Columbus couldn't continue their winning ways yesterday, as a bullpen implosion doomed a solid start. Akron hung on to win another close one despite a late scare. Kinston didn't waste their own outstanding starting pitching, and got a career offensive day from an unlikely contributor.  Lake County ended up splitting their doubleheader after getting shutout in game one of the twinbill. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's game.

Roberto Perez, C-KIN: 4-4, RBI, R

Perez hasn’t had many days at the dish like this his entire career. An elite defensive catcher, Perez hasn’t been much of a hitter, posting a career line of .239/.373/.351. He has good plate discipline and above-average raw power, but has had some problems putting the bat on the ball. All that was forgotten yesterday, as his four hits brought his season line up to .210/.373/.270. Perez is an exceptional catch and throw guy who consistently gets the ball to 2^nd base in less than 1.90 seconds, which is outstanding. The bat will probably never get to the point where he’s more than a backup in the majors, but his defense could give him a long, well-paying career in The Show someday. It’s no secret that Perez is one of my favorite players in the org, and seeing him with a day like this really gets me excited.

• Scott Barnes, SP-COL: 5 IP, ER, 4 H, 9 K, BB. Dominant start for Barnes, who allowed a solo HR but little else. His last 2 starts combined: 10 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 16 K, 4 BB
• Justin Germano, RP-COL: 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB. Germano hasn’t taken well to his demotion, and is pitching worse for the Clippers right now than he did for the Indians.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: L (1-1), 2/3 IP, 2 ER, H, BB, K. Hagadone walked a batter and gave up a HR to take the loss yesterday.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 2-5, K. Phelps now has a 14-game hitting streak and is hitting .330/.379/.585 in the month of May.
• Jason Kipnis, DH-COL: 2-4, 2 1B. Kip has been hot of late, posting a .359/.409/.590 line in his last 10 games.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-COL: 1-3, HR (1), RBI, BB, R. Goedert with his 1^st and only hit so far with Columbus. He’s 1-12 since rejoining the Clippers.
• Austin Adams, SP-AKR: 5 IP, R (0 ER), 5 H, 5 K, 5 BB. Adams has pitched well this year, but has now walked 7 in his last 6 1/3 IP. His overall numbers are extremely similar to fellow rotation member Kelvin De La Cruz.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (13), IP, H, K, 2 BB. Burns made things interesting, loading the bases with 1 out and a 1-run lead before coming up with a strikeout and a flyout to nail down his 13^th save of the season.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, R, 2 SB, CS. Fedroff now has a 2-game hitting streak going. For the month of May, he’s at .423/.477/.546.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K. In addition to the RBI double, Chen allowed two passed balls. The defense is holding him back, but the bat isn’t quite what I had expected prior to the season either. He’s at .280/.324/.457 on the year with 6 HR and 25 RBI.
• Clayton Cook, SP-KIN: W (5-3), 6 IP, ER, H, 5 K, 4 BB. Cook has given up just 4 hits in his last 2 starts (12 IP), but has walked 8.
• Kyle Landis, RP-KIN: S (1), 3 IP, 4 K. Outstanding outing out of the bullpen for Landis, as he allowed just one baserunner in his 3 IP.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 2-5, 2 R, K. The spark at the top of the Kinston lineup, Holt has been struggling lately and his average is down to .268 after being up over .300 earlier this month.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K. Abraham has really found his power stroke of late, pounding out 4 2B and 2 HR in his last 6 games.
• Clayton Ehlert, RP-LCC: S (10), IP, H. Ehlert now has a 2.53 ERA and 19 K against just 2 BB in 21 1/3 IP for the Captains.
• Jesus Aguilar, DH-LCC: 2-6, RBI, R, K. Aguilar’s homerless drought continues, as he’s managed just one longball in May after blasting 6 in April.
• Anthony Gallas, RF-LCC: 2-5, 2B, RBI, BB, R. Gallas smoked his 22^nd double on the year, and has a season line of .355/.423/.574. He’s a little old for low-A at 23, so I’d really like to see him moved up to the more challenging environment of Kinston to see if he can keep this up.
• Dwight Childs, 1B-LCC: 1-1, 2B, RBI, BB. Childs hasn’t had a ton of playing time, but has managed to keep himself sharp despite the inconsistent AB’s. He’s hitting .389 (7-18) with 3 2B and 5 RBI for Lake County, and can play both catcher and 1B defensively.  

