The Sunday Drive with Masterson, Tomlin, Sizemore and Pure Rage

© Cleveland Indians

The Easter eggs were aplenty in the Pete household on Saturday Night, as the diabolical duo (as my wife and I have dubbed my nine-year-old and my six-year old) spent the night coloring them every shade under the sun.

While there were no major brawls this year during the egg hunt (last year, we put on our own version of Wrestlemania when my son put the first two eggs he found directly in my daughter's face, and she took exception), there nearly was family banishment during the coloring of the first eggs. My son immediately went two-tone, coloring his egg half red, and half blue, dubbing it his "Cleveland Indians egg". My daughter went right for the blue, and when it came out, there were three perfect pinstipes of blue surrounding the egg. "Daddy," she said mischievously, "this is my Yankees egg, and it can beat the Indians' egg whenever it wants."

We better get driving, before the Easter bunny only fills one of my kid's baskets this year...

Three UP...

1. Who isn't excited by the starting pitching as a whole, and by Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin in particular? If you just look at the particulars, their seasons are likely already better than most people thought. Tomlin fought for the last spot in the rotation all spring, and is pulling out his best Cliff Lee impression. In four starts this season, he's 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA. He's struck out 15 batters, and walked only seven in 27 total innings. Overall, Tomlin swallow up innings and win games. Personally, I'm sick of the people that say wins aren't important...it's the whole point, and that's what Tomlin does. If he stays away from the long ball, this could be a big year for the young righty.

Masterson really is one the one to watch though. For over a year, Tribe brass and fans alike have been debating Masterson's role on the team. Ultimately, would the big righty continue as a starter, or move to the bullpen. Last year was his first full season with the Tribe, and after a rough start, he did finish the year strong. In his last six starts, he pitched at least six innings, and in his last three, at least seven. During those last three games, he only gave up a run in each game, while striking out 18, and walking four. His ERA would drop a quarter of a run.

This season, Masterson has continued right where he left off, and then some. He's 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA. Masterson is pelting the strike zone with his fastball/slider combination, and tossing in enough changeups to keep the hitters honest. Here's where you can see Belcher's influence with regards to throwing strikes. Instead of trying to paint the corner with ever pitch, he's just letting his stuff take care of itself, and that's the difference.

Can Masterson and Tomlin continue the trend? Masterson really seems to have figured out how to replicate his outstanding stuff in a starting role, so while I doubt he remains this good all season, I think it's not a stretch to say that this could be a special year. With regards to Tomlin, I'm not as sure. This would be his first full season with the Tribe, and he really doesn't have the stuff to rely on as Masterson does when he inevitably struggles. Is Tomlin a good starter? Yeah, just look at his stats in the minors (51-24, 3.20 ERA in five seasons). Will those numbers translate in the majors? So far so good.

2. Grady Sizemore has made a big splash in his return from microfracture surgery last May. It's easy to forget how good Sizemore is, because fans really haven't seen Sizemore's brilliance in over a year. When Sizemore is healthy, he plays with a pure and nearly uncontrollable aggression that is impressive to watch. The 28-year-old is 9 for his first 23, with two homers and five RBI. His OBP is a crazy .440 right now, and while he hasn't been unleashed on the basepaths yet, he's clearly got his speed back. Sizemore is the best player on this team, and he's back. So is his aggressive play, that I very much doubt he will change any time soon. While I'd like him to find a way to stay 100% and not overcharge every ball, don't count on it. Sizemore plays every game like it's his last. It's what makes him who he is. I'm glad he's back, for however long it turns out to be.

3. Chris Perez is the type of closer that the Indians haven't had since Jose Mesa's sublime year in 1995. Sure, other closers have put up good numbers, but Perez has the type of stuff that should keep him from pulling a Borowski any time soon. Sure, Perez got lit up like a candle this past Thursday, when he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Those hiccups will happen. Dating back to last year, Perez hadn't blown a previous save since an August 6th start against Minnesota. Since then, he saved 16 games in a row (third all-time for the Tribe) without giving up a run (second all-time).

He's got the blazing 95 MPH (he can top that) fastball, and a slider that can screw you into the ground. He's a huge presence on the mound, at 6-4 and 230 pounds, has crazy hair, and the crazy look. You can tell that the kid is wired for sound, and it translates. The big question is how he responds to blowing saves. We'll find out in his next appearance, but my guess is that we can put the heart medication back in the medicine cabinet.

...and three DOWN...

3. Fausto Carmona can't quite figure out if he's brilliant, or scuffling. Carmona got lit up in his first start, to the tune of 10 earned runs in three innings of work. Then, Carmona brought out the brilliance during his next three starts, going seven-plus in each, giving up only three earned runs, striking out 15, and walking only six. In his last start, Carmona lost his control, giving up six runs in five innings of work. The more alarming stat was the return of the walks. He walked four, while striking out one. If he throws strikes he's one of the best pitchers in the league. Throw strikes Fausto. Yeah, I know, sounds easy.

2. Shin-Soo Choo has come out of the gate crawling. We all know that Choo will rebound, but he's started the season struggling. Choo is only hitting .205, but thanks to some support around him, he still has 10 runs scored, and 10 RBI. Choo will right the ship, let's just hope it's soon.

3. While the Tribe bullpen has clearly been a strength for the team, Chad Durbin has really scuffled. How bad has he been? In 8.1 innings pitched in relief, he's given up seven earned runs. With a slew of arms in Akron and Columbus, it doesn't make much sense to keep Durbin around as long as he's playing the pot-luck game with every appearance. It appears as though Acta like Durbin, so I'm sure he'll get a few more chances. For his sake, I hope he rights the ship. If not, get some of those young arms up here.

The REARVIEWMIRROR...

Hopefully you all will find yourselves sitting with your family eating that Easter ham and watching some Indians baseball. For once, this Tribe team has given us something to watch. There's a nice little nucleus of players who have been around a few years, infused with some solid young talent. The staff is throwing strikes, and the defense has been exceptional. Much like most Tribe fans, I've over-analyzed every sign, trying to figure out whether or not this is going to last longer than the next start. It's time to forget about all that, and enjoy it while we've got it....

...and don't forget a shout out to IPI head honcho, Tony Lastoria.  Hopefully, Tony's resting comfortably today with his family, with thoughts of going home soon.

Have a Happy Easter everybody, and may your Easter eggs be of the red-and-blue variety, and not wretched pinstripes.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

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The Sunday Drive with K-Tribe playoff drive

A staff ace pitching at his finest...check...

Key hits from a different player every night...check...

An entire pitching staff playing well, nearly all at once...check...

Winning six out of seven games during the stretch run...check...

Taking control of the second playoff spot of the Carolina League Southern division...check...

The Kinston Indians had been looking for a defining week since the Carolina League season started clear back in April. The K-Tribe finally delivered such a week and then some, as they grabbed control of the second-half playoff slot with a sublime week of clutch hitting and solid pitching.

Kinston went 6-1 in a week that was bookended by two fantastic wins from their best pitcher this season, Joe Gardner. Still, the K-Tribe managed to follow their normal pattern early this week with a big win on Sunday by Gardner to take a series from Myrtle Beach, followed by a big loss that had a ninth-inning comeback come up two runs short. Tuesday's game would get rained out, which obviously made Wednesday double-header a big night for the baby Indians, who found themselves two games out of first when the first game started.

Kinston would sweep the double-header in dramatic fashion, both in extra-innings, and both with walk-offs, and neither of them hits. Bo Greenwell hit a sacrifice fly in the first game for the win, and Abner Abreu got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the winning run of a scoreless game in game two (more on that later). The next night, the Indians rallied in the eighth inning for five runs, including a three-run blast from a struggling Bo Greenwell, that gave the K-Tribe a come-from behind win, as well as the series over the Keys. The win left them in a virtual tie with the Salem Red Sox for the final playoff spot in Carolina's southern division. Who just happened to be their next opponents.

Kinston won another tight game on Friday night, after Jeremie Tice blasted a solo shot to give the K-Tribe the final tally of 2-1. T.J. House, Travis Turek and Cory Burns would shut down the Red Sox, giving Kinston their first playoff chase lead of the season. Gardner made his second start of the week on Saturday night against the Red Sox, and was given a 5-0 cushion. Jeremie Tice would best a second home run in back-to-back nights in the first inning, to give Kinston a 2-0 lead right out of the gate. Chris Jones would continue a topsy-turvy season by giving up three runs, but was bailed out by Matt Langwell, who's battling Cory Burns for the title of 'best K-Tribe reliever.' Kinston would go on to win the game 5-3, and now have a two-game cushion on Salem, and a two-and-a-half game lead on Myrtle Beach.

With nine games left for Kinston, obviously every game counts, but today's game against Salem could be the first nail in the Red Sox playoff coffin. There's still plenty of time for any team to make a move, but with at least a three game lead at stake with today's game, and only eight games remaining after today, a victory today keeps Salem at arm's lenght.

The Red Sox have played four less games than Kinston, but are four games behind in the win column. Combine that with more-or-less three doubleheaders in the upcoming week (including the conclusion of a suspended game against first place Winston-Salem), and the Sox have a tough road to travel. Salem's final 11 games are also against Northern and Southern division leaders Potomac and Winston-Salem. Kinston closes with Northern Division southern cellar-dwellers Frederick before a final series with Potomac. Don't forget about Myrtle Beach, who closes with Wilmington and Lynchburg, who are both fighting for the final playoff slot in the Northern Division.

With a busy week on the reservation, let's get driving...

