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Re: Minor Matters

531 by civ ollilavad
Cord Phelps appears ready. Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall are having solid seasons for the Clippers but probably would be better off staying there until September callups.

Phelps is batting 316 obp 409 slg 531 ops 940 29bb 48k 1sb 5cs
Kipnis is batting 288 obp 365 slg 486 ops 850 21bb 34k 8sb 0cs
Chisenhall hitting275 obp 370 slg 440 ops 809 21bb 34k 0sb 1cs

Re: Minor Matters

533 by civ ollilavad
Solid pitching and late inning rallies make for a good Sunday in Akron. Joe Gardner who has been inconsistant with an excellent outing: 8 innings, 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, fanned 6. Adam Miller with his AA debut of 2011 gets the win after a perfect 9th. McBride singled in a run in the 8th to tie the score. Chen singles in the winner in the 9th.

Mills and Webb with 2 hits apiece. Tim Fedroff still on a roll: 3 more hits, he's at 376. He should be moved to Columbus. Not like the Clippers are overloaded with OFs. Luis Valbuena was their LF yesterday.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x_akraax_1

Re: Minor Matters

535 by Tribe Guy
From what I've read, Phelps' defense at short has been nice and steady.

You could make a halfway decent major league bullpen with what we have at Columbus.

Didn't know that Carlton Smith was Corey's brother. That is some good trivia.
EVERYBODY IS FULL OF CRAP!!!!!

Re: Minor Matters

536 by civ ollilavad
Kyle Blair, No. 11 prospect also busts iout of a slump with a great pitching performance. 6 innings, on runs on 5 hits and 2 walks and 9 strikeouts for the 2010 draftee. In his previous 4 starts, Blair had been banged around for 22 runs in 16 innings. He had started the season going 27 innings allowing 7 runs.

Alex Monsalve continues his fine season, with 2 hits and a steal, he's at 277. Levon Washington singles and doubles and throws a runner out at home

Capatins win 3-1

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x_lcoafx_1

Re: Minor Matters

537 by civ ollilavad
The weather in May is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. [actually that's March, but the story needs the hinge so I'll let him get away with it this time]

Captains pitcher Kyle Blair's performances in May went in like a lamb and out like a lion.

The 22-year-old right-hander from California entered Sunday's game against West Michigan having gone 0-3 with a 12.38 ERA in four previous May starts.

In that rugged span, he averaged four innings and five runs yielded per start.

Against the Whitecaps on a sunny and warm Sunday, Blair put those shaky numbers in his rearview mirror.

Working off a dominant slider, Blair worked six shutout innings, striking out nine and giving up five hits, to set the tone for what ended as a 3-1 victory for the Captains.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Blair (3-3, 5.67 ERA) came away with his first victory since April 25.



"Baseball is a game of confidence. If you lose your confidence, you're done,'' Blair said.

"The fact is, I hit some rough spots. It was just a matter of dealing with it.''

The former University of San Diego standout was the Indians' fourth-round choice in the June 2010 draft.

To right his ship, Blair said he went back to the basics.

"I brought out my old college glove and got back to throwing the slider, which has always been my best pitch,'' Blair said.

Throwing fastballs and changeups off his slider, Blair got ahead and stayed ahead of the majority of West Michigan batters. The nine strikeouts were a career-high.

"I told myself (Sunday) I was going to come out and give my team a chance to win,'' Blair said. "This wasn't a one-man show, though. Guys played great defense behind me and I didn't have to shake off (catcher Alex Lavisky) all day.''

All of the runs the Captains scored Sunday were unearned, thanks to four West Michigan errors, but they counted just the same.

Anthony Gallas, a former Strongsville and Kent State standout, laced an RBI double to left field in the first inning as the Captains took a 2-0 lead.

Gallas is batting .354 and has a hit in 12 straight games. Also in the first inning, designated hitter Alex Monsalve singled in a run.

The Captains added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lake County closer Clayton Ehlert notched his ninth save despite giving up one run in the top of the ninth.

Lake County improved to 22-27 with the victory.

West Michigan is 21-28 after the loss.

Re: Minor Matters

538 by civ ollilavad
Henry's power lies in short game
Aeros outfielder works on bunting to improve at the leadoff position