The Clippers went to extra innings again yesterday, this time in winning fashion when Cord Phelps drove in his third run of the day. Akron won a 2-1 squeaker after a strong starting pitching performance, and a 2010 draft pick was dominant for Lake County.

Kyle Blair, SP-LCC: W (3-3), 6 IP, 5 H, 9 K, 2 BB

Now THAT”S more like it. Blair turned in the best performance of his professional career for the Captains yesterday, tying his career high in IP and recording a personal best in strikeouts. It came not a moment too soon, as Blair was coming off of two disastrous starts in which he allowed a combined 15 ER in just 6 2/3 IP. Blair was a 4^th round choice out of the University of San Diego last year, and was seen as a polished pitcher who had a chance to move very quickly through the system. After going 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA in April, Blair had struggled in May up until last night. Still, when Drew Pomeranz moves up to Akron, Blair is a leading candidate to take his place in the Kinston rotation.

• David Huff, SP-COL: 4 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, BB. Huff’s 1^st start since May 13, and he’s back to not striking out batters.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: 2 IP, H, K, BB. Putnam with 8 scoreless innings in a row, and his ERA for the season is down to 2.76.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: S (7), IP, BB, K. Judy hasn’t given up a run since May 11, and has 5 scoreless outings in a row (6 IP), not including a scoreless inning for the Indians mixed in that timeframe.
• Cord Phelps, SS-COL: 3-6, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, R. Phelps’ May line: .327/.378/.594 with 5 HR and 28 RBI. And yet, I continue to watch Orlando Cabrera trot out to 2^nd base at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 0-2, 4 BB, R, K. Despite not recording a hit, Chiz reached base four times and scored a run.
• Joe Gardner, SP-AKR: 8 IP, ER, 6 H, 6 K, BB. Gardner with his best start of the year, setting a season high in both IP and K and matching his season low with 1 ER allowed. It’s a shame he didn’t pitch well enough to win.
• Adam Miller, RP-AKR: W (1-0), IP. One inning, a ground out, two flyouts and Miller records his 1^st Eastern League win since 2006.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 3-4, 3 1B. One night after seeing his hitting streak come to an end, Fedroff starts a new one with three base hits.
• Beau Mills, DH-AKR: 2-4, 2 1B. Mills is hitting .256/.313/.372 in 13 games since arriving in Akron from extended spring training.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 1-2, RBI, K. Chen didn’t start, but entered the game as a pinch hitter and ended up with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9^th.
• Clayton Ehlert, RP-LCC: S (9), IP, ER, H, K, BB. Ehlert locked down save #9 on the season despite giving up a solo HR in the 9^th.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 1-3, BB, 2 R, SB. Washington with hits in back to back games, and his 2^nd SB on the season.
• Alex Monsalve, C-LCC: 2-4, RBI, SB. Monsalve is hitting .277/.318/.359 on the season, with 2 HR and 19 RBI.
• Anthony Gallas, LF-LCC: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K. Gallas with double #21 on the year, and he’s hitting .371/.463/.571 over his last 10 games.

It was an extra-innings kinda night in the upper levels of the system yesterday. Columbus dropped a 2-1 decision in 13, while the Aeros fell 3-2 in 10 innings. Kinston won despite only four hits, and the Captains split a doubleheader.

Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: 2 IP, 4 K, BB.

Hagadone has now made 4 appearances with AAA Columbus. He's thrown 6 1/3 innings, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits, walking one and striking out 8. In short, he's been pretty much as dominant for Columbus as he was for Akron. The majority of the batters he has faced in AAA have been righties; he's logged 5 IP against righthanded batters and just 1 1/3 innings against lefites. So it's not like Hagadone is just going to be a lefty specalist out of the bullpen. He's a guy that can get hitters out on both sides of the plate, and could really be an impact arm that the Indians add to the active roster down the stretch. I really think he'll slot right in to the back end of the bullpen once he gets called up, likely sometime after the all star break.

• Jenmar Gomez, SP-COL: 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 6 K, 3 BB. Solid start for Gomez, who was stuck with a no-decision. Has now given up just 3 ER in his last 15 IP.
• Jensen Lewis, RP-COL: 2 IP, H, 3 K. Jensen's 2nd scoreless outing in a row brings his season ERA down to 4.03
• Jerad Head, RF-COL: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB. Head is now up to .343/.404/.547 on the season, far and away the best numbers he has put up in his minor league career.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 1-5, 2B, BB, 2 K. Hitting .303/.373/.485 in the month of May. His bat would be an upgrade over Hanahan, but would the downgrade in the glove be worth it?
• Jared Goedert, DH-COL: 0-5, 2 K. Goedert's 2011 AAA debut wasn't pretty.
• Kelvin De La Cruz, SP-AKR: 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 4 BB. De La Cruz has to cut down on the walks so he can go deeper into games. He has 60 K in 46 1/3 IP on the season, but also 32 BB.
• C.C. Lee, RP-AKR: 1 1/3 IP, 3 K. Lee struck out 3 of the 4 hitters he faced last night, and is having another outstanding season for Akron. In 15 1/3 innings this month, he has a 2.35 ERA and 26 K while walking just one hitter.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 0-4, K. The streak is finally over. Still, Fedroff is leading the Eastern League in hitting at .366.
• Kyle Bellows, 3B-AKR: 1-3, 2B, BB, R, K. The Aeros could only muster 6 hits yesterday, and Bellows had the only XBH.
• Tyler Sturdevant, RP-KIN: W (3-2), 4 IP, 4 K. Sturdevant turned in 4 perfect innings out of the bullpen for the win. He's been one of Kinston's more consisntent relievers this season, posting a 1.53 ERA and striking out 30 in 29 1/3 IP.
• Preston Guilmet, RP-KIN: S (11), IP, H, K. Guilmet back to his old self after allowing a couple of HR in his last outing.
• Bo Greenwell, LF-KIN: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R. Greewell collected 2 of the K-Tribe's 4 hits yesterday, and is now 6-16 in his last 4 games.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 1-4, HR (6), 2 RBI, R, 2 K. Abraham with his 2nd HR in 3 games, now slugging  a team-high .420 on the season.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 2-6, 2B, R, BB. Washington snapped out of an 0-19 funk with a couple of knocks yesterday. He's hitting just .182 overall.
• Jesus Aguilar, 1B-LCC: 3-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K. BBJA is putting up solid power numbers, but is hitting just .232 on the season.
• Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 3-7, HR (4), 2B, 2 RBI, R.  Lavisky has a dissapointing .205/.255/.356 line on the season, but has been better lately. In his last 10 games, he has a .257/.278/.429 line. He needs to work on his pitch recognition/selection, as he's struck out 45 times on the season against just 8 walks.

The Cleveland Indians activated Grady Sizemore from the 15 day disabled list on Friday. After retroactively placing him there early last week, Sizemore was eligible to come off just in time for the Tribe's road trip to Tampa Bay. The Indians optioned weekend hero Ezequiel Carrera to Columbus to make room.

Sizemore tested himself running the bases on Wednesday and Manny Acta seemed to lean towards Sizemore being ready for action "at some point" during the weekend. Some point will in fact be Friday. The club will be easing him into action, as he is the Designated Hitter in Friday's lineup.

What's newsworthy here is the fact that Sizemore isn't hitting leadoff and he isn't hitting third or fourth. Sizemore has been dropped all the way to sixth, even with Shin-Soo Choo receiving a day off and Carlos Santana hitting behind him at seventh. Friday's lineup looks as such:

CF Michael Brantley (L)

2B Orlando Cabrera (R)

SS Asdrubal Cabrera (S)

LF Shelley Duncan (R)

1B Matt LaPorta (R)

DH Grady Sizemore (L)

C Carlos Santana (S)

RF Austin Kearns (R)

3B Jack Hannahan (L)

Sizemore and Santana are not the only hitters in new spots. Manny Acta has shuffled the lineup in a big way, putting Asdrubal Cabrera into the three-spot with Shin-Soo Choo given the day off. Orlando Cabrera has taken his spot in the two-spot and Matt LaPorta is hitting fifth. Michael Brantley looks to be holding onto the lead off spot long term, as he remains in the spot he took over when Sizemore went down a few weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see how the lineup shakes out when Choo returns on Saturday. You can assume that some of the changes are because Sizemore is returning without a rehab assignment and may need eased back in to get his timing down and Choo is being given the day off. But based off Acta's comments about Santana the other day, the move down for Carlos may be permanent for the foreseeable future. 

