Brown Named IL Player of the Week

Triple-A Columbus outfielder Jordan Brown was named the International League Player of the Week for 5/24-5/30. During his monster week he hit .417 (10-for-24) with a 1 HR and 11RBI. His big RBI total was helped by big games on 5/28 (5 RBI) and 5/24 (4 RBI), and he piled up four multiple hit games and added his first home run of the season Saturday. He has four multi-RBI games in 15 total games played on the season, recording 89% of his RBI (17 of 19) in just those four multi-RBI games. On 5/1 vs. Syracuse he established a new career high and became the first Clipper with as many as 6 RBI in a game since Michael Vento drove in seven runners on 8/31/03 at Louisville.

The 26-year-old Brown is in his fifth full season of professional baseball after being selected by the Indians in the 4th round of the 2005 draft. Last year he was the International League Batting Champion, having posted the 2nd-best average in Columbus franchise history (.336). In 15 games this season he is hitting .333 (18-54) with 1 HR, 19 RBI and a .898 OPS.

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Kinston Video Recap: May 2010

First off, I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day holiday weekend.  It's always a wonderful time to not only finish up that yard work, grill out with family and friends, and just hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather, but to also pay our respects to the men who are serving and who have served this great country.  So my thanks goes out to all the veterans out there both past and current!

Moving along, here are some videos of the Kinston Indians I shot during my visit to Myrtle Beach a few weeks back.  Players shot include: Karexson Sanchez, T.J. McFarland, Nate Recknagel, Lucas Montero, Jordan Henry, Jason Kipnis, Doug Pickens, Cristo Arnal, and Abner Abreu.

Many thanks as always to the talented Michael Taylor for taking the time to edit these videos and present them in a professional manner.

Also, I shot some Akron video last weekend while I was there to see the debut of Alex White, so be on the lookout for that in the coming weeks.

Note: Since a lot of videos will be shown, please be patient while the videos load

Karexson Sanchez:


T.J. McFarland


Nate Recknagel:


Lucas Montero:


Jordan Henry:


Jason Kipnis:


Doug Pickens:


Cristo Arnal:


Abner Abreu:

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Akron's Week That Was: 5/24 - 5/30

After two straight wins over Harrisburg to end the week before last on a good note, the Aeros came stumbling out of the gate this past week. After getting blown out in the first game, they lost a pair of close games before avoiding the sweep. Currently the club is in the midst of a four game series against Binghamton. The same day that the parent club had their remarkable comeback against New York, the Aeros had one of their own against a New York farm team for what was only their second of two wins this past week.

Here is everything you need to know about the Aeros for the week of May 24th to the 30th.

Record: 20-30 (Last Week: 2-5)
Standings: 6th in Western Division (13 GB)
Teams Faced (Record Against): Altoona (1-3), @ Binghamton (1-2)
Upcoming Week: @ Binghamton (1), Erie (3), @ Harrisburgh (3)
Transactions: Received LHP Nick Hagadone from Kinston, Activated 3B Lonnie Chisenhall from Disabled List, Deactivated LHP Scott Barnes (Mahoning Valley)
Awards: Scott Barnes named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for week ending May 23rd.

Pitcher of the Week: Bryce Stowell, RHP
4.2 IP, 1 SV, 0 ER, 3/5 BB/K

With Alex White and Kelvin De La Cruz up, as well as the recent promotion of Nick Hagadone, Stowell will be counted on to provide some much needed relief and he did just that this past week. Stowell notched a save in addition to coming out of the pen in two other instances. He may have put some runners on, but he didn't allow them to score, which is more than what some other relievers can say for this past week.

Season History
Week 1: Zach Putnam
Week 2: Erik Stiller
Week 3: Paolo Espino
Week 4: Zach Putnam
Week 5: Kelvin De La Cruz
Week 6: Alex White

Hitter of the Week: Jared Goedert, IF
9/25, 7 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2/3 BB/K, 1 SB

Organizational bubble? So much for that. Jared Goedert doesn't look like a hitter that was about to be cut prior to his hot spring training. He's been arguably the best hitter in the Aeros lineup to date and he is currently second in the Eastern League in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage. As of right now he's also carrying a 19 game hitting streak dating back to early May. EL pitching just cannot get him out.

Season History
Week 1: Cord Phelps
Week 2: Cord Phelps
Week 3: Nick Weglarz
Week 4: Beau Mills
Week 5: Jared Goedert
Week 6: Matt McBride

Weekly Spotlight: Matt McBride, OF
Every week one player on the Akron roster will get a spotlight on their outlook for the 2010 season and where they are currently at.

With his catching days likely behind him, Matt McBride has remained relatively healthy the past season and a half. That good health has really let him shine offensively. Last year before getting a call to Akron, McBride torched Carolina League pitching to the tune of a .405 average in 31 games. He knocked in 36 runs and had 21 extra-base hits.

Between Kinston and Akron last season McBride hit 18 home runs and knocked in 99 runs. He went on to produce in the Arizona Fall League behind the plate and was expected to come into 2010 and do some catching. However to date McBride hasn't even sniffed the catcher's mask and remains planted in the outfield. It's almost a shame that a defensively gifted catcher like McBride may not ever get to shine in that department.

McBride's arm does however translate well to right field and he can handle himself defensively. As long as he stays healthy, he can still keep himself on the higher end of the prospect radar. To do that though he has to hit and right now he isn't the run producer in the middle of the Akron lineup you would hope for. While McBride has been hitting a lot better as of late, he has just two extra-base hits in his last ten games, a far cry from what he was doing last season.

Maybe when and if Jordan Brown and or Michael Brantley make it to Cleveland, Columbus will come calling for McBride later in the season. For now, he has to establish he's ready to move on from the Double-A level hitting-wise.

Who's Hot?
Johnnie Drennen: 12 game hit-streak snapped, six multi-hit games in the last ten games.

His 12 game hit-streak came to an end on Sunday, but Drennen's hot bat has been a big asset to the Aeros the past few weeks. Johnnie torched Harrisburg last week with two hits in each game and this past week it carried over as he collected multi-hit games in three of four contests against Altoona.

Drennen's hitting exploits have landed him in the top five among Eastern League players in batting average as well as atop the Aeros' lineup with Tim Fedroff struggling.

Better Times Ahead
Beau Mills: 3/27, 2 RBI, 2/3 BB/K

At least he didn't strike out eight times, right? Beau Mills will have better days and probably better weeks, but this past week wasn't his. Mills has struggled to find the average this season period, but he didn't even manage to knock in the runs this past week.

The encouraging sign really is the fact that he didn't strike out a bunch, but he also didn't walk all that much. Mills has to be that prototypical run producer, someone who drives in runs despite the sub-par average, but he also has to find ways on base via the walk.

Infirmary Report
Recapping any and all of the injuries in the past week.

Welcome back Lonnie Chisenhall. The Tribe's top 50 ranked third base prospect returned to action against Binghamton this past weekend. Chisenhall made three starts at designated hitter after what amounted to a little over two weeks of inactivity and a short stint to the disabled list. Chisenhall hit his first home run of the season and had three hits in his second game back and that is certainly a good sign for the Indians.

Weekly Randoms
For all the other random information that got away.

I failed to mention that Scott Barnes threw his second no-hit outing this season last week. He went at least five innings in both games, but this one had three more walks than the first one did. If he isn't holding the opposing to no-hits, he is pretty much getting shelled. Half of Barnes' starts have seen him give up at least five runs. In his last outing, the ugly Barnes showed up as he gave up eight runs off eight hits and a walk. The club responded by essentially skipping his next start by deactivating him while they made room for Lonnie Chisenhall.

Tim Fedroff and Cord Phelps have been dropped in the lineup. Phelps made the move to second in the order after Lonnie Chisenhall was injured but hasn't kept up the hot hitting he did early in the season (who could expect him to?). Fedroff meanwhile looks to have been displaced by the hot-hitting Johnnie Drennen for the time being. Fedroff is hitting .242 this season and he struck out eight times this past week. His 41 strikeouts leads the team as well.

Closer by committee? There really seems to be no rhyme or reason for how Joel Skinner divvies up save opportunities and with so few chances, I'm sure sticking with the hot hand makes the most sense at this juncture. Bryce Stowell became the seventh Aero to record a save this past week and Carlton Smith became the fourth to record multiple saves.

Nine consecutive scoreless innings for Bryan Price came to an end on Sunday when he gave up three runs in his second inning of relief work. Price has struck out 26 hitters this season compared to just three walks.

