Betancourt headed to DL

The injuries are piling up for the Tribe.After throwing three pitches in the eighth inning of Sunday's game, Rafael Betancourt was removed from the game with a strained right groin. He is expected to hit the DL Monday with the corresponding roster move not yet kno...

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Gimenez Recalled, Sizemore to DL

It is official, catcher Chris Gimenez has been called up to Cleveland and OF Grady Sizemore has been placed on the disabled list. Congrats to Chris on the first big league ca...

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Gimenez To Cleveland?

In Saturday night's game, Triple-A Columbus catcher Chris Gimenez was a late scratch from the lineup because of a possible looming callup to Cleveland. While he was held out of the game, he did actually appear in the game late because starting catcher Wyatt Toregas was ejected from the game.This is an interesting move. People will point to the Victor Martinez injury suffered in the game on Saturday night, but that injury occurred AFTER Gimenez was already scratched from the lineup. Could a possible trade of Kelly Shoppach be in the works? Or...

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Game Recaps: Saturday 5/30

Clippers fall 4-2 to NorfolkThe Clippers fell 4-2 to the Norfolk Tides on Saturday.The Clippers made a couple key lineup changes just before the opening pitch at Huntington Park. Travis Hafner was expected to bat third and DH for the Clippers, but Tony Graffanino took his spot. Hafner's sore shoulder prevented him for making the start.Chris Gimenez was expected to be the starting catcher, but was pulled because of a possible call up to Cleveland. Gimenez would appear in the game in the eighth inning after Wyatt Toregas was ejected for arguing a...

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Minor Happenings: What Can Brown Do For You?

"Minor Happenings" 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.In case you missed them, I wrote a few pieces this week on first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride and outfielder Abner Abreu. I still have...

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Game Recaps: Friday 5/29

Tides blast Clippers 13-2Norfolk pounded Columbus 13-2 Friday night at Huntington Park. Kenny Ray made his first start in the opening game of a four-game set and it didn't go as planned. He gave up eight runs (five earned) in four innings.The Tides got on the board first when in the second inning, Jolbert Cabrera scored on a throwing error by Andy Cannizaro. In the second inning, the Clippers tied the score on a Chris Gimenez homer to left. Melvin Dorta singled to start the third and Justin Christian doubled. Jeff Fiorentino blooped a single to...

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Lofgren Promoted

LHP Chuck Lofgren got a well deserved callup to Triple-A Columbus today. The roster move should be made official sometime later today or tomorrow.Also, for those wondering, Minor Happenings will post sometime late tonight or very early tomorrow morning. Those Cleveland Cavaliers have been soaking up a lot of my free time of late, so apologies for the late repo...

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Game Recaps: Thursday 5/28

The Kinston Indians had a scheduled day off, while the Lake County Captains game was postponed due to rain conditions.Clippers win third straightFive Clippers pitchers combined for a 6-4 win over the Charlotte Knights on Thursday. The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Knights jumped on Clippers pitcher Frank Herrmann for four runs. Singles by Andy Phillips and Donny Lucy were followed by a three run home run by Brent Lillibridge. Another run was added after a double by Gordon Beckham and an RBI single by Dewayne Wise. Chris Gimenez...

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Quick Notes

Edit: RHP Tomo Ohka promoted to Cleveland, LHP Zach Jackson optioned back to Triple-A Columbus, and RHP Ken Ray signed as a free agent.Today RHP Josh Judy was activated off the Double-A Akron disabled list and INF Niuman Romero was promoted to Triple-A Columbus.Also, there will be no Smoke Signals radio show tonight. Paul is away for a wedding and while I considered going Han Solo or getting a guest host, with the Cavaliers game on at the same time tonight there is just no way I could do it. We'll be back next we...

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McBride Ready For A New Challenge In Akron

One of the hottest hitters in the Cleveland Indians system the first two months of the season has been outfielder/first baseman Matt McBride. In 31 games with High-A Kinston to start the season he hit .405 with 6 HR, 36 RBI and a 1.120 OPS, and also enjoyed a 23-game hitting streak. For his efforts, the Indians rewarded him by promoting him to Double-A Akron on May 12th."It feels great, and I am excited to be here," said McBride in a recent interview at Canal Park in Akron....

