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CLEVELAND — http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey , who are in full-blown postseason preparation mode, will host the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Progressive Field, the first game of Cleveland’s final homestand of the regular season.The Indians’ magic number for clinching their third consecutive American League Central title is three. With that in mind, Indians manager Terry Francona and his staff are implementing some lineup adjustments in preparation for the postseason.The most obvious is the addition of third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was acquired in a trade with Toronto. He made his debut with the Indians on Tuesday in Tampa Bay, batting fifth and going 0-for-4.Article continues below ...Donaldson is expected to be in the lineup Friday at third base. His addition has moved third baseman Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping second baseman Jason Kipnis to center field.For Ramirez, the position switch comes at a time when he’s trying to hit his way out of his first slump of the season. After a spectacular first half of the season that landed him a start at third base for the American League all-star team, Ramirez has been in an extended slump.From opening day through the end of July, Ramirez was hitting .298, with a 1.038 OPS. Since Aug. 1, he is hitting .228 with a .763 OPS.In Cleveland’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, Ramirez, who is third in the American League with 38 home runs, snapped an 86-at bat homerless streak with a homer off Rays ace Nate Snell.Francona says he isn’t worried about his MVP candidate’s slump.“We’ve all seen what he can do. We know it’s in there, and we know he’s going to get hot Ryon Healy Jersey ,” Francona said. “He’s an extremely intelligent hitter when it comes to knowing how teams are pitching him, and what they’re trying to do. He’s had a little lull here, but he can hit any pitch. He’s going to be fine.”Cleveland’s starting pitcher Friday night also reflects the team’s priority of getting the rotation lined up for the start of the postseason. Because of that, Josh Tomlin (1-5, 6.63 ERA) will get a spot start.Tomlin, who won 23 games as a member of the rotation the last two years, made six disastrous starts to begin the 2018 season and was quickly moved to the bullpen. In three starts, Tomlin was 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA. In 22 relief appearances, he is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA.Friday will be Tomlin’s first start since May 15, when he took the loss as Cleveland fell 9-8 to Detroit. In that game, Tomlin gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, with four strikeouts and no walks.In four appearances (two starts) against Detroit this year, Tomlin has no record and a 2.92 ERA. In 20 career appearances (14 starts) against the Tigers, he is 7-6 with a 4.87 ERA.Left-hander Matt Boyd will start for Detroit. Boyd (9-12, 4.11) made his last start on Sept. 8, when he got no decision in a 4-3 Detroit loss to St. Louis. In that start Boyd was outstanding http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-dee-gordon-jersey , working seven innings and allowing one run and two hits, with 11 strikeouts and one walk.In two starts against Cleveland this year, Boyd is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In his career, he has made seven appearances (six starts) against the Indians and is 1-3 with a 3.05 ERA.The Tigers, who come into Friday’s game on a four-game losing streak, are 4-12 vs. the Indians this year. LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man ahead of his time more than 40 years ago, Dave Dombrowski studied to become a general manager.Going into his junior year at Western Michigan’s Lee Honors College in 1977, he started work on his thesis: “The General Manager, ‘The Man in the Middle'” and wrote letters to every GM in the big leagues.About half responded to his questionnaire, which ended with a request for a follow-up interview, and Roland Hemond of the Chicago White Sox invited him to come to Comiskey Park.Dombrowski asked about jobs in baseball, and Hemond suggested he go to the winter meetings in Honolulu. So Dombrowski headed to Hawaii, learned the White Sox were seeking an administrative assistant, cut short his senior year and started work Jan. 3 at age 21 after negotiating an $8,000 salary — $1,000 more than originally offered.And with that began a career that led to a World Series title with the 1997 Florida Marlins Robinson Cano Jersey , AL pennants with Detroit in 2006 and ’12 and a second championship with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.