Inside Pitch

Donnelly joins Herd bullpen

Veteran reliever Brendan Donnelly has been promoted to the Bisons to continue his rehab work after being at Class A Kinston. The 37-year-old Donnelly -- who pitched in five of the seven games of the 2002 World Series for the Angels -- is on the road back from Tommy John surgery. He's made 303 major-league appearances with a lifetime ERA of 2.88 and an appearance in the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago.

In addition to his success with the Angels, Donnelly is also known for his trademark goggles, appearing in the Mitchell Report and keeping up a well-known feud with former teammate Jose Guillen.

Yet another addition to the list of retreads to the Bisons roster that includes the likes of Jeff Weaver, Morgan Ensberg, John Halama, Tony Graffinino and Bryan Bullington. What an odd collection the Indians have put together for their final year in Buffalo.

---Mike Harrington

Wedge: Peralta's my shortstop

Maybe Asdrubal Cabrera isn't the Tribe's shortstop of the future. Cleveland manager Eric Wedge offered an emphatic vote of confidence in Jhonny Peralta earlier today in Seattle.

"He's our shortstop," Wedge told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I don't see us making any change anytime soon."

Still not entirely buying it. Why exactly would Cabrera start 29 of 35 games with the Bisons at Peralta's spot? Wedge said it was so Cabrera's prepared to play short, his natural position, when Peralta needs a break. But if Andy Marte tanks at third and the questions about Peralta's range persist, do you really think they'll keep Cabrera at second? What about Josh Barfield, who will be back in the lineup next month? With Barfield, Cabrera, Peralta and Marte, you have to think Marte is the odd man out.

Also found it interesting that Wedge went on to praise Peralta's ability to field routine ground balls. "He's as good as anybody in the game, if not the best, at the routine play," Wedge told the PD.

What's a routine play? Balls hit within an 8-inch radius of the guy?

--- David Briggs

Farewell tour underway

Looks like we'll see some baseball today as the Bisons just waltzed onto the field for Game 1 of their doubleheader against Richmond today. For a while there, seemed like there was a higher power bent on never seeing these two teams play again. And after Friday night's nearly four hour affair, not hard to see why. But the rains that washed out last night's game and pummeled the area this morning have cleared, and we're ready for Richmond's farewell tour to commence.

The Braves will relocate next season to Gwinnett County, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. That, to the surprise of many, is NOT similar to the fate awaiting the Bisons following the season. Relocation is extremely rare at this level, and possible here because the Braves own their Triple-A affiliate. Of course, there were also more than a few problems in Richmond. The Diamond was quickly falling into disrepair, the city wouldn't agree to build a new stadium and the fans there don't seem to care much. Attendance in Richmond this decade has been in a freefall. This year, the Braves are averaging less than 4,000 fans per game, worst in the International League.

There's a site called "Save the Braves," with an online petition ("The Atlanta officials have called us out on Strike Three. We want to appeal that call. Give us one last swing"). But less than 6,000 people have signed that inspired petition, underscoring the city's general baseball apathy. A column in yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch ran under the headline, "Richmond shows it's undeserving of baseball team."

"We need to face the reality that Richmond is a great place to participate in a 10K or a marathon but a lousy town for professional sports," wrote Michael Paul Williams.

Ouch.

Today's Game 1 lineups:

Jorge Velandia, SS

Tony Graffanino, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Jason Cooper, LF

Yamid Haad, C

Jason Tyner, CF

Bryan Bullington, P

UPDATE: Game 2 Lineups:

Jorge Velandia, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Jordan Brown, 1B

Todd Linden, DH

Chris Gimenez, C

Jason Cooper, RF

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Tyner, LF

David Huff, P

--- David Briggs

(AP Photo: The Diamond, home of the Richmond Braves)

Talkin' bout history at Dunn Tire Park

Watching the end of the A's-Yanks game here in the press box at Dunn Tire Park, and can't help but think of this very day in history 93 years ago. It was then, of course, that the Washington Senators stole eight bases in the first inning off of Cleveland Indians catcher Steve O'Neil. That still holds as a major league record for steals in an inning.

Anyway, Yanks catcher Jorge Posada seems bent on giving that mark a run, with Rajai Davis and Mike Sweeney each just effortlessly swiping second with nobody out in the ninth. This guy couldn't throw out Peter Griffin right now, nailing only three of 37 runners this season.

Should Posada not just stash aside his pride, let Jose Molina catch and move to first? Or will it take a Frank Robinson moment? Remember in 2006 when the tearful Nationals manager felt so bad about yanking Matt LeCroy mid-inning after the third-string catcher allowed a seventh stolen base.

We'll leave that question to Bombers manager Joe Girardi, and move back here to Buffalo to pass along some more upbeat history. The 26 runs the Bisons have scored in their first two games out of the All-Star break marks the Herd's best two-game offensive outpouring in more than two years. The last time Buffalo put up 26 runs in consecutive games was May 7-8, 2006 against Ottawa (10-2, 16-5).

We'll see if they can keep it up tonight against Richmond as Bryan Bullington, the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, makes his Bisons starting debut.

Tonight's lineups:

Jorge Velandia, SS

Tony Graffanino, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Jason Cooper, LF

Yamid Haad, C

Jason Tyner, CF

Bryan Bullington, P

--- David Briggs

Who are these guys?

Here's the rundown of the Bisons' 16-3 dusting of woeful Richmond Friday night at Dunn Tire Park:

Time of Game: 3 hours, 40 minutes

Bisons runs: 16 (The Bisons put up double digits in consecutive games at Dunn Tire Park for the first time in nearly three years. The Herd topped Syracuse, 11-10 and 17-7 on Aug. 24 and 25, 2005)

Bisons hits: 19 ("And I feel like more is on the way each and every time we go out there," Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said. Hey, with Richmond's pitching, don't rule it out.)

Bisons walks: 12 (Brutal Richmond pitching staff, which includes old friend Jorge Julio, who added two of those free passes)

Bisons errors: 4 (One shy of their season-high)

Quite the game. And quite the offensive outpouring from Buffalo coming out of the All-Star break. Just who do these guys think they are? Don't they know they're supposed to be the league's worst offense?

"These guys went out and probably had a good conversation with themselves over the three-day break and refreshed their minds," Lovullo said. "They've come out here and realized, "Hey this is on us. We got to go out and get the job done.' It's been a long time coming."

Should be an interesting one tomorrow, too. Bryan Bullington, the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, makes his first start as a Bison.

--- David Briggs

Asdrubal speaks

Asdrubal Cabrera didn't do a single interview the entire time he was with the Bisons but he certainly did a lot of talking with his bat. He finally spoke to Cleveland Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes prior to tonight's game in Seattle. Manager Eric Wedge had some good things to say too, although Wedge still sounds obsessed with keeping Cabrera either away from donuts or McDonald's (just joking there but Wedge has been pounding the junk food theme with Cabrera for weeks).

Will be interesting to see how often the Indians use him at shortstop.

---Mike Harrington

Where are the celebrities in Buffalo?

Here at Dunn Tire Park this weekend, we'll have tonight's fridaynightbash!, 80s night tomorrow and Team Photo and Autograph Day on Sunday. Pretty fun, normal promotions all around.

You might even feel bad for guys like Wyatt Torregas, who will miss the excitement after being transferred to Double-A Akron last month. Well, don't. Torregas, Matt LaPorta and the Aeros will be meeting comedic superstar Will Ferrell in Altoona Monday night.

At least that's what the Curve's press release says, billing Monday's affair as "Please come to Altoona Will Ferrell!" Night: "Hollywood mega-star Will Ferrell will toss out a ceremonial first pitch, broadcast an inning on radio and sign autographs for Curve fans."

The release continues: "Actually, the odds of any of that happening are extraordinarily slim, but the Curve are hereby begging Mr. Ferrell to accept their invitation. Either way, the Curve will play video clips from his hilarious performances in “Anchorman”, “Old School” and many other films."

So there you have it: Ferrell, if I read correctly, will be in Altoona. Should be fun, but when isn't it at a place that stages "Awful Night," "Ode to Fallen Stars Night," "Salute to Tools Night," "Irish Pat's Used Car Giveaway Night," "Family Fight Club Day," "Renew your Wedding Vows with Pastor Parney Night" and everyone's favorite, "Salute to Quitter's Night" (In honor of former Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino, who left his NFL coaching gig mid-season last year to take the head coaching job at Arkansas, the Curve will "make one (1) lucky fan in attendance the winner of a “back door”, which the fan will be encouraged to utilitze to leave the ballpark before the game becomes official).

All right, back to the fun here, as Jeff Weaver starts against Richmond tonight. Herd manager Torey Lovullo said Weaver, who gave up three runs over three innings in his Buffalo debut Saturday, will throw about 55 pitches.

Tonight's lineups:

Jorge Velandia, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Chris Gimenez, C

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Cooper, LF

Jeff Weaver, P

--- David Briggs

My client has been wronged, your honor

A bizarre piece of news out of Minnesota; Francisco Liriano's agent is questioning why the Triple-A Rochester pitcher is not back with the Twins while tacitly accusing the traditionally tightfisted team of keeping his client in the minors to prevent Liriano from qualifying for salary arbitration.

Greg Genske is calling for a union investigation, and you have to wonder what kind of precedent this will set. Here's the scenario: Liriano has two years and 45 days of big league service time while a player needs three years to qualify for arbitration. The top 17 percent of players with between two and three years of time also qualify as "Super Twos." Genske says there's no reason Liriano should not be in the big leagues working toward the arbitration threshold, which reports indicate would likely net him an additional $1 million in 2009 salary.

Liriano, a rookie sensation in the first half of 2006 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, is 8-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 17 starts at Triple-A Rochester this year. And lately he's been dominant -- he shut down the Tides on Thursday. The 24-year-old left-hander is 7-0 with a 2.93 ERA in his last nine starts, though to be fair two came against Buffalo (only kidding ... kind of). I suppose it wouldn't hurt the Twins to replace 33-year-old Livan Hernandez, who has a 7.28 ERA over his last 10 starts.

But come on, does the Liriano camp not seem out of line here? It's one thing if the Twins were in the cellar. But Minnesota might be the hottest team in baseball, winning 21 of their last 28 games and fighting Chicago atop the AL Central. And even if the Twins promoted Liriano today, there's less than three months less in the season, meaning he would not have enough time to qualify for arbitration even as a "Super Two."

Yes, the Twins are a frugal bunch. But it's hard to imagine they are out to "get" Liriano in the way Genske claims. And it seems like any union action (retroactively adding service time?) could be disastrous. Where, as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, would it end?

"No one is going to tell us who is going to be on our team," Gardenhire told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "I don't know who is throwing this out there, but it is a joke. ... We have a player in Double-A who's got like 18 homers. His agent is going to start calling us. They cannot dictate what we are going to do."

Interesting case. What do you think baseball should do here?

--- David Briggs

Bisons explode

Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday night that he can "only kick and scream so much." So with three days over the All-Star break to remove himself from a disappointing first 99 games, he began forming a new plan.

"The way I am going to look at it is that the first half was frustrating, but I'm not going to make mention of it," Lovullo said.

There was something to be said about that "fresh start" mindset Thursday as the Bisons exploded out of the break with one of their best games of the season. John Halama threw a complete game and the offense matched a season high with 10 runs on 14 hits as the Herd dusted Richmond, 10-2.

"It's what we've been looking for," Lovullo said. "When it works well together, it's a pretty fun thing to watch."

Games like this are what make baseball so great. Here were the Bisons with their worst offense in the modern era and without their most productive hitter, Asdrubal Cabrera. And here was a guy pitching who's 36 and spent the beginning part of the season pitching for the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. And yet everything came together, offering a rare moment of bliss in a season of discontent.

For one night Thursday, Lovullo saw his hitters produce quality at-bats with two strikes and come through in the clutch. He saw three hits each from Michael Aubrey and Todd Linden, a big run-scoring hit from the struggling Morgan Ensberg and a two-run homer from the last prospect standing Jordan Brown. He saw Halama dominate with his mid-80s sinking fastball, carrying a five-hit shutout into the ninth. And afterward, he heard the telling signs of a victorious clubhouse: loud music.

Will the good vibes continue tomorrow, as Jeff Weaver makes his second start for the Bisons?

--- David Briggs                                                     

Welcome back Richmond

We're live from Dunn Tire Park on Welcome Back Jorge Velandia/Faith Night as the Bisons open up an eight-game homestand tonight against Richmond. Nice to see the Braves back in Buffalo. Long time, no see. About 27 months, in fact. You probably remember the Bisons' struggles with the snow early last April. Well, it wiped out their entire four-game set against Richmond, making the Braves April 2006 trip to Buffalo the last time the teams have played here.

Anyway, there's two pieces of news today: Bisons reliever Jeff Stevens' reaction to making the United States Olympic baseball team -- and the TV cameras making their bi-annual trip to the Washington Street park. We'll have that story on Stevens in tomorrow's paper. And, no less important, there's the return of 33-year-old middle infielder Jorge Velandia. With Asdrubal Cabrera to be called up tomorrow, Tony Graffanino took over lead-off duties Thursday and Velandia returned to Buffalo. Velandia, who had eight at-bats in his month-long stint with the Tribe, hit .235 with two RBIs in 68 at-bats with the Herd earlier this year.

Tonight's lineups:

Tony Graffanino, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Chris Gimenez, C

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Tyner, LF

John Halama, P

--- David Briggs

Adios Asdrubal

It seemed fairly clear Sunday that Asdrubal Cabrera had played his last game in Buffalo this season after Herd manager Torey Lovullo called him into his office following the Bisons' fourth straight loss. And that becomes official tomorrow when the Tribe will recall Cabrera while outrighting little-used infielder Jorge Velandia off the 40-man roster to Buffalo.

Cabrera certainly deserves another shot after hitting .326 with four homers, seven doubles and 25 runs scored in 141 at-bats in Buffalo. He's also the reigning International League Batter of the Week, hitting .394 with three homers and six RBIs in his last eight games.

His return role in Cleveland is unclear, though it seems likely Cabrera will take over for Jamey Carroll as the everyday second baseman. At least for now. The Indians have said they have no plans to move Jhonny Peralta to third.

So why did the Tribe order Lovullo to play Cabrera at shortstop eight out of every ten games? Take a guess. Look for Cabrera to move to shortstop, his natural position, in the next couple weeks.

(Photo: AP)

--- David Briggs

Can big league players bring back Olympic baseball?

Enjoy this year's U.S. Olympic baseball team while you can. They might be the last.

