Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Best of Tom Hamilton 2011, Part 1

Here's all of the Radio Chatter quotes from the first half of the season. Yes, it's a very long list!

I think it's fun to read them all in succession, but if you'd like to just read the best bits, check out the bold entries.

Don't forget to check out the Facebook page Tom Hamilton has the Best Home Run call in all of Baseball for awesome home-run calls which could never be captured in print.

And yes I know this isn't just the best of Tom Hamilton, but Mike Hegan and Jim Rosenhaus too.

Enjoy!

Radio Chatter April 1 - July 11:
"If you didn't know better, based on the weather and the score, the Browns are making a comeback against the Bears!"
- Tom Hamilton


"Bob Uecker says that [Chicago pitcher] Chris Sale is so thin that you can see his wallet from the front."
- Tom Hamilton

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

"It wasn't easy but Chris Perez notches save number one here in 2011. And the Red Sox are winless after four."
- Tom Hamilton

"There's no love lost between the Koreans and the Japanese. [...] And for the first time ever, Daisuke Matsuzaka has given up a run at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario."
- Tom Hamilton (talking about the national baseball teams not the nations)

"How good are one dollar hot dogs? Even Buck Showalter doesn't have anything bad to say about Dollar Dog Night."
- Tom Hamilton


"I'm not sure if it's the time change or what but I just looked at the clock and we're one hour ahead of where we were last night."
- Mike Hegan (commenting on the length of last night's game)

"If that restaurant doesn't have windows, someone has a large crouton in their salad."
- Tom Hamilton, regarding Hafner's homer off the face of the restaurant at Safeco Field.


"...thank you Milton."
- Tom Hamilton in response to Milton Bradley's error which allowed an un-earned run

"That's why your shortstop is the cutoff man. He's not out there to WAVE at Milton Bradley, you're supposed to throw to him. Oh well..."
- Tom Hamilton, still milling over Milton's error

"The umpires are all off-season dentists, and they tell him he's fine, put the mask back on."
- Tom Hamilton, NOT in response to Milton Bradley, but in response to a delay of game while one of the umpires asks the other umpires about his tooth


"[Milton Bradley] has plugged his ears with cotton. Good lord."
- Tom Hamilton

"If Bradley strikes out here, he'll need more than cotton in his ears."
- Tom Hamilton

"If I told you the Indians were 16-12 in the month of April, you'd probably say 'Oh, ok.' But if your team goes 4 over .500 every month of the season, suddenly you're 24 games over .500 by the end of the season."
- Tom Hamilton

"Cabrera grabs the ball and throws to...the other Cabrera..."
- Tom Hamilton

"Tim McClellan likes to be Santa Claus and not tell anyone what's in the present. Nobody in the ballpark - players, fans - has any idea what the call is until he waves his finger."
- Tom Hamilton


"Only in Disney Land can a monkey become everybody's favorite pet."
- Tom Hamilton, talking about the Rally Monkey. Yeah, that is a thing.

"Looking at the next batters, it's the Angels' 3, 4 and 5 hitters. So if you're going to finish off the Angels, you're going to earn it!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Never thought I'd come to Anaheim and there would be Fleece Blanket Night"
- Tom Hamilton

"Fausto Carmona - he's pitched gallantly tonight. Dan Heran has simply pitched better."
- Tom Hamilton

"What Kendrick got there is called a Little League home run."
- Tom Hamilton in response to Anaheim's Kendrick scoring on an error after hitting a double.

"Travis Hafner with a deep drive to right center. Can mother nature knock it down? No! Travis Hafner..into the teeth of the wind has his third home run! [...] And Pronk is back!"
- The Poetic Tom Hamilton

"Today's birthday wishes go to Helen Molnar. Ninety-four years young. Her actual birthday is this coming Tuesday, but she plays bingo on weeknights and she won't be home. Hey, nothing like a good game of bingo! [...] Hope it's a good night at the bingo parlor, Helen!
- Tom Hamilton


"Didn't realize it was 'steal a t-shirt' night at Great American Ball Park."
- Tom Hamilton's final words after his half-inning rant about Reds pitcher Mike Leake getting arrested for shoplifting six t-shirts

"With Sizemore at first and Asdrubal Cabrera at the plate, there isn't much you can't do."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's a two run [10th] inning and the fans are flocking to the parking lot."
- Tom Hamilton

"I've never seen that before! It literally bounced off the ground and hit Cabrera. Can this game get any wackier?!"
- Tom Hamilton (the game wasn't particularly wacky...I think he's been on the road too long)

"Grady Sizemore showing why he's a Gold-glover, and why this ballclub is a contender."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you talk to the Royals they are happy as heck that Zach Greinke is gone from Kansas City. He was a bit of a Negative Nellie in the clubhouse..."
- Tom Hamilton

"They got soft here in Minneapolis once they got the Metrodome. They didn't have to fight the blizzards to watch the Vikings at old Metropolitain Stadium. Nobody got softer than our engineer, Wayne."
- Tom Hamilton


"One thing stays consistent - the Indians can't get a left-handed hitter out."
- Tom Hamilton

"'Do you believe in miracles?' as Al Michaels once said. The Indians need one here."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's only a matter of time before Minnesota wakes up, and starts to play winning baseball. You just don't want to be the team that gets them going."
- Tom Hamilton

"Ohio State has 4000 people to see the band play before the game."
- Tom Hamilton, commenting on the sorry state of Minnesota Gophers football

"The tag is on Morneau...AND HE IS OUT BY EIGHT FEET! ... So Choo retires more hitters in the third than Carrasco did."
- Tom Hamilton at the end of the third inning

"It's amazing how many people that write for a living can't come up with an original thought. How can you all be writing about the same thing....nobody was writing it a year ago."
- Tom Hamilton's reaction to all of the recent stories that Joe Mauer should be moved from catching

"Gomez needs to pitch well, because if he doesn't there's a guy named Alex White knocking on the door."
- Tom Hamilton


"Cabrera hits one by Ka'aihue at first, who has the range of a statue."
- Tom Hamilton

"If he gets hot - LOOK OUT!"
- Tom Hamilton re: Shin-Soo Choo

"Justin Masterson has a good chance to be 5-0 in about a half hour."
- Tom Hamilton

"HOW ABOUT THAT?! Bases loaded, nobody out and Pestano takes care of the 4- 5- and 6-batters for the Royals!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Folks, if you don't like Shelley Duncan, take a good look in the mirror. The problem will be staring back at you."
- Tom Hamilton

"Is it that hard to let everyone know what the call is? Is his right arm that heavy?"
- Tom Hamilton

"Now, what in the world...why, in the month of April, should a team from the west coast play a team from Florida in a dome? It's not that hard to make the schedule. It's idiotic."
- Tom Hamilton


"Manny Acta's faith never has waivered on Santana. And never has a manager's faith had such a big return."
- Tom Hamilton

"There isn't a prettier ballpark than this one when it fills up like it did tonight. There's a new energy at the corner of Carnagie and Ontario."
- Tom Hamilton


"Looking at his jersey, he's got letters starting at his waist, going up and ending again at his waist."
- Tom Hamilton, commenting on Al Alburquerque


"He only weighs about a hundred pounds. [...] If his name was Saltalamacchia it would go all the way around his number. He only needs a few more letters."
- Mike Hegan's take on Alburquerque's name


"You're saying 'Why not go to Everett?' and it's because Jack Hannahan, against left handed pitching this year, is hitting .529."
- Tom Hamilton

"Jim Leyland, who normally has a cigarette going, has smoke coming out of his ears."
- Tom Hamilton on Brennan Boesch's first-pitch popup with a man at second in the 13th inning.


"...Unfortunately, April is over."
- Tom Hamilton

"You can buy a baseball team when you record a song like 'Rudoplh the Red Nosed Reindeer'. [...] Just think, every time your kids sing 'Rudolph' Gene Autrey is making money."
- Tom Hamilton regarding Gene Autrey's ownership of the Angels


"Proof again that a Buckeye is always tougher than a Gaucho. What is a Gaucho, Tony? It's sort of a horse? A Spanish horseman. Well, how many Spanish horsemen can play volleyball?"
- Tom Hamilton regarding the OSU men's volleyball winning the national championships over USC Santa Barbara


"Bobby Abreau is going to finish his career at some point...he's 37...and he's going to have one of the greatest careers that nobody's ever talked about."
- Tom Hamilton

"Former Indian Izturas went with Ryan Church to Houston for Scott Stewart. The only thing I can remember about Scott Stewart is that nobody ate more Fudgecicles in the history of the Indians franchise and was less productive than Scott Stewart."
"Scott Stewart was a peacock for the bullpen and he found himself in triple-A awfully quick."
"Were there a lot of Fudgecicles in Buffalo, Rosie?"
"I didn't want to go there, but there was a shortstop gone to Montreal and the Bisons added a relief pitcher who couldn't get anyone out at that level either."
"And it was never his fault."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus fondly remembering Scott Stewart


"Hey, there's a ball the Angels didn't get! That might be the first one in two games that they didn't make a sensational play on."
- Tom Hamilton on Santana's 4th inning double

"Oh my, what a huge hit for Choo. And it might be be the first time on this road trip that he's been able to take a deep breath and relax. And I can't believe how many Indians fans are here!"
"Tom, I think in addition to Indians fans, I think there's Choo fans."
"You're right, Rosie. Especially out west, the Korean delegation."
"When he came to the plate there was a lot of Choo-ing like at home."
- Tom Hamilton on Choo's 2-run double and the resulting wave of "CHOOOOOO!"

"Well if you like numbers, Jared Weaver in his last three starts against the Indians had given up one run, in three starts. So this again tells you how legitimate this ball club is, Rosie. They're doing it against good pitching they're not just doing it against meatballers."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've got the Angels television feed up here, and when the Angels strike out they don't replay it."
"It's like it never happened."
"Well, we are around the corner from Disneyland."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus


"You don't see many clubs play a home game on Sunday at 12:35. [...] I guess nobody goes to church out here. Except our engineer Tony!"
- Tom Hamilton


"How many times have we said 'if the Indians could juuuust have a good start to the season...'? I think 18 and 8 is a great start!"
- Tom Hamilton

"I don't know how people can stick their hands out for a ball like that. You might get a free baseball but you'll spend thousands at the orthopedic surgeon to get your fingers re-attached."
- Tom Hamilton regarding a laser Santana foul ball


"A fan in the suites reached out and made a one-handed grab. Everyone is playing defense today at Progressive Field! The good news is that he didn't spill any of his diet Pepsi. The fans below him appreciate it."
- Tom Hamilton


"Will Rhymes gave it a ride, except it was Will Rhymes and not Miguel Cabrera so it's still 5-3."
- Tom Hamilton


"Right there is an example of an out that is simply a foul ball in any other ball park in the major leagues."
- Tom Hamilton

"The chance of the A's signing Adrian Beltre this summer was the same as Rosie and I sprouting wings and flying back to our hotel."
- Tom Hamilton


"Boy, the outfield couldn't play any deeper unless they were sitting on the wall."
- Tom Hamilton

"'Enjoy the journey'...that's the motto Stephanie Hagel has driven in to those of us who work here. 'Don't worry about whether or not we make it on the air or not, just enjoy the journey and I'll take care of the rest."
"Would you make that statement if it wasn't after midnight back home?"
"Oh sure, I'm livin' on the edge."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus


"This would be a great way to start one of the ruggedest...that's not even a word...before we have every English teacher writing us...this would be a great way to start one of the most rugged road trips in baseball this year."
- Tom Hamilton


"Well if it weren't for David DeJesus, Josh Tomlin is having a perfect game. Sounds stupid, but he gave up a solo home run and got the next 8 batters out..."
- Tom Hamilton

"Let's hope that the lack of closer experience backfires on Balfour."
- Tom Hamilton

"I don't mean to laugh Rosie...but he's not 6 feet. If you're listed at 6 feet, you're 5'10". With every pitch, it looks like his arm is going to disconnect from his body, so you can see why he has command problems."
- Tom Hamilton on Tyler Chatwood

"Chatwood looks like he's 12 years old, and 6 feet is being generous."
- Jim Rosenhaus


"Choo proving that even though he's not swinging the bat so well right now, he's still a deadly weapon with that arm."
- Tom Hamilton

"Sometimes, [playing in your hometown] can be a hassle. People forget that you're here to work, this is not a vacation."
- Tom Hamilton regarding Vinnie Pestano pitching in his hometown of Anaheim

"Boy the Indians have hit some screamers tonight, but right at people."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's playing like the Grand Canyon out here tonight."
- Tom Hamilton regarding the hard-hit fly balls that go nowhere

"Choo with a throw on the fly to home. Aybar would have been out by a mile."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians are third in the league in pitching, which sort of gets lots. As tough as the pitching has been for the Indians to face, the same is true for the Angels and Oakland. Runs have been at a premium for both the Indians and their opposition."
- Tom Hamilton

"Marson says he got his hand in there. [Umpire] Doug Eddings says 'I didn't see it that way.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"[Stephanie Hagel] is pushing the Mother's Day envelope, she wants us to do a legal ID. We say all these nice things about Stephanie and she drops the FCC in our lap."
- Tom Hamilton


"It's amazing...when you're having a good year and you've got a winning record...whether or not it's a perception or reality, it sure seems like you get more calls in your favor than when you're having a bad year."
- Tom Hamilton ruminating on a questionable call in the 6th

"I shouldn't shortchange Milton Bradley. He'll be back next weekend too. Now, how long he stays in the game remains to be seen. He's been booted out of at least two games here recently for arguing balls and strikes. We'll also see if he's still wearing earplugs. He's been wearing earplugs at every home game in Seattle. At a HOME ballgame! That ought to be a promotion for the Indians. Have a contest, see who can have the best histrionics to an actor who's an umpire, and get thrown out, and win the best seats in the house."
- Tom Hamilton on the upcoming Mariners series and the return of his favorite player

"Boy does this tell you everything you need to know about this ball club. They just refuse to believe they're ever beaten. And if you talk to Manny Acta, the coaches, any of the players, they'll tell you the same thing. This ballclub always feels like it's going to find a way to win. And talk is cheap - the bottom line is they've gone out and done it this year. That's why they believe it's so that they're going to find ways to win."
- Tom Hamilton after Grady and Asdrubal's back-to-back doubles in the 9th

"Zobrist would like to argue with home plate umpire Dale Scott. Good luck."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well, he didn't go to Lafayette. We say that in jest because Rosie is a graduate of Lafayette. It took him 8 years to get his undergraduate degree."
- Tom Hamilton


"In baseball, the regular season means something, not like in the NBA or the NHL. Not when you have 16 teams in the playoffs."
- Tom Hamilton

"Usually when that happens you're not going to win. But with the kind of season this team is having, who knows."
- Tom Hamilton, regarding the unusually high number of men left in scoring position by the Indians

"The last thing you want is Choo bunting. He can with it with one swing of the bat."
- Tom Hamilton

"It looks to the hitter that there are ten guys in the infield and nobody in the outfield. But you have to hit it to the outfield, that's the key."
- Tom Hamilton on "double play depth"

"Michael, it was a slider! Take one for the team!"
- Mike Hegan on Brantley moving out of the way of a pitch with the bases loaded


"It's literally a walk-off win!"
- Tom Hamilton

"I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, Fred Griffith, but you got the wrong time to get the Bedford Nissan Grand Slam Payoff. Not with David Price on the mound."
- Tom Hamilton


"Being 5 runs down against David Price, it might as well be 15 runs."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you get hit in the back with one of Price's pitches, you might not take another breath until midnight."
- Tom Hamilton

"It had to come to an end, and if it had to come to an end you'd think it would be against a guy like David Price."
- Tom Hamilton

"Doug Jones used to do that, former Indians pitcher. Slow, slower and slowest."
- Mike Hegan

"...in downtown You Gotta Be Sh*ttin' Me..."
- Tom Bodet in a new Motel 6 commercial

"OUT AT SECOND IS CABRERA! How in the world can you get picked off at second down 5 to 3?!"
- Tom Hamilton shares his disappointment with Orlando Cabrera

"...then again, Palmeiro didn't do anything he just took somebody else's vitamin shot. There's a story to that but we all have families to feed."
- Tom Hamilton regarding Rafael Palmeiro's alleged steroids use


"Albert Pujols has made more news for hugging Joe Strauss than for swinging his bat."
- Tom Hamilton regarding recent Albert Pujols news

"As-lando Cabrera has his second double of the day..."
- Tom Hamilton's quick save

"He sure got comfortable in a hurry!"
- Tom Hamilton's comment on Choo's first-inning homer, after commenting that Choo does not look comfortable at the plate

"Jack Hannahan could not get a hit the rest of the year and he'd still be worth it."
- Tom Hamilton on Hannahan's performance at third base


"Suzuki is surprised that anyone would ever call a strike on him. He's four feet out of the batter's box, I don't know how he would know."
- Tom Hamilton


"Shall he ever come to the will-call window, Tony Sipp will not be leaving tickets."
- Tom Hamilton on Sipp's college coach who told him he'd never make it in the big leagues


"This is the kind of game that makes you think there's something special going on in 2011."
- Tom Hamilton

"That may have been the longest trip to the mound ever."
- Jim Rosenhaus after Tom Hamilton took advantage of some down time to explain how Rosie's induction into the Buffalo Bisons Hall of Fame is starting to affect their jobs


"Not only have the horses left the barn, the barn has burned to the ground."
- Tom Hamilton on the 10-run inning


"You know you've had quite a night offensively when your number eight man in the batting order has been to the plate 6 times. It's like a softball game."
- Tom Hamilton

"[Asdrubal] Cabrera is starting to make either jump throws or throws-off-balance better than any player in the league."
- Tom Hamilton

"Treanor dancing off the bag there. Why, I don't know. It's sometimes more distracting for the hitter than anything."
- Tom Hamilton

"And Matt Treanor gets picked off at second for the final out of the seventh with his club down five! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
- Tom Hamilton, moments later

"He'd be a bad poker player wouldn't he? He's out there wearing his emotions on his sleeve when he doesn't have that good command."
"Yeah he's an adrenaline guy. If he were a poker player right now Rosie he might throw the deck of cards back at the dealer."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on Chris Perez's not-so-awesome 9th


"Carmona was too amped up for his Opening Day assignment. Tried to throw the ball 200 miles per hour."
- Tom Hamilton

"Paul Konerko continues to terrorize Carmona."
- Tom Hamilton

"Travis is going to be out...they say 3 to 4 weeks. But when you say 3 to 4 weeks with an oblique, count on 6 weeks."
- Tom Hamilton

"The only thing missing from this postcard is Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis."
- Tom Hamilton regarding a "very Amish" postcard the guys got from a person in "Youngstown, Amish country."