Santana has been struggling to hit the ball. He's still productive, knocking in a good amount of runs and he is still finding his way on base with the walk. But he is having noticeable struggles connecting, especially since Travis Hafner was placed on the disalbed list. 

I made a plea for Acta to put Sizemore down in the order, perhaps to protect Santana or even move Santana down. Acta's shakeup certainly is one that will attempt to do that. But if Shelley Duncan is going to be hitting clean-up and Orlando Cabrera will be hitting second that could present some problems. Hopefully Acta's move is just for today and is a result of Choo being sat down. This lineup needs a strong middle and they won't be getting that with Friday's lineup.

Do you keep Sizemore lower in the lineup, but move him up after a few games? Or is it only a matter of time before he returns to the first spot in the order? And, is Asdrubal Cabrera the new number three hitter?

Zach McAllister, SP-COL: 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K, 0 BB

McAllister has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the organization this year, and a very pleasant surprise for me. I thought he’d be OK, but really nothing special. Well, he’s proving me wrong every time he takes the mound for the Clippers. On the season, McAllister is 7-0 with a 2.29 ERA, 47 K and 10 BB in 59 IP. His WHIP is south of 1.00 (57 baserunners allowed on the year). He’s still just 23 years old, so he’s still very much age-appropriate for the level he’s at. And remember…we got him from the Yankees for Austin Kearns, straight up.  McAllister has yet to pitch in Cleveland this year and appears to be behind Jenmar Gomez in the pecking order, but that’s not for lack of production this year. McAllister has earned a shot at the big league rotation this year, and will likely get it sooner rather than later.

• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: W (3-1), 2 IP, 2 H, K. Putnam now has 6 consecutive scoreless innings since his 5 run blip back on May 15.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 2-5, HR (5), RBI, R, K. Chiz now has 4 straight multiple hit games, including 2 HR.
• Jerad Head, RF-COL: 2-4, K. Back in RF with Zeke Carrera returning to Columbus, but still hitting no matter where he plays in the field.
• Cord Phelps, SS-COL: 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K. Phelps leads the team in HR (7) and RBI (32), and is 2^nd in OPS (.927). He has a 10-game hitting streak going after last night’s double.
• Luke Carlin, C-COL: 0-2, 2 BB, R, K. Luuuuuuuke on base twice last night and scoring a run despite not recording a hit.
• Paul Phillips, DH-COL: 2-4, RBI, R. The old man on the Columbus roster, Phillips is hitting .254 on the season.
• T.J. McFarland, SP-AKR: L (1-3), 7 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 7 H, 5 K, BB. McFarland pitched better than his final line indicated, but was still saddled with the loss. He now has a 5.09 ERA in Akron after posting a 2.25 ERA in his two starts for Kinston.
• Bryan Price, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 3 K, 2 BB. Price has put together a nice little stretch, giving up just 1 ER in his last 8 1/3 IP.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-AKR: 2-4, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI, 2 R. Goedert looking more and more like his old self every day in his rehab assignment with the Aeros.
• Matt McBride, DH-AKR: 4-7, 2 2B, RBI, R. McBride had two hits in each game of yesterday’s doubleheader, and has now hit in 7 straight.
• Brett Brach, SP-KIN: W (4-3), ER, 3 H, 6 K, 3 BB. Brach has been outstanding for Kinston with the exception of one start. If you throw out his May 16 start where he allowed 8 ER in 4 2/3 IP, Brach has gone 39 2/3 IP and allowed 6 ER for the K-Tribe this year.
• Adam Miller, RP-KIN: IP, 3 ER, 2 H, K, BB. Miller’s scoreless inning streak ends at 9. I’d still expect to see him in Akron before too long.
• Preston Guilmet, RP-KIN: S (10), IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 K, BB. Guilmet nailed down his 10 save, but not without some drama. He came in with a 3-run lead and struck out the first batter. The next two hit home runs, the first runs Guilmet has allowed this season. A double and a walk followed, putting the winning run on base. Guilmet came back and struck out the next two hitters for an exciting save, probably too exciting for manager Aaron Holbert’s liking.
• Bo Greenwell, LF-KIN: 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, R. Greenwell has now reached base 6 times in his last 11 plate appearances, and is really seeing the ball well at the plate. Even his outs are loud outs, and he’s been a steady presence in the 3-hole of the Kinston lineup.
• Abner Abreu, RF-KIN: 2-5, HR (3), 3 RBI, R, 2 K. Abreu was hitless in his last 20 AB before snapping out in last night’s game. Still hitting just .217/.251/.331 overall.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 1-3, HR (5), RBI, 2 BB, 2 R, K. Abraham is hitting just .238, but is making up for it with a solid .375 OBP and .415 SLG.
• Cole Cook, SP-LCC: L (1-5), 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, K, 2 BB. Cook has had a problem missing bats for Lake County, with just 26 K in 44 IP on the season.
• Anthony Gallas, DH-LCC: 1-3, 2B, RBI. Gallas had the lone XBH and RBI for the Captains, who only mustered 3 hits yesterday. He now has 20 2B and 4 HR on the season.

