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Tribe pitcher might earn another chance to start
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Thursday, Jul 09, 2009
CHICAGO: Granted, Aaron Laffey didn't beat the White Sox Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, but he pitched at least as well as he did for the Aeros and the Columbus Clippers in the last two starts of his rehabilitation assignment.
There probably was some reluctance by the Indians' brass to put Laffey back in the rotation after he gave up three runs and walked six in 31/3 innings of an Eastern League game and followed that by allowing seven runs to Toledo in an International League game.
But what does the Tribe have to lose at this point? The club needed a starter, and Laffey was healthy again after missing more than six weeks with a right oblique strain.
He was far from perfect,
but he was less culpable for the 5-1 loss to Chicago than his moribund offense.
''He really got better as the game went along,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''That's the first time he's gone six innings in a long time [April 26].''
It has been a strange season for Laffey (3-2, 4.24 ERA) already, and almost half of it is yet to come. So it did not come as a surprise that his first big-league appearance since May 22 and his first start since April 26 would be equally peculiar.
For three innings, the Sox hammered the ball off Laffey, but most of the hard-hit drives ended up in the gloves of Tribe outfielders, who would have done well to rest against the fence and take a few steps in to make the catches.
In innings one through three, Chicago batters hit two balls to the track and one to the fence for outs. Another line drive didn't carry quite as far but was hit with authority, nonetheless.
''I've never given up so many fly balls to the wall in my life,'' Laffey said. ''That was ridiculous.''
Laffey gave up one run in the first on Alexei Ramirez's single and Jermaine Dye's double. He allowed three more in the third on a walk to Scott Podsednik, consecutive singles to Ramirez, Dye, Paul Konerko and Jayson Nix plus Gordon Beckham's sacrifice fly.
That was the final inning the Sox offense made any loud noises against Laffey, who pitched through the sixth and gave up only one hit and one walk the last three innings. Even the character of Chicago's outs were more subdued.
''He started to put the ball on the ground and making pitches,'' Wedge said of Laffey's final three innings. ''All in all, it was a good return day.''
Laffey thought that finishing well was important, even though he gave up four runs.
''I'll take something positive out of those last three innings,'' he said. ''Even though I gave up those runs in the third, I was able to stay out there and keep my team in the ballgame. After the first three innings, I was able to command the ball.''
Laffey said Wedge considered sending him out for the seventh but his pitch count was the stumbling block.
''I don't think I threw more than 80 in a rehab start,'' Laffey said. ''I hadn't thrown that many pitches [90], and the middle of the order was coming up; they had pounded me for six hits.''
The fifth Sox run came courtesy of the bullpen, Jose Veras to be precise, who pitched the seventh and allowed a run on Dye's RBI bloop single.
For the second time in eight days, Jose Contreras made life miserable for the Tribe. It wasn't just that he gave up one run — and that didn't come until the seventh — and six hits. Contreras had the Indians swinging pitches nowhere near the plate, recording nine strikeouts in 61/3 innings.
Plate umpire Mark Carlson helped confuse the Tribe early, calling out Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko on pitches that looked like perfect balls. That is, they weren't close enough to even be marginal strikes. But Carlson's random strike zone seemed to stabilize as the game wore on.
''Contreras was working really good tonight,'' said Jhonny Peralta, who hit his sixth home run of the year. ''He threw from two different angles. I think the umpire tried to help, too.''
Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez, snapping an 0-for-15 skid, singled with one out in the first inning, but never advanced.
After that, Contreras was in total command until the seventh. In a span of 19 consecutive batters, through the first out of the seventh, no Tribe batter hit the ball out of the infield. But Peralta jolted the offense alive by hitting his home run into the center field bleachers, and Hafner and Garko followed with singles.
That ended Contreras' work day. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen summoned left-hander Matt Thornton from the bullpen, and Jamey Carroll, pinch hitting for Luis Valbuena, promptly bounced into a double play that ended the inning.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
CHICAGO: Granted, Aaron Laffey didn't beat the White Sox Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, but he pitched at least as well as he did for the Aeros and the Columbus Clippers in the last two starts of his rehabilitation assignment.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Sagamore Hills, Oh
Posted 06:39 AM, 07/09/2009
So, this season has come down to this. Six innings and, "a lot of fly balls to the wall", equal a strong pitching performance. Ugh.
Posted 06:42 AM, 07/09/2009
Pitching decent. Hitting approach terrible; every tribe hitter tries to pull outside pitches. Umpiring atrocious. Mental approach stunk. Of course, as Shapiro thinks, there are no management problems! Think again!
Posted 07:26 AM, 07/09/2009
2009 Cleveland Indians, the AAA affiliate for MLB.
Stow, OH
Posted 08:09 AM, 07/09/2009
I guess this is the type of story we can expect from here on out. Always looking for some kind of silver lining in a 5-1 loss and not mentioning the Tribes uncanny ability to make most pitchers look like Tom Seaver.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:24 AM, 07/09/2009
And the beat goes on...
, OH
Posted 08:44 AM, 07/09/2009
Contreras is probably really 41 or 42 years old and this is the second start in a row that the Tribe couldn't touch him. And I guess we've lowered the standards so much now for our own pitching staff that pretty much if you don't leave in the fifth inning or give up a Grand Slam, it's considered a good outing? Hopefully, we can build off of this encouraging 5-1 loss. This USED to be a good rivalry...now the White Sox are just laughing.
Christiansted, VI
Posted 09:08 AM, 07/09/2009
With "boneheads" running the team along with quite a few of "mediocre & sub major league quality" pitchers/players, last place in the AL is a certainty.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 12:23 PM, 07/09/2009
Good points by TeddyRoos and pauliechop (and great new avitar, too!). The optimistic spin we're trying to put on these games is laughable. A few weeks ago, we were supposed to be encouraged that Fasto mowed thru the lineup of a single A ball club. I've got a great new slogan for the Tribe to put up at "The Prog"....
THE 2009 INDIANS....TRYIN' TO AVOID THE SWEEP
