Waiting for Next Year: Indians to Honor Michael Jackson, America

And in a moving tribute to the pinched Bill Bailey...the Indians will continue doing the backslide into last place.

When the product on the field has trouble drawing in crowds, shift your focus to promotions!

The Indians will do just that this weekend with a back-to-back fireworks show.  Friday nights typically have fireworks following every game, and this week will be no different.  Except for the fact that the team will attempt to take you on a voyage to Neverland Ranch as they pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson with an “expanded 15-minute pyrotechnic display.”

Expect plenty of Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean.  Perhaps a little Smooth Criminal for good measure.

With Friday’s show paying homage to the King of Pop, the Indians will follow up with a Saturday night show that is deemed an Independence Day Celebration.

Plain Dealer/Livingston: Cleveland Indians baseball: Where change is never in the air

Nearly midseason, and Cleveland is held hostage.

Down and down the Tribe goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Given the expectations for the season, manager Eric Wedge would not make it to the All-Star break in some organizations. But he will with the Indians, who think stagnation is the same as stability.

Given that Wedge has guided the team to only one playoff berth in seven years, he might not last the season in most organizations. But after all the beat-downs lately, all the games when it gets late early, all the other games when the bullpen implodes, he will probably last the season.

Given the stubbornness and loyalty of his boss, partner and apologist, Mark Shapiro, he might be here when Progressive Field becomes Chico’s Bail Bonds Park and Chief Wahoo finally goes to the happy hunting ground.

Wedge and Shapiro are bound to each other, like the mission statement plaques are to the elevator walls at the ballpark. You know, the one about sustaining a contending team.

It is true it is not all Wedge’s fault, which means much of it is Shapiro’s. The bullpen, to cite one particularly lurid example, is his baby.

plus, from the PD’s Bud Shaw: Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro says fan base is ‘traumatized?’ Then what’s the bullpen?

Baseball America: Indians Prospect Faked Age, Identity

Major League Baseball has caught another high-profile prospect from the Dominican Republic misrepresenting his age and identity.

MLB’s latest catch is Indians shortstop Jose Osoria, who signed for $575,000 last year on July 2. Indians assistant general manager John Mirabelli confirmed that Osoria’s real name is Wally Bryan and that Bryan is 20 years old, three years older than he had presented himself. Bryan ranked as Cleveland’s No. 30 prospect entering the season.

“We still like his ability,” Mirabelli said. “We still like his talent. I’m not going to try to pretend there’s not a difference between 17 and 20. There certainly is in terms of projection, but the fact of the matter is he isn’t who he said he was.”

Bryan does look a lot older…

Chicago White Sox down Cleveland Indians, 6-3

Perez, who joined the team Monday from St. Louis in exchange for Mark DeRosa, took the mound in the ninth with the Indians trailing, 2-0. In rapid fashion, he hit Alexei Ramirez in the head, Jermaine Dye in the hand and walked Jim Thome to load the bases.

Paul Konerko popped out to second, and A.J. Pierzynski sent a grounder between first and second that Ryan Garko stopped with a dive. Garko, from his knees, threw to second to force Thome, but Perez was late getting off the mound, and shortstop Luis Valbuena had to hold the ball at second because first base was uncovered as pinch runner Jayson Nix scored.

Chris Getz followed with a run-scoring double to bring in Dye. Then Perez threw a wild pitch to score Pierzynski and send Getz to third. Finally, Gordon Beckham singled home Getz as Perez was removed.

cleveland.com/Shaw - Indians tradition: Summer garage sale

The Indians are becoming accomplished in maximizing the trade value of their assets during failed seasons. That’s the organizational upside and downside all in one unembraceable bottom line. Better that lack of opportunity leaves Mark Shapiro less gifted in this means of roster building.

Last year it was early July with C.C. Sabathia as the family heirloom in an estate sale. This time around it’s the more modestly priced Mark DeRosa hung on a garage rack in late June. “I don’t think it’s the way anybody envisioned it happening,” closer Kerry Wood said Sunday when asked if he thought the DeRosa trade was the first public notice of a second consecutive White (Flag) Sale at Progressive Field.
“I can’t speak to that,” said Wood. “I just know it’s a direct result of how we’ve played this season.”

A Mechanical Look at Chris Perez - Driveline Mechanics

The question always is, how long will his arm last?