"The good news is, by playing so well in the first part of the season, you've built up a bit of a cushion."
- Tom Hamilton

"Once again this team finding a way after being no-hitted for five-and-a-third."
- Tom Hamilton

"What a time for Orlando Cabrera to get his first hit as a US citizen."
- Tom Hamilton

"Think of Goose Gossage. He might have thrown a player over the outfield wall."
- Tom Hamilton on the emotions of relief pitchers


"Oh, Fred Lewis put on a clinic on how not to run the bases!"
- Tom Hamilton on Fred Lewis sort of running himself out to end the game

"Both of these teams tried to throw the game away."
- Mike Hegan

"Josh Tomlin, folks - you spell his name 'winner.'"
- Tom Hamilton


"It looked like a drill that went bad."
- Mike Hegan on the weird double steal/errors in the bottom of the 1st.

"The last time I saw a play like that was at Bleser Park in Avon Lake when [my son] Nick was 8. Little league."
- Tom Hamilton on the weird double steal/errors in the bottom of the 1st.

"Volquez looks like he's wearing a hat that is two sizes too small for his head. Like those kids wore in the Little Rascals. He has to keep tugging and pulling to keep it on. [...] Who the heck is the equipment manager for the Reds? Give the guy a bigger hat!"
- Tom Hamilton


"Michael Brantley has had two hits today that haven't gone 60 feet."
- Tom Hamilton

"Volquez says 'let's go through the signs again' and [Reds catcher] Hernandez says 'you only have 3 pitches.'"
- Tom Hamilton


"The Indians lead it 6-1 and [Reds manager] Dusty Baker is going to the mound to choke Volquez."
- Tom Hamilton

"Another broken belt. I'll have to ask [equipment manager] Tony Amato what the budget for belts is. Asdrubal has exceeded it."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's second busted belt this weekend


"Oh by the way, on our daily update of oblique injuries, on which we have someone to add every day..."
- Tom Hamilton on the latest injury for the Twins

"When you're getting over 2 baserunners an inning, you're going to score some runs."
- Tom Hamilton's great insight

"First base is open and that didn't look accidental."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal nearly getting hit by a pitch in the 8th

"Brandon has not tortured the Indians this weekend like he normally does."
- Tom Hamilton

"What's really amazing about the Indians on the home portion of this schedule...they've lost four games, they've only lost to two teams [Chicago and Tampa]."
- Tom Hamilton

"Good attempt by Edgar Renteria who five years ago would have made that play."
- Tom Hamilton

"Brandon Phillips...[laughing] he went to tag Orlando Cabrera who had stopped [running to second] and instead they high-fived each other and that completed the tag!"
- Tom Hamilton

"You knew this club was better, but nobody - nobody - foresaw a 29 and 15 record. As Herb used to say, that's why you play the game. Everybody and their brother can make a prediction and 99.9% of the people who make predictions don't have anything at stake so it's easy to predict."
- Tom Hamilton


"Hernandez just kind of lumbering into third [...] Is Ramon Hernandez hurt?"
"I just think Ramon doesn't run too good. He wasn't going to score, Tom. He wasn't going to try down 8 runs."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan in the 9th

"He is having an MVP-type season."
- Tom Hamilton after Asdrubal's 6th hit in a row

"It's amazing how much velocity Asdrubal Cabrera gets on a throw with both feet off the ground."
- Tom Hamilton

"Clay Buchholz tonight acts like he gets paid by the hour."
- Tom Hamilton on the Red Sox pitcher's slowness


"How about that? If Jack stays on the bag, it's a tie ballgame."
- Mike Hegan after Hannahan caught stealing and Kearns' double in the 5th

"One of the Boston folks was saying tonight that the Red Sox would give anything to get Justin Masterson back."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've not seen Manny Acta this upset in all his time with the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton after Acta got thrown out in the 8th

"What a job by Masterson. He gets a standing ovation and he should."
- Tom Hamilton on Masterson's exit

"That wind, howling out towards right field. That makes everyone a home-run-hitter if you hit it out to right field."
- Tom Hamilton

"Welp, no such thing as a routine 9th inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"What does Cabrera not lead this club in?"
- Tom Hamilton

"I can't remember Boston starting pitchers being so slow. [...] If we had Josh Tomlin working in one of these games it'd be polar opposite of either Beckett or Buchholz."
- Tom Hamilton

"I didn't mean to say 'short and squat' did I? [...] Compact. I wish I would have thought of that first."
- Mike Hegan on Carrera's stature


"Carmonas pitches are going straight down. That's how you know his stuff is working. It's when they go sideways that things go bad."
- Tom Hamilton

"The way Beckett's pitched tonight, 4 to 1 is huge. But the way the Indians play...you never know."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's one thing to struggle. It's another to become...Pittsburgh."
- Tom Hamilton on the Twins' record this year

"Some nights we leave the booth here and say to each other 'how did they do that?' [...] We said that a lot in 2007 too."
- Tom Hamilton

"Now how in the world, with a shift on, did he get that between two guys that are part of a three-man left side of the infield?"
- Tom Hamilton on

"David Ortiz's first infield hit since 1998."
"For sure. When David Ortiz gets an infield hit you know things are going bad."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan


"Well this is a day when we need [WKYC meteorologist] Betsy Kling to whip up a storm and it needs to get here in 5 minutes and continue all day."
- Tom Hamilton after the 7-run Red Sox first inning


"You sometimes have to lose the battle to win the war."
- Tom Hamilton on making Mitch Talbot give at least 5 innings

"Albert Belle probably lost that award because he and the writers didn't have many group hugs."
- Tom Hamilton on Mo Vaughn winning the MVP over Belle in 1995


"I don't think David Rackley will want to see a replay of his game behind the plate today, for either side."
- Tom Hamilton expresses his disappointment in the home plate umpire

"Don't write any obituaries for David Ortiz just yet. He's still got some pop in that bat and some speed in that bat head."
- Mike Hegan after Ortiz's home run in the 6th

"I don't think I've seen anyone hit the ball as far foul as Shelley Duncan does. I mean, he hit that ball 100 feet foul."
- Mike Hegan

"A new ballpark isn't always the panacea. A new location - like a new city - is sometimes the answer."
- Tom Hamilton regarding the Marlins' new ballpark

"Tried to hit that ball to Sarasota."
- Tom Hamilton on an Evan Longoria swinging strike

"The Indians have 6 games this season on fake grass, turf. And they're all on this road trip. The day Grady Sizemore gets back, they have all those games on turf."
- Tom Hamilton on Grady Sizemore batting DH instead of being in the outfield

"The way David Price has dominated the Indians over the years, a 4-run lead is mammoth."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians middle of the order just doesn't look the same without Travis Hafner."
- Tom Hamilton

"In Manny Acta's mind that's the magic number. You don't want a losing streak to go beyond 3."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well the Tribe has not had a 9th inning rally of 5 runs or more but...why not? It's been that kind of a season."
- Tom Hamilton in the beginning of the 9th

"Boy, this team has really excited the bay area. Friday night 16,800 show up. Yikes!"
- Tom Hamilton, slammin' the lack of Rays fans


"I don't think Matt LaPorta has to guess what's coming next from a guy who is pitching 96 miles per hour in a 5-0 game."
- Tom Hamilton


"With Joe Maddon, you could see anything. He's sometimes a mad scientist."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've lost Rosie. We'll get to him in the next inning. He's still convulsing over the cat."
"That's DJ Master Cat I think."
"You like that cat don't you? He'll probably be in our hotel lobby later. [...] The kitty has gone away now and this place has gone deafly silent."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the Ray's 7th inning entertainment


"The biggest play of this inning is the double play Ben Zobrist didn't turn."
- Tom Hamilton

"Avril Lavigne. Come on...as a man with two daughters you should know who this is."
"I'm just asking the question. Can't I invoke my fifth amendment rights? [...] As a father of daughters you might be better off not knowing."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on Tampa's post-game entertainment

"Oh boy...my wife was listening. 'Ha ha ha, Rosie got you.' Our engineer Ralph can vouch...nothing wrong with daughters, I love the daughters! When boys have a problem with friends they punch them in the nose and that's it. With daughters, it's a whole soap opera. Ralph's daughters are glaring at me now. I'm done... [...] And for all the girls out there listening, we love our daughters just as we love our sons. And that's the end of the story."
- Tom Hamilton


"Tomorrow...is not Memorial Day in Canada."
- Tom Hamilton on the upcoming Blue Jays series

"At this level, if they know you're throwing mid-90s and the only pitch you can throw is a fastball, you're not lasting long."
- Tom Hamilton commenting on Frank Hermann's previous troubles

