Cleveland Sports Forum

Carrasco has the stuff to be a closer, but so does Allen, and Cody also has the mental element that Carlos has not yet established.

“This guy, he’s the real thing”

By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince

There is always this hyper-awareness of roster construction among media members and fans during Spring Training, when teams are making seemingly gut-wrenching but, usually, somewhat frivolous decisions about the nether reaches of their roster.

It’s a six- or seven-week dance in which all involved pretend to believe that the last guy on the bench will determine whether or not a team has any shot at October, and, come Opening Day, it gives way to the reality that 25-man inventories are living, breathing organisms subject to change, especially as a club searches to find its footing.

Through it all, front-office or managerial or coaching types preach the same gospel:

The players will make the decisions for us.

Or the alternative:

Things have a way of working out.

Which brings us to Lonnie Chisenhall.

He’s been here, on the Indians’ active roster, from day one this season on the simple premise that the Indians didn’t know what else to do with him. He had a really nice offensive spring in Arizona, a place that lends itself to really nice offensive springs. But the Indians were committed, from the get-go, to giving Carlos Santana every opportunity at third base, provided, of course, he didn’t spontaneously combust the first time a sharp in-game grounder was sent his way.

They wanted to make that experiment work, because they valued flexibility with their DH spot. Chisenhall, though, just kept hitting, kept providing reason not to dispatch him to yet another round of Triple-A time-wasting. And Jason Giambi was hurt anyway, so, well, what the heck? They gave Chisenhall a roster spot, even as Terry Francona admitted he had no earthly idea how many at-bats he’d get.

“To be honest with you, I don’t have a crystal ball,” Francona had said. “I’m not sure you really need to have one. Things happen.”

Exactly. Things happen. The players make the decisions for you.

Chisenhall got some limited opportunity against right-handers, banged out 17 hits in his 47 April at-bats and made things interesting. That’s probably as far as the Indians wanted to go in their evaluation of the 25-year-old Chisenhall at that point: He was interesting again.

They had seen him flounder at the big-league level before, and there had been distinct danger of him being relegated to the dreaded Quad-A status in which the skills that flourish at one level simply don’t translate at the highest level.

A year ago, Chisenhall looked pretty lost, batting .213 through the season’s first six weeks after being handed the third base gig and earning another demotion to Columbus. There was a point last year in which he was so desperate to get his bat going that he grew a terrible mustache, a small and unsightly concession to the gods of non-shaving superstition.

Still, nothing.

“Then I was just an ugly .200 hitter,” he would remember later.

It got worse: Chisenhall hit .145 in August. And by that point, Francona had basically made him a persona non grata against southpaws. He did, however, see something in the Chiz in that season’s final month, when he had a .920 OPS in 40 plate appearances (not to mention three hits in the Wild Card game), and, really, only in retrospect can we appreciate that as both the start of something special and as a reminder that some top prospects simply require a little more patience.

So, yeah, to see Chisenhall raking at the outset of the season — and the raking continued on into May — was interesting. A tad on the hollow side for a third base/DH type, as 24 of his first 34 hits were singles, the rest doubles. But when your regular third baseman is batting like .140, who could reasonably call Chisenhall’s production hollow?

Clearly, this was evolving into another case of a player making the decisions for his club. Chisenhall was morphing from merely interesting to purely intriguing. He was asserting himself as deserving of everyday opportunities, and – this is the most important point – he was starting to hit for more power. The first homer came in that season-shifting series sweep of the Tigers a few weeks back. Since then, he’s posted an .809 slugging percentage in 75 trips to the plate, numbers of course augmented by Monday night’s historic 5-for-5, three-homer, nine-RBI breakout in Arlington (the place where, incidentally, the Indians were playing the day Chisenhall was drafted by the club six years ago). He’s shown the ultimate sign of hitting maturity, knowing when to be aggressive in the zone and squaring up the ball with authority and consistency.

And now the Indians are not only just two games back of a Tigers team that once looked capable of running away with the Central, they’re also faced with the dilemma that all teams hope to face – actual, earnest, non-Spring-Training-concocted lineup decisions.

Nick Swisher could be back Thursday, and he’ll create a roster crunch for Tito and Co. The easy decision – the one Chisenhall has made for the higher-ups – is to give Chisenhall the everyday opportunities at third and be done with it. Hopefully, there is still ample opportunity to keep Mike Aviles active in the mix on the days Chisenhall, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis get a breather, but at this point is there really any reason to deny Chisenhall the stability of a regular position? He’s no longer merely interesting or purely intriguing. He’s just plain real (and he’s hitting .520 with a 1.236 OPS in 28 plate appearances against lefties, for the record).

