Indians Winning With Band-Aid Approach

Somehow, the Cleveland Indians have managed to move out to a fairly comfortable lead in the American League Central, even though they have the most injury riddled pitching staff in the majors.

The Indians have been getting by for the past two months without right-hander Jack McDowell, who is recovering from elbow surgery, and still are awaiting the return of No. 4 starter Chad Ogea, who has been sidelined four weeks with a strained ligament in his right elbow.

If that isn’t trouble enough, the Indians also have had to place left-hander Brian Anderson (sore shoulder), right-hander Albie Lopez (strained calf) and right-hander Paul Shuey (sore hamstring) on the disabled list over the past couple of weeks. Even promising Bartolo Colon, who recorded his second major-league victory last Sunday, is pitching with a bone chip in his elbow.

“We’ve never had this many pitchers hurt at the same time since I’ve been with the organization,” said general manager John Hart.

The Indians have called up three-fifths of their Triple-A rotation, including journeymen David Weathers and Terry Clark.”These injuries have really tested the depth of our pitching,” Hart said. “I don’t know how many organizations could have handled something like this. Our kids, and veterans like Clark and Weathers, have done a great job.”