Remember that every other appearance trend for CC Lee that was pointed out last week? It continued this past week. After giving up two earned runs on Monday, Lee came back on Wednesday and pitched two scoreless innings. He then came out on Saturday and gave up two runs against Binghamton and then a day later on Sunday, pitched a scoreless frame.

Loaded rotation? Maybe if Scott Barnes and Eric Berger get their acts together. Nick Hagadone was recently promoted from Kinston, making it three Kinston pitchers to get the call to Akron in the past few weeks. It also gives the Aeros rotation four left-handed starters. Handedness aside, the club needs to start getting some solid pitching and it all starts with Hagadone and the other starters.

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Game Recap 5/30: Clippers Win In Extras

Buscher delivers, Clippers win, 4-3

For the second time in four games, the Columbus Clippers were walk-off winners in the 11th inning against the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, winning 4-3 on Sunday. Brian Buscher sealed the deal for Columbus, delivering a pinch-hit, RBI single to left in the bottom of the 11th to send the Clipper faithful home happy.

The Clippers completed a four-game sweep of Lehigh Valley at Huntington Park while winning seven of the eight meetings this season. The Ironpigs have yet to win a game at the Clippers new ballpark, and with Buscher's 25th RBI of the season, Lehigh Valley will have to wait until next year to break that streak.

For the fourth consecutive game, the Ironpigs struck first in the top of the first inning with one run, as Rich Thompson and Chris Duffy led the game off with doubles. Thompson later scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Cody Ransom.

The Clippers, as they have done all series against Lehigh Valley, fought back to take the lead as they scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Jordan Brown walked then Chris Gimenez and Nick Weglarz followed with a single and a double, respectively. Each player scored in the inning. Weglarz continued his great series against Lehigh Valley going 1-for-2 with an RBI double and three walks. Weglarz has reached base safely in eight of his last nine at-bats, compiling four hits and four walks during that span.

The Clippers held their 3-1 lead until the sixth inning, when starting pitcher Yohan Pino gave up a two-run home run to Ransom, a shot that cleared the bleachers in left field. Andy Tracy scored on the home run as well after drawing a walk, his third of the game.

Pino pitched into the seventh inning but didn't finish, as he left a tie ball game after six-and-two-third innings, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out five. His opposition for Lehigh Valley was Joe Savery, who had a similar line as Pino's, going six innings, giving up three runs on six hits, but walked four in the no decision. Josh Judy earned his first win of the season going one inning of relief for Columbus.

The Clippers last five hitters in the lineup (Brown, Gimenez, Weglarz, Anderson Hernandez and Josh Rodriguez) had six of the team's seven hits before Buscher's game winner. Both teams went scoreless from the seventh until the 11th inning with good pitching and mistake-free defense, but Buscher capitalized on the lone mistake and the Clippers bumped their home winning streak to six games.

The Clippers are back in action tomorrow for a double header against the Louisville Bats. Game one will feature Justin Germano (0-1, 6.30 ERA) for Columbus and Chad Reineke (2-3, 2.81ERA) for Louisville. Game two will see Jeremy Sowers (1-1, 2.93 ERA) take the mound for the Clippers against Ben Jukich (1-3, 5.40 ERA) for the Bats.

B-Mets Recover Sunday, Beat Aeros 5-2

The Binghamton Mets defeated the Aeros 5-2 Sunday, just one night after the largest Akron comeback of the year at NYSEG Stadium. A pair of Nick Evans home runs powered the B-Mets offensive attack, and the Aeros could not muster enough firepower for a second late rally in as many nights. The win gave Binghamton (24-25) a 2-1 lead in the series over last-place Akron (20-30) with the finale coming Memorial Day Monday.

Lonnie Chisenhall helped the visitors got on the scoreboard first with a small ball approach in the top of the fourth inning. The Aeros designated hitter drew a one-out walk, the first base runner of the game against Binghamton starter Josh Stinson, and moved to second on a groundout. Right fielder Matt McBride then continued the frame while Beau Mill picked up the RBI with a single to right.

The Mets retaliated in the bottom of that fourth with Akron left-handed starter Eric Berger on the mound. The hot-hitting first baseman Evans singled to begin the rally, Eric Campbell advanced him to third with a double and second baseman Reese Havens drew a walk. After two straight outs, Berger then walked DH Jose Coronado to tie the ball game at 1-1. Evans then hit a first-pitch two-out homer in the fifth and Berger later escaped a bases loaded jam that inning with a force out.

Evans struck again with a two-run homer the seventh inning, and two batters later, Havens followed with a solo shot of his own to make it a 5-1 lead for Binghamton. Trailing by several runs entering the eighth yet again, the Aeros attempted to strike gold twice in the state of New York. Unfortunately, B-Mets reliever Roy Merritt was too dominant in the final two innings as his only blemish was a solo home run in the eighth to third baseman Jared Goedert.

Binghamton reliever Manuel Alvarez (1-0) earned the win after coming in for relief of pitch-count limited Stinson in the fifth. Berger (1-4) took his second straight loss in allowing the first two runs on seven hits in his five innings for Akron. Reliever Bryan Price also struggled after a solid sixth by breaking his nine-inning scoreless streak by permitting the monster Binghamton three-run burst.

The Aeros finished with five hits Sunday night after smashing six extra-base hits the night before. Goedert’s late inning homer extended his career-best hitting streak to 19 consecutive games, tied for sixth-longest in Akron Aeros franchise history. Over the course of this monster stretch, the new Akron cleanup hitter is batting .368 (25-68) with 10 doubles, 13 runs scored and eight RBI.

The Aeros will look to leave New York with a series split with Monday’s first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at NYSEG Stadium. Lefty Kelvin De La Cruz (1-3, 4.58 ERA) will look to rebound from a rough past few outings against Mets southpaw Eric Niesen (0-2, 3.12 ERA).

Kinston Takes Series from Winston-Salem

Jason Kipnis hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking a tie and propelling Kinston to a 5-2 victory over Winston-Salem Sunday afternoon at Historic Grainger Stadium. With the win, Kinston took the series from Winston-Salem. The Dash (33-17) entered the series with the best record in all of baseball. The K-Tribe has now won seven straight series.

The Dash drew first blood, as Brandon Short delivered a two RBI single off of Kinston starting pitcher Joe Gardner in the top of the second inning. After a choppy start, Gardner would settle down as he gave up just those two earned runs in six innings. Gardner (3-0) picked up the win, walking one and striking out five. Gardner’s ERA is now 1.95 through five starts for Kinston.

The K-Tribe would get the bats going in the bottom of the third inning, starting with a two-out single by Jordan Henry. Lucas Montero and Jason Kipnis each followed with four pitch walks courtesy of Dash starter Terry Doyle. Abner Abreu made Doyle pay with a bases loaded single, driving home Henry and Montero. With the score tied at two, Kinston would get to Doyle again in the fifth inning, starting with a leadoff single from Adam Davis. Henry followed with another single and Montero put down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Kipnis then cashed in, delivering a two RBI double to give Kinston a 4-2 lead. Kinston would add another run in the eighth inning, when Doug Pickens singled home Kipnis. Kipnis and Abreu each had two RBI, Henry went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk. Henry is currently second in the Carolina League in batting average (.355) and first in on-base percentage.

The Indians bullpen would hold from there as David Roberts gave up just one hit through two innings. Cory Burns delivered his second save of the series and fourth save of the season in the ninth inning.

The K-Tribe (27-23) is now six games behind first place Winston-Salem with twenty games to go in the first half of the season. The homestand continues for Kinston with a special 6pm Memorial Day start. Military is in absolutely free and there will be fireworks after the game. Monday is also buck night at Historic Grainger Stadium with $1 beers, sodas, hot dogs and fries! Game time 6pm, Carolina League ERA leader T.J. McFarland (5-1, 1.91) will be on the hill as Kinston hosts Wilmington.

Loons Blank Captains 6-0

Great Lakes shut down Lake County 4-0. The Loons win cut the Captains lead to two games in the Eastern Division.

Jerry Sands drove in the first run of the game in the first inning with a single to score Brian Cazavos-Galvez.

In the second, Brian Ruggiano singled to lead things off. Jaime Ortez would hit one to deep right field for a two-run homerun giving the Loons a 3-0 lead over Lake County.

The Loons added three more in the sixth inning; Gorman Erickson had an RBI single. Then Brian Cavazos-Galvez with two outs drove in a pair with a base hit to make it 6-0.

