Red Sox to interview Sandy Alomar

By TOM WITHERS

AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Indians have given Boston permission to interview bench coach Sandy Alomar to be the next manager of the Red Sox .

Alomar recently completed his second season coaching first base for Cleveland manager Manny Acta. He was promoted to bench coach on the final day of the season by Acta when Tim Tolman stepped down because of Parkinson’s Disease.

Alomar has no managerial experience, and would be considered a longshot to replace Terry Francona, who was fired after the season.

A six-time All-Star catcher with the Indians, Alomar has also been considered for managerial openings in Toronto and with the Chicago White Sox.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox interviewed Milwaukee hitting coach Dale Sveum. He managed the Brewers for the final 12 games of the 2008 regular season and the playoffs after Ned Yost was fired.

Updated November 3, 2011

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have given Boston permission to interview bench coach Sandy Alomar to be the next manager of the Red Sox.

Alomar recently completed his second season coaching first base for Cleveland manager Manny Acta. He was promoted to bench coach on the final day of the season by Acta when Tim Tolman stepped down because of Parkinson’s Disease.

Alomar has no managerial experience, and would be considered a longshot to replace Terry Francona, who was fired after the season.

A six-time All-Star catcher with the Indians, Alomar has also been considered for managerial openings in Toronto and with the Chicago White Sox.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox interviewed Milwaukee hitting coach Dale Sveum. He managed the Brewers for the final 12 games of the 2008 regular season and the playoffs after Ned Yost was fired.

Reported by: Vertex News

Tuesday, September 13 2011

Texas tries to continue its recent mastery of the Cleveland
Indians this evening when the Rangers open a three-game set against them at
the Ballpark in Arlington.

The Rangers have won six of their seven meetings with the Indians this season
and have won eight of the last nine in the series dating back to last season,
while going 18-4 against them since the start of the 2009 campaign.

Texas enters tonight’s tilt holding a three-game lead on the Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim in the American League West after taking two of three from
the Oakland Athletics over the weekend. On Sunday, C.J. Wilson tossed eight
scoreless innings and Adrian Beltre smacked two homers, including the 300th of
his career, as the Rangers pulled out the series win with an 8-1 victory.

Wilson (16-6) scattered five hits and a walk while striking out 11 batters in
his third straight win.
Beltre, who is riding a 16-game hit streak, drove in seven runs in the series
and is hitting .395 with 12 RBI in 10 games since coming off the disabled list
Sept. 1.

“He’s really getting his timing down and it’s the perfect time for him to do
it ’cause we’re going to need him for the stretch run,” said Texas manager Ron
Washington about Beltre.

Heading to the hill tonight for the Rangers will be lefty Matt Harrison, who
is 11-9 with a 3.50 ERA. Harrison won for the first time in five starts last
Sunday in Boston, as he allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings.
Harrison, though, has lost both of his starts to Cleveland, pitching to a 5.06
ERA in those outings.

Cleveland, meanwhile, will counter with sinker-balling righty Justin
Masterson, who has lost two of his last three starts. Masterson lost to the
Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, surrendering five runs (four earned) and eight
hits in six innings, dropping him to 11-9 to go along with a 3.01 ERA.

Masterson lost to the Ranger the last time he faced them and is 0-3 lifetime
against them with a 5.48 ERA in seven games, three of which have been starts.

Cleveland has played its way out of contention in the American League Central
and comes into tonight’s tilt 11 1/2 games back of the front-running Detroit
Tigers.
The Indians split a four-game set with the Chicago White Sox over the weekend,
but have lost five of their last seven games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Cleveland Indians picked a bad time for their offense to go flat.With little margin for error in the AL Central race, the Indians were held to three hits Saturday night in a 5-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals.The loss, coupled with Detroit’s 9-8 comeback win over the Chicago White Sox, puts Cleveland 6½ games back in the division.The Indians couldn’t solve Royals’ right-hander Luke Hochevar, who allowed just one unearned run over eight innings.”Hochevar pitched an outstanding ballgame,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said. “He was as good as we’ve seen him the last two years. He had every one of his pitches working and he dominated our lineup.”The Indians went on top in the first after an errant pickoff throw by Hochevar allowed Ezequiel Carrera to go from first to third. Carrera scored on Carlos Santana’s sacrifice fly.But the Indians were blanked the rest of the way and will have to settle for trying to take two of three in the weekend series in Sunday’s finale.Acta just wants his club to focus on the job at hand and not concern itself with what the Tigers are doing.”We’re the Indians, we don’t worry about Detroit,” Acta said. “We worry about what we can do. Who cares what Detroit does if we don’t win? We have to take care of our own business.”Indians starter David Huff (2-3) surrendered a two-run double to Jeff Francoeur in the first and the Royals continued to tack on runs while the Indians’ offense was stuck in neutral.”We have to start winning or before we know it our season will be over,” Huff said.Kansas City manager Ned Yost saluted Hochever for shutting down the Cleveland offense.”His sinker was as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Yost said. “He had tremendous movement to it and used all his pitches effectively tonight. That was a nice job by him.”Hochevar threw a career-high 117 pitches before Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth.”The key to it is having a simple approach and a clear approach,” Hochevar said. “You just kind of get out of your own way and let everything you’ve learned and experienced take over.”Following Francoeur’s two-run double in the first, Kansas City kept pecking away.Alex Gordon added a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the second, Billy Butler doubled in a run in the fifth and Johnny Giavotella capped the scoring with his second homer in the sixth. That was plenty of offense for Hochevar.”(Hochevar) was working fast and keeping us on our toes out there,” Kansas City first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “It seemed like we were on offense most of the game. It was his night and he threw a great game.”