"He is a big human being. Six-eight,  295. And like so many people his size, he's got a gret nature about him. At that size if you wanted to be an angry man, look out."
- Tom Hamilton on Rays reliever Adam Russell

"For Masterson and Carmona they both have something in common so far. They both have had a team that really owned them."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians are not playing very good baseball right now. They're not hitting, they're not having quality pitching, and now their defense is opening up holes."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well I hope your barbecue is better then this ballgame. If not, it means somebody forgot to turn the meat."
- Tom Hamilton


"Boy this is why you think of baseball and you just shake your head sometimes. There are things like this that you just can't predict."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you haven't won a game in 3 years and have a 10-run lead, you deserve to finish it and be on the field to shake hands at the end."
- Tom Hamilton with regards to Jo-Jo Reyes

"It is no time to panic, Rosie. Every team that gets to the playoffs - with the exception of the 1995 Indians - has a rough spot."
- Tom Hamilton


"Whether you need to change the rules or not...smarter people than me will make that decision."
- Tom Hamilton regarding the current crashing-into-catchers situation

"...We haven't had anything to laugh about on this road trip."
"It's been a tough trip."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus, cracking up

"Corey Patterson was sort of looking down at the turf saying 'I can't believe I just did that.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"I'm sure everyone in Toronto looked to see who the umpire was before they bought tickets for tonight's game. They saw it was Tim McClelland and that's why we have the biggest crowd for a Blue Jays game this year. They wanted to see McClelland NOT call balls and strikes."
- Tom Hamilton on one of his many McClelland rants


"I wonder if there's something going on between Santana and Talbot. You don't see Belcher run out like that. I mean, he ran."
- Tom Hamilton with regards to an interesting meeting at the mound

"I bet this pleases the Rangers...CJ Wilson's hobbies include travelling - ok - surfing, and auto racing."
- Tom Hamilton


"I'll say one thing about home plate umpire Tim Timmons. He's been consistent in one area - he's got hitters upset on both ball clubs."
- Tom Hamilton


"Tim Timmons better not need a ride to the airport. Not one of the players would give him one!"
- Tom Hamilton, several innings later

"Boy it's a weekend when the Indians have hit a ball hard, it is right at someone."
- Tom Hamilton

"Nelson Cruz...has had two home runs in this series. What he thinks every time he comes to the plate is 'Let's see how far I can hit this puppy.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"Good news, guys! Julie is 24 and still single! But you'd better not dawdle, as pretty as Julie is..."
- Tom Hamilton during the birthday greetings

"If Travis Hafner can hit for the cycle, aaaaanyone can."
- Tom Hamilton on Brantley's performance

"Rosie has reminded me to do a station identification for the first time in about a month. Stephanie Hagel has been barking at us about it for weeks."
- Tom Hamilton

"I tell you what Tom if you saw the way he started you wouldn't think he'd be here in the 8th inning."
- Mike Hegan on Scott Baker's performance

"They've set the table but nobody's clearing it!"
- Mike Hegan on Brantley and Asdrubal's performance

"For the Minnesota Twins, the 8th and 9th innings have become the Bermuda Triangle. It's where victories get lost."
- Tom Hamilton

"That's his second bat of the day. Good thing he's going home - might not have much lumber left for a longer road trip."
- Mike Hegan on Cuddyer's broken bat

"You said it, Tom. They needed a spark from somebody, somewhere, and that just did it."
- Mike Hegan on Hannahan's game-tying homer

"If you're wondering, the Indians have 4 walk-off wins."
- Tom Hamilton

"The way Carmona is pitching right now he is helping all of the Yankees out of their slumps."
- Tom Hamilton


"Carmona just served one up and said 'see how hard you can hit it.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Granderson's homer


"I don't blame Teixiera for being angry. That is bush league to throw that high after a home run."
- Tom Hamilton on Carmona hitting Mark Teixiera after giving up a home run

"That may be the most useless news story ever."
- Tom Hamilton on a story Rosenhaus read about the official scorer wanting to make sure he scored Jeter's 3000th hit correctly

"I don't even know if I can read some of these other headlines in this paper."
"Well you can, but I'll have another partner tomorrow afternoon."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenaus on The Daily Post

"Rosie's wife Carol is pregnant with their second child, which is great news. [...] I thought it was pregnant women who liked ice cream and pickles, but Rosie is going through ice cream here nobody's business. [...] You went through that ice cream like Sherman went through Georgia."
- Tom Hamilton


"If people could see what you destroyed before we went on the air tonight..."
- Jim Rosenhaus to Tom Hamilton in defense of his ice cream


"Those customs people at the air port are like 'Look, I don't want this job, I don't want to be here, so you are going to be miserable too.' You say 'hi' and they look at you like 'what did you mean by that?'"
- Tom Hamilton on going through customs


"We just heard that the grounds crew has been spotted on Long Island. I guess they are heading to the Hamptons for the weekend."
- Tom Hamilton on the rainy 7th inning

"There's a guy in the stands here who looks exactly like President Obama. Since they put him up on the big board, that guy hasn't bought his own beer all night."
- Tom Hamilton


"That just shows how your bullpen is in disarray, when you have to go to Mariano Rivera when down by 6 in the 9th."
- Tom Hamilton

"Former Indian Bartolo Colon has had a rejuvenation. The question is how did it come about...That's a topic for another time."
- Tom Hamilton on Colon's miraculous shoulder surgery that turned him from a guy in his early 30s pitching in the 80s to a guy in his late 30s pitching in the 90s.

"Carmona maintains he didn't try to hit him. New York maintains 'baloney!'"
- Tom Hamilton on Carmona hitting Mark Teixeira.


"Robinson Cano better drive the speed limit on the way home."
- Tom Hamilton after Cano hit a policeman with a foul ball

"Somehow some way he is going to make his way through it. He has made a miraculous recovery."
- Tom Hamilton after A-Rod came back in the game after being hit by Talbot. Rodriguez made a spectacular display of anguish "as if he was shot by a sniper." It was very Varejão.

"You only give up 3 runs against the Yankees, it feels like you should win."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're in the upper deck you are a long way from the action."
"And if you're in the lower seats you're either a multi-millionaire or you snuck in."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton


"C.B. Bucknor is one of the nicest men, but the worst umpire."
- Tom Hamilton

"Jack Nicholson made that movie before he got courtside seats to the LA Lakers. But that movie helped him get those seats."
- Tom Hamilton explaining One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for the youngsters. The movie came up because apparently Yankee pitcher Freddie Garcia looks like the character Chief and carries that nickname.

"You can eat all the sushi you want but you still have to age. A lot of players are eating sushi like it's the fountain of youth. [...] I'm not saying sushi is bad, just give me some Lake Erie perch, fried up."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have pretty much let everybody back in to the [penant] race."
- Tom Hamilton

"[Umpire] Mike Muchlinski tells him 'look that's not going to be ball 3 after you just took a bunt like that.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"Well they just made an announcement here at Yankee Stadium that should clear some of the park. Eduardo Nunez is coming in to bat and play short for Derek Jeter."
- Tom Hamilton


"Boy, Jack Hannahan has played Gold Glove third base all season long."
- Tom Hamilton

"This might be one of those games where if you're going to win you've got to win one to nothing."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians looking to get out of New York with a 1-run win or better, and hoping that the Tigers and Tampa Bay play 23 innings."
- Tom Hamilton

"So the Indians defensively are letting down Justin Masterson."
- Tom Hamilton

"A fan somehow reached up and snagged that foul ball. That's the kind of defense the Indians are looking for."
- Tom Hamilton


"Right now the way he [Verlander] looks, I'd be shocked if the Indians got a hit. Nothing against the Indians offense but this kid would be no-hitting anybody tonight."
- Tom Hamilton

"I wonder how many people in the Motor City are trying to get down here to get a ticket tonight. History is in the making."
- Tom Hamilton

"Catcher Alex Avila goes to the mound and says to Penny 'Look you've got three pitches, which one are you going to throw?'"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"You get the feeling the Indians are going to get to Brad Penny tonight."
- Tom Hamilton

"He realized it wasn't the beard, it was him."
"Shaved it off and hit a home run!"
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on Brennan Boesch's ex-beard


"If Fausto Carmona can throw strikes, Ordonez cannot hit them."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'll tell you what, he takes after mama's side of the family. Because his dad was a big strapping lineman."
- Tom Hamilton on Tiger relief pitcher Daniel Schlerech

"He'd have to be Carlton Fisk to get that one. Or maybe Dirk Nowitzki."
- Mike Hegan on a high wild pitch

"This guy you just hold your breath every time he comes to the plate."
- Tom Hamilton on Miguel Cabrera (no relation)

"He coulda used a relay man there. Hand him a baton...somebody else to go the other 35 feet."
- Mike Hegan on Miguel Cabrera's slowness out of the box

"I said to Tony [Sipp] the other day, how did Clemson do in the post season? 'Don't know, don't care.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Tony Sipp's Clemson coach telling him he'll never make it in the pros

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And Charlie's got the blues."
"[...] By the way, I didn't ignore that. I had something deep to say and now I've lost it..."
- Tom Hamilton cracking up Mike Hegan


"The Indians get a little-league home run and lead one to nothing."
- Tom Hamilton

"One - where was Boesch going? And second - that's a dangerous play! [...] It's a routine first inning, folks..."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's double play to end the first inning

"Wow...Brennan Boesch runs like he's 50!"
- Tom Hamilton on Boesch missing a ball in the outfield in the 3rd

"Some of the umpires that paid to get in today are not happy with that call. They always put them in the good seats behind the plate, too."
 - Jim Rosenhaus

"One thing to say about Jose Valverde...he is not on any kind of a fruit diet."
- Tom Hamilton on the Tigers' 6'4" 255# closer

"Valverde's body language would give you the idea that the last place in the world he wants to be is Comerica Park."
- Tom Hamilton

"Right now he's the Dominican's version of Burl Ives. Throws a little harder tho."
- Tom Hamilton on Valverde's goatee


"The Indians as a team hitting .500 with the bases loaded."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"I called it the Yake. Yacobs field, that's how I remember it."
- Carlos Baerga

"He has my name so that is why he had to hit a home run today."
- Carlos Baerga on Carlos Santana's home run

"Michael Brantley...stay with it! He's hitting it as hard as he can but has nothing to show for it so far."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"I used to have to write in 'Mike Hegan' 300 times each season."
"I got 301 votes. Three-hundred from you and one from my wife."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Mike Hegan on All-Star voting


"Wood putting the drama back in to the intentional walk."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Tim Wood's sort of wild intentional balls

"All the ingredients that made this team so successful earlier in the season were on display tonight."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"The final count was over 60,000 dogs last night. [...] Sales of antacid in the Cleveland area were high today."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Friday's Dollar Dog Night


"Hammy is our big toe."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Tom Hamilton's absence


"Nobody can hit that breaking ball, Mike."
"Not just this ball club, nobody period."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Mike Hegan on Carrasco's breaking ball

"How many hitters would have watched it and not gotten to 3rd base?"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Grady's home-run-turned-triple

"The most confused guy in the ballpark right now is Juan Nicasio."
- Mike Hegan on Santana's homer in the 4th

"He was cruising along and ran into a little bit of trouble, then BANG the roof caved in on him."
- Mike Hegan on Fausto's departure

"Florida has a new manager, who's an old manager. [...] Jack McKeon, the first year he managed in the big leagues, President Nixon was going through the Watergate scandal."
- Tom Hamilton on the hiring of interim manager Jack McKeon in Florida

"Manny Acta just loves the way Michael Brantley goes about his business."
- Tom Hamilton

"I have no idea what was wrong with it...wait, I do know. There was nothing wrong with it. [...] So if it's down the middle of the plate, it's a ball to Todd Helton."
- Tom Hamilton hating on umpire Gerry Davis


"Pronkville is begging for a souvenir."
- Tom Hamilton


"People listen to these games and they actually believe you guys! I pay for that in the offseason!"
- Jim Rosenhaus taking Mike Hegan to task for suggesting that he was wearing pink high heels


"Chacin is walking around the mound thinking to himself 'Why can't I throw strikes over the corners of the plate?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Chacin's multiple walks

"Those 'All You Can Eat Seats' ... great time to go to the ballpark and then get a physical the next day."
- Tom Hamilton


"The way the wind is blowing now, it'll be easier to rally from behind."
- Tom Hamilton puts a positive spin on the impending storm

"They put a 'no doubles' defense on at Coors Field and doubles will be dropping in everywhere."
- Tom Hamilton

"I asked Orlando Cabrera how he liked playing third base, and he just shook his head."
- Tom Hamilton

"He either caught a spike or he simply had a brain cramp."
- Tom Hamilton on Hammel's balk

"He twisted so hard he almost spun into the ground!"
- Mike Hegan on Hafner's home run swing

"A year ago, the Indians were 13.5 games out of first. And 20 games below .500. What a turnaround!"
- Tom Hamilton

"And the Tribe bullpen is still shutting them down. What else is new?"
- Tom Hamilton after the top of the 8th

"Boy, Choo hit a 2-iron that just didn't get high enough!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Carrasco was outmatched from the moment he stepped in to the batter's box."
- Tom Hamilton on Carrasco's first at-bat

"Folks if you need to go do something, you can go do it now because [Carrasco] isn't going to help himself."
"He swung at one that was over his head last time I think."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on Carrasco's second at-bat

"Yeah but when you're Kung-Fu Panda, you don't just throw to first to end a game you have to put a little style in it."
- Tom Hamilton admiring Pablo Sandoval's nickname


"If you're looking for Jimmy Hoffa you might want to look in Brian Wilson's beard. [...] How much shoe polish does it take to dye that thing jet black?"
"Who would have thought the Abe Lincoln look would be in vogue?"
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on Giants pitcher Brian Wilson's beard


"He charged the slow chopper and did everything but kick it into the seats."
- Tom Hamilton on Santana's second error in the 6th inning

"You play the world champions in their park, you can't beat yourself. And that's what the Indians are doing here."
- Tom Hamilton

"No matter what happens this inning, it just has not been a very good weekend. [...] They're just not doing the little things and the little things are what got them to 30 and 15."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's supposed to be a high of 111 degrees [in Arizona]. But, the natives will tell you 'It's a dry heat.' Satan will tell you Hell is a dry heat!"
"An oven is dry heat but you don't put your head in there!"
"Good thing we're indoors, which the entire state of Arizona is indoors."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the weather in Arizona


"If one of those sail boats goes over, since we're high up here is it our job to call the Coast Guard?"
- Jim Rosenhaus


"Travis Buck has racked up the frequent flyer miles going between home and Columbus."
- Tom Hamilton

"And how 'bout the kid?"
- Tom Hamilton on Lonnie Chisenhall

"My friend went golfing today, his tee-time was 2:30. Since nobody is outside golfing since it's so darned hot, it was $7 to tee off at 2:30 on a nice course!"
- Tom Hamilton can't believe how hot it is in Arizona


"From the outside it looks like an airplane hangar. You'd never know it was a baseball stadium from the outside."
- Tom Hamilton on Chase Field

"They're all down his arms, coming up his neck. He's missing the Mike Tyson face tattoo but that's about it...I didn't go any further than that. That's taking reporting a little too far."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Ryan Roberts' tattoos


"Based on how they are ordering things down below, the staff Christmas party is OFF. The budget has been blown."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians' back office party downstairs


"He doesn't look comfortable against the submarine style pitching of Joe Smith. Most right-handers don't feel comfortable."
- Tom Hamilton on Justin Upton

"Tony Sipp is not paying any attention to the baserunner. You just can't do that in a tie game in the 9th!"
- Tom Hamilton

"We're in the desert! If you don't believe me, the temperature is 113 degrees and the humidity is 18 percent."
- Tom Hamilton

"Sorry Ryan Roberts, you're not that good. Carlos Carrasco is not trying to hit you. Unless Rosie told you to, because of all the tattoos, which seem to really bother [Rosenhause] this series."
- Tom Hamilton


"That's a little play, that doesn't end up in the box score...but just a little slide prevented a double play. [...] Now you've got runners at the corners with one out."
- Tom Hamilton on Austin Kearns' baserunning in the 3rd

"The park is air-conditioned and your car is air-conditioned, but people don't want to make the walk from the car to the ballpark in this heat."
- Jim Rosenhaus on the struggle to get people to come to day games in Arizona


"You come to this balllpark and you'd better score runs. You're not going to see many 1-0 games in this ballpark."
- Tom Hamilton

"Justin Masteron has a lead!"
- Tom Hamilton, after just 2 innings

"Can you imagine Brett Favre uncorking a throw from short?"
- Tom Hamilton talking about Favre's amature baseball career

"Dusty [Baker] thought 'if that idiot on the radio thought of it, why didn't I think of it two innings ago?'"
- Tom Hamilton noticing that the Reds got someone warming up as soon as he mentioned it


"Does anybody ever get hurt when they're in a slump?"
- Tom Hamilton on the exit of the hot-hitting Travis Buck


"Boy, it's hard to think of a third baseman right now who has a stronger throwing arm than Lonnie Chisenhall."
- Tom Hamilton

"If the Indians are in town, Brandon Phillips is going to have a big weekend. He just absolutely TORTURES the Indians. It's almost as if he wants to make sure the Indians never forget they let him get away."
- Tom Hamilton

"We're going to get to see the Cuban Missle, Aroldis Chapman. He can throw 100 miles an hour, but there's a chance he'll also throw it up here to our broadcast booth."
- Tom Hamilton Aroldis Chapman's control


"Two hours for Rowland, but an hour and twenty minutes for Rosie."
"You gotta make up your mind. I've been accused of driving slowly before, too."
- Tom Hamilton on driving from Cincinnatti to Indianapolis

"All Drew Stubbs is trying to do right now is padding his stolen base total. You know what's going to happen to Drew Stubbs this weekend? He's going to get drilled."
- Tom Hamilton does not like you trying to steal when we've given up trying to throw you out

"What the remaining Reds fans are saying now is that the fireworks better be phenomenal. Because the game got ugly quick for Reds fans."
- Tom Hamilton


