Lindor happy to give back with RBI program Indians shortstop takes part in drills with Philly youth players during off-day By Paul Hagen / MLB.com April 28th, 2016 PHILADELPHIA -- The Indians had an off-night in Philadelphia on Thursday. You have to understand. Off-nights are precious for big leaguers, a rare opportunity to take a break from the daily grind of the regular season. Shortstop Francisco Lindor chose to spend part of his evening at Citizens Bank Park. There was no game. Outside, it rained on and off. The place was nearly deserted by the time the 22-year-old rising star arrived. Except at one of the indoor batting cages where members from three of Philadelphia's Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program were going through some drills. "I always want to give back. I always want to help," Lindor said. "A lot of people helped me throughout my life and I want to give back. And for me, to give back is not money. It's giving time. I feel like if I help one kid, two kids, they can help somebody else. And keep that moving forward, and pretty soon we're living in a better place. I want people to help my kids later on." The kids, ranging in ages 8 to 15, were from the North Philadelphia R&R Mejia and MVP 360 and the Bustleton Bengals from the Northeast. Phillies youth baseball development director Jon Joacquin and his staff were on hand. Lindor, wearing his No. 12 Indians jersey, then spoke and answered questions for a half hour, followed by more drills which he observed, offering tips from time to time. Afterward, he stuck around to chat one-on-one with some of the players, sign autographs and pose for pictures. "It was really cool," said 9-year-old Cayden Stewart from the Bengals. In addition to instructing the youngsters on fielding, Lindor delivered an inspirational message, telling his story about growing up in Puerto Rico playing with broomsticks and baseballs that were rocks inside newspaper bound in tape. He moved to Orlando when he was 12, leaving his family behind, enduring bullying and homesickness. He didn't speak English. And if he could persevere, Lindor said, they can, too. "I was just like you guys," he said. "It was tough, but I had a dream. I'm sure all of you have a dream. My dream was to play on television every night so my parents could see me. I kept on working toward that dream and I encourage you guys to work toward your dreams. That's what it's all about. "You've got to do whatever it takes to accomplish your dreams. Whether it's playing baseball. Whether it's being a doctor, a fireman, a policeman. Just make sure you work toward your dream. Whatever you do in life, make sure you're the best at it. I might not be the best shortstop, but I work to make sure I'm the best shortstop I can be. And work to be the best person I can be." It's all right to be scared, Lindor said, telling a story about how he was once so afraid of getting hit by the ball that he invented a string of injuries to keep from having to play. And it's all right to make mistakes, he added, relating how he once broke a window throwing a baseball in the house and how, on another occasion, he scratched the floor by trying to run indoors in his brother's new metal cleats. "Nobody here is perfect," Lindor said. "Along the way, you might get a little carried away. You might get off the path. But make sure you're smart enough and mature enough to get back on track. Stay in school. Listen to your teachers. Listen to your parents. Make sure you do everything to stay on the right path. "You've got to have a purpose in life. So make sure that purpose in your life is in front of you all the time. Why am I doing this? Because I want to be someone. Why am I studying math? Because I want to be an engineer or something huge. Why do I study Chinese? Because I want to work in China and communicate with a lot of people in the world. "Everybody is going to have problems. You have to find a way to make sure you take the best route. Don't be afraid to say you're sorry. I wasn't perfect. I'm still not perfect. Don't be afraid to come out of your comfort zone and ask for help. Why not? There's help out there." And Lindor is one of those out there trying to help as much as he can. Castro among top prospect performers Thursday Pirates prospect continues to impress while Boston outfielder stays hot at the plate Indians No. 21 prospect Willi Castro filled out the stat sheet in Class A Lake County's win against Burlington, going 4-for-5 with his first home run of the season, a triple, four RBIs and two runs scored. After an 0-for-17 stretch at the plate, the 19-year-old switch-hitter has collected six hits in 10 at-bats in his past two games for the Captains. Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins send Prince memorabilia to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Paul Hoynes, PHILADELPHIA -- On Monday night the Indians and Twins opened a three-game series at Target Field. The game was a tribute to Prince, the Minneapolis native and iconic rock star who recently died at the age of 57. In honor of one of Prince's songs, "Purple Rain," players, coaches and managers on both teams wore purple wrist bands. The scoreboard was adorned in purple and throughout the night Prince's songs were played. Before the game several doves were released from a cage on the pitcher's mound. On Wednesday, the Indians and Twins collected authenticated memorabilia from Monday night and sent it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Among the items was a lineup card autographed by every starting player from each team and the purple wrist bands worn by Michael Brantley of the Indians and Joe Mauer of the Twins. Autographed pictures of Brantley and Mauer wearing the wrist bands was included. Tonight we will pay tribute to the late Minnesota icon, Prince. Fans, wear your purple! https://t.co/4hfjo52cnf pic.twitter.com/xlpfmmtl9f Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 25, 2016 Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock Hall since 2012, spent 14 years working at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Prince was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2004.
