Results tagged ‘ Boston Red Sox ’
Indians introduce Terry Francona as team’s Manager
Terry Francona was formally named the 42nd Manager of the Cleveland Indians today at a press conference at Progressive Field.
Francona, 53, brings more than 30 years of professional baseball experience to the Indians organization as a player, coach and manager. He has 12 years of Major League managing experience, five playoff appearances, and two World Series titles in his career thus far.
He most recently led the Boston Red Sox to five playoff appearances, six seasons of 90 or more victories and two World Series titles (2004, 2007) over an eight-season span from 2004-11.
Over his career, Francona has earned a reputation for developing young players, motivating veterans, and getting the most out of his teams.
“We’re going to compete,” declared Francona at Monday’s press conference. “We’re always going to compete. We may not win every game, but we won’t back down from anyone.”
In 2013, he will lead a team filled with potential, with a core of young players including Cody Allen, Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, Corey Kluber, Justin Masterson, Zach McAllister and Carlos Santana.
“Players are players, and my job is whether a guy is 19 years old, or 21, or 31, or 36 – my job is to try to get the most out of them as a player,” said Francona.
”The goal here is for me to spend all my energy trying to insure that these players play the game correctly and with respect. So, when people are in Cleveland they are proud to say they are a Cleveland Indians fan.”
–TribeVibe contributor Max Lom
Indians Game Information, August 12
CLEVELAND INDIANS (53-61, 3rd, -9.0G) vs. BOSTON RED SOX (56-59)
RHP Corey Kluber (0-0, 6.10) vs. LHP Jon Lester (5-10, 5.36)
First Pitch 1:05 p.m. (ET)
TV: STO Radio: WTAM/Indians Radio Network
ELIAS SAYS: BRENT LILLIBRIDGE went 3-for-4 w/ a 2B, HR and 2 RBI in last night’s victory…according to Elias, Lillibridge became just the 2nd player in the last 53 seasons (1960-2012) to homer against Boston within 4 weeks of wearing a Red Sox uniform…just last month (July 17 at Fenway Park), the White Sox’s KEVIN YOUKILIS became the first player to pull that trick since Detroit’s TED LEPCIO did it on May 5, 1959 at Tiger Stadium just days after being traded by Boston.
THE STANDINGS: The Indians beat the Red Sox 5-2 last night, cutting their deficit to 9.0 games behind Chicago in the A.L. Central standings…the Tribe is also 8.5 games back in the A.L. Wild Card standings… Cleveland has been in 3rd place for 28 straight days after spending 56 consecutive days in either first or 2nd place (April 24-July 14)…of the 129 days of the Indians’ season, Cleveland has been in first place for 40 days, 2nd place for 46 days and 3rd place for 33 days…Cleveland held a season-high 4.0-game lead on May 17, but has gone 31-45 since.
LEFT COAST SWING: At the conclusion of the today’s game the Indians will head West to begin a 10-day, 9-game road trip against the Angels, Athletics and Mariners…trips starts with the Tribe’s first and only visit to Anaheim this season to conclude the season series against the Halos, who have traveled to Cleveland twice this season (Indians hold a 4-2 advantage in 2012 play)…the Tribe is 122-140 all-time at Angel Stadium, going 11-17 over the last 5 seasons at “The Big A” (2007-11).
Indians Game Information, August 11
CLEVELAND INDIANS (52-61, 3rd, -10.0G) vs. BOSTON RED SOX (56-58)
RHP Zach McAllister (4-4, 3.60) vs. LHP Franklin Morales (3-2, 3.14)
First Pitch: 6:05 p.m. (ET) TV: STO Radio: WTAM/Indians Radio Network
Series Notes:
HALL OF FAME SATURDAY: The Cleveland Indians will induct 3 new members into the organization’s Hall-of-Fames this evening, headlined by GAYLORD PERRY, who spent parts of 4 seasons with the Tribe from 1972-75 and went 70-57 with a 2.51 ERA in an Indians uniform…already a Cooperstown Hall-of-Famer, Perry became the first pitcher in major league history to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues, earning that distinction for the Indians in 1972…the 5-time All-Star represented the Indians in the Mid-Summer Classic twice in 1972 and 1974…he was also honored earlier today during the club’s first-ever Indians Hall of Fame Benefit Luncheon…JIM WARFIELD and JACK GRANEY will be also inducted into the Indians Distinguished Hall of Fame for non-uniformed personnel…Warfield was an athletic trainer for the Indians organization from 1965 until his passing in 2002…Graney was a left-fielder for the Tribe from 1908-22 and returned to the organization from 1933-1953 as a popular play-by-play announcer-the first player to enter the broadcast booth in baseball history.
