The Chiefs have won seven straight.  Here are some other things you’ll enjoy:

*The Columbus Dispatch’s view of hot Chiefs.

*A contestant on Wheel of Fortune….uh….struggles.

*If Albert’s not hitting, someone else must be to blame.

*If only Seattle could retroactively save the Sonics.

*The story of one family remaining in a town that may not exist.

Join us at 6:20 for the Chiefs and Clippers on The Score 1260 or online at thescore1260.com.

Jason

Hello from Huntington Park, a beautiful downtown ballpark in Columbus, Ohio.  The Chiefs and Columbus Clippers meet for the first of eight times this season – with all eight games between the two teams coming in the next 13 days.  Here’s a look at the Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, in our latest “Triple-A Trickledown”…

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Catcher: Luke Carlin, Matt Pagnozzi

Carlos Santana has a firm grip on the starting catching job in the major leagues for Cleveland, but Lou Marson’s just 2 for 21 as the Indians’ backup.  If there’s a spot to be had in the majors, Carlin, who’s hitting .265 and has major league experience, would likely take it over Pagnozzi, who played in the majors for a bit last season but is currently hitting .215 with Columbus.  Veteran backstop Michel Hernandez is also waiting in Double-A if needed.

First Base: Beau Mills, Matt LaPorta

LaPorta, a one-time top prospect who was acquired as the centerpiece of Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia deal, has had some trouble adjusting to major league pitching to date.  But Triple-A’s been a vastly different story, with LaPorta mashing IL hurlers this season to the tune of a .333/.408/.658 slash line with 10 home runs in 31 games.  Meanwhile, full-time big league starter Casey Kotchman is at .198 with three home runs, so LaPorta may soon get another chance to prove himself.  Mills, a 25-year-old who’s a former first-round pick, has been solid but not spectacular to date, and is likely to spend the season with Columbus since he’s not on the 40-man roster.

Matt LaPorta

Second Base: Cord Phelps

Phelps has started 36 of the Clippers’ 37 games at second base this season with decent offensive numbers, but a former Clipper’s right ahead of him in the major leagues.  Jason Kipnis, who’s started all 35 games for the Indians, has excelled in the bigs with a .281 average and six home runs.  A backup spot could be open with veteran Jose Lopez off to a sub-.200 start, but the organization may want to give the 25-year-old Phelps regular at-bats and keep him in Triple-A.

Shortstop: Gregorio Petit, Justin Toole

Cleveland’s likely filed this position under “don’t worry unless there’s an injury”, because 26-year-old Asdrubal Cabrera has turned into one of the Indians’ best players in the major leagues.  The switch-hitter’s posted a .316/.414/.500 line, with 17 walks to just 9 strikeouts and 12 doubles on the season.  Petit’s hitting just .213 with limited power and patience, while the just-promoted Toole was hitting .196 with Class A-Advanced Carolina.  At Double-A Akron, shortstop Juan Diaz is hitting just .234, but he’s a 40-man roster member who was promoted for last season’s Triple-A playoffs.

Third Base: Lonnie Chisenhall, Andy LaRoche

Jack Hannahan’s been above-average as Cleveland’s starting third baseman this year, but Chisenhall’s lying in wait in case of a slip-up or injury.  The 23-year-old (who’s currently on the Disabled List) was a first-round pick of the Indians in the 2008 draft and has quickly shot up the minor league system, splitting time between Triple-A and the major leagues last season.  This year, Chisenhall’s batting average and slugging percentage are second on the team, only behind Matt LaPorta.  LaRoche, a 28-year-old major league veteran, is likely here to provide organizational depth for the Indians – though it’s comforting having someone who’s played in the majors for parts of each of the last five seasons.

Lonnie Chisenhall

Outfield: Russ Canzler, Ezequial Carrera, Ben Copeland, Chad Huffman

Canzler – last year’s International League MVP – and Carrera are the two 40-man roster players here, but neither is off to an especially hot start with Columbus.  However, Cleveland’s major league outfield is somewhat of a mess, with none of the Indians’ five main outfielders posting a batting average higher than .261 or an OPS above .700.  And former star center fielder Grady Sizemore, who’s struggled in each of the last two seasons, is out until at least June after knee surgery.  All of that begs the question – what in the world are Tim Fedroff and Jared Goedert doing in Double-A?  Fedroff – 25 years old – is hitting .339 with a .430 on-base percentage after hitting .338 with Akron and .272 with Columbus last season.  Meanwhile, Goedert, who’s hit 35 home runs in the last two seasons with Columbus, is hitting an astronomical .362 with 12 extra-base hits and 20 walks.    Huffman’s having a solid season, but the 28-year-old Copeland hasn’t played or hit much so far.  Seems like the winds of change could be blowing soon…

