Who's the next to go as Indians continue to shuffle their pitching staff? The answer still isn't clear.
UPDATED: 10:14 p.m.
Joe Smith has rejoined the Indians' bullpen, but the team will still need to make a move to add a starting pitcher this week.PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Joe Smith is here for the bullpen and manager Manny Acta said left-hander Aaron Laffey will start Friday's game -- replacing the demoted David Huff.
Now for the intriguing part. Who gets sent down when Laffey is added to the roster Friday to face Cincinnati at Great American Ballpark? It's not like there's a shortage of choices.
Smith, who arrived Tuesday morning from Rochester, N.Y., where Class AAA Columbus was playing, could be sent back down.
Jensen Lewis with 13 strikeouts and 13 walks in 19 2/3 innings, is a candidate. So is struggling Tony Sipp with a 7.04 ERA and six homers allowed in 23 innings. Smith, Lewis and Sipp all have options.
Rafael Perez has done little to distinguish himself, but he's out of options. The opposition is hitting .358 against him. Hector Ambriz hasn't been overly productive, but as a Rule 5 pick, he'd have to be offered back to Arizona.
When Acta told reporters that he'd announce the starter after Tuesday's game, he added, "but we're not going to give you the whole move."
Hard to blame him. It's far from a snap judgment.
New man? Smith put up impressive numbers at Columbus. He went 2-1 with two saves in three opportunities. He had a 1.96 ERA and allowed one earned run in his last 12 appearances.
Charlie Manuel would have loved to have Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr. on his Philadelphia staff.INDIANS CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: If Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had his way, Sandy Alomar Jr. would be wearing a Philadelphia uniform instead of an Indians jersey.
“I tried to get Sandy over here as a player, but he didn’t pass his physical because of his knee,” said Manuel. “Then he signed with the White Sox.
“I wanted him as a coach as well, but he always seemed to be tied up.”
Alomar, who played for Manuel in Cleveland in 2000, is the Indians’ first-base and catching coach.
No way: In Sunday’s 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh, Austin Kearns was at third base with no outs and the score tied, 3-3, in the eighth. Jhonny Peralta sent a fly ball to center field, but Kearns didn’t try to score. Anderson Hernandez followed with a grounder to second that Neil Walker grabbed and ran all the way to first to make the out.
Kearns again stayed at third. He stayed there until the end of the inning.
“I don’t think I could have scored on either ball,” said Kearns. “I didn’t think I should try and score [on the fly ball] because you don’t want to make the first out at the plate. I know the catcher caught it in front of the plate, but if I was coming, I think he would have stayed back and let it bounce to him.
“The second play looked strange because the second baseman made the out at first, but I’m just not fast enough to score on that play.”
Stat of the day: The Indians outscored the opposition, 62-54, in their last 11 games entering Tuesday night. They’re 5-6 in those games.
— Paul Hoynes
"When I got down there [catcher] Chris Gimenez asked me why I wasn't throwing inside anymore to right-handed hitters," said Smith. "Somehow I'd just fallen away from that. I guess it took me going down there to figure it out. So it was worth the trip."
Philadelphia story: Charlie Manuel is alive and well. He's in his sixth season as the Phillies manager.
"Charlie has his own radio show and his own TV show," said GM Ruben Amaro. "He's like the mayor around here."
Here is Manuel's take on three of the four players the Indians received from the Phillies for Cliff Lee last season.
• Right-hander Carlos Carrasco: "He's got good stuff. He's young. He's a prospect, but he has to be consistent. That's the whole ball of wax for a pitcher."
• Infielder Jason Donald: "I like Donald. He's an overachiever. He puts me in mind of Craig Biggio."
• Catcher Lou Marson: "The power is in there. He's just got to get it out. I used to talk to him about that. I'd tell him to work to get ahead in the count and then look for a pitch out front to drive.
"He hit around .300 in Class AA one year and didn't strike out much. He improved his hitting, but he was hitting the ball inside out. It wasn't like you wanted him to hit."
Right-hander Jason Knapp was the other player the Indians received in the deal. He was on the disabled list when the Indians acquired him and then he underwent shoulder surgery. Knapp is scheduled to start facing hitters for the first time since the operation in the next week or so.
"The kid is a monster," said Amaro. "I'm sorry he needed surgery, but I didn't want to give him up. He was the last guy in the deal."
Tough luck: Ruben Niebla, a coaching assistant with the Indians, is expected to miss considerable time after injuring his right knee before Sunday's game while shagging fly balls in the outfield. Niebla returned to Cleveland on Sunday to undergo an MRI and other tests.
"Eventually we'll probably call someone up to throw batting practice," said Acta. "Ruben is a big part of our operations as far as assisting the pitching coach and bullpen coach."
Finally: When asked about his pitchers problems fielding bunts, Acta said, "We're going through a rough stretch right now. There's a couple of guys who need work and they're getting it."
Justin Masterson and Rafael Perez made errors in Sunday's 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh.