Saturday, May 31, 2014

All Caught Up!

I don't know what happened but I kept running in to roadblocks from being able to listen to Friday's and Saturday's game. I mean, I know what happened - I was out - but what happened that suddenly made me so popular?

Friday was Eddie Izzard at the Palace and man - if you haven't been out to Playhouse Square lately, go there! You can actually get dinner beforehand and drinks after at a variety of places. And there's an outdoor chandelier!

I tried to listen to Friday's game on Saturday but I got halfway through and it was time for Saturday's game. Then I fell asleep. Then I went to my friend's birthday cookout. Life is so complicated!

But I did get Saturday's game listened to, and half of Friday's and it's pretty cool - they didn't need me to win!

Friday was Kluber's game, and anyone can tell you that he doesn't need any help. He keeps slowly and quietly matching and breaking pitching records. According to Jordan Bastian:
Kluber's name now resides alongside some of the all-time great arms in Cleveland's long and storied history. With his 12 strikeouts on Friday, Kluber joined Dennis Eckersley (1976), Bob Feller (eight times), Sam McDowell (eight times) and Herb Score (1956) as the only pitchers over the past 100 years to strike out at least 60 batters in a single calendar month.
So there's that - 12 strikeouts, and a record alongside 4 of the biggest names in Tribe pitching history. How's that make you feel, Klube?
He pitched 7 1/3 on Friday so he just needed a little tidying afterwards from Zep (1 strikeout) and Cody Allen (2 strikeouts). They made it look easy!

Saturday was Trevor Bauer and he is proving to be the real deal now. He had a quality start with 6 innings, 2 earned runs and 8 strikeouts.

The Indians struck out the Rockies 26 times on Friday and Saturday, while the Rockies only struck out the Indians 10 times. Are the Rockies a high strike-out team? Actually, no - they are last in the NL for strikeouts (meaning they have the fewest). The Indians are third last in the AL for strikeouts, but 28th overall. Now you know.

Anyway, so, Scott Atchison - something happened cuz he gave up a homer then 2 guys got on so he left with 1/3 of an inning and 1 run scored. But then Josh Outman came in and on one pitch gave up a 3-run homer so Atchison got 2 more runs tacked on and Outman one. They had to bring in Bryan Shaw to save that mess, and then also pitch the 8th. And he did and it was good.

Cody Allen was all fancy closer today, coming in with just a 1-run lead. He walked one guy but the other 3 went quietly. Ballgame!

The offense was back to doing their thing, getting 21 hits and 12 runs (half price pizza RIGHT NOW!! And tomorrow) in these two games! After going a bunch of games without extra-base hits, the team had 3 doubles and a homer Friday night, and 2 more homers on Saturday! Even with all of those hits, neither game was an "everybody hits" game. Ha!

Michael Bourn had ended his little hitting streak the other day in Chicago, but he's back hitting again and put up 3 hits in these 2 games. He's got 16 hits over his last 10 games, in fact! No stolen bases, but he is hitting .288 so that's cool. Stay healthy, man!

OMG ASDRUBAL!!! I think I have missed all but one of Asdrubal's homers this year. Weird, right? I mean, he only has 4....but still, I think I missed 3 of them. Friday he got a 2-run jobby, and went 1 for 4 on the night. He's batting second right now, for what it's worth. Also coming out of a bit of a slump - we hope! Saturday he got a hit also, but he had 4 LOB...which sadly is what he's known for these days.

Michael Brantley (.303) is also getting in to the record books, by having the longest home hitting streak at Progressive/Jacobs field. His ended at 19 (he didn't get a hit Saturday) after breaking the 18-game record held by Kenny Lofton and Robby Alomar. The Municipal Stadium record is a bit higher, at 27 and the team record (I suspect spanning a couple stadiums) is 30. He got his 12th double on Friday and that was his only hit. He did come around to score twice!

Jason Kipnis is back in the lineup, batting 4th and he wasted no time getting hits, going 2 for 4! No runs or RBI but what are you gonna do? He came in to pinch hit on Saturday, got a walk and hustled in to score the winning run in the 8th!

Raburn was DH on Saturday and he is not doing well at all. Oh Raburn...we all have so much hope for you!

Gomes was moved up to 5th on Saturday, after an unproductive Friday, and he went 2 for 4 with a run scored!

Lonnie Chisenhall...
...Yes, him. He is just f'n amazing! He went 2 for 4 with a double (his team-leading 15th) and 2 RBI. Then Saturday he went 2 for 3 with a homer (his 3rd of the season and 3rd in 10 games), 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Saturday he was batting 8th because, why not? Why not score a ton of runs at the end of the lineup?! Oh yeah and he got his homer off a lefty today. He has only had like 14 at-bats against lefties this year but he's batting over .500 against him.

