Handing It Off

Nice to see the kids (well, Weeden isn't really a kid anymore) in uniform.  Hopefully Richardson acclimates to the double number and the slick jersey.  And, yes, at first glance, I though it was DA.

Cheers.

Clip Joint (Better Than) 500

Corey Kluber

Yup, yup.  Clippers win, Clippers win.  Still we all have to come to terms with the fact that there is simply not the same level of talent at Columbus this season as there was when the club won back-to-back AAA National Championships in 2010 and 2011.  The Clips (8-5) are still playing good ball, but the offensive leader tonight was Matt Pagnozzi (.346) who delivered 2 hits and 2 RBI, including his first home run of the young season.  Russ Canzler (.191) had two hits as well and Cord Phelps (.316) singled in a run in the 9th to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, but that was about it.  Both Trevor Crowe (.405) and Lonnie Chisenhall (.345) took an 0-for-5.

Corey Kluber (3-0, 2.81) started and pitched very well for the third straight start.  Although Kluber (6 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 7 K) is not in contention to take the upcoming spot start, he has certainly been the most consistent member of the Clippers rotation thus far.  Opponent are batting just .220 against Corey in 2012 as the righty has fanned 25 in 16 innings.  Once again, the bullpen was dominant.  CC Lee (2.57) and Chris Ray (2.45, 3 SV) combined for three shutout innings to preserve the lead and the victory.

By the way, with Asdrubal Cabrera on bereavement leave, the Indians have chosen to add Nick Hagadone in his absence.  The clock is ticking for Tony Sipp and Rafael Perez.

Tomorrow's game 2 against Indianapolis is a 1:05p tilt with Scottie Barnes (0-1, 4.09) on the mound.

Other Minor Points of Interest...

Akron
Jared Goedert (.385) just continues to hit.  He added a single and a double this evening and is primed to move back to AAA just as soon as a spot opens up.  Chun Chen (.278) has awoken as well.  With two more hits tonight, he is hitting .437 over his last four games.  Thomas Neal (.200), however, has yet to find his stroke.  A 1-for-2 game against Bowie finally raised his average to Mendoza, but he was also caught stealing and picked off.  Nick Weglarz (.133) has sat out back-to-back games.  Couple that with his poor performance (.321 OPS) and one must wonder if Wegz is, yet again, injured.

Carolina
One wonders how patient the organization can be with Tony Wolters (.111) before he is demoted.  Part of the concern is that Francisco Lindor is currently manning shortstop for Lake County, but you cannot leave Wolters, who took another o-fer tonight, in as confidence ebbs.  Jesus Aguilar (.361) is just fine, however.  He doubled and walked today.  Jake Lowey (.317) went 0-for-4 with a pair of K's.

Lake County
Things have not gone well of late in Eastlake.  The kids have dropped eight straight by a combined score of 59-31 and the last two games have produced a total of just 4 runs.  Tonight, Luigi Rodirguez (.333) saw his hit steak come to an end and Alex Lavisky (.256) saw his hitless streak extend to 8 AB's.  The aforementioned Lindor (.309) did single and walk.  Starter Elvis Araujo (0-3, 3.00) has been a hard luck loser all season including this evenings contest.  Araujo took his team through six (6 H, 2 BB, K) and left behind 3-2 only because of 2 unearned runs.  Oh yeah, LeVon Washington (.440) had an MRI on his hip yesterday, the same area that gave the former first rounder trouble last season.  Washington has not played since April 11th.

Also...

Fate certainly handed Bryce Harper (.245) the situation to ignite what has, so far, been quite a stagnant season.  After Syracuse fell behind 1-0 in the top of the 9th, Harper came to the dish with runners on second and third and two out in the bottom of the frame.  With the home fans on their feet, Bryce took a 1-2 pitch and lined it... directly into the second baseman's glove.  He is still looking for his first AAA home run.

Cheers.

Clip Joint Slip N' Slide

Trevor Crowe

Yeesh, so now there are no starters fighting for that spot start.  Kevin Slowey (1-2, 4.50) was unable to maintain the momentum that he had built in his first two outings as he was beat for 6 earned on 10 hits over 5 and 1/3 in Louisville tonight.  Add in 3 walks and Slowey put 13 guys on base.  Not good.  Nor was Jeremy Accardo (1.59), who delivered his first dog outing of the young season.  Accardo (0.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K) entered with the bases loaded in the 6th and not only allowed all three of those runners to score, but let in one of his own and surrendered the lead.  Hector Ambriz (1.35) pitched two perfect innings to finish the game.

The offense was highlighted by the return of Matt LaPorta (.316), who produced a single and a walk.  Trevor Crowe (.469) and Lonnie Chisenhall (.380) both continued their hot hitting.  Crowe fell a homer short of the cycle and has 8 hits in his last 11 at-bats.  The Chiz Kid went 9-for-18 over the four game set with the Bats, complete with four doubles and 3 RBI.  Despite going just 1-for-5, Cord Phelps (.327) extended his hitting streak to 10 games.  He has hit in 11 of 12 games this season.

After a 6-1 start, the Clips have won just 1 of their last 5.  They move on to Indianapolis tomorrow at 7:05p.  Expect Corey Kluber (2-0, 3.60) to be on the bump.

Other Minor Points of Interest...

