Martinez traded to Boston

per bob nightengale of USA Today. http://twitter.com/BNightengale More details to follow.

Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco Traded to Phillies

according to Castroturf. None of the guys are the top 2 Philly pitching prospects closest to contributing soon. See you in 2011.

Wahoo Week of Wonderings

The Indians have have made a whole bunch of news over the past 7 days. Games were won, trades were made, and the real possibility of two Indians All-Stars donning other MLB uniforms after July 31st is a real possibility. Here now is the week that was...

With the chase for the playoffs long gone in the rear-view mirror, the Indians have put together a nice little winning streak. They have won 5 games in a row going into tonight's game with a sweep of the Mariners mixed in. The keys to the club's longest winning streak of the season has been the contribution of the starting staff and the offense. Cliff Lee's greatness, a sprinkle of solid starts from Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey, and an offensive hot streak sparked by Jhonny Peralta have keyed the success of the Tribe. Apparently trades and innuendos have little effect on this club. Also, winning like they have on the road is interesting since their performance at Progressive Field has been less than stellar this season. The bullpen hasn't been bad either, adding to the makings of a solid baseball team. The 2009 season will be analyzed at length at its conclusion, from the GM, to the manager, to the mental psyche of the whole club. I don't think anyone has a clue what the answers to the early season stuggles are, but it is beginning to look like there are the same issues come the second half of the season for some unexplained reason.

Rafael Betancourt was traded to the Colorado Rockies for Class A right-hander Connor Graham. Graham, a traitor who grew up in Bowling Green, Ohio but chose the khaki pants and sweater vests of Miami, OH, is 6'7, 235 lbs and rated the 12th best prospect in the Rockies system by Baseball America. Here is a quick blurb from Mark Shapiro...

Graham is headed to Double-A Akron. Here's Mark Shapiro: "Strike zone command is his area of development, clearly. But he's a guy who has power stuff. Pitching prospect depth is our

greatest area of need."

My fondest memory of Raffy Right will always be him jumping into the arms of Victor Martinez after beating the Oakland A's to cling the Central Division crown. He also entered games to this, which was always entertaining. He posted a 3.25 career ERA for the Tribe over seven seasons, pretty much being a mainstay in the bullpen. Betancourt may have took awhile on the mound and touched his cap a few times, but he was one of the best relievers in Indians history.

Ryan Garko was traded Monday to the San Francisco Giants for minor league lefty Scott Barnes.

The 21-year-old Barnes is 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 18 starts for Class A San Jose in the California League. He leads the league in wins, is second in ERA and his 99 strikeouts are tied for ninth overall. Barnes was an eight-round Draft pick in 2008 out of St. John's University. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds. Baseball America named him the ninth-best prospect in the Giants' system before this season.

Garko was a solid contributor to the ballclub since 2006. Prone to the more than occasional cold streaks, Gark was a high on base guy who could almost carry a club for a few weeks but look terribly lost (knee hitting the dirt on swings) when he was going bad. Ryan constantly had to prove himself to Manager Eric Wedge, and seemed to do so just in time for him to get traded. He compiled a lifetime .283 batting average and .355 OBP for the Tribe over 4 years, but showed too little pop in his bat to man first base consitently. He tore up 2006 when he was called up, capitalizing on Travis Hafner ending the season on the disabled list. But in 2007, Wedge relegated him to the bench for the first few months in favor of Casey Blake at first when Blake was better suited and needed in the outfield (see Michaelucci). After a solid 2007, Garko stuggled for most of 2008, sans a huge hot streak in September catipulting his stats to level really indicative of his performance.

2009 brought on the experiment of finding time for him elsewhere around the diamond, which meant to even Garko's surprise, the outfield. That experiment worked out horribly, as the 12 games he was forced to play out there to maintain his "position flexibility" was a disaster. Garko to the outfield was also thought up to get both his and Kelly Shoppach's bat in the lineup, and we all know how that went (currently hitting .199). He got a bad rap for being a terrible 1st baseman (when he started off as a catcher), but I thought he was actually getting more comfortable and developing into a solid fielder. Wedge really jerked around with this good natured, good clubhouse guy. Not that I think the Indians trading him was a bad move or that I think he is the long term solution, but the organization always thought they had a betteri internal option than Ryan Garko, and they didn't. I will remember Garko for his great interviews, big smiles, clutch hitting (.314 batting average in 39 post season plate appearances) and solid effort. Here's to raising a Budweiser to ole' Ryan!

