GM Chris Antonetti said he's still trying to improve the team as Wednesday's 4 p.m. trading deadline approaches.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians have found a left-handed reliever. Now all they have to do is learn how to spell his name.

The Indians acquired Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis on Tuesday for minor league shortstop Juan Herrera. Rzepczynski, 27, was expected to join the team Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Right-hander Joe Martinez was designated for assignment to make room for Rzepczynski on the 40-man roster. GM Chris Antonetti indicated he was going to wait to add Rzepczynski to the 25-man roster until Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline for making non-waiver trades passes. Right-hander Vinnie Pestano was optioned to Class AAA Columbus to make room for Rzepczynski.

Pestano, a bullpen cornerstone over the past two seasons, has struggled with elbow problems and a drop in velocity this year. He's 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and six saves in 34 games.

It was an emotional scene in the locker room after the Indians rallied for a 7-4 victory over Chicago on Tuesday night.  After Pestano was told of his emotion, several teammates consoled him.

 Pestano later Tweeted, "@VinnieP52 Appreciate all the love Tribe fans. See you soon #I’llbeback #couldntresist.

Rich Hill is the only lefty in the Tribe's bullpen. Lefties Nick Hagadone, Scott Barnes and the departed David Huff all struggled in trials earlier this season.

Rzepczynski has spent most of the season at Class AAA Memphis. He opened the year with the Cardinals, but was sent down after struggling in April. He was just recalled from Memphis, making appearances against Atlanta on Sunday and Pittsburgh on Monday. He allowed two runs in one inning against the Pirates.

"We feel like we've gotten a left-handed reliever in Marc who has been very effective against left-handed hitters at the major-league level," said Antonetti. "In addition to that he has postseason experience and has pitched in some very pressurized games and those games we aspire to play in.

"We think he addresses a need in both the short and potentially the long term for the organization."

Rzepczynski has posted a 7.84 ERA in 11 appearances in the big leagues this year. In those games, lefties are hitting .294 (5-for-17) and righties .407 (11-for-27) against him. In the minors this year, lefties hit .185 (12-for-65) against Rzepczynski.

In a big-league career spanning 117 games with the Cardinals and Blue Jays, lefties are hitting .224 (73-for-326) and righties .271 (162-for-597) against Rzepczynski, who is nicknamed "Scrabble' for obvious reasons.

Lefties Hill, Hagadone, Barnes and Huff are a combined 1-4 with a 6.51 ERA (48 earned runs in 66 1/3 innings) in 80 relief appearances this year.

"He has a very good fastball, 90 mph to 92 mph, and a very good slider," said Antonetti. "We've had an interest in him since he pitched with Toronto."

Rzepczynski was Toronto's fifth round pick in 2007. He's eligible for arbitration after this season and eligible for free agency in 2016. He's making $1.1 million this year. As for when he'll join the club, Antonetti said, "We're still working through that. There's a lot that can happen in the next 24 hours."

Antonetti says he's still trying to improve the Indians before Wednesday's deadline.

Herrera was hitting .275 (41-for-149) with nine doubles, one homer and 11 RBI in 39 games at Class A Mahoning Valley. He played 31 games at shortstop and four at third base.

Big ticket value: The Indians inquired about several lefties before settling on Rzepczynski. They talked to the Giants about Javier Lopez, who pitched for manager Terry Francona in Boston. The Giants wanted right-hander Danny Salazar, the Tribe's top pitching prospect.

Lopez, a free agent at the end of this season, is 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in 45 appearances with the Giants.

The Indians were linked to Rockies' lefty Josh Outman as well. Carlos Carrasco, another minor league starter for the Tribe, was rumored to be a potential trading chip for Outman.

No bat here: From the outside looking in, Philadelphia's Michael Young would be a nice fit, but he has a complete no-trade clause. He has reportedly told the Phillies that the only place he'd agreed to be traded to is Texas, where he spent the first 13 years of his career.

New face: Josh Tomlin has joined the Indians to continue his rehab from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

"I think I'll throw an inning for Lake County (Class A) Thursday," said Tomlin. "I'm done with my rehab in Arizona. I think I knew every cactus by name in Goodyear."

The Indians train in Goodyear, Ariz.

Tomlin's goal is pitching for the Indians sometime in late August or September. Francona said that's realistic.

Phil Mickelson looks to return to 1996 form at Firestone and the Bridgestone Invitational.

AKRON, Ohio -- Is it a dream or is it reality? Phil Mickelson has had a hard time deciding between the two lately.

Mickelson, a favorite of the Firestone fans, held his first press conference Tuesday since winning the British Open. He let the media in on a little secret while talking about losing the U.S. Open at Merion and winning at Muirfield in the span of six weeks.

"I had something weird happen to me the Sunday morning of the U.S. Open that was really weird," he said. "When I woke up I had dreamed that I had already won the U.S. Open and so I had the same feelings and excitement that I had won. ... It was such a great feeling. And it took me over a minute to realize that I hadn't played the final round."

Mickelson went on to lose to Justin Rose over the closing holes.

"Every day I wake up in the last nine days and I wonder if -- honestly, I have to look at the (British Open claret jug) to make sure that I haven't just dreamt that, that I actually did win it. It's just one of those weird little things we all go through."

Heavy metal: Mickelson, who did not use a driver in Scotland, said he will carry one this week as he attempts to win at Firestone for the first time since the 1996 World Series of Golf.

"There's some holes I'd really like to use it on, some holes I think I'll need to use it on," he said.

Gotcha: Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, the defending champion, struck up a great working relationship during the last Ryder Cup. The two frequently exchange texts and emails.

Bradley texted Mickelson congratulations following his British title.

"I said, 'I know you're the golfing -- what is it, the champion golfer of the year, but I'll teach you how to play Akron (Firestone) if you want,'" Bradley said. "And he only responded with, 'I won there when you were nine years old.'"

Sergio on board: Oft-temperamental Sergio Garcia held court with a group of First Tee kids on the practice range on Tuesday and pledged his support to the program through the remainder of the FedExCup season.

Garcia, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, will donate $1,000 for each birdie and $2,000 for every eagle he makes through the completion of the Tour Championship. The pledge covers this week's Bridgestone, as well as next week's PGA Championship and the Wyndham Championship.

Hyde will miss games against Buffalo, San Diego State and at Cal.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Late Tuesday night Ohio State coach Urban Meyer announced a three-game suspension for senior running back Carlos Hyde. And Meyer said there are other things Hyde must do before he can return to game action, so it's at least three games, maybe more.

Was that a fair penalty?

Meyer said last week that he wanted the punishments at Ohio State to be as harsh or harsher than any in the country.

On one hand, Hyde was not charged by Columbus police. That's because the alleged victim chose not to press charges.

On the other hand, Hyde did something in a Columbus nightclub, though it is hard to tell exactly what. At the very least, after the woman swung her right arm at Hyde's face, he swung his left arm back at her.

Everything Meyer does with player discipline will come under scrutiny. That much is sure. Hyde, the leading rusher at tailback, will miss one-quarter of his final regular reason, sitting for games against Buffalo, San Diego State and at Cal. He will not miss any Big Ten action unless his suspension is lengthened.

So do you think Meyer got it right?

Jack Nicklaus will be honored as the Ambassador of Golf for the Bridgestone Invitational tonight.

View full sizeTiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus aren't rivals on the course, but they are certainly linked together at Firestone.Tony Dejak, Associated Press 

AKRON, Ohio -- Jack Nicklaus will be honored Wednesday night at Firestone Country Club as the Ambassador of Golf for the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Tiger Woods will eventually have the same honor. But when? That's anyone's guess. It has been 27 years since Jack's last major victory.

Nicklaus and Woods. Despite playing generations apart, under different course conditions with vastly different equipment, their names will forever be linked as two of the best that ever played.

