CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT -- Thursday, August 14
| Record: |
52-69, 4th Place, 13.0 GB |
| Last: |
Won 5-0 in 14 innings over
Minnesota |
| Streak: |
Won two in a row |
| Next: |
Today in Minnesota, 1:05 PM ET |
| Matchup: |
Brian Anderson (8-9, 4.00) vs
Brad Radke (8-9, 5.01) |
| On Deck: |
Four games vs Tampa Bay this
weekend |
After watching Jason Davis last night, I find it increasingly difficult to
believe that just a year ago he was an unknown prospect toiling in Akron of
which I had this to say regarding his August 13, 2002 start...."Jason Davis
(3-2, 4.61) picked up his third win as he struck out five in 5-2/3 innings,
giving up two runs on six hits and a pair of walks". That's it. Nothing too
sexy, nothing too promising. That nondescript start, however, was part of a
six-game stretch in Akron during which Davis exploded onto the prospect scene
and warranted the following write-up on September 5, 2002...."Jason Davis,
incidentally, has simply been dominant over his last six starts for Akron,
posting a 5-0 record with a 1.43 ERA in 37-2/3 innings of work. He's struck out
35, walked 12, and allowed 33 hits. Perhaps no other player has helped himself
the second half of the season in terms of being a "prospect" as much
as Davis. If he is not a lock already for the 40-man roster, he has definitely
made a case for himself, especially when you consider the reports that he is
throwing 94-95 mph constantly with the Aeros. With Davis (21st round) and Kyle
Denney (26th), Fernando Cabrera (10th), and Shane Wallace (6th) all pitching
well, some good may come out of the dismal 1999 draft after all."
Flash forward one year and Davis is shutting down the Twins over six innings on
just a pair of hits and walks with six punchouts which (save for a mistake to
Garrett Anderson and/or Casey Blake bobble) would have been part of a larger 15
inning scoreless streak. Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff. Are these last two starts
the beginning of a similar end-of-the-year run by the right-hander? Let's hope.
(Johan Santana was pretty filthy too)
How impressive was Rafael Betancourt in the 8th and 9th inning last night? The
dude can pitch.
Can we officially anoint Ryan Ludwick as Mr. Extra Inning? His basehit in the
14th inning last night that turned out to be the eventual gamewinner comes just
five days after he won game one of Saturday's doubleheader with a baseknock in
the 13th.
The news on Milton Bradley (back) is not good as he sat out his 5th straight
game last night and returned to Cleveland for an MRI today. As speculated
yesterday, I really expect to see Bradley placed on the DL in the next few days
(if not this morning) and Matt Lawton activated to take his place. Lawton,
incidentally, swung the bat against Bob Wickman yesterday and reported that he
felt good. Officially, the Indians were still undecided as to whether Lawton
would still require a few games on a minor league rehab assignment before
activation but I think that's just posturing until they receive the MRI results
on Bradley. Lawton will be limited to DH duties since he still cannot grip and
throw a baseball which means that at-bats will become even more limited for
Travis Hafner and Ben Broussard.
Wickman reported no pain after yesterday's throwing session and he's expected to
throw in a game on Saturday for Akron in his first appearance of the 2003
season.
Mark Wohlers (remember him?) either underwent Tommy John yesterday or will
undergo the operation today depending on what local paper you read. Regardless,
he's under the knife and you can expect the Indians to exercise the $1 million
buyout of his $8 million 2004 contract in the offseason. Wohlers will be out for
9-to-12 months and you can expect some team (maybe even the Tribe) to bring him
to camp on a minor league deal and let him rehab his way through the minors late
in the 2004 season (similar to what the Indians have done with Chad Durbin and
Paul Rigdon).
In a bit of bad news, Paul Hoynes reports in the Plain Dealer that Brian Tallet
was in Birmingham yesterday and Dr. Andrews recommended surgery to remove bone
spurs from his elbow. Hoynes quotes Indians trainer Paul Spicuzza as saying that
(Andrews) will also look at the ligament and perform Tommy John surgery if
necessary. If TJ is required, Tallet will likely be out 9-12 months like Wohlers
which raises the question of whether the Indians would/should keep him on the
40-man roster this offseason or try and sneak him through waivers. Keep in mind
that the Twins tried to do something similar with Jack Cressend last year only
to watch the Indians place a claim on him and later become a vital part of the
Tribe's bullpen in the second half of this season. We'll look at the 40 in-depth
in the upcoming months but roster spots will be tight. If I'm a betting man, I
say he'll be protected.