This naturally proves problematic in the first base, DH and catching departments, where Carlos Santana has finally shown some signs of life (1.168 OPS in his last eight games, sandwiched around a concussion), where George Kottaras, surprisingly, has looked like more than just roster fodder, and where Swisher and Giambi hold veteran sway.

I don’t suspect the Indians will make major roster modifications based on Kottaras’ small sample, but I am generally beginning to wonder how long the Indians can afford the luxury of a player-coach. The simple truth is that they’re not going to sit Santana, and they’re not going to put the $56 bro on the bench, either. Ryan Raburn has a .537 OPS, but he also has a two-year contract. The roster, in short, is getting increasingly squeezed.

The primary problem right now is that Santana’s history with concussion limits his usefulness behind the plate, and that could detract from his viability as a plug-and-play option at three (four, if you count DH) positions. It is that positional flexibility on Santana’s part that provides the Indians with the opportunity to carry the 43-year-old Giambi as a DH option against right-handed pitching. That’s an option the Indians clearly hope to retain.

Frankly, I’m not sure how this all shakes out for Giambi and Swisher and Santana – who starts where and on what days. All I know is that the gospel is truth: The players do, ultimately, make these decisions with their performance.

Chisenhall is shining proof.

~AC

espn jumps on the Chisenhall bandwagon:

Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting everything in 2014.
It would have been reasonable to dismiss Lonnie Chisenhall's start to the 2014 season as a fluke, given that his .365 batting average was driven partly by a success rate of getting hits on ground balls considerably above his career norms.


Lonnie Chisenhall

Lonnie Chisenhall

#8 3B
Cleveland Indians

2014 STATS

GM
51

HR
7

RBI
32

R
29

OBP
.429

BA
.385
But Monday could put an end to the fluke thoughts.

Chisenhall had five hits, three home runs and nine RBIs in the Cleveland Indians' 17-7 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night. The Indians are surging to the top of the AL Central, with nine wins in their past 10 games.

The history
Chisenhall became the fourth player with five hits, three home runs and nine RBIs in one game since RBIs became an official stat in 1920. The other three were Walker Cooper (1949 Reds), Gil Hodges (1950 Dodgers) and Fred Lynn (1975 Red Sox).

Chisenhall is the only one of those hitters who was also perfect at the plate (he went 5-for-5).

The Elias Sports Bureau also confirmed that the 25-year-old Chisenhall was the fourth-youngest player with three home runs, five hits and 15 total bases in a single game. The three younger ones were Lynn (age 23), Albert Pujols (age 24 in 2004) and Jimmie Foxx (age 24 in 1932).

Chisenhall's nine RBIs tied a club record, matching the mark set by Chris James in 1991. He’s also the first player with a three-homer, nine-RBI game since Alex Rodriguez in 2005.

He’s the third player with a three-homer game this season, along with Chris Davis and Ryan Braun.

How he’s hitting
Chisenhall is succeeding on a number of fronts where he struggled prior to this season.

His strikeout rate is only 14 percent this season, compared to 19 percent from 2011 to 2013.

The reduction in strikeouts has come with an improvement against pitches on the outer half of the plate or off the outside corner. The miss rate has dipped on those pitches, coincidentally also from 19 percent (in his first three seasons) to 14 percent (this season).

Chisenhall has 45 hits and only 61 outs against pitches to that area this season, with 12 doubles and five home runs. His batting average against those pitches is .441.

Chisenhall got four of his five hits on Monday -- including two of the three home runs -- on pitches to the outer half.

The Rangers never brought in a lefty to pitch to Chisenhall, though that may have been for good reason.

Chisenhall entered this season a career .194 hitter against left-handed pitching. He’s 13-for-25 against lefties in 2014.

Did You Know?
Chisenhall is currently hitting .385. He’s 18 plate appearances shy of being eligible for the AL batting lead. He currently is hitting 50 points better than the AL’s batting leader, Alex Rios.

Chisenhall entered this season a career .244 hitter.

For Chisenhall's batting average to dip to .244 in 2014, he’d have to go 0 for his next 93.

Chisenhall entered this season a career .244 hitter.

