Rafael Betancourt Becomes 8th Indian Hit DL
Written By: Scott | Category: Cleveland Indians | Comments: 2
After all of three pitches yesterday, reliever Rafael Betancourt will spend the foreseeable future on the disabled list with a strained right groin. Tony Sipp has been called up to take his place on the roster, providing him with a second crack at the majors.
Betancourt had been one of the Tribe’s most reliable arms out of the bullpen, racking up 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. He is currently second among all American League relievers in appearances and which speaks volumes given the turnover that the team’s bullpen has seen this year. This will also be his first trip to the DL since 2006, though some may argue that he wasn’t right for most of last season.
Sipp had a relatively solid start to his major league career, but fell victim to the implosion that occurred through most of his colleagues. However, he continues to be successful at the Triple-A level, striking out 18 batters in 13 innings of work. He has fanned nine hitters in six innings of work with the Indians, so his ability to miss bats is there. Let’s just hope he can consistently locate as it was the walks (eight) that hurt him during his brief stint with the big boys.
Your Tribe bullpen now consists of Kerry Wood, Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp, Matt Herges, Luis Vizcaino, Jensen Lewis, Tomo Ohka and Greg Aquino.
Author: Scott
Scott is a co-founder/editor of Waiting For Next Year who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or email him at scott@waitingfornextyear.com.Scott has written 1700 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
There was no reason for Betancourt to even be in the game anyway. Wedge once again over-managed by yanking Pavano because he gave up a crummy little infield scratch hit. So naturally, our stud bullpen blows another lead.
Perez still belongs in Triple A.