Cleveland Sports Forum

single and 2 k for Chisenhall so far tonight. Slowey working in the 8th, he's surrendered 5 runs, earned. in 7 2/3.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_colaaa_1

Final is an 8-6 loss despite 5 Clipper homers. Someone named DelTorre added tot he bullpen allows 3 in the 9th to put it out of reach.

Perfect 4 2/3 for Clayton Cook. He seems to have been around forever but he's only 21. Carolina is ahead 3-0. Jesus Aguillar with a pair of hits, Jake Lowery a double and an rbi

Only 2 K for Aguillar in 26 ab's. Only 1 walk, too.


http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_cmcafa_1

3 in 6th helped by Mudcats errors, but we win 5-3 with shutout relief by Flores, Dickerson, Jiminez.

Rodriguez and Wolters among the errrant fielders. Lowrey finishes with a pair of hits. He's at 364, but he did strikeout twice.

Captains last 14 but fall 5-4. Way back at the beginning Felix Sterling worked 5, 1 earned run, but 4 ttal, 6 K vs 1 bb. In relief 3 innings 1 hit 5K by Petter; 3 innings 1 hit 4K by Radeke.

At bat: Lavon 2 more hits and a walk. LRod two hits and a half. Both of them are caught stealing, [actually picked off it appears] although Rodriguez also steals his first in 3 tries. Lavaisky single, double, 4 RBI, Lindor single and double. Robel Garcia 2 hits.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_swmafx_1

Rob Bryson: RP, Akron Aeros: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K:

If you’ve followed my ATF’s over the past several months, you’ll know that I’ve always been high on Rob Bryson. Since coming over in the Sabathia deal, Bryson’s arm has never been questioned, but his health sure has been after surgery on a labrum and rotator cuff tear. Since the start of 2010, Bryson’s arm has been healthy, and with that health has come fantastic numbers. In 2010, with Lake County, Kinston and Akron, Bryson went 7-2, with a save and a 2.53 ERA in 53 1/3 IP, striking out 80 batters, while walking only 21. In 2011, Bryson’s progress took a hit when he broke his foot just prior to the season starting. Instead of progressing from Akron to Columbus, he started his year off two months late back in Lake County, before quickly progressing through Kinston and Akron, Bryson went 2-1, with a 2.29 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, with 48 K and 16 walks. Now a year behind schedule, Bryson needs to go to work to become a relevant factor with the major league club by the end of the year. After a rough first outing, Bryson came roaring back tonight with two solid innings of work. Overall, Bryson has gone 3 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and a run, while striking out eight and walking only one. He should be a factor in Columbus by June 1st, and may be ready for an August call-up by the Tribe…if he can manage to stay healthy.

Captains: Bryson Myles brings a football mentality to the outfield

Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012

By David S. Glasier. News-Herald.com

Captains outfielder Bryson Myles, is, first and foremost, a baseball player.

Selected by the Indians in the sixth round of the June 2011 draft out of Stephen F. Austin College in his native Texas, Myles began his professional career in fine style last season.

In 50 games with the short-season Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers, he batted .302 with one home run, 15 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 27 attempts.

At a solidly built 6-foot and 230 pounds, it's hardly a coincidence that the 22-year-old Myles appears to be a guy who could put on the helmet and pads right now and play middle linebacker for a college football team.

As a junior at Arlington Grace Prep High School, Myles was a highly regarded middle linebacker who was offered a full football scholarship by Texas Christian University.

Although he ultimately decided to focus on baseball and pursue a professional career on the diamond rather than the gridiron, Myles said the football mentality shows up in the way he plays baseball.

"I love going out there every day and giving it my all, the same as I did as a linebacker in football," Myles said. "The fans see that. I like to take advantage of my athletic abilities."

Lake County fans will get their first look at Myles and his aggressive brand of baseball today when the Captains host the Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods in the home opener at Classic Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Thus far in the young season, Myles has played all three outfield positions.

"I love center field most of all," Myles said. "It's just like playing middle linebacker in football, where you get the feeling of being in control of the defense.
"At the same time, you want to be versatile," Myles said. "You have to have different skills to play center, right or left (field). I want to be able to play all three positions."

Myles' aggressiveness shows up in the way he runs the bases, too. In his lone season at Stephen F. Austin, Myles batted .411 and stole 53 bases in 59 attempts on his way to winning Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the Southland Conference.

At least to this point, Myles does not second-guess his decision to choose baseball over football.

"Getting paid to play baseball is great, something you say you want to do the first time you play the game," Myles said.

Today's game is the opener of a seven-game homestand for the Captains.

Hot Rods at Captains

-- When: 6:30, Thursday

-- Where: Classic Park

-- Records: Hot Rods 3-3; Captains 3-3

-- Pitchers: Hot Rods — Felipe Rivero (1-0, 0.00 ERA); Captains — Elvis Araujo (0-1, 2.25 ERA)

-- Radio: WELW-AM 1330

Clippers win again, 5-4. Huffman homers for the 2nd day in a row, he has 2 hits as do Canzler, Carrera and Phelps (Indians might be willing to rotate Cord and Kipnis if Jason can't start hitting). Kluber fans 8 in 5 innings, that makes 18 in 2 starts, but also 4 runs. Shutout relief by Herrman, 2 ip, Hagadone 2 ip, and Ray 1 inning. There certainly are opportunities for Columbus relievers to move up.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_colaaa_1

Akron got a break with a rain out, they are using McFarland today. I have no idea who is going to replace Espino in the rotation; no one else on the roster has started in years. The ideal solution would be if Austin Adams or Matt Packer is healthy and ready to come north.

