Vinnie Pestano coming to the ‘pen?
Beat writer Anthony Castrovince threw in interesting name in to the bullpen mix post-September 1: Vinnie Pestano.
While his may not be a household name, the Columbus closer has quietly put up very good numbers this season. Between Akron and Columbus Pestano’s ERA is 1.91, at Columbus alone it is a measly 1.66.
With the Clippers he has thrown 43.1 innings over 40 appearances giving up 35 hits and 10 runs (eight earned) through that span. At the pace he is on he has only allowed 0.2 walks per nine innings; combine that with the 4.46 strikeouts for each walk he has notched, and there’s no surprise he is under consideration.
Pestano has 12 saves on the season, the last eight coming consecutively. Though Chris Perez has the closers job on lock down in Cleveland, the .213 batting average against make Pestano a name to watch for.
Rondon out for 2011 after Tommy John surgery
The Indians of 2011 were dealt a blow before they were even able to take the field. Columbus Clippers pitcher Hector Rondon underwent Tommy John surgery today, effectively ending his seasons this year and next.
Rondon was expected to make the rotation at some point this year, but struggled through seven starts in AAA. In those appearances he went 1-3, 8.53 ERA, giving up 30 runs in 31.2 innings. In mid-May Rondon had to be shut down with elbow pain, and he was never able to regain his form.
Without Rondon the Indians still have many options for the rotation: David Huff, Carlos Carrasco, Jeanmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin. After losing this year of development, however, Rondon may not be a viable option until the 2013 season.
Hopefully Tommy John surgery will not affect Rondon negatively. About 10 to 15 percent of these surgeries are unsuccessful, but Rondon went to Dr. James Andrews, widely considered to be the best at this sort of thing. So the best case scenario is that he comes back stronger, but there is always the Billy Koch/Jon Lieber scenario, where Rondon isn’t a shade of his former self. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.
Manny to the South Side?
While Manny Ramirez doesn’t stand out as one of the biggest fan favorite Indians of the ’90s, his pending acquisition by the White Sox would make him the fourth Indian great to join the bad guys.
First we saw Kenny Lofton make a brief foray into the heart of darkness that is Comiskey Park. His 2002 stint was certainly not one of the most memorable stops in his career, but the image of him in black and white pinstripes is haunting.
Jim Thome was the next of the active Tribe legends to wander over Chicago way. His years with the Sox truly revitalized his career, and even though he is with the Twins now, it feels good to see him beating the Sox again.
The only legend currently donning those awful uniforms is Omar Vizquel, one of the all-time great gentleman of the game, as well as a great Indian. While the team certainly had to move on from his era in Cleveland, not a day goes by I wish he wasn’t with the team still.
Now Manny seems to be bound for Chicago to join Ozzie’s band of misfits and challenge the Twins for Central supremacy. It won’t sting to see him in left for the Sox like it does when Omar mans the infield, but I can’t help but wonder how long it will be until CC or Cliff Lee is throwing on the South Side (probably a good ten years at this rate).
Passing the buck: Antonetti now the blame man
MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince reported Tuesday that current assistant general manager Chris Antonneti has begun to get a head start on the duties he will assume from Mark Shapiro on Nov. 1.
While the trade deadline decisions for the 2010 season rest upon the shoulders of Shapiro, these Sept. callups and any roster move that precedes next Wednesday are now squarely on the shoulders of Antonetti.
Which means, in wonderful Tribe fan fashion, we now have a new man to blame.
Jared Goedert’s stay in AAA – that’s Antonetti. Carlos Carrasco not being called up before September – Antonetti.
You get the point.
I’m still optimistic for the future of the organization, but I feel that Antonetti has to prove his worth soon, even without a big budget this winter.
No moves for third coming in Cleveland
Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes dropped this bomb on us today: The Indians aren’t moving Jared Goedert or Lonnie Chisenhall prior to the end of the season.
Which means no September call-ups for either, leaving the wünder-platoon of Andy Marte, Jayson Nix and Luis Valbuena to man the hot corner.
While you digest that delightful nugget, consider that between the three of them they are batting .193 so far this season. While ‘giving up on this season,’ is no longer an option for the club, ‘winning a few for the fans’ seems to have gone out the window as well.
There’s hope that Valbuena or Nix can come around, given their youth, but Valbuena has had the worst season of all and Nix doesn’t project to ever be much more than a utility man.
I think that this is a terrible decision by the organization. I understand they don’t want to rush anyone, but Goedert truly deserves a shot before Spring Training ’10. Chisenhall is still probably a year away, but if he’s anything like Carlos Santana, he could put up some numbers right away.
I guess the fans are going to have to wait for next season now. Not only for wins, but also to see the future of the team. This is really giving me the blues.