Starting Pitchers: Eric Berger, Paolo Espino, David Huff, Corey Kluber, Chris Seddon, Kevin Slowey

Huff, Kluber and Slowey are the three 40-man starters on Columbus’ roster, with Kluber’s 2.58 ERA in seven starts providing the standout mark of the bunch.  However, the right-hander’s only pitched in three career major league games, with an 8.31 ERA, and he’s yet to pitch more than six innings in a game this season.  Huff, a 2006 first-round pick, posted a solid 4.09 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) with Cleveland last year – and he’s left-handed – while Slowey, a major league veteran, has struggled with a near 6:00-ERA this season.  There’s probably not an open spot in Cleveland’s rotation in the moment, especially with Zach McAllister temporarily called up after an injury to Josh Tomlin.  But down at Akron, 22-year-old left-hander T.J. McFarland is going to be hard to ignore for much longer, at 6-1 with a 2.18 ERA in seven starts.

Relief Pitchers: Cody Allen, Hector Ambriz, Scott Barnes, Frank Herrmann, Matt Langwell, Chris Ray

The two 40-man players here are Barnes and Herrmann, a pair of left-handers who have been solid but not overwhelming statistically.  The fact that they’re left-handers could help, with the worst ERA in the bullpen belonging to Tony Sipp’s 6.94 mark.  However, Sipp sported a 3.03 mark last season, so he’ll likely get the benefit of the doubt for some time.  A perhaps-familiar name to casual fans in this bullpen could be Ray, a former Orioles closer who saved 33 games with the O’s in 2006.  But injuries set back Ray, who missed nearly all of 2008, and he’s now on his fifth organization in four years.  However, the right-hander’s 2.08 ERA this season could mean that he’s back on the right track.

Herrmann and Ray

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That’s all for now – as always, your thoughts are welcomed at kevinbrown@syracusechiefs.com or jasonbenetti@syracusechiefs.com.

KB

Good morning from Columbus.

*Lindsay Kramer’s game story from the Chiefs’ sixth-straight win.

*High praise for Craig Stammen.

*Horrible news about new Nats catcher Sandy Leon.

*Bad blood already in the Dodgers’ section of La La Land.

*The Sing-Off (and other, less important shows) canceled.

Hope you can join us at 6:20 for the Chiefs and Clippers from Huntington Park.

Jason

Here are some things that’ll interest you:

*Bad news for the Nats (should be posted under Stuff You’ll Dislike).

*A neat story on Mother’s Day about former-Chief Ian Desmond.

*Mother’s Day can be traced back to Isis of the Egyptians.

*Don Nelson got a degree.

*One fan base’s passion kept a team home.

Hope you enjoy the game today on Time Warner Cable Sports, The Score 1260 or thescore1260.com.

Jason

Happy Saturday to everyone.  Today, in the third part of our ongoing 72-part series, we analyze the Rochester Red Wings roster, because you can’t spell “Rochester” without “roster”.  Actually, that doesn’t have anything to do with anything.  Never mind.  Let’s move on.

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Catcher: Rene Rivera, J.R. Towles

The first two times that Syracuse played the Red Wings, Rochester had three catchers on its roster, with Drew Butera joining Rivera and Towles.  But with Joe Mauer banged up, Minnesota’s brought up Butera for some extra catcher insurance.  Both Rivera and Towles have plenty of big league experience, but each player’s hitting south of .200 to date with the Wings this season.  Butera’s also the only 40-man player of the three, so he’ll likely be the man on the move this season.

First Base: Aaron Bates, Matt Rizzotti

With Justin Morneau still on the DL, Chris Parmelee and his .195 average have been inhabiting first base for Minnesota for most of this season.  However, the answer to the Twins’ problem likely won’t come from within.  Bates, despite a .380 OBP, has just four extra-base hits (all doubles) this year.  Rizzotti also had just four doubles, but his OBP sits at .258.  Bates has played just five career games in the major leagues (2009 Red Sox), while Rizzotti’s never played above Triple-A.