Allen Webster (6-3) picked up the win for Great Lakes throwing seven scoreless innings allowing just four hits and striking out four. The Captains lost for the first time in eleven games with Trey Haley (4-1) starting. Haley threw five innings allowed three runs on five hits, walked five and struck out three.

Lake County and Great Lakes will meet for the final time in the first half of the season on Monday afternoon on Memorial Day at 3:05PM. The Captains will start RHP Clayton Cook (1-4) against RHP Matt Magill (1-0) for the Loons.

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The Sunday Drive with an early Nick Hagadone Memorial

What is it with the dramatic?

The Kinston Indians turned on their inner "As The World Turns" this week, as nearly every game was decided in extra innings, or some sort of massive comeback. On Sunday, Kinston beat Frederick 2-1 in 12 innings thanks to an error. On Monday, Kyle Bellows launched a grand slam in the 15th inning to beat Potomac 10-6. On Friday, Kinston found themselves down 5-0 before scoring eight unanswered runs to beat first-place Winston-Salem. On Saturday, Kinston was on the other end of a comeback to Winston-Salem, giving up four runs in the ninth to lose 7-3.

Overall, the K-Tribe went 4-2 this week to continue their winning ways in May. They have won six straight series, and have gone 17-6 over their last 23 games. With their victory today over Winston-Salem, the K-Tribe has pocketed their seventh straight series, and moved to within six games of the Dash. But that's for next week's report...

Let's get driving.

Week 8 Games:

23 @ Frederick, W 2-1 (WP: M. Langwell; LP: S. Gleason; SV: C. Burns)
24 @ Potomac, W 10-6 (WP: M. Langwell; LP: J. Estrada)
25 @ Potomac, L 4-9 (WP: A. Alaniz; LP: T. McFarland)
26 @ Potomac, W 7-0 (WP: N. Hagadone; LP: E. Bronson)
28 vs. Winston-Salem, W 8-5 (WP: R. Bryson; LP: L. Hunt; SV: C. Burns)
29 vs. Winston-Salem, L 3-7 (WP: K. Bellamy; LP: B. Grening)

The Transactions:

05/29/2010 SP Nick Hagadone assigned to Akron Aeros from Kinston Indians.

Week 8 Offense:

Kinston's offense did regress a bit this past week, but still came up with the clutch hits when they needed to. Overall, the team hit .251 for the week, and most importantly, managed to get on base overall at a .370 clip. This obviously isn't a team that is laden with power, and there doesn't appear to be much waiting in the wings at Lake County, although Bo Greenwell has been shredding the ball there. This week, the K-Tribe upped their strike out total to nearly 27% of their at bats. Chris Kersten and Adam Davis were the poster children, striking out 42% and 44% respectively.

Kyle Bellows was the clear star, batting .357 for the week, with a the grand slam to win a game, eight RBI, three runs, two doubles and a triple. Bellows is an intriguing prospect, who many have in the mold of Travis Fryman. He's not a typical Tribe draftee in that he's a defense-first player, and has shown it this year. He's made only three errors in 39 games, for a .973 fielding percentage. If Bellows adds offense to the equation, with his glove, he'll become extremely valuable. Of course, Lonnie Chisenhall is ahead of him, but it's always good to have the depth. This is his second straight week leading the team in hitting, so perhaps a pattern is developing.

Jordan Henry kept up with his hot stick, batting .345 for the week. Henry scored seven runs, with two doubles, four RBI and five walks. He had another week at .500+ OBP, and stole three bases for the week, without getting caught. With Grady Sizemore issues, Henry could become very valuable down the road.

Ron Rivas hit .308 for the week, with four runs, two doubles, a dinger and three RBI. This goes along with two more errors, as the shortstop tries to prove that his bat can overcome his week defense. I don't see it yet, but he has put together a decent year offensively. Of course, you likely need to bat .400 to overcome a .914 fielding percentage.

Abner Abreu made a bit of a splash this week upon his return. He had a hit in all four games he played in, including batting 3-4 in his return. He hit .375 for the week, with five RBI in four games.

There wasn't any other player on the team that played in more than one game that hit over .250 for the week, making a pretty dramatic split between the haves and the have-nots, which has become a trademark for this club.

Week 8 Bullpen:

The bullpen had a dominating week, as the changes that Tribe management put into week a couple of weeks ago. The relievers went 3-1 for the week, with two saves and two holds. Their ERA was 2.183, with 31 K's and only nine walks for the week. They pitched more innings than the starters, struck out more batters, and walked less. Their ERA was nearly two runs lower.

Travis Turek had a dominating two outings. The topsy-turvy reliever went six total innings, giving up only four hits, and striking out three, without giving up a run or a walk.

Rob Bryson continued his ascension through Kinston with two perfect innings for the K-Tribe. He went 1-9 in 4 1/3 innings, with eight strike outs. It's funny how forgotten he was after his injury plagued Tribe career after the CC deal. It looks like Bryson has a bright future in the pen.

Matt Langwell made three appearances, and went 2-0 for the week. He pitched in 4 1/3 innings, having given up only two hits with only one strikeout. Langwell is now 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA in 19 games. Langwell may be the next Kinston player to make the move up to Akron.

Chris Jones made two appearances for 5 2/3 innings. He gave up only six hits and an earned run, with two walks and a K for a 1.59 ERA. Even though he blew a save this week, Jones has made quite an impact. In six games, he's already pitched in 16 innings, with the one run he gave up this week his only earned run for the year. His ERA is an impeccable 0.56, but it's not the best on the team.

That honor goes to Cory Burns, who made three appearances this week. Burns went 2-2 in save opportunities, and only gave up one hit. He did walk three batters, while striking out five, but he gives the K-Tribe a legit closer after the release of Steve Smith.

Week 8 Starters:

There's no doubt that the K-Tribe starters are going through a transition period. In the past two weeks, two potential stud #1 starters were called up in Kelvin De La Cruz and Alex White. That left the Tribe with one clear #1 in Nick Hagadone, and a bunch of potential starters. There was more than one good start, but there were some bad ones that kept the starters ERA way up at 4.66. The starters struck out 26, while walking 15, while going 1-1 for the week.

Nick Hagadone wasn't the issue though, returning to form from last week's struggles. Hagadone made one start and went five innings, while giving up only one hit and three walks, while striking out six batters. The 24-year old won his first game in two years, and put a final exclamation point on what's been a fantastic season in high A. Overall, Hagadone went 1-3, but with a paltry 2.39 ERA. In 37 2/3 innings, he struck out 45 batters. Sure, he's on a pitch count, but it's hard to see Hagadone doing anything but starting at this point. I still believe that he may be better than both White and De La Cruz when it's all said and done, and he could be closer than both to the big league club. Of course, it will be hard to believe that all three don't find a way to make an impact in 2011, or at the very least, 2012.

Marty Popham made a fantastic debut for the K-Tribe this week, pitching in two games and ten innings overall in his first week at high A. He gave up only one earned run and eight hits, while striking out an impressive 12 batters. Popham had been piggy-backing at Lake County, so it's good to see him standing out on his own.

Joe Gardner finally came down to earth a bit this past week. Gardner hadn't given up an earned run in Kinston, but got touched up a bit in his one appearance. He went five innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs, while walking five and striking out three. T.J. House made a similar start, going four innings, giving up seven hits, five earned runs and three walks, while walking three. He also gave up two dingers.

T.J. McFarland also came down to earth, going five innings, giving up seven hits, five earned runs and one walk, while striking out two. McFarland had been having an outstanding season until this start, so it should be interesting to see how he rebounds.

Offensive player of the week: Kyle Bellows
Relief pitcher of the week: Rob Bryson
Staring pitcher of the week: Marty Popham

Player of the week: Kyle Bellows

This Week:

30 vs. Winston-Salem, W 5-2
31 vs. Wilmington, 6:00 PM

June (all times local unless noted)

1 vs. Wilmington, 7:00 PM
2 vs. Wilmington, 7:00 PM
3 @ Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM
4 @ Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM
5 @ Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM


The Rearviewmirror: Nick Hagadone is going, going, gone. Let's hope his next stop is a quick one as well! Don't forget to remember all the great Americans that have served for our country. It's easy to forget and take for granted the sacrifices that many have made over the past 230+ years. Stop your cook-out for a few minutes tomorrow and give thanks for those that have allowed our country to stay free!

Happy Memorial day Tribe fans!

