Cleveland Sports Forum

Victor Martinez - DH - Tigers
Victor Martinez has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain.
If that's all he suffered, it will arrive as excellent news for the Tigers. Martinez was unable to put any weight on his left leg as he was led back to the clubhouse by trainers. The injury happened on a play at the plate.
Source: Jason Beck on Twitter Aug 6, 10:00 PM

Drew Pomeranz hadn't pitched in almost a month, but he looked anything but rusty on Wednesday night.
MLB.com's No. 31 prospect retired the first 19 batters he faced in a Drillers uniform en route to a seven-inning, two-hit performance. Double-A Tulsa went on to blank Midland, 6-0, to snap a six-game losing streak.



· Gameday box score
· Pomeranz's player page
· See a game in Tulsa
· Rockies affiliates coverage
Pomeranz, who had not pitched since July 25, struck out four without issuing a walk in front of Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd.

"Things were just going great," Pomeranz said. "It helps that I threw a good amount of strikes and was ahead of the hitters. It's a lot easier to pitch that way -- it helps to be in control of the game. If you're behind, it's a little tougher. The first six innings, I stayed in great counts. Apparently, where I threw the ball was the right spot tonight."

The 22-year-old left-hander lost the perfect game with one out in the seventh, when Grant Green -- the A's No. 1 prospect -- singled on a ground ball up the middle. The RockHounds' only other hit came in the next at-bat as Stephen Parker lined a single to right field.

"That's just part of baseball," Pomeranz said. "I really wasn't too [ticked] or anything. I was just like, 'Oh well.' I gave up another hit and was like, 'Well let's get the next guy.' You give up a hit or two, you don't want it to blow up on you when you've been pitching well the whole time."

Pomeranz worked his way out of trouble by striking out Michael Spina and getting Adam Heether to line out. He left after throwing 78 pitches.

The fifth overall pick in the 2010 Draft, Pomeranz was included as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland on July 30. Because players cannot be traded until one year after they are signed, the Ole Miss product could not officially be included in the deal until Tuesday.

"I really, truly did not think I was going to get traded," Pomeranz said. "I was initially shocked. But teams do what they've got to do. They did what they did for a reason. That's part of baseball, too; people get traded. Things happen like this. You've just got to learn how to stay focused. It's baseball -- it's basically the same thing everywhere."

Pomeranz spent his time off working out at the Indians' spring training complex in Arizona.

"It has benefits and its downfall, too," said Pomeranz, who posted a 1.98 ERA across two levels before the trade. "But what Minor League pitcher in his first year of pro ball wouldn't want to have two weeks off to help yourself get in better shape, look at some video and work on things you want to work on worry-free? I think that helped me out."

Pomeranz's old brother, Stuart, served as the Drillers' closer last season and recorded 18 saves. The 26-year-old right-hander, who signed with the Dodgers in the offseason, gave Pomeranz a scouting report of his new home.

"He told me it was a great organization, it was a nice stadium and it was hot as hell," Pomeranz said. "He was pretty right about the last two things. Everything's been great, talking to people here so far. The organization seems like a good organization. Everything he said has been true so far."

Nice effort by Pomeranz last night.

White had a rough outing in his debut on the 4th surrendering 3 earned runs on 3 hits including a homer during 1 inning of baseball. Since then, he's pitched twice going 7.2 innings, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 5 k's. So far this evening, after 3 innings of work, 0 runs on 2 hits with 1 k. The 2 hits came in the third. Double and Single. Runner tossed out at the plate.

Matt McBride in his debut last week went 3-4, strained an oblique and hasn't been seen since.

It's great to see Jimenez pitching in the upper 90's again. That's a good omen. We have to hope for some consistency from Jimenez in these upcoming weeks. Along with Choo and Santana, Jimenez is the key to just how successful we will be from now until the end of September. I couldn't be any more happy as to the success of the pitching staff this year. It's time for Carmona and Jimenez to git'er done.

White ends up winning his ballgame 8-0. 7.2 innings of shutout baseball, 3 hits, a walk, and 4 k's. I hope we didn't make a big mistake here.

Bryce Harper pulled a hammy in that Harrisburg win over Akron. He was removed in the 8th for a pinch runner.

Edward Salcedo is in his second year of pro ball now. He's playing for Rome (Atlanta Braves organization).

The bad news, Salcedo has committed over 30 errors playing shortstop and thirdbase so far this year.

The good news, he's batting .260 with 73 runs scored. He has 114 hits of which 25 are doubles, 6 are triples, and 12 are homers. He's fanned 93 times but has walked 39 times. OBP = .329, SLG = .424, OPS = .753.

The Rome Braves announced that infielder Edward Salcedo has been named as the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for June 27th - July 3rd. During that span, Salcedo hit .407 in seven games with five doubles, two home runs, six RBI, and nine runs scored.

South Atlantic League

Edward Salcedo, Rome

.407/.467/.889, 7 G, 11-for-27, 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB, 2 K, SB

There aren't many ways to kick off a week that are more impressive than what Edward Salcedo did Monday. The Braves prospect homered twice and doubled twice during a 5-for-5, five-runs-scored master class in hitting. He singled, stole a base and came around to score in his next game, and he doubled in each of his next three tilts. On Saturday, he finally got the triple he needed to complete Monday's cycle, and he knocked in two runs and scored twice that day.

