But, our starter didn't fare too well. And, surprisingly, neither did our relievers. And neither did our defense! Weird!
Before we get into the details, thought - major kudos to the 9000 fans who were out there today. There was still about an inch of snow on the ground here at game time. I can't imagine standing on concrete next to Lake Erie was any fun. So MAD PROPS TO YOU, FROZEN FANS!!!
Our starter was Masterson (yay!) but he gave up 3 earned runs in just 5 innings (boo). There were also 2 un-earned runs, all by the 5th inning (boo). At least Masterson's loss today was an effort between him and the team and not just another case of the team letting him down (yay?)
Jeanmar Gomez, who was slated to start yesterday but got snowed out, did a stint in the 7th and 8th and struck out 3 with no hits and no runs. Ascensio, who had a bad outing last time, settled in today and had a scoreless 9th so that was also nice. Not sure why we didn't see our bullpen aces (Pestano, Smith and Sipp) considering there's a day of rest between games but perhaps you just don't use those guys when the score is 10-4.
Asdrubal, Hafner, Shelley and Hannahan all had multi-hit games. Hafner with a "forget about it!" homer and a RBI-double. He also got on base but was out but it wasn't an error or something. I don't know, I couldn't follow. All I saw is that his average went down and he was safe on first. Duncan got his first homer, which surprised me. Not that he got a homer but that it was his first. Honestly I thought he had like 6 by now! Asdrubal kept it in the park but he got a double via nice heart and hustle and a dropped ball in the outfield. Hannahan got 2 singles which, so far, never happens to anyone on this team.
All those hits plus one for Kotchman...but our old nemesis was back. Team LOB. It's so nice to get 10 hits and 6 walks (yeah six!) but not if you're going to just leave all those dudes hangin'. While I love the home run (and who doesn't?) I think what I dislike more than I love the home run is the disappointment in Hamilton's voice after 2 guys get on and neither of them scores.
Amazing how unpredictable baseball is, huh? We all thought Masterson would have no problem today but he did. But we hit better than ever so we could have helped him a lot. But our been-good bullpen also faltered.
Well I guess the one predictable thing did happen - ONE guy from our bullpen had a bad time of it, and that's what did it for us, along with LOB.
Maybe this game will prove to be a turning point, though. The lineup warming up. Just need Choo and Brantley to hit their strides and we've really got a formidable bunch and Jason Kipnis. I wasn't too worried when Grady got hurt because I predicted by the time he got back Brantley would be hitting .435. I might be a little bit off if he doesn't get hot soon!
In closing - yay for Carlos Santana being signed for FIVE years! I was not a huge fan of Santana's until midway through last season when he got into his groove. This year he started good out of the gate, including behind the plate which continued to be a weak spot for him all of last season. Now he is showing a lot of progress and a lot of enthusiasm and I am really proud to have him in our uniform for the next 5 years (if it goes that way).
I wish Asdrubal got signed for 5 but I think he sees a greatness in himself that may not be suited for Cleveland. Unless he sees a greatness in Cleveland and stays here forever. I am very very glad we've got him wrapped up for 2 more years though - I would be crushed if there were any speculation on him leaving this soon.
Rest up tomorrow and let's hope that "high 78°" is an accurate forecast for Kansas City on Friday. Something needs to heat these boys up!
Have a good night off - I'll be hanging with Parliament and Kid Cudi at the Q tomorrow night. Cleveland rocks!
Radio Chatter:
"For Hafner this is a warm spring day in North Dakota, so he's out there in short sleeves."
- Tom Hamilton
"You gotta give credit to the people who showed up here today. This is miserable out here."
- Tom Hamilton
"Konerko - as it seems always against the Indians - had a big day."
- Tom Hamilton
"For Hafner this is a warm spring day in North Dakota, so he's out there in short sleeves."
- Tom Hamilton
"You gotta give credit to the people who showed up here today. This is miserable out here."
- Tom Hamilton
"Konerko - as it seems always against the Indians - had a big day."
- Tom Hamilton
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