Overall, I’m not terribly enthused with what I see from Chris Perez. As an Indians fan, I hope that Chris Perez can avoid the disabled list if he’s used as a reliever, but I forsee elbow strain/inflammation on the horizon for him, with possible bone spurs and UCL tears/rupture.

MLB: Tribe deals DeRosa to Cards for Perez

The Tribe sent versatile veteran Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals in exchange for right-handed reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named. DeRosa figures to become the Cards’ regular third baseman, given Troy Glaus’ shoulder troubles, while Perez will be inserted into an Indians’ bullpen that has struggled to find itself all season.

Acquired by the Tribe in an offseason trade with the Cubs, the 34-year-old DeRosa was batting .270 with 47 runs scored, 13 doubles, 13 homers and 50 RBIs in 71 games for the Indians. He opened the season as the club’s regular at third base but has bounced around over the past month, getting regular time in the outfield corners of late.

Perez, who turns 24 on July 1, has spent the majority of 2009 in the Cardinals’ bullpen, going 1-1 with a save and a 4.18 ERA in 29 appearances. He began the year at Triple-A Memphis, where he was 1-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA in four innings of work. Major Leaguers have hit just .195 off him.

The Real McCoy: A night of Red-faced embarrassments

The Embarrassment: Death Travels...East.

Embarassing.

The Indians had lost eight of nine and in the last 11 days had blown two five-run leads and a seven-run lead. Not even close on this night.

Embarrassing.

Aaron Harang, the so-called team ace, is 0-4 over his last six starts with a 5.03 ERA. And he gave up seven runs (five earned) in 4 2/3 innings to the last place Indians. And 10 screeching and howling hits.

Brandon Phillips made a la-de-dah throw from second base, a lob that bounced in front of first baseman Joey Votto and skipped past for a throwing error that led to two unearned run. Then Phillips hit one that he thought was a home run and went into his strut, but the ball hit the top of the wall and bounced back in.

Phillips is being short and snippy with the media since we all reported that he refused to look for a sign from the third base coach in Kansas City and swung at a 3-and-0 pitch when he had the take sign.

Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Phillips has too much talent to piddle it away.

Fangraphs: Eric Seidman: Perplexed About Lee

With the Indians tanking and Lee’s value likely higher than it ever will be, it makes sense for Shapiro to kick the tires on a potential deal netting him prospects, but for some reason, more rumors and trade talks have involved guys like Marquis, who is actually making almost double Lee’s salary this year, and is a free agent at the end of the season with no option on which to hang his head. I am honestly perplexed as to why Lee has not attracted more attention; or if he has, why we have not heard about it yet. It is almost as if teams are still waiting for the massive regression to occur, when we now have a year and a half of awesomeness from the Indians lefty proving his worth.

Since the beginning of last season, Lee has thrown 334.1 innings over 47 starts, with a 2.67 ERA almost matched by an equally low FIP, a 1.17 WHIP, a sub-2.0 walk rate, and a 4.2 K/BB ratio. The only thing missing is the reputation that usually accompanies the name of a pitcher with numbers like that over an extended period of time. It is time to start realizing that Cliff Lee has become a very good pitcher, not a back of the rotation upgrade. If any of the Phillies, Brewers or Rangers is serious about solidifying their rotation by trading a young stud prospect, they should start amping up efforts to acquire Lee. He might not win the Cy Young Award again, but given his contract and current established level of performance, as well as the lack of health issues, no other pitcher being discussed as a trade target would be a more significant upgrade.

Main reason why people aren’t trumping Cliff Lee as possible trade bait. People still think he’s a fluke.

NBC Sports/Gleeman: Daily Dose - Cliff Lee can’t buy a win

Cliff Lee’s win-loss record has suffered from a lack of lineup and bullpen support all season and that continued Thursday night, as he got stuck with a no-decision despite tossing seven innings of two-run ball against the Pirates. Lee has thrown a Quality Start in 12 of his last 13 outings, with a 2.20 ERA and 69/21 K/BB ratio during that time, yet has just a 4-4 record to show for it.

He’s just 4-6 overall despite a 2.92 ERA after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA on the way to the AL Cy Young last year. With the Indians falling to 30-44 and a dozen games back in the AL Central rumors are starting to swirl that Lee may be on the trading block. General manager Mark Shapiro is believed to be holding out for an elite pitching prospect, but Lee’s poor record likely hurts his perceived value.

