Belliard strains hamstring, leaves game
07/19/2006
ANAHEIM -- Ronnie Belliard left Wednesday's game against the Angels in the fifth inning with a mild left hamstring strain.
Manger Eric Wedge couldn't put a timetable on when the Indians second baseman could return to the field, as the team didn't yet know the severity of the injury.
"We'll see how he feels [Thursday], then we'll have a better idea," Wedge said. "We'll know if it's something that is going to be a couple days or see if it will be more than that."
Belliard was hurt when he hit a high chopper to shortstop. After beating out Orlando Cabrera's throw, he reached to grab his leg and gingerly slowed up down the base line. Wedge and the Indians' training staff ran to shallow right field to assist the infielder.
After a few minutes, it was determined Belliard would be unable to continue, and the second baseman walked off the field without any assistance.
Ramon Vasquez entered as a pinch-runner and scored as part of the Tribe's five-run inning.
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
Big inning helps Indians get past Halos
07/19/2006
ANAHEIM -- Everything finally went right for manager Eric Wedge and his Indians. Well, except for one call in the ninth.
Wedge was ejected by home-plate umpire Ed Montague for arguing a changed strike-three call, but that didn't stop him from enjoying an end to his team's five-game losing streak. Behind a five-run fifth inning on Wednesday, the Indians escaped Southern California with a 6-4 win against the Angels.
The Indians did what several teams before them could not -- figure out Angels starter John Lackey. The Tribe's explosion in the fifth ended Lackey's scoreless inning streak at 30 2/3 frames.
In completing a 2-5 road trip that included losses to two Angels rookies and a Twins starter with an ERA north of 6.00, the Indians ironically book-ended the week with victories against the two hurlers that entered the day as the top ERA leaders in the American League.
"You don't like what happened in between, but to win the first one and win the last one against those two pitchers says a lot about our club," Wedge said, referring to Lackey and Twins phenom Francisco Liriano.
Wednesday's starter, Paul Byrd, had plenty to say about right fielder Casey Blake, who made a diving catch in the bottom of the sixth that stopped the tying runs from scoring.
With the Indians leading, 5-3, Chone Figgins sliced a ball into the right-field corner. With two outs, Blake sprinted to his left to snag the drive that was tailing away from him. If the right fielder had botched his attempt, the two Angels on base would have surely scored and, with the speedster Figgins at the plate, the play could have ended as an inside-the-park home run.
"That was the whole game, in my mind," Byrd said. "I am still amazed, I thought he had no chance."
Blake, himself, said he was just as surprised.
"I remember thinking I didn't know how I came up with it," he said. "I didn't think I had it until I looked at it in the glove."
Blake, who went 0-for-5 with a walk and hit into two double plays in Tuesday's loss, was just happy to contribute in some way.
"Personally, I was kind of a rally-killer [today and Tuesday]," he said. "It feels good to help out Byrdy and the team a little bit."
Blake's walk in the fifth sent Lackey (8-6) to the clubhouse, but not before the Indians got the big inning they had been striving for all series. The Tribe had baserunners all throughout its three games in Anaheim, but found it tough to push across multiple runs.
Ben Broussard put an end to Lackey's streak, driving a two-run homer on an inside fastball that tied the game at 2. Four of the next five Indians banged out hits, with Jhonny Peralta delivering a two-run single and Joe Inglett hitting an opposite-field RBI double.
Aaron Boone increased the Tribe's lead to 6-3 with a solo home run in the seventh.
The big fifth inning was essential for a team that entered the day having lost nine of its last 11 games.
"It's one step in the right direction," Broussard said.
Byrd (7-6) was his normal quality self. Never one to overpower hitters, he usually allows hits here and there and gets into jams. But almost always, he's able to get out of them with minimal damage.
Admittedly over-emotional and overthrowing because he was facing his former teammates, Byrd completed six innings and allowed three earned runs on 10 hits. He gave up Juan Rivera's third home run in two nights and two RBI singles to Vladimir Guerrero, but ended with the sixth quality start in his past eight games.
"I'm not good enough to stay in a place too long, but I'm not bad enough to retire," he said.
Inglett, playing in place of Grady Sizemore -- who hadn't been out of the starting lineup all season -- also helped Byrd out by playing the best game of his young Major League career.
He reached base five of the six times he came to the plate and raised his average from .176 to .286. His RBI that capped the Indians' five-run fifth was the first of his career.
A game like Wednesday's should do plenty for the 28-year-old's comfort level. Breaking out in the manner he did made Inglett feel he belongs on a Major League roster.