Where We Stand in Week 21:

Overall Record: 67-64(6-1 the past week)
Second Half Record 31-30 (1 game in back of first place Winston-Salem; First place in chase for final playoff spot, two games ahead of Salem)

Week 21 Games:

22 @ Myrtle Beach, W 9-2 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: Z. Spruill)
23 vs. Frederick, L 4-6 (WP: O. Drake; LP: A. Adams; SV: B. Bordes)
24 vs. Frederick, Postponed: Rain
25 vs. Frederick, W 4-3 (WP: C. Jones; LP: C. McCurry)
25 vs. Frederick, W 1-0 (WP: C. Burns; LP: J. Mariotti)
26 vs. Frederick, W 9-5 (WP: B. Grening; LP: N. Nery)
27 vs. Salem, W 2-1 (WP: T. House; LP: B. Huntzinger; SV: C. Burns)
28 vs. Salem, W 5-3 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: S. Pimentel; SV: M. Langwell)

This Week's Transactions:

No offical Transactions.

Week 21 Offense:

The offensive stats aren't going to blow you away from the past week, but what should is the key production during the most pressure-filled time of the season. Kinston averaged a season-best 4.85 runs a game for the week, while batting .256. They managed four home runs, 31 RBI, while walking 34 times against only 37 K's. That's striking out only 18% of the time, which is 3% better than the league average, and also a season low for weekly counts this season. Kinston also stole 12 bases this week (team weekly high), and was only caught twice. Of those 12 stolen bases, eight different Indians did the stealing, in six of the seven games played. Kinston also managed to hit five homers this week, which is two homers above their weekly average (they are last in the league, with 66 homers on the season).

Jeremie Tice had a big week, batting .389 for the week. Of his seven hits, the big first baseman lead the team with two homers, had a double, and managed to lead the team by scoring six runs on the week. He also walked four times. Tice has been a welcome addition offensively for a team that has sorely needed offense.

Juan Diaz had a 12 game hitting streak ended on Saturday Night, and hit .292 this week for the K-Tribe. he scored three runs and drove in three, hit two doubles and walked twice. Diaz is hitting .353 during his last ten, and continues to make himself a factor with this team after being dealt to the Indians in mid-July. He'll likely find himself in the IPI top 50, and it will interesting to watch this big kid develop over the next three years. The upside for the 6'3" shortstop is endless, especially if he develops power.

Chun-Hsiu Chen had a sneaky week, batting only .222 for the week. Still, Chen stole two bases, scoring two runs, hitting two homers, driving in six and leading the team with eight walks for the week (nearly a third of the team's total for the week). Interesting to is the fact that Chen spent most of the week as the team's DH, catching only two games. I'm not sure if this is an indication that his position is somewhere other than behind the plate or not, but with an organization that doesn't have many catching prospects outside of Carlos Santana, I can't imagine this move already.

Abner Abreu was continuing his hot streak earlier this week, batting .286, while scoring two runs, driving in three, and hitting a double. The concern is that Abreu may be hurt after getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday night that scored the winning run. He hasn't made an appearace since, and his injury prone nature may be coming back to haunt the K-Tribe's rightfielder. More on Abreu as it becomes available.

Donnie Webb also continued to play well while playing all three outfield positions this past week. He went 6 for 21, while scoring five runs, with a double, a triple and a stolen base, to go with four walks.

Doug Pickens had a nice weekend in spot duty, hitting .417 for the week, hitting in all four games he played in. Karexon Sanchez struggled with the stick, but managed to score five runs. Bo Greenwell also hit a big three-run homer, and stole two bases on the week. Alex Castillo hit .300 in the three games he played behind the plate, scoring two runs and hitting a double in his spot duty. The key is that every player on this offense found a way to do something this week that helped produce runs during clutch opportunities, whether it be a hit, walk, steal, sacrifice or hit-by-pitch. That's the sign of a club that wants to win games...which is exactly what they did.

Week 21 Bullpen:

The bottom line for the bullpen is fairly simple. There are constants, such as Cory Burns and Matt Langwell. These guys are not only always good, but always excellent. There are the potential guys, like Chris Jones, Brian Grening and Tyler Sturdevant. These are the guys that are mostly good, but have their occasional bad outings. Then you have the roller coaster riders such as Travis Turek and Dave Roberts, and you really never know what you are going to get from these two. When they are all pitching just to their level, there may not be a better pen in the league.

While Jones and Roberts struggled, the rest of the pen did what they were supposed to do. Their overall ERA was a solid 3.22, with three wins, no losses, two saves and a hold. They struck out 28 batters, tying the starters, while walking only seven.

Matt Langwell has been nothing but light's out, and that pattern continued this week. He went 4 2/3 of an inning in two appearances, giving up only two hits while striking out seven. He saved a game, and really is making a case for a quick move up the system next year. Langwell hasn't given up a run in 18 innings, has walked only two batters during that time, while striking out 19. If not for Cory Burns, Langwell would be running away with the top spot in the bullpen. He's not a closer, but his stuff is fantastic. His ERA is back under 2.00 at 1.99.

Cory Burns continued his sublime season going 1-0 with a save this week. He saved his 26th game of the season for Kinston, which leads the league by nine. He also has 38 saves overall, which is third overall in the entire minor leagues. Burns hasn't given up an earned run since July 10th, a stretch of 15 1/3 innings. Over that time, he's only given up eight hits, walked only three batters, while striking out 22 batters, including striking out the side three times. His Kinston ERA is 1.54 on the year.

Travis Turek, who I believe has the potential to be a good professional ballplayer, proved me right this week. He pitched in two games, going five total innings, and only gave up two hits and a walk, while striking out four. He's had four out of five good appearances, and hopefully has reclaimed some of the magic he had during June and the first half of July.

Brian Grening went an inning and a third, gaining a win and striking out a batter. Tyler Sturdevant with 3 2/3, giving up four hits, a run and a walk, while striking out seven. Chris Jones gave up three runs in one appearance, but also had a two inning appearance in which he struck out three without giving up a run in getting a win.

Week 21 Starters:

The starters, anchored by current ace Joe Gardner, former ace T.J. McFarland and recently hot T.J. house, had another spectacular week. Overall, their ERA was 2.78, while striking out 28 batters and walking 19. In 35 2/3 innings, they also managed to give up only two homers, which helped keep the K-Tribe away from giving up the big inning, which may be the key reason to this recent five-game win streak.

The past three months really has begun and ended with Joe Gardner, who is making a run at the organizational pitcher of the year. Gardner won two games this week, giving him a team and league leading 12 wins overall. He went ten total innings, five innings per start. During that time, he gave up nine hits and an earned run, while walking five (all in one start) and striking out nine. His ERA for the week was 0.90, and overall with Kinston, it's 2.69, good for third in the league. He's first in the league as a strict starter, as the two guys ahead of him spent time in their respective team's bullpen. Gardner is this team's current stopper, especially with T.J. McFarland's recent struggles.

Speaking of the former staff ace, he may have regained some of his early season magic, going five strong innings, giving up three hits and four walks, while striking out seven. It's his first real solid start since July 27, and it would make this team a tough opponent, should they make the playoffs.

T.J. House had been a house of fire during the end of July and the beginning of August, but had struggled recently. House won his sixth game of the season this week, regaining some of that form. The 20-year-old hurler went six innings, giving up only two hits and a run, while walking and striking out four each.

Austin Adams struggled with control this week in his only appearance, giving up six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 of an inning in getting his first loss with Kinston. Joey Mahalic went five innings, but gave up eight hits, three walks and four earned runs in a no decision. Marty Popham went six innings, giving up only four hits and two walks, but a big homer cost him three runs in his no decision.

Week 21 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Jeremie Tice
Relief pitcher of the week: Matt Langwell
Staring pitcher of the week: Joe Gardner

Player of the week: Joe Gardner

Here comes week 22:

29 vs. Salem, 2:00 PM
31 @ Frederick, 7:00 PM

September (all times local unless noted)

1 @ Frederick, 7:00 PM
2 @ Frederick, 7:00 PM
3 @ Frederick, 7:00 PM
4 @ Potomac, 5:03 PM
4 @ Potomac, TBD

The Rearviewmirror: With most of the regular season in the rearviewmirror, let's hope it's time to say goodbye to the inconsistencies that this team has shown all year long. If this team is truly finding out how to win in August and September, than a Carolina League title isn't out of the equation. Winston-Salem has the best overall record in the league at 19 games over .500, but are only three games over .500 in the second half, and a game ahead of Kinston. Frederick won the first half of the Northern, but finds themselves in last place right now, and while they have been a thorn in the side of Kinston, the K-Tribe did beat them in their last series. Potomac, the current second half leaders in the Northern, are 6-10 against Kinston this year, with one more series on the horizon.

Point being...Kinston could win this thing...if the cards fall right.

It's a beautiful day for baseball...everybody...

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The Sunday Drive with a K-Tribe week that almost was

With a North Carolina weather report showcasing high 80's instead of the high 90's, it's time to get to this week's Sunday Drive so I can enjoy an afternoon in this wonderful, "cool" weather.

The Kinston Indians find themselves only a game-and-a-half out of a playoff spot during the second half of the season after a week that coulda/woulda/shoulda been better than the 4-3 record they recorded. Kinston entered the ninth inning of last night's game against third place Myrtle Beach holding a 7-6 lead. With closer Cory Burns, the league leader in Saves with 25 (including three this week already), entering the game, it looked like Kinston was about to make the major move we've all been waiting for this season.