For Chisenhall's batting average to dip to .244 in 2014, he’d have to go 0 for his next 93.

Before this season we could have imagined doing just that.

Everyone knew he had so much more ability than he was showing.

Seems this is the prototypical case of the light just coming on. Maybe even last September in retrospect.

Fittingly, today is the anniversary of a great day by Rocky Colavito:

(This article is from 5 years ago)
When Rocky rolled: 50 years ago, Colavito's four homers flattened the Orioles in Baltimore
Jamie Turner, Northeast Ohio Media Group
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It was early June, and the season of '59 wasn't going so well for Rocky Colavito, the Indians' classy, young right-fielder.

Entering a Wednesday night game in Baltimore, the Tribe's cleanup hitter had three hits in his last 28 at-bats, just three home runs in the previous three weeks.

That afternoon, rumors were heating up about a trade to send Colavito to the Boston Red Sox.

"Hey, Rocky, when are you going to snap out of your slump?" Plain Dealer baseball writer Harry Jones asked him during batting practice.

"What slump?" said Colavito, who didn't believe in the word.

"Well, whatever it is," Jones said, "when are you going to get going here?"

"You never know," said the dashing slugger with the jet-black hair and Bronx accent. "Maybe it'll be tonight."

June 10, 1959. Some night.
Plain Dealer fileThe front page of The Plain Dealer's sports section on June 11, 1959 was dominated by The Rock's big night.

Prime-time talent: The next day, Colavito received congratulatory telegrams and an invitation to appear on the "Ed Sullivan Show" that Sunday for $500 while the Indians were in New York to play the Yankees. But the game ran too long for the waiting limo to whisk him away in time. "Good night, Rocky, where ever you are," Sullivan said to close the show.

He's forewarned: Orioles pitcher Milt Pappas, who charted pitches in the home dugout that historic night was scheduled to pitch the next day. After Colavito's feat, Pappas was inundated with post-game questions about how he would face the slugger.

"Well, if he's going to get it, he's going to earn it," Pappas remembers telling the press that night.
Colavito went 1-for-4 the next game, knocking in the winning run with a double in the top of the eighth to win, 2-1.

Repeat performance: It wasn't the only time Colavito slugged four homers in one day. On Aug. 27, 1961, while with the Detroit Tigers, Colavito stroked a home run in the first game of a doubleheader in Washington, then hit three more in his final three plate appearances in the second game to sweep the Senators. For good measure, he hit another the first time up to bat the next day -- making that four straight again.

A rare feat: Only 15 players in major-league history have hit four home runs in one game, according to Baseball Almanac. Only six hit them in four straight at-bats.

A link to history: Ernie Johnson, who served up Colavito's fourth home run that night, has the unusual claim of witnessing three such feats. He was a member of the Milwaukee Braves when teammate Joe Adcock drilled four in 1954, and was an announcer for the Atlanta Braves when Bob Horner smacked four in a Braves loss in 1986.

After 50 years, those who witnessed perhaps the shining moment in Cleveland's hard-luck baseball history since the Eisenhower era still remember much of that special game.

The game was televised in Cleveland, back when baseball belonged to radio -- as if the event were Hollywood scripted.

First-place Baltimore drew 15,883 fans to Memorial Stadium, a cavernous ballpark that measured just 309 feet down the lines but jutted out to 385 in the power alleys and 410 to dead center.

The Indians jumped on the Orioles in the top of the first as left fielder Minnie Minoso stroked a two-out, three-run homer, scoring center fielder Tito Francona, who had singled, and Colavito, who had walked.

The Tribe clung to a 4-3 lead in the third when Colavito displayed his trademark stretch -- the bat across his shoulders, behind his neck -- before digging in for his second trip to the plate.

With Tribe first baseman Vic Power on first after a walk, Colavito lifted Jerry Walker's pitch over the left-field fence, barely staying fair.

"The one I threw was a high pop up that went down the line," said Walker, now 70 and living in Ada, Okla. "I think he hit a change-up off me."

Today, Colavito remembers the pitch as a fastball, but described it at the time as slider down the middle.

"I knew I hit it good," he said recently by phone, "but I got under it a little."

The blast gave Cleveland a 6-3 lead and sent Walker to the showers.

Colavito got a shower of his own. After catching a ball toward the bleachers in right, a fan tossed a cup of beer in his face. Colavito was livid. He challenged the creep to meet him outside after the game.