Ken Rosenthal: Lee may cost too much for Dodgers

The only way the Indians will trade Lee, sources say, is if they are offered a potential top-of-the-rotation starter at the level of the Braves’ Tommy Hanson or Red Sox’s Clay Buchholz.

Such a pitcher would be the centerpiece of the Indians’ multiplayer demand. And unless ownership orders a reduction in payroll, the Indians will not going to budge.

Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young award winner, remains part of the Indians’ plans not just for this season but also next year. The team, which lacks a suitable replacement, can retain him by exercising his $8 million club option.

The Dodgers engaged in serious talks with the Indians last summer for left-hander CC Sabathia and third baseman Casey Blake, then obtained Blake for minor-league catcher Carlos Santana and pitcher Jon Meloan.

They do not match up as well for Lee.

The Dodgers’ best young starting pitchers, right-hander Chad Billingsley and lefty Clayton Kershaw, are part of the major-league rotation and all but untouchable. Their best pitching prospect, right-hander James McDonald, is not considered top-of-the-rotation material.

Thus, a package of say McDonald, third baseman Blake DeWitt and one or two other prospects would not be enough to satisfy the Indians. The Phillies have also asked about Lee, but balked at the price, sources say.

Teams will continue to covet Lee, who is 4-4 with a 2.20 ERA in his last 13 starts. The best guess is that he will not be traded, but the market currently is devoid of starting pitchers who are difference-makers.

In the end, the Indians might get what they want.

Indians deal ‘03 first-rounder Aubrey to O’s for player to be named

For Huff would be just too much…

The Cleveland Indians traded minor league first baseman Michael Aubrey to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named.

Aubrey was a first-round pick (No. 11 overall) in 2003 but was slowed by injuries during his time with Cleveland. He was batting .292 with five homers and 29 RBI in 57 games with Triple-A Columbus. The 27-year-old played in 15 games last season for the Indians, batting .200 with two homers.

The Indians also outrighted right-hander Greg Aquino to the Clippers. He was designated for assignment June 19 after going 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 relief appearances.

Plain Dealer/Pluto: Tribe making it tough for fans to follow team

“I used to be a season ticket holder,” e-mailed Ed Neugebauer. “Now, I hardly pay attention to them.”

Or as Tim Gahagan e-mailed: “Weren’t the Indians the 2007 MLB organization of the year? What was all that about? How did it get out of whack in such a short time? Was it smoke and mirrors?”

Ownership should ask those questions. Shapiro and assistant GM Chris Antonetti say they are ultimately responsible as a defense of their manager. Well, do they fire themselves? They obviously need to look at their drafting of players, their development in the minors and the major-league coaching staff.

The Indians love leadership books. In the best-selling Good to Great, author Jim Collins talks about the need to see if a company has the right people “on the bus” to push it forward. Just because a person has been on the bus for a long time doesn’t entitle him to keep a seat.

Something has to change, and the front office at least must explain what they hope to accomplish with the rest of this season.

The loyal fans have bought into the various rebuilding programs, the departure of popular veterans. Not all of them want to see Wedge fired, unless a viable replacement is brought in. But this team seems like it’s the same old story, from the poor start to the bad bullpen to injuries to key players. And finally, it’s a season over by July 4.

Post-Gazette: Ten reasons to get excited for Pirates-Indians

This meeting between the Pirates and Cleveland Indians, with the first of three games tonight at PNC Park, would appear to lack a whole lot of luster: Each team is in last place, tickets are selling slowly and, really, how much novelty is left in beating up on Cleveland?

Even the Steelers seem to yawn at the concept anymore.

And yet, come on, it is Cleveland.

Here, for fun, are 10 reasons, in descending order, why this series still matters…

...

9. The Cleveland model.

It might be hard for Pittsburghers to swallow the idea of using Cleveland as a model, but the Pirates openly acknowledge that the Indians, under general manager Mark Shapiro, have built an overall system that is worthy of emulating. In that way and others, the franchises almost behave like separated twins.

...

5. An interleague underdog.

Maybe there is something rarer than the above: The Pirates will face an interleague opponent that has a worse record, this season and in recent interleague play.

Cleveland is 26-42 against the National League in the past five years, even as the American League as a whole has dominated play.

