Manny Acta goes all medieval, er, managerial, on David Huff.
View full sizeMatt LaPorta went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the Tribe's 5-4 loss to the Twins on Sunday.Cleveland, Ohio -- Matt LaPorta went three for four with a couple of RBI in the Tribe's 5-4 loss to the Twins on Sunday. Not bad for a guy who on June 7 was given an opportunity to become intimately acquainted with the scenery along Interstate 71, between Cleveland and Columbus.
And it's just a piece of the entire picture, as noted by the website WaitingForNextYear.com:
Sent down to Columbus on June 7th of this year when the team activated Andy Marte, the move seemed to make sense on paper. LaPorta was only batting .218 at the time, he seemed uncomfortable at the plate, and was relatively slow to recover from a few nagging injuries which plagued him through the offseason. The former Florida Gator apparently took offense to the demotion and proceeded to take it out on Triple-A pitching, amassing an OPS of 1.094 with five home runs and four doubles in 18 games.
LaPorta was called up to the bigs just 20 days after his trip to Columbus and has not skipped a beat. In 38 games through June, July and August, LaPorta has eight doubles, six home runs, 20 RBI and an OPS of .926. While extrapolating could be a dangerous game, had LaPortabeen able to persistently pace that OPS mark through the first two months of the season, it would be good enough for fifth among AL first baseman – ahead of sluggers like Mark Teixeira and Carlos Pena.
Shhhh. You KNOW what will happen if the Indians brain trust finds out someone is doing well.
Huff 'n' stuff
Indians skipper Manny Acta seems to be pretty much a players' manager. But he's the best kind of players' manager: one who won't coddle someone. When you stink, you know you stink because he apparently will tell you.
Just as he told pitcher David Huff after the lefty blew a 4-0 lead. Here's how Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram told it:
"I don't know (what happened)," said Huff, who allowed six of the first seven hitters he faced in the fifth to reach base. "That fifth inning, I just didn't have it. I don't know what the deal was."I wasn't efficient. I wasn't attacking hitters. I was trying to nibble. It was like two different pitchers pitching out there today."
"Unfortunately, David had no command of his fastball and pitched behind in the count all day," Acta said. "You can't get away with that on this level."
Though Huff disagreed with Acta's assessment that he pitched behind all day, a lack of command could be one of the issues plaguing him. Huff began the season with a 1-1 record after working a complete game for his first win of the year April 15. Since then, he has gone 1-10 with a 7.24 ERA and has already pitched himself out of the majors once.
"I still don't see the fastball command," Acta said. "That's the key for him. Whatever the reason is, it hasn't been good."
Did we mention that Acta is also the master of understatement?
Road trip
Mitch Talbot is making a rehab start in Mahoning Valley tonight, and if all goes well with his strained back, he could be back with the big club soon, according to Sheldon Ocker of the Beacon-Journal.
That, coupled with Huff's recent struggles, could be bad news for the kid.
If Mitch Talbot (strained back) suffers no ill effects from his three-inning rehab start at Mahoning Valley tonight, he will probably be activated from the disabled list and pitch this weekend against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field, Indians manager Manny Acta said.
"If he's fine the next day, he can take his turn in the rotation," Acta said.
Talbot's return would necessitate a move to make room for him on the roster. The likely candidates for demotion to Triple-A are David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez.
Huff's experience would seem to dictate he would dodge the bullet. Tribe officials have said they called up Gomez prematurely out of necessity, but he has pitched well in three starts.
So a 2-11 record and a 6.21 ERA (Huff's numbers) trumps a 2-0 record and 1.56 ERA (Gomez's)? Hmmm, we're beginning to see the flaw in Indians' thinking.
Writer Dennis Manoloff filled in for beat writer Paul Hoynes to cover that 5-4 loss got much the same scoop on Huff in his game story.
But Dman also got the scoop on what lies in the Tribe's immediate future. And the good news is that what lies in the future is Baltimore, at 37-74 with the worst record in baseball.
The Orioles come to Cleveland for three-game stretch that starts at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow at Progressive Field.