Colavito didn't need more incentive at the plate. It didn't matter who Baltimore sent to the mound that night. The next two times up, Colavito pounded reliever Arnie Portocarrero like he owned him.

With one out and the bases empty in the top of the fifth, Colavito lined Portocarerro's pitch over the wall. Indians 7, Orioles 3.

"It was a slider out and away," said Colavito, who lives in southeast Pennsylvania and will be 76 in August, "and how I managed to hit that ball over the left-centerfield fence ... I just went out and got it."

When he returned to the outfield after the second home run, the Baltimore fans booed him.
William S. Nenez/Cleveland NewsRocky Colavito (left, joined by pitcher Gary Bell and catcher Russ Nixon) hit 190 of his 374 career homers with the Indians. His 42 homers in 1959 led the American League, and his 108 runs batted in in 1965 were also a league best.

What's new with The Rock?

Colavito, who is an avid hunter and has rekindled an interest in billiards, said he returns to the Cleveland area a few times a year, most recently for the funeral of his Indians roommate and cherished friend Herb Score. He's a spokesman for Chippewa Landing in Medina County, does an occasional card show and personal appearance, still enjoys watching baseball and considers himself a Cavs fan.

His wife, Carmen, who he met while playing for the minor-league Reading (Pa.) Indians in 1953 and married a year later, is recovering from hip-replacement surgery. They remain close to their three grown children -- sons Steve and Rocky and daughter Marisa.

And about that curse -- the sense among more than a few heartbroken fans that the Indians were doomed to failure after he was traded to the Tigers in 1960. Colavito says he had nothing to do with it, that he didn't put the malocchio -- Italian for "evil eye" -- on the city or its baseball team out of revenge.

"First of all, I love the town of Cleveland," said Colavito, who lived in Lakewood most of his time here and loved to dine at the Theatrical downtown and at a restaurant called Cavoli near Clifton Boulevard and West 117th Street. "I would never do that to the town. I wasn't that way."


Colavito's next turn came an inning later, in the sixth with two out and Francona on second after driving in the Indians' eighth run with a double. The slugger recalled Portocarerro throwing another slider, in the same location on the outside part of the plate.

"And I went out and got it again," he said. "And, again, I knew I hit it hard."

Colavito had hammered his third straight home run for a 10-3 lead. This time, when he trotted out to his position in right, fans greeted him with a standing ovation, including the beer-throwing jerk.

All along, Baltimore's veteran ace reliever Ernie Johnson sat with the team's younger pitchers, boasting about how he would pitch to Colavito to silence the 25-year-old's powerful bat if he were out there.

"I said 'I think we should pitch him tight, it looks like he's reaching out there,'" said Johnson, who lives in Georgia and turns 85 next week.

When the call came for Johnson, who hadn't given up a home run to that point of the season, he figured he'd better pitch to Colavito exactly as he said he would. Colavito's next turn up came in the ninth inning with one out and the bases empty and Johnson on the mound. By then, the Indians' lead had shrunk to 10-8.

Indians pitcher Herb Score, sitting on the edge of the dugout, urged his roommate to swing for the fences.

"I said, 'Are you kidding me? I'm 3 for 28 coming into this game. I have a chance to go 4 for 4.'" He just wanted to swing easy and make solid contact.

The first pitch was high and inside, backing Colavito off the plate.

"So I dug back in," Colavito said. "Nobody was going to scare me."

The next pitch was supposed to be another fastball, up and in.

"And I didn't get it in far enough," Johnson said, "and he hit it over the fence in left."

Four home runs in four consecutive at-bats. Numbers 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the season. Four official at-bats, five runs scored, six runs batted in. His 16 total bases tied a major league record at the time.

Only seven other major leaguers had previously stroked four homers in one game. (Today, 15 have done it.) Only two had hit four straight, including Yankee legend Lou Gehrig, Colavito's boyhood hero in New York until Joe DiMaggio came along.

The usually reserved Colavito jumped on home plate with both feet and tipped his cap to the crowd after number four -- a modest reaction considering what he had just accomplished.

"He took it in stride," said Francona, who hit third in the lineup and went 2-for-5 that night. "Rocky was pretty level-headed."

The feat brought the Memorial Stadium crowd was to its feet. Beer-thrower was nowhere to be found.

