Even a Dominant Scott Kazmir Could Not Make Sugar Land Much Better

May 10, 2013 by Bob Wirz · Leave a Comment

Scott Kazmir was masterful this afternoon (Thursday) with 10 strikeouts (no walks) among his 18 outs in six innings of one-run pitching to lead Cleveland to a 9-2 triumph against Oakland, but even if the veteran left-hander still was with Sugar Land,TX for a second season it seems doubtful the Skeeters would be doing much better than they already are in their second Atlantic League season.

While Kazmir, now 2-1 with the Tribe, would bring more headline-grabbing attention to the Houston-area Skeeters, they have won 11 of their last 12 and are playing at a brilliant .850 pace (17-3) after a 5-1 matinee victory at Southern Maryland (Waldorf).

Among the accomplishments for Gary Gaetti’s club are a 10-0 record at home, series sweeps against both of last year’s championship series teams, Long Island and Lancaster, with 10 games in the two sets, and they sit atop the league statistics in both hitting (.286) and pitching (2.51). The offense is producing just over six runs a game, led by catcher Koby Clemens (the son of a former pitcher with the same last name) with six homers and 18 RBI despite a .241 average. Only one of the 15 pitchers on the staff, which probably will be trimmed a bit when rosters go from 27 to 25 at the end of the month, has an earned run average above 3.52.

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Colabello Shares Triple-A Homer Lead After 16^th Inning Blast

It would not be surprising if Chris Colabello admitted he is in a mini slump right now because he has gone 1-for-12 in Rochester‘s last two International League games and he even had a rare two-error game, but there is something to be said for timeliness. The longtime Can-Am League star first baseman (Worcester, MA and Nashua, NH), playing with Minnesota’s top farm club and hoping to get that major league call sometime this season, slugged a two-run homer in the top of the 16^th inning earlier this week to help the Red Wings put an end to a five-hour, 17-minute marathon at Toledo, 8-7. Colabello shares the Triple-A league’s home run leadership (eight) and is hitting .315 with 22 RBI (sixth in the league). His nine-game hitting streak ended on Wednesday.

This Quartet of American Association Hurlers Doing Well

Kris Johnson did not get a great opportunity to impress Pittsburgh brass in spring training, but the southpaw is back in solid form for Triple-A Indianapolis with a 3-2 record and 3.23 earned run average despite one horrid relief outing. The onetime Kansas City, KS hurler has been even sharper in his five starts, which show a 3-1, 1.69 mark.

Another trio of former American Association hurlers, including one who admits his cockiness hurt him earlier in his career, also are turning in strong showings in affiliated leagues. In Class AA, Kevin Johnson, who started his professional journey at Pensacola, FL, shares the Texas League lead in saves (six) and is at 1-1, 2.31 for the Los Angeles Angels’ team in Arkansas (Little Rock). James Hoyt (Wichita, KS, along with North American League teams in Edinburg, TX and Yuma, AZ) has 34 strikeouts in just 25.1 innings for Lynchburg, VA (Atlanta) to go with a 2-0 record and 1.78 ERA.

And, there is the case of another strikeout hurler, Tyler Herron (Fargo, ND, and Kalamazoo, MI, Frontier League). “I played with a certain fire in high school and kind of lost that along the way”, the 26-year-old confessed to MLB.com. “I started getting big-headed. It took me a few years to grow up.” After previous trails in two major league organizations, followed by Kalamazoo and missing a year for Tommy John (elbow) surgery, the right-hander went 12-3 at Fargo last season and had a good winter in Puerto Rico. Washington picked him up, and Herron, now relieving, has 26 strikeouts in 16.1 innings to go with a 2.20 earned run average for Potomac (Woodbridge, VA).