A's @ Indians, 6/27/07

Well, there's a low to go with the high of the night before.

I don't blame Fausto for this one. Everyone has an off day. Sure, his was worse than most, but these things happen. Considering what he's done for us so far this season, I'm not going to hold it against him. The guy has never started this many games at the major league level, so something like this was bound to happen eventually. The key is for guys like Lee and Westbrook to step up so something like this isn't a major bump in the road.

And while he did give up three runs in the end, Jason Stanford gave us 5+, which is a good sign. It was clear that he didn't have his best stuff, either. But how often is he going to be called on to go that long? Chances are good that we'll never need him for more than two innings and I think he showed tonight that he could do that. So that was a plus.

I'm hearing more and more that Adam Miller will eventually get the call for a spot in the bullpen and I have to say that while I'm generally not a fan of moving a starter to the bullpen in any circumstance, the idea of him and Stanford as our long relief guys is a nice one.

I say all this because it's become more and more clear to me that the Tribe won't make a deal before the deadline. Seriously, there's nothing out there to get, and what is out there will be far to pricey.

Obviously tonight was a bit unsettling. But I think we'll be okay. How we respond tomorrow will be a good test.