Akron
Not much from the offense.  Jared Goedert (.371) added two more hits and Chun Chen (.250) finally broke through, going 3-for-4 with a double.  Each scored a run.

Much more interesting was the work by the pitching staff.  Toru Murata (3.38) took the spot start and pitched well enough over 3 innings (4 H, 2 ER).  Then, Bryce Stowell (1-0) entered and fanned 7 over 3 innings.  He did allow his first two hits of the season and opponents can now claim to be hitting a robust .125.  Stowell has whiffed 11 in 5 frames.  After that came Cody Allen who K'ed a pair and allowed a hit in his own two clean innings.  Across two levels, Allen has stymied the other team to the tune of an .077 clip and 12 punch outs in 8 innings.  Neither man has been scored on in 2012.

Carolina
Stop the presses!  Tony Wolters (.122) got a hit.  Jesus Aguilar (.353) did as well, but that's not as exciting.  Jake Lowery (.351) did not, but he did draw a walk.  On the hill, Danny Salazar (0-2, 7.04) took the loss.  Salazar (4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) is the guy on the 40-man of whom you've never heard.

Lake County
It was not a great offensive night for the Captains, but Luigi Rodriguez (.357) did extend his hit streak to 8 games.  Felix Sterling started, but did not figure in the decision.  Sterling pitched well over six innings (2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and has certainly delivered thus far.  The 19 year old has held the opposition to a .148 average (that's 8 total hits allowed in 3 starts) and has punched out 14 in 16 innings.  Also, Francisco Lindor (.308) singled and swiped his 4th bag.

Cheers

P.s. Did you know that there's a Clay Rapada AND a Clay Zavada?  Both are left handed relievers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Well, it's certainly difficult to complain about yesterday's 13-7 victory that brings the Tribe to .500 (4-4) for the first time this season, but I'm going to do it anyway.  We'll begin with Ubaldo Jimenez.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to initiate another into the cult of "Chris Antonetti is an idiot."  I got to explain how the Tribe traded the farm to acquire Ubaldo (1-0, 4.50) last summer.  I had the pleasure of pointing out that it was the sort of trade that needs to return a sure thing.  Given the skilled players that the Indians shipped to the Rockies, Ubaldo should be going out and mowing down hitters like a well manicured lawn.  Sadly, he is not.  During his 2011 struggles, we heard that his delivery would be rebuilt in the off-season to facilitate better repeatability.  If that was actually attempted, it certainly has no been successful.  Yesterday, despite 10 Indians runs over the first 5 innings, Jimenez barely qualified for the victory after tossing 112 pitches over 5 innings.  He allowed 9 hits and walked 3.   His first start was brilliant, but if you cannot trust your #1b starter to go out and shut down the Royals, you're gonna have some problems.

Next, it may be Rafael Perez (7.36) who crumbles before Tony Sipp (13.50).  Neither has been at all reliable thus far in 2012.  Raffy was inserted to begin the sixth, walked Alex Gordon, balked him to second and watched him score on a Billy Butler single.  Not the sort of performance that inspires confidence in your teammates.  Sipp bounced back with a clean inning, but who knows what he will bring in his next outing.

Honsetly, outside of the starting pitching and the bullpen, it was an awesome game to watch.  A lot of those batting averages (Hafner - .292, Cabrera - .282, Duncan .320) are looking a lot better.  Others (Kipnis - .179, Kotchman - .219) remain low, but their owners showed excellent power in the series.  Speaking of power, Pronk's 5th inning solo home run distance has been adjusted from an original estimate of 456 feet to a whopping 481 feet.  That is the longest blast in Kauffman Stadium history, erasing Bo Jackson's 475 footer of 1986.

Also in the record books - 32 runs in 3 game series.  That is the total that the Tribe put up against KC.  It is also the largest number that they have ever aggregated in the first three road games of the season and the most in any 3 game series since an April 2000 set against Tampa Bay.  The series also did wonders for the Indians' overall offensive numbers.  The team batting average is all the way up .238 and, while that still ranks 11th in the AL, the team OPS is now .779, good for third in the league.  Part of that is the power.  Their 15 home runs lead the junior circuit and the team has gone yard in each of the first 8 games.  Don't forget the walks, though.  The Tribe draw 44 bases on balls in eight games (5.5 per) which is also third and pretty much mitigates the 58 strikeouts.  Oh yeah, their 52 runs scored is 2nd.

Enough for now.  If I'm sufficiently aware later on, we'll dig into some statistics on Josh Tomlin and Travis Hafner.

Cheers.

P.s. Is it any wonder that KC demoted Jarrod Dyson after his play over the first two games of the series?

Old Kentucky Clip Joint

After their quick start, the Clippers have settled in six game win one/ lose one funk.  Such was the case with Saturday and Sunday games in Louisville.  On Saturday, Chris Seddon (1-0, 5.59) pitched well enough to win (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and did, despite surrendering a pair of home runs.  More importantly, Nick Hagadone continued his sublime start.  Following another 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings, the opposition had raised its batting average to a dazzling .125.  After 5.1 innings in 2012, Hagadone has still issued just one walk.  Tony Sipp be very afraid.  Sunday was less heartening as Zach McAllister (0-1, 4.00) got knocked around for 5 earned on 9 hits over 6 innings (BB, 3 K).  With a Jeanmar Gomez suspension likely coming down from Bud Selig's mount on high, Z-Mac has certainly not positioned himself for that spot start.  Frank Herrmann (3.00) and Chris Ray (3.00) finished off the game with a scoreless inning apiece.

At the plate, Cord Phelps (5 H, 2B, 2 RBI, .340), Lonnie Chisenhall (3 H, RBI, 2 R, .333), Trevor Crowe (5 H, 2 2B, 2 BB, .429) and Beau Mills (HR, 2 RBI, .278) supplied the offense.  Matt LaPorta (.314, 4 HR) saw action in neither game, while Ryan Spilborghs (.167) continued to struggle.

The Clippers close out their series with the Bats tonight @ 6:35p with Kevin Slowey (1-1, 2.45, the guy who is in line for that spot start) ready to take the hill.

Other Minor Points of Interest...

Akron
Jared Goedert (.355) launched a pinch 3-run homer on Saturday and followed it up with 2 hits on Sunday.  Do not give up on this guy.  Chun Chen (.179) had 2 hits on Saturday but fanned 3 times over the two games and has whiffed 12 times in 8 games so far.  Nick Weglarz (.133) has conituned to flounder as well with 13 Ks and just 4 hits on the season.  Giovanni Soto (1-0, 5.00) was unable to follow up a strong first start with another, allowing 4 earned on 7 hits over 4 innings on Saturday.  Gio has K'ed 11 in 9 innings in 2012.  Keep an eye on Rob Bryson (1.69), the oft-injured last piece of the CC Sabathia trade.  Always a big strike out guy, Bryson has punched out 10 in 5 and 1/3 this year, while holding the opposition to .118 average.

Carolina
Tony Wolters' abysmal start sunk even lower over the weekend.  An 0-for-8 skid dropped has dropped the prospect's average to a horrific .108.  Jake Lowery (.382), on the other hand, added four hits and a walk to raise his OPS to 1.006. 

Lake County
If you can belive it, the Captains lost to Bowling Green yesterday, 22-12, with the Hot Rods scoring 11 times in the top of the 9th inning.  Somehow right hander Kyle Blair (20.86 ERA) was left in to allow 13 of those runs!  At least the offense continued to chug along.  Luigi Rodriguez (.368) rapped 3 hits, drew 2 walks and drove in a pair.  Alex Lavisky (.323) spanked hit first home run and drove in 2 to raise his team leading total to 10.  The only hold out was Francisco Lindor (.313), who took an 0-for-5 collar, but still drove in a run and drew a walk.  LeVon Washington (.440) sat out for the 2nd straight game.

Also...

Friend of the blog Tyler Tufts is off to a fast start for the Round Rock Express of the Texas Rangers system.  Seeing AAA action for the first time, Ty has two wins in his first 3 appearances and has posted a 1.35 ERA.

Uber-prospect Bryce Harper has struggled to find his own footing at AAA.  The 19 year old is off to a .220 start over his first 10 games for the Syracuse Chiefs.  Harper has yet to homer, has driven in just 1 run and has limped to a .597 OPS.

Indians righty Jason Knapp (the oft-injured last piece of the Cliff Lee trade) has yet to throw yet this season.  Still rehabbing from his second shoulder surgery, many are scared that he will never stay healthy enough to make the bigs.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

What a shame.  On a day when the a new vigor and strength poured from the Indians like so much strawberry wine, I would have liked to pound out a purely positive piece.  I know the bullpen had to pick up the reigns in the 3rd inning after Jeanmar Gomez's ejection, but it was the 6th by the time Josh Tomlin finished fanning the flames.  Last season, handing the bullpen a three run lead was tantamount to etching the tic mark in the win column.  Tony Sipp is a mess, just a god awful mess (19.29 ERA, 3.43 WHIP, .462 OBA).  For a guy who had a poor spring and has all three options remaining, he is certainly not pitching like someone who wants to keep his job.  As has been mentioned countless times before, Nick Hagadone is ready for the big time.  With such a bevy of left handed pitching stockpiled, the Tribe could have easily moved Sipp (or Raffy Perez, whichever) in the off-season for the quality prospect that is so conspicuously missing for the AA level.  It's not just Sipp either, the entire 'pen has been sloppy.  Despite avoiding their third loss tonight, the aggregate ERA is a ridiculous 6.48.  I understand the concept that it is difficult to rely on individual relievers to consistently produce quality season after season, but the whole staff at once?  This is a nightmare.

Someone commented to me that he appreciated the new "angry Tribe attitude."  You want some leadership?  Captain Jack's got your leadership all the way to the clubhouse.  I agree that it is heartening to see fire in the bellies of a team that had seemed resigned to its role as a mid-market kick-dog (and in spite of woManny Acta, get it woman-Manny), that sort of chip doesn't do any good to shoulders that cannot carry a seven run lead.  

Also, I am concerned about Josh Tomlin.  I saw a comparison to Jeremy Sowers (who has, apparently and quite quietly, retired) earlier in the spring, noting that we have seen how quickly a soft tosser can circle down the drain.  Jamie Moyer notwithstanding, I can see the point.  Even so, Tomlin is running into trouble because he, quite simply, is not hitting his spots.  For a man to whom control is absolutely paramount, he has left far too many pitches in the prime hitting zone.  I'll pick this up again tomorrow when I can see some statistical breakdowns.

All of that being said, thank god for Jarrod Dyson.  I am seriously confused as to how this kid is a Major Leaguer.  It was bad enough for him after the Kipnis ball yesterday and the Brantley triple in today's 3rd.  Then the kid gets caught stealing in the bottom of the 9th on a helluva throw by Carlos Santana.  When Choo got that ball up in the air to center in the 10th, I said aloud "There's no way Dyson's catching this."  True to form, the guy ran dead out, got leather on the ball and nearly broke his face as the ball rattled back onto the outfield grass.  No disrespect brother, but thank you, thank you so much.  This one would have hurt. 

Cheers.

P.s. Jack can't get kicked out anymore (espceially with Jose Lopez at DH), because Jason Donald CANNOT play third.

Oh, yeah.  Break your brooms.

Clip Joint Bluegrass

The Clippers (6-3) headed south yesterday to begin a weekend set with the Louisville Bats and came  up on the short end of a 4-2 final.  Despite outhitting Louisville 9 to 5, the Clips pitchers issued 6 walks in the first six innings and the Bats bats took full advantage.  Scott Barnes (4.09) started and looked good (5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) except for his control.  Hector Ambriz (1.93) further fueled the fire with two walk of his own before CC Lee (1.1 IP, H, 2 K, 3.38) was able to close the sixth inning.  Jeremy Accardo, yet to be scored on (and a helluva nice guy, met him the other day) pitched a perfect 8th, fanning one.

At the dish there was very little to write home about.  Chad Huffman (.375) continued his hot hitting with a pair of doubles and one of the two RBI.  Lonnie Chisenhall (.333) added a pair of singles, but more pertinent is the injury to Matt LaPorta (.314).  While the fastball that bruised Matty's right hand in the 5th did not break any bones, it remains to be seen just how it will affect his ability to handle the bat going forward.

Also on the injury front, both Luke Carlin (.357) and Andy LaRoche (.200) are headed to the DL with Michel Hernandez and Justin Toole replacing them on the active roster.

The Clipper ship docks in Louisville again tonight with lanky right hander Chris Seddon (0-0, 6.75) getting the 6:05p start.

Other Minor Points of Interest...

Akron
Although Jared Goedert (.308) and Nick Weglarz (.136) each had two hits for the Aeros last night, the similarities past that are few.   Both have shown little power, but Goedert has practiced excellent plate discipline (6 BB/5 K) to produce an .822 OPS, while Wegz has struggled (2 BB/ 11 K) and has posted an abysmal OPS of .345.

Steven Wright (1.59) and his ever improving knuckler got their second start and Trenton failed to meet the challenge.  Wright stymied the Thunder over 5 and 2/3 (2 H, ER, 4 BB), while punching out 7.  The opposition is hitting just .132 against Wright thus far.  Japanese import Toru Murata threw 1.1 innings of clean relief and has yet to be scored upon this season.  Cody Allen, just promoted from A+ Carolina, tossed the last two innings perfectly for his first career save.  The 2011 23rd round pick is blazing through the system and even made a couple of appearances with the big club during spring camp.  So far in 2012, opponents are hitting .053 off of Allen over 6 innings in which he has fanned 10 and walked none.

Carolina
While power prospect Jesus Aguilar (.407) is having no problems adjusting to the Carolina League, top infielder Tony Wolters (.138) is finding the slope a bit more slippery.  Aguilar has supplemented his first home run with a trio of doubles and has matched his strikeouts and walks at 3.  His OPS is a stunning 1.096.  Wolters, having fully skipped over low A Lake County, is just 4 for his first 29 with 10 Ks.  The same transition has yet to limit catcher Jake Lowery (.346).  He has produced a .952 OPS and 6 RBI in the season's first week.

Lake County
The Captains are the most talented of any affiliate this season and all of the boys are hitting in the early going.  LC played a afternooner today and the top two in the lineup certainly came to play.  Luigi Rodriguez (.324) doubled and tripled en route to scoring a pair of runs, while top prospect Francisco Lindor (.349) singled 3 times, scored one and drove one home.  Despite taking an 0-for-5 collar, Alex Lavisky (.308) still leads the club with 8 RBI.  All of this without LeVon Washington (.440), who got the day off.

Whew.  I kinda feel caught up now.  Watch out for A Quest Called Tribe, going live later this week.

A Quest Called Tribe

In stark contrast to this time last season, there seems to be little reason to celebrate an Indians' victory.  Despite the fact that the Tribe exploded for 7 first inning runs (with Michael Brantley collecting twice as many hits in single frame as he had accumulated thus far in the season), despite the fact that Derek Lowe is 2-0 with 1.98 ERA, even despite the fact that Captain Jack Hannahan is batting .316 with a team leading 5 RBI; the team looks destined for worse than the mediocrity of status quo, they seem on a collision course with petulant failure. 

Am I pleased that Shelly Duncan's excuse me check swing kept the first alive or that the combination of the KC jet stream and Jarrod Dyson's poor route to the ball translated into a triple for Jason Kipnis?  Hell yeah I am.  Does every Indians' win flow through me like a breath of oxygen to a drowning man?  Of course.  Regardless, the team is floundering and sorely lacking in any direction.

With the Clippers once again playing well, begged is the question - what does it mean to have a hapless Major League team with a dominant subordinate at AAA?  It means this my friends: the organization is populated by marginal players.  Like it or not, we are the team that will have an All-Star only because we must.

Somewhere Ken Harvey is smiling.  It's good to play the Royals.  Heck, the Tribe's O is almost to Mendoza!

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Thinking of splitting the baseball coverage away from the rest of my nonsense.  Who digs the banner?

Cheers.

It's Official... Indians Sign Johnny Damon

The deal is 1yr, $1.25mil with another $1.4mil worth of incentives.  In perhaps the oddest contract clause that I have ever encountered, Damon can opt out of the deal when if Grady Sizemore returns.  Supposedly the Commissioner's office has to approve that bit, but no one anticipates a problem.  A bigger issue is likely Johnny ability to play the outfield every day.  Over the past two seasons (2010 with Detroit and 2011 with Tampa) he has racked up just 52 games on the lawn.  Always an above average defender, in spite of arm that envies that of an amputee, Damon put up a 25 rTot/yr in left last season and a -2 in 2010.  We all know what Johnny looks like, so here's a quick pic of his wife.  ;-j

Pretty Girl Special Report! - Jessica Dorrell

This is the chick that Bobby Petrino got fired from his $3.5mil/yr coaching job for.  Eh, she's alright.

The Clip Joint

Matt Pagnozzi

The Clips (7-2) have played twice since last we spoke, splitting the pair with the Indianapolis Indians.  I took in the game live from Huntington Park on Wednesday night and watched as the boys launched 5 home runs in coming up on the wrong end of an 8-6 tally.  Today's businessman's special was much more true to from with Corey Kluber fanning 8 over 5 innings (3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB) in the 5-4 victory to move to 2-0.

Chad Huffman (.364) hit solo shots in both games, his first two bombs of the season.  Trevor Crowe (.389), Gregorio Petit (.235) and Matt LaPorta (.303) all also homered with the bases empty on Wednesday before Lonnie Chisenhall (.313) capped the scoring with an absolute monster 2-run dong that traveled over the Wendy's home run porch, the netting atop the roof and the entirety of the stadium before landing in a parking lot across Nationwide Avenue.  Still, the tater for LaPorta was his only hit in seven trips across both games and the Chiz Kid (after I applauded him for his plate discipline) fanned in 4 of 8 ABs.  Cord Phelps (.313) and Russ Canzler (.214) each added 3 hits to significantly improve their batting averages.

Kevin Slowey got the start on Wednesday and suffered through a wildly inconsistent start (7.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K).  Three of the five (including the two unearned) came across in the 3rd when throwing errors by Slowey (on a bunt) and catcher Matt Pagnozzi (on a pickoff attempt at third) helped Indy take the early lead.  Other than that, Kevin looked pretty good... except for the two big blasts his surrendered to center.  Speaking of pitching, Indianapolis starter Justin Wilson made the Clips look stupid for the first 6 innings in allowing just 2 hits and fanning seven.  Even more conspicuous was Indians' (stay with me, they are the Indianapolis Indians) closer Bryan Morris.  He came in having fanned 5 in his first (perfect) 1 1/3 innings of the season.  Think about it.  It's not a typo.  Last night, Morris surrendered the round trippers to LaPorta and Chisenhall (sandwiched around a walk to Canzler) before striking out the next three to escape with the win.  Yeah, that's 8 Ks in 2 1/3 now.

Today, the Clipper's bullpen was the true star as Frank Herrmann, Nick Hagadone and Chris Ray combined for four shutout innings, allowing just a hit and a walk while punching out 5.  Ray seems to be the default closer at this point, notching his 2nd save.  It's easy for the bullpen to do so well when most of them should be in the majors.

Still in search of their first off day of the season, Columbus plays at Louisville tomorrow with Scottie Barnes taking the hill at 7:05p.

P.s. I actually was motivated to take some pics last night, but somebody (who could that be?) forgot to charge my camera's battery.  Bollocks.

The Clip Joint

While the parent club has played just 4 contests since Thursday, the AAA Clippers have logged seven games in the season's first week.  Tonight, they snuck by Indianapolis 5-4 in 12 innings to run their record to an IL best 6-1.  Zach McAllister (2.25 ERA), the Clips opening day starter and de facto ace, went six strong (6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) despite some shoddy defense.  The bullpen was even better.  Hector Ambriz (0.00) and Jeremy Accardo posted identical lines (2 IP, H, 3 K) in taking the team to the 10th and CC Lee (4.50) brought the team home with 2 scoreless frames (2 H, K) to close it out.

At the plate some things are going just as expected.  Matt LaPorta (.346) is dominating AAA pitching for (what is it?) the 4th straight season.  Matty launched his 3rd long ball (5 RBI) and is rolling along with an 1.139 OPS.  Lonnie Chisenhall (.333) has continued to show that he is, indeed, the Indians' 3rd bagger of the future.  Today, he smacked 3 hits, including his 2nd home run, and has a .985 OPS.  Perhaps most impressively, he has struck out just twice in 25 PAs.  To me, personally, the fact that Ryan Spilborghs has struggled to a .176 start (with a whopping 10 Ks in 17 trips) is no shock as I feel like he just, you know, sucks.

On the other hand, there have been surprises as well.  Russ Canzler (.143, .393 OPS), despite his walk-off hit tonight, has been unable to maintain the success that he found in the desert.  Ezequiel Carrera (.179) has been anemic at the top of the order.  He took an 0-for-6 collar tonight and has struck out 7 times without walking once.  Of the pleasant variety, Trevor Crowe (.429) is off to a blazing start and stroked his first homer tonight.  His OPS is a surreal 1.243, he's swiped a pair of bags and has gone down on strikes just once in 17 PAs.

We'll get caught up a bit more each day.  Tomorrow, I'll be at the game when Kevin Slowey makes his 2nd start after a dominant (7 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K) in his Clippers debut.  There might be some pics if I get ultra motivated.

While I Was Sminking...

The stinkin' Indians went a solid 1-3.  Over four home games, the Tribe has complied 14 runs (3.5/game) on 23 hits (5.75/game) to the tune of a .158 team batting average. 

Casey Kotchman, after going 0-for-14 to begin his career on the lake, is hitting .063.  Michael Brantley? .077.  Jason Kipnis?  Asdrubal Cabrera?  .118 & .158.  The bench is a combined 2-for-20.  Most of that came yesterday when grand wizard Manny Acta saw fit to start all four of his reserves.  The 9,473 at The Jake were rewarded with 5 lousy hits.

Perhaps worst of all, the team squandered leads (and brilliant starts by Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez) in games 1 & 2, losing by the same 7-4 score in extra innings each outing.  The bullpen has been choppy at best, to the tune of a 5.68 ERA, a .291 OBA and a 1.74 WHIP.  Oh, and 2 losses and an horrific blown save on opening day. 

The trite thing to say would be "It's a long season.  Don't worry.  They will hit."  The truth of the matter is that this team is going to win games with their pitching and it cannot afford to squander dominant performances like those from their top two starters. 

They look really bad and there is not a lot of hope on the horizon.  I'm sticking with 66 wins.

Back after the game with more.

Cheers.

Just In From the Desert

Fuck me.  No, really.  Fuck me.  Just when I though it couldn't get any worse...

Jeanmar Gomez, by far the highlight of the spring, once again dazzled over 3 2/3 scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to lower his ERA to 1.37.  Then, he left with an injury.  Kevin Slowey instantly got a huge boner.  It does keep with theme of spring, that of on-field performance having no relation to the acquisition of a roster spot.

Later, Dan Wheeler, fresh off of officially "winning" a roster spot, went out and proved exactly why he was far and away the best choice.  After retiring the first man he faced, Wheeler surrendered back-to-back home runs (that made 5 in fewer than 9 innings this spring) to Todd Frazier and Juan Francisco.  Danny then settled down to allow a single to Willie Harris and an RBI doubled to former Indian Ryan Ludwick.  Next up was Ryan LaMarre.  I don't even know who that is.  Suffice to say that Dan Wheeler will never forget him, as LaMarre jacked a two run bomb (keep counting, that's #6) before Wheeler was mercifully able to retire the last two he faced.  Still, the line is fugly: 5 earned on 5 hits (including 3 long balls) in a just a single inning of work.  Did I mention that the five runs were the difference in a 6-5 Reds win?  The massacre left Dan's ERA at 11.70, his OBA at .422 and his WHIP at 2.20.  I reiterate: could the man have done anything more to convince the brass to send him somewhere, anywhere other than the North Coast for April 5th?  C'mon, man!

Somewhere Out There:  Fuck it, we have to work with what we have and this is the only race left.  Unfortunately, the only two guys in this competition are stiffer than a Vietnamese gigolo after a handful of Viagra.   Aaron Cunningham (.205) went 1-for-4 and Ryan Spilborghs (.167) 0-for-1.  I never though that I would be rooting for AC, but if the alternative should occur, I might have to renew my conceal and carry on the off chance that I see Manny Acta on the street.

Not that these games matter in any context whatsoever, but the last day of March features the Indians hosting the Rangers for a night game.  That 10:05 EST if you're not keeping up.

Cheers.

Just In From the Desert

I am officially disgusted.

This what the Indians announced today:

(1) Dan Wheeler has made the team, "earning" the first of two bullpen spots.  This spring, in 9 innings, Wheeler has allowed 8 earned runs on 14 hits and 3 walks.  He has struck out 9 and allowed 3 home runs.  While it is true that Danny allowed all of that damage in his first 4 appearance and has not surrendered a run in his past 5 IP, how does that elevate him over Jeremy Accardo, who has a better ERA (1.00 vs 8.00), OBA (.289 vs .378) and WHIP (1.33 vs 1.89)?  The "brain-trust" had made this decision coming into camp and was unprepared to change their collective mind, barring injury.  This move sucks.  It is, in a word, indefensible.  Given the contractual situation of the newly acquired Jairo Asencio, the bullpen race is over.  If anyone would trade for an out of options player and then DFA him 3 days later, it would be the Indians, but that would be a heretofore unheard level of idiocy, even for them.

(2)  Even so, the fact that the 4th outfielder race has boiled down to Aaron Cunningham and Ryan Spilborghs is ridiculous enough to approach the obscene.  In 40 spring ABs, Cunningham has 8 hits (.200).  Exactly two of those are for extra bases and his OPS is an infantile .488.  I have repeatedly repeated that he too is out of options and that he might make the club because the organization is committed to mediocrity.  In spite of myself, I held out hope, but when the other option is Spilborghs?  What the fuck?!  He's hitting .171!  The only reason his OPS is as high as .490 is that he's walked 6 times.  I have already explained that he is a catastrophically awful outfielder.  AT ALL 3 POSITIONS!

