This Week In Indians Baseball: Week 18

NEWS:

• Though the Indians remained mostly quiet at the Trade Deadline, they sent Double-A pitcher Steven Wright to the Boston Red Sox for Triple-A first baseman Lars Anderson.
• Travis Hafner was placed on the Major League paternity list on Wednesday. Vinny Rottino was called up from Columbus to take his place on the roster.
• Josh Tomlin pitched out of the bullpen in relief of Derek Lowe on Tuesday. He is expected to remain in the bullpen for the remainder of the season.
• On Wednesday, the Indians designated Derek Lowe for assignment. Corey Kluber claimed his spot on the roster and started Thursday’s finale with the Royals.
• The Tribe designated Johnny Damon for assignment on Friday. Ezequiel Carrera replaced him on the roster.
• Chris Seddon was called up to pitch on Sunday. The Indians designated Jeremy Accardo to make room for him on the roster. 

WAHOO’S ON FIRST HIGHLIGHTS:

•  Lewie asked if the Indians should be sellers in anticipation of the Trade Deadline
• Lewie analyzed the Indians’ rumored interest in San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley before the Trade Deadline
• Ed explained why dealing Justin Masterson would have meant that the Indians window of contention would have been changed
• Lewie made a last-minute suggestion for the Tribe to trade for Carlos Lee
• Brian previewed the series with the Royals and the series with the Tigers
• Lewie interviewed Michael Engel of Kings of Kaufman about the Royals
• Geordy gave a scouting report on Lars Anderson
• Lewie tried to understand the Lars Anderson trade
• Lewie showed how the Indians continue to pass over Matt LaPorta after Vinny Rottino was temporarily promoted
• Lewie wonders if we should have predicted Derek Lowe’s poor performance
• In this week’s Wroundtable, we graded the Indians’ Trade Deadline activity 

WEEKLY TRIVIA:

• Ezequiel Carerra had two triples in Saturday’s loss. That is the first time an Indians player to triple twice in one game since Josh Barfield did on May 12, 2007.
• In the Indians’ Sunday loss to the Tigers, the Tribe utilized 20 players on their roster. The only players not used were members of the starting rotation and Esmil Rogers.
• Travis Hafner and Ezequiel Carrera had back-to-back home runs in the tenth inning on Sunday. It marked Hafner’s 200^th career home run and Carrera’s first.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“There’s still two months to go. The season’s over on the last day. Maybe it could happen to Detroit — a losing streak. Maybe it could happen to Chicago. You never know. We have to face Chicago again and Detroit. It’s not done yet.”-Jose Lopez after Saturday’s eighth straight loss.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Vinnie Pestano

In a week where it seemed that the Indians underperformed and couldn’t do anything right, Pestano was an overlooked member of the bullpen. Through the entire season, he has been sending away opposing batters and working himself out of jams without much attention. This week, he pitched five innings, holding the Tigers and Royals scoreless while only allowing one hit and one walk and striking out four. Pestano was a player that could be counted on this week, in an otherwise shaky and inconsistent week for the roster.