Indians pitcher Gary Bell, who evened his record to 5-5 in the Tribe's 11-8 victory that night, had raced from the clubhouse back to the dugout -- on the off chance that history would be made.

"I was standing in my shorts when he hit the last one because I had come running out to watch the last at-bat," said Bell, who had been relieved by Mike Garcia. "I just wanted to see it."

When Colavito arrived at the clubhouse the next day, teammate Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who sang professionally, greeted him with some kind of impromptu "Colavito Cha-Cha," he said.

"Place the name Rocky Colavito next to those of baseball's immortal sluggers," began Jones' game story in the next morning's Plain Dealer, which greeted readers with the banner front-page headline, "Colavito Slams 4 Homers; Tribe Wins."

The best-timed pitch of all was by Kahn's Wieners, which ran an ad in that day's Sports section featuring a picture of Colavito with, "Rocky Colavito shows you how to slug home runs ... and how to get 100% meat energy!"

June 10, 1959, a night of baseball that energized a whole city.

Any Tribe fans like The Black Keys?

http://espn.go.com/blog/music/post/_/id ... k-and-roll

Revisiting Justin Masterson

by Chad Young - June 16, 2014

A couple months ago, I told you it was too early to worry about Justin Masterson. Well, we are more than half-way through June now and if I wasn’t worried before, I am now.

Dropping velocity, a lot of walks, and some bad batted ball luck were major factors in Masterson’s slow start, and all three continue to be an issue. But the walks are the real cause for concern.

For his career, Masterson has posted a 9.4% walk rate. In his stellar 2013 season, it was 9.5%. This year it is up to 11.7%. In the earlier article I noted that there may be a mechanical issue and that, considering Masterson’s past performance, it was reasonable to assume he’d get the walks in control.

And for April, he did, posting a 9.3% walk rate. In May, that jumped to 12.4%. In June, 16.1%. Not exactly the signs of someone getting their walks in control.

At the same time his walks have increased, Masterson’s strike out rate has decreased, and while everyone is talking about his lost velocity, the lost control is really the problem here.

Hitters are being slightly more patient against Masterson this year, swinging at 27.2% of pitches outside the zone vs. 28.5% last year, despite little change in their swing rate on pithes in the zone. They are also making contact less often, primarily in this case on pitches inside the zone, leading to an increased swinging strike rate. He’s even getting in front of hitters slightly more often.

But as a pitcher with a 52.4% zone% for his career (51.4% last year), his in ability to find the plate (48.7% this year) is extremely worrisome.

What you are left with is a guy who, decreased velocity and all, is getting just as many swinging strikes, is getting his customary near-60% GB rate, but who simply cannot consistently find the catcher’s glove.

The problem is, there does not seem to be an end in sight for Masterson’s struggles. Decreased velocity and lost control usually suggest an injury, but both Masterson and the team say he is physically fine. There was talk of a mechanical issue earlier in the year, but so far no sign that it has been fixed.

The past few games that I've seen Masterson pitch, it seems like he can't control his pitches. Almost like a knuckleball, I don't think he knows exactly where his pitches are going because there is so much movement on the ball.

Peter Gammons: Francona having greater impact on Indians than with Red Sox

June 16, 2014

There was a moment late Saturday afternoon when Terry Francona popped out of the visitors’ dugout to discuss an umpiring call, and he was applauded. More than applauded, cheered.

As it should be. A measure of what this man is as a baseball manager is that there are many of us who believe he is having a greater impact on the Cleveland Indians organization than he did on the Red Sox, and he managed the Red Sox to their first two world championships since the Wilson Administration and sorted through enough diverse personalities, brushfires and downright crises than most Massachusetts or Ohio governors. In eight seasons, Francona’s Red Sox teams averaged 93 wins, and in his duties as not only manager but essentially the club’s Jay Carney with pre- and postgame press conferences handled the grind with dignity and humor.

It had been disturbing over the weekend when he said on WEEI Radio that he had not talked to John Henry or Tom Werner, and didn’t know if he ever would again. Larry Lucchino had reached out to him, as Lucchino and Theo Epstein had embraced when the 2004 team returned for a dinner two weeks earlier. Yes, there was the book, but after some of the public revelations about his private life—revelations that smeared an historic eight year run—there isn’t a human who wouldn’t have deeply resented, especially after a confused non-firing firing ended his eight year tenure.