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Indians have been hamstrung by an uncommon roster imbalance all season, sorely lacking in players who bat right-handed.

The Tribe has just 29 home runs all season from batters hitting from the right side of the plate. That’s in 1,579 right-handed at bats (not counting Indians pitchers’ at bats) through Thursday’s 7-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Six major leaguers have more homers batting right-handed than do the Indians as a team: Toronto’s Jose Bautista (39), St. Louis’ Albert Pujols (34), Baltimore’s Mark Reynolds (31), Florida’s Mike Stanton (31), the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp (31) and Atlanta’s Dan Uggla (30).

Right behind with 28 homers each are the Chicago White Sox’ Paul Konerko, Texas’ Nelson Cruz and Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki.

The Indians’ 29 right-handed clouts include four by Asdrubal Cabrera and three by Carlos Santana, both switch-hitters with a team-leading 21 homers each overall.

Matt LaPorta, sent to Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday, leads Cleveland right-handed hitters with 11 homers.

Rightys Orlando Cabrera, traded to the San Francisco Giants on July 30, and Shelley Duncan both have four home runs for the Indians. Austin Kearns went deep twice for the Tribe before being designated for assignment on July 18, and Lou Marson has one homer.

The last right-handed blast for an Indian was by LaPorta during a 4-2 win over the White Sox on Aug. 18. Asdrubal Cabrera is the last Indian to homer off a left-handed pitcher. He connected off Minnesota’s Brian Duensing during a 3-1 Cleveland win on Aug. 13.

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Cleveland Indians’ Kosuke Fukudome slams his bat down after popping up off a pitch by Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Chris Sale during the eighth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011 in Chicago.

Juan PierreGordon Beckham doubled off of Chad Durbin (2-2) with one out in the final inning, advancing to third on Brent Morel’s infield single.
David Huff reliever Durbin to face Pierre, who singled to left to win it.
Jason Frasor (3-2) worked the top of the inning to earn the victory.
The White Sox have won nine of 11 and remain 3 1-2 games behind the American League Central-leading Detroit Tigers. The loss drops the second-place Indians to three games back.
Cleveland rallied to tie the game in the ninth on a pair of defensive miscues by the White Sox. After Sergio Santos issued a one-out walk, Michael Brantley popped a single in front of center fielder Alex Rios, who had just come in as a defensive replacement.
Alejandro De Aza moved over to right field to take over for Carlos Quentin, who Rios replaced.
With runners on first and third, Shin-soo Choo tapped a slow roller to second base. Beckham thought about throwing home but hesitated and dropped the ball. He was only able to get a force out at second, allowing the tying run to score.
It was Santos’ fourth blown save in 29 chances this year.
De Aza tripled in runs in the second and sixth. He became the first White Sox player to triple twice in a game since Alex Cintron on April 13, 2006.
Paul Konerko extended his hit streak to 12 games with four more hits. After doubling in the fifth, Konerko tagged up at second and slid into third on Carlos Quentin’s flyout to center, later scoring on Alexei Ramirez’s triple.
The White Sox captain has been hobbled by his left knee since being hit by a pitch on July 31 against Boston. He has been unable to play in the field but has hit in every game since returning to action on Aug. 4.
Tyler Flowers and Rios also tripled for the White Sox, who tallied five three-baggers in one game for the first time since Sept. 17, 1920 against the New York Yankees. The club record is six triples, a feat achieved three different times. The White Sox had just eight triples on the year coming into the game.
Rios tripled to lead off the 11th, but the White Sox stranded him on third.
Pierre hit a solo home run off of Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez in the fourth. It was his second homer of the season and 16th in his 12-year career.
Gavin Floyd struck out nine over 5 2-3 innings. He allowed five runs on five hits in the no-decision. He retired the first nine batters he faced, including seven strikeouts. He struck out the side in the second.
Jiminez allowed five runs, four earned, on nine hits over 4 2-3 innings, throwing 105 pitches. He struck out five and walked one.
NOTES: Indians LHP Tony Sipp was ejected in the 10th for arguing a controversial call after being removed from the game. … The White Sox placed C A.J. Pierzynski (fractured left wrist) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 13, and purchased the contract of C Donny Lucy from Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago requested waivers for the purpose of granting RHP Brian Bruney his unconditional release after he cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A. … Indians OF Grady Sizemore (knee/sports hernia) ran on a treadmill on Tuesday and is scheduled to do so again on Thursday. Cleveland hopes he will progress to land-based running by the time the team returns home on Aug. 22. … Indians INF Jason Kipnis (side) was out of the lineup for the second straight game but was available to pinch-hit according to manager Manny Acta. … LHP Mark Buehrle (10-5, 3.06 ERA) takes the mound for the White Sox in the second game of the series on Wednesday. The lefty has allowed three runs or less in 18 straight starts. Cleveland sends RHP Fausto Carmona (5-12, 5.12) to the hill. Carmona has allowed 18 runs in eight innings in his two starts against the White Sox this season (0-2).