Clip Joint Road Trip Is Over

And the Clippers won every game.  Luck, good or bad, didn't have a damn thing to do with it.  Columbus has succeeded in the simplest manner, with excellent pitching, timely offense and solid defense.  It sounds trite, but the Clip ship is firing on all cylinders.  Yesterday, the staff allowed 12 runs and the offense went nutso with 18.  Tonight, Zach McAllister surrendered only two and the offense put up eight anyway.  In securing his fifth straight win to begin 2011, Zach (3.08 ERA) produced his longest start so far, going 8 full innings.  He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out five.  Over his last three starts McAllister has averaged seven innings per with an ERA of 1.71.  Carlton Smith struck out the side in the 9th and is still unscored upon in 12.2 innings.  Columbus is now 21-5, the best in all of minor league baseball.

As noted, the offense didn't slouch.  Keeping the habit of the big inning, the Clippers put five on the board in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Jason Kipnis (.276) was the star at the plate with two hits and 3 RBI.  Luis Valbuena (.300) extended his hit streak to 8 games, while Cord Phelps (.289) broke an 0-for-16 string with a 6th inning double.  Chad Huffman drove in two and leads the team with 20 on the season.

Lehigh Valley brings top prospect Domonic Brown, HOF manager Ryne Sandberg and former Indian/current pitching coach Rod Nichols to town on Thursday.  The Clips will offer Corey Kluber as their starter.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Another outstanding start for Michael Goodnight (gotta love the name!) this evening.  Goodnight (2.27) tossed six innings for the second straight start and evened his record at 2-2.  He walked two and fanned ten.  A 1st inning single plated Lansing's only run and the Lake County staff did not allow the Lugnuts another hit.  The opposition is batting a cool .150 against Goodnight in 2011.  Kudos to Michael.

St Ignatius grad Derek Dietrich comes to Eastlake tomorrow with his Bowling Green Hot Rods for a three game set.  Dietrich had cooled some from a torrid start, but a 3-for-3 game tonight elevated his average back to .328.  Derek smacked his fourth dinger and drove in three to bring his season total to 14.  Despite the minor slump, his OPS remains at 1.002.  He has been playing shortstop although the Tampa organization projects him more as a second baseman.  Dietrich can also play third but the Rays have a third baseman, right?  Whatshisname?

St Eds graduate Stetson Allie, the Pirates second round pick a year ago, remains in extended spring training even though first rounder Jameson Tallion has been activated to the West Virginia Power.  No word on when Allie might get the call, but the word from the Pittsburgh brass is that there are absolutely no injury concerns.  After his pro debut was shortened to 2 innings by rain, Taillon made his second start yesterday throwing four scoreless and mowing down six.

Cheers.

Only In America...

Would a nameless, fictional character figure it out a decade before the military.  ;-j

Do Not Try This At Home

Folger's Jingle - watch more funny videos

I guess this guy is a trained professional because I did exactly what he did and it did not work out well.  Three words: Burned.  Anal.  Column.

Pretty Girl 05.03.11 - Brooke Nevin

The only way that Breakout Kings could be better is if she starts making out with Serinda Swan.

Clip Joint Is Downright Offensive

It was bound to happen.  Scott Barnes (5.40 ERA) finally showed that his relative inexperience on his was to surrendering seven runs in five innings.  For a team that had run off eleven straight wins, thanks in large part to a spectacular stretch of pitching, it must have come as quite to a shock to watch their starter surrender four gopher balls and trail 9-6 going into the 7th inning.  I guess it was the good kind of shock.  The Clips tied it up in the seventh and used a nine run 8th to turn this one into a laugher.  Josh Judy (5.56) survived a brief Charlotte comeback attempt in the 9th, making the final 18-12.  Jensen Lewis (1.69) allowed his first two runs of the season, but pitched well enough to earn his third win in a week.  There were 37 combined hits in the game.

I could try to use words to describe the offensive explosion, but I used them all up when Columbus scored 19 against Louisville in the second game of this 12 game win streak.  Fine, I'll try.  If I had to pick an MVP at the dish it would be Ezequiel Carrera (.314) who notched four hits and 4 RBI (2 R, SB).  The rest of the lineup did make my decision difficult.  Lonnie Chisenall (.275) had three hits and two RBI while both Luis Valbuena (.303) and Luke Carlin (.346) added two hits and 3 RBI.  Jason Donald (.412, 2 H, 2 R, 2 RBI) smashed his first homer of the year.  Jerad Head had three hits and three runs scored to raise his batting average to to .379!

