A Quest Called Tribe

And I thought that Jeff Francis was like batting practice.  He has nothing on Kyle Davies.  Choo (.250!) homered.  Then Santana (.192) went deep.  Next, Grady (.390!) left the yard.  By the time that Shelly Duncan (.348!) blasted the fourth dinger of the game, the rout was officially on.  Btw, I could have hit that beach ball out.  A tri-fecta of doubles later (including Sizemore's 8th and another from the Jack Attack) and Davies was sulking in the dugout.  I knew this KC team couldn't be for real.  It's called regressing to the mean.

'Twas more than enough for Fausto Carmona.  Bouncing back from a true stinker against the Twins, Fausto threw just 86 pitches over seven innings, 60 of them for strikes.  He 2-hit the Royals through six and finished allowing five hits and two runs.  More than any start that I have seen since, he looked like the Carmona of '07.  And that, my friends, is a good thing.

I will tell you what, these guys believe.  They're loose, they're confident and they're playing like winners.  The front office is on board as exemplified by the chutzpah of bringing up Alex White.  The dugout is full of smiles and the boys are having fun.  I've mentioned the infield defense before, but enough cannot be said.  Where they were merely a set of solid fielders on opening day, they are a unit now.  They're anticipating and complimenting each other.  What do we call that?  Teamwork.

In case you're wonder, Travis Hafner (.342) was a late scratch with right ankle inflammation.  Pronk will have an MRI on Friday.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Before I go, a shout out to Jack TheMan-ahan.  In the span of a month, he has gone from my the bane of my existence to my favorite Indian.  The man plays the game the way it was meant to be played.  He has great fundamentals and has put in the work to contribute significantly with the stick (.290, 4 HR, 12 RBI, SB).  His attitude and ethic have been infectious and the team, it is a rollin'.

Cheers.

Zero Needs Phil-ed

As far back as December, I had been spitballing with my boys about what the Browns might do with their top ten draft pick.  We were all in agreement that the team had two glaring needs: pass rush and wide receiver.  Initially I argued for the DE/LB as the Brownies had allowed 220 ypg through the air and an 84.8 opponents passer rating.  Gradually, I was swayed by the alternative, both because of the talent available and the need to keep the defense honest and, thereby, Peyton Hillis alive.

We all spent the past few weeks hoping that the Bengals would come to their senses and recognize that, even if they drafted the best wideout available, they have no one to throw the ball.  No such luck.  AJ Green was gone.  Patrick Peterson (for those who prescribe to the best available philosophy) was gone.  Then came the trade (ugh).  At that point at least, we thought the Browns still had their heads on straight and believed they could get the talent that they needed deeper in the draft to build toward a more sustainable culture of winning.

As pick #27 approached, I kept my fingers crossed with team after team passing on Da'Quan Bowers (the knee y'know).  Then, again, a trade (ugh).  Maybe the Brownies (as Mel Kuiper suggested that they might) felt that they needed to move up to get their pass rushers.  Way to be aggressive and get you man.

But, no.

No.  No.  No.

As the Madden '12 cover so eloquently put it, "With the 21st pick in 2011 NFL draft the Cleveland Browns select - Phil Taylor, defensive tackle, Baylor."

What?  What?!  Haven't I been told that Dick Jauron is going to run a 4-3?  Didn't we let Shaun Rogers walk away?  Isn't Ahtyba Rubin supposed to be one of our best defensive players?  What the hell is going on?

Round one over.  Pass rusher?  Nope.  Wideout?  Nuh-uh.  I wish that I could have faith in the organization, but, alas, I do not.

I'm going to focus on my 16-8 Indians.

Cheers.

No Impact

The Browns traded the #6 pick for the #27 plus 2011 2nd & 4th and 2012 1st & 4th.  As opposed to getting a game changer, the Brownies will pick up five stiffs.  That is because all of those picks will be at the very bottom of their respective rounds.

Great.

Hey, maybe we could keep trading down and pick up the entire seventh round.  I bet we could do it.  Get on the phone, Holmgren.

I Love the White Stuff, Baby (In the Middle Of An Oreo)

Alex White will indeed start for the Indians on Saturday.

With that mystery solved we can move on to speculating who might be dropped from the 40-man roster to accommodate White.  Earlier, I suggested Jess Todd as the most likely candidate.  After discounting the 25 men currently in the majors, the three on the DL and those I would qualify as prospects (De La Cruz, Judy, Hagadone, Kluber, McAllister, Rondon, Carrera, Weglarz) only four names remain: Todd, Luis Valbuena, Travis Buck and David Huff.  Any of them is a possibility, although I still contend Todd is the best option.

