Don't look for any defensive help from Columbus. Watched the Clippers bumble and stumble last night.

Federoff dropped a soft line drive in center.

Goedert tried to start a DP before he caught the ball and kicked it.

Mills let a relay throw bounce off his iron glove.

Phelps had two DP gound balls hit to him at shortstop and they couldn't turn either.

To make it worse, the guy that hit the gound balls and beat the relay to first was the infamous speed demon, Hector Luna.

On the positive side, Phelps hit the ball hard.

One of my favs at Columbus, Josh Judy, just picked up his 21st save.

Joez since you havent been here I have equaeted the jimenez deal to trading Wright and Colon for the Pedro who was worn out after he came out of the pen to whip us in 99. We will see how it works out.

My Asian Connection (breakout position and pitcher), Chen & Chen are playing some pretty decent baseball this year.

Like I mentioned earlier Ken, I hope this is one of those deals that will benefit both sides. That deal came as a shocker to me.

I posted this spring that I thought this team had a good chance to be in this race to the end. I based my thoughts on the fact that I believed in this pitching staff and a much improved defense. I was skeptical when it came down to the offense. Things are working out pretty much like I expected them to. In fact better than I had hoped when you factor in that fast start. I thought we were one top of the rotation pitcher and a right hand, power hitting outfielder away. Hopefully Jimenez fits 1/2 of the bill. I still wish we had more balance in the lineup.

Too bad Orlando Cabrera turned out to be such a dirt bag. I didn't like the acquisition at first, but Cabrera brought some unexpected defense with him. He was a spark during the early going. That much I will miss. I hope Cabrera checks the boxscores on occasions to see how well his replacement has been playing.

Lines of note from last night. Ours are all relievers; no starters left among our top dozen or two prospects.

CLE AA Bryson, Rob 2 2 0 0 1 3 1.64
CLE AAA Hagadone, Nick 1 1 1 1 1 3 3.67
CLE AAA Judy, Josh 1 1 0 0 0 1 3.45 Sv (21)
CLE LoA Blair, Kyle 2 1 0 0 1 3 5.59

COL AA White, Alex 7.2 3 0 0 1 4 1.65 W (1-1)

Here are yesterday's box scores. Some highlights of the few actuall prospect we have left:


Elvis Araujo in Arizona League: 5 2 0 0 0 4
Austin Adams in AA: 7 9 4 3 0 9 3 of the runs in his final inning
Zach McAllister in AAA: 7 7 4 4 1 5

Relievers:
Hagadone 1 1 1 1 1 3 homer
Josh Judy 1 1 0 0 0 1
Rob Bryson 2 2 0 0 1 3

Hitters:

Beau Mills single and grand slam and walk.
Tim Fedroff 2 hits

Roberto Perez his 2nd homer of the long season, and a typical walk

RRod Error #30 at SS; LRod 2 hits. Brian Heere 2 hits. Carlos Moncrief an OF assist and an error.

Bryson Myles double. Jordan Smith single, double, two walks: avg 344, OBA 442, but NO homers for this 3B/RF.

E. Gonzalez 2 singles and a homer. Juan Romero double, 2 walks and not a single strikeout.

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BA's Hot Prospect List Includes:

No. 5 ALEX WHITE, RHP
ROCKIES

Team: Double-A Tulsa (Texas)
Age: 22
Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 2 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO
The Scoop: White wasn't necessarily exited to be included in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, and he's also returning from a finger injury that landed him on the 60-day disabled list. He gave up three runs and a homer in his one-inning Drillers debut, but since then he's been excellent, building up his pitch count as he returns to full health. Thursday night he was at his efficient best, working 7 2/3 innings while making just 81 pitches. "I could have thrown 20 more pitches," White told the Denver Post in a story saying he could return to the majors soon for his Rockies debut. "The key for me tonight was to get to the pitch count and pitch deep into the game." The Post reports 62 of his 81 pitches were fastballs in the 89-94 mph range with sink and cut. White also impressed with his split-finger fastball, which serves as his changeup. "His pitches have a lot of movement," Drillers second baseman Thomas Field told the Post. "That changeup is one of the best I have ever seen. I wouldn't want to face it."


