LeBron James and Mo Williams Cross Paths
August 31, 2010Terrelle Pryor for Heisman? A Little Soon, No?
August 31, 2010Clip Show aims to be your weekly update for all things Columbus Clippers. Check back each Tuesday afternoon for team records, roster updates, and performance updates on some of the brightest prospects in the Tribe system.
As the great Bob Mould once opined, “The tragic comedy / I hit the station as the needle hits ‘E’”. Columbus looks to be running on fumes, but, unlike their major league brethren, the good news for Columbus is that they’re still technically in the playoffs as of now, and the season ends on Labor Day. Only one more week to go! Honestly, a couple of walk-off losses made the difference between a really good week and a week of treading water like what actually came down. Let’s take a closer look at the Clippers’ week, and check the “Playoff Watch” and “And Finally” sections for a playoff update…
This Week: 3-4
Current Record: 76-61, 2nd place (of four) in ILW (International League West)
Results:
8/24 @ Toledo – Mud Hens 7, Clippers 3; LP McAllister (8-11)
8/25 @ Toledo – Mud Hens 5, Clippers 4 (12); LP Smith (1-5)
8/26 @ Louisville – Clippers 5, Bats 2; WP Espino (2-2)
8/27 @ Louisville – Bats 2, Clippers 1; LP Rivera (2-1)
8/28 vs. Indianapolis – Indians 8, Clippers 0; LP Huff (7-2)
8/29 vs. Indianapolis – Clippers 10, Indians 5; WP McAllister (9-11)
8/30 @ Indianapolis – Clippers 6, Indians 4; WP Pino (10-8)
Roster News:
Not much to talk about this week, thankfully:
8/27 – RHP Shane Lindsay placed on disabled list (retroactive to 8/25)
8/27 – RHP Jess Todd activated from disabled list
Aaron Laffey also began his rehab assignment, coming out of the bullpen. One other note, courtesy of Jim Massie of The Dispatch :
Jeremy Sowers will not pitch again this season. He went on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder on Aug. 14. Sowers, a former No. 1 draft pick, has gone home, according to manager Mike Sarbaugh. Sowers is no longer on the 40-man roster so he and the Cleveland Indians could be parting company in the off-season.
Somewhere, TD is a very happy man.
Finally, it’s being reported that right-hander Corey Kluber is on his way up from Akron, and that Carlos Carrasco will be getting the call up I-71 to Cleveland. He’s certainly earned it of late. Kluber came over from the Padres in the Jake Westbrook deal earlier this summer.
OF: Jordan Brown, Ezequiel Carrera, Jose Constanza, Matt McBride
IF: Jared Goedert, Wes Hodges, Cord Phelps, Argenis Reyes, Josh Rodriguez, Drew Sutton
C: Luke Carlin, Damaso Espino
SP: Paolo Espino, David Huff, Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister, Yohan Pino
RP: Josh Judy (R), Aaron Laffey (L), Jensen Lewis (R), Vinnie Pestano (R), Zach Putnam (R), Saul Rivera (R), Carlton Smith (R), Jess Todd (R)
Upcoming Schedule*
8/31 @ Indianapolis, Paolo Espino
9/01 @ Indianapolis, Corey Kluber
9/02 vs. Toledo, David Huff
9/03 vs. Toledo, Zach McAllister
9/04 @ Toledo, Yohan Pino
9/05 @ Toledo, Paolo Espino
9/06 @ Toledo, Corey Kluber
Players to Watch:
Thumbs UP:
I’m tempted to say that if I had to give a team-MVP vote, it might go to OF Jose Constanza. He’s been in Columbus all season, and has done everything that’s been asked of him. He had another excellent week at the dish, going 10-for 26 (.385) to raise his season average to .318 in 107 games played. Constanza also had two doubles, two triples, and drove in two runs while scoring six runs.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! OF Jordan Brown is really back now, as he played—and hit—in all seven games this year. Brown went 8-for-24 (.333) with three doubles and a homer, an RBI, and four runs scored.