Yeah, yeah, 12 in a row.  TonyIPI qualifies all 24 guys on the roster as major league worthy.  Personally, I might quibble with Eric Berger and Mr. Head.  Wes Hodges doesn't make a good case batting .156, but the point is sound.  The big club is winning and the farm system is bursting at the seams with excess talent, if there can be such a thing.  Should the Tribe maintains its winning ways into July, plenty of trade chips will be available to snag a piece or two for the stretch run.  This is also why we bid...

A fond farewell to two time minor league MVP Jordan Brown.  Brown was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers today to open a spot for the recently returned Josh Rodriguez.  One of my fondest baseball memories will always be talking with Jordan on the eve of his promotion to the bigs last season.  If you have never seen the look in someone's eyes as his dream is about to come true, it is simply indescribable.  The very best to Jordan Brown, a true class act, as he chases a return trip to the Show.  I don't know about you, but it feels pretty stange to me that he's gone.

Columbus closes out in Charlotte tomorrow at 7:15p with Zach McAllister chasing his 5th win.  The team takes Wednesday off before they begin a home stand with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg and his Lehigh Valley IronPigs coming to town.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Whoever thought so much good news could come out of a 10-9 walk-off loss?  Akron's Jordan Henry (.338) slashed five hits, scored three runs, stole two bases, and, just for good measure, a pair of RBI.  Chun Chen (.295) continued his tear with two doubles and 3 RBI.  Over his last five games, Chen is batting .450 with all four of his season's home runs and nine runs batted in.  His OPS is just silly at 1.700.  On the mound, CC Lee (3.52) finally seems to be settling in, throwing 2.2 scoreless and striking out five.  Good stuff.

The Steven Wright knuckleball show rolled through Lansing, Michigan tonight and the Lugnuts did not enjoy it one bit.  Wright (2.63) gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits over five innings.  The ball was dancing as walked three and fanned just as many.  It seems that Wright is becoming more comfortable with the pitch with each outing, expect him at Kinston by mid-season.

Cheers.

Flick to Click: Sleeping Beauty

This ain't your grandma's Sleeping Beauty.  Premiers at Cannes this month.

Pretty Girl Update! - Anna Kendrick

There might have been words. I didn't notice.

Pretty Girl 05.02.11 - Summer Glau

Someday I hope that we erotically beat the crap out of each other. ;-j

Clip Joint At 11

Lost in the excitement over the Indians' winning ways is the streak by their AAA affiliate.  The Clipper have taken 11 straight, the last six of those on the road.  Just like the big club, the key has been pitching.  The Columbus pitching staff has posted a 2.72 ERA during the streak and, excluding the recently DFA'ed Jess Todd, the bullpen has been even better at 1.64.  True to form, David Huff gave up 3 runs on 4 hits over seven innnings to earn his third win and Frank Herrmann struck out five of the six men he faced to finish up a 9-3 victory.

On a day when their hottest hitter stranded seven men on base the rest of lineup carried the weight.  Chad Huffman's 0-for-5 was scarcely noticed as Jason Donald (.417) stroked three hits and drove in just as many.  Luke Carlin (.340) scored 2 runs and netted 2 RBI, Jerad Head (.361) knocked three singles and three more Clippers (Carrera, Chisenhall, Kipnis) had two hits and a ribbie. 

The four game series continues on Monday at 7:15 with, wait, I got this one, um... Scott Barnes on the bump.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Austin Adams got right back on the horse following a start in which he retired just 2 of the eight men he faced.  Today, Adams went seven strong, allowing a run on 3 hits and 3 walks and striking out 8.  He evens his record at 2-2.

Nick Hagadone followed Adams and threw another 1.1 scoreless.  That's 14.2 for the season with a .157 OBA and a 9.5 K/BB ratio.  Hagadone continues to build his case for promotion, although, with the aforementioned Columbus 'pen performance, it may be awhile.

Chun Chen's bat has truly awoken as he smashed two more round trippers.  Chen (.288) had three hits, three runs, 3 RBI to go along with 2 walks.  Chen has been batting cleanup all season long and has finally started to show why.  Leadoff man Jordan Henry (.283) had three hits himself and stole his 7th base.

Drew Pomeranz may still be without his first pro win, but the rest of his numbers are fantastic.  Pomeranz threw five and a third today, allowing an unearned run on four hits.  Pom walked 2 and fanned seven.  Over 23.1 in 2011 he has a WHIP of 0.86 and has struck out 34.  The organization's plan is to keep Drew on a similar schedule to that of Alex White, which means he should be in Akron by June and Columbus to start 2012.

Cheers.