Clip Show: Keeping an Eye on the Tribe’s AAA Squad – 5/12/09

First things first. Now, I can almost hear you all yelling: “’Beer Ahoy!’ got the most votes! What the heck?” Well, that may be true. But, it was a close vote. And since last week’s column was picked up by a couple of other Internet sources (Cleveland.com, for one), to be honest the last thing I want this column to be known for in the greater sports community is being called “Beer Ahoy!” That doesn’t mean I will discontinue my patronage of said concession stand; it just means that while I thank those of you that voted for “Beer Ahoy!” last week, this column is called “Clip Show”. Also, I said last week that you all would “get a say” in naming it, not that the poll was Gospel. So, done, and done.

Now back to the business at hand: the Tribe’s AAA affiliate here in the ‘Bus.

This Week: 2-6

Current Record: 13-19, 4th place (of four) in ILW (International League West)

Roster News:

As we all know, in an effort to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic that is the Cleveland bullpen, reliever Matt Herges and starter Jeremy Sowers were called up to the Tribe (the former to the pen, the latter to replace Aaron Laffey, who was moved to the pen, in the rotation). LHP Zach Jackson moved back into the rotation to take Sowers’ spot. Rafael Perez came to Columbus, as did Tony Graffanino. To make room, IF Cristo Arnal was sent back to Kinston.

RHP Frank Herrmann was called up from AA-Akron, and took the roster spot of the released RHP Juan Salas, and RHP Randy Newsom was sent down to Akron. His roster spot was filled by FA RHP Blaine Neal. OF Stephen Head went on the DL, RHP Greg Aquino came off of the DL, and INF Jamey Carroll was activated to begin a rehab assignment. [edit] As TD reported, the organization made a move Tuesday afternoon and activated Carroll, sending Barfield back to Columbus.

Full Roster:

OF: Michael Brantley, Trevor Crowe, George Lombard
IF: Michael Aubrey, Jordan Brown, Andy Cannizaro, Jamey Carroll Josh Barfield, Tony Graffanino, Wes Hodges, Andy Marte, Wilson Valdez
C: Chris Gimenez, Wyatt Torregas
SP: Jack Cassel, David Huff, Zach Jackson, Tomo Ohka, Kirk Saarloos
RP: Greg Aquino (R), Ryan Edell (L), John Meloan (R), Randy Newsom (R), Rafael Perez (L), Rich Rundles (L)

Players to Watch:

Thumbs UP:

LHP Rafael Perez has seen action in two games since being sent down, and at least so far the demotion has not treated him too poorly. He’s worked three scoreless innings in his two appearances while striking out three. He has, however, given up four hits and walked three.

SP Zach Jackson (who is now back in the rotation) has worked 8.0 innings in two starts, and has only allowed three earned runs. He’s struck out three against only one walk, and is 1-1 in those two starts while allowing nine hits.

In eight games over the past seven days, OF Michael Brantley (who has been recovering from a bit of a hamstring injury, apparently) has been a bit more solid, going 7-for-28 (.250) and drawing four walks. He’s also scored seven runs and swiped six bags in his last ten games. His defense has been stellar (more on that below).

A pair of players who have been hot are 3B Wes Hodges and 1B Jordan Brown, who are both hitting an identical .324 (11-for-34) in their last ten ballgames. They’ve combined for 13 RBI over that span as well.

Thumbs DOWN:

SP David Huff was roughed up in his start this week, giving up 5 ER in 5.1 innings on 5/7. He only gave up 4 hits, but walked 3. He did strike out 3 as well.

RHP John Meloan continues to scuffle, giving up four more earned runs in 4.2 innings of work this past week. His ERA for the season sits at a robust 5.66.

C Chris Gimenez, who is being pressed into service in the outfield with the injuries there, continues to struggle as well, going 1-17 over the week to drop his average to .163.

A Quick Word

It’s sometimes hard to remember the purpose of a AAA team. For example, when the Blue Jackets were making their playoff run and called up rookie Nikita Filatov just to *watch* the NHL team make its final push to get in, there were those (both fans and writers alike) from Syracuse—home of the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate—that howled, as the Crunch were making a playoff run of their own. Those folks forgot that the entire purpose of that Syracuse team is to serve the best interests of the Blue Jackets. Playoff runs there mean nothing in the grand scheme of things; it was argued (I think rightfully so) that Filatov just getting the atmospheric experience of an NHL playoff drive was more valuable than his playing for Syracuse.

All of that having been said, if Matt LaPorta is not going to play at all in Cleveland, then he should be sent back down to the Clippers. Not because Columbus is languishing in last place (hey, just like the big club!), but because he needs to play every day. And, if that were to help the Clippers play better, well then I’m all for it. As a bonus, his major-league service clock stops running, as well. LaPorta was tearing the cover off the ball here in Columbus, and while he may be wasted a bit in AAA, it serves the Indians better if he’s playing here than if he’s sitting in Cleveland.

Also, following up on last week’s “Quick Word,” a tip of the cap to reader Scott McCauley for passing along this nice write-up of Huntington Park by Ballpark Digest. It has a little more of the nitty-gritty about The Hunt as well as some solid photos to whet your appetite:

Indeed, there are a lot of cool things at Huntington Park, which comes as close to perfection as we’ve seen in any ballpark. With an embedded sense of place, a firm grasp on the grand history of baseball and a commitment to the latest in fan comforts, Huntington Park represents the very finest in ballpark design and operations. While there are some new ballparks that come very close … there are none better.

And Finally…

Tribe fans unfortunately had to suffer through replay upon replay of the Curtis Granderson catch to rob Grady Sizemore of a walk-off 2-run homer from last friday night. Well, courtesy of Michael Brantley, your AAA boys got a tiny bit of karmic revenge on Saturday night against Pawtucket. Brantely went back to left center field, leapt, and took a home run away from Pawtucket’s Carlos Maldonado. For whatever that’s worth…