Evelyn "Mama" Kornegay Passes Away

Evelyn "Mama" Kornegay passed away Friday morning at her home from pancreatic cancer.

Over the years, Mama provided home and care for over 150 Kinston Indian players over the past 15 years, most notably Victor Martinez when he was in Kinston in 2001. She provided a loving home and adored all of her "boys" as she would often call them.

"It is impossible to measure the impact Mama had on the Kinston and Cleveland Indians," said Kinston Indians General Manager Shari Massengill in a quote provided by the team. "From players, to coaches to us in the front office, she never stopped giving. The Kinston Indians not only lost their biggest fan, but this community has lost one of its best people."

"This ballpark will not be the same without Mama," Indians Assistant General Manager Janell Bullock said. "Everyone who met her fell in love with her. She just had that affect on people. I will never hear the word 'babe' without thinking of Mama."

"She was the most loving, caring and giving person I have ever met," said Indians Director of Broadcasting Chris Hemeyer. "Her positive outlook and love of life was with her even as she battled cancer. She lit up every room she ever walked into."

Funeral arrangements are still being worked out and not available at this time.

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Game Recap 5/13: Carlson Drives Captains To Win

Carlson Drives in Four in Captains Win

The Captains put on a hitting clinic early in Thursday night’s 10-7 win over the TinCaps. Ben Carlson hit one of three Lake County homeruns as he drove in four of the runs for the Captains as the team improved to 25-10.

Lake County jumped out in front early following a Jeremie Tice RBI double to score Bo Greenwell. Roberto Perez cleared the bases in the next at bat, crushing a 2-run homerun deep to leftfield giving the Captains a 3-0 lead.

The Captains added a run in the second when Carlson drove in his first run of the game scoring Jason Smit with an RBI ground out for a 4-0 edge.

Fort Wayne scored a run in the bottom of the second; Rymer Liriano’s ground ball handcuffed Casey Frawley allowing Nate Fryman to score making it 4-1.

Lake County added to their lead in the third inning, after a Perez walk, Chun Chen belted a ball inside the leftfield foul pole for a 2-run homerun. Two batters later, with Smit on first, Carlson hit his first homerun of the year. The Captains scored four times and lead 8-1.

Argenis Martinez tripled in the fourth inning, and scored when Greenwell singled up the middle to make it 9-1.

The TinCaps clawed their way back beginning in the seventh, Jeudy Valdez hit a 2-run homerun cutting the lead to 9-3.

Ben Carlson drove in his fourth run in the ninth inning, scoring Chen on a fielder’s choice. The Captains went into the bottom of the ninth up, 10-3.

Fort Wayne kept things interesting; they batted around collecting four runs on five hits. The TinCaps had the tying run in Liriano at the plate with runners on the corners, but the newcomer to the Captains bullpen Preston Guilmet shut the door on the rally striking out Liriano, picking up his first save of the year.

Lake County starter Austin Adams (1-2) was fantastic picking up the win. Adams tossed five innings allowing one run on five hits and striking out a season eight. Nick Sarianides allowed six earned runs on eight hits in just 2.2 innings in relief. Dexter Carter (1-4) suffered the loss for Fort Wayne allowing eight runs on six hits in three innings.

The Captains (25-10) and the TinCaps (15-19) will resume the series Friday night at 7:05PM from Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, IN. RHP Trey Haley (2-0) gets the start for Lake County, as he is matched up against RHP John Hussey (3-0) for the TinCaps.

Clippers Lose 7-3

The Clippers fell Thursday afternoon 7-3. Right-handed starter Jeanmar Gomez struggled once again in another start going just 2.2 innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits, four walks and had one strikeout. Gomez is now 2-3 with a 6.31 ERA on the season.

The Clippers offense was halted to just six hits, two of those from outfielder Michael Brantley who went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI. The only other bright spot on offense was catcher Carlos Santana who connected for his 6th home run of the season and finished 1-for-4 with a home run and RBI.

Akron Postponed

Thursday evening’s Eastern League matchup between Akron and Reading was cancelled due to unplayable field conditions and is rescheduled as part of a doubleheader at 6:05 p.m. Friday at Canal Park. Akron’s Eric Berger (0-1, 12.54 ERA) and Reading’s Yohan Flande (1-2, 2.60 ERA) are the expected starters for game one, while the hurlers for game two have not yet been announced.

K-Tribe Stomps Pelicans 10-0 to Win Series

Kinston starter T.J. House took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and three Indians pitchers combined on a 3-hit shutout of Myrtle Beach as the K-Tribe won 10-0 on Thursday night to take 3 out of 4 from the Pelicans. The shutout was the Carolina League-leading fifth for Indians pitching this season.

The K-Tribe bats got started in the third inning on a Jordan Henry RBI single. They would add two more in the fifth, as a Lucas Montero single followed by an error scored Ronald Rivas and moved Montero to third. Henry came through again with his second RBI single of the night to make it 3-0. The Indians came back for two more in the sixth, as Montero drilled a two-run single to put Kinston on top 5-0.

K-Tribe starter T.J. House (1-3) had the best start of his young Kinston career, pitching 7 innings and shutting out the Pelicans on one hit. The lone hit he allowed was an infield single to Cole Miles with two out in the sixth. He walked three and struck out four in his first K-Tribe win.

Pelicans starter Jose Ortegano (2-4) didn't fare as well, giving up four runs, three earned, on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three in the loss.

The K-Tribe pounded out another run on an RBI single by Nate Recknagel in the eighth before exploding for four in the ninth inning off reliever Paul Clemens. Abner Abreu hit an RBI single, Cristo Arnal scored on a fielding error, Richard Martinez added an RBI single and Kyle Bellows scored on a wild pitch.

The win was the first this season for Kinston in a four-game set, and their second consecutive series win. They have now won 6 out of 8 games, and return to Kinston on Friday night to start a 7-game homestand, starting with a three-game weekend set against the Northern Division-leading Frederick Keys. Right-hander Joe Gardner will be on the mound for the K-Tribe on Friday, with first pitch at 7 pm.

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Indians Minor League Magazine 5/11 (Ep. 3)

"Indians Minor League Magazine" is a half hour program on the Cleveland Indians cable network SportsTime Ohio (STO) which airs weekly on Tuesday nights from 6:00-6:30 PM EST. The show recaps all of the highlights from the week that was in the Cleveland Indians farm system with lots of video, interviews, and in-studio guests.

This year I am writing the "Diamond In the Rough" feature which focuses on some guys who slip through the cracks because they are not considered a high level prospect or have kind of been overlooked. This week's "Diamond In the Rough" was Low-A Lake County outfielder Greg Folgia. The "Diamond In the Rough" segment is featured at the beginning of part two (and they even go so far as to promote the 2010 Prospect book).

The show recaps the week that was in the system and also features interviews with Farm Director Ross Atkins and Low-A Lake County outfielder Bo Greenwell.

I will continue to post a video recap of the show every week if possible, or as long as I am allowed. The show may not always be posted here right away after it airs. I do know with the new STOHD.com site being launched soon that this video may soon be available there, which if that happens I will simply link to it or imbed it into a post here if possible.

By the way, you can follow "Indians Minor League Magazine" on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indians-Minor-League-Magazine/120037858012265?ref=ts

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

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Game Recap 5/12: Captains Sweep, Wins Keep Coming

Captains Sweep DH From Bowling Green

For the second time in the last four days the Lake County Captains swept a double header, this time from the Bowling Green Hot Rods winning game one 3-1 and game two 6-1.

In game one, the Captains scored three times in the bottom of the first inning after two were out when Bo Greenwell and Jeremie Tice both singled. Roberto Perez doubled home Greenwell and then Chun Chen tripled home Tice and Perez and the Captains led 3-0. The Hot Rods scored their run in the top of the fifth inning when Tyler Bortnick singled home Chris Murrill and it was 3-1.