Second Base: Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Joe Thurston

Second’s been an offensively challenged position for the big league club this season, with Alexi Casilla posting a .250/.277/.300 slash line.  Nishioka, signed last season to be the starting second baseman, had a tough season with the Twins in 2011 and has been with Rochester all this year, though he’s currently on the disabled list.  With a hot streak, he could easily find his way back in the major leagues thanks to the Twins’ need for infielders.  Thurston just provides organizational depth at this point after being released by the Phillies a few years ago.

Shortstop: Pedro Florimon

Brian Dozier was in this spot until about a week ago, when Minnesota promoted him to the major leagues.  He’s started just 4 for 21, but he’ll likely get the benefit of the doubt with no other great offensive options.  Veteran infielder Jamey Carroll, who’s started 27 games this year at shortstop, is hitting just .212.  Meanwhile, the new Red Wings shortstop has impressed in five games.  He’s 7 for 21 with two home runs and has sparkled defensively after being called up from New Britain.  Florimon, who made his major league debut last season with Baltimore, isn’t on the 40-man roster, but if his newfound power sticks, he could certainly find his way there.

Pedro Florimon

Third Base: Sean Burroughs, Ray Chang, Danny Valencia

Valencia’s just been sent down after starting as the primary third baseman in Minnesota all season long.  He hit just .190 in 27 games before the Twins before Minnesota made the move, though things aren’t much better for the team.  Trevor Plouffe’s the only player currently on the roster to have started at third in the major leagues this season, but he’s hitting just .137 in 19 games this year.  (In case you haven’t figured out, Minnesota’s having some trouble offensively this year.)  The 28-year-old Chang has had a nice season for Rochester, hitting .303 with a .384 OBP, though he’s never played in the major leagues before, while Burroughs was also just sent down from the majors recently.  The former Padre is hitting just 2 for 12 and is no longer on the 40-man roster after being designated for assignment.

Outfield: Matt Carson, Bene Revere, Clete Thomas, Rene Tosoni

Josh Willingham has been tremendous and Denard Span’s had a solid season for the Twins this season, though the third outfield spot is a revolving door for Minnesota right now.  Darin Mastroianni was just called up to the major leagues and Erik Komatsu’s recently been signed, so the Twins will likely see what they have from those two relatively young players.  Thomas was removed from the 40-man roster after a 4-for-28 start with Minnesota, while Tosoni, a 40-man players, is off to a difficult start at .128 with the Red Wings.  Revere, who’s already been up to the big club this season, might be a logical choice to return.  He’s posted a .319 average and .359 OBP with Rochester, and despite a lack of power, is one of the Twins’ best base stealers.  But maybe Carson, the former Oakland A, will get his shot soon, since he’s leading the team in OPS.  With a hot streak, any of those four could theoretically head up…though they might want to watch out for former Detroit Tiger Wilkin Ramirez, who’s tearing the cover off the ball in Double-A (.356, 7 extra-base hits in 10 games).

Matt Carson

Starting Pitchers: Cole DeVries, Luke French, Liam Hendriks, Daryl Thompson

Yes, that’s only four starting pitchers litsed, and no, that’s not a typo – with P.J. Walters’ promotion to the major leagues two days ago, the Red Wings had to throw reliever Jeff Manship into a spot start.  Hendriks, the only 40-man player of the bunch, was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four games, so he’s been essentially replaced by Walters in the major league rotation.  While DeVries and Thompson have been good, not great, that might just be enough thanks to a Twins rotation that’s struggled tremendously all season long.  Scott Diamond was recently called up to the majors, where he threw seven shutout innings, and he might be there for a while.  Carl Pavano (5.02 ERA), Nick Blackburn (7.18), Francisco Liriano (9.45) and Jason Marquis (6.26) have all had a rough go of things this season.

Relief Pitchers: Casey Fien, Deolis Guerra, Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertston, Anthony Slama, Esmerling Vasquez, Brendan Wise

For the most part, Minnesota’s bullpen has been very good this year with four relievers posting a sub-3 ERA and five at 3.75 or better.  But there’s always room for improvement, and that improvement could come from Guerra.  If that name sounds familiar, it’s likely because Guerra was one of the four players traded for Johan Santana in the Mets/Twins blockbuster from way back in 2008.  Guerra’s only 23 years old, and as one of three 40-man relievers, he could find himself in the major leagues before long.  In four Triple-A games,  he’s allowed six hits and no runs in nine innings while striking out nine.  Manship and Tyler Robertson are the only other 40-man players, but the name to watch here is Anthony Slama.  The right-handed reliever has struck out a staggering 27 batters in 15.2 innings, allowing nine hits and 10 walks.  Though the walk numbers are a bit high, you’d have to imagine Slama will be in the major leagues soon with these types of numbers.  The Red Wings could likely be welcoming a new face soon, though, with 40-man member Lester Oliveros tearing up Double-A to the tune of a 1.42 ERA.