In news from last weekend (that is mentioned mainly for archival purposes),
Victor Martinez (.253/.294/.274/.568, 2 2B) was placed on the 15-day disabled
list with a bruised right ankle. Josh Bard was called up from Buffalo to
replace him on the roster. Bard was hitting .330/.408/.522/.930 with 7
doubles and 5 homeruns in triple-A at the time of the recall. Martinez
would be eligible to be activated on August 24 and with rosters expanded to 40
on September 1, don't be surprised if Bard remains with the Indians for the rest
of the season with Martinez spending some time on a rehab assignment before
rosters expand.
Zach Sorenson was sent down prior to game one of Saturday's doubleheader when
the Indians were unsure whether Martinez would have to be placed on the disabled
list but his option was recalled when the decision was finalized.
Nick Bierbrodt is quietly posting some impressive numbers out of the Bisons
bullpen since his demotion from Cleveland. In ten appearances, the lanky
left-hander has a 1.10 ERA and a .214 BAA with 18 punchouts in 16.1 innings.
I think we'll get another look at him in September as the Indians make a
decision on whether he's 40-worthy.
John Sickels offers a scouting report on Grady
Sizemore.
The K-Tribe swept the Carolina League Player of the Week honors last week after
Rodney Choy Foo was named the Hitter of the Week thanks to a .423/.692/.467
stretch that included two homeruns and 10 runs batted in. Lee Gronkiewicz
recorded saves in all four games that he appeared in, striking out four.
Kinston.com reported that Mariano Gomez is on the K-Tribe DL with tendonitis in
his left middle finger while Doug Lantz is in Cleveland to have his shoulder
examined.
Captains closer Todd Pennington was promoted to Akron. Pennington has been
particularly nasty on South Atlantic League hitters as he's held them to a .113
average while striking out 65 in 37.1 innings. He's racked up 20 saves in
36 appearances and has permitted just 14 hits and 17 walks. Since the
promotion, Pennington has worked in three games for the Aeros, posting a 2.25
ERA and striking out five in 4.1 innings. He was originally promoted when Jake
Robbins was placed on the DL but, interestingly enough, remained with the Aeros
when Robbins was activated earlier this week.
Scrappers closer Reid Casey moved up to Lake County to replace Pennington on the
Captains roster. Casey had seven saves in the Valley with a 3.06 ERA and
.269 BAA in 17 innings (18H, 5W, 20K).
Lake County outfielder Nathan Panther extended his hitting streak to 14 games
last night with a pair of basehits. Panther is hitting .463 during the streak
which has helped to raise his season averages to .285/.354/.445/.799 with 17
doubles, four triples, and 11 homeruns. Panther has also stolen 32 bases in 41
attempts with a BB/K ratio of 36/62. The toolsy outfielder (and 15th round pick
in 2002) is definitely a sleeper to keep your eye on.
Another Captains outfielder, Ben Francisco, is similarly enjoying a fine season
as he belted his 9th homerun last night in the Captains 8-2 victory over
Hickory. Francisco, last years 5th round selection out of UCLA, missed the first
two months of the 2003 campaign with a hand injury but has posted solid numbers
since his return, hitting .283/.361/.493/.854 with 18 doubles and 9 homeruns in
223 at-bats. Prorated to a 500 at-bat season, Francisco is on a 40 double and 20
homerun pace which would be huge numbers for a player whose power potential was
not his calling card as a draftee. He's probably a level below where he rightly
should be but, to be fair, he was a candidate to start the season in the Kinston
outfield before the injury shelved him for the first two months. Francisco has
also swiped nine bases, plays solid to good defense, and has a 26/40 BB/K ratio
(which is a decline from last season but still within acceptable levels,
especially for a player demonstrating increased power). All in all, this is a
nice growth season for Francisco. He's another sleeper to remember.
First round pick Michael Aubrey put together a five-game stretch last week in
which he had multiple hits (11-for-22) that was part of a larger nine-game
hitting streak. Aubrey is now hitting .321/.375/.519 with seven doubles and
three homeruns in 81 at-bats for Lake County.