NICE START: CODY ALLEN has logged 10.1 consec. shutout innings since having his contract selected from Triple-A Columbus July 20 (opponents 2-for-31, .065 at the plate)…that it the longest scoreless streak to begin a major league career with the Indians since ALEX HERRERA strung together 11.0 consec. scoreless frames from Sept. 13, 2002-July 13, 2003 and the longest to do so in the same season since TOM WADDELL had a streak of 12.1 scoreless IP from April 15-May 5, 1984.
THIRTY-THIRTY CLUB: Indians closer CHRIS PEREZ recorded his 30th save of the season on Thursday (98th save of his major league career), 3rd-most in the A.L. behind Tampa Bay’s FERNANDO RODNEY (34) and Baltimore’s JIM JOHNSON (33) and 5th-most in the majors…with that door slam, Perez became the 5th pitcher in Indians history to record multiple seasons of 30+ saves, joining DOUG JONES (3, 1988-90), JOSE MESA (2, 1995-96), MIKE JACKSON (1998-99) and BOB WICKMAN (2001, 2005)…with 36 saves in 2011, Perez became just the 4th to do so in back-to-back seasons (Jones, Mesa, Jackson).
Indians Game Information, August 10
CLEVELAND INDIANS (52-60, 3rd, -9.0G) vs. BOSTON RED SOX (55-58)
LHP Chris Seddon (0-0, 8.31) vs. RHP Clay Buchholz (9-3, 4.48)
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. (ET) at Progressive Field
TV: STO Radio: WTAM, Indians Radio Network
Series Notes:
SENT HOME BY SANTANA: CARLOS SANTANA has driven in at least one run in 5 consecutive games to set a personal career-best, matching the longest such streak by an Indians batter over the past 4 seasons (many times)…last Indian with 1+ RBI in more than 5 straight?: RYAN GARKO (6, Aug. 14-20, 2008)…Santana has 6 RBI over his last 5 games, 10 RBI over his last 8 games and 22 RBI over his last 22 games since July 18, batting .311 (23-74) with 14 extra-base hits (7-2B, 7-HR) over that latter stretch with a 1.122 OPS (.433 OBP/.689 SLG)…since July 18, Santana’s 22 RBI are T2nd-most in the majors behind only Boston’s ADRIAN GONZALEZ (23)… his 14 extra-base hits are 2nd-most in the A.L. behind the Angels’ ALBERT PUJOLS (16).
SET-EM-UP, KNOCK-EM-DOWN: VINNIE PESTANO worked a spotless 8th inning in last night’s win to extend his scoreless streak to 21.0 consecutive innings, the longest by any Indians pitcher this season and longest by a Tribe reliever since PAUL ASSENMACHER strung together 23.1 shutout frames from June 18-August 26, 1997…Pestano is tied with Tampa Bay’s J.P. HOWELL for the longest active scoreless streak in the majors…last night’s win also garnered Pestano with his major league-leading 31st hold, tied with RAFAEL BETANCOURT (2007) for the Indians’ single-season club record.
THE STANDINGS: The Indians’ 5-3, come-from-behind win last night one half-game off the team’s deficit, as Cleveland is 9.0 games behind Chicago in the A.L. Central standings…the Tribe is also 8.0 games back in the A.L. Wild Card standings…Cleveland has been in 3rd place for 26 straight days after spending 56 consecutive days in either first or 2nd place (April 24-July 14)…of the 127 days of the Indians’ season, Cleveland has been in first place for 40 days, 2nd place for 46 days and 3rd place for 31 days…Cleveland held a season-high 4.0-game lead on May 17, but has gone 30-44 since.
