Breaking down this weekend's three-game series between the Indians and Nationals at Progressive Field.

Where: Progressive Field.

When: Friday and Saturday nights, Sunday afternoon.

TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio and WJW Ch. 8 on Saturday; WTAM AM/1100, WMMS FM/100.7.

Pitching matchups: LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.59) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (8-5, 3.68) Friday at 7:05 p.m.; RHP Jordan Zimmerman (9-3, 2.00) vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (3-4, 5.33) Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-5, 2.54) vs. RHP Corey Kluber (4-4, 4.08) Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

Season series: Only meeting of the season. Nationals lead, 5-4, overall.

Nationals update: They are 5-4 over their last nine games. Strasburg is on the disabled list, but is scheduled to be activated in time to face the Tribe on Sunday. The Nationals are 8-4 against the American League.

Indians update: Just completed 2-7 trip against the Yankees, Tigers and Rangers. They've won two straight, but lost 16 of their last 22. They are 5-3 against the National League.

Injuries: Nationals -- 2B Danny Espinosa (right wrist), RHP Christian Garcia (right forearm), CF Bryce Harper (left knee), P Ryan Mattheus (right hand), C Wilson Ramos (right hamstring) and P Strasburg (right lat strain) are on the DL. Indians -- RHP Zach McAllister (right middle finger), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (right groin), RHP Chris Perez (rotator cuff), C Lou Marson (right shoulder), RHP Brett Myers (right elbow/forearm), RHP Josh Tomlin (right elbow), RHP Frank Herrmann (right elbow) and RHP Blake Wood (right elbow) are on the DL.

Next: Kansas City visits Progressive Field for a three-game series starting Monday.

Part Two of our three-part series on Indians game-day preparation focuses on reliever Vinnie Pestano.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- To many fans, it might seem as if a baseball player's working day lasts for the three hours or so that the game is being played. But that's hardly the case.

View full sizeVinnie Pestano's John Hancock demonstrates that he signed off on this report. 

Plain Dealer reporter Dennis Manoloff provides an in-depth look at a standard game-day routine of three members of the Indians, as told to him by the subjects in this three-part series. Today: Relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano.

Previously: Starting pitcher Justin Masterson. June 21: Second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Here is a look at an average day for Pestano when he is a set-up man. (Move everything back one inning when Pestano is a substitute closer.)

Arrival at ballpark

View full sizeAn early riser? Well, not so much.  

• Wake up late because of having gotten to bed late.

• "Fumble around" with normal stuff at home, then leave for ballpark.

• Arrive at ballpark about 1:30 p.m. (periodically will ride with roommate Jason Kipnis)

• Sign autographs for fans along players lot fence. "I like to get there early. It gives me time to get in some extra cardio, have lunch, get treatment, things like that."

• Go to locker, dress in shorts and T-shirt.

• Eat lunch.

"I generally don't eat breakfast, so lunch is my first legit meal. I'm not superstitious about food, so I'll go with whatever looks good in the lunch room. Usually a sandwich and water or Gatorade. Sometimes, for day games, when I'm feeling a little frisky, I'll grab a Mountain Dew."

• Read newspapers and watch TV while eating.

Early game preparation

• Stretching exercises.

• Ride stationary bike for 20-25 minutes.

"If my legs are feeling good, the intensity will be higher; if they're not feeling good, the intensity will be lower. Same amount of time, regardless. I go with the bike because I don't like the [pounding] on my knees from the treadmill."

• Drink water after bike.

View full sizeThe stress and strain of a long season sometimes aches and pains that need a little pre-game loving care. 

• Visit training room at about 3:30 if any part of body needs something.

"If arm is barking, I'll dip it in hot/cold tubs we have."

• Available to reporters, 3:30-4. (He's one of the Indians' most accessible players.)

• Check laptop and iPad at locker.

• Dress for batting practice.

"I wear the same undershirt and pullover almost every game. I've had this fleece pullover for five years; it has a hole in it. Where my cleats are concerned, I don't like them cleaned if I'm going well. Most guys have cleats cleaned, but I don't. If I had a bad game, I'll ask the clubbies to wash them."

Batting practice

• Leave clubhouse for stretch at about 4 p.m. Normal team stretching and catch for 15 minutes.

• Run with relievers.

"We'll do sprints or shuttles or poles. A lot of times, it's Monday -- sprints; Tuesday -- shuttles; Wednesday -- poles. Anything else is extra."

• Shag fly balls in groups.

"I'm not hyperactive shag guy. I'll jog after the balls, but I'm not trying to play the outfield, thereby risking injury."

Post BP

• Return to clubhouse at about 5:20. Do something on laptop or iPad.

"I'll play a game or watch a movie. One game I've played is 'Civilization.' It's interactive, quick -- you can jump in and out of it."

• Listen to music.

View full sizeSomething loud and edgy may give Vinnie an edge late in the game. 

"Usually [heavy] metal. I want to be a little angry. No offense to Kenny Loggins, but I want to be ticked when I go out there. Now, I can't have too big of a chip on my shoulder when I'm not going to be pitching for a couple of hours. But I don't want to leave the clubhouse 'cheerful.'"

• Review customized video scouting program on iPad.

"It's from Bloomberg Sports. I pay $250 per month. I saw Shelley Duncan using it in 2011 and liked it.

"I can select one of the opponent's hitters, filter that hitter against all right-handers they've faced, filter again against fastballs and sliders, filter again to show strikeouts. I want to see if there are tendencies. If a guy is always punching out on fastballs up, I want to know that. If he's chasing two-strike sliders in the dirt, I want to know that. When I get ahead, how do I put them away?

"If everybody's pounding Albert Pujols in, I'm not going to look at those pitches, because I don't throw a lot of fastballs inside to righties. If Pujols happens to get jammed by a fastball inside, that's not something I'll process into what I want to do. But if I see him not taking good swings at balls that are up and away, that's something I know is in my skill set and that I can do.

"I don't want to watch the pitches that hitters are having success with. A lot of hits come from mistake pitches. So, if I'm looking at all his hits and guys are throwing fastballs down the middle and it's going in the gap, well, that's why he's doing it. I don't intend to do that -- although it happens. So I don't want to watch guys hanging curves or sliders. If I can execute my pitches, I have a very good shot, statistically, of getting the hitter out."

Close to game time

View full sizeWhat's in "The Bag"? Pretty much anything to help fix what ails you while in the bullpen. 

• Return to field at about 6:50.

• Walk to bullpen with any combination of relievers, usually after ceremonial first pitch.

"Some bullpen guys will have the ballboys drive them through the tunnels. I like seeing the fans, getting the energy from the ballpark."

• Check contents of "The Bag."

"Youngest guy in bullpen typically carries it. In 2011, I was the guy, and the bag was pink.The Bag has all sorts of stuff in it, because we don't have the clubhouse or the dugout or the training kit available. So whatever we need for a game is in there: snacks, sun block, Advil, Tums, Pepto, a grooming kit with scissors and nail clippers and tweezers. No pine tar."

In-Game

View full sizeAs important as the National Anthem and Play Ball!, Vinnie has to have his java. 

• Make cup of coffee.

"Caffeinated, cream, two sugars. That's a ritual. I'll sip for a while."

• Relax for the first few innings.

"I'm not studying the game as much early. I'm watching, not studying. We don't have a TV in the bullpen, but we do take a boom box down there. We will listen to music."

• Munch on several fun-size candy bars. "Nothing's a must. Only if you feel hungry. Stay away from anything filling."

• Begin to study game in middle innings, especially if it's close.