By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer


Published on Sunday, May 29, 2011

Jordan Henry hit a home run over the outfield fence just one time in his life — and that was as a sophomore in college at Ole Miss.
''It felt good to know what it's like at least one time,'' the Aeros center fielder said. ''Guys joke with me a lot about not hitting home runs. But my game's more small ball because I don't have a lot of power. I just try to go up there as a leadoff guy and put the ball in play and try to use my legs to beat out a hit.''
Aeros manager Chris Tremie said Henry practices bunting during his pregame work.
It's an increasing part of his game, even if he has only done it four times so far this season.
''Especially being a leadoff guy, they want me work on [bunting] a lot and make it more of a part of my game,'' Henry said of the Indians' brass.
But it's not easy, despite popular belief.
''A lot of times, you put a lot of pressure on yourself, feeling like you have to hurry out of the box and beat it out,'' Henry said. ''You're worried about placing it right, beating it out and not wasting the at-bat. You try to be too perfect sometimes. A lot of times, it's just about the placement instead of how quick you get out of the box.''
But even when he's not looking to bunt, Henry is adept at getting on base. In 39 games with the Aeros, he's batting .278 with four doubles, two triples and 11 RBI. Henry has also worked 22 walks and stolen a team-high 15 bases.
''He does a nice job offensively with a good approach,'' Tremie said. ''He continues to work on bunting for a hit as well as his base running. Defensively, he's a solid center fielder who gets good jumps and he covers a lot of ground.''
In many ways, bunting is a selfless act.

''I've gotten maybe three or four hits out of my bunts so far this season,'' Henry said. ''But I also do it sometimes when guys are on base with no outs, trying to move a guy over — at least something positive comes out of it.''
But that's not the only reason Henry looks to bunt.
''Another thing [the Indians] talk about as to why they want to see more bunting is it opens up more holes,'' Henry said. ''That third baseman has to come in to defend a bunt when I come up to bat, especially as a leadoff guy. So, that makes it easier to get one past him sometimes if he comes in and I don't bunt.''
Last edited by civ ollilavad on Mon May 30, 2011 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Minor Matters

539 by civ ollilavad
Webb runs hard for win
Right fielder races home in ninth to push Aeros to victory over Squirrels

By Jonas Fortune
Special to the Beacon Journal


Published on Monday, May 30, 2011

Aeros 2, Flying Squirrels 1

Akron Aeros right fielder Donnie Webb wasn't about to stop running Sunday afternoon at Canal Park.
He wasn't even sure if any defender had gotten to the groundball hit back up the middle. And he certainly didn't have time to look.
After struggling offensively through 81/3 innings, the Aeros had the score tied at one in the bottom of the ninth.
So when Chun Chen hit a grounder up the middle with two outs and Webb on second, the Aeros were ready to do whatever they needed to get the winning run home.
''I knew it was a slow roller, so I just listened to the third-base manager [Aeros manager Chris Tremie] and he said: 'You gotta go!' I took off and kept going,'' Webb said. ''I knew I just had to go home. I wasn't going to stop running.''
Had he had time to look, he would have seen Richmond shortstop Nick Noonan make a diving stop near the second-base bag.
Noonan came to his feet and threw home, a little high and to the right. It gave Webb just enough time to get his foot on the plate before he could be tagged by Richmond catcher Aaron Lowenstein, giving the Aeros a 2-1 victory at Canal Park.

''I saw the catcher catch it off to the side and I just went in for the hook slide. If he was going to catch it in front I was just going to run him over,'' Webb said. ''You have to do what you have to do to score.''
Especially in a game as well-pitched as Sunday.
One pitch meant everything for the better part of eight innings.
That's not to take away from the other pitches in the game.
Most of them were pretty outstanding in their own right, as Aeros starter Joe Gardner engaged in a pitcher's duel with Richmond left-hander Eric Surkamp.
But strikeouts, groundouts and numerous double plays don't correlate as directly to the scoreboard as a solo home run.
And that's exactly why Richmond right fielder Roger Kieschnick was able to make a 0-2, second-inning offering so much more important.
''It was a fastball down. Kind of middle, but it was down, and he put a good swing on it and got some carry on it,'' Gardner said.
Kieschnick's solo shot over the right-center field fence held the score steady for eight innings, until the Aeros were able to scrape together a few base hits against Surkamp.
Surkamp, a Cincinnati native, entered the game as the Eastern League leader in ERA at 1.53. All he did Sunday was lower it to 1.33, as he went eight innings, allowed eight hits, struck out three and walked one.
But an error behind him led to his downfall.
In the bottom of the eighth, Richmond second baseman Charlie Culberson was unable to handle Jordan Henry's ground ball to second base.
Henry got on base, advanced to second on a bloop single down the left-field line by Tim Fedroff, and scored from second on a single to right field by Matt McBride to tie the score at one. The run was unearned.
As good as Surkamp was, Gardner was even better.
After Kieschnick's home run, Gardner settled down to face the minimum in his last six innings, relying on his sinker to induce groundballs and set up four double plays behind him.
''I settle in and start finding things a little better and it's a little easier,'' Gardner said. ''I felt stronger as the game kept going.''
Gardner pitched eight innings, allowed six hits, one run and struck out six. He walked one.
He didn't get the win; Adam Miller earned that with a scoreless ninth.
Miller, a right-hander, made his first appearance with the Akron Aeros since 2006, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Miller missed the 2009 and 2010 seasons with a right-middle finger injury.
He threw eight pitches (five strikes and three balls; mostly fastballs) against three batters as he got a ground out and two fly outs before Webb raced home to win the game in the bottom of the inning.
''It feels good to be back,'' Miller said of his return. ''It was a good start.''
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