Will we get a meaningful explanation on this?  No!  Acta will do some song and dance about quality plate appearances and previous track record.  He'll make a quirky comment and offer a sly grin, all the while thinking "We'll do whatever we want, you ignorant sheep, and you'll still sell out opening day and pay my waste of a salary."

Fuck Manny Acta.  Fuck Chris Antonetti.  Fuck Larry Dolan.  I'm not asking for Prince Fielder.  I'm not even asking for Josh Willingham anymore.  Is it too much to expect the club to take on the field performance into the decision making process?

My first inclination was 86 wins.  Terry Pluto suggested 76.  If this is the "philosophy" that the organization is going to employ this season, it's going be more like 66.

Red Tags:  Russ Canzler and Nick Hagadone were optioned to AAA.  Chris Ray, Robinson Tejada, Chris Seddon, Luke Carlin, and Andy LaRoche were officially reassigned to the minor league camp.  Felix Pie, Matt Pagnozzi and Gregorio Petit were told that they will not make the club, but will stay with the team through the end of camp.

P.s.  I nearly forgot about this in my ire, but it seems that Jose Lopez has indeed made the team as the 13th position player.  The club paid Lopez a $100K option to keep him in the organization through June 1st, regardless of which level he plays at.  It is still possible that Cunningham and Spilborghs both make.  It's possible that a late move is made and some other scrub takes the spot, but, as of now, all signs point to Lopez.

By my count, all of the battles have been decided, save the no win decision on the 4th outfielder.

Just In From the Desert

I know that it's Spring Training and this kind of thing happens all the time, but if anyone could lose twice, to two different team, in two different cities during regular season play, it would be the Indians.  Though I've stopped checking, I do believe that they're 6-18 now.  To add insult to injury (and we've seen more than our share of that), former Tribe closer Jensen Lewis earned the save for the D-Bags.

#5:  Well, we know one thing: David Huff is out.  Huff, attempting to make a meaninglessly spectacular play, injured his leg one batter into his last start of the spring.  David's numbers (5.79, .310 OBA) were not impressive and the injury is simply the nail in the coffin.

Left Of Center:  It's still Shelley Duncan, although the lead horse is definitely limping into the finish.  Duncan (.182) took another O-fer today and is just 1 for his last 16.

Somewhere Out There:  If any of these guys could get hot, he might still snare the starting job.  Yeah, it's just not happening.  Ryan Spilborghs (.171 and lord am I sick of writing about this scrub) is still dead last.  Against all odds, he did crack a hit today... but it took him five trips.  Also hitless:  Felix Pie (.250) and Aaron Cunningham (.200).  The great predictor of this season will be who breaks camp in this spot.  If it's Cunningham (or, god help me, Spilborghs), the boys will play sub-.500 ball for the season.

Bench Me:  Despite every fiber of my being screaming for Jose Lopez (.311), this is still a race.  The former all-star was 1-for-4 today and managed to play error free.  Even so, he is mired in a 2-for-21 slump and Andy LaRoche has seen mucho PT of late.  LaRoche (.385) singled and walked against the D-Bags and, while still in 2nd, is nipping right at Lopez's heels.

Mightier Than the Sword:  As mentioned in a previous post, Jairo Asencio is here and will (officially unofficial) be in the bullpen on April 5.  To make room for him, recently added Rick VandenHurk was DFAed.  Don't count him out just yet.  He's has just an awful spring and might clear waivers.  That leaves one more bullpen spot open.  It was always a long shot for Manny Acta to carry a 3rd left-hander and Nick Hagadone (2.53) likely lost the last of his grace today.  Nick's spring was generally strong, yet he picked the worst possible time to show his wild side.  The command/control issue has always been the knock on Hagadone and against the Rox he walked two, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch en route to allowing a run in an inning and two thirds.  Jeremy Accardo (1.00) tossed two more clean innings today, though the ERA might be deceiving.  Surely the only reason that Frank Herrmann and Dan Wheeler are still in the mix is that Accardo's OBA (.289) is kind of high.  Still, he's only walked one guy in 9 innings and thus his WHIP (1.33) is reasonable.  I don't know but I have to assume that Asencio's arrival pushes Wheeler out of the door.

Their last split squad behind them, the Indians battle the Redlegs @ 4:05p tomorrow.

Just In From the Desert

The Tribe has acquired Jairo Asencio from the Bravos for cash.  The 6'2" right-hander, who turns 28 in May, does not have much MLB experience (13 IP, 6.23 ERA), but led the International League in saves in both 2009 and 2011. Asencio, and this will sound familiar, spent the entire 2010 campaign on the restricted list because, up until that point, he had been going by the name Luis Valdez.  The ensuing visa issues forced Asencio/Valdez to remain in the Dominican Republic through the entirity of last season.  He features a 95 mph fastball, a "great" change-up and a "good" slider.  This spring Jairo has a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 13 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 12.  Oh, and one more thing, he is out of options.  Help to welcome him to the Opening Day roster.  And, yes, lock this one down.

Cheers.

Just In From the Desert

Josh Tomlin stretched himself out through 5.2 innings allowing 2 earned on 9 hits while fanning 6.  He'll be fine.  Do not worry.

