You're Waiting For a Train...

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

"Not Instead Of Pants!"

Another addition to the top ten list of schools that I wish that I had attended.

Well, now the Indians have lost five of six. I could talk about how pathetic they have been at the plate. During the span the team is hitting .212 (40-189) and has struck out significantly more often (51 times) than they have gotten a hit. Or I could cite the starting pitching. The rotation has taken every decision, so they are 1-5, but more staggering is how awful the five have been in doing so. Over 32 innings they have allowed 33 earned runs. That equals a 9.28 ERA. Opposing batters have rapped out 49 hits in 133 official at bats. That is a .368 OBA. Add in 10 walks and just 19 strikeouts and the WHIP shakes down to 1.84. Ugh.

One would think that these numbers could accurately relay just how bad a team could play, just how bad the Indians have been playing for the last week. That is to say, the boys certainly could not have been performing worse than the statistics indicate, right? Sadly, yes they could, yes they can, yes they have. I am going to boil this down to just one play. Stop me if you've heard this one. Bases loaded, one out. Your "ace" (we'll get back to that) has let four runs in, but your team is only down three and it's still early. Let's say your team has lost, oh, four of five and sorely needs a win. A tailor-made double play ball, the kind that would end the inning, kill this rally, is batted right to you. Whoops, you bobble it, but you can still get one. Whoops, you drop it and the ball rolls a foot away. Ok, that's only one more run. What do you do now with the opposition's fleetest afoot rounding third? If your name is Orlando Cabrera you lazily scoop up the ball and toss it from hand to hand. Also, and this is the most important part, no matter what else happens, keep your back to the infield. Never for a second consider that Rajai Davis is jogging home and embarrasing not only you, but your entire team as the score gets out of hand. That, my friends, is what the last six games have felt like, that play, that one play, for 54 innings.

So, if coming into the game, I had told you that one team was sending its nominal ace to the hill versus a guy who had not won a game since June of 2008, a span of 28 starts. Who would you have given the edge to? The key word in the question is "nominal." In case you are wondering, because I had only a vague understanding of the term for years, it means "in name." Like House of Payne is called a "situation comedy," but I have never laughed while watching it. That is to say, Fausto Carmona is not an ace. He does not compare well to the aces of other teams and I would go so far as to say that he is not the best starting pitcher in the rotation (we'll save the debate on who is for another time). Fausto's record dipped to 3-6. One way to look at that is that he is only three games under .500. Another way is to say that he has lost twice as many as he has won. His ERA has ballooned to 5.31. Some will say that these are poor measures of a pitcher's performance, that there is too much luck involved. I say baseball is about winning games and the easiest way to win a game is to score more runs than the other guys. Maybe it's time to call Fausto something other than our ace.

Have I mentioned recently that I hate losing? Remember that guy who had not won a start since the Bush administartion? Well, JoJo Reyes threw the first complete game of his career and limited the Tribe to a single run. But at least Chad Durbin got to give up a couple of garbage runs. That keeps his season long streak of crappy pitching alive. Nice.

Let's get those kids up. Super two concerns should be moot by week's end.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl 05.31.11 - Sasha Jackson

Remember the name... Hell, who cares about the name. Remember the body.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Clip Joint Blows

Scott Barnes

Scott Barnes did his job, five solid innings allowing just a run (solo HR) on four hits and a walk with 9 punch outs. Scottie has a 3.21 ERA over his last three stars to lower his season mark to 5.12 and the nine K's represent a AAA best. He left in line for the win with a 4-1 lead. Then the bullpen happened.

Justin Germano, horrific in two appearances since his DFA, surrendered a solo dinger to the first man he faced, another run on a two out single and was responsible for the lead runner when Nick Hagadone gave up the lead on a three run shot in the 7th. Awful. Germano (13.50) has nowhere to go but the scrap heap. Hagadone (3.86) was making just his fifth appearance for Columbus, so some growing pains are to be expected, but you certainly cannot like the walk that immediately preceded the game's biggest moment.

At the dish, Jared Goedert (.083), after his official activation from the DL and option to the minors, launched a solo home run for his first AAA hit of the season. Goedert remains on the 40-man roster, taking the final open spot. Cord Phelps (.319) added two singles to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Luis Valbuena (.292) provided three hits and an RBI. On the dissapointing side, Lonnie Chinsenhall continued to slump. Since hitting his 5th home run of the season on May 26th, Chinsenhall (.269) is 1-for-17 with 5 strikeouts.

Zach McAllister looks for his 8th straight win of 2011 when toes the rubber for the Clippers against Durham tomorrow at 7:05p.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Austin Adams tossed another quality start as the Aeros defeated Richmond 3-2. Adams (2.51) did not get the decision and his season record remains locked at 4. Excepting two starts in which he did not make it through the 2nd inning, Austin (5 IP, 4 H, R, 5 BB, 5 K) has an ERA of 1.62 in 2011. Even including the stinkers his OBA is .249 and his K/9 sits at 9.84.

Keep an eye on Anthony Gallas, a Strongsville native and Kent State grad, who was signed by the Tribe as an undrafted free agent last season. Gallas had 2 more hits, including a double and an RBI, for the Captains today and is raking at .355 on the year. 27 of the 23-year old outfielder's 60 hits (22 2B, 5 HR) have been for extra bases and his OPS is a slick .997. From everything I hear, Gallas will be earning a ticket to Kinston in the near future.

Cheers.

While I Was Sminking

Justin Masterson in May: 0-3, 3.79 ERA. Not too bad, simply a grand departure from his 5-0, 2.18 April. The statistical concern is the opponents batting average, .279 vs. .217. That is quiet a few more hits. I suppose that it was unrealistic to expect Masterson, who had been the definition of inconsistent coming into 2011, to cruise through the campaign unmolested. Justin's frame is prone to a variety of erratic movements, any one of which can rob him of his ability to repeat his delivery. Over the season's first month, he was remarkable in his avoidance of such complications and, while May has brought some regression, he still has continued to produce at the highest level of his big league career. Long and short, he is no longer on my fantasy team, but I would not worry about him as a key piece of a division leading starting rotation.

Yeah, that's right the Tribe is still in first, comfortably so. While the Indians have lost four of five, the second place Tigers (a robust 26-26) have dropped 7 of 10. Thus, even mired in their least successful stretch of the season, the good guys have maintained a six game cushion on the Central. The key is for Manny Acta's boys to bounce back. They took care of business on Saturday to avoid a prolonged losing streak and the series that begins tonight in Toronto is just as important. In my eyes, we need two of three and a sweep would be wicked awesome.

A minute on Saturday's game. It was great to see the power from Matt LaPorta, but the eye popping numbers came from the bullpen. While we are all aware of how effective it has been as a whole, to see the ERAs between Carlos Carrasco and Chris Perez run 1.42-1.19-1.02 is nearly mind boggling. I am sure you can guess what comes next, perhaps the most reliable exhibition of the year, Vinnie Pestano is nasty.

There are a couple of causes for concern. Grady Sizemore is 0-for-12 with seven K's since his return from the disabled list to drop his season average to .244. Maybe Acta was batting him #1 because he knew something we did not about Grady's psychology. Sizemore has hit sixth in each of the last three games after clipping .286 from the leadoff spot. Jack Hannahan's average has continued to plummet as well. We were likely spoiled by Jack's .273/.349/.481 slash line in April and his numbers in May (.174/.260/.203) have balanced his season to career norms. He is one for his last 14 and is now hitting .226. Don't get me wrong, I did the guy the most and would like nothing better than to have a lineup around him that allowed the man to bat .230 and play stellar defense. Unfortunately, the Tribe has scored more than 3 runs exactly three times over their last 11 games (5-6) and making use of an gold-glove, no-hit player at third is a luxury that the team cannot afford.

One possible solution to the offensive woes, one that is overdue, would be the promotion of Cord Phelps. Phelps put together another three-hit, 3-RBI game in the Clippers 6-5 win yesterday. Cord is batting .368 over a 13-game hitting streak and has a .940 OPS and 38 RBI on the season. I would not suggest calling him and instantly plugging him in as the everyday third baseman, but having the option of an offensive minded player in the mix adds a dynamic that the big club is sorely lacking. Jared Goedert may also eventually be a possibility, but, still technically rehabbing, he is off to an awful 0-for-9 start with the Clippers, featuring four strikeouts.

Nick Hagadone, on the other hand, has throw magnificently since he was moved up from AA Akron. Nick had stellar numbers for the Aeros (2-1, 1.59, .175 OBA, 9.53 K/9, 0.93 WHIP) has been just as impressive at AAA. Hagadone threw two shutout innings on Saturday in his 4th appearance for the Clips. He is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a save. His meta stats are even better with 11.37 K/9, a 0.63 WHIP and a .130 OBA. Many speculate that he will be a viable option by August. I say he will be the next bullpen arm to make the lake.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Adam Miller picked up his first pro win since 2007 by pitching a scoreless 9th inning in Akron's 2-1 victory yesterday. Miller, making his first AA appearance on his epic rehab trail, picked up for Joe Gardner, who hurled a gem. Gardner (3.46) put up his best start of the season, allowing a run on six hits over 8 frames. He walked one and struck out six, rebounding from a start in which he failed to get out of the 5th and surrendered nine runs.

Steven Wright took the loss for Lake County on Saturday, despite not allowing an earned run. All five West Mchigan's runs came across in a mistake plagued second inning that featured two errors and two hit batsmen. Wright (1.51) made in through only four innings in suffering his first loss of 2011. He allowed six hits and two walks while fanning three and tossing his 4th wild pitch of the season. The error that opened the door for the aforementioned rally was by second baseman Nick Bartolone, his 16th of the year. The 2010 6th round selection had made each of his previous 15 errors at short, where his fielding percentage sits at .901. Unfortunately the 20-year old is not contributing with the stick either, batting .192 with a .499 OPS.

FotB Tyler Tufts earned his second AA victory on Saturday. Tyler (2.30) pitched and inning and two thirds of clean ball, allowing two hits and striking out one. Although his OBA is rather high (.288) he had been getting the key outs and had walked just 2 in 15.2 innings.

Cheers.

Tressel Out!

Jim Tressel has resigned as the head football coach of The Ohio State University. Following months of cover-ups and revelations of impropriety by the coach that returned the program to the national elite, Tressel submitted his letter of resignation on Monday. I guess Ray Small was in his dog house for a reason.

Luke Fickel, already tabbed as the head man for the first five games of 2011, will serve as the "interim" head coach for the entire season. According to Tressel's contract, the university does not owe the former skipper any severance, either in dollars or benefits, in the event of his resignation.

Hopefully this move will quiet the media storm surrounding the situation and allow Fickel and the team a measure of calm to prepare for what is sure to be a harrowing fall slate.

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