Captains starter Danny Salazar did not get a decision working 3.2 scoreless innings allowing two hits, walking a season high four batters and striking out three. Matt Packer (2-1) got the win pitching 2.1 innings allowing one run on two hits while striking out two. Cory Burns threw a scoreless final inning striking out the side to get his league leading 11th save of the year.

Hot Rods starter Shane Dyer (2-2) took the loss working all six innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and he struck out five.

In game two, The Captains scored a run in the bottom of the first inning when Perez knocked in Casey Frawley (pictured) and it was 1-1. The lead did not last long as the Hot Rods got a solo home run from Ryan Wiegand to tie the game at 1-1. The Captains regained the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Tice doubled home Frawley and Argenis Martinez and the Captains lead 3-1. Frawley extended the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning hitting his first home run of the year, a three run blast, to give the Captains a 6-1 lead.

Captains starter Marty Popham (3-0) got the win pitching five innings and allowing one run on four hits, walking one and striking out three. Antwonie Hubbard pitched two scoreless innings the final two innings allowing a hit and striking out three.

Hot Rods starter Alex Koronis (2-2) took the loss working 2.1 innings allowing three runs on four hits walking two and striking out four

The Captains head to Fort Wayne to take on the Tin Caps on Thursday at 7:05 PM to begin a four game series. The Captains will have RHP Austin Adams (0-2, 4.24) on the mound to take on the Tins Caps (0-0, 0.00).

Clippers and Yankees Split Doubleheader

The Clippers split a double-header with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Wednesday evening with the Clippers winning the opener 4-3 and the Yankees taking the nightcap 5-3. Early runs made the difference in both contests.

In game one of the pair, the Clippers got out to a three run lead in the 1st inning thanks to a Yankees error, a Shelley Duncan RBI single and a Wes Hodges sacrifice fly. The Clippers would be held scoreless from then on until the 7th when Michael Brantley scored in insurance run on a Trevor Crowe sac fly. The insurance would pay off.

David Winfree hit a 2-run double off of Hector Rondon in the 3rd inning to bring the Yankees to within a run, but they would get no closer. Rondon left after the 3rd inning with forearm tightness.

Mike Gosling entered from the bullpen and did the Clippers a huge favor by throwing three near-perfect innings of relief, allowing no runs or hits while striking out four batters. Joe Smith allowed a run in the 9th on a bases-loaded wind pitch, but still nailed down the save in a 4-3 win.

Scranton flipped the script in the nightcap, scoring three times in their opening at-bat to give a 3-0 cushion to starter Kei Igawa. Jeremy Sowers, starting for the 1st time this season allowed 2 more runs in the 4th before making way for Jensen Lewis. Lewis, Jess Todd and Saul Rivera each threw scoreless innings for the Clippers.

Columbus made things interesting in the top of the 5th when Igawa loaded the bases on a single and two walks for Carlos Santana who cleared them off with a three run double to make it 5-3. Though the Clippers had chances after that, they would not be able to capitalize as Mark Melancon slammed the door with 2.1 scoreless innings of work, earning the victory.

The final game of the eight game road trip starts at 11:05 Thursday morning. Jeanmar Gomez gets the ball for Columbus, while the Yankees counter with Jason Hirsh.

Aeros Split Doubleheader

The Aeros split a doubleheader Wednesday morning in Erie, losing game one 5-2, but taking the second game 7-2. Nick Weglarz and Damaso Espino provided all the offense the Aeros would need in game two, as each hit a two run homer.

Lefty Scott Barnes was the loser in game one going four innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four batters. Right-hander Paolo Espino had a solid outing in game two and got the win after he went five innings and allowed one run on five hits, two walks and had three strikeouts.

The Aeros return home to face the Reading Phillies Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. In a battle of the southpaws, Eric Berger (0-1, 12.54 ERA) takes the mound for the home team against Yohan Flande (1-3, 2.80 ERA).

K-Tribe's Winning Streak Ends At Four

A two-out rally by the K-Tribe in the ninth inning fell a run short, as Myrtle Beach held on to beat Kinston 4-3 on Wednesday night in Myrtle Beach. The loss ends the Indians season-long four game winning streak.

The Pelicans struck for a run in the second inning off of K-Tribe starter Alex White. After a Matt Kennelly walk, Calvin Culver knocked him in with an RBI double down the left field line. Myrtle Beach would get to White for three more in the sixth inning. Kennelly reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a wild pitch before Culver came through again, this time with an RBI single to make it 2-0. The next batter, Jesus Sucre, lined a two-run home run into the first row of seats down the left field line to give the Pelicans a 4-0 lead.

White (1-3) gave up 4 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings, while walking 3 and striking out 3 in the loss.

Wild Pelicans pitching would turn into a run for Kinston in the seventh. Paul Clemens, making his Advanced-A debut after being called up from Low-A Rome on Monday, walked four K-Tribe batters and threw a wild pitch before being replaced by Van Pope with two out. Pope would then throw a wild pitch to score Karexon Sanchez and issue a fifth walk of the inning. However, Lucas Montero flew out to left with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Myrtle Beach starter J.J. Hoover (1-2) was dominant, pitching 6 innings of one-hit shutout ball to earn the win. He walked one and struck out seven.

The K-Tribe mounted a two-out rally in the ninth inning off of Angelo Paulino. Held to just one hit until that point, a first inning single by Jason Kipnis, Kinston's Kyle Bellows, Ronald Rivas, Lucas Montero and Jordan Henry hit four consecutive singles. Montero's and Henry's hits each scored a run to pull the Indians to within 4-3. The next batter, Roman Pena grounded into a fielder's choice to third to end the rally and the ballgame.

The teams will play the finale of the four-game set on Thursday night at 7:05. Left-hander T.J. House will be on the bump for Kinston.

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Three Up, Three Down

Welcome back to another edition of Three Up, Three Down. This week, we'll look at the minor league leader in ERA, a 3B getting a second go around through the Eastern League, a red-hot utilityman as well as a couple of scuffling outfielders, and the ongoing struggle that has become the Kinston lineup.

Three Up:

• Akron 3B Jared Goedert started the season hot, and is still rolling with a .368 batting average in his last 10 games. He has 2 HR and 12 RBI's in that span, giving him 3 and 23 for the season. Goedert will turn 25 this month and is repeating AA, so he needs to have a big year to put himself back on the prospect map. Always a solid fielder, Goedert only hit .224 with 5 HR and 37 RBI for Akron last year. He's well on his way to exceeding those totals already this season, and it is less than two weeks into May.
• We have a rule here on 3U3D...when a player is leading all of minor league baseball in ERA, he gets mentioned. That is exactly what Kinston starter TJ McFarland is doing right now for the K-Tribe. Moved into the rotation this week, McFarland responded by throwing 6 shutout innings of 2-hit baseball without walking a batter. He also struck out 6. Clearly inspired by the presence of Tribe Scribe Tony Lastoria in the crowd, McFarland was masterful in his first 2010 start. On the season, McFarland has a 0.59 ERA, and has allowed fewer baserunners (26) than innings pitched (30 2/3). He's only given up 2 earned runs in his 6 appearances, and his record is a flawless 4-0. And the best part? McFarland won't even be old enough to legally buy himself a beer until June. Don't worry TJ, in honor of your early-season success, I'll drink one for ya.

