Offense! Pitching! Defense!

The Tribe was firing on all cylinders last night in beating the Blue Jays 12-0. You don't have to look past the final score to see it was a strong overall performance. Obviously, when you win 12-0, you don't need Bill James to tell you you've done a few things right.

Aaron Laffey finally got his first major-league win of 2008, in his third strong start. The Indians scored just two runs for him in his first two starts. They'd matched that before even making an out Saturday, and by the time Laffey took the mound for the second inning, he was working with a 6-0 lead. Laffey recorded seven scoreless innings, and his ERA is down to 1.83. Not bad for a guy who opened the season in Buffalo.

And the offense! Let's be honest, the Indians' offense has been disappointing so far this season. Even after last night's outburst, the Tribe has scored fewer runs than all but four American League teams. So it's always good to see a double-digit number on the scoreboard. Grady Sizemore, who has had a fairly slow start, had his best game of the year last night, on Grady Sizemore Fleece Blanket Night. He hit two homers, including one to lead off the first inning. Grady wound up with three hits, three runs scored and five RBIs.

Victor Martinez got two hits to raise his batting average to .346, which now leads the AL. Asdrubal Cabrera and Casey Blake, who have started very slowly, each had two hits as well. Now, if we can just get Pronk going ...

Well, that's another matter for another time. Let's just enjoy this one.