Lonnie every day, y'all!! People like to point out that he's not the best 3rd baseman, but neither is Santana and he is hitting like .200 higher Santana. And if we look at errors this year, Nick Swisher is not the best 1st baseman and Asdrubal is not the best shortstop but there they are. Every day. EVERY DAY!!!

Jesus Aguilar has been playing 1st while Swisher is out being old. Aguilar is humongous which is what you like in a first baseman (at least that's why they told me I was on first). He's still getting his shit together when it comes to the plate, but he's not much worse than Swisher right now. A few points worse, but I think the more he plays and the more he sees MLB pitching he'll fit in fine. He didn't get a hit Friday, but Saturday he went 1 for 2 before getting Kipnis as a PH.

David Murphy, good guy that he is, got hits both Friday and Saturday including a double. He came in to score both nights!

Mike Aviles didn't play Friday but Saturday he was back to being awesome! He seems kind of streaky - kind of like Matt LaPorta (which you will have from a bench player). But unlike LaPorta he is definitely more "on" than "off." In Saturday's game he got a 3-run homer in the 2nd, got a single in the 6th, and it was Aviles who got the winning RBI in the 8th when he got a single through the right side to score Lonnie from second. Viva Aviles!

All of Saturday's 7 runs came from the guys batting 8th and 9th. Cool!

Sunday is going to be a 1:05 start, Tomlin versus RHP 5.20. Wow, the scales are tipped HEAVILY in our favor on this one - now let's just hope that the whole team is on board with keeping up this hitting.

See you there!

Sorry for the slim pickin's on the Radio Chatter. I didn't hear anything that great! But the one quote I got was pretty good, I thought.

Radio Chatter:
"Something's gotta give this weekend. Will it be the Indians' strikeout staff or will it be the Rockies offense putting the ball in play?"
- Tom Hamilton




Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Swept

Ack! I have been slacking on writing blog posts lately. My excuse is the holiday weekend, and then a game that went to 1:30 AM. I listened to them all - I even collected Radio Chatter from the rain delay game! But no way was I ready to sit down and write about the game when my bed has been so darn comfy lately.

TJ House - whose name stands for "Tiger Junior" and I love it! - was today's starter and he was a real whip! The qualitiest of quality starts, with 6 1/3 innings, just 5 hits, one run and 8 strikeouts. This was just his second Major League start!

Hahaha - I just realized I don't even know our rotation anymore. Let's see...Masterson, Bauer, Kluber, Tomlin, House? Or some configuration of those 5. Seems kind of weird that Masterson is right now the weakest of that bunch but so it goes. Will be interesting to see who is still here in August!

Scott Atchison came in to finish the 7th and he was fine. One hit, that's all. Cody Allen came in for the 8th and he just looked like he was having a bad time. He walked two and gave up a run! I can't believe his ERA is 3.38 right now...he's the one who was lights-out at the beginning of the beginning of this season! Bryan Shaw came in for the last out in the 8th, but then gave up the winning run in the 9th. An un-earned run on an error, though. Uh...yay?

Offense was craptacular today, as it was all series. They only scored 2 runs.

One run was a big homer by Jason Giambi, though! Someone pointed out on Twitter that he's got 2 homers in 20 ABs and Robinson Cano has 2 in 200. Nice! They intentionally walked him later in the game, which is awesome. They totally remember last year. Josh Tomlin pinch ran for him!

Michael Bourn got his 1,000th hit! He also got an outfield assist, which I heart. Not at the plate but still, love those plays!

Michael Brantley (.310). I mean...the town is burning down around you and you are just out there hitting, hitting, hitting! And coming around to score. You are amazing, Michael Brantley, and now I am going to go vote vote vote!!

Yan Gomes was the big hero who got the super clutch single with Brantley at second to tie the game with 2 outs on the 9th. Wahoo! He went 1 for 4, and so did David Murphy.

Jesus Aguilar started today, and he went 1 for 3. Then they took him out for Aviles and Aviles had an error. Back to 0 on the "days without errors" count.

Bad hitting. More errors. The pitching was ok - not so much the relief pitching but still they only gave up TWO RUNS which our offense could not overcome.

Yeesh.

