NEU » h begins its Cup defence at fourth-tier club

CLEVELAND -- When Terry Francona looks across the diamond at Bostons dugout, the Indians manager will have emotions to suppress. It wont be easy.Hes got friends over there -- one of his closest in manager John Farrell -- and strong personal attachments with players like David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. Under normal circumstances, Francona would be wishing them the best.Not now. This October, the Red Sox are in his way.Francona, who guided Boston to a pair of World Series titles and exorcised the Curse of The Bambino before leaving in turmoil in 2011, will face his former team in the postseason for the first time when the Indians meet the Red Sox in the American League Division Series starting Thursday night.There are deep connections between the two franchises meeting for the fifth time in the playoffs since 1995. None, though, are stronger than those for Francona, who is doing all he can to keep the attention directed at the field and the AL East and AL Central champions.I dont think Id want to ignore it, he said Wednesday of his ties to the Red Sox. Theres a lot of history there, a lot of people I really care about. But Ive been here four years. Its not a bad thing when you move on. Sometimes its just time to move on.Cleveland is back in the postseason for the second time in four years and had one more victory than Boston this season while running away with its division. Still, Francona understands the Indians are heavy underdogs in the best-of-five series.I think the way weve played this year, were a worthy opponent and well hold our own, he said. We just need to win one more game than our opponent. Well see if were good enough.Befitting a season in which theyve withstood adversity and key injuries, the Indians will start Trevor Bauer in Game 1 against Rick Porcello, Bostons 22-game winner.Bauer began the season in Clevelands bullpen, but because of injuries to Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Game 2 starter Corey Kluber, the enigmatic right-hander -- who acknowledged he can be difficult to deal with sometimes -- has jumped to the front of the rotation.Francona said Bauers relationship with the Indians is still evolving but he has complete confidence in handing the 25-year-old the ball in the seasons biggest game.I dont think anybody has any trepidation about letting Trevor pitch Game 1, Francona said. I think hes been waiting for this his whole life. And we also think he can bounce back and pitch on short rest and do just fine.The Red Sox and Indians ended last season playing each other in Cleveland and they began this season together on April 4, when the opener at Progressive Field was postponed by snow. Now, here they are again with much higher stakes.Like Francona, Farrell is doing all he can to keep the focus on the players, a skill he learned from his longtime friend.The one thing that he always spoke of is to be true to yourself, Farrell said when asked how Francona made him a better manager. If youve done your work, if youve prepared to the point of decisions that are to be made, and making those decisions, if youre true to that process, true to yourself, you can live with the scrutiny, the criticism or balance it with times that are successful.And the tough ones, too.When Farrell was battling cancer last year, Francona accompanied him to his first chemotherapy session. The men share a special bond, one forged by baseball and strengthened by shared experiences.At this time a year ago, Farrell wasnt sure how many Octobers he had left and its why hes savoring this one. His illness taught him perspective and grace.I relish every moment of every day, he said.FAMILY AFFAIR: Franconas 82-year-old father, Tito, who played outfield for the Indians from 1959-64, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1.Im going to walk him out to the mound, or hell walk me out, Francona said, and hes going to throw the pitch to (Cleveland bench coach) Brad Mills who is as close to family as you can get. So it will be a very special moment.ROAD WARRIORS: Boston was baseballs best road team after the All-Star break, going 27-17 and finishing an AL-best 46-35 away from Fenway Park.It felt like we were on the road for two months straight, Porcello said.NAPOLIS PARTY: Indians slugger Mike Napoli, whose Party At Napolis T-shirts have become fashion musts in Cleveland, had a career season in his first year with the Indians. He hit 34 homers -- many of them tape-measure shots -- with 101 RBI. He also provided leadership in Clevelands clubhouse and lineup.Farrell, who managed him for two seasons, isnt surprised by Napolis breakout.A smart baseball player, Farrell said. He was probably one of our best baserunners, despite the foot speed, when he was with us in Boston. Hes become a damn good first baseman defensively. But his overall presence, its the same guy every day. There was a calming influence with us. He sees the most pitches of anybody in baseball. Thats going to have an effect on the guys around him in the lineup.Basket Air Max Plus . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Tn Pas Cher Chine . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. http://www.basketnikedestockage.fr/ . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Basket Air Max 270 Homme . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Air Max 270 Pas Cher Chine .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. BERLIN -- Third-division club Saarbruecken defeated Werder Bremen 3-1 after extra time Sunday to send the Bundesliga side out of the German Cup in the first round for the third year in a row. Borussia Moenchengladbach also crashed out to a third-division team, losing 5-4 to Darmstadt on penalties after Branimir Hrgota missed the decisive spot kick. The match was scoreless following extra time. "Hrgota naturally took a lot of risk with his shot," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said of the penalty that crashed off the crossbar and landed on the goal line. "Its often only millimeters." In Saarbruecken, Nils Fischer struck just before halftime for the home side before Sebastian Proedl equalized in the 59th minute. Tim Stegerer scored with a deflected shot at the end of the first period of extra time, and Saarbruecken striker Marcel Ziemer sealed the win following a counterattack in the 112th. It was Bremens first competitive game in 14 years without Thomas Schaaf as coach, and the loss puts immediate pressure on successor Robin Dutt. "This is the worst case," Dutt said. "When you lose your first competitive game as a new coach, then it makes the work more difficult. The fans were really mad but their anger is justified. Its also my job to answer questions. There was certainly much to explain." There was another upset in Sundays late game, with Nuremberg losing 5-4 on penalties at SV Sandhausen. Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann was the star for the second-division side, saving two spot-kicks after the game finished 1-1 following extra time. Hamburger SV won 4-0 at fifth-tier club Jena but needed to wait until the 72nd for Artjoms Rudnevs to break thee deadlock 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute.dddddddddddd The Latvian striker rounded the goalkeeper for his second four minutes later, before Rafael van der Vaart and off-season signing Jacques Zoua put added gloss on the scoreline. Hannover defeated fourth-tier team Victoria Hamburg 2-0, thanks to goals from Artur Sobiech in the 69th and Szabolcs Huszti in injury time. Vedad Ibisevic scored with a header in the first half and converted a penalty in the second to give Stuttgart a 2-0 win over Dynamo Berlin. Hertha Berlin needed Sami Allaguis penalty in injury time of extra time to salvage a 3-2 win over fourth-tier side Neumuenster. Optik Rathenow, another fourth-tier team, took second-division club FSV Frankfurt to extra time but conceded two goals to lose 3-1 in its first German Cup game. Third-division team Arminia Bielefeld provided the first surprise of the round by defeating promoted Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1. Fourth-tier side Wiedenbrueck caused another shock by beating second-division club Fortuna Duesseldorf 1-0 with an injury-time penalty from Marwin Studtrucker. Second-division club Greuther Fuerth won 2-0 at fifth-tier side Pfeddersheim. Matt Taylor was again the star for third-division club Preussen Muenster, which beat St. Pauli 1-0 thanks to his first-half strike. The American forward scored a hat trick and set up another when Muenster beat Bremen in the first round last year. Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-0 at fourth-tier team FV Illertissen through goals from Spanish forward Joselu in the 64th and Sebastian Rode with a fine strike in injury time. Bayern Munich begins its Cup defence at fourth-tier club h begins its Cup defence at fourth-tier club ball Jerseys[/url] ' ' '