“When you’re younger, you think that it will happen more often,” he said.Wearing a red polo shirt with blue stripes along with a blue suit, Dombrowski grinned widely as Boston’s owners were presented the trophy. His moves included signing slugger J.D. Martinez last winter and adding Nathan Eovaldi, Steve Pearce and Ian Kinsler during the season.“For myself, it’s an absolute thrill,” Dombrowski said. “It just doesn’t get any better from a professional perspective.”Dombrowski was hired as Boston’s president of baseball operations in August 2015, two weeks after he was fired by the Tigers in the middle of his 14th season.Hours after Detroit made its stunning announcement, Dombrowski received a call from Red Sox owner John Henry, who bought the Marlins in January 1999 after Dombrowski had completed six seasons as Florida’s GM.“He said, ‘Let’s talk.’ He said, ‘I’ve got some thoughts. Please don’t do anything,'” Dombrowski recalled Sunday.Dombrowski’s 77-page paper, finished in 1978, examined running ballclubs back to the 1860s, the hiring of men to run teams for absentee owners and the creation of the GM job when Cleveland owner Alva Bradley hired Billy Evans in November 1927.He examined the success of Branch Rickey and George Weiss Felix Hernandez Jersey , and discussed the changes brought about by the players’ union. Dombrowski correctly predicted big business and internationalization would transform the role into a senior executive supervising a staff.“In this new system of organization, the general manager would occupy the top position of the baseball department, and perform an integrative function so that his whole department would run efficiently,” he wrote then.Now 62, he looks back with fondness at his start with the White Sox. He was part of a five-man front office that included assistant business manager Mike Veeck, the son of maverick owner Bill Veeck; player personnel adviser Paul Richards; and director of baseball operations Charlie Evranian.“I used to drive Bill and Roland home a lot of times,” Dombrowski said. “I answered tryout letters. I did filing. I got to go to spring training. I set up transportation. At that time you did everything and anything they wanted, and I loved it. I was there every hour of the day basically, every waking hour, because there were few of us.”His job with the Red Sox isn’t comparable.“Now, we have a gathering of the baseball group, there’s 35 in the front office,” he said in Dodger Stadium’s first base dugout before Game 5.Chicago promoted Dombrowski several times, but he was fired when Ken Harrelson was GM in 1986. Murray Cook hired him as Montreal’s director of player development and Dombrowski became the Expos’ GM in July 1988 at age 31.Dombrowski stayed a little more than three years, then left in September 1991 to become GM of the expansion Marlins ahead of their first season in 1993.He hired Jim Leyland as manager in 1996, and a year later the Marlins won the World Series in just their fifth season. Founding owner H. Wayne Huizenga sold the team to Henry in January 1999 Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey , and Dombrowski remained as GM until November 2001.As Henry prepared to sell the Marlins and head the group that bought the Red Sox, Dombrowski left to become president and chief executive officer of the Tigers. Leyland joined Dombrowski as manager for 2006 and spent eight seasons with Detroit that included just one losing record.Tigers scout Scott Reid taught Dombrowski a valuable lesson, that times had changed and he no longer should keep a locker in the clubhouse and change after jogging.“I think you might want to spend a little less time in the clubhouse,” Dombrowski remembered was the message. “He said they look at you differently now and I didn’t really comprehend that. They need their own space.”Dombrowski was brought in by the Red Sox to take a position above general manager Ben Cherington, who decided to leave. The Red Sox rebounded from a last-place finish to win two straight AL East titles, but after consecutive Division Series losses, Dombrowski hired rookie manager Alex Cora last fall to replace John Farrell.Cora led the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 wins during the regular season. They meet for five to 15 minutes before games to kick around ideas.“He’s been able to slow it down for me,” Cora said. “He tells me what he saw during the games or he asks me what I’m thinking.”Dombrowski takes care not to impose.“You just want to make sure that nothing’s missed, and normally it’s not,” he said. “We try to guide where necessary but also let him make his own decisions. I think it’s important.”