JOSH WEIR
Canton Repository
August 13, 2008 12:08 am
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CLEVELAND — The enemy just became family for Paul Byrd.
“I wasn’t a Red Sox fan this offseason,” Byrd said, referring to Boston’s ouster of the Tribe in last year’s ALCS. “Now for me to put on that jersey, it might take a minute.”
Byrd was dealt to the Red Sox on Tuesday for cash or a player to be named later. Boston will pick up the remainder of Byrd’s salary — around $2 million — for the rest of the season. He is a free agent this winter.
The Indians have until Jan. 15 to make a decision. GM Mark Shapiro stressed multiple times Tuesday that the potential player to be named later is of little consequence.
Shapiro, who said multiple teams were interested in Byrd, gave three main reasons for the move.
n Make room for the Tribe’s youngsters to play and be evaluated.
n Provide salary relief and “reinvest” it in other parts of the organization.
n Give Byrd the opportunity to pitch for a contender.
The 37-year-old Byrd realizes his chances at wining a World Series are dwindling, so he’s excited to join the Red Sox, who entered Tuesday leading the American League Wild Card race by two games over the White Sox and trailing the Rays in the East by four games.
“That being said, I going to miss a lot of people around here,” Byrd said. “Cleveland has been great to me.”
The Indians plan to call up someone today to take Byrd’s spot in the rotation for Thursday. That player will likely be Aaron Laffey or fellow lefty Zach Jackson, who was part of the CC Sabathia deal.
Shortly after arriving at the Tribe clubhouse around 2:30, Byrd was told by pitching coach Carl Willis to go see manager Eric Wedge.
“I was kind of ambushed,” Byrd said. “I hadn’t heard anything about anybody being interested. I hadn’t heard about the Red Sox. ... So it was kind of a surprise to me, an emotional moment.”
Byrd is just 7-10 on the season with a 4.53 ERA, but he’s won four consecutive starts and said Tuesday, “I’m as confident as I’ve ever been.”
“I told Paul the way he pitched made things come together pretty quickly,” Shapiro said. “That and the combination of some injuries.”
The Red Sox put veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on the 15-day DL recently with shoulder stiffness. Byrd said he’s slated to make his Red Sox debut on Friday at Fenway Park vs. the Blue Jays, who he just beat on Saturday when the Indians were in Toronto.
n NOT FOND MEMORIES — Byrd was in Boston for Game 7 of the ALCS last year when it was reported that he had taken Human Growth Hormone from 2002-05.
Byrd said it was for a medical condition. He was asked Tuesday if he found it ironic he was dealt to the Red Sox.
“I don’t know if it’s ironic because of the HGH thing,” Byrd said. “To me, it’s a little more ironic because that was the team that beat us.”
n ON THEIR WAY? — Shapiro said the Indians are discussing possibilities for September callups. As for Matt LaPorta, don’t expect him to be at Progressive Field.
“I wouldn’t rule it out completely, but I’d say it’s highly unlikely,” Shapiro said. “... This guy hasn’t been in one place for more than five days since we traded for him.”
LaPorta is currently in Beijing for the Olympic games.
n ANDY ANALYSIS — Shapiro offered these thoughts on 3B Andy Marte:
“Very good defense. He’s had some quality at-bats, some big hits for us. He certainly has to string together more quality at-bats to warrant being an offseason decision for us (going into 2009).”
n ON THE MEND — Prized pitching prospect Adam Miller is throwing off the mound after ligament surgery in his hand earlier this summer. Shapiro said Miller has endured no setbacks. The Indians plan for Miller to throw in the fall and winter leagues.
n ON THE FARM — First-round pick Lonnie Chisenhall left Mahoning Valley’s game on Monday night after being hit on the right hand. X-rays were negative and Chisenhall is day-to-day.
n LK IN ATTENDANCE — Mount Union head football coach Larry Kehres attended Tuesday’s game with his family. He watched batting practice on the field and chatted up Shapiro.
n TRIBE TIDBITS — According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Indians’ 328 runs scored since June 1 were the sixth most in baseball entering Tuesday night.
n AND FINALLY — Byrd asked someone in the clubhouse about bringing his blue Indians socks to Boston for good luck.
“I said, ‘I’m pretty hot right now. Should I take these?’ He said, ‘No, they wear red socks over there.’”
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