This weekend he briefly looked back and “maybe near the end I got a little judgmental” and was self-deprecating about other issues. He didn’t need to. He won a World Series with “The Idiots,” which included the wills and personalities of Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon and Nomar Garciaparra, who was exiled to the Cubs at the trading deadline. They won again in 2007 with some of the same core, plus the franchise-changing emergence of Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell and Jacoby Ellsbury.

But that is history, and Terry Francona’s history is extraordinary. After a year with ESPN, to no one’s surprise who knew the organization or Francona, arrived in Cleveland. “Tito changed things from the moment he arrived,” says general manager Chris Antonetti. True. But Francona in turn says “the way I’ve been treated, the way everyone interacts has made this job a remarkable experience.” OK, the Indians have the lowest attendance in the majors in a city whose percentage of citizens beneath the poverty line is staggering, but from the early Nineties it has been an organization based on the people element. As John Hart built the powerhouse teams that opened and filled Jacobs Field, in an era when there was no NFL franchise in the city, he constantly hired exceptionally talented young people—Dan O’Dowd, Mark Shapiro, Chris Antonetti, Ben Cherington…When Shapiro took over, he continued the practice, with John Farrell, Mike Hazen, Mike Chernoff, Ross Atkins, Derek Falvey, et al.

In the original mission statement Shapiro presented to ownership, he defined the relationship between general manager and manager as a partnership, and when one hears Francona rave about working with Antonetti, it is clear the concept has carried on. Are the Indians an emerging giant? No. The market restraints are obvious. But the fact remains they are 127-105 since Francona took over. They won intense one run games at Fenway Saturday and Sunday, finished a road swing through Texas, Kansas City and Boston 5-5. They are home Monday to begin series with the Angels and Tigers, then head West to Arizona, Seattle and Dodger Stadium, and by then should have a more focused picture of what they are, or what they are not.

The talent level in Cleveland isn’t going to be the 2004 Red Sox, but these Indians bear some resemblance. “Tito is great at allowing people to be who they are,” says Aviles, the invaluable swingman. Francona wants what Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher and Aviles bring, especially on those cold nights when the wind is whipping in off Lake Erie and there are 11,000 people in the stands. He is a strong believer in delegating authority to strong coaches, be he an old friend like Brad Mills or pitching coach Mickey Callaway or Kevin Cash, someday a manager himself.

After three years struggling to be comfortable with the disappointments inherent to the major leagues, Lonnie Chisenhall has taken off. “Terry has been very patient and understanding,” one Indians official says, pushing on through spring training despite Carlos Santana’s move to third base. The intellectual flexibility Francona and Callaway have consistently demonstrated with Trevor Bauer is resulting in the blossoming of a young, dominant starting pitcher. Corey Kluber will likely be an all-star. Cody Allen has been brought along to the place of near-elite status as closer. The respect given Michael Brantley has resulted in .322/.390/.519, potential all-star.

These Indians are fourth in the American League in runs, third in on base percentage, sixth in OPS. Santana and Swisher are starting to hit. But if they are going to challenge for a post-season place, the starting pitching, with a 4.63 ERA and the third fewest quality starts, has to get a stronger second half from Justin Masterson, the continued development of Kluber, Bauer, et al and throw enough innings to protect the bullpen.

If it doesn’t happen, there won’t be the daily drama that Terry Francona encountered in his dual roles as John McGraw and Jay Carney that he dealt with in Boston. But even if it doesn’t, the Indians will play out the season with the respect that every day in uniform counts. Terry Francona’s Indians are different than some of the teams that came before him, and when he left Fenway Park Sunday there was a sense that for all he left behind in Boston, his impact on the Cleveland Indians organization is even greater than it was on the Red Sox, and the fact that people stood and cheered a mere walk onto the field speaks volumes for the appreciation the guys in the Fenway stands still hold for him.

Gammons get a lot right but he missed on one fact:

Santana and Swisher are starting to hit.

Swisher is 2-20 in June, no walks, eight strikeouts.

CLEVELAND -- Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has been diagnosed with a concussion and will likely be out of the lineup until Saturday.

The concussion was diagnosed when Brantley had tests Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was injured trying to break up a double play sliding into second base in the third inning Monday.

Brantley was removed from the game and passed an initial concussion test, but was sent to the hospital after experiencing discomfort during his pregame routine Tuesday.

The Indians are hoping they won't have to put Brantley on the seven-day concussion list. Manager Terry Francona said Brantley participated in some activities Wednesday, and Saturday is a realistic day for the outfielder's return.