Anthony Slama

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Look forward to seeing everyone out at the park today on Armed Forces Day.  It’s a great event to celebrate our military and an absolutely gorgeous day to do so.  As always, we’d love to hear from you with thoughts and comments.  kevinbrown@syracusechiefs.com and jasonbenetti@syracusechiefs.com are the places to do so.

KB

The Chiefs have won four of five on this homestand.  Here are some other things you’ll like:

*Bryce Harper’s self-inflicted wounds made him fit in with Cincinnati.

*Pittsburgh’s Ron Cook does the Strasburg thing.

*Army’s single-season rushing leader goes to Tennessee

*In case you missed it yesterday, Fab Four Friday.

*Pawtucket’s in first–in the standings and in cartoons.

2 P.M. start today on Time Warner Cable Sports and The Score 1260.  Join us.

Jason

Hello folks, time for another trip down Beatles memory lane with JPGR historian and Chiefs pitching coach Greg Booker.  This week, Book has taken us back to 1966 and the band’s attack on the high rate they had to pay the British government under its 95% supertax.  Here’s Booker’s primer on Taxman:

Jason Benetti: Do you think they knew how across the line they were being?

Booker: Definitely they have the devil may care attitude.  There was not a whole lot of shame in anything they did.  They made us believe they felt like they were above all.  They felt like they were above the law and above politics and above anything else.  When John comes out and says, “We’re more popular than Jesus”, that tells you a little bit right there.  They felt like they had a right to do anything they wanted to do.  In 1991, George went on a solo tour of Japan and when he did the song, he substituted–instead of saying Mr. Wilson and Mr. Heath–he substituted Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush in there.  That was the time when they were running for the ’92 campaign.  Bush being the incumbent and Clinton being against him.

Benetti: Yet they end up being so mainstream.

Booker: Not that I would side with any of the stupidity they did back in the day, but they still came across as lovable characters.  Even with the venom spewing from their mouth and outspoken as they were about things, they were the Fab Four.  This song is one of my favorite ones.

Taxman is one of Booker’s favorite bass guitar songs for the group.  That’s the instrument that George Harrison was known for within the group.  But there was a twist in Taxman:

Here are Book’s notes on the song:

Benetti:  Early on you’ve got the driving push.

Booker:  Any song that you can tell what it is from the very first note or two is exciting to me.

Benetti:  Sort of a sinister minor in there.

Booker:  They’re so subtly sarcastic, it’s unbelievable.

Benetti:  They were really mad, weren’t they?  George especially.

Booker:  You know, they went for so long.  This is 1966.  They started five or six years earlier.  They didn’t have cash, they signed for stuff.  Get a new car and sent the agents the bill.  I guess when [George] got word of how much it was, he didn’t like it.  That’s why they actually left the country and started appearing more over here.  George didn’t go back to England until the structure of taxes was reformed.  They were dead serious about this.

Benetti:  They had to have been to name two of the head politicos in England at the time.

Booker:  It was unheard of for anyone in upper Parliament to be named in a bad light.

Mr. Heath with JPGR

See, this is Paul playing the solo.  You can’t make me believe George couldn’t get that as brilliant as he was with the guitar.  But I guess they wanted a certain sound.

Benetti:  You would think after a song like that, they spent time showing how mad they were and how aware they were of the tax rate and what it did to their finances.  Still, when they broke up, one of the major concerns was how much money was left.  Apple Records sorta dissipated.  There was a lot of anger over money.  You would think that with the awareness of that song that might not have happened down the line, but it still did.

Booker: They wouldn’t have woke up to the fact.  John and Paul would have never looked into it and Ringo was just happy to be there.  George was the youngest of the group, the baby of the group.  In a lot of the early interviews, he’s the one that’ll say, “We never know when this’ll be over.”

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If you have a song you’d like to hear about from the Chiefs pitching coach, email in to jasonbenetti@syracusechiefs.com.

*The Chiefs and Bulls combined for 23 runs last night.

**Evidently, the Nats had a similarly eerie night.

*Stephen Strasburg detailed.

