Cleveland placed John McDonald on the disabled list at the end of June. McDonald began suffering from back spasms in mid-June and struggled through the second half of the month. When his condition deteriorated, the Indians decided he needed a trip to the DL. He then underwent tests that determined he has a bulging disc in his back. McDonald received a shot to reduce the swelling last week and will be re-evaluated soon, but Cleveland believes he will be ready to return when play resumes after the All-Star break.

The Indians sent down Ricardo Rodriguez and called up LHP Jason Stanford to replace him in the rotation. Rodriguez moved quickly through AA and AAA, so we knew he'd need time to adjust to the majors. He's maintained a solid walk rate and a good G-F. However, his strikeouts are well below desired levels, and he's allowing 1.7 HR/9. I think his hurried development could easily explain both problems, though I'm not comfortable saying time necessarily will eradicate them, though the time he lost to injury wasn't helpful. Hopefully, a stint at AAA will be more productive than his time in the majors.

Cleveland signed Stanford as a nondrafted free agent out of the Unviersity of North Carolina-Charlotte in 1999. He split the majority of 2000 between A Columbus in the South Atlantic League and A+ Kinston in the Carolina League, making one start at AA Akron in the Eastern League. Stanford returned to Akron for most of 2001 and 2002 with a handful of starts at AAA Buffalo in the International League. At Buffalo this season, he' s compiled an 82:21 K:BB with 95 H and 8 HR allowed in 99 IP for a 3.18 ERA over 16 starts. The 26-year-old definitely seems prepared to start in the majors and should perform at least adequately as long as the Indians leave him in the rotation.

Stanford made his major league debut as the Indians starting pitcher on July 6th in Minnesota. He retired the first three batters he faced before allowing a walk to Torii Hunter to leadoff the 2nd. However, Stanford followed his first major league walk allowed with his first big league K, as Matt LeCroy struck out swinging. The second inning was full of first, as Dustan Mohr then logged the first hit against Stanford with a single into center. Stanford allowed two runs on five hits in his first start, compiling a 1:4 K:BB, though he allowed no homers.