Another article requiring these:
Feeling healthy, Sizemore eyeing turnaround

CLEVELAND -- Indians manager Manny Acta doesn't seem too concerned about his center fielder's lack of production at the plate. He's just happy Grady Sizemore is healthy.

In 29 games since May 1, Sizemore has batted .179 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. In that span, he has just eight walks and has whiffed 43 times.

That stretch includes a stint on the 15-day disabled list after Sizemore injured his knee sliding into second base in a win against Tampa on May 10. Because of that injury -- and the microfracture surgery that forced Sizemore to miss all but 33 games in 2010 -- Acta prefers to wait until Sizemore shakes off the rust until he draws any definitive conclusions.

"The best thing out of all that is that he feels good," Acta said. "He's in a good spot physically, and if he is, he'll get through it and help us out. That's the main thing for us."

Overall, Sizemore's average sits at .235. In 40 games, he has seven home runs and 19 RBIs. That's a far cry from the player whose average season from 2005-08 was .281 with 27 homers and 81 RBIs.

To right the ship, Sizemore took extra batting practice Tuesday afternoon despite receiving the night off for the second contest of the team's three-game Interleague set with Colorado. Acta said Sizemore has been working closely on his mechanics with new hitting coach Bruce Fields.

"He's working with Bruce about not swinging across his body too much and using the whole field," Acta said. "He was stepping into the plate a little too much, which he normally does, but not as pronounced. ... Guys get into those type of problems of chasing and expanding the zone."

Not swinging the bat across the body too much would be quite a novel approach to hitting the baseball as the game is currently played.

In 40 games, he has seven home runs and 19 RBIs. That's a far cry from the player whose average season from 2005-08 was .281 with 27 homers and 81 RBIs.

The average is, the HRs and RBIs not. Who writes this crap?

I swear, sportswriters are clowns.

You're right VT! those seven home runs and 19 RBIs in 40 games translate almost exactly to the HR and RBI totals for a 162 game season!

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shelley Duncan, the Indians top pinch hitter, is rejoining the Indians just in time for interleague play.

The Indians cleared a spot for the expected promotion of Duncan by optioning struggling outfielder Travis Buck to Class AAA Columbus. Buck was told after the Indians 4-3 victory over Colorado on Wednesday.

Duncan is expected to join the Indians on Friday in San Francisco when they open a three-game series against the Giants.

Buck was in a 2-for-28 slump when he was optioned. This is the third time he's been optioned to Columbus this year. He's hitting .228 (23-for-101) with 17 runs, six doubles, two homers and nine RBI.

Duncan is hitting .222 (18-for-81) with six doubles, two homers and 17 RBI. Duncan is .271 (13-for-48) hitter against lefties with 10 RBI.

He's 4-for-7 with seven RBI as a pinch-hitter this year for the Tribe. He represents a valuable option for manager Manny Acta in the upcoming nine games in NL parks where the DH cannot be used and pitchers must hit.

No Big Surprise here!

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The Indians released reliever Jensen Lewis on Thursday night from their Class AAA Columbus farm team.

Lewis pitched parts of four seasons with the Indians. He made his big league debut in 2007 and helped the Indians win the AL Central title by going 1-1 with a 2.15
ERA in 26 appearances down the stretch. He struck out 34 and walked 10 in 29 1/3 innings.

The Indians promoted right-hander Chen-Chang Lee from Class AA Akron to take Lewis spot at Columbus.

Lewis, 27, avoided arbitration this winter and signed a $650,000 one-year guaranteed deal. He was designated for assignment in spring training, cleared waivers and was sent to Columbus.

After being informed of his release, Lewis Tweeted, "Completely shell-shocked..Never thought this would happen.."

Later he Tweeted, "I want to thank all the Indians fans for their support over the years. Grew up always wanting to play for the Tribe & I've lived a dream."

Lewis' career numbers with the Indians are 7-11 with a 3.68 ERA. He had 14 saves in 161 appearances.

This year at Columbus, he was 3-2 with two saves and a 5.14 ERA. He allowed 16 earned runs in 28 innings with 40 hits, 15 walks and 22 strikeouts.

Lee was 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 23 games at Akron. He has 56 strikeouts and 11 walks in 39 2/3 innings. Lee's WHIP (walks+hits divided by innings) was 0.96.

I still think Jensen Lewis will surface and succeed a bit someday. I don't think the organization had him pigeon holed right or dialed in right. He's a smart guy with a still young live arm.