• After a slow start to begin the season, super-utilityman Chris Gimenez has been some kind of hot for the Clippers. Currently riding a 10-game hitting streak, Giminez has hit .457 with three round-trippers and nine runs knocked in since the streak began. He was hitting .231 after an 0-4 back on April 27, he has brought his average up over 100 points to .338. Gimenez has caught, played both corner OF positions as well as both corner IF positions. He had a rough go around in his first run with the big club last year, but he's still only 27 and with his versatility, he could still be a valuable bench player in the show.

Three Down:

• Columbus OF Trevor Crowe hasn't been terrible this year, but he hasn't been great either. Crowe is hitting a ho-hum .274 on the season, with an OPS of just .662. He has a single home run and four doubles on the year. For a 26-year old in his 2nd stint in AAA, I expected more. Crowe had a nice taste of the big leagues last year, and even though he was the odd man out in the OF mix out of spring training, he had a chance to force his way back to Cleveland with a strong performance in Columbus. That hasn't happened so far, and Crowe is becoming more of a 1st round bust by the day.

• Akron 1B/OF Matt McBride had an outstanding campaign in the Arizona Fall League this offseason, being named to the All-Prospect Team and hitting a huge home run in the All-Prospect Game. McBride had a decent start to his 2010 campaign, hitting .271 with 2 HR in April, but has really fallen off in the month of May. McBride is batting just .200 in May, and is just 6 for his last 28 at the dish. McBride does have more walks (7) than strikeouts (4) this month, so that is an encouraging sign. McBride turns 25 near the end of the month, and really needs to push his way to Columbus this year if he wants to be seen as a potential option in a young Indians outfield. With so many young players already ahead of him, McBride needs an eye-opening campaign to avoid being lost in the shuffle.

• Sometimes its tough for me to pick three "down" players for 3U3D. This week, it was tough to pick just three. So we're going with the entire Kinston lineup here, with the notable exception of last year's 2nd round pick Jason Kipnis. The "highest" ERA for a K-Tribe starting pitcher is TJ House's 3.77. House is currently 0-3 on the season. Kinston as a team is just 13-18. With that kind of starting pitching, how is a team 5 games below .500? Probably because Kipnis is the only player hitting over .290. The recent struggles of the K-Tribe lineup were profiled extensively yesterday by Boudreau, so I won't rehash all of the gory details. Suffice to say the Kinston pitchers deserve better.

Bold Predictions Update:

• Outfielder Abner Abreu still isn't putting up MVP type numbers for the K-Tribe, but he is heating up. Abreu is hitting .224 overall, and has hits in 7 of his last 10 games. He's still striking out too much, but had his best game of the season on May 9 when he went 2-3 with a triple, an RBI and TWO WALKS! Considering he's only managed to coax 8 free passes on the season, working two walks in a single game is a big deal for the 20-year old Dominican.

• The big news out of Akron this week was the decision to move pitcher Zach Putnam out of the rotation and into the bullpen. Putnam had been the Aeros best starter, so the move can't really be seen as a demotion. To me, it is a sign that they see Putnam's long-term future as a reliever, and that his future could be nearer term than most of us thought going into this season. Putnam has yet to make an appearance out of the pen, as his last start was on May 9 where he went 5 innings, giving up one earned run and striking out four while recording a no-decision.

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Game Recap 5/11: K-Tribe Starting To Roll, Win 4th Straight

K-Tribe Wins Fourth Straight 6-4 in 12 innings

Donnie Webb drove in Ronald Rivas with an RBI single in the top of the 12th inning as Kinston beat Myrtle Beach 6-4 Tuesday night in South Carolina. Kinston has now won a season high four straight games, while racking up wins in five of their last six contests.

The game winning hit capped off a great night for Webb who was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Tied at four in the top of the 12th, Ronald Rivas led off with a single. After a Lucas Montero sacrifice bunt pushed Rivas to second base, Karexon Sanchez singled to push him to third. Webb then delivered his RBI single. The Rivas, Webb combination was productive all night as Rivas would also lead off the third and fifth innings with a single and was then driven home both times by Webb later in the frame. Rivas was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Back in the top of the 12th Doug Pickens would follow the Webb hit with an RBI sacrifice fly, driving home Sanchez and giving Kinston a 6-4 lead. Pickens had a great night at the plate, going 1-for-4 with three RBI. Pickens had a two RBI double in the fifth inning.

Nick Hagadone had another solid start for Kinston, giving up two runs on three hits in five innings. Hagadone ran into trouble in the first inning, giving up a single to Cory Harrilchak, then a two-run home run to Gerry Rodriguez. After the blast, he walked Gerardo Avila, and then retired the next nine batters he faced. Reliever Rob Bryson made his Carolina League debut, giving up a two-run home run to Avila in the sixth inning. Bryson struck out five in two innings, the home run was the only hit he gave up. Bryce Stowell had another great outing from the bullpen, pitching three innings of scoreless ball. Stowell’s ERA is now 0.79. David Roberts (1-1) picked up the win from the pen, giving up just one hit while striking out three in two innings of work.

The K-Tribe will try to win their fifth straight Wednesday night at Myrtle Beach. Greenville native Alex White will take the mound for the 7:05 pm start.

Columbus Postponed

Tuesday night's Clippers vs. Yankees game was postponed due to weather. A double-header will be played on Wednesday beginning at 5:35pm.

Akron Postponed

Tuesday night's Akron vs. Erie game was postponed due to rain. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday morning beginning at 11:05 a.m.

Lake County Postponed

The Lake County Captains game against the Bowling Green Hot Rods scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday with game one beginning at 11:00 AM.

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The Tuesday Drive: Stellar Starters, Sagging Offense and a Horrid Pen

The Sunday Drive took a long, strange trip this past Sunday, which also happened to be Mother's Day. First, it made a tall stack of pancakes with the kids for Mom and Grandma, then to a matinee of Riverdance (that's right readers, The Sunday Drive will do anything for Mom), then to a LEGO convention, then to The Crackerbarrel for an early dinner and then to a drive-in to see Shutter Island, which happened to be playing with Iron Man 2. Hey, it can't all be about Mom, can it? Oh, and about the LEGO convention, which my eight-year old has been talking about for over a month. On what planet do grown men elbow an eight-year-old out of the way to see a LEGO Ghostbusters car? Yeah, you know it's a long strange trip when The Sunday Drive has to nearly throw down with the 45-year-old LEGO line-cutter.

Yes, the Sunday Drive has been put to bed for the week, and in its place is today's Tuesday Drive. Look at it as your weekly review, combined with a much better preview of the following week, including a walk-off win, a stellar first start for a guy that was handcuffed to perhaps the best prospect in the league, and what appears to be a turnaround for a team that struggled last week to do much of anything, except start games.

That's right weekly readers, the starting pitching that disappeared last week, returned with a vengeance behind strong starts from everyone. Unfortunately for the starters, the rest of the team seemed to be gearing up for Mother's Day. The offense returned to its early season futility, and the bullpen truly couldn't have been much worse than it was in Week 5. Kinston went 2-5 for the week, but were a closer away from a 4-3 mark, if not better. Considering the team hit below the Mendoza line should tell you just how good the starters were.

Let's get going with week 5, so I can start building a model of Historic Grainger Stadium...out of LEGO's of course. I'm sure there's a convention somewhere. Oh, and make sure to roll through the end...there's been a boatload of movement over the past couple of days, and this team's pen got decisively better, at least in theory.

