Cleveland Sports Forum

By David S. Glasier
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
@nhglasier

You learn little about a man in good times.

The truest test comes in bad times.

Captains manager Dave Wallace is being tested now as his team struggles mightily in its first homestand of the 2012 season.

West Michigan came to Classic Park on Monday and hung a 7-2 defeat on the Captains. It was Lake County's seventh straight loss overall and fifth straight at home.

The Captains slipped to 3-8 and are stuck in last place in the Midwest League's Eastern Division, seven games behind the red-hot Lansing Lugnuts.

The Whitecaps snapped a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth inning when Aaron Westlake's RBI grounder off Lake County reliever Francisco Valera made it 3-2.

All doubt was removed in the top of the ninth inning, when Lake County reliever Cole Cook surrendered a grand slam to West Michigan center fielder Chad Wright.

Monday's ninth-inning meltdown came on the heels of Sunday's ninth-inning disaster, when Bowling Green sent 16 men to the plate and scored 11 runs to turn what had been a close game into a 22-12 rout.

Wallace smiled when asked if even the smallest part of him was fed up with the losing and was ready to erupt.

"I never want to be OK with losing, and I don't want our guys to get used to losing,'' Wallace said. "You have to look at the big picture. We're 11 games into the season with 129 more to go. We're going to get a lot better.''

It wasn't all doom and gloom Monday for the Captains.

Starting pitcher Felix Sterling gave up a two-run home run to West Michigan designated hitter Dean Green in the top of the first.

After that misstep, the 19-year-old right-hander buckled down and blanked the Whitecaps through the next five frames before giving way to Valera.

"That's what separates guys in this game — the ability to make adjustments,'' Wallace said of the corrections made by Sterling.

With bats in their hands, the Captains didn't make much noise beyond Alex Monsalve's solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

"We just have to trust in the work we're putting in,'' Wallace said.

On the mend

Captains outfielder LeVon Washington missed his fifth straight game Monday with a nerve impingement in his hip. He'll undergo an MRI today.

The injury makes walking painful and running impossible for the 20-year-old Florida native. The Indians' second-round choice in the June 2010 draft was off to a nice start, batting .440 in six games.

Tiger ties

West Michigan is affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. The Whitecaps' roster is dotted with players whose names will be instantly familiar to fans of the Tigers.

Catcher Pat Leyland is the 20-year-old son of Tigers manager Jim Leyland. Third baseman Colin Kaline is the son of all-time Tigers great and Hall of Famer Al Kaline. Infielder Marcus Lemon is the son of former Tigers outfielder Chet Lemon. Pitcher Nick Avila is the cousin of Tigers catcher Alex Avila.

Leyland and Kaline were in the starting lineup Monday. Lemon is on the suspended list for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Here's the game story for the miserable Sunday in Eastlake:

You could have heard a pin drop in the Lake County clubhouse Sunday after the Captains absorbed a 22-12 pounding at the hands of the Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods at Classic Park.

Heck, it was so quiet in the place a pin dropping would have produced a deafening roar.

The Captains were shell-shocked, and should have been, after the visiting Hot Rods scored 11 runs in the top of the ninth inning to turn what had been a close, power-laden game into a rout of shake-your-head-in-utter disbelief dimensions.

In that fateful frame, the Hot Rods sent 16 batters to the dish. They lashed 11 hits, including a three-run home run and a two-run single by right fielder Drew Vettleson.

They had their way first against Lake County reliever Kyle Blair, knocking him around for four singles and Vettleson's two-run blast before Captains manager Dave Wallace made the long walk from the dugout to the pitcher's mound to summon Jeff Johnson.

Blair's stint on the mound Sunday covered 3 1/3 innings, which can only be described as nightmarish. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up 13 runs, all earned, on 10 hits. Three of the hits were home runs, including Tyler Goeddel's grand slam in the top of the eighth.

Tagged with the loss, Blair's record fell to 0-2, while his ERA skyrocketed from 9.00 to 20.86.

