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Blogmail response on Hafner
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KSU Notes – February 9
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NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
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Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
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Five local gridders to play in Big33
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Palin At The Tea Party Convention
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Law, Love and Chocolate
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Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
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Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
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Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
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OFCCP Report
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Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Sheldon Ocker
POSTED: 09:22 p.m. EDT, Mar 25, 2009
Beacon Journal staff writer
PEORIA, ARIZ.: In his previous two starts, Carl Pavano was shelled for nine runs and 11 hits in only seven innings.
But with spring training winding down Wednesday, Pavano rallied for his best start of exhibition season, limiting the San Diego Padres to two runs and seven hits in six innings, and the Indians gained an 8-4 win at Peoria Sports Complex.
''The guys played great behind me and got me some runs; those plays kept me in the game longer,'' said Pavano, who seemed to be practicing his regular-season quotes, inasmuch as these games don't count.
''This was definitely better than last time,'' he said. ''I still have some adjustments to make, but I'm going in the right direction.''
Indians manager Eric Wedge was rightfully pleased by Pavano's performance, which consisted of 77 pitches during the game and 15 more in the bullpen.
''He did a good job moving his fastball around,'' Wedge said. ''He mixed in his change-up and found his slider toward the end. I was really pleased the way he threw the ball.''
The only hits of consequence off Pavano were Henry Blanco's solo homer and Luis Rodriguez's double that came back-to-back in the third inning.
''Up to this start, I was getting frustrated, not being able to make some adjustments I was trying to make,'' Pavano said. ''I sat down with [pitching coach] Carl Willis, and he simplified some things for me. I was being kind of tough on myself, and he made a couple of comments that I needed to hear.''
Pavano said he had been having trouble staying back on his delivery.
''A couple of innings, my ball kind of flattened out,'' he said. ''It was good to see that I could come back and stay that way. It means that I'm staying strong.''
Powering up
Kelly Shoppach hit his fourth home run of the spring. The RBI brings his spring total to seven, three behind team leader Jhonny Peralta, who went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.
Travis Hafner had two hits for the first time since March 10 and added an RBI. Trevor Crowe and Andy Marte homered for the first time this spring.
Taking their time
Wedge and General Manager Mark Shapiro are in no hurry to pick the pitcher who wins the final bullpen berth.
''We'll probably play that out as long as we can,'' Wedge said. ''We have an idea of what we want to do, but no decisions have been made.''
The frontrunner for the job is Zach Jackson, but Vinnie Chulk, Edward Mujica and Matt Herges are also in the running.
Choo returns
Shin-Shoo Choo has returned from his stint with Team South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, but he won't be in the lineup until today. ''We want to let him catch his breath a little,'' Wedge said. ''He's been traveling all over the place. We'll give him a few innings tomorrow. He'll play right field.''
Marching onward
The Indians return to Goodyear Ballpark this afternoon to play the Los Angeles Angels. Scott Lewis will start against Nick Adenhart, with Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, Rafael Perez, Chulk and Mujica set to throw out of the bullpen.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
Beacon Journal staff writer
PEORIA, ARIZ.: In his previous two starts, Carl Pavano was shelled for nine runs and 11 hits in only seven innings.
But with spring training winding down Wednesday, Pavano rallied for his best start of exhibition season, limiting the San Diego Padres to two runs and seven hits in six innings, and the Indians gained an 8-4 win at Peoria Sports Complex.
''The guys played great behind me and got me some runs; those plays kept me in the game longer,'' said Pavano, who seemed to be practicing his regular-season quotes, inasmuch as these games don't count.
''This was definitely better than last time,'' he said. ''I still have some adjustments to make, but I'm going in the right direction.''
Indians manager Eric Wedge was rightfully pleased by Pavano's performance, which consisted of 77 pitches during the game and 15 more in the bullpen.
''He did a good job moving his fastball around,'' Wedge said. ''He mixed in his change-up and found his slider toward the end. I was really pleased the way he threw the ball.''
The only hits of consequence off Pavano were Henry Blanco's solo homer and Luis Rodriguez's double that came back-to-back in the third inning.
''Up to this start, I was getting frustrated, not being able to make some adjustments I was trying to make,'' Pavano said. ''I sat down with [pitching coach] Carl Willis, and he simplified some things for me. I was being kind of tough on myself, and he made a couple of comments that I needed to hear.''
Pavano said he had been having trouble staying back on his delivery.
''A couple of innings, my ball kind of flattened out,'' he said. ''It was good to see that I could come back and stay that way. It means that I'm staying strong.''
Powering up
Kelly Shoppach hit his fourth home run of the spring. The RBI brings his spring total to seven, three behind team leader Jhonny Peralta, who went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.
Travis Hafner had two hits for the first time since March 10 and added an RBI. Trevor Crowe and Andy Marte homered for the first time this spring.
Taking their time
Wedge and General Manager Mark Shapiro are in no hurry to pick the pitcher who wins the final bullpen berth.
''We'll probably play that out as long as we can,'' Wedge said. ''We have an idea of what we want to do, but no decisions have been made.''
The frontrunner for the job is Zach Jackson, but Vinnie Chulk, Edward Mujica and Matt Herges are also in the running.
Choo returns
Shin-Shoo Choo has returned from his stint with Team South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, but he won't be in the lineup until today. ''We want to let him catch his breath a little,'' Wedge said. ''He's been traveling all over the place. We'll give him a few innings tomorrow. He'll play right field.''
Marching onward
The Indians return to Goodyear Ballpark this afternoon to play the Los Angeles Angels. Scott Lewis will start against Nick Adenhart, with Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, Rafael Perez, Chulk and Mujica set to throw out of the bullpen.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
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