Cleveland Indians' starting pitching suddenly is a concern: DMan's World Dennis Manoloff, CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians have been hovering around.500, which is not good -- provided the expectations were playoffs and not a continuation of 2015 (81-80). I know, I know: There is plenty of time to get it right. The Indians can't be counted out, especially when they are managed by Terry Francona. But trouble has been brewing in a place that was supposed to be a strength: the rotation. Even granting that Corey Kluber is a clear-cut ace, the Tribe rotation has issues. No. 2 Carlos Carrasco is injured; No. 3 Danny Salazar has shown that he still needs polish; No. 4 Cody Anderson opened with bad overall numbers in four starts and was sent to Class AAA Columbus, although he could be back for his next start on May 7; Trevor Bauer began the season in the bullpen and is back starting only because of Carrasco's injury; and Josh Tomlin is the ultimate competitor but limited by his repertoire. The bullpen has not exactly been lights-out, either. But again, there is plenty of time to get it right. Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies' series preview, pitching matchups Paul Hoynes, PHILADELPHIA Preview and pitching matchups for Indians-Phillies series in Philadelphia. Where: Citizens Bank Park, Friday through Sunday. TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio will carry the series. WTAM/1100 and WMMS/FM 100.7 will air the series. Pitching probables: RHP Corey Kluber (1-3, 4.67 ERA) vs. LHP Adam Morgan (2016 debut) Friday at 7:05 p.m.; RHP Trevor Bauer (1-0, 4.76) vs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 4.07) Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and RHP Danny Salazar (2-2.36) vs. Vince Velasquez (3-1, 4.07) Sunday at 2:35 p.m. Series: The Indians and Phillies are meeting for the first time since 2013 when the Indians went 3-1. The Phillies lead, 7-6, overall. Friday: Kluber is coming his first win of the season on Saturday against Detroit. He struck out 10 and allowed on earned run in eight innings. He's 1-0 lifetime against the Phillies. The Phillies are expected to recall Morgan from Class AAA Leigh Valley, where he struck out 20 in three starts. He's never faced the Indians. Last season Morgan was 5-7 with a 4.48 ERA with the Phillies. Saturday: Bauer will make his first start of the season, replacing injured Carlos Carrasco. He's 1-0 against the Phillies. Eickhoff has lost his last two starts, allowing nine earned runs on 14 hits in 12 1/3 innings against the Brewers and Mets. Juan Uribe is 1-for-2 against him. Sunday: Salazar is coming off a poor performance against the Twins in which he lasted just 4 2/3 innings. He's struck out 26 in 23 innings. Velasquez opened the season with 15 straight scoreless innings. He beat Washington in his last start and is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA in one start against the Indians when he pitched for Houston. Michael Brantley went 2-for-3 with a homer and an RBI against him. Team updates: The Indians are 4-2 on this trip through Detroit, Minneapolis and Philadelphia. They are 7-4 on the road this year. The Phillies are coming off a three-game sweep of the Nationals, including consecutive 3-0 shutouts. Players to WATCH: Catcher Yan Gomes is hitting just.213, but is tied for the team lead with 11 with Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana. Maikel Franco is hitting.284 (23-for-81) and leads the Phillies with five homers and 14 RBI. Injuries: Indians RHP Carrasco (left hamstring) and RHP Tommy Hunter (hernia) are on the disabled list. RF Lonnie Chisenhall (neck) is day to day. Phillies RHP Charlie Morton (left hamstring), RHP Michael Mariot (right ankle), LHP Mario Hollands (left elbow), LHP Matt Harrison (back), LF Cody Asche (right oblique) and CF Aaron Altherr (left wrist) are on the disabled list. Next: The Indians open a six-game homestand Tuesday as Detroit visits for a three-game series. Cleveland Indians' Francisco Lindor tells Philadelphia's RBI players to follow their dreams Paul Hoynes PHILADELPHIA -- On a cold and wet Thursday afternoon, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor talked to players from Philadelphia's RBI program at Citizens Bank Park. He talked to them about fielding ground balls and the toughest pitchers he's faced since getting to the big leagues last year. He talked to them about dreams as well. The 18 players at the clinic ranged from seven to 15 years old. Lindor is only 22 so when he told his audience "I was just like you a couple of years ago," he wasn't kidding. The clinic was supposed to take place a Philadelphia's Urban Youth Academy. Rain, however, forced it into the batting cages at Citizens Bank Park where the Indians and Phillies will open a three-run series Friday night. Lindor, wearing an Indians jersey, jeans and red dress shoes, spoke about growing up in Puerto Rico and starting to play baseball when he was 4 years old.