• Take four Advil at about the fifth inning. Begin drinking a Red Bull at about the sixth inning. Apply ointment to right shoulder.

"Usually I go with it even on days where it doesn't look like I'll pitch."

• Focus on opposition's batting order.

"When I start looking at the lineup in the sixth, I'll have a pretty good idea of what's coming in the eighth based on an average of one guy on per inning. That's when I start to think about guys I'll be facing."

• Play catch with a Tribe outfielder in top of seventh as a way to begin loosening his arm.

View full size"Yes, Commissioner ... er, Skipper. We'll be ready shortly." 

• Wait for phone call from dugout.

"Even though I know the eighth inning is usually mine, I always wait for the phone call. At that time, I'll take off the pullover and, when we start hitting in the seventh, I'll start playing catch in the bullpen to get loose. Once our first hitter's in the box, I'll stop until there's one out. I don't like wasting bullets. Some guys will throw the whole time, but I like reading the inning. If our guy hits a homer, there's a pitching change, and the next thing you know, I've wasted 30 pitches and haven't even gotten in.

"Having been in the bullpen for a while, I've got a feel for reading innings. Sometimes you get caught with your pants down, so to speak, where a guy lines into a double play and you have to fire off a couple before you go in. But usually, it's 8-10 pitches in the bullpen and I'm ready."

• Throw warmups in bullpen.

"I'll go with two four-seamers to the left side of the plate; two two-seamers to the right side; two sliders to left; two sliders to right; and end on fastball or two. It's just the best way I've found to get loose. In my personal experience, the better I feel in bullpen, the worse I am on game mound. So I almost like when I'm all over the place in the bullpen."

• Throw warmups on game mound.

"Two fastballs left, two fastballs right, two sliders, and a fastball that gets thrown down to second."

• Pitch to hitters.

"We will have gone over their hitters in a meeting at some point in the day. All I want to know is, if I'm trying to put somebody away, is the fastball or slider the better pitch? It's based on my strengths. I rarely, rarely, rarely ever pitch to a hitter's weakness. I pitch to my strengths. If a guy's really good at hitting fastballs away, all right, hit mine. If you hit mine, OK, you beat me, now let's see if the hitter behind you can beat me."

• Finish appearance.

"I'll watch the game from the dugout until the game is over."

Postgame

• Return to clubhouse and go to training room for resistance stretching. "I usually work on the shoulder and scapula. I found that it helps with soreness and recovery."

• If appearance made, ice for 20 minutes. If no appearance, still may ice.

"I'll ice after an appearance, then two days after that. I've iced my entire life. I believe it helps."

• Available to media.

"You guys only come over here if I blow it or if [a teammate] says something controversial."

View full sizeLetting off some steam is literally a good idea, win, lose or save. 

• Eat.

"If I throw, I'll ice and eat. If I don't throw, I won't eat much. No special requests, just whatever's part of the postgame spread. Or I'll make a sandwich myself. After pitching, I drink water, not Gatorade.

"Some guys are big vitamin guys; I'm not a big vitamin guy. If I've thrown a lot or if I'm feeling something, and there's a need for anti-inflammatories, those are available. But those are just in case."

• Go to steam room (4-5 times per homestand).

"There's no timer on it. However long it takes to go through two bottles of water."

• Leave for home about 90 minutes after game (periodically with Kipnis).

"I'm in no hurry to get home."

If I could, I would take back the 15th hole. I made double bogey there,

View full sizeJohn Hahn finds his line off the tee at the eighth hole during Thursday's opening round of the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club. The former Kent State standout had a 5-over 75.Julio Cortez, Associated Press 

(Editor's note: Former Kent State golfer John Hahn is doing a diary this week as he plays in the U.S. Open. Hahn, who grew up in Hudson and graduated in 2011, is one of three former Golden Flashes in the field, joining Mackenzie Hughes and Ryan Yip.)

John Hahn

Special to The Plain Dealer

ARDMORE, Pa. -- The day was good. Yes, I shot 75 in my first round of my first U.S. Open, but I still feel it was a good day.

If I could, I would take back the 15th hole. I made double bogey there, but that was only the really poor hole I felt I played all day and if I could take it back I would. I pulled my drive into the left rough and got too aggressive with my second. Knocked it over the green and then I got sloppy and ended up making double. But, outside of that double I felt good about my round.

It is a tough golf course. Bogeys are going to happen. I mean, the scores weren't really low. I made two birdies, one on the 10th hole and another on the 13th. I made about a 50-footer there. I felt great.

• John Hahn's USGA U.S. Open stats page

I know I am going to play better in the second round. I am not down or disappointed. My attitude was great all day. I really couldn't be happier with how I stuck with it. I had to grind all day. I only hit seven fairways and seven greens in regulation but I'm still only 5 over.

The gallery was awesome. It was great to have my family here and my dad on my bag. My family is from this area so I had a lot of support. But even the people who don't know me were great.

I got my score to 2 over after 13 and was feeling pretty good, playing steady. But then came 15.

I was nervous the whole first hole. I hit 3-wood off the tee and striped it down the middle. I hit gap wedge to about 12 feet and my birdie putt just missed the right edge. So, I played a good solid first hole.

My goal in round two is to play 18 solid holes.

Vinnie Pestano is still looking for his first save as the Tribe's closer, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been tested.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Vinnie Pestano is still looking for his first save since moving into the closer's spot on May 27 when Chris Perez went on the disabled list. It doesn't mean he's not being tested.

Pestano entered the ninth inning Wednesday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with a 5-1 lead and promptly became entangled in a 15-pitch at-bat with leadoff hitter Jeff Baker. Pestano's first two pitches were strikes. Baker fouled off the next pitch before taking two straight balls.

Then things turned serious. Baker fouled off nine straight before sending a grounder back to the mound. It glanced off Pestano's glove only to be retrieved by second baseman Jason Kipnis, who threw out Baker at first on a close play.

"You have to tip your cap to Baker," said Pestano. "I just had to keep pumping strikes. Then he hit one semi back to me and I froze for a second and Kip made a nice play."

In the 15 pitches, Pestano threw 13 strikes.

"Quite a few were fastballs," said Pestano. "When I got to 2-2, I threw a slider for a ball that he didn't bite at. I felt comfortable with the fastball because I didn't want to hang a slider in that situation."

Pestano should have been out of the inning, but with two out, Leonys Martin reached on an infield single that was originally ruled an error. Mike Aviles made a nice stop and throw at short, but Nick Swisher couldn't make the pick at first. Jurickson Profar followed with a double to make 5-2.

It has not been a great 2 1/2 months for the Tribe bullpen, but the relievers did their job Wednesday as Rich Hill, Bryan Shaw, Nick Hagadone, Joe Smith and Pestano allowed just one run over the last four innings.

"This is the way this bullpen is supposed to get the job done," said Pestano. "We're not going to sit here and be all giddy and happy because we didn't give it up. That's what our bullpen is supposed to do."

Ubaldo Jimenez, who did a five-and-fly for the win, saluted the bullpen.

"They were awesome," he said. "They attacked the hitters. They weren't afraid of anybody and got almost everybody out."

Start and finish: In the Tribe's just-completed nine-game trip, the rotation went 0-7 with a 7.59 ERA before Corey Kluber and Jimenez earned victories in the last two games against Texas. Kluber allowed one run in eight innings Tuesday and Jimenez allowed one run in five innings Wednesday. Kluber's win ended a eight-game losing streak. In the last seven of those losses, the Indians were never outscored by more than three runs.

Rear view mirror: In his last seven decisions, covering a span of nine starts, Jimenez is 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA (17 earned runs in 50 2/3 innings).

