1:05 PM ... Carmona's Debut

[swerb]

One of my favorite memories as a youth is having front row seats as like a 8-9 year old to see Greg Swindell's debut as an Indian. He was heavily hyped. The Indians lost the game like 22-3 (seriously).

Im very intrigued about Carmonas debut today as well. By freak occurence, the first 3-4 Lake County games I went to, Carmona was on the hill for every one. Naturally, I've kept a little closer eye on him than some of the Indians other pitching prospects.

We know Carmona has great control, keeps the ball down, can throw several pitches for strikes. We know he was great in spring, and the Indians horrified alot of people in Florida by sending him down.

But does he have the stuff to consistently get major league hitters out?

And if so, and he pitches well, what do the Indians do when CC gets back?

Looking forward to todays game. Its for first place, and also a stop the bleeding game.

Cleveland 6-4
Detroit 6-4
Chicago 5-5
Minnesota 5-5
z- Kansas City 2-7

[consigliere]

I'm looking forward to the start as well.....a tough assignment for a rookie. That Detroit lineup is pretty tough, one of the best in the league. I'd be happy with 5 innings and 3 ER from Fausto in his 2006 debut.

[Jumbo]

And if so, and he pitches well, what do the Indians do when CC gets back?

It would be nice if the Indians stole a page out of their ALC rivals' playbooks:

Francisco Liriano, 3 apperances, 6 2/3 IP, 12K/0BB, 0.00ERA.
Brandon McCarthy: 4 appearances, 9IP, 7K/0BB, 2.00ERA

Especially if the bullpen is still struggling, it would be really nice to have Carmona available to go 2-3 innings in a close game. Letting him pitch in that role every few days isn't going to consign him to to the bullpen.

Once that decision is made, the roster move is self-evident: Danny Graves, DFA.

[swerb]

The kid looked good.

Just 4 singles, 2 walks, and 1 run in 6 innings. Threw strikes. Crisp fastball at 93-94, and sharp secondary stuff. Faustos got a much better bender than what I saw from him in Lake County.

Got bailed out by the Hollandsworth rob of the shoulda been HR by Thames. Fought back out of a bases loaded no out situation in the 6th with a weak sac fly and a 5-4-3 twin killing. But still, impressive. Against a Motor City Kitty lineup that has been MASHING the ball.

One of the fun things about the Indians rebuilding this thing this way is the excitement of watching these prospects break in, and in many cases ... break out. We've been reading the Consigliere and others talk about these kids for years, and it's fun to get to see their first games against big league competition.

[swerb]

And ... I started him in the CSBA today. Bully for me.

[gnati]

One of my favorite memories as a youth is having front row seats as like a 8-9 year old to see Greg Swindell's debut as an Indian. He was heavily hyped. The Indians lost the game like 22-3 (seriously).

24-5

I went, still have the box score...Red Sox drilled him. Spike Owen scored 85 times. Bryan Oelkers, the guy drafted before Dwight Gooden, got lit up like a christmas tree. It was late August, just before everyone went back to school, but a month before OSU started....working at Marc's...suddenly got sick in the afternoon when they announced he was getting the call...and went down.

Good fucking grief.

[ACrank]

One of my favorite memories as a youth is having front row seats as like a 8-9 year old to see Greg Swindell's debut as an Indian. He was heavily hyped. The Indians lost the game like 22-3 (seriously).

I was fortunate enough not to go to the game, but i was scoring it for either Project Scoresheet or STATS - so not only did i have to listen to each agonizing pitch, but had to chart them as best i could from the radio descrption....

It was not a fun experience.

[consigliere]

Fausto impressive today. Some Detroit regulars were not in the lineup, and he did benefit from some big plays like the Hollandsworth HR rob....but overall a very solid first career start. Curious as hell to see what he does in his next appearance...and he likely will get two more before CC is ready to come off the DL.

It would be very interesting to see what the Tribe does if Carmona were to throw two more solid outings like today......a good problem to have if it indeed does happen....but I want to see them be aggressive with him and keep him here in a Liriano/McCarthy role.

[swerb]

Wedge quoted in this mornings PD as saying "we have no plans of putting Fausto in the bullpen".

[pup]

I can't believe I am about to say this, but they should send him back down to AAA. He is going to be a very good starting pitcher, but he does not appear to be a bullpen type of guy to me. The common comaprisons are McCarthy and Lariono, but they are both "power" arms who rely on the strikeout. Carmona is more of a location and movement guy, and that does not translate as well in the pen. Pitchers like Carmona need to stay on a set schedule and pitch every 5 days.

Anyone know where to find Paul Byrd on his off days, so we can keep Fausto in the rotation?