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Sunday, May 13, 2007

I Think I’m A Believer

Injuries/News:

Mitch Hilligoss played today, so apparently he wasn’t hurt.

AAA:

Tyler Clippard had far from his best stuff yesterday, but was able to battle and get pitches over when it mattered in order to post a line of 5.1-8-2-2-2-3-0 (IP-H-R-ER-BB-K-HR). Some type of correction is going to be occurring with Clippard very soon. He’s allowed 56 baserunners in 38.2 innings, which means he really should not have an ERA of 2.79. At the same time, he’s struck out 38 men in those 38.2 innings and has been very unlucky as far as BABIP. Being a faithful Clippard fan I’m going to hope that he just pitches a couple no-hitters and then the stats will line up.

Eric Duncan was 0 for 4. Again, it’s nice that Duncan isn’t striking out, but hits really need to start dropping in.

AA:

Alan Horne might have made a believer out of me yesterday. Horne went 6-4-1-0-2-8-0 to lower his ERA to 2.66. In 40.2 innings he has a 50:9 K:BB ratio. His numbers are off the charts excellent. His approach was excellent as well. Throwing breaking balls in fastball counts and throwing fastballs by hitters who knew the fastball was coming. Another start or two like this and Horne is going to be in AAA. I really missed the boat on him this past offseason.

A+:

Joba Chamberlain had the worst control of his brief amateur career with a line of 5-0-0-0-4-6-0. It’s early, but Joba is looking good.

Thanks to a completion of yesterday’s game a lot of ABs were had. Jose Tabata reached .300 by going 3 for 9 with 2 singles, a double, a walk, and a strikeout. My official stance on the Tabata weight issue is that I’m not going to believe he’s suddenly 225 pounds and grossly overweight. Tabata is a big guy, no doubt, but he’s built solidly and I’m trusting that had this changed dramatically, Pinstripes Plus would have broken the story. Reegie Corona was 3 for 11 with 2 singles, a triple, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Colin Curtis was 0 for 7 with 2 walks and is now 1 for his last 15. Francisco Cervelli was 0 for 2 with 2 walks to end his hit streak, but his BB:K ratio edged ever closer to 1. Seeing him play at SI last year and looking at his stat line, his control of the strike zone was my concern about his performance, and thus far he has made me look silly for doubting that.

A-:

Charleston played on the road at Asheville and as should be expected in that environment, lots of runs were put up. Mitch Hilligoss was 3 for 5 with 2 singles and a double to up his average to .302. Despite the .302 average, Hilly’s OPS is only .745. He really needs to show more in terms of secondary skills, especially given his age. Anyway, his hit streak is now 19 games. Austin Jackson was 1 for 4 with a double, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Jackson seemingly isn’t as locked in as he was earlier in the week as he is beginning to strike out again. Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 2 and Wilmer Pino was 1 for 4 with a single and a strikeout. Pino now has an 8-game hit streak going. During the stretch he is 9 for 32 with 2 doubles, a home run, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. I’m not typically a fan of hackers, but would love it if Pino could get it going.

Spotlight On:

Steven Jackson going for Scranton and feeling the pressure of Brett Smith and Alan Horne’s starts to the season.