Gotta get that glovework down Edward! {:>)--

MLB Nixes Nationals' Plan to Wear Military Tribute Hats During Game to Honor Navy SEALs

Published August 19, 2011 | FoxNews.com

Paying tribute to the nation's heroes would seem to be a perfect fit for the nation's pastime. Not so fast, says Major League Baseball.

The Washington Nationals had planned to honor the Navy SEALs who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan by wearing special tribute hats on the field, but that plan didn't pass muster with league officials.

“We reserve hats for national tributes, where every club is wearing them on the same day,” league spokesman Pat Courtney told the Washington Post. “But we’re happy to work with clubs on alternatives.”

The league is more open to teams paying tribute through uniform patches, the Post reported, or by special attire during batting practice rather than games.

Indeed, the Nationals took batting practice Tuesday afternoon wearing ball caps of the different military branches, and Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families were also treated to a pregame dinner, MyFoxDC.com reported.

Nats pitchers Ryan Mattheus and Ross Detwiler spent time with the military families.

"Sometimes being back here, you kind of forget that you're in a war," Detwiler told MyFoxDC.com. "You kind of go back to your day-to-day life and then you see something like (the helicopter shot down). It's a terrible reminder that there are people losing their lives for our freedom."

More than 6,000 U.S. servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The helicopter crash on Aug. 6 was the single-deadliest incident for the U.S. military in the ten-year war in Afghanistan.

Yankees Claim Laffey, Designate Gustavo Molina
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [August 19, 2011 at 2:35pm CST]

The Yankees claimed left-hander Aaron Laffey off of waivers from the Mariners and designated catcher Gustavo Molina for assignment, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). It's the second time this week that the Yankees have claimed a left-hander; they picked up Raul Valdes on Tuesday.

The Mariners designated Laffey for assignment to create roster space for Chance Ruffin earlier in the week. Laffey appeared in 36 games for Seattle this year, posting a 4.01 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings of work. The Mariners acquired the 26-year-old from Cleveland this March for cash and Double-A infielder Matt Lawson.

To create room for Laffey on their full 40-man roster, the Yankees designated Molina, who wasn't with the Major League team. The 29-year-old has spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he has a .239/.273/.310 line in 152 plate appearances. He also appeared in three Yankees games this year and has previous experience with four other MLB teams.

Are the Yankees desparate for LH pitching? Laffey started the season with a good ERA but terrilbe WHIP and recently has been awful by any measure:

Apil-May-June 22 2/3 33 hits 11 walks 17 K era 2.60 3 homers allowed
July-August 10 0/3 22 hits 5 walks 7 K era 10.80 4 homeruns

Yankees Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment
By Tim Dierkes [August 22 at 2:21pm CST]
The Yankees designated lefty Aaron Laffey for assignment, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. They'd claimed him off waivers from the Mariners on Friday. Carig notes that Laffey was placed on optional waivers, meaning he remains on the 40-man roster and can be pulled back if claimed.

Laffey, 26, posted a 4.14 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9, and 50.9% groundball rate in 45 2/3 innings for the Mariners and Yankees this year.

did he pitch in a game for the Yankees? I was awfully surprised they picked up him as his recent work for the Mariners had been really lousy

Once for NY 3 innings, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 hits, maintaiing his recent WHIP of over 2, but at least he avoided home runs.

Could be the Yankmes just doing some preventative claiming (see: Jeff Manto).

Kouzmanoff gets start in first day with Rockies

By Nick Kosmider / MLB.com

DENVER --

Kevin Kouzmanoff is happy to be home.

The veteran infielder, acquired by the Rockies on Tuesday, was activated by Colorado on Wednesday and started at third base.

To make room on the 25-man roster, the Rockies optioned infielder Chris Nelson to Triple-A Colorado Springs. The team also designated Minor League infielder Ryan Rohlinger for assignment.

"It's a good place to be," said Kouzmanoff, a native of nearby Evergreen, Colo. "Obviously, it's back home. It's a beautiful stadium, and I love Denver. This is a good spot for me."

Kouzmanoff, 30, is a career .255 hitter with 82 home runs and 345 RBIs over six seasons. He spent much of his career playing in pitcher-friendly parks in San Diego (2007-09) and Oakland (2010-11), so he is excited about the prospect of playing at a hitter's haven in Coors Field.

"The last two parks I was in, you hit those balls in the gaps and they get hung up, they get caught," Kouzmanoff said. "A park like this, those gappers are falling."

Kouzmanoff struggled in Oakland this season, hitting .221 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 46 games. As a result, he was sent to Triple-A Sacramento on June 10. He hit .302 with 13 homers and 58 RBIs over 61 games at Sacramento.

"I went down to Triple-A for two months and I was just playing hard, getting my work in," he said. "There was really nothing I could do about. All I could do was go down and work hard and get my reps in."

Rockies manager Jim Tracy said Kouzmanoff will get a run of starts at third base as the team continues to evaluate its options at the position heading into the 2012 season.

"We've got to give him some looks," Tracy said. "When your boss [general manager Dan O'Dowd] goes out and gets a player like this, he wants to be able to take a look at it, obviously, and get a feel and handle as to exactly what it is that we've acquired. He comes in here with a resume."

Denver Lou!

That last article was for you.

LOL!

I'm wondering how much Kouzmanoff and Young would have improved our balance from the right side of the plate ?!?!?