How 'bout Huff!

David Huff pitched a gem yesterday to end the Indians' four-game losing streak and up the club's record to a not-quite-respectable-but-not-quite-pathetic 3-6. Huff went the full nine in the 3-2 win over Texas, striking out four, walking just one, and yielding just four hits. One of those hits was Michael Young's two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead that lasted until Shin-Soo Choo's three-run job in the bottom of the eighth. Give Huff credit for holding the Rangers down long enough for the offense to come back.

It was Huff's second start of the season, and his second strong start. His ERA stands at 1.80. He gave up one earned run (three unearned) in his first start against the Tigers, but took the loss. It looked like he might face a similar fate in this one, but Choo showed why Manny Acta's got him hitting third in the lineup. The Seein' Korean (I know, it's bad, but I'll try to come up with something better) got off to a slow start, but had two hits yesterday to raise his average to .323, the home run was his third of the year, and he is now among the early American League leaders in many categories.

The Tribe opens a three-gamer tonight against the White Sox. Mitch Talbot goes against Mark Buehrle.

Another tough loss

Some quick thoughts on the Indians' 4-2 loss to the Rangers in yesterday's home opener:

• First, the positive: Fausto Carmona was pretty good. He went eight innings, giving up just two runs. I'm still concerned about his strikeout-to-walk ratio — he had four of each yesterday — but he kept the ball in the yard. With the exception of the fifth inning, when the Rangers got both their runs, he got the big outs when he needed to.

• Now, the negative: The bullpen was bad. Chris Perez was bloody awful, for the second day in a row. Joaquin Arias opened the ninth with a double, then Perez had a chance to retire him at third on Taylor Teagarden's bunt, but made a bad throw. He obviously was totally flustered at that point, walking No. 9 hitter Elvis Andrus on four pitches. And Manny Acta had seen enough from Perez.

• Tony Sipp came in and got former teammate Ryan Garko on a popup to second, then Jamie Wright followed by getting Michael Young on a tailor-made double-play ball to end the threat. If only Wright had done as well in the 10th. He gave up Nelson Cruz's fifth home run of the young season, scoring Josh Hamilton, who had singled, and the Tribe bats couldn't get it done in the bottom of the 10th.

• The Indians came close to winning this game. If Travis Hafner were just a little bit faster — not Kenny Lofton fast, but even Sandy Alomar fast — he'd have scored from second on Matt LaPorta's single. Instead, he got thrown out at the plate. And in the bottom of the ninth, LaPorta and Luis Valbuena both made loud outs. If the wind hadn't been blowing in from right field, Valbuena's would have been a walk-off home run. But that's baseball. As it's been said many times, it's a game of inches.

Today in sports history -- Steve Howe

Had he lived, today would have been Steve Howe's 50th birthday. Howe is sadly remembered as an extremely talented pitcher who couldn't stick in the major leagues because he couldn't get his drug habit under control.

Howe, the 1980 National League Rookie of the Year at age 22, helped the Dodgers win the World Series that year, saving 17 games that year. But it was all downhill from there. He first checked himself into a substance abuse clinic in 1983 -- which probably means he'd been struggling with it for at least a couple of years before then.

Howe's failure to stay off the drugs led to a major league record he'd surely rather not have had. He was suspended seven times in his career for drug abuse. Still, he had a pretty good career. He might have been one of the all-time greats, had he not had such a taste for cocaine. In 12 years with the Dodgers, Twins, Rangers and Yankees, Howe went 47-41 with a 3.03 ERA.

Howe was killed in a one-car crash in 2006. He had methamphetamine in his system. He was 48.

Today in sports history

Happy 40th birthday, Canadian-born journeyman major league outfielder Matt Stairs.

The stubby little Stairs (listed at 5'9", 175 pounds), grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and was a standout in both hockey and baseball. He chose baseball, obviously, and the Montreal Expos (R.I.P.) drafted him as a pitcher/shortstop. He made his major league debut in 1992, but played in just 19 games for the Expos in '92 and '93 before going to Japan, playing one season for the Chunichi Dragons.

After a season with the Red Sox, Stairs started to blossom in Oakland, where he spent five years, topping 100 RBIs twice, and hitting 38 home runs in 1999, finishing 17th in the American League MVP voting that year. Stairs was kind of a late bloomer, having his best season at 31. Most hitters peak around age 27, but Stairs didn't even get to play regularly in the majors until he was 29.

Sensing that Stairs might be in for a budget-busting contract, A's GM Billy Beane traded him after the 2000 season to the Cubs for Matt Ireland. (Who? Exactly.) After that, he spent one year with the Cubs, one year with the Brewers, one year with the Pirates, and two-plus years with the Royals. Just to make sure he didn't get comfortable, the Rangers made a deadline deal for him in 2006, then waived him that September after he'd hit just .210 for them in 26 games. The Tigers picked him up, and he filled in for 14 games before signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, his 10th major league team (11th if you count Japan).

He had a decent 2007 for the Blue Jays at age 39, hitting .289 with 21 homers and 64 RBIs. He is signed through 2009. Perhaps he'll finish his career in his home country, just as he started it there.