After allowing five runs, three earned, in just three innings against the Tigers on June 7, Jimenez allowed one run on five hits and four walks to beat the Rangers.

""What happened last year is in the rear-view mirror," said manager Terry Francona. "Everybody will have a start once in a while that's not what you're looking for, but he's been pretty good for a while now."

Scoring change: Credit Kipnis with a hit in the eighth inning Monday against Texas. It was originally ruled an error on Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. MLB overturned decision upon the Indians' request.

Finally: The Indians continued to try and bolster their lefty relief corp by signing veteran Clay Rapada, 32, and sending him to Class AAA Columbus on a minor-league deal. Rapada was 1-0 with a 4.66 ERA at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees). He's also pitched for Detroit, Texas, Baltimore and the Cubs. ... The Indians have signed two more draft picks: No. 14 OF Silento Sayles, who had 103 steals at Port Gibson (Miss.) High School this season, and No.18 INF Paul Hendrix, Texas Christian University. ... The Indians are 12-2 against the AL West, but only 9-11 in the AL Central and 6-17 in the AL East.

Twenty-four Northeast Ohio football teams escaped Division I and dropped to Division II.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With a shrug of his shoulders, Hudson football coach Ron Wright paraphrased Popeye.

“We is what we is,'' he said.

What Hudson is, is Division I.

The Explorers were not among the 24 Northeast Ohio schools that escaped Division I in the new football playoff format, which adds a seventh division this fall. The division and region assignments were announced Thursday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

The new format was designed to relieve some stress felt by smaller Division I schools, which found unfair facing playoff games against schools more than twice their size. The format accomplishes that to a limited extent.

Avon Lake, Mayfield, Nordonia, Massillon and Willoughby South – all Division I playoff teams in 2012 – drop to Division II this fall. Some other notable schools that drop down are Glenville, Parma, Brush, Brecksville, Eastlake North, John F. Kennedy, Riverside, Rhodes, Twinsburg and Boardman. No private schools in Northeast Ohio dropped to Division II.

The cutoff number was 608. Schools with a grades 9-11 boys enrollment of 608 or larger last fall will be Division I for the next two years. The new format puts the largest 72 schools in Division I. The other six divisions have between 105 and 109 schools.

That leaves Hudson (631), Green (617) and Canton McKinley (612) close, but not close enough to Division II. Instead, they are in with the likes of Mentor (1,036) and St. Ignatius (1,081).

“That makes for an interesting division, doesn't it?'' Wright said.

To Wright's credit, he won't listen to any whining.

“These are the cards we're dealt,'' he said. “We're going to shut up and play.''

One hopes fans and other coaches will embrace Wright's approach. Ohio will crown a ridiculous seven state champions in December. It isn't going to get much better, or watered down, for big schools unless those who still seek separation of public and private schools continue down that slippery slope.

Fans and coaches who complained about the Division I disparity and now are in Division II have run out of excuses. That especially is true in the new Division II, Region 3, which will not have a single private school among the 27 schools in a region that draws from Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

The OHSAA made one tweak this week to Division I. With 72 schools, Division I will split into just two regions compared to four regions in the other divisions. The Northern region includes Central Ohio schools such as 2011 playoff team Westerville Central, but Franklin County, which includes Columbus schools, are in the Southern region.

The Division I playoffs will have 16 teams per region and will be seeded as such. The first round will match the No. 1 seed against No. 16 and No. 2 against No. 15, etc. The Week 14 state semifinals winner will receive a regional championship trophy.

The only tweak left for football is to reconsider the recently defeated competitive balance referendum, which would move some private and open-enrollment schools up a division. In so doing, it probably would drop the likes of Hudson and Green to Division II.

Competitive balance still needs to be considered as long as perennial power Youngstown Ursuline continues to schedule – and compete against – St. Edward, Lake Catholic, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Zanesville while continuing to reside in Division V.

Kirtland and Cuyahoga Heights escaped Division V and are in Division VI.

Independence, Grand Valley and others stuck in Division V with Ursuline weren't so lucky.

As Popeye would say, those boys will need to eat all their spinach to be strong to the finish.

When the Open began on Thursday there were 43 European Tour players in the field of 156.

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Six of the last nine U.S. Opens have been won by players from the European Tour.

That might not sit well with a lot of American fans, but it's the sign of the times.

The top portion of the leaderboard of the 113th U.S. Open is peppered with players from Europe -- Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Peter Hedblom -- and several others are not far behind.

When the Open began on Thursday there were 43 European Tour players in the field of 156. Quite a change from the last time the Open was held at Merion. In 1981, there were four in Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Mark McNulty and Greg Norman, before he moved primarily to the U.S. Tour in 1984.

Deal with it: Thursday's evacuation of fans due to "threatening" weather during the morning round is not the first time the USGA has been forced into such a maneuver during an Open. It happened in 2001 at Southern Hills, 2002 at Bethpage Black and 2004 at Shinnecock Hills. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Taking a hit: According to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek, the USGA expects to lose about $10 million in revenue by having the Open at Merion. The biggest reason is the reduction of ticket sales. Past Opens have had daily crowds of 40,000 to 45,000. Sales here were limited to 25,000 per day. Smaller crowds result in smaller merchandise sales, corporate tents, etc. Merion is small all over. Its fairways total 18 acres. Pinehurst No. 2, the site of next year's Open, is spread over 33 1/2 acres. The entire complex sits on 126 acres, about half the size of Shinnecock Hills, which hosted in 2004.

Plan B: The USGA had a Plan B in place -- and still might have to implement it -- if Cobb's Creek had overflowed its banks, therefore making the 11th and 12th holes on Merion's East Course -- both par 4s -- unplayable. The plan called for tournament officials to use the fourth and fifth holes from the adjoining West Course. Officials said one-half inch of rain fell during the morning but it seemed like a half-inch fell in the first minute. It rained hard for a good 20 minutes and the banks of Crook's Creek appeared close to overflowing.

Up and down: Sergio Garcia, whose week began with a profuse apology to Tiger Woods for an inappropriate remark, might have muttered a few more inappropriates -- this time to himself -- following an opening 73.

Garcia, one of the best players never to have won a major, had four birdies, one eagle, three bogeys, one double bogey and one back-breaking, round-killing quadruple bogey 8 on the 411-yard 15th, where out-of-bounds looms large on the left.

"I hit a just a terrible tee shot with a 3-wood, pulled it left and it went out of bounds," he said. "And then I hit a good. decent second one down the fairway. Didn't hit the best of iron shots and then I thinned it on the green from the bunker. Hit a very good chip but I couldn't make my, I don't know, 8, 9-footer for seven."

Mike Birkbeck follows his heart, stays at Kent State as pitching coach.

KENT, Ohio -- Mike Birkbeck could be the next head baseball coach at Kent State. Or he could be a pitching coach at Georgia, probably making at least $200,000 as an assistant to former Kent State coach Scott Stricklin.

Instead, he remains at Kent State -- in his old job as pitching coach and associate head coach.

That's right, before hiring a head coach, Kent State athletic director Joel Nielsen made sure that he kept his pitching coach in place. Birkbeck received a new five-year contract to remain with the Flashes. That's because Birkbeck is that important to making sure Kent State remains a power in the Mid-American Conference.

"Keeping Mike is a relief and a tremendous thing for Kent baseball," said Nielsen. "From the moment Scott left for Georgia, our first priority was keeping Mike in whatever role that he felt best."

At least twice, Nielsen talked to Birkbeck about being the head coach. "I thought about it," said Birkbeck. "But I always liked working with pitchers."

Meanwhile, Stricklin was pushing hard to bring his assistant to Georgia.