As for all of the Trade talk, it is really hard to speculate. Trading Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez raises the white flag on 2010 and really kind of alienates the fan base. If they keep just one, I would bet it to be Cliff Lee as you just can't replace an ace starter, where internal options, although not proven, seem to be more plentiful in the organization at the 1B/C slot. We will just have to wait until Friday and see.

The Indians also acquired reliever Jess Todd as the player to be named later in the Mark DeRosa trade. Todd led the Cardinals Triple A squad with 24 saves and adds to hopefully the increasing depth of relievers in the minors.

The return of Andy Marte happened Tuesday, and as hard as Tribe Times has been on Ole Andy, he deserved the call-up. Marte, once considered the organization's third baseman of the future, has risen from the ashes of the waiver wire. The Indians removed him from their 40-man roster during Spring Training, and he went unclaimed on waivers before being reassigned to Triple-A. All he's done since is rake, to the tune of a .327 average with 24 doubles, one triple, 18 homers and 66 RBIs in 82 games with the Clippers. Who knows if he can translate that success to the big leagues, but it would make for a great story as he is still only 25 years old. He will play mostly first base with the occasional hot corner mixed in.

Jhonny Peralta just smoked another homerun to put the Indians on top of the Angels 4-3 in the fifth. It will be interesting to see if our Wahoos can keep up their solid play and be worth watching for the last two months of the season

Trade Cliff Lee Today

After the Tribe dropped another lifeless loss to the Tigers Friday, I have come to the conclusion that Cliff Lee needs to be moved this season. He is getting more frustrated everyday with this team and we all know that he is a hot head. Here are his comments after yesterday's defeat...

Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez started the second with singles. Gerald Laird sent a fly toward the right-field corner that Garko dove for and missed. Inge scored, Ordonez went to third and Laird pulled into second for a double.

Asked if he felt the ball should have been caught, Lee said, "Do you? I don't pass judgment on that. I throw the pitches. Where it goes it goes. It's not up to me to move the outfielders or infielders. All I do is pitch.
Duane Burleson/Associated PressA frustrated Travis Hafner reacts to his harmless fly ball to left field in the eighth inning against Detroit reliever Bobby Seay. Trailing 3-1 at the time, Hafner's fly out left three runners on base."It did seem like it was in the air a long time. I don't know if they had him shaded the other way or what. You'd have to ask him or Wedgie."

It isn't Garko's fault that he is being forced to play in the outfield. He should never play out their again, ever. Lee is frustrated, just like everyone else about his run support and this lost season. He needs to keep to himself about his views and not throw his teammates under the bus.

Since 2009 is over and 2010 looks like it won't be much better, I say trade Cliff Lee to the San Francisco Giants. Package Lee with his buddy Garko (Giants always in need for hitting) to the Giants for the no-hit wonder Jonathan Sanchez, their #1 Prospect Madison Bumgarner (who looks like the real deal), and a few more prospects. Sanchez is a bit older (will turn 27 in November) and walks a lot of guys, but he is a pitcher who can be slotted immediately into the rotation. He struck out 11 batters Friday with zero walks, missing out on a perfect game by one error. Bumgarner is a 20 year old stud who's ERA is under 2 and rarely walks anyone, and if you look at the Giants track record, they know a little about starting pitching. If San Francisco acquired Lee, their rotation would be Lincecum/Cain/Lee/Zito/Big Unit, instantly becoming the best in baseball.

Who knows if this is even being discussed, but the Indians should be really targeting the Giants as a potential trade partner. The Bumgarner kid may be a few years away, but he is exactly what the system needs, an ace in the making.

