Indians Journal

With his efforts on Saturday, five innings in which the Mets were held scoreless, Cliff Lee has been announced as the Indians fifth starter in the rotation. Lee was sent to the minors last season for a period of time and has recovered to the point where the Indians are confident in his ability to give a strong six innings in which he can then hand the ball of to Rafeal Betancourt and the relievers.

That is what the batters on the Atlanta roster were thinking when they ran into the red hot Jake Westbrook yesterday. Westbrook was incredible in his six inning effort in which he refused to surrender a hit, walk or run. Westbrook faced eighteen batters in total, striking out eight.

Juan Lara of the Cleveland Indians was involved in a traffic accident in November. The accident took place in the Dominican Republic and was critically injured. The Indians released him last week and signed him on the same day to a minor league deal. The Indians will cover the medical expenses incurred from the accident along with the salary that Lara would make if he were healthy.

Adam Miller threw his second bullpen session since being shaken by a blister on his throwing hand. He is expected to throw another bullpen session this week and is improving progressively towards a start. As of now, there is no date set for his return to the Grapefruit League, but expect to see him before the regular season begins.

There was plenty of offense today for the Indians in an impressive 11-5 victory over the Houston Astros. C.C. Sabathia was nothing less than stunning in his three innings of work. Sabathia threw a total of 28 pitches while facing the minimal nine batters. The Indians will play host to the New York Mets tomorrow in their first meeting of the pre-season.

On your best day one hit is not going to be enough to win. The braves pitching, as a collective unit, held the Indians to one hit. That hit came in the form of an RBI single in the ninth inning. This was the Indians third loss in three days. The Indians (2-4) in the Grapefruit League will take on the (3-5) Houston Astros tomorrow.

Cliff Lee has performed well thus far in the Grapefruit League. As of right now, he seems to be the favorite for the five spot in the Indians rotation. Cliff Lee has edged past his competitors, Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers, who have struggled in their appearances. This report comes from the Akron Beacon Journal.

C.C. Sabathia is expected to make his first start of the preseason today against the Detroit Tigers. The Detroit Tigers will have Dontrelle Willis on the mound .

The Cleavland Indians took a one-run lead into the ninth inning, but the Astros were able to manufacture two runs in the ninth inning to beat the Indians. It was not a total wash however as Paul Byrd got two innings of work. Byrd gave up one run on four hits. This game was also the first appearance for Masahide Kobayashi, making his MLB debut as well as his Indians debut.