Things started off badly, and ended much worse. Third baseman Kyle Bellows commited an error, the Tribe's fourth of the game, that put leadoff hitter Mycal Jones on first base with nobody out. Burns nearly overcame the error after a sacrifice moved Mycal to second, and a strikeout put a second out on the board. Unfortunately, Burns gave up back-to-back singles that ended the game in a loss for the K-Tribe, and briefly stymied their playoff quest.

Things continue to look up for Kinston, even with their backs against the wall, their continued struggling offense, and T.J. McFarland's second half collapse seemingly complete after getting shelled this week. With Joe Gardner and Austin Adams grabbing the starting reigns, a catcher that may just be something special, and a shortstop acquired in a deal for Rusty Branyan that's showcasing a better-than-advertised bat, there may just be enough time left in this season to make something happen...

...now let's get started, before reality catches up to me.

Where We Stand in Week 20:

Overall Record: 61-63(4-3 the past week)
Second Half Record 25-29 (2 games back of first, 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, in last place)

Week 20 Games:

15 @ Lynchburg, L 4-6 (WP: D. Guerrero; LP: T. House; SV: D. Joseph)
16 vs. Potomac, W 2-1 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: A. Alaniz; SV: C. Burns)
17 vs. Potomac, W 3-1 (WP: A. Adams; LP: D. Rosenbaum; SV: C. Jones)
17 vs. Potomac, W 5-3 (WP: M. Popham; LP: P. Lehman; SV: C. Burns)
18 vs. Potomac, L 1-9 (WP: T. Holder; LP: T. McFarland)
19 vs. Potomac, Postponed: Wet Grounds
20 @ Myrtle Beach, W 6-4 (WP: J. Mahalic; LP: A. Paulino; SV: C. Burns)
21 @ Myrtle Beach, L 7-8 (WP: Avilan; LP: Burns)

This Week's Transactions:

08/16/2010 Kinston Indians placed 1B Nate Recknagel on the 7-Day disabled list. quad strain
08/16/2010 Justin Toole assigned to Kinston Indians from Akron Aeros.

Week 20 Offense:

It's not like the entire offense figured it out this week. In fact, it was more of the status quo with regards to this team. Overall, they are inconsistent hitters, and they continued that trend, batting .257 for the week. Guys like Karexon Sanchez (.208) and Bo Greenwell (.077) struggled during superb seasons, while others picked up the slack. That's been the M.O. of this team from the start of the season. Rarely do they all put it together, although there always seems to be a player or two that are off-the-charts hot. The team did manage to score some runs, but only with the help of two homers. This team doesn't have any power, little speed and hardly any hitters that hit for average. The only current player hitting over .300 is relative newcomer Chun-Hsiu Chen. The only other current player that is close is Bo Greenwell, who's .290 average is on the way down, as he's mired in a 10-game slump that's seen his average drop 40 points.

I'm not saying this team doesn't have any offensive talent...they do. Chen, Greenwell, Abner Abreu, Jeremie Tice, Kyle Bellows, Karexon Sanchez and Donnie Webb all have promising sticks. The problem with this team is that they can't manage to put it all together at once. Remember, this is just a high-A team, so there's plenty of time for these players to figure it out. This team needs it now, however, with only a little more than two weeks left in the season, and a playoff slot hanging in the balance.

I can't say for a fact that Chun-Hsiu Chen is going to be an offensive star in the future. There's no real pattern that says this season isn't a one-and-done sort of thing. What I can say is that he's tearing it up for Kinston right now. This week, the catcher/DH went 10 for 21, and led the team in average (.476), hits, runs (6), doubles (2), homers (1) and walks (6). In other words, it was a good week for this emerging star. He's currently riding a nine game hitting streak that's seen him go 12 for 28 for a .429 average. This past week, he had four multi-hit games, and really has been a brilliant surprise.

An even bigger surprise is shortstop Juan Diaz, acquired in the deal for Russell the Muscle. Diaz had showcased a bit of a bat this year in Seattle's system, but there wasn't much of an indicator that it was anything more than a fluke. Diaz is currently riding a six-game hit streak, and equaled Chen with four multi-hit games in going 9 for 19 on the week, for a .474 batting average. He's hitting .371 in his past 10, and may turn into a bit of a player. What a bargain would that be in a deal for a rental player like Branyan.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but Abner Abreu had a big week. The struggling right fielder hit in five of six games, including two multi-hit games. He went 8 for 22, for a .364 average. He led the team with five RBI, and even though his power isn't back yet, hitting coach Bruce Fields noted in this week's Minor League Happenings, that it sometimes takes a player two years to recover from a lead arm injury, like Jared Goedert. He also scored three runs, and hit two doubles. No home runs, but perhaps Abreu will return to form next year, when the shoulder is 100%.

Kyle Bellows went 6 for 19, for a .316 average. He's become a bit of an error machine, but Bellows continues to showcase a strong bat. He'll need to add power, but he's a solid offensive player thusfar at Kinston.

Week 19 Bullpen:

The bullpen continued to pitch well overall. This week, the relievers pitched 27 innings, and gave up only six earned runs for a 2.00 ERA. They struck out an impressive 29 batter, while only walking eight. They gave up only one homer. Only two pitchers in the pen had an ERA over 2.00.

Cory Burns remains the cream of the crop in this bullpen. Prior to the blown saved that lead to two unearned runs on Saturday Night, Burns had given up on ehit in three innings of work. He had struck out the side twice, and saved three games. Overall, Burns went 3 2/3 of an inning, giving up three hits while striking out eight.

Brian Grening was equally impressive, garnering two holds in 3 2/3 of an inning. He gave up two hits, while also striking out eight, including five of six in a two inning performance.

Chris Jones went 5 2/3 of an inning, giving up two hits and three walks without giving up a run, while striking out six. Jones received his second save of the season as well. Let's hope Jones has re-energized his game after back-to-back-back games of games giving up runs.

Matt Langwell went 2 1/3 perfect innings, with three strikeouts. He hasn't given up a run in 12 games and 13 1/3 innings. I can't imagine he's not going to see some time in Akron between now and the end of the season. He's certainly earned it.

Tyler Sturdevant went six innings in two games, giving up three hits, a walk, and an earned run, while striking out six. Justin Toole returned to Kinston, and pitched a perfect inning, with a strikeout.

Week 19 Starters:

There are still brilliant starters on this team, but this unit is a far cry from the starting pitching for most of the first 2/3 of the year. The six starters went 30 2/3 innings, giving up 20 earned runs for a 5.87 ERA.

The best of the group is without a doubt, Joe Gardner. Gardner went 1-0 this week, nailing down his 10th win of the season to tie him with a struggling T.J. McFarland for the team and league lead. Gardner went five innings, giving up two hits, and earned run and four walks, while striking out five. What was most impressive about this start was that he struggled with his stuff for sure, and still managed to win. He really struggled with his control, giving up the four walks, to go along with three hit batters. Tony has a nice piece about the big righty out today.

Austin Adams is matching Gardner pitch-for-pitch, and there is no doubt that his upside is as high as any in the organization. He went five innings, with two hits, an earned run and four walks, with four strike outs. The similarites are eerie with Gardner, number-wise. Adams got his fourth win for Kinston, without a loss.

Joey Mahalic went six innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs, with four walks and five K's, to get his fifth win of the season.

T.J. House had been lighting up the league over the previous two weeks, but that ended this week with two horrid starts that saw him go 0-1, giving up 15 hits and 8 earned runs, with three walks and eight strikeouts. Marty Popham got a win in five innings of work, but gave up six hits, three earned runs and two walks. He did strike out six.

The biggest disappointment has been T.J. McFarland, who only managed to go 2/3 of an inning in his only start, giving up four hits (two homers), five earned runs and two walks. McFarland has been shelled in six of his past seven starts, and what was a brilliant start to the season, is turning black fast. Maybe it's time to shut him down for the year.

Week 20 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Chun-Hsiu Chen
Relief pitcher of the week: Cory Burns
Staring pitcher of the week: Joe Gardner

Player of the week: Chun-Hsiu Chen

Here comes week 21:

22 @ Myrtle Beach, 6:05 PM
23 vs. Frederick, 7:00 PM
24 vs. Frederick, 7:00 PM
25 vs. Frederick, 7:00 PM
26 vs. Frederick, 7:00 PM
27 vs. Salem, 7:00 PM
28 vs. Salem, 7:00 PM

The Rearviewmirror: There's a rumor that Vin Scully may be announcing his retirement today. The 82-year-old has been painting a baseball picture for Dodgers fans for 60 years. For those counting at home, he's been their since Brooklyn, and may be the last sentient connection to today's game and the game of the golden era of baseball. In my opinion, Scully is the best there ever was. His voice is absolute magic, and there isn't any announcer that can match his body of work.

Here's a couple of his most famous calls, including Hank Aaron's 715th homer, and Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Just to put it in perspective, Herb Score was pitching in high school in 1950, Scully's first year.

Nobody does it better, so if it's the end Mr. Scully, thanks, for helping a kid in Cleveland love baseball.

Also, here's to you, Bobby Thomson. Perhaps the greatest (with Bill Mazeroski) home run in the history of baseball was hit by Bobby Thomson, appropriately titled, "The Shot Heard 'Round the World." Thompson hit the shot off of the Dodgers Ralph Branca to win the pennant for the New York baseball Giants. Here's Russ Hodges' famous call.

It's a beautiful day for baseball...everybody...

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The Sunday Drive with To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the...Worst?

