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Do IT this week: Layering
Young left-hander will pitch in the home opener April 10
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Thursday, Mar 26, 2009
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Why Scott Lewis?
He is the least experienced among the three finalists for the final spot in the Indians' rotation.
At 25, Lewis has made only four big-league appearances (24 innings), all coming after he was called up by the Tribe last September and posted a 4-0 record with a 2.63 ERA.
By comparison, 24-year-old (on April 15) Aaron Laffey has pitched 143 major-league innings and posted a 9-9 record with a 4.34 ERA.
Jeremy Sowers is the veteran of the group. At 25, he has a big-league record of 12-9, 5.14 ERA and 2762/3 innings. He also has had the longest stretch of unbounded excellence, winning six decisions in a row and compiling a 1.93 ERA during his rookie year of 2006.
Yet, without question, Lewis clearly deserved to be the winner this spring, in part because of his performance in exhibition games and in part because of his success last year.
''I'm pretty excited,'' Lewis said Wednesday. ''But I thought I made a pretty good case for myself.''
Obviously, manager Eric Wedge agreed.
''Scott has had a great camp,'' he said. ''He's been very consistent. He also picked right up where he left off last year.''
Laffey, optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, and Sowers, who was sent to the minor-league camp the previous day, will make up half of the Triple-A rotation. David Huff will be a third starter and veteran Kirk Saarloos will make it four. The fifth member of the rotation is yet to be determined.
In addition to Lewis, Laffey and Sowers, Huff came to camp as a competitor for the fifth spot in the rotation but was almost immediately slowed by a sore right biceps. A fifth contender for the rotation, Zach Jackson, remains in the major-league camp and is a candidate to fill the final spot in the bullpen.
Like Laffey and Sowers, Lewis does not rely on a blazing fastball.
''He commands the baseball,'' Wedge said. ''And he does a good job working his change-up off his fastball. I also like the way he spins his breaking ball.''
Maybe more than anything, Lewis acts like and thinks he belongs in the majors. Even in his first big-league start, he appeared comfortable and confident on the mound.
''The other guys I was up against had a little more experience than me, so it feels pretty good to get the job,'' Lewis said. ''I understand I have to keep working and improve. I have an awful lot to learn. But I've always been confident I could pitch at this level.''
Lewis' poise on the mound is another thing that contributed to his successful spring.
''He doesn't get caught up in situations,'' Wedge said. ''He's very even keel with a consistent mindset.''
One reason Wedge made the move now is to allow Laffey and Sowers to work up to 100 pitches in minor-league games, something they could not have accomplished in big-league exhibitions, because Wedge is lining up his starters for the season.
''I want those guys to be an option for us as early as possible,'' he said. ''I feel good about our depth [of starters] and the way these guys have worked in spring training. But you just don't know until the season starts.''
The competition for the final berth in the rotation has been billed as a contest to be the No. 5 starter. But Lewis will pitch in the fourth slot behind Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona and Carl Pavano. Anthony Reyes, labeled No. 4, actually will be the fifth starter to take the mound. That means Lewis will start the home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wedge set up the order of the rotation to alternate left-handers and right-handers. He said that Reyes' potential elbow problems were not a factor in placing him fifth. When off days make it feasible, a manager sometimes will skip the No. 5 starter, causing him a little less wear and tear than his lodge brothers.
''We had some concern about his elbow coming into camp,'' Shapiro said. ''But he's been very solid.''
With only two scheduled off days in April, even if Wedge wanted to skip Reyes' turn, he couldn't. On the other hand, bad weather could create unscheduled days off.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Why Scott Lewis?
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 06:45 AM, 03/26/2009
Sowers and Laffey will see plenty of time. Certainly someone will fail to keep his job, and of course they'll be needed when Pavano gets hurt.
kjh*ak$jd#fa8!!, OH
Posted 10:03 AM, 11/02/2009
hmmm
