PUMPED!

I think it would be sweet if we could play the worst team in the league at the end of every season. Do you think we could somehow manage that?

I'm just so PUMPED about tonight's win! And the DH sweep! And winning 4 in a row! And Diet Dr Pepper tastes just like real Dr Pepper!

Tonight they honored Mike Hegan for his 12 years of broadcasting with the Indians. He grew up in Cleveland and went to St. Ignatious, then went to college for football but ended up playing baseball just like his dad Jim Hegan (who played here for 10 years). Mike Hegan never played here but he did come back here once he retired and did TV and radio.

I am so honored that I got to meet him this summer. Super nice guy and amazing commentator - he was the baseball guy to Hamilton's fan guy. I was very sad when he became ill last year and missed him when he was out. Hegan didn't do any away games this year and sometimes the games he did do you could really hear his voice struggling.

Mike Hegan has been in baseball for 50 years so I agree with Tom Hamilton when he says it's time for Hegan to be able to enjoy summer like the rest of us do. I wish him well and hope to see him again sometime soon!

Ok so, on to the game!

Mitch Talbot got pushed out the door and on to the mound tonight. He wasn't quite ready in the first or in the second (gave up 3 runs) but  then settled down enough to keep us in the game. Er, until the 6th when he couldn't hang on to whatever he had anymore and let three more runs slip by.

Boy who are these new Twins? Revere, Dinkleman, Tosoni, Butera? They are going to be pretty scary in 2012 if they can fill some gaps!

But for now, we'll just go on having beaten them 8 times in a row!

After Talbot left his friends Judy, Hagadone, Sipp! and Chris Perez came in to shut those Twins down and make a picnic out of it! The new guys are really shaping up - the two Wins from today went to Putnam and Hagadone!

Tonight's game was much like this afternoon's game in that we didn't get any home runs and put together our runs with a lot of small ball. We did more hitting tonight and got one more double but that's about it. Oh yeah - and we came back from a 0-6 deficit to win 7-6. YEAH WE DID!

Asdrubal left the game today with a "right elbow contusion." I guess it was because of getting hit in the elbow Friday night. I guess I'll put my sign in the car tomorrow and try to find out if it's worth bringing in or not. Hope hope hope...

Jason Donald came in for Asdrubal and ended up going 1 for 2, giving him 20 hits in 18 games in September. And September isn't even over yet!

Carlos Santana was not only hitting tonight (2 for 4 with a double) but he was really truckin' it around the bases. Not bad for a fella who caught 9 innings just a few hours before and was back to play 9 more at first! He didn't get any RBI but he came in to score two. Very nice team playing there, Carlos Santana! I am warming back up to him. And when I say "warming" I mean I am less indifferent about him now than I was earlier in the season.

Now, someone who DID get some RBIs tonight was - SHELLEY DUNCAN!

Who, me?

Dude has SIX RBI JUST TODAY! If he's not on the roster next April I am going to write a sternly-written letter to the front office. I am.

He also tried to make an awesome catch out in left field, jumping up against the wall hoping that the ball landed in his glove, but it didn't and it turned into a triple. Gold!

Anyway, he totally came through in the clutch again and put us on the board in the 6th then came back in the 7th and WON THE GODDAMN GAME!

I just Tweeted him that he is so awesome. You can too - @shelldunc.

This evening's LaPorta to Duncan's Duncan was Chisenhall who started at 3rd and looked pretty good in the field. Hannahanish. He went 2 for 2 tonight with a double, 2 walks, a run and an RBI. He is fighting a good fight when it comes to the 2012 roster, that's for sure.

Following Big Shell and Lonnie was Sweet Lou who also got a RBI in that awesome 6th, and then Cord Phelps who not only broke his dry spell of not getting a hit since June 27 he also made this one COUNT with an RBI!

Zeke got in on the fun too, going 2 for 4 tonight and getting the final RBI in the 6th.

I hope nobody goes out partying tonight because tomorrow we MUST SWEEP. We must, because I am bringing my sad little red foam broom and am gonna wave it like a maniac and I do not want to be disappointed.

Tomorrow is also "Fan Appreciation Day" and the players will be greeting the fans at the gates. WHICH PLAYERS AT WHICH GATES?!?!

I have my 2011 Topps Chris Perez and Asdrubal Cabrera cards all ready to go, along with some special pens even. I have my Shelley Duncan foul ball. I have my 2011 team photo too in case I can't find any of those other guys.

It finally occurred to me, on the eve of my 11th game, that I have a Tribe backpack and I could be carrying around pens, baseball cards, balls, foam brooms and my "Tribe Time Now" towel all the time, at every game. And buy more junk when I'm there. Doh! Next year - super fan!

So tomorrow, 1:05. Keep an eye out for me and OMG right behind the plate (if Asdrubal plays). Well just off to the first-base side of the plate. The third row.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Ron Gaedenhire looks like he has managed 330 games this year."
"With all of those injuries, he may have written 330 lineups"
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Now you see why the twins have lost 97 games this season. That was a high school mistake."
- Tom Hamilton on Revere running to 3rd and getting tagged out on a ball hit to the shortstop

"When is this season over?"
- Jim Rosenhaus has had enough of Tom Hamilton's abuse

"That would be like me getting a bowl of ice cream then ushering the ice cream using the same spoon."
- Tom Hamilton on the prospect of sharing a score card with Jim Rosenhaus

"If you expect me to comment on this ball game so far you got another thing coming."
- Mike Hegan upon returning to the booth from his family suite in the 6th

"Tell these people at this ballpark tonight that this game isn't important."

- Tom Hamilton likes the crowd's electricity

"This is why Ron Gardenhire can't manage a winning team. There is no one in his bullpen that he can trust."
- Tom Hamilton after the Twins' bullpen gave up 5 runs