After going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored in the Aeros 6-3 win over Altoona Sunday afternoon, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo.

Ironically, Cabrera started at second base Sunday for the first time all season, fueling immediate talk that it was likely his last game for the Aeros.

Sure enough, the sudden position switch after he’d played 95 games at short signaled preparation had begun to advance Cabrera to the next level - where he’s expected to split time with veteran Luis Rivas at both second base and shortstop. Aeros manager Tim Bogar even suggested Cabrera could see some time at third base.

“He plays everywhere in Winter Ball, so he can play anywhere (at Buffalo),” Bogar said. “Selfishly, you don’t want to see him go because he is such a great player and a big part of our offense. Guys respect him and watch how hard he works. But development-wise,
he’s ready.”

Arguably the team’s first-half MVP, Cabrera batted .310 (114-for-368) with 78 runs scored, 54 RBI, 23 doubles and stolen bases and eight home runs for the Aeros this season.

When former Aeros pitcher Jensen Lewis made his major league debut with the Indians last week there was more than a few of his former teammates and coaches interested in the results.

“I was excited for him,” Aeros manager Tim Bogar said. “It’s hard not to be when it’s Jensen, he just brings so much energy to the game. The way his wind up is and all that, it’s fun to watch. Of course, I’m sure over time it might drive (Indians manager Eric Wedge) Wedgie crazy.”

The high-strung Lewis, who was a starter during his first two professional seasons after the Indians drafted him in the third round of the 2005 draft out of Vanderbilt, saw his career take off suddenly this season after being converted to a reliever.

The role change, accompanied with the addition of a slider, helped the 23-year-old right-hander go 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA in 24 appearances with the Aeros, then 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo.

“I haven’t talked to him directly, I’m kind of letting him soak it all in first,” Bogar said. “I’m kind of like a proud papa right now, you just sit back and watch your kid pitch.”

In six appearances with the Tribe, Lewis has held his own. He’s owns a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 innings, allowing two runs while striking out 11 and issuing just 4 walks.

Quick riddle: Who is worse on the mound right now - the Indians Cliff Lee or the Aeros Shawn Nottingham?

Quick answer: Both of them.

At least it seemed that way Thursday night.

In front of me on the field was the clearly overwhelmed Nottingham, who coughed up 10 runs - including eight in the first two innings to visiting Altoona to hand the Curve the win in the first game of this four-game series. He has lost his last four starts as his ERA has ballooned to 4.87.

Then there was Lee laboring on TV behind me, dishing up nine runs to Boston - after the Tribe had held the hard-hitting Red Sox to just a run the last two nights. Like Nottingham, Lee has been struggling for quite some time now.

It’s probably time for both pitchers to take a step back - Nottingham to Class-A Kinston and Lee (since he has an option remaining) to Triple-A Buffalo.

I know it’s a lot easier to send Nottingham down. I know the Indians are in a bind with their starters since their top two minor league options are left-hander Jeremy Sowers (still working out his struggles in Buffalo) and flame-throwing right-hander Adam Miller (placed on the disabled list Monday with elbow inflammation).

That leaves the Tribe probably having to add a starting pitcher to its trade wish list as the trading deadline quickly approaches. Or better yet - go with my plan of sending both Nottingham and Lee packing in a deal.

Seriously, wouldn’t someone want a pair of left-handers even if they stink right now?

On second thought, don’t answer that.

Not long after left-handed picther Aaron laffey was pulled from his start after 48 pitches at Triple-A Buffalo Sunday, a post popped up in this blog from one our faithful readers wondering what was up. Props to Roger for being so on top of things - especially with just a week left before the trading deadline, when these kind of things happen regularly.

Yet, a few days later, we’re still trying to figure it out. The Beacon’s Indians beat reporter Sheldon Ocker reported in Tuesday’s paper that Tribe manager Eric Wedge denied anything is going on with Laffey - which in baseball terms almost always means something is absolutely going on.

The question is what?

I don’t think it’s that Laffey was involved in a trade gone bad, as many are speculating. Because if that were the case, the Indians wouldn’t have let him pitch at all Sunday instead of limiting him to 50 pitches (a sure sign to me that’s he’s being readied for the bullpen).

My guess is that the Indians finally have had it with struggling Fernando Cabrera (a solid starter with the Aeros a few years ago before he was converted to a reliever) and have plans to call up Laffey to join the Indians bullpen. Because Cabrera is out of options, he will likely be claimed on waivers (other teams also think they can fix a guy). With the open roster spot, Laffey can slide right in.

So what’s taking so long? If the Indians didn’t start the process with Cabrerra until Monday, they have to wait until the end of Wednesday to see if he was claimed or can be sent to Buffalo to begin the rebuilding process.

So hang on. There’s more to this story coming in the next few days. Fun, isn’t it?

After all the other players and coaches had quickly headed into the lockerroom late Saturday night, Asdrubal Cabrera sat silently by himself in the dugout, absently staring out onto the field for about five minutes.

Cabrera didn’t get a hit in the Aeros 6-1 loss to visiting Reading that included three errors. In taking a few minutes to think about things, he seemed to sense that his team is more than headed in the wrong direction having won just four of their last 15 games.

