Sipp wants to stick with Tribe

[Gunther]

Nice article on Tony Sipp. I thought he had a solid year out of the bullpen last year when he was given the opportunity. I'm looking forward to seeing him again this year (and given our starting rotation, we'll probably see a lot of him!).

Indians: Sipp wants to stick with Tribe
Published: Tuesday, February 2, 2010
By John Kampf

Having served three stints with the Indians last summer, Tony Sipp became rather familiar with Interstate 71.

"I really liked the drive from Columbus to Cleveland," the young left-hander said. "That's a fun drive."

As opposed to the drive from Progressive Field to Huntington Park in Columbus — home of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Traveling that 141-mile stretch isn't as much fun because it means he is on his way from the majors back to the minors.

If everything goes Sipp's way, he won't spend any time at all on I-71 this summer.

Sipp, 26, enters this season with big dreams and big expectations, both from himself and from the Indians' organization. He is coming off a rookie campaign in which he went 2-0 with a bullpen-best 2.93 ERA.

Not a bad first experience at all, especially considering he underwent reconstructive surgery on his left elbow prior to the 2008 season.

"Last year was my first year, and I had fun with it," Sipp said. "But it's a learning experience. Now I'm just trying to be up (with the Indians) all season. I'm still a student of the game and want to do my job."

Sipp's strong rookie season puts him right in the thick of the bullpen race going into spring training. Kerry Wood is entrenched as the closer. And while right-handers Joe Smith, Jensen Lewis, Chris Perez and Jess Todd are all expected to win and fill vital roles, the need for left-handers is great. Rafael Perez, who recently avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $795,000 deal, is likely anchored in as the first lefty out of the bullpen, especially if he rediscovers his form of the 2008 season. That leaves a golden opportunity for Sipp to claim the next left-hander's position in the bullpen.

Sipp's 2009 season suggests he is ready for full-time varsity duty. Even though he was shuttled back and forth three times from Columbus to Cleveland, Sipp gave up only 13 earned runs in 40 innings. Batters hit .194 against him.

The solid, if not spectacular, season might have given him a leg up on the competition heading into spring training this month.

"I've given myself a little leeway," Sipp said. "I still have (minor-league) options, though, and any major-leaguer with options remaining never feels completely comfortable. You always have to prove yourself and show them why you should be there."

It appears Sipp has gotten all he is going to get out of the minor leagues. A 45th-round draft pick by the Indians in 2004, Sipp has never had an ERA higher than 3.74 in the minors, and he has never had a season in the minors in which batters hit better than .235 against him.

"But you really don't get a good assessment of yourself in the minors," Sipp said. "You get away with pitches there.

"The biggest difference (between the majors and the minors) is you don't get away with the mistakes the way you get away with them in the minors. If you make a mistake up here, you never see the ball again because some fan in the bleachers has a souvenir."

Fortunately for the Indians, Sipp only gave up five homers in his 40 innings last season. But each time something did go wrong, Sipp said he tried to erase it from his memory banks.

"The mental part is tough at times," he said. "Every pitcher hits that stint where you don't know exactly what's wrong, but you know something is wrong. But as a pitcher, the best thing you can do is to forget what happened yesterday. Sometimes, that's the only way to stop the bleeding."

Sipp said he is excited to work with new pitching coach Tim Belcher, as well as new bullpen coach Scott Radinsky. He has experience with both. Each has been part of the Indians' minor-league system.

"I want to be the guy they have 100 percent faith in," Sipp said. "I want to be the guy they want out there."

On the mound. Not on I-71 on his way back to Columbus.

SOURCE

 

[The Oi]

I really like that kid, if only because he can actually throw a goddamn fastball.

 

[DougHeil]

I see a big year for Sipp. I think he morphs into the first lefty out of the pen ahead of Lewis.... or the best lefty in a set up role ahead of Lewis.

 

[The Oi]

I see a big year for Sipp. I think he morphs into the first lefty out of the pen ahead of Lewis.... or the best lefty in a set up role ahead of Lewis.

Or the best lefty that can throw a fastball harder than 88mph ahead of Lewis. :chuckles:

 

[DougHeil]

Or the best lefty that can throw a fastball harder than 88mph ahead of Lewis. :chuckles:

lol yeah. Lewis may prove to be a nice long reliever this year as well. I believe we should keep at least two lefties in the pen, or better yet; three of them. I don't see three unless Jensen Lewis totally sucks this year.

 

[cavaliers4ever]

Nice article. I like Sipp.

 

[Nicky_Sats]

Sipp seems to pitch with some balls, as if he has nothing to lose. Hopefully he will be healthy and gets a fair shot all year.

 

[macbdog]

Sipp seems to pitch with some balls, as if he has nothing to lose. Hopefully he will be healthy and gets a fair shot all year.

Kinda like how Mitch Williams used to close.... :eekrun: j/k

Yeah, he has some swagga when he pitches. He's got to gain some control though if he wants to stick- he had some serious issues with that in stretches last year and it is why he found himself on the AAA shuttle. Any reliever that is going to be in from the 7th inning on cannot be issuing walks like that and be successful. Even after he appeared to get things back in August, he went out and posted a lucky ERA in September despite walking 7 in 10 innings. A reliever's margin of error is much lower and the league will catch up to him again if he keeps that up.

 

[Danboone2006]

Nothing not to love about Tony Sipp, 45th round pick, shot through the system, has major elbow surgery, doesn't miss a beat, living the dream as a MLB pitcher, and a great guy to top it all off.

I hope Acta uses Sipp and Joe Smith in the same way that Wedge did, they were like a 2 headed monster. By August I had bullpen coach referring to them as Tony Smith and Joe Sipp.

 

[macbdog]

Sipp was drafted in the 45th round b/c it was going to take a good signing bonus to get him to leave college. He had just converted to a pitcher and had done well in a summer league when the Tribe gambled on him; had they not, he probably would have gone much higher in the next year's draft.

 

[Danboone2006]

With that being said- a 45th rounder is a 45th rounder. Not many make it to the Majors let alone stick.