Entering week 19, Kinston felt the wrath of the Lynchburg Hillcats. For those counting at home, the Hillcats are the last place team in the Northern Division of the Carolina league. Obviously, someone forgot to tell the Hillcats, as they took three of four from the K-Tribe, and seemingly put to rest any chance of a playoff appearance for the Indians. When you lose to arguable the worst team in the league, you get what you deserve. Of course, as this season has proven time and time again, things just aren't what they seem

Next up for the Indians were the then-first place Salem Red Sox.

In probably the most exciting series of the season, Kinston took three of four from the Red Sox, and all the sudden, the season became a lot more interesting. Kinston found themselves two games out of first, with Salem, Myrtle Beach and Winston-Salem in a tie for first place. Things were turning in the right direction for the K-Tribe.

Of course, next up for the Indians were last week's nemesis, the last place Lynchburg Hillcats. Unfortunately for Kinston, Lynchburg seemed to have eaten their Wheaties once again. The Hillcats took the first two games of the series, and head into Sunday's game looking for a sweep, and a 6-1 record against Kinston in the pat two weeks. While the Indians certainly still have a shot at making the playoffs, Lynchburg has done a nice job lighting their fuse, and cutting it short. The good news is that the Indians are only three games out of first, and they have only one game left against Lynchburg. The bad news is that they have only 17 games left, and three teams ahead of them. No, it's not an easy road to travel...

...but maybe they have a shot at this thing after all.

Now let's get driving, before Lynchburg figures out where the brooms are.

Where We Stand in Week 19:

Overall Record: 57-60(3-4 the past week)
Second Half Record 21-26 (3 games back, in last place)

Week 19 Games:

8 vs. Lynchburg, L 3-8 (WP: J. Walker; LP: J. Mahalic)
9 @ Salem, W 5-2 (WP: T. House; LP: M. Lee; SV: C. Burns)
10 @ Salem, L 3-4 (WP: C. Cabral; LP: C. Jones)
12 @ Salem, W 3-1 (WP: T. Sturdevant; LP: S. Pimentel; SV: C. Burns)
(Completion of game suspended on 8/11/10)
12 @ Salem, W 6-5 (WP: T. Turek; LP: W. Latimer; SV: M. Langwell)
13 @ Lynchburg, L 1-6 (WP: J. Ravin; LP: T. McFarland)
14 @ Lynchburg, L 1-3 (WP: J. Walker; LP: J. Mahalic; SV: D. Joseph)

This Week's Transactions:

08/11/2010 LHP T.J. McFarland assigned to Kinston Indians from Akron Aeros.

Week 19 Offense:

I'd like to tell you that this offense has turned a corner. I'd like to tell you that the offense has found some power. I'd like to tell you that this team is going to produce a bevy of offensive talent that will support the big league club in two-to-three years. Unfortunately, that's just not going to be the case. There are solid weeks now-and-then, but they are few and far between. Overall, Kinston hit .252 for the week, scoring 22 runs in seven games, with only one home run. With the starting pitching struggling this week, there was no way for this club to sustain a run that could have moved them closer to first place.

Clearly, Kyle Bellows carried the best bat this past week. Bellows hit in five of seven games, three of which were of the multi-hit variety. He tied for the team lead with runs (4), doubles (3) and hits (10), while leading the team with six RBI. He was a one-man wrecking crew against Salem, going 9 for 17 overall, and 8 for 13 over a three-game stretch. Bellows, a right-handed batter, is a strange case indeed. Overall, Bellows his hitting .260 on the season, but against right handed batters, he's hitting .297 with all eight of his home runs, and 40 of his 50 RBI. It will be interesting to see how he develops against lefties, considering he's a righty.

Juan Diaz, acquired in the deal for Russell Branyan, is showing a bit of the bat that he showcased while hitting .295 prior to the trade. This week, Diaz went 10 for 28, for a .357 average, to lead the team. Diaz has taken the shortstop job from Ron Rivas, and has shown some promise with the glove. He has committed seven errors in his short time, but they tend to come in bunches. This week, he only committed one error, and is still learning with the glove. There's definately some potential here, and Cleveland is giving him every chance to show it.

Donnie Webb went 7 for 21 for a .333 clip. Like Kyle Bellows, he had four run and three doubles while splitting his time between center and left. While he hasn't been stealing many bases, he has managed a current seven-game hitting streak. The potential for Webb is obvious, but I'm not sure if the Tribe is looking for another Trevor Crowe type outfielder. His early-season injury certainly stunted his movement.

Abner Abreu continued his forgotten season, without putting up any numbers of consequence. Bo Greenwell also struggled a bit for the first time in his Kinston career, although it's likely a small bump in the road.

Week 19 Bullpen:

The bullpen really put on a nice display overall this week. Their overall ERA was 3.13, going 3-1, with three saves and two holds. It is interesting how this unit has seemingly fallen into the pattern of playing well when the starters struggle, and struggling when the starters pitch well. It does show a bit of that late-inning, stud mentality of coming through when needed. Still, it would be nice to see the entire bullpen showcase the consistency of it's best players.

Cory Burns continues to lead the league in saves. He garnered two more this week, upping his overall total to 22 on the year. He gave up one hit and one walk, while striking out one, in three innings of shutout baseball. he lowered his ERA to an impressive 1.82, and continues to press the organization that needs good relievers.

Matt Langwell continued his fantastic summer, pitching two no-hit innings, with a hold and a save. Langwell now hasn't given up a run in his last ten games. In those 11 innings, he's given up only five hits and two walks, while striking out nine. He's even managed to swoop up a couple of saves. His overall ERA is down to 2.28, and like Burns, is likely making waves with management.

Tyler Sturdevant went 1-0 this week, with 2 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. The 24-year old is a bit old for this level, but he's sandwiched a couple of bad outings, with several good ones. Overall, Sturdevant's numbers aren't solid (5.27 ERA) in Kinston, but solid numbers in both Mahoning Valley and Lake County over the past two seasons should keep Sturdevant on track. Still, he better make t quick before he gets lost in the shuffle of arms.

Brian Grening went 4 1/3 innings this week, giving up only a run on three hits, a walk and three strike outs. Grening is a part of the rubber band crew with Travis Turek (who is officially back on) and Dave Roberts. One game or one week, they are lights out, and the next, they are getting knocked around like a pinball machine. Chris Jones went five innings, giving up five hits, two runs and two walks, with four strikeouts.

Week 19 Starters:

The Kinston starters went from being a group with semi-polished electric arms who could blow pitches past you, to the current group of location pitchers. There are plus arms for sure (Joe Gardner, T.J. McFarland and Austin Adams). Still, once you get past Gardner and McFarland, there's a lot of polish that still needs to be applied. Overall, this group went 1-3 with a 4.62 ERA. Not a great week when this club needed it most.

T.J. House continued his winning ways. In his past four appearances, three of them starts, House has gone 3-0. This week, House went seven strong, giving up eight hits and a walk, with two earned runs. House is certainly the best T.J. in the organization at the moment.

Joe Gardner also continued his consistent excellence, even though the offense couldn't put together enough runs to get him a win this week. he went seven innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs and a walk, while striking out four. I still feel that Gardner is the best pitcher on this current roster. If there are any starters ahead of him over the next year that falter, look for Gardner to get fast-tracked.

Austin Adams had another solid start before weather put a stop to it. He went 3 1/3 innings, giving up only three hits. His arm is as electric as anyone in the organization. This is the kid that could be something special with polish. He's already good now. In his last ten games, he's 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Overall, at Lake County, he's 5-4 with 2.60 ERA. It's a good sign when a kid with an arm like this gets better going up the rungs of the ladder. Of course, the real test starts in double A.

Joey Mahalic went 0-2 this past week, with a really bad start, and a really good one. In 8 2/3, he had a 4.15 ERA, and 10 K's. Marty Popham struggled, giving up five runs, a walk and ten hits in his five-inning performance. T.J. McFarland returned to Kinston, and continued to struggle, giving up seven hits and five runs, in six innings. He did strike out six without a walk, but his recent struggles are a bit of a concern.

Week 19 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Kyle Bellows
Relief pitcher of the week: Cory Burns
Staring pitcher of the week: T.J. House

Player of the week: T.J. House

Here comes week 19:

15 @ Lynchburg, 6:05 PM
16 vs. Potomac, 7:00 PM
17 vs. Potomac, 6:00 PM
17 vs. Potomac, TBD
18 vs. Potomac, 7:00 PM
19 vs. Potomac, 7:00 PM
20 @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 PM
21 @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05

The Rearviewmirror: See you later, Lynchburg. Hopefully, the K-Tribe can get the win today, and put the Hillcats behind them. Overall, the K-Tribe is 6-13 against Lynchburg. More than a quarter of Lynchburg's wins this season have come at the expense of Kinston.

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Sunday Drive With the K-Tribe

It's been hard to find any sort of rhythm to the 2010 Kinston Indians season, as the K-Tribe has spent the season skirting the edge of fantastic baseball, but never able to maintain it. This week was a microcausm of that very premise, with nothing seemingly matching in what could prove to be the pivotal week in the Baby Tribe's push for a playoff appearance. The starters were brilliant, while the relievers had their worst week of the season. Five batters hit .266 or better, with two of those players hitting over .400 for the week. Five batters hit .170 or lower, with two starters below .100.

Entering the week, the K-Tribe had won three in a row, and seemed to be ready to make a move in a division that wasn't doing much moving at all. Kinston proceeded to lose four of five games, which may have sealed their playoff fate. With 30 games left in the season, they are still in the hunt, only four games back. But in a season that's seen Kinston struggle to maintain any sort of winning consistency, it may be a mountain to high to climb.