The link includes a distinctive Firestone flavor. Dominating their respective eras, each has won seven times here, a course record. Woods won all seven of his titles on the South Course while Nicklaus won six times on the South and once on the North.

Are they the two best golfers ever? Those who put little stock in statistics might argue for Arnold Palmer, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, et al. But for those who measure greatness by the number of major championships won, it is indisputable Nicklaus and Woods are a cut or two above the others.

The 30-somethings will argue Woods is the best. The elders will argue for Nicklaus, who still has the edge in the all-important category of majors won. Nicklaus won 18 majors during a career that spanned nearly 30 years. Woods, in his 18th year on Tour, is next with 14. Nicklaus finished second in 19 majors. Woods has done that six times. The longest drought in winning majors for both is five years.

Nicklaus won 73 PGA Tour tournaments. Woods passed Nicklaus in that category in June of 2012 and now has won 78 times, second only to Snead's 82.

Woods has not won at Firestone since 2009 and has not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He will have opportunities to end those streaks over the next two weeks. Starting Thursday at Firestone, he chases his 18th WGC title. One week later he will attempt to draw one major win closer to Nicklaus at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

So, while the stage will belong to Nicklaus on Wednesday night, the week also holds a certain significance for Woods.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS

Nicklaus' victories at Firestone

1. A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING

World Series of Golf, Sept. 8-9, 1962

It was the inaugural, 36-hole, non-sanctioned exhibition designed to feature the winners from each of the four majors. But, Arnold Palmer made it a 3-man field after winning both the Masters and the British Open. One month earlier, Palmer set a South Course record for 36 holes (136) in winning the American Golf Classic while Nicklaus, the reigning U.S. Open champion, finished fourth. Nicklaus, 22, clipped one shot off Palmer's record with rounds of 66-69 and a four-shot win over Palmer and Gary Player, the reigning PGA champion.

Black and white of Nicklaus, Palmer and Player at Firestone

The Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry started earlier that summer when Nicklaus defeated Palmer by four in a playoff to win the U.S. Open at Oakmont after they had tied at 283. It was his first victory as a professional. At Firestone, he birdied three of the final nine holes to rally from a one-stroke deficit. He shot 76-66 in his two practice rounds, but stayed on the range until dusk after each. Obviously, the long sessions paid off.

2. PAR WAS A GOOD SCORE

World Series of Golf, Sept. 7-8, 1963

Nicklaus, winner of the Masters and the PGA Championship, was the only player in the 4-man field to shoot par (70-70) and held off late rallies by U.S. Open champion Julius Boros (72-69) and Palmer (72-71), who had secured the fourth spot by winning a playoff against Jackie Cupit and Phil Rodgers.

British Open champion Bob Charles shared the lead with Nicklaus after the first round but shot 77 to finish eight shots back. Boros trailed by four after 13 holes but birdied four of the next five holes to pull within one, but Nicklaus secured the victory with a par on the final hole, recovering from a drive that caught the rough and 2-putting from 90 feet. One day earlier he had 3-putted that green.

Palmer, nursing a sore shoulder, was five shots behind after six holes, but birdied six straight to pull into a tie. The rally fizzled when Palmer, who had become golf's all-time leading money winner, made double-bogey on the 13th hole -- one of the toughest on the course -- when his second shot from the right rough clipped the tree that stands at the cut of the dogleg.

3. FROM LAST TO FIRST

World Series of Golf, Sept. 9-10, 1967

Victory was as much a matter of survival as it was a comeback effort. Nicklaus, who had won his second U.S. Open in June, was in last place and trailed British Open champion Roberto DeVicenzo and PGA champion Don January by four shots after an opening 74 in the rain. He shot even-70 under windy conditions on Sunday, while DeVicenzo shot 76, January ballooned to a 78 and Masters champ Gay Brewer shot 74. Although the money was unofficial, it made Nicklaus the first man to win more than $200,000 in a single season.

4. LEE NEVER SURRENDERED

American Golf Classic, Aug. 8-11, 1968

In one of the most dramatic playoffs in PGA history and another come-from-behind effort, this time from a 5-shot deficit to third-round leader Don Bies (69-73-64-75), Nicklaus rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the 77th hole to defeat Tour rookie Lee Elder in sudden-death. Moments earlier, Elder's birdie attempt from 15 feet -- on the South's 17th hole -- burned the left edge of the cup.

Nicklaus, Elder and Frank Beard finished the 72 holes tied at even-280. With the playoff beginning on the par-5 16th, Beard fell out with a par to birdies by Nicklaus and Elder, with Nicklaus making a 17-foot putt on top of Elder's 28-footer. Elder, a 32-year-old black man making his South Course debut, battled Nicklaus "for every blade of grass," Plain Dealer golf writer Tom Place reported. He was in tears at the end.

5. BIRDIE BINGE

World Series of Golf, Sept. 12-13, 1970

Tied with Dave Stockton when they stepped on the 13th tee, Nicklaus unleashed one of the best putting performances of his career. He birdied 13 by making a 25-footer. He birdied 14 from 27 feet and saved par on the 15th by rolling in a 22-footer. He missed a 3-footer for birdie on the 16th, but made up for it with a 12-foot birdie on 17. When the smoke settled, Nicklaus had a 3-shot win over PGA champ Stockton and Masters winner Billy Casper. British Open winner Tony Jacklin was fourth.

6. THIRD-ROUND MAGIC ON THE MONSTER

PGA Championship, Aug. 7-10, 1975

Two months after winning what many believe to be the greatest Masters of all time, Nicklaus won his fourth PGA Championship and the 14th major of his career with three rounds of par or better. Again, he came from behind, overtaking eventual runner-up Bruce Crampton to win by two.

Highlighted by a Houdini-like escape on 16 in the third round, Nicklaus shot 67 to Crampton's 75. The eight-shot swing produced a four-shot lead entering the final 18 holes. While Nicklaus could only manage a 1-over 71 in the final round, no one was able to get closer than two shots.

But it was the third round in general -- and the 16th hole in particular -- that turned things around. No one told it better than Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated.

"What Nicklaus did on that long par-five hole was to turn a 20 into a remarkable five, and indeed it was the single hole that won him the championship. Jack played the 16th, or half of it at least, as wretchedly as he is capable of playing. On Firestone's 16th you can drive anywhere to the right and be safe. You can even hit it six fairways to the right and still be safe. Jack, naturally, drove to the left, up, down and over some trees and into a ravine even Firestone didn't know existed. Penalty. Shooting three and he is still 7,000 yards from the green.

"In order to get any kind of shot whatsoever he walked about 50 yards behind the hazard to drop the ball. Whereupon he hit something that soared as far to the right as he had driven to the left. Now, playing four, he was almost directly behind a huge tree. His only hope was to hit the world's highest and longest 9-iron toward the green, and pray that it cleared the tree. It did, with inches to spare. He had reached the green in four, but he still was 30 feet from the pin, and in a place where most of the population of the United States has three-putted, Nicklaus made the putt."

In December of that year in Cypress, Calif., Kultida and Earl Woods had a baby. They nicknamed him Tiger.

7. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET

World Series of Golf, Sept. 2-5, 1976

Nicklaus has always maintained the South Course is one of his all-time favorites. The North Course obviously fell to his liking as well. With turf problems on the greens plaguing the South Course, the event, official for the first time with 72 holes, was moved to the North and Nicklaus beat Hale Irwin by four shots with a score of 5-under 275.

Dave Hill and Hubert Green shared the lead after two rounds. Nicklaus was one shot back but was the only player in the field of 20 to shoot in the 60s in each of the final two rounds. The $100,000 winner's check was the largest Nicklaus ever won at Firestone.