Week 5 Games:

May 2 @ Salem, L 1-2 (WP: K. Fernandes; LP: S. Smith)
May 3 @ Lynchburg, L 1-4 (WP: B. Boxberger; LP: T. House)
May 4 @ Lynchburg, L 5-6 (WP: J. Hotchkiss; LP: S. Smith)
May 5 @ Lynchburg, L 2-3 (WP: L. Janke; LP: D. Roberts)
May 6 @ Lynchburg, W 2-0 (WP: T. McFarland; LP: S. Carroll)
May 7 vs. Potomac, L 2-4 (WP: P. Lehman; LP: M. Langwell; SV: C. Kimball)
May 8 vs. Potomac, W 8-5 (WP: T. Turek; LP: M. Beno)

Week 5 Offense:

How bad was the offense this past week? Oh, let me count the ways. The Indians batted nearly 100 points under last week's .291 team average, batting .198 for the week. The K-Tribe struck out 49 times, to only 30 walks. The K-Tribe did manage to hit six home runs, but only had 12 total extra base hits for the week. The team scored 21 runs, to average three a game, but scored 13 of those runs in two of their seven games of the week. They weren't shut out in any game, but only scored two runs or less in all their games but two. Only one player hit over .300 for the K-Tribe last week. The team average dropped ten points, with only Myrtle Beach lower than Kinston's .234 average.

I'm not going to waste a lot of time talking about the plus players from last week, because there just aren't many of them. Jordan Henry returned after nearly a month off, and hit .353 for the week, going 6 for 17, and scoring four of the team's 21 runs. The K-Tribe centerfielder has been missing from the mix for nearly the entire season, and could provide a spark at the beginning of the line-up. Of course, it would be nice if the rest of the line-up would show up.

Nobody else on the team hit over .261 for the week. Jason Kipnis, who had been hitting at a torrid clip, came in at that .261, with a home run and four RBI. Kyle Bellows and Donnie Webb both hit a couple of home runs, but like I said, it was a slow, slow week for an offense that seemed to be catching its stride over the past two weeks.

There has to be some concern over Abner Abreu, who went 4 for 24 for the week. Even more alarming is his lack of power. He had only one extra base hit, and didn't hit a home run, or even drive in a run for the week. Abreu is hitting .224 for the week, without a home run for the season. He is a historically slow starter, but even this is crawling for one of the Tribe's top prospects.

Not a stellar week for an offense that just needs to show up a bit to make this team excel.

Week 5 Bullpen:

After a week in which the pen outclassed the starters, that clearly changed this week. The pen came in with a 4.84 ERA in 22 1/3 innings pitched. The pen gave up 12 earned runs, walked twelve and struck out 22 batters. Overall, the pen went 2-4, with two holds and two blown saves.

T.J. McFarland once again was the star of the pen, going five innings as a handcuff to Nick Hagadone. He only gave up four hits, while striking out two, without walking a batter. McFarland truly should be considered a starter, and management finally put him into the rotation with the promotion of Kelvin De La Cruz, and another trip to the DL for Alex Perez, but I'll get to that in a moment.

Bryce Stowell also had a fine week in two appearances with a 1.69 ERA. He struck out 11 batters without a walk, while giving up only one run in 5 1/3 innings. Taking into account McFarland's return to the rotation, and Stowell quickly becomes the best reliever the K-Tribe has. Joey Mahalic also had a solid outing, giving up only one hit in 2 1/3 innings, while striking out two.

The rest of the pen more than struggled, led by closer (now ex-closer/ex-Indians) Steve Smith. Smith made two appearances, both in save situations. In his 2/3 of an inning total, he blew both saves, while giving up a hit, two runs and three walks. Smith's problems led him out of the closer role, and he was released by the Tribe before Monday's game.

Week 5 Starters:

The K-Tribe starters went 0-1, but that certainly wasn't indicative of their week. Overall, the starters finally started to log some innings, going 39 total, while giving up only nine earned runs. That number becomes even more impressive when you take into account that T.J. House gave up six of those runs. As a matter of fact, if you take House's numbers off the books, the starters ERA drops under 1.00. They struck out 39 batters, while walking only 16, and the ERA still was an overly impressive 2.08 for the week.

We might as well get Kelvin De La Cruz off the books. He went 8 1/3 innings in his best start of the year, giving up only three hits and an earned run, while striking out eight hitters without a walk. Now that De La Cruz has put together several good starts, his time in Kinston came to an end. He was promoted to Akron on Saturday, in a move that puts him on the fast track to the bigs. Don't be surprised to see De La Cruz make quick work in Akron, before ending up in Columbus at some point during the summer.

Alex White also stepped up this week in two starts, going 13 1/3 innings, while striking out 12 batters, and only walking two. The rookie only gave up two earned runs on seven hits. White has a couple of missteps earlier in the year, so it was good to see the youngster right the ship a bit in two impressive starts.

Nick Hagadone returned to form with four innings of one hit ball. He struggled a bit with control, giving up four walks, while striking out six in his short work. It will be interesting to see what happens with his next start, now that T.J. McFarland is starting. Will Hagadone start to pick up innings, or will he find himself with a new tag team partner.

Alex Perez made his second start of the season, and it was much more impressive than his first. He went 3 2/3 of an inning, giving up only one hit, while striking out five and walking only one. Unfortunately for Perez, he went back on the DL with a right groin strain. Tony Lastoria reported tonight that he's headed for Cleveland for a second opinion on the injury.

T.J. House did struggle a bit in his two starts this week, mainly because of control. House went 9 2/3 of an inning, giving up 11 hits and walking nine, while striking out eight batters. He gave up six earned runs. He's still having a fine year, but his control struggles still are making an appearance as he continues to learn how to pitch.

Joe Gardner has been added to the rotation to fill in the remaining hole left by the De La Cruz call-up, and the Perez-to-the-DL stint. Gardner had a fantastic start in his debut in Kinston on Sunday night, but I'll get into that later in the week. It's hard to believe, but De La Cruz leaving might now hurt this rotation. I'm not saying it will be better, but it certainly will remain the best in the system...

for now.

Offensive player of the week: Jordan Henry
Relief pitcher of the week: T.J. McFarland
Staring pitcher of the week: Kelvin De La Cruz

Player of the week: Kelvin De La Cruz

This Week:

May 9--v. Potomac
May 10--@ Myrtle Beach
May 11--@ Myrtle Beach
May 12--@ Myrtle Beach
May 13--@ Myrtle Beach
May 14--v. Frederick
May 15--v. Frederick

The Rearviewmirror: See you later Kelvin De La Cruz. I knew this day was coming soon, and needed to happen, but it's still sad to see you leave this rotation. See you later Steve Smith. After a fine 2009 season, you stumbled out of the gate. With so many promising arms in this system, it was only a matter of time.

Welcome to the Jungle: This team needed help in the bullpen, and got it. Brian Grening was demoted to Kinston from Akron to regain his footing. Chris Jones, a top 50 prospect in the system was promoted to Kinston, and pitched three shutout innings tonight in support of starter T.J. McFarland, giving up only one hit, while striking out one. He's a comer. According to Tony, Rob Bryson was also called up on Monday. The pen now looks distinctly different, and distinctly better. Now it's loaded with arms that can nearly match the starters.

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More Pitching Changes

There have been a flurry of moves over the past week in the pitching department up and down the Indians' system.  I had a chance to sit down and talk with Pitching Coordinator Dave Miller last night in Myrtle Beach and we talked about a lot of the guys in the system and all the movement and upcoming movement, which I will recap the conversation in Minor Happenings later in the week.

In any case, here are some of the recent pitching changes/moves:

- The Indians have released three pitchers in the past few days: left-hander Ryan Edell and right-hander Erik Stiller at Double-A Akron, and at High-A Kinston right-hander Steve Smith was released.  Right-hander Neil Wagner (pictured) was initially thought to be released, but has been picked up by Oakland and it appears a last minute trade occurred.

- Right-hander Zach Putnam has been removed from the Akron starting rotation and will pitch in the bullpen, and right-hander Justin Germano is temporarily filling his spot in the rotation.

- Right-hander Josh Judy will be activated at Double-A Akron on Tuesday (hence the Stiller/Wagner release).