Another scenario would involve the Tribe moving either Hector Rondon or Nick Weglarz, both of whom are injured and rehabbing in extended spring training, to the 60-day DL.  As was made evident by the Jared Goedert move, the Indians are not averse to the downsides: accumulation of MLB service time and payment of a big league salary.  Even so, I would put my money on a Todd DFA.

Let's try to focus on the game now.

Cheers.

Mysterious Ways

Carlos Carrasco was officially put on the 15-day disabled list this morning and RHP Frank Herrmann was recalled to take the spot on the 25-man roster.

This does not solve the quandary of who will be the Tribe's starter on Saturday against Detroit.

In my mind there are three possibilities, excluding David Huff, who would have to come back on short rest to make the start.  We'll go from simplest to most complex.

(3)  No further roster moves are made.  Justin Germano slides into the starting rotation until either Carrasco or Mitch Talbot is healthy enough to return.  Boo hiss.  Germano hasn't made a real major league start (he started the season finale in 2010, but threw only 35 pitches) in two years and he was never very good at it to begin with (8-17, 5.50 in 36 GS).

(2)  Herrmann is returned to Columbus following Friday's game and Zach McAllister is recalled to start on Saturday.  McAllister has won his his first three starts for Columbus and is not the top tier sort of prospect that the team would worry about starting the arbitration clock on.  They also thought enough of him to add to the 40-man roster in the off-season and he has 30 AAA starts under his belt.  So far, I'm the only one suggesting this, but regard it is a possibility.

Why?

(1)  This is by far the most complicated.  This scenario involves Alex White making his MLB debut on Saturday.  Again, Herrmann would be demoted to clear a spot on the 25-man, but at least one more move would need to be made.  White is not on the 40-man, thus someone would need to be DFA'ed in order for him to come up.  Perusing the roster, the only name that seems reasonable is Jess Todd.  Though Todd competed deep into spring camp for one of the bullpen spots, his performance at AAA this year has been atrocious, 12.38 ERA atrocious.  So.... we have several factors working against White.  Maybe the Indians don't want to expose Todd.  Maybe they don't want to start White's arbitration clock.  Maybe they want to be sure that when he comes up, he's sure to stay.  What would the team do if White made three or four great starts and then Talbot and Carrasco were ready to come back.  Organizations often structure the recall of top prospects so that they are not shuttled back and forth.

This is all food for thought, though not for long.  Manny Acta tweeted that he will "probably" announce Saturday's starter after tonight's game.

Cheers.

Southern Style Clip Joint

Have you ever been to Gwinnett County, Georgia?  Gorgeous.  My favorite climate is that of Tennessee and northern Georgia and Gwinnett compliments that with a laid-back suburban southern ease that makes every breath seem easy.  Anyway, that's where the Clippers played baseball on Wednesday night.

Scottie Barnes picked up his first AAA win by throwing six and two thirds scoreless against the Braves.  While Barnes (2.31 ERA) did not have what I would call pinpoint control (5 BB), he allowed just two hits and struck out seven.  Look for Barnes and Zach McAllister to step to the front of the Clippers rotation when the Tribe plucks Alex White for Saturday.

Carlton Smith finished up (2.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K) for his first save and extended his season long scoreless streak to nine and two thirds innings.  Smith, a virtual unknown, struggled last season in his first taste of AAA.  This year opponents are hitting .222 off him and he has become the Clips' dominant reliever.

On the offensive side, Cord Phelps (.343) continued to rake with two hits and an RBI.  The Travis Buck (.412) show rolled on with a two run triple.  Ezequiel Carrera (.277) walked, scored a run and stole his 8th base.

McAllister is Thursday's probable as Columbus finishes up in Gwinnett (7:05p).  He will look for his 4th consecutive win to begin the campaign.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Giovanni Soto, acquired last summer in the Jhonny Peralta trade, snared his first W of 2011 with six shutout for Kinston.  Soto (3.06) had lost his first three starts, but responded on Wednesday with his longest stint of the season surrendering three hits and a walk while striking out six.  Still just 19, the opposition is hitting .195 off of Giovanni so far.

Steven Wright continued his journey to become a real life knuckleball pitcher with a start for the Lake County Captains.  The first four innings were outstanding and unmarred.  Wright (3.12) gave up four hits and didn't walk anyone.  The Captains put up ten runs of support for him.  The fifth inning was quite a bit different.  A leadoff error preceded four straight hits.  Wright rebounded to get a ground out and his second K, but a wild pitch-homer-double sequence chased Steven to the showers.  Four of the six runs he allowed were sorted out as unearned and the absence of walks is either a great sign (control) or an awful one (his kunckler isn't moving).  Only time will tell.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl 04.28.11 - Emilie De Ravin

Yes, Claire, I will save your baby, but you're gonna have to help me out with my own little turnip head.