2002 DFE Nick Pesco continues to dominate in Burlington, tossing five innings of
one-hit ball last night. He hasn't allowed an earned run in four starts since
July 22 (18 innings) and in his last six starts (dating to July 15) he has a
0.64 ERA in 28 innings with 27 punchouts while allowing just 12 hits and 9
walks. Dominating.
Infielder Julio Garcia (.198/.277/.242) was promoted from Burlington to Lake
County.
A recent edition of Ask
BA ranked the prospects traded before the July 31 deadline and Ryan Ludwick
(power and decent plate discipline, also has the defensive ability and strong
arm to be a top-notch right fielder) as the 5th best prospect while Ricardo
Rodriguez (electric arms with a mid-90s fastball and hard slider) ranked 6th
among the group.
In today's Where Are They Now segment, Andy Call notes in the Canton Repository
that former Indian minor leaguer Dave Maurer is recovering from Tommy John
surgery performed last November and is hoping to sign with a team next spring.
Maurer had a pretty decent 2002 campaign for the Bisons, posting a 2.90 ERA in
36 appearances with 73 punchouts in 68.1 innings.
BUFFALO (63-62, 4th Place, 7.5 GB, 4.5 GB-WC): The Bisons offensive woes
continued as they were shutout for the third time in four games in losing 9-0 to
Scranton. Alex Escobar and Maicer Izturis managed the only hits for the Bisons
while Chris Magruder walked. Chad Durbin (2-5) took the loss after allowing four
runs in six innings. Chad Paronto gave up the remaining five runs in one woeful
inning of relief.
AKRON (78-47, 1st Place, 9.0 GA): The Aeros four game winning streak was snapped
last night in Harrisburg as the Senators romped to an easy 12-1 victory. Derrick
Van Dusen (9-7) took the loss after being reached for seven runs (five earned)
in four innings while giving up 10 hits in the process. Joe Inglett belted a
solo homerun (#46) and Corey Smith singled. The Aeros left 8 runners on base as
they walked six times in the game.
KINSTON (28-24, 1st Place, 0.5 GA): The K-Tribe lost a tough one last night to
Lynchburg 4-3. Lee Gronkiewicz (2-2, 2.70) blew his fifth save opportunity (32
of 37) of the season in the top of the 9th inning when he allowed three runs to
score on four hits. Michael Hernandez had relieved previously and allowed a run
to score in two innings. The pair wasted a stellar outing from Travis Foley
(3.66) who did not allow a run in six innings of work, scattering three hits and
two walks while punching out five. Miguel Quintana (.289) went 4-for-4 and Ivan
Ochoa and Matt Knox and Dennis Malave added basehits. Wily Taveras walked twice.
LAKE COUNTY (36-16, 1st Place, 5.0 GA): Fausto Carmona won his 16th game of the
season as the Captains rolled over Hickory 8-2. Carmona (16-3, 1.84) allowed two
runs in six innings on six hits (including one longball) and a walk while
striking out three. Ben Francisco (.283) belted his 9th homerun and singled to
drive in three runs. He also stole his 9th base. Nathan Panther (.285) extended
his hitting streak to 14 games with a pair of hits. Shaun Larkin and Chris De La
Cruz also had two hits apiece. Michael Aubrey added a double.
MAHONING VALLEY (26-30, 2nd Place, 18.0 GB): The Scrappers lost to New Jersey
5-3. Scott Roehl (2-6, 4.56) allowed five runs in the first inning but settled
down after that and worked a scoreless next four frames before giving way to the
bullpen, finishing with five runs on six hits and a walk while fanning six. Ryan
Mulhern had two hits. Jonathan Van Every doubled. Mike Conroy, Ryan Garko, and
Josh Noviskey added basehits.
BURLINGTON (31-25, T-2nd, 3.0 GB): Nick Pesco was sensational once again despite
the B-Tribe losing 2-1 to Danville. Pesco (2.00) allowed just one hit without a
walk in five innings on the hill, striking out six in the process. Richard De
Los Santos (2-3, 5.88) took the loss when he allowed two runs in four innings of
relief. Caleb Brock doubled. Luis Hodge singled and stole a base. Teodoro
Encarnacion and Junior Garcia added basehits. Argenis Reyes swiped two bags.
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