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Lewis Recalled, Laffey To Columbus

The Cleveland Indians announced today they have recalled right-handed reliever Jensen Lewis from Triple-A Columbus. To allow room on the 25-man roster the Indians have optioned left-handed reliever Aaron Laffey to Columbus.

This will mark Lewis’ second stint with the Indians this year after making the opening day roster. He was optioned to Columbus on May 7th and made seven appearances with one save while posting a 1.89 ERA (10.2 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO) with the Clippers. In those seven games for the Clippers, six of them were scoreless. Earlier this year with Cleveland he went 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA (10.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 9 BB, 9 K) in 10 games. Lewis wears #50.

Laffey, 25, made 20 relief appearances for the Indians going 0-1 with a 5.61 ERA (25.2 IP, 30 H, 16 R/ER, 13 BB, 11 K). His 25.2 IP are 8th among AL relievers.

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2010 Depth Chart

This depth chart will be updated all season as players are moved up and down the system from the big league team all the way to extended spring training in Goodyear, AZ. This should always serve as an organizational snapshot of where all the players in the system are anytime throughout the season (please allow up to 24 hours for recent transactions to be updated). This depth chart is available for easy reference as one of the tabs just below the site header at the top of the page.

One quick note, the roster limits are as follows: Cleveland (25), Columbus (24), Akron (24), Kinston (25), Lake County (25), Mahoning Valley (30), Arizona (35), DSL (35), Extended Spring (unlimited).

Last Updated: November 21, 2010

	Cleveland (MLB)	Columbus (AAA)	Akron (AA)
Lineup
C	Carlos Santana	Chris Gimenez	Miguel Perez
1B	Matt LaPorta	Matt McBride	Beau Mills
2B	Jason Donald	Jason Kipnis	Karexon Sanchez
SS	Asdrubal Cabrera	Josh Rodriguez	Cristo Arnal
3B	Jayson Nix	Lonnie Chisenhall	Kyle Bellows
LF	Michael Brantley	Nick Weglarz	Tim Fedroff
CF	Grady Sizemore	Ezequiel Carrera	Jordan Henry
RF	Shin-Soo Choo	Jordan Brown
DH	Travis Hafner	Wes Hodges	Jeremie Tice
Bench
C	Lou Marson	Damaso Espino/Luke Carlin	Juan Apodaca
INF	Jared Goedert	Cord Phelps	Ron Rivas
INF	Luis Valbuena	Jerad Head
OF	Trevor Crowe	Chad Huffman	Lucas Montero
INF/OF	Shelley Duncan	John Drennen	Trent Baker
Rotation
SP	Fausto Carmona	David Huff	Scott Barnes
SP	Justin Masterson	Alex White	Matt Packer
SP	Carlos Carrasco	Jeanmar Gomez	Joe Gardner
SP	Mitch Talbot	Corey Kluber	T.J. McFarland
SP	Josh Tomlin	Zach McAllister	Kelvin De La Cruz
Bullpen
MR	Justin Germano	Paolo Espino	Nick Hagadone
MR	Frank Herrmann	Chen Lee	Rob Bryson
MR	Tony Sipp	Josh Judy	Bryan Price
MR	Rafael Perez	Zach Putnam	Eric Berger
MR	Jensen Lewis	Jess Todd	Connor Graham
MR	Joe Smith	Bryce Stowell	Shane Lindsay
MR
CL	Chris Perez	Vinnie Pestano	Omar Aguilar
	Extra or DL (*)	Extra or DL (*)	Extra or DL (*)
	Anthony Reyes*	Yohan Pino/Aaron Laffey
	Hector Ambriz	Carlton Smith	Daniel DeGeorge
	Andy Marte	Jason Grilli	Steven Wright
	Adam Miller*	Saul Rivera
	Hector Rondon*	Wyatt Toregas
		Jose Constanza
		Argenis Reyes/Drew Sutton
	Kinston (A+)	Lake County (A)	Mahoning Valley (SS-A)
Lineup
C	Chun Chen	Roberto Perez	Diego Seastrunk
1B	Doug Pickens	Chase Burnette	Jesus Aguilar
2B		Argenis Martinez	Kevin Fontanez
SS	Juan Diaz	Casey Frawley	Nicholas Bartolone
3B		Adam Abraham	Giovanny Urshela
LF	Donnie Webb	Delvi Cid	Brian Heere
CF	Bo Greenwell	Tyler Holt	Kevin Rucker
RF	Abner Abreu	Greg Folgia	Anthony Gallas
DH		Chris Kersten	Tyler Cannon
Bench
C	Alex Castillo	Dwight Childs	Moises Montero
C			Richard Martinez
INF	Justin Toole	Kyle Smith	Andrew Fields (2B)
INF		Ben Carlson
OF	Carlos Moncrief	Jason Smit	Jordan Casas
OF
Rotation
SP		Vidal Nuno	Alex Kiminsky
SP	Austin Adams	Brett Brach	Kirk Wetmore
SP		Jason Knapp
SP	Joey Mahalic	Francisco Jimenez	Cole Cook
SP	T.J. House	Trey Haley	Jordan Cooper
Bullpen
MR	Marty Popham	Owen Dew	Kyle C. Smith
MR	Brian Grening	Ramon Cespedes	Casey Gaynor
MR	Matt Langwell	Nick Kirk	James Reichenbach
MR	Dave Roberts	Nick Sarianides	Anthony Dischler
MR	Travis Turek	Jeremy Johnson	J.D. Goryl
MR	Tyler Sturdevant	Takafumi Nakamura	Gregorio Rosario
MR	Chris Jones	Jose Flores	Nathan Striz
MR		Mike Rayl	Dale Dickerson
MR			Julio Ramirez
MR			Michael Goodnight
CL	Cory Burns	Preston Guilmet	James Ehlert
	Extra or DL (*)	Extra or DL (*)	Extra of DL (*)
	Alexander Perez	Danny Salazar
	Santo Frias	Antwonie Hubbard
	Nate Recknagel	Ryan Morris
	Preston Mattingly	Clayton Cook
		Giovanni Soto
	AZL Indians (R)	DSL Indians	Extended
Lineup
C	Alex Monslave	Xavier De Los Santos
1B	Andrew Kinney	Charlie Valerio
2B	Jorge Martinez	Erik Gonzalez
SS	Tony Wolters	Jairo Kelly
3B	Hunter Jones	Leonardo Castillo
LF	Aaron Silga	Joel Mejia
CF	LeVon Washington	Luigi Rodriguez
RF	Marcus Bradley	Victor De Jesus
DH	Joel Torres	Juan De La Cruz (C)
Bench
C	Miguel Fuentes	Franklin Moreno
C	Alexander Lavisky	Fermin Galvez (1B)
C	Juan Aponte (1B)	Angel Hernandez (OF)
INF	Robel Garcia (3B)	Richard Delgado (2B)
INF	Juan Romero (3B)	Manuel Boscan (2B)
INF	Logan Thompson (2B)	Juan Marte (OF)
OF	Mark Brown	Luis Ramirez
OF	Henry Dunn	Steve Lebron
Rotation
SP	Felix Sterling	Enosil Tejeda	Drew Pomeranz
SP	Harold Guerrero	Oswell Munoz	Kyle Blair
SP	Daniel Jimenez	Juan Damaso	Robbie Aviles
SP	Alexander Morales	Eliezer Sanchez
SP	Luis Encarnacion	Alexis Paredes	Luis Morel (susp.)
Bullpen
MR/SP	Rafael Homblert	Isaias Encarnacion	Kyle Landis
MR	Fernando Flores	Amiro Santana	Francisco Valera
MR	Kyle Petter	Jose Polanco
MR	Matthew Speake	Frangy Colon
MR	Orlando Pereira	Luis Cabrera
MR	Jose Lopez	Manuel Carmona
MR		Phillips Valdez
MR		Alejandro Rivas
MR		Jeffry Cleto
MR		Arleski Machiz
MR		Che Yeyne Adad
MR		Carlos Del Carmen
MR		Alejandro Villa
MR
CL	Ryan Gardner	Moisses Ramirez
	Extra or DL (*)	Extra or DL (*)
	Elvis Araujo*	Joel Fledi (OF)
	Enriquez Pacheco	Starling Figueroa (OF)
	Wady Pinales	Aderlin Tejeda (OF)
	Joseph Colon	Jack Avila (C)/Gustavo Rojas (C)
		Ernesto Leon/Juan Santana
		Yan Carlos Caripa/Jefry Robles

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Game Recap 5/29: Nuno, Adams Combine For Two-Hitter

Captains Win 2-0 as Nuno and Adams Two Hit Loons

Vidal Nuno and Austin Adams combined to two-hit Great Lakes, en route to a 2-0 win. The no hit bid was broken up with two outs in the eighth inning when Jaime Ortiz singled off of Adams.

