Talk About A Pujols!

Apparently, the word on the street is that it's funny and cool to tease adult fans. They don't matter.  Perhaps Albert should have nailed him in the nuts too, that's always good for a laugh.

A Quest Called Tribe

TGFO.  Thank God For Oakland.  The Athletics make our Indians look like the '27 Yankees meet the '95 Braves.  Where to begin...  You all know that I am a bit biased toward Captain Jack Hannahan.  So, we are going to take a look at this.



Jack is now clipping at .447 since August 15th, including the above moon shot and 10 RBI.  I heard Manning say what a great swing Carlos Santana put on his home run.  What we all know is that Big Smooth swings from his heels every time that he bats left-handed and just happened to contact a Trevor Cahill mistake.  Still, Santana is hitting .293 with 6 HR and 20 RBI since July 30th and has joined Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and Jason Kipnis as the only Indians with an .800+ OPS.

Guess who sports an OPS of .694?  I will give you a hint: he now plays for the Columbus Clippers.  That is correct, sir!  Everyone's favorite failed prospect, Matt LaPorta, was optioned down to AAA to make room for Jeanmar Gomez.  Manny Acta was very careful to explain that Matty was not demoted because of his poor production, but, rather, because he played the only position that the Indians are healthy at.  Hmmmm, they do seem to have two third basemen, one of whom has the exact same batting average (.238) as LaPorta.  The brass tacks are that the Tribe preferred to keep Lonnie Chisenhall and his left-handed bat amidst the sea of sinister hitters rather than stick with Matt's right-handed stick.  Allow me to translate: Matt LaPorta was sent down because he was not helping the team.  Sure, he will be back in 2-10 days (no one can confirm for me if the ten day rule still applies in September), yet one would imagine that this is highly indicative of the organization's valuation of a player who was projected as a superstar.

Nice.  Now that I have exhaled, I shall give Jeanmar Gomes the proper respect for a start that I really did not think that he had in him.  The key tonight for Gomez was that he recognized the poor quality of Oakland's lineup and pitched accordingly.  Jeanmar did not mess around, did not nibble.  Rather, he dared the A's to hit and they did not.  Nice coincidence that this spot start (will there be a 2nd?) came against a team that has very little ability to produce runs.  Hopefully, today's outing will give Gomez the confidence and momentum to win a few for the club in September.

Oh, by the way, Grady Sizemore will DH tomorrow for Akron, then play 7 innings in the field on Thursday.  Grady will be re-evaluated on Friday and, if all goes well, will join the Tribe no later than Monday.  Awesome.

And for those who might have missed it, Zeke Carrera is pretty fudgin' fast.  It is a good thing that Jim Thome was not on base ahead of him or Ezequiel likely would have passed him on Kosuke Fukudome's 2 run double.

Here's to beating up on those weaker than us. ;-j

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Maybe next time Manny Acta will choose not to eff up a huge start against Detroit by forcing a starting pitcher to enter in the 14th inning.  Opinions abound (Manning thinks David Huff was "pitching scared" against the Tigers) and mine is that Huff was completely out of rhythm.  Numbers do not lie.  Huff in his screwy 08.20 start: 0-1, 19.29 ERA, 3.43 WHIP, .444 OBA.  The sum total of his other four starts: 2-1, 0.38 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, .184 OBA.  Feel like arguing that the A's have an anemic offense?  Recall that two of the other three opponents were the Red Sox and Angels.  Detroit lost, the Indians sit 5.5 back and, if there is any hope of a September surge, David will have to continue his tremendous work.  Good lookin', man, keep it goin'.

What to say about the bats?  Cord Phelps is 0-for-12 since coming back from Columbus and is down to .155.  I would suspect him to be optioned out when Jeanmar Gomez is added to start tomorrow.  Also, supposedly, Matt LaPorta is a hitter.  You could have fooled me.  Matty is now hitting a meek .238 with a sub-.700 OPS and a 79/20 K/BB ratio.  Are there positives about the offense?

Although he has trouble bunting and generally catching the baseball, Zeke Carrera is pretty damn fast.

Oh, and Vinnie Pestano is back to nasty.  Love it.

Here's to Chris Perez holding onto that 1-2-3 feeling.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Jerad Head made his major league debut on Sunday.  In his very first AB he was credited with a base hit.  Very much like the Indians' season, it was mostly a Pyrrhic victory.  Just as the Tribe's 30-15 start and .500 record mean virtually nothing as they will almost surely miss the post-season, Head's 75 foot dribbled counts as a single, but in no way assures that he can hit big league pitching.  I guess it is kind of cool that Jerad (a 28 year old former undrafted free agent) will go down in the annals with at least one hit.

Space was made for Head on the 40-man roster by transferring Michael Brantley to the 60-day DL, his season is over.  Nick Hagadone was sent back to Columbus, without making an appearance, to open an active roster spot.  Not to worry, Nick will be back in September.  Brantley has dealt with what has now been revealed as a broken hamate bone for several weeks.  The injury is such that it does not inhibit movement, but causes an enormous amount of pain.  With Shin-Soo Choo out for several days with his core issues, the decision was made for Michael to get surgery.  Thereby, the Indians were able to add Head without having to DFA a player.  Recovery time for hamate surgery is 6-9 weeks, so Brantley could be back for the World Series.  ;-j

Strangely, having abandoned all hope of the Tribe overtaking the Tigers, the pain of Sunday's loss was not nearly as acute as the first 64 of 2011.  Well documented is my intense hatred of losing.  Losing, nothing but losing, for as long as I can freakin' remember.  While the defeat still stings, viewing it solely as an L and not as the daily indication that life is pain, sort of takes the venom out of the snake bite.  Although there are plenty of building blocks for next season (especially if Tim Belcher can rebuild Ubaldo Jimenez's delivery), 2012 is a year away and I need a GD win.

Here's to remembering how to hit with runners in scoring position.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Something that you may not know about baseball writers is that they begin composing their pieces in the 6th or 7th inning and if something happens late then they pretty much have to scrap it and start over.  While I am not delusional enough (close) to count myself as one of the brethren, I have been forced to rewrite this about six times.  The first draft led with Hammerin' Jack Hannahan, the middle few with the paragraph below and now, well, I am sure that you agree that Asdrubal Cabrera has earned it.  Breaking out of an 0-for-13 skid AzCab delivered three hits including the game winning shot, on cue from Underwear.  Take a second and drink it in.


(double-click to play)

I do believe that Jim Thome simply being on the field makes it feel like a playoff game and nothing is better than a playoff win.  It took Jimmy seven Indians plate appearances to make solid contact for the first time, but the result was, simply, beautiful.  The sixth inning solo home run, #602 for Thome, tied the game at four and commanded a curtain call from the future Hall of Famer.

Hannahan came through twice with two outs, an RBI single in the second and a two run triple in the 4th.  Since August 12th Jack is rapping at .429.  He also gained the ignominious distinction of becoming the 1000th Tribe hitter to strike out this season.  That leads the league.  Lou Marson quickly followed with #1001 as the Wahoo's squandered a fantastic opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the 6th.  Or was it the 7th?  Yeah, no, the 7th was two K's and a pop-up to strand ducks on the pond.  Classy.

And if you want the textbook definition of ignominious ("deserving or causing public shame") just look at the top of the 7th.  HBP + E3 + "Gas Man" Sipp = 7-4 Royals.  I know Tony has been solid all season, but 8 gopher balls in 53 innings?  Good grief.

Shin-Soo Choo left the game in the middle of the 5th inning after aggravating his strained back or maybe it is "left side soreness."  Regardless, Choo is currently listed as the infamous "day-to-day."  We should all hope that Choo can play again soon, as the Indians have exactly zero additional healthy outfielders left on the 40-man roster.  With September 1 right around the corner, I would not expect him to land on the DL.  Should Choo be sidelined for an extended period the organization will be forced to DFA someone and add an extra outfielder.  Unless Grady Sizemore would be ready (doubtful), either Jerad Head or Travis Buck could be called on with Luis Valbuena the probable odd man out.

In case you missed it earlier, Jeanmar Gomez was scratched from his scheduled start at AAA.  The Clippers brought Paolo Espino back on 3 days rest, so the change was not on a whim.  All signs point to Gomez getting the start on Tuesday against Oakland.  Should Zach McAllister take the ball for Columbus tomorrow, this becomes a foregone conclusion.

Best game of the season.

Here's to PFP.

Cheers.

Jeanmar Gomez Scratched @ Columbus

Expect JG to start Tuesday vs Oakland.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Well, it is now official: Jim Thome is not the second coming of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.  Hopefully, Thome (0-4, 2 K, 0 balls out of the infield) rid his stomach of fluttering butterflies and will come to the park tomorrow ready to mash.  Still, it was beyond awesome to see him wear the Wahoo again. If I had been surfing the NC tonight, I would have made it my business to help welcome Mr. 601 back into the fold.  Serendipitously the Thominator's return fell on Dollar Dog Night and the pairing produced a sellout, just the Tribe's fourth of the campaign.

On the field, the top third of the Indians' lineup combined for a solid 0-for-13.  Asdrubal Cabrera (.281) is hitless in his past 13 AB's and is stuck in his first real slump of the season. At least he has stopped slamming the bat down after every at-bat.  Luckily, Captain Jack Hannahan (2-for-3, RBI, .236) continued to lead the charge.  Jack has hit in 9 of 10 for a .419 clip and turned a couple more of his standard highlights at the hot corner.  I have always said that a huge key to the team's success is the 5-8 portion of the order.  Tonight, they were 7-for-12.  They might have produced another run or two, except Steve Smith has, apparently, forgotten what the stop sign is.  Even Carlos Santana, as he scored run #1, would have been cut down without a fantastic hook slide.  I am all for being aggressive, but maybe you choose not to run on the league leader in outfield assists.  Maybe...

Ubaldo Jimenez claims that he was able to get ahead of hitters tonight.  While this is flagrantly untrue (16 2-0 counts), the first pitch is phenomenally important for the erratic right hander.  Hitters stroke .406 off of Ubaldo on the first pitch, compared to a .331 league average and .310 after a 1-0 count, versus .274 AL wide.  What does this mean?  Simply put, if Jimenez (7 IP, 7 H, ER, BB, 10 K) does not have command of his fastball, cannot throw it in a good spot for strike one, then he is going to get the shit kicked out of him.  Against the Royals, he was able to establish that command after surrendering the blast to Eric Hosmer and escaping a very shaky fourth inning.  During innings 5 through 7, big U fanned five while allowing one hit.  That is the kind of dominance that the organization paid for.  We need that every 5th day.

In case you missed it, Josh Tomlin (sore right elbow) and Michael Brantley (sore right wrist) have ballooned the Indians' disabled to seven players.  LHP Nick Hagadone was in the bullpen tonight, though he will likely depart when Tomlin's spot in the rotation comes up.  Hopefully, Carlos Carrasco is ready to pitch by Tuesday, as neither Jeanmar Gomez nor Zack McAllister seems like a positive choice.

Here's to Matt Underwear whipping his dick out on air.  That one moment of discomfort would be well worth never having to hear him blather again.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Jim Thome is expected in uniform tomorrow.

I do not want to talk about yesterday's game.  It was not televised and nothing positive happened anyway.  Instead, as your Cleveland Indians sit 6 full games back at 63-64, I shall throw some numbers at you to explain what exactly went so horribly wrong after a 30-15 start.  I have officially given up.  That is not to say that I will not cheer on the Tribe, but that sense of hope and joy, the expectation of winning that arose during April has now completely evaporated.  How did our magical season degrade into another of the North Coast's well-worn exercises in disappointment and futility?

Let us tackle this in chunks --

May 24 (30-15, 7 games up) to June 12 (34-29, tied for 1st)

Blame this on the bats.  Batting average: 227, Runs per game: 2.89, OPS: .633, K-to-H: 146-to-136.  As this was the first rough patch, we have all been apt to throw the offense under the bus, regardless of what has gone wrong.  But, wait...

July 3 (44-37, 1.5 games up) to August 7 (56-56, 4 games back)

Hang this on the bullpen with their 7 losses and 4.82 ERA.


Everyone was culpable -

C Perez: (07.09-08.06) 0-2, 2/4 SV 8.64 ERA .333 OBA
Pestano: (07.06-08.02) 0-1 8.00 ERA .308 OBA
Smith: (07.18-08.07) 0-2 5.23 ERA
R Perez: (07.10-08.05) 1-1, 6.00 ERA .297 OBA
Sipp: (06.28-08.02) 3-2 6.17 ERA .283 OBA [(06.28-07.20) 1-2 9.95]

That is an unbelievably rocky stretch for a 'pen that has only dropped 17 games all season while posting a 3.28 ERA.   Every single member simultaneously forgot how to pitch.

