Aaron Laffey is definately making the most of his opportunity due to Jake Westbrook’s injury. In 3 starts for the Indians this season, Laffey is 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. It’s a shame that Laffey will likely get sent back to the minors when Westbrook is ready to return from injury because of the depth the Indians have in their starting rotation. Laffey has now started 12 games in his major league career and he is 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. It’s possible that Laffey could also be trade bait if the Indians feel the need to add a batter to help wake up the offense.

Last season Cliff Lee started the season late due to a spring training injury last year and he never got it going on the mound. He even lost his job in the rotation after taking his cap off to the home crowd after getting drilled in a game. Lee is off to an incredible start for the Indians this season. He has started 5 games this season for the Indians and he is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and a 0.56 WHIP. The Indians need Lee to keep pitching well with Jake Westbrook out for a while and C.C. Sabathia off to a rough start.

The 9th inning might usually make Indians’ fans nervous but they don’t have that problem in the 7th and 8th innings.  Rookie lefty Rafael Perez works a lot in the 7th inning and he has been nasty this season.  Perez has pitched in 40 games this season and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 1.41 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.  He has worked 57.1 innings this season and he has only allowed 35 hits, walked 14 batters and whiffed 59.  Rafael Betancourt is having the best season of his major league career by far in 2007.  Betancourt has worked in 62 games this season and he is 5-1 with 1 save, a 1.48 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP.  He has worked 73 innings this season and he has only allowed 47 hits, walked 8 batters and whiffed 69.  The Indians are closing in on the Central Division Title as they now lead the Tigers by 6.5 games with a 89-62 record.

Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Paul Byrd have carried the Indians pitching staff in the first half of the season.  C.C. Sabathia has made the All Star team in the American League by going 12-3 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in the first half of 2007.  Sabathia whiffed 119 batters while only walking 18 batters in 133.1 innings this season which shows how much he has grown as a pitcher.  Fausto Carmona has rebounded well after his tough rookie season.  He is 10-4 with a 3.85 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP so far this season.  He really has stepped up with the Indians suffering injuries in the rotation to Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook.  Paul Byrd is 7-4 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP so far this season.  Part of the reason for his success this season has been his pinpoint control as he has only walked 6 batters in 102 innings this season.  Rafael Betancourt has been outstanding this season as the Indians primary setup man.  He is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.66 WHIP so far this season.  He has only allowed 23 hits and 3 walks in 39.2 innings this season.  Lefty Rafael Perez has a 2.22 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP so far this season and he has been very valuable to the bullpen.  In 24.1 innings this season Perez has only allowed 17 hits while whiffing 28 batters.

C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Paul Byrd have been fantastic so far this season.  Sabathia you kind of expect it from but Byrd and Carmona have been huge surprises.  Carmona had a rough season for the Indians last year as they converted him to a relief pitcher because of his outstanding arm.  He pitched so well out of the pen setting up for Bob Wickman that they traded Wickman and elevated Carmona to the closer’s role and he only lasted a week before getting taken out of the job due to poor performance.  Instead of feeling sorry for himself the Indians made him a starter again and he got his big chance when Cliff Lee was injured in Spring Training.  Carmona made the rotation and he should keep his spot even when Jake Westbrook comes off of the disabled list.  Paul Byrd had an off year in 2006 for the Indians but he’s pitching well this season as he’s only walked an amazing three batters this season.  The “Big Three” in the Indians rotation are now 20-3 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP between them.  I see no reason for these guys not to keep up the good work for the Tribe this season.