Rockies LHP Drew Pomeranz spent a couple of weeks in a bizarre purgatory. Because he was part of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal but couldn't officially be traded until Aug. 16, the 22-year-old was sidelined from pitching for two weeks. But Pomeranz used his time wisely, and it showed as he allowed only two baserunners in seven innings in his Rockies' debut with Double-A Tulsa this week

I went back to an old book mark I saved back in 2007 and here's what the Taiwanese web site (Taiwanese Baseball) had to say about Chun-Hsiu Chen.

Chun-Hsiu Chen In the News...
Per Taiwanese news reports, Chun-Hsiu Chen is currently in the US working out for ML ball clubs. Chen, who recently graduated from high school, was the top offensive prospect/power hitter in his graduating class (that includes Che-Hsuan Lin). Chen, currently 18 (DOB: 11/1/1988) is solidly put together - standing 6'1" and weighing in at 190 pounds.
In high school, Chen received more press as a pitcher - and rightfully so, since he was one of the better pitchers on the island. Chen was a member of the 2006 junior NT and despite an 0-2 record/4.66 ERA in Cuba - he did manage to shut down the US junior NT (whose batting lineup included 2007 MLB 1st round picks: M.Moustakas #2, J.Vitters #3, & M.Dominguez #12) in an exhibition game last September - throwing 5 innings allowing 1 unearned run on 4 hits to go along with 5 K's and 2 walks. However, what left most observers scratching their heads was the fact that Chen's bat was underutilized at the World Junior Baseball Championships. In limited AB's - used mostly at 1B/DH, Chen actually led the junior NT with a .417 BA while slugging .500.
Chen's best tool is his power potential (he has good bat speed)- he also has the ability to hit for average. Currently, C.H. Chen's power is better at this stage in his career as compared to former Dodger slugger Chin-Feng Chen as an 18 year old. Chen also has a strong arm - as a pitcher he clocked 88-89 mph consistently on his fastball with flashes of 91-92.
Having primarily pitched in HS out of necessity because of the fact that he was the team's ace (he has also played 1B/3B/C), Chen is currently brushing up on his catching skills - he has experience playing that position as a youth. Chen's soft hands, plus arm, and quick release will serve him well in that position.



Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Cleveland Indians inked their second Taiwanese player in two years. Chun-Hsiu Chen is an 18 year old power hitting catching prospect - he is probably the best power prospect to sign out of Taiwan since Chin-Feng Chen. Chen stands 6'1" tall and weighs ~ 190 pounds. The youngster will join Sung-Wei Tseng, who had a nice first season in High A ball, in the organization. Chen is the 3rd member of the 2006 junior NT to sign with a ML club - after WW Lin and CH Lin.

Chen received a ~ $300K signing bonus from the Indians.

Last night's box scores.

Highlights:

Matt Packer 8 innings of 5 hit shutout ball, 1 walk 9 K.
In his last 8 starts 67 1/3 Innings, 55 hits, 10 walks, 60 K, 2.01 ERA
He's gone 8 innings plus in 5 of his last 7 starts

Jesus Aguillar with 2 homers, a single and 6 RBI. That's 3 Kinston homers and 22 for the season.

Chun Chen with his 13th homer and 2 walks.

Cody Allen up to 10 1/3 scoreless innings in Lake County. Fanned 4 in 2 1/3

Jhonny's trade partner Giovanni Soto rehabbing in Arizona, with 2 shutout innings.

Juan Romero learning how to take pitches. Drew 3 walks, for his last 3 games he's walked 6 times and K'd twice. Priior to then, he had 6 walks for the season vs. 61 K!

Ronnie Rodriguez 2 hits, the teen SS now is Lake Count's cleanup hitter.
But Luigi Rodriguez was 0-5 with 4 K.
Carlos Moncrief doubles, two walks.

Tony Wolters two hits and a walk and E #19.
Teammate Bryson Myles 2 hits, 2 walks, steal 16.
New signee Zach McPhee 0-3

2 hits for Mills, 3 for Drennen; old top picks with a little life.

Mitch Talbot 3 2/3 7 6 3 3 6. Clips make 4 errors, 2 by Goedert.


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Old timers and new signees converge in our Arizona team lineup today. Anyone remember Trevor Crowe? He homers in his first 2011 appearance playing against 18 year olds. Just signed Shawn Morrimando and Ryan Merritt each pitch 2 innings, allow 1 run, Morrimando fans 3, Merritt 2. 3rd rounder Jake Sisco who's been here all summer works 1 inning, 1 runs. According to the box score the starting pitcher was Catcher C. Valerio who has looked pretty good at bat. $525,000 signee Eric Haase started behind the plate, singled, walked, and allows two passed balls.

