NOTEBOOK | From Jacobs Field

Glad to be back: Jason Michaels was relieved to see his name penciled in again on Cleveland's lineup card. Michaels was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday in time for the Indians game against the New York Yankees. Although he was only out since June 15 with a sprained right ankle, it seemed much longer to Michaels. "It felt like forever," he said. Michaels got hurt trying to make a catch against the left-field wall in Yankee Stadium on June 15. At the time, he didn't think the injury would linger, but after sitting out a few games, the Indians placed him on the DL on June 24. Even now, Michaels' ankle is a long way from 100 percent. "It will probably hurt the rest of the season," said Michaels, adding the only other time he sprained an ankle as badly was in junior college 11 years ago. Acquired by the Indians in an off-season trade with Philadelphia for reliever Arthur Rhodes, Michaels was batting .277 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 58 games before getting hurt. Michaels' return leaves outfielder Casey Blake as the only Indians' regular currently on the DL. Blake, who has been out with an injured side, is expected to go on a rehab assignment during the All-Star break and should be activated late next week.
Todd to the rescue: The injuries to Casey Blake and Jason Michaels, which occurred within 24 hours of each other last month, forced Todd Hollandsworth into action. And the 11-year veteran proved to be more than ready. In his last 17 games, Hollandsworth, who hit a two-run homer in Monday's 5-2 win over New York, is batting .293 with five homers and 19 RBIs. Those numbers were a big improvement after a slow start by Hollandsworth, who signed a minor league free agent contract with Cleveland in January after spending last season with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. Through June 14, Hollandsworth was batting just .182 (10-for-55) with no homers and four RBIs. Being a fourth outfielder isn't easy, and Hollandsworth struggled in the utility role. Hollandsworth said one of his goals as a reserve is "not to make the manager sweat," and he's kept Eric Wedge cool as can be. "He's had a lot of big hits for us," Wedge said. "I think that he has earned more time. We'll make it work as best we can." Wedge also wants to give Franklin Gutierrez -- batting .346 in a seven-game streak -- some at-bats, but he has ruled out using a platoon in either right or left field.
Wright stuff: Four years after leaving, Jaret Wright finally made it back to Jacobs Field. "It feels good," Wright, now with the Yankees, said upon his return to the Jake, where he still hasn't pitched as an opponent since being released by the Indians after the 2002 season. "It's always been one thing or another, I was on the disabled list or it just wasn't my turn to start," said the right-hander, who burst upon the Cleveland scene in 1997 as a key figure in helping the Indians get to the World Series. "I had a lot of good times in this ballpark, a lot of memories," said Wright, who is 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA this season.
Associated Press
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