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If you don't mind so many skeletons that I had to rent storage space. ;-j No, really. Call me. I'll do it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Hey RNC! I'm Down To Run
If you don't mind so many skeletons that I had to rent storage space. ;-j No, really. Call me. I'll do it.
Pretty Girl Update! - Julianne Hough
While I Was Sminking - @ Da Clip Joint
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| Nick Hagadone |
Jason Kipnis, batting leadoff since Ezequiel Carrera's promotion, has taken to his new role with aplomb. Kipnis (.292) raked 7-for-16 in the series (2 2B, 3B, HR) with four runs scored and five RBI. Cord Phelps conitnued his hot hitting as well, batting 7-for-18 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 3 RBI. Many, including TonyIPI, believe that Phelps' (.310) promotion to Cleveland is as imminent as within the next week. Lonnie Chisenhall is a bit further off, but if Jack Hannahan cannot turn around his dreadful May performance (.520 OPS), we will likely see the Chiz Kid around the All-Star break. Chisenhall (.283) was 7-for-17 against Durham (2 2B, HR) with 3 RBI and 6 runs scored. Those are the 1, 2, & 3 hitters in the Columbus lineup. Chad Huffman (.263), who produced a 10 RBI game earlier in the season and has hit cleanup quite a bit, went 3-for-3 on Saturday, falling a single short of the cycle and driving in five. With production like that, winning becomes a lot easier.
Starting pitching doesn't hurt either. Jeanmar Gomez looks to have righted his ship ;-j with an 8 inning complete game victory on Monday night. Gomez (3.16) improved his AAA mark to 4-1 by allowing seven hits and two earned with two walks and three strike outs. Even so, I maintain that Gomez can be of no further assistance to the big club this season. I am in the minority here, but I would expect that Zach McAllister is now at the top of the minor league depth chart should the Indians need another starter before Alex White is healthy. McAllister is on the 40-man and has dominated the IL (7-0, 2.43) this year.
Both Steven Wright and Matt Langwell were briefly with the Clippers over the weekend. Langwell did not take the mound, though Wright did make his AAA debut as knuckleballer. He allowed 2 earned and 5 hits over 2.2 innings while striking out a pair. Wright succesfully protected the Clippers lead before being returned to Lake County on Sunday. Marty Popham has been added to the AAA roster in what appears to be a more permanent role.
Other Minor Points of Interest --
Beau Mills rounded into form over the weekend. Mills (.333) drove in a pair Saturday, three on Sunday and added a a 2-run pinch double yesterday. He is mostly DH'ing coming off a right achilles injury and has posted a .937 OPS in his first 7 games back. He has also not struck out in his first 20 plate appearances.
After missing eight days as he continued to rehab back from an oblique strain, Jared Goedert (.222) has played for the Akron Aeros on each of the past two days. Goedert hasn't been beating the world (1-for-6, 2B, 3 BB), but with a nagging pain like an oblique, easing back in is paramount.
Chun Chen (.277) double three times yesterday and drove home a pair. Chen, who can certainly hit, will be hampered by the fact that he has no true position to play at higher levels.
I suppose it is time to mention Tim Fedroff, expected by most to be the next outfielder added to the Columbus roster. Fedroff (.377) has posted a .929 OPS this season and is hitting .514 over his last 10 games. He spent all of 2010 with Akron, compiling an OPS of .715.
Adam Miller (2.70) has not been scored upon for Kinston since a shaky debut at the end of April. Miller picked up his first save on Friday and has put just five men on base over those nine innings and has fanned 12. His OBA is .167 for the season and .069 excluding that first appearance. Miller should see Akron very soon.
Giovanni Soto continued to impress as he evened his record at 3 on Friday. Soto (2.02) allowed a run (solo HR) on four hits and a walk over six innings. Giovanni struck out 8 and has posted an ERA of 0.71 since April 23.
After an awful start on May 8th, Captains pitcher Michael Goodnight has gotten right back on the horse. Goodnight (2.68) earned his third win of 2011 on Saturday, giving up a run on 2 hits and 2 walks with 7 punch outs. Excepting that rotten egg (1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 4 ER), he has returned a .139 OBA and an ERA of 1.99.
FotB Tyler Tufts remains a key cog in the bullpen of the AA Frisco RoughRiders of the run happy Texas League. Tyler (2.77) last threw on Friday, a successful 1.2 innings surrendering 2 hits and mowing down three. He has delivered a tremendous 11.0 K/BB ratio and a solid 1.15 WHIP.
Now you are all caught up.
Cheers.
A Quest Called Tribe
All of these numbers sound awesome, but they are a whisper to thin. Why? His name is Jose Bautista. Joey Bats (.353, 19 HR, 32 RBI, 1.330 OPS) is destroying the ball. Many argue that there is no possibility that he maintains this pace for the entirety of the season. Well, the same could be said of Cabrera. At heart I am a stat guy and these days I put the most weight into WAR. There are a number of different calculations for this metric and I prefer that of BaseballReference.com. So far in 2011, Asdrubal has accumulated a WAR of 2.5, good enoguh to tie for 7th in the AL. Bautista is far and away the leader at 4.4.
Others argue that there are factors that these numbers do not take into account. The Indians are 15 games over .500 (Wow!), while the Jays are just a single game up. The Indians have had to deal with injuries to several key starting pitchers and their two best known offensive cogs. The Tribe has put this run together with Jack Hannahan at third and their 3 and 4 hitters mired in season long slumps. I will point to the fact that Most Valuable Player directly implies that the winner should be the player who has added the most value to his team. What do we call value in baseball? We rename it as wins. Thus, the question boils down to which player has added the most wins to his team. Supposing that you accept the objective validity of the WAR measure as I do, then, while Az has had an All-Star campaign, he falls just short of the MVP threshhold.
Amazingly, there are other players on the team and some of them are drawing a fair amount of concern. am looking at you Chris Perez. Chris seems to have conjured the spirit of the all-mighty Bob Wickman in putting together a Picasso of a season. When you do not take the time to look closely 1-1, 13 saves and a 2.70 ERA seems to be a pretty nice campaign. I choose to dig a bit deeper. Since beignning 2011 with 8 straight scoreless appearances, Perez's ERA is 4.38 and he has walked more (10) than he has struck out (8). Over his last four appearances just 36 of his 68 pitches have been for strikes and he has put 8 men on base in four innings. I will not nitpick the results, but we all should be wary of the fact that these tendencies may tip the scales against a team that has played 26 of its 45 games within 3 runs, including 16 of 30 wins.
Here's to hoping that Fausto Carmona can deliver the same sort of start that he did in his first try against Boston (7 IP, 0 R, 2 H) and not the kind of crap he has coughed up versus those other Sox.
Cheers.
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