Even the best baseball teams will go through their share of losing streaks during a 142-game season. But there’s something about this prolonged skid that just doesn’t bode well for postseason play.

“We’re not playing well in all aspects,” Aeros manager Tim Bogar said. “We’re not pitching well, we’re not hitting well, we’re not running the bases well and we’re not fielding well. Our decision making is not very good right now, either. Him sitting out there like that just shows you he knows - and he cares.”

Not to put the entire team’s struggles on Cabrera’s shoulders, but as Bogar hinted, when he’s not playing well, nobody seems to. When he plays well, it provides momentum for the rest.

“He knows he hasn’t been hitting well lately, and he takes a little bit of the losing streak on himself,” Bogar said of Cabrera.

Despite his recent struggles, Cabrera is still batting .312 with 21 doubles, eight homers and 47 RBI. In many other organizations, he’d already be promoted to Triple-A by now.

I’m hoping Cabrera is just tired and not caught up in being worried about a promotion to Buffalo. He’s done so much this season to put his name on the lips of the Indians front office staff, all he has to do is finish strong and remain patient.

Of course, the same could be said for the rest of the team.

This email arrived Friday morning and it made me wonder what you all thought about the subject. My reponse to the gentleman who wrote the angry email can be seen after the text of his rant.

I do not want to come off like I’m always sticking up for the team (trust me, they tend to often feel otherwise). However, while rather misinformed, I believe the man who wrote the email might have views shared by others.

Perhaps it will help the casual fan understand all that goes into a game on nights when weather is a problem and learn more about the process the team goes through when it has to deal with unexpected weather like it did Thursday.

Here’s the email:

I attended the 7:05pm Akron Aeros game Thursday night, July 19th. It was a cloudy evening, but the Weather Channel called for no rain until after 10pm. The first two innings went by quickly, but it started sprinkling at the top of the 3rd inning. The game was stopped
immediately.

The rain lasted 10-15 minutes, and rained fairly hard during some of that time. After the rain stopped, they announced the game would resume in 30 minutes, which left all
the fans asking “Why so long?” The ushers dried the seats for the fans, and we waited for the game to resume.

The grounds crew removed the tarp off the infield, and dumped gallons of water right onto the edge of the outfield. They then spent the next 90 minutes rolling water off the grass, blowing the grass dry, and finally coming out with sponges and BLOTTING the grass dry.
They even spent time blow drying the safety track along the walls.

By this point we had clear skies for the last hour. Rarely was the grounds crew all working
at the same time. Usually a third of them were talking to one another while the others worked hard.

Around 8:55pm the players went back into the locker room. At 9pm someone came out and pulled the bases. The grounds crew, having just got some bad news, dropped their tools, and
left the field as well. About a minute after that, they made an announcement that due to inclement weather (it had been dry for the past hour and a half) and a wet field the game was cancelled, and would be replayed as a double-header Friday night.

I would love to know what the heck is wrong with that organization. Why would they not call the game during the rain storm, or even right after, rather than stating the game would resume in 30 minutes? Why would they make the grounds crew work for 90 minutes sponge-drying a field that wouldn’t be used until the next night? Why would they leave the players in
the dug-out for 90 minutes waiting to start back up?

The Aeros organization obviously had little respect for the fans or the time they gave to support local baseball. We were told we could trade in our stubs for another game at the box
office. That would have been satisfactory if the game was called immediately.

The Aeros organization needs to come up with a better compensation for the 90 minutes they wasted for all fans, players, and workers on Thursday night. I’ve never had a bad time at the field before, but last night got me so angry that I’d be very hesitant to give another dime
to that organization in the future.

Here’s my response:
First, the 30-minute announcement you refer to actually said the rain would last approximately a half hour, not that the game would resume in a half hour. Aeros officials made the announcement in an attempt to help the fans gauge the length of the actual rain delay.

Secondly, once the game is suspended in the middle of action, it is in the hands of the umpires, not the team. Both managers, the grounds crew and umpires were in constant communication throughout the process and did all they could to try and get the field ready to resume play. For the safety of the players, it was deemed that despite all the hard work, the field was unplayable and unsafe.

Lastly, no one made the players stay in the dugout. A lot of times, they’ll head down into the lockeroom and eat, watch TV, play cards, etc. My guess is they stayed in the dugout because they had been told the rain wasn’t supposed to last long - as it didn’t. But honestly, no one could have known that it would rain so hard it would take that long to try to get the field in shape. Turns out that part of the reason it took so long to clear the warning track is because of the recent drought, the rain didn’t didn’t soak in as much as it usually does, leading to more standing water around the field than usual.

You know a win is huge when it snaps a four-game losing streak.

But at Canal Park, you know an Aeros win is really big when manager Tim Bogar busts out his cowboy boots.

I don’t mean once he’s out of uniform and dressed in street clothes. Nope, Bogar’s big-game statement is always made while still in his uniform, parading around the clubhouse with his old out-of-style brown cowboy boots.

Bogar doesn’t care how goofy he looks. The boots were a gift from teammates when he first made it to the big leagues, and Bogar reserves wearing them now only for his team’s big wins.

It didn’t take Bogar long to put them on Wednesday night after shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning that not only won the game 9-7, but also snapped the team’s losing streak AND prevented a sweep by lowly Harrisburg.

But before the boots came out, former Aeros catcher Javi Herrera blasted a three-run home run in the fifth that handed visiting Harrisburg an early 6-0 advantage.

Few Aeros fans would ever openly root for an opponent, but here’s betting there were plently of people doing it quietly for one of Akron’s former favorite players.

When Brian Barton slams a two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning to tie the game like he did Tuesday night against Harrisburg, you gotta figure the Aeros are in line for a win.

When reliever Jim Ed Warden continues the momentum by coming on in the 10th and shuts the Senators down for two frames, you gotta figure the Aeros are in line for a win.

Despite such late-inning heroics, Tuesday night’s game did not end in an Aeros win.

Instead, Harrisburg’s rookie catcher Luke Montz made like Barton and hit a three-run home run off Aeros reliever Mariano Gomez in the top of the 12th inning for an 8-5 win that sent Akron to its fourth consecutive loss and ninth in its last 11 games.

The team’s once comfy 6-game lead in the Eastern League Southern Division is down to a half game - and that only because Erie was rained out at home against Reading Tuesday night.

The Aeros are tired, beat up and in desperate need of a spark to turn the season back around.

Anyone got any ideas?

Some notes from across the league before the Aeros head home to Canal Park Monday night to kick off a seven-game home stand. In their just-completed four-game road trip to rival Altoona, the Aeros went 2-2, winning the first two games before dropping the last two.

AKRON - Recently promoted catcher/infielder Chris Gimenez led the league in several offensive categories last week. In four games, he hit a league-leading .533 (8-for-15) with two home runs and three RBIs. In addition, he was also tops in runs scored (8), on-base percentage (.588), slugging percentage (1.133) and extra-base hits (five).

ALTOONA - Curve beat writer Cory Giger’s Friday column ended up on the team’s clubhouse bulletin board with the word not very nice word scribbled next to his picture. Here’s the lead to the column Giger wrote that caught the ire of the team: “Manager Tim Leiper thinks the Curve can still win the Southern Division. It’s not going to happen.’’ Giger’s response to the surprising anger was well stated: “(I guess) they’ve never heard (the phrase) ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’.’’

ERIE - Right-handed closer Alan Mills (0-0, 1.54 ERA) has recorded nine saves in 12 appearances since joining the SeaWolves on June 5. The 40-year-old who pitched in the Major Leagues for 12 seasons (1990-2001), signed a minor league contract with the Tigers in early June. Mills last pitched in the 2001 season with the Baltimore Orioles and Double-A Bowie Baysox. His addition to the Erie roster has helped fill a big void in a bullpen that lacked a legitimate closer.

NEW BRITAIN - Right-handed pitcher Angel Garcia joined the team from Advanced Class-A Fort Myers July 11th. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound reliever appeared in 25 games for the Miracle, compiling a 0-2 record with 4 saves and a 3.38 ERA over 45 1/3 innings. Now in his seventh professional season, the 23-year old was the Twins’ fourth-round pick in the 2001 draft. Garcia fills the slot vacated when right-hander Brad Baker was promoted to Triple-A Rochester last week.

PORTLAND - After more than a month of speculation, right-handed pitcher Clay Buchholz was finally promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket last week. Buchholz departed leading the league in ERA (1.77 ERA) and strikeouts (116). With Buchholz gone, the Sea Dogs quickly reloaded with another highly-touted pitching prospect in right-hander Justin Masterson. In his debut July 9th, Masterson had struck out nine batters was working on a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings against New Hampshire before being pulled on a strict pitch count.

TRENTON - STREAK SNAPPED – It took extra innings to halt the Thunder’s 11-game winning streak, which came to an end Friday in a 6-5 11-inning loss at New Hampshire.

For more Eastern League information, check out my weekly notebooks at www.milb.com.

Canal Park saw its five millionth fan come through the turnstiles Monday night, and I don’t know if a better guy could have won the door prize.

Terry Reagan, who works in real estate for Howard Hanna, had bought 10 tickets weeks ago in anticipation of the arrival of his sister-in-law from Texas, planning to take her and a handful of family out for a night of fun.

What a night it turned out to be.

The 55-year-old West Akron resident wasn’t more than a few steps into the park when an Aeros staff member and intern ascended on him with a bouquet of balloons and a handful of Aeros items - including a ball and special jersey signed by the team.

Soon, an overwhelmed Reagan learned that he’d also won a pair of season tickets for next year and a night in a suite for up to 20 people this season - complete with a limo ride to and from the ballpark - as well as the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at an upcoming game after the short All-Star Break.

“This is unbelievable, what a complete surprise,” he said.

After a free shopping spree in the Aeros team shop and several interviews with various media, Reagan and his delighted group finally had a chance to settle in their seats and watch some of the game - the reason they came in the first place.

For all the griping done recently on this site about ticket and food prices at Canal Park, the Aeros certainly deserve plenty of praise for doing this one up right.