MLB Notes: Terry Francona faces past as Indians meet Red Sox

When Terry Francona looks across the diamond at Boston’s dugout, the Indians manager will have emotions to suppress. It won’t be easy. He’s 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 A.L. East and A.L. Central champions.

“There’s a lot of history there, a lot of people I really care about. But I’ve been here four years. It’s not a bad thing when you move on,” he said.

Still, Francona understands the Indians are heavy underdogs in the best-of-five series.

“I think the way we’ve played this year, we’re a worthy opponent and we’ll hold our own,” he said. “We just need to win one more game than our opponent. We’ll see if we’re good enough.”

Befitting a season in which they’ve withstood adversity and key injuries, the Indians will start Trevor Bauer in Game 1 against Rick Porcello, Boston’s 22-game winner.

Bauer began the season in Cleveland’s 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 Bauer’s relationship with the Indians is still “evolving” but he has complete confidence in handing the 25-year-old the ball in the season’s biggest game.

“I don’t think anybody has any trepidation about letting Trevor pitch Game 1,” Francona said. “I think he’s 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 you’ve done your work, if you’ve prepared to the point of decisions that are to be made, and making those decisions, if you’re 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 wasn’t sure how many Octobers he had left and it’s why he’s savoring this one. His illness taught him perspective and grace.

“I relish every moment of every day,” he said.

Jays prepare for rematch

There was Jose Bautista’s emphatic bat flip after his tiebreaking homer in the ALDS-clinching game last October, and then Rougned Odor’s punch in May that ignited a bench-clearing brawl the last time the Rangers and Blue Jays played. Now comes the rematch.

The Blue Jays were back at the Rangers’ ballpark for a workout Wednesday. It was their first time since that May 15 melee when Bautista was punched by Odor.

Bautista says he’s not looking for revenge and that his entire focus is on winning games.

Game 1 of the best-of-five series is Thursday, with a matchup of All-Star starting pitchers. Lefty Cole Hamels pitches for the Rangers against right-hander Marco Estrada.

MLB wants cans banned

Major League Baseball has spoken with the Toronto Blue Jays about banning cans from the seats at Rogers Centre and wants officials in Canada to prosecute the fan who threw a beer at Baltimore outfielder Hyun Soo Kim during the seventh inning of the A.L. wild-card game.

Police released a photo of the fan suspected of throwing the can and it was shared on social media.

“We are working very hard to locate the individual involved,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I think from a deterrent perspective, it’s important to follow up and make sure that he’s prosecuted to the extent available.”

The photo released shows a man with dark hair, a Blue Jays shirt and a jacket glaring down at Kim.

Clearing the bases

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is hopeful the sport can play regular-season games in London for the first time in 2018. … Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds was fired along with third base coach Lenny Harris and bullpen coach Reid Cornelius. … All-Star lefty Cole Hamels will start the A.L. Division Series opener for the Rangers against the Blue Jays. … Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will have surgery on his right knee next week. … Catcher Yan Gomes is on the Indians’ postseason roster after recovering from a broken hand. … Injured Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy (buttocks) won’t say if he’ll be ready for the N.L. Division Series opener against the Dodgers, but he did say he’s doing better. … Brad Ausmus will return next year for a fourth season as the Tigers’ manager.