Injury bug chomps down harder on the Tribe

You've heard the expression 'no news is good news.' Well today there's plenty of news about the Tribe. Injury news. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince is reporting it all on his blog tonight. First up: Travis Hafner is going to see the Kevorkian of shoulder doctors - Dr. James Andrews. The name alone is scary. But, according to Castrovince, the Tribe doesn't think Hafner needs an operation but is going to see Andrews so he can "offer advice on a proper return-to-play program." Hafner was supposed to go out on rehab this week, but the shoulder is still too weak. The news on Fausto Carmona is equally bad, at least as reported by Castrovince. It seems Carmona felt soreness in his hip after a 50-pitch simulated game at Mahoning Valley yesterday. The Tribe isn't sure if he has re-injured the hip or he just wasn't fully healed from the original injury. Either way, his rehab stint - also expected to start this week - is also on hold. Also in his blog Castrovince reports that Josh Barfield's middle finger required surgery and that he will miss 6 to 8 weeks. And for good measure, The Buffalo News reports that Michael Aubrey - the oft-injured Tribe farmhand who had a cup of coffee in the big leagues a few weeks back - is also back on the Buffalo DL. The delay in Hafner's rehab was already known, but the Dr. Andrews news is new and ominous. As we said, the Tribe says it's not as big a deal as it might sound, but how often has the Tribe been honest with us about injuries this season? The Carmona news is also a major cause for concern as Jeremy Sowers is a fifth starter trying - but not really succeeding - to replace a No. 2 with ace-like tendencies.