Off day tomorrow, then back home on Friday versus the Rockies. It'll be Kluber versus RHP 3.61, start time 7:05. So we got the pitching locked up....let's hope those bats show up too!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"You hate to say it already in the first inning that you're in a Danger Zone. But Justin Masterson is in a Danger Zone."
- Tom Hamilton

"This is Robin Ventura's worst nightmare. A rain delay with one of the league's best starters."
- Tom Hamilton

"This grounds crew works less than Nick Camino."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians, and the rest of the Central Division, are lucky that the Tigers have forgotten how to pitch."
- Tom Hamilton

"Maybe they have a clause in their contract that they don't work after midnight."
- Jim Rosenhaus on why one grounds crew guy was dispatched, without a rake, to dry off the mound

-------------

"When it comes to this ballpark, Kipnis is better than Babe Ruth."
- Tom Hamilton

"A happy fan. He doesn't have any teeth left but he has a new bat."
- Tom Hamilton on a bat in the stands

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Only In Dreams

Pretty nice when you fall asleep to the sounds of baseball, dream about scoring a bunch of runs, and wake up and your team is in the lead 5-0. It was pretty quiet when I fell asleep, but being that Ubaldo Jiminez was pitching I should have known I would be rocked awake by offense. Thanks, Ubaldo!

It really was Cory Kluber that lulled me to sleep, though. Strikeout, groundout, strikeout, flyout. An occasional hit here and there. The same old thing for 7 innings straight! He struck out 9 and only gave up 5 hits - just ONE of them for extra bases, a double in the 4th. People are totally throwing around the word "ace" today. He leads the MLB in strikeouts. HE DOES! (For now, by 1)

I wonder how many fantasy teams he is on. I bet, like, 2.

It did take 103 pitches for Kluber to get through all those innings, so he had to have some help to finish. John Axford managed to keep the shutout going, but not before giving up 2 hits. Axford! Good ol' reliable Zep was there for the 9th, with a 9-run lead, and gave up one hit but no runs. Shutout!
Batting was interesting today. They got 9 runs on just 11 hits. Not everybody got a hit today (David Murphy is VERY sad about this.) They only got 3 extra-base-hits. But still 9 runs to 0 runs - see above!

Bourn, Bourn, Bourn! Two more hits today! 8-game hitting streak, with 15 hits in that time. He walked again, too. Came around to score once.

Aviles is still in the second spot while Asdrubal is out. Better than yesterday's o-fer, today he got a run, a hit and an RBI.

Michael Brantley (.303) is still killin' it! Ten-game hitting streak. Today he pulled a Lonnie and got HBP with bases loaded to score a run (So Ubaldo!)  He got a single and a walk, with a run and RBI. And a stolen base. Oh, and he totally had another outfield assist! Because Brantley.

Even more exciting than Brantley right now (srsly) is Lonnie Baseball! He got 2 more hits today and is batting .382. He got his 14th double, which is pretty great for just over 100 plate appearances. He's got a 7 game hitting streak, with 12 hits in those 7 games. Shouldn't this guy play every day? Shouldn't he??! Worked out just fine today with Santana at first and Lon at third...

Is Raburn heating up? He's got 8 hits in his last 10 games so that seems pretty good. He's been playing a lot more lately, with these long-ass games. Also with Giambi playing. And not playing haha Today he went 1 for 5 with 2 RBI, which came off his double. He also hit into a double play with scored a guy but I guess that's not an RBI.

[Grrr...Nick Camino just read a tweet of mine on the radio and I think also said something about me (because it took a long time between start and finish) but I didn't hear what he said because my brother was talking to me. Interacting in person is awful.]

I don't even know what to say about Carlos Santana. I think every time we're all at the end of our rope with him, he gets something done. He had that game-winner the other day, and then he didn't do anything the next day and it was TOO MUCH! But now today he got a 2-run homer. He also walked 3 times and came around to score again. Right?

Gomes went 2 for 3 today with a walk and a run scored. No errors. He's batting .280!

Justin Sellers is still here at short. Tom Hamilton was saying that he's a really reliable fielder, so that's cool. Cuz I wasn't sure what his deal was, and why he is up here. He's doing ok at the plate, maybe kind of like Aviles was when he was just getting into being on the team. Today he went 1 for 3 with a run scored. Pretty Aviles, right?

Tomorrow is Trevor Bauer day! A 1:35 start, the 4th game in the series, in Baltimore. He'll be facing RHP 4.35 which is just about what Ubaldo is so...should be a super fun game again, right?

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Carlos Santana is an enigma. Sometimes he looks like he has never played defense in his life."
- Tom Hamilton on a good play by Santana

"Lonnie Chisenhall is making the case here that he should play every day."
- Tom Hamilton is astute

"The Indians will send the biggest baby gift you've ever seen, just get that guy out if the lineup."
- Tom Hamilton on Chris Davis's potential paternity leave

"Well today everybody can sit back, relax and enjoy a blowout."
- Tom Hamilton

Friday, May 23, 2014

You'll Have That...

It was a bit of a gap game today, wouldn't you say? I think the main point of the game was to use as few pitchers as possible, and winning was secondary. They did a good job with the main goal but they fell short of the secondary. Ah well.

TJ House was our man today. He was a high school pickup for the Tribe in 2008, and he entered our minor league system in 2012. This year in Columbus he's pitched 41 innings in 7 games, with a 2.40 ERA and only one home run given up. With the shelling of the bullpen and the extra use of starters over the last couple days, he was our best hope. House didn't have a quality start but he did give us 6 innings! And the Tribe was only down by 1 when he left! House gave up 2 homers - but at least he gave them up to homer-hitting guys. RBI, too. He gave up the homers to Nelson Cruz who has 15 homers and 43 RBI, and Chris Davis who oddly only has 7 homers and 25 RBI. Davis pegged House for 4 RBI on the night. I probably would have given some up to Chris Davis, too.

Mark Lowe, who came in for a minute the other day (from Tampa Bay, remember?), came in for the 7th and his outing didn't go well at all. He wanted it to go well - Lowe intentionally walked Chris Davis. He had a throwing error on a hit to the mound that should have gone for a double play but instead went to visit the center field grass. That play scored a run, and so did the next 2 plays. And Asdrubal wasn't even in the game! Oh Mark Lowe....what you gonna do?

Carlos Carrasco came in for a 1-2-3 8th inning. Huh! But it was too late by then.

The Tribe only managed 4 runs on 7 hits today but I think their offense looked much more like post-Tigers offense than pre-Tigers aka Oakland offense. You know exactly what I mean. Hits and runs - wow!

Michael Bourn keeps getting hotter. Today he switched it up a bit by going 1 for 2 with 2 walks! Tom Hamilton says that when he walks that means he is most comfortable at the plate. Good deal. He went on to steal his 4th base, too. Unfortunately, no one was able to bat him in.

Mike Aviles didn't have any sort of a night tonight, not even HBP or nothin'.

Michael Brantley (.302) of course got a hit tonight! Don't be ridiculous! That's a 9-game hitting streak for him with 15 hits over those 9 games. He also came in to score a run!

Lonnie Baseball is just ... blowing up. Dud is BLOWING UP. Today he went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored! That's a 6-game hitting streak for him with TEN hits in that time. Oh my gaaaawd why doesn't he play every day?? Didja vote? Didja write him in? Well why not now??

David Murphy, despite being an awfully good guy, was not very good at the plate today. He went 0 for 4. But he didn't strike out or anything - nothing untowards like that!

Carlos Santana went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored tonight. His hit was a double! Erm...comeback? Someone asked Tito after the game what he thought about Carlos's performance and he was like "Well he hit the winning runs yesterday didn't he?" Well yeah, Tito but how about all those at-bats where nothing happens? Weird answer.

Jason Giambi....I wish he still had it in him...
Wish? Did somebody say "wish"?
Oh, he does, baby! In his second game back from his second stint on the DL, in his second at-bat - BOOM! A 3-run homer! So very exciting that he can still do that, you think? I really hope he can do this a few more times this season, or at least hit with some regularity. I wish, I wish...

Yan Gomes was shut down tonight too! Argh!

Justin Sellers was in at short today while Asdrubal rests a sort knee and foot. Not sure what he did to his foot but he did take a ball to the knee. MRI test went well so that's good - just gotta get over a bruised knee. In the meantime, we've got the tattooed lady at short (actually, I'm just being flip - I LOVE tattoos and I think Sellers is fine). Not exactly sure what makes Sellers stand out to come up and play over other guys in Columbus. His average was just .227. Maybe that he's had some MLB experience (with the Dodgers)? He seems fine, though. He got a hit today, going 1 for 4. He also was in the middle of both of the Tribe's double plays. I'd like to be able to watch him play with his tattoos hanging out there! Alas, I just have to wait for him to be around long enough for Tom Hamilton to start getting really offended and talking about them every time he's at bat.

Speaking of Tom Hamilton, sorry for the chincy Radio Chatter today. There was a lot of talk about the 13 weddings in their Baltimore hotel today, and how Hammy and Rosie were going to crash them. Hammy had at least 4 picked out based on the menu. Good fun - sorry if you missed it!

Tomorrow is a 12:35 start. Interesting. GUESS WHO'S PITCHING for the O's??? It's Ubaldo! He's a RHP 4.50 by the way. Our guy is the Klubot, so we've got this on lockdown. LOCKDOWN, MAN!

Should be fun - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Boy it's like it's contagious. Whoever joins the Indians, they can't play defense."
- Tom Hamilton after Lowe's error


#THELEGENDOFLONNIE

"#THELEGENDOFLONNIE" was the hashtag dujour this evening. At least in my little corner of Twitter (I've finally curated a fantastic follow list that is entertaining and not just a Jordan Bastian circle jerk). Big Lon only played half the game and still he seemed to make things happen!

He still couldn't make the game end at a reasonable hour, but he did keep it going so we could win in 13!!
Check out the fun #THELEGENDOFLONNIE tweets from tonight. Lots of hilarious ones.


Of course, the biggest difference-maker in this game was probably the pitching. Already decimated from yesterday, finding the strength for 13 more innings was pretty heroic. I guess they did pitch themselves into extra innings but heck, they pitched back out!

Justin Masterson was tapped to start, a day early, on 3 days of rest. The way I heard it explained today that the guy who was starting in Columbus today (the guy everyone assumed would pitch) is still not as good as a tired Masterson. And I also heard that a tired sinker-ball pitcher is sometimes better than a lively one. No shit - people study this stuff.

So, Masty it was. And I was very happy with his first 5 innings, where he didn't give up a run. Five innings was already longer than what he was able to give on non-tired days, and no runs was also novel for him. And he kept it up in the 6th, when I sat down and typed in to Twitter that I was satisfied with his start so far. I was about to type "the rest is icing on the cake" and then the Orioles scored 5 runs. Like, literally, before I could even click "DELETE" on Twitter, Justin Masterson had given up 5 runs. I guess he reached his limit. But heck - for 5 2/3 innings he was downright impressive.

Next was a guy named Mark Lowe who's been around since 2006. He started the year in Tampa and now he pitches for us. A walk and an un-earned run. I think the infielders were truly thrown by having this stranger on the mound, as Asdrubal and Santana both had errors in the inning to give up that one run. Or something.

Zep was good for 2/3 of an inning but Cody Allen was better! He went 1 2/3 innings on slight rest and while he gave up a hit, he struck out 2 and no runners scored! (Ok, Zep was just as good. Just one inning less, on no rest).

Then John Axford. Tied in the 10th, in an away game. I held my breath for 3 outs and 1 hit. And it turned out ok.


Then it was Josh Outman's turn to go out there and pitch his heart out. And, hey man, can you do it for 2 innings? He totally did! Just one walk and one hit in all that time, and he struck out 2. Outman is the one who came away with the win!

The Tribe scored 2 in the 13th, and thank goodness they did because it was Atchison's turn to pitch and it was way past his bedtime. So he did stumble a bit and gave up a homer but he did make sure the bases were clean beforehand so in the grand scheme of things it was ok. I just, though - love that Atchison! He ended up with the SAVE!

Here's two interesting tidbits for you: 1) Even though the team got 14 hits, not everyone got a hit. Cabrera didn't get a hit, and left early (probably with a sore knee from yesterday's bruise) and neither did his replacement Justin Sellers. Also, David Murphy didn't hit! 2) Not only did Carlos Santana get a hit, and not only did he get TWO hits, but he got the game-winning hit!! Amaze!!!

Michael Bourn is still diggin' deep and earning his money, going 3 for 6 today with a run scored. That's SIXTEEN hits in his last 10 games, and a 6-game hitting streak. Dude is definitely feeling the TPlush love, and earning his place on this team. Love it!

Brantley (.303) was hitting third again today. He "only" went 2 for 6 today, and "only" got 1 RBI. He came in to score 2 runs. One of his hits was a TRIPLE ! I am sick, sick I tell you! Sick in the head for being somewhat disappointed by Brantley's stats today. What is wrong with meeeeee? I want him to be everything.

Ryan Raburn was in the cleanup spot today, and he got the team's first RBI. It made me laugh because he wanted that RBI from the balk yesterday! His run came in the form of a solo homer in the 2nd. He was, once again, at the plate when a run scored without him as a wild pitch was thrown and Brantley came down from third. He's magic at the plate!

Raburn only had 3 at-bats, and since a lowly right-hander came in they put in Lonnie. And then Lonnie got a home run (his second this year) to tie the damn game in the 8th!!! And then he almost won it in the 10 with a man on 3rd, but the ball did not go where he wanted to put it and someone actually caught it. But in the 13th, Lonnie bunted a ball up into the air, over the infielders and he was safe at first. SAFE AT FIRST, MAN. Hilarious because earlier in the game Tom Hamilton had suggested that newb Justin "SellBlock" Sellers should bunt over everyone's head but that's just too hard to do. And then Chisenhall did it!

Nick Swisher is still on the team.

Yan Gomes was all Brantleyish and he went 2 for 6 today too. He came in to score a run. More importantly, he caught a guy stealing! e hasn't had an error since May 7, and this is so far the longest he's gone error-free this year, so maybe that is all behind him!

When we left off in the 13th, Lonnie was at second after hitting his bunt single and Swisher had walked. Bases were juiced for Gomes but nothing happened. Carlos Santana, already with a hit on the night, banged his 6th double down the line in left. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???? I LOVE IT!!! Carlos Santana, you beautiful dummy!!

David Murphy went 0 for 5 today, but he did get a ground out that allowed Gomes to score the tying run. Right after that, the go-ahead run scored. What a good guy.