"It was a big-time confidence builder," said Inglett, who also swiped his first base. "Everything is starting to slow down, my heartbeat is not even that fast anymore."
Wedge became irritated in the ninth when closer Bob Wickman apparently struck out Figgins leading off the inning. Angels manager Mike Scioscia popped out of his dugout to protest that Figgins had tipped the ball to the ground. Montague conferred with third-base umpire Marvin Hudson and signaled for Figgins' at-bat to continue.
"A call with the opposite umpire is usually made right away, it's not something that's debated upon," Wedge said. "For them to change that call after the fact, I didn't think that was right."
Indians second baseman Ronnie Belliard left the game in the fifth when he strained his hamstring beating out an infield chopper. He is day-to-day.
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
Peralta looking to improve defensively
07/20/2006
CLEVELAND -- The Indians expect their young players to grow every year.
Jhonny Peralta's body took that notion literally.
When he reported to Spring Training in February, Peralta, then 23, against all logic, stood an inch and a half taller than he had in 2005, when he was listed at 6-foot-1. He had also gained 10 pounds, bulking up to about 205.
It was, as general manager Mark Shapiro put it, "a very late time to have a growth spurt."
For an organization that has long pondered whether Peralta might outgrow his shortstop position, the spurt has been somewhat of a concern. And Shapiro said he's not ruling out the possibility that it's played a role in what has been a frustrating defensive season for Peralta.
"[The spurt] can't be overlooked," Shapiro said.
Nor can the limited range and erratic throwing tendencies Peralta, who was signed to a five-year, $13 million contract in March, has displayed in this wayward '06 season. Through 90 games, he's committed 13 errors, second-most among AL shortstops. What have often been more glaring, though, are the balls Peralta is unable to get to.
Despite Peralta's struggles, the Indians have no immediate plans to move him elsewhere in the infield.
"Ten months ago, this guy was an average defensive shortstop we felt good about," Shapiro said. "Nothing that's happened this season leads me to believe he can't [again] be an average defender at short."
If hot prospect Andy Marte wasn't waiting in the wings at Triple-A Buffalo to take over Aaron Boone's third base spot, the Tribe might be exploring the possibility of making Peralta a third baseman in '07 or beyond.
"When they signed me in the Dominican to play professionally, they said my body is going to grow," Peralta said. "So they said in the future I could play third base. But I want to play shortstop."
Second base could be open next season, depending on how free-agent negotiations with Ronnie Belliard go, and manager Eric Wedge said earlier this year the club might look to put Peralta there at some point. But Shapiro said he is 100 percent certain Peralta will still be at short next year.
Not that he doesn't recognize Peralta's need for improvement.
"Jhonny's problems have been with pre-pitch setup," Shapiro said. "He needs to do a better job of anticipation, just as a lot of bigger-sized shortstops do. He needs to play a very mental, heady shortstop."
In '05, Peralta's defensive foibles were most frequent in the season's first two months. He made nine errors in the season's first 46 games, but only 10 in the final 95 games.
This year, the errors have been committed with more regularity. The most glaring came on June 28 in St. Louis, when his ninth-inning throwing error allowed the Cardinals to score the game's winning run. That drew the ire of Wedge, who had also called Peralta out earlier in the year for not running out a ground ball to first in the eighth inning of a 3-0 loss to the Tigers on May 13.
Looking at Peralta's season, to this point, Wedge couldn't help but detect a lack of focus.
"What he has to control is his mindset and his awareness," Wedge said. "I want his standards for himself to be higher."
When players sign long-term deals, an organization's greatest fear is that once the ink is dry, the player's work ethic will dry out as well. But no one with the Indians is openly questioning Peralta's dedication to his job.
"I don't think Jhonny's changed," Wedge said. "He's going through some difficult times this year. He needs to learn from it and have a better second half."
For his part, Peralta admitted the contract has gotten in his head a bit this season.
"You want to do everything better than the last year," he said. "I think I wanted to go out and do more than I could. I tried to rush and tried to make everything better than last year. But I had to relax and let it go to do my best."
After a brutal first two months of the season, Peralta appears to be much more relaxed at the plate. On June 14, his average had dipped to .222, but he's hit .331 (39-for-118) since that time to raise it up to .258. The key has been laying off breaking balls and changeups that he too often chased early on.
"I feel more comfortable," he said. "I'm swinging at better pitches, and I'm making good contact."
Peralta feels just as comfortable with his improvement as a defender.
"I think I'm doing better," he said. "I've made some errors, but errors are going to happen. My range is getting better, and I'm working every day."
With that work, the Tribe hopes Peralta will grow in a more figurative sense.