The Plain Dealer: Dolan: There will be no ‘rash decisions’ on personnel

“In terms of individual performance, I won’t comment on that,” said [Paul] Dolan, when asked to evaluate Wedge. “We have a process we go through. It hasn’t begun. It starts with meeting with Mark.”

...

Dolan said he and his father, owner Larry Dolan, will meet with Shapiro in the near future.

“We are concerned about the direction of the team,” said Dolan. “[But] we are not going to make any rash decisions.”

Torey Lovullo, come on down!

Let’s Go Tribe: However Beautiful the Strategy

So if you’re looking to wrap it all up in one big theory, here it is:  The Indians are smart, serious and well-intentioned.  But when they make their decisions, they put a lot of emphasis on a bunch of things that, in the grand scheme of things, really do not help a baseball team win ballgames.  I can’t tell you how to build a bullpen that isn’t historically bad, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have much to do with statistically analyzing a very small sample of innings or showing up to camp in good shape, and it doesn’t have anything to do with being a good teammate or getting along with Eric Wedge.  The Indians seem to know an awful lot about those subjects and almost nothing about putting together a non-horrible bullpen.

That, and maybe their scouting sucks.

Pluto:An inability to develop players is main culprit for Cleveland Indians’ 2009 failur

8. Don’t ask me what was the point of Matt LaPorta being promoted when there seemed to no plan to break him into the lineup. Not sure if it was the front office who wanted LaPorta and Wedge was not fully on board. If Wedge was in favor of the promotion, he cooled quickly. Either way, it was mishandled.

Nah, it makes more sense to have Chris Giminez, Josh Barfield, and Trevor Crowe on the roster than LaPorta.

Morrissey: Cubs fans’ love for Mark DeRosa a little out of whack

Flesh...Trash...Heat...Love.

But let’s try to be celebratory: What a career DeRosa had with the Cubs!

Sure, if you want to get all technical about it, he was with the team for only two seasons. But what a sublime two seasons! He averaged about 16 home runs and 80 runs batted in while hitting .289. He played six positions in each season and had a total of 22 “unfortunate events”—a designation many of us prefer over the word “errors” when it comes to DeRosa.

And, as we all know, the Cubs won the World Series both years.

OK, I’ll stop with the sarcasm, but only if everyone at least attempts to move on.

Unless I missed the part where DeRosa freed us from our dependence on fossil fuel, I don’t recognize the player upon whom all this praise is being heaped.

Keri: BABIP of the Week: Carl Pavano(?!)

For those who thought he couldn’t put one foot in front of the other...Pavano has a remarkable 60% stand raaaa. Oh, strand.

Despite all that, here’s why you want him, if you’re in an AL-only league (mixed leaguers should wait and see, unless you have 18 teams or more in your league).

He’s got a microscopic strand rate of 60%.

Part of that awful strand rate is due to Cleveland’s brutal bullpen. But there’s no way the Indians stick with the stiffs they have, last place or not. That means improvement is coming.
The best part of Pavano’s game when he put up the numbers that earned him his massive Yankees contract was his control. He’s still got it, with a 1.87 walk rate that’s the 10th-lowest among qualified MLB starters.
His 6.5 strikeout rate is the second-highest of his career, ranking only behind an eight-start cup of coffee with the Expos in 2001.
In keeping with the theme of this feature, Pavano’s .332 BABIP is the eighth-highest among qualified MLB starters (though part of that is certainly due to the Tribe’s lousy defense and not just bad luck).

Indians Insider: Cabrera headed to Columbus while Sizemore wants action in Pittsburgh.

Center fielder Grady Sizemore says he should be activated Tuesday against Pittsburgh at PNC Park. Cabrera, meanwhile, said he’ll report to Class AAA Columbus on Monday to begin a rehab assignment after straining the A/C joint in his left shoulder.

Sizemore has been on the disabled list since May 31 with an inflamed left elbow. He said the Indians left it up to him on whether he should go on a rehab assignment or immediately rejoin the big league club.

“I just want to get back on the field,” said Sizemore, who spent the weekend at Wrigley Field testing the elbow.

My irrational love for all things Grady Sizemore has been seriously tested this season. It has survived. I mean, check out those muscles . . . I mean, that swing.

Plain Dealer: Laffey will soon return, but will it be for the rotation or bullpen?

Considering the state of the Indians’ bullpen, a collection of bad arms doing bad things on the mound, and the success a healthy Aaron Laffey had when he was pitching there, it’s possible that he’ll rejoin the pen when he comes off the disabled list.

