You're Waiting For a Train...: 11/01/2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I'd Cut My Balls Off For Her

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls from Katherine Heigl

AC/DC cowers in fear.

Pretty Girl 11.30.11 - Heather Locklear

The chick deserves mad respect for staying hot for like three decades. Wow.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #29 C Alex Lavisky

6'1", 200 lbs, 21 in 2012
Bats: Right, Throws: Right

2011 Stats (A- Lake County/ SSA Mahoning Valley): .203, 13 HR, 52 RBI, .621 OPS, 4.72 K/BB

I have to say that I expected more from Alex in 2011. The St Ed's grad caught the fireballer Stetson Allie in Lakewood and graduated at about 19 and a half years of age. Based on thereon, one would think that Lavisky would come into the pros a bit more seasoned than your your average high school draft pick. He has certainly not shown such maturity thus far. Alex was given every opportunity to be the everyday catcher for the A- Captains and responded with 184 ABs that included 38 hits (.207), 9 walks and 66 punch-outs. Ouch. I mean ouch! When short season Mahoning Valley opened play in June, Lavisky was sent down. The move obviously affected him mentally as he batted just .173 to close out the month. Overall, his numbers in Niles did not show much improvement (K/BB better @ 3.55 vs 7.33, OPS worse @ .604 vs .643). Perhaps most troubling of all was the degradation of his defensive work. At Lake County, he caught an abominable 7% (3/42) of basestealers and allowed 8 passed balls. While his caught stealing percentage improved to a solid 33% for the Scrappers, Alex committed 7 errors and allowed 10 more passed balls. His season numbers (23% CS, 18 PB, .986 FPCT) are pretty freakin' awful. To tie a bow on it all, 2011 was an awful season for the young backstop. Still, the kid is only 21. Given his defensive struggles and the emergence of 2011 pick Jake Lowery, I would expect Lavisky to spend more time at DH in 2012. He took the role for 40 games last season and a more consistent placement would allow him to focus more on delivering consistent contact than getting beaten up behind the dish. Alex still has huge power potential. If he can shorten his stroke a bit and reduce his swinging strikes, Lavisky is a solid offensive prospect, if still 2-3 years away.

Up Next: RHP Kyle Blair

Pretty Girl 11.29.11 - Holly Peers

Across the pond, the Brits have a magazine called Nuts. Basically, it's like Maxim, but the chicks are topless. Pretty cool, right? Anyway, the medium has bred a new class of pin-up girl. Holly ranked about 15th in the end of the year poll, but she's my straight up favorite.

Monday, November 28, 2011

I Thought So...

Lance Moore doin' the Bernie. I still cannot believe that this is a real dance. (Better video as I can find it.)

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #30 LHP Matt Packer

6'0", 200 lbs, 24 in 2012

2011 Stats (AA Akron): 9-12, 4.31, 1.23 WHIP, .269 OBA, 1.8 BB/9, 6.9 K/9

The first left-handed pitcher on our countdown is a starter. So, how is he this far down the list? Well, that's mostly because I have already described his two best attributes. Packer, while athletic, is in no way overpowering. His fastball runs in the 90-92 range, complimented by a middle of the road slider and a curveball that has not developed quickly enough to enable notable success. Matt's best metric is his control. In eating 169.1 innings in 2011, he walked just 33, while fanning 129. The salient truth is that a lot of balls get put in play against Packer. He allowed 16 home runs, which is not too bad and the 1.23 is not an issue. The problem is that Matt is inconsistent. He had an awful June (0-3, 10.17), but finished strong (6-3, 2.78, .236 OBA after the All-Star Break). This is likely due to the inability to repeat his delivery that led to a sub-par senior season at UVA. Packer then dropped to the 32nd round and has bounced between the bullpen and the rotation ever since. He was projected to earn a promotion to AAA in 2011, but that didn't happen until the post-season and he never made it to the hill. Given the depth of starting pitching in the organization, Matt will have to earn that call-up, rather than simply being next in line. He throws the ground balls (1.71 GO/AO) that the Tribe brass likes, drawing comparison to former rotation members Jeremy Sowers and Scott Lewis. Packer now has to produce. He needs to show a mastery of AA and move to Columbus quickly or risk getting lost as the next wave of young starters advance toward Major League readiness.

Up Next: C Alex Lavisky