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
Indians trade Wickman to Braves
07/20/2006
CLEVELAND -- The Bob Wickman era has come to a close.
The Indians traded Wickman, their all-time saves leader, to the Braves for Class A catching prospect Maximiliano Ramirez on Thursday, marking their third deal involving a veteran member of the active roster in the past month.
With the Tribe out of contention for a playoff berth, general manager Mark Shapiro saw an opportunity to get an early read on what might be in store for his club in 2007.
The Wickman deal opens the door for 22-year-old right-hander Fausto Carmona to assume the closer's job for the final stretch of the '06 season.
"The standings speak for themselves and played a large role in the decision," Shapiro said. "In light of where we are, a lot of what we're doing is making quality decisions to make the club what we think can be a contender next year. The chance to look at Carmona in the closing role is very important to us."
Carmona began the year as the club's sixth starter. On May 12, though, he was called up from Triple-A Buffalo and placed in the bullpen. In 20 appearances since that time, he's gone 0-1 with a 1.03 ERA and pitched himself into the eighth-inning role.
"He's rapidly moved into that role," Shapiro said. "This will allow us to take a look at him the rest of the season in a closing role and see what happens. Until you give a player a look at that role, you never know."
The Indians always had a pretty good idea what they'd get out of the 37-year-old Wickman. Though he has a dramatic tendency to put baserunners on, he's one of the game's more effective closers.
In 156 save opportunities since being acquired by the Indians from the Brewers in the middle of the 2000 season, Wickman saved a club-record 139 games.
This year, Wickman was 15-for-18 in save situations, with his last coming Wednesday in the Indians' 6-4 win over the Angels. That appearance was the 750th of Wickman's big-league career.
Off the field, Wickman made a sizable contribution each year to Indians Charities through his Wickman's Warriors club.
"I think it's important to recognize what he's meant to this franchise and this city," Shapiro said. "His contributions on and off the field have been exceptional. In a lot of ways, he's not only an elite closer, but the way he did it with toughness and heart raised the standard for what it takes to be an effective closer in terms of toughness and mental makeup."
After looking for multi-year closing options last winter, the Indians eventually settled on re-signing Wickman, who saved 45 games in '05, to a one-year, $5 million deal for '06. He surpassed Doug Jones as the all-time saves leader on May 7 in Seattle when he notched his 138th save as an Indians closer.
With the club struggling, though, Wickman's save opportunities this season have been sporadic. The Braves, meanwhile, are desperate for veteran relief help for a squad that has vaulted itself back into the playoff picture.
Because he has 10 years of service time in the Majors and five with the same club, Wickman had the right to veto the trade.
"Bob expressed a lot of concerns about leaving the team," Shapiro said. "He had a strong sense of conscience not to abandon us. At the same time, where he is in career, he signed to be on a contender. That's what this trade offers him the opportunity to do."
The Wickman trade is the third such deal made by the Indians since the club effectively fell out of the American League Central race. Jason Johnson was dealt to the Red Sox for cash on June 21, and Eduardo Perez was traded to the Mariners for middle-infield prospect Asdrubal Cabrera on June 30.
Like Cabrera, Ramirez won't be making an immediate impact on the Indians.
The 21-year-old Ramirez, a native of Venezuela, has spent this season at Class A Rome, where he's hit .285 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 267 at-bats.
Known more for his offense than his defense, Ramirez was the Co-Player of the Year in the Appalachian League in '05 and was a starting catcher in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game earlier this month.
"He's young, he's far away and he still has a lot of work to do as a defender," Shapiro said of Ramirez. "But he's a guy who's got the tools and bat to be a good prospect. He's a guy we're excited to have."
The public perception will most likely be that the Indians didn't land much in exchange for Wickman. But Shapiro pointed out that the Braves are only acquiring the veteran as a two-month rental, and he insisted the Indians chose Ramirez over some higher-level prospects from other teams. The Tribe's farm system is weak at catcher, while the Braves' system is loaded at the position.
"At times, you have to go lower to get a high-ceiling player," Shapiro said. "It comes down to a choice between a lower-ceiling player at an upper level, or do you take a little more risk on a guy with a higher ceiling at a lower level. This is the guy we chose."
With 11 days remaining before the non-waiver trading deadline, Shapiro is still talking with other clubs about potential deals.
"Most likely, this one will have the biggest magnitude of any that we could make," he said. "But this is a period of time where you are constantly talking to a lot of other teams. When you talk to teams, the potential for deals always comes up. It's not out of the question that we could make a smaller deal, and it's not out of the question that something bigger arises."
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