Errors end Tribe's chances for victory
Miscues spoil good turn on mound for starter Carrasco

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer


SAN FRANCISCO: The game between the Indians and World Series champion San Francisco Giants figured to be low scoring, with pitchers dominating.

It was relatively low scoring, the Giants winning 4-3 at AT&T Park, but the difference was defense. The Tribe committed two crucial errors to kill any chance at victory, much to the chagrin of Carlos Carrasco, who pitched more than well enough to win.

Through four innings. the Tribe carefully built a 3-0 lead, a significant advantage given the Giants' offensively challenged lineup.

Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez lived up to his reputation as a pitcher who lives on the edge: good stuff, doesn't know where the ball is going.

After Grady Sizemore led off the game by striking out, Orlando Cabrera and Asdrubal Cabrera
patiently drew walks and scored on Carlos Santana's double.

Santana began the fourth inning by striking out, but Sanchez hit Shin-Soo Choo in the left hand with a pitch. Choo fell to the dirt, and assistant trainer Rick Jameyson hurried to the plate and attended to the injury, first cutting off Choo's batting glove.

Shelley Duncan ran for Choo, but Austin Kearns struck out. However, Lou Marson walked, and Jack Hannahan singled home Duncan with the Tribe's third run.

That turned out to be the high point of the game for the Indians.

The first indication that things were going south came in the fifth, when Sanchez walked the bases loaded with two outs and was replaced by Santiago Casilla, who struck out Kearns.

Santiago only lasted 42/3 innings, but he threw 94 pitches, giving up only two hits but walking six.

Carrasco gave up a run in the fourth on Andres Torres' third home run of the year, but through five innings the only other hit he allowed was a bunt single to Torres leading off the first inning.

But good pitching by Carrasco didn't continue to translate into a scarcity of runs for the Giants. In the sixth, Chris Stewart led off with a single, and Nate Schierholtz pinch hit and slapped a ground ball toward first. Santana gloved it but threw badly to second for an error that put runners on first and second.

Torres followed with a single to center, loading the bases, and Emmanuel Burriss topped a ground ball 40 feet in front of the plate. Santana rushed in to make a play at the plate but fumbled the ball for his second error, allowing Stewart to score.

Schierholtz took third on the play and scored when Pablo Sandoval delivered a sacrifice fly to right that put Torres on third. Aubrey Huff followed with a pop foul fly to short left. Hannahan backpedaled and backpedaled, finally making the catch with his momentum carrying him toward the outfield.

That allowed Torres to score the winning run after the catch. Had Hannahan backed off the play and let the left fielder, Duncan, make the catch, it's doubtful that Torres would have run on the play.

Carrasco ended up pitching a complete game but giving up three unearned runs (one earned), taking a tough loss.

No question about who's the best starter on the team, now, and impressive how Carrasco has conquered the "big inning" problem he had.

Choo headed to DL with broken left thumb

Indians to recall outfielder Buck on Saturday to take his place

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 06/25/11 1:43 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO -- Shin-Soo Choo's trying season has taken another unfortunate turn.

In the fourth inning the Indians' 4-3 Interleague loss to the Giants on Friday night, Choo had his left thumb broken by a pitch from San Francisco left-hander Jonathan Sanchez. Cleveland's star right fielder is now bound for the disabled list.

"He's going to be out for a while," Indians manager Manny Acta said.

That was all Acta could offer shortly after the Tribe's latest defeat.

Choo was still at an area hospital at the time the Indians' game completed and the extent of the right fielder's injury was not known. Acta noted Choo also suffered a contusion on his hand, adding that the club would be able to provide more information on Saturday morning.

One thing is clear: Choo is headed to the 15-day DL. Acta indicated that outfielder Travis Buck -- optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday -- was being recalled and was already en route to San Francisco.

Losing Choo is the latest in a string of injuries to hit the Tribe this season.

Outfielder Grady Sizemore has had two stints on the DL this year due to knee issues. Designated Travis Hafner missed one month due to a right oblique strain. First baseman Matt LaPorta is currently shelved with a sprained right ankle. Pitchers Mitch Talbot, Carlos Carrasco and Alex White have each missed time with health woes.

Cleveland has also been without outfielder Trevor Crowe all season due to a shoulder injury. And similar to Choo, infielder Jason Donald had his left middle finger broken by a pitch during Spring Training, costing him a shot at making the Opening Day roster.

Choo's injury impacts the Indians in a variety of ways.