Lake County got on the scoreboard, in the fifth inning, when Kyle Smith collected his second single of the game to reach. Adam Abraham reached on a Josh Wall error putting runners on the corners. Argenis Martinez singled past the diving glove of Jerry Sands into right field giving the Captains a 1-0 lead. Martinez with runners on first and third would attempt to steal second, drawing a throw and getting caught in a rundown allowing Abraham to score to make it 2-0.

Vidal Nuno (0-1) showed up four hours before game time to find out he was making the start. Nuno was up for the occasion tossing four innings of hitless baseball striking out seven, the only hitter to reach off Nuno was Lenell McGee when he was hit by a pitch. Austin Adams (2-2) picked up the win throwing five scoreless innings allowing just two base hits and striking out seven. Josh Wall (0-3) was just as good but suffered the loss going seven innings allowing just two unearned runs on five hits, while striking out a career high eleven.

The Captains and the Loons will continue the four game series with a Sunday afternoon contest at 3:05PM from Dow Diamond. Trey Haley (4-0) will start for Lake County and will be matched up against Allen Webster (5-3) for Great Lakes.

Clippers down Lehigh Valley, 7-5

The Columbus Clippers defeated the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, 7-5 for the Clippers' third straight win to start the home stand. Nick Weglarz continued to succeed against Ironpig pitching, going 3-for-3 and reaching base four times while driving in one.

The Ironpigs started the scoring early with a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game off the bat of Rich Thompson, his first of the season. The Clippers were able to regain the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Anderson Hernandez dropped a double into shallow center field, driving in Weglarz and Brian Buscher.

Michael Brantley etched his name into the home run column in the bottom of the third inning when he hit his first homer of the season, a long drive to right field giving the Clippers a 3-1 lead. Lehigh Valley wasted no time tying the game up in the top of the fourth as Chris Duffy drove home John Mayberry on a sacrifice fly to right field and Neil Sellers drove home Andy Tracy on an RBI double to left.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Clippers took the lead for good as Wes Hodges, Jordan Brown and Weglarz all drove in runs. The sixth inning saw a golden opportunity for Columbus fade away as Carlos Santana came up with the bases loaded and one out, but hit into a double play to end the inning. Brown followed his fifth inning performance up with his first home run of the season to deep right field in the seventh, driving in his seventh run in his last two games.

Tracy brought the Ironpigs closer with his third home run of the series in the top of the eighth inning, a home run that ended up getting manager, Mike Sarbaugh ejected for arguing a call that was reversed from a foul ball.

Columbus continued to hit the baseball well, compiling 12 hits and giving starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez plenty of run support. Gomez pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and struck out five batters in the win, improving his record to 3-5 on the year.

The Clippers conclude their series with Lehigh Valley tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. at Huntington Park looking for a sweep. Columbus has never lost a game to Lehigh Valley at Huntington Park and Yohan Pino (5-2, 4.71 ERA) will try to keep that streak alive, as he goes against Lehigh Valley starter, Joe Savery (1-4, 4.40 ERA).

Aeros Rally Late, Grab 11-10 Win over Binghamton

The Aeros offense woke up in exciting fashion Saturday night by delivering a thrilling 11-10 win over the Binghamton Mets before 4,173 fans. Those who stayed for the nearly four hour offensive explosion at NYSEG Stadium witnessed the largest Akron comeback of the year. The team trailed by six runs entering the eighth inning, negating a five-unearned run rally in the fifth for Binghamton. The win improved the Aeros to 20-29 on the year while the Mets dropped to 23-25.

Binghamton began the scoring on an RBI double by D.J. Wabick in the first while Akron DH Lonnie Chisenhall hit his first home run of the season to tie the game a 1-1 in the fourth. The hosts then knocked out Aeros starter Steven Wright in the bottom of that frame before scoring a pair more in the fifth in taking a brief three-run lead. Aeros third baseman Jared Goedert then returned the favor in the next frame with a first-pitch two-run homer to left center, making the score 4-3.

A pair of Akron defensive mistakes then gave Binghamton an intimidating 9-3 advantage after six innings. Shortstop Carlos Rivero committed a fielding error while a single and a walk helped to load the bases with just one out. Mets left fielder Eric Campbell then hit a routine grounder up the middle to reliever Connor Graham, but the right-hander promptly threw the ball into the outfield. The second error brought home a pair of runs while three straight RBI hits finished the monster rally.

The teams then exchanged single runs in the next two at bats and the Aeros still trailed by six runs at 10-4 with two innings left. Akron’s furious comeback then began in the eighth kick-started by three straight singles from Chisenhall, Goedert and right fielder Matt McBride. Two straight outs put any chance of a rally in jeopardy but second baseman Cord Phelps then drilled a bases-clearing double to bring the Aeros within just three runs.

The ninth inning was even better as a John Drennen double brought runners to second and third with nobody out. A wild pitch scored the first run before Chisenhall singled home Drennen to bring the deficit to just 9-8. Even despite the substitution of the fourth Binghamton reliever of the night, Jared Goedert then doubled and McBride was hit bit a pitch to load the bases and still nobody out.

First baseman Beau Mills grounded into a threatening double play but Rivero made up for his earlier error with the game-winning two-run single to right field. The Mets then nearly made another comeback as the team loaded the bases against Aeros closer Bryce Stowell in the ninth, but catcher Omir Santos grounded out to Rivero at short to end the game.

Omar Aguilar (1-1) recorded the win for Akron by pitching 2.1 solid innings of relief and B-Mets reliever Emary Frederick (0-1) took the loss by allowing Rivero’s hit. Stowell earned his first save of the game despite the rocky ninth inning as well. Steven Wright struggled in his first start of the season for the Aeros as he allowed seven runs (two earned) in 3.1 innings pitched.

Chisenhall, Goedert and McBride, the 2-4 hitters in the Akron lineup, led the offensive attack by combining for nine hits on the night. Goedert’s seven total bases were a new high for any Aero on the year while he also extended his hitting streak to 18 straight games. The B-Mets stranded 15 runners on the night in losing for the first time in the last six meetings between these two teams.

Akron looks to strike gold again Sunday for a special 6:35 p.m. first pitch in Binghamton. Left-hander Eric Berger (1-3, 8.51 ERA) takes the mound for the purple and black against Mets’ righty Josh Stinson (2-1, 3.20 ERA).

Dash Downs Kinston 7-3

After a Kinston comeback on Friday night, Winston-Salem returned the favor with a 7-3 comeback win Saturday night at Historic Grainger Stadium.

The Indians started the game in style as Jordan Henry led off the first inning with a single and Karexon Sanchez followed with a walk. Two batters later, Abner Abreu singled to load the bases for Kyle Bellows. Bellows hit a grounder to second, and the Dash got the out at second base but the relay throw to first was wild and got away. Henry and Sanchez both scored to give the K-Tribe a 2-0 lead, as Dash shortstop Eduardo Escobar was charged with an error.

In the second, Ronald Rivas led off with a single and moved to second on an error. Lucas Montero singled to send Rivas to third, and Henry's groundout brought Rivas home to make it 3-0.

Winston-Salem started a comeback in the fifth against Indians starter Marty Popham. Luis Sierra led off a single, and a bases loaded walk by Eduardo Escobar scored him to cut the K-Tribe lead to 3-1. Popham was taken out after the fifth, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out seven.

A fielder's choice grounder by Kyle Shelton brought in another run in the sixth off of K-Tribe reliever Chris Jones. The Dash tied the game in the seventh on an RBI groundout by Jon Gilmore after Escobar had moved from first to third on a wild pickoff throw by Jones.

The Dash took the lead in the top of the ninth off of reliever Brian Grening. Justin Greene led off with a walk and stole second. He was sacrificed to third by Escobar and Jon Gilmore hit an RBI single to give Winston a 4-3 lead. Three batters later, Luis Sierra added an RBI single. A Jason Kipnis error on a grounder by Logan Johnson brought home a third run and Grening's wild pitch scored Luis Sierra to give the Dash a 7-3 lead. Grening (2-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season, giving up four runs (two earned) on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Winston-Salem’s Kyle Bellamy (1-0) picked up the win in relief. The Dash bullpen was great tonight as Dylan Axelrod and Bellamy combined to throw four innings of no hit ball.

