Laffey wins laugher

We all know the Indians are done for this season, and we all know they've gotten rid of a lot of the players who were on the opening-day roster. But darn it, this team is still fun to watch sometimes.

Aaron Laffey went eight innings — the longest outing of his major-league career — and gave up just one unearned run on six hits, striking out five. Laffey first came up in 2007, so it's easy to forget he's only 24. He's got a bright future, provided he stays healthy.

The offense scored eight runs without leaving the park, with an 11-hit attack led by the top third of the order, Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo. Sizemore and Cabrera had three hits each, Choo added two, and each member of the trio had a double.

And Trevor Crowe, hitting ninth, also had two hits, which is nice to see. When Crowe was sent to Columbus on June 24, he was hitting .169. Since being recalled on July 31, he's hitting .381 in five games, bringing his season average up to .221. Crowe is 25, so his peak years are still to come.

The Indians and Twins play their rubber match today at noon, with Fausto Carmona facing Nick Blackburn. I have to work for a living, so I won't get to see it, but I'd sure like to see Fausto turn in a solid outing.