- Right-hander Rob Bryson has been promoted to High-A Kinston, and left-hander Chris Jones was promoted to Kinston just the other day (he pitched for Kinston on Monday night).

- Right-hander Brett Brach has been reassigned to Low-A Lake County.  Also, right-handers Preston Guilmet and Tyler Sturdevant have been activated at Lake County from extended spring training.

As you can see there has been some reshuffling in the organization with the pitching, particularly in Akron, and many more moves are expected in the coming weeks as the organization looks to sift through a lot of pitching depth and align their top two levels with the best available talent by the end of the season.

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Game Recap 5/10: McFarland Mows Down Pelicans

Kinston Wins Third Straight

T.J. McFarland and Chris Jones combined for a three-hit shutout as Kinston won their third straight game, beating Myrtle Beach 5-0 Monday night in South Carolina. In his first start of the season, McFarland (4-0) captured his Carolina League leading fourth win of the year, while lowering his ERA to 0.53 (in 30 2/3 innings) which also leads the CL. McFarland went six innings, giving up just two singles while striking out a season high six batters. McFarland did not walk a batter. Jones, just called up to Kinston from Low A Lake County, gave up just one hit (an infield single) over the final three innings of the games to earn the save. Jones struck out one and did not walk a batter. He retired the final nine batters he faced. It was the Carolina League leading fourth shutout of the season for Kinston. The Indians have now won a season high three straight and four of their last five games.

The Indian’s would break open a scoreless game in the top of the sixth inning. Cristo Arnal and Jason Kipnis started the frame with back-to-back singles. Nate Recknagel would give Kinston a 1-0 lead with an RBI single, driving in Arnal. After a sacrifice bunt by Abner Abreu, Karexon Sanchez hit a three-run home run. It was the second homer of the season for Sanchez, extending the K-Tribe lead to 4-0. The K-Tribe would add an insurance run in the eighth inning when Nate Recknagel walked, then scored from first on an RBI double from Donnie Webb. Pelicans starter Brett Oberholtzer (1-2) took the loss.

The K-Tribe continues the four game series Tuesday night at Myrtle Beach, as Nick Hagadone will take the hill for Kinston. Game time 7:05.

Clippers roll past Yankees 10-2

The hit parade rolled on for Columbus Monday night at PNC Field as the Clippers trounced the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 10-2 for their 4th win in five tries on the current road trip.

The Clippers didn't even let the fans get their seats warm before ringing up spot-starter Amouri Senit for four runs in the top of the 1st inning. Carlos Santana plated Jason Donald with a single and scored on the first of three Shelley Duncan hits on the night. Wes Hodges followed with a 2-run home run to cap the inning. Columbus scored twice more in the top of the 5th on a Trevor Crowe RBI single and Hodges double for a 6-0 lead.

Josh Tomlin, making his 4th start for Columbus allowed no runs to the Yankees through four innings before being touched up for a pair of runs in the 5th. He would finish the innings and make way for Frank Herrmann who continues to dominate the league. Herrmann pitched two scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 0.56 on the year. Jess Todd finished the Yankees off with two goose-eggs of his own.

Brian Buscher made it a 9-2 game in the 7th inning when he cleared the bases with a 3-run double and Anderson Hernandez put the cherry on top when he drove in Hodges in the top of the 9th. Hodges finished with three RBI's and eight total bases for Columbus.

The 2nd game of the series will be a 7:05 1st pitch Tuesday evening. Hector Rondon looks for his 2nd win of the year against the Yankees' Dustin Moseley.

Aeros Go Down 4-1

The Erie SeaWolves defeated the Aeros Monday night behind a strong outing from Erie starter Jon Kibler. Using his two-seam fastball and a slider that didn't slide almost exculsively, the left-handed starter threw 7 2/3 innings of one run ball, scattered four hits, walked three and struck out two.

As stifling as Kibler was, Akron (12-19) starter Kelvin De La Cruz did his best to match him pitch for pitch. In his first start after being called up from Single-A Kinston over the weekend, De La Cruz allowed two runs over six innings and struck out seven.

De La Cruz made only two mistakes in the game, but both proved costly as each led to runs. In the second inning, with Audy Ciriaco on second, he was called for a balk trying to pick-off Michael Bertram at first, which eventually allowed Ciraco to score on a Max St. Pierre single. In the fifth, he left a fastball up in the zone that Andy Dirks took over the left field wall to put Erie up 2-0.

The SeaWolves (17-14) defense came up big in the game. Of the 20 outs that Kibler recorded, 11 came on infield grounders.

The series continues Tuesday night in Erie at 6:35 p.m. Lefty Scott Barnes (0-3, 7.62 ERA), still looking for his first win of 2010, takes the mound against Erie's L.J. Gagnier (3-0, 2.83 ERA).

Hot Rods Cruise by Captains

One big inning by the Bowling Green Hot Rods was the difference in the game as they defeated the Lake County Captains 6-1 on Monday.

The Hot Rods broke a scoreless tie scoring four times in the top of the sixth inning when Kyle Spraker singled home two runs. Ryan Wiegand and Mayo Acosta also drove in runs and it was 4-0. The Captains scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Jeremie Tice hit a solo home run and it was 4-1. The Rods scored two unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning when Chris Murrill tripled home both runs to make it 6-1.

Starter Brett Brach made his Captains debut and did not get a decision working five scoreless innings allowing four hits, walking one and striking out four. Francisco Jimenez relieved Brach and gave up four runs, three earned on three hits while walking one. Preston Guilmet also made his Captains debut and threw 2.2 scoreless innings allowing two hits and striking out four. Another new Captain, Tyler Sturdevant worked the ninth inning and allowed two unearned runs while striking out one.

Hot Rods starter Alexander Colome (2-2) got the win lasting six innings and allowing one run on four hits, walking one and striking six. Deivis Mavarez hurled two scoreless innings and Kirby Yates pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Captains and Hot Rods will play game two of the three game series on Tuesday at 6:30 PM. The Captains will send RHP Danny Salazar (1-1, 6.08) to the mound and the Hot Rods counter with RHP Shane Dyer (2-2, 1.25).

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Minor Happenings: Haley Starting To Put It Together

"Minor Happenings" is a weekly column which covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

Sometimes things are better late than never, and that’s the theme for Minor Happenings this week.  The piece is extremely short this week and also very late mostly because I have battled a bad stomach virus as well as made the trek this past Thursday to Myrtle Beach where I will be seeing High-A Kinston in action for a few games starting tonight.

A regular and much more thorough version of Minor Happenings, perhaps even two parts, will post at the end of the week.

Onto the Happenings…

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from April 29 to May 5)

Trey Haley (Right-handed Pitcher – Lake County)
2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 Games, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 12 K

What a week Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Trey Haley had last week, and he is the epitome of how fun it is to watch a talented 19-year old develop and grow into a pitcher right before your eyes.  Unlike last year he is now using his entire four-pitch arsenal, throwing both his two-seamer and four-seamer at will and mixing in an excellent curveball and a much improved changeup.

The biggest key for Haley though has been much improved command of his pitches where he is throwing consistent strikes and hitting his spots.  Last year in 77.2 innings he walked 65 batters (7.5 BB/9), but this year in 36.2 innings he has more than cut the walk rate in half as he has only walked 16 batters (3.9 BB/9).  He has also shown a lot more maturity on the mound this year.  He’s a big competitor, but often times last year his youth and inexperience often showed through as when he struggled things seemed to snowball on him.  This year, however, he looks better prepared to handle adversity and keep the damage to a minimum when things are not going right.