Let's get driving, before the dog days of summer start nipping at our milk-bone underwear...

Where We Stand in Week 18:

Overall Record: 54-56(2-4 the past week)
Second Half Record 18-22 (4 games back, in last place)

Week 18 Games:

2 vs. Myrtle Beach(Completion on 8/3/10 at 6:00 PM)
3 vs. Myrtle Beach, L 2-12 (WP: B. Oberholtzer; LP: T. McFarland)(Completion of game suspended on 8/2/10)
3 vs. Myrtle Beach, W 1-0 (WP: J. Mahalic; LP: C. Rodgers; SV: C. Burns)
4 vs. Myrtle Beach, L 1-5 (WP: M. Crim; LP: T. Sturdevant)
5 vs. Lynchburg, L 1-5 (WP: C. Partch; LP: T. Turek)
6 vs. Lynchburg, L 1-2 (WP: J. Hotchkiss; LP: C. Jones; SV: D. Joseph)
7 vs. Lynchburg, W 9-2 (WP: M. Popham; LP: C. Ware)


This Week's Transactions:

08/07/2010 Marty Popham assigned to Kinston Indians from Columbus Clippers.

Week 18 Offense:

With Kinston hitting over .270 last week, the hope was that the offense was just starting to click during the most important month of the season. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The team hit .238 for the season, without a home run, 14 RBI, and only 15 runs scored overall. In four of the six games, Kinston scored single runs. In a fifth game, Kinston scored a deuce. The other nine runs came in a Saturday night, nine-run barrage behind a brilliant performance by Marty Popham. This team just doesn't seem to have the overall offensive talent that's needed to get into the playoffs. There's definately some raw ability, but these kids are still learning.

Karexon Sanchez was easily the most consistent offensive producer this past week. Sanchez hit in five of six multi-hit games, with two of those being of the multi-hit variety. He didn't do anything that exciting, scoring three runs, with two doubles, but continued to be the one player on this team that can be counted on to consistently produce. The irony of Sanchez is that when the K-Tribe bats heated up for nine runs on Saturday night, he went 0-4.

There may be something to this move to centerfield for Bo Greenwell. The new offensive leader on this team had a hit in five of six games. The only game he didn't get a hit in, was his lone game in left field. Overall, Greenwell went 9 for 22, with one run, two doubles and a team leading four RBI. Greenwell's stats were a bit masked by a big Saturday night that saw him go 4 for 5, but he's still proving to be a hitter as he moves up through the system. It should be interesting to see what happens with Greenwell next year, because he's certainly earned a shot at starting the year off in Akron, if he doesn't end up there at the end of this season.

There's somethig to this Jeromie Tice kid. Tice batted .306 in the prior two weeks, then stepped up his game by going 5 for 12 for a .416 average. In three starts, Tice had two multi-hit games. He hasn't shown giant power with Kinston, but if he can develop any sort of power, he could be a player to keep an eye on.

Week 16 & 17 Bullpen:

The bullpen certainly didn't shine as a whole this week. As a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite. While there were a couple of solid performances, overall, the pen was dreadful. Overall, this unit pitched 19 2/3 of an inning, giving up 19 earned runs. For those counting at home, that's a near 9.00 ERA (8.70 ERA for those counting at home) as a group. Perhaps the starters need to head back to the bullpen.

In all the muck, there were some solid performances. Closer Cory Burns didn't get a lot of work this past week, being that the Indians only won two games, with one of them a 9-2 blowout. Still, Burns does what he does best. He came in when he was asked to, and shut down Myrtle Beach. He pitched a perfect inning, with two strikeouts, getting his league-leading 20th save. Remember, Burns didn't join this club until the end of May. In his past three weeks, Burns has pitched in five games, with an inning in each. He's given up only two hits and two walks, while striking out six. Two hits and a walk were in one game. He's save four of five games. His overall ERA is a spectacular 2.02, and he's obviously a player that management will be keeping a close eye on.

Matt Langwell is firmly re-entrenched as arguable the best reliever on this team. He's made two appearances, to the tune of 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two hits, without a run or walk, while striking out two. He dropped his overall ERA to 2.38, and hasn't given up a run in 9 innings, since July 5th. For those counting at home, that's no runs in over a month, while giving up only five hits and one walk, while striking out nine batters. Not too shabby.

Chris Jones had a hard-luck outing earlier this week, going three strong innings, but getting the loss against Lynchburg. Jones gave up an early wild pitch, then a two-out double later in the inning scored the runner. The K-Tribe's weak bats failed to push anything even close to home plate, but Jones was solid nonetheless. he went three total innings, giving up a hit and that run, while striking out five.

Travis Turek, Tom Sturdevant, Dave Roberts and Brian Grening combined to go 0-2, while giving up 18 runs in 10 2/3 of an inning.

Week 16 & 17 Starters:

If there is any question about how deep the Cleveland Indians are with regards to quality pitching, the Kinston Indians did their best to answer that question this week. The starters went 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA, while striking out 31, with only six walks. How good was this staff? Their worst pitcher of the week was their ace (well, former ace) T.J. McFarland, who gave up four earned runs in his last start with Kinston. If you take McFarland's stat line away, the starters went 30 innings, while giving up two earned runs. That's a 0.60 ERA for those counting at home. Yeah, and this club still went 2-4 for the week. That's how bad the offense and bullpen was this week.

Marty Popham made his first start for Kinston since his spot start with Columbus (not a good start, to say the least), and was dominating. He went five innings, while giving up three runs and a walk. He struck out 10 batters, of the 15 possible outs. Popham had been a "reliever" recently, pitching four innings at the back-end of Austin Adams starts. With McFarland moving on to Akron, Popham has found a role as starter, and I think you can safely say, he's more than earned it. Now we just need to see some consistency. Popham has gone back and forth with outings, one week, pitching well, followed by a struggle. Consistency could put him on the fast track.

T.J. House has now put together three straight outstanding outings in a row. This week, House went seven strong, giving up three hits and a walk, while striking out three. In his past three outings, House has gone 19 innings, with six hits, an earned run, four walks and 12 K's. I'm not sure what tweaks he's made, but they are working. House is a kid that's responding to earlier struggles.

Joe Mahalic also put together a special start in getting a win this week. He went six inning, giving up two hits and a walk, while striking out eight batters. I can't imagine Mahalic is being looked at as a starter, but if he can start putting together appearances like this, he might get a look.

Austin Adams just keeps pitching well. This week, he went fiving innings, giving up five hits and a run, while striking out four. His overall ERA is 1.47, and he's another one of those pitchers that has to show the Tribe brass what he's got. He certainly has raised eyebrows this year, shining at both Lake County and now, Kinston.

Joe Gardner now becomes the ace of the staff, although some, including me, say he's been the ace for awhile now. He didn't get a win this week, but he did go seven innings, giving up four hits, a run and two walks, while striking out three. His 2.84 ERA is now only .03 away from McFarland's team lead, and it's only a matter of time for the big righty to get there. He's had a couple of rough outings recently, but his past two are stellar. I'll be honest, I'd have called up Gardner before McFarland.

McFarland's last start with the K-Tribe wasn't anything special. He went 2 1/3 before the game was suspended, while giving up four earned runs, and five overall. This was his second horrid start in his last four starts, and his third start out of four that had the ace struggling. He also struggled in his first start at Akron. Let's hope he can right the ship.

Week 18 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Bo Greenwell
Relief pitcher of the week: Matt Langwell
Staring pitcher of the week: Marty Popham

Player of the week: Marty Popham

Here comes week 18:

8 vs. Lynchburg, 2:00 PM
9 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
10 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
11 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
12 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
13 @ Lynchburg, 7:05 PM
14 @ Lynchburg, 6:05 PM
The Rearviewmirror: I don't know what the future holds for T.J. McFarland. He's got great stuff, and great make-up, but I can't help but think it was too early to move him up. He's been dominant at times this year, and his numbers are impressive, but there I can't shake that he needed to finish the year here in Kinston. I hope I'm wrong, and good luck to you T.J. I also want to say see you later to Carlos Santana. I always fear injuries. You just never know when a player gets injured, and never returns to form. He's too good not to, but you just never know.

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The Sunday Drive with two weeks wrapped into one

The Kinston Indians appear to have the schedule in their favor on this gloomy Sunday morning. The Carolina weather isn't cooperating for baseball, but even the schedule seems to align for a Kinston club that suddenly finds itself winning more than they are losing. The K-Tribe has a scheduled off-day today, before starting a seven game homestand. The Baby Indians swept Wilmington, and have gone 8-5 over their last 13 games, which also included a four-game winning streak. While Kinston's record during the second half stands at 16-18 and in last place in the southern, they have pulled themselves within two games of first place Salem. And if the three-game sweep of the Carolina northern's division leader Wilmington is any indication, things are pointing upwards.

Let's get drivin' before Tribe management trades this column to the Yankees for cash considerations, which would equate to a case of Milwaukee's Best, and some beer nuts. Hmmmmm...I might take that deal...

