CLEVELAND — The Indians’ platoon in left field has been pretty much a one-man show through the first 31 games of the season, starring David Dellucci.
Dellucci, who is coming off an injury-shortened debut season in Cleveland, surprisingly enough has been one of the Indians’ few position players to show signs of life at the plate, batting .264 (19-for-72) with three home runs and nine RBIs through 25 games. Meanwhile, platoon mate Jason Michaels is all but flat-lining, hitting .207 (12-for-58) without a homer and just nine RBIs in 21 games.
What’s more alarming in Michaels’ case is that he’s not hitting left-handers, something he’s done well in his career (.300) and the reason he’s in the lineup. Michaels has just three hits in 24 at-bats (.125) against lefties this season and is without a homer or RBI.
“That’s something he’s always done well,” said Indians manager Eric Wedge. “We haven’t seen much of that this year.”
Though Dellucci isn’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball, he does appear to be on the positive side of his recovery from a torn hamstring that required surgery in 2007. He’s one of just three regulars — Victor Martinez (.347) and Grady Sizemore (.277) — hitting above .255.
The Indians could look for help at Triple-A Buffalo (Ben Francisco) to replace Michaels or they could choose to leave Dellucci in the lineup on a full-time basis, but neither appears to be an enticing prospect at this point. Francisco entered Sunday hitting just .236
(21-for-89) with a homer and six RBIs in 23 games at Buffalo, while Dellucci is a career .204 hitter against lefties.  
Progressive props
SI.com conducted an online fan poll ranking the top ballparks in the big leagues, and Progressive Field was at the top of the list, followed by Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, Detroit’s Comerica Park and St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
Nearly 15 percent of fan response came from season-ticket holders, and more than half came from people who attend at least five games per season.
Cleveland ranked fifth in the American League in attendance through Saturday, averaging 22,628 fans in 18 home dates. The Yankees led the majors with an average of 50,713.  
Next up
The Indians are off today before beginning a three-game series against New York at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday (7:05 p.m.). It is the final meeting of the regular season between the teams, who split a four-game series at Progressive Field April 25-28.
Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.60) opens the set against LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.93), while Cliff Lee (5-0, 0.96) opposes RHP Chien-Ming Wang
(6-0, 3.00) on Wednesday (7:05).
Paul Byrd (1-2, 3.74) is slated to start the series finale Thursday (1:05), while the Yankees counter with RHP Mike Mussina (3-3, 4.73).
Cleveland has the opportunity to win its first season series against the Yanks since 1992.
Roundin’ third
Though the Indians continue to struggle offensively, they have only been shut out three times this season.
l Designated hitter Travis Hafner has just two multihit games since April 15.
l Shortstop Jhonny Peralta is in the midst of an 0-for-16 skid and has seen his average drop to .216 (22-for-102).
Contact Chris Assenheimer
at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

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