That’s not what the Indians want to do. When Laffey strained his right oblique muscle on May 22 against Cincinnati and had to go on the DL, the Indians wanted to bring him back as a starter. He’s still being conditioned that way, making a three-inning rehab start for Class AAA Columbus on Thursday with another start scheduled Tuesday for Class AA Akron.

...

Jake Westbrook has been told not to pick up a baseball for four weeks after developing soreness in his right elbow following his last rehab start at Class AA Akron. Westbrook was originally scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, but that’s been canceled.

At age 90, Bob Feller set to fire at Classic

When Bob Feller takes the mound on Sunday, he’d be happy if his fastball reaches his age. But he’s 90, so that’s not likely.

“I’ll be throwing just as hard as ever, but the ball probably won’t be going quite as fast,” Feller said with a laugh. “I’m not going to go out there and throw 99 miles per hour, but hopefully I can throw strikes. I’m looking forward to it, and I’ll have my Cleveland Indians uniform on.”

Baseball’s second-oldest living Hall of Famer is scheduled to start in the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic, which replaces the Hall of Fame Game. Feller will be joined by four other Hall of Famers - Canadian Ferguson Jenkins, Paul Molitor, Phil Niekro and Brooks Robinson - along with several former major leaguers, including George Foster, Jim Kaat, Bill Lee and Lee Smith.

Wait, surely Feller has something more interesting to say....

Major League Baseball announced in January 2008 that the Hall of Fame Game was ending after 68 years because of scheduling problems. Then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and other members of Congress objected, but baseball commissioner Bud Selig defended the move, explaining that major league teams play 162 games in 183 days and that the addition of interleague play made it difficult to schedule two teams for a game in Cooperstown.

Feller criticized the decision at the time, partly because of the perception that today’s players don’t revere the game’s past as much as he does.

“The world didn’t start the day these athletes were born,” Feller said in a recent interview. “I think all major league ballplayers should go visit Cooperstown and walk through the Hall of Fame. They’d be more appreciative of what this game means to the baseball world, not only the United States but the entire baseball world.”

Actually, this is a good idea. I saw the NFL requires it’s draft picks to tour the Football HoF in Canton, so I don’t see any reason why MLB can’t do the same thing with Cooperstown.

Theriot’s single in 10th caps Cubs’ big comeback

Sure looked like Kerry Wood would get the day off in his return to Wrigley Field. His new team, the Cleveland Indians, was up on his old one by seven runs.

But for the second straight day the Cubs put together a four-run rally in the eighth inning that cut the lead to one.

Suddenly, Wood was in the game, back on the mound, pitching against the Cubs. He wound up getting an ovation—then blowing the save.

PlainDealer: Kerry Wood returns to Chicago where injuries forced fans to wonder what might have been

If Kerry Wood could rewrite the script, of course he would.

He would have made 30-plus starts, pitched 200-plus innings and won 20 games year after year in helping the Cubs win multiple world championships.

But Wood cannot rewrite the script. He must accept what transpired between 1998 and 2008 as is. Injuries, cold and unforgiving, dotted his tenure on the North Side of Chicago. They foiled what might have been a spectacular career but did not stop it from providing ample highlight-reel material.

Wood still might come back to the Cubs to write another chapter, but for now, the bottom line reads like this: 276 games, 77 wins, 61 losses, 34 saves, 3.65 ERA, 1,219 1/3 innings, 947 hits, 577 walks, 1,407 strikeouts, no world titles.

The former phenom returns to Wrigley Field this weekend as closer for the Indians, who play the Cubs in a three-game series.

PD/Terry Pluto: Has Eric Wedge reached his limit with floundering Tribe?

1. I can tell the Tribe’s Eric Wedge is as frustrated with his players as are many of the fans. While I normally don’t think it’s wise for a manager to call out his players individually in the media, it’s obvious that Wedge is tired to talking to them behind closed doors with no results—so he delivering the same message in the media. Then in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee, he watched Jhonny Peralta either: a) Forget the number of outs; b) Forget there was a runner on third with one out; or c) Just decided not to throw home to record an easy out and save a run for some strange reason.

