Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 88 of 96)

The Kansas City Royals have named Indians bench coach Buddy Bell their new manager, replacing former Indian Tony Pena, who resigned on May 10. All I can say is, good luck Buddy! The Royals own the worst record in baseball (13-37) and they’re currently 20.5 games out of first in the Central. The good news for Bell, who managed the Tigers for three seasons and the Rockies for two, is that he moves from baseball’s fourth-worst offensive team (in terms of runs scored) to the sixth-worst. Woo-hoo!

The ABJ reports that Juan Gonzalez will join the Indians Tuesday evening for the start of their series in Minnesota. Of course, how they get Gonzalez into the lineup and who gets shipped out to clear roster space remains to be seen. Aaron Boone makes the most sense, with a trip to the minors hopefully giving him time to discover his swing. The other option is Ryan Ludwick, but since he’s out of options he’d have to clear waivers first, and that’s not likely to happen.

Of course, regardless of who the choice is this time around, the player who survives Gonzalez’s return may very well not survive the return of Coco Crisp.

Okay, so it was only the 17-32 A’s, but the Tribe’s first sweep of the year is an encouraging sign. Jake Westbrook allowed one run on four hits in seven innings and, for once, he actually got some help from the offense in a 6-3 win Sunday. Ben Broussard had two hits and Alex Cora drove in three runs, but perhaps the most significant line in the box score belonged to Victor Martinez, who doubled and homered in four at-bats. Now back over the Mendoza Line (.201), Martinez got just his 18th hit in 113 left-handed at bats (.159) on the season. Aaron Boone, meanwhile, found himself back on the bench after going 0-4 and commiting his seventh error of the season yesterday.

Now at 24-25 on the year, the Indians find themselves nine games behind the White Sox (pending Chicago’s game today) and 3.5 behind the Twins, who fell to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays 4-0 Sunday. With three games in Minnesota (Tuesday through Thursday) and three more in Chicago (Friday through Sunday) this week, the Indians have a golden opportunity to get right back into the AL Central hunt. Winning four or five of these next six games would be fantastic, but a 2-4 swing would be equally as devastating at this point.

Don’t look now, but the Tribe might be finally waking up and joining the party in the AL Central. They’re currently taking advantage of playing the reeling A’s after getting a hard-fought split with the Twins. Even Scott Elarton is contributing, delivering his second-straight solid performance in Saturday’s 6-3 victory. They need to finish the sweep on Sunday and then get ready again for the Twins.

The pitching continues to carry the Tribe as the Indians cruise to a 4-1 victory over the hapless A’s. Cliff Lee tossed six shutout innings and the bullpen slammed the door shut. Bob Wickman injured his back, but he says his arm is fine and he shouldn’t be out long.