Changeup has Sipp on fast track

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- It's laughable now to know Tony Sipp didn't even have a changeup in his arsenal a year ago.

"That's probably his best pitch," Indians scouting director John Mirabelli said.

Sipp doesn't know where he'd be without the pitch, which he began throwing last season, but he doubts he'd be here, pitching in big-league Spring Training games.

The pitch has helped Sipp, a 45th-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, overcome the odds and not only be in Major League camp but also appear on the radar for the '06 season.

Though he'll begin the year at Double-A Akron, Sipp could figure into the Indians bullpen mix this season by virtue of his status as a left-hander. The only left-hander currently in the bullpen is veteran Scott Sauerbeck.

Sipp's focus for now, though, is adjusting to big-league hitters. He had to make some adjustments on the mound Monday. He came into the ninth inning with a three-run lead against the Devil Rays, but he let two runs across and had the tying run on third base with two outs. The 22-year-old recovered to get the strikeout that ended the game.

"He turned it up a notch to get that last out," manager Eric Wedge said.

Sipp has found the changeup has helped him reach that next notch.

"They can't just sit on my slider and fastball," he said of opposing batters. "(The changeup) gives me a lot of quick outs. I just have to get rid of throwing the occasional wild changeup."

Sipp earned his invite to camp by going 4-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 13 appearances at Class A Lake County and 2-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 22 appearances at Class A Kinston in 2005, his first full professional season.

The changeup helped carry him along the way.

"I'm loving it," he said of the pitch. "I can't see how I didn't have one in college."