The International Olympic Committe is dropping baseball and softball from the 2012 games in London. And unless major leaguers ever agree to play, don't look for the sport to return.

So why not just get the big money guys to play? Nice idea ... But teams will worry about injuries to star players, the Olympics are smack in the middle of the regular season and good luck getting the Players Association on board (read: stringent Olympic drug testing).

Team USA general manager and MLB disciplinarian Bob Watson said baseball as an Olympic sport is not buried. That's particularly true, he said, if the 2016 Olympics go to either Chicago or Tokyo, baseball cities in baseball countries. Still, Watson knows any hope hinges on the world's best players taking the field.

"Major League baseball and the IOC are working dilligently to have a system where our big leaguers are playing," Watson told reporters in a conference call earlier today. "Don’t rule it out. Instead of a three day break for the All-Star Game, you might have a four of five day break to get all the [Olympic] games in and use all major leaguers ... We’re putting on a real good show around the world with baseball. And I believe the Olympics are definitely going to want to have baseball back in the fold. We have the World Classic now and the popularity is only going to grow. We feel that baseball is going to get back into the Olympics."

We'll see.

--- David Briggs

Live updates: All-Star press conference

NEW YORK -- The starters and lineups are going to be announced in a few minutes for Tuesday night's All-Star Game and we're attempting to go live (hoping for no connection snafus) from the palatial Manhattan Ballroom in the Grand Hyatt to give you all the info. The managers and starting pitchers are the first ones scheduled on the podium.

MLB.com is already reporting that Milwaukee's Ben Sheets will start for the NL because both Tim Lincecum and Brandon Webb threw Sunday. I'm thinking ex-Bison Cliff Lee of the Indians will get the AL nod although you could easily make a case for Toronto's Roy Halladay or Los Angeles' Joe Saunders.

11:05 a.m.: Still waiting for the press conference to begin. NL manager Clint Hurdle just entered the room to speak with some Make-A-Wish foundation kids sitting in the front row.

11:11 a.m: Just realized MLB.com is streaming this affair live. It still hasn't started.

11:15 a.m.: The principals have entered and are at the podium. And they include Sheets and Lee. So they're the starters and there's your first big piece of info.

11:18 a.m: The AL lineup is posted. It goes like this: Ichiro-rf; Jeter-ss; Hamilton-cf; Rodriguez-3b; Ramirez-lf; Bradley-dh; Youkilis-1b; Mauer-c; Pedroia-2b

11:21 a.m: Lee -- "I'm kind of awestruck by it. Hopefully I can continue to pitch the way I have."

11:23 a.m.: Sheets just said he's never been to Yankee Stadium.

11:24 a.m.: The NL lineup -- HRamirez, ss; Utley, 2b; Berkman, 1b; Pujols, dh; Jones, 3b; Holliday, rf; Braun, lf; Fukudome, cf; Soto, c

11:26 a.m.: First question was to Francona about why not starting Mariano Rivera. "He may be the greatest reliever of all-time but he's not a starter. I thought it would be unfair to the starting pitchers and you're putting a guy at risk possibly doing something he's not done."

11:29 a.m: Sheets dominated the Rockies last week and made an impression on Hurdle. "The fact he struck out 11 of us in five innings caught my eye," Hurdle said.

11:33 a.m.: Francona on Yankee Stadium -- "Something will happen in this game that people will probably talk about for a long time."

11:35 a.m.: Hurdle on the NL lineup -- "You hear about OPS. i'm a big fan of G-U-T-S. It's the best lineup I've ever written down on a paper. We'll see where it takes us."

11:37 a.m.: Lee on going back to Buffalo last season -- "Sometimes going through some failure makes you a better player in the long run. It gave me a little motivation in the offseason to work harder and do what I could not to get injured in spring training and prove how I have pitched in the past and it's worked out."

11:40 a.m.: Sheets keeps calling his manager "Mr. Hurdle".

11:41 a.m.: Sheets on his first trip to Yankee Stadium: "I don't know much about the stadium because I've never been there ... I'm going to take the opportunity to see everything. What do they call them? The monuments? I'm definitely going to do a sight-seeing tour today and enjoy every minute of it."

---Mike Harrington

Can Buffalo avoid the sweep?

How about Matt Ginter last night in Cleveland? Called up for a spot start, Ginter tossed five scoreless innings on five hits in the Tribe's 7-0 victory over Tampa Bay.

He came out after 65 pitches with a cramp in his hamstring, but looks to be fine. In fact, Ginter was still glowing afterward from the unfamiliar offensive support.

"It always helps when you get four, five or six runs," Ginter told reporters.

Of course, that rarely happened with Buffalo, which saved itself from one ignominious piece of history last night. With three runs, the Bisons avoided being shut out in three straight games for just the second time in franchise history. As Mike helpfully looked up, the Bisons were thrice blanked in May 1986, going down silently in a doubleheader at Iowa before falling, 1-0, at Omaha.

Here's today's lineups as the Bisons try to avoid a four-game sweep against Louisville at Dunn Tire Park:

Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B

Tony Graffanino, SS

Jordan Brown, 1B

Todd Linden, RF

Jason Cooper, LF

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Yamid Haad, C

Jason Tyner, DH

J.D. Martin, P

--- David Briggs

Bisons looking for offense behind Weaver

Well, the rain cut short Buffalo's batting practice today, which is never a good thing when you've been blanked two days in a row and four times in the last eight games. But there's always the cages. So we'll see if the Herd can put a run on the board tonight against Louisville right-hander Justin Mallett (2-1, 5.23 ERA).

Should be an interesting game. The Bisons will start Jeff Weaver with Bryan Bullington pitching in relief. Manager Torey Lovullo said Weaver, who has not seen game action in a month, will pitch two or three innings while Bullington will throw about 65 pitches. If all goes well, both Weaver and Bullington, the Pirates' former No. 1 draft pick who the Tribe signed off waivers earlier this week, should be in the starting rotation after the All-Star break. 

All right, here's the lineup for tonight's game against Louisville:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Jordan Brown, 1B

Todd Linden, DH

Chris Gimenez, C

Jason Cooper, RF

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Tyner, LF

Jeff Weaver, P

--- David Briggs

Indians provide Mulhern, Pirates provide the cash

Hey, maybe now the Indians can afford to to sign CC Sabathia this winter. As Mike wrote earlier, the Indians traded Ryan Mulhern and starter Dan Reichert to the Pirates Thursday for cash considerations.

I'm not exactly sure how such trades go down, though you'd like to imagine Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington driving to Cleveland to hand-deliver a bag of cash to Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro. And how is the amount negotiated? ("Ah, just fill up a garbage bag and we'll call it a deal.") Any way you look at it, there can't be much honor in being exchanged for "financial considerations," though it's surely better than being traded for a sack of bats.

Interesting about Mulhern. The 27-year-old infielder, once considered one of Cleveland's better prospects, was named the organization's minor league player of the year in 2005. Playing for Class A Kinston and Double-A Akron that season, he ranked fifth in the minors in homers (32) and fourth in slugging percentage (.640). And last season, the guy was the Bisons' co-MVP, hitting .290 with 16 homers. Yet it's also clear Mulhern never quite progressed like the Tribe's front office hoped. This season in Buffalo, Mulhern hit .250 with seven homers and 26 RBIs in 58 games while developing an affinity for standing behind the cage and hitting balls into the stands during batting practice.

A fresh start in Pittsburgh can't hurt.

