Cleveland Sports Forum

I'm just seeing the A's replays of tonight's game.

Jim Thome was on base and scored when Carlos Santana launched his shot. LOL, Thome greeted Santana at the plate towering over him.

Thome put a congratulatory grab on the top of Santana's batting helmet and it looked like he was palming a small cantaloupe.

Detroit wins in 10. We gain no ground tonight.

Armchair quarterbacking......I'd like to know why Soria didn't get the call in the 8th with two out. Peralta lead off the inning with a basehit. Rayburn tried to sacrifice, but Peralta was out at second and Rayburn was safe at first. Betemit pinch hit for Inge and struckout. If I'm managing, I make the call for Soria. Austin Jackson singled. Rayburn to third. Where is Soria? Ordonez up and singles home the tying run. Unless Soria was injured, that was some poor management of the bullpen. And costly for the Indians and the White Sox.

Today, after six years in the minors, Wagner is in the big leagues, called up by Oakland to be a middle-innings reliever. For Wagner, the best part of a great day is that it comes at Cleveland - he was drafted by the Indians and spent four-plus years in the organization.

"I was with one of the Indians lower affiliates a few years ago right near here and we'd always drive by this ballpark," Wagner said. "So close, and so far away. ... So of all the places to be today!"
Wagner played with many of the current Indians, and he once lived with tonight's starter, Jeanmar Gomez.

A's manager Bob Melvin said that he's heard about Wagner's plus fastball, and he'll probably try to work him in in a low-pressure situation (though that seldom seems possible given all the close games Oakland plays) and he'll use him as the right-handed long reliever, with Josh Outman the left-handed long man.

According to "Baseball Reference", Wagner did not pitch badly. In 2009, Wagner was our top 46 prospect.

Here's what Prospect Insider had to say about Wagner--

Strengths & Opportunities:

Outside of Adam Miller, Wagner arguably has the most explosive fastball in the system that sits at 93-95 MPH and touches 98 MPH. He shows good control (career 2.6 BB/9 rate) and the ability to put hitters away with his dominating fastball (career 10.9 K/9). Wagner closed in college, so he has the experience handling late inning pressure situations and is mentally tough. His late season progress was a byproduct of him sticking to his plan as well as some tinkering with his delivery where he lowered his arm slot a little bit and started throwing exclusively from the stretch which improved his velocity and allowed him to be more consistent with his release point.

While Wagner controls his fastball well and can blow it by hitters, the key to him becoming a bona fide relief prospect will be the development of at least one secondary pitch which he has struggled with at times. He throws a slider and changeup, and is working on throwing them both for strikes to better set up his fastball and keep hitters off balance. The results with the slider have been mixed to date, but the changeup showed some consistent improvement over the course of last season and by the end of the season it was a reliable pitch for him where he was throwing it for strikes and able to use it in any count. It is more of a split-changeup because it has the drop of a splitter although is not a true splitter.

Outlook:

If Wagner were a few years younger, he might rank a little higher on this list; however, now that he is 25 years old he is close to his ceiling as a pitcher. He just needs an opportunity to prove himself at Double-A and Triple-A, and will get that chance this year as he will open the season in the bullpen at Double-A Akron

Anyway! Nice story!

joez wrote:Thanks VT'r. Well! For someone sold for cash considerations, Wagner looked very good. Anyone with that kind of giddy-up on the fastball deserves a longer look. I'll have to check out his stats while he was with us.

Wagner reminds me of the inimitable Jeff Juden.

Good to hear from VT'r. Vermont took quite a beating from Irene.

seagull wrote:Good to hear from VT'r. Vermont took quite a beating from Irene.

I think and hope VT'r did OK in his neck of the woods. He's relatively far north and west in Vermont as I recall.

I thought he was in Middlebury.

Yes, other parts of the state really got smashed hard, as you've probably heard. Others of us were more fortunate, suffering little worse than short power outages and lots of tree limbs down. Indeed I was out of town on Sunday when it hit so I've had nothing but sunshine for over a week.

Of course, I was still affected ... my flights home on Sunday got scratched, came home Monday instead.

Ubaldo hoping new home remains friendly vs. A's

By Cash Kruth / MLB.com | 8/30/2011 10:21 PM ET

Jimenez has allowed only 12 hits, has struck out 16 and holds an 0.60 ERA in two home starts with Cleveland, compared to 25 hits and an 11.77 ERA in three road starts. While the road woes might be a bit of a concern in the future, they won't matter Wednesday as the Indians and A's continue a four-game series at Progressive Field.

A big issue for Jimenez has his been confidence -- or lack thereof -- in his fastball. In his first home start with the Indians on Aug. 10, against the American League Central-leading Tigers, the right-hander showed plenty of confidence in his go-to pitch, allowing just three unearned runs in eight innings.

"I had really good command of my fastball," Jimenez said. "Then, after that, I was able to throw my breaking ball for strikes."

It's that confidence Jimenez is hoping to have in his sixth start for Cleveland on Wednesday.

Taking the mound for the A's -- losers of four straight and five of their last six -- is right-hander Rich Harden. Harden struggled in his last outing, giving up six runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Yankees.

Harden has alternated between great and poor outings in five starts this month. He sandwiched seven innings of one-run ball between two four-run outings to begin August, then threw seven shutout innings before his rough start against New York.

A's: Woes continue

• With only one more game remaining this month and a 11-16 mark in August, the A's are assured of their the seventh consecutive losing month. The last time the A's posted a winning month was last July, when they went 14-10.

• Scott Sizemore has 11 doubles this month, one short of the Oakland record for doubles in August. Jason Giambi had 12 in 1999.

Indians: Good pick-up

• Outfielder Kosuke Fukudome has proven to be a solid acquisition for the Indians, batting .283 with 12 runs, 10 doubles and 12 RBIs in 30 games since coming over from the Cubs on July 27. He's been especially hot as of late, hitting .379 with five doubles and five RBIs in his last eight games.

• Jack Hannahan has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, batting .429 in that span.

Worth noting

• A's closer Andrew Bailey has converted each of his last 10 save opportunities and is a perfect 33-for-33 after the All-Star break in his career.

• Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano has not allowed a run in his last 12 games, spanning 12 1/3 innings.

• Wednesday will be Harden's first start against an American League Central team this season.

Rich Harden, RHP 4-2, 4.55 ERA

Harden was handed a six-run lead in the Bronx, but he allowed six runs on 10 hits in Thursday's no-decision vs. the Yankees, fanning six over 4 1/3 innings. It followed his best start of the season -- seven scoreless innings in a win over Toronto.

Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP 2-1, 5.79 ERA

Jimenez will make his third start at Progressive Field for the Indians. In two home outings, he's 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA. In three road starts, however, the right-hander has allowed 17 earned runs in 13 innings.

KC and DET tied at 2 apiece in the 5th.

Game just getting underway between the Sox and Twins.

Royals take a 3-2 lead in the sixth.

Twins layed a 4 spot on the Sox in the first still up.