Mike Aviles, also a good guy (and handsome) was the one to hit in that go-ahead RBI. The fella didn't do much else today but he was contributing anway!

The team has been doing a great job banding together - both the pitching staff and the offense. I love knowing that when we're down 2 runs, it's not over! It makes every game exciting again, win or lose! Although it seems like they do nothing but win anymore. Ha ha ha ha....

Speaking of winning...although we're in last place, we have as many wins as KC and Minnesota. We're just behind Chicago, who is behind those two, but they have one more win. But as many losses as us. And Detroit only has 4 more wins than us but we're 6.5 behind because they have played 5 fewer games than us. Basically, everything is still fucked up from the weather, and the AL Central standings go by the order of number of games played - fewest first. So this ain't over yet - not by a long shot!

Tomorrow is another game at 7:05 in Baltimore. It'll be newcomer TJ House versus RHO 3.58. RHP? Sounds utterly winnable! Nice that we have the offense to back up a new pitcher, and hopefully the kid can go long. He's ready to go. Look at this. Isn't this the best?


Me and Teej will see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Boy if Ryan Raburn gets hot, look out."
- Tom Hamilton speaks the truth

"A Houdini act for Justin Masterson tonight."
- Tom Hamilton on Masterson's performance in the 4th

"Yes Virginia, Santa Claus is alive and well in the Chesapeake Bay."
- Tom Hamilton on a hit that shoulda been an error

"Flaherty is still so excited about his 3-run homer, he's booted two balls!"
- Tom Hamilton

"How can a kid from Akron rob his hometown heroes?? He just did!"
- Tom Hamilton on David Lough's catch

"That's a strikeout! Thanks for playing!"
- Tom Hamilton is excited about the bunt-strike

"If you were really confident, take that 90 mph fastball and bunt it over the head of Machado. That's easy to do in the backyard."
- Tom Hamilton is calling the shots

"If you're wearing a pacemaker and you're an Indians fan, you'd better check the battery in that thing."
- Tom Hamilton is not a doctor

"Let's face it - every ball that's hit to him you hold your breath."
- Tom Hamilton on Carlos Santana

"Patton walks the left-handed hitter, and Buck Showalter may go ahead and strangle him."
- Tom Hamilton

"Normally this is the time we bring you scores but the Baltimore Orioles elected to turn off Internet access to the press box."
- Tom Hamilton is friggin' pissed!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Best. Game. Ever.

Man, I was lamenting the lack of baseball last weekend and for the last three days the Tribe has been BRINGING it! And today, they served up 5 hours of epic, epic baseball! Even if they lost it woulda been epic but to end with a walkoff balk? UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
Good evening, sir...

Sad Albequerque
There was so much game today. So much. All the pitchers. All the hitters. Errors, stolen bases, guys thrown out at the plate, guys thrown out of the game, two Cabreras, two Martinezes, three starting pitchers and a guy who pitched relief for himself.

I almost am hesitant to recap this game because 1) I hope you read about it online and see it on TV and watch some videos 2) I hope you listened to/watched it anyway or maybe want to check out the replay tomorrow 3) It's so crazy, how could I possibly do it justice?!?

There were definitely low spots to this game. Two errors and a base-running mishap were big, plus a bad start from Zach McAllister. He's sort of falling down that same rabbit hole that Carrasco was, where he's putting together strings of bad starts. Except unlike Carrasco, he started off awesome. Is he hurt? I kind of hope he is...? Because you don't want him just turning bad overnight.

So after ZMac gave up 4 earned runs in 2 innings (plus one homer to start off the 3rd), he was done. Glad Francona got him out of there early. There was no time for playing around today! No one probably realized that there'd be 11 more innings to go, so relief became crazy important.

Atchison did as Atchison does and went 2 very strong innings with no runs scored. He actually didn't have to face the cream of their lineup but even the low guys on this team are all up over .230. Someone posted this amazing photo meme to Twitter and I love it:

Scott Atchison is old. Get it? Hilarious!

Zep was next and HE had to face the cream and it did not go so well for him. He gave up 2 runs and didn't make it out of the inning. Carlos Carrasco had to bail him out. Embarrassing! Cookie actually did ok and pitched 2 whole innings. He also frustrated Miguel Cabrera enough to get him to get ejected. Heynow! It was a lovely ejection. I love ejections. Here's the video - the Detroit announcers are like "Tim Timmons was quick to pull the trigger" and then a minute later "this is the third time he's been ejected at the plate" so....really, guys?

Next was Axford, who really fucking sucks. Two more runs. Although one was an un-earned run on an error but we'll blame that shit on him anyway. So he was no help in the length department, going only 1 out.

Next, Josh Outman. Fine. One full inning, no hits, no runs, no strikes, no balls. Huh!

