Minor-league veteran's first start in the Indians' outfield proved productive for the Indians on Sunday.
Indians left fielder Shelley Duncan tracks down a long fly hit by the Reds' Joey Votto to end a Cincinnati threat in the seventh inning Sunday. Duncan singled and walked twice in the Tribe's 4-3 victory at Progressive Field.
INDIANS CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: Among those responsible for Fausto Carmona’s strong start this season was Jose Lima, a former 20-game winner and All-Star.
Lima, who played for five teams over a 13-year career that ended in 2006, died Sunday in Los Angeles at 37.
“I can’t believe it,” a choked-up Carmona said after the game. “This is so sad. He was a great guy, a funny guy. He helped me a lot.”
Carmona struggled to throw strikes to left-handers during a problematic 2009 season, which ended with a 5-12 record and 6.32 ERA in 24 starts. When Carmona pitched for Aguilas in the Dominican Republic in the winter, teammate Lima suggested that Carmona move to the first-base side of the rubber.
“We were going to make that suggestion to Fausto, but I didn’t want to do it during the winter ball season,” Indians manager Manny Acta said in spring training. “When I went to the Dominican to see Fausto, I was happy ‘Lima Time’ had already suggested it.”
Acta thought the move would help Carmona throw strikes to both sides of the plate. Acta has been correct so far.
Acta said Sunday that he spoke with Lima when the Indians were in Los Angeles in late April.
“He was very happy that he had contributed to helping Fausto,” he said. “He was a great guy, so full of life. I found out before the game, and I’ve been very sad.”
Hard core: Pro Football Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly and Anthony Munoz threw out ceremonial first pitches. Kelly gained his fame with the Browns; Munoz, with the Bengals.
Stat of the day: The all-time series between the teams is tied, 33-33.
— Dennis ManoloffCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shelley Duncan is contributing more and more each day.
On Friday, he pinch-hit to give the Indians six father-son combinations in history. On Saturday, he went 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and scored. On Sunday, Duncan started in left and was 1-for-2 with an RBI single and two walks in the Tribe's 4-3 victory over the Reds.
The Indians promoted Duncan from Class AAA Columbus last Wednesday when Grady Sizemore was placed on the disabled list.
"I know I'm not going to get a lot of at-bats; when I get them, I need to be ready," he said. "I prepare myself like an every-day player. That way, nothing can sneak up on you."
The International League MVP in 2009 had not started in the majors since Sept. 28, 2009, when he was with the Yankees. Batting sixth, he hit a two-out single in the first to tie the score, 2-2.
"He had good at-bats all day," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "We wanted to get Shelley out there to keep him sharp."
Valby hanging in: Luis Valbuena sat slumped in his chair Saturday afternoon, facing his locker.
For a player hitting .143 through 30 games this season, the snapshot made sense. Except that Valbuena was not in the dumps, he was simply checking messages on a hand-held device hours before the Indians played the Reds.
Valbuena is not going to allow an awful start destroy his confidence. It might be dented, but it's nowhere near destroyed. Valbuena insists a turnaround is imminent.
"I'm close," he said. "The good moment is coming. I can feel it."
The eyes spoke volumes for the hard-nosed Valbuena. They indicated that he is not claiming he's close because he thinks the words sound good, or that he needs to convince himself.
"I really believe it," he said. "I've been working very, very hard and I'm more comfortable than I've been in a while."
Valbuena started at second on Sunday and went 0-for-3. He has two hits in his last 33 official trips. It would have been 3-for-33 if not for a terrific defensive play by Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera in the fifth. Cabrera turned what might have been an RBI single into a forceout with a nifty back-hand pick and throw to second.
Valbuena opened the season as the starting second baseman but lost his job to 39-year-old Mark Grudzielanek, who does not play every day as a concession to age. Valbuena also lost his job as fill-in shortstop for injured Asdrubal Cabrera; Jason Donald is getting the chance to be the regular while Cabrera recovers from a broken left forearm.
Valbuena entered Sunday at 12-for-81, the .148 average ranking lowest of any player in the majors with at least 80 official trips. The two closest in average and at-bats were Kaz Matsui of Houston (10-for-71, .141) and Garret Anderson of the Dodgers (9-for-65, .138).
The major leaguer with the worst average after 100 official at-bats entering Sunday was Akinori Iwamura of Pittsburgh (20-for-132, .152).
"I understand the whole situation," Valbuena said. "This is a team, and I've been struggling. But I know my manager still believes in me."
Acta points to Valbuena's work last season when, as a rookie, he hit .250 with 38 extra-base hits in 103 games. He hit .281 in 65 games after June 30.
Valbuena has five extra-base hits this year.
"I don't think he's overmatched," Acta said. "You're not overmatched when you hit a line drive to short like he did [Friday] and hit some balls like he did a couple of days ago. We need to make sure he still gets at-bats, to give him a chance to snap out of it. It hasn't been easy, but this guy had (38) extra-base hits last year. We have to continue to work with him."
The top priority is to get Valbuena to return to a compact swing. A strong 5-10, Valbuena does not need to muscle up to find the gaps.
He's human: Last Tuesday at Tampa Bay, Tribe catcher Mike Redmond set a major-league record with his 253rd consecutive errorless game at the position.
Redmond did not play again until Saturday. In the fourth inning against the Reds, his clean sheet ended with a throwing error on Jay Bruce's steal of second. Bruce advanced to third.
Redmond had not made an error since July 20, 2004, when he was with the Marlins.
"It was a heckuva run," he said. "If it were any other player, it would probably be a bigger deal, but I'm not a front-line guy, so pretty much everything I do goes under the radar.
"I think I got lucky that nobody really made a big deal of it for quite a while. That kept it relatively quiet, which is good. Finally, the other day, after I broke it, people were talking about it. Right then I knew I was in trouble."
Redmond sweated through the days leading up to the Tampa Bay game.
"I hadn't thought about it for a long time, then I guess my son's Little League coach said I needed three more games," he said. "My son brought it up to me. My wife didn't want him to say anything, but he did. I thought, 'Uh, oh.' But I got the record, which is nice."
Typical of Redmond, he first credited others for his accomplishment.
"I've had the opportunity to play with a lot of great middle infielders who have helped me out," he said. "I couldn't have done it without them. It's not like every one of my throws is right on the money."
Redmond signed with the Florida organization as a free agent in 1992. He made his major-league debut with the Marlins in 1998. He signed with Cleveland in January.