"I went to the campus [Sunday and Monday] and it's impressive," said Birkbeck. "It's a great job. The SEC is the best [college] baseball league in the country. I respect Scott as a coach, and even more so as a person."

At 52 with 17 years at Kent State, Birkbeck sensed this may have been the best opportunity that he'll ever have to coach in a powerhouse league -- and do it with a friend and a man he trusts.

"But Kent is my nerve center," he said. "I love it here. Part of the decision [to stay] was about my family, our extended family and our Kent family. That is a big part of life."

Birkbeck was named Baseball America's 2012 assistant coach of the year after the Flashes went to their first College World Series. He has had 40 players sign pro contracts, five reaching the majors. This year, pitchers Tyler Skulina (Cubs) and Taylor Williams (Brewers) were picked in the fourth round. Andrew Chafin (Diamondbacks) was a first-round choice in the 2011 supplemental draft.

"Mike Birkbeck may be the best college pitching coach in the country," said Tom Hamilton, the Tribe's broadcaster. "I watched him closely when Nick [his son, third baseman Nick Hamilton] was at Kent. I talked to lots of pro scouts about Mike. They rave about him. Kids turn down bigger-name programs to pitch for him at Kent."

Big money

View full sizeScott Stricklin had guided Kent State to repeated trips to the postseason and the Flashes' memorable ride to the College World Series in 2012. His eventual departure to a richer baseball program was inevitable, says Terry Pluto.AP file 

After the 2012 College World Series, Stricklin received a six-year deal from KSU worth $300,000 annually. By far, he was the highest-paid coach in the MAC -- where the average salary is $99,930 in 2013. In 2012, Stricklin was paid $145,000.

While the Flashes had a disappointing 2013 -- failing to win the conference tournament or receive an NCAA bid -- they still were 36-23, 20-7 in the MAC. In nine years at KSU, Stricklin's teams went to five NCAA tournaments. At some point, a school from an elite conference would call.

It turned out to be Georgia, armed with a six-year deal with a $600,000 annual base salary. Including summer camps and other incentives, Stricklin will earn between $800,000 and $1 million a year.

"We really wanted to keep Scott, but we can't compete with the SEC," said Nielsen. "That's why it was critical to keep Mike."

Nielsen said KSU will receive a "significant buyout" from Georgia as part of Stricklin leaving, but declined to say how much. Top assistant coaches in the SEC are making between $175,000-$250,000. Georgia went to three World Series between 2004-08, but had losing SEC records in three of the last four seasons, including 7-20 in 2013.

So you can see why Stricklin wanted Birkbeck. Because of its lucrative football program, the Georgia athletic department has plenty of cash to offer coaches in several different sports.

A homegrown guy

While he received a raise that certainly put his salary above $100,000 to stay, Birkbeck can honestly say his decision was not driven by money -- or he'd be in Athens today.

Birkbeck grew up in Orrville, graduated from Akron and played pro ball for 14 seasons. He was in the big leagues for parts of six seasons, compiling a 12-19 record with a 4.86 ERA mostly with the Brewers. In the minors, Birkbeck was 86-65 with a 3.35 ERA, his last pro season being 1995. Ten seasons were in Class AAA.

In 2004, when Rick Rembielak left KSU for Wake Forest, Birkbeck was offered the head coaching job. He turned it down (along with a chance to stay with Rembeilak at Wake Forest) to remain as KSU's pitching coach. When Stricklin (a former Kent player) was hired in 2004, he was thrilled to have Birkbeck.

While Birkbeck has occasionally considered being a head coach, he loves pitching, and doesn't long to be in the spotlight.

"I'm in a good place personally and professionally," he said. "There's a lot to be said for doing what you want to do and doing it where you want to do it."

Birkbeck's son, John, is a KSU pitcher. Family is a big part of it.

The next coach

View full sizeMike Birkbeck loves his role at KSU, and has repeatedly declined interest in the head coaching position.KSU photo 

Now, Kent State is looking for a head coach.

"I spent 90 percent of my time since Scott left working on Mike," said Nielson. "My staff has done some work on head coaching candidates, and we have a list. I hope to have a head coach in a week or two."

Nielsen said in preliminary talks with candidates, Birkbeck is valued as a major asset. Let's face it, if a coach doesn't want Birkbeck in charge of his pitchers -- he's the wrong coach for KSU.

In the meantime, Birkbeck is recruiting and working on keeping some of the players who were picked in the MLB draft. Birkbeck said they had three: Midview's Eric Lauer (17th round, Toronto), Andy Ravel (Arizona, 21st round) and Conner Simonetti (35th round, Cincinnati).

"I am content, but not complacent," he said. "We've done some great things at Kent, but I really think we can do ever more. That's another reason I stayed. I believe in the school and the commitment of the administration. We have a tremendous program here."

Led by 12-year veteran running back Martina Latessa, the Cleveland Fusion -- the women's tackle football team -- is headed to the playoffs undefeated.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The apple-sized, purple-and-black mark on her right biceps is starting to fade, and Martina Latessa already is growing wistful. There will not be many more opportunities for the Cleveland Fusion running back to earn bruises like that on her arms. Not many more chances to slam into opponents or advise the rookies on how to read developing plays.

The 36-year-old Cleveland cop is in her 12th year for Cleveland's women's tackle football team, and she already has decided it is her final season. Some of her teammates are young enough to be her daughter, she jokes. She can no longer sprint and elude tacklers like she did in her youth. She has been grooming a promising young replacement, 19-year-old Chawnte Johnson, all season.

In her final season, as the only Fusion player who has been a part of the team since its inception, Latessa is enjoying the culmination of all her dreams in tackle football. She is playing for a championship.

For the first time, the Cleveland Fusion is undefeated heading into the Women's Football Alliance playoffs Saturday against the West Michigan Mayhem. Her 8-0 team has demolished opponents by an average score of 44.9 to 2.6. They have surrendered only 18 points.

Latessa has been just as effective as ever, rushing for 529 yards and six touchdowns. But she has seen the window edging closer and closer to shut, and the sturdy running back with a reputation for cracking up her teammates while she's instructing them knows it's time to stop.

"My head is here with the game, but to get my body to physically do that and compete ..." Latessa said, trailing off as she shook her head. "And they're getting younger and younger. I'm like double some of these girls' ages. It's time to go."

First, though, is the matter of a WFA championship. This is the best team Latessa has been a part of, she said, and this is the best chance to win a title in the league.

The defense that has not allowed more than six points in a game this season is anchored by three WFA All-Americans: free safety Angela Mason, defensive tackle Caprita Bell and defensive end Leann McKee. But the soul of the Fusion is Latessa, the playful leader.

She's the one who, like a protective mother, gathers the dirty clothes her teammates leave at practice -- and returns them all unwashed and stuffed in one rancid bag to teach them a lesson.

She's the one who teasingly refers to second-year coach Erik Keister -- a newly graduated law student -- as "Generic Erik."

And she's the one who regales her teammates about all the times she has gone out on a call during her day job as a Cleveland policewoman and been asked about the black eye or bruises covering her body from her football hobby.

On a team that also features lawyers, engineers and paramedics, Latessa is the one who seems to have a job that most allows her to transfer skills with ease.

"I think being a policeman toughens me up for this," Latessa said. "And this toughens me up for work. I laugh because I've been known to run suspects down in my heyday. I've hit people, and tackled people. My co-workers will be like, 'Oooh!' They get all excited about it."

On the football field, her teammates see how her experience as a cop transfers, too.