Where We Stand in Week 117:

Overall Record: 52-52 (8-5 the past two weeks)
Second Half Record 16-18 (2 games back, in last place)

Week 16 & 17 Games:

19 vs. Winston-Salem, L 3-7 (WP: S. Sauer; LP: T. House; SV: T. Corley)
20 vs. Winston-Salem, W 4-2 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: T. Doyle; SV: T. Turek)
21 vs. Winston-Salem, W 5-1 (WP: A. Adams; LP: D. Axelrod; SV: M. Popham)
22 vs. Wilmington, W 10-3 (WP: T. Sturdevant; LP: J. Thompson)
24 vs. Wilmington, W 2-1 (WP: T. House; LP: J. Cuevas; SV: C. Burns)
(Completion of game suspended on 7/23/10)
24 vs. Wilmington, L 0-7 (WP: B. Paukovits; LP: D. Roberts)
25 vs. Wilmington, L 4-10 (WP: H. Mozingo; LP: J. Gardner)
26 @ Winston-Salem, L 2-7 (WP: B. Kloess; LP: M. Popham)
27 @ Winston-Salem, W 8-1 (WP: T. McFarland; LP: N. Jones; SV: M. Langwell)
28 @ Winston-Salem, L 5-8 (WP: G. Johnson; LP: J. Mahalic; SV: T. Corley)
29 @ Wilmington, W 2-0 (WP: T. House; LP: W. Smith; SV: C. Burns)
30 @ Wilmington, W 4-0 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: B. Paukovits; SV: C. Burns)
31 @ Wilmington, W 10-2 (WP: A. Adams; LP: B. Baumann)


This Week's Transactions:

07/23/2010 Justin Toole assigned to Kinston Indians from Columbus Clippers.
07/22/2010 Kinston Indians activated RF Abner Abreu from the 7-Day disabled list.
07/18/2010 RHP Rob Bryson assigned to Akron Aeros from Kinston Indians.


Week 16 & 17 Offense:

During week 16, the K-Tribe went 4-2, but it's not like the hitting turned into Murderer's row overnight. If anything, it was more of the same for a Kinston team that still lacks power, and has failed time and again to gain any sort of momentum while at the plate. In week 16, the team hit .250, with three homers and 24 RBI. They did manage to score 24 runs, but 10 of those came in a blowout win against Wilmington. When you are dispersing 14 runs through five games, that's not giving your pitching much chance to win. Still, this team has innings and games where it looks like it may put something together. It hasn't happened yet, but perhaps their showing in week 17 has them turning a corner.

In week 17, the K-Tribe improved their average for the week 22 points, hitting .272. Even more impressive was their improved run production. Kinston drove in 34, scored 35, hit seven homers, 15 doubles and five triples. When you're batting .270 as a team, and 41% of your hits are for extra bases, you are going to score some runs. They still could have distributed their runs a bit better, scoring 10 and 8 in two victories, but a couple of shutouts would bail out the offense in a 4-3 week.

Karexon Sanchez had another solid week in week 16, going 7 for 21, with two of the teams three home runs, and six RBI. His 10 homers leads the Indians for the season, and is in line with his past two season (12 and 11 homers respectively). Sanchez struggled a bit during week 17 by hitting .200, but did manage two multi-hit games, going 2 for 4 and 3 for 5. Unfortunately for the K-Tribe second baseman, he was hitless in the other four games of the week. Sanchez continues to be the heart and soul of the single A Tribe.

Donnie Webb finally produced a week that reminded Tribe brass of his 2009 season. Webb went 7 for 17 for a .411 average, while scoring five runs and stealing a base. He also walked four times, while only striking out three. Webb was the primary centerfielder during week 16, so it is interesting to not that he switched with leftfielder Bo Greenwell during week 17. Webb struggled for most of week 17, managing only five hits in 21 at bats, but did have a 2 for 3 game on Saturday. Again, Webb managed to walk three times, while striking out the same. A big concern for Webb was his strikeout rate, which he seems to have a handle on. Still, injuries slowed down the 24-year-old's development, and unless he picks it up soon, he becomes a really old single A ballplayer.

Here comes Abner Abreu...again. He was removed off the DL, and went 4 for 12 in his three games back, including a game with four RBI. He followed up week 16's performance with another strong week by going 7 for 24, with five runs scored. While these aren't the power numbers that many are looking for from Abreu, he did have a hit in eight of nine games, and in the lone game without a hit, Abreu walked three times, and scored two runs. The interesting thing about Abreu is that he may be learning how to manufacture runs while he's struggling offensively. Let's hope for a big August from the former top ten Tribe prospect.

Catcher/Designated Hitter Chun-Hsiu Chen is really building some momentum in the organization as another great hitting catcher. Chen went 4 for 14 in week 16, with 4 RBI, then followed that up with a stellar week 17. He went 9 for 22 (.409) with five runs, three doubles, a homer and seven RBI. He also had five walks to match his K total. Chen was a free agent signing by the Tribe in 2007, and has made no noise prior to this season. He hit .261 in the Gulf Coast League, then followed that up with a .215 average at Mahoning Valley. Things have really picked up this year for the catcher, having hit .312 with six homers at Lake County, and picking up where he left off with a .308 average here in Kinston. He's gone 13 for 36 over his last 11 games, and should be moving up the prospect lists in 2011.

As mentioned previously, Bo Greenwell moved from left field to centerfield from week 16 to 17, and his average took a jump with the move. Greenwell went 9 for 24, with a hit in every game, and he had three multi-hit games to boot. He's still such a raw prospect, with good speed, and potential power. It helps that the kid can play all three outfield positions, and play them all well. Greenwell has added good size, and is playing at slightly above 200 pounds, but his good speed could make him a power producer in center, should an opening ever be available. He has a plus arm, and remember, he came into the organization as a first baseman, so he's still learning how to be a professional outfielder. At only 21, the future really does look bright for this second generation pro.

Kyle Bellows also struggled to find his swing in week 16, but found the magic in week 17. He went 8 for 23, with a homer and seven RBI. He scored two runs, while adding a double and two triples. Bellows keeps throwing these big weeks in the middle of mediocre ones, that lend the potential of Bellows being something more than a back-up. Like Greenwell, he's only 21, but is a big kid that projects to add a whole bunch of power as he learns to hit better pitching.

Juan Diaz is starting to show some of that stick that people were wondering about when the Indians traded Branyan. No, he hasn't gone on a tear towards a triple crown or anything, but he quietly put together two nice weeks in a row. He's gone 13 for 46 for a .283 average. He's another raw talent at 21, who will likely remain at Kinston for another year of seasoning.

Jeromie Tice has had a nice couple of weeks, going 11 for 36, for a .306 average. He's a bit older at 23, but is having a breakout season between Kinston and Lake County. Overall, Tice is batting .283, with 11 homers and 64 RBI.

Week 16 & 17 Bullpen:

This is a strange day for K-Tribe pitching, as starters are relievers, and relievers are starters. In week 16, the bullpen was the superior unit this past week, but they were given a couple of breaks. T.J. House struggled as a starter, and excelled as a reliever. Dave Roberts, the perennial candidate to become Cedar Point's next roller coaster, started, and handcuff Marty Popham, who's really a starter, made another one of those four-inning relief jobs, handcuffed to Austin Adams. Overall, the pen pitched the same amount of innings as the starters, and went 2-0 on the week. They had three saves from three different pitchers, and rolled out a 2.18 ERA. Of course, it's hard to call this strictly a pen performance, when the two best outings were from psuedo-starters. The pen largely struggled in week 17, going 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA, with three saves and two holds.

T.J. House had an outstanding outing out of the pen, even though he started the day pitching. He didn't get the start because he started in the third inning after the game had been suspended the previous night. After getting shelled on Sunday as a starter, House went an impressive six innings, giving up only one hit and one run, while walking one and striking out five. It doesn't get much better than that.

Marty Popham continued his prowess as a long-inning closer, going four innings in relief of Austin Adams, giving up four hits and a walk, while striking out 1. Popham really is a starter, but he currently has three saves, for coming in early with a small lead, and holding on to it. Popham did get lit up like a Christmas tree in week 17, but was called up to make a spot start in Columbus. He's a starter, and it's time to let him start some games.

Cory Burns had a strong two weeks. Overall, he made four appearances, going four total innings, giving up two hits and two walks, while striking out four. He did have a sketchy outing, giving up two hits and a walk, but struck out the side to get our of the bases-loaded jam. He saved three games.

Welcome back Matt Langwell. Langwell was lights out to start the season, but had struggled a bit during June and July. Since July 10th, Langwell hasn't given up a run in 6 2/3 innings. In the past two weeks, Langwell has made four appearances, going 4 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and a walk, while striking out two batters. He has a hold and a save during that time period.

Chris Jones made a nice comeback in week 17, going three and two/thirds innings, getting a hold, and without giving up a run. It's also worth noting that Travis Turek struggled in week 17, mainly in mopup work. Let's hope he's not rejoining the land of adventurous pitching.

Week 16 & 17 Starters:

In week 16, the K-Tribe starters had horrid luck in their 2-2 week. Roberts took a start because of a suspended game that forced T.J. House into a relief role. Roberts got lit up. House, who was so good in the relief slot, had been jack-hammered the previous Sunday as a starter. Combine that with middling performances from Joey Mahalic and T.J. McFarland, and this unit struggled overall. Their ERA was 4.37, while only striking out 13 batters and walking 11. This is a unit that's struggling to find it's footing after call-ups earlier in the year. In week 17, the starters re-stabilized a bit, going 3-0 with a 3.40 ERA.

Austin Adams went 2-0 in three starts over the past three weeks. In week 16, he didn't give up a run, on two hits and a walk, while striking out two. In week 17, He gave up two runs in two starts and 10 innings pitched. Adams wrapped up his solid week with a five-inning, three-hit, three K performance.