“He has been close the whole year as he has not been very lucky when he was out there his first few starts,” said Lake County Pitching Coach Mickey Callaway the day after Haley’s sensational seven shutout, nine strikeout performance last Tuesday May 4th.  “He kind of figured some of it out his previous outing as he had three walks and three strikeouts.  He was really using his pitches well.  He elevated it in his last outing and used his pitches better as he had very good command of the zone and actually pitched.  He is a lot more mature than last year from what I hear.  He has a lot of confidence, and that’s going to make him successful.  He matures daily; it’s unbelievable really.”

Honorable Mentions:

Kelvin De la Cruz (LHP – KIN): 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 2 G, 13.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 14 K
Shelley Duncan (OF – COL): .350 (7-20), 3 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Jared Goedert (INF – AKR): .364 (8-22), 5 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Beau Mills (1B – AKR): .417 (10-24), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K
Cord Phelps (2B – AKR): .455 (10-22), 3 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Nick Weglarz (OF – AKR): .391 (9-23), 6 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K

Previous Winners:

04/22 to 04/28: Jason Donald (INF – Columbus)
04/15 to 04/21: Bo Greenwell (OF – Lake County)
04/08 to 04/14: Carlos Santana (C – Columbus)

Coach’s Corner: Phil Clark

Low-A Lake County hitting coach Phil Clark is in his first season with the Captains and his fourth season overall as a coach in the Indians minor league system.  After retiring from baseball as a player in 2000, back in 2007 a formed Indians player that he is good friends with connected him to the team and he ultimately landed a job with the Indians.  Last week I had a chance to sit down and talk to him about some of the hitters he has been working with so far this year:

On Bo Greenwell:  “I had him for his first year of pro ball back in 2007.  He has made tremendous adjustments in his swing ability and setup, and I think it has all come together this year.  He feels good about himself, which what I like about him as well is his confidence level.  What I am seeing is he is learning to excel.  Right now what I think it pushing him is his inner self.  He is a competitor and learning from his mistakes, which is important for hitters as if they have a bad at bat to come back and regroup and figure out what is going wrong.  He is starting to notice what pitchers are throwing, and our conversations are really starting to get advanced, so I like what he is doing right now.”

On Jeremie Tice:  “Coming in we spent a lot of time talking just about him and what he has done in the past and what he went through last year (injuries).  One of the things we did with Tice is we got his bottom hand and elbow strengthened and coordinated.  I feel like now mechanically he is in a good place and his swing path is good, just right now we are working on the mental part of baseball as he is still getting himself out at times.  With him it is just kind of balancing him out and we are starting to see some good stuff.  Right now he is trying to focus on driving balls through the middle of the field.  Pretty soon we should start seeing some power from him once he gets to know his swing better.  It’s him getting comfortable with his swing and ability, and I think he is going to hit some homers this year.  I don’t have any doubt about that.”

On Casey Frawley: “That bat to ball ability [is something we like].  I had him last year, and he is probably one of the few players I have spent hardly any time working on mechanics.  I am very careful with him as he seems to have a good feel for his swing.  Basically I let Casey come to me with questions, and our conversations are usually about approach.  He’s a pretty solid player I think.”

On Greg Folgia:  “He’s a guy who is just inconsistent.  He’ll go up and put some good swings and at bats together, and there is just an inconsistency situation there that we are trying to balance with him.  I don’t expect for him to be 100% like a major league hitter, but one of our challenges this year is on a daily basis let’s try to do the same thing.  He may not get the same results everyday, but still just try to stay consistent in thoughts and approach and he’ll get pretty close to it.  He’s a guy for me who no doubt has some pretty good bat to ball ability, there are just some grey areas where he just needs to be consistent.”

On Delvi Cid:  “We had a heavy load to start out and threw some things at him.  He is young still and has some raw ability.  With him it’s a case where his left-handed side when he came into the season his swing path, balance and body was a little off.  So one of the things we have done with him is we have taken him back to some of the things he has done a couple years ago, and he has responded very well to that.  He is a visual kid, as if he sees things and likes it he can imitate that.  That’s kind of what we are doing with him right now.  So he is starting to pick it up a little bit and get it going again.”

On Argenis Martinez:  “He has a tendency to have a rotational swing where he is allowing his body to swing the bat.  He is having to separate his hands for a nice fluid, quick swing from his body swing.  He is getting better and progressing all the time.  I look at his numbers right now, and I am pretty sure by the end of the season he will be doing pretty good with them.”

Indians Minor League Player of the Month
(for April)

Bo Greenwell (Outfielder – Lake County)
.405 (32-79), 22 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 11 BB, 9 K, 7 SB, 1.142 OPS

Low-A Lake County outfielder Bo Greenwell was a guy marked on a lot of lists coming into this season as an Indians prospect on the rise who could break into the Top 20-30 prospect rankings this coming offseason.  So far he has lived up to that hype as we are quickly running out of superlatives to identify his spectacular play to date.  When you go out and beat out the likes of Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis for Player of the Month honors, you know it was a pretty special month.

Greenwell has started to cool off of late as in his last eight games he is hitting just 5-for-26 (.192 AVG), showing that he is not superman and is mortal.  He is still hitting .352 with 4 HR, 27 RBI, and a 1.020 OPS in 29 games this year, and even with the small cold spell he is still 2^nd in the organization in batting average (Cord Phelps, .370), 2^nd in RBI (Shelley Duncan, 31), and 2^nd in stolen bases (Delvi Cid, 13).

To make note of a few other players, Triple-A Columbus catcher Carlos Santana used a monster opening week of the season to propel him to a very good month, and his teammate outfielder Jose Constanza is off to a blazing start in Columbus as well.  Double-A Akron infielder Jared Goedert showed flashes of his sensational April/May 2007 performance which put him on the prospect map, and High-A Kinston outfielder Jason Kipnis and left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone are off to great starts at the High-A level.

Honorable Mentions:

Jose Constanza (OF – COL): .365 (19-52), 15 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K, 4 SB, 1.008 OPS
Carlos Santana (C – COL): .303 (20-66), 13 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 16 BB, 9 K, 3 SB, 1.043 OPS
Frank Herrmann (RHP – COL): 1-0-2, 0.90 ERA, 8 games, 10.0 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 6 K, .200 BAA
Jared Goedert (INF – AKR): .351 (20-57), 6 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 5 BB, 15 K, 0 SB, .858 OPS
Cord Phelps (2B – AKR): .382 (26-68), 12 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K, 1 SB, .940 OPS
Jason Kipnis (2B – KIN): .380 (27-71), 16 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 14 K, 1 SB, 1.050 OPS
Nick Hagadone (LHP – KIN): 0-1, 0.56 ERA, 4 games, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 0 HR, 8 BB, 20 K, .220 BAA
Bryce Stowell (RHP – KIN): 1-0, 0.63 ERA, 7 games, 14.1 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 12 K, .259 BAA
Casey Frawley (2B – LC): .361 (22-61), 10 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 8 K, 3 SB, .885 OPS
Chris Jones (LHP – LC): 2-1, 1.69 ERA, 5 games, 16.0 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 17 K, .161 BAA
Francisco Jimenez (LHP – LC): 4-0, 1.84 ERA, 6 games, 14.2 IP, 10 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 11 K, .200 BAA

April Fools

Here are a few players in the system who performed well below expected levels in April.  Obviously none of these guys are “fools” per se, but they put up poor performances which were not at all expected going in, so we can only think (hope) that it was just a bad month for most of them.