*The KC Star takes us back to 1989 with Bo Jackson.

*A West coast view of Hamels v. Harper.

*A golf boy band.

Chiefs and Bulls in the series finale tonight at 7:00.  Hope you can join us at 6:45 on The Score 1260 and online at thescore1260.com.

Jason

Ladies and gentlemen….boys and girls…..fish and chips…..Max and Erma’s…..Rowan and Martin……

“We get the idea!”

Whoa.  Sorry.  Testy studio audience.  It’s time for America’s fastest-growing sensation which involves an arbitrary rating system and not Wayne Brady…..

RATE THE IL HOTEL!!!!

And here’s your host for Rate the IL Hotel……Jason Benetti!

Good day folks and welcome to the show which never puts too many pillows on the bed, Rate the IL Hotel.  We’re glad to be around for one more season.  If we go much longer, we might be forced by the networks to do Celebrity Rate the IL Hotel.  Nobody wants to hear about Phyllis Diller’s experience at the Sheraton Waterside Norfolk.

If you’ve just joined us, Rate the IL Hotel is very simple.  We give you three positives and three negatives about a recent hotel the Syracuse Chiefs have stayed in.  Then, we assign a number between 0 and 100 to the hotel.

Today’s contestant:  The Hilton Garden Inn Allentown, Pennsylvania.

For those keeping track, we have not rated an Allentown establishment since 2010 when the Hotel Bethlehem was the preferred lodging of the IronPigs.  Since then, the Staybridge Suites has taken over as the hotel for visiting ballplayers.  But, last weekend the Staybridge was oversold and sent the Chiefs next door to the Hilton Garden Inn.  Here’s how it was:

Pros:

1) It’s not the Staybridge.  The first time we traveled to Allentown last year, the Staybridge could only offer me and Kevin a smoking room.  Because we hadn’t steeled ourselves to spend the night under a craps table at the Bellagio, this was not ideal and has colored my view of the Staybridge.

2) Continental breakfast selection.  Waffles, pancakes, loads of cereals, tasty hash browns, at least four muffin choices.  A dazzling array.  The only negative was the melon-heavy fruit salad.  A little pineapple goes a long way.

3) Clean.  A few decades ago, the folks who ran White Castle had all of their employees wear white lab coats.  At the time, fast food was under fire for being generally unkempt.  So, the White Castle gurus thought being as pristine as possible–say, in a castle colored white–might draw customers.  There’s a chance the Hilton Garden Inn braintrust descended from White Castle CEOs.  This hotel–and every other HGI I’ve personally been to–has been clean as a whistle.  Beautiful.

Cons:

1) Low elevation.  Hotel beds typically are raised above ground.  These beds were rather, say, terranian.  If I wanted to sleep in a dojo, I’d have checked into the set of Kung Fu Panda.

2) Breakfast anarchy.  I brought my plate to the table I chose near a window in the lobby.  Realizing I had no fork with which to eat hash browns, I got up.  After scouring the nook with the food for a while, I asked a staff member for silverware.  She told me it was on the table.  Thinking I had gone totally insane, I went back to the table and found nothing of the sort.  I asked the woman again and she handed me a rolled-up napkin with a spoon, fork and knife inside.  I got up again later in search of apple juice, but couldn’t locate a glass.  The woman I asked for one told me that it was on the table.  Feeling like Allen Funt was somewhere in the business office, I asked then and there that she just give me one.  I’m not the rube who falls for the “your stuff is on the table” routine twice.  Just once, thanks.

3) Coupons.  Our team got breakfast vouchers.  I attempted to hand mine to the woman manning the front desk (aside: can a woman man a desk?  Or does she woman the desk?).  She wouldn’t take it.  Told me to leave it on my table.  Well, let’s be honest.  They don’t know how many people were at each table.  The human memory can store +/- seven things at once.  Good luck.

Rating:  82.  Nice work.

Join us next time on Rate the IL Hotel!!!!

Jason

P.S. Special thanks to Brandon Massey, Chief graphic guru for the great image.  I’ve never looked better with two glasses of shiraz.

*A tweet that solidifies the Chiefs’ 2011 season as awesome.

*The Nats were walked-off upon last night.

*Josh Hamilton and his four homers in perspective.

*The 20 best companies to work for.

*Chien-Ming Wang is starting here tonight.

Hope you can join us on The Score 1260 or online on thescore1260.com or on milb.tv.

Jason