Joe Gardner went 2-1 over the past two weeks. His overall record improved to 9-5, and he continues to be a consistent winner at high A ball. He sandwiched two strong outings (11 innings, six hits, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K) with a horrid one (4 IP, seven hits, 6 ER, 2 BB and 2 K). Overall, Gardner's 2.97 ERA is fourth in the league, and his 9 wins is second to only T.J. McFarland's 10. He's proved his worth in Kinston, and should be moving up soon, if there's room.

T.J. House rebounded from an early shelling in week 16 for a solid "relief" effort, then a stellar start in week 17. House went six strong innings, giving up only two hits and two walks, while striking out four. In his last two outings (one in relief), he's gone 12 innings, with three hits, an earned run, three walks and 9 K's. House had some dominating moment early in the year. Perhaps he's about to come out of his shell a bit.

Joey Mahalic struggled in week 17, but you have to wonder how much the suspended game played into that. He only went two innings in week 16 thanks to the suspension, and perhaps lost any rhythm after five days rest for only two innings.

T.J. McFarland finally got his 10th win in week 17, going six innings, while giving up four hits, a run, four walks and three K's. McFarland struggled in week 16, and just doesn't seem to have the stuff he had earlier in the year. This isn't to suggest that McFarland isn't the best pitcher on this staff, he's just not dominating at the moment. Still, you have to think we haven't seen the last of McFarland's dominance this year, and especially next.

Week 16 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Karexon Sanchez
Relief pitcher of the week: Marty Popham
Staring pitcher of the week: Austin Adams

Player of the week: Austin Adams

Week 17 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Chun-Hsiu Chen
Relief pitcher of the week: Matt Langwell
Staring pitcher of the week: Austin Adams

Player of the week: Chun-Hsiu Chen

Here comes week 18:

2 vs. Myrtle Beach, 7:00 PM
3 vs. Myrtle Beach, 7:00 PM
4 vs. Myrtle Beach, 7:00 PM
5 vs. Lynchburg, 7:00 PM
6 vs. Lynchburg, 7:00 PM
7 vs. Lynchburg, 7:00 PM


The Rearviewmirror:See you later Jordan Brown! No, he's not gone, but the Indians finally called up the under-appreciated outfielder. Brown has done nothing but hit since he was drafted, but his Wally Joyner-esque lack of power at the power positions has kept him from moving up to the bigs. Now he has his chance. My hope is that the kid sticks with the Big Club. He deserves it.

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The Sunday Drive with a Kinston mid-summer slump

This Sunday is one of those rare days in the minor leagues for the Kinston Indians, a scheduled off day. So what does that mean for the Sunday Drive? Well, it's time to kick our feet up, relax, and ponder the Big League Indians and their day-night doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers. What does this craziness mean? As a near 40-year Indians fan, I can safely say that this doesn't mean much of anything other than a nice beginning to the second-half of the season. Surely, the guys at the corner-bars saying that the Indians are about to make a move towards first place have tipped the bottle a bit too many times this weekend, or are new to sports in Cleveland.

Me, I'm a realist.

Let's get drivin' before the Indians complete the sweep of the Tigers on their way to the 2010 pennant. Oh, and pass me another "Quitness," there's nothing like a good bitter beer on a Sunday morning.

Where We Stand in Week 15:

Overall Record: 44-47 (1-5 this past week)
Second Half Record 8-13 (3 1/2 games back, in last place)

Week 15 Games:

11 @ Frederick, L 2-11 (WP: N. Moreau; LP: J. Mahalic; SV: C. McCurry)
12 @ Frederick, L 0-4 (WP: L. Noel; LP: T. House)
14 @ Potomac, W 3-1 (WP: J. Gardner; LP: J. Zimmermann; SV: C. Burns)
15 @ Potomac, L 1-6 (WP: A. Morris; LP: M. Popham; SV: D. Leatherman)
16 @ Potomac, L 7-8 (WP: C. Dill; LP: C. Burns)
17 @ Potomac, L 3-6 (WP: B. Peacock; LP: J. Mahalic; SV: D. Leatherman)


This Week's Transactions:

07/17/2010 Joseph Mahalic assigned to Kinston Indians from Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
07/12/2010 activated OF Donnie Webb from the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 placed C Alex Castillo on the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 placed RF Abner Abreu on the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 placed C Richard Martinez on the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 activated RHP Rob Bryson from the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 activated 1B Nate Recknagel from the 7-Day disabled list.
07/12/2010 RHP Tyler Sturdevant assigned to Kinston Indians from Lake County Captains.
07/12/2010 Joseph Mahalic assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers from Kinston Indians.


Week 15 Offense:

The K-Tribe offense seems to be hovering in the land of nowhere. For the third week in a row, the K-Tribe rolled out an average right around .250. It is what it is. The baby-Tribe has lacked power all season long, and this week managed a grand total of one homer, 13 RBI and 16 total runs. They are striking out nearly 30% of their at-bats, and just can't find any consistency. With the pitching struggling, the offense needs to step it up. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a point in the season when the entire team has caught fire. It doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon either.

Jeremie Tice made quite an impact this week in Kinston. He's currently riding a five-game hitting streak, and had two hits in all four games that he played this week. Overall, he hit .444 with two runs, two doubles and two RBI. Tice is a third baseman by trade, but is splitting his time between first and DH with Kyle Bellows locked in at third. He had nine homers and 51 RBI this year at Lake County, but has only managed one homer in his ten games at AA. If he's to move up the ladder, he's going to have to find his power stroke.

Lucas Montero continued his excellent season here at Kinston by hitting .414 on the week. Montero scored two runs, with a triple, an RBI and a walk. Like Tice, he has a current five-game hitting streak, as well as a four-game, multi-hit streak. In the past ten games, Montero is hitting .381 with six multi-hit games.

Bo Greenwell hasn't stopped hitting since he's come to Kinston. This week, the Kinston left fielder went 7 for 21 for a .333 average. He only scored one run. Overall, Greenwell is hitting .362 since moving up, and .378 over his past ten games. He isn't showcasing any power or really, any run scoring intangibles as of yet, so even though he's hitting the ball, he isn't really pushing home runs. Still, you have to believe that as long as he keeps hitting, there will be some power as the 21-year old moves up through the system.

It's interesting to follow the K-Tribe's offense from week-to-week, especially after their major offensive prospects moved up. When you look at their current primary offensive players, they rarely put together two good weeks in a row. Guys like Kyle Bellows, Lucas Montero, Nate Recknagel and Karexon Sanchez are up and down from week-to-week, which is what you come to expect at this level of baseball. Either the players are still learning the game, or just can't find the on-switch. For any of the offense players currently on the roster, it can still go either way.

Week 15 Bullpen:

The pitching staff struggled overall, and even though the relievers were better than the starters again this week, there really wasn't much to brag about. They went 0-1 with a save, a blown save and a hold, to go along with a 4.43 ERA. They struck out 23 batters, while walking only nine batters in 20 1/3 innings.

Rob Bryson made his return this week, and was right back to his old stuff. It's likely that Bryson was feeling normal shoulder strain after dealing with injury issues after being traded to Cleveland two years ago. Bryson made two appearances, and went two innings, giving up only a hit, while striking out four. There is no doubt that the Indians have the big righty in their plans for the back-end of their bullpen. How good has he been this year? He's 6-1 overall, between Lake County and Kinston, with 59 strike outs in 33 1/3 innings. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .167, and he's just gotten better as the year has progressed. In his final game for Kinston, he went an inning, and struck out the side. Last game, you say? Yeah, Bryson is getting bumped to Akron. I get the feeling that Bryson will be in the Tribe pen next year, if not at the start of the season, certainly by July.

Cory Burns seemingly had a rough week, but he didn't really get any help. Burns went 0-1 with a save and a blown save. In his save, it was a typical outing: one inning and two K's. In his blown save, he gave up two unearned runs, a walk and a hit batter. Burns took a ground ball with one out, and was a double-play away from the save, when Nate Recknagel threw the double-play ball into left-field, scoring the tying run. Potomac would score the winning run later in the inning. Burns hasn't gotten a lot of work since his four-save week a couple of weeks ago, but is still throwing the ball well.

Chris Jones didn't give up a run over the past week, but there were struggles there as well. In his July 12th outing, Jones went two innings without giving up a hit, but struggled with control by walking three batters. Overall, he went three innings, giving up a hit and the three walks, with two strikeouts.

Newcomer Tyler Sturdevant made two appearances with Kinston, giving up only two hits and a walk, while striking out one. Sturdevant can hit the mid-90's with his fastball, and it moves down and away. He has a nice slider to go along with it. Sturdevant has been outstanding this year, and is still learning how to pitch. He's keeping the ball down, and learning to use more than just his heat. He should be a good addition to the pen with Bryson moving on up.

Matt Langwell made one appearance, giving up a hit, while striking out two. Travis Turek gave up a run this week in 2 2/3 innings, giving up five hits, a run and two K's, to continue his solid streak of pitching. Austin Adams finally became the handcuff to Marty Popham, and was okay in four innings. He gave up four hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, and struck out three. he's not a reliever, but did give the K-Tribe pen a night off.

Week 15 Starters:

As bad as the Kinston starters were last week, they were that much worse this week. They went 1-4 for the week, going 30 1/3 innings, with 19 K's and 10 walks. Their overall ERA was a horrid 6.23, and this unit is a'strugglin. There are good pitchers here, but much like the offense, there's a combination of young-trying-to-figure-it-out pitchers, and marginal prospects hoping to catch fire and get noticed. This week, only one starter really got noticed for anything good.