The K-Tribe will take on the Dash in the rubber match of the three game set Sunday at 2pm. Joe Gardner will be on the mound for Kinston.

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Captains Returning To Earth

The inevitable has begun to happen.

After an incredible start, the Captains started returning to Earth during their recent seven game homestand. Lake County went 3-4 against South Bend and Dayton, two of the lesser teams in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League. The homestand included a stretch of 3 straight losses, only the second time this season the Captains had a losing streak of that length.

Some of the difficulties may be due to a recent bout of roster instability. After playing six weeks or so with the same team, the Captains had a large turnover in the pitching staff. Joe Gardner, Rob Bryson, Chris Jones, Cory Burns and Marty Popham got well-deserved promotions to Kinston. Each of these pitchers made major contributions to the Captains terrific start, especially starter Gardner and closer Burns. Captains fans thank these young men for their work and hope their success continues. The team also placed right handed starter Danny Salazar on the disabled list. In a period of about 7 days, the Captains replaced 6 members of a 13 man pitching staff. Under these circumstances, a losing streak would not be surprising.

Actually, though, the pitching, both starting and the bullpen, did a pretty good job during the homestand. In the seven games, the opposition scored a combined total of 28 runs. Except for two games, the starters did a very good job, led by Trey Haley who did a fantastic job on Tuesday. The lanky, right handed 19 year old Texan went 6 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits, while striking out 5 and walking only one. Haley really seems to have turned corner in the month of May. On April 18, after his third start of the year, he owned a 0-0 record, a 6.92 ERA with 6 walks and 5 strikeouts. Since then, Trey has won 4 of his seven starts (with 3 no-decisions), and lowered his ERA by half to 3.48, walked 15 and struck out 31. More importantly, he’s developed real poise on the mound. I saw him pitch several times last year and if things started to go south, he just fell apart. This year, though, he’s hung in and kept his cool. Tuesday night was a great example. After the Captains staked him to 1-0 in the first inning, Haley hit a batter and then threw a wild pitch in the 5th, but he bore down and got the final out of the inning on a infield ground out.

As an aside, the game between Lake County and Dayton on Tuesday, May 25 was one of the best I’ve ever seen in my years of following the Captains. Lake County scored a run in the bottom of the first on a double and two groundouts to take a 1-0 lead. Haley and relievers Francisco Jimenez and Preston Guilmet kept the Dragons scoreless through 8. I love a 1-0 game; the tension builds with each at-bat. Top of the ninth, 2 outs and men on second and first, Dayton OF Cameron Satterwhite smacked a single to right fielder Greg Folgia. Folgia threw a bullet to catcher Roberto Perez on one bounce as the runner from second raced for home. Perez tagged the runner out at the plate to preserve the win for Haley. Best of all, from my seats on the third base side, everything unfolded right in front of me.

Of the remaining starters, Clayton Cook, another 19 year old right handed Texan, gave one of the best performance this season by a Captains starter on Friday, May 21. Cook pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 run (earned) while striking out 2 with no walks. Unfortunately, the usually reliable Nick Sariandes gave up a home run to South Bend’s Matt Helm in the top of the tenth, the Captains lost 2-1 and Cook got a no-decision for his effort.

Except for one notable exception, the bullpen continued to be real strength of the team. Newcomer Jeremy Johnson, a 23 year old right hander out of Washington State, appeared in three games in the homestand. The Indians 13th round draft pick in 2009 pitched 4 innings, gave up one run, 2 hits, struck out 6 and walked none. Johnson won 2 of the 4 victories during the homestand and now sports a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. Of the other new relievers, Preston Guilmet, Tyler Sturdevant and Jose Flores gave good accountings of themselves. Vidal Nuno, on the other hand, had a difficult Captains debut on Monday, May 24 against South Bend. Nuno entered the game in relief of Austin Adams in the 5th inning of a scoreless game. In 2 2/3 innings, Nuno gave up 9 hits, 6 runs, all earned and one strike out. At least he didn‘t walk anyone. This wasted an outstanding effort by Adams, who gave only one hit, no walks and 4 strikeouts in his 4 innings of work.

A major concern for the pitching staff remains the gopher ball. The Captains hurlers have given up 38 dingers so far this year to lead the Midwest League. Peoria, in second place, has given up 32 home runs. Great Lakes, the team chasing the Captains in the Eastern Division, has given up only 18 round-trippers. During the seven game homestand, Lake County pitchers surrendered a combined 6 homers to South Bend and Dayton.

But the real problem has been the offense. Bo Greenwell, the offensive engine for most of the season, really started to cool off (at least for him) during the homestand. In the 7 games at home, Bo batted .280, hitting only singles, and only garnering 1 RBI. Delvi Cid continued to struggle at the plate. Cid, not a power hitter by any means, struck out 4 times in the 5 games he played. He leads the team with 45 strikeouts, while walking only 10 times. (In comparison, home run leader Jeremie Tice struck out 31 times) For the season, Cid owns a very inadequate .196 BA with an OPS of .470. Cid’s performance is the most disappointing of the season thus far. But, every cloud has its silver lining, and Cid leads the team with 20 stolen bases so far with four of them during the homestand while being caught only twice.

Casey Frawley cooled off during the homestand, batting .107 for the period. That lowered his season batting average to .278 and OPS of .804. Frawley’s hot start exceeded expectations; manger Ted Kubiak used him at different positions to get his bat into the line-up. Perhaps he’s coming back to normal. On the other hand, infielder Kyle Smith got hot in the five games he played. In 18 at-bats, Smith smacked 7 hits, batting .389 for the period.

Power, or the lack thereof, continues to be a concern. Jeremie Tice had two homeruns on Thursday against Dayton to take the team lead with 5. Those were the only homeruns during the 7 game homestand. Overall, the Captains have slugged 27 homers in 46 games, good for 6th place in the Midwest League. The Captains main rival, Great Lakes, has smacked 43 dingers.

The wonderfully named Chun Chen continues to pleasantly surprise. The catcher/DH actually passed Greenwell in hitting, batting.440 for the homestand to raise his season average to .336. Chen is another player exceeding expectations. Kubiak, wanting to utilize the Taiwan native’s hot bat, often pencils in Chen at DH on non-catching days.

Despite the 3-4 homestand, as of Thursday night, the Captains still lead the Eastern Division of the Midwest League with a 32-16 record. That’s a .667 winning percentage and puts them 3 games ahead of second place Great Lakes Loons. I think fans of just about any team would be happy with that. The Captains are currently in Midland, MI and in the midst of a 4 game series against the Loons.

NOTE: On Friday night, Lake County lost the first game of the series against the Loons 2-1 and now lead Great Lakes by 2 games.

Terry Evitts, a management consultant and baseball historian, is a life-long resident of Lake County. He follows the Captains for IPI and may be reached at tevitts@indiansprospectinsider.com.

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Game Recap 5/28: Brown Leads Clippers Charge

Brown leads Clippers to 11-7 win

The Clippers brought their bats out to begin the Memorial Day weekend and found their stride, defeating the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, 11-7. The Clippers used timely two-out hitting and Jordan Brown's leadership to take game two of the four game series.

The Ironpigs got out to an early lead when John Mayberry hit his eighth home run of the season off starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco. The Clippers responded with four runs in the bottom of the third inning as Brown came up with three men on and two outs, and cleared the bases with a double to left.

The Clippers continued to pour on the runs in the fifth inning when Brown drove in his fourth run of the night on a sacrifice fly and then Brian Bixler followed by hitting his fourth home run of the season, a two run shot to right field.

Andy Tracy did his part to keep Lehigh Valley in the contest against Carrasco. In the top half of the sixth inning, Tracy hit a two-run home run to right, his fourth of the year, then bettered that plate appearance by hitting a grand slam deep to right off Carrasco in the seventh.

The Clippers' scoring outburst turned out to be the fourth time this season Columbus had scored 10 or more runs. The Clippers were able to score runs due to balanced offensive production from top to bottom in the lineup. Brown drove in five for Columbus to lead the way followed by Buscher, Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley each driving in two. Santana had two hits, a single and a triple, Brantley tallied two singles and Bixler had three singles. Seven of the nine batters for Columbus recorded a base hit on the night, as the team compiled 14 hits on the evening.