"No matter what happens on the field -- the game can get pretty hectic -- she always keeps calm, always has a level head," said Johnson, the backup running back. "I really pay attention to that and really focus on keeping that attitude because I know she's leaving. I feel like everything she does with the team, I have to carry on with since I'm taking on her position."

Johnson has been a quick study in her first season with the Fusion and her first season at running back. The former lineman who played for Cleveland's Lutheran East High School boys team had 629 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. Latessa has taught her how to read defenses and how to use her blocks.

"A lot of it is patience," Latessa said. "You have to let the play develop. When she came, she just wanted to get the ball and go. But she's passing up the block; there's a scheme."

Johnson, for her part, is hopeful that Latessa makes good on her offer to stick around the Fusion next season as a coach. She can't imagine her mentor not helping her.

"She will be a successful and a good player in this league," Latessa said. "She's only 19 years old.

"But she better leave my records alone."

Trying to navigate a soggy Merion is a challenge for golfer or fan.

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Quick observations after a soggy opening day at Merion.

1. No matter how poor conditions at Merion become -- about 10 inches of rain has fallen in the last week -- the USGA is adamant about not implementing the lift, clean and place rule. No one ever accused the USGA of not being a stickler for the rules. I guess that's the way it should be for this event. Play it as it lies, baby, mud ball or not.

2. Merion is not an easy place to navigate on foot. It took me a little more than an hour to walk to the media center from the fourth green. Outside the ropes the grounds are a mess. It is so muddy that many women are wearing rubber boots. I ruined my favorite sneakers. What's worse, Footjoy has discontinued making them. Aaaggghhh!

3. If 3-under was the best score anyone could produce on a day when Merion was as soft as a fat man's belly and there was no wind to speak of, what would the scores had been if it had been dry and fast?

4. The USGA must be losing some of its power. A train track runs just a short distance behind the 18th tee with only a line of trees blocking the clatter as the trains chug by. What's going to happen if some wiseguy conductor decides to yank on a whistle on Sunday evening, just as the leader of the U.S. Open takes his backswing?

With Merion playing as soft as a lullaby, the best players in the world came away shaking their heads.

ARDMORE, Pa. -- They said that if the greens on the East Course at Merion Golf Club got any softer the best players in the world would turn the 113th U.S. Open into target practice.

Ah, not so fast.

With Merion playing as soft as a lullaby, the best players in the world came away shaking their heads and telling the assembled media, "I told you so."

Jerry Kelly, one of those who finished their round and managed even-par 70, said, "You guys talk about scores. We don't worry about the scores. We know the conditions are going to be different every single day. You don't know what you're going to get. We don't pick a score until Sunday."

The conditions Thursday were as varied as possible. The day started overcast and the skies opened up and caused a delay of three hours and 32 minutes. When play resumed, the sun came out and temperatures reached the 80s. More bad weather moved in and play was stopped for more than hour before play was stopped for good with many players still on the course.

Action resumes Friday at 7:15 a.m.

Phil Mickelson is the leader in the clubhouse after he recovered from an opening bogey to shoot a 3-under 67 over Merion's 6,996 yards. The only other player to post a score under par was Belgium's Nicholas Colsaerts at 1-under 69.

• First-round leaderboard | Second-round tee times (tentative)

Luke Donald is at 4 under, but the former Northwestern star still has to play the final five holes, considered the toughest stretch of the course. Masters champion Adam Scott is 3 under but also has to play seven holes. Defending champion Webb Simpson is among three players at 2 under but has 10 holes to play.

Tiger Woods was one of many who had an erratic first day. Woods, whose starting time was pushed back to 4:44, had four bogeys and two birdies and stood at 2 over through 10 holes.Woods' playing partners, Scott and former U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy, fared much better. McIlroy was even.

If Mickelson should go on to win his first U.S. Open, everyone might change their pre-tournament strategy. Mickelson, an Open runner-up five times, left the Philadelphia area on Tuesday in order to attend the eighth-grade graduation of his oldest child, Amanda, on Wednesday in San Diego. He boarded the return flight around 8 p.m. (PST) and arrived here at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.

"She told me that it's fine, stay at the U.S. Open," Mickelson said of his daughter. "She said, 'I know how much you care about it.' And I told her that I wanted to be there. She gave a speech. I didn't want to miss it. I didn't want to miss her graduation. She spent nine years at that school and she's worked very hard and I'm very proud of her."

Mickelson almost left the 1999 U.S. Open when his wife, Amy, was expecting with Amanda.

Mickelson, playing with Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker, began on the 11th hole because of the East Course's unusual layout. He 3-putted the 11th for bogey but birdied the short (115 yards) 13th. Five straight pars followed before he got into the red numbers with a birdie on the first. He closed his round with birdies at the seventh and ninth.

Donald, looking for his first major victory, started and closed fast. The five-time PGA Tour winner and former top-ranked player in the world birdied two of his first three holes and had three straight birdies on 11, 12 and 13.

"I'm happy with the way I'm playing," he said. "I'm giving myself opportunities and didn't get into too much trouble."

Not everyone was able to say that on Thursday.

Class AAA: Columbus at Charlotte, ppd. The Clippers were rained out Thursday in Fort Mill, S.C. The game will made up tonight as part of a doubleheader beginning at 6:15 p.m. Class AA: Akron at New Hampshire, ppd. The Aeros were rained out Thursday in Manchester, N.H. The game will not be made up. Class A Advanced: Myrtle Beach...

Class AAA: Columbus at Charlotte, ppd. The Clippers were rained out Thursday in Fort Mill, S.C. The game will made up tonight as part of a doubleheader beginning at 6:15 p.m.

Class AA: Akron at New Hampshire, ppd. The Aeros were rained out Thursday in Manchester, N.H. The game will not be made up.

Class A Advanced: Myrtle Beach 3, Carolina 1 Mudcats starter Shawn Morimando (4-6, 2.73) allowed three runs (all unearned) on five hits over five innings as Carolina lost to the host Pelicans. Mudcats SS Francisco Lindor (.296) went 1-for-4 and CF Tyler Naquin (.302) was 0-for-4.

Class A: Fort Wayne 4, Lake County 1 Captains 2B Yhoxian Medina (.333) had two of Lake County's seven hits in the loss to the host TinCaps. Lake County starting pitcher Luis DeJesus (1-7, 6.38) allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings.

Independent: Evansville 3, Lake Erie 2 The visiting Otters turned five double plays in the win over the Crushers. Lake Erie's Andrew Davis extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

LeBron James scored 33 points while playing with the aggression and ferocity that everyone expects of the four-time MVP, leading the Miami Heat to a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night that evened the NBA Finals at two games apiece.

SAN ANTONIO — LeBron James scored 33 points while playing with the aggression and ferocity that everyone expects of the four-time MVP, leading the Miami Heat to a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night that evened the NBA Finals at two games apiece.

James also had 11 rebounds and four assists and finally got some much-needed help from his struggling All-Star teammates. Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, Chris Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds and the defending champions made sure the series will head back to South Beach.

Tony Parker had 15 points and nine assists while playing through a sore right hamstring for the Spurs, who were trying to move one step closer to their fifth championship.

Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in San Antonio.

Ray Allen scored 14 points for the Heat. Miami had 50 points in the paint after managing 32 in a 36-point loss in Game 3.

Tim Duncan scored 20 points, and Kawhi Leonard added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs, who turned the ball over 19 times. After setting a finals record with 16 3-pointers in Game 3, San Antonio was 8 for 16.

James was an abysmal 7 for 21 for 15 points in Game 3, and he promised to be better in Game 4. He delivered on that the only way he knows how, hitting 15 of 25 shots and putting the team on his shoulders to set the tone early.