August 19 (62-58, 1.5 games back) to August 24 (63-64, 6 games back)

You guessed it, the starting five.  These numbers boggle the mind.  0-5, 9.61 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, .362 OBA, 1.034 OOPS.   Oops is right.

In a nutshell, everything (except for the defense, the Tribe is still 2nd in the league) went to shit.

Here's to the boys pulling up their bootstraps and giving us a September ride.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

The dream is dead. Post-mortem to follow.

Here's to 2012.

Cheers.

The Top 10 Indians Prospects For 2012 (v.1.0)

This list might need a little tweaking after the minor league season ends, but no one else has a top 10 list right now.  I'm here for you guys.  The ranking are based on three criteria: ceiling (how good the player will be if everything goes right), performance (what the player has done as a professional) & proximity (how close the player is to helping the big club).  I have rankings down to 35.  Maybe I'll share the rest later.

Players (Positions, Age, Highest Level, Draft)
1. Francisco Lindor
(SS, 17, None, 2011 1st Round #6)
2. Tony Wolters
(SS, 19, Mahoning Valley, 2010 3rd Round)
3. Nick Hagadone
(LHRP, 25, Columbus, 2007 1st Round #55)
4. Dillon Howard
(RHSP, 19, None, 2011 2nd Round)
5. Felix Sterling
(RHSP, 18, Lake County, Undrafted, Signed 2010)
6. Scott Barnes
(LHSP, 23, Columbus, 8th Round 2008)
7. CC Lee
(RHRP, 24, Columbus, Undrafted, Signed 2009)
8. Austin Adams
(RHSP, 24, Akron, 5th Round 2009)
9. Luigi Rodriguez
(CF, 18, Lake County, Undrafted, Signed 2010)
10. Jake Lowery
(C, 21, Mahoning Valley, 2011 4th Round)

Cheers.

Sometimes It Ain't Pretty At the Clip Joint

CC Lee

This one certainly did not start out well.  Mitch Talbot (1-1, 5.40) did indeed get the start, though he retired only six hitters en route to giving up 6 earned on 6 hits.  The three run bomb in the 1st did not set a positive tone.  Fortunately, the relief corps was up to the task of holding the Red Wings right where they were.  The combination of Matt Langwell (3 IP, 5 H, ER, 3K), CC Lee (2 IP, H, BB, 4 K), & Zach Putnam (2 IP, H, 3 K) would allow just one more run in their 7 innings out of the pen.  Lee (5-1, 1.99) returned from a family funeral in Taiwan and picked up right where he left off.  CC has excelled since his promotion to Columbus (3-0, 1.14) and significantly elevated his organizational standing.  In fact, he was the piece that San Diego asked in exchange for Ryan Ludwick.  The Indians declined.  Lee, whose most eye popping statistic is his 12.93 K/9, will most likely not see time on the lake this season, though he will compete for a bullpen spot next spring.  Langwell, tremendously effective for AA Akron (4-1, 2.66), has labored since joining Columbus (7.27 ERA, .342 OBA), but today's outing was certainly encouraging and good for his 1st AAA W.

I am not quite sure who reminded Jared Goedert that he does not always need to swing for the fences.  Whoever it was, Goedert (.252) responded with two doubles, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored on his way to posting a 5-for-5 night and raising his batting average over .250 for the first time all year.  Also, from nowhere, Tim Fedroff (.258) had 3 hits (2 2B) and five RBI.  Ho hum, 2 more hits and 2 more RBI for Chad Huffman (.251) who is mashing at .550 (22-for-40) with 11 XBH (8 2B, 3B, 2 HR) and 11 rib-eyes during his current 12 game hit streak.  Luis Valubena (.304) drove home 2 runs of his own.

The Clips remain in Rochester tomorrow for a 6:05p tilt with Joe Martinez taking the pill.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Friends from Youngstown like to call them the Crappers, but these Mahoning Valley guys are anything but shitty.

Tony Wolters -- Poised as the top prospect currently under contract with the Indians, Wolters has impressed all onlookers in his first full professional season.  On top of a great number line (.311, HR, 17 RBI, 17 SB), Tony has tremendous tools (+speed, +arm, +bat speed) and intangibles that causes coaches to rave.  He possesses not only outstanding instincts and baseball IQ, but also a professionalism of well beyond his 19 years.  Wolters has been even better of late, batting .400 over his last 10, including a 5-hit game on August 3rd.  Expect Tony to be an elite prospect in 2012 and begin the campaign at Low-A Lake County, although he will not stay there long.

Jake Lowery -- My pick as the top Indians catching prospect, the 2011 4th round pick is coming off of a Junior season at James Madison that earned him both All-America honors and the Johnny Bench award (top collegiate catcher).  Lowery came out of the gate hot (.313, 2 HR, 10 RBI in June) and has tailed off some since (.258, 5 HR, 36 RBI overall), but seems to be back on track of late.  Jake is 3-for-8 with 3 RBI in his last two games, with all of those hits being doubles.  The Tribe system does not have substantial catching depth at the middle levels and Lowery is fantastic behind the plate, so it is entirely possible that he will skip to High-A Kinston in 2012.

Alex Lavisky -- A local product (St Edward's) and former battery mate of Pirates fireballer Stetson Allie, Lavisky has endured some substantial struggles in 2011.  He began the year at Lake County with mixed results (.207, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 66/38 K/H) before descending to the Scrappers.  Alex's performance was expected to improve, yet it has remained pretty much the same (.207, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 48/40 K/H).  While he is an asset behind the plate, his discipline (114 K, 25 BB in 377 AB) is a huge concern.  One would image that Lavisky will get the bulk of the catching duties with the Captains next season.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

I guess that Manny Acta must read the blog.  Tonight, with the tying run on base, Acta chose to bring in Raffy Perez to face Tsyoshi Nishioka.  What did we learn yesterday?  Nishioka hits .171 against lefties.  What happened?  Raef threw 3 pitches.  Nishioka swung three times and made exactly no contact before slinking back to the bench.  I do not have many positive comments to make on Manny these days, but I will say that he is not a big enough dolt to make the same mistake in consecutive games.

How about a little love for Josh Tomlin?  Dude went out and tossed another beauty.  Tomlin (12-5, 3.97) was masterful in allowing just three baserunners through the first six before Matt LaPorta's dumb ass (we shall get to that) and a healthy respect for Jim Thome ushered him from the mound.  Still, Josh lowered the fifth best WHIP in the AL to 1.038.  I, unrepentantly, love watching Josh Tomlin pitch.  Command seems to have returned to his cutter (15 of 24 first pitch strikes) and he has shown a noticeable progression back to form over his last three starts.  While I would have left him in today, I begrudge Acta nothing for making a move rather than just watching.  By the way, Tomlin has now pitched 5+ innings in his first 36 career starts (different than the appearances record that he continues to extend), one shy of the MLB record held by former Indian John Farrell.

So, we know LaPorta is an imbecile.  Even so, each day brings a new opportunity for Matty to show what a bag of mulch he truly is.  Today, after misplaying Justin Morneau's smash to begin the 7th, LaPorta took a Sunday stroll down the first base line, allowing Morneau to reach second, the first Twin to do so all night.  And then, of course, Morneau would score Minnesota's only run.  I will call it now.  Matt LaPorta is a colossal bust.  I no longer hold any hope for his eventual success.  He is the object of my ire and, by far, the most aggravating Indian.

I complain quite a bit, so I will leave with what I dug the most about tonight's game -

- Asdrubal Cabrera cracking his 20th career home run (accounting for all 3 Tribe runs), after belting just 18 in his career prior to 2011.

- Jason Donald.  His fire.  His attitude.  His hustle.  And the way he stays right on the ball before lasering a line drive.

- Captain Jack's phenomenal play to begin the 4th.

- 1-2-3 from Chris Perez to Jimmy Thome.  Nice.


Here's to sweeping our first series since Pittsburgh in mid-June. (Hey, I was there!)

Cheers.

Clip Joint's Outta Control

Zach McAllister started both games of a double header yesterday.  Andrew Baldwin, Rochester's starter in Game 1, threw 138 pitches.  Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall had hits for the Clippers.  Confused?  You should be.

Friday afternoon saw the completion of a June 10th game between the Clippers and Red Wings that began in Columbus and was suspended due to a rain storm, the likes of which I had never before seen.  IL scheduling being what it is, the game was completed in Rochester.  Baseball rules being what they are, none of the statistics became official until the contest passed the four and a half inning mark.

Thus, McAllister (9-3, 3.27) was finally credited with the work he did back in June (3 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K) in addition to the performance that he actually turned in yesterday.  It was nearly a gem.  Zach shut out the Red Wings over the first 6 frames of the 7 inning game, before allowing four hits in the 7th and leaving one out shy of a complete game victory.  The outing (6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 6 K) was still good enough to earn him his first victory since June 21st.  The combined line of 9.2 IP, 0 BB, 10 K, not too shabby.

Brett Brach, who you might remember from a dazzling spot start with the Aeros early in the season, entered with the resumption and tossed 4.2 innings of solid ball (6 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K).  Brach notched the W and has now won at three different levels of the Indians' organization in 2011.

Nick Hagadone struggled with his control (1.1 IP, 3 BB, 2 K) in closing out game 1, but still earned his 4th save.  Despite the wildness on Friday, the issue of command has seemingly resolved itself for Hagadone (2.73 BB/9).  All of his numbers look great (6-2, 2.59, .212 OBA, 9.62 K/9) and I would be surprised if Nick, already on the 40-man, does not see time with the big club in September.

At the dish, Jerad Head (.282) finally got credit for home run #22.  With 66 RBI, an .862 OPS and a right handed stick, Head is the top candidate to fill the empty spot on the 40-man, should the Tribe not make a waiver wire deal.  Cord Phelps (.301) led the charge in game 2 with a two run, first inning shot and Chad Huffman (.249) continued to tattoo the baseball (2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI, .594 over his last 10).

The Clips took both games (6-3, 4-3) and now sit at 76-45 (.628), tied for the 2nd most wins in all of minor league ball.

The Clippers have not announced their starter for tonight's 7:05 tilt (it is David Huff's spot, but he starts for the Indians tomorrow).  If I was forced to guess, I would go with Mitch Talbot.  ;-j

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Here is the cream of the crop for the Captains.  Make the drive and check them out.

Felix Sterling -  Felix spent the first half of 2011 at extended spring training, before making six appearances for the AZL Indians (2-3, 4.10, 10.59 K/9).  He was promoted to Lake County in late July and has made three starts thus far (2-1, 2.20).  Sterling is a big kid (6'3", 200) and has explosive stuff.  The challenge going forward will be command.  While he has limited Midwest League hitters to a .179 clip and fanned 13 in 16.1 innings, he has walked 13 as well.  His last outing produced more than half of those (5 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 BB, 5 K) and resulted in his first loss.  The Tribe will bring the 18 year old along slowly, so expect 2 or 3 more starts this year and a return to Eastlake in 2012.

Luigi Rodriguez - L-Rod tore up the AZL (.379, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 12 SB, .987 OPS) before a July promotion and has entered a period of adjustment at the new level.  His numbers (.256, 5 SB) are not bad, but it is clear that the 18 year old has never competed against this type of talent before.  There are no shackles on Rodriguez, he will advance as quickly as his performance does.  Similar to Sterling, expect him back at High-A in 2012.

LeVon Washington - 2011 has been an injury plagued and frustrating season for the 2010 2nd round pick.  LeVon did not get into game action until mid-May and has just returned from another month on the shelf.  While his production has clearly been affected (.228, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 13 SB, .667 OPS), he delivered an inside-the-park home run yesterday, in his first game back.  Overall, Washington is 8-for-17 (.471) in his last five with 5 runs scored and 4 RBI.  Where the 19 year old ends up in 2012 will be entirely dependent on what he shows over the next month and his ability to stay healthy.

Kyle Blair - The 2010 4th rounder was not expected to spend this much time at Low-A.  Blair, who turns 23 next month, has dealt with a nagging right knee injury all season and it has notably affected his performance.  The hefty (6'3", 236) lefty has sturggled (3-5, 6.09, 1.66 WHIP) through 16 appearances and has only just returned to active duty.  Kyle pitched 2 innings out of the pen last night and showed rust (3 H, ER), though he also avoided much damage (0 BB, K).  He does not have much time left to make his mark in 2011 and, at this point, it is a coin flip as to whether be begin 2012 with LC or Kinston.

Michael Goodnight - Dude is not really a prospect, but I love his name, so we shall take a look.  A promising season (5-4, 2.49 through mid-June) for the 2010 13th round has circled straight down the crapper.  Over his last 10 starts Goodnight is 0-7 with a 7.48 ERA and a .318 OBA.  It had been ever worse before a solid outing on the 8th (5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB 4 K).  In the four starts prior Michael had posted a 10.69 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP.  The end result of these streaks has been a mediocre statistical line (5-11, 4.45, .234 OBA) and a sense of urgency for the right-hander to deliver down the stretch to ensure his place in the system.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

I can no longer abide by Manny Acta's sins of omission.  Tsuyoshi Nishioka bats .245 against righties.  Not great.  Guess what he hits off of left-handers.  Go ahead.  I will wait.  Ready.  One.  Seventy.  One.  .171.

One play does not make a game.  That I understand.  We could banter all night about how the Tribe failed to take advantage of the Twins' defensive miscues of the 6th and 7th.  It is true; I admit it.  The boys should have had more runs on the board.  Still, Acta ostensibly paces the dugout while he actually straddles the fence.  "Should I pull him or should I not?  I just do not know."  Personally, I would have yanked Justin Masterson (7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K) after Jim Thome's at-bat.  The key is not just to throw your starter until he is absolutely exhausted, it is giving your team the best opportunity for success during every single circumstance of the game.  Obviously, Bat had lost his good stuff, his command at the very least.  If you leave him in to get that second out, you certainly make the move with Nishioka coming up. 

I have often said that managers only have a pronounced effect on game outcome during the post-season.  Good managers get wins and poor managers take losses.  Manny Acta has caused me to drastically reconsider my position.  The Indians hang around in nearly every contest.  Therefore, the regrettable non-calls of a man who seems more committed to his fashion eye-wear than to fasioning victories have an exaggerated effect.  How does any sane human being take the bunt off of Jason Kipnis with runners on first and second, nobody out in the 6th, in a 1-0 game?  How do you not put those two runners in scoring position for your best fucking hitter?  Acta will come out after the game and drop his usual line of bullshit about how all decisions can be second guessed and how the team had other opportunities to win the game.  You know what, shithead?  Your job is to give them more chances to win, not take them away.  Your job is to understand each situation and act accordingly.  I am not second guessing.  If I sit idly by, wait for Manny to do what he will and then chastise him if it does not work, that is second guessing.  Even if Masterson (9-7, 2.69) had gutted his way through the 8th, the success would have been in spite of Acta, not because of him.  I call the guy out in real time because he is, incontrovertibly, a fucking idiot.

Thank god for Carlos Santana (.375, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 4 2B, 4 multi-hit games in his last 8) and a little bit of luck.

Here's to a lot more of both.

Cheers.

Strike Up the Band And Drop the Confetti

Austin Kearns has been DFAed!

Oh yeah, and Shin Soo Choo was activated from the DL.  I would guess that Kosuke Fukudome will move to left.

Cheers.

UPDATE:  I did not see this one coming.  Kusoke to center.  Ezequiel Carrera batting 9th in left.  Choo in right... leading off?  I guess we shall see.

Youth Is Wasted On the Young

Siddown, Bryce.

A Quest Called Tribe

It was nice to see Asdrubal Cabrera step up into a leadership role.  It was nice to see Fausto Carmona settle in and give the team a chance to win.  It was nice to see AzCab and Carlos Santana crack clutch hits off of, arguably, the best pitcher in the league.  Still, something must be done about the Lonnie Chisenhall situation and I do not refer to the baserunning blunder.  I repeat, on nearly a daily basis, that his throwing motion is not sustainable at the hot corner.  The Chiz Kid was drafted as a shortstop and he continues to throw as such.  The errant toss that led to the Tigres' first run is a perfect example why he must learn a proper motion.  It is not as if he cannot throw overhand; I have seen him do so on balls behind the bag.  If Lonnie can make that throw accurately then Az does not need to chew out Santana for letting the ball go to the dugout.  If Austin Jackson does not reach on the gaff, then Carmona's head stays screwed on and, not only is the first inning run averted, but the three in the second likely disappear as well.  If Fausto limits Detroit to 2 runs, instead of 4, then the clutch hits equal a series sweep and a one game deficit.  For want of a nail...

In happier news, Anthony Reyes has been released.  Part of the 2009 opening day rotation, Reyes had pitched just 13 minor league innings since going down 8 starts in.  He had been rehabbing from a variety of injuries (including Tommy John surgery) with the AZL team and had made three successful appearances in recent weeks.  Ultimately, the organization made the decision that Anthony would have better opportunities elsewhere and cut him loose after paying him for two and a half years of recovery.

Shin Soo Choo started in right and played all nine innings for the Lake County Captains.  Choo went 0-for-4 with a K.  He did pick up an RBI, but it came on an 8th inning fielder's choice in a bases loaded, none out situation, trailing by 2 runs.  Shin Soo is hitless in eight trips for the LCC,

In case you are wondering, Michael Brantley sat for the 4th time in 7 games thanks to a sore right wrist.  He did not look healthy last night.  Matt LaPorta, on the other hand, spent a second straight game on the bench, not due to injury, but rather because he is a friggin' idiot.  Manny Acta must be as sick of it as I am.

Props to Jason Kipnis on becoming the first Indians' rookie with 5 hits, 4 runs and 3 RBI in a game.  Kip is also just the third Tribe player ever to post a five hit game within his first 16 big league contests.  Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else has ever heard of the other two.

Here's to a mistake free Friday night (and hopefully a win).

Cheers

P.s. For a some great shots of briefly tenured Indians, click here.

Nooner At the Clip Joint

Jared Goedert

So I was all geared up for Shin Soo Choo (maybe a bit too much).  Primped and primed to head to the ballpark, all I needed was some official confirmation that he would, indeed, be suiting of for the Clippers today.  After checking all of my online sources and finding a big pile of bupkis, I rang the Clips office.  The chickadee on the other end enlightened me that the front office had no knowledge of Choo coming to town.  Clinging to hope, I checked the LCC site again only to discover a large display promoting that the Tribe's right fielder would be appearing tonight at Classic Park.  Damn.

At least I did my diligence and was not forced to needlessly sit through another Columbus loss.  Jeanmar Gomez (10-5, 2.45) turned in a reasonable start (6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) as the offense remained stagnant.  Only a fifth inning solo shot from Jared Goedert (.232) put the Clips on the board.  Goedert has been raking of late (.367, 3 HR, 9 BB in his last 10) and remains a fringe prospect in the organization.  We should no longer expect him in Cleveland, but he does provide nice depth at the corner infield positions and some solid power from the right side of the plate.  Luis Valbuena (.308) added 2 hits and a walk.

The Clippers head to Rochester tomorrow.  Up at 5:05p is the resumption of the suspended game from June 10th, followed by Zach McAllister on the hill in the regularly scheduled game.  Choo might make the trip.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Drew Pomeranz and Abner Abreu are long gone, but here are a few quick updates on the little Indians.

Toru Murata - As Murata is already 26 years old with three years of experience under his belt in the Japanese leagues, conventional wisdom would suggest that he would produce well at Kinston and so he has.  After struggling to a 5.52 ERA through mid-May and sitting out six weeks with a lat injury, Toru (1-2, 2.61) has rebounded with 16.1 scoreless innings over 10 appearances.  The organization had experimented with him as a starter, but he had now firmly cemented his position as a short man.  In seven games since returning from the DL, Murata has pitched 11 innings and allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out 14.  If there is a shuffling of relievers at the higher levels, he may see a late promotion.  Otherwise, expect him at Akron to begin 2012.

Giovanni Soto - The good news is that you did not miss anything.  The bad news is that he has been on the shelf since early June with a left (pitching) elbow injury.  Soto did throw a simulated game over the weekend and, while the organization will exercise great caution, he is likely close to returning to action.  Before landing on the disabled list, Giovanni's numbers were excellent (4-4, 3.02, .232 OBA, 9.21 K/9).  Look for the 20 year old at AA next season.

Jesus Aguilar - I was reluctant to give the big (6'3", 241) 21 year old his due until his name started swirling at the trade deadline.  In addition, his power is hard to ignore.  Aguilar's production at Lake County (.292, 19 HR, 69 RBI, .915 OPS) earned him a promotion to Kinston and a place on the radar.  Although Jesus has shown some growing pains at High-A (.205 in 44 ABs), last night brought a pair of hits including his first home run.  He still has a great deal to prove in order to become an elite prospect, but this season has certainly been an excellent start.

Anthony Gallas - While he is not truly a prospect, Gallas grew up in Strongsville and smashed 49 home run at Kent State, so we will pay attention for the time being.  His statistics for the Captains (.314, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .910 OPS) were a pleasant surprise, just as his line at Kinston has been a disappointment.  In 35 games, Anthony has batted just .203 with a .619 OPS, although he has driven in another 21.  Despite sitting out since the end of July, Gallas has earned himself a third year in the system, at the least.  Not too shabby for an undrafted free agent.

Manana, Los Capitanes.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

Man, Ubaldo Jimenez cannot catch a break.  Last Friday, he made his Indians debut and, although he pitched (just) well enough to win, the Tribe found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Tonight, U tossed a gem (8 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K), earned his first AL win (in spite of Carlos Santana's gator arm) and still found himself playing second fiddle.  Let us all take a few moments (and a fresh line) to appreciate Jason Kipnis and the night that he delivered.

5-for-5, 2B, HR (6), 4 R, 3 RBI, [raised his BA from .232->.295]

Someone asked me where all of this Tribe offense came from.  Simply put, the Tigers' rotation (with the sole exception of Justin Verlander) is horrific.  Any and all success that they have had this season has been an aberration.  If the fates conspire to propel the Motor City Kitties to post-season, their exit will be quick and brutal.  You think I am kidding?  The only guy outside of JV to post an ERA of less than 4.33 or a WHIP under 1.357 this season is last night's starter, Doug Fister.  Fister, a 6'8" junkballer who cannot break 90 with his fastball, was an outstanding trade deadline pick-up for Detroit... if you are an Indians fan.  What is his career record?  13 wins, 30 losses.  Love it.  How about some OBAs?  Brad Penny: .297.  Rick Porcello: .292.  Max Scherzer has held opponents to a .272 clip, but dude has served up 19 gopher balls.  Be unafraid.  Be very unafraid.

Here's to beating Verlander so hard that he develops an immune deficiency.

Cheers.

P.s. I watched the whole thing on Tuesday, which is why I had no time to write about it. ;-j

Yes, the Clip Joint Is Still Open

Welcome back to Huntington Park.  I wish that I could report a better result.  The Clips fell hard, 8-1, to the Indianapolis Indians.

Chad Huffman, whose season average had fallen to .214 on July 30th, continued his hot hitting with a 4-for-4 effort, including a pair of doubles and the lone Columbus RBI.  Since bottoming out, Huffman (.244) is 17-for-29 (.586) with 7 doubles, 2 homers and 8 rib-eyes.

New Clipper Thomas Neal (Orlando Cabrera trade) doubled for his first extra base hit in the Indians' organization, but is just 2-for-10 in his first 3 games.

On the mound Corey Kluber continued a season that has pushed him to irrelevance.  Honestly, I do not know why I continue to write about him.  After back-to-back strong starts that resulted in a pair of wins, Kluber regressed back to mean in allowing 6 earned over 7 innings.  Corey (6-8, 5.91) surrendered a pair of long balls (16 on the year) and 9 hits.

The Clips play another with Indy tomorrow at 12:05p.  Jeanmar Gomez gets the start and Shin-Soo Choo is expected to be in uniform.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Let's catch up with the Akron Aeros...

Adam Miller - One of baseball's biggest feel good trains took a massive derailing during a four week stretch from early July until early August.  Over the course of 7 games in that span, Miller surrendered 17 earned runs in 11.2 innings (13.11 ERA) along with 23 hits for a .434 OBA.  Ouch.  A month ago, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Adam would see action at AAA in 2011 with an outside shot getting a cup of coffee with the big club.  Now, he is simply trying to finish strong.  Miller (1-4, 6.13 overall) threw two clean innings on the 6th and has fanned 37 in 39.2 innings this season.

Austin Adams - Despite some pedestrian overall numbers (9-8, 3.81, 1.57 WHIP) Adams has turned it on in the second half of the season.  In addition to topping the 100 MPH mark on a number of occasions, Austin has posted a 4-0 record and a 2.90 ERA since the All-Star break.  During a season that featured an appearance in the AA mid-season classic, he has averaged 8.51 K/9 and allowed just 4 home runs.

Bryce Stowell - After a brutal March camp and some time in extended spring training, Stowell has settled back in nicely.  His issues have always been those of command and while a 5.4 BB/9 line is not good, a 13.5 K/9 average and a 1.05 WHIP make it much easier to swallow.  Bryce has worked himself back into position to see Columbus before season's end.



Nick Weglarz - It has been a lost season for the big (6'3", 240) Canuck.  What began as an injury rehab stint with the Aeros mushroomed into an ineffective an inexplicable regression.  Wegz made his name with 23 dingers at Lake County in 2007 and progressed well through last season, as he OPSed .893 between Akron and Columbus.  2011 has produced awful numbers (.180, 3 HR, 12 RBI).  Although his .683 OPS is impressive given his low batting average, the .402 that he has posted over his last 10 is most certainly not.

Chun Chen - Chen has fought injuries for most of the season and, as such, has appeared in just 88 games.  Still, he has produced a team-high 56 RBI.  Although he has launched 12 bombs, Chun (.271) has had some discipline issues (94 K, 87 H, 26 BB) and is batting just .171 over his last 10.  I would not expect him to advance to AAA this season.

We will continue to catch up with the farm teams in the coming days en route to my first Indians' top 10 prospect list.  You will see that after the 15th, when we know which 2011 draft picks have been signed.

Cheers.

A Quest Called Tribe

How much am I supposed to take?  That may very well have been the worst loss in the history of baseball.  Let us review the facts -- (a) the newly acquired #1 starter, the one that they overpaid for, put up an unacceptable number line (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 63 of 109 pitches for strikes) while looking flustered and out of sorts before (b) he was relieved by the worst pitcher in baseball (6.38 ERA, .310 OBA), who allowed run #5 to score.  At least he is not the worst player in the game because that honor belongs to (c) the starting left fielder (.589 OPS, 48 K, 30 H), who was only in the game because (d) the regular left fielder was sitting on the bench unable to swing a bat, which, strangely, he did in the 10th inning.  There only was a tenth innings because (e) the sloppy, fat-ass closer gave a bloop and blast after getting the first two outs in the 9th.  All of this set up (f) the dumbest dude in MLB to stare blankly at the first base umpire (with two outs!) instead of watching the play.  Game over.  Back to .500, 4 games out.

I now officially despise Matt LaPorta, his inability to hit and his all around bonehead gameplay.

Last night's contest should have been a celebration, another small step on the way back into contention.  Instead, it was likely the back breaker.  I love the Indians as much, if not more, than the anyone else, but if they could not win that one last night, I do not think they have many more wins left in them.

All of this overshadows another excellent day at the plate for Carlos Santana (2-for-4, HR, 2B, BB, 5 RBI).  Maybe he should consider going righty full time.  It would be cool to see more swings that do not come from his back heels.

Nice shot by Shelley Duncan.  He is a helluva bad ball hitter.

Here's to Manny Acta yelling at everyone.

Cheers.

P.s.  If I had been Ubaldo Jimenez, I would have put pitch #1 right in Ian Kinsler's ear.

I'm Like FIP You And FIP Him Too

As submitted to CloserNews.com -

As you dissect your fantasy bullpen and consider possible upgrades, one often suggested metric is FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching).  The formula used to calculate the value is fairly simple [(13*HR + 3*(BB+HBP - IBB) - 2*K)/IP  +  C] with C being a constant that averages FIP (by league and by year) at the same level as ERA.  Basically, FIP takes the same number of earned runs and assigns them out based on what should have happened rather than what did happen.  Take a second and wrap your mind around that.

Statistical anylses agree that FIP is useful, reporting that it is around 20% more accurate in predicting future ERA than ERA itself.  Even so, the role of the relief corps on any fantasy team is to deliver in just a select few categories, with FIP being poorly predictive thereof.  Most obvious of these is saves, which, like wins, has much more to do with the team around the reliever than the player himself.  While it is certainly helpful to a reliever's success, a strong FIP does not directly lead to the compilation of saves.  Given the huge disparity in innings pitched between starters and reliever's, the ERA category will certainly be dominated by the starters.  Your relief corps will likely make a solid impact on the K category, given the penchant to put big strikeout guys at the back end.  FIP takes strikeouts into account, but it is much more efficient to evaluate K/9.  The only tossup is the WHIP column and, in that case, the BABIP line is a much more appropriate defense independent statistics to examine.

To tie on a pretty bow, take a gander at the FIP, but dig into other, more useful stats.  Above all, do not blindly rely on FIP as a complete or dominating evaluation of relief pitchers for your team.

A Quest Called Tribe

OOOOOH!  A win!  Unfortunately, my crappy off-brand cable was out beginning in the 4th inning, so I saw very little.  I will still tell you what I loved.  How about a list today?

- Justin Masterson's 4 strikeout second inning.  The man is filthy.
- Finally, a little bit of GD luck!  Both Eric Bedard's failure to cover first on Matt LaPorta's 2nd inning RBI "single" and Carlos Santana's rib-eye blooper in the 3rd were gifts that that baseball gods have been awfully stringy with lately.
- How about that 4-9?  12-for-26 (.462) with 6 RBI.  Strange how that equals a win, huh?  We will go back to analyzing 5-8 tomorrow, assuming the medical reports on Michael Brantley are accurate.
- All of these facts about Jason Kipnis' home run binge, which, sadly, ended tonight.  Grazie to Elias.

• Kipnis is the first player in major-league history to homer in four consecutive games within two weeks of his debut.
• Kipnis is the first Indians second baseman in franchise history to homer in four straight games.
• Kipnis' fourth homer in as many games came in his 10th career game. The last player to do that was Minnesota's Graig Nettles, who homered in four straight games within his first 10 big-league games of his career.

All of that and Luis Medina's legacy remains safe. ;-j

Here's to Ubaldo Jimenez pitching a no-no in his Tribe debut.

Cheers.

P.s. Word on the street (literally this time) is that Mr Perfect, Justin Germano, has signed a big fat contract to play in Taiwan.  It is very possible that I am breaking this story on all of the inter-web.

A Quest Called Tribe

Let us take a minute to discuss the play that ended Tuesday night's game.  First, that on which we are not going to chat.  We are not going to cover how Jason Kipnis should have made a dive at Josh Reddick's dying quail.  We will spend no time lamenting the Bullpen Mafia with their 4.98 ERA and 4 losses in the second half.  We are going to focus on Ezequiel Carrera's throw to the plate.  Obviously, the kid has a strong arm.  What he and the Tribe encountered last night was the fact that it was his 22nd big league game.  Caught up in the heat of the moment, Zeke simply overthrew the ball and it carried well up the first base line.  As Manning quipped this evening, had Carrera just relied on his skill and not tried to throw the ball to Back Bay, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is likely out and the Indians live to see another hitter.