Indians Game Information, August 9
CLEVELAND INDIANS (51-60, 3rd, -9.5 G) vs. BOSTON RED SOX (55-57)
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11, 5.29) vs. LHP Felix Doubront (10-5, 4.56)
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. (ET) at Progressive Field
TV: STO Radio: WTAM, Indians Radio Network
Series Notes:
TURN THE PAGE: The Indians rallied to a 6-2 win over Minnesota on Wednesday afternoon to end a season-high 11-game losing streak, the longest such streak for Cleveland since dropping 11 straight from Sept. 13-24, 2009 and one shy of the franchise record (12, May 7-21, 1931)…the Tribe’s pitching staff had permitted at least 5 runs in each one of those defeats prior to ending that streak yesterday.
THE STANDINGS: The Indians’ 6-2 win yesterday shaved 1.0 game off the team’s deficit, as Cleveland is 9.5 games behind Chicago in the A.L. Central standings…the Tribe is also 9.0 games back in the A.L. Wild Card standings…Cleveland has been in 3rd place for 25 straight days after spending 56 consecutive days in either first or 2nd place (April 24-July 14)…of the 126 days of the Indians’ season, Cleveland has been in first place for 40 days, 2nd place for 46 days and 3rd place for 30 days…Cleveland held a season-high 4.0-game lead on May 17, but has gone 29-44 since.
GETTING SET-UP: VINNIE PESTANO worked a 1-2-3 8th inning in yesterday’s win to extend his scoreless streak to 20.0 consecutive innings, the longest by any Indians pitcher this season and longest by a Tribe reliever since Chris Perez strung together 20.2 spotless frames from July 8-Sept. 5, 2009…Pestano is tied with Tampa Bay’s J.P. HOWELL for the longest active scoreless streak in the A.L., one out shy of San Diego’s HUSTON STREET (20.1 IP) for longest active streak in the majors…Pestano also leads the majors with 30 holds, one shy of RAFAEL BETANCOURT’s 2007
club record (31).
More History Made at Progressive Field
Wow – 28.0 innings of baseball in the span of 2 games. Gut-wrenching losses no doubt, but if you hang around this game long enough you really learn to appreciate the opportunity to witness baseball history and Progressive Field has no doubt supplied us with plenty of memories over the past 72 hours.
Two days removed from watching the longest Opening Day game in Major League history (16 innings), we played another 12-inning affair against the Blue Jays this afternoon. In research conducted by the Indians Baseball Information Dept. using Baseball-Reference.com and confirmed by the Elias Sports Bureau, 2012 marks the first time that any team has opened the season with consecutive extra-inning games of at least 12 innings since 1969 when four different teams pulled the trick. At Municipal Stadium in Kansas City that year, the Twins and Royals played a 12-inning game on April 8 followed by a 17-inning game on April 9. At Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles played a 12-inning game on April 8 followed by a 13-inning game on April 10. Ironically, the Red Sox added a 3rd straight game of 12-plus innings when the club played a 16-inning game here in Cleveland against the Indians on April 11 at Cleveland Stadium. If you’re into brevity, we’ve just witnessed something that hasn’t happened in 43 years.
Did I mention that both starting pitchers carried no-hitters into the 5th inning? Ubaldo took that a step further and had a perfect game going until issuing a 2-out walk in the 6th – his no-hitter remained in tact until Brett Lawrie’s 2-out single in the 7th. He seemed really locked in and followed up Justin’s Opening Day performance to give the Tribe a couple outstanding starts to begin the year. Through 2 games of this young season, Justin and Ubaldo have combined to give the Indians starting rotation a 1.80 ERA (3 ER/15.0 IP). The duo has also combined to hold Toronto to a .063 (3-for-48) opponents average (one single, one double, one home run), while notching 13 strikeouts against just 4 walks. The Indians pitching staff overall has held the Blue Jays lineup to a .180 clip (18-for-100). It was also really good to see Jason and Asdrubal dial in with their first home runs of the year
I wonder what’s in store for us here at the ballpark tomorrow…