Carrasco earned his third win of the season as he defeated Brandon Duckworth, who fell to 1-1 on the year. Carrasco went seven innings, giving up 11 hits, seven runs, six earned and striking out seven. Six of the seven runs against Carrasco came in the last 2 innings of work, all off the bat of Tracy.

The Clippers meet up with the Ironpigs in game three of the series tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. at Huntington Park. Jeanmar Gomez takes the hill for Columbus (2-5, 6.02) as Nate Bump gets the start for Lehigh Valley (4-2, 2.41).

B-Mets Oust Aeros 2-1 in Pitcher’s Duel

The host Binghamton Mets shut down the Akron offense and held on late for the 2-1 victory at NYSEG Stadium Friday night. A crowd of 5,132 fans in Binghamton witnessed a classic back-and-forth pitcher’s duel between a pair of first-round pick starters and dominant relievers. In the end however, the Aeros could not muster enough firepower offensively and fell for the fourth time in five contests. The Mets improved to 23-24 while Akron fell to 19-29 on the year.

Neither team scored early until the B-Mets broke through against Aeros starting pitcher Alex White in the third inning. Reese Havens began the frame with a double past second baseman Cord Phelps and eventually scored on a sac fly. Binghamton again capitalized with a small-ball attack in the fourth as a single, groundout, passed ball and wild pitch led to an unearned run and a two-run lead.

The Aeros had trouble doing anything at all against Mets right-handed Brad Holt. He permitted just one hit and three walks in five shutout innings before handing off to his bullpen. Akron did not have a runner past first base in the fourth through eighth but rallied with a furious comeback in the ninth.

Third baseman Jared Goedert started things with a walk and after two straight outs, moved to second base on a catcher’s indifference. In a stroke of good luck, right fielder John Drennen continued his long hitting streak with the RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jerad Head drew a walk to put the go-ahead runner on base, but Damaso Espino struck out to end the ball game.

Holt (1-4) earned the win in his most impressive start of the season as the New York’s first-round pick in the 2008 draft entered the game with a 13.40 ERA. White (1-1) took the unfortunate loss in his second Double-A start despite earning the quality start in permitting just two runs on four hits in six efficient innings. Reliever Bryan Price extended his scoreless streak to six straight appearances for the Aeros bullpen while Clint Everts earned his second save for the Mets.

Akron only collected four hits on the night but still managed to strand eight runners on base. Goedert finished with a pair of walks and hit safely in his 17th straight game with a single while Drennen’s late hit brought his streak to 11 consecutive games.

This four-game Memorial Day weekend series continues Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The Aeros will look to even up the set as righty Steven Wright (0-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his first start of the season against Binghamton’s Michael Antonini (3-4, 4.62 ERA).

Kinston Downs Dash 8-5

The K-Tribe overcame a 5-0 defecit, coming back to beat firrst place Winston-Salem 8-5 Friday night at Historic Grainger Stadium. The comeback was the biggest of the year for Kinston.

Winston-Salem got to work early off of K-Tribe starter T.J. House. Eduardo Escobar doubled in the first inning, moved to third on a single and then scored on an RBI fielder's choice by Seth Loman. The Dash's Brandon Short led off the second inning with a long home run to left field to make it 2-0. The Dash piled on three more runs in the fourth. Jordan Cheatham hit a two-run double and Eduardo Escobar tacked on an RBI single to extend their lead to 5-1.

Kinston answered big in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Bellows hit an RBI single and then Chris Kersten hit a two-run double, his first RBI with the K-Tribe. Ronald Rivas followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-4.

The K-Tribe would jump on top in the bottom of the seventh. Jordan Henry drew a lead-off walk, and Jason Kipnis doubled to left field to score Henry and tie the game. Bellows then hammered a triple to left to give the Indians a 6-5 lead. The Indians added insurance in the eighth. With one out, Rivas singled and Montero tripled down the right field line to bring him home. Henry then hit an RBI single through a drawn-in infield to make it 8-5. Bellows and Rivas each went 3-for-4 on the night. Henry went 2-for-3, reaching base four times.

Kinston's bullpen was fantastic, shutting down the Dash through the final five innings of play. Joey Mahalic gave up one hit in one inning of work. Rob Bryson (2-0) picked up the win, pitching a perfect two innings while striking out four. Matt Langwell pitched a scoreless eighth inning, picking up his Carolina League leading eighth hold of the season. Cory Burns got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth inning, picking up his third save of the season.

The K-Tribe (26-22) has now gone 17-6 since May 5th, pulling to within six games of first place Winston-Salem. The Dash (32-16) came into Friday night's contest with the best record in all of baseball. Kinston takes on the Dash for game two of the series Saturday night, 7pm at Historic Grainger Stadium. Marty Popham will take the hill for the K-Tribe.

Loons beat Captains, 2-1

The Loons took the first game of a four game series last night with a 2-1 win over the Captains to pull within two games. Gorman Erickson scored the winning run when Casey Frawley miss played a ground ball off the bat of Rafael Ynoa in the sixth.

Great Lakes kicked off the sixth inning with back to back singles by Angelo Songco and Erickson. Lenell McGee reached on a fielder’s choice loading the bases. Bryant Hernandez hit into a 4-6-3 double play allowing the first run to score and moving Erickson to third with two outs.

Lake County had a number of chances throughout the game but finally cashed in, in the eighth. Frawley reached second base on an error. A Bo Greenwell ground out moved Frawley to third base. Jason Smit singled to left driving in the Captains loan run making it 2-1.

Matt Packer (2-3) pitched great in the loss, allowing both runs, only one of which was earned off three hits and struck out four. Captains’ reliever Francisco Jimenez pitched three scoreless inning of one hit ball and struck out three. Elisaul Pimentel (4-3) picked up the win for the Loons as he tossed seven scoreless innings allowing just two hits and striking out seven. Justin Miller pitched the final two innings allowing an unearned run to pick up his fourth save.

Lake County and Great Lakes will continue the series Saturday night from Dow Diamond at 7:05PM. The Captains will send RHP Austin Adams (1-2) to the bump. The Loons will counter with RHP Josh Wall (0-2).

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Mirabelli, Indians Plan To Be "Aggressive" In Draft

The First Year Player Draft for Major League Baseball is quickly approaching.  This year the first round of the draft will be carried live on TV on Monday night June 7^th and then the rest of the draft will be completed on Tuesday June 8^th and Wednesday June 9^th.

As the draft clock gets closer to striking midnight, scouts and scouting directors for every team are bouncing around racking up their frequent flyer miles taking in some last minute action at conference tournaments or other events all around the country.  Cleveland Indians Scouting Director John Mirabelli is one of those scouting directors who is taking part in such frenetic activity to see as many players again and again who are being considered for the Indians fifth overall pick in the first round this year.

This is Mirabelli’s 11^th season in charge of the Indians’ Scouting Department.  While Brad Grant was appointed as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Indians two years ago, Mirabelli still is the head man in charge of the entire scouting operation in Cleveland and is very much involved with the draft, especially the selection of the first few picks.

I was able to catch up with Mirabelli on Wednesday evening in between trips to the airport and ballpark for a long talk about the process in preparing for the draft and how they plan to approach it this year, and after careful consideration felt a Q&A was best in order to accurately convey his comments.

We are a little over a week away from the draft.  What is your involvement this late in the process?

John Mirabelli (JM):  It is a collective process.  We really got started on this year's draft two weeks after the ‘09 Draft was over.  The [area scouts] get right back at it and start seeing guys in the summer and fall and start putting priority players together so that when we get to January we can sort of have a priority target list for Brad and I to attack.  Obviously, picking at #5 overall makes it a lot easier to do as I don't have to start with 40 guys on my list and get to 20.  Instead, I can start with 20 and get down to five.  My process really has been to go back and go back and go back again [to get many looks at players].  I haven't really focused on getting too deep into this draft though I have seen some other guys along the way.  My focus has been to follow the lead of Brad and the crosscheckers and who they have identified who should be in the mix at #5 and go see that guy.

Who makes the call on the first round pick?  After the first few picks, you really rely on the scouts for your picks since you and Brad likely have not seen any of those players, but the first pick or two you have seen the players you are considering.  Does it really come down to yours and Brad’s decision?

JM: Yes, that's how we do it.  Brad and I go out and see the players.  It's another look and while it could be a good day or bad day [for the player] we are trying to identify the tools.  We need to look at them so that when we walk into the room we can ask the right questions [from our scouts] about the guy.  Not that it is going to be my opinion or Brad's one look, but certainly we will go with our area guys and ask questions to make sure we are comparing the high school kids from California and the high school kids from Florida fairly.