The Beat Goes On

The Indians head to Detroit today for their last three games before the All-Star break. The two teams could not be any more opposite. Both came into 2009 looking to rebound from a disappointing previous season, but the Tigers were able to stabilize their shaky bullpen and have to stud pitchers anchor their rotation, while improving their defense and team chemistry which has led them to first place in the Central Division. The Tribe has had a lousy starting staff and a horrendous bullpen to go along with shaky defense to position themselves last in a mediocre division. There really isn't much left to say about this team that hasn't already been said. I imagine the Indians will go on a bit of a run in the second half as they always do, taunting the fans with solid baseball. Oh, and they also dropped 2 of 3 against the White Sox, playing horribly in the first two games. Until guys like Brantley, LaPorta, Brown, and Rondon are added to the roster, the season has little left to be excited about. It really can put a damper on a summer when your favorite team is out of it by June, but life does go on. On with the randomness...

• Aaron Laffey looked ok in his start Tuesday, I anticipate him getting better as the season slugs along.


• Does anyone really think they will be able to trade Carl Pavano? I don't, even if he strings together more solid starts.


• They better try Sowers in the bullpen at some point this season because he is out of options in 2010.


• Ryan Garko has played the outfield 6 times this season when David Huff pitches. Give Huff a break already.


• Speaking of Garko, I like the guy but he has no place left on this team. I anticipate the Indians moving him sometime this July.


• Wedge needs to let Luis Valbuena bat once in awhile against lefties. We know what Jamey Carroll is, we don't yet know about Valbuena.


• I really like Tony Sipp and believe he will help stabilize the bullpen.

Jeremy Sowers was sent back to Columbus while Rafael Betancourt was brought back. The Indians still have 13 pitchers on the roster, which is amazing because most of them stink. It will be interesting to see if they make any changes at the All-Star break, because the Indians are losing the interest of the diehard fans (including me).

Odds and Ends

The Tribe is 2-2 over the past 4 games, which is actually a slight improvement. They took the three game series against the Oakland A's, which was a nice change of pace. Yesterday's game was more of the same, as new Indians Chris Perez and Winston Abreu helped to give up 9 runs in 2 innings. Random thoughts from a horrible season.

• Eric Wedge and his staff got the dreaded vote of confidence from GM Mark Shapiro Sunday. The team promptly lost the next two games. I don't think Eric will be back in 2010.


• Shin Soo Choo has been on fire the past few days, and has played like an All-Star. Seems to be one of the position players the team can build around.


• Victor Martinez is in a huge slump. Hopefully he it is just one of those baseball things and not him being frustrated with the results of the club this season.


• Trading a 24 year old struggling reliever (John Meloan) for another bullpen retread (Winston Abreu) looks like a horrible trade and makes absolutely no sense at all.


• Putting Chris Perez in a bases loaded situation in only his third game when he plunked two White Sox batters in his first game as an Indian was just a bad idea. Put him in spots where he can gain confidence instead of throwing him into the fire.


• Fausto Carmona and Rafael Betancourt are close to returning to the Indians, probably after the All-Star break. Carmona needs to find his control and help stabilize the rotation. Betancourt will help the pen, but also may be trade bait.


• Jeremy Sowers 5 and fly starting pitching dance is nearing an end. He has proved himself unable to be a consistent major league starter. It is time to try him as a long reliever in the bullpen.

The beat goes on for the beaten Tribe. A few roster moves not posted have happened, as Matt Herges was designated for assignment over the weekend to make room for the amazing Winston Abreu. Also, Rafael Perez and his gas can were sent to Columbus to make room for the return of Aaron Laffey.

Indians Trade for Reliever Winston Abreu

In a minor move, the Tribe has acquired 32 year old reliever Winston Abreu (pictured left) from the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever John Meloan. Abreau was recently designated for assignment, so he fit in for what the Indians are looking for to fill their pen, journeymen relievers. Meloan was brought to the Indians from the Dodgers (with Carlos Santana) in the Casey Blake deal. He has struggled mightily down in Columbus, posting a 5.52 ERA in 25 appearances this season. With as bad as the bullpen has been up in Cleveland, he was never brought up to the fire. The organization must have been really down on him to favor the various jobbers that have toed the mound in the big leagues this season. I am surprised they have given up on Meloan, since he only just about to turn 25 next week in favor of a well traveled hurler. Winston is expected to be added to the 25 man roster tomorrow.

