

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Geez, this is pretty huge

Luis Scola - F/C - Rockets

The Rockets have decided to waive PF Luis Scola using the amnesty clause in order to clear salary space to make a run at Dwight Howard, according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski.
This is pretty big news, but maybe the Rockets are as displeased with Scola's lack of shot blocking. Despite his shot blocking deficiency, he's averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in his NBA career and has only missed eight games in five years. He's going to be a very hot commodity off the amnesty wire. The Rockets are expected to make the move official on Friday, which means it's not done yet, and this is a clear sign they're going "all in" in hopes of landing Howard. Lastly, the Mavericks are rumored by Wojo to be targeting Scola, along with Elton Brand, who was waived by the Sixers.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain