Sheard Madness

Yesterday we we treated to Peyton Hillis, today Paul Warfield made a guest appearance to announce the Browns first of two second round picks (#37), Jabaal Sheard.  At defensive end, the 2010 Big East defensive player of the year, supposedly will pressure both the run and the pass.  Let us hope that the brain trust knows something that we don't about Da'Quan Bowers.


Draft Preview: Jabaal Sheard by FOX_Sports_Interactive

Cheers.

Suicide Squeeze - Versatility! ('92 Upper Deck)

Mark Ingram Is People Too

No joke, it was a nice moment.

Cheers.

The Kate MIddleton Dilemma

If you had to pick one of these three would it honestly be the real one.  I would take Allison Williams (#3).

Will & Kate: Before Happily Ever After (Ep.3) from Allison Williams

OMG! Did you watch the wedding? It was so... I can't even put it into words. Because I didn't watch it! Wankers.

Cheers.

Damn, Clip Joint's Crowded

We can now officially dub Jack Hannahan the Indians' starting third baseman.  That is because Jason Donald was activated from the disabled list today, and optioned to Columbus.  Wow.  I did not see that one coming.  With all of the rampant speculation surrounding the big league pitching staff recently, the fact that Donald's 20-day rehab stint had run its course slipped to the back burner.  One would assume that Donald (.250) will receive regular playing time for the Clippers, but they do have a glut of infielders.  Top prospects Lonnie Chisenhall (.270) and Jason Kipnis (.242) are well entrenched at third and second respectively.  That leaves shortstop open for Donald, an en fuego Cord Phelps (.324), and the just returned Josh Rodriguez.  J-Rod was taken by the Pirates in December's rule 5 draft and given back after collecting one hit in twelve MLB at bats.  It is likely that the trio will also find some ABs in the DH slot, though manager Mike Sarbaugh will want to keep the bats of Jordan Brown (.286), Travis Buck (.333) and Chad Huffman (.288) in the lineup.  The moves do not bode well for players like Wes Hodges (.150) and Jerad Head (.333, but 28 years old).

The Clips did indeed play a game last night, taking their third straight from Gwinnett.  The victory boils down to two men: Chisenhall and Zach McAllister.  McAllister (3.38 ERA) started and threw seven shutout innings (6 H, 0 BB, 6 K) to earn his fourth straight win.  Chisenhall, suddenly mashing, slugged a two run homer to account for all of the offense and added a double. 

I have to get it through my thick skull that the schedule structure at AAA is very different that that of MLB.  For instance, the Clippers play the fourth and final game of their series with Gwinnett tonight and move on to Charlotte tomorrow.  Corey Kluber toes the rubber at 7:05p, seeking his first W of 2011.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Catching prospect Chun Chen, off to a slow start, bashed his first dinger of the season last night for Akron.  Chun is batting .246 with more strikeouts (17) than hits (15).  The RBI from the solo shot was his 7th of 2011.

Lake County catcher Alex Lavisky doubled and launched his 3rd bomb for the Captains.  Lavisky's season is similar to Chun's with 14 hits to 24 K's and a .209 average.  Alex has driven home 13 in 17 games.

2010 #1 overall pick Bryce Harper has settled in nicely with the low-A Hagerstown Suns.  After a rocky first week, Harper has raised his OPS to 1.070 (.323 AVG, 5 HR) and has added 18 RBI and 4 SB.  Over his last 10 games Harper is hitting .419 with four of his home runs.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl 04.29.11 - Niki Gudex

Here's a draft day athlete for you.  She rides a bicycle in the mountains or something.

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.