Elvis working for the Captains on their rather chilly home opener. He's fanned 6 in 4 innings, but gave up 2 runs. Lindor with home team's only hit in the first 3 innings. He adds a double in 4th, and so does Lavisky, but a line out DP between their ABs means no runs scored. Lavisky is hitting way better in the very early going than he did in Midwest League last season.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_lcoafx_1

Final: 5-2 win. Elvis finishes with 7 k and 3 earned runs allowed in 5 innings. Valera 3 shutout innings and Jeff Johnson 1. At bat Lindor finishes with 3 hits, 353 avg for 18 year old. Lavisky doubles twice, fans twice, makes an error, and picks off a baserunner; he's batting 389 in the first 18 at bats.

Surprising Aeros with another win, 6-1 behind 6 shutout innings from T. J. McFarland. Bryce Stowell stalled at AA, works one inning, retires all 3, fans 2. Guilmet finishes up, 2K in an inning, puts 2 men on.

Breakthrough day at the plate: his first hit of the season. His other 3 ABs feature two walks and grounds into DP. Juan Diaz with two hits. Kyle Bellows the offensive star: 2 walks, single, homers with 2 on.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_akraax_1

BA notes these lines today.

CLE AAA Phelps, Cord 2B 4 1 2 0 .313 3B (1)

CLE LoA Lindor, Francisco SS 4 1 3 0 .353 2B (2); Glove is exceptional, bat hasn't been bad this first week either

CLE AA McFarland, T.J. 6 3 0 0 1 4 0.82 W (2-0)

CLE AA Stowell, Bryce 1 0 0 0 0 2 0.00

CLE AAA Hagadone, Nick 1 0 0 0 0 2 0.00

CLE LoA Araujo, Elvis 5 5 4 3 0 7 4.00 L (0-2)


Also on the list is Josh Judy, 2 innings, no runs, 5K for the Reds.

I'm pleased to see Lavisky off to this good start. Last year he was looking like a colossal waste of a million bucks.

I wonder what the experts think of his defense? I was surprised that, despite the unimpressive offense, he fell all the way out of BA's Indians Top 30 prospect list, especially considering the mediocre competiton he lost out to in missing the list.

SPORTS

Kevin Kleps: Indians' shortstop of the future looking good already

Published: Friday, April 13, 2012

By Kevin Kleps. News-Herald

He's not worried about the fast track to the big leagues, which in the case of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound shortstop for the Lake County Captains, means Progressive Field and the organization that drafted him eighth overall in 2011.

He's not going to talk about the individual steps on the grind that is the path to the majors. (If you're scoring at home, Lindor, assuming he doesn't jump more than one level, will still have three more stops down on the farm before he gets the call to the Indians).

Yes, he received a $2.9 million signing bonus last August, two months after he became the first high school player selected in the first round by the Tribe since 2001.

"It doesn't matter what round, what number I got drafted at," Lindor said Thursday after the Captains' 5-2 loss to Bowling Green in the home opener at Classic Park. "I have to go out there and prove to the organization, first of all, and to the fans that I can play. It doesn't really matter what I am. I could be the No. 1 player in the world. I still gotta go out there and prove to the organization what I'm capable of."

What that is seems to be quite a bit.

In seven games with the Captains, Lindor is batting .353. He has had at least one hit in the last six contests, he's scored at least once in all but one game, and he's had 11 hits in his last five games.

In the latter span, he is hitting .440 with four runs, two RBI and two triples. Thursday, he was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, with the lone out coming via a sensational over-the-shoulder catch by Bowling Green center fielder Kes Carter to rob Lindor of an extra-base hit in the sixth.

"Francisco's been great since the day he showed up last year — not just on the field with his work ethic, but the way he handles himself off the field," said Captains manager David Wallace, who managed Lindor during his five-game stint with short-season Class A Mahoning Valley late last summer. "Obviously, he's not going to go 3-for-4 every night, but it shouldn't surprise anybody when he does have good at-bats."

The natural timeline for Lindor's trek to the Tribe would seem to be following the 2014 season — the final year of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera's recent contract extension. That type of speculation is extremely premature, but the enthusiasm with which the Tribe's selection of Lindor was met seems very real after his red-hot start — seven months and two days before his 19th birthday.

"There's a reason we drafted him where we did," Wallace said. "I got to see him a little bit last year, but that was kinda just an introduction for him into pro ball. To be able to this year see him play on an everyday basis is fun. Francisco's got a lot of work to do, but he's more than willing to put in the time and effort that he needs."

When asked if he expected to spend the season at Lake County — which, based strictly on talent and not age, would seem unlikely — Lindor said, "That depends on them (the Indians). They're the ones who make the decision. It depends on me and how I play, but they're the ones who make the decision."

For an organization devoid of elite position player prospects, Lindor — who was ranked No. 37 in Baseball America's top 100 prior to the season, the only Indians farmhand to make the list — is a breath, and blur, of fresh air.

Repeatedly Thursday, he said any decisions "depend" on the Tribe.

One move, however, seems difficult to doubt, even in baseball, a sport with more first-round failures than maybe any other.

Lindor might not be here long, but as far the Tribe is concerned, he's here to stay.

Levon Washington must be injured. He's missing his 2nd game in 2 nights.

Lavisky with his 5th double in 4 games; but all 4 of our teams have totaled 1 run in early going.