Pretty Girl 12.04.11 - Mircea Monroe

Have mercy, Mircea!

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #28 RHP Kyle Blair

6'2", 236 lbs, 23 in 2012

2011 Stats (Rk Arizona/ A- Lake County): 3-5, 5.16, 1.48 WHIP, .259 OBA, 4.4 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

2011 was a lost season for this 2010 4th round pick.  Kyle came out of the University of San Diego as a nearly fully formed product and expectation were high.  Although his fastball has a somewhat pedestrian velocity (90-92), Blair effectively uses three off-speed pitches.  His slider is the true out pitch and, without getting into minutia, is seen by most as a Major League ready swing-and-miss offering as of now.  In addition to the plus slide piece, Kyle employs a change that has plus potential and a 12-6 curve that can be simply devastating at times.  Given all of the polish, he was expected to make a brief stop in Eastlake last spring before joining the Kinston starting rotation.  Unfortunately, injury and inconsistency intervened.  After being sidelined with a right knee issue, Blair did not start again after June 26th, the Indians organization choosing to reduced his workload and pitch him from the pen.  Even before the stint on the DL, he was not performing to expectation, with his lack of command the greatest concern (15 WP & 40 BB in in 82 IP).  Kyle has had a history of injuries, as an oblique strain at USD retarded the development of his fastball control.  As a high-floor, low-ceiling kind of guy (by that I mean that he is about as good as he is going to get); he must produce now.  Despite his underwhelming 2011, Blair will likely start next season with the newly affiliated Carolina Mudcats (replacing Kinston).  The formula for success is simple: stay healthy, spot the fastball and get that WHIP down (by this I mean reduce walks, there is nothing wrong with 81 H in 82 IP).  If Kyle can follow the script, there is no reason that he cannot be at AAA by the end of 2012.  If not, his future will become quite limited.

Up Next: #27 - RHP Toru Murata

Pretty Girl 12.03.11 - Jenny Agutter

In case you haven't noticed, I've become enamored with a few 70's starlets.  What an age.  Except for the *ahem* hedge trimming issues.

Pretty Girl 12.02.11 - Jane Seymour

Bond calls her Solitaire, but you should call her Kitty Kat.

Pretty Girl 12.01.11 - Traylor Howard

I've been playing a lot of Uncharted recently (I'm on #2 cuz I like to buy on the cheap) and, should they ever make a cinematic adaptation, this is the chick to play the blonde (her name, I think, is Elena).  Do it.

I'd Cut My Balls Off For Her

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls from Katherine Heigl

AC/DC cowers in fear.

Pretty Girl 11.30.11 - Heather Locklear

The chick deserves mad respect for staying hot for like three decades.  Wow.

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #29 C Alex Lavisky

6'1", 200 lbs, 21 in 2012
Bats: Right, Throws: Right

2011 Stats (A- Lake County/ SSA Mahoning Valley): .203, 13 HR, 52 RBI, .621 OPS, 4.72 K/BB

I have to say that I expected more from Alex in 2011.  The St Ed's grad caught the fireballer Stetson Allie in Lakewood and graduated at about 19 and a half years of age.  Based on thereon, one would think that Lavisky would come into the pros a bit more seasoned than your your average high school draft pick.  He has certainly not shown such maturity thus far.  Alex was given every opportunity to be the everyday catcher for the A- Captains and responded with 184 ABs that included 38 hits (.207), 9 walks and 66 punch-outs.  Ouch.  I mean ouch!  When short season Mahoning Valley opened play in June, Lavisky was sent down.  The move obviously affected him mentally as he batted just .173 to close out the month.  Overall, his numbers in Niles did not show much improvement (K/BB better @ 3.55 vs 7.33, OPS worse @ .604 vs .643).  Perhaps most troubling of all was the degradation of his defensive work.  At Lake County, he caught an abominable 7% (3/42) of basestealers and allowed 8 passed balls.  While his caught stealing percentage improved to a solid 33% for the Scrappers, Alex committed 7 errors and allowed 10 more passed balls.  His season numbers (23% CS, 18 PB, .986 FPCT) are pretty freakin' awful.  To tie a bow on it all, 2011 was an awful season for the young backstop.  Still, the kid is only 21.  Given his defensive struggles and the emergence of 2011 pick Jake Lowery, I would expect Lavisky to spend more time at DH in 2012.  He took the role for 40 games last season and a more consistent placement would allow him to focus more on delivering consistent contact than getting beaten up behind the dish.  Alex still has huge power potential.  If he can shorten his stroke a bit and reduce his swinging strikes, Lavisky is a solid offensive prospect, if still 2-3 years away.

Up Next: RHP Kyle Blair

Pretty Girl 11.29.11 - Holly Peers

Across the pond, the Brits have a magazine called Nuts.  Basically, it's like Maxim, but the chicks are topless.  Pretty cool, right?  Anyway, the medium has bred a new class of pin-up girl.  Holly ranked about 15th in the end of the year poll, but she's my straight up favorite.

I Thought So...

Lance Moore doin' the Bernie.  I still cannot believe that this is a real dance.  (Better video as I can find it.)