Who's Laffing Now?

On August 4, 2007, the Cleveland Indians saw their young right-hander Aaron Laffey make his major league debut. He took the loss, but pitched well against the Twins. His line, according to baseballreference.com - six innings, three earned runs on six hits, struck out and walked one.

The 22-year old kid from Cumberland Maryland went 4-2 in 2007 with a respectable 4.56 ERA. But he has some pretty good minor league career numbers: a .600 winning percentage with 3.38 ERA and 404 strikeouts in 113 games (95 starts).

With a veteran staff surrounding him in the rotation, Aaron Laffey could very well help the Indians get the last "Laff" in 2008.

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2007 Playoff Update:

• The surging Colorado Rockies made quick work of those Philadelphia Phillies in their NLDS match up. The Rockies swept the Phils in the three game series, showing everyone that they deserve to be playing in October. Second baseman Kaz Matsui was a real spark plug for the Rocks. He hit .417 in the series, with five hits (two triples and a home run) and six RBIs. Outstanding starting pitching from Jeff Francis, Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jimenez certainly helped the Rockies cause.


• Like the Rockies, the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Chicago Cubs in their three game NLDS. Ace Brandon Webb got the DBacks off to a good start in game 1, going seven innings and only allowing one earned run and four hits, while striking out seven. With two home runs a piece, the young bats of Chris Young and Stephen Drew supplied all the offense the Arizona pitching staff needed. So game 1 of the National League Championship Series will take place on Thursday night in Phoenix. Webb will face Rockies ace Jeff Francis.


• Keeping with the sweeping theme, the Boston Red Sox took care of the Angels of Anaheim in their three game series. The three-headed pitching monster that is Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsusaka and Curt Schilling proved way too powerful for the beleaguered Halos lineup. A game-winning walk off home run from Manny Ramirez helped the Sox win game 2 of the series.

• The only series NOT to end in a sweep was the Yankees/Indians series. Thanks to a late rally in game 3 on Sunday, the Yankees forced a fourth game against the Tribe. But the Indians proved to be the better team, actually outplaying the Bronx Bombers in just about all facets of the game - including stellar bullpen appearences, clutch hitting and bond with some pesty insects that clearly affected the pitching of Yanks phenom Joba Chamberlain. The Indians and their bugs move on to play Boston in the American League Championship Series, with game one taking place on Friday night, Beckett against lefty C.C. Sabathia.
  

Stats courteously of baseballreference.com, MLB.com and ESPN.com