Every time James snatched a Spurs miss off the glass he thundered up the court, attacking the back-pedaling defense for easy layups that simply haven't been there for him this series.

He made six of his first seven shots, controlling the tempo and responding when the Spurs threatened to run away with the game in the first six minutes.

Parker strained his right hamstring during Game 3, leaving many in San Antonio to fear that the big step forward they made with their win in Game 3 came at a hefty price. But Parker deemed himself "ready to go" at the team's morning shootaround and looked fine, save for a quick trip to the locker room in the fourth quarter.

All the old Parker tricks were there in the first quarter — a pull-up jumper to open the game, a driving layup and then another off the pick-and-roll. Leonard then buried a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 15-5 lead early in the game.

Then James made the move the Heat have been waiting for all series.

He took the ball coast-to-coast on two straight possessions during run that tied it at 19. James then hit two mid-range jumpers — an area that has been a struggle for him — to cap the 14-2 surge and give Miami a 25-21 lead.

In an unusual move, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra decided to shuffle the starting lineup in the middle of a series. He inserted the sharp-shooting Mike Miller for big man Udonis Haslem in an effort to create more room for James and Wade to penetrate to the rim.

Miller was 9 for 10 on 3-pointers in his first three games of the finals, but was scoreless in the game.

Wade was averaging 2.7 points in the second half in the finals, but had eight in the third quarter of Game 4.

Wade then finished off the Spurs with a flurry of eight straight Heat points followed by an assist to Bosh for a 94-83 lead with seven minutes to play. The Heat's Big Three scored all but three points for Miami in the fourth.

If there was a common theme in the first three games, it was the curiously meek performance from James. He entered this series after perhaps the best season of his career, a versatile and efficient freight train that had taken the league and made it his own.

He was out to show just how far he'd come from 2007, when the Spurs dismantled his Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals and exposed the rising star as a player who could be neutralized if he was forced to settle for jump shots. James promised that he would not be so easily contained this time around, and .565 shooting percentage during the regular season, including .406 on 3-pointers, seemed to support that theory.

But the Spurs had done to him in these finals exactly what they did to him six years ago. They've clogged the paint with two big men — Duncan and Tiago Splitter — and surrounded him on the perimeter with a pack of hungry young wings led by Leonard and Green.

The results had been unlike anything the league has grown used to seeing from its biggest star. James entered Game 4 averaged 16.7 points on 38.9 percent shooting. He was just 3 for 13 from 3-point range in the first three games, and even more startling, only had six free throw attempts.

"I'm putting all the pressure on my chest, on my shoulders to come through for our team," James said. "That's the way it is."

It would be hard to find much higher stakes than Game 4 for the Heat. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.

The Cavaliers will interview UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett on Monday as they continue to gather information prior to the NBA draft on June 27. The Cavs have the Nos. 1, 19, 31 and 33 picks.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett will visit with the Cavaliers on Monday, agent Mike Smith confirmed on Thursday. The News Herald was the first to report the visit.

Bennett, 6-8, 240, averaged 16 points and eight rebounds in 34 games for the Runnin' Rebels last season. A long, athletic scorer and rebounder with great hands, he is coming off rotator cuff surgery and will not work out for the Cavs.

In recent days, he seems to be gaining attention and has emerged as a possible No. 1 pick. He is from the same hometown as Tristan Thompson -- Brampton, Ontario, and, like Thompson, went to high school and college in the U.S.

Though the Cavaliers do not publicize their interviews or workouts, Bennett is one of at least three top players to visit Cleveland before the June 27 draft, along with Georgetown's Otto Porter Jr. and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel.

Noel, incidentally, selected Andy Miller as his agent on Thursday.

Pike, a Mentor product, gave up his final year of eligibility at Toledo so that he could move to St. Louis to be with his fiancee, Ashlee Barrett, as she battled leukemia.

View full sizeBen Pike and Ashlee Barrett will be married Saturday in St. Louis -- two months after Barrett had a bone-marrow transplant and one month after Pike graduated from Toledo to be with her.Family photo 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Maybe it's not completely ideal. For one, Ben Pike and Ashlee Barrett won't have have a receiving line because they're trying to limit any germs that come their way through hugs and tearful embraces. And the honeymoon will have to be postponed until next year because Barrett's doctors don't want her to travel too far from their careful observation right now.

But the perfect part is that Pike and Barrett will get married Saturday in St. Louis -- two months after Barrett had a bone-marrow transplant and one month after Pike graduated from the University of Toledo, forgoing his final season of football eligibility so that he could be with the love of his life as she fights leukemia.

"It's something we've been looking forward to for quite some time, especially with all that's happened, it's been a goal for us to get here," said Pike, a Mentor High School graduate. "Even though cancer will be a part of our daily lives for a few more years, we're both very excited to be able to close that chapter on our lives and start a new chapter."

The wedding date had been set since Pike and Barrett, a former Toledo basketball player, were engaged in December 2011.

But the viability of holding to that schedule came into question when Barrett was diagnosed with leukemia in April 2012. She went through chemotherapy and became an inspiration for the Toledo football team during its 9-4 season. The Rockets wore an "A" sticker on their helmets for Ashlee during Cancer Awareness Month in November, and invited her to celebrate with the team after a meaningful victory over Central Michigan, acknowledging the inspiration she provided.

Barrett thought she had the illness defeated until a January test revealed leukemia had returned; she would need a bone-marrow transplant.

During the course of Barrett's treatment, Pike concluded that he would give up his final year of eligibility as a Toledo defensive lineman so that he could graduate and move to St. Louis to be with Barrett.

Pike already has found a high school teaching job in St. Louis and will be a defensive lineman coach for a high school football team, too. Everything, it seems, is on schedule.

"It's a big relief for both of us," Pike said.

The story so moved Pike's Toledo coaches and teammates that they held an April spring practice in Mentor, where admissions fees, concessions and donations yielded almost $14,000 for the couple to help with medical bills.

"We're extremely humbled and blessed and very thankful for that," Pike said. "Just the support that people who barely know us gave, they've gone out of their way to help us. It's been pretty remarkable to see. It just speaks to the human spirit and how during a tough time, people they know and love can come together."

After visits with doctors, right-hander Zach McAllister has shown significant improvement and catcher Lou Marson learned he will not need surgery.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The latest update from the Indians' walking wounded yielded good news, all around, according to manager Terry Francona.

• Closer Chris Perez threw a strong bullpen session Friday, and is likely to go on rehab assignment Sunday.

• Catcher Lou Marson saw noted sports orthopedic doctor James Andrews, but his report revealed no structural damage to Marson's sore right shoulder.

• Pitcher Zach McAllister had his injured right middle finger examined Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Thomas Graham, and has shown great progress.

• Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (strained right quadriceps) continues to improve, and remains on schedule to return 3-4 weeks from his original June 4 injury.

Perez, who has been on the disabled list since May 27, seems closest to returning, according to Francona.

"He did real well," Francona said. "He didn't command great, which I don't think is a surprise because he hadn't thrown off the mound much." He added that Perez likely will go on a rehab assignment Sunday and is hopeful that one appearance will be enough for Perez to ready to return to Cleveland.

"There's not a lot of (minor-league) teams that are at home, so we'll sit with him and determine what's in his best interest and where," Francona said. "Because he wasn't down that long, I don't think getting back is going to take a real long time."

McAllister, meanwhile, has been on the disabled list since June 9, and already is feeling better.

"He can already tell, just by even touching it and moving it and things like that," Francona said. "He got a good examination, and we'll continue to monitor that. Now, we are going to be cautious with him. This isn't something to play around with. If we do treat it correctly and accordingly, he should be just fine. And that's the whole idea."