Abreu, a fastball/slider pitcher, made two appearances for the Rays this year, allowing a run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He was called up from Triple-A Durham on June 14 and designated for assignment last week.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Abreu has spent the bulk of this season at Durham, where he went 3-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 23 appearances. He's walked 10 and struck out 49 in 32 innings.
Abreu has 13 years of Minor League experience pitching in the farm systems of the Braves, Cubs, Royals, Dodgers, D-backs, Orioles, Nationals and Rays. He has gone 37-36 with a 3.68 ERA in 322 appearances. He has 929 strikeouts and just 374 walks in 776 2/3 Minor League innings.

Who knows if this will work out, but it looks like just another gas can to throw onto the fire.

Barfield sent to Columbus to make room for Perez

As mentioned several days ago the Cleveland Indians traded utility man Mark DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later. That being said, the soon to be 24 year old Perez made his way to Cleveland and therefore was activated today. Not only will he be available for tonight's game against Chicago, he will also get to meet his fellow bullpen members (pictured to the left) for the first time. To make room for Perez the team sent Josh Barfield back down to Triple A Columbus. Although Barfield started the year with the Tribe he has been optioned three times this season. In the time he has spent with the club this year he has seen limited playing time in in that he has only appeared in 17 games and had just 20 at bats. Furthermore, this is not good news for Columbus Clippers All-Star Andy Cannizaro as Barfield will likely steal his playing time.

Hopefully Perez can stir something up in this god awful bullpen and show these guys how to actually pitch. On a side note, Aaron Laffey decided that he wants to pitch like the rest of the Indians bullpen and suck it up. He made what was thought to be his last rehab start yesterday at Double A Akron and only lasted 3 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on five hits. He also walked six (how can you walk that many people) and hit one batter. Eric Wedge actually made a logical comment stating, "We need to see more than that before we bring him up here." Well no crap Wedgie.

The Tribe take on the Chicago White Sox tonight in a three game series at Progressive Field. They have lost their last four series. To take a quote from the Chinese grounds crew from the Movie Major League, "these guys are sh!tty"

*The photo in this article was created by The Tribe Daily

DeRosa Traded to Cardinals

Mark DeRosa was traded today to the St. Louis Cardinals today for Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRosa was batting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBI for the Tribe this season, playing all over the diamond (3B, 1B, RF, LF). It is ironic that he was traded for pitching because they gave up originally 3 pitchers to get him. Mark was a solid clubhouse guy and will probably be missed in the lineup as well. Look for Asdrubal Cabrera to take his roster spot tomorrow, with Perez possibly snagging Tomo Ohka's.

Chris Perez (pictured above)is a soon to be 24 year old who has went 1-1 with 4.18 ERA with one save in 29 games. The Right hander has stuck out 30 and walked 15 in 23 plus innings of work. He looks to be a pretty solid reliever the Indians are surely missing. The PTBNL is supposedly supposed to be a top prospect that the club will be tracking for the second half of the season (a la Michael Brantley). Look for that acquisition to happen after the season). By looking at his photo, he seems like a dude who likes to have a good time, which is always a welcomed addition.

I don't imagine that there will be many more trades by the Indians in trading off veterans. They don't really have that many assets available to be moved. Carl Pavano was a possibility, but he stinks right now and is probably hurt. This move should also stabilize the lineup a bit more, as Wedge won't have DeRosa anymore to move around the field and lineup each day.

Also, Jensen Lewis was sent to Columbus as Jose Veras was added to the bullpen from Hell. Lewis never could keep the ball down in the zone, resulting in 8 homeruns allowed. He will probably be back in a month. As for the team, they look to win their first series in 4 chances tomorrow with David Huff taking on Micah Owings.

Trading Time: Aubrey to Orioles, Veras to Indians

Two minor trades were made today by the Tribe, as they shipped 27 year old first baseman Michael Aubrey to the Baltimore Orioles and received reliever Jose Veras from the New York Yankees for cash. Aubrey was a former 1st round pick by the Indians, but just never could stay healthy. He also was caught up in a numbers game as there are a plethora of 1st Baseman/Outfielders currently in the Indians' upper minors. Michael was hitting .292 with 16 doubles, a triple, five homers and 29 RBIs in 57 games for the Clippers. This transaction removes one more hurdle for Columbus Clipper Jordan Brown to finally make it to the big leagues in Cleveland, a promotion he has earned and deserves. Aubrey will best be known in Indians lore as the first baseman who just let Gary Sheffield charge the mound from first base without tackling him or intervening. Fausto still smoke Sheff in the face, but you gotta do something Mike, not just stand there like you usually do (see below).

Veras (pictured right) pitched pretty poorly for the Yankees in 2009. In 25 appearances out of the New York 'pen this season, the 28-year-old Veras was 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA. He walked 14 and struck out 18 in 25 2/3 innings of work. He pitched a lot better in 2008, going 5-3 posting a 3.59 ERA in 57 + innings while striking out 63 and only walking 29 in 60 appearances. The Yankess designated him for assignment, so he would have had to clear waivers to stay in New York's organization. It will be interesting to see who is jettisoned off of the 25 man roster because Veras is expected to join the big league club sometime this week. He can't be any worse than what is currently out there. Can he?

Sizemore activated, Sipp recalled, Crowe sent down, Vizcaino sent packing

The Indians finally received some good news today, as All-Star Centerfielder Grady Sizemore was activated off of the 15-day DL. Hopefully Grady is fully healthy because his stats so far in 2009 have been less than stellar (.223 (46-for-206) with nine homers and 31 RBI, 25 BB and 52 K's).

To make room, Trevor Crowe was sent down to Columbus to work on pretty much every aspect of his game. Crowe hit a dismal .169 and did not display much confidence out in center field. He needs to work on a bunch of things in Triple A to even have a shot at a bench spot for the future. Look for Mark DeRosa to take over in Left, while Ben Francisco takes a seat on the bench for the foreseeable future.

Tony Sipp returns for a third time to Cleveland, where he has had some success (3.12 ERA). His main problem was walks, which he had 10 while striking out 10. Walking batters is a team wide issue, so he will fit in nicely. The Luis Vizcaino (or what I refer to him, as "The Rally Starter")experiment is now over, he sure showed us why the Cubs dumped him after only a few weeks. His 5.40 ERA in 11 games was a lot worse than the stats tell, because he walked 12 guys and always was teetering on the brink of disaster when he didn't blow the game entirely.

Hopefully these are some of the first moves in going with more young players, because this season is about over. Hopefully Sizemore and Sipp can help bring an end to the worst stretch of losing the Indians have experienced all year.

Pronk Returns, Carmona sent WAY Down!

As speculated yesterday, Fausto Carmona has been sent down to the minors, but to Rookie ball down in Arizona. This is pretty telling, demonstrating how far Fausto has fallen. I imagine they will be able to keep better track of him down there with all of the new technology and the club will probably send special instructors (Tim Belcher, Jason Bere) to monitor his progress. Look for Carmona to be "working on things" for a minimum month time period. It looks like Tomo Ohka will be the new addition to the rotation, just hopefully on a 1-2 start basis until Aaron Laffey and Jake Westbrook return. Travis Hafner returns, which will help out the beleaguered lineup even if he only able to play 4-5 times a week. It will also take some pressure off of Shin Soo Choo, as he is more of an 5-7 hitter anyways. The DiaTribe has some good lineup solutions today for our Wahoos, so make sure to check it out.The Indians take on the White Sox this weekend in Chi-Town for a 3-game series.

Fausto pounded again, Likely headed to Columbus

After allowing 7 runs in the first 2 innings today (raising his ERA to 7.42), Fausto Carmona is likely headed to Triple A Columbus. With Travis Hafner likely being added tomorrow in Chicago, Fausto will probably be the guy headed out. Columbus pitching coach Scott Radinsky has done a great job with guys like Rafael Perez, Jeremy Sowers, and Aaron Laffey (maybe they should have him up in Cleveland)! I imagine that won't be the only move coming, because Trevor Crowe looks terrible at the plate, Luis Valbuena has been struggling, and with Victor Martinez healthy, Chris Gimenez doesn't look to be getting too much time. I would imagine everybody's favorite rookie Matt LaPorta won't be down in Columbus too much longer as the injuries and inconsistencies pile up.

As for the series, barring an unbelievable comeback, the Tribe will lose 2 of 3 to the Twins. The first 2 games were played well, but Carmona pretty much killed any momentum the club was looking to build on from Wednesday's 10-1 victory (a great start by Cliff Lee with a bit of Jhonny Peralta sprinkled in). Hopefully the pitching will be adequate, because the back end of the the rotation as of now (Sowers, Huff, Ohka) looks pretty scary right now. Great for Columbus, but not so hot for a Major League squad.

As expected, Cabrera placed on DL, Barfield back up

Asdrubal Cabrera Wednesday became the 9th member of the disabled list (now tied for first with the Rays) with an AC joint separation or sprain of his shoulder. Ironically his injury matches his initials. Eric Wedge's favorite pinch runner Josh Barfield is back to the club, where he will presumably go back to his role of warming the bench until one of the slow footed Tribesmen need a running replacement. Expected ot fill in at shortstop will be Jhonny Peralta and Luis Valbuena with a sprinkle of Jamey Carroll from time to time. Too bad we have no other promising shortstops at Triple A to fill in, because this would be a great time to see what we have (where's Wilson Valdez when you need him!). Hopefully Peralta won't boot too many out there. The lineup for the game today is as follows...

CF Ben Francisco (R), 3B Jamey Carroll (R), 1B Victor Martinez (S), LF Shin-Soo Choo (L), SS Jhonny Peralta (R), RF Mark DeRosa (R), DH Ryan Garko (R), 2B Luis Valbuena (L), C Kelly Shoppach (R)

This collection of batters does not remind many of the '27 Yankees, that's for sure. It is the summer, it is our favorite team, and it is baseball, so crack a cold one, place it against your head, can come suffer through another losing season. Tribe Time; Where Infirmary Happens!

Tribe Loses Game, Shortstop

The Indians lost more than a game Tuesday, they lost their second most consistent everyday player when Asdrubal Cabrera attempted to break up a double play and ended up either separating or extremely bruising his left shoulder. I imagine Cliff Lee will throw his arm out and Victor will break his other knee cap sometime soon (and LeBron will anounces he is signing with some European team next season). Who really knows who the Tribe's leadoff hitter will be now. Ben Francisco? Jamey Carroll? Yikes is right. A season that most Cleveland fans thought was one of promise has turned into an utter disaster and they have only played 53 games. If Asdrubal is placed on the DL, I imagine Josh Barfield, Tony Graffanino, Matt LaPorta and possibly even Andy Marte (double Yikes) are all candidates to be recalled. J-Barf and LaPorta are probably the choices since they are on the 40 man roster.

The worst part of the injury is that it means we will be seeing Jhonny Peralta returning to shortstop. Jhonny was playing pretty well at third and moving back to the middle of the diamond will not help out the team fielding or the pitchers as Cabrera was vastly superior. This also means Mark DeRosa will be back at third base more regularly, a position he did not fare very well at before the changes were made (6 errors). This new injury should not prevent the Tribe from possibly trading DeRosa. Get the NL teams to bid against each other and take the best deal so he can play for his new NL club for 4 months instead of just 2 if a deal was made at the deadline. This team is pretty much dead, so get what you can for him and let Carroll, Valbuena, and even Gimenez fill in at the hot corner.

As for the game Tuesday, Joe Mauer keeps on killing AL pitching raising his batting average to .433 by going 3-3 with a homerun and 3 RBI. He is one of the best in the league and I imagine Twins fans will not enjoy seeing him in a Yankee uniform in 2011. Victor Martinez homered and was robbed of another by a great play by Carlos Gomez. David Huff pitched ok, but fell behind to many hitters after the 3rd inning. The Tribe had their chances to come back with runners on, but a lineup that sports Valbuena(who over swings), Crowe (who looks completely over matched), and Shoppach(who strikes out a ton but is sporting a tremendous beard) as your 7-9 tends to not strike much fear in the hearts of the opposition.

The Indians look to grind it out and get after it Wednesday as Cliff Lee takes on some guy named Anthony Swarzak. Still only 8 games back!!! (Triple Yikes!!!)

Transaction Update: Tony Sipp gets recalled from Columbus

Tony Sipp was recalled today, as Rafael Betancourt was placed on the 15 Day DL. Raffy's groin injury will probably shelve him for 2-4 weeks, adding him to the list never-ending long list of disabled Indians. Their 8 man infirmary (Sizemore, Scott Lewis, Laffey, Reyes, Joe Smith, Hafner, Westbrook and Betancourt) is the second most behind Tampa Bay's league leading 9.

Since being in Columbus, the T-Train was 1-0 was a 4.15 ERA in 9 games. He has already pitched 6 1/3 innngs for the Tribe this year with a 4.26 ERA. It will be interesting to see who will be pitching the 8th inning for the Tribe, as Betancourt (although shaky sometimes) was the most reliable pitcher out of the pen. IT will be probably based on match ups with Sipp and Rafael Perez being the lefties, and Matt Herges and Luis Vizcaino being the righties. As long as Sipp doesn't totally implode, he should be on the roster for the remainder of the season.

Dellucci Finally Gone! Perez back.

The David Dellucci era is finally over in Cleveland, as the Tribe designated the veteran for assignment while recalling Rafael Perez. His 3 year, $11.5 million dollar contract was a bad decision from the start, and the Indians will be eating the remaining $4 million left on his deal for 2009. He hit 15 HRs, 68 RBIs, with a .238 BA in 183 games, utilized primarily as a platoon outfielder over his 3 seasons. Double D got the wrath of many Tribe fans mainly due to his horribly overinflated contract and his inability to field or do what he was brought in to do, hit right handed pitching. Hopefully the Indians have learned there lesson in not signing aging players to multi year contracts. Rafael Perez makes his return to the Wigwam tonight and will be probably eased into steady work with the success of veterans out there (Herges, Aquino, Vizcaino). The club is currently rocking a 13 man pitching staff, which isn't a terrible thing considering how many innings the pen has compiled over the past week. Look for Travis Hafner to be the next player added sometime early next week while I imagine Tomo Ohka will be the pitcher to be sent back to Columbus.

Tomo Ohka to the Rescue

With Zach Jackson's performance yesterday being less than stellar (really bad) and with Greg Aquino and Luis Vizcaino both hurling 2 scoreless innings yesterday (really good), the Tribe has called on veteran Tomo Ohka to help in the pen today (pictured left). The bullpen has actually pitched pretty good sans Jensen Lewis over the past few games. This is probably the right move since David Huff hasn't got out of the fourth inning of his previous two starts and Ohka can be stretched out as a long man. Don't look for Tomo to stick around very long as Rafael Perez has thrown 9 shutout innings down in Columbus. The Tribe looks the to sweep the 4 game series against the Rays today at 12:05 PM.

Zach Jackson to start tonight, Huff tomorrow, Rundles sent down

The Indians have settled on Zach Jackson starting Wednesday night's game and letting David Huff get one more shot in the rotation by having him throw Thursday. Jackson hasn't been real good in Buffalo, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against a tough Tampa Bay lineup. I assume whoever pitches better between the two will earn a spot in the rotation, while the other will be sent packing. Sowers earned himself another look with his 5 scoreless innings of relief Monday. Rich Rundles was sent back to Columbus, which was to be expected. In another minor move, Triple A shortstop Wilson Valdez was traded to the New York Mets for the dubious player to be named or cash. We hardly knew you buddy! The Tribe tries to make it 3 in a row for the first time all season tonight as Zach Attack takes on Ben Francisco's favorite pitcher Andy Sonnanstine.

Trevor Crowe Recalled, LaPorta back to Columbus

Apparently 42 at bats over the span of a little under four weeks was enough for the Indians to send top prospect Matt LaPorta back down to Triple A. He batted .190 with one home run and 4 RBI, but never received consistant playing time. I do agree that the if the former Brewer is not getting regular at bats in the Majors (and he definitely is not) then he should be playing everyday in Columbus. Wedge does not like rookies much, so a less heralded Trevor Crowe fits in better stuck to the pine. This probably does bode well for Luis Valbuena, as I imagine Mr. Utility Mark DeRosa will be getting some time in Left Field with Benny Francisco and hopefully not David Dellucci. This also points to the organization that they are still in the division hunt, so going with two rookies playing everyday is not the prescription for a competitive remedy. We will see Matt LaPorta again in 2009, let's just hope next time it is on an everyday basis and for good.