In a big-league game, Blair would been pulled probably after yielding three runs in the top of the seventh. Certainly, he would have been finished after Goeddel's bases-clearing bomb in the eighth inning.

But this is Class A in the minor leagues and the script had Blair, sharing starts with Cody Anderson, eating up at least three innings, and preferably four.

Blair was on the exercise bike after the game and unavailable for comment.

Wallace said he didn't deviate from the script until matters got totally out of hand in the top of the ninth. "This is an instance when Kyle's development is more important than the win or the loss," Wallace said. "Kyle will learn from (Sunday)."

Johnson also took a battering in the top of the ninth, giving up five runs, all earned, on six hits. In his second at-bat in the frame, Vettleson stroked a two-run double off Johnson, whose ERA spiraled to 32.40 from 9.00 when the dust cleared.

Bowling Green's 22 runs, 23 hits and six home runs were franchise records. Goeddel went 4-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI. Vettleson and Todd Glaesmann (two doubles and a home run) each had five RBI.

The 34 combined runs and 41 combined hits were Classic Park records.

"We were just swinging the bats well (Sunday)," Glaesmann said. "Before we scored all of those runs in the ninth, the Captains had done a good job keeping themselves in the game."

Indeed, there had been two ties and five lead changes going into the top of the ninth. The Captains had scored twice in the bottom of the eighth, on solo home runs by Alex Lavisky and Jordan Smith, to trim Bowling Green's lead to 11-10.

Then the Hot Rods went ballistic.

Vettleson was delighted at the turn of events, but he understood what the opposing team was going through as he and his teammates had their way against Blair and Johnson. "I've been on that side before, getting blown up, and it sucks," Vettleson said. "Chances are, we'll find ourselves in that situation someday. That's baseball."

Lavisky, batting .323 after going 2-for-5 with two RBI, said he and his teammates had their eyes opened by Sunday's collapse.

"There definitely are some things we can take from this game that will help us moving forward," he said. "The great thing about baseball is that you play so many games. Tomorrow is a new day." Wallace said he elected not to address his team in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's deflating loss.
"We don't have to say anything because our guys know what happened," Wallace said. "We'll get together (today) and talk about adjustments we need to make."

The Captains are 3-7 and reeling from six straight losses. Bowling Green swept the four-game series to improve to 7-3.

By the numbers

Bowling Green sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs in the top of the ninth inning Sunday to blow open what had been a close game. Here are the ninth-inning pitching lines for the two Lake County relievers who worked the frame:

-- Kyle Blair: 7 batters faced, 5 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs.

-- Jeff Johnson: 9 batters faced, 6 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs.

CIV: Your aol mail just sent me some spam about working at home. Time to change your password.

JR: yes I know. I've fixed it. Thanks.

About 150 addresses rejected the spam that my computer was hacked into sending; wish I knew what security they use.

Carolina LHP T.J. House Tapped Minor League Player of the Week, April 9-15
CLEVELAND, OH-The Cleveland Indians today announced that Carolina LHP T.J HOUSE has been named the Indians Minor League Player of the Week for April 9-15. The Player of the Week award recognizes an individual performance from within the Indians Player Development System and will be announced each Tuesday through the end of the minor league baseball season. All players from the Tribe's minor league affiliates are eligible for the weekly award.

House, 23, made 2 starts during the week, going 1-0 with a 0.00ERA (13.0IP, 6H, 4R/0ER, 2BB, 17K). In his first start of the season on April 9th, House went 7.0 innings, allowing 2 hits, no runs, one walk with 9 strikeouts in a win over Wilmington. He followed that up with 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run on April 15th vs. Winston-Salem (4H, 4R/0ER, 1BB, 8K). He currently leads the Carolina League in strikeouts (17) and is averaging 11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings through 2 starts this season (his career average entering this season was 6.84K/9.0IP).

House was the Indians’ 16th round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Picayune High School in Mississippi after signing a letter of intent to attend Tulane. In 2010, he was tied for 3rd in the Carolina League in starts (26), 5th in innings pitched (135.2) and 8th in ERA (3.91). In 2009 he was tied for 4th in the South Atlantic League in starts (26) and ranked 4th in the Indians Player Development System in ERA (3.15).

