Mastny sent down, Tyner called up

Due to his relative inactivity, Reliever Tom Mastny was sent down to triple A Buffalo. He only pitched in two games, so he will be better off getting innings in the minors. The Indians have not needed many relief innings because the starters have been going so deep into games. Jason Tyner is journeyman outfielder who will be used primarily as a pinch runner. I would assume he will be sent back down after Joe Borowski comes off of the disabled list. It will be nice to see a guy with speed on the club for late inning opportunities since the middle 4 in the lineup are incredibly slow.

Indians Yank Away Season Series: Michaels traded to Pirates

Winning each series has been a part of the Indians mantra for the past few years. The Indians did just that, taking two out of three from the Bronx Bombers. Neither team was at full strength health-wise, but both displayed some glaring weaknesses. The Yankees' starting pitching did the its job keeping their club in each ballgame, but they do not possess one clear cut number 1 starter. Also, not having A-Rod or Posada makes their lineup less menacing. The Tribe continued to struggle with the bats, Cliff Lee pitched another gem, and the starting nine changes by the day.

Amazingly, the team is only 1 1/2 games out of first place, as no team seems to be able to get on a roll. Victor Martinez has been out the past two games with a stiff neck, which will not help the run production. Travis Hafner has continued his downward spiral and looks completely clueless at the plate. No one is more upset with his lack of production than Hafner, so hopefully some of these mental health days will benefit his psyche.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Cliff Lee: 7 IP, 6 hits, 7 K's, 0 earned runs. Simply put, has been the MVP of this team so far this year and the best pitcher in the American League. Won all 6 of his starts.

Rafael Betancourt: 2 saves. I guess we have a closer again. Has not blown a save yet when the Indians have been leading in the 9th. We will see if he can continue rolling.

Rafeal Perez: 3 shutout innings, 4 K's. Raffy left is settling in as the new go to guy in the 8th. His consistency is paramount to the club, as the bullpen is constantly pitching in close games.

David Dellucci: 2-9, 4RBI, 1 game winning 3-run homer. Dellucci provided the biggest hit of the year so far as he jacked a dinger with 2 outs in the 8th off of chubby Joba Chamberlain. DD keeps raking, but is not a 3 hole hitter.

Ben Francisco: 4-11, double. The savior arrives! The team is 6-1 with him on the roster. Should help out the offense a little, definitely an upgrade.

Areas of Concern:

Paul Byrd: 6 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 0 K's, 5 earned runs. Paul's neck may hurt more than Victor's tonight as he watched the Yankees deposit ball after ball into the rightfield stands.

Travis Hafner: His at bat Wednesday with the bases loaded pretty muched summed up most of his season so far. Really need the big guy.

Ryan Garko: 1-8. Another batter who needs to dial it up a notch. Run production has been non existent for about three weeks now.

2nd Base: Although Jamey Carroll is a gamer, the team needs Asdrubal to become consistent or he will be back in Buffalo. Cabrera has not had a hit for a week.

Joba Chamberlain: His mound antics are ridiculous. He pumped his fist twice after striking out Dellucci Thursday, like he won the World Series. It is called class fat boy, learn some from your closer.

Two former Cy Young award winners square off in the upcoming four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. CC Sabathia looks for his second win against Roy Halladay Friday.

Also, Jason Michaels and cash were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named. Good luck to the mullet, as he is probably a better National League player anyways.

Dellucci Delivers

While most of Cleveland was watching LeBron James brick another shot, the Cleveland Indians delivered a compelling victory. With a lineup including Jamey Carroll, Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach and recently recalled Ben Francisco, most would assume this game was a throw away. The Tribe only mustered up 6 hits and scored all of their runs compliments of the long ball. Fausto Carmona continued to struggle with his control walking five, but was able to go five innings while only giving up 3 runs. David Dellucci hit a clutch 3 run pinch hit homerun in the 8th, giving the Indians a charge they desperately needed. The real key to the victory was the bullpen, as Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis, and Rafael Betancourt all pitched outstanding in their roles. If the relief corp can settle into their roles respectively, this team will win. Victor Martinez did not play due to a stiff neck and is listed day to day. The Indians will need his bat back in the lineup soon if they want to rattle off any type of winning streak. Hopefully Dellucci's homer will wake up this lineup from their extended slumber

Michaels gone, Francisco Up

As speculated yesterday, Jason Michaels will be designated for assignment tomorrow and Ben Francisco will be recalled. General Manager Mark Shapiro hopes this move will help spark the offense, but by no means he believes this will cure their hitting problems. Tribe Times has been rough on J-Mike this year, so I guess we will need to find a new whipping boy. It seems that management is realizing that a youth movement is necessary. Francisco provides more pop in his bat and is able to hit against righties and lefties. Although this move should have probably been made at the beginning of spring training, Ben should be here now for good.

