This Week In Indians Baseball: Week 13

NEWS:

• Travis Hafner returned from the disabled list on Wednesday after missing over a month due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
• Shelley Duncan was placed on the paternity list to see the birth of his twin baby boys, making room for Travis Hafner on the 25-man roster.
• The Indians honored the 65^th anniversary of Larry Doby breaking the color barrier in the American League on Friday night. In a postgame ceremony, the Indians and the city of Cleveland renamed Eagle Avenue, which runs between the ballpark and the parking garage behind the scoreboard, Larry Doby Way.
• When Duncan returned from the paternity list, Jason Donald was optioned back to Triple-A Columbus.
• Nick Hagadone was optioned to Triple-A Columbus after being roughed up in his last few appearances. After being removed from Friday’s game, Hagadone sustained a self-inflicted injury after punching something with his pitching hand. He was placed on the Minor League restricted list and will not be paid while there.
• Scott Barnes replaced Nick Hagadone on the active roster on Sunday.

WAHOO’S ON FIRST HIGHLIGHTS:

• Brian previewed the series against the Angels and the series against the Tampa Bay Rays
• Lewie interviewed Jason Evans of Halo Hangout about the Angels and Bradley Woodrum of DRaysBay about the Rays
• Brian broke down Carlos Santana’s recent struggles at the plate and proposed a solution
• Lewie investigated the long-term implications of Lonnie Chisenhall’s recent injury
• Geordy explained what to look for from Francisco Lindor and from Jesus Aguilar prior to Sunday’s MLB Futures Game
• In this week’s Wroundtable, we made our second half predictions 

WEEKLY TRIVIA:

• On May 20, Lou Marson was hitting .074. He is hitting .297 heading into the All-Star break.
• In the span between April 8 and July 5, the Indians were 25-2 in games that both Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez pitched. They had a combined ERA of 1.97 in that time.
• Through eleven games between June 28 and July 8, Casey Kotchman did not struck out once.
• Chris Perez’ blown save on Sunday was his first after converting 24 straight save opportunities since Opening Day. It was the second-longest saves streak in club history.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“This country has become one of the best in the world because of what our forefathers did way back then. We’re able to go out there and play, entertain and live in this free country. Hopefully there will be plenty of fireworks coming from our bats today.”—Johnny Damon before the game on the Fourth of July.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Casey Kotchman

On top of his usual strong effort at first base, Casey Kotchman had a great week at the plate.Kotchman hit .450 in six games last week. He had particularly strong showings at the plate on Wednesday and Sunday, with three RBI and a home run in each game.