Bogar Back, With New Coaches At Akron

Tim Bogar will be back as manager of the Akron Aeros in 2007, but his coaching staff will have a different look. Greg Hibbard will return to the Double-A Eastern League team after one year as pitching coach at Triple-A Buffalo. Lee May Jr., has been named Aeros assistant coach after managing Class A Lake County in 2006. Athletic trainer Mike Salazar also will join the staff.

Bogar guided the Aeros to the best record in the Eastern League at 87-55 and was named 2006 Manager of the Year in his first season in the Indians organization this past summer. The Aeros rolled to the Southern Division title and advanced through the playoffs before finally losing in the final game of the championship series.

In 2005, Bogar led the Lexington Legends, the Houston Astros' entry in the Class A South Atlantic League, to an 81-58 record and also won top manager honors. In his first season as a manager in 2004, he led the Greeneville Astros to a 41-26 regular-season record and the Appalachian League title.

Bogar, 40, was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round in 1987 out of Eastern Illinois University. He spent parts of nine seasons in the Major Leagues with the Mets (1993-96), Astros (1997-2000) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2001). In 701 games, the scrappy infielder hit .228 (345-for-1516) with 180 runs, 69 doubles, nine triples, 24 homers, 161 RBI and 13 stoleb bases.

Hibbard, 38, returns to Akron for his fifth season as a pitching coach in the Indians' farm system. In 2006, he guided the Buffalo staff to a 3.44 ERA, third best in the International League. As a member of the Aeros' staff in 2005, he guided the staff to a 3.40 ERA as Akron won both the Southern Division and overall Eastern League title. He joined the Indians organization as pitching coach at short-season Mahoning Valley in 2002.

Hibbard was drafted by Kansas City in the 16th round in 1986 out of Alabama and played professionally for 12 seasons. He had a six-year MLB record of 57-50 with one save and a 4.05 ERA for the Chicago White Sox (1989-92), Chicago Cubs (1993) and Seattle Mariners (1994).

He flip-flops roles with Scott Radinsky, who will be the pitching coach at Buffalo after working with the Aeros' staff in 2006.

May, 38, will be with his fourth team in four years in the Indians' system. He was the hitting coach at Burlington in 2004, began 2005 as hitting coach at Kinston before being named manager at Burlington on July 17, then managed Lake County in 2006. The son of former MLB all-star Lee May also was hitting coach for the U.S. World Cup team that traveled to Holland in the fall of 2005.

He was a first-round draft pick by the Mets (No. 21 overall) in 1986 and played minor league ball for eight years in the Mets and Royals organizations, finishing his career in 1993.

Salazar spent the past two seasons at Class A Kinston and is entering his eighth year in the Indians organization. He was with Class A Burlington in 2000, Mahoning Valley from 2001-03 and Lake County in 2004 after beginning his training career in pro baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization.

He earned an undergraduate degree in sports medicine at Manchester College, and a graduate degree in exercise physiology at Alabama-Birmingham.