Read More: Fausto Carmona (P – CLE), Asdrubal Cabrera (SS – CLE), Cleveland Indians

The Gold Glove Finalists were announced on Monday night prior to the actual awards being handed out on an ESPN broadcast Tuesday night. Of note, two Cleveland Indians players are up for the awards as both Asdrubal Cabrera and Fausto Carmona are among the best fielders at their position.

Carmona is one of three pitchers, along with Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels’ Dan Haren, to be recognized for his glove by the voting committee. Joining Cabrera at shortstop are J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles and the Angels’ Erick Aybar.

SB Nation’s Rob Neyer is not exactly excited about Cabrera’s chances at actually winning the Gold Glove.

Hmmm. Not a great year for shortstops, apparently. But it’s something of a crime that Asdrubal Cabera’s here instead of (for example) Alcides Escobar, who had a great year at shortstop for the Royals.

[...]

I’m now suspecting that Rawlings used defensive metrics to choose the finalists … except then how do you explain Asdrubal Cabrera, whose numbers this season at shortstop were as lousy as ever.

The results will be announced Tuesday night on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow reacts after allowing a RBI single to Cleveland Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera during third inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Tuesday. Darren Calabrese/Calabrese

It was a hit and miss night for Toronto Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow.

His Cleveland Indians counterpart was far more consistent.

Morrow struck out nine batters, but also gave up six runs on nine hits, including five doubles and a triple, as the Indians defeated the Blue Jays 6-3 on Tuesday.

“I think I’m making good pitches,” said Morrow (2-3). “My stuff’s been there. It just seems every time they put the ball into play it gets over the shortstop’s head or through a hole. It wears on you.”

With the win the Indians (32-20) ended the a four-game winning streak by the Blue Jays (28-27).

Meanwhile, Cleveland right-hander Mitch Talbot (2-1) held the Blue Jays to one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list on May 25. It was his first win since April 11.

“It’s good to get back on the winning side of things,” Talbot said.

Catcher Carlos Santana was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and centre-fielder Grady Sizemore ended a 0-for-12 drought by driving in two runs with two doubles.

Toronto’s Yunel Escobar, who extended his hit streak hit streak to 12 games with a single in the third, added his sixth homer of the season with one out in the ninth against reliever Tony Sipp.

The second inning encapsulated Morrow’s highs and lows during the game. Cleveland, which holds the American League’s best record, scored a run on doubles by Santana and Sizemore before Morrow struck out the next three batters in the inning.

The Indians added pair in the third started by Michael Brantley’s triple, singles by Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-soo Choo, a wild pitch and Santana’s sacrifice fly.

Morrow bounced back again, ending the third by striking out Sizemore, his seventh of the game to that point.

Good defence by Cleveland snuffed a potential Blue Jays rally in the fourth.

After singles by J.P. Arencibia and Aaron Hill, first baseman Matt LaPorta made diving play on a smash down the line by Eric Thames and got the out at first as the runners advanced. Then shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera made a nifty play on a slow grounder to nip speedy Rajai Davis at first.

“Defensively we looked alive, offensively we looked alive,” Talbot said. “When a guy got on we moved him over and got him in. That’s what we were doing early in the season. Hopefully we’re getting on track and getting ready to go.”

Blue Jays manager John Farrell said the Indians infield defence is better than last year season.

“Particularly, LaPorta,” Farrell said. “He made a heck of a play on Thames on a ball right down the line that has a chance to possibly be two runs. And Hannahan has done a great job over there. [Jose] Bautista scalds one to third and he looked like Patrick Roy.”

Cleveland parlayed a two-out walk to Travis Buck into three runs in the fifth. Buck scored on Santana’s double to right when Hill’s low relay to the plate beat the runner but handcuffed Arencibia. Santana took third on the throw.

“If he catches the ball he is likely out at home plate,” Farrell said. “I thought the throw beat him on time but the location was basically on his right hip and in a tough spot to receive or catch the ball. But if he catches it, we might be looking at a different story.”

Sizemore drove in a run with a double and scored on Orlando Cabrera’s single.

“They were hitting some good pitches,” Morrow said. “I don’t know what to say. I thought I had good stuff. I made the mistake of walking Buck in the fifth. I could have got out of that with no runs. The flip of the coin hasn’t been going my way.”

The Blue Jays scored twice in the seventh after an error by Cabrera allowed Corey Patterson to score. Juan Rivera then drove in a run on a bloop single to right that should have been caught.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Take your choice: sunstroke or sleep deprivation. If it wasn’t them, maybe the Indians are finally realizing that now that they’re in first place in the AL Central, people are expecting them to stay there.

For whatever reason, the Tribe looked dazed in a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday afternoon. Any victory at Tropicana Field is a good one for the Indians, who won under the Rays’ roof for just the second time in 11 games, but they did so with a fractured sense of focus.