2. Bottom line on Peralta’s poor decision in the first inning: It was exactly the kind of inattentive play that is inexcusable for a veteran. He is batting .176 in June and Wedge has been on him for the last few days. The manager should have pulled Peralta after the first inning for the obvious mental mistake, because it is exactly the kind of play that Wedge has been saying he won’t tolerate. Instead, he left Peralta in the game.

Plain Dealer: Wrestling’s ‘King’ gives Tribe something to grapple over

Today’s Haystacks Calhoun Memorial Posting…

Jerry “The King” Lawler, WWE announcer, gave the Indians an official WWE championship belt before Tuesday’s game. Travis Hafner, a big wrestling fan, will present the belt to the Indians player of the game after each victory. At the end of the season, the player who has won it the most will get to keep the belt.

Lawler said the belt is worth between $1,500 and $2,500.

Mel Hall convicted of sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl

Former major league outfielder Melvin Hall Jr. has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team a decade ago.

A Tarrant County jury took about 90 minutes Tuesday to find the 48-year-old Hall guilty on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child.

The sentencing phase was to begin later Tuesday afternoon. Hall faces up to life in prison.

According to testimony, Hall met the 12-year-old’s family in 1998 during a basketball tournament. Hall talked about plans to start a select basketball team and later worked one-on-one with the girl. At one point, he moved into the girl’s home while his Southlake home was being built.

The woman said she was assaulted in Hall’s vehicle, at a tournament and at his North Richland Hills apartment, where he showed her a pornographic movie.

Ugh.

Plain Dealer: Should Tribe’s in-house announcer have zipped his lips for Lee?

Some of the superstitions about no-hitters have eased over the years. When a pitcher is in the process of throwing one, radio and TV broadcasters aren’t shy about telling their audience what’s going on.

Among managers, coaches and players, it’s still a touchy subject.

In the eighth inning Sunday night, Cliff Lee took the mound with a no-hitter against St. Louis. While he was warming up, the Indians’ in-house announcer, appearing on the Progressive Field scoreboard, asked a fan this trivia question: “Who was the last Indians pitcher to throw a perfect game?”

The answer was Lenny Barker on May 15, 1981. The question was scripted before the game to follow the team’s “turn back the clock” promotion to the 1980s, but considering the circumstances, perhaps another question should have been asked.

Yadier Molina hit Lee’s first pitch of the inning for a double into the right-field corner. Bye-bye no-hitter.

Lee threw a three-hitter in the 3-0 victory, but let’s just say the timing of the trivia question did not go over well in the Tribe’s locker room after the game.

“That has to go down as the ‘no feel’ award of the year,” said manager Eric Wedge.

StL Post-Dispatch/Miklasz: Start now to keep Pujols on the payroll

After this season, Pujols will have two more years left on his contract. Unless the Cardinals sign him, Pujols can become a free agent after the 2011 season. That seems like a long way off, but it isn’t. Look at it another way: There are only 422 games remaining on his contract.

What are the Cardinals waiting for?

Can you imagine the backlash if ownership and management loses Pujols to free agency?

It’s unthinkable.

Pujols is on track to end his career as one of the two or three greatest righthanded hitters in baseball history. He’s already No. 1 among RH batters in baseball history in combined on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Only three players — all lefthanded hitters — have a higher OPS than Pujols’ 1.053. You may have heard of them: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.

Pujols is 29. He’s in his ninth season. There’s lots of baseball left in him. I took a look at the PECOTA projections on Pujols over at baseballprospectus.com, and the forecast is that at age 35, for the 2015 season, he’ll hit .308 with 26 homers, 92 RBIs, a .403 on-base percentage and a .528 slugging percentage. This is no novelty act. Pujols endures.

also from the Post-Dispatch, DeRosa’s value rises in Cleveland

Plain Dealer: Hafner gives shoulder ‘recovery day,’ but expects full-time duty soon

Travis Hafner did not start Sunday night. Since being activated from the disabled list June 5 after rehabbing a sore right shoulder, Hafner has played two, sat one, played two, sat one and played two.

“It’s no cause for concern,” he said. “We’ve determined that, for now, the shoulder needs a recovery day after every two games.

...

The Indians will give away a Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn bobblehead Monday night. Vaughn pitches for the Tribe in the movie, “Major League,” which came out in 1989.

Hafner estimates he has watched “Major League” 50 times.

“Off the top of my head, it’s one of my top two baseball movies, alongside ‘Bull Durham,’” Hafner said. “I’d probably rank it just ahead of Bull Durham.”