Orlando Sends Chicago Home

I wasn't so sure about Orlando Cabrera coming in at second. Nothing against the man himself - I have not been enamored with any second baseman in the recent past (nope not even Asdrubal, as I desperately wanted him at short). I also appreciated that we really needed some experience on our roster. But I wasn't sure if he was going to be just another 200-ish hitter in the middle of the lineup or what.

I did immediately look forward to Cabrera-to-Cabrera plays and desperately miss Herb Score, and the hilarity that would ensue if the poor guy had to call a multi-Cabrera game (imagine how it will be when we play the Tigers!)

Anyway, Orlando officially introduced himself to Cleveland today by hitting a 2-run homer that ended up winning the game, as well as putting down a beauty of a bunt single.

Looks like Asdrubal and Orlando have a special handshake. Is it a "my arm still hurts" shake? Or a "for Cabreras only" shake? Perhaps it's a "middle infielders" shake. Whatever, let's hope we see more of the shake!

Speaking of Asdrubal's arm, did you spot his huge forearm tattoo? I don't have a DVR so I can't  make out what it says yet (over-the-air broadcast HD TV is a thing of beauty, by the way) It looks like text. If anyone ever reads this, let me know. Otherwise, I'll keep an eye out for video on the Web.

Hannahan didn't fare well today at the plate but he got a good workout at third.

Carlos Santana played at first for the first time, and he didn't look bad at all. Oh yeah he's the guy who not only snagged a pop-up bunt down the first base line but he turned it in to a TRIPLE PLAY! Yeah, triple play! That's the kind of thing this blog is all about - no matter if we win or lose, there's always some kind of exciting thing going on at every game. EVERY GAME!

Fact: Asdrubal Cabrera has been involved in all 3 triple plays at Progressive Field.

Apparently Grady is going to be playing with the Aeros on Monday. I'm thinking about going but the weather looks nasty. Good on ya, all of you fewer-than-10k fans who showed up yesterday and today. I salute all of you, with your Indians knit hats and umbrellas. GOOD WORK! Look at me with my Tribe loving and being too wussy to sit in the cold to watch a game. Look for me to be avoiding The Prog in the summer heat, too :)

The biggest thing about this game was Justin Masterson's starting pitching, which lasted 7 innings and only gave up 1 run. The offense had no problem overcoming one run. It's pretty obvious that we have bats - we have scored 20 runs in 3 games. The last key we're looking for is starting pitching. It's still early enough to not be able to put a label on our starters. But I loved what I saw today.

Another good player today was backup catcher Lou Marson. I recall that he is always pretty solid when he starts. Let's hope he doesn't get rusty...and with the way Santana played at first today I think Lou will get plenty of work. I'm all for it! Lou had some key hits today...and also has a crowd-pleasing name.

Nice to see Shelly Duncan coming through today. Everybody likes a hit from a pinch hitter.

The team is off tomorrow (what's up with Mondays off? Didn't we do a lot of that last year too?) and back on Tuesday to face the Other Sox. See you then!

Radio Chatter:
"As hot as the White Sox have been so far, that is how good Masterson is pitching today."
- Tom Hamilton