"Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something." - Thomas A. Edison
"I have found that people who can successfully resist temptation invariably lead depressingly stunted lives." — C.D. Payne
"So don't weep for me now, my friends, because science insists that I have not died.
Energy just always changes state and I refuse to believe that human consciousness is the sole exception to this universal law."
- Mark Millar
"Do only butterflies die in flames? What about those devoured by the flames within them?" - E.M. Cioran

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Best Of the Clip Joint

Scott Barnes
The wait is over!  The ballots are in!  The International League announced its all-star roster today!  Manager Mike Sarbaugh heads to Salt Lake City with four of his best in tow.  Starters Zach McAllister (8-2, 2.93) and Jeanmar Gomez (8-2, 2.49) are joined by 2B Jason Kipnis (.301, .907 OPS, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 10/10 SB) and UT Luis Valbuena (.309, .909 OPS, 11 HR, 51 RBI).  Congrats to all.

Scottie Barnes was not tabbed an all-star, but he sure did pitch like one tonight.  Just two Mud Hens (H, BB) reached base over the first seven innings and Scott might have made it through 8 except a Jason Donald error opened the door for two Toledo runs.  Barnes (7-2, 3.40) ended up allowing three hits and an earned run while striking out five.  Yeah, I would say he has settled in to AAA.

The offense was the very definition of balance as every hitter reached base via hit or walk and none did more than twice.  Jerad Head launched his 11th home run.  Recently, there has been a lot of chatter about why Head (.303) is not patrolling the outfield corners at the Jake.  At nearly 29 years old, he has had ample opportunity to distinguish himself from the herd and he has not.  Make-up wise, he is a line-drive hitter with gap power who lacks both plus speed and defense.  This sounds a lot like former farm hand Jordan Brown... except Brown had two MVPs and a batting title in his pocket.   Obviously, given that Brown, 27, was traded for oatmeal in April, that sort of player does not interest the club at the big league level.  Put it out of your head.

The Clipper ship stays anchored on the Maumee for one more night.  Zach McAllister takes the hill at 7p sharp, looking for win #9.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Adam Everett officially cleared waivers on Thursday and has been released by the Indians organization.  No comment.

Nick Weglarz has broken .200!  With a single and a double, Wegz is now clipping at .218 with an .867 OPS.  He is also 5 for his last 7 over three games.  Expect him to move to Columbus as soon as a spot opens up.

2011 3rd round pick, Jake Sisco, the highest Tribe draftee to sign thus far, had his second successful start in the Arizona League.  Jake (1.50) surrendered a run on four hits and two walks in three innings of work.  He fanned a man of inning for the second straight outing.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Tuesday, as I passed through the Yahoo! sports page on the way to edit my fantasy lineup, I decided to double check Wednesday's game time.  You see, I had heard a rumor that it was to be played in the afternoon.  My fears were quickly assuaged by the Indians team page, which indicated first pitch at the same 9:40p start time as games 1 & 2.  Suffice to say, I did eventually figure it out, but a big boo on you Yahoo!

More importantly, big props to Carlos Carrasco.  I admit that I did not give the dude a fair shake and he has been remarkable over the past month (4-1, 0.98).  Yesterday, for the first time, I began to dissect what has changed about the young right hander.  A lot of talking heads try to over-complicate the method, when, in fact, it is phenomenally simple.  Throw strikes.  Change speeds.  Hit your spots.  How?  Consistency of motion.  Repetition of delivery.  Keep a clear head.  Not to say that this is easy, but Carrasco (8-4, 3.54) has found the groove on all of these fronts.  The most obvious is his mental state.  The man is locked in, channeling his competitive spirit into the singular focus of making his pitch.  It was wonderful to see how pumped up he was after each of his last two punch outs.  Stuff-wise, two significant improvements have bred success: throwing his fastball for strikes early in the count and commanding his slider inside of the zone.  Any pitcher will tell you that he cannot be successful without getting ahead, but, on its own, it is insufficient.  The slide piece has become devastating, dipping and diving and remaining away from the meaty part of the plate.  Carrasco kept the Tribe's head above water during the worst of the losing streak and has become the team's most consistent starter as they fight to remain in contention.

It was certainly heartening to see the bats rap out fifteen hits.  Orlando Cabrera is suddenly en fuego (8-for-14 in his last four games) and, Wednesday, produced his first four hit game of the season.  Even so, I have been more impressed with Travis Buck.  After bottoming out at .220 with his 0-for-24 streak, Buck (.241) has cracked 6 hits in 18 AB's with 3 doubles and 3 RBI.  Just when I was about to express how disappointing his performance had been following a monster spring, the man shoots three bullets in his last three plate appearances, recapturing the stroke of March.  If Travis can keep this up, the 8-10 weeks that Shin-Soo Choo will spend on the shelf will be much less painful.


Over the past ten days or so, I have found myself a bit put upon by things that are not baseball.  As such, I had not watched every pitch of an Indians game in awhile... until Tuesday.  And, boy, did I pick a jim-dandy.

Despite a walk-off loss, despite watching his tenth win flit away, the night belonged to Josh Tomlin (9-4, 3.86).  Not since Charlie Nagy in the 1992 All-Star game have I felt such a thrill for an Indians pitcher getting a hit.  The bunt bonus was good enough, but the hard struck RBI single?  Unbelievable.  "I can't hit a fastball," he said.  What a sandbagger.

Sadly though, Grady Sizemore looks old.  It is not only the plummeting average (.226), his bat is slow to the ball.  It is not just the absence of stolen bases (0-for-2), he badly misplayed two deep drives (one hit his glove) that he would have made into web gems in his heyday.  Worst of all Grady's face is haggard, worn.  He does not know what is wrong or how to fix it.  As always, the best of luck to him, but I am not optimistic.

I promised to explain why the Indians will continue to win.  This is always easier in the rosy glow of an actual victory, so here we go.  (1) The Bullpen Mafia - an unfortunate performance on Tuesday notwithstanding, the corps (minus Chad-Chad-Oh-So-Bad) is the heart and soul of the team and the best in the American League.  Personally, my favorite is Vinnie Pestano, who showed an 81 mph curveball yesterday that appears unhittable if he can command it.  (2) The Starting 4.5 - Since June 7th; Carrasco, Tomlin, Mitch Talbot and Justin Masterson have combined for a 2.99 ERA, a .248 OBA, and 1.10 WHIP.  We are going to abstain from Fausto Carmona, currently your league leader in losses and earned runs allowed, for now.  (3) Defense, Defense, Defense - While unable to maintain the standard that they set in the season's first month, the D has still saved 21 runs in 2011, third best in the AL.  (4) The Bats are waking up -  Buck and O-Cab are raking.  Lonnie Chisenhall is here and lacing line drives.  Travis Hafner is back after Cincy.  Even the slumping Michael Brantley had an RBI single last night.

There is only one caveat ...

The Tribe is currently striking out an average of 7.3 times a game, which projects to 1,183 Ks on the season. That total would put this year’s team just outside the Top 5 all-time in team history for most strikeouts in a single season. And the numbers have been worse since Bruce Fields took over for Jon Nunnally – even though one of the reasons given for Nunnally’s firing is the team was striking out too much.” - Red Right 88

Nothing is perfect, but they are tied for first again.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl 06.30.11 - Jennifer Barretta


Excuse me, I have to go play some 8-ball.