Clippings 6-3-09

The Clippers lost 3-1 to Charlotte last night, falling below the .500 mark (26-27). Columbus now leads Louisville by just half a game in the West Division.

* Travis Hafner will be in the Clipers lineup again tonight. This is the final day of his 20-day rehab assignment. It is unknown what will happen next with Pronk.

”We’ll look at him here, and if all goes well, he’ll be with us for Friday,” Eric Wedge told the Akron Beacon-Journal. The ABJ’s Sheldon Ocker has more in his Indians Notebook.

Pronk’s return to the Indians seems a little unlikely considering his shoulder hasn’t allowed him to play three consecutive days.

Other options include:

A) A trip to Goodyear, Arizona for a continuation of the rehab.
B) Staying with the Clippers and starting over with another 20 days… Hafner would need to give consent to start another minor league assignment.

Hopefully, we’ll know more after the game tonight. Hafner has been on the DL since April 29th with a strain and fatigue in his surgically repaired right shoulder. 

* Joe Smith is expected to pitch tonight for Columbus. Smith will be making his third appearance in his rehab stint. Smith was shelved May 2nd with a strained rotator cuff.

* Former Clippers pitching coach Steve McCatty has been named to the Washington Nationals staff. McCatty takes over for Randy St. Claire, who was dismissed. Here is the story: Nats let pitching coach St. Claire go

* The Clippers Booster Club is chartering a bus to the Indians-Reds game on Friday, June 26th. Visit the Booster Club web site or call Sharon Grubb at 614-431-8981.

* Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera left Tuesday’s game after colliding with Minnesota’s Brendan Harris in the first inning. Cabrera suffered a dislocated shoulder, but there has been no indication whether a trip to the disabled list is needed. The Indians currently have eight players on the DL, second most in MLB. Josh Barfield would be a likely candidate to replace Cabrera on the roster. Barfield is just 1-for-16 in the last five days, dropping his average to .220.

* Interested in sports broadcasting? The legendary Patrick Kinas, voice of the Carolina Mudcats, is hosting a camp in Raleigh, North Carolina from July 6-8. Visit the camp’s site for more details.

* George Foster will appear at Huntington Park June 12-14. He’ll sign autographs for a fee and baseball, bobbleheads and baseballs will be available. Look for him at the NAPA Information Booth behind home plate.

I’ll have plenty more later… keep checking back or you might miss something important!