CLEVELAND — Boston may be able to show Victor Martinez plenty of victories, pennant chases and a potential World Series ring or two, but the Red Sox will never be able to show the veteran catcher the love he felt as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

The Indians traded the three-time All-Star last season to the Red Sox, and tears streamed down Martinez’s cheeks as he said goodbye to the city and its fans during a final news conference.

He met with the media again before Monday’s game between the Indians and Red Sox, and his voice cracked with emotion once more.

“Obviously, it’s pretty emo­tional,” Martinez said. “The first time getting back here, it’s a weird feeling. Just going into a different door, coming into a different club­house … it’s tough.”

The Cleveland fans made things a little easier for Martinez, rising to their feet and giving him a roaring ovation during his first at-bat. Two fans in particular have gone a step further to show Martinez how much he is cared about.

Bob and Patty Bixler served as Martinez’s host family when he came to the United States from Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, in 1999 to play his rookie season at Mahoning Valley. Martinez, his wife Margaret and his kids — Victor Jose and Maria Victoria — are staying with the Bixlers in Warren during Boston’s four-game series with Cleveland this week.

“They are my mom and my dad,” Martinez said. “I met them in 1999 and I still keep in touch with them. Believe it or not, they are my family here.”

Martinez feels nearly as good about the Indians organization.

“I left this place, but I’m always going to have it in my heart,” he said. “I grew up here as a player and as a person, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Martinez took the time to visit the home team’s clubhouse, meeting with former teammates, coaches and trainers — although there weren’t as many familiar faces to greet him.

“If you go back to ’07 and that team that we had (that was one win from the World Series),” Martinez said. “Just two or three years later and there’s pretty much nobody left from that team. It’s pretty tough to believe, but that’s just the way it is.”

Martinez said he also gets to see former teammates often when meeting up with other teams, including CC Sabathia, who is now the ace of the New York Yankees rotation. With the historic rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox, Martinez admits that it’s a strange environment for happy reunions.

“Every time we face them I say hi to him, but it is weird,” Martinez said. “I caught him for so many years. But I did recently get my 1,000th hit at Fenway Park and it was a two-run homer off CC.

“Maybe I’ll try and get him to autograph the ball for me.” The Indians may have drafted Martinez, developed him into a major league catcher and turned him into one of the most fearsome switch hitters in the game, but it’s the club’s final act toward him that makes him the most thankful.

“They sent me to one of the greatest teams in baseball, to the Red Sox,” Martinez said. “They sent me to a contending team that’s always in the race, to a team that always has a chance to win the World Series. I’m really, really happy to be here.

“So far it’s been great. Great fans, it’s a great ballpark to play baseball in, a full house every night. What else can you ask for?”

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND — Matt LaPorta’s trial run has come to an end.

The 25-year-old first base­man/ outfielder, who has strug­gled for most of the season, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Monday to clear room for Andy Marte.

Marte was activated from the disabled list, where he has been since May 15 with a non­baseball related injury.

LaPorta, the key component in the CC Sabathia trade with Milwaukee in 2008, hit just .218 with one home run and seven RBIs in 35 games for the Indi­ans. He had been losing play­ing time to left fielder Austin Kearns and first baseman Rus­sell Branyan.

“We just don’t think there are enough at-bats for him,” Acta said of LaPorta, who struck out 25 times in 119 at-bats. “It’s not fair to the kid. I think we did give him enough at-bats, but we feel like he should be down there playing every day.

“Everybody wants to win and develop at the same time, but whether you are develop­ing or not, you still want to put the best team on the field. Yes, you can (develop and still win). You just can’t develop 25 guys at the same time.”

Acta said LaPorta would play both first base and left field in Columbus, but that the Indians would continue to develop him more at first.

Marte is expected to return to his role as a backup at first and third. He entered Monday batting .208 with a homer and seven RBIs in 15 games.

Sipp slidin’ away?

Acta isn’t concerned with the recent struggles of reliever Tony Sipp, who endured a disastrous road trip that saw the left-hander allow 12 earned runs in four outings that covered only 1 1 / 3 innings.

“I think it’s just one of those periods,” Acta said. “He’s still a guy we trust. He just had a very tough road trip. We’ll continue to throw him out there and hope that he gets back into that rhythm he had before.”

Sipp didn’t allow an earned run in 15 consecutive outings before the recent slide that raised his ERA from 1.40 to 6.53 through Sunday.

Minor details

• Columbus right-hander Yohan Pino tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed only two hits in a 5-1 victory over Indianapolis on Sunday. Pino, the player to be named in the Carl Pavano trade with Minnesota last year, leads the Clippers with a 6-2 record (4.12 ERA) in 11 starts.
• ◾LHP Nick Hagadone got his first Double-A victory Sunday, allowing four hits and a walk over five innings of Akron’s 3-0 shutout of Harrisburg. Over 12 starts between advanced Class A Kinston (9) and Akron, Hagadone, who was acquired in the Victor Martinez trade with Boston last year, is 2-3 with a 2.51 ERA. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in 10 of his starts and has struck out at least five in seven of them.

Roundin’ third

• Mitch Talbot, who leads all major league rookies with seven wins, is 3-0 against the White Sox. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Talbot is the first rookie pitcher to beat Chicago three times in one season since Sabathia did it with Cleveland in 2001.
• Shin-Soo Choo entered Monday ranked eighth in the American League with 32 walks.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

LORAIN — Two woman and a teen girl are facing theft charges, and the two women also face charges for contributing to the delinquency of a minor for setting a poor example for the teen after they attempted to shoplift at Kohl’s in Lorain late last week, according to a police report. (more…)

LORAIN — Drugs with a street value in the hundreds of thousands of dollars were seized during a bust Thursday evening in Lorain. Officers also seized nine vehicles, four guns and a large amount of cash.

Lorain police Lt. Edward Super said the Lorain Police Department assisted on an investigation initiated by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. He said the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office learned that individuals were selling a kilo of cocaine for $36,000 at an address on West 17th Street.

According to Super, the home, 1426 W. 17th St., was a known drug house and supposed chop shop police had been watching. The tip prompted officers to act immediately, however.

Officers initially arrested four individuals and later arrested a fifth man who held the lease of the property.

Arrested were: Luis Robledo, 19, of Lorain; Ruben Deleone, 24, of Lorain; Luis Morales, 27, of Lorain; and Lucas Morales and Y. Adorno, according to Super.

Super said Adorno was arrested for trafficking in cocaine, while Robledo, Deleone and Luis Morales were arrested for conspiracy to traffic cocaine. He said Lucas Morales was arrested for drug abuse and having weapons under disability.

Super said officers believed the individuals were also selling stolen property, as they were working on vehicles that may be stolen in a garage on the property.

Super said that three vehicles being worked on in the garage were initially seized. Officers later secured a search warrant for the property, so, in addition to the initial $36,000 kilo of cocaine and three vehicles, they seized six more cars, $26,000 in cash, three handguns, a shot gun and another 6 ounces of cocaine.