With news that Fausto Carmona was making a start for the Clippers tonight, I headed to Fifth Third Field in Toledo to watch the Tribe's Triple-A Clippers take on the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens. It was a highly entertaining game with a heavy Indian flavor as the Clippers used six late runs to pull away from the Mud Hens in a 8-1 victory.

This game was a Tribe fan's dream, or nightmare, depending on how you look at it. Of the 26 players on the Columbus Clippers roster, 13 of them had spent time with the Indians this season. The list includes Greg Aquino, Rafael Betancourt, Fausto Carmona, Vinnie Chulk, Zach Jackson, Masa Kobayashi, Aaron Laffey, Jensen Lewis, Rich Rundles, Josh Barfield, Tony Graffanino, Trevor Crowe, and Matt LaPorta. Add in Andy Marte, who spent more than enough time up here, and that's quite a Tribe snippet. In fact, all four Clipper pitchers have pitched mainly with the Tribe this season.

Let's start with Carmona's performance. The biggest question on most Tribe fans' minds is, "Is he ready to return to the Indians' rotation?" In my opinion, he is not ready to step in and return to form on the big league stage. Carmona pitched 5 innings, throwing 86 pitches (52 strikes, 34 balls), allowing one run, six hits, walking one, and striking out five. That sounds pretty good, but watching in person and reading between the lines tells a different story. Fausto failed to get ahead early in the count, and he looked incredibly uncomfortable at the outset. I know, that's pretty normal for him, but he stepped off of the mound several times, adjusting his cap, belt, jersey, and anything else he could find. He had five strikeouts and only one walk, but let's remember that minor league hitters are far less patient than big league hitters. They helped Carmona out at times, and if he had thrown like that at the big league level, he would've probably walked himself into some more trouble. His speed was fine (registering 95 twice in the fifth inning), but he didn't throw his fastball or sinker consistently for strikes. Also, several Hens got good rips off of some hanging sinkers and flat fastballs, including Wilkin Ramirez's first inning homer to dead center and Clete Thomas's first inning double that hit off the left field wall. I have to admit that Carmona settled down in his final two innings, but the fact that they only let him throw 86 pitches says to me that he needs AT LEAST one more start at Triple-A before considering throwing him into the shark-infested waters again. My main reason against bringing him back now is that we are 12 games behind the Tigers and sitting in last place. If we were still in the thick of things, it may be a reasonable gamble to stick him in the rotation, but not when we're basically pissing in the wind.

As for other Tribe pitchers, almost half of the Tribe's opening day bullpen was in action for the Clippers tonight. Rafael Betancourt hurled a 1-2-3 sixth inning, throwing 14 pitches and striking out two. He looked ready to return from his rehab. Jensen Lewis got extended action, much like with the parent club, tossing 37 pitches over two innings and recording five of his six outs via the strikeout. Lewis's average speed fastball (91-92 mph) works quite well down in Triple-A, and I didn't quite understand why the Indians sent him down when he was just starting to string decent outings together. Finally, our old friend Masa Kobayashi worked an uneventful ninth inning, needing just 12 pitches to finish off the Mud Hens.

As for the Clipper hitters, I was truly impressed with Michael Brantley, the leadoff hitter and centerfielder for Columbus. Brantley singled his first two times at the plate. Then, after grounding into an inning-ending double play, he sacrificed a runner over and also walked and came around to score for the second time in the game before popping out in the ninth. In all, Brantley was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his 32nd in 40 attempts. Brantley stole the base in the first inning and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. The Hens starter, Chris Lambert, paid a great deal of attention to Brantley, yet he was still able to get the job done. Watching Brantley in action, I feel he has the ability to steal at least 25-30 bases at the next level. The only question with the 22-year-old centerfielder is if he can hit enough.

Trevor Crowe must have gottten word that I was in town, because he went on a mission to prove to me that he is a worthwhile player, and you cannot argue with his results. Crowe was 3-for-4, including a towering grand slam over the left field wall in the eighth inning that pushed the lead from one to five. In all, Crowe was on base four times tonight, which is about how many times he reached base safely with the Indians in his weeks with the club. To round out the former Indian hitters, Matt LaPorta was 1-for-4 with a walk, Andy Marte was 0-for-3 with two walks, and Eric Wedge's favorite whipping boy, Josh Barfield, was a nightmarish 0-for-5.

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable night. The weather was absolutely picture perfect at 81 degrees without a cloud in the sky. The Clippers played a fundamentally strong game, and I got to see many of the Indians players who should be up with the big league club if everything had gone to plan.

And, THAT is a mighty big IF.

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