The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the first off James Shields, but it should have been more. Asdrubal Cabrera, one of their smartest players, was picked off third by Shields after hitting an RBI triple. After Cabrera’s out, Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Buck singled to put runners on first and third. Carlos Santana hit a sacrifice fly to right field, but if Choo hadn’t been sprinting home, the run might not have counted because Buck was running on the pitch.

Manager Manny Acta said Buck didn’t think right fielder Matt Joyce was going to catch the ball. When Joyce did, Buck couldn’t get back to first in time and was a double play victim. If the double play had been executed before Choo scored, the run wouldn’t have counted.

“Heads-up play by Choo,” said Acta.

Confusion reigned again in the eighth. The Indians were leading, 3-2, and loaded the bases against J.P. Howell with no one out. Michael Brantley singled, Asdrubal Cabrera reached on an error by second baseman Ben Zobrist and Choo was hit by a pitch. Shelley Duncan, pinch-hitting for Buck, sent a 3-2 pitch to the wall in left field. Sam Fuld put a glove on the ball, but couldn’t hold it.

Brantley scored, but Asdrubal Cabrera and Choo had problems reading the ball. They both tagged up on the play. Cabrera scored from second, but as Choo was going back to first to tag, Duncan came close to passing him.

“I made sure I didn’t do that,” said Duncan. “I was screaming, ‘Run, run, run.’ ”

Choo reached second and Duncan was credited with a two-run single. He’s 4-for-5 with seven RBI as a pinch-hitter this year.

Kyle Farnsworth relieved and retired Santana on a liner to second. Grady Sizemore grounded out to first to advance the runners. Orlando Cabrera made all the awkwardness on the bases moot with a two-run single for a 7-2 lead.

“Huge hit by Shelley. Huge hit by Orlando, who always seems to be in the middle of these rallies,” said Acta.

The Tribe’s fractured focus continued in the ninth. Rafael Perez, trying to close a 7-2 game, loaded the bases with two outs. Chris Perez, with a save situation now at hand, relieved to face Johnny Damon. The Rays’ DH sent a hard grounder to first baseman Matt LaPorta, who knocked the ball into foul territory for an error. Chris Perez compounded the error by not covering first as LaPorta looked to flip the ball to him.

Casey Kotchman, who opened the inning with a double, scored from third.

That’s when LaPorta and Perez heard Orlando Cabrera screaming “Heads up, heads up.”

Perez, mad at himself for not covering first, was walking back to the mound after taking the ball from LaPorta. That’s when he saw Sean Rodriguez caught between third and home.

“I just ran at him,” said Perez.

What ensued was a 3-1-4-2 rundown for the final out as the Indians improved to 31-18. The victory ended their three-game losing streak, which matched their longest of the season.

“It wasn’t the prettiest rundown, but it worked,” said Perez, who has saved 14 games in 15 chances.

The victory went to Carlos Carrasco (4-2, 4.91), who allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings. The Rays’ two runs came on Evan Longoria’s homer in the third and Rodriguez’s squeeze bunt in the fourth. The bunt, a thing of beauty, caught the Indians flat-footed.

Shields (5-3, 2.15) allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings. He beat the Indians at Progressive Field on May 12, but is 1-5 lifetime against them.

LaPorta, who struck out four times in Friday’s 5-0 loss, homered, singled, walked and lined out to center in four plate appearances Saturday. His two-out homer in the second gave Carrasco a 3-0 lead.

Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 10:54 PM     Updated: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 10:55 PM

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Steve Smith isn’t ready to say the pairing of Asdrubal and Orlando Cabrera will produce instant magic in the middle of the Indians’ infield, but he certainly likes what he’s seen.

“The good thing is both of these guys can catch it and throw it,” said Smith, the Indians’ infield coach. “That’s a good thing. I like those kind of guys.”

Here are the particulars.

Orlando Cabrera, 36, has played shortstop for 1,804 of the 1,855 games he’s spent in the big leagues. He’s won two Gold Gloves as a shortstop, but the Indians signed him to a one-year $1 million deal to play second base. He’s dabbled at second, playing 33 games there in the big leagues. In the minors he played second as well.

“Each year I like to challenge myself,” said Cabrera. “I consider this a challenge.”

Asdrubal Cabrera, 25, is starting his second full season at shortstop. He broke into the big leagues with the Indians in 2007 at second base, but replaced Jhonny Peralta at short during the 2009 season.

He’s played 222 games at short, one at third and 162 at second.

When the Indians began negotiations with Orlando Cabrera, they made it clear they had no intention of moving Asdrubal Cabrera back to second. They have a line of second basemen waiting in the minors, but hardly any shortstops. Orlando Cabrera is on a day pass with the Indians, Asdrubal Cabrera is a core player. They gave him a one-year, $2.025 million contract to avoid arbitration to prove it.

The Cabreras have worked together closely this spring. They’re in the same fielding and hitting groups and can usually be found playing cards in the locker room before practice.

“It’s too early to tell how it’s going to work,” said Smith, “but you’ve got two guys out there who are having fun together.”

Harmony in the middle of the diamond is nice, but it isn’t a requirement. Omar Vizquel and Robbie Alomar painted masterpieces every night at Progressive Field from 1999 through 2001 and they had little use for each other off the field.

No one is expecting the Cabreras to produce a nightly Van Gogh with their gloves. If they’re consistent and show steady improvement throughout the season, the Indians will be happy.

“I feel really comfortable at second, especially having Asdrubal at short,” said Orlando Cabrera. “He makes it easy for me. He plays the position like a veteran.”

Asdrubal has also shown Orlando the proper amount of respect. That goes a long way with veterans.

Asdrubal Cabrera broke his left forearm in July when he collided with Peralta at Tropicana Field. He needed surgery and missed five weeks. When he returned, he was tentative at the plate and in the field. This spring, manager Manny Acta has seen a different player.

“He’s much stronger,” said Acta. “He had a good winter ball season in Venezuela. That really helped him.”

Orlando Cabrera eased into spring training because of a sore right shoulder. His throws from second base, especially when turning the double play, are gradually getting stronger. His range has improved as well. In the first inning of Tuesday’s 9-7 victory over Milwaukee, Cabrera ranged far to his left, grabbed a grounder by Casey McGehee and made an off-balance throw to first to end the inning.

Acta was happy to get Orlando Cabrera. Acta was Orlando’s infield instructor in Montreal from 2002 until Cabrera was traded to Boston in 2004.

“This guys is one of the most fundamentally sound infielders I’ve ever been around,” said Acta. “Also, this guy is the best base runner I’ve been associated with over the last 10 years in the big leagues. And he’s not a burner.

“He’s one of the most heady players in the big leagues. I know I’m talking seven or eight years ago, but he’s going to influence some of these guys here.”

Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting .379 (13-for-29) this spring. Orlando Cabrera is hitting .348 (8-for-28). If they keep influencing each other like that, things will be fine.

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 12:04 AM     Updated: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 12:10 AM

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Indians were bad last year. Ninety-three losses bad.

The player who best personified that badness just might have been Luis Valbuena. He came to spring training with the second-base job in hand after a promising 2009 season. To be technical, the 2009 season for the Tribe was worse than the 2010 season, but it wasn’t Valbuena’s fault. He was pulling in the right direction.

In 2010, he found himself on the other end of the rope.

To be a big-league starter, Valbuena has to hit — and hit well. He’s not that fast. Doesn’t have great range, but when he hit .250 (92-for-368) with 38 extra-base hits (25 doubles, three triples, 10 homers) in 2009, the Indians felt he could develop into something special. That he was only 23 made it even better.

That all changed last year when Valbuena didn’t hit. OK, he hit .318 against lefties, but that was it. He hit .193 (53-for-275) with 12 doubles, two homers and 24 RBI for the season. He hit .169 against right-handers, .143 at home, .232 with runners in scoring position and .244 on the road.

This was a wire-to-wire job. Valbuena hit .182 in April, .071 in May, .222 in June, .200 in August and .253 in September and October.

He didn’t hit anything in July because he was at Class AAA Columbus.

Asked what went wrong, Valbuena smiled and said: “I’ve passed that page. My mind is free. I’m not thinking about anything. I’m just concentrating on baseball.”

Valbuena can’t be blamed for hoping 2010 becomes a cold and forgotten page in the record books. But while he’s trying to forget, everyone else remembers.

“Louie came to camp last year as our everyday second baseman and he struggled the whole year,” manager Manny Acta said. “It started in spring training and throughout the season. He needs to put himself back on the map.”

The quicker he does that, the better off he’ll be. If he’s not hitting before the Indians leave the Arizona desert, he’ll be staying in Columbus when the Indians stop there for an exhibition game March 30 before opening the regular season April 1 at Progressive Field.

“Everything depends on how I play this spring,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera were the Indians’ double-play combination on Opening Day 2010.

“He told me that he tried to do too much and think too much last year,” Cabrera said. “I told him I’d try to help him any way I could.

“The same thing happened to me in 2008. I got sent down and had to make some adjustments in my swing. I was thinking too much, trying to do too much. Luis is a good player. He plays hard all the time.”

Valbuena is in camp trying to win a utility infielder’s job. He’s working out at second, shortstop and third. The Tribe signed veteran Orlando Cabrera to play second. They have Jayson Nix and prospects Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps behind him at second.

Asdrubal Cabrera is healthy and back at short. Jason Donald is getting a chance at third. Orlando Cabrera and Adam Everett are possibilities to back up Asdrubal Cabrera at short. The opportunity Valbuena had last year is gone.

He can make it reappear if he hits. If not, he’ll probably start the season at shortstop for Columbus. He has an option left and the Indians are thin at shortstop.

Acta said the old bob-and-weave game between pitchers and hitters caught up to Valbuena.

“They adjusted to him last year,” Acta said. “It’s time for him to adjust back.

“At the beginning of the year, he was swinging across his body, stepping toward the plate. That kind of affected him.”

Valbuena was sent to Columbus in late June and hit .313 (30-for-96) with six homers and 20 RBI. When he was recalled in late July, his regular playing time was gone. Donald was playing second and Asdrubal Cabrera was back at shortstop following his May collision with Jhonny Peralta.

Acta said Valbuena is going to get plenty of opportunities this spring. After wasting a big one last year, it’s the best he can expect.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

Published: Saturday, February 19, 2011, 12:22 AM     Updated: Saturday, February 19, 2011, 12:29 AM

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — In baseball, stability often is at the root of good infield defense. It doesn’t come with the snap of the fingers. It comes with time, nurtured by patience and fueled by talent.

The Indians had a lot of time last year — 162 games, to be exact — but when the season ended, their infield was more unstable than stable. They used five different first basemen, six different second basemen, five different third basemen and five different shortstops.

Indians infielders made 72 of the team’s 110 errors. The 72 infield errors were the third most in the American League behind Seattle at 76 and Kansas City at 75.

Out of last year’s Opening Day infield, only shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and first baseman Matt LaPorta are expected to be in this year’s lineup when the season kicks off April 1. Third baseman Jhonny Peralta was traded to Detroit and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek was released.

Other infielders who won’t be wearing an Indians uniform this season include Russell Branyan, Andy Marte, Angel Hernandez and Drew Sutton.

“We have to play better defense,” said manager Manny Acta. “We don’t have a lot of pitchers who make hitters swing and miss, so we’ve got to make plays behind them.”

Acta believes newcomer Orlando Cabrera will help bring peace to the infield. Cabrera, a two-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, should be the Indians’ Opening Day second baseman. He’s also scheduled to play short and third base.

“Orlando is going to be a big help to us whether it’s at second base or wherever he plays,” said Acta. “He’s a polished defender and he’ll make the other guys around him better.”

Jayson Nix, Luis Valbuena, Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps will compete at second base, but the job should go to Orlando Cabrera.

Asdrubal Cabrera played only 97 games last year — 95 of them at short. He broke his left forearm in a collision with Peralta on May 17. When he returned, he wasn’t 100 percent and he did not play well defensively. Still, the Indians kept him at short when they signed Orlando Cabrera to a one-year, $1 million deal early in the week.

This winter, Asdrubal Cabrera came to Goodyear early to condition after playing 27 games over the winter for Caracas in Venezuela. The Indians feel he’s ready to re-establish himself at shortstop.

All that’s left is a big hole at third. After Peralta was traded, the Indians tried to fill the hole with Nix, Marte and Valbuena. They made a combined 22 errors — 11 by Nix and nine by Marte. Nix, a second baseman, had an excuse. Marte didn’t.

That explains why Jason Donald will get the first shot at third this spring as Jack Hannahan, Jared Goedert, Valbuena and Phelps wait behind him. Donald would have played third last year, but the Indians felt his circuits already were overloaded after they rushed him to the big leagues to play shortstop after Asdrubal Cabrera’s injury. When Cabrera returned, Donald moved to second, a position he’d been playing at Class AAA Columbus before his promotion.

The Indians felt that asking him to make another position change during a big-league season would have been unfair. Once the season ended, however, they didn’t hesitate.

Donald spent two weeks this winter in San Diego working at third with Steve Smith, the Indians’ infield and third base coach. He then returned home to Clovis, Calif., and worked with his father, Tom, the baseball coach at Buchanan High School.

“My dad and his coaching staff hit me a lot of ground balls,” said Donald.

Lonnie Chisenhall, one of the Indians’ best prospects, is a third baseman scheduled to open the year at Columbus. He could be here at midseason. He could be here in September.

Still, this is an opportunity. How many people get a chance to win a starting job in the big leagues?

Donald has good hands, a decent arm and a bat that may surprise you. Plus, he has the right attitude. “If you say, ‘I’m only a shortstop’ or ‘I’m only a second baseman,’ you’re giving yourself no chance to play this position,” said Donald. “I’m embracing this opportunity. I’m excited about it.”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158