The hits just keep coming for Ohio State, and this time, it’s an internal blow.

Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small was featured in an interview with The Lantern (Ohio State’s school newspaper) yesterday, saying that he and “everybody else” on the team sold their championship rings and received discounts on cars.

"We have apartments, car notes," Small told The Lantern. "So you got things like that and you look around and you're like, ‘Well I got four [championship rings], I can sell one or two and get some money to pay this rent."

Small also said he didn’t see why it was wrong, and that the entire team was in on it.

"They have a lot (of dirt) on everybody," Small said, "cause everybody was doing it."

Small spent a majority of his time at Ohio State in Tressel’s doghouse, and a lot of Ohio State media types think that was the reason behind the interview. If the NCAA is looking for a whistle-blower, than a disgruntled former player that never saw eye to eye with Tressel is the last place you should look.

So as far as what this does to Ohio State is to be determined. But right now, with the amount of crap the university has been piled under since late December -- what’s one more turd flavored cherry on top, amiright?

Since rejoining the league in 1999, Cleveland’s quarterback situation has been a mess. Browns fans have suffered about as many blows as the quarterbacks themselves, forced to watch mediocre play year after year. Derek Anderson provided some brief hope with his Pro Bowl season, but that proved to be nothing but a mirage.

So it’s not hard to blame us for falling in love with Colt McCoy. In his rookie season -- McCoy had a higher completion percentage (60.8%) than Anderson ever had (his best season was in 2007, where he completed 56.5% of his passes). Now -- McCoy is a fan favorite and many think he could lead this team to contention with the right talent around him.

But Browns President Mike Holmgren isn’t getting ahead of himself. Homgren praised the young quarterback from Texas, but wasn’t ready to hand over the keys to the car, proverbially speaking.

"We have Seneca Wallace, too, and Jake Delhomme as well right now,” Holmgren said. “But [McCoy] got his feet wet last year. I didn't necessarily want him to play that much last year, but we were injured, and so he had a chance to play.

The mention of Delhomme will likely cause some Browns fans to short circuit, but Holmgren is probably just playing the game. McCoy is the future at quarterback, which he hinted toward a few moments later.

“[McCoy] showed us enough where he will go in, and we're hopeful that -- it'll be competitive -- but if he does what I think he can do, he'll probably be the guy, yeah."

Around the Farm takes  a quick look at how some of the prospects throughout the Indians system performed in last nights games. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's games.

Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 2-3, HR (5), 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB.

