Inside Pitch

Here's a blast from the past: Former Bisons star Alex Ramirez was named MVP of the Japanese League for the second straight year on Wednesday. Now 35, Ramirez led the Yomiuri Giants to their first Japan Series title by leading the league with a .322 average, 31 homers and 103 RBIs. He has become an icon during his nine-year career in Japan

The 35-year-old Ramirez hit .322 in helping the Yomiuri Giants to their first Japan Series championship since 2002. He had 31 homers and drove in 103 runs in 144 games this season, his ninth in Japan. He's the fastest American in history with 1,500 hits in Japan and he has 287 career home runs

"A-Ram" as he was known here, played in Buffalo from 1997-99 and was a key member of Buffalo's 1998 International League champions . He hit .299 with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs that season to earn the club's most valuable player award. His home run and RBI totals, and his 28-game hitting streak still stand as modern-era records for the Bisons.

Check out Ramirez's official Web site (you can click on the Japanese tab for the Japanese version if you so choose). Here's his year-by-year stats in Japan

Here's a story on Ramirez that ran during the Japan Series.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Back from a post-World Series vacation and keeping an eye on the smoldering hot stove, which will heat up next month at the Winter Meeetings in Indianapolis. Here's some moves in the dugout I found interesting: 

---New Indians manager Manny Acta made three more additions to his staff today, including the hiring of former Bisons pitching coach Scott Radinsky as his new bullpen coach. Acta went with an outsider, Steve Smith, as his third base/infield coach, a post some thought could go to Torey Lovullo. The first base coach slot is still open and Lovullo probably has a chance for that.

---One I missed during the chaos of the Series: The Orioles named Jeff Datz, former Bisons manager and deposed Indians bench coach, as their new bench coach under Dave Tremblay. Here's more from Datz on how the interview process went down.

---Also today: Ex-Met Wally Backman, exiled to independent ball after a misdemeanor assault charge and DUI ended his four-day stint as Diamondbacks manager in 2004, was hired by the Mets to manage Class A Brooklyn in the New York-Penn League

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Elsewhere, have you seen the new national AT&T ad featuring a fictional Bison getting called up? The ad was filmed in Lake Elsinore, Calif., and not at Coca-Cola Field but it prominently features "Buffalo" on the player's jersey and his phone. Why the Bisons? AT&T has long been one of the team's top national partners. Check it out here:

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Torey Lovullo had his official interview with the Indians today for the manager's post and then met the Cleveland media to discuss his candidacy. Lovullo is banking on his familiarity with the organization as one of his major attributes.

"When I walked out of there, I was excited," Lovullo said of the interview. "For the first time really with this group, I got a chance to express myself and some of my philosophies."

Lovullo is in a quartet of candidates that includes Manny Acta, Bobby Valentine and Don Mattingly for the post to replace Eric Wedge. Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke has just climbed into the mix and so may ex-Rockies manager Clint Hurdle.

Click the arrow at the left side of the box below to listen to the audio from Lovullo's session with the media. (The first 35 seconds or so are sound tests. Watch for the loud beep the first three seconds).

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

10.23lovullo

So the ALCS goes back to the cold and rain of New York -- where there's a 90 percent chance of showers and the Yankees are suddenly and nervously trying to ward off the ghosts of 2004 after Thursday's did-you-see-that 7-6 loss.

New York Daily News columnist John Harper says you can blame it on A.J.

Joel Sherman of the Post says you can blame it on Joe Girardi. Here-here. The Yankees were coming off and off day and had another one scheduled today. Once they took the lead, I would have gotten Burnett out of there and tried to get the last nine outs with some combination of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera. Yes, Hughes got hit. But he came into the game with men on base. I would have started the seventh fresh with Hughes.

Still can't figure out which was the more bizarre move: The Angels walking A-Rod with two out and no one on in the ninth -- or the Yankees pinch-running for A-Rod with Freddy Guzman. A-Rod runs OK and were you really going to go into extra innings without him in the lineup after all that he's done this October?

You still have to like the Yankees' chances. They have Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia lined up for Games Six and Seven. In 2004, they had Jon Lieber and Kevin Brown in 6-7. The Red Sox, remember, had bloody-socked Curt Schilling and Derek Lowe.

I know one guy probably rooting for a Game Seven: Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro. If Sabathia needs to pitch in an ALCS finale, Shapiro won't have to endure the indignity of a Sabathia-Cliff Lee matchup in Game One of the World Series, featuring the back-to-back Cy Young winners that cheapo ownership forced him to trade away the last two years.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

AP Photo: Bobby Abreu and Reggie Willits celebrate after the final out.

The Indians' managerial search continues and Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Torey Lovullo, left, has his interview Friday. The Tribe has already talked to ex-Washington skipper Manny Acta and former Mets manager Bobby Valentine was in Cleveland Thursday. Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly is still on the docket.

