INDIANS NOTEBOOK From Jacobs Field



Battling Baez: It's not in Danys Baez's nature to back down, whether facing a tough hitter in a key situation or voicing his displeasure on being replaced by David Riske as the Indians' closer. "I'm not happy," Baez said. "I think David is a great pitcher, but I have 25 saves, five behind the league leader. They said they made this decision based on my last 10 appearances. I don't think you make a decision like this on 10 games." Before throwing 11/3 scoreless innings Sunday, Baez had gone 0-1 with four saves in five chances and a 4.50 earned run average in his previous 10 outings. That put his record at 0-7 with a 3.65 ERA and 25 saves in 32 opportunities this season. "I never said anything when they moved me from setup to starter, then from starter to closer," said the 25-year-old, who defected from Cuba in 1999. "I changed three different times and there are not many pitchers who can do that. This is my first year closing and we are all learning on this team. This is another test for me, I guess. But I want to be out there on the mound -- as a setup guy, the closer or a starter. I just want to pitch."
Finding a spot: Manager Eric Wedge said Matt Lawton's return makes it difficult to get all his offensive players enough at-bats. "He's got to DH because of his finger, so that takes some away from either Travis [Hafner] or Ben [Broussard] because they both can't play first base at the same time," Wedge said. In the outfield, four rookies are fighting for playing time and Milton Bradley is due to come off the disabled list at the end of August if his sore back heals. "I want them all to play, but obviously they can't," Wedge said. "I'll try to prioritize and get these young guys as many times up as I can." Jody Gerut leads the rookie outfielders in production. Since being recalled from Buffalo on April 26, he had batted .271 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs entering play Monday night. Switch-hitting Coco Crisp, called up June 10, had batted .257 with two homers, 13 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Ryan Ludwick had hit .241 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 25 games since being acquired from Texas on July 18, while Alex Escobar had one homer in his first three games since being recalled Friday from Buffalo, where he had 24 homers and 78 RBIs.
Bats and balls: Entering play Monday night, Indians pitchers had compiled a 10-4 record and 2.56 ERA since August 5. ... Cleveland signed right-hander Jeffrey Pry, a 17th-round selection in the June draft. The 19-year-old became the 16th of the Indians' first 19 picks to sign.
-- Associated Press

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