Josh Tomlin had a short, but good outing against the Syracuse Chiefs. He left in line for the win with the Clippers up 3-1 in the 6th. Handing things over to the Clippers bullpen has been a smart move for most of the season, but a combination of walks, an error followed by a singles parade in the 6th led to a 5-run outburst and a 6-3 lead that the Clippers couldn't overcome. They lost the 3rd game of the series 6-4 after taking the first two from the Chiefs.
Team Hitting: 8H, 3XBH, 1BB
The Clippers had one of those sleepy games at the plate that the Indians seem so fond of. Jason Donald stayed productive by knocking in a pair with an RBI double in the 3rd and Jose Constanza had a couple hits and a run scored. There's not much to write about offensively, save for the small fact that the Clippers only managed to get 5 balls in the air, which generally means very few XBH's and almost no chance at any HR's. The Clippers will bounce back as they have way too many good hitters to be kept down for long, but this wasn't their night.
Team Pitching: 6(5) R(ER), 7H, 4BB, 11K
Tomlin pitched well, but his leash remained short and he was pulled with 2 outs in the 6th after only 81 pitches. He threw 69% strikes and struck out six in his short outing. Carlton Smith came on and finished the inning but ran into some trouble in the 7th. After giving up a walk and a single, the freshly (and unfairly) demoted Joe Smith was inserted. He allowed Carlton's runners to score and added on 3 of his own with the help of a throwing error on an infield single and 3 additional hits allowed.
Jeremy Sowers gave the Clippers a chance to get back in the game by pitching 2 scoreless and only yielding a walk while striking out 2 and throwing 55% strikes.
The Clippers have an 11:35am start and Mike Gosling will get the spot start as he aims to get some consistency and win the 4 game series before heading off on an 8 game road trip.
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9 comments:
I wanted to make a quick note of why I feel that Joe Smith's demotion was "unfair": it wasn't unfair in the sense of "this is an outrage, slay the two-headed hydra that is Shapiro-netti!"
It's unfair in that neither Joe Smith or Rafael Perez can get right-handed hitters out currently, and it just so happens that Joe has options and Rafael Perez does not. Hector Ambriz needed to be put on the active roster because he was the Indians Rule 5 pick in this year's draft.
It is unfair in the cosmic sense, not the practical reality that is roster management. Back to your regular programming.
Rafael Perez can't get anyone out, and hasn't for about a year and a half, so I'm not really sure why they care about the option issue. Who exactly is going to want to take him? A 2.59 WHIP, and at least 60% of the outs he's actually managed to record were blasted at someone. I didn't think it was possible for a major league pitcher to pitch worse than Perez did last year, but so far, Perez is showing it is possible, 28% LD rate, 7+ BB/9. No one is fooled by Perez's slider these days. If the fangraphs pitch speed numbers are correct, it looks like the biggest difference between Perez now and when he was good, is that he's throwing the slider much harder, around 82-83 in '06-'08 and then 85 last year, and 86 so far this year. If that's the case he's basically a single speed pitcher, at 86-89 mph
Sorry, I just needed to take this opportunity to complain about the travesty that is Rafael Perez. I really hope they DFA him when/if Wood comes back. Or call up Herrmann. Watching Perez pitch and Laporta hit this year are two things that no baseball fan should be subjected to.
I hear your frustration, but the deal is that the Indians needed to send someone down, and unless they are 100% convinced that Perez is worthless (which they clearly aren't) then they made the right call by sending Smith down and stowing him in AAA until the rest of the bullpen sorts itself out.
While I agree that his slider being too hard could be a problem (his 'spread' between FA and SL has been narrowing 6, 5.6, 5.1, 3.3) I believe that his biggest problems are a loss of control, a decrease in GB% and a skyhigh BABIP (even after considering his increased LD%). Pitchers shouldn't have BABIP's of .371 ('09) let alone .453 ('10).
His xFIP's are ugly, no doubt, but I truly believe he is an asset worth hanging onto. He hasn't lost velocity, rather, he seemingly has just lost feel for his SL which was his main weapon in his 2 GREAT seasons in '07 and '08. He is still dirt cheap and a player with his caliber of stuff and recent success (1 year and 25 games isn't that long ago) is not easily replaceable from the farm system. I think that figuring out a way to straighten him out (or dealing him to someone who is) is a worthwhile endeavor.
Frank Herrmann is a great guy, but Rafael Perez has better stuff. That's the summary of the front-offices argument and a worthwhile one to make considering that we have plenty of righties with middling stuff. Lefties that got big league hitters out consistently for 2 full seasons are not quite as prevalent in the Major Leagues or in the Indians system...even if they can't get anyone out now and I cry everytime I see Perez wander out the 'pen.
See, I don't really think you can say Perez has better stuff than anyone anymore. He was never a hard thrower and his fastball has never been a good pitch, he relied 100% on a slider that had a lot of movement and was a change of speed from the fastball, now his slider seemingly has less movement and is close in speed to his fastball, and hitters are killing it. So what makes his stuff good anymore? Theoretically he could regain his feel for his slider, but I could also say theoretically Sowers could figure out how to throw a good knuckleball,I can't say which of those things is more likely. Even when Perez makes decent pitches by location he's getting hit, guys just sit on his slider and take it the other way.
At this point he's been bad for nearly as long as he's been good. The league is full of relief pitchers who are tough to hit when they first come up, and then hitters make adjustments (the Indians have had a few of those, Fernando Cabrera, or Julian Tavarez back in the day). Of course, realistically there's no reason not to give Perez a little while longer to somehow figure it out, the Indians are going nowhere with or without him, but I figure it's just delaying the inevitable
I agree with Seth here. I don't want any more of Perez. To change the subject, is there a chance that Shelley Duncan could get a shot in Cleveland? He seems to be hitting well and he never got a chance in New York to see what he could do. The lineup could really use some right-handed power.
Seth: Haha, if I had to bet, I would say Perez would find his old slider before Sowers would turn into the latest lefty knckler since Rich Sauveur.
It's true, hitters might have him figured out, and even if he regains his formerly dominant slider/fastball combo he might still get beat up. The argument I, and the Indians front-office, am making is that if he regains it, he might very well be effective again even when guys have their scouting reports on him. Add-in the fact that the Indians are likely going nowehere this year, there isn't a 40-man rostered RP that is being held-up at AAA, and that you must choose between either keeping Perez or cutting him entirely, it's not hard to see why the Indians (and us as fans) are forced to hope that he regains his old form.
Either they cut him and always wonder "what if?" or they keep him and know for sure with little to no collateral damage (besides you and I being sad). That being said, I don't think it's likely he regains his form, and I think that Perez will be gone by the end of the year.
Chad: Duncan might get a shot if Branyan's back goes bad, or LaPorta continues his struggles for another month or so. Duncan could be one of those guys that is always relegated to the plodding, slugging 1B that doesnt slug that well, but he has OPS'd at or around .900 for most of his AAA career. The issue is that we have Weglarz, Mills, LaPorta and yes, even, Marte who have hit roughly as well (or are projected to) and aren't 30. To the argument that "Shelley Duncan is killing the ball in AAA"...I would say "Yes, but not as much as Chris Gimenez" That jump from AAA to ML is so big and some guys just can't make it. I fear Duncan (and Marte, and Gimenez) might be in the huge camp of prospects that just can't jump that far.
I was wondering Charlie, given the struggles of Hafner and LaPorta if we would see LaPorta sent back to Columbus to try to right himself and possibly see Brown come up and take over some of the LF/1B/DH duties in his place?
It's a good question and one that probably doesn't have a right answer as far as the organization is concerned. They are damned if they do send him down, because they are acknowledging that their stud guy isn't ready for the Majors and damned if they don't because he might lose all confidence in his own abilities and end up changing his historically productive and promising approach. My gut is that Acta will want to gain the confidence of LaPorta by keeping him in the lineup and letting him find his way. I am more of this mind because I don't think he has more to learn at AAA and the Indians have little to lose by keeping him at the ML level.
That being said, we gotta find a way to get Brown in the Big Leagues, don't we? I think he will get that chance once the Indians trade/drop Branyan and the AB's open up that way. Not great, but it's really the only way.
Hafner is going to remain firmly in the middle of the lineup because he makes too much money. Faulty logic, but a fact nonetheless. Here's hoping this afternoon's (5/5) homer on a 97mph fastball is a sign of better things to come for Pronk.
Thanks Charlie.
I never did understand that philosophy of "We're paying this guy too much to do XYZ with him". I always thought it was better to have $10 million on the bench than $10 million wearing sombreros. But I do understand the feeling of needing to make your investment work.
I also realize that Brown's bat doesn't really play well at 1B, LF, or DH and that his defense can barely play at any of those positions. But again, I'm also of the belief that if you have power in most every other position (especially ones where power doesn't usually come) that a lighter hitting guy can have his place there too.
But come on! The guy had a .197 ISO last year, had a .397 wOBA and a spiffy .336 BA. Even if he got luckier than usual (.367 BABIP) he's still worth a shot. I mean, it's the Indians, not the Royals. Trade him or play him I say!
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