Trading Betancourt? Sure, why not?

A guy that used to be one of the linchpins of the Indians' bullpen got traded yesterday to Colorado for a 24-year-old pitcher who's currently in single-A. Thus have the fortunes of the Tribe bullpen fallen.

Rafael Betancourt had an amazing year in 2007, the year the Indians got within a win of the World Series. He went 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA as the main setup man for closer Joe Borowski, struck out almost nine hitters for every hitter he walked, and gave up just four home runs all year, in 79 1/3 innings. Then last year, he regressed badly along with the rest of the bullpen, posting a 5.07 ERA in 71 innings, striking out about 2 1/2 hitters for each one he walked, and giving up 11 home runs. He's been somewhere in the middle this year, with a 3.52 ERA. His K/BB numbers are even worse than last year, but he's only given up three taters. I think it can be said he's been one of the Indians' better relievers this year, which is kind of like choosing your favorite flavor of Boone's Farm wine.

Regardless, Betancourt was likely to be gone after this year anyway, and it's not like he'd have made the difference between playoffs or no playoffs this year. The Indians had a $5.4 million option on him for next year, but they weren't going to spend that on a reliever who's not even a great setup man anymore. The surprising thing, to me, is that this was Betancourt's seventh year in the majors, all with the Indians. Did you know he'd been around that long? Time flies when you're getting older, I guess.

In return, the Tribe got a 6'7" pitcher named Connor Graham, an Ohio native who played college ball at my alma mater, Miami University, before being drafted in the fifth round in 2007. Baseball America rated him as the Rockies' 12th-best prospect. He was 7-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 16 starts at Modesto of the California League. Pitchers tend to develop later than hitters, but I can't get too excited about a guy who hasn't gotten past A ball yet, at age 24. But hey, his numbers are good, and maybe he'll get to Cleveland in a couple of years and show us something.

Borowski's disabled

After last night's implosion du jour against Manny and the Red Sox, Joe Borowski admitted he wasn't feeling great, and has been placed on the disabled list. Borowski led the league in saves last year, despite having bad overall numbers. So far this year, he's been just plain bad.

JoeBo has pitched in five games this season, and only once has he gotten a 1-2-3 inning — Saturday, in mop-up duty of a 7-3 loss to Oakland. In four innings overall, Borowski has given up eight runs on four walks and seven hits, three of which left the yard. That kind of closer just kills his team.

And it seems to me that if Borowski knew he wasn't feeling great going into the game, he should have said something. Borowski said after the game: "I just felt like I had nothing, like I was throwing through water." That's the kind of thing I'd want to know before I put a guy in to save a game, if I were a manager for a team that hopes to reach the playoffs.

Presumably, the new closer will be Rafael Betancourt, which is what I've been calling for since spring training (and you can check my archives if you doubt me). Betancourt hasn't exactly been lights-out so far this year, but he was the best set-up man in baseball in 2007. I predict he'll do the job well, and keep it for the rest of the season.