"This is why having American League teams have to do this is idiotic. Having the pitchers bat, all that is going to happen is your pitcher gets hurt."
- Tom Hamilton DOES NOT LIKE when AL teams have to bat their pitcher

"In most years in the American league if you have an ERA under 4.0 you're leading the league."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians' team ERA of 3.65

"The bats have come alive since they left San Francisco!"
- Tom Hamilton

"There's no question that National League lineups in no way compare to the American League. Part of it is the DH but there's just not good hitting in the National League."
- Tom Hamilton

"For nine days I twiddled my thumbs until the 7th inning then hoped I got an at-bat."
- Travis Hafner to Tom Hamilton

"They don't like the balls and strikes being called, but get used to it that's what he did in the first inning! [...] One thing about the Yankees - they never believe that a call should go against them."
- Tom Hamilton on a dust-up between the Yankees catcher and the home plate umpire


"I don't think anyone in the American League is sorry to see [pitchers batting] go."
"You know who will miss it? Josh Tomlin. He got some great hits!"
- Mike Hegan and Jim Rosenhaus on pitchers batting


"CC Sabathia already said 'I'm going to the Bahamas, don't call.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the All Star Game picks


"The last time these teams faced each other on the 4th of July was here, 5 years ago, and the Indians won 19-1! Tonight, nothing but goose eggs!"
- Tom Hamilton

"His numbers have started to drop a little with age. And a lack of vitamins."
- Tom Hamilton does not like A-Rod taking "vitamins" (HE MEANS STEROIDS)


"Well it had to have hit something or Teixeira would have caught it. He catches everything!"
- Tom Hamilton on a mysterious bounce in the 7th

"How about...you get your first home run on the 4th of July against the New York Yankees, and your second hit off of AJ Burnett?"
- Tom Hamilton on Kearns' homer

"Vinnie Pestano was 10 during Derek Jeter's rookie year."
- Tom Hamilton

"It doesn't matter how the weather is at home, how the wind is blowing. It's blowing in tonight and they just hit two more homers at home! We all know how miserable the spring was in Cleveland yet the Indians have now hit 53 home runs at home, 24 on the road."
- Tom Hamilton

"This is kind of a micrcosm of this season. This ballclub does not rely on one guy."
- Tom Hamilton

"That was vintage Sizemore!"
- Jim Rosenhaus after Grady's awesome catch in the 5th

"The problem with a 2-0 lead...if you're Manny Acta you hold your breath every time a Yankee comes to the plate with a man on."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have had so many opportunities, they need to cash in here or rue the day."
- Tom Hamilton on having the bases loaded

"Well you don't have to guess where Boone Logan is from. Texas. With a name like that he's not from North Dakota."
- Tom Hamilton

"With bases loaded and less than 2 outs they're hitting .613 as a team."
- Tom Hamilton, on the Indians

"I don't think Villanueva is going to invite Dana DeMuth for a late-night dinner."
- Tom Hamilton on the home-plate umpire's tight strike zone

"They've got a shift on for Hafner. My goodness, there is a second baseman in right field, about 40 feet."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have the makings of a pretty good rec league basketball team now with [McAllister], Masterson...Carlos Carrasco is a big boy too, maybe on point."
- Jim Rosenhaus


"You know, 94 pitches here in the big leagues, the way he had to work so hard, is like 120 pitches down in Columbus."
- Mike Hegan on McAllister's pitch count

"This game has had the pace of the old tortise and the hare race. [...] As we've said before, some 4 hour games are too short and some 3 hour games are too long. This game is too long."
- Mike Hegan after 3 hours

"Encarnacion jumps up in the air and he's not happy. But he's got to get in line, Dana DeMuth has 15 other people unhappy with his calls tonight."
- Tom Hamilton after Encarnacion strikes out


"If the Indians don't win this game, they have only themselves to blame."
- Tom Hamilton

"You don't want to be down 3 runs but if you have to be down 3 runs this is the situation you want to face."
- Mike Hegan with Hafner up and the bases loaded

"A night of utter frustration ends with one of the best 9th innings ever at Progressive Field."
- Tom Hamilton

"Basically when you see what we saw last night from Travis Hafner, it's like seeing a perfect game, frequency-wise."
- Tom Hamilton

"So much for the Indians being able to capitalize off the momentum of last night's comeback."
- Tom Hamilton

"You wonder how many starts he's going to get before the Indians go to triple-A."
- Tom Hamilton on Mitch Talbot

"Try to figure out this one. Jo-Jo Reyes goes three years without a win, and he's trying to beat them for the second time this year."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well the good news for the Indians is that they have Josh Tomlin tomorrow."
- Tom Hamilton

"You can't go into the 9th inning down 5 or 6 runs thinking 'Well, we'll get 'em, just like last night.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"All the time, Orlando Cabrera seems to be in the middle of it."
- Tom Hamilton on Orlando at bat as the tying run

"Boy that's what happens when you have a home plate umpire who acts like he's never called balls and strikes before."
-  Tom Hamilton is not amused

"I can't think of anyone else who's given up 9 this year..."
"Oh, Fausto. He gave up 10."
"[Laughing] Well, you know, I was trying to come up with 9 not 10..."
"We weren't laughing that day were we?"
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on Charlie Furbush giving up 9 runs today


"There is something about watching the All Star game and seeing your club first in the standings."
- Tom Hamilton


"The Indians have preached and preached both to Carmona and Carrasco - when you're in trouble quit trying to trick hitters."
- Tom Hamilton

"It almost looks like some guys are on the All Star break too soon."
- Tom Hamilton


"John Farrel feels Jose Bautista has done enough damage for the weekend."
- Tom Hamilton on Bautista leaving the game

"He's like Secretariat right now."
- Tom Hamilton on Bautista leading in homers by so many

"A year ago at this time, the Cleveland Indians were 20 games under .500 and 15 games out of first. This has not been a good weekend but look at the first half as a whole."
- Tom Hamilton


"The Indians may be the only playoff contender that doesn't need bullpen help."
- Tom Hamilton

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Good Things

Welp, Cleveland Baseball is over until next year. This is pretty sad for me and I'm sure for you too.

We did end with some good things, just tonight:

- Rookie pitcher Zach McAllister had an amazing game giving up just one run to the best team in the division, pitching better than Ubaldo, Fausto and Masterson in their last starts.
- Even though we lost we still ended up in 2nd by ourselves, with Chicago losing earlier today.
- Even though we didn't end the season at or above .500 we won more games than last year when we ended up in 4th.
- The Red Sox completed their meltdown and will not be going to the playoffs. !!!! (My brother pointed out that they probably got in to the locker room just in time to see the Rays win it in 12 with a walkoff homer).
- Hafner's healthy AND playing well and will be ready for 2012. Same for Hannahan.
- This

So really, it was all good. We had a great showing against the Tigers tonight and that is great. Putting up a good showing against what seems to be an amazing team right now is a great memory to leave us with until April.

McAllister had a fantastic game, giving up 0 earned and 1 un-earned run in 5 innings with 4 strikeouts. This is his best outing so far - of 4 this year.

As I had hoped, Joe Smith came in to relieve him but he didn't fare so well. Neither did Putnam or Pestano, giving up 4 runs between them. We didn't see Chris Perez. Drat.

The Tigers out-hit us 12-7 but they only out-scored us by 1. They had as many LOB as us! Heynow!

Item of note: Manny Acta was thrown out of the game in the first inning. The Indians published a story about it right away suggesting that "conspiracy theorists" say that Acta planned it in order to give retiring bench coach Tim Tolman a chance to manage the game.

There was also the fact that Acta - I mean Tolman - put Jim Thome in to bat for Fukudome in the 9th. The good spirit just OOZES from that Manny Acta, doesn't it? Cool guy.

So Fukudome sort of tripped up a bit at the end there (he didn't get on base tonight save for getting hit - again) but I like him. I would not mind him as part of our 2012 outfield and lineup one bit! I hope he has an interesting time exploring Cleveland this winter if he decides to stick around in town instead of stay in Chicago.

Kipnis...best second baseman since Robby Alomar? He is obviously not Alomar in the field but close enough and then he's pretty close at the plate. He got 19 RBI in only 36 games. AND...he only played 36 games but did he or did he not leave a HUGE impression on us? Oh yeah! And Jason Donald isn't too bad either. Nice to know we aren't going to be wondering what to do at 2nd next year. It's locked up.

You all know how I feel about Asdrubal, so I don't need to OMG all over the place about his 2011 season. Word has it that he was slated to sit tonight but he TOLD Acta (en Espanol?) that he'd be playing tonight. Because he's awesome. And he's got some fans now that want to see him play and everything!

Jhonny Peralta got his 21st homer tonight, and had his best season ever. Well, Asdrubal had 25 homers and an even bester season. SO WE DON'T MISS YOU, JHONNY!!!

Did I mention Travis Hafner is back? It's beautiful. So many guys come back from injuries and just never are the same. Hafner, while he didn't even manage 20 home runs, still managed to hit .280 with 57 RBI in just 94 games. That's more than one RBI every other game!

You know how I feel about Thome and, by God, it sure would be awkward to have a guy on the field who is also a statue in the stadium, so I hope this means Thome is done and Hafner is our new Thome. Which he is, and he already was, he just had a bit of a hiccup. Man, I even saw Pronk HUSTLING around the bases a few times this year after his foot injury! See you in 2012!

Carlos Santana - I was skeptical. No doubt I was skeptical. He was as frustrating as hell in the beginning of the season because he was pretty much the one I was most looking forward to seeing back and healthy in 2011. He actually ended up impressing me - perhaps not until Asdrubal laid into him one night after a missed play. Obviously Asdrubal didn't fix Santana's bat but his play got a little better and in the last 1/3 of the season he was hot as hell. He ended up with 27 homers and 79 RBI, which is pretty amazing considering how slow he started.

I look forward to seeing he and Lou trade on and off next year. Speaking of catchers - Sandy Alomar Jr. is slated to be our new bench coach next year. He says he would go for an interview with the White Sox if called but ultimately he wants to win a championship here in Cleveland. LOVE!

Speaking of trading off with Lou...I do look forward to LaPorta too. He's got it in him and everybody knows it but him. However, if we need someone worth trading to trade, I wouldn't mind losing him. Because I would be proud that he's good enough to trade. If he does come back, I look forward to that as well.

Oh hey, Shelley Duncan! YOU ARE AMAZING!!! With Choo and Fukudome here next year, it will be interesting to see who ends up in the outfield. There's one more spot left for Grady, Zeke and Shelley. If they don't give Shelley an honest shot...I don't know what they are thinking.

Supermanahan! In at 3rd tonight and going 2 for 3 at the plate. He only ended up hitting .250 this year but he was impressive enough in the field to make us forget. And, really, he ended up being decent at the plate at the end there.

Of course we like Lonnie too, who is 8 years Jack's junior. That's a rough call because Lonnie's bat is hot and they are predicting he might be the team HR leader if he had a full-time job. But Hannahan is a fucking VACUUM out there so...what does one do?

My favorite part about this season was meeting all the new players and how amazing they all ended up being. Not just the sprouts - with Zeke's game-winning first-at-bat drag bunt, Kipnis's first hit being a game-winner, Lonnie's walkoff homer - but also good stuff from new faces Ubaldo and Fukudome. And some smiles from that bastard Jim Thome.

Plus, my favorite player ever, Asdrubal Cabrera, had his best year ever. He can only get better, right? I predict "OMG ASDRUBAL!!!" will totally take off next year.

So much fun and so much excitement! We did better than anyone thought we would, regardless of "losing" first place. Last year I knew this year would be special. Now I know that next year will be unforgettable.

And maybe I'll hang out with the Hargroves again. You never know!

I think I'll have another post or two on the blog, as a wrap-up. I hope to reach 10,000 pageviews by October 1 and I'm REALLY close. As soon as I have time I'll do a Radio Chatter Roundup and highlight some of the best quotes from this year.

So, so long! Thanks for reading and after the Roundup we'll see you again on April 5!

Radio Chatter:
"If you think the players were hooting and hollering you should have seen the wives. They were hooting and hollering from Saks."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians watching the White Sox lose this afternoon and the $10,000 2nd-place bonus they all recieved

"If there were 81 home games, I had 81 pieces of carrot cake every year at the ballpark."
- Mike Hegan is enjoying some carrot cake and reminiscing about the old dessert cart

"That's what common sense would say, which is why it hasn't happened."
- Tom Hamilton agrees that the last games of the year should be day games

"Boy...the Tigers are relentless."
- Tom Hamilton in the 7th

"There is life outside New York and Boston. Those folks just don't know it."
- Tom Hamilton on a Detroit/Milwaukee World Series

"I think right now if the Indians played the Tigers a hundred more times they might not beat them again."
- Tom Hamilton

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Everybody Hits!

I'm serious! Against a team that has beaten up on us for our last 8 meetings and each one of our guys ended up getting a hit tonight. Not only just the 9 but also pinch hitter Cord Phelps. In fact if their lineup wasn't so mind-blowingly awesome right now, we would have totally had a chance to win it!


In fact, had Gomez not given up 4 runs worth of homers - victory would have been ours!

Jeanmar Gomez really got schooled tonight, which is good for a young guy to experience. Perhaps a better experience if he did not give up 8 runs in 4 2/3 but ... he did strike out 5.

Durbin finished off the 5th and gave up a 9th run, then Hagadone and Putnam got some man-work done out there and had 2 scoreless innings between them. They have fresh arms for sure but all of the new guys seem to be shaping up all right. The three relievers struck out 5 together, so that's cool.

Fukudome lead off again and he went 1 for 5. He was red hot for a minute there but has been "slumping" lately. Kipnis and Santana also went 1 for 5.

Oh yeah, even though we went through a good portion of Detroit's bullpen - as a team they struck us out 13 times. Ouch!

Thome had a hot night tonight. Yeah he did! He ended up going 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Guess how many strikeouts? NONE STRIKEOUTS! And as I said above, his replacement legs Cord Phelps got himself a last-minute double and a RUN too.

Nice job, 4-hole!

Shelley Duncan had an RBI double, so now he's got 22 hits and 23 RBI in the month of September. That's in just 25 games. HOLY CRAP SHELLEY DUNCAN!
I know, right?!
He also got on base due to a fielding error AND had a sweet catch in the 6th. It pains me that it's not a highlight clip, though, because Tom Hamilton made it sound great.

Lonnie Chisenhall is workin' it some more, playing for that job no doubt. He went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run giving him 11 hits in his last 10 games.

Jason Donald is also singing for his supper with another hit tonight, a sweet 2-run single in the 6th. Can hit in the clutch? Do it!

Zeke and Sweet Lou were also-rans tonight in the race for Everybody Hits! but dangit, they did their parts and got their hits. Lou also went the extra mile and caught a guy stealing.
Stayin' in the game, fan!
So let's see...not winning tonight means we won't end up over .500. Winning tomorrow means we'll be at .500. If we lose and Chicago wins we'll be tied for second.

A win would be really awesome tomorrow night. As it would EVERY night but especially tomorrow. Last game, a couple things at stake.

Zach McAllister, no pressure. Hahahaha....I hope we get to see Pure Rage tomorrow. And of course Joe Smith. I think they should each pitch 3 innings what do you think? Yeah!

Last game, folks. 7:05, pending the weather. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The Indians have NO...absolutely NO answer for Miguel Cabrera."
- Tom Hamilton

"Right now, Bob Feller in his heyday might have problems with this Tiger lineup the way they're hitting."
- Tom Hamilton

"That is a home run in any other park in all of baseball. American League, National League...that was 420 feet!"
- Mike Hegan on Santana's long fly out in the 4th

"Thirty-one thousand sitting back wishing tomorrow were Friday and the Tigers were at home."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians ought to seriously consider walking him every time. Even if the bases are loaded."
- Tom Hamilton after Miguel Cabrera's homer in the 6th

Monday, September 26, 2011

So How About Them Tigers?

What do you think - are you going to root for the Tigers in the playoffs? Generally I don't pay attention to playoffs that we're not a part of but I am curious about how these Tigers might do. I of course would want them to murder the Yankees and if the BoSox get in, take care of those idiots too. Texas and Tampa I could care less about.

The Lions are 3-0 right now, the city of Detroit could stand to have an awesome October.

Sometimes people say you have to root for the team that represents your division. Others would say you don't want anyone from your division rising so high. So I don't know.

I think I will root for them. Because it's the rust belt and hey, I'd feel a lot better to know we came in 2nd to the World Series Champs, right?

In the meantime...Ubaldo Jiminez was no good. Ho hum. He gave up 6 in 5 innings after a 1-2-3 first. He only struck out 3 which is normal for most of our guys but pretty bad for Ubaldo.

Not to be out done, Corey Kluber came in and gave up 4 runs. Then Josh Judy gave up 4 more. Yep.

The bats didn't do anything...except Asdrubal! He got a single in the 4th. He was taken out in the 9th for Valbuena. VALBUENA!

Before that, Jerad Head came in for Fukudome to get some swings. He got a hit too! Off the Detroit reliever, but still...

The other guy to get a hit was NOT Shelley Duncan. It was Matt LaPorta who didn't just get ONE hit he got TWO.

Doug Fister pitched an 8-inning shutout, with no walks and 9 strikeouts.

At least it wasn't a rainout. And we didn't get any errors. Here's a little Lou for you:

Chin up, fan!
Same time, same place tomorrow. 7:05 in Detroit - maybe it will be more exciting? See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"That's the one downfall of this Detroit lineup. They can't run worth a lick."
- Tom Hamilton

"With Avila and the 3 guys on base...if they were on a relay team...that race would take 2 days."
- Tom Hamilton

"Last outing for the year for Jiminez is...not a good one."
- Tom Hamilton

"Welp, Corey Kluber, making friends early here in Motown."
- Tom Hamilton after Kluber hit Miguel Cabrera

"This is men against boys."
- Tom Hamilton on Doug Fister

"Right now the Indians feel like the Christians did in the Roman coliseum. They are getting devoured right now by the Tigers."
- Tom Hamilton

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Fan Appreciation Day...

...Was awesome! This is the third year in the row that I've gone to the last home game of the year and it seems to get better every year.