Kipnis is starting to heat up again, as he has hits in 9 of his last 10 games. He’s hitting .333/.350/.611 over that span and has slugged 2 HR, driving in 7 and is 3-3 in his stolen base attempts. For the season, he’s at .292/.368/.497 with 5/29 and is a perfect 8-8 on the bases. He’s now logged 161 AAA at bats, and is on pace to be an option for the big league club sometime after the all-star break. It’s a little unclear how he, Chisenhall and Phelps will all fit on the big league roster down the road, but it’s getting increasingly clear that they are going to be upgrades on Adam Everett, Orlando Cabrera and Jack Hanahan.

• Scott Barnes, SP-COL: W (3-1), 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 3 BB. Barnes gave up 2 runs in the first inning, and it looked like it might be a short day for him. He rebounded to strike out 7 and pick up his 3^rd AAA W.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: S (1), 2 1/3 IP, H, 2 K: Hagadone’s 1^st AAA save in his 3^rd AAA outing.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R. Three multi-hit games in a row for Chiz, and he’s now 7-17 in his last four.
• Jerad Head, CF-COL: 2-4, 2B, RBI. Head’s .344 batting average leads the International League, and his .966 OPS is 3^rd overall.
• Joe Gardner, SP-AKR: L (3-3), 4 1/3 IP, 9 R (6 ER), 9 H, 3 K, 2 BB. Gardner had allowed exactly 1 earned run in each of his last 5 starts. That streak came to an end in a big way last night.
• Eric Berger, RP-AKR: 2 2/3 IP, H, 4 K, BB. Berger is back in Akron after struggling in Columbus. He hasn’t allowed a run in his 3 appearances (5 IP) since rejoining the Aeros.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKRL: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R. Fedroff’s Eastern League-leading batting average went down to .376 after his 1-3 last night. His hitting streak now stands at 18 games.
• Clayton Cook, SP-KIN: W (4-3), 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K, 4 BB. Cook has been outstanding in the month of May, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.82 ERA so far this month. He has 22 K and just 7 BB in his 29 2/3 May innings.
• Tyler Sturdevant, RP-KIN: S (1), 1 2/3 IP, H, 3 K. Solid outing out of the pen for Sturdevant, who had no room for error as he was operating with a 1-run lead.
• Roberto Perez, C-KIN: 1-4, RBI, R. In addition to driving in or scoring 2 of the K-Tribe’s 4 runs, Perez cut down both runners who foolishly dared to test his right arm.
• Jeremie Tice, 1B-KIN: 1-2, 2B, BB. Tice looks like he isn’t feeling any lingering effects from the injury that kept him out for over a month.
• Kyle Blair, SP-LCC: L (2-3), 4 IP, 7 ER, 7 H, 3 K, 3 BB. Back-to-back disaster starts for Blair, who has now given up 15 ER in his last 6 2/3 IP for Lake County.
• Ronny Rodriguez, SS-LCC: 1-3, 2B. Rodriguez had one of just three hits that Lake County could muster last night, and the only XBH.

Sports Illustrated has been preparing an article on Jim Tressel and Ohio State athletics that will be released on 5/31, reports Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.com. More details here.  Investigative journalist George Dohrmann is said to be the author of the SI piece according to Biddle, although that, and all the other details listed at the link fall into the category of unconfirmed rumor at this stage. That would include reports that the article will delve into Tressel's prior record at YSU, issues related to housing arrangements for OSU athletes, more on the sales of cars to athletes, and reports of Tressel microwaving puppies. Stay tuned.

I was planning a nice little treat for you all on Around the Farm today. I was in Woodbridge, VA yesterday, all ready to see top prospect Drew Pomeranz pitch for Kinston against the Potomac Nationals. And I was going to use this space to rundown his entire start in glorious scouting detail, complete with pitch speeds, pictures, and video. The Indians ruined my little plan by skipping Drew’s turn in the rotation for Kinston. The decision was not injury related, and they’re likely just trying to manage his innings. So my best laid plans were wasted, and here we are with our standard look around the Indians farm system from yesterday. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s games.

