Clip Joint Second String

Cord Phelps

A wise friend of mine is fond of the phrase "regression to the mean."  Generally it means that if a guy is a bum, then even if he plays well for a bit, he will always return to playing like a bum.  Go ahead and substitute "in over his head" or "being asked too much of" for bum if it helps.  As if to prove the validity of this statement, the dregs of the Clippers pitching staff took to the hill this evening.

I would not classify Corey Kluber as a bum, but anyone toting a 8.04 ERA is likely pitching a level too high.  Kluber, still in search of his first win of 2011, went out and threw four excellent innings, allowing a run on five hits.  Then he regressed to the mean.  He recorded three more outs before being pulled and allowed five more runs.  He was relieved by Eric Berger, clinging to a 7-6 lead.

If that was all the regression, I would not have led with it, now would I?  Berger (5.06 ERA) is a gamer, but he'll never be a big leaguer and AAA is probably even a stretch.  Still, Berger had thrown effectively in a handful full of games for Columbus this season.  Tonight he did not.  Berger got out of the sixth then proceeded to put the first two men on in the seventh before Carlton Smith was called upon.

Carlton Smith is a bit of retread, a unknown never-will-be.  Smith (2.35) had, however, been unscored upon in his first 14.2 innings of 2011.  Not anymore.  In true regression, Smith allowed four hits and a walk before the inning ended.  Although Berger was officially tagged with the loss, it was certainly Smith that allowed the game to get out of hand.

The offense did its part as Cord Phelps, Ezequiel Carrera and Travis Buck all launched solo dingers and Lonnie Chisenhall added a 3-run double.  Phelps, playing amongst rumors that the big club is watching him closely to replace Adam Everett as the utility infielder, singled as well and is clipping along at .311.  Buck, a simple casualty of the numbers crunch, has done nothing since his demotion but crank .340 with 18 RBI.  How much longer can Austin Kearns warrant a roster spot?  Were the Indians a losing club this season, Carrera (.324) would be licking his chops and awaiting a promotion following the inevitable trade of Grady Sizemore.  Chisenhall (.291) might already be on the lake.  As it stands, neither is likely to appear at the Jake until September at the earliest.

Also of note, Jason Donald left in the top of the 6th inning after injuring his left knee.  This is the third separate debilitation (hand, quad) that has afflicted Donald this year, not to mention the excellent play of Jack Hannahan.  The string of bad breaks ;-j for JD is an outstanding illustration of how not only talent, but timing and luck, are necessary to get a big league job.


Wednesday would be Jeanmar Gomez's normal day to start, thus I would assume him to be taking the pill tomorrow for the Clips in another 6:35p first pitch.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Speaking of bad breaks, Jared Goedert has been assigned to Akron on a 20-day rehabilitation assignment.  Goedert entered spring training as a viable candidate for the third base job before straining his oblique during the first week of camp.  The conclusion of the rehab aligns exactly with the end of the 60-day disabled list period, so one would expect Goedert to be activated at that point.  The problem is that Jared was rostered to the 40-man last fall and, when he is activated, someone, possibly Goedert himself, will have to be DFA'ed.  It's still 3 weeks off, so we shall see.  He was 0-for-4 with a walk, a strikeout and an RBI in his first game back.

LeVon Washington continued an odd trend in his fourth game for Lake County.  Washington has produced a hit in all four, but only one hit.  In fact, he has been 1-for-4 in each.  Tonight, his hit was a double, his first of the season.

The next step for St Edward's graduate and Pirates 2010 second round pick Stetson Allie has been decided.   Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington explained why Allie will be headed to the short season A State College Spikes next month to make his professional debut instead of joining others at low-A West Virginia.

"It's unfortunate that Jameson [Taillon] and Stetson have been so closely linked.  As excited as we are about both of them, they're very different. Jameson has pitched his whole life and is very advanced for a 19-year-old on the mound because of all the inning he has thrown.  In Stetson's case, he has come on late. He has a great arm but hasn't pitched his whole life. He has actually more of prospect as a position player going into his junior year then really burst onto the scene in his senior year of high school as a pitcher in terms of maturity on the mound and delivery and feel for pitching, so there will be some separation there."

Cheers.