The past two weeks have been good ones for OF Ezequiel Carrera, who came over in the Russell Branyan deal with Seattle. He grabbed nine more hits in 26 at-bats (.346), including two doubles, two triples, and three RBI. He also scored three runs and swiped three bags. Overall, since coming over to Columbus, he’s hitting 38-for-133 (.286) in 34 games for the Clippers.
He’s been helpful; newcomer INF Drew Sutton has been solid over his last 10 games: he’s hitting 11-for-34 (.324) with a double, a homer, and seven RBI. He’s also scored a run, walked six times (against six strikeouts) and stolen three bases. He was originally grabbed as a lineup filler amidst all of the roster turn-over, and has provided some help to a lineup that has struggled a lot over the last month. In 22 games, he’s hitting .293 with five doubles, two homers, and 14 RBI.
I’m being selfish, but I really wished the Tribe had left RHP Carlos Carrasco in Columbus until the playoffs are over. He looked solid again this week, working 7.0 innings and allowing just one earned run (ERA: 1.29). He allowed just five hits, walked only one, and struck out six. As we noted last week, most importantly is that Carrasco looks to be healthy again, and over his last 11 starts overall he’s been solid: 3-3 with a 2.83 ERA (20 ER in 63.2 IP). He has walked just 17 against 60 strikeouts in the span, and has allowed 52 hits (WHIP: 1.08). The best stat? Whereas he had been victimized by the long-ball early in the year, he’s allowed just two homers in those last 11 starts, compared to 14 in his previous 14 starts. Overall, Carrasco is 10-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 25 starts this season here in Columbus.
A solid bounce-back for RHP Paolo Espino, who notched a win in his start this week. Espino worked 7.0 innings and surrendered just two runs (ERA: 2.57) on six hits and a walk. He whiffed five. Espino has now made five starts for Columbus, and is 2-2. He’s worked 30.2 innings and allowed 16 earned runs (ERA: 4.70). He’s walked nine and struck out 22.
Another sharp week for RHP Vinnie Pestano, who has settled into the closer’s role nicely. He worked three times, notching two saves, and was again not scored upon. He allowed just two hits in 3.0 IP, walked two, and struck out three. For the season, he’s worked 41 times for 44.1 innings, and has allowed just eight earned runs (ERA: 1.62) while notching 13 saves. He’s allowed 35 hits and walked 14 (WHIP: 1.11), and here’s the best stat: in those 44.1 innings, Pestano has struck out 58 guys.
RHP Josh Judy has settled into the set-up role in from of Vinnie Pestano, and continues to be solid in that role out of the pen. The 24-year-old made three appearances spanning 2.2 innings this week, and was not scored upon. He allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter. He struck out one, as well. For the season with Columbus, Judy has made 37 appearances—all out of the pen—and is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA (and two saves) spanning 46.0 innings. He’s allowed 46 hits, walked 14 (WHIP: 1.30), and has struck out 53.
RHP Jess Todd came of the DL, and made his first appearance count. He worked a perfect inning, and struck out a batter. Welcome back!
Thumbs DOWN:
It makes a little more sense, now: 2B Cord Phelps has been fighting a wrist injury for awhile, and of late the injury has prevented the switch-hitting second baseman from batting right handed. He’s being kept out against left-handed starters, and only played in two games this week, going 2-for-7 (.286). Both hits went for extra bases (double, triple), and he drove in a run while also walking twice (OBP: .444). Though the injury is certainly hampering the end, it’s been a productive season for Phelps across two levels, as his combined numbers between Akron and Columbus are: 114 games (53 AA, 61 AAA); 131-for-425 (.308) 25 doubles, seven triples, eight homers, and 53 RBI. He also has an .827 OPS. From the second base spot. Phelps turns 24 in January.
OF Matt McBride is still struggling, with just three hits in 25 at-bats (.120). He did have two doubles and an RBI, but his numbers have leveled off since his promotion. He’s now hitting .283 in 25 games with a .732 OPS.
3B Jared Goedert has been a shadow of himself at the plate for most of the second half, and this week was no different. He went 5-for-25 (.200) at the plate with a double and a homer, one RBI, and six runs scored.
