Long Time No Clip Joint

Nick Johnson

Due to the Indians unwillingness to make the appropriate moves with their minor league talent, I became disinterested for about a week.  Or maybe I was just lazy.  Or possessed by deeply seeded emotional problems.  Whatever.  Right back on the whores horse.

Nick Johnson is back in the Clippers line-up, returning from an ankle injury and a stint on the DL.  What he is not doing is hitting.  Since coming back on July 15th, Johnson is 1-for-16 (.063) with 3 walks.  On the upside, the one hit was a home run.  On the downside, he is in a 3-for-32 (.094) slump overall.  It now seems unlikely that Nick (.182) will be able to provide the Indians with any sort of assistance this season. 

The same, unfortunately, can be said of Jared Goedert.  Goedert (.199) has ticked upward of late (6-for-20 in his last 5), but has shown remarkably little power since rejoining the Clippers.  Jared has not gone deep in 13 July games and has batted just .176.  I still believe that he gets a September recall simply because he is on the 40-man roster.  It will likely be his last chance with the organization.  He should make the best of it.

Also slumping in top prospect Jason Kipnis.  Kipnis (.281) is just 3-for-33 (.091) over his last 8 games, including 9 K's and an 0-for-5 tonight.  The preponderance of opinion is that his future is inextricably linked to that of Orlando Cabrera.  Read that as, "As long as O-Cab is an Indian and healthy, Jason Kipnis will not come to Cleveland."  It is possible that the Tribe will call for him after the AAA post-season to give him a taste of the show, but certainly do not expect any more.

The only Clipper who seems to be hitting is Jason Donald.  16-for-31 (.516) since July 7th, it is high time for Donald (.326) to be added to the 25-man roster.  The Indians have thrown every other infielder out there with minimal results.  At least we know Jason can hit .250 in the bigs.

Oh yeah, the Clips lost 6-1 tonight.  Corey Kluber (4-6, 6.09) took the L after allowing four earned over six innings.  He gave up 7 hits and 2 walks while fanning 7.  Do not look for Kluber in Cleveland this season.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Drew Pomeranz was a hard luck loser tonight, in his first AA home start.  Pom (3-3, 1.87 overall) was his dominant self, surrendering a run on three hits over five innings, while walking 2 and whiffing six.  It is outstanding to see Drew continue his success at the next level.  Barring any injury concerns, he should be a viable option for the big club in 2012.

Things did not turn out so well for Adam Miller.  Everything was going along swimmingly for Miller until July 9th, since then his ERA is 8.72.  Tonight Adam (1-2, 4.32 overall) gave up 3 earned on five hits over two innings.  Yesterday, the organization passed up an opportunity to bring him up to AAA, promoting Tyler Sturdevant (who?) instead.  Combine this with Miller's rough patch and his immediate future become awful murky.  Hopefully we see him at AAA in 2011, but hopes of him making his big league debut this year appear to be dimming.

Finally, let us catch up on a few low-level prospects.  Tony Wolters (.276) doubled twice tonight and drove in his 10th run.  Wolters has stolen 9 of 11 bases over his 31 games this season.  Felix Sterling made his fourth start for the AZL Indians and, despite taking the loss, it was a good one.  Sterling (2-3, 4.10) allowed one earned on 3 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings.  He stuck out 9 and has a 10.6 K/9 for the season.  And pemit me to introduce you to an 18-year old Dominican who is tearing up the Arizona League.  Over 17 games, Luigi Rodriguez is batting an even .400 with a 1.006 OPS.  The man that I am sure will be called L-Rod has homered twice and stolen 8 bases.  He obviously has speed to burn as he swiped 31 and tripled 10 times in 63 games for the Indians DSL team last year.

Cheers.