Is there a pitcher in this draft up to the level of your first pick from last year, right-hander Alex White?

JM:  No, I don't think there is necessarily a guy of his caliber.  Every draft is different as you can only evaluate and you can only select the players that are in this pool.  Whether 5th, 12th or 25th that's what we have to evaluate.  I will say in my 20 years of scouting this has been one of the most challenging years of scouting.  Not because the talent isn't good as it is a really good draft and there are a lot of good players in this draft, it's just that there are not a lot of star players.  There are only a handful of them.  We know that there will be some guys drafted in the 10th round or wherever who becomes a good major league player, but that happens all the time and is the nature of this business.  There are a lot of good players in this draft, but a lot of them are the same.  There is a lot of right-handed pitching, but not many position players or left-handed pitchers.  It is just a unique draft where so many of these guys are alike in terms of ability, and that's where we are being challenged in separating them out.  I don't mean that negatively, I am just saying that because of the dynamics of this draft it makes it a very unique talent pool.

Knowing that it may be challenging to separate the options at your disposal with the fifth overall pick, does it make you more inclined to take a safer pick there or are you truly open to anything there?

JM: We are absolutely open to anything.  I think in terms that with that pick at #5 you have to look at who has the most upside.  I am not sure there are many of those guys in this draft, so we have to determine which we think could present the most upside for us.

With the #5 pick, does knowing that if you are unable to sign your first round pick this year that you will get a pick in the same slot in the first round next year as compensation affect who you may target with the pick?  Or does that have no bearing on the decision?

JM: When you are picking this high, we are absolutely going to take the best player available.  That compensation could work to our advantage, but that's why it is in place.  We are going to be aggressive throughout the draft and we are going to stick to that philosophy as long as there are good players on the board.  I know the first round pick gets a lot of attention, and I understand that, but I can tell you as a Scouting Department we know that one player is not going to make a difference and we have to bring a lot of talent into the organization.  It's not just the 5th pick in the draft; it is the 5th pick in every round.  We are prepared right now to be very aggressive in this draft, I can tell you that.

There have been reports that the Indians will be in the red this year financially because of attendance shortfalls.  Is the draft budget in any way affected by this?

JM:  The budget is set way in advance and approved in October.  We have a very aggressive budget this year and we have a pretty good idea where we are going to be picking and that still remains in place as I have not been told anything differently.  Sometimes there can be changes after the fact if we trade players before the trade deadline and there is some salary relief and now all of a sudden you have some additional surplus to the budget.  It's kind of late to put it into the draft, but we can apply some of those funds to the International [signings].

Is the idea to be “aggressive” always decided before the draft, or is this something than can change in the moment of the draft depending on how it is going?

JM: I think it is more predetermined.  We go back and look back at our draft processes every year.  Where we are successful, where can we do a better job, and where could we look for an opportunity to be more aggressive here or be more conservative there.  So it is a predetermined assessment of what we could possibly get more out of the draft and get better.

What do you think is the strength of the draft this year?

JM:  I think without question it is very deep in right-handed pitching.  I don't think there is any question about that as high school and college overall there is a deep group of right-handed pitching in this draft.  As you know, this is a common denominator every year where there is always some right-handed pitching you have to choose from.  Some years may be a little bit better than others on the top end, but that's something that is always going to be there.  It's a challenge this year as left-handed pitching is extremely thin.  Catching, which is a premium position, is awfully thin.  Those guys will get inflated because catching is a supply and demand position and is very similar to major league frontline pitching as everybody needs and wants catching.  The few guys in this draft that are legitimate are going to be propped way up.

Your drafts appear to be more fruitful recently.  Have you changed your draft approach over the past few years?  Is there something you changed systematically or is it a byproduct of the guys you have selected staying healthy for once?

JM:  I don't want to get into the specifics from the proprietary standpoint that we'd like to keep it to ourselves, but I will say from the vetting process I feel like we have gotten a lot more detailed and lot deeper with these guys.  From a technology standpoint we have gotten a lot more quantity looks at players.  We have also done some things internally with our scouts getting different looks, getting different opinions, guys going out of their normal realm of responsibilities, and just getting some outside opinions.  I think putting all that together it has given us more information to hopefully make better decisions.

While you are still heavily involved and oversee the draft, how exactly has your role changed since Brad Grant was put in charge of amateur scouting two years ago?

JM:  Yeah, I have been involved.  I think my role is more of the big picture broader scope of how we do things and the processes and procedures and things we have implemented.  I am someone who can see where the players fit in not only with the draft, but where they fit into our system.  Where are the strengths, where do they fit in our system, and where do they fit in internationally with what we do there.  So I think just being more efficient with the amateur draft is my role.  While I am evaluating players I am a fresh set of eyes.  I am kind of the truth doctor.  I don't go out all summer and see any amateur guys in the Cape Code and summer stuff.  The first time I see these guys is early in the spring, and I think that helps in that I don't have any preconceived ideas since I did not see them in the summer and I think there is a place for that in the evaluation process.

Do you take a lot of stock in the guys who shoot up draft boards in the final weeks before the draft?

JM: No, actually we won't.  We've had some internal studies looking at what has happened in past drafts and where there has been success, and along with that looked at these guys who late in the draft season seem to make the climb or fall.  We just go back and look at it all, and especially with the college players we look at the body of work.  It's tough to do as that [last month of play] is the last thing on the mind.  I think we have established some discipline to go back and look at the body of work to see how they did from their freshman to sophomore year and so on and put that all together and not just focus on what they have done the last month.  I think we have done a better job of that, and I will tell you that is part of our new process also.

Scouting Directors and tons of scouts for every organization are all scrambling last minute to get final looks at thousands of players.  It’s a pretty crazy final month not only for you and the rest of the Indians’ Scouting Department, but the Scouting Departments for every other organization as well, yes?

JM:  Here is the best way I can explain it to you.  As soon as we reach April 1st to April 13th there are concerns you are running out of Friday's as that is when most guys pitch.  So now you are counting down the days and you have to be efficient.  So that means you have to go where they are playing and when they are playing.  No body cares how much sleep I get or how many 4:15 AM wakeup calls I get in a row or how many different planes, hotels and rental cars I have been in on a daily basis.  You just know from experience when April comes, okay now I gotta go.  When scouts call you and guys are playing you gotta go and we'll rest and catch up on our sleep after the draft.

Now that draft day is quickly approaching, what is the process in getting ready for it?

JM:  We start Sunday morning.  The scouts will come into Cleveland on Saturday night and we will start our individual scout meetings on Sunday morning.  We'll get through every scout and talk about every guy on their list and that will probably take until Wednesday and then we start putting the big board together with all our top players.  That will take us through probably Saturday, and then Sunday we will spend the day reviewing the whole process.  We will go through it one more time, go through scenarios, go through questions on if anyone is too high or too low, and talk about some players again.  And then Monday is the draft.  I think we have a good process, and we have tweaked and adjusted it throughout the years.  I like our dynamics in our draft and I think we are very efficient.  Brad does a heck of a job running that and with the leadership he provides, and I think we are in a very good spot as far as our draft is concerned.

What is considered a successful draft?

JM:  I think you have to look at it in terms of what has happened in the industry.  Are you doing what the industry norm is?  The goals are kind of simple.  If you can find in each draft a rotation starter, be it a 1-4 starter, and an everyday position player, then you have beaten most of the drafts.  In any given year in the draft there are only 20-30 position players and 20-30 rotation starters, so if you can get one of each I think you are beating the competition.  There are a lot of players who will get a cup of coffee, or guys who become an extra player or middle reliever, but those obviously are not the goals.  This isn't my goal or the Cleveland Indians’ goal.  This is the distribution of talent in the draft and on average if you can come away with one of each of those and if you can do better than that you are way ahead of the game.  We've done our best and taken some chances in the past where things have not worked out, and we have had some bad luck in there too, but you can look at a lot of teams and it is a tough deal with injuries and guys not performing or reaching their potential.  It happens a lot.  I think we are on the right track, I can tell you that.

With the good drafts you seem to have had recently, another good draft this year could really set the organization up well, no?

JM:  I really think that if we can do the same type of thing that we have done the last couple of years I think we will really be in a good spot.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @tlastoria.  His new book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on Amazon.com or his site.

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