Next was this guy:
No kidding! He was there for a Major League game! And he totally got 5 outs, including Don Kelly and Victor Martinez. Oh, his name is Kyle Crockett. Really awesome to see him blow through like that today - especially since the older, veteran, millionaire Axford couldn't get two outs.

Bryan Shaw, who was throwing his third game in a row, came out just to finish the 10th inning. Francona was out of pitchers, as Allen was just off the table and he was the last one. Who was next? Tomorrow's starter, Josh Tomlin! And his hair!

Tomlin threw THREE innings and basically pitched like he would have pitched tomorrow. Two hits, one earned run and SIX strikeouts. Yeeehaw! Don't mess with Texas!

After all that it was Tomlin who got the win, cuz it was still tied up when he came in and it was very un-tied by the time he left. So now the bullpen is SPENT and our starter for tomorrow is used up. Will be interesting to see what they do. I would figure they bring in the next starter but I am not in charge of such things. I'm sure there's a lot of gum-chewing going on right now in deep discussions about this.

So, that was just the pitching!

Would you believe....that not everyone got a hit today? I'll give you a guess as to who fell short. No, not Dick Swisher but really good guess. Carlos Santana, that's right! But did he walk? Of course.

Michael Bourn is going up up up again, today upping his total to 3 hits (last night, 2) with his 5th double of the year and 2 runs scored.

Asdrubal was kind of cooled off in the second spot, just going 1 for 6. He also got HBP in the knee, and I don't know how or why but he stayed in the game. I guess because he knew Yan Gomes was not going to be able to come in to play short for him. Plus it was the 13th inning so who wouldn't want to be on base when the winning run scored? And like, SCORE THE WINNING RUN? On a balk!

Michael Brantley (.302) is a god among men and I think we should all start sending him notes every day about how much we love having him in Cleveland. Why isn't he on Twitter? Why must we be forced to send him weird notes on paper? That's weird. Brantley went 4 for 7 today and got 3 RBI, including the tying RBI. He also stole 2 bases because, dangit, nobody else was. And 2 of his RBI came with 2 outs. So, get your purple pens out and start telling him how awesome you think that is!!

David Murphy being a good guy is a meme now, or at least a trending Twitter hashtag. Check it out, there are some very clever photo memes being made! Today, Murphy and the Lord teamed up together go to 2 for 6 but most importantly they had 4 RBI. Including a 2-run homer in the 9th to tie the game. A.MEN.

Nick Swisher is still on our team. He had a walk and then got a pinch runner in Justin "SellBlock" Sellers.This guy:
California love
Jason Giambi got his first hit of the season! He also walked. Somehow, this didn't translate in to any RBI or runs scored but it's nothing but up from here. Uh...I hope. He woulda been up during the balk but they had Raburn pinch run for him, so it was Raburn who "won" the game!

You've already heard the sad, sad tale of C-los, batting 7th.

The Chiz Kid played at third and first today. He moved to first after Swisher came out for pinch runner Sellers, who plays second. Aviles went from second to third. Easy peasy. More Lonnie at first, please!

Lon went 2 for 5 today with a walk, and his 11th double on the season. He got an RBI and came in to score 2 runs. He did have an error (tied for 5 with Santana) and a base-running blunder but fuck it. Dude is hitting .367. Nick Swisher has 6 errors and he does nothing to contribute at the plate. Bah.

Handome Mike had a Handsome game today, himself. he went 3 for 6, also with a double, and also with an RBI and 2 runs scored. He did a really nice job hustling to score the tying run on Brantley's single in the 13th. Aviles is everything!

Man that was so much awesome baseball, I never want it to stop. It's like a rebirth, with all the fun on Twitter and talking to the non-usuals about what a great game it was and watching highlights and seeing all the memes and stuff. Is this the start of something good?

My brother posited "What happened with the Tribe?" and my answer was they FINALLY happened! It's not too weird that they played like this today (except McAllister) - the weird part is that they HAVEN'T played like this all season! And not just today but all 3 games here. This is totally the team I was bragging on the day before the season started, and the team I was sure would be knocking on Detroit's door all season. What changed to bring this out in them? Was it the lineup changes? The personnel changes? The return of Giambi? Quicker Columbus trigger fingers?

Whatever it is, we must see it carry over to the Baltimore series. It's imperative. And if it does - it's FINALLY going to be an awesome season for us!

