BOSTON — The Red Sox haven’t seen the Cleveland Indians since July and met only seven times this season. As a refresher course, with the Indians back in town for the American League Championship Series starting tonight, we consulted several scouts to give us their report on the A.L. Central champs.

SS JHONNY PERALTA:

Rebounded from a down year … solid overall player with good power ... generally a good defender, can be careless at times … not many shortstops have his power … can drive ball out to right-center in Cleveland … aggressive first-ball, fastball hitter who likes ball up in the zone … pull hitter, but can keep his hands inside ball well, similar to Manny (Ramirez) ... has struggled with off-speed stuff away … good slider away is the way to get him out … has a tendency to chase (pitches out of the zone) ... big home run threat to center field … arm strength is good.

3B CASEY BLAKE:

Self-made player … has improved his game this season ... similar to Peralta at the plate in that he’s basically a high fastball hitter … can struggle breaking stuff down and away … will occasionally dive at pitches … pitchers must pound him in … adequate defensively at third … similar player to Shea Hillenbrand … valuable player when utilized in the lower third of the order.

C VICTOR MARTINEZ:

Not many people realize what a good all-around player he is …. very good hitter who uses all fields … now more relaxed at the plate … when he first broke in, tried to hook everything and looked for homers too much … goes the other way more now and is a better breaking ball hitter … still struggles with pitches down and away … very slow base runner … good low-ball hitter … worked hard to improve his defense … credit goes to (former catcher now) Cleveland coach Joel Skinner … has significantly improved the quickness of his release.

1B RYAN GARKO:

Good hitter, but swing can be a little long … has good bat speed … gets in trouble when swing develops an upper-cut ... mostly a pull hitter … uses his hands a lot … sometimes rolls over breaking stuff … will hook sinkers away to the left side ... adequate defender at best … will expand the zone … (Josh) Beckett and (Curt) Schilling will run ball in on him.

CF GRADY SIZEMORE:

If he’s not the best leadoff man in the game, he’s close …. very good fastball hitter … likes the ball down … looks for fastballs early, and (with pitches) from thigh to belt, will kill you … has tendency at times to get over-aggressive early in the count … with soft stuff down and away, will roll over to the right side … when he’s patient at the plate you must change sequences and patterns ... good fastball guys can get in on him and beat him ... solid defender … plus-arm … gets good jumps and takes good routes in the outfield.

LF KENNY LOFTON:

Veteran gamer … not a guy you’d want for a full season, but for short spurts and in pressure situations, knows how to hit … can bunt, hit and run … pesky hitter … will take a ball down and away to left … will carve down and in to left and left-center … can still run some … small left field at Fenway Park will help him defensively … instincts are so-so … doesn’t throw well anymore … outfield reads are curious at times.

RF TROT NIXON:

Dead lowball hitter … pull-type hitter … declining bat speed, but knows how to cheat on everything … can still get around on quality fastballs ... early in the count hacker … go down and away and let him chase ... sometimes so geared up for fastball that early-count changes are good … must get him in and pound over his hands, then use a lot of soft stuff … will chase up-and-in fastballs when behind in count ... very good mistake hitter … only average in the outfield ... marginal range … average, but accurate arm.

DH TRAVIS HAFNER:

A beast … the Indians’ answer to (David) Ortiz … immensely strong … one of top five guys in the big leagues in terms of strength … lethal down-the-middle hitter ... great power ... if he’s in dead pull mode, off-speed away works best … you can’t just finesse him … pretty smart hitter, especially in Fenway with The Wall … back-foot slider, thrown down-and-in from righties, will be tough for him.

RF FRANKLIN GUTIERREZ:

Young player with a tendency to chase a little bit out of the zone … pitchers should speed his bat up out of the zone … get him out with some breaking balls away … struck out a lot … good raw power when he connects … might not project as an everyday player since production may not be there … swing still has big holes … good range in the outfield … plus, accurate arm which he likes to show off.

2B ASDRUBAL CABRERA:

A natural shortstop shifted to second base … immense talent with great upside ... still tendency to swing at balls out of the strike zone … will take walks, but has tendency to be impatient because of inexperience … pitchers can’t get fastballs by him … will sit on breaking balls … turns double play very well … can get bunts down and executes fundamentals well.

C KELLY SHOPPACH:

Improved behind the plate … always a pretty good hitter ... looks for fastball in ... adequate defensively … arm is OK.

LH C.C. SABATHIA:

Ace, front-line guy … throws hard … good breaking ball … power all the way, though he has a good breaking ball that’s halfway between a curve and slider ... command will come-and-go a bit ... has a tendency to overthrow at times … if he’s on, he’ll tough on Sox because of a willingness to pitch in … delivery has deception because of size … size also means he can get fatigued at times ... key is to make him work.

RH FAUSTO CARMONA:

Absolutely nasty stuff thanks to a plus-plus sinker ... throws everything hard ... sinker is the power variety, similar to the one Kevin Brown threw … slider has three-quarter break away from righties and good, late movement … delivery has lots of moving parts, making him tough to pick up.

RH PAUL BYRD:

A surgeon … mid 80s fastball … won’t get anyone out with velocity ... must stay out of the middle of the plate … must be mix-master … success dictated by command ... has to work fastball to both sides of plate … throws changeup away from lefties … doesn’t throw a lot of pitches in the strike zone … Boston may have the plate discipline to give him trouble.

RH JAKE WESTBROOK:

Classic sinker-slider guy … if he commands his slider in the strike zone, can be tough … get in trouble when he elevates … inconsistent … must throw strikes at the knee and down … relies on getting low strike called by umpires.

LH RAFAEL PEREZ:

Hard-thrower for a lefty reliever … throws fastball in the low 90s … best secondary pitch is slider, which is above average with a 1-to-7 late break … also throws a cutter … slow to the plate.

RH RAFAEL BETANCOURT:

Relies on fastball and curve … curve is the overhand variety with big drop which hitters will swing through at times.

RH JOE BOROWSKI:

Todd Jones-type closer … doesn’t throw all that hard … commands fastball well … gets by with goods depth to his breaking ball … has eighth-inning stuff with a ninth-inning mentality, not unlike Keith Foulke.

smcadam@projo.com