gue Division Series starting Thursday night.Th

CLEVELAND -- When Terry Francona looks across the diamond at Bostons dugout, the Indians manager will have emotions to suppress. Danny Welbeck England Jersey . 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. Marcus Rashford England Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Harry Maguire England Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Jordan-H...England-Jersey/ . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Johnny Manziel pledged to salvage something positive from his turbulent NFL career, telling his fans and followers on social media to mark his words that he will be back.The Heisman Trophy winner and former Texas A&M star quarterback, whose rise and fall has long been dominated by headlines about his off-the-field partying, tweeted on Monday to ask Aggies fans for forgiveness and express his love and devotion to the school.Manziel, 23, was replying after being tagged in a tweet by an A&M blog featuring video of one of Manziels touchdown runs against UTEP in 2013.Manziel also posted a message on Instagram later Monday, assuring fans that his playing career isnt over and he can come back.In an email to The Washington Post that was included as part of a larger profile of the quarterback published this past weekend, Manziel told the newspaper, Im actually doing well.I have good friends around me supporting what I do and I try to support them in what they want to do. Im not saying Im never drinking again, but for now just mostly being healthy. Ive got a killer gym in my house and I can spend time working out. Im interested in doing a lot of different things in my life -- including football -- but, right now, Im just exploring options and waiting to see what the future holds.The Cleveland Browns selected the player dubbed Johnny Football in 2014, but he struggled on the ffield and was released this year. Jack Butland England Jersey. ince the 2015 season ended, two agents have cut ties with Manziel after demanding he get a second round of treatment for drug and alcohol use.Manziel also faces a misdemeanor assault charge that carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine after he was accused of hitting and threatening former girlfriend Colleen Crowley during a night out in January.Manziel also faces potential punishment from the NFL under tougher standards regarding domestic violence cases adopted in 2014, following former?Baltimore Ravens?running back Ray Rices domestic?violence case. However, Manziel is not currently with an NFL team and therefore is not subject to league policies.The free-agent quarterback also was suspended for the first four games of next season for what a source told ESPN was a?violation of the NFLs substance abuse policy. The suspension, announced last month, is not related to the leagues domestic violence policy.As the domestic assault case has played out, the 2012 Heisman winner has been photographed partying from Hollywood to Las Vegas to New York in recent months, and his family has expressed concern about his well-being.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '