Wood had hoped the All-Star break, which lasted four days for Cleveland, would be enough for the finger to heal. He has not pitched since July 11 at Tampa Bay.
View full sizeIndians closer Kerry Wood says he has been dealing with the blister off and on since returning from the DL in early May. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Closer Kerry Wood was on the move Saturday -- to the disabled list, not out of town.
The Indians placed Wood on the 15-day DL, retroactive to July 12, because of a blister on his right index finger. Jensen Lewis was recalled from Class AAA Columbus.
The bosses would like to deal Wood, who makes $10.5 million and is signed through this season with a vested option for 2011. Barring the unforeseen, the option will not vest.
The non-waiver trade deadline is July 31. A player must clear waivers to be traded in August.
Wood, who broke in with the Cubs in 1998, has been on the disabled list 14 times in his career, including two this season. He missed the first month-plus because of a strained muscle in his upper back.
Wood said he has been dealing with the blister off and on since returning from the DL in early May. It flared up on the Tribe's most recent trip to Texas and Tampa Bay.
Wood had hoped the All-Star break, which lasted four days for Cleveland, would be enough for the finger to heal. He has not pitched since July 11 at Tampa Bay.
"It's been better, it's been worse," he said. "Hopefully, we stopped it before it gets too bad."
A blister on the index finger sidelined Wood for several weeks in the middle of the 2008 season. He signed with the Indians that December.
View full sizeChris Perez will take over closing duties while Wood is on the DL.Wood is 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA and eight saves in 23 appearances. In six appearances since June 27, he has allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings and struck out seven.
Chris Perez takes over as closer, just as he did when Wood sat because of the lat muscle.
The Indians have five players on the major-league disabled list (pitcher Anthony Reyes, outfielder Grady Sizemore, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and Wood).
Lewis begins his third stint with the Indians this year. He went a combined 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 appearances from April 5 to May 6 and from May 30 to June 23.
For Columbus, Lewis is 2-0 with one save and a 2.30 ERA in 12 appearances. Right-handed hitters at that level are batting .138 (4-for-29) against him.
"I've done everything the organization has asked me to do," Lewis said. "I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing. Hopefully, I'm here to stay."
Gomez gets the call: Right-hander Jeanmar Gomez will be promoted from Class AAA Columbus to make a spot start for the Indians on Sunday against Detroit, Tribe manager Manny Acta said Saturday afternoon.
Acta spoke the words. He did not tweet them.
View full sizePitcher Jeanmar Gomez is being promoted from Class AAA Columbus to make a start for the Indians on Sunday. The Indians have not announced the corresponding roster move.
Gomez, 6-8 with a 5.70 ERA in 18 starts for the Clippers, was chosen over Columbus starters Josh Tomlin and David Huff. Tomlin is 8-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 18 games (15 starts). Huff, who began the season in Cleveland, is 3-0 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts for the Clippers.
"Gomez is lined up, Tomlin's not on the 40-man and, because it's just a spot start, we think it's best for David to continue his development at Triple A," Acta said. "We've seen David before."
Based on a feed from Huff's Twitter account early Friday, the lefty thought he was getting the nod. Informed of the tweet that afternoon, Acta seemed less than pleased and said the Indians still were working through the decision.
Huff, who led the Tribe with 11 victories last season, quickly denied he actually did the tweeting. He said he would reach out to the Indians to explain.
Asked if the tweet had anything to do with not opting for Huff, Acta said, "We think it's best for David to continue his development at Triple A."
In what appeared to be good news for Huff on Friday night, he was scratched from his scheduled start at Norfolk, Va., and replaced by Justin Germano.
Gomez, who once threw a perfect game for Class AA Akron, will face Vermilion High School product Andy Oliver (0-3, 6.38 ERA).
The Lowe down: Renowned sportswriter John Lowe, who has covered the Tigers for the Detroit Free Press since 1986, invented the "quality start." It is defined as six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs.
Lowe came up with the stat while writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer in the mid-1980s.
"I was keeping logs on every starting pitcher, and I noticed how often a guy would pitch well and not win the game -- either because of lack of offensive support or the bullpen not holding the lead," Lowe said. "At about the same time, I had managers, particularly Whitey Herzog, talking about how they were looking for their starting pitcher to go six innings and turn it over to the bullpen.
"So I said, 'We need some scale, some new way, to keep track of how often a starting pitcher does his job in the bullpen era.' And I wanted something simple that I would write about and that people could understand. I didn't want it to have square-root signs or the Pythagorean theorem."
The quality start has made pitchers millions of dollars over the years during contract negotiations. It also has its critics, the main beef being that a start of six innings and three earned runs equals a 4.50 ERA.
"You can't judge any stat by its minimum," Lowe said. "You can pitch one inning, give up two earned runs and get a save. That's an 18.00 ERA. You can give up a ton of runs as a starter and get a win.
"You can pitch badly and get a win, pitch badly and get a save. But it's very hard to pitch badly and get a quality start."
Lowe is recognizable on the field because he wears the old-style Panama hat. No, Lowe did not cover baseball in the dead-ball era. Nor does he use a manual typewriter.
"I wear it because my skin is sensitive to the sun," he said. "I started wearing it in spring training and it carried over to the season."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664