Three fives and two aces

UPDATE : Sowers, Laffey have off days

                       IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
CLEVELAND
C Lee                   1   1   0   0   0   0   0
A Laffey (L,0-1)      2-3   3   5   5   3   1   0
M Ginter            1 1-3   2   0   0   0   0   0
J Sowers                1   4   2   2   1   1   0

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It will be the battle of the three No. 5s today as Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey take the mound against the Reds in Sarasota.

Laffey and Sowers each tossed scoreless innings in their first outing of the spring.

Lee hasn't taken the hill yet because he's been suffering from the flu which is taking its toll in the Tribe camp. In fact, it's not certain that Lee will be able to answer the call today. It's not what Lee needed as he tries to reclaim the fifth spot in the Tribe's rotation.

Scott Elarton is turning some heads at camp. Elarton has pitched three scoreless innings over two outings so far. Here's an excerpt on Elarton from today's column by Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

When the Indians signed Scott Elarton to a Minor League deal shortly before camp opened, it was viewed as a favor to give Elarton a chance to showcase himself to other clubs.

But Wedge said he considers Elarton, who pitched in the Indians' rotation in 2004 and '05, a part of the mix of contenders for the final spot in the Indians' bullpen.

The 32-year-old Elarton has pitched well in camp thus far. He's yet to allow a run in three innings over two appearances, allowing one hit and one walk. He looked particularly sharp in two innings of work Sunday.

"I think he's been throwing the ball very well," Wedge said. "He was down, down and down [on Sunday]. It looks like his arm's working well right now."

Which kind of brings me to my question for today.

Why is it that Aaron Fultz is always listed among those who have a set position in the Tribe's bullpen for the upcoming year?

Fultz was mediocre at best after coming back from his mid-season injury last year. He's allowed three runs on three hits so far this spring. He's no longer the only lefty in the pen and the Tribe has a lot of candidate's to pick from overall out there.

So that brings me back to my question. Why is he more or less assured of a spot on the staff?

Tom Mastny, who seems to be on the bubble for a job, has pitched three scoreless innings and struck out five so far this spring, including an impressive outing yesterday.

Aces in the hole: Fausto Carmona made it two bad debuts in a row from the Tribe's pitching aces. Carmona couldn't make it through the two innings he was scheduled to pitch yesterday, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 1 2/3 innings. You can toss in a walk and a hit batsmen as well.

Carmona's outing followed a similar start by CC Sabathia on Saturday, in which he also gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings of work.

Andy Marte went hitless again yesterday and is 0 for 8 this spring.

Josh Barfield continues to get a lot of playing time at 2B, having appeared there in 4 of the Tribe's 5 games so far. He's 2 out of 10 at the plate.

The Tribe, in fact, has made little use of its regulars so far this spring.

Here's the starting linuep for yesterday's game for example:

2B Josh Barfield, SS Jamey Carroll, LF David Dellucci, 1B Ryan Garko, RF Ben Francisco, DH Andy Marte, 3B Danny Sandoval, CF Trevor Crowe, C Yamid Hadd and RHP Fausto Carmona.

Of all the projected starters, 1B Ryan Garko has seen the most action so far. He's been in 3 games and has 7 at-bats. No other projected every-day player has been in more than 2 games so far.

Peculiar no?