Royal Beatdown, Francisco to the Rescue

There is not much to say about the punchless Indians. Collectively they have been unable to hit for most of the season, sans a few 8 to 12 run one game outbursts. The starting pitching has been outstanding over the past three weeks, yet the team has a 14-17 record. I don't know if fans should feel relieved that the Tribe is only 2 1/2 games behind front running Minnesota or not. It seems to have only masked the glaring weaknesses the club has shown, as in no consistent hitting. Most of the players have the batting approach to work the counts deep. Unfortunately too many times we have seen this team fall behind 0-2 and either take called strike threes or swing at balls in the dirt. This collective approach looks to be failing, as the batters are mostly guessing wrong instead of letting their instincts take over. The Indians have a track record of succeeding on this level, so trends would say they are due.

Generally I believe Steve Phillips is a moron, but today on Baseball Tonight I believe he accurately broke down Travis Hafner's hitting woes. ESPN split screened his 2006 batting stance and his 2008 stance. Back when he was mashing, his hands were higher, he was less crouched, and he kept his body back while he swung. Now he is severely crouched and his body is rotating severely through the zone before his hands. What does this all mean? Well when a crappy former GM who was ran out of New York can figure out why the Indians DH can't hit his way out of wet paper bag, why are we paying our hitting coach? Should Travis take a few games off, stand in front of a mirror, flip on a dvd of 2006 and see how he can get his stance back? I am not a hitting coach but this analysis by Phillips seems pretty dead on. Hopefully Hafner was tuning in instead of watching the WWE.

Back to the series, the Kansas City Royals, with their 12th ranked pitching staff in the American League just basically blanked the Tribe, if not for a Sizemore homerun and a wild pitch. Future Hall of Famer Jean Luke Hochevar baffled the Indians hitters, while Gritty Gilbert Meche left broken bats all over the field. At some point the position players will figure it out, but my prognostication of a super May did not begin so well. Thankfully Friday's game was rained out to spare us all the embarrassment of a possible three game sweep of the hapless Royals. With the Yankees on the horizon, (Pettitte, Wang, and Mussina) this floundering club will be put to the test.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Aaron Laffey: 7 IP, 4 hits, 5 K's, 0 earned runs. Has pitched back to back great games with an 0-2 record to show for it. Got better run support in Buffalo. He was the only highlight.

Areas of Concern:

The whole lineup, the bullpen, the defense, pretty much everything besides the starting pitching. They just look bad right now.

The Indians make there final trip ever to the dump they call Yankee Stadium Tuesday. Fausto Carmona takes on "The Schnoz" Andy Pettitte. At least the Cavs are in the second round.

Also, Ben Francisco was pulled from the Bisons lineup earlier today and told a Buffalo reporter that he would be returning to the Tribe for the upcoming three game series in New York. As of this post, no news has yet to come out who will be sent down, disabled listed, or otherwise. I imagine they will send down Tom Mastny as he has options. Other options is to designate Andy Marte for assignment, either he would be claimed by another team or he will clear waivers and go back to Buffalo. Or maybe they just sell Jason Michaels to Japan for some Wii's. Whatever the case, let's hope Francisco gets to play, as any spark in this lineup would be greatly appreciated.

Tales from the Teepee Volume 6: Jerry Browne

December 6, 1988 was the end of an era. I was 9 years old and my favorite Indian was Julio Franco. I emulated his batting stance, and always listened for the guy at old Municipal Stadium to yell "JUUUUUUUUUUUULIOOOOOOOOO." When the Tribe shipped fan favorite Franco off to the Texas Rangers for Oddibe McDowell, Pete O'Brien, and Jerry Browne. I was upset. The club spun the deal as getting three starters for one, which was true. But two of the starters that were sent back stunk badly, and one guy was mediocre. His name was Jerry Browne.