Cord Phelps, DH-COL: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI

Phelps has now hit in 8 straight games, and is batting .387 with 2 HR, 3 2B and 9 RBI over that span. His season line is .311/.418/.530 with 7/29. The 7 HR are one off his career high of 8, set last year between Akron and Columbus. He has a 1.002 OPS in the month of May. I can keep throwing numbers at you if you want, but the main bullet point here is that this kid is good, and he’s only getting better. He’s an average defender at 2B, and can also play 3B and even SS in a pinch. I’m running out of ways to say that I want to see Phelps on the MLB roster sooner rather than later, but the point remains the same. He’s an upgrade over Adam Everett right now, and would probably be an upgrade over Orlando Cabrera at the plate and in the field, just not in the clubhouse.

Kelvin De La Cruz, SP-AKR: W (3-3), 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB.

De La Cruz has really turned himself into a strikeout pitcher this year. He’s struck out more batters than IP in all of his starts except one; back on April 12 when he threw 5 innings and struck out exactly 5. On the season, he has 56 K in 40 2/3 IP. He really does look like a lefthanded Fausto Carmona on the hill, both in terms of physical appearance and stuff. If he can just cut down on the walks (28 on the year), the 22-year old could be a top-100 pitching prospect in all of baseball.

Carlos Moncrief, RF-LCC: 2-4, HR (5), 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R.

Moncrief is an intriguing prospect who is up to a .262/.365/.496 line after a slow start to the season. He’s back in the leadoff spot for the Captains despite the arrival of LeVon Washington and has a nice combination of power (5 HR) and speed (7 SB in 10 attempts). A converted pitcher, he also has one of the best OF arms in the system, something that is sorely lacking at the major league level with the exception of The S.S. Choo. Moncrief has a lot of upside, but also a lot of uncertainty. He’s 22 years old, and should be in Kinston at some point in the near future. The Carolina League will be a tough test for him at the plate, but he has all of the tools to be a plus defensive RF on a major league roster someday.

• Jenmar Gomez, SP-COL: W (4-1), 8 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 K, 2 BB. Gomez is 2-1 for the Clippers since his time with the big club, and scattered 7 hits in yesterday’s complete-game (rain shortened) victory.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 2-4, 2B. After going 7 straight games without an XBH, Chiz has a homer and a double in his last two games.
• Luke Carlin, C-COL: 2-3, RBI, R. Carlin was responsible for 2 of the 3 runs the Clippers pushed across last night. He’s put up a more than respectable .283/.409/.413 line this season.
• Tim Fedroff, RF-AKR: 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R. That makes it 17 games in a row for Fedroff, who is just locked in at the dish right now.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 3-5, 3 2B, 2 RBI, R, K. Those are Chen’s first XBH since his 2 HR game in Bowie back on May 14. He’s at .277/.318/.468 for the year, and just needs to get more consistent.
• Beau Mills, 1B-AKR: 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI, R. Mills with a big pinch-hit, 2-run double for Akron last night.
• Karexon Sanchez, 2B-AKR: 2-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 R, K. Sanchez is hitting just .182, but is somehow slugging .364 despite the abysmal average. Six of his 14 hits have been for extra bases.
• Toru Muratu, SP-KIN: 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 5 K, BB. Muratu was the surprise starter in place of Pomeranz, and gave the K-Tribe a solid effort.
• Adam Miller, RP-KIN: IP, K. Another clean inning for Miller, who hasn’t allowed a run since his initial appearance for Kinston back on April 30. Now has 12 K in 9 IP, and a 2.70 ERA overall.
• Preston Guilmet, RP-KIN: S (9), IP, K. Now 9-9 in save opportunities, and 16 2/3 scoreless innings overall for the Kinston closer.
• Jeremie Tice, 1B-KIN: 2-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 R. In his 1^st AB since April 12, Tice blasted a 3-run HR in the 1ist inning of yesterday’s game.
• Nathan Striz, RP-LCC: S (1), 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K. Striz came on after a lengthy rain delay to give the Captains 5 outstanding innings out of the bullpen.
• Jesus Aguilar, 1B-LCC: 2-5, 2B, R, 3 K. The homer drought continues for BBJA, as he has 7 on the year but just one in the month of May.
• Ronny Rodriguez, SS-LCC: 2-4, RBI, R. The 19-year old international signing is now 5-28 since arriving in Lake County, with a HR and 2 SB.