"It's huge," Acta said. "He means so much to us, not only offensively, but defensively and running the bases. He's a very important part of our lineup."

In the fourth inning, Sanchez unleashed a 2-1 fastball that carried inside to Choo, who was unable to shift out of the way in time. The baseball deflected off the outfielder's hand and appeared to also ricochet off his helmet.

Choo collapsed to the dirt in the batter's box and stayed on the ground until a member of the Indians' training staff met him on the field. After Choo's hand was examined and his batting glove was removed with scissors, he left the game and headed to the trainer's room.

Shelley Duncan entered as a pinch-runner for Choo.

Choo has labored for much of the season at the plate and has admitted that his main issue has been between the ears. In early May, Choo was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. In the aftermath of his arrest, Choo let outside criticism distract him from his on-field performance.

Choo exited hitting .244, with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 72 games. He is homerless in his last 125 at-bats, dating back to May 13. The right fielder had, however, hit safely in 29 of his last 36 games, and posted a .370 average over his past eight contests.

Recently, Choo felt he was in a better place mentally.

"I feel better," he said earlier this week. "I feel a lot better."

The timing of Choo's injury could not have been worse.

"The way he's been swinging the bat the last week or so," Acta said, "and the way we know he was going to swing the bat the rest of the season, it's a big blow."

Choo likely out at least six weeks
Indians outfielder expected to need surgery for fractured thumb
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 06/25/11 2:11 PM ET
Comments
printe-mailSAN FRANCISCO -- Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo is expected to be out at least six weeks, and perhaps more, after suffering a displaced fracture of his left thumb during Friday's 4-3 loss to the Giants.

Choo, who was hit on the hand with a pitch from Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez in the fourth inning, will likely need surgery. That determination will be made on Monday, when Choo will have his thumb examined in Cleveland by hand specialist Dr. Tom Graham.

"I feel so bad," Choo said on Saturday morning. "I can't help the team now."

Choo's injury00:00:506/24/11: Shin-Soo Choo exits the game after taking a ball on the hands in the fourth inningTags: Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians, injury, More From This GameShare:
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Choo's RBI single
Choo's two-run single
Choo's RBI singleAt an area hospital on Friday night, Choo had three stitches placed in his thumb, which suffered a deep laceration along with the fracture. The outfielder is scheduled to fly home to Cleveland on Sunday. The Indians have not announced a projected timetable for Choo's return.

Choo was placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to Saturday's game and the Indians have recalled outfielder Travis Buck from Triple-A Columbus.

In the fourth inning on Friday, Sanchez unleashed a 2-1 fastball that carried inside to Choo, who was unable to shift out of the way in time. The baseball deflected off the outfielder's hand and appeared to also ricochet off his helmet.

Choo collapsed to the dirt in the batter's box and stayed on the ground until a member of the Indians' training staff met him on the field. After Choo's hand was examined and his batting glove was removed with scissors, he left the game and headed to the trainer's room.

Choo exited hitting .244 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 72 games for the Indians. He is homerless in his past 125 at-bats, dating back to May 13. The right fielder had, however, hit safely in 29 of his past 36 games, and posted a .370 average over his past eight contests.

As far as Choo knows, surgery is likely in his future.

"There's a good chance of surgery," Choo said. "But I don't know how long it will be until I come back."

We need OF help beyond what's on the current 40-man roster. Kearns is useless. Buck hasn't panned out. Grady needs to get some time off. Carrerra is a good CF who hits singles and steals bases but doesn't walk enough to be a leadoff hitter; but more useful than Kearns and possibly Buck. Chad Huffman has hit pretty well for Columbus but unlikely to be a real solution. Too bad Kipnis didn't stay in the OF, his bat would be a good fit in our depleted OF ranks now.

"I feel bad for the team because I can't help," said Choo. "This is the same as in 2007 when we went to the postseason and I couldn't help because I had Tommy John surgery. I've been thinking about that a lot."

I read this to mean that "I wish I had signed that long term contract when they offered it to me".

Here are Clipper stats to puruse for options for the big team. Valbuena has hit very well; he and Kipnis share 873 OPS. Jared Head has never been seen as a prospect but he's made to AAA and OPS is 876, but he rarely walks. Best AAA stats for Buck who has a Clipper OPS of 1.016 but as we know that hasn't translated at the next level.

And Nick Weglarz who has been rated our best OF prospect for a few years is back at Akron rehabbing from his annual injury and batting 158