No secret to longtime readers that I'm a huge Lovullo booster. But the fact is I can't see how the Indians could possibly hire him at this time. It seems more like a token interview for Lovullo's eight years of service as a Tribe minor-league manager. He was terrific in Class A and Double-A and pretty mediocre in Triple-A with four straight non-playoff seasons (three in Buffalo, one in Columbus). Eric Wedge, meanwhile, got the top job in 2003 coming off two bangup seasons in Buffalo, including a 91-win campaign in 2001. Don't think Indians fans want to go the minor-league route again.

But the big-name route can be rife with potholes too. Mattingly would sell tickets but he's never managed. Valentine would sell tickets but his interview Thursday sounds downright bizarre. He admitted to not knowing a lot about stats such as OPS, which are bible to the folks running the Tribe. And admitted to other sins as well.

"I don't know as much about Cleveland as someone interviewing for their manager's job probably should," said Valentine. "I could have crammed for the last six days, read every article and called every friend to get every bit of information just in case one of guys asked me who the starting third baseman is going to be next year. I didn't do it.

"I can tell you that I don't know about the American League. I don't know about the Central. I don't know about the Indians. But I sure as hell am willing to learn, and spend 28 hours a day if necessary, to know everything that I could possibly know."

Game over if I'm running the Tribe. At least come prepared, dude.

There's talk of maybe the Tribe reaching out to Clint Hurdle. Acta would be a popular choice with the team's Latin players but good luck selling his dreary tenure with the Nationals. All this with the backdrop of Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia in the World Series Wednesday night. Tough times in Cleveland

And putting it even more in perspective: Thursday was the 12th anniversary of the Tribe's last World Series home win, the 10-3 victory over the Marlins in Game Four of the '97 Series that evened things at two wins apiece. The gametime temperature was 38 degrees (coldest ever in Series play) and there were snow flurries. Jerry Sullivan and I were sitting in the auxiliary press box in right field. By the second inning, we were inside watching it on TV. Brutal conditions but a neat memory of a completely different time for the Tribe.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Eric Wedge was officially whacked as Indians manager today and so was his entire coaching staff. That means fellow ex-Bison managers Jeff Datz and Joel Skinner and ex-Buffalo pitching Carl Willis are also gone at the end of the season.

In large part, today's announcement marks the final split between the Bisons and Indians. The staff and so many players that took the Bisons to two titles and six playoff berths from 1998-2004 and the Indians to within one game of the 2007 World Series are now gone.

Wedge's Cleveland teams suffered from a rash of poor starts and this year was no different. What was different was the way the Indians, who claim to be losing $16 million, unloaded key players. Cliff Lee's trade marked two straight Cy Young winners gone and there were several other pieces dealt like Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco, Rafael Betancourt and Mark DeRosa. With essentially a Triple-A team the last two months, Wedge & Co. had no chance.

The Indians would have loved to hire ex-Bison John Farrell, now Boston's pitching coach, but he has a clause in his deal that he can't take a managerial job until 2010. So it looks like an open hire. Should be interesting.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

The Indians have lost 11 straight for the first time since 1931 so Eric Wedge's days in Cleveland are almost certainly numbered. At this point, he'd probably like to stay under the radar as he likes to say. Gonna be tough to do that now with all the rubbernecking that will be done in his neighborhood, near where the old Richfield Coliseum once stood. That's because Wedge has a new neighbor. You might have heard of him.

Shaq.

Check out this odd couple, courtesy of MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.

---Mike Harrington

It was an off day and his team is mired in a 3-16 September and eight-game losing streak but Indians manager Eric Wedge kept his commitment for an appearance at a suburban Cleveland elementary school on Monday. At least he can't get heckled there. After the assembly, Wedge told Associated Press reporter and big friend of Inside Pitch Tom Withers that he'd like to serve the final year of his contract in 2010 but understands the realities of the team's collapse this year may not allow that to happen.

The Indians have a hand in the pennant race as they open a three-game series with the first-place Tigers Tuesday in Progressive Field. Wedge has nurtured Cleveland prospects through the organization for 13 years, including his 2001 and 2002 playoff teams in Buffalo. But even before their fire sale, no one expected the Tribe to be this bad in 2009.

"I know that sometimes change has to be made for change's sake," Wedge said. "You've got to be professional about it. You've got to understand it and I do."

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

A reminder that my weekly power ratings are done through Thursday's games (on the theory that a new series starts on Friday). I give you that once-in-a-while reminder because I would have certainly put the Twins a little higher up this week if I was doing them at, say, midnight on Saturday.

Whereas it looked like every division race was basically over at the start of the week, we suddenly have a hot one in the AL Central as Minnesota is just two games behind the suddenly skidding Tigers after back-to-back victories over Detroit. A fly ball lost in the Metrodome roof (what else?) keyed a five-run fifth Saturday in the Twins' 6-2 win. And this is all happening wtih Justin Morneau and Joe Crede apparently gone for the year with injuries.

As for the rankings, it's certainly easy to put the Yankees at No. 1. But Nos. 2-6 remain quite a mess. This week, it went Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox, Phillies, Cardinals and only the Halos were in the same spot as last week. Pretty unusual for this time of year.