Tomorrow they face Baltimore in Baltimore. It'll be a MYSTERY PITCHER (since Tomlin pitched today) versus LHP 3.69. O noes! LHP! It will be a fine test indeed.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Of all people that you can't give a 4-run lead to, it's Max Scherzer."
- Tom Hamilton

"Max Scherzer is probably saying [to his pitching coach] 'Why don't you talk to my defense and ask them to catch a fly ball?'"
- Tom Hamilton

"This Tiger club with their offense, they are never out of a ballgame."
- Tom Hamilton

"Carlos Santana must feel like a pinata when he's catching. I've never seen someone take so many foul tips."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's almost like Scherzer started the game then Scherzer came in for long relief."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're just joining us...yikes, you've missed a lot."
- Tom Hamilton

"Martinez knew it was strike three. The only person who didn't was [umpire] Tim Timmons."
- Tom Hamilton

"Knowing Josh Tomlin, he probably went up to Terry Francona and said 'Hey, put me in there.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"They heard Miquel Cabrera probably say some things they probably should not repeat."
- Tom Hamilton on what the kids at the field for Weather Day may have learned instead

"We enjoyed lunch with you, now we enjoy supper."
- Tom Hamilton

"HOW ABOUT THAT!! We now. have seen. Everything!! A walkoff balk! Unbelieveable!"
- Tom Hamilton



 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Bauer Boy, Tell 'Em!

Again, with the baseball! The Tribe playing baseball!

And, hey - Everybody hits!!

But first - our main man Trevor Bauer.

Awww yeah! The kid is back, and he's the perfect guy to throw out there against Verlander because he's totally a cocky sunofagun. Trevor Bauer ain't afraid! He didn't strike out too many in his 6 innings - just 5. He also gave up 2 homers. Solo homers, though. Otherwise, he was getting the ground outs, just like Justin Masterson (who normally is out there on Verlander days!) Bauer got up to 100 MPH, according to the Progressive Field gun. And according to Jim Rosenhaus it's a couple digits high, but whatever - it's worth a shout-out! I remember last time I saw Verlander pitch in 2011 he was throwing 100. But what was special about that it that it was the 8th inning and his 111th pitch. HA!

Bauer finished 6 innings with 95 pitches. No HBP, no wild pitches. Great stuff! Bryan Shaw came in to do what Bryan Shaw does - namely throw TWO innings with no hits and no runs. And of course he faced some .330+ worth of batters because their entire lineup is crazy good. Shaw got an out and a double play in the 7th, then in the 8th Kinsler popped out, Lonnie made a double-saving play at third and then Shaw strikes out Miggy. Yep!
So what was left after that? Cody Allen versus only like, .300 worth of batting average. V-Mart, Austin Jackson (who is always just awesome against the Tribe) and Castellanos. Strikeout, out, out. BALLGAME! No problem for Cody Allen!!

Like I was talking about yesterday, we need some REAL BASEBALL around here and that meant not only pitching and hitting but some stellar FIELDING too. Today we got it again. The aforementioned awesome stop by Chiz. Another outfield assist by Brantley - his league-leading 5th of the season (I love having an awesome player that nobody seems to know!) THREE double plays and no errors!

The Tribe got 12 hits! Eleven of them were off Justin Verlander. Holy SMOKES! Four doubles and a homer off the man, and 5 earned runs.

Michael Bourn had a good night, going 2 for 5 with 2 big doubles, one for an RBI. And he totally rocked Verlander by stealing 3rd - only his 3rd steal this year but I guess that makes him more surprising to catchers! Bourn's got 12 hits in his last 10 games, by the way.

Asdrubal again in the 2-hole and he's heating up again, going 2 for 3 with NO strikeouts. A walk, a run and an RBI. His average is a big, beautiful, beefy, round .268!!! And two DP for him today to boot! (No, no booting.) He's got 14 hits over his last 10 games.

Michael Brantley (.291) is still our God. He should make $45mm a year. He "only" went 1 for 4 today - 6-game hitting streak! But he had that huge outfield assist, nabbing Ian Kinsler in the 5th. Boop!

Lonnie Chisenhall had the cleanup spot today. Which...duh! Dude is batting .366. Not leading the team in homers (er...he has none) but he's up there in doubles. He leads on on-base percentage. Still not enough at-bats to qualify though, as they just don't let him hit versus lefties. Grr! He only went 1 for 4 today but he got the job done on that one with an RBI!

David Murphy was the last guy to get a hit today, but he's such a good guy he wanted me to update my list and so he got a HOMER in the 7th! He also walked.

Santana's chillin' down in the 6 spot. He got a single to go off Miggy's glove and roll down the first-base line, and 'Los took the opportunity to try to hustle out a double. I know he stole a base the other day but really he ain't that fast. I also know that he was counting on Miggy to go all slow on the play - and he did - but his throw still beat out Santana at second and he was out. He went 1 for 4 today then (that 1 was a 1 and out) with 2 strikeouts.

Nick Swisher is batting above .200 now. He is much less scared of the ball batting 7th.

Gooooomes! A big 'ol double and a walk tonight. His walk was made way more exciting when it was followed up by a huge 2-run double from Aviles to start off a 4-run inning. Yeah! Handsome Mike is back to wow us!

So nