Hello Tribe fans everywhere!
Tonight's doubleheader in Kansas City, followed by a big series against the Yankees this weekend, would normally wreak havoc with Cleveland's pitching rotation -- especially now that Jake Westbrook is on the disabled list. But one of the club's greatest strengths is its depth of starting pitching, not only on the big-league team, but also at Buffalo.
It appears that Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey, two starters in Buffalo, will both be summoned to Cleveland in the next day or two. Both are excellent young pitchers who have already enjoyed success on the major league level. Right behind Sowers and Laffey is Adam Miller, a most promising young hurler whose only weakness has been his inability to remain healthy.
With Brian Slocum also pitching well at Buffalo, and Chuck Lofgren on the rise as well, the Indians should be able to ride out C.C. Sabathia's expected departure for free agency at the end of this season.
You never want to lose a talent like Sabathia, but it would be unfair to keep Sowers, Laffey and the others down on the farm forever. In the scheme of Cleveland's small-market economics, the trick will be to develop strong young arms just as the experienced vets are poised to bolt for free agency. It's not the best of all worlds, but, considering the club's financial constraints, it might be the only way to ensure the franchise's success.
A major challenge facing the Indians at the moment is to find a way to continue the young pitchers' development without ruining their spirit. In other words, General Manager Mark Shapiro and Manager Eric Wedge, must introduce the kids to the Indians' lineup before they start to go backwards at Buffalo.
You don't want to lose an established big leaguer like Westbrook, but it's time to see how Sowers and Laffey can fare in the bigs on a long-term basis. A trade might not be a good idea at this point, with Sabathia and, possibly, Paul Byrd, expected to take flight after this season.
Might be fun to see how all this turns out.
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The answer to yesterday's quickie quiz is: Jhonny Peralta was the American League's youngest position player in 2003. Regular Tribe shortstop Omar Vizquel missed much of that season with a bad knee, and Peralta, then only 20 (he later turned 21 during the season), became Cleveland's starting shortstop.
Today's quiz: Vic Power started at first base for four seasons for the Tribe in the late '50s and early '60s. Name the future two-time A.L. MVP Cleveland traded for Power and shortstop Woodie Held.
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-- Kevin Cuneo