In other diamond doings:

---No Inside Baseball column just for this week due to a double dose of Bills chats and Sabres training camp. We'll be back starting next week and running all the way through the World Series.

---If you didn't stay up to see the Yankees' 10-1 victory in Seattle, they got a huge scare when CC Sabathia took a Franklin Gutierrez line drive to the chest. He was OK but it was a couple inches here or there from a potentially dramatic turn to the Yankees season and some serious damage to their big-money ace. Check out the video here.

---It's Durham (Tampa Bay) vs. Memphis (St. Louis) in Tuesday's Triple-A National Championship Game in Oklahoma City. Formerly known as the Bricktown Showdown, the game will be televised at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

---Cleveland's Double-A team, the Akron Aeros, won the Eastern League title in four games Saturday with a 10-6 win over Connecticut (San Francisco). Lots of nice prospects going up to Triple-A next season for the Tribe. Too bad they're still not coming to Buffalo.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

MLB gave teams the go-ahead to release their 2010 schedules Tuesday and most of them took advantage of an earlier-than-normal marketing opportunity to do just that. The minors do it (the Bisons' 2010 schedule has been out for a while), so this is a good move.

The Yankees and Red Sox will open the season at Fenway Park on April 5 -- but I wonder if that becomes the Sunday night, April 4 ESPN opener. The Yankees also end the season in Fenway Oct. 1-3 -- but don't play there at all in June, July, August and September!

Other highlights: The Twins take it outdoors to open Target Field on April 12 against the Red Sox, the Mets come to Cleveland for an interleague series June 22-24, the Blue Jays have a blockbuster nine-game block June 18-27 against the Giants, Cardinals and Phillies and the Yankees play Joe Torre's Dodgers in Chavez Ravine from June 25-27 (will it be a World Series rematch?). The Yankees will also be in Toronto in the final week, Sept. 27-29, before heading to Fenway.

The 2010 rotation for interleague is AL East vs NL West, NL East vs. AL Central, NL Central vs. AL West.  You can start thumbing through the day-by-day schedule here. You can also go to the links below for team-specific slates of the clubs near Buffalo. Each link takes you to April and you can then choose the month you want at the top of the page.

Yankees   Red Sox    Blue Jays    Indians   Pirates  Mets  Tigers   Phillies    Reds

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

It was 12 years ago today that the Bisons won their first championship in 36 years with a 5-4, 10-inning win at Iowa that completed a sweep of the 1997 American Association finals ('97 logo at left).

I was fortunate to be on hand for that one and a flood of memories about it came back to me as I read Budd Bailey's This Day in Buffalo Sports History post at the Sports, Ink blog (a blog that should get a daily perusal). Here's some of those images that will never leave my mind:

---The team flew commercial through Chicago and I was on the flight. It was an early one in the 7 a.m. range after the Game Two win at home the night before. People were trying to sleep but the flight attendant had a slew of Concourse B arrival gates to read for connections heading into O'Hare. Finally, after six or seven of them, utility man and team cutup Casey Candaele roared at the top of his lungs, "Hey, B quiet!"

---Maybe the air gods struck back at Candaele because the landing in Des Moines was a hard double bounce. In all my flights for The News the last 18 years, I have never had one that rough. Not even close.

---Everything was in control with the Bisons leading, 4-2, in the bottom of the ninth. I left the press box and went down the hall into Jim Rosenhaus' radio booth to hear the call of the final out (and to use his words in the paper). No Internet broadcasts back then of course. When Iowa tied the game, Rosenhaus shook his head and pointed at the door. My cue to leave. Yep, I was the jinx.

---I was trying to pull together my story for the morning paper and never saw Sean Casey actually swing at his game-winning homer in the 10th. Heard the crack, looked up and the ball was going over the CF fence. No replays in the press box either. Didn't see it until the next day.

---When the Bisons actually got the final out, it was time to head into the clubhouse mayhem (I stayed out of Rosenhaus' booth because I was writing). But the clubhouse was all the way behind the LF fence. It was a loooooong walk without much time on deadline. But the champagne was everywhere and I'll never forget Torey Lovullo standing on a box in the middle of the room and screaming for quiet. He held up the baseball from the last out and presented it to Bob Rich as the room erupted.

---Association president Branch Rickey III came into clubhouse to present the trophy but got drubbed by champagne too. Cracked manager Brian Graham: "Branch, you can get new clothes with all my fine money." The look on his face said Rickey wasn't amused. Graham then told the team to hand the trophy around the room and said, "this is heart and this is pride." Great moment.

---My interviews complete, I started to run back to the press box. (From left field, remember). But I was horrified to notice my watch said 12:30 a.m. I thought I had completely blown a 1 a.m. deadline on a huge story because that meant it was 1:30 a.m. in Buffalo. I breathlessly called the office just about begging and they told me to calm down. They didn't know what the problem was. It was still 12:30 in Buffalo, 11:30 p.m. in Des Moines. I had never put the watch on Central time. Was still on Eastern. No deadline problem after all. To this day, the watch always stays on Eastern when I'm out of town so there's never any confusion.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

As Daily News beat writer Mark Feinsand aptly put it today, it's 2,721 down and one more to go for Derek Jeter to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader. Jeter's three hits in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay pulled him even with Lou Gehrig and he can get the record to himself Friday against Baltimore.

---Post columnist Mike Vaccaro, the pride of St. Bonaventure, sets the scene as the moment unfolded.

---It was a big moment for longtime mates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.

---MLB.com has reaction from around the majors.

---You can listen to the calls from the YES Network and John Sterling on Yankees radio.

Elsewhere in the bigs on a busy, busy Wednesday:

---The Cardinals keep rolling as Adam Wainwright put up his MLB-leading 18th win and Albert Pujols belted home runs No. 46 and 47 in a win at Milwaukee. Pujols had 47 homers in just 490 at-bats and looks like a lock for his first 50-homer season. The Cardinals are 31-9 in their last 40 games and have taken over the lead in the overall NL race. That's significant because it would mean the Phillies and Dodgers (assuming they hold on in the NL West) would meet in the division series and not in a rematch of last year's NLCS.

---The Rockies did it again on Seth Smith's two-out, two-run single in the ninth that squirted through Brandon Phillips to beat the Reds, 4-3. The Rockies, who have won six straight, lead the Giants by four games in the wildcard race and are just 2 1/2 behind the Dodgers.

---Brad Lidge may be losing his closer's job to fellow Phillie Ryan Madsen. Tough situation for manager Charlie Manuel three weeks before the playoffs start, especially given what Lidge gave the Phillies last season.

---Jose Reyes is upset people think he's been dogging it while trying to get back from injury to the Mets' lineup. I'm sure the Amazin' medical staff in Flushing has been doing a great job with Reyes. Yeesh.

---Roy Halladay was frustrated by the Blue Jays' loss to the Twins but it's close to hockey season in Toronto and no one cares. The announced crowd of 11,159 was the smallest ever in Rogers Centre and a look at some video shows its might have been half of that.

---The Indians completed a brutal 22-hour stretch with a 10-0 loss to the Rangers. Old friend Fausto Carmona (3-10 two years after a 19-win season) couldn't get out of the first inning. Some ominous quotes about Carmona in the linked story from Tribe pitching coach Carl Willis. He might never be like he was in 2007 again? Hmmm. By the way, who the heck is Scott Feldman and how did he get to 16-4?

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

AP Photo: Jeter acknowledges the crowd after No. 2,721

In the wake of last night's tri-killing against Rochester, here's the list of Bisons' triple plays in the modern era:

1). June 26, 1985 at Louisville -- liner to CF John Cangelosi, relays to SS Alex Taveras and 1B Joe De Sa.
2). July 27, 1997 vs. Nashville -- grounder to 3B Jeff Manto, relays to 2B Torey Lovullo and 1B Richie Sexson.
3). Aug. 5, 1997 at New Orleans -- liner to 2B Casey Candaele, relays to SS Enrique Wilson and 1B Richie Sexson.
4). Aug. 6, 2003 at Rochester (1st game) -- liner to SS Maicer Izturis, steps on 2nd, relays to 1B Luis Garcia.
5). Sept. 1, 2009 vs. Rochester -- liner to SS Argenis Reyes, relays to 2B Luis Rivera and 1B Mike Lamb.

Strangely enough, the Bisons lost all five of those games. The 2003 contest at Rochester was particularly odd. In back-to-back innings, the Herd turned the triple play and got an inside-the-park home run (by Chris Magruder) but still lost, 7-5, when Chad Paronto gave up a three-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh to Michael Ryan.

---It's Fan Appreciation Night tonight at the ballpark. If you want to see fireworks, this is your night. Second-largest show of the season (behind only BPO Night) and it's always worth the time. Lots of in-game prize giveaways too.

---Big night if you're a Yankees fan too because visiting Scranton still has IL MVP Shelley Duncan and IL Rookie of the Year Austin Jackson in its lineup for this two-game series. I'd look for both in New York this month but only when the Triple-A season ends. The Yankees' magic number to clinch the division is three so they could do it here Thursday afternoon.

---In Cleveland, old friend Grady Sizemore needs elbow surgery. Why not just get it done now? Makes sense to me. Shouldn't be his choice. The season is over. Be ready for next spring.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

While Dave Hollins will get the bulk of the chatter in my column in Monday's paper (cheap plug alert), I don't want to give short shrift to the induction of Carlos Garcia into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame. Had a terrific chat with him Sunday, one of many we've had over the years.

Garcia (left in 2003 photo) said he was "speechless" when he first heard from Buffalo GM Mike Buczkowski during the spring about his induction. 

Garcia played here from 1990-92 and then went to Pittsburgh to start his big-league career for good and even made the All-Star team in 1994. He coached here from 2002-2004 and then moved to Seattle, where he was a coach in the big leagues under Mike Hargrove.

"Buffalo was the trampoline for me to play in the big leagues and also to coach in the big leagues,"  Garcia said. "My best experiences I had were in Buffalo and I was very proud to be able to accomplish such a thing as getting in [the Hall of Fame]. It's real. From this point on, my status in baseball in Buffalo is going to be totally different. I feel great about it, satisfied how I did the right things in baseball. To see the reality right now has really pumped me up."

For all his great moments here as a player, Garcia's biggest contribution was probably as the hitting coach for the 2004 Governors' Cup champions. The Bisons set virtually every franchise record, including a .297 team batting average, and scored more runs than any IL team in more than 50 years.

"It was their commitment to get better," he said when asked what made that team tick over the season's final four months after a rough stretch that included 11 losses in 12 games in early May. "I was part of the process, the guy who tried to fix things, mentally get them prepared for the task.

"I always tried to be positive and be a father figure for the young players because I knew they wanted to go where I was at one point. It was more mental than physical because their physical tools were always there. I felt like I was playing myself sometimes with those guys. I benefitted from being around them like they benefitted from being around me."

Garcia is now a infield instructor/scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates and we talked plenty about the Bucs' latest overhaul. He said he's confident GM Neil Huntington's program will work. I'm going to study that closer this week and have more of Garcia's thoughts in next week's Inside Baseball column.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

(Buffalo News file photo: James P. McCoy)

The numbers really prove the Bisons are a completely different team in August than they were in April. Whereas the Bisons' team batting average for the first month of the season was a putrid .197, they're leading the International League in August at .305, are scoring 5.5 runs per game and are third in the league with 14 home runs in 15 games.

Hot hitters are everywhere heading into today's game against Lehigh Valley. Argenis Reyes has a 14-game hitting streak, featuring three straight three-hit games, and is batting .413 in that stretch. Andy Green (.455) is on an eight-game hit streak and Chip Ambres (.407) is on a seven-gamer. Wilson Valdez went hitless Friday night but it batting .366 in August.

The problem has been pitching. Buffalo's team ERA in August is 6.77 -- or nearly four runs worse than July's 2.96. And that's why the team is just 6-9 for the month.

Tobi Stoner (3-7) is on the mound today for the Herd and he's been brutal in his two August starts, losing both and posting an 8.68 ERA while allowing 16 hits and five walks in just 9 1/3 innings. Kyle Kendrick (6-6), who went 11-9 in 30 starts last year for the World Series champion Phillies, is starting for Lehigh Valley. He's been in Triple-A most of the season after losing the bid for the No. 5 slot in the big leagues to J.A. Happ.

The Buffalo lineup:

Argenis Reyes, ss
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Nick Evans, lf
Mike Lamb, 1b
Chip Ambres, rf
Javier Castillo, 3b
Robinson Cancel, c
Andy Green, 2b
Tobi Stoner, p
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Also today, it's Hall of Fame Day with former Herd infielders Carlos Garcia (1990-92) and Dave Hollins (2000-01) getting inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame. Garcia was also the team's hitting coach in 2003-04, the latter season being a championship campaign that saw the Bisons smash every club offensive record and Garcia help turn Jhonny Peralta into an IL MVP.

I'll have more here on Garcia and Hollins later today.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Say this for the Mets: They haven't quit on the Bisons. The Amazins have acquired outfielder Jason Dubois from the Chicago Cubs and assigned him to Buffalo. Dubois shared the Herd's 2006 most valuable player award with Ben Francisco after batting .275 with 22 homers and 87 RBIs in 121 games. He hit 25 home runs last year at Iowa and was batting .303 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs for the I-Cubs this year. Nice pickup.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

TORONTO -- A lot of what might been in Rogers Centre again as the Blue Jays slog through their 16th straight non-playoff season. It's to the point where you have to include them in the same sentence as the Pirates and Royals. Hard to believe we were a Francisco Cabrera single away from a Jays-Bucs World Series in 1992.

News interns Anna Kim and Tyler Dunne will be joining me here the next two days for games against the Indians and Rays. Kim will report in Friday's paper on the woes of the Bisons' former parent while Dunne will chronicle what might be Roy Halladay's final start in a Toronto uniform Friday. Some other notes:

---Almost forgot the Blue Jays were once 27-14 and had a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East in mid-May. They entered today 20-34 since. Ouch.

---The fans in Rogers Centre are clearly sick of the overpaid Vernon Wells. Hey folks: The dude has FIVE more years left on his deal, which is looking like the worst $126 million in baseball history.

---The Indians have stopped hitting, averaging just .240 since the All-Star break. They loaded the bases in the fourth inning today and got just one run. Jhonny Peralta struck out, Ryan Garko took a called third strike on a lousy appeal call and Ben Francisco drove in the run on a walk. Jamey Carroll then fanned to end the inning as Toronto rookie Marc Rzepczynski got out relatively unscathed.

---Huge rumors swirling around both teams' aces. But if the Jays trade Roy Halladay or the Tribe deals Cliff Lee, how do you explain to your fans that you've given up on next year as well?

---I'm working on a column for Friday's paper on Tony Bernazard, the out-of-control Mets VP who challenged his Double-A team to a fight and gets my blame for much of the Bisons' troubles as well. Be sure to check it out.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Tim Wakefield and Victor Martinez were the only ex-Bisons in uniform for the All-Star Game Tuesday night in St. Louis but as my column in Wednesday's sports section points out, there were several other Bisons having decent seasons. Two in particular (Russell Branyan and Marco Scutaro) had a case to be at Busch Stadium.

Take our poll below and pick the best season being put up by a former member of the Herd.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Pretty incredible Little League home run posted Saturday night by Angels shortstop Erick Aybar in the sixth inning at Arizona. Classic play that shows why the D-Backs are better than no one in the NL other than the Nationals. Click here to see the incredible video.

As for other items on my mind today, tonight's Yankees-Mets game (8, ESPN) is going to be a defining moment for Chien-Ming Wang. At 0-6, if he can't be the Bison-filled Mets lineup, you wonder what the next step with him will be. As for the Mets, they've got one run in their last three games against the Yankees. If they can't score on Wang, you wonder what happens to them.

Looks like the selloff has opened in Cleveland. Mark DeRosa traded late Saturday night to St. Louis for Chris Perez and a player to be named. Mets could have used DeRosa for sure. Wonder if the Tribe might have been tempted with an offer of, say, Bisons flamethrower Eddie Kunz?

(Bisons-Charlotte first pitch, by the way, scheduled for 1:40 but it's still pretty dark here in Coca-Cola Field).

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Go here for a funny video piece from SNY on the Bisons' experience in Coca-Cola Field. Matt Cerrone of the always entertaining MetsBlog and Ted Berg of SNY talk to the K-Man and the Conehead, as well as Buster Bison (women and children alert: Buster does the interview without his head on, which is a big no-no in Bisonland). They even make the requisite trip to the Anchor Bar. Not the best wings, Matt? Where then, I ask?

Seriously though, nice cross marketing. Think SportsTime Ohio ever came to Buffalo for a piece like this when the Indians were here? Nope.

The Tribe was a much better and more organized parent club on the field but really flubbed marketing in this town. Love watching Mets games on SNY and we still can't see the Tribe home or away. Boo.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

The first Subway Series begins tonight in the new Yankee Stadium and both the Yankees and Mets are reeling after losing series to their archrivals. The Yankees have now dropped eight straight to the Red Sox while the Mets lost two extra-inning crushers against the Philies. Wrote Filip Bondy in today's Daily News: "The Mets are a hospital ward. The Yankees are a psychiatric meltdown."

The Daily News says the Sox can make their World Series plans if the teams make the ALCS. Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes the Yanks to task for trying to downplay the losses to their chief rival. Meanwhile, the Mets learned after their loss to the Phillies that John Maine is going on the DL and they need a starter for Saturday. They should give that spot to Fernando Nieve, who was terrific with the Bisons and has pitched well in relief in New York. Or the Mets could call up Nelson Figueroa (again).

The Post mentions Jonathon Niese and that would be a disgrace. The guy is winless in nine starts in Triple-A and you're going to put him out against the Yankees? Please. Let Niese pitch tonight as scheduled against Durham and see if he can actually win a game before you think about putting him back in the big leagues.

Also from last night, be sure to check out this video of Shin-Soo Choo's walkoff single in the 10th inning against the Royals. Looks like it might have hit a seagull on the way to Coco Crisp, and the birds certainly gave Crisp fits in center field. Look how he throws up his hands in disgust at the sky. Funny stuff. Remember that any ball that hits a bird is live (although the bird may not be!). Keep that in mind this summer at Coca-Cola Field, where the birds have been a big nuisance as well.

---Mike Harrington 

www.Twitter.com/BNHarrington

CLEVELAND -- Virtually every manager in the major leagues holds a daily pregame meeting with the media and Eric Wedge will do it again later this afternoon in Progressive Field. So will Lonnie Soloff, who's also been a popular guy with Indians beat writers this season. WHO? Yep, Lonnie Soloff.

He's the Indians' trainer. And when the trainer is a regular with the media, that's generally not good news.

Soloff will certainly be discussing Grady Sizemore, who went on the DL Sunday (finally) with an elbow problem. Reliever Rafael Betancourt left after three pitches in the eight Sunday when he said he felt a pop in his groin (never good). Victor Martinez fouled a ball off his knee and crumpled to the ground Saturday night. Travis Hafner is still stuck in Columbus trying to overcome shoulder injuries and a crink in his back that developed last Sunday in Coca-Cola Field while facing the Bisons on his rehab assignment.

Fausto Carmona and Cliff Lee -- who gets no run support -- have only two wins apiece. Carl Pavano somehow has five in a take-this to his critics from New York. But the injuries are the biggest reason the Tribe is struggling to get out of the AL Central cellar in a year many folks, this corner included, had Cleveland pegged as a division favorite.

---Mike Harrington

CLEVELAND -- It's an early one today in Progressive Field as the Indians and Yankees are set for a 12:40 first pitch on TBS and YES. The Yankees have won the first two meetings and Phil Hughes is on the mound for New York against Cleveland's Carl Pavano, who is tied for the AL lead in victories in May with five. A far cry from his days as a $39-million disaster in New York.

Pretty weak Cleveland lineup today with Grady Sizemore on the DL and Victor Martinez nursing his sore knee. (No Chris Gimenez like I said in my earlier post as I got some bad info. But the bottom of the Tribe lineup is Luis Valbuena and Trevor Crowe. Yikes.)

Eric Wedge does not have a pregame meeting with the media on Sundays but he did his daily pregame radio interview and said that Sizemore is certainly going to be out at least a couple weeks.

"We couldn't take it any further. We tried the DH route and get him away from throwing," Wedge said. That did help him a little bit the first couple of days but it didn't get better. We'll shut him down. No throw, no hit for a couple weeks. At some point in time towards the end of that, we'll get him throwing again and see if that downtime will take care of it.

"He's got a lot going on in there, inflammation, fluid. As we call it, he's got a 'hot elbow' right now. We need to let it calm down."

The Indians were downright Mets-like in dealing with Sizemore's injury. It's kind of like what the Mets did with Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes that I wrote about in today's Inside Baseball column. Seems like teams don't want to put a guy on the 15-day DL if they think he'll only be out a week or so and they try to play through the injury. It's not working. The guy usually doesn't get any better unless you shut him down.

---Mike Harrington

CLEVELAND -- As if getting shut down by old friend CC Sabathia and losing catcher Victor Martinez to a foul ball wasn't bad enough last night comes this news this morning from Progressive Field: Grady Sizemore's balky elbow has landed him on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

The Tribe has not made any move official but the scoop goes to intrepid Associated Press veteran Chuck Melvin, who bumped into ex-Bison Chris Gimenez in the clubhouse, put two and two together and came up with four. Gimenez, by the way, is in the lineup at catcher because of Martinez's bum knee and will make his major-league debut today.

Sizemore's elbow has forced him to DH for 10 of the last 12 games. He can't throw at all. Manager Eric Wedge said yesterday that Sizemore still "felt something floating around in there". Uh-oh. Sounds like a player who shouldn't have been on the field at all.

Sizemore played every game in 2006 and 2007, and pushed his consecutive games streak to 382 before sitting out with a sprained ankle on April 26, 2008. He's managed to play 49 of 51 games this year but he's only batting .223. Strangely enough, one of his nine home runs was last night but there's no question the elbow is a factor at the plate.

---Mike Harrington

CLEVELAND -- Grady Sizemore is DHing because his elbow is sore, Travis Hafner is out (again) tonight in Columbus because his shoulder is sore (again) and now the Indians have a new injury worry: Catcher Victor Martinez is out of tonight's game after fouling a CC Sabathia pitch directly off his left knee.

Martinez crumpled into a heap at the plate and spent a few minutes trying to walk off the pain. He stayed in, which wasn't a good decision. Martinez fouled off the next pitch, putting little weight on his legs, and then weakly grounded to second. He was barely able to run and never got more than a third of the way up the line.

So Kelly Shoppach is in catching for Martinez, who entered the game fifth in the AL in batting at .352. And it gets worse: Jorge Posada led off the second with a long homer to right to put the Yankees up, 1-0.

---Mike Harrington

CLEVELAND  -- This would be a huge night for baseball in Progressive Field were it not for the issue of that mildly important basketball game taking place down in Orlando. The Yankees and Indians will have a 90-minute head start on the Cavs and Magic but it will be interesting to see if we hear some cheering at odd times in the stands when LeBron takes it to the rack.

Tonight, of course, is the return of CC Sabathia to Cleveland and I would imagine he's going to get smacked with boos here like Jim Thome does. Too bad really. Sabathia did all he could for this franchise from the time he broke in as a rookie in 2001 to the time he got traded last July (OK, so maybe he could have won a game in the 2007 ALCS but I digress).  You'd think he would get better treatment. Memo to Cleveland fan: Would you turn down $161 million? Didn't think so. Sabathia, by the way, said he's going to stay out of any recruitment effort to get James to play for the Knicks in two years.

Sabathia (4-3, 3.42) will face Fausto Carmona (2-4, 6.42), who has walked 18 batters in 19 1/3 innings over his last four outings. That's bad news, given the way the Yankees like to take pitches.

The Indians are 7-3 in their last 10, although they didn't do much last night as Andy Pettitte silenced them in a rain-delayed 3-1 win for the Yankees before leaving with back issues. That could open the door for Chien-Ming Wang to return to the New York rotation.

Grady Sizemore is still DHing for the Indians because of a balky elbow. Travis Hafner felt more pain in his shoudler after last night's game in Columbus. Injuries and inconsistency have Eric Wedge shuffling his lineup on a daily basis and that's usually not the recipe for a contender.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have some pretty interesting numbers going. To wit:

---Last night's game pushed them atop the AL East on the latest date in a season since the final day of 2006.

---They have played 15 straight errorless games, two shy of the all-time mark of 17 set by the Red Sox in 2006 and five more than the previous franchise record.

---Think A-Rod makes a difference? The Yanks are 15-5 since his return and Mark Teixeira is batting .363 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs in those 20 games. Pre-ARod, Teixeira's numbers were .198-5-15. Teixeira leads the majors with 12 homers in May and is second with 30 RBIs (Joe Mauer has 32).

---Mike Harrington

CLEVELAND -- A quick Bisons note as we prepare for CC Sabathia's return to Progressive Field tonight: The Mets have scratched Oliver Perez from his rehab start for the Herd Sunday night in Durham and have sent him back to Port St. Lucie, Fla. Perez is still bothered by tendinitis in his knee and clearly tweaked the knee while pitching Tuesday in Coca-Cola Field.

More later from the pregame scene in the Land of LeBron.

---Mike Harrington

I'm guessing a fair number of you are hitting the road this weekend as the Yankees make their only trip of the season to Cleveland and the Red Sox make their first trip to Toronto, where the Blue Jays will be desperate to snap their nine-game losing skid.

The marquee game will be Saturday night in Cleveland as ex-Indian CC Sabathia takes on his former mates for the first time and will be opposed by Fausto Carmona.

Here's the info on the Yankees-Tribe matchups. It will be Pettitte-Lee on Friday night, Sabathia-Carmona on Saturday night, Hughes-Pavano on Sunday afternoon and Burnett-TBA on Monday night. If you have tickets for Sunday afternoon, note that it has been moved back 25 minutes (from 1:05 to 12:40) for TBS. 

Here's the info on the Jays-Sox matchups. It will be Janssen-Wakefield Friday night, Tallet-Penny Saturday afternoon and Romero-Lester on Sunday afternoon. No Halladay, Beckett or Dice-K for any of you. Sorry.

Also note if you're going to Toronto that ex-Presidents Clinton and Bush are speaking in the adjacent Metro Toronto Convention Centre Friday night so traffic and security will be tight in the area of Rogers Centre.

Consider taking the subway (park and ride available at Kipling and Islington are convenient to 427 North, Exit 139 off QEW).

And be careful about walkup or willcall tickets in Toronto. The Blue Jays ticket office has been overwhelmed by them. Either get tickets early in the day or do yourself a favor:  Order on the Internet and use the print at home option. At a Yankees game a couple weeks ago, some folks were still outside in the 5th inning because walkups exceeded 10,000. Don't get caught like that.

---Mike Harrington

The Bisons go for a four-game split against Columbus today in Coca-Cola Field and a win would give them four splits in four series outside the IL North. The Bisons are 7-8 in games outside their division -- but just 4-21 inside it. Ouch.

Fernando Nieve, who has spent parts of the last four years in Triple-A with Round Rock in the Houston chain, makes his second start for the Herd today against Columbus veteran Tomo Ohka, a veteran of 172 big-league starts. The 33-year-old Japanese veteran pitched a perfect game for Pawtucket against Charlotte in 2000 -- needing an incredible 76 pitches to get the 27 outs.

After getting a scheduled day off yesterday, Travis Hafner is back in the Columbus lineup today as the DH. It may be the last game on his injury rehab assignment. Clippers third baseman Andy Marte is 8 for 10 in the series and has hits in seven straight at-bats.

Red-hot Javier Valentin, the hero of Saturday's win for the Herd, is batting cleanup today for Buffalo for the first time since he arrived on the scene May 13. IL extra-base hit leader Fernando Martinez is in his usual No. 3 hole and playing left field today.

Martinez is batting .295 and the rumblings continue that he may not be here much longer. Adam Rubin reports in his New York Daily News blog today that Mets RF Ryan Church is getting an MRI and there's some concern he may have a torn hamstring. If the Mets need an outfielder for an extended period, you would think Martinez would get the call.

In other Mets/Bisons news, pitcher Oliver Perez is in town and threw a session in the bullpen this morning. Perez, who went 1-2, 9.97 in five starts before telling the Mets his $36 million knee had some tendinitis (nudge-nudge), is expected to start here this week against Lehigh Valley. If he threw today, that would mean he would start either Tuesday or Wednesday. He has been throwing in extended spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Today's game is on Time Warner 13 and you can follow pitch-by-pitch coverage here. Here's the lineups:

Columbus                   Buffalo
Michael Brantley, lf        Argenis Reyes, 2b
Trevor Crowe, cf            Cory Sullivan, cf
Travis Hafner, dh           Fernando Martinez, lf
Chris Gimenez, c            Javier Valentin, dh
Michael Aubrey, 1b         Michael Abreu, 1b
Andy Marte, 3b              Mike Lamb, 3b
Jordan Brown, rf            Rene Rivera, c
Josh Barfield, 2b           Jesus Feliciano, rf
Andy Cannizaro, ss         Mark Kiger, ss
------
Tomo Ohka, p                Fernando Nieve, p

---Mike Harrington