Drama and intrigue at Dunn Tire Park

Yesterday was no ordinary day up in the pressbox at the Bisons doubleheader. For the record, the team split the two games, winning the opener 3-2 and then dropping the nightcap 6-2. But lots was going on behind the scenes, and all had to do with the parent Cleveland Indians, where rumors are hot and heavy regarding roster moves and trades as the MLB trading deadline approaches.

Aaron Laffey was the starter for the Bisons first game, and being a 7 inning game, one would figure that Laffey would most likely go the distance, as he had displayed his endurance skills in previous outings, and had even gone 8 1/3 in Rochester last month with an awesome pitching performance.

So here it is, the third inning, score tied 1-1, 2 men on and 2 outs, and Manager Torey Lovullo pulls Laffey. “I didn’t know that I was leaving until I heard the ball hitting the mitt out in the bullpen” Laffey admitted later. But this was no normal exit from the field. There were huge smiles, high fives from a number of the players, a scene you would see if a pitcher was walking off after tossing a two hitter. Something was up.

The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington knew it, and got on the phone with his media contacts in the Cleveland area, and the media department at the Indians. He shared what he knew about all the behind the scenes stuff as he was learning it, and also told us of an incident in the Cleveland clubhouse the previous night, where apparently the doors stayed shut long after that game had ended, and rumors of an argument between pitcher Cliff Lee and catcher Victor Martinez being the possible reason.

After the games Torey Lovullo knew what questions were coming and was prepared to handle them. He said the Laffey pitch count limit was decided before the game, but despite all the smiles and body language we had witnessed earlier, refused to confirm that a move was in the works or give us a glimpse of the bigger picture, only admitting that he didn’t know everything that was going on and that Laffey would remain in the Indians organization.

What was fascinating watching this unfold was the song and dance that the involved people at the Indians and the Bisons were handing out, on what would normally be a routine player move up or down which happens dozens of times throughout a season, suggesting that there were much bigger issues in play here.

Mike Harrington and his associate Jackie Friedman had a great story here, and they were gracious enough to share the unfolding drama with the rest of us on this day (Dave Ricci, Jon Splett and I in attendance in the box). It was their story, so I thought it fitting not to report in this space until it ran in the Buffalo News. Here is Jackie’s story. Mike’s blog posting is linked here.

While a reporter often keeps a breaking story quiet, such is not the case in the Dunn Tire Park media circle. Mike Harrington often shares and freely discusses topics of the day with the rest of us, offering us a regular heads up as to things going on with our team, the parent club and the rest of baseball. It is that sort of interaction that makes the media experience at Bisons games so remarkable and such fun to take part in. Small wonder why all the reporters who cover Bisons games have become such good friends and are such a tight knit group.

All in all it was a fascinating lesson and a window onto what news gathering and reporting is really all about. But for all the detective work and day long speculation through 14 innings of baseball yesterday, Bisons PR director Brad Bisbing cleared the mystery up down in the clubhouse after the game with just one sentence: “Yeah his (Laffey’s) locker is all cleaned out.”