"The Governor" was one of the few MLB players born in the US Virgin Islands, succeeding Jose Morales. His best year as a Tribesmen was his first year, when he batted .299 with 5 homeruns and 45 RBI. He was only 23 at the time, viewed as a top prospect to some. Browne's next two years were less than stellar, leading to his subsequent release at the ripe old age of 25. Jerry bounced around for 4 more seasons, evolving into a utility player. He ended his career with the Florida Marlins.

Was Jerry Browne good? Not at all, but he was the best player in the horrendous trade of the 1989 All-Star second basement and eventual batting champion. Julio ended up playing until he was 50, and Jerry played until he was 29. Despite this glaring difference, The Governor will always have his magical 1989 season where the team finished with 73 wins.

Ugly Series Win

The Indians won their third series of the season Thursday, defeating the Seattle Mariners 3-2 in 11 innings. Bullpen issues and poor hitting were prevalent throughout the 3 games, but the Tribe will take it. Today's lineup was an abomination, almost like Manger Eric Wedge put the names of the 9 starters in a hat and pulled out the order. Next game I would expect Casey Blake to lead off since he has batted in every other position. The Closer role seems to be in flux again. The team has been carrying 2 pitchers on the roster that before Tuesday had not pitched in 2 weeks. It really is amazing the Indians are only a game under .500, but we can attribute that to the outstanding starting pitching.

Timely hitting was again an issue in two of the games, but we all know what can cure a batting slump. May seems to be a pretty manageable schedule to rattle off a few winning streaks, heavy on home games. Also, no teams in the AL Central have been able to run away with the division. I predict that the Indians will have a very solid month of May, and be at the top of the standings come June 1st. The team cannot possibly hit worse than they have so far in 2008, so let's hope for the momentum to build.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Grady Sizemore: 4-11, 4 Runs, 4 Walks, 1 HR, 2 RBI. It gives me a warm feeling seeing Grady at the top of the order. Some say he strikes out too much, but the guys just produces. They do not have a better leadoff alternative, so I will take him batting first every time. No other Indians would I rather have up in a clutch spot than him and Victor Martinez.

Franklin Gutierrez: 6-13, 3 RBI's. Continues to rake, I will give him a pass on his awful at bat in the 11th Thursday. Need him desperately at the end of the lineup.

Cliff "The Stopper" Lee: 6 IP, 8 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 K's. Has stopped 3 three game losing streaks. If he keeps it up, the Tribe will never lose 4 games consecutively. AL pitcher of the month for April.

Asdrubal Cabrera: 1-11, Game winning RBI Thursday. Hit like garbage for 28 innings, came up huge in the 11th. Hopefully this will ignite his bat.

Areas of Concern:

Casey Blake: 2-11, 1 golden sombrero (4K's in 1 game). Needs to quickly regrow the beard, almost single-handidly lost the game Thursday. Looked pitiful in his at bat in the 9th, and blatantly missed a throwout by Victor Martinez that allowed the Mariners to tie the game. I expect him to get 6 hits against the Royals this weekend.

Jhonny Peralta: 0-7 2 K's. I have no idea what is wrong with him, his at bats have been mind-boggling. Also his range was poor Tuesday.

Rafael Betancourt: 1 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned runs 2 blown saves. Sure looks like a different pitcher in the 9th, but I do not expect his role to change. CONQUEST!

Joel Skinner: Does it seem like every move he makes is wrong? Me too. Bring back Ted Uhelander.

The Kansas City Royals come to town for a weekend 3 games series. CC Sabathia hopes to string a third consecutive solid start against some guy named Luke Hochevar. Another series win and the Tribe is mediocre!

Cardboard Flashback Pat Corrales

Nothing was worse opening up a pack of cards when you are younger and getting a Manager card, except when it was Cleveland Indians legend Pat Corrales. His well kept feathered mane had the look of a hair club for men client. This salt and pepper-follicled skipper compiled a 280-355 record over 4 season in a Tribe uniform. The team peeked under his tutelage in 1986 with a fifth place showing.

Senor Patrico did have a successful career as a bench manager for Bobby Cox for 9 years and now is right hand man of the Washington Nationals. When I get ticked off at Eric Wedge for keeping relievers in his bullpen that haven't pitched in two weeks or being frustrated that he often plays a chubby, golden-mulleted crappy 4th outfielder, I remember that we had this guy as our manager and feel a little bit better about management.