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On the radio today Atkins said he likes Jake Lowrey as another good catcher, at Mahoning Valley. Only hitting 250 but lots of xb hits, and likes his defense. 2b today for Lowrey is 19th and also has 5 homers and 42 walks that match his 42 strikeouts.. Also likes Bryson Myles' speed and tools, but says we'll see how they develop against better competition.

19-year-old SS Ronny Rodriguez with a three run homer in the first, his 9th to go with 7 triples and 24 doubles. But 18-year-old pitching prospect Felix Sterling also allowed 3 in the first. Tied in the 3rd.

Everyone loses and the piching was almost universally lousy.

Clips fall 15-3 with Lee tagged for 4 in 2/3 inning, Berger 7 in 2 1/3, all unearned but 7 is still 7.
Aeros lose 8-6. Brach 5 innings, 4 runs earned. Miller a blown save 2/3 3 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks.
Kinston final 7-2. Rayl 5 innings, 6 runs on 8 hits plus walks. Guilmet a shutout inning!
Lake Captain loses 9-4, but Sterling was OK: 5 innings 3 runs (in the first, then shutout) on 3 hits, 3 walks, 4 K.
And the Scrappers in the closest game: 5-4. Will Roberts not bad 5 innigs, 2 earned, 3 total on 4 hits, no walks.

Some offensive stars:

2 hits by Huffman, Head and Reyes (2 doubles)
3 hits and a walk for Jordan Henry, 3 hits by Karexon Sanchez, 2 by Juan Diaz and Bellows.
2 doubles for Adam Abraham (total: 31)
3 hits for Luigi Rodriguez, 2 2-run homers for Ronnie Rodriguez, 2 singles Alex Monsalve.
Single, double by Bryson Myles; 2 doubles Jake Lowery (19), singles Alex Lavisky (208)

Unearned runs all over the place. 2 errors by Tony Wolters both on throws makes 21 on remember his short season team.

STAR OF THE DAY: RONNIE RODRIGUEZ, 10 homers now, 41 xb hits for 19-year-old SS

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Not quite sure why we paid big bucks to sign Eric Haase $525,000 when we have many talented catchers, but I suppose they are also valuable as trade commodities.

Chun Chen age 22 in AA, That's very young for a catcher at that level
Roberto Perez age 22 in Kinston
Alex Monsalve age 19 in Lake County
Alex Lavisky age 20 started in Lake County, finishing at Mahoning Valley.
Jake Lowery age 20 with college experience at Mahoning Valley

I don't know how to make a chart lineup here so this won't look I've set it up in excel. Which means it looks good to me but lousy to everyone else. If anyone how' to copy a chart let me know. Or if you want I can e-mail you the actual file.

AB R H BI 2B-3B-HR BB SO OBP SLG OPS Caught Stealing
Chun Chen AA 22 353 51 94 62 22-3-14 34 104 357 449 806 33%
Roberto Perez HiA 22 378 54 82 38 22-3-6 55 69 373 324 697 39%
Alex Lavisky LowA-ShortA 20 391 42 91 43 24-0-12 26 117 271 360 631 23%
Alex Monsalve LowA 19 403 52 109 41 18-3-5 28 81 320 367 687 19%
Jake Lowery ShortA 20 203 36 51 36 20-1-5 42 42 377 433 810 20%
Charlie Valerio Rookie 20 139 27 38 18 7-0-4 19 28 360 410 770 50%

AB R H BI 2B-3B-HR BB SO OBP SLG OPS Caught Stealing
Chun Chen AA 22 353 51 94 62 22-3-14 34 104 357 449 806 33%
Roberto Perez HiA 22 378 54 82 38 22-3-6 55 69 373 324 697 39%
Alex Lavisky LowA-ShortA 20 391 42 91 43 24-0-12 26 117 271 360 631 23%
Alex Monsalve LowA 19 403 52 109 41 18-3-5 28 81 320 367 687 19%
Jake Lowery ShortA 20 203 36 51 36 20-1-5 42 42 377 433 810 20%
Charlie Valerio Rookie 20 139 27 38 18 7-0-4 19 28 360 410 770 50%