CLEVELAND -- John Axford had other choices where he could pitch next season. Adidas Sneakers Cheap . The Indians closed the deal. Axford, who had 46 saves for Milwaukee in 2011 but lost his closers job last season and was traded to St. Louis, finalized a $4.5 million, one-year contract Thursday and will close for Cleveland in 2014. The 30-year-old Axford had other teams interested in signing him, but he decided to join the Indians because of their turnaround in 2013, a strong clubhouse and manager Terry Francona, who sold Axford with his typical straightforward approach. "He was very, very up front with me about the team, the organization, the city," Axford said. "It just sounded to me like a situation I want to be a part of." Axford replaces two-time All-Star closer Chris Perez, who was released in October after Cleveland made its first playoff appearance since 2007. Axford agreed to the contract with Cleveland earlier this week, and completed the deal after taking a physical on Wednesday. The right-hander can earn another $1.75 million in performance bonuses based on games finished: $250,000 for 38 and $300,000 apiece for 43, 48, 53, 58 and 63. The Indians initially considered filling the closers role within the organization -- right-handers Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen were the top candidates -- and pursued several veteran free agents before working out a deal with Axford. The Indians werent scared off despite Axford struggles last season, when he started horribly and was demoted by the Brewers before eventually being traded to St. Louis in August. "We thought he was the right guy to take a chance on," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. "We feel like we added an experienced, power arm to the back of our bullpen." Antonetti said the team wasnt reluctant to give the job to Shaw or Allen, its just that Axford was a better option and the club feels he can "bounce back" and be an elite stopper again. Axford attributed some of his early problems last season to pitching in the World Baseball Classic. He was throwing hard from the get-go and went through a "dead arm" period when his velocity dropped following the WBC. But after making some adjustments, Axford settled in and posted a 2.92 ERA in his final 71 appearances with the Brewers and Cardinals. "I dont like to make excuses," Axford said. "I really enjoyed pitching for my country, but I really dont think my arm was ever ready for the start of the regular season. I had a dead arm and my velocity was down in those first few games of the regular season. But when you give up four home runs and have an ERA of 22 after four games, you cant be surprised that youre not the closer anymore." Axford has a 22-19 career record with a 3.29 ERA and 106 saves in 281 relief appearances. He said being a free agent "was fun, but it was difficult." Ultimately, he thought the Indians were the best fit for him because they provided a chance to close again and Cleveland is just a 4 1-2 hour drive from his home in Ontario. It also helped the Indians are on the rise after earning a wild-card spot in 2013. "There were certainly other teams in the mix," Axford said. "They had a great season last year. It seemed like a team I would want to pitch for." Wholesale Sneakers . The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Darren Sproles from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick on Tuesday. Cheap Nike Sneakers . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. http://www.cheapsneakers.us/ .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude.BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. It was Oshawas (30-12-4) fourth win in a row. Michael Dal Colle opened the scoring for the Generals with his 29th goal of the season on a power play at 8:43 of the first period. Justice Dundas scored the games other goal a little over two minutes later. Charlie Graham made 23 saves for Belleville (13-28-4). Oshawa was 1 for 2 on the power play, while the Bulls were 0 for 7. --- FRONTENACS 6 67s 4 OTTAWA -- The Kingston Frontenacs used a four-goal second period to open a 5-0 lead before holding off the 67s. Six players shared in the scoring for Kingston (25-17-4) with Corey Pawley getting the Frrontenacs on the board first. Cheap Sneakers From China. Goals by Michael Moffat, Spencer Watson, Slater Doggett and Lawson Crouse made it 5-0 in the second period. Henri Ikonen added an empty netter with two seconds left in the game after Ottawas fourth straight goal cut the margin to 5-4. Ryan Van Stralen scored twice for the 67s. Brett Gustavsen and Travis Konecny got the other Ottawa (15-26-4) goals. Konecnys goal made it a one-goal game at 14:34 of the third. Matt Mahalak made 23 saves for Kingston, which ended a four-game losing streak. Philippe Trudeau was lifted after allowing his fifth goal on 19 shots at 14:11 of the second period. Liam Herbst went the rest of the way and turned back all 15 shots he faced. The Frontenacs were 0 for 3 on the power play, and the 67s were 1 for 4. ' ' '