Fighting for .500

Aprils can be tough to watch baseball in Cleveland. Bitter cold temperatures, rain, snow, and even hail can contribute to rough viewing down at Progressive Field. A little over 20,000 fans froze their tails off tonight to witness a series split. To be honest, most fans would have been content with a series split with the Bronx bombers, but when your team scores 2 runs over 2 days it can get quite frustrating. Monday's game was a microcosm of the season, good pitching wasted and timely hitting was non existent. The Indians have scored 50 runs with 2 outs, but tonight they only manage 2 runs with multiple opportunities. After playing two great ball games Friday and Saturday, but struggled to string scoring opportunities together the last two days. Part of the reason the hitting woes continue relate to Grady Sizemore being out of the lineup. His propensity to get on base and be one of the few real threats on the roster right now really hurts the overall punch this team needs. The Indians have won 2 series this year in 9 chances, which amazes me as I thought that their record was a lot worse. Let's hope this cold front passes through Cleveland quickly as their hitting has not been good when the mercury drops below 50 degrees.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Victor Martinez: 5-14, 3 walks, one huge RBI: Even though Victor has been able to really drive the ball yet this year (only 4 extra base hits), he is batting .365 for the season. As the weather warms up, V-Mart will continue to mash as he is the only member of the team hitting over .270 who plays consistently.

Franklin Gutierrez: 4-10, 2 runs, HR. Franky G seems to be getting back to a comfort zone, still playing a great outfield anywhere he plays.

Masa Kobayashi: 3 IP, 2 hits, 2 K's 0 ER. Has settled in as the go to righty out of the pen in late innings. Seems to has gained confidence as the season has went on.

CC Sabathia: 8 IP, 4 hits, 8 K's 1ER. Pitched with emotion and spotted the ball well. Made one mistake to Melky Cabrera, seems to be back on track.

Jeremy Sowers/Aaron Laffey: Pitched very well in spot starts, will be major factors in the development of this staff in 2009 after CC inevitably leaves. Probably getting tired of the bus trips back and forth to Buffalo. They do have great wings, though!

Areas of Concern:

Ryan Garko: 0-10. Just looks lost at the plate, wouldn't be surprised to see him benched for a few days in favor of Kelly Shoppach or even the immortal Andy Marte with Victor moving to First Base. May need to stay out of the Warehouse District for awhile.

Casey Blake: 1-12, 4 K's. The roller coaster ride that has been Casey's season continues. He has 18 RBI, and 17 hits. I guess that means he has been productive with his hits, but pretty crappy when no one is on base. Blake used to be the polar opposite, possessing an awful average with runners in scoring position. Let's hope he decides to hit in this next series.

Travis Hafner: 2-12, 4 K's, 2 RBI, 4 walks. Needs to produce if this teams has any chance to repeat a playoff run. Has been taking many third pitch strikes.

Ben Francisco in Buffalo: The team was 4-0 when he was on the roster, now has went 1-2. Karma people!

Cleveland Weather: Really sucks the life out of their bats. Our players seem to prefer the nice weather, hopefully it will return Tuesday since I have tickets.

The Seattle Mariners come to town for a 3 game series and the Tribe is lucky to miss Eric Bedard and Felix Hernandez. Fausto Carmona takes on meatball throwing Carlos Silva Tuesday.

Power Outage

The Indians have been able to string together five wins over the past six games. For the Tribe to sustain any type of consistency, they will need DH Travis Hafner to figure out his hitting woes. It seems that Hafner has not been the same since being hit in the wrist by a pitch that ended his 2006 season. Pronk's vision of the strike zone has not been anywhere close to his pre-2007 years, and most times he makes an out it is ground balls to the right side of the infield. Unfortunately the Indians do not have any other real option to plug into the 3 hole while Hafner attempts to figure himself out.

Whether Hafner has been pressing or may have just lost his plate discipline are up for debate. Through 25 games, he is batting .226 with 3 homeruns and 13 rbi. While watching Saturday's game my friends and I observed that Pronk was let off the hook a bit by the wild pitch and subsequent intentional walk. Most fans would agree that they would rather have Victor Martinez batting in that pressure situation anyways, and he subsequently delivered. The real disturbing stat is Hafner's on base percentage of .324, showing he has been less selective at the plate. I also believe he has taken far too many called third strikes, proving he has been fooled on pitch selection and location.

What does this all mean? The 2007 Cleveland Indians were able to win despite an All-Star season from their Designated Hitter, but I feel this will be hard to duplicate. The lineup has far too many inconsistent holes (left field, right field, 2nd base, 3rd base) for the 3rd spot in the order to be struggling all year. Hafner may still have a sore shoulder since the club seems to hide other injuries lately (see Joe Borowski). Let's hope Travis can get his mojo back and be that feared hitter we depended upon years prior.

Royals Swept Away

When in need to end a whole team slump, what better destination is there in the American League than Kansas City? The Indians played a nearly flawless 2 days of baseball, vaulting themselves into 2nd Place in the AL Central. Miraculously the Tribe has pulled within 2 games of .500 with the dreaded New York Yankees invading Cleveland tonight. Solid to outstanding starting pitching was prevalent all series. Hitters who have been struggling contributed, and the team made zero errors. With six games remaining, it is not out of the realm of possibility for the team to finish April 4-2, resulting in a 14-14 record. That would be an amazing feat considering how bad the Indians have played so far this year. Hopefully Progressive Field will be jam packed with Tribe for this upcoming four game series, but more than likely there will be many Yankee fans in attendance.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Grady Sizemore: 5-14, HR, 3 RBI. Had a great first game of the double-header, not so great the other two. He has tee'd off on average pitching as of late, but against tougher pitchers, he has struggled. Grady has become an outstanding mistake hitter, but his eye has been a bit off on breaking stuff in the dirt.

Casey Blake: 6-8, Grand Slam Homerun, 8 RBI. Casey collected almost 40% of his hits in two games, was aggressive as he usually is with first pitch strikes. Leading the team in RBI from the 9 hole.

David Dellucci: 3-9, 3 runs, one huge late inning homerun, 3 RBI. David has broken the left field curse (even though he misplayed a double in the last game of the series). If utilized correctly, can be a huge part of this team against right-handers.

Ben Francisco: 2-6, double, 2 runs, 1 RBI. He's Back!! Even though it looks like his stay will be short, he proved in the first game yesterday that he should be on this team at least plattooning in left field. Great slide, good at-bats, should not be in Buffalo anymore.

Masa Kobayashi: 1 1/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs. Masa pitched in a semi-pressure situation in the first game yesterday and pitched well. Has elevated himself into the 7th/8th inning role.

Cliff Lee: 9 innings, 3 hits, 9 K's, 0 earned runs. Cliff has been the best pitcher in baseball this year, now posting a eye-popping 0.29 ERA. Lee will come back to earth sooner or later, but has been the one stable force on this team all year.

Areas of Concern:

Aaron Laffey/Jeremy Sowers pitching 2 out of the next 4 games: Hopefully one of them can hold serve against the dreaded Yankees.

Jason Michaels: Had 2 hits yesterday, 1/3 of his season total. Needs to be jettisoned off the team so Ben Francisco can help this team progress. I asked my friend Kyle why most Tribe fans hate him like I do, and he said, "Who likes a chubby curly-haired blond guy anyways?" So true.

Jensen Lewis: Fastball is below 90 MPH, has been struggling most outings. Seems to have pitched himself out of the 7th/8th inning, making the bullpen a bit weaker.

The Evil Empire invades Cleveland tomorrow. Andy Pettite will take on Paul Byrd in a battle of the HGH hurlers.

Down on the Farm Report: Adam Miller

It has been a struggle for Adam Miller to even get on the mound for a game that counts. Between elbow, shoulder, and blister problems, this farm phenom has been limited to just 19 games last year. The 23-year old Texan fire-baller has been rumored to be included in almost every Tribe trade possibility over the past few seasons. My friend Ryan has said that he is a myth, never to ascend to anything. I believe he will be our future closer. Yesterday was Miller's first appearance in a game that counted, and he pitched well. He threw 5 innings, gave up 4 hits, walked 2, 0 earned runs, while striking out two. The Indians plan for him is to keep Miller starting in the minors to stretch his arm out. If all goes well, we may be seeing this alleged number 1 prospect sometime this summer in an Indians uniform.

Tales from the Teepee Volume 5: Paul Sorrento

Special to the TTO

There was nothing better than the Tribe at the Jake in the mid to late 90's. The '95 edition of the Wahoo Warriors fielded an All-Star lineup that won 100 games in a strike shortened season. Belle, Baerga, Lofton, Ramirez - all household names. But no one Indian captivated the hearts and minds of tribe fans more than Paul Sorrento. Paul was blue-collar all the way. A first baseman with limited range, in '95 Pauley batted a cool .235 but mashed 25 monster bombs. It was all or nothing with the mighty Paul Sorrento. He was the Average Joe that every once in a while would be that bolt of lightning that would lead to a big inning. More often that not he would strike out or send a weak grounder to short, but he did just enough to share time with Eddie Murray at first base.

Whether it be his signature Soprano style mullet, or the fan favorite giant bowl of spaghetti and meatballs that glowed from the Jacobs Field scoreboard each and every time Pauley stepped to the plate; tribe fans will forever hold a special place in their hearts and minds for Paul Sorrento.

Teepee Trivia Note of the Week - Paul Sorrento was the 1st Cleveland Indian to hit a grand slam at Jacobs Field.

by Frisky

Westbrook Placed on DL, Francisco called up

In a somewhat surprising move, Jake Westbrook has been placed on the 15 day DL with a left intercostal strain. The Indians have not said yet when the injury occurred. Jake has been pitching great this season, so this adds to the quickly mounting issues for the Tribe. Ben Francisco will probably play the next four games as a sort of audition before the Indians need a starting pitcher for Saturday. Paul Byrd will now throw Friday, and I imagine Aaron Laffey will fill in Saturday. The developing situation will concern how well Francisco plays. If he is knocking the cover off of the ball, a move with Andy Marte or possibly Jason Michaels will be on the horizon.

Tribe Bats Go Back to Sleep

Travis Hafner was definitely not toasting his Budweiser to these last two games. Five runs in three games? That is all the Twins and Indians could muster over a three game series. The Twinkies took two of these pitching masterpieces, dropping the Tribe down to a 7-12 record. I understand teams go into hitting funks but this is borderline ridiculous. Pitching was finally not the issue in any game. This team looks flat and unable to string any momentum from game to game. The Cleveland media has said numerous times that GM Mark Shapiro will not make any drastic changes until the 40 game mark. If the offense continues to sputter, a change in the outfield corner slots or at second or third will become necessary. If I had an answer to this teams terrible play, I sure would not be blogging.

Here were some of the few highlights:

Cliff Lee: 8 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 8 K's, 0 earned runs. Pitched a gem, leading the AL with a 0.40 era, Has started almost half of the Indians wins. They are 4-12 when he does not pitch

Paul Byrd: 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run. Byrd has seemed to put his early season struggles behind him, producing back to back solid starts. The lack of run support hopefully will not get to him.

Victor Martinez: 4-12 1 RBI. Is consistently making contact, pounding out hits, still is slower than usual on the basepaths. Needs more chances with RISP.

Casey Blake: (Friday's Game) 2-4, HR, 3 RBI's. Provided the offense in the only win of the series. Also hit the lone homerun. Looked bad at the plate Saturday and Sunday, but so did the whole team.

Areas of Concern:

Eric Wedge: Why on earth did he pitch to Justin Morneau in the tenth? He is the best player, most legitimate RBI threat and they already dodged fate by getting him out in the 8th. Also leaving Rafael Perez in was a stretch, let's see what these other guys in the pen are made of. Andy Marte probably will be gone by May, but why not let him play in a few games? It is not like he could do any worse than a lineup that scored 1 run in 19 innings.

Grady Sizemore: 2-13, 0 walks. As a leadoff hitter he has to get on base more. Just struggling along like the rest of the team.

David Dellucci's Defense: The guy may be able to climb a wall, but he is not good in left. He has made two diving catches but that is more due to his lack of range. Dellucci's arm is like spaghetti, and he covers zero ground.

Travis Hafner: 1-8, one sore shoulder. Pronk says he is OK but his swings and approach look more like 2007, which will severely damage the lineup.

Jhonny Peralta: 1-7. The hitting rollercoaster that is Jhonny's 2008 rumbles on. Looking forward to some consistancy.

The Indians get a much needed day off tomorrow as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals. CC Sabathia takes on Gil Meche. Hopefully the Tribe can win their first series since April 3rd.