Rondon and Barnes were about as bad as they could be from a performance perspective in April, though each time out both are surely working on their development and improving in other areas not shown in the line score.  Mills appeared to suffer from a Double-A hangover the first month and appears to finally be snapping out of it.  Rivero is a tough one to figure out and get behind as he is so often hyped and talked about, but often delivers so little.  Abreu got off to another one of his patented slow April starts, and with May here we will see if he gets hot or if he truly is struggling with High-A pitching (I believe it is the latter).  Webb and Cid are two center field prospects who performed well last year who were thought capable of making a jump this year, and still might.  Last, Toregas has not done much at all at Akron, though would still be in line for a major league job in Cleveland if Mike Redmond or Lou Marson were to get hurt and miss any significant length of time.

Hector Rondon (RHP – COL): 0-3, 9.13 ERA, 5 G, 22.2 IP, 35 H, 23 ER, 8 HR, 9 BB, 22 K, .347 BAA
Beau Mills (1B – AKR): .169 (12-71), 9 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 4 BB, 9 K, .505 OPS
Carlos Rivero (SS – AKR): .211 (15-71), 8 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, 17 K, .525 OPS
Wyatt Toregas (C – AKR): .204 (10-49), 3 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, .592 OPS
Scott Barnes (LHP – AKR): 0-2, 8.80 ERA, 4 G, 15.1 IP, 19 H, 11 BB, 15 K, .297 BAA
Abner Abreu (OF- KIN): .230 (17-74), 12 R, 5 2b, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K, .603 OPS
Donnie Webb (OF – KIN): .213 (10-47), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, 1 SB, .515 OPS
Delvi Cid (OF – LC): .195 (15-77), 11 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 21 K, 9 SB, .452 OPS

Transactions Recap

There has been a flurry of activity of late, so I will catch everyone up with all of the official transactions in a listing below.  Please note, some moves on Saturday were made which are not listed below since they are not official (though have happened): left-handed Kelvin De La Cruz has been promoted to Double-A Akron, left-hander Ryan Edell was released, right-hander Brian Grening was sent to High-A Kinston, and right-handed starter Joe Gardner has been promoted to Kinston.

April 29:

Columbus Clippers - LF Jordan Brown activated from 7-day DL
Columbus Clippers - C Damaso Espino assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Kinston Indians - RHP Alexander Perez activated from 7-day DL
Kinston Indians - LHP T.J. House assigned to Lake County Captains

April 30:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Hector Ambriz recalled from Major League Rehab Assignment
Columbus Clippers - IF Niuman Romero traded to Boston Red Sox for cash
Kinston Indians - LHP T.J. House assigned from Lake County Captains
Kinston Indians - RHP Brett Brach assigned to Extended Spring Training
Miscellaneous - RHP Rafael Vera (Extended Spring Training) traded to Chicago White Sox for cash

May 1:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Joe Smith optioned from Cleveland Indians
Columbus Clippers - RHP Steven Wright optioned to Akron Aeros
Akron Aeros - C Miguel Perez assigned from Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Akron Aeros - C Alex Castillo assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 2:

Akron Aeros - RHP Steven Wright received from Columbus Clippers
Akron Aeros - RHP Erik Stiller placed on 7-day DL

May 3:

Akron Aeros - RHP Kerry Wood received on Major League Rehab assignment
Lake County Captains - OF Jason Smit activated from 7-day DL
Lake County Captains - OF Chris Kersten assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 4:

Columbus Clippers - SS Brian Bixler placed on 7-day DL
Columbus Clippers - OF Jerad Head assigned from Akron Aeros disabled list
Akron Aeros - C Damaso Espino assigned from Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Akron Aeros - C Miguel Perez assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 7:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Jensen Lewis assigned from Cleveland Indians
Akron Aeros - RHP Kerry Wood recalled from Major League Rehab assignment
Akron Aeros - RHP Bryan Price activated from 7-day DL

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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Akron's Week That Was: 5/3 - 5/9

The Aeros had a big turnaround this past week after what was flat out a week of absolute torment. The Aeros managed to split a series with Trenton at home before heading onto the road to claim a series over Reading. The club is still looking for their first three-game sweep but they've at least turned things around after a win-less week.

Here is everything you need to know about the Aeros for the week of May 3rd to May 9th.

Record: 12-18 (Last Week: 4-3)
Standings: 5th in Western Division (7.5 GB)
Teams Faced (Record Against): Trenton (2-2), @ Reading (2-1)
Upcoming Week: @ Erie (3), Reading (4)
Transactions: Activated RHP Bryan Price from 7-Day Disabled List, LHP Released Ryan Edell, Activated C Damaso Espino from Columbus, Deactivated C Miguel Perez, Received RHP Carlton Smith from Columbus, Received LHP Kelvin De La Cruz from Kinston, Received RHP Kerry Wood for Rehab Assignment
Awards: Akron didn't receive any awards the past week.

Pitcher of the Week: Zach Putnam, RHP
0-0, 11 IP, 14 H, 5 R (3 ER), 0/8 BB/K

Again it boils down to slim pickings among pitchers as very few arms have stepped up. Non-prospect Justin Germano did well picking up two wins, but overall Zach Putnam was very strong in two starts for the Aeros. Three of the five runs he gave up were earned but he didn't walk a hitter in 11 innings. Putnam is doing his part in trying to get the Aeros into the win column but overall isn't getting the early support.

Season History
Week 1: Zach Putnam
Week 2: Erik Stiller
Week 3: Paolo Espino

Hitter of the Week: Beau Mills, 1B
8/25, 5 R, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 2 2B, 7/4 BB/K

The run producing Beau Mills that won the Carolina League MVP a few years ago was in full-force this past week for Akron. Mills knocked in 11 runs to now place him fifth among all hitters in the Eastern League. He also hit his third home run of the year and when he wasn't getting hits, he was getting on base with the walk. If Mills can continue to be that run-producer behind Nick Weglarz, the Aeros middle of the lineup will be very dangerous.

Season History
Week 1: Cord Phelps
Week 2: Cord Phelps
Week 3: Nick Weglarz

Weekly Spotlight: Josh Rodriguez, IF/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.

2008 was a disappointment as he reached the Double-A level and 2009 was pretty much a lost season due to injury for Josh Rodriguez. 2010 is going to be all about re-establishing himself. It has been a tough climb as he's really been a utility player, collecting minimal at-bats throughout the month of April. The mysterious injury to Lonnie Chisenhall however afforded Rodriguez some playing time this past week.

Rodriguez was a top prospect in the organization just a few years ago, some even viewed him as possibly the second baseman of the future. But that has now been stalled with not only Rodriguez's progress, but the additions of Jason Donald and Luis Valbuena and drafting of Cord Phelps and Jason Kipnis.

The plan now seems to be getting Rodriguez time at not only all the infield spots but also in the outfield. Rodriguez's extended playing time this week yielded some positive results at the plate with three doubles in 15 at-bats as well as three RBI and five walks.

Rodriguez overall is hitting .295 in 15 games this season with nine runs scored and eight runs batted in.

Who's Hot?
Tim Fedroff: Last Two Weeks - 17 H, 11 R, 2 SB

Outfielder Tim Fedroff has been pacing the Aeros attack from the top of the lineup with his bat the past two weeks. In the past two weeks worth of games, Fedroff has collected 17 hits and three walks. He has a .375 on-base percentage in the past ten games. His efforts are not going to waste either as his teammates have been knocking him in.

Better Times Ahead
Eric Berger: 6.2 IP, 2 GS, 6 H, 8 R, 11 BB, 7 K

It was not a good week for Eric Berger in terms of going deep into games; then again it hasn't really been since he's come off the disabled list. The good news is he did go four innings and only gave up two runs in his second game last week. The bad news is he's walking people at an alarming rate. Berger walked 11 hitters last week, six against Trenton and five against Reading.

The positive in all this is that Berger has only started three games this season and his latest start would be a little bit of evidence that he's still getting settled in. He did strike out six hitters against Reading and despite the five walks; he only gave up two hits for a .143 average against, which is far better than the previous two outings.

Berger will get better as he builds up his arm-strength. He's no doubt working through some early season fixes as well as coming off an injury.

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

The Aeros got back right-handed reliever Bryan Price from the disabled list this past week. Price however struggled in his first game back giving up two runs in two innings of work.

Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall missed several games this past week. He returned to action on Sunday but only at designated hitter.

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

The catcher carousel continues to spin and this time it looks as if Damaso Espino is the guy for the Aeros. Espino spent 2009 in Akron as Carlos Santana's backup and was expected to do the same in 2010 in Columbus. However Espino was deactivated due to a numbers crunch and is now in Akron getting the bulk of the playing time this past week. Espino went 4-for-16 with three walks and four runs scored. Wyatt Toregas got just two starts behind the plate this past week.

Nick Weglarz doubled his doubles total this past week with four. Weglarz now has 13 extra-base hits this season. Also doubling his extra-base hit total was Carlos Rivero who had just three doubles on the season before this week. After his seven games this past week, he's added two more doubles and his first home run.

A good outing for Scott Barnes this past week, perhaps his best since he threw five no-hit innings in mid-April. Barnes went 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts and two runs off two hits and three walks against Trenton on Thursday. He's now pitched into the six innings two games in a row now.

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Game Recap 5/9: Captains Sweep Their Nemesis In Doubleheader

Captains Sweep DH From the Loons

The Lake County Captains distanced themselves for the second place Great Lakes Loons with a double header sweep on Sunday winning game one 5-4 and game two 5-4. With the sweep the Captains are now 3.5 games ahead in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League.

In game one, the Captains scored twice in the top of the first inning when Delvi Cid singled and Bo Greenwell walked. Two batters later, Casey Frawley doubled home both runners and it was 2-0. The Loons cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first inning when Blake Smith doubled home Christian Lara and it was 2-1. The game was tied at 2-2- in the bottom of the second inning on a RBI single by Lara. The Loons took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Rafael Ynoa knocked in two runs with a bases loaded single and it was 4-2. The Captains got a run back in the top of the sixth inning when Roberto Perez hit his first home run of the year to cut the lead to 4-3. The Captains scored twice in the top of the seventh inning courtesy of two Loons errors and took the lead for good.

Captains starter Trey Haley did not get a decision working 4.2 innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits, walking four and striking out five. Antwonie Hubbard (1-0) got the win pitching 1.2 scoreless innings and Cory Burns got the final two outs to record his league leading 10th save of the year.

Loons starter Allen Webster (4-2) took the loss six innings and allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits, walking one and striking five.

In game two, the Captains struck in the first inning when Jeremie Tice singled Bo Greenwell to third and Greenwell scored when the throw to third was wild and it was 1-0. The Captains made it 2-0 n the top of the third inning when Frawley led off the inning with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Argenis Martinez. Martinez came through again in the top of the fifth inning driving home Delvi Cid and Frawley and the Captains led 4-0. The Loons scored a run in the bottom of the fifth when J.T. Wise doubled and scored on a single by Brian Ruggiano to make it 4-1. The Loons tied it up at 4-4 in bottom of the sixth inning when they collected three hits and the Captains committed three errors. The Captain took the lead as Jeremie Tice singled home Cid in the top of the ninth inning with the go ahead run.

Captains starter Clayton Cook got a no decision win pitching six innings and allowing four runs, three earned n eight hits and striking out three. Nick Sarianides (3-0) pitched the final three innings to record his third win of the year.

Loons starter Will Savage took a no decision as well working six innings allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits while striking out three. Steve Smith gave up the run in the ninth inning and took the loss.

The Captains play host to the Bowling Green Hot Rods for a three game series beginning on Monday at 6:30 PM. The Captains have yet to decide on a starter while the Hot Rods will go with RHP Alexander Colome (1-2, 2.41).

Clippers beat IronPigs 4-3 in extras

Windy, cold weather was on display at Coca-Cola Park again for the series finale. When it was all said and done, the Columbus Clippers blew out of town with a 3-1 series victory thanks to a 4-3 extra-innings win in the final game against Lehigh Valley.

On a Mother's Day afternoon, the Clippers grabbed a 2-0 lead against the IronPigs in the 4th inning on RBI hits from Jordan Brown and Chris Gimenez, but the Pigs battled back to tie it with single runs in the 4th and 5th innings.

The Clippers broke the deadlock in the top of the 7th inning when Wes Hodges drove home Jason Donald with a double off of the right field wall.

Carlos Carrasco authored six strong innings of work and Jensen Lewis entered the game for his 2010 Clippers debut and tossed 2 scoreless innings. Saul Rivera entered in the 9th inning looking for his 5th save, but allowed a run to tie the score at 3-3.

In the 10th inning, Shelley Duncan lead off with a double and scored the winning run on a Jerad Head fielder's choice with Head narrowly beating out the relay for what would have been an inning-ending double play. Rivera finished off the Pigs with a perfect 10th for the win.

The Clippers say goodbye to Allentown and hello to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, PA as they take on the Yankees. Josh Tomlin will toss for Columbus against the Yanks' Zach McAllister.

Akron Falls To Phillies

Reading used a four-run bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Akron Aeros on Sunday by a score of 5-2 on Mother's Day at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Starter Zach Putnam was solid going five innings and allowed one run on eight hits, no walks and had four strikeouts. Reliever Omar Aguilar come on in relief and was very good going two shutout-hitless-walkless innings while striking out four batters.

With the R-Phils down by a score of 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, they mounted their assault on the Aeros bullpen. Akron reliever Neil Wagner (1-1, 6.28) started the eighth frame by fanning catcher Tuffy Gosewisch. Next batter Domonic Brown singled, and later reached second on a passed ball. Two batters later, Kevin Mahar walked, and the R-Phils were in business with Stavisky at the dish. Now, with two on, and two-out, Stavisky lined a double down the third base line, plating both Brown and Mahar to give the R-Phils the 3-2 lead. Reading went on to add two more runs in the frame, and held on for the three-run victory.

Akron opens up a four game series in Erie on Monday night. The starter has yet to be announced, but it is expected to be left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz who was just called up from Kinston this weekend.

K-Tribe Takes Rubber Game on Walk-Off in 10th

Kinston’s Abner Abreu knocked a walk-off single into centerfield in the 10th inning to score Nate Recknagel and win Sunday afternoon’s rubber game with Potomac, 3-2. It was the second series win of the season for the Indians and their first walk-off win of the season.

The K-Tribe opened the scoring in the second, when Abner Abreu tripled and was driven home on a grounder by Karexon Sanchez. They added on a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Doug Pickens.

Kinston starter Joe Gardner, just called up from Class A Lake County, was outstanding in his Indians debut, pitching five shutout innings on two hits, walking two and striking out four. He was in line for the win, but took a no-decision when Potomac rallied for two in the ninth off of Kinston reliever Brian Grening.

Grening, also making his Indians debut after coming from Double A Akron on Friday, gave up a two-run homer to Dan Nelson with one out in the ninth to force extra innings. Grening would recover to retire the side in order in the tenth, setting the stage for a wild bottom of the frame. Jason Kipnis walked with one out and Lucas Montero came on to pinch run. Nate Recknagel doubled to the gap in right center, and Montero was waved around third. However, he was thrown out on a close play at home, keeping the game tied at 2. The next batter, Abner Abreu singled through the middle of the infield to score Recknagel, who had moved up to third on the previous play, with the winning run.

Grening (1-0) earned the win, while reliever Clayton Dill (0-4) took the loss for Potomac. Kinston will hit the road for a four game set at Myrtle Beach starting Monday night at 7:05 pm. Left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland will take the mound and make his first start of the season for the K-Tribe.

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