He’s 1-1 since coming over as the PTBNL in the Austin Kearns deal, but RHP Zach McAllister has been nothing more than a glorified innings-eater (which is something this team did need, in fairness). In his two starts, McAllister has worked 11.0 innings, and has allowed eight runs (ERA: 6.55). He’s allowed 11 hits, walked four, and struck out six.
Ehh, he got a win, but he has not been solid of late. RHP Yohan Pino made two starts this week, and worked just 12.0 innings, surrendering eight earned runs (ERA: 6.00) on 12 hits while walking two and striking out 13. While the K’s and even the WHIP are nice to see, it’d be nice to see him give up fewer runs.
The shine is off. After starting out 7-0 since coming to Columbus, things have been not quite a nice for LHP David Huff, especially since he hasn’t been getting the same run support. He made one start this week, worked just 4.0 innings and surrendered eight earned runs (ERA: 18.00). He gave up nine hits and walked two while striking out three. Huff is 0-2 in his last three starts, with a 7.94 ERA.
Thumbs SIDEWAYS:
It was a solid-but-not-spectacular week for INF Josh Rodriguez. He was 7-for-25 (.280) with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. He also scored two runs.
You have to give INF Wes Hodges some credit for hanging in, and really helping this team as much as he can down the stretch. He went just 7-for-31 (.226) at the plate, but had a double, two homers, and four RBI. He also scored four runs, but walked just once against a staggering 11 strikeouts. But, Hodges has been better than he was before his DFA since coming back. He’s hit 26-for-98 in his 24 games back (.265), but he’s notched four doubles and five homers, and has scored 11 runs. Sadly, all of this is general improvement for Hodges over the numbers he was putting up before his DFA.
Now working his way back on a rehab assignment, LHP Aaron Laffey is working out of the pen. He worked in three games this week, and had one bad outing (his first) and two very good outings. He worked 3.2 innings total, and in his first appearance he worked 1.1 and allowed two earned runs (ERA: 13.50) on four hits. In his other two appearances, he worked a combing 2.1 scoreless innings allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out three.
Playoff Watch…
…the Clippers’ saving grace over this past stretch is two-fold: 1) Louisville has cooled off a bit, 2) Buffalo—the only other legit challenger for the Wild Card right now—has been just as bad as the Clippers over the past couple of weeks. Here’s a look at the various playoff standings shake out as of right now:
IL West | W | L | % | GB | L10 |
Louisville | 76 | 60 | .559 | — | 5-5 |
Columbus | 76 | 61 | .555 | 0.5 | 4-6 |
IL Wild Card | W | L | % | GB | L10 |
Columbus | 76 | 61 | .555 | — | 4-6 |
Buffalo | 72 | 64 | .529 | 3.5 | 3-7 |
Syracuse | 71 | 65 | .522 | 4.5 | 7-3 |
Gwinnett | 69 | 67 | .507 | 6.5 | 8-2 |
The other two division races are wrapped up, with Scranton/WB winning the IL North and Durham running away with the IL South. The only races left are for the IL West, and then by extension the Wild Card.
With seven games to go, it’s going to be tough for the likes of Syracuse and Gwinnett to catch the Clippers for the Wild Card (elimination numbers are 3 and 1 respectively). Buffalo, however, still has a realistic shot. And, don’t rule out that if Columbus can get just hot enough they could still catch/pass Louisville. It’s really a toss up between the three teams gunning for the final two spots. And, of course, Buffalo and Syracuse are currently in the middle of a two-game series (with Syracuse winning on Monday night to help Columbus pull just a bit further ahead of the Bisons), so one of them isn’t gaining any ground tonight, at least.
And Finally, If The Season Ended Today…
…the playoffs for the Clippers would shape up as follows:
Round 1 (five game series):
9/8 Scranton/WB @ Columbus
9/9 Scranton/WB @ Columbus
9/10 Columbus @ Scranton/WB
9/11 Columbus @ Scranton/WB*
9/12 Columbus @ Scranton/WB*
*if necessary