"I remember my first game," he said. "We played a team and they looked huge. They looked like giants. I told my coach that my elbow hurt. He rubbed it. I told him my shoulder hurt and he rubbed it. I told him my knee hurt. "I didn't want to play. I was afraid of the other team and getting hit by the baseball." What young baseball player isn't afraid to get hit by the ball? "It hurts," said Lindor, "but I promise you it won't last. It will go away." Indians' Francisco Lindor gives clinic Tribe shortstop Francisco Lindor was the guest speaker and instructor Thursday at a clinic for players from Philadelphia's RBI program. The clinic was held at Citizens Bank Park. Lindor's fear of baseball -- the game and the ball -- soon changed. Lindor said when he was growing up he wouldn't go anywhere without a baseball or his glove. He said before he'd go to sleep, he'd play catch, throwing the ball toward the ceiling of his room and catching it in bed. When he didn't have a ball, he'd make one. "I'd get newspapers, wrap them around rocks and tape it together," said Lindor. "Then we'd get a broomstick and hit bombs with those." He drove his parents to distraction throwing balls in the house. "One time we were eating dinner and I had my baseball next to me," he said. "I thought I saw something move by the window. I said, "I'm going to hit it.'" You can guess what happened next. "I missed and broke the window," said Lindor. "My mother was screaming. I was grounded and had to eat in my room." Lindor started dreaming about playing in the big leagues when he left Puerto Rico when he was 12 and to go to school n Orlando, Fla. He left to advance his baseball career, but it was hard to leave home. "It was tough not knowing the language," said Lindor. "I was scared. I was bullied. I went to school and said where am I? What am I doing...why, why, why?" He called his mother in Puerto Rico and said he wanted to come home. "I told her, 'Mom, I can't do it. I want to come back,'" said Lindor. "She said, "You're there. I'm sorry, but you've got to find a way.' That's what I did." Lindor said his goal was to play baseball on TV so his family in Puerto Rico could watch him. He's reached that goal. "You've got to do whatever it takes to accomplish your dreams," Lindor said. "Whether it's playing baseball. Whether it's being a doctor, a fireman, a policeman. Just make sure you work toward your dream. "Whatever you do in life, make sure you're the best at it. I might not be the best shortstop, but I make sure I work to be the best shortstop I can be. I encourage you guys to work and have a dream." Star on and off the field: @Lindor12BC attends @Phillies RBI Clinic. #PlayBall pic.twitter.com/00wx2fkrpc Play Ball (@PlayBall) April 29, 2016 Lindor has several clinics like this planned for the season. He'll do some on the road and some in Cleveland. "A lot of people have helped me during my life," said Lindor. "I feel like I want to give back. And the only way I can do that is not by giving money, it's by giving time. A lot of people gave time to me and I value that a lot." Lake County Captains rout Bees in series finale By David Glasier, The News-Herald It was what s become a typical scenario for Captains center fielder and leadoff batter Nathan Lukes. Against the Burlington (Iowa) Bees at Classic Park on April 28, in a scoreless tie, the left-handed batting Lukes (pronounced Lucas) opened the frame by lining a single to right field off Burlington starter and eventual loser Jose Rodriguez (1-2, 3.93 ERA). The 21-year-old California resident easily moved to third base on Willi Castro s bunt single to Rodriguez at the mound. He scored the game s first run when Tyler Krieger singled to right field as the Captains began their march to a 10-1 victory. Leading off again in the bottom of the sixth inning, this time against Burlington reliever Cody Pope, Lukes laid down a well-placed bunt single to third base. He took second base on a wild pitch by Pope and scored his second run on an RBI single by Castro. When the final out was in the books and the Captains had upped their record to 14-7, Lukes had gone 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. He s batting.314 with five RBI and a team-high totals of 15 walks and 38 total bases. My role is to get on base, be aggressive and make things happen, Lukes said. It s so important to know what kind of player you are. Lukes was a standout at Central High School in Antelope, Calif., and at nearby California State-Sacramento. At both places he got to play one season with his older brother, Shea. If he was batting first, I batted second. If I was batting first, he was second, Nathan Lukes said.
The Indians selected Lukes in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. His first professional season at Mahoning Valley was cut short after five games when he fractured a bone in his right hand on a checked swing. I hated it. No one wants to be out of the game because of an injury, Lukes said. Lukes came to spring training this year fully recovered from the hand injury and eager to earn a spot on the Captains roster. He did that and has been a fixture in the lineup, starting 18 of 21 games in center field. He s made a positive first impression on Captains hitting coach Kevin Howard. Nathan has really good plate discipline, Howard said. He takes his walks, uses the whole field and doesn t give away at-bats. That really helps the rest of the line-up.. Howard also likes the way Lukes moves on the bases once he gets there. He ll steal a base for you, but the more important feature of his game is that he ll score on balls that reach the gaps, Howard said. Lukes worked his second walk of the night in the bottom of the eighth and rode home on Castro s two-run home run to left field. Castro went 4-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored, upping his average to.300 Lake County starter Tom Pannone (2-1, 2.26 ERA) worked five scoreless innings, striking out six and yielding four hits, to earn the victory. Burlington slipped to 8-12 with the loss.. Clippers 5, Knights 4 8-0 homestand By Mark ZnidarThe Columbus Dispatch Thursday April 28, 2016 8:18 PM The Clippers' clubhouse attendant knew he had his work cut out when outfielder Collin Cowgill walked through the door after another hard day s work wearing a uniform stained with Huntington Park grass and infield dirt from shoulders to ankles. Some of the mess was created when teammates piled on Cowgill after he hit a 3-and-0 pitch over the right fielder s head to score Michael Martinez from third base on a ninth-inning single that gave the Clippers a 5-4 victory Thursday over the Charlotte Knights. That completed an extraordinary eight straight wins for the Clippers (13-7) in as many days during the homestand. Cowgill, a veteran of 317 games and 689 at bats in the major leagues, has been impressed by what he has seen from a team that is loaded with players with big league experience or are on the cusp of making it there. You go around the infield and see guys like Michael Martinez, Giovanny (Urshela), Erik (Gonzalez) and Jesus (Aguilar), and those guys know how to play baseball and how to play it the right way, he said. The starting pitching has been fantastic. The guys in the bullpen have been great. This is just an all-around good team. Charlotte led 3-2 in the sixth on a two-run double by former Ohio State all-big Ten player J.B. Shuck, and 4-3 in the ninth on a double by Danny Hayes. Opponents, though, are learning that the Clippers use every single one of their allotted 27 outs. Shortstop Eric Stamets of Dublin Scioto led off the ninth by getting hit by a pitch from Knights closer Brad Goldberg, a former Ohio State starter. It was Stamets second game since being promoted from double-a Akron. Martinez followed with a triple to the wall in left-center before Cowgill singled. I was looking for a fastball all the time in that situation when you haven t seen a pitcher, Martinez said. I had no advance (scouting) on him. He threw me a slider the first pitch and then a fastball. I got him. Martinez is not surprised that the Clippers are showing the same makeup as when they won the Governors Cup last season. We have a good team, he said. If we re close for five or six innings we have the hitting, the pitching to win. We have the players. With the usual cold and rain, the first month of the season can be difficult for teams to get their feet under them. The Clippers have played through all that mess. I think it s pretty special under any circumstances to go 8-0 on a homestand, manager Chris Tremie said. These have been team wins. Everyone has contributed to a win in a game at some point. < /p>
Almost 20 players on the roster have big league experience, but none has acted as if triple-a is too small a pond. I think everyone of our players wants to play in the big leagues because that s always the goal, Tremie said. But everyone knows he has to get his work in here to get there. They work. < /p>