On to tonight's contest and the Brobdingnagian antics of Jason Kipnis.  Kip has now gone yard in four consecutive games, the first Indians rookie do so since Al Rosen in 1950 and the first Indian period since Travis Hafner in 2006.  He is also the first Indians rookie to pile up four dongs in his first 10 games since Luis Medina in 1988.  Louie jacked his 5th in game 11, so the pressure is on for Jason tomorrow.  That is not the best part though.  Kipnis is the first player ever to go deep in his first 3 games at Fenway.  Ever.

Great outing from Carlos Carrasco tonight (7 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K).  The more that I think about it, there is a way that the Ubaldo Jimenez trade makes sense (nice to see him in the dugout).  Seemingly the Indians' organization has made the command decision to push hard in the 2011-2013 window.  Think about the starting rotation that they will sport during that period -- #1 Jimenez, #2 Justin Masterson, #3 Carrasco, #4 Josh Tomlin, #5 Fausto Carmona/David Huff/Scott Barnes/Zack McAllister/Austin Adams with, as you can see, quite a bit a depth should anyone falter or encounter injury.  That is flat out wicked.  And Car-Square was the guy who prompted this.  As he scattered hits and escaped trouble all night, I though "man, this guy is going to make one fine middle of the rotation starter."  It is absolutely true and his ceiling is even higher as he certainly has the stuff.  If he can learn command over the next season or so (he is only 24), the Tribe will sure be sitting pretty.

Again, though, the issue has been the offense.  I made the statement (not here) the other day that the Indians need their 5-8 guys to provide a lot more production.  With Michael Brantley out for two games nursing a right wrist sprain, the lineup shifts some, but the problem remains the same.  I dig EzC in the 9 hole and he is just as productive at the top.  No issue there, once Brantley gets back.  Also, Acta has made the call to flip Pronk into the cleanup spot, despite his struggles over the past month (.184 since July 7th).  Although I was assuming Hafner at five, it does not really matter.  Consider 4-9 in the order tonight, they were 2-23 with 8 punch-outs.  Think it is just an abberation due to the knuckleballer?  Last night, 4-8 batted a robust 4-19 with 5 K's.  Monday was the true outlier with the team putting up 9 runs after just 15 in an 8 game homestand.  They finished Wednesday's game hitting .202 (83-for-411) with 35 runs (2.7 per game) over the last 13 games, 10 of them losses.

No need to dwell on the back-to-back walk-off losses.  The Indians now sit at 54-54.

Here's to a 31-23 finish.  And my 85 wins.

Cheers.

Can You Dig It?

Now as long as that rule change where excellent pitching results in extra runs goes through, we're golden.

A Quest Called Tribe

Before I start this rant, let me make sure that we are all on the same page.  We all agree that there are more right handed pitchers than left handed, right?  And that this is even more prevalent among starting pitchers?  Good.  Thus, logically, assuming that a switch hitters bats always bats from the opposite side of the plate as the throwing arm of the pitcher that he is facing (an outstanding assumption), all switch hitters will have more at-bats from the left hand side, correct?  OK.

So, when Asdrubal Cabrera came up in the top of the 8th inning (Right before the Boston fans started singing that F'ing Neal Diamond song that everyone forgets is an F'ing Red Sox song and sings wherever their dumb asses are even if that is at the Jake.  Come to think of it why do they play that shite at the Jake?  It's a GD Red Sox song!) and Matt "My IQ is" Under-wood chimes that "his batting average is much higher from the right hand side of the plate, but most of his pop is from the left.  In fact, 16 of his 19 home runs have come batting left handed," I want to punch him in the mouth.  Of course, most of his home runs are going to be batting left handed!  Because most of the pitchers are right handed!  Now, if you look at AzCab's splits, it turns out that his slugging percentage is 75 points higher as a lefty.  Cool, I can dig it, but, for the love of Pete guys, stop treating us like maroons and talk about the game like professionals.

Whew.

While I have been quite critical of Manny Acta over the past few weeks, the skipper made a statement today that I am in total agreement with.  Acta declared that Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson will start every five days for the rest of the season.  That means the other three starters will, if necessary, get skipped to accommodate the top two.  This is old school... and awesome.

Speaking of Jimenez, he will join the Indians in Boston tomorrow, prior to making his debut in Texas on Friday.  With Ubaldo reporting, space had to be cleared on the active roster (Mitch Talbot was DFA'ed to open a slot on the 40-man).  To accomodate this need, the Tribe has optioned David Huff and his 0.51 ERA back to Columbus.  At first glance, this seems exceptionally stupid.  Strangely, it is not.  Based on the standard that Manny Acta set earlier in the day, the Tribe will not need a 5th starter again until August 13th.  By this time, Carlos Carrasco will have started tomorrow, dropped his appeal and severed the 6-game suspension that he earned for throwing at the head of Billy Butler on Friday.  Assuming Car-Square delivers something less than a perfect game tomorrow, he will then be optioned to the Clippers on the 13th and recall Huff.  Next, the Tribe will bring Carlos back when rosters expand on September 1.  Here is the best part.  Since Carrasco will have been in the minors for less than 20 days, this does not count as an option!  Love it.

If you feel like reading the most incisive and well constructed piece that Terry Pluto has written all year (and one I happen to agree with), go here.

I wanted to be done with this, but pictures of the game have yet to be posted, so on I go.

While I was sminking a bunch went down that I have yet to discuss.

#1 - Orlando Cabrera traded to the Giants for OF Thomas Neal.  Given the fact that the Indians are committed to Jason Kipnis at second base (and with good reason after he became the first Indians rookie to homer 3 times in his first 9 games since Luis Medina in 1988), the fact that they got something reasonable for O-Cab is downright awesome.  Now, Neal is having a down year, but he was #7 on San Francisco's prospect list coming into the season and was #96 on the Baseball America top 100 prior to 2010.  He is a toolsy guy who needs to rebound to make the bigs, that is why we got him for a washed up scrub.  For O-Cab, though, Neal is a great return.

#2 - Jason Donald takes Cabrera's spot on the active roster.  Good for JD, who has had a tough season injury wise and has been absolutely destroying the International League.  A true utility guy, I hope that he hangs around Cleveland forever.

Tonight was a tough one to swallow.  Maybe I'll dig into it tomorrow.  Maybe not.

Cheers.