The deal was that players would be greeting fans at the gates from 11:30-12, so my friend and I left the 'burbs around 10:30 to get there on time. We left extra early because there was a Browns game downtown too and it was a good call on her part because we did hit traffic.

We got there with time to spare so we were able to mill around the Kids Fun Days area in the plaza. Not sure what this is all about as I don't have a kid (but my friend does so believe me we'll be back) but they were giving out all sorts of free stuff to kids and adults. We got nice canvas bags and an Indians scarf, plus we got to create a Christmas card to be sent to troops. We also could have gotten a foam visor and made a keychain but...meh.

There were extremely large snakes being shown off, just slithering down the alley. That was cool. My friend disagreed.

So around 11:40 they had the players come out and let the fans through the gate. Our gate featured Zach Putnam (actually it was "Who Was That?" until I just now looked it up), Justin Masterson and Jim Thome. This group did not include Perez, Shelley or Asdrubal so we ran through to another gate where we found Perez, Grady and Sipp. I wanted to take a picture of myself with Perez but I heard an usher tell someone no pictures with adults so, fair enough. They also said no autographs. The guys were handing out short packs of baseball cards. I got this picture:
I got another picture but my phone screwed it up. But anyway, Chris Perez did shake my hand. He's got some big paws! I've got big paws myself so it's nice to see that our closer dominates me in the hand area.

Then we ran over to the third gate where Ubaldo was having a great time having his photo taken with fans. If Asdrubal and Shelley had been there they were long gone and it was just Ubaldo and some coaches. And that was that.

Then we went to eat in the Terrace Club because our tickets allowed it. I'm pretty much done with the Terrace Club. Yeah, it's a nice place to sit down if you've got an hour to blow but the menu is very small, the food is not that good and it's expensive. And the service was super slow. Had they no idea that we had someplace to be?! Anyway...I think I am just going to stick with concessions anymore.


But not the hamburgers because they suck. After 11 games this season my pick for non-hotdog foods worth eating at the ballpark so far are the "Food Network" steak sandwiches (blue cheese - yum!) and the cotton candy.

I did try some stuff from the new "App Store" (they sell fried everything, except fried mozzarella!) and it was good but I am not a huge fan of fried food. I got the "trio" with  fried cookie dough, fried Twinkie and "funnel fries." One of those "good in the moment" food choices but by the drive home you question your decision. I wish I would have gone with their September "Fried Food of the Month" - fried mac & cheese. Oh well - next year!

Our seats were awesome, I got them off StubHub. Third row right behind the plate. The crowd there was sparse...I suspect season-ticket-holders or corporate clients must get bored by this time of the year. Plus there was a Browns game.

The seats behind the plate don't seem to get much sun...so it smells moldy back there! Really, $80/seat and it's moldy! Then again maybe that's just a September thing.

I trucked OMG around with me all morning (actually my friend did a lot of trucking for me!) but Asdrubal didn't play. First time that's happened! But since the 2 seats next to us were open, OMG sat there. I think it would have been EPIC to be able to put the sign to use being where we were situated (we actually were on TV quite a bit!) but alas...
Wouldn't you have loved to see OMG right there?

I did have my foam broom, my "Tribe Time Now" towel and some weird necklace consisting of beads and a plaster Chief Wahoo that I got at a garage sale early in the summer. None of these talismans seemed to work any sort of magic...

So there was a baseball game going on at this baseball game, which was also fun.

Good Fausto pitched 6 1/3, and after a shaky first he sailed through giving up just one run in the 5th and one in the 6th. The bullpen came in and did awesome (Raffy, Pestano, Smith) but our recently-hot bats couldn't overcome that deficit. We were tied and went into extra innings, and Sipp couldn't hold it in the 10th and then we couldn't heroic ourselves out of that, bat-wise.

The Twins had 2 more hits than us and that proved to make all the difference.

Fukudome was back to being awesome leadoff guy man, at least when he went 2 for 2 in his first 2 at-bats. Unfortunately this didn't lead to any run scoring. But he did do a lot of work out there in the outfield...that also came in the first 2 innings with 4 balls going out to him. Then he got his hits to right!

Santana and Hafner both went 1 for 4 and walked. Only Hafner managed to get any runs out of it - he came around to score twice.

Oh, do you know why? Because Shelley Duncan bats after Hafner and he rocks! Shelley went 3 for 2 today with a homer and 2 RBI. That makes, oh, TWENTY-TWO RBI in the month of September! And 7 homers in 72 at-bats. How about that?!

He tried in vain to make one of his patented "Did I do that?" catches in the outfield but it didn't work out so well this time. He put that paw up in the air and did not come down with a baseball this time. Instead the other guy came down with a triple. Oops!

My dad - who has not been paying attention this year - asked why he missed the catch if he was such a great outfielder. I said it was because he is not actually a great outfielder, just tall.

So in the 8th they took out Duncan (yep, Duncan, not Hafner) and put in Thome. Manny Acta apparently had been thinking about this bit of cleverness all night. Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan said how nice it was that Manny Acta "gets it." We all got to give Thome more ovation wheee!

Then Thome was walked and we got to boo. Then Chisenhall hit into a double play and that was that. That really killed me because we were tied and there was a man on base and who else but Shelley Duncan would you want up in this scenario? We got Thome instead. But oh well, the season's over I am not going to be bitchy about that move.

Then Thome came out of the dugout with a glove and stood at third. I guess this was Manny's master plan for TWO ovations! Because we all loved Thome as a fielder (?). But anyway, he stayed in for one pitch then they shoved a very confused Jerad Head out there and told him to go to left and called Lonnie back in to third. And then the crowd booed because, goddammit, if you're going to put Thome in to play third LET (MAKE) HIM PLAY THIRD! At least one whole batter, something! Standing there for one pitch is just stupid. Even if he plays and fucking sucks, we all at least get a good laugh out of it.Acta gave up on the game by taking Shelley out so why not stick with the theme and let Thome play an out? Ack.

That was the first time in my life that I've ever been slightly sickened by the whole idea of the designated hitter. A 41-year-old man with an $3mm contract who can't play one out in the field? Seriously?

Sorry for the un-positiveness. And Thome-hating! Argh what is my issue?!
Awwww, I'm tellin'!

Anyway, Lonnie did get a hit today and Jason Donald rocked it going 2 for 3. He's now hitting .320 and has a 5-game hitting streak with 9 hits in those 5 games!

Sweet Lou, he did not get a hit. But he seemed to look and smile at me between every play. He really appreciated my heckling encouragement now that I was sitting so close. He actually had 3 hits that, had they been an inch either way, would have actually ended up as hits but not outs. Poor Lou!

It started raining during the Tribe's last at-bat. It had actually sprinkled during the Twins' first at-bat. My friend and I tried to get in line to run the bases but...well so did 20,000 other people. Next time!

 All in all, I had a great afternoon at the ballpark. I had a great summer at the ballpark! Every time I sat in a different section and had a different experience. I saw a bunch of different types of games and, according to my calculations, saw 37 different players. Maybe even more! I tried a lot of food and a lot of Diet Dr Pepper and managed not to collect any more collectible cups because I have 10 already and that is a full set.

I took 11 different friends with me to these 11 games, one of them going to her first game ever and ended up going to 5 total this summer! I also got Baby Jack into a game who not only went to his first game but also got to hang with the Hargroves. I met Hammy, Hegan and Rosie and got my sign on the big board a few times. I got sunburnt and rained on and watched some milestones hit and records broken.

I hope next year I get to take my niece and some of my friends' kids to games. I already started devising a plan where they pick me up at the Rapid station and leave when they've had enough and I stay to the end and take the train home. I also think next year I will buy more StubHub tickets and try for autographs.

And I definitely, definitely will get Shelley to autograph my foul ball.

So we've got 3 more games in Detroit then we're done. Don't forget to tune in for the next 3 days to get as much Cleveland baseball out of this year as possible.

Remember this...even if we lose the next 3, you still got 6 whole months of Cleveland baseball. Don't be a sour puss - be positive!

So, see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Shelley Duncan knows he should have caught that ball."
"Everybody in the ballpark knows."
- Mike Hegan and Tom Hamilton on Duncan's missed ball in the first

"You aren't going to tell me that Jim Thome is going to come in and pinch run for Travis Hafner are you?"
"That would surprise everyone. Jimmy would be surprised too!"
- Mike Hegan and Tom Hamilton on Acta's "surprise"

"Lou Marson's gonna say 'What do I have to do to get a base hit?'"
- Mike Hegan says bloop hits and line drive outs do not even out

"Just another day in the office for Duncan in September. He's 2 for 2 with a home run and 2 RBI."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"Oh for the love of Pete...ball two! Here comes Tim Belcher. I bet Belcher is hoping the home plate umpire comes out there. This is absurd..."
"And the home plate umpire isn't going."
"He knows better."
"He's telling Perez 'as soon as he gets to the dirt area, tell me and I'm going to turn around.'"
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan (and Tim Belcher) are not impressed with the young ump behind the plate

"Oh please don't let it end with me getting hit..."
"If it does, do you want those golf balls?"
- Mike Hegan and Tom Hamilton on a foul ball hit in to the booth

"This is a situation where the heart rules the head."
- Mike Hegan on the display of Thome in the 8th

Saturday, September 24, 2011

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