Joe Gardner went seven strong innings, giving the K-Tribe their only win of the week. He gave up six hits, two walks and a run, while striking out nine batters. I still think that Gardner is the best pitcher on this staff, with T.J. McFarland coming in a not-so-distant second.

Marty Popham earned a starting nod after his solid week in the pen. He may find himself on the other end of the hand-cuff with Adams after giving up three earned runs in four innings of work. He didn't walk a batter however, and struck out one. He periodically has outings like this, but overall, has been very good at all levels this season.

T.J. McFarland had one of his worst outings of the season. The big lefty gave up eight hits and six runs with two walks and three K's. How good has McFarland been? It raised his ERA to 2.45, which is still second in the league.

Joey Mahalic and T.J. House have had once promising season take a hit with July struggles. Mahalic has officially entered a slump. He went ten innings this week in his two appearances, giving up 16 hits, eight earned runs and four walks, while only walking two. He's been shelled in his last three starts. T.J. House went four innings in his loss, with four hits, three runs and two walks, to go along with four strikeouts. This makes House's fourth straigh horrid start. Both need to right the ship, or the K-Tribe is done for the year.

Week 15 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Lucas Montero
Relief pitcher of the week: Rob Bryson
Staring pitcher of the week: Joe Gardner

Player of the week: Joe Gardner

Here comes week 16:

19 vs. Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM
20 vs. Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM
21 vs. Winston-Salem, 11:00 AM
22 vs. Wilmington, 7:00 PM
23 vs. Wilmington, 7:00 PM
24 vs. Wilmington, 7:00 PM


The Rearviewmirror:Is it already time to say goodbye to any chance of a playoff appearance for the K-Tribe? They are currently in last place during the second half of the Carolina League season. Of course, they are only 3 1/2 games out of first place, so anything is possible. Still, there's not a whole lot of offense to be had, and with the starting pitching becoming erratic, there may not be any hope for any sort of a move. So is hope in the rearviewmirror? Let's hope not.

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The Sunday Drive with some struggling pitching in Kinston

The Kinston Indians seemed to be on the edge of really taking off as the fourth of July week began last Sunday. The K-Tribe had gone 4-2 over their previous six games, and really had a dominating win on Sunday behind T.J. McFarland. True to fashion during the 2010 season, the Indians went the exact opposite way, losing four of their next five games.

While the overall offense continued to produce at similar levels in the past, the overall pitching took a major hit this week. The team ERA this week was 4.42, a 1 1/2 jump from their overall team ERA this season. If the pitching struggles turn out to be a trend, and not one week fluke, there's no hope for the K-Tribe to make the playoffs. The offense just isn't good enough to carry them over long stretches, although Bo Greenwell may be trying to do it all himself.

Alright, let's get driving, so I can take some aspirin for my LeBron James hangover.

Where We Stand in Week 14, with a clean slate:

Overall Record: 43-42 (2-4 this past week)
Second Half Record 7-8 (2 1/2 game back)

Week 14 Games:

4 vs. Frederick, W 7-2 (WP: T. McFarland; LP: O. Drake; SV: M. Popham)
5 vs. Frederick, L 3-11 (WP: N. Moreau; LP: J. Mahalic)
7 vs. Salem, L 1-4 (WP: M. Lee; LP: T. House; SV: K. Fernandes)
8 vs. Salem, L 2-7 (WP: M. Holliman; LP: J. Gardner; SV: W. Latimer)
9 vs. Salem, W 9-0 (WP: A. Adams; LP: C. Clay; SV: M. Popham)
10 @ Frederick, L 4-5 (WP: B. Jacobson; LP: B. Grening)


This Week's Transactions:

Although not officially listed on the Kinston site, reports are that Abner Abreu went on the DL on Friday with a right shoulder injury. The exact injury isn't yet known. Nate Recknagel and Donnie Webb also made their returns after long stints trying to get healthy.


Week 14 Offense:

The K-Tribe offense hit .253 this week, with ten doubles, three triples, three homers and 25 RBI. While the numbers to measure up to Kinston's 2010 offense, there really were only three players that carried this offense this week.

Bo Greenwell is really showing off some solid offense. This week, he went 8 for 17, with three runs, a double and two RBI. Greenwell continues to show that there's some meat to his ability other than just his name. My guess is that Greenwell will finish the season here in Kinston, but if he continues to hit, we may see an August call-up to Akron.

Kyle Bellows is also making a name for himself during the second half of the Carolina league season. This week, he went 7 for 23 for a .304 average, while leading the team with five runs scored. He had two doubles, with a home run and three RBI. Bellows has gone 14 for his last 44, and hit in 10 of his last 12 games.

Chun-Hsiu Chen was recently called up to Kinston after a successful stint at Lake County. Chen hit .312 for Lake County, with 27 runs, 21 doubles, three triples, six homers and 39 RBI in 58 games. He surely is the surprise of the Cleveland minor league system. In Chen's first full week with the K-Tribe, he went 4 for 14, with four runs, a double and a home run. In a system without many catching prospects below the big league club right now, Chen's emergence may be as important as any to the future of the minor league system.

The news that Abner Abreu is hurt really isn't a surprise, but certainly is a bit of a worry. Abreu's star is certainly taking a tumble this year, and with this being a second injury-plagued year, his future with this organization is certainly a bit more hazy than in the past. Still, the potential is there, so hopefully he can get healthy, and turn into the Vlad-like player many have projected him to be.

Week 14 Bullpen:

For the second week in a row, the bullpen was better than the starters. Overall, the pen went 0-1, with two saves. Their overall ERA was 3.81. Still, the pen did struggle this week, overall. Only three relievers came in with an ERA under 4.50, and their solid numbers this week was cemented by a former-and-future starter.

Marty Popham not only was the best reliever this week, but the best pitcher on the entire staff. Popham made two appearances in relief, each to the tune of four innings. Overall, in those eight innings, he gave up only seven hits and a walk, while striking out ten batters. Popham isn't your prototypical closer, but he found himself acquiring two very unconventional saves. There's no doubt that Popham's exquisite pitching was instrumental in the baby Indians two wins this week.

While I was hard on Travis Turek earlier this year, he has quietly become one of the better relievers in the Kinston pen. Turek went 4 1/3 innings in his only appearance. He gave up only two hits and two walks, while striking out one. His overall ERA is now at a stellar 2.73. He doesn't strike out many hitters, but he certainly knows how to pitch. In his last ten games, his ERA is a miniscule 0.43.


Dave Roberts pitched three innings of no-hit ball. He gave up a walk and three K's in his one appearance for the week. Let's see if Roberts can hop on the Turek train of consistency.

Matt Langwell (27.00 ERA), Cory Burns (9.00 ERA, first blown save at Kinston), Chris Jones (0-1, 6.00 ERA) and Brian Grening (4.50 ERA) all struggled this week. I'm really interested in seeing how Burns responds to his blown save, after essentially being a save machine throughout the season.

No news on Rob Bryson as of yet, which is really worrying me a bit. I'll keep you updated on Bryson's injury, as soon as I find anything out.

Week 14 Starters:

This was not a stellar week to be a K-Tribe starter. Overall, they went 2-3, with a 4.97 ERA. They struck out 20 batters in 29 innings, while walking 16. Thank goodness for a couple of starters, or the numbers could have been much, much worse.

Austin Adams had his second solid start in a row for the K-Tribe. This week, Adams went 1-0 in his only appearance, giving up four hits in five innings, while striking out seven and walking only one. Although it was believed that Adams would be a handcuff starter, it appears as though he will get a bit more leeway. Sure, he only went five innings, but he's not being given Marty Popham to be his sure-thing piggy-back to his starts. Adams has a boatload of talent.

T.J. McFarland continued his solid 2010 season. He also went 1-0 this week in two starts and 11 2/3 innings. He gave up 12 hits, three earned runs and five walks, while striking out seven batters. He did struggle a bit with his control, but his 2.31 ERA was still outstanding. Of course, it did raise his overall ERA to 1.99. For shame T.J., for shame.

Joey Mahalic (12.27 ERA) and Joe Gardner (13.50) both failed to get to the fifth inning in their starts, and T.J. House gave up four earned runs in six innings. All three went 0-3 for the week.

Week 14 Awards:

Offensive player of the week: Kyle Bellows
Relief pitcher of the week: Marty Popham
Staring pitcher of the week: Austin Adams

Player of the week: Marty Popham

Here comes week 15:

11 @ Frederick, 6:00 PM
12 @ Frederick, 7:00 PM
14 @ Potomac, 7:03 PM
15 @ Potomac, 12:05 PM
16 @ Potomac, 7:03 PM
17 @ Potomac, 6:35 PM


The Rearviewmirror:Goodbye LeBron James. I often wonder how today's media frenzy changes people and their perception. Queen James, you helped my study. The answer is, people change...a lot. While waiting for the decision, I followed Brian Windhorst, who seemed to have the pulse on LeBron more than any other "qualified" reporter. Windhorst was ticked at the whole production, but what scared me the most during all of this was his believe that LeBron had "changed." He sighted several instances over the past year that seemed to solidify his belief. LeBron had gone from a hometown hero to something worse. Well, whatever, LeBron's gone, and it's time to move on. Will the Cavs win a title before LeBron? I hope so. I don't see how, but I hope so. Let's hope that Gilbert can figure out how to get a star to sign on the dotted line, because LeBron certainly couldn't.

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