                                                              -------------------

An additional note on Bryan Bullington. The Pirates apparently hoped the former No. 1 draft pick would clear waivers and return to their Triple-A affiliate.

"He wasn't in our immediate picture, but we felt there was more there," Huntington told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We thought it was a worthwhile risk, and it didn't pay off."

--- David Briggs

Tribe claims former bonus baby Bullington

The Cleveland Indians claimed former No. 1 overall pick Bryan Bullington off waivers today from the Pittsburgh Pirates and assigned him to Buffalo. Bullington, a 27-year-old right-hander, better make something of his career or he'll go down as one of the biggest draft busts ever, at least the biggest this side of infamous Yankees flameout Brien Taylor.

Since being taken No. 1 in 2002 out of Ball State, Bullington has pitched just six major-league games and won exactly none for the Pirates. He's trying to come back from shoulder surgery, which kept him off the mound for all of 2006, but has had mediocre results this season (4-6, 5.52 in 15 starts for Indianapolis.

Bullington was picked No. 1 largely because the Pirates felt they could sign him. In one of the lowest moments of a disastrous run as Pittsburgh GM, Dave Littlefield even admitted Bullington projected out to be a No. 3 starter in the big leagues. No. 3! As the first overall pick? What a disgrace.

Look at this list of players, listed in order, picked after Bullington in that '02 first round: B.J. Upton, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida, Joe Saunders, Khalil Greene, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, James Loney, Jeff Francoeur and Joe Blanton.

Nice pick, Littlefield.

Gotta believe Bisons manager Torey Lovullo and pitching coach Scott Radinsky had to have a hand in the Tribe's stab at Bullington. On June 25 at Indy, Bullington threw six one-hit innings as the Indians blanked the Bisons, 5-0. Of course, throwing six one-hit innings isn't that big a deal against the Herd this year.

---Mike Harrington

Herd back home

The Bisons ended their ugly seven-game losing streak Monday night and enter tonight's series opener against Louisville in Dunn Tire Park with three wins in four games. It's a far cry from the parent club, as Cleveland enters tonight's game against Tampa Bay on a 10-game skid for the first time since 1979. I know guys always want promotions but right now the clubhouse in Progressive Field is no place to be!

Anyway, pitcher Frank Herrmann is back in Buffalo after being promoted from Double-A Akron. Herrmann, who threw seven good innings Saturday in Rochester against Red Wings stud Francisco Liriano, might be here for more than just a Triple-A cup of coffee this time. The Bisons have just announced that pitcher Dan Reichert and infielder Ryan Mulhern -- their co-MVP last season -- have been traded to the Pittsburgh organization for cash or future considerations. That deal probably has something to do with the Indians' waiver claim of Pirates pitcher and former No. 1 draft pick Bryan Bullington earlier today.

Look for Bullington to start this weekend as Reichert was scheduled to go Saturday and Matt Ginter, who will be starting for the Indians Saturday against the Rays, was supposed to go for the Herd Sunday.

Here's the Bisons' starting lineup tonight:

Asdrubal Cabrera, ss (9 for 17 in the last four games)

Andy Gonzalez, 2b

Michael Aubrey, 1b

Todd Linden, rf

Jordan Brown, dh

Chris Gimenez, c

Morgan Ensberg, 3b

Brad Snyder, cf

Jason Cooper, lf

---Mike Harrington

Winning ugly

Did the Class A New York-Penn League come to Dunn Tire Park Monday night? What was that? The Bisons and Syracuse staged a seven-error fiasco with Buffalo making five but somehow emerging with an 8-7 win. Manager Torey Lovullo admitted afterward he was going to lose his top if his team lost this win, as well he should.  It's been a long time since I've heard the fans downtown that restless and sarcastic toward the Bisons.

Buffalo pitchers are some of the worst offenders of late, seemingly unable to make an accurate throw to a base. Lovullo nearly had pitchers' fielding practice prior to the game, something normally not done after spring training. He said he may do it before Tuesday's doubleheader in Syracuse.

"I can't explain what was going on," Lovullo said. "I just know we were going to do PFP today and instead we opted to hit early. It seems like we should have gone out and done a little PFP instead of the extra hitting but the extra hitting paid off."

Lovullo confirmed that top Cleveland outfield prospect Trevor Crowe is nursing an unknown injury but could still be a candidate for a promotion from Double-A Akron soon.

---Mike Harrington

Sizemore's in the derby

Grady Sizemore, the American League's home run leader, will be in next Monday's Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium. No surprise there. Sizemore expressed interest in the Derby and has 22 homers. He will be the first Cleveland player in the Derby since Jim Thome in 1998 -- and the second ex-Bisons player to swing the night before the Midsummer Classic (Richie Sexson hacked in 2002 and 2003).

Other confirmed participants:

Rangers RF Josh Hamilton (19 HR, 84 RBIs)

Marlins 2B Dan Uggla (23 HR, 58 RBIs)

Astros 1B Lance Berkman (22 HR, 69 RBIs)

Phillies 2B Chase Utley (24 HR, 67 RBIs)

Angels RF Vladimir Guerrero (14 HR, 47 RBIs)

Interesting that Guerrero agreed to defend his Derby crown, despite not making the All-Star team for just the second time since 1999.

Two others will round out the eight-man field. Yankees slugger Jason Giambi (18 HR) said he's all for swinging at Monday night's festivities if elected to the final AL roster spot.

(Graphic: minorleaguenews.com)

--- David Briggs

What's in a name, CC?

What's in a name? Quite a bit, apparently, to the man formerly known as C.C. Sabathia.

A Brewers PR member told the media today that Sabathia prefers to be known as CC, without the periods following his initials. Not yet sure why Sabathia, whose full first name is Carsten Charles, requested the change after so many years.

Must be a Milwaukee thing. After being traded to the Brewers in 1996, Jeremi Gonzalez told team officials that his first name should begin with a "G." Gonzalez, unfortunately, was killed in May by a lightning strike back home in Venezuela.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Sabathia has spoken publicly for the first time since the bombshell punctuation controversy exploded earlier today. "I have no preference at all," Sabathia told reporters. "I'm fine either way." How then does he write his name? "If I have to spell my name, actually I use Carsten," he said. "Very rarely do I use CC. So I guess I don't use periods, either."

--- David Briggs

Another Colon deal for Tribe?

So the podium talk is over and it's now official: C.C. Sabathia is a Brewer and the Indians are getting four minor leaguers, including star-in-waiting Matt LaPorta. He'll start at Double-A Akron and likely be in Buffalo soon.

So is this the kind of deal that rekindles memories of Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips? Can it put the Brewers in contention to make a real run at the Cubs in the NL Central or at least get a leg up on the wild-card?

After 96 wins and coming within one win of the World Series in 2007, how tough is it to be an Indian fan in 2008?

---Mike Harrington

Tribe/Brewers pressers chatter

Notes while watching the Brewers and Tribe talk about the C.C. Sabathia deal (click refresh for more updates):

Click here for the official release from the Indians on the trade

The Brewers need to learn to pronounce his name. It's Sah-BATH-ee-ah, not Sah-BATHE-eh-ah. Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin said Brewers reliever David Riske, the ex-Bison and Indian, was huge in suggesting the team go after Sabathia.

Melvin on what the deal means: "I say we're going for it. That's how I look at it."