House, 23, made 2 starts during the week, going 1-0 with a 0.00ERA (13.0IP, 6H, 4R/0ER, 2BB, 17K).

That's actually a pretty decent week. I'd like to see House get back on track; he was a well-regarded prospect until he stalled in Kinston.

civ ollilavad wrote:JR: yes I know. I've fixed it. Thanks.

About 150 addresses rejected the spam that my computer was hacked into sending; wish I knew what security they use.

Well, why not write to some of those addies and ask them?

Or it's also possible that they are addrsses that are no longer valid so mail couldn't be directed there; I have a Norton supposed to be good protection.

And back to baseball:

Corey Kluber's rebirth continues. 6 innings, 1 run, 7 K vs 1 walk. Canzler doubles and singles; Pagnozzi doubles and homers. Columbus wins 5-1

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_indaaa_1

Now that he's a 5-11 210 pound 1st baseman, I don't think Chun Chen's SLG of 333 is quite good enough He singled twice last night; Jared Goedart singled and doubled. Aeros lost 4-2. TJ McFarland 4 2/3 innings, 3 runs. Price 2 1/3-1. Landis 2 scoreless.

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

Our hitters fan 13 times, our pitchers walk 11. Surprised that the Mudcats loss was only by 5-3. Aguillar with his 4th double and walks and didn't fan once. For the season his AB/K/BB is 36/6/5 which is quite a bit better than last year. in 2011 in Kinston the numbers were 113/44/11.

Clayton Cook pitched one inning and departed. Relievers Jiminez, Armstrong and Dickerson did most of the walking.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_wilafa_1

8 losses in a row now for Lake County but some good lines by prospects.

Elvis Araujo allows only 1 run in 6 innings, 1 earned that is, 3 total. Only 1 strikeout.
Myles hits his first homer.
Jordan Smith his third triple.
Lindor singles and walks, but errs
Luigi Rodriguez walks and steals his 5th base

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

4 hits by Cord Phelps, 2 doubles and 1 for 2 successes stealing. Clippers lose 4-3. All 4 off Barnes in 5 innings.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_indaaa_1

Aeros win by the same 4-3 margin. Chun Chen 3 singles. Kyle Bellows 2 singles and a double. Adam Abraham 2run triple. Thomas Neal 2 hits. Steven Wright 6 innings, 1 run, 4 walks, 7 K. 1st run off Allen but he as usual fans 2 in 1 inning. Guilmet a perfect inning for the save.

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

6 2/3 shutout innings from Mike Rayl for a Carolina 1-0 win. 3 hits, no walks, 4 K. Reichenbach and Flores finish up. Aguillar drives in the run, two singles, he's steady at 375. SS Ronny Rodriguez two hits, a walk, he's at 278.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_wilafa_1

Yet another Captains loss, 8-5, yet a lot of good lines from the players who matter: Luigi Rodriguez 3 hits include a double, .367; Lindor double and walk, 305; Levisky 2 hits, 275; Myles 2 hits, 3 rbi. Jordan Smith injured in the outfield, leaves the game. Levon W remains sidelined.

Starter WillRoberts steady for 6 innings, 1 earned run, but 3 total, only 1 K. Jeff Johnson blows the save, yields 4 in 1 inning, ERA climbs just a bit to 33.75

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

Another absentee is Trey Haley, who had a breakthrough season in the bullpen last year and got back on the prospect lists. Hasn't pitched since Arizona. Not sure if he pitched there. I could pay Tony and find out, I guess.

CIV- Thanks for the postings and summaries. Your summaries are really helpful.

Jeff Johnson 3 games 2 2/3 IP 10 H 10 R 10 ER 3 BB 5K no homers!!

Kyle Blair 2 games 7 1/3 IP 15 H 17 R 17 ER 3 BB 7K 4 homers!!! [He was rated No. 11 prospect going into 2011]