07/26: It Was A Good Night
Posted by: James
To be a Trenton Thunder Yankee prospect, that is.
My boy Tyler "T-Clip" Clippard has now gotten his ERA under 4 for the year. I'm fairly certain that anyone who reads YanksBlog.com knows that I'm a big fan of Clippard but he's really justified my support. Just a month and a half ago, he was 2-9, his ERA stood at 5.69, his WHIP was 1.26 and he was averaging 8.2 Ks per 9 for the year. Honestly, I still haven't found out what changed for him but something sure has and it has led to two Pitcher of the Week awards and a mention on the BA Hot Sheet. Of course, his numbers look quite a bit better now as well; Clippard's ERA is now 3.86, the WHIP is down to 1.09 and he's gotten the K rate (up to 8.8 per 9) and wins up (5-1 in 8 decisions, 7-10 for the year). Not too shabby for a 21-year old in AA, huh? Hughes & Clippard (in Columbus) in 07!
As an aside, you'd have Steven White (25, a decent ground-ball pitcher), Jeff Karstens (23, has pitched much better in his return to Columbus) and Darrell Rasner (25, if he can ever return from injury) filling out that rotation. That's not too bad at all and certainly gives you quite a few viable options if a starter (i.e. Pavano) were to go down next year.
As for the other prodigal son in the Yankee system, Eric Duncan blasted another home-run to support Clippard, The home-run was his 4th HR in the last 3 games and the third game in a row that he's knocked one out.
While Duncan has hit a ton better since he was demoted to AA Trenton and his plate discipline has been amazing (especially considering his hack-tastic past), I'm not ready to pronounce him "back" just yet. I'd like to see what he does for the rest of the year before I do that but his current line of .286/.379/.584 in 154 ABs (14 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 23 BB, 19 K for a 57% XBH ratio and a 12% K ratio) certainly adds back a lot of the luster he lost earlier this season in Columbus. It's also impressive that he's done this so far while playing in Trenton, which I believe is a slight pitcher's park and in the Eastern League, which is more of a pitcher's league (or so I understand). Still, while I'm happy for his turnaround, I need to see more before I jump back on the bandwagon.
My boy Tyler "T-Clip" Clippard has now gotten his ERA under 4 for the year. I'm fairly certain that anyone who reads YanksBlog.com knows that I'm a big fan of Clippard but he's really justified my support. Just a month and a half ago, he was 2-9, his ERA stood at 5.69, his WHIP was 1.26 and he was averaging 8.2 Ks per 9 for the year. Honestly, I still haven't found out what changed for him but something sure has and it has led to two Pitcher of the Week awards and a mention on the BA Hot Sheet. Of course, his numbers look quite a bit better now as well; Clippard's ERA is now 3.86, the WHIP is down to 1.09 and he's gotten the K rate (up to 8.8 per 9) and wins up (5-1 in 8 decisions, 7-10 for the year). Not too shabby for a 21-year old in AA, huh? Hughes & Clippard (in Columbus) in 07!
As an aside, you'd have Steven White (25, a decent ground-ball pitcher), Jeff Karstens (23, has pitched much better in his return to Columbus) and Darrell Rasner (25, if he can ever return from injury) filling out that rotation. That's not too bad at all and certainly gives you quite a few viable options if a starter (i.e. Pavano) were to go down next year.
As for the other prodigal son in the Yankee system, Eric Duncan blasted another home-run to support Clippard, The home-run was his 4th HR in the last 3 games and the third game in a row that he's knocked one out.
While Duncan has hit a ton better since he was demoted to AA Trenton and his plate discipline has been amazing (especially considering his hack-tastic past), I'm not ready to pronounce him "back" just yet. I'd like to see what he does for the rest of the year before I do that but his current line of .286/.379/.584 in 154 ABs (14 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 23 BB, 19 K for a 57% XBH ratio and a 12% K ratio) certainly adds back a lot of the luster he lost earlier this season in Columbus. It's also impressive that he's done this so far while playing in Trenton, which I believe is a slight pitcher's park and in the Eastern League, which is more of a pitcher's league (or so I understand). Still, while I'm happy for his turnaround, I need to see more before I jump back on the bandwagon.
