The Big Hurt of 2008

Along with the news Thursday of Victor Martinez heading to the disabled list came the double-whammy item of Josh Barfield, he of the Monday call-up from Buffalo, heading to the DL as well. Barfield sprained the middle finger on his left hand trying to check his swing Wednesday. Poor guy couldn’t even last a week in his latest audition as the Tribe’s second baseman. So Jamey Carroll (left) takes over, and the honest truth is he’s been as dependable as anyone else in the infield. Carroll had four hits in Thursday’s drubbing of the Twins and was 8-for-9 in the three-game set to raise his season average to .273. Stephanie Storm of the Akron Beacon Journal recently wrote a nice article about Carroll that’s worth a read.

Martinez’s faulty elbow came as news this week, although he’s apparently been plagued by it much of the year. Why he and the team weren’t more forthcoming about the problem earlier in the season is anybody’s guess. Has it affected his hitting? “Just look at the numbers and you’ll see,” he said Thursday. Trainer Lennie Soloff said Martinez has been playing in pain and didn’t want to come out of the lineup. Nobody does, but doesn’t there come a time when you have to pull a guy for his own good?

The Beacon Journal’s Sheldon Ocker quoted manager Eric Wedge in today’s edition as saying that “whether you shut a guy down depends on whether he is better than the alternative.” Wouldn’t the player’s overall health and well-being be more of a factor? One presumes Wedge considers that a given, but, the way the team kept sending the likes of Martinez and Travis Hafner onto the field with injuries this season, one also wonders.

Meanwhile, it comes to this: Called up from Buffalo to replace Martinez and Barfield were -- wait for it -- catcher Yamid Haad and infielder Jorge Velandia. Haad was hitting .159 with the Bisons, although he did hit .301 in 35 games last year. He’d previously been to the majors with San Francisco. Velandia, shown here wearing a Pirates hat when he was in their minor league system in 2005, was signed last month after being released by Toronto and was hitting .235 in 16 games at Buffalo. He’s also suited up for San Diego, the Mets, Oakland and Tampa Bay in his career. (Question: Should the fact that Asdrubal Cabrera was left in Buffalo be interpreted as a statement by Tribe brass about this season?)

POLITENESS AWARD: Referring Thursday to the absence of Hafner and Martinez, Ben Francisco said, “We have to be tough with our two biggest hitters out of the lineup.” It was a nice thing to say, considering Francisco has actually been the biggest hitter in the lineup.

ENCOURAGING NEWS: Grady Sizemore has been swinging a hot bat of late. He’s batted .342 (13-for-38) with three homers and six RBI during a nine-game hitting streak. . .Jake Westbrook had Tommy John surgery Thursday in Los Angeles to repair his right elbow. See you in 2010, Jake. . .Fausto Carmona is expected to make a rehab start next week. . .Aaron Laffey picked up his fourth win last night in the 12-2 shellacking of Minnesota. His ERA is 2.83. If Jeremy Sowers can make a strong showing tonight in the series opener against San Diego, perhaps the pitching will hold things together yet this season. . .Still, you have to wonder how long C.C. Sabathia will be in a Tribe uniform. Despite three straight losses by the White Sox, the Indians are 6-1/2 games out, and the spate of injuries doesn’t bode well for the stretch run. As Tribe fans learned with Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, there’s no hometown discount when it comes to star players and contract negotiations. If the Indians can get value for Sabathia as they look to 2009, you couldn’t blame Mark Shapiro for pulling the trigger on a deal that brings some solid prospects or experienced big leaguers to get things back on track.

Random Notes

The LeCharles Bentley era in Cleveland ended before it started. A mysterious tour with the Browns came to an abrupt halt Wednesday when he asked for, and was granted, his release. Go figure on this one. Bentley didn't say much, and neither did the Browns. What was said was rather cryptic, on the part of all parties. GM Phil Savage called it "a chapter that finally comes to an end," said the team had "some closure" and acknowledged that it "just didn't work out." Asked by the Plain Dealer's Marla Ridenour if he had requested his release, Bentley replied, "Why would I do that?" OK, we get it, everybody's saying the right things. But this had to be one of the weirdest odysseys in Browns history. Well, it's over. Good luck to Bentley, and Go Browns. . . .

2008 has gradually shaped up to be a season that Victor Martinez would rather forget. A .278 batting average, with no homers and 21 RBIs? Hardly Martinez-like numbers. He strained a hamstring on Opening Day, and it's clear he's never been 100 percent since. Now he's scheduled to have an MRI on a right elbow inflammation that forced him out of Wednesday's loss to Minnesota. It flared up after an awkward swing in the first inning. Manager Eric Wedge later revealed that the elbow has been an issue for Martinez for a while. The question now is whether the combination of the hamstring and the elbow might land Martinez on the disabled list. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, a tip of the cap to Aaron Laffey. The young lefthander moved into the starting rotation when Jake Westbrook was lost to injury. Laffey was honored as the AL Rookie Pitcher of the Month for May, when he was 3-2 with a 0.79 ERA. Opponents hit just .220 against him over 34 innings during the month. Overall he's now 3-3 with a 2.98 ERA, and has most likely cemented his stay in Cleveland. . . .

Apparently Stark County's Kosta Koufos made a wise decision when he chose to leave Ohio State for the NBA after just one season. Word is his stock continues to rise and that he's looked good in personal workouts for NBA teams. Winning the MVP while helping lead Ohio State to the 2008 NIT Championship was a stroke of timing genius. Todd Porter of the Canton Repository recently wrote that NBA teams are focusing on wingspan more than height when it comes to big men in the draft. In other words, the fact that Koufos is a shade over seven feet tall is one thing; but the fact that his wingspan is almost 7'6" is more significant. Koufos has excellent skills for a post player, including his ball handling and his outside shooting ability. A number of mock drafts have Koufos going in the first round -- in at least one of those, to Cleveland. He'd be an intriguing pickup for the Cavaliers, who will need to groom a replacement for Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the next couple of years. If he falls to them in the draft, it could be another gift from the basketball gods for the franchise. . . .

An interesting side note to the NBA Finals is the presence of Ira Newble on the Lakers' roster. The former Cavalier, traded to Seattle in the deal that brought Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak to Cleveland, later signed with the Lakers and is enjoying a second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. He's mostly a practice player and has logged a grand total of one minute in the postseason for L.A., but he's admittedly got the best seat in the house for the grand stage, and, if nothing else, he can boast of playing with the two best players in the league -- LeBron James and Kobe Bryant -- over the last two seasons. And Newble isn't alone as a former Cavalier enjoying the ride -- Chris Mihm is still with the Lakers, also in a benchwarming role. The two were teammates in Cleveland during the 2003-04 season.

Talkin' Pitching -- the Horsehide and the Pigskin

At least Aaron Laffey took the pressure off of everyone.

His throwing error in the second inning of Thursday afternoon's win over Oakland allowed a runner to score and ended the Tribe starters' string of scoreless innings pitched at 44-1/3. Laffey went on to work seven innings in a 4-2 victory, Cleveland's eighth in 10 games.

Don't look now, but the Indians are in first place.

Laffey, who has taken over the fifth starter spot in place of the injured Jake Westbrook, now sports a 1.35 ERA to go along with a 2-2 record. Westbrook was 1-2, 2.73 before his injury.

Cleveland's starting pitching of late has been magnificent. We've talked about Cliff Lee (6-0, 0.67 ERA) and Fausto Carmona (4-1, 2.40). Paul Byrd's ERA is 3.61, and C.C. Sabathia, following early season struggles, has allowed just one run over 16 innings in his last two starts, striking out 20 along the way.

The scoreless innings streak was the Indians' longest by a starting staff since the Tribe foursome of Bob Lemon, Satchel Paige, Gene Bearden and Sam Zoldak hurled 47 straight in 1948. And it's the longest in baseball in over 30 years, since the Orioles' staff tossed 54 in a row in 1974. Pretty heady stuff.

The Indians' climb into first place proves the old theory: In baseball, pitching wins championships. Cleveland is dead last in the American League in team hitting, at .236. But they're first in team ERA, at 3.26. Detroit, meanwhile, is in last place in the division, despite being tied for 5th in the league with a .262 team batting average. That's because their team ERA of 5.05 is at the bottom of the charts.

If the Tribe's bats come alive, and their relievers settle in, and someone steps up to claim the closer role, the team will be a force to be reckoned with. For now, thank the starters for their recent rise to prominence.

And, in Browns' Town...

About time I chimed in on the Browns, bumped as they are from the headlines at this time of year.

Lots of excited chatter going on as the 2008 season approaches. Experts are predicting big things -- including a first place finish in the AFC North, according to some. The TV networks have come a-calling and the Browns will make a splash on the prime time scene in a major way this fall, for the first time since their return to the league in 1999.

So why not make Brady Quinn the quarterback? At least, that's what some fans have been asking.

Two words: Steve Young.

You know, the Hall of Fame quarterback from the 49ers. Super Bowl champion. Seven-time All-Pro.

Well, Steve wasn't so young when he took over as the 49ers QB in 1991. What was he, 26? 28, maybe?

Try 30. After a couple of seasons in the USFL, Young joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985, at age 24. He started for them the following year, then winged his way to San Fran for what would turn out to be a 13-year ride.

Of course, Joe Montana was in his heyday at the helm of the 49ers when Young arrived, so he had to bide his time. For four years. By the time he cracked the starting lineup, he was 30. And it wasn't until the following year, when he was 31, that he began the string of seven sterling seasons that would earn him a spot in Canton.

The moral of the story is simple. There's plenty of time for Brady Quinn to develop, learn the game, and one day earn his shot. He's only 23. Time is on his side.

In the meantime, the Browns are doing the right thing by sticking with Derek Anderson, to see if last year was the real thing or a fluke. Either way, they're in great shape. If Anderson continues to shine, it's a good thing. If he struggles, then Quinn's opportunity will come.

Where there's smoke...

Finally, here's a vote for ending the pregame pyrotechnics in NBA arenas. Cleveland's Ben Wallace and Delonte West retreated to the locker room rather than having to endure the aftermath of the controlled detonations that occurred prior to Wednesday's game in Boston. Wallace didn't want to risk another dizzy spell, and West has been bothered by an eye infection.

Marketing is a fact of life in pro sports, but some things go way beyond the extreme. This is one. Games actually get underway with a cloud of smoke in the air. That's ridiculous, and the league ought to bring it to a halt.