Tribe Notebook: No treat for Francisco

ANDY CALL
Canton Repository

Tue, May 13 2008

— WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Indians made their final roster move of spring training Thursday morning, optioning outfielder Ben Francisco to Triple-A Buffalo.
Francisco was cut despite having had an outstanding spring. He batted .362 with a .404 on-base percentage and .617 slugging percentage in 16 games. Six of his 17 hits (three doubles, three home runs) went for extra bases. His nine RBI ranked fourth on the club.
“He had a great spring,” manager Eric Wedge said. “His offense wasn’t what caught my attention. It was the way he dedicated himself to working in other parts of his game, in the outfield and on the basepaths.
“He’s quick, but there’s an art to baserunning. He worked hard to get better at that.”
The final cut was not made until it was determined outfielder David Dellucci was healthy enough for the Opening Day roster. Dellucci was sidelined March 16-23 with soreness in his left wrist and forearm. He was able to play nine innings Wednesday against Houston and singled, doubled and tripled in five at-bats.
Jason Tyner was reassigned to minor-league camp. The former Tampa Bay and Minnesota outfielder had come to camp on a minor-league contract but was later given a locker in the big-league clubhouse.
There is one more formal roster move to be made before Monday’s opener. Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo must be placed on the disabled list. He is coming off Tommy John elbow surgery on his left elbow and will not be available until mid-May.
n RAYS 9, INDIANS 7 — The final game of spring training dragged into the 10th inning before the Rays scored two runs off left-hander Rich Rundles and defeated Cleveland (14-13-3).
Left-hander Craig Breslow preceded Rundles and gave up three runs in the seventh and eighth innings. The Indians then scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings.
Utilityman Andy Gonzalez hit a grand slamin the fourth inning off Tampa Bay pitcher and Wadsworth native Andy Sonnanstine. Jason Michaels and Jamey Carroll had two hits each for Cleveland.
Cliff Lee started for the Indians and was charged with four runs over 51⁄3 innings, including solo home runs from Carlos Crawford and Akinori Iwamura.
n COMING UP — The Indians will be at Atlanta tonight at 7:05 for an exhibition game against the Braves at Turner Field. Fausto Carmona is scheduled to start against Jair Jurrjens. The teams will also play Saturday at 1:05 p.m.
n LOOKING AHEAD — The Indians and White Sox will work out Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field. Opening Day is Monday at 3:05 p.m.
n IT’S A RECORD — Thursday’s crowd of 6,728 brought the final spring-training attendance total to 87,301 for 15 games. That surpassed the previous club record of 87,292, set over 16 games in 1999.

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