CLEVELAND — As disappointing as the first two-plus months of the season have been, the Indians are not raising the white flag, feeling as if they still have the ability to repeat as Central Division champions.
“I think it’s still possible,” said Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro, whose team stood six games under .500 and is in third place, 71/2 games behind the front-running White Sox. “Obviously we need to start playing consistently better baseball. I don’t think anyone’s going to run away with the division. I think there’s opportunity for us to get back in it. The first step is to get back in, then you can think about winning the division.”
That would seem to signal that the team has not begun to shop ace C.C. Sabathia, who is in the final year of his contract, with many feeling he won’t make it through the season in an Indians uniform.
“Right now, we’re looking at this team climbing back into this race any way we can,” Shapiro said. “Our jobs are to prepare for every potential outcome. But right now, our hope and our focus is on this team and this team getting back into it.
“I still enter every night believing this team is going to go on a good sustained run and reel off a bunch of victories and get right back in this thing. I go through other points of the day when I question how that’s possible. What you do is prepare both ways, prepare to add players and prepare for potential trading.”
The Indians had the opportunity to do as much this offseason, but passed on potential trades, opening the year with little roster upheaval from a team that came a win away from advancing to the World Series.
Shapiro still feels it was the best route to take.
“I’ve looked back on the offseason and I can’t think of anything we could’ve done differently,” he said. “We could have made a very, very, very painful trade to add one corner bat, but I’m not sure that would have any impact on what this team’s doing.”
While the Indians continue to lag, the surprising White Sox are one of the hottest teams in baseball, showing few signs of letting up.  
“We’re too far behind to worry about someone coming back to us,” Shapiro said. “We need to move closer to them, then we can worry about them coming back to us.”

Ailing arsenal

Two of the Indians’ top offensive weapons are battling injuries, but only one — designated hitter Travis Hafner — is on the disabled list. Cleveland has been reluctant to sideline catcher Victor Martinez — who has been nursing a sore left hamstring, and entered Wednesday batting .211 (16-for-76) over his last 20 games.
“We’re a better team with Victor, even if he’s not performing at 100 percent,” Shapiro said.
The same apparently can’t be said for Hafner, who is dealing with chronic right shoulder fatigue, with the Indians hoping their top run producer returns to normal after rest and a minor league rehab assignment, but there are no guarantees in that department.
“I think it’s too early for me to comment on that,” Shapiro said. “I hope that he will be, but there’s a chance he will come back and not be at 100 percent.”

A second thought

Second baseman Josh Barfield was out of the lineup after straining his left middle finger on a check swing in the fourth inning Tuesday.
Wedge said if Barfield was unable to swing the bat today that he would likely be placed on the disabled list, but that Asdrubal Cabrera would not be promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to take his place.
Barfield was called up Monday to replace a struggling Cabrera, who was hitting .184 with a home run and 14 RBIs in 50 games.

Roundin’ third

Left-hander Aaron Laffey was named Rookie of the Month for his performance in May. In five starts during the month, Laffey went 3-2 with a sparkling 0.79 ERA, allowing two runs or less in each of his outings.
• In celebration of the beginning of summer vacation, all children 14-and-under can attend tonight’s game for free. High school and college students have the opportunity to purchase half-price tickets.
• The Indians are offering a “Play Catch” promotion on Father’s Day (Sunday), allowing fans to play catch in the Progressive Field outfield after the 1:05 game against San Diego. The cost is $20 to attend one of three sessions, with the first already sold out. 

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