#5:  0/3 pitched today.  The word on the street is that each will have the opportunity to make one more start, after which the decision will be announced.

Left Of Center:  Status quo.

Somewhere Out There:  This one was whittled itself down to a 3 horse race with the entire triad taking licks against the Cubbies on Wednesday.  Felix Pie (1-1, .259, .670) is still my best choice, but I seem to be in the minority on that.  Russ Canzler (0-4, 2 K, .268, .626) has just one hit in his past 17 ABs along with 9 punch outs.  He has just about played himself into a demotion.  Regardless, I would be shocked if the Tribe exposes Aaron Cunningham (0-2, K, .205, .462) to the waiver wire in an attempt to send him down.

Bench Me:  Nothing today, but it is worth noting that, since March 15th, Jose Lopez has hit .167 (4-for-24) while Andy LaRoche is batting .313 (5-for-16).

Mightier Than the Sword:  Frank Herrmann (5.79) and Dan Wheeler (8.00) each tossed a clean frame with a strikeout.  These would have been the two that I would have picked, sight unseen, at the beginning of camp.  If performance counts for anything, the Indians have to take Jeremy Accardo (1.29) over Wheeler.  Unfortunately, as we all know, logic rarely enters the Indians' decision making process.

Red Tags:  Cristian Guzman has been released and Freddy Lewis has been reassigned to minor league camp.

Split squads tomorrow 4:05 vs the Rox and 4:10 @ the D-Bags.

Just In From the Desert

I know I told you to wait until Thursday, but the Tribe made cuts today.  Lonnie Chisenhall and Matt LaPorta, both former #1 prospects in the system, will begin the year together at AAA Columbus.  Despite the aforementioned similarity, their situations could not be more different.  Chisenhall, only 23 and with exactly 292 AAA plate appearances under his belt, was rushed to the bigs last season in an effort to arouse a flaccid offense.  The Chiz Kid's future is still bright, especially after a bit more seasoning.  LaPorta, on the other hand, has struggled to a career Major League OPS of .701 and did nothing to take advantage of a spring opportunity to win the left field job.  Already 27, he has repeatedly shown the ability to bash AAA pitching (career .953 OPS), making it unlikely that anything he might do in the minors could help to recapture his good standing with the organization.  Oh, the team also reassigned outfielder Chad Huffman to the minor league camp.

Hot Corner:  In the first race to go officially official, Cap'n Jack is your Opening Day third bagger.  To celebrate, Hannahan took the day off.

#5:  Alright folks, here's the wrinkle.  I have incontrovertibly established that Manny Acta is an idiot and today GM Chris Antonetti stated that the top priority is to leave camp with "the best 25 men" even if that means that one of the 5th starter candidates is shuffled to the bullpen.  Acta has already laid the groundwork for this colossal blunder by complimenting Jeanmar Gomez's work "out of the bullpen" early in camp.  Regardless of anyone else tells you, putting Jeanmar in the 'pen as a long man and allowing either Kevin Slowey or David Huff to take the 5 slot would be beyond asinine.  JG won the spot, give it to him.

Left Of Center:  In the classic move of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Shelley Duncan took an 0-for-4 handle at the dish today to drop his spring average to .195.  Now I can't be as high on Duncan as I was just 5 days ago, but it truly seems as if he is winning this war of attrition.  Despite a 1-for-14 slump since mashing his 5th spring training bomb, Duncan has the confidence of Antonetti and, by means of cheap deduction, Acta.  Manny says that he has a candidate in mind and Shelley's production (5 HR, 15 RBI) has been the only noteworthy accomplishment by any of the candidates.

Somewhere Out There:  As we're speaking of the same players that were auditioning for the starting job in left, we're left with the same issue, that of being utterly and completely underwhelmed.  There are still five candidates on life support, so let's rank them 5 through 1.  (5) Ryan Spilborghs: 0-1 today, .167 AVG, .456 OPS on the spring.  'Nuff said.  (4) Fred Lewis: 0-1, .200, .635 in just 15 ABs.  The only reason he's not #5 is that Spilborghs is.  (3) Russ Canzler: BB, .297, .690.  I know that he's everybody's darling, but he has just one extra base hit all spring (a double) and he plays left like Luis Valbuena.  (2) Felix Pie: DNP, 231, .622.  This is the guy that I want.  He plays Gold Glove caliber defense and brings some speed and energy to the team.  But the Indians are committed to mediocrity.  (1) Aaron Cunningham: 0-1 today, .216, .486.  He's out of options.  They basically traded two top 50 prospects to get him.  He wins.

Bench Me:  Stop it, Andy LaRoche, you are not making this team.  I do not care that you have a better batting average than Jose Lopez (.391 vs .317) or that you have zero errors and he has 5.  It cannot, it will not, it must not happen!

Mightier Than the Sword:  I'm tired and I'm not going through all of the candidates right now.  I will tell you that Jeremy Accardo (1.29) threw another scoreless inning, fanning two.  How do you not give this guy a spot?  Also, Rick VandenHurk (12.38) got rocked... again.  In his inning, RVH walked Paul Konerko then served up a gopher ball to Brent Morel.  Let's see them rationalize it when they keep him...

At the Cubbies tomorrow @ the usual 4:05p.

P.s. The Indians are a Cactus League worst 6-15.