I've read that Sowers really isn't in consideration for the promotion, for whatever reason.  That disappointed me.  If that is the case, I'd bring Laffey back up over Lee, based largely on walk rates. I honestly think I'd take Laffey either way right now, but Sowers deserves some consideration.

I thought someone said they heard Wedge remark about not wanting to send down any of the position players when the call "Lee" back up?

I don't think that Sowers is even in consideration. From all of the comments it seems like they want Lee to get the start. If he does well tomorrow I think it will surely be him.

I sincerely hope that it's not Lee.  While he's shown improvement, he's nowhere near what a established, injury-free, competent ML starter should be doing in AAA.  I could make some KC being a AAAA team, but they're actually much improved this year.

That said, I really do wish that Sowers is brought back - read all those things Lee is supposed to be above, place those expectations on Sowers and throw in the fact he's actually showing what he's supposed to?  Yeah, give him the nod and let Laffey continue to grow and learn his craft down in the minors.  This will also be a good gauge to see how much Sowers has improved.

what influence will the playoff elligible roster considerations have, if any, in which one gets the call?

i'm less worried about who gets this call than i am with what the indians do if said pitcher sh!ts the bed in that start.  then what?  seems to me, lee has the most to prove.  sowers has the least to loose, and laffey would have the most slack.  now i'm rambling.  i guess i'm asking what's plan B?  probably need plan A to play out first, i guess.  ramble complete.

This is a tough one because the performance of these three players certainly isn't going to be given equal weight in the decision making process.  One guy is a veteran on a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, one is a former top draft prospect with established big-league success, and the third is an up and coming prospect.  This is made more difficult because they're numbers in Buffalo are almost inversely related to their "established" big-league success, as Laffey has certainly been the best and Lee has been the worst.  Lee is coming off of his worst start.  Sowers has put together two of his best and his generally (if not dramatically) improved throughout his Buffalo stay.  Laffey has been the best all season and his August 14th start was better than anything Lee or Sowers has done in Buffalo.  My inclination would be to go with Laffey or Sowers, depending on hwo the front office thinks the Buffalo-Cleveland yo-yo dance is going to affect their long-term likelihood for success.  I just have no confidence Lee gives Cleveland a good chance of winning right now.

Will Cliff have to clear revocables again if we decide to send him down after a disastrous start on the 25th?

I think it almost has to be Lee.  In the absence of him pitching horribly tonight, there are personal issues that play into a move like this.  While the cost of not calling up either Laffey or Sowers is small, there may be a long-term attitude cost involved in not calling up Lee.  

Then again, I can't say that I terribly care who we call up, as there are good arguments for all 3 guys.

So is it morally wrong to hope Lee craps the bed tonight?

Service time rears its ugly head ...

Sowers, by my count, has 169 days.  That puts him just three days away from being credited with a full year, which means he hits free agency a year earlier.  Then again, this assumes that he spends all of the next two seasons in the majors, which is by no means a given.

At any rate, the Indians may not see any great reason to give him an extra 25-30 days of service time when he isn't really in a position to help.  That is, not necessarily one of our best five starters and seemingly not much of a fit for a significant bullpen role.

My other thought is that Laffey, who started last night, gives them the option of inserting the #5 man on the 24th and 29th rather than the 25th and 30th, giving everyone an extra day of rest that they haven't had in a while -- and won't have again for weeks.  That would also allow them to skip the #5 man on September 13 if they wanted.

I'm praying for rain.

I'll admit that some of my dislike of Lee is based on the fawning his won/loss record gets from people like Matt Underwood.

Has he really gotten that much worse, or has his luck (massive run support) just run out?

I lean toward Laffey.  I won't scream if it's any of them, but I'd prefer Laffey.

This really doesn't have anything to do with Lee/Laffy/Sowers, but can we keep Miller in the 'pen until rosters expand then have him throwing 100mph heat to close out the four game sweep of the Mets in the World Series?

Please?

Lee with another spectacular start last night.

5IP, 3R (2 earned), 10 baserunners, 4BB, 5K

Saturday should be fun times.

It has been officially announced that Laffey will start Saturday.

If it was me, I'd do the following:

1. Have Lee start the game on the 30th so he could be eligible for the postseason, just in case one of our top 4 guys go down to injury and we need a veteran starter in the playoffs (I don't trust Sowers or Laffey to be a starter in the playoffs).

2. Add Adam Miller to the 40.

3. DL Mujica with a forarm strain/tendinitis/whatever to open a slot in case we want to use Miller ala Frankie Rodriguez in 2002.

Hello talonk,

Regarding #1 - Though Lee has more ML experience than Sowers or Laffey, he has no more playoff experience than those two; personally, I'd rather ride the hot hand.  Plus, we'd probably only need 3 starters for the first round.  

Now, in terms of becoming a reliever, Lee would probably be my first choice; there, I would agree, but not as a starter - Lee would be just as likely to implode as either Sowers or Laffey in my opinion, since NONE of them have playoff experience.

2. I agree with this one, though I wouldn't rush him back, as I'd want to make sure he's healthy first.

3. I agree with this point, though I'd think I'd rather DL LHP Aaron Fultz (yes, he has experience, but I'm not that comfortable with him; Mujica had also been better of late, though I'm not totally convinced about him yet, either, but despite Fultz's experience level, I'd be more willing to lose his arm than I would Mujica's if he proves he can get ML hitters out consistently - i.e. take the power arm with good control over the ML experience who has gotten ML hitters out more often than not this year, but has trouble getting out of bases loaded and runners on situations unscathed.  Plus, Wedge hasn't used him much lately, making me think he's lost confidence in him, plus the fact Perez has been terrific in the set-up role.)

Just my 2 cents.  :-)