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Notebook Braves unsure about starting catcher for NLCS opener
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves still don't know who their starting catcher will be next round. Paul Bako played all 27 innings behind the plate against Houston, with normal starter Javy Lopez out with a sprained ankle. Lopez's status for the rest of the playoffs is questionable, and Bako missed Sunday's workout to be with his wife, Lauri, who's about to give birth to the couple's second child. Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said he had not heard from Bako and didn't know what his status would be for Tuesday's NLCS opener. Lopez caught 20 minutes in the bullpen Sunday and took batting practice, but said he's not sure when he'd be back. "The injury I have, they say it takes a month for it to heal," said Lopez, who hurt his ankle Sept. 30. "So I've only had two weeks, and already I'm doing more than they think I should do. "I can hit with no problem, and I can catch. But I have trouble blocking pitches and getting up to throw. I just hope the Braves go with three catchers on the roster, so if I do play, we'll have Bako or Eddie (Perez) just in case something happens."
Jamie stayingJamie Moyer didn't want to go back to Seattle alone. The Mariners offered to send Moyer home early in case the left-hander had to pitch Game 5 on Monday, but he didn't want to leave and stated his Top 5 list of reasons he wanted to stay. "I've never done it, number one," said Moyer, a 20-game winner this season. "Number two, I don't see any reason why. And number three, my feeling is I've been on a team, I feel like I'm part of the team, why separate yourself from the team? "Number four, why fly non-charter if you don't have to. Number five, I've seen it done numerous times. Actually, it goes back to the (Chicago) Cubs days, and every time I've seen it done, the starter never lasts beyond the first or second inning." Moyer will now be on a much happier flight as the Mariners won 6-2 to force the decisive Game 5. Indians manager Charlie Manuel said he considered sending Chuck Finley, who lost Game 2 in Seattle, out early for a possible Game 5 but decided against it because of the uncertainty of when Game 4 would be played with rain forecast for all day Sunday.
Cool customerRookie C.C. Sabathia's performance against Seattle in Game 4 didn't surprise any of the Indians, who have watched the left-hander perform like a 10-year veteran all season. Sabathia survived a shaky first inning and then the 21-year-old held the Mariners in check for six innings in Cleveland's surprising 17-2 win on Saturday. How'd he do it? Indians center fielder Kenny Lofton thinks he knows the secret. "I don't think he knows what's going on," Lofton joked. "He thinks he's pitching in Little League. I don't think he understands the magnitude of the situation he's in." Sabathia admitted being nervous when he took the mound, and after getting out of a bases-loaded jam by giving up just one run, he got back to the dugout and tried to relax. He looked at pitching coach Dick Pole, and the two started laughing. "Everybody in the dugout knew I was nervous," Sabathia said. Sabathia's nerves were soothed when the Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the first. But before he went back on the field, Pole gave him some more advice. "Go put up a zero on the scoreboard and stop making me nervous," Pole said. Sabathia, who went 17-5 during the regular season, retired 10 consecutive Mariners after his bases-loaded walk to John Olerud in the first and didn't allow another runner past second base before leaving to a standing ovation in the seventh. "He's been our guy all year," Indians first baseman Jim Thome said. "When we needed a big win, he's always stepped up. You sure can't tell he's 21 years old. He's a special kid."
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