Melvin said LaPorta was "an untouchable" a few weeks ago. "We knew from day one it was going to cost us a premium player. I wasn't going to try to shortchange Mark [Shapiro] and the Indians on the deal. ... I was aggressive from day one on it."

Melvin acknowledged Sabathia is probably a rental player and said he just told him to enjoy his time in Milwaukee and pitch his best. "Our focus is the rest of season. We'll worry about all that at the end of the year."

More Melvin: "It's nice to know [Sabathia] and Ben Sheets are at the top of the rotation. You go into a three-game series now it's a pretty good feeling."

The Indians have posted a letter to fans from club president Paul Dolan on their Web site.

Left-hander Zach Jackson is expected to come to the Bisons. The 6-5, 200-pounder is 1-5 with a 7.55 ERA at Nashville and made two relief appearances this year in Milwaukee. He was an 11-game winner at Nashville last year.

Indians GM Mark Shapiro has opened his talk at Progressive Field. Here are some of his key comments:

"There wasn't much doubt or question in our minds that it was nearly impossible for us to become a contending club this year."

"We felt we thoroughly explored an extension with C.C. in spring training. ... the combination of our cabapilities and C.C.'s expectations didn't align."

Not overly optimistic about Jackson, calling him a "depth pitcher who at a minimum who can help us this year and you never know moving forward."

"We don't feel we're at a rebuild. We don't feel we're at a juncture we have to overhaul this team. We have to get healthy."

On trying to re-sign Sabathia in free agency: "We hope to be a part of that process. It's certainly one we'll explore."

Why is LaPorta going to Akron rather than Buffalo: "We thought a lot about that but I think it's important for him to come in here and get settled. He'll have that that expectation of being a No. 1 pick and then put another amped-up one of being the top guy in a big deal. ... He'll dictate his time [in Akron] going forward."

LaPorta will move to LF at Akron and will also take groundballs at 1B during batting practice. He may play there some later this year (hear that, Ryan Garko?)

On standing pat last winter: "We didn't foresee injuries and we didn't foresee the across-the-board lack of meeting expectations and matching past success."

---Mike Harrington

LaPorta to Akron for now

The Indians' press conference to announce the C.C. Sabathia trade begins at 12:30 and several Cleveland-area outlets are now reporting hot prospect Matt LaPorta will initially start at Double-A Akron rather than Buffalo. So some Tribe/Bisons insiders think that means the Herd will get outfielder Trevor Crowe from Akron. Crowe was the Tribe's No. 1 pick in 2005 out of Arizona (14th overall).

Crowe missed a month earlier in the season with a bad back but has been on fire since. He is currently batting .325 in 41 games for Akron, mostly as a left fielder. He has four homers, 26 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Since June 1, however, Crowe has been batting .417.

He would instantly become the Bisons' new leadoff hitter and a badly needed spark to a dead lineup.

UPDATE: MLB.com is showing both the Brewers and Indians press conferences live.

---Mike Harrington

C.C. to Brewers at noon

The C.C. Sabathia trade will be officially announced by the Milwaukee Brewers at noon (11 a.m. CT) and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting the Indians will get top prospect Matt LaPorta, minor league pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson, and a minor leaguer to be named later. It will be interesting to see if LaPorta, an outfielder with one of the top bats in the minors, is initially sent to Buffalo or Double-A Akron.

There was some chatter last night and this morning that the Indians feel LaPorta has dominated Double-A and want to fast-track him to the majors, so they'll put him in Buffalo. We'll see. The arrival of LaPorta would certainly inject some interest in a Bisons season that's going absolutely nowhere. With one run in the last 31 innings, the Herd's offense has just about quit. At this point, Torey Lovullo's optimism is just completely blind.

NOON UPDATE: MLB.com is showing both the Brewers' and Indians' press conferences live. The Tribe's talk begins at 12:30.

---Mike Harrington

Sabathia traded to Brewers

The Indians finalized a deal Sunday that will send ace C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers for Matt LaPorta and two other prospects, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The details are not fully known, but look for Sabathia to be starting for Milwaukee on Tuesday.

UPDATE (7:50 p.m.): Tribe GM Mark Shapiro said the Journal-Sentinel report is premature. "It is definitively not a done deal," Shapiro told MLB.com. "I won't comment on what point it's at or how far along [it is]."

Still, not hard to figure out why LaPorta was scratched from Double-A Huntsville's lineup.

UPDATE (10:45 p.m.): The deal still appears all but done. ESPN's Peter Gammons reports that an official announcement is coming Monday. And Sabathia himself tacitly confirmed the deal in a text message. "I'm good excited," he wrote to ESPN.com's Amy Nelson. "It's weird leaving these guys."

The Journal-Sentinel reports that pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson and a fourth TBA player will go to the Indians. That final player could be third baseman Taylor Green, another top prospect.

Jackson is 1-5 with a 7.85 ERA at Triple-A Nashville, Bryson is 3-2 with a 4.25 in 22 outings at Class A West Virginia and Green is hitting .298 with 10 homers and 54 RBI at Class A Brevard County.

Hard to imagine Indians fans complaining about the deal, and the reaction in Milwaukee seems pretty positive. More than 80 percent of fans in a Journal-Sentinel online poll favored the trade.

Check out Michael Hunt's column in Monday's Journal-Sentinel, with this amusing fantasy lead:

It is August 2033 in Cooperstown, N.Y. We are somewhere near the end of Matt LaPorta's induction speech.

"Even as I go into the Hall of Fame as a New York Met, I'd like to thank my first organization, the Milwaukee Brewers, for the opportunity. They gave me the chance to start my big-league career in Cleveland . . ."

At the same time in Vallejo, Calif., C.C. Sabathia has a story for his grandchild.

"Last day of the '08 season. I had a one-hitter going against the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth, up, 1-0, one on and facing Derrek Lee. Count was 1-2. Playoffs on the line. Miller Park was going crazy. Should've heard it: 'C.C., C.C.!' Then I got just a little too much of the plate . . ."

For the benefit of the terminally gloomy, we took the liberty of getting the worst-case scenario out of the way.

Otherwise, wow.

This is why the Brewers built their farm system to this extent, to the point where they could cash in a piece of their future for the potential of immediate gratification.

Will be interesting to see how everything plays out. Will we see LaPorta in Buffalo this year? Some see LaPorta playing everyday in left-field for the Indians by mid-season next year. So you would imagine we might see LaPorta up here at some point this year. But then again, Double-A Akron is thriving and the Tribe might be hesitant to throw LaPorta into a losing situation.

--- David Briggs

Weaver in town

Jeff Weaver is in town and will throw his first bullpen session tomorrow. We'll have more in Monday's paper about Weaver reuniting with high school pitching coach Scott Radinsky. For now, though, let's get to the lineups for tonight's game against Syracuse at Dunn Tire Park:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Michael Aubrey, 1B

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, DH

Chris Gimenez, C

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Cooper, LF

David Huff, P

--- David Briggs

No history for Marte

Sad day for fans looking to mine some suspense from the final three months of the Indians' season. The Andy Marte RBI watch is over. As Tribe beat writer Jim Ingraham writes, those who had July 5 in the "When will Andy Marte drive in a run?" pool are winners. Marte, the only American League player on a roster all season without an RBI, hit a run-scoring single in the second inning of Cleveland's 9-6 loss to the Twins.

For better or worse, the guy was nearly halfway to making history. Marte's triumph came in his 56th at-bat. The record for most at-bats in a season without an RBI is 119, held by Gene Good on the 1906 Boston Beaneaters.

