Inside Pitch

Koplove the Olympian; Vizquel retiring?

Interesting to see Mike Koplove make the USA Olympic baseball team announced Wednesday. Remember him last year in Buffalo? The 31-year-old reliever with the funny arm slot has had quite the 18-month run. Signed in January 2007 by the Marlins and released in March, Koplove agreed to a minor league contract with the Indians and thrived last season. Splitting the closer's role with Ed Mujica, Koplove went 4-2 with 14 saves and a 2.50 ERA in 51 appearances at Buffalo. The Dodgers then picked him up in December after the Tribe didn't re-sign him. And now pitching for L.A.'s Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s in the Pacific Coast League, he's 1-1 with seven saves and a 3.40 ERA in 47 2/3 innings.

Maybe not Olympic stuff by every standard, but USA manager Davey Johnson said a guy like Koplove has a place on his roster.

"You liked to have some experienced guys that aren’t just throwers," Johnson said in a conference call Wednesday. "His influence on the pen will be outstanding. It’s really good to have guys that have been through it, guys that have been up in the big leagues. He’s also a guy I can use more frequently than a young power arm."

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Just got around to reading Tom Verducci's excellent piece in last week's SI on Tim Lincecum, and the remarkably violent, but efficient, mechanics behind the 170-pounder's 98-mph heat.

Check it out, if only for Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro's scouting report on the guy from before the 2005 draft. The Tribe actually selected Lincecum in the 42nd round (No. 1,261 overall) that June following his sophomore season at the University of Washington. Here's the organization's write-up on Lincecum, as recalled by Shapiro to SI.

"No. 2 starter.... Wonder if he's going to hold up as a starter.... Freaky..... Maybe a Frankie Rodriguez[-type] bullpen guy.... Potential closer/setup man.... Potential front of the rotation....." Shapiro said. "We're split. Probably more reliever than starter. There was some concern that he would have to get to the big leagues quickly because you weren't sure he could make it through the usual four hundred to five hundred innings as a starter in the minors. His arm speed is ridiculous -- like it's going to fly off one day."

Lincecum turned down the Tribe's offer, was drafted 10th overall by the GIants the next year and has become an instant star. Yet the Indians have no regrets. Cleveland scouting director John Mirabelli told MLB.com that the Indians made a "very aggressive offer," in 2005 while acknowledging that Lincecum made the right choice to stay in school.

"I want to give some credit to our scouts for identifying what a lot of people didn't see at that time," Mirabelli said to MLB.com. "We knew we were right about the guy and we felt good about that."

About the only thing stopping Lincecum these days is, well, appearing on the cover of SI. On the morning of his first All-Star Game Tuesday, he woke up with the flu and ended up spending the day at a New York City emergency room instead of Yankee Stadium. Go figure.

(Photo: Sports Illustrated) 

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Is Omar Vizquel about to retire? The Denver Post reports there is "simmering buzz" that Vizquel, embarrassed by his recent play, is considering abruptly walking away from the game.

Vizquel, who returned to Cleveland last month for the first time since his last season with the Tribe in '04, is hitting just .153 in 44 games since returning in May from knee surgery. But while he's acknowledged his frustration, Vizquel told the San Francisco Chronicle the report is "false."

We'll take his word. The guy still has value, just being one of the game's top defensive shortstops. Hard, though, to see No. 13 go out like this.

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Who says Cleveland's season is lost? Look at all the history these guys are chasing. The Tribe could be the most black and blue team in league history by year's end. Indians batters have been hit by pitches 57 times already and are on pace to be nailed 98 times. That would break the club record set last year (80) and the league record set by Toronto in 1996 (92). Check out the club's gloves, too. Cleveland, whose .988 fielding percentage leads the majors, is on pace to commit just 71 errors this season, which would break the American League record set by Vizquel's 2000 Tribe (72).

Nevermind that Indians' 41-53 record is their worst at the break since 1992 (36-52). Expect record second-half gates at Progressive Field, with ear-splitting cheers following every cleanly fielded 4-3 groundout.

--- David Briggs

Branyan goes deep thrice

From the Whatever Happened To Him Department: Longtime Herd slugger Russell Branyan belted three home runs Friday night to lead Nashville to a 10-8 victory over New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League. He's hitting .374 with 11 home runs for the Sounds, who are Milwaukee's top affiliate. Branyan, of course, had a couple of decent seasons with the Brewers and signed with them again over the winter.