Brantley is batting .323 and leads the team with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs.

Omar night photo gallery:

http://tribevibe.mlblogs.com/tag/omar-v ... 3_26538876

The Cleveland Indians will skip Justin Masterson's start on Sunday as the ace battles a sore right knee.

Masterson will throw a bullpen session in two days to evaluate the knee.

"We're going to back Justin up a couple of days," manager Terry Francona said, according to cleveland.com. "His right knee has been bothering him and he's been pitching through it, but it's hard for him to generate power."

Zach McAllister will be added to the rotation in Masterson's absence, but it's expected that either T.J. House or Danny Salazar will make Sunday's start against the Mariners.

Masterson is 4-5 this season with a 5.03 ERA.

LA Times on Bauer prior to his start against the Dodgers last week:


July 2, 2014, 8:39 AM




Trevor Bauer never cared about conforming..

A tireless worker who long ago established an eyebrow-raising, pole-to-pole pregame long-toss routine, the 23-year-old UCLA product was judged to be something of an attitude problem and be a potential failure before his career had really begun. Only 18 months and four major league starts after the Arizona Diamondbacks had chosen him third overall in the 2011 draft, they traded him to Cleveland in a puzzling three-way deal.

Why would the Diamondbacks give up on a kid whose lively right arm had helped him become their minor league pitcher of the year in 2012? What was wrong with him?
Maybe nothing.

Maybe Bauer, who was a standout at Hart High in Newhall and was 38-4 in three seasons at UCLA, simply needed to grow up, needed to spend most of last season in the minor leagues to work on his mechanics and his mental approach. He's scheduled to make his first start at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, a destination he has reached by staying true to himself.

"People either hate it or they love it. I guess I kind of polarize people," he said of his unusual routine. "But the people who actually take the time to get to know me don't find me that different."

To know him is to realize he detests being labeled or told there's only one way to do things and it isn't his way.

"Everyone's so absolute in this world. Everything's so final," he said Tuesday. "I didn't have success in four starts in Arizona and then I have a bad year last year so it's like, 'Oh, he's done, he's a bust.' You hear all that stuff because of social media these days and all the reporters ask questions and all the people, family and friends want to tell you to do this, and you're not doing that. I try not to pay attention to that stuff as much as possible and just focus on getting better.

"I knew that last year was going to be a struggle and it set me up in a position where I can hopefully have success here in the near future and over the course of a long career, hopefully. I try to focus mostly on what I can do to get better and stay in that mind-set."

Bauer has yet to record a win on the road in his career: he's 0-5 with a 6.94 earned-run average in eight career road starts. He has faced the Dodgers once before, while with Arizona on July 8, 2012, holding them scoreless while giving up two hits over six innings.

That season he pitched 161/3 innings over four starts, walking 13 and striking out 17 while compiling an ERA of 6.06. Last season, in 17 innings over four starts, he walked 16 and struck out 11.

His numbers are much better this season: 20 walks and 52 strikeouts in 531/3 innings, with a 2-4 record and 4.39 ERA. With the Indians' approval, he's still doing the long-toss routine, occasional heavy bullpen sessions, extensive stretching, and crow-hop before unleashing a 90-plus-miles-per-hour warmup pitch before every inning. But he's also listening to their suggestions and incorporating them into his routine.

"He's not unorthodox at all anymore and he never has been with me," Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. "He does some different things but it's all just preparation. And everybody prepares different."

Manager Terry Francona couldn't recall his first impression of Bauer but has strong impressions now. "He came to spring training this year and seemed to be in a much better place to compete. And it's starting to show," Francona said. "He's able to do some things now that maybe he wasn't able to last year — throw his fastball for strikes, and make teams respect his fastball so he can throw his off-speed over."

That's just the technical stuff.

"He's learning himself. He's learning the league. And we're seeing him improve," Francona said. "He's 23 years old. There's a lot to love about him as a pitcher."

Bauer has become a pitcher, not just a thrower, and he credited the Indians with creating a productive, positive environment in which he can learn and grow. On Wednesday he will get to show off his growth in front of his father, Warren, mother, Kathy, and friends who have helped him during a journey that appears to be getting a second and stronger launch.

"I've learned a lot since last year in all aspects of life," he said. "Baseball-wise and personally and interacting with teammates and interacting with family and friends, and what is important and what's not."