Now, Marte has a chance to drive in more runs than ace C.C. Sabathia. At least in the AL. If reports today are true, Sabathia looks to knock in a few more runs with the Brewers. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes writes that Sabathia "should be making his next start for [Milwaukee] on Tuesday" if the Brewers are willing to sweeten their proposed deal by tomorrow. The Brew Crew is reportedly willing to part with outfielder Matt LaPorta, Milwaukee's No. 1 pick last year.  The 23-year-old from the University of Florida is hitting .288 with 23 doubles, 20 homers and 68 RBIs at Double-A Huntsville this season and the Indians seem to view him as a guy who could take over left-field by 2010.

Cleveland, however, reportedly wants a second top-tier prospect. Hoynes reports the deal would likely be finalized if the Tribe can acquire Class A third baseman Taylor Green or Double-A outfielder Michael Brantley. If the Brewers refuse to shake up their loaded farm system, the Dodgers and Phillies remain possible partners.

                                                              ---------------------

One final note on Lee, who looks to be the first Indians pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Charles Nagy did so in 1997. If the Indians remain in last place through July 13, Lee would be the first All-Star game starter from a basement-dwelling team in 46 years. Dave Steinhouse, representing the last-place Washington Senators, started the 1962 game.

--- David Briggs

Lots of mound news

ROCHESTER -- First off, scheduled starter Jeff Harris has been scratched from tonight's Bisons game in Frontier Field. No, Jeff Weaver is going from the free agent list to the mound after being signed this morning. Manager Torey Lovullo said Weaver is going to need a couple side sessions in the bullpen before he's ready to pitch. He'll join the team Sunday in Dunn Tire Park.

Starting tonight will be 24-year-old Frank Herrmann, who was a non-drafted free agent out of Harvard signed in 2005. He apparently has some interest in journalism as these articles he wrote for the Harvard Crimson show.

He's 8-3 with a 5.04 ERA this year at Double-A Akron, where he's clearly had a lot of run support because he's given up 104 hits and 22 walks in just 84 innings. Last year, he was a Carolina League all-star at Class A Kinston after going 11-5, 4.01 in 26 starts.

After last night's 8-1 flameout, Torey Lovullo told his team to stay away from the ballpark before today's game. The clubhouse wasn't even open until 5 p.m. and there was no batting practice. All Lovullo did was watch rehabbing outfielder Tony Graffinino test his injured knee running the bases. We'll see if the pregame off does any good.

Here's the Buffalo lineup:

Asdrubal Cabrera, 2b

Andy Gonzalez, ss

Michael Aubrey, dh

Todd Linden, rf

Jordan Brown, 1b

Chris Gimenez, c

Morgan Ensberg, 3b

Jason Cooper, lf

Jason Tyner, cf

---Mike Harrington

Jeff Weaver to join Bisons

Jeff Weaver? Jeff Weaver? Boy, the Indians are reaching pretty low now. Aside from a 14-win season with the Dodgers in 2005 and catching lightning in a bottle with St. Louis during the 2006 postseason, this former No. 1 draft pick has almost always been a disappointment at every stop.

Now he's coming to Buffalo, signed Saturday to a free-agent deal by the Indians in what's clearly a precursor to a trade of C.C. Sabathia and/or Paul Byrd. It looks like the Brewers are the favorite for Sabathia as the Indians have been heavily scouting Double-A Huntsville and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel lays out what the Brewers might be offering. Seems like some big-time prospects for a rental pitcher.

Jeff Weaver? Yikes.

---Mike Harrington

On the road with the Herd

ROCHESTER -- You want to talk about multi-tasking, well I'm your man tonight. In the press box at beautiful Frontier Field for tonight's Bisons game, watching the Yankees lose to the Red Sox (again) on the tube and making sure to take care of your Sabres report for tomorrow as well. Check out the chatter on the Craig Rivet deal at Sabres Edge.

The Bisons try to snap their four-game losing streak here tonight and could use some innings from starter John Halama after Thursday night's 13-inning defeat. The Herd has added reliever Preston Larrison to its roster after he was signed as a free agent out of the Detroit chain. Joe Borowski and Rick Bauer were designated for assignment by the Indians to make room for Brian Slocum and Jensen Lewis.

The C.C. Sabathia talk is really heating up, with ESPN reporting that the Brewers (the Brewers?!) seem to be in the lead with the kind of prospects the Indians might be interested in. Guess I should check out the rosters in Nashville and Huntsville. And what kind of postgame is Joe Girardi going to have tonight after the Yankees blew their three-run lead?

Anyway, here's the Herd's lineup for tonight's game:

Asdrubal Cabrera, ss

Andy Gonzalez, 2b

Michael Aubrey, 1b

Todd Linden, dh

Morgan Ensberg, 3b

Jason Cooper,  rf

Brad Snyder, cf

Yamid Haad, c

Jason Tyner, lf

Asdrubal in the lineup

Well, look who's in tonigh'ts lineup. Asdrubal Cabrera is leading off and playing third base, and apparently will not face a suspension for his antics in the Bisons' 5-4 loss Wednesday night. Manager Torey Lovullo said league officials reviewed the tape of the ejection and ruled there was no ill intent in any of Cabrera's actions.

You might say that's a victory for the fans who will fill up Dunn Tire Park tonight. But who's kidding who? Baseball takes a backseat to the annual Independece Eve Celebration. In fact, tonight game cannot go past 9:45 p.m. Think it has something to do with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's union, a fireworks ordinance, and mostly, not wanting to disappoint the fans.

Should be a cool scene tonight. We'll be starting a live blog of tonight's action/festivities, which Mike will get going here in a few minutes.

Here's tonight's lineups:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Chris Gimenez, C

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Cooper, LF

Matt Ginter, P

--- David Briggs

Catching switch hurting Herd

Here's another example of why it seems nothing has worked for the Indians in Buffalo this season: You couldn't argue when the Tribe flipped catchers a couple weeks back, sending struggling Wyatt Toregas down to Double-A Akron and bringing red-hot Chris Gimenez from the Aeros to the Bisons.

After all, Toregas was hitting just .219 with two homers and 25 RBIs in 50 games for Buffalo. Gimenez, meanwhile, was batting a team-high .339 -- third in the Eastern League -- with six homers and 26 RBIs in 55 games in Akron.

Not much of a trade so far. Gimenez has been brutal in Buffalo, going 7 for 43. His lowest moment might have been when he bounced into an around-the-horn double play with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game Wednesday night. Toregas, meanwhile, is batting .308 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games at Akron -- and he rang up a three-homer game Wednesday night at Erie.

Figures.

---Mike Harrington

Look who's here

"I'm Randy, nice to meet you," the kid said to John Halama as the two stepped out of the Bisons' third-base dugout Wednesday afternoon at Dunn Tire Park.

Buffalo, meet Randy. Double-A Akron closer Randy Newsom was named to Eastern League All-Star team early Wednesday and then later in the day promoted to Triple-A Buffalo. What took so long? Who knows. The guy's had his way with Double-A hitters. The 26-year-old right-hander was 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA while saving a league-leading 24 games. His 42 career saves with Akron are also a franchise record.

