Morning Update: Tomo Ohka = Finished

I like Tomo Ohka... I've said it.. I like the guy because he throws strikes.

But a pitcher as old as Ohka doesn't have much of a lifespan after awhile. He got his last shot, but that has run it's course.

He's finished.

Sorry Tomo. It's been real brother, but your time is up.

Justin Masterson went his sixty pitches and was fantastic. The one run he gave up was questionable as he should have been out of the inning because I believe Beckham was out. 'Nother story, 'nother day.

Masterson was great in his four innings. He even asked Wedge to let him go more. I LOVE This guy!

"Actually, I was happy with how I felt at the end," Masterson said. "I still felt pretty strong as the game went on. I got a littler more crisp and felt more comfortable."

"Did I want to?" Wedge said. "Yeah. I most definitely wanted to. But you're not going to put somebody at risk, health-wise, and we're still trying to build him back up from a reliever to a starter. He obviously started earlier this year, but it's been awhile since he's been back at that. We're just trying to build him up the right way."

No disagreements here. Don't screw with the plan. This season is over and if you even risk it, especially since what we gave up to get Masterson, you are dead.

What I do want to point out about last night offensively.

The bases loaded and one out situation. What gives?

Hafner and Peralta strike out back to back against this no-name rookie? Seriously, what were they both swinging at? Pathetic stuff there, pathetic stuff.

Chris Perez flashed back to that horrid debut as a Indian and if you were watching him throw to Thome, maybe you thought it was going to be duplication.

"I flashed back to my first game," said Perez. "I was a little jumpy my first batter. But luckily I threw a good slider and was able to get Thome out. It was a ball. It broke down and in to him, but it was a pretty good pitch."

"I really don't think I'm doing that much different than my first two appearances here, but the results are different," he said. "I'm trusting my stuff a little more. I didn't do it Friday, but I've been getting ahead of guys. It makes it so much easier to put them away.

Perez was amped up in that game, you could tell and that's why he did the same things he did then, but now he's having success. He's settled in, which is great to see.

And hey Perez can really established himself as a big part next year with the rest of this season. As Jensen Lewis pointed out, it's going to be open competition, ESPECIALLY in the pen for late inning jobs.

It was planned to have Kelly Shoppach catch the first two games, but I'm sure there were no objections to start yesterday's game after he killed everyone on Friday.

CPD link above notes that Wyatt Toregas could start today, which is perfect lead in to this story of the rookie catcher.

I'll still never forget Toregas saying he had no clue how he got his first major league hit. Which is fitting since he doesn't remember the swing he took. He'll forget, but I remember.

"Honestly, I don't even remember the swing," said Toregas, who lined a single to left field in his Major League debut off Detroit pitcher Rick Porcello in the bottom of the third inning on Aug. 1. "I remember him releasing it, and the next thing I know, the ball was on its way. Everything was just going too fast, I wasn't like computing. I just hit it, I went to first, and when I got there, I was like, 'Wow, what just happened?'"

Gotta like this kid's perserverance though. He started last year in Triple-A, struggled, was sent to Akron when Gem was hitting well and turned it on. Was a rumored odd-man out with the acquisition of Carlos Santana and the un-need for so many catchers on the 40-man and the fact that Gimenez could play multiple positions didn't help him.

Yet here he is. Triple-All-Star and now major leaguer. Great for him.

"I always had the confidence that I'd make it, or else I wouldn't keep trying," Toregas said. "But I mean of course there were setbacks along the way. You go back in the locker room and you sit down and you're like, 'Man, what am I doing?' But then there's those days where you come back and you get four hits, you're like, 'All right, I'm ready to roll now. I'm going to show people what's going on.' I just think you've got to put your time in, and you've got to work hard. And then when your break comes, it comes."

Terry Pluto's Sunday notes are alllll about the Indians since he was on vacation. We've yet to hear Pluto's reaction on the trade, which is perhaps the reason there is still so much panic. Pluto usually calms the masses. Strap in because Pluto has a lot of notes and opinions and I'm going to chime in as well.

A few notes first..

Pluto says the Rockies are planning to let Betancourt become a free agent.

About 12 million in payroll was saved this season by trading the players they traded and 25 million next year for the obligations they have. Let's also not forget the contracts of Masa Kobayashi and David Dellucci will also not burden this team next year.

Pluto favors all three trades of Betancourt, Garko, and DeRosa because they are easily replaceable parts. I agree, although DeRosa's leadership is hard to replace. Still we lost someone far-more irreplaceable in terms of leadership.

I asked this question and now Terry is. Who are the Dolans selling this team to? Anyone have an answer yet? It would be hard to get fair value for the Indians at this state of the game, even with a growing TV network in the deal, which isn't as successful as people hoped, as Pluto notes.

To the deals. Pluto says the Indians believe Martinez will be more of a first baseman than a catcher by the time he's a free agent in 2010. Which just presents a whole new different look at things with Beau Mills, Matt LaPorta, and Jordan Brown all in the minors. Carlos Santana has the catchers spot, but what? What man? Pluto says it's quite possible that Martinez would have controlled his negotiations. That's how much he wanted to stay in Cleveland.

Pluto says the Yankees would have added Phil Hughes to a package for Cliff Lee while Boston would have not given up Buchholz. I'm fine with the package we got from Boston to be quite honest. If the Yankees gave us Hughes, what else would they have given us? Not much, which makes me favor the two arms we got from Philly there.

GREAT GREAT GREAT Statistic here and I'll shut up.

Since 1998, the year CC was drafted, the Indians have produced three pitchers that they've drafted and developed under their own care the whole way through that have made 50 big league starts. This doesn't include international signings like Fausto Carmona. Those pitchers are: CC Sabathia, Check. Jeremy Sowers, Ahhhhg, and Jeremy Guthrie, ahhhhhhg. Guthrie didn't even make those starts with Cleveland and Sowers is Ahhhhhhg.

That has to change and hopefully Brad Grant has hit gold already with the likes of House, Haley, and Berger.

Final verdict from Pluto: Thumbs up on Martinez's deal to Boston because while Martinez will be missed, we've pointed out it had to be done. Lee however is a deal Pluto can't get behind. He says wait till next year if the market was soft and you could use him as a leader next year for all the youngsters.

Pluto says the Lee deal lacked a real superstar, but doesn't discredit the idea that Carrasco or Knapp could become stars, hell no one thought Sizemore would turn into what he did.