Cleveland Sports Forum

Hillbilly- Thanks. So we have 2 days. Somebody call Antonetti.

They have lots of easier options than dropping Martinez who Tito loves and is versatile although not especially good.

All they have to do is add him to the 40 man roster, which currently has 39 names. And they still have Collin Cowgill on the 40 man and I cannot imagine they care about having him available for the playoffs. And I see that Dylan Baker is on the roster, not the 60-day DL, although he had preseason surgery and missed the entire year; he can go on the 60-day DL and that opens yet another spot.

So they can add Yandy three times if they'd like.

I liked the Elavic joke Hillbilly! It sounds perfectly believable and besides my screen name we have the famous Sicnarf Loopstock as a role model.

During Frankie's hit streak when I would rush to the box score to see if he had a hit on the days he was not playing it was always a consolation prize that he was replaced with Sicnarf Loopstok. Just reading the name brightens one day.

And Sickie is having a pretty good year at bat himself, around 290, and 10 steals which is kind of weird for a catcher built like the typical fireplug.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Yandy Diaz (Columbus)

Columbus infielder/outfielder Yandy Diaz has claimed the 2016 Rookie of the Year Award. The 25- year-old Cuban native is tied for the League lead with a .322 batting average and paces the circuit outright in on-base percentage at .396. Diaz earned his first promotion to Triple-A late in the 2015 season, playing in four regular season games plus the postseason for Columbus before returning from Double-A to stay this past May. Blossoming into one of the League’s top offensive threats, Diaz reeled off a 28-game hitting streak lasting though most of July and early-August. It was the longest hitting streak in the IL since Brandon Watson’s all-time record 43-game streak with Columbus in 2007. Since the All-Star Break, Diaz has hit .335 to propel the Clippers to a West Division championship. Diaz is the franchise’s seventh IL Rookie of the Year and the first since Kurt Bierek in 1999.

Clips won 5-1. Yandy had night off and Zimmer must have thought he did too, going 0-4. Gonzalez did have a couple hits and a couple steals.

Akron won 4-1. Allen had a couple hits including a double, and a walk. He also had another caught stealing.

Lynchburg loses 1-0. Frankie was 2-5 and Santander had a double. Bradley and Krieger was both 0-3, though Krieger got on base and had a steal.

Captains had the night off, as they most usually do.

Scrappers lose 10-3. Unfortunately Hillman was the starter, and he got pounded. 5 runs, 4 earned, in 3 innings.

Hillman has had a very poor finish to the season. But if Aiken and McKenzie continue to thrive that will be a great 2015 draft haul [plus Krieger and Mathias]

Arizona team eliminated in a 1-game quarterfinal playoff series. It's now safe to demote anyone there and then call him back up tomorrow.
None of those high school kids sent to Arizona league impressed particularly. But at least Benson hit plenty of extra base hits and had double digit steals. Jones walked a lot but never hit a homer.

a few other lines of note last night:

Mike Papi, remember him, with 2 hits raises his average to an impressive 214
Gabriel Mejia's injury of Monday kept him out of the lineup. Season may be over.
Another "remember him" prospect: Jesus Aguillar banged out his 27th homer and 24th double. I imagine he'll come up to Cleveland to pinch hit occasionally. Would be useful to have a 3rd catcher on hand so we can pinch hit for the other two more often.
In the bullpen for Columbus, shutout 1 inning by TJ House and 2 perfect innings by Cody Anderson. they'll be back too.

BA chooses these:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 4 1 2 1 .308 2B (7), BB (14), CS (5)
CLE AA Papi, Mike LF 4 1 2 0 .214
CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik SS 5 1 2 1 .296 2 SB (12)
CLE HiA Mejia, Francisco C 5 0 2 0 .325
CLE MAJ Armstrong, Shawn 0.2 1 0 0 2 0 2.45 [always can be counted on for a strategic walk or two]
CLE SS Hillman, Juan 3 3 5 4 2 2 4.35 L (3-4)

Arizona Fall Rosters announced. Indians are sending to Mesa:

Brad Zimmer. I'd suggest he hit only against lefties since unless he learns how he has at best a career like Chisenhall and Naquin as a part of a platoon. And since those 2 are already established LH OF's his role will be rather limited; of course Brantley's return is highly uncertain and we could go with an entire LH and RH platoon next year. Age 23.
Greg Allen: on base star, good speed, needs to refine his basestealing against higher level opponents. Doesn't have to be added to 40-man roster, so this is not a tryout but a reward for his great season. Age 23.
Yu-Cheng Chang: SS, lots of power. Missed about 30 games toward the end of the season with injury. He also doesn't need to be added to the 40-man in his case for 2 more years. Age 21.
Eric Haase the mandatory catcher. He hits for power but not for average. He's made it to AA, but never made prospect lists. Age 23. He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft or for the 40 man roster. We can always use catching depth, not sure he's it.
Pitchers we send as usual are mostly relievers:
Cameron Hill RH Age 22
Trevor Frank RH Age 25
David Speer LH Age 24
Michael Peoples RH starter never made a prospect list. 25 by opening day.

Clippers go down 7-3 tonight, giving up 4 runs in 9th. Yandy was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk. It is awesome to know we have a team so good that they don't need this on base machine. Zimmer added a double tonight too. Plutko was not good, allowing 12 hits and walks in 5.2 innings. Not good for ones WHIP.

Akron lost 3-2 in 13 innings, wasting a great outing by Merryweather. 6 hits 6 K's and 1 run in 7 innings. At times this year he has looked good, but then will get shelled. Allen had an 0fer but did have a walk and a steal. Papi had a home run and an OF assist. Showing signs of life after I gave up on him.

Lynchburg wins 3-0 on yet another great outing by Pannone. Telling you guys, this dude might be a sleeper. 6 shutout innings tonight, 3 hits & 6 K. His ERA is now 1.96. Frankie was 1-3 tonight, and picked off a runner at 1st. Don't test his arm. Santander 1-3 too, and also added a walk. Bradley 0-4 again. Haven't seen Krieger for a bit, must be hurt?

The Captains win, 3-2. Carter was 1-4 with a walk. Calica was 0-3 to drop his average to .474. #Loser

Scrappers lose 4-2. Gabe Mejia returns but draws an 0fer and commits an error in OF. Maybe should have taken 1 more day... His average drops to a lowly .332. They may decide to leave him in NYPL next year too now.

Yandy was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk. It is awesome to know we have a team so good that they don't need this on base machine

Now that we have Crisp and still have Cowgill available on the 40-man roster we're oversupplied with RH quality bats.

BA highlights:

CLE AA Papi, Mike LF 4 1 1 1 .214 HR (4), BB (38)
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy LF 4 2 3 0 .327 2 2B (22), BB (47) [they're aware of him, if Indians are not]
CLE AAA Zimmer, Bradley CF 3 0 1 1 .259 2B (3), 2 BB (20)
CLE HiA Mathias, Mark 2B 2 1 1 0 .272 2 BB (48)
CLE HiA Mejia, Francisco C 3 0 1 0 .325
CLE HiA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 0 1 0 .299
CLE LoA Castro, Willi SS 5 0 1 0 .259
CLE AAA Plutko, Adam 5.2 8 3 3 4 3 4.10
CLE HiA Brown, Mitch 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.14 W (4-6)