Bisons lefty Rich Rundles (5-4, 3.58 ERA) also made an All-Star team Sunday, being selected as the Herd's lone representative at this year's Triple-A All-Star Game July 16 in Louisville. Unfortunately, he did not also have a promotion to celebrate, but one might be coming soon. Who knows what the last-place Tribe has in store for the second half? Look for a story in Thursday's paper about the Herd's stocked bullpen becoming the primary focus of Cleveland officials in the coming weeks.

All right, here's the lineup for tonight's opener against Rochester:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 3B

Michael Aubrey, 1B

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, DH

Chris Gimenez, C

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Tyner, LF

Chris De La Cruz, 2B

Dan Reichert, P

--- David Briggs

CC-ya later: Where will Sabathia land?

Tribe manager Eric Wedge said his club’s current eight-game road trip will make or break the season. Two losses in, the safe money’s on break. So while White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen thinks the Indians shouldn't break up their club (hey, why would he want a last-place team to change?), you have to wonder if C.C. Sabathia is making his final start for the Wahoos tonight in Chicago.

The only seeming way Sabathia stays aboard Cleveland's sinking ship is if he agrees to sign a long-term extension for well below his market value. General manager Mark Shapiro is reportedly making a last-ditch effort to re-sign Sabathia. And covering the Tribe for MLB.com last year, what you hear about the guy is true: Sabathia's indeed a great clubhouse presence who genuinely loves Cleveland. But folks, it ain't happening (see Thome, Jim, Ramirez, Manny, et al).

On the other hand, keeping Sabathia and losing him at the end of the season for a couple compensatory draft picks would be laughable, the latest in a series of staggering front-office decisions. In short, CC-ya.

Who's going to land the hefty lefty? Logic says you start with the Yankees, particularly with the Rays' resurgence and Chien-Ming Wang on the DL into September. Yet word is the Bombers will not be big time players. "'I'd be very surprised if that happened,'' a major league official told Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff. "'Cash has been very conservative the past few years.'' The Indians will likely demand a big league-ready starter in return, and New York may not be willing to part with a guy like Ian Kennedy. Moreover, any team that signs Sabathia will want to ink him to a long-term deal. And as Davidoff writes, the Yanks have changed their culture after past failed rent-a-pitcher trades (see: Denny Neagle) and long-term deals (see: Carl Pavano). Should the Yankees take a long-term risk on a guy pushing 300 pounds?

ESPN's Buster Olney ranks Sabathia's suitors like this:

1. Brewers

2. Cubs

3. Dodgers

4. Rangers

5. Red Sox

Chicago may have the most urgency to win now, but not enough minor league chips. Writes ESPN's Peter Gammons: "They doubt they have enough to get Sabathia, although [GM Jim] Hendry constantly touches base with Indians GM Mark Shapiro." Milwaukee, at 44-38 and three games behind St. Louis in the wild-card race, has less urgency, but is stocked with the type of prospects needed to land Sabathia.

We'll see. The Tribe may also be looking to shop pitchers Paul Byrd and Joe Borowski (good luck there, Mark) and third baseman Casey Blake (the guy is baseball's leading hitter with RISP), so expect a couple new faces in Buffalo in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here's a few interesting sites to track all the daily trade rumors: MLB.com's Trade Talk blog, MLB Trade Rumors and Pro Sports Daily's MLB Rumors.   

Love to hear your thoughts. What should Shapiro do to his last-place team?

--- David Briggs

Wiiilmaaaaaaa

Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jar Jar and friends, who staged a few amusing in-game sword battles on Star Wars night Saturday, have been replaced by Fred Flinstone and Dino. Fred, clad in his trademark orange mumu, is making some questionable gyrations in the direction of another mascot (and, folks, it's not Wilma). But we'll leave that alone here on a beautiful Dog Day at Dunn Tire Park.

All right, back to the boys on the field. The hard-luck way the Bisons' season has unfolded, you would have figured they would be the team to throw a no-hitter and lose this year. But on Saturday night, while Herd manager Torey Lovullo said the "baseball gods took care of us," it was the first-place Los Angeles Angels who lost despite no-hitting the Dodgers. As many a player has uttered before, "That's baseball for you." What's more, the Angels' no-hitter over the Dodgers didn't even count, because Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo only combined to throw eight innings.  It was just the third eight inning no-hitter since 1961. Boston's Matt Young no-hit the Tribe in 1992, and the Yankees' Andy Hawkins did it against the White Sox in 1990. Hawkins no-no was officially recongized at the time, but was soon cleared from the books when a rule was passed in 1991 that said any no-hitter must be at least nine innings. 

One hit less here in Buffalo last night, and we would have seen the second no-hitter in Dunn Tire Park history. Instead, Matt Ginter (six innings) and Brian Slocum (three innings) combined for the Bisons' tenth no-hitter here. Still, great sign for Ginter, who has now thrown well in three straight starts.

Here's what Lovullo said about Ginter's recent turnaround: "I think it's his fastball command down in the zone. His secondary stuff is very effective and he knows how to pitch. He's got a great plan. What people don't realize is that during the game when he's not pitching, he's constantly talking, reading swings and addressing how he's going to attack a particular lineup. I think he had a lot of hard luck early, so it's great to see him on a nice little roll."

Anyway, here's the lineups for today's series finale against Scranton Wilkes-Barre:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Jason Tyner, CF

Michael Aubrey, DH

Todd Linden, RF

Jordan Brown, 1B

Andy Gonzalez, 3B

Jason Cooper, LF

Yamid Haad, C

Chris De La Cruz, 2B

John Halama, P

--- David Briggs

(Photo: smh.com.au)

The Bisons are no scrubs

Here's a couple good signs that the Bisons might not be having the greatest season: No Bisons made the Futures Game rosters announced last week. And no member of the Herd is among the top three at any position in International League All-Star Game fan voting. Josh Barfield has the third-most votes at third base and Rick Bauer is sixth among relievers, but neither are, well, here. 

A quick check of the standings confirms the Herd's struggles. Despite coming off a 5-3 road trip, the Bisons are still 37-44 and 13 1/2 games behind first-place Pawtucket. One might even be tempted to call some of the Bisons, "scrubs," but that would offend Tigers closer Todd Jones. To quickly go off topic, Jones took offense last week when Henry Schulman, the Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote that Ryan Raburn was "a .219-hitting scrub" after the .219-hitting scrub hit a game-winning home run. Jones responded by excorciating Schulman in a Sporting News column, even writing, "I'd much rather be a scrub than a guy who sits on the sideline and watches what happens, then writes about it." Jones went on to mention that he has "thick skin." Right. (Only kidding, by the way, about the Bisons being scrubs).

Anyway, a couple roster moves to report as the Bisons return home Friday night to open up a weekend set against Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Catcher Yamid Haad has cleared waivers and is back with the Bisons. The 30-year-old catcher was promoted to Cleveland on June 12, soon designated for assignment after seeing no action and then activated by Buffalo today. Haad hit .159 (10-for-63) with three RBI in 25 games with the Bisons earlier this year. He replaces Armando Camacaro, who was put on the DL today after hitting .077 in five games with the Herd ... You might also notice that third baseman Aaron Herr was missing. The 27-year-old was traded to the Reds earlier this week after the Indians signed Morgan Ensberg to take over everyday duties at third base. "We were all really pulling for Aaron," Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said Friday. "He played as hard as any guy I've managed. It's just that his playing time was going to be lean here."

The Yankees also made a couple moves in between games of their two-stadium doubleheader today. Kei Igawa, Scranton's scheduled Sunday starter here, and Sidney Ponson were called up to the big club while the Bombers optioned reliever Ross Ohlendorf to Scranton and placed Hideki Matsui on the DL.

Here's the Herd's lineup for a very foggy Friday night at the ballpark:

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

Andy Gonzalez, 2B

Michael Aubrey, DH

Jordan Brown, 1B

Chris Gimenez, C

Jason Cooper, RF

Morgan Ensberg, 3B

Brad Snyder, CF

Jason Tyner, LF

Dan Reichert, P

--- David Briggs

Disaster in Cleveland, disaster in Buffalo

Hard to believe what's going on with both the Indians and the Bisons. The Indians grew ever closer to white-flagging the AL Central Wednesday night as they fell into last place -- last place! -- with a 4-1 loss to the Giants. Their pathetic offense got beat by 11-loss Barry Zito and this is the latest the Tribe has been in last place in a season since June of 1993. Nice.

Speaking of nice, another fine offensive performance from the Bisons as well Wednesday. They were one-hit for the second time this season in a 5-0 loss at Indianapolis. Worse yet, the Indians keep signing retreads for Buffalo. The latest are pitcher Juan Rincon and infielder Tony Graffinino, who isn't even in shape to play yet because of knee surgery. At least Rincon should be pitching for the Herd this weekend.

It's almost July. Why in the world is the Tribe signing independent league guys and 30-somethings for the Herd who aren't in game shape? One possibility is they know they're not coming back to Buffalo and don't seem to want to promote any prospects from Double-A Akron, which has become one of the hottest teams in the minors. Once 12-17, the Aeros are now 46-31. They're 17-7 in June, including a 10-game winning streak and a 16-1 stretch.

And the Bisons? They're well on their way to their first losing season since 1994. Their .246 team batting average is the worst in Triple-A and would be the worst in their modern era. Couple that with the Indians' worst-in-the-AL mark of .244 and you wonder just what kind of hitting instruction was going on this spring in Florida.

---Mike Harrington

Tribe pointing to Columbus

In Tuesday's paper, be sure to check out my report on the construction of new Huntington Park in Columbus, which will almost certainly host the Indians' Triple-A team next season. On the Web, we also have a 3 1/2-minute video report and a link to a live webcam of the construction site.

The Tribe is definitely saying sayonara to Buffalo. Two more signs Monday: They signed a four-year deal through 2012 to keep Double-A operations in Akron after extending Class A Kinston, N.C. a couple weeks ago. But Buffalo is a "wait-till-after-the-season" call. Uh-huh. And I love the trade of Aaron Herr to the Reds for a bag of balls (OK, for cash). Sign a washed-up Morgan Ensberg and give away Buffalo's leader in home runs and RBIs to the organization he came from. Thanks a lot.

Herr didn't seem all that interested in being here at times but that's a pretty tough move to take. The kind of thing you do when you don't care about the Triple-A city anymore because you know you're outta here. This whole season is a sad way for the Tribe to go after a terrific run.

---Mike Harrington

Pronk, Fausto having setbacks

The Indians were banking on Travis Hafner and Fausto Carmona to go out on rehab assignments with either the Bisons or Double-A Akron in the next few days. It looks like that's not going to happen anytime soon as Carmona felt soreness in his hip while throwing a simulated game Monday and Hafner was sent to Birmingham, Ala., for an appointment Wednesday with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews.

The Indians insist surgery is not in Hafner's future but you've got to wonder as he has completely lost all the power from his swing and has been failing a battle with shoulder soreness all season. Given the Tribe's NHL-like record of truthfulness regarding its injuries this year, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the word come that Hafner is going under the knife.

---Mike Harrington

Turn back the clock to '97

While talking about some cool baseball blogs last week, I focused mostly on those that cover the Indians. But a must-read for any fan of the minors is a new addition this year to minorleaguebaseball.com. It's called the Got MILB? blog (Remember Got milk?). It's penned by veteran writer Lisa Winston, whom I consider to be the pre-eminent expert on the minors -- she was the longtime minors columnist for the late great USA Today Baseball Weekly before moving over to MILB.com.

You never know what you're going to find on Lisa's blog, which can be pretty irreverant at times and not always about baseball either. The most recent entry on her trip to the Florida State League All-Star Game is a hoot. Check out her blogroll on the right (OK, Inside Pitch is there). There's a Youtube of her daughter singing "Meet the Mets" as a 3-year-old. There's also her favorite musicians' MySpace pages (love the first two entries, which end with "Also, my daughter" and "Also, my husband.")

One of Lisa's all-time favorite minor-league teams (mine too) is the 1997 Bisons, the city's first championship team in 36 years. Managed by Brian Graham, just think of the names: Manto, Lovullo, Casey, Sexson, Ramirez, Colon, Hubbard, Candaele, Norman, Weathers. What a group. In this entry, she posted a picture taken with the team prior to Game Two of the American Association finals against the Iowa Cubs at then-North AmeriCare Park.

The picture is reprinted below. Click on it to blow it up more. We're still trying to figure out who everybody is but we think we've just about got it (all left-right). A few players who were in the trainers' room at the time are missing from the shot.

Front-front: Randy Curtis, Mike Busch and Ben Blomdahl (one knee)

Front: Marco Scutaro, Steve Soliz, Trenidad Hubbard, Lisa Winston, Russell Branyan, Jeff Sexton, Brian Graham, Travis Driskill, Blaise Ilsley (thumb in belt).

Noon update: I botched the back row and it should go like this: Torey Lovullo, Bruce Aven, Chan Perry, Richie Sexson, Robin Harriss, Sean Casey, David Weathers, Les Norman, Daryl Scott, Tony Dougherty.

Great stuff.

---Mike Harrington

 

Bisons welcome Ensberg's leadership

Clearing the notebook after the Bisons' doubleheader split against the Durham Bulls Tuesday night:

Manager Torey Lovullo called the Bisons' 8-1 victory in Game 2 of Tuesday night's doubleheader "the type of game we're looking for to push us in the right direction."

That the win came in Morgan Ensberg's Buffalo debut was a coincidence, of course. But Lovullo did not overlook the respect he's already seen Ensberg command in the clubhouse.

"His presence alone is impressive," Lovullo said. "He's going to help us."

Just last weekend, Jason Cooper was calling for the Bisons to be more accountable and stop playing only for themselves. So the addition of a big league veteran/clubhouse leader can't hurt.   

"[The players] are going to see a character guy," Lovullo said. "It's going to trickle down and these guys are going to see what it takes to be a big league player."

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Also, Tribe manager Eric Wedge warned against reading too much in to Ensberg's signing.

"It's just protection, with some of the injuries we've had," Wedge told MLB.com. "Sometimes you're one injury away from being naked. You want to make sure you have experience down there."

--- David Briggs

Surgery for Barfield

Poor Josh Barfield. All he's done this season was go back to Triple-A and play in 62 of 64 games with nary a peep of complaint. The results with the Bisons were clearly mixed at the plate (.255 BA, .297 OBP, 48Ks and just 13 walks) but Barfield finally got the call when the Tribe could no longer wait for Asdrubal Cabrera to even hit .190.

Barfield's time in the bigs is going to be short. He's going to be out 6-8 weeks after undergoing finger surgery Tuesday due to a check swing in just his second game in the big leagues last week.

What a run of injuries the Tribe is on. Barfield joins Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Plus, don't forget Adam Miller's season-ending hand surgery either.

---Mike Harrington