The bad news involving Indians’ prospect Adam Miller is a reminder of two things. First, pitchers are fragile. Throwing a baseball overhand is not a natural motion, and firing it at upwards of 95 MPH puts even more stress on an arm, or in Miller’s case, a finger.
The second thing is that no matter who good a pitcher shows himself to be, whether it be in high school. college, or the minor leagues, until they prove it on the big league level, you simply cannot count on them. It shows how lucky the Tribe was with a guy like C.C. Sabathia, who went from a first round draft pick to ace of the staff and a Cy Young Award winner.
It just re-emphasizes that you can never have too much pitching. The old adage of just when you think you have enough, go out and get some more has never been more true. Thankfully, the Tribe has guys like David Huff, Hector Rondon, and Kelvin de la Cruz on the horizon. The more arms you have, the better off you will be.
Look at a guy like Fausto Carmona. He moved on to the prospect scene after winning 17 games at Lake County in 2004. After a couple of years at higher levels in the minors, he was brought to the big leagues as a reliever, and did quite well as a set up man. However, when placed in the closers’ role, he failed miserably. Put back in the starting position in ’07 agreed with Carmona, and he went on to win 19 games for the AL Central Division champs. What I am saying is that these guys can come quickly.
That’s why GM Mark Shapiro brought in all kinds of arms for spring training. You never know when you’ll catch lightning in a bottle with a guy like Vinnie Chulk or Kirk Saarloos. You also never know when an injury like Miller’s will come up. Virtually all of the guys the team brought in as non-roster invitees have big league experience, so they are ready to step in if needed.
That’s why I have a problem awarding a rotation spot to Carl Pavano. Why not let him earn the spot? If Scott Lewis and Aaron Laffey outperform Pavano, then let both lefties start the season on the big club. Outside of Cliff Lee and Carmona, the top three starters in Arizona should get the nod to open the campaign with the Indians.
I understand the ball flies in the desert, and the coaching staff has to examine the movement on pitches and the velocity involved, but performance should count as well. Lee has been lit up thus far, but he earns that right because he won the Cy Young Award and has won 14 or more games in the big leagues in four separate seasons. Pavano hasn’t earned that right. He hasn’t had a good season since 2004.
With two weeks to go in spring training, it’s time to for guys like Jeremy Sowers, Laffey, Zach Jackson, etc. to step up and start getting people out. They need to earn their spots on the roster and not be handed one. I’m sure starting on Monday, Eric Wedge will start managing a little more like he would in the regular season. It’s been an extra long training camp due to the WBC, but the Tribe needs to "ramp it up" as the regular season is in sight.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 