Just In From the Desert

So, I'm kinda worried about Pronk.  Travis had a 2 run single and a walk today and is hitting an eye catching .326.  His OPS, while not stellar, is a respectable .790.  So what's the problem?  In 48 plate appearances Hafner has exactly 3 extra base hits, all of them doubles.  That's an XBH once every 16 PAs.  At his best, in 2006, Pronk raked 74 extra base hits in 563 plate appearances or one every 7.6 plate appearances.  By last season that had dropped to one out of every 11.  Remember Pronkville?  The seats in the right field mezzanine?  Named because Travis yanked the ball into them so often?  Yeah, I barely do either.  Now, Hafner flairs balls into left and dinks doubles into the gaps.  Although Manny Acta maintains that the Indians will utilize any number of players as the designated hitter, Travis Hafner is the closest thing to a starter that we have.  16 plate appearances for every extra base hit is, without a doubt, unacceptable.  If Pronk can't do better, significantly better, then he simply has to go.

The real meat of the order continued its tear at the plate.  Shin-Soo Choo (.311) went 3-for-4 including a double, a walk, two runs scored and another pair driven in.  Choo is hitting .450 over the past week.  Carlos Santana (.308) singled, tripled, walked, stole a base and scored a run.  Santana played another solid game at first base and seems to be more than comfortable enough to hold the fort occaisionally.

Carlos Carrasco (7.36 ERA) turned in another stinker of a start.  Carrasco cruised through 4 innings and then exploded (literally!) in the 5th.  His final line featured 6 earned on 9 hits, 2 walks and 2 dongs over four and a third.  Yeesh.  Still spring training.  Still spring training.  Still spring training.

Backup Backstop: Lou Marson (.160) was 0-for-3 with 2 Ks.  Paul Phillips (.423): hit, run, RBI.  I don't have a question here.

Utility IF Battle: Luis Valbuena (.238) singled, double and scored.  Cord Phelps (.238) tripled home the game winner.  I need a really big boot to kick Jayson Nix out the door with.  Oh, wait, I have two.

Bullpen Men:  Doug Mathis (2.89) did little to elevate himself from the bottom of the heap.  Although he danced in and out of trouble for 2 innings and kept the team in the game, he walked 4 over that span.  He's totaled 10 in 9.1 innings for the spring, not the kind of numbers the brass wants to see.

Who's Hot: Ezequiel Carrera (.434 OBP, .915 OPS, 4 SB).  Hope we give this kid a chance.

Who's Not: Luke Calin (.067) has all but eliminated himself from the backup catcher race.

David Huff starts on 03.24 with Jeanmar Gomez to follow.  Their hopes are dim.

Literally... What A Pack Of Losers

I do not like to dwell on the negative but neither can I ignore it.  My OU Bobcats were taken down in the CollegeInsider.com quarterfinals by ETSU, 82-73 .  Despite mounting a furious second half comeback and finally taking a 71-70 lead with about 2 minutes to play, the 'Cats were unable to stop the Bucs or find quality shots themselves, leading to a 6-0 East Tennessee run.  Bah.  There is always next year Ohio seems poised to continue its winning ways.  Guards DJ Cooper and Nick Kellogg and forwards Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keleey all return.  This core will be joined by 6'10" sophomore Ethan Jacobs and Ohio State transfer Walter Offutt.  Maybe next year I'll pay attention through the entire season.

To make matters worse, Kent State was knocked out of the NIT by heavily favored Colorado.  The Flashes let a back and forth game get away from them in the final minutes, losing 81-74.   Five of Geno Ford's top six scores return from a team than won 25 times and fell one game short of a visit to MSG.  They might be worth watching as well.

Cheers.

Just In From the Desert

Yes, other things of note happened during the Indians/D-Bags game today, but let's talk about Travis Buck.  Kid went 2-for-3 with 2 bombs, he scored three and drove in three.  He's hitting .435.  Seriously, if the Tribe leaves this guy off of the opening day roster, it will be a travesty.  The word today is that there are only three bullpen spots up for grabs, indicating that Acta will only carry seven relievers.  This, in turn, means that there are four bench spots to fill.  Let's do the math: one backup catcher + one utility infielder + one utility outfielder + ... somebody else = 4.  To make a long story short (too late), Buck is in and I, for one, expect him to challenge Austin Kearns (.273, homered today) for that left field spot.

Josh Tomlin (1.13 ERA) hasn't pitched in a major league game in a while (Monday's rainout didn't help), yet he has continued to impress.  On Tuesday, he pitched five innings against minor leaguers and retired all 15 he faced on 53 pitches.  Tomlin was so efficient that he had to throw 20 in the bullpen afterward to get his work in.  I am now officially starting the "Josh Tomlin for #4 starter" campaign.  Let's go.

Who's Got Third?:  With Jason Donald ticketed to the DL the Indians will have an irrelevant decision to make about the opening day third baseman.  For the purposes of guessing at the roster, we're going to label Jack Hannahan (ugh, .350) as the starter.  The Tribe's 3B defense was abominable last season and Hannahan is better than average in the field.  Still, I wouldn't give the man the time of day, let alone a spot on my 25 man roster.  Anyway, he's going to make it, no matter how much I dislike it (a lot).

Utility Infield Battle: So, Jayson Nix got a hit today to raise his average to .148.  Also, I play third better than he does.  He loses.  Adam Everett (.355) is dinged up and can't play third either.  Despite the fact that Cord Phelps remains in major league camp and has raised his average above Mendoza, he is, from what I hear, not a realistic option.  The only logical choice here is Luis Valbuena (.211).  Louie has had his ups and downs over the past two season and this is might be his last best chance (what does that mean?).  He will get it, if on no other basis than the process of elimination.

Lucky 13:  Then who do the Indians carry as the last man on the bench?  In my mind, this is a guy who brings some pop to the table.  This is not Everett.  Nix, Shelley Duncan (.303) and Chad Huffman (.355) all qualify.  None of them is a true MLB player, but Duncan brought a degree of leadership to a distressed locker room last season and that intagible sets him above the others.  He's got my vote right now.

Bullpen Men:  Jess Todd (1.35), Vinnie Pestano (1.35) and Frank Herrmann (2.08) each threw a shutout inning today, following a solid 6 from Fausto Carmona (4 W, 4.50).  With Jensen Lewis' demotion and Joe Smith's injury, I feel that Pestano and Herrmann are in.  That leaves Todd in stiff competition with Justin Germano (0.00) (and to a much lesser extent, Doug Mathis) for the last seat in the pen.  Todd was acquired in the Mark DeRosa trade with high expectations and has always thrown well at AAA.  Although he has stuggled at the major league level, it would be nice to see him get a bit of a longer look.  Do it.

Carlos Carrasco starts on 03.23.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl 03.23.11 - Gillian Anderson

"I want to believe" that she still looks this good.