Marson was recalled from his rehab assignment in Columbus because his shoulder remained sore, but Andrews said surgery is not needed.

"Structurally, nothing needs to be done, which is good news," Francona said. "Saying that, you go on symptoms, always, if a guy's hurting. He's shut down for a little while and we're going to try to get him back to where he can start all over again with better results."

Finally, Cabrera's hamstring injury continues to improve, as well, Francona reported. "He's been so diligent and conscientious that he'll be back as quick as humanly possible," he said.

HBP pro: Jason Giambi was hit by pitches twice on Wednesday against Texas. With those two more HBPs, Giambi leads all active players with 177 career plunks, and ranks 12th on the all-time list.

What's the secret to getting hit by pitches again and again? Giambi just might know.

"I'm just one of those guys who they don't want me to get my arms extended," he said. "Early in my career, I stood on the plate a lot more than I do now. I'm older and I don't recover as fast. That's probably the biggest thing, guys trying to come up and in to throw into my hands. That's part of the game ... If you want to compete in this game, you don't get out of the way."

Getting hot? Outfielder Drew Stubbs hit .231 (21-for-91) with one homer and 8 RBI in May. On the Tribe's nine-game trip, he hit .308 (8-for-26) with two homers and six RBI.

Stubbs isn't sure what the difference is, but he's hoping to ride the hot streak for as long as possible.

"A lot of times, it's not even something you can really describe. It's just a feeling you have," he said. "You pick up the ball and you recognize pitches better than other times. When you get good pitches to hit, you don't miss them. You square em up and hit the ball hard."

The Indians have won two straight after an eight-game losing streak, and Terry Francona says they are just as cohesive as ever.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Seen and heard at Progressive Field on Friday.

Clubhouse confidential: If there's a positive in the Tribe's eight-game losing streak that ended with two victories in Texas, it's that the team did not crumble.

Team chemistry still is intact, despite the fact that the Indians have lost 16 of their last 22 games.

"When you get hit in the stomach, sometimes it hurts," manager Terry Francona said. "You lose your breath. But how you bounce back from that is more important. We talked early in the season when we had that really good streak about team chemistry, and I said, to me, it's more important when you're going bad. If I had a choice not to get checked and go 120-40, I would. But we fought through it, and there were times when we found a way to lose as opposed to finding a way to win, but I didn't see guys giving up.

"It gave me reason to want to continue believing in them. That's what I want to do, but there was nothing that happened that made me feel any different."

Quote of the day: Francona on second baseman Jason Kipnis: "Every ball he hits, he runs to first base like his pants are on fire. It's hard as a manager not to really like that."

Stat of the day: The Tribe is 16-6 in Cleveland since April 30.

The Tribe would not confirm the news, but late Friday evening, Frazier made his excitement public on Twitter.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians No. 1 draft pick Clint Frazier agreed to terms on his signing bonus with the team and is expected to sign today, according to Frazier. The Tribe would not confirm the news, but late Friday evening, Frazier made his excitement public on Twitter.

I have agreed to terms on my signing bonus with the @Indians, I will sign tomorrow !! #Tribe

— Clint Frazier (@CJF19) June 14, 2013

The Indians had a $3.787 million slotting bonus to sign Frazier, but got the deal done for $3.5 million. He had committed to go to the University of Georgia. Frazier is an outfielder from Loganville High School in Georgia. Baseball America, which first reported the signing, ranked him as its best high school prospect..

The 5-11, 190-pound Frazier can play center or right field. He hit .485 with 17 homers and 45 RBI in 32 games for Loganville in 2013. He led his school to the Class AAAA Georgia state championship as a junior when he hit .424 with 24 homers.

Staff writer Paul Hoynes contributed to this report.

Scott Pruett and teammate Memo Rojas dropped from first place in the point standings to fourth after coming away from the last Grand-Am race with zero points.

View full sizeScott Pruett, center, rides on the car with Memo Rojas, right, and Charlie Kimball, as owner Chip Ganassi waves the checkered flag after the team won this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. Pruett and Rojas are trying to bounce back from a tough race in Detroit.David Graham, Associated Press 

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Right now Scott Pruett is not smelling any roses. And he is certainly not drinking any wine.

Going into today's Diamond Cellar Classic Grand-Am race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Pruett and his teammate, Memo Rojas, are trying to rebound from a lost weekend at the last Grand-Am event.

A mishap before the end of the first lap at Belle Isle in Detroit finished the day for the three-time defending champs, leaving them with zero points from the event. A ruling that the crash was not their fault was of little consolation to the Chip Ganassi BMW race team. To receive points, a driver must compete in the race for at least 30 minutes.

"All we wanted were last-place points," Pruett said Friday as he prepared for qualifying for today's race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. "Now, instead of being one point out of the lead, we're 20 points back."

That puts them in fourth place in the Grand-Am DP series with the baby blue BMW machine that had two wins, a third and a fourth in the first four races of the season before Detroit.

Adding salt to the wound, Pruett's race team qualified seventh for today's race on Mid-Ohio's tight, winding and rolling circuit. This is a career five-time Grand-Am champion we're talking about. Yet rules are rules.

"This has changed the course of the championship," the veteran of 46 years behind the racing wheel said. In his younger years, the now 53-year-old would still be seething over the misfortune. Now, he has mellowed like the variety of roses he grows and the wine he blends and sells online from his Auburn, Calif. home.

"All our appeals have been made," he said. "We have to take what's given to us and keep going down the road. Mathematically, we're still in (the title race). Realistically, we probably need the leaders to have something happen to them, catastrophic, like us. But that doesn't mean we are not going to try. We're going to make it as hard on them as we can."

With that, the conversation changes to Pruett's more gentle pursuits, like his roses and his wines.

"I do all the wine making," he said.

From the planting and the harvesting to the blending, the veteran driver who has left his mark in open wheel, stock cars and sports cars is active in every aspect of the business, which is exclusively online. He rattles off the competitions his wines have competed in and won like the checkered flags he has collected in his long and varied career.

"The most enjoyable is the picking," he said. "The whole family is heavily involved, a lot of fun for everybody. No stomping, just picking."

Oh, brother: It's father's day weekend, so Jordan Taylor and his brother, Ricky gave dad, Wayne, an early gift. Following close qualifying around the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Circuit, Jordan edged his brother for the pole to start today's Diamond Cellar Classic with a top lap speed of 105.642 mph, meaning the brothers will be side-by-side when the green flag drops.

The brothers said in all their years of racing, this will mark the first time they will start a race side-by-side.

"We gave him the pole," said Ricky, 23, who clocked in at 105.567 mph.

Jordan, 22, races his Corvette for his dad while Ricky races his Corvette for rival Spirit of Daytona Racing. Yet both drivers say there is no sibling rivalry between them.

Jordan said his brother, "is probably the last person I want to bump off (the pole)."

Still, the starting spot is critical as the first right-hand turn in the race favors Jordan, but the quick left-hander that follows favors Ricky if he can hold position and keep his brother from pulling away. Friend, foe or family, that should generate some early excitement. But the brothers said don't count on it.

"No fireworks," Jordan said.

"That's exactly my plan," Ricky said. "It will be fun. We both think about each other in the car." One big nut: Ohio State University junior mechanical engineering major, Patrick Gallagher from Thornville, Ohio, plans to honor his university by wearing a Buckeye-inspired helmet representing Ohio State this weekend when he competes at Mid-Ohio in the 2013 SCCA Pro Mazda Playboy MX-5 Cup. Gallagher is currently fifth in the championship standings, tops among all rookies in the field.

After the race, the helmet will be signed and auctioned with all funds benefiting the Hematosis and Thrombosis Center at the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

A sore left elbow or wrist is troubling Woods, but he wasn't interested in giving details.

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Is he injured or not?

Did Tiger Woods aggravate a sore left elbow or wrist during Friday's second round of the U.S. Open? Television viewers on Friday saw Woods occasionally wince during his round of even-par 70, which left him within striking distance of leaders Phil Mickelson and Billy Horschel with a 36-hole score of 3-over 143.

Woods brushed off questions about the injury during a brief post-round interview. "Pain," was the reply when asked what he felt.

"It is what it is," he said after completing his first round that was halted by darkness on Thursday. "You move on and I've got to get ready for this next round."

Woods expanded briefly after his second 18.

"A few weeks ago," he said when asked when he first hurt himself.

"Playing golf at The Players," when asked how he hurt himself.

"One of the rounds," he offered when asked where he hurt himself at The Players.

Moving right along ...

Ever happen to you? Carl Pettersson was about to hit his second shot on the demanding 504-yard, par-5 fifth when an errant shot from the neighboring second hole rolled up and hit Pettersson's ball. He replaced it and went on to make par. The culprit was Brandon Crick, a 25-year-old Nebraska grad and veteran of various minitours.

Pick up the pace: The threesome of Bubba Watson, Nicholas Colsaerts and Dustin Johnson were put on the clock by USGA officials for slow play on the eighth hole.

"They are pretty fast players but they picked it up after that," said Steve Stricker, playing in the group behind with Mickelson and Keegan Bradley and in the thick of the race at even par. "So, that helped us. We all wanted to finish today. It's a big break for us not having to come back [Saturday]."

No requiem: Former champions Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover and Jim Furyk failed to make the cut, projected by the USGA at 8-over.

See ya: South African Louis Oosthuizen became an early casualty when he withdrew for an unrevealed medical reason after finishing his first round at 5-over 75. No further information was released.

Bold move: Amateur Cheng-Tsung Pan, one shot out of the lead after completing half of his second round on Friday, is playing in his second U.S. Open. His mother was a caddie at a local golf course in their homeland of Taipei. He came to America to attend the University of Washington. He said he did not know a soul when he relocated.

Rankings: Earlier this week John Hahn said Merion's 18th hole was the toughest on the course and the stats so far bear him out. The 521-yard finishing hole has been the scene of nine birdies, 106 pars, 129 bogeys, 34 double bogeys and four "others."

The easiest hole is the 115-yard 13th, which yielded 74 birdies, 196 pars, 28 bogeys and one double bogey.

BEREA, Ohio -- The final Friday night was a memorable one for the seniors who said goodbye to high school football with a rousing game in Finnie Stadium. "It's a moment to cherish," said Shaker Heights quarterback Jimmie Pope, a Georgetown recruit.

Central Catholic's Derrick Jones (96), playing for the West, brings down Bedford's Deon Carter during Friday's Cuyahoga County East-West All-Star Game at Finnie Stadium. - (Tim Harrison, Special to the Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio -- The final Friday night was a memorable one for the seniors who said goodbye to high school football with a rousing game in Finnie Stadium.

"It's a moment to cherish," said Shaker Heights quarterback Jimmie Pope, a Georgetown recruit.

There was plenty to appreciate, especially for Pope, in a Cuyahoga County East-West All-Star Game that featured five lead changes. Pope's 18-yard touchdown pass to Ben Vandertill (Chagrin Falls) with 1:35 remaining gave the East a 38-34 victory.

Vandertill made the play of the game almost by accident, coming down with the ball while falling between three defenders. The catch wasn't a sure thing to the crowd of more than 4,000 until the officials' hands went up.

"I tried to find an open area and all of a sudden my calves started cramping up," he said. "I was kind of falling backwards. The ball was coming to me and I see all these hands swiping across it. I just took a leap of faith and put my hands up and next thing I know, I'm on the ground with the ball in my lap."

The TD capped a 42-yard drive that was set up by a botched West onside kick, after Travis Tarnowski (North Royalton) had given the West a 34-31 lead with a 10-yard pass to Marquis Maines (John Marshall).

Pope, who was named East MVP, bounced back from interceptions on consecutive passes in the second quarter to lead the East with 118 yards passing and two touchdowns, completing 11 of 17 attempts. His first TD pass to Da'vonte Price (Shaw) sparked the East from a 14-0 deficit and began a 23-0 run. Pope (6-3, 220) also ran for a TD.

Wideout Nick Krempasky (North Royalton) was the West MVP with five receptions for 90 yards and one TD. Tarnowski completed 10 of 14 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 10 times for 21 yards and one TD. Krempasky, Tarnowski, QB Mike LaManna (St. Ignatius) and several other West players will continue as teammates in the fall at Ashland.

"It was good getting back out here and meeting new people, and building relationships with my teammates," Tarnsowski said. "It was an experience I'll remember."

Champion's attitude: East linebacker Myles Alexander (Euclid) had a big game with 12 tackles, including 1 1/2 for loss. "We played it like it was a championship game, not an all-star game," he said.

QB who? The game was loaded with quarterback talent with Pope, Tarnowski, LaManna, Doug Verbofsky (Midview) and Deon Carter (Bedford). But Alex Sommers? Who's he?

Sommers (Brooklyn) threw the one of game's biggest passes, taking a monster hit as he released a 33-yard laser to Krempasky, who made a nice catch in the back of the end zone. Sommers, a 6-2 receiver, threw the pass on a reverse handoff from LaManna. The play gave the West a 28-23 lead.

DBs shine: It wasn't just a quarterback game. The second quarter featured interceptions on three consecutive passes. Tom Rodriguez (North Olmsted) snagged a Pope pass in the end zone. Two plays later, Brionne Duke (Chanel) made a nice play to steal a Verbofsky pass on the left sideline. Pope was intercepted again in the end zone, this time by Grant Cunningham (Brecksville).

One week ago, Duke placed second at the state track meet in the 4x100-meter relay.

Ground game: Harry Durrah (Brush) led the East in rushing with 50 yards on four carries. Herb Walker (Glenville) picked up some big yards and scored a fourth-down TD from a yard out that gave the East a 31-28 lead with 5:28 to play. Walker also scored on a fumble recovery after a West punt returner lost the ball.

Pressure packed: West defensive end Derrick Jones (Central Catholic) and East defensive end Bobby Upshaw (Cleveland Heights) put consistent pressure on the QBs. West linebacker Brandon Friedrich (Olmsted Falls) had eight tackles.

East linebacker Terrance Roscoe (Euclid) and West linebacker Gary Bordek (Valley Forge) each had seven tackles. West linebacker Lavonte Robinson (St. Edward) was having a big game until suffering a leg injury in the third quarter. The Eastern Michigan recruit was helped off the field.

Coaches remembered: The family of the late Marcus Coldsnow was recognized at midfield before kickoff. Coldsnow, 35, was an assistant coach at Parma and, prior to that, at Ravenna Southeast. He died in October after a four-year battle with cancer. Players wore commemorative decals with "MC" on their helmets.

The all-stars also wore memorial decals honoring Bill Gutbrod and Joe Vadini, longtime area coaches who died within the last year.

Adaptive stars: Halftime featured Adapted Football League players, sponsored by the Achievement Centers for Children and the Browns, in a demonstration. The players took turns catching touchdown passes, and they lined up to slap hands with the all-stars as they returned to the field.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: twarsinskey@plaind.com, 216-999-4661

On Twitter: @TimsTakeCLE