Here's the Nashville Tennessean's report on the game.

Here's minorleaguebaseball.com's report.

---Mike Harrington

Interesting mound matchups

Must-see TV Wednesday night at 7 on YES: Cliff Lee (5-0) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (6-0) in Yankee Stadium.

If you want to get in your car this weekend and see more good pitching, you can go to Rochester for the Bisons' series or make a longer trip to the Indians-Blue Jays series in Progressive Field (and the way those two teams are swinging the bats, the pitchers figure to dominate).

Saturday night's starter for the Red Wings against the Herd is likely to be former Minnesota Twins all-star Francisco Liriano, the 24-year-old phenom trying to make a comeback from Tommy John surgery. It's been tough for him so far as he's 0-1, 5.40 in three starts for the Wings. Monday at Columbus was his best to date, as Liriano allowed one run on two hits over five innings but walked four.

The Bisons' rotation looks like it will open with Adam Miller Friday night, followed by Matt Ginter against Liriano, Jeremy Sowers on Sunday and Brian Slocum on Monday.

Friday night in Cleveland, it's a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners as C.C. Sabathia meets Roy Halladay. Saturday night will feature young stars on the rise in ex-Bison Aaron Laffey and Toronto's Dustin McGowan. Sunday afternoon's game is scheduled to pit Fausto Carmona and A.J. Burnett, while Lee meets Shawn Marcum Monday night.

---Mike Harrington

Laker comes clean on steroids

When I reviewed The Mitchell Report, one ex-Bison named that jumped out at me was former Buffalo catcher Tim Laker. He was the jokester of the team at the start of this decade, the one who strode to the plate for every at-bat to the tune of "Stayin' Alive". He's even the subject of a chapter in Chris Coste's book dubbled "The Laker Chronicles".

But Laker was never really healthy here. He suffered from colitis and pancreas issues and nearly died in the winter of 2001. We did several stories on his situation. I wonder how much that was related to the steroid usage from the '90s he admitted in the report. The report says Laker stopped using steroids before he got to Buffalo in 2001.

Laker said his health issues here have been an ongoing problem in his life and were not related to steroids but you've got to wonder. Now a manager for Cleveland's Class A Mahoning Valley team in the New York-Penn League, Laker met the Indians media earlier this week in Winter Haven, Fla., to discuss his past.

For even more, within that article is a link to the 20-minute audio of his press conference. Can't link to it directly here but you'll see it.

---Mike Harrington

Inglett trying to hook on with Jays

I am SICK OF SHOVELING SNOW (can I be any more clear?) and have to write about baseball for a minute to save my sanity. On that note, my apologies for the lack of action in this blog in recent weeks. Your understanding is appreciated as is your enthusiasm for our work on the Sabres Edge blog. We're restarting Inside Baseball this Sunday (although it may not be every Sunday in March) and I'll be doing my best between Lindy Ruff press conferences to get some items up here as spring training goes along!

I will have more to say about steroids (unfortunately) later in the week. But here's an update from Florida on one of the good guys we've seen in Buffalo the last few years: Utility man Joe Inglett, who finished last as the franchise's modern-era career leader in triples.

All this guy does is bat .300 every year and get his uniform dirty while playing about five positions. But the Indians signed Jamey Carroll in the offseason so Inglett is now in the Blue Jays' camp trying to make it as a utility man.

And he's battling with two other ex-Bisons in John McDonald and Marcos Scutaro for time in the Jays' infield. Here's the update on Inglett from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

---Mike Harrington

Coste keeps hitting, keeps writing

One of our all-time favorite ex-Bisons has to be catcher Chris Coste. The pride of Fargo, N.D., he came out of independent ball to become a star for the Herd and was the MVP of the 2002 team that lost to Durham in the Governors' Cup finals.

Despite the fact he was a .300 hitter in his sleep, the Indians never gave Coste a chance in the big leagues because they didn't think he was adequate enough behind the plate. Perhaps. But he's finally broken through in the big leagues the last couple years with the Phillies. And, of course, he's still hitting .300.

Coste wrote one book about his life in the minors  before he got to The Show. Now he's penned a second one called "The 33-Year-Old Rookie" that's scheduled to be out in March. Check out the Philly Inquirer's writeup here.

Gotta make it a point to catch up with him this season to get his take on the book and his memories of his years in Buffalo.

---Mike Harrington