Tiger's victories at Firestone

1. A RIVALRY IS BORN

World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Aug. 26-29, 1999

A stunning third-round 62 produced a 5-shot lead and helped Woods win for the first time in his third appearance. It was his fifth victory of the season. He would go on to win eight, including the PGA. At Firestone, Woods 2-putted from 60 feet on the final hole for a one-shot win over Phil Mickelson. But, it was the 8-under 62 that was the buzz. Woods missed an 18-foot putt on the final hole that would have tied Jose Maria Olazabal's course record. Mark Calcavecchia said, "That 62 could have easily been a 59. That's the best I've ever seen." Woods finished at 10-under 270 and Mickelson, after a closing 65, was the only one with a chance at catching him.

2. SHOT IN THE DARK

World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Aug. 24-27, 2000

This time Woods tied Olazabal's record with a second-round 61. Paired with an opening 64, he took the suspense out of the tournament as he cruised to an 11-shot win over Justin Leonard and Phillip Price with a tournament-record 21-under 259. The final round was delayed by inclement weather and Woods and Price finished as darkness fell. In an eerie setting, the fans surrounding the 18th green used cigarette lighters to provide some sort of target. Woods stuck an 8-iron shot to within two feet. Sitting on the balcony outside the club's 55th hole with Firestone employee Rick "Fuzzy" Fausnight, general manager Don Padgett said, "Look at that, Fuzz, it looks like a rock concert."

3. DOUBLE THREE-PEAT

World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Aug. 23-26, 2001

In the most dramatic of his seven wins at Firestone, Woods outlasted Jim Furyk in a gut-wrenching, can-you-top-this playoff that went seven holes and featured long par-saving putts and chip-ins. Woods made a 2-foot putt for birdie to win after starting the final round two shots behind Furyk. The final round started earlier than normal because inclement weather was in the forecast. "It was a war out there," Woods said at the time. "Neither of us gave an inch." It was the third straight win at Firestone for Woods, who several weeks earlier had done the same at the Memorial Tournament.

4. AN EARLY SHOWER

World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Aug. 18-21, 2005

Again, a strong start -- an opening 66 -- and a strong finish enabled Woods to hold at least a share of the lead at the end of each round. He won with a 6-under 274 to hold off Chris DiMarco (275), securing his fourth win at Firestone and his fifth of the season by making an 18-foot birdie putt on the demanding 16th hole. His biggest shot of the tournament, however, came on the final hole. Protecting his one-shot lead, Woods' second shot found its way between two trees and reached the green and a two-putt par from 25 feet resulted. "As soon as he hit the second shot on 18, I went up and took a shower," said DiMarco. Kenny Perry, who began the final round tied with Woods, had sole possession of the lead at one point but five bogeys on the back nine led to a closing 74 and a 277.

5. FROM THE ROOF

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Aug. 23-27, 2006

Woods beat 2004 winner Stewart Cink on the fourth extra hole after they had tied at 10-under 270, one shot better than Jim Furyk. But, it was Woods' second shot on the ninth hole of the second round that was memorable. His 9-iron shot flew over the green and between two grandstands. The ball hit the sidewalk and bounced onto the roof of the clubhouse, where it was retrieved by a surprised Firestone employee. Woods was permitted a drop from just in front of the clubhouse door, chipped to 25 feet and 2-putted for bogey and finished with a 6-under 64. Cink duplicated the 64 in the third round to take a one-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes but shot 69 to Woods' 68. A terrific 8-iron shot to 8-feet led to a birdie and led to Woods winning his fourth straight event.

6. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Aug. 2-5, 2007

Woods was the only player in the field to post three rounds in the 60s and he won by eight shots. No one else could break par 280. He also offered an answer to Rory Sabbatini, who said Woods "was more beatable than ever" after losing to Woods at the Wachovia Championship in May. Sabbatini led by one shot after three rounds but closed with a 4-over 74 -- to Woods' bogey-free 65. Later, Sabbatini withdrew from Tiger's Target World Championship. The victory was the 58th of Woods' career, moving him to within four of Arnold Palmer on the all-time list.

7. IT TURNED ON 16

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Aug. 6-9, 2009

This will be the tournament that was a cause for wonder. Did Woods win it or did third-round leader Padraig Harrington lose it? The bottom line is Woods took home the first-place check. Harrington stood on the tee of the famed 16th hole with a one-shot lead. Both hit their drives into the trees. Harrington was forced to punch out but failed to reach the fairway and things got worse when his next shot ended up in the pond that fronts the green. Woods laid up in the short grass and proceeded to hit his third shot to within three inches and made a birdie. Harrington went on to make a triple-bogey eight. The four-shot swing turned Woods' deficit into a 3-shot lead. Woods finished at 12-under 268 while Harrington and Robert Allenby were second at 272.

Highlights include the Indians' home game against the White Sox.

CLEVELAND, Ohio

BASEBALL

12:05 p.m. LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS at Fort Wayne, AM/1330

6:30 p.m. Big League World Series final, ESPN2

7 p.m. St. Louis at Pittsburgh, ESPN

7:05 p.m. AKRON AEROS at New Britain, AM/1350

7:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at CLEVELAND INDIANS, Sports Time Ohio; AM/1100, FM/100.7

8 p.m. Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs, WGN

SOCCER

Noon Audi Cup semi, Manchester City vs. AC Milan, ESPN2

2:15 p.m. Audi Cup semi, Sao Paulo at Bayern Munich, ESPN2

9 p.m. MLS All-Star Game, MLS All-Stars vs. AS Roma, ESPN2

Ryan Raburn's two-run single highlighted a four-run eighth inning as the Indians came from behind.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Trade rumors are swirling around the White Sox. Scheduled starter Jake Peavy was scratched from Tuesday’s start and is reportedly headed to Boston before today’s 4 p.m. trading deadline.

There are also trade rumors about outfielder Alex Rios and shortstop Alexei Ramirez. These are unsettling times, indeed, and the Indians did nothing to calm things for the visitors as they scored four times in the eighth to rally for a 7-4 victory at Progressive Field.

The Indians have won six straight games and moved to a season-high 10 games above .500 at 58-48. Chicago has lost five straight and 11 of its past 14.

Brazilian right-hander Andre Rienzo, called up from Class AAA Charlotte to replace Peavy, did a nice job in his big-league debut. But as soon as he left after seven innings, the Indians pounced on the White Sox bullpen.

• White Sox-Indians boxscore | Scoreboard | Standings

Trailing, 4-3, with two out in the eighth, pinch hitter Ryan Raburn’s two-run single off Matt Lindstrom produced a 5-4 lead.

After a single by Lonnie Chisenhall, Yan Gomes, the Indians’ Brazilian catcher, doubled home Raburn and Chisenhall for insurance.

Raburn is hitting .349 (22-for-43) with 22 RBI with two out.

“It seems I couldn’t do anything right last year, and now I can’t do anything wrong,” said Raburn, who won Friday night’s game against Texas with a three-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning.

Raburn hit .171 with Detroit last year and was released at the end of the season.

Asdrubal Cabrera started the rally with a one-out single off Donny Veal (1-2). Carlos Santana kept it going with a two-out single to bring Lindstrom into the game. Drew Stubbs pinch-ran for Santana, stole second and scored on Raburn’s single for the go-ahead run.

“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit, and he left one up for me that I was able to do something with,” Raburn said. “You have to realize the pressure is on the pitcher. You just try not to do too much.”

The win went to Bryan Shaw (2-2). Chris Perez pitched the ninth for his 15th save. Perez is 9-for-9 in save situations since coming off the disabled list June 27.

“This is a night where [Indians General Manager] Chris Antonetti deserves part of the win,” said manager Terry Francona. “He put together a roster where we’ve got a guy like Raburn who we can pinch-hit, and it doesn’t matter if they bring in a right-hander [Lindstrom]. Or Stubbs can come into a game and steal a base after he’s been sitting for eight innings.

“This was a good team win. We showed our versatility.”

Tribe starter Scott Kazmir came out for the sixth and waited several minutes for the grounds crew to do some repair work on the mound. He was apparently having trouble with his landing spot.

The White Sox didn’t have any problem with him. Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn greeted him with singles to open the inning. Konerko dribbled a ball in front of the plate. It should have been an easy out, but Kazmir and Gomes converged on the ball at the same time. Gomes grabbed it but had no play.

Dunn’s single ended Kazmir’s night.

Matt Albers relieved. Jeff Keppinger grounded into a 5-4-3 double play as Konerko went to third. Dayan Viciedo lined a single to center — second baseman Jason Kipnis put leather on it but couldn’t catch it — to give Chicago a 4-3 lead.

Kazmir allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings. He struck out three and threw 87 pitches.

The Indians, trailing, 3-0, tied the score in the fifth with three unearned runs.

Michael Brantley opened with a walk and Santana reached on a fielder’s choice when Ramirez bobbled Santana’s hard shot off the mound. His throw to second to force Brantley was a tad late.

After Jason Giambi struck out, Chisenhall singled to right to load the bases. Gomes worked a four-pitch walk to bring home Brantley for the Tribe’s first run.

With the bases still loaded, Michael Bourn sent a grounder to first. Dunn threw to second to force Gomes as Bourn beat the relay back to first to allow Santana to score. When Bourn crossed the bag, he accidentally stepped on Rienzo’s foot. Rienzo went down as Chisenhall came around to score the tying run.

Rienzo was limping badly, but he walked it off and stayed in the game. The Indians missed a chance to take the lead as Nick Swisher doubled and Kipnis walked to reload the bases. Asdrubal Cabrera flied out to left to end the inning.

Kazmir allowed three runs, all unearned, on five hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked three.

Chicago took a 3-0 lead on Dunn’s two-run double in the first and Josh Phegley’s RBI single in the second. 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: 

phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158 

The Indians will face the White Sox as they go for a season-best seventh straight victory overall and their first seven-game run over the White Sox since an eight-game stretch June 11-Sept. 1, 1976.

 

» Get updates from the pressbox here

» You can also follow Tweets about the game and post your thoughts in the comments section.

Tweets from @clevelanddotcom/indians

Ohio horse owners John Green and Joe Sbrocco have trotters to cheer on Saturday at Hambletonian Day at Meadowlands Racetrack. Green's Dreams of Thunder in the $1.2 million Hambletonian and Sbrocco's Ma Chere Hall battling in the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks.

Jockey Hector Rosario Jr. is all smiles after riding Title Contender to victory in Saturday's $100,000 Ohio Derby. JJ Zamaiko, Special to The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio horse owners Joe Sbrocco of Brecksville and John C. Green of Canfield will have Hambletonian Day trotters to cheer on Saturday at Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J.

Trying to make their dreams come true are Swedish-born trainer Jonas Czernyson and reinsman Corey Callahan. Czernyson conditions Dreams Of Thunder, owned by Green Acquisition Corp., and feels the colt has earned the chance to trot in the $1.2 million Hambletonian, the second leg of trotting's Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Czernyson also trains Sbrocco's Ma Chere Hall, a filly that finished second to highly regarded Bee A Magician in an elimination last week for the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old fillies.

Callahan, the leading North American driver, has been in the sulky for both trotters.

The Hambletonian returns to the traditional format this year of eliminations and a final on the same program. The wide-open field of 23 was divided into three $70,000 heats, with Royalty For Life, Wheeling N Dealin and Corky the morning line favorites. The top three finishers in each heat, along with the highest money-earner among the fourth place finishers, return later Saturday afternoon for the $1 million final.

The Hambletonian is featured live in a 90-minute broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 3:30 p.m.

Green's three-year-old trotter Dreams Of Thunder is racing in the first elimination and isn't among the favorites with only one win in six starts this year. Czernyson told Hambletonian officials he wished he had two more weeks to get the trotter ready, but thinks the colt has the speed to compete. Green purchased Dreams Of Thunder, a son of Donato Hanover, last September. After sending him to Ohio trainer Jim Arledge Jr., the trotter was shipped in June to Czernyson in New Jersey, and trotted a 1:55.1 mile mark at the Meadowlands. 

Ma Chere Hall drew the outside post position in the field of 10 for the Hambletonian Oaks. A daughter of Deweycheatumnhowe, Ma Chere Hall was a 1:55 winner in the $108,000 Currier & Ives at The Meadows in Washington, Pa., in her first start of the season. The filly finished second by a neck to Hambletonian-bound colt E L Rocket in 1:53.4 at the Meadowlands, and captured the $27,000 Reynolds Memorial there in 1:52.4. Ma Chere Hall won the $202,500 Kindergarten Classic Filly Final at Vernon Downs in Vernon, N.Y. in 2012, the two-year-old setting a track record of 1:54.3.

Sbrocco also has a share of ownership in a pair of two-year-old trotters competing in separate $280,500 divisions of Saturday's Peter Haughton Memoria at the Meadowlands. Song In My Heart is chasing a second win in four starts, while Great Society trots after the first win of his career.

Thoughts about the Ohio Derby: Creating an interesting Ohio Derby isn't all about the money.

ThistleDown Racino's Director of Racing Pat Ellsworth proved it can be done on a budget last Saturday, bringing together a well-matched seven-horse field for a Grade III race with a purse of only $100,000. Title Contender was the 2-1 choice of the fans and Fiery Marco the longest shot at 15-1. It was a competitive race, a crowd pleaser, and sure beat last year's field of four dominated by prohibitive favorite Prospective.

In comparison, Saturday's $750,000 West Virginia Derby and all-stakes program at Mountaineer Racetrack is expected to have the joint jumping -- and wagering three times as much as usual. Probable for the race are Illinois Derby winner Departing and Overanalyze, winner of the Arkansas Derby. A one-hour race telecast is being carried on local networks.

General Manager Rick Skinner has said Thistledown will upgrade the Ohio Derby in the coming years. A major league purse and solid marketing are the only ways ThistleDown's signature race will bring out the fans and grab the national spotlight.

Pitcher's recovery from Tommy John surgery progressing nicely.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Seen and heard at Progressive Field on Wednesday as the Indians prepared to play the White Sox:

Clubhouse confidential: Right-hander Josh Tomlin, on the 60-day disabled list while recovering from Tommy John surgery, will pitch one inning or 25 pitches Thursday for Class A Lake County.

Tomlin's surgery was Aug. 22, 2012. He set a goal to return to the majors exactly one year later. Indians manager Terry Francona has said it is a possibility that Tomlin could help at some point. Tomlin is a starter, but his contribution this season almost certainly would be as a reliever.

"Anything they need from me, I'll do,'' said Tomlin, who went 12-7 with a 4.25 ERA in 26 starts for the Tribe in 2011.

As expected, Tomlin grew antsy during the down time.

"You want to be a part of it instead of watching on TV,'' he said.

Tomlin recently returned to Cleveland after two one-inning outings with the rookie-level Arizona League Indians, meaning he was a teammate of outfielder Clint Frazier. The Indians made Frazier the fifth pick in June out of Loganville (Ga.) High School.

In 21 games through Monday, Frazier was batting .325 (27-for-83) with three homers, 18 RBI and 15 runs. He had seven walks and 28 strikeouts.

"When Frazier squares up the ball, it's a different sound from what you usually get down there,'' Tomlin said. "It's a sound you hear in the majors a lot; you know it when you hear it. He backspins the ball very well. His ball just takes off.''

Tomlin said he liked what saw from Frazier on and off the field.

"I've only known him for a couple weeks, but I'm impressed,'' Tomlin said. "His makeup's solid. He loves the game. He's a pretty confident kid, and he knows what he's doing on the field.''

Homer happy: Jason Giambi has hit nine career walkoff homers, the most recent coming Monday night against the White Sox. While the thrill has remained the same, the celebrations have not. Giambi, 42, has noticed more and more layers since his first walkoff homer Aug. 12, 2001.

"You're in the age of Twitter and YouTube and Instagram and everything else,'' he said. "So I think that's why guys get more creative. When I started, half of our games weren't even on TV. Heck, when I started, there was no walk-up music. Now you can't not have a guy come out to music, or people are going to wonder what's wrong.''

After a bad start to the season, Dario Franchitti and the Chip Ganassi race team have regrouped and are now challenging for an IndyCar series title.

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- For all the things that have gone wrong for Dario Franchitti this season, and the list is long, he is still in the hunt to win the fifth series championship of his career.

Going into Sunday's Honda 200 IndyCar race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Franchitti is tied for sixth in the points race, 118 points behind Helio Castroneves, who is sitting in first place.

With five races remaining, his title chances are a long shot -- yet much shorter than they have looked at various points this season.

"At one point this season we were dead last,'' Franchitti said by phone last week as he took a break with family and friends in his native United Kingdom. "We had a mechanical failure and a crash the first two races. So the guys have managed to work us back up there. We feel like we've turned the corner since Pocono, so we'll see what the rest of the year brings.

"Let's get to the end of this season, do the best job we can every race, and see where we end up in points. We are still trying to get in position to challenge for a championship. We are still in this thing. We've had some success there before. We're there to win, not to mess around. Of course it's easy to say that. The tough part is making it happen."

In the three races since Pocono, Franchitti has finished third twice and fourth once, which is what one would expect from a driver who won three of his four series championships in 2009-11, plus his third Indianapolis 500 in 2012. Snapping out of the tough times leading up to Pocono is the sign of a race team that knows the bad times come with the good, and the challenge is to make the bad times short so the good times can roll again.

Franchitti is racing under a Chip Ganassi team banner that is waving strong in the breeze. The team swept the podium at Pocono and won both races at Toronto. Now Ganassi heads to the 13-turn Mid-Ohio circuit, where the team has won the last four races, one with Franchitti taking the checkered flag in 2010.

Points leader Castroneves is clearly the driver to beat, with nine straight Top 10 finishes under his belt. But the Ganassi team is also on the move. Scott Dixon, second in the points race, is a four-time winner and defending champion at Mid-Ohio. Meanwhile, Franchitti keeps climbing.

"The season started off pretty bad at St. Pete, obviously, with the crash,'' Franchitti said. "And I think we did a lot of stuff, development-wise, over the winter that didn't work. We discovered that pretty quick. We were pretty fast on the street courses, but we just couldn't put a whole race together.

"Either it was bad pit stops, or me making mistakes, or bad strategy, or just plain bad luck, it seemed like all that came together at once. And on the ovals, up until Pocono, we were really pretty bad, really off the pace. Then we had a really good feeling at Pocono with that good finish.

"Now the performance is there. We're working good in the pits. We're starting to tie races together, and tie all the things together that it takes to win a race. I think it's only a matter of time right now before we get on the top step of the podium.''

Franchitti will look to do that Sunday afternoon at the twisting Mid-Ohio Course. He is also looking for his first victory since winning Indy in 2012. A victory would not only close the gap in the points race, but be the final sign that Franchitti's brief stint at the back of the pack is a thing of the past.

"There's such a thing as understanding, yes we've had some rough years along the way, so when you have the really great years, it is understanding it's not always going to be like that,'' he said. "Sometimes you are going to be left behind. Instead of just resigning yourself to fate, the challenge for me and the team becomes, how fast can you get it all back together. That's what we're doing now. And we are starting to see the results.''

A Mid-Ohio victory would make that loud and clear.

Join cleveland.com's Glenn Moore as he talks Browns with The Plain Dealer's Tom Reed tonight at 9 p.m.

cleveland.com's Glenn Moore and his guest will recap today's practice at 9 p.m. (john Kuntz / The Plain Dealer) 

// username and password used for direct login only
var directUsername = "";
var directPassword = "";
var roomPassword = "";
var roomID = "1522";
var roomName = "www.cleveland.com Room";
var privateChatCID = "";

// logoPath should be swf/png/jpg/gif, approximately 200x30
// bgPath should be swf/png/jpg/gif, size will be stretched to the full background
// bgColor if no background is desired
var logoPath = "http://www.cleveland.com/chatblazermod/images/logo.jpg";
var bgPath = "";
var bgColor = "";
var barColor = ""; // #336699
var textColor = ""; // #FFFFFF

// Size of ChatBlazer application in % or pixels
var chatWidth="480";
var chatHeight="312";

// path of chat
var flashPath="ChatBlazer8"+(mainSkin!=""?"_"+mainSkin:"")+".swf?cb=1";

function addParam(pname,pval) {
if (typeof pval!="undefined" && pval) { flashPath = flashPath + "&"+pname+"=" + encodeURIComponent(pval); }
}

addParam("lang",mainLang);
addParam("config",mainConfig);
addParam("skin",mainSkin);
addParam("username",directUsername);
addParam("password",directPassword);
addParam("roompass",roomPassword);
addParam("roomid",roomID);
addParam("roomname",roomName);
addParam("privatechatcid",privateChatCID);
addParam("logo",logoPath);
addParam("bgpath",bgPath);
addParam("bgcolor",bgColor);
addParam("barcolor",barColor);

if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE") != -1) {
addParam("isIE","1");
}

embedFlash(flashPath,chatWidth,chatHeight,"cb8",sourceBase, "#000000");
//-->

Indians' new reliever hopes to turn around a poor season with a strong effort in a chase for a playoff spot. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians' new reliever, he of the Scrabble-worthy last name, officially joined the club Wednesday.

The Indians acquired left-hander Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis on Tuesday for minor-league shortstop Juan Herrera. Rich Hill had been the Tribe's lone lefty reliever.

"My original family name was 21 letters,'' Rzepczynski said. "I guess I'm happier having an 11-letter last name than a 21-letter last name.''

It is pronounced zep-CHIN-skee.

"The name is Polish, but I'm actually more German than anything else,'' he said. "I don't know where they came up with it, but it is what it is, unfortunately. My nickname, at least with the guys, is 'Zep.' Nice and short. Just call me Zep or Marc.''

The Indians will call him Billy Joe Jim Bob as long as he gets lefties out. For the season, Tribe left-handed relievers entered Wednesday with a combined 1-4 record and 6.51 ERA (48 earned runs in 66 1/3 innings) in 80 appearances.

Rzepczynski has spent most of the season at Class AAA Memphis. He opened the year with the Cardinals, but was sent down after a rough April. He had just been recalled from Memphis, making appearances against Atlanta on Sunday and Pittsburgh on Monday. He allowed two runs in one inning against the Pirates.

Rzepczynski posted a 7.84 ERA in 11 appearances for the Cardinals. Lefties were hitting .294 (5-for-17) and righties .407 (11-for-27) against him. In the minors this year, lefties hit .185 (12-for-65).

"Pitch selection has been a big thing for me,'' Zep said. "Sometimes, I got happy with throwing fastballs, but I don't throw 98. I need to mix it up a lot, especially against righties. Here, starting fresh, I'm going to try to pitch my game and see what happens.''

Rzepczynski's major-league career through Tuesday comprised 117 games with the Blue Jays and Cardinals. Lefties were hitting .224 (73-for-326) and righties .271 (162-for-597).

"We did a lot of homework on him, and a lot of people we really respect spoke very highly of him,'' Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He's not having the best year, but his stuff is not down. He's not hurt. He's supposed to be a good kid. Maybe we can catch a little bit of a break.''

The Indians designated right-hander Joe Martinez for assignment to make room for Rzepczynski on the 40-man roster. They optioned right-hander reliever Vinnie Pestano, one of their most popular players, to Class AAA Columbus to make room for Rzepczynski in the big-league clubhouse.

"Unfortunately, I've taken Vinnie's spot,'' Zep said. "I've known Vinnie since before high school.''

Pestano and Rzepczynski grew up in California.

"I actually faced him in Little League, and he hit me right in the back,'' Zep said. "He threw hard back then. Crushed me right in the kidney.''

Pestano pitched superbly the previous two seasons as the primary setup man for closer Chris Perez. Pestano had a 2.32 ERA in 67 appearances in 2011 and 2.57 ERA in 70 innings in 2012. But he struggled with elbow issues, mechanics and a drop in velocity this year; he is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and six saves in 34 games for Cleveland.

"About three weeks ago, we had talked to Vinnie about getting him out of that eight-inning role and into a position he could get his confidence back and get some consistency,'' Francona said. "That was becoming harder to do as we played more and more one-run games and close games. We felt that the best way to get him back to being Vinnie was to send him to Triple-A.''

Francona thinks Pestano's workload the past two years might have caught up with him. Pestano also pitched in the WBC during spring training.

"With success comes a lot of innings,'' Francona said. "I'm not blaming anybody; I've done the same thing. The guys who are pitching well, you run them out there. But sometimes you get to the point where, when you're throwing that much, you need to alter your throwing program. He's probably at that point now.

"He's not throwing quite as hard as he once was. He's kind of stuck in the middle right now. At the major-league level, especially pitching late in games, it's hard to make those adjustments. Hopefully, he gets to Triple-A and has some time to work on them.''

News of Pestano's demotion Tuesday night startled the clubhouse. Beyond Pestano, nobody took the news harder than his close friend Jason Kipnis and fellow reliever Joe Smith. For the time being, Kipnis is without a roommate in Cleveland.

"It reminds you that it's still a business,'' Kipnis said. "That the front office still has a job to do, and they're putting the team forward that they think is best capable of winning games. It's hard. You never like to see anybody go. One of the fortunate parts is, you don't have to make any of those decisions.''

Smith and Pestano have been central figures in Cleveland's "Bullpen Mafia.''

"It stinks,'' Smith said, "Obviously, when you see him go down, you're like, 'Dang, man, we just lost one of our big pieces.' But everybody who has been around baseball long enough knows this is part of it -- no matter how much it stinks or how badly we want him throwing that eighth inning.

"Knowing Vinnie, he's going to take it as a chip on his shoulder and work his butt off to get back here as soon as possible. And when he gets back up here and we're in a playoff race, we're going to need him. He's going to be a big part of this.''

The legendary Jack Nicklaus was presented the Ambassador of Golf award on Wednesday at Firestone Country Club, which holds a special place in his heart.

AKRON, Ohio -- Firestone Country Club always will hold a special place in the heart of golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

It was where he started his remarkable professional career, playing in his first PGA tournament, the Rubber City Open, back in 1958, when he was an 18-year-old newlywed.

So what better spot for the 73-year-old Nicklaus to receive the Ambassador of Golf award than on the first tee at Firestone on Wednesday on the eve of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational?

"This has been a pretty special place for me,'' Nicklaus said. "I have so many great memories of Firestone and of all the years I played here, even the memory that I got carried off the practice tee in 1981 when my back went out on me. It didn't make any difference. I loved coming up here. I loved playing the golf course. It suited my eye. It suited my game. I don't care what's going on. I'm going to get to Firestone sometime and I'll be able to play well there.''

The Ambassador of Golf award is presented annually by the Northern Ohio Golf Charities to a person who has fostered the ideals of golf on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course.

"I think these qualities fit this man to a tee,'' said Barbara Nicklaus, Jack's wife, who won the award in 1990 and presented it to her husband on Wednesday before an appreciative crowd of several hundred fans and invited guests.

Nicklaus recounted several of his successes at Firestone, including victories at the 1968 American Golf Classic, the 1975 PGA Championship and the 1976 World Series of Golf. He also won the World Series of Golf as an exhibition event in 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1970, before the wins were considered official PGA Tour events.

But the story that seemed to mean the most to him was the one about his first visit to that Rubber City Open.

"I was 18 years old, and Barbara came up with me, and we drove back and forth to Columbus every night after the round,'' Nicklaus said. "I played with Charlie Sifford the first two rounds and I shot 66-67 and was one shot behind Art Wall. Tommy Bolt was one shot behind me, and he was the U.S. Open champion, and we played together the next day. Here's an 18-year-old kid playing with the U.S. Open champion and had a chance to win a golf tournament.

"I remember Tommy putting his arm around me walking down the first hole. 'Don't you worry, Jackie boy, old Tommy will take care of you.' He was giving me the business right off the bat. I missed six three-foot putts on the front nine, little short things. Tommy didn't bother with me. He got rid of me fast on the front nine. It's part of the education of a golfer.''

And his wife. The story included an anecdote about driving home with Barbara after one of the rounds and Nicklaus complaining about a shot on the 13th hole.

"We were both 18 years old,'' Nicklaus recalled with a smile. "She looked around and she said, '13th hole? I'm supposed to remember the 13th hole? I'm supposed to remember what kind of shot he hit? This is never going to work.'''

The story drew the laughter Nicklaus knew it would, but there were other serious elements to Nicklaus' acceptance speech. 

He talked about his dad buying cigars for Sifford, about imitating the picture-perfect swing of Julius Boros after playing with Boros in the final round of the Rubber City Open and tying for 12th place. He talked about Barbara not telling him when she was going into labor with their first child, son Jack, because she didn't want Nicklaus to withdraw from a tournament. 

He talked about how Barbara raised their children on her own, allowing him to pursue his dream, and how she was the driving force behind so much of the charitable work they do for children. He paid tribute to black pioneers like Sifford and Lee Elder, and his great competitors and friends Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino.

"We all played the game and we played for the love of the game and the love of the competition,'' Nicklaus said. "That's what it was all about. The golf was my vehicle to competition. I learned early in my career that golf was the vehicle to giving back, too, and making a difference.''

A fan yelled, "We love you, Jack.'' Nicklaus responded, "Thank you.''

Then he seemed to be overwhelmed by the moment. His voice caught and his eyes teared as he continued, "I don't know if I'm an ambassador. All I could do was be the best I could be at the sport and with the help of Barbara, she's tried to make me the best person I could be.''

For others, there's no question Nicklaus is most worthy of the title of ambassador.

Wednesday's emcee Steve Sands of the Golf Channel called him ''the ambassador of all ambassadors of golf.''

PGA commissioner Tim Finchem added, "What a great recognition for a guy who is as good as what he is to articulate what's great about the game of golf. This is a great day.''

Tiger Woods said he hadn't had a chance to see Nicklaus on Wednesday, but absolutely agreed with his selection.

"He's done it better than anyone else has for as long as you can possibly do it,'' Woods said. "I mean, he's won at all levels, and he's influenced this game not just here in the United States but all around the world, especially with his golf course design…..What he's meant to the game of golf and the generations he's influenced, it's pretty incredible.''

Receiver Josh Gordon sits out second straight practice with tendinitis in knee

BEREA, Ohio -- The sixth day of Browns training camp brought a visit from the NFL Network and Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who works as an analyst for the network.

Faulk was effusive in his praise for Trent Richardson and his willingness to play through the pain of broken ribs last season.

“The position is one as such that it’s not about how healthy you are. It’s how unhealthy you can play at times, and that’s what being reliable at the position is," Faulk said.

Richardson has the ability, Faulk said, to be an every down back. “It’s in him to be great. He wants it.” He added that he expects the offense to improve under coordinator Norv Turner. He wouldn’t be surprised, Faulk said, if Turner parlays the opportunity into another head-coaching gig.

Highlights from the field:

• Josh Gordon sat out his second straight practice with patellar tendinitis in his knee. Coach Rob Chudzinski said he expects to have the receiver back in a couple of days. Gordon has not had an MRI.

• Strong safety T.J. Ward participated in practice, but took some reps off, resting a hamstring strain, Chudzinski said. Free safety Tashaun Gipson (shoulder) missed his second straight practice. Johnson Bademosi replaced him again and had a nice interception on a deflected ball.

• Running back Montario Hardesty (strained hamstring) returned to practice and took part in 11 on 11s.

• Defensive lineman Desmond Bryant (back spasms) participated in individual drills, but not in team activities. Billy Winn took his first-team reps.

• Tight end Gary Barnidge has been noticeable almost every day of camp. He’s getting reps as an H-back and making some catches. On Tuesday, he made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone on a Brandon Weeden pass in a red-zone drill.

• Weeden smacked his right hand on the helmet of Jabaal Sheard. He shook his hand for a moment, but then threw one of his best passes in camp – a rope to Jordan Cameron on a seam route for a 40-yard touchdown. Weeden also fired a 50-yard TD strike to Travis Benjamin later in practice

• Greg Little had the on-field quip of the day. The wideout had his man beat on a crossing route, but Weeden elected to throw to another target. Little yelled out: “I’m like 7-11, always open.”

• Team owner Jimmy Haslam attended practice. He plans to throw out the first pitch at the Lake Erie Crushers’ game on Friday.

The Buckeyes don't play any SEC teams this season, but they'll be compared to them.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Consider Ohio State an honorary member of the SEC, at least this season. The Buckeyes may have more rivals there than they do in the Big Ten.

Florida coach Will Muschamp goaded Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes after Ohio State reported some potential recruiting violations involving the Gators that turned out to be nothing. And he did so while referring to Ohio State as “Ohio,” then saying he'd always liked Brady Hoke.

Arkansas coach and former Wisconsin boss Bret Bielema wrote on Twitter last week, “It's a Sunday night and excited about the week ahead. Was good week of recruiting especially against "THE" University's of the world.” That came after Arkansas earned an oral commitment from an offensive line recruit who had Ohio State in his final two.

It's a Sunday night and excited about the week ahead. Was good week of recruiting especially against "THE" University's of the world. #WPS

— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) July 29, 2013

And then there's Alabama.

In May, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban answered honestly when asked if the Buckeyes would have gone 12-0 last year playing in the SEC.

"How well would they have done if they had played the six teams that were ranked in the top 10? Would they have beat them all? Would they beat three of them?" Saban asked. "And I think they have a really good team and I think Urban is a great coach. I'm not questioning any of that. But I'm just saying that's where the strength of schedule and who you play doesn't get sort of accounted for quite equally."

Countdown No. 5: Rely on less Braxton Miler

Countdown No. 6: Learning leadership from John Simon

He's right. But Ohio State can't play an SEC schedule. The Buckeyes have to play a Big Ten schedule. So while it won't be determined on the field any time before Jan. 6 in the BCS National Championship, if at all, the SEC will be part of Ohio State's 2013 season. Especially Alabama. So No. 4 on the countdown of the most important things in Ohio State's season is …

No. 4: Dealing with the Bama talk

Four days until the start of preseason practice

Ohio State should start the season ranked in the top three in the preseason polls, up there with two SEC teams in Alabama and Texas A&M. Analysts like Phil Steele are predicting an Alabama-Ohio State title game matchup. For a team coming off a perfect season, in a far from perfect league, just thinking about the Big Ten isn't enough.

“I don't think it's just the Big Ten, I think everyone is chasing the SEC,” Meyer said last week. “And it's well-deserved. If you look in the (NFL) draft, that'll answer it. There are just more guys getting drafted. That doesn't mean the Big Ten doesn't have great players. There are great players in the Big Ten conference. The SEC has more great players.”

Can the Big Ten and the Buckeyes change that?

“Sure,” Meyer said, a bit incredulously. “Why do you think every day we're waking up, trying to change that?”

The Buckeyes must beat Michigan and Northwestern and Wisconsin this season to get where they want to go, without an SEC team on the schedule (since Vanderbilt last year backed out as the scheduled opponent for the opener). But from a distance, a Buck-eye will be kept on Saban and his squad.

With three national titles in the last four years, the Crimson Tide has set the standard. But it was Meyer at Florida who helped set that bar for his old conference, winning the first and third titles in what is now a seven-year run for the SEC.

On Colin Cowherd's ESPN radio show on Wednesday, while making a tour with other Big Ten coaches of several ESPN programs, Meyer commented on at least a component of the comparison.

“We're not Alabama fast,” Meyer said. “That's an element we're missing, speed on offense.”

That's just a part of it. The Buckeyes could roll through their regular season and win the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis to get to 13-0. But that won't answer every question.

Ohio State could get to 25-0 over the last two seasons. But it would take a matchup in the BCS National Championship for the Buckeyes and everyone else to know if they are Alabama good.

GM Chris Antonetti was looking for a second left-handed reliever right up until Wednesday's 4 p.m. trading deadline passed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians had a chance to make their second trade is as many days Wednesday before the 4 p.m. deadline came and went. They passed.

"Yeah, we could have made a bad one," said manager Terry Francona, with a chuckle. "Chris (Antonetti) called me and told me about it and I said, "Oh, my goodness." As a manager you want to win every game, but when you're sitting where I'm sitting and you don't think it's a very good deal, you can imagine what Chris is thinking."

Antonetti acquired lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis on Tuesday and he was trying to further upgrade the pen from the left side before he ran into the deadline. If Antonetti landed the lefty he wanted, there's a good chance Rzepczynski would have been sent to Class AAA Columbus.

When Antonetti came up empty, Rzepczynski was added to the 25-man roster. A space had already been created when Vinnie Pestano was optioned to Columbus on Tuesday night.

Antonetti will continue to try and improve the team. He can make trades until Aug. 31, but players have to clear waivers before they can be traded. August is always a tough month to do business in because players can be claimed by teams before they clear waivers, thus blocking trades.

Still, Antonetti feels the extra month gives contenders and pretenders time to separate.

"There's still a lot of teams right now that are clustered and competing for a playoff spot," he said. "As the season goes on, some of those teams will fall away and maybe they'll be open to trading away some of the players they were reluctant to trade earlier."

Yes, in case you're wonder, Antonetti is in favor of moving the non-waiver deadline to a date in August.

San Francisco's Javier Lopez and Colorado's Josh Outman were two of the lefties the Indians liked. The asking price was high for both. The Giants asked for prospect Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco was linked to Outman's name.

Lopez, 36, can be a free agent after the season. He's 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA, appearing in 46 games. He's pitched 25 1/3 innings, struck out 27, walked 10 and has a WHIP of 1.184. Lefties are hitting .172 (11-for-64) against him. Righties are hitting .281 (9-for-32).

Outman, 28, won't be a free agent until after the 2015 season. He's 2-0 with a 4.42 ERA (19 earned runs in 38 2/3 innings). Lefties are hitting .218 (17-for-78) against him, while righties are hitting .347 (26-for-75).

"Some of the asking prices for some of the top guys was unreasonable in my opinion," said Francona. "I think (getting Rzepczynski) is a good move for the organization."

The Indians entered the deadline in a stress-free environment. They were 10 games over .500 and had won six straight.

The Tribe spent a great deal of time trying to find a starter to upgrade the front of its rotation. While they were looking, the rotation went 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA over the last 18 games.

"We went into the deadline in a good position," said Antonetti. "There were a couple of opportunities to improve and we were able to do one of them. One of the special components of this group is team chemistry and how it comes together. There's always that fine balance of not wanting to disrupt that."

The AL Central-leading Tigers were busy before the deadline. They acquired closer Jose Veras, a former Indian, from Houston to help the bullpen. Then they jumped into a three-team deal with the White Sox and Boston on Tuesday night and came away with shortstop Jose Iglesias from Boston.

It cost them outfielder Avisail Garcia, but Iglesias will replace starter Jhonny Peralta if he's suspended later this week for his part in the Biogenesis investigation. Iglesias was hitting .330 (71-for-215) in 63 games for Boston.

"The Tigers are a very good team and they've improved," said Antonetti.

cleveland.com's Glenn Moore recapped today's Browns practice with The Plain Dealer's Tom Reed.

Can Trent Richardson become one of the top running backs in the league? Tom Reed talks about this and more during our training camp podcast. (John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer) 

Watch as Cleveland Brown Trent Richardson and Marshall Faulk talk about being great and playing hurt.

BEREA, Ohio --  Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson and Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk had a lot of praise for each other at Training Camp in Berea Wednesday.

Faulk, who played for the Rams and Colts, was in town working for the NFL Network.  They did a segment together for the show after practice.

They first met at the NFL Combine last year and have kept in touch since.

Follow on Twitter: @CLEvideos

Chicago's Chris Sale has lost his two starts vs. the Indians this season, but his statistics suggest he's anything but a loser.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The finale of the four-game series between the Indians and White Sox on Thursday afternoon features a delicious matchup of White Sox lefty Chris Sale vs. Tribe righty Justin Masterson.

Sale owns a 6-10 record. Don't be fooled, though: He is as nasty as ever. Sale is Exhibit A for those who think pitchers' victory totals and winning percentages are overrated. He has given up 41 earned runs in 137 innings, an ERA of 2.69, in 19 starts. He has allowed 108 hits, walked 31 and struck out 149. His walks plus hits per inning pitch, or WHIP, is 1.01.

In 2012, his breakout season as a starter, Sale had 3.05 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 192 innings of 30 games (29 starts). But his record was 17-9.

Run support has been the obvious problem, particularly in his last 10 starts. He is 1-8 with a 2.83 ERA in 73 innings and has given up 64 hits, walked 16 and struck out 88. The White Sox have scored a total of 22 runs.

When Sale pitches, left-handed batters might want to hope for a tight hamstring or sore throat. His funky delivery and lower arm slot make it extremely difficult for lefties to see the ball well. They are 14-for-101 (.139) with one extra-base hit -- a double -- and 32 strikeouts this season.

Sale is 0-2 with a 8.03 ERA in two starts against the Tribe. On April 13 in Cleveland, the Indians rocked Sale for eight hits and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-4 victory. On June 30 in Chicago, Sale performed much better (eight innings, three earned) but lost to Masterson, 4-0.

Masterson is 12-7 with a 3.42 ERA in 22 starts. He has been superb against the White Sox, going 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA in three starts covering 25 innings. He has two complete games against them.

When Masterson pitches, right-handed batters might want to hope for a tight hamstring or sore throat. A combination of long arm action, lower slot and power sinker has led to righties going 37-for-206 (.180) with seven extra-base hits and 78 strikeouts.

Masterson is coming off 7 2/3 shutout innings in a victory over Texas. He is 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in his last three starts.

Trent Richardson spent time after practice Wednesday with Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, who sees the seeds of greatness in Richardson.

BEREA, Ohio -- With Hall of Famers streaming into town this week for the Hall's 50th anniversary weekend, Trent Richardson shared the practice field Wednesday with two legendary running backs in Jim Brown and Marshall Faulk.

It was a little slice of heaven for Richardson, who's still star-struck.

"Him, me and Jim Brown on the same field, that's a powerful field,'' said Richardson. "That's a strong moment. I'm trying to get to where (Faulk) is today. It's big having him out here at practice.''

If all goes as Richardson envisions, he'll join Brown and Faulk, now an NFL Network analyst, in Canton someday. Faulk stands No. 10 on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 12,279 yards. That's just 33 yards -- Richardson's jersey number -- fewer than No. 9 Brown's 12,312.

"I want my name to be in the Hall of Fame and want my goals to be for my kids to go back and look and say 'this is what my father did and for my son to grow up and be like 'my dad did this and I want to do better than him,''' said Richardson. "For kids around the world to be like 'I can do what Trent Richardson did or do it better.' Marshall Faulk, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, Ricky Williams was a guy. These are the guys I looked up to and they set (records) for people like me to break.''

 

Faulk, who filmed an NFL Network segment with Richardson after practice, sees the seeds of greatness.

"Yeah, it’s there,'' said Faulk. "You saw it in college. It’s the reason that in a league that they’re starting to kind of devalue the position, he gets drafted so early. He has it in him. It’s in him to be great. He wants it.

"He’s never shied away from asking questions or letting you know what he don’t know because he understands that the things that you don’t know when you find them out, it makes it easier to become great.”

Faulk appreciates that Richardson is willing to pour over films of Hall of Fame backs in his effort to become great. Richardson, who got to know Faulk at the NFL combine in 2012, has been watching film of Faulk since he was at Alabama.

“He’s smart,'' said Faulk. "The film is there. That’s what it’s there for. To me, that’s regular. That’s normal. That’s what you should do. It's like, how do you want to get somewhere and not use the Internet to get there? Like just go get in the car and figure it out.”

But Faulk knows not all young backs are willing to do that. When former Browns running back William Green was here, he had never seen any film of Brown.

"I'm just saying, what (Richardson's) doing is the norm and the other guys are the idiots for not doing it,'' said Faulk.

A seven-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion during the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf season in 1999, Faulk also sees greatness in Richardson's willingess to play with broken ribs. He did so himself and knows how excruciating it is.

"The position is such that’s it’s not about how healthy you are, it's how unhealthy you can play at times,'' said Faulk. "He’s thirsty to not just get yards and be a good player, but he wants to be great and he wants to win. Those are the things that tend to help organizations change the culture.

"He’s probably a breath of fresh air for you guys with the mindset that he has -- after having a good rookie season, not just being happy with it that he did his job. He understands what needs to happen in order for him to be great.”

After practice, the two laughed and joked while filming a demonstration of the "Faulk Route" for NFL Network.

"Well, he calls it the Faulk route but a lot of people call it the "angle" route,'' said Richardson. "He was like the king of it, he's still the king of it. I haven't seen nobody run it like him. He runs at an angle and he pushes it to the linebacker's shoulders, which ever way he turns you gotta turn the opposite way and make them miss and you'll be wide open and the quarterback will get it to you if they see you in time."

When Faulk played for Rams offensive coordinator Mike Martz, it was the same "Air Coryell'' based system that Norv Turner and Rob Chudzinski run here.

"I’m a resource for (Richardson) because this is the same offense that I played in and I made my hay by being on the field every down and as much as I could,'' said Faulk.

Richardson most covets Faulk's Super Bowl ring, but would love to be the same kind of every-down back that set an NFL record with 2,429 yards from scrimmage in 1999.

"That's my goal -- to be a three-down back and never to come off the field,'' said Richardson. "I told coach I'll play special teams if you let me. He was a third-down back, man, and Marshall wasn't that big (5-10, 211) but he was that guy on the field that everybody feared.

"When I get on that field, I want everybody to fear me.''

Faulk is pretty sure they will.