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Game Recaps: Wednesday 5/27

Lake County was postponed due to rainClippers take two in a rowColumbus struck first when Tony Graffanino homered to left field, giving the Clippers the early lead. However, Charlotte regained the lead in the top of the second inning via the long ball.It didn't take the Clippers long as they struck for three runs in the bottom of the third, also coming via the long ball, thanks in part to Michael Aubrey's three run bomb.Starter Jack Cassel went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits, while also walking three.Charlotte tied it again in...

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Kinston Indian’s Mourn the Passing of Clubhouse Manager Robert Smeraldo

Kinston Indian’s Clubhouse Manager Robert Smeraldo died Tuesday night from complications of a massive stroke suffered early Monday morning. Smeraldo was 59 years old.Smeraldo was the longest tenured member of the Kinston Indians staff, working 17 years with the team.“Words can’t describe what Robert meant to not only the Kinston Indians, but also the Cleveland Indians Organization,” said Kinston Indians General Manager Shari Massengill. “He spent almost two decades taking care of Cleveland’s future stars; he worked around the clock to make sure...

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Game Recaps: Tuesday 5/26

Clippers even series against KnightsThe Clippers used early offense and solid relief work to beat the Charlotte Knights 7-5 Tuesday. The win snaps a three game losing streak and brings the Clippers back to .500 at 23-23.Columbus scored a run in the first, three in the second, and another in the third. Michael Brantley scored on an Aubrey fielder's choice in the first. In the second, Andy Marte led off with a single, Barfield reached on an error and Wyatt Toregas singled home Marte. After a walk to Cannizaro, Brantley hit a sacrifice fly to center...

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Wilson Valdez Traded

The Indians today traded INF Wilson Valdez to the New York Mets for a PTBN or ca...

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Crowe Up, LaPorta Down

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has recalled OF Trevor Crowe from the AAA Columbus Clippers. To allow room on the Major League roster the Indians optioned OF Matt LaPorta to Columbus.Also, yesterday OF Tim Fedroff was activated from Kinston DL and OF Matt Brown placed on DL with left knee patella tendon str...

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Three Up, Three Down

Three Up, Three Down looks at three guys in the Indians minor league system that are currently hot, and also three guys who are not. This is by no means an exhaustive list of either guys who are going well or guys who are struggling, just the six guys I picked to look at this week.Three Up:The roller coaster ride that has been Chuck Lofgren's career has been well documented, by Tony and others. After a downright awful Arizona Fall League campaign, there was talk of moving Lofgren to the bullpen, and people started to question whether or not the...

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Gomez Named Eastern League Player Of The Week

Aeros pitcher Jeanmar Gomez was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week today for the week ending May 24th. Gomez is the first Akron hurler to win a weekly award and the second Aero overall to do so, as outfielder Nick Weglarz claimed Player of the Week honors just last week. Gomez made just one appearance last week but it was one to remember, as the native of Caracas, VZ threw the first perfect game in Aeros franchise history last Thursday in a 3-0 victory over Trenton at Waterfront Park. It was just the second nine-inning perfect game in the...

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Game Recaps: Monday 5/25

Big 6th Inning Leads Aeros to 8-1 WinThe Aeros used a monster sixth inning to earn a split with second-place Erie, defeating the SeaWolves 8-1 before 9,118 fans at Canal Park, a season-high in attendance and the sixth-largest crowd in the history of the stadium. Akron improved to 31-11 and kept the best record in professional baseball, while Erie fell to 25-18 and dropped to 6.5-games behind the Aeros in the Southern Division.Akron struck first in this game, as streaking catcher Carlos Santana socked his team-leading seventh home run of the season...

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Brown Named International League Player Of The Week

The International League announced today that Columbus OF Jordan Brown has been named the league’s Batter of the Week for the week of May 18-24. It’s Brown’s first award of the season and the second for Columbus (Matt LaPorta, April 20-26).Brown banged out a league-best 14 hits for the week and was at or near the top of the league in several other offensive categories, posting a .519 batting average (2nd), 3 home runs (T2nd), 7 RBI (T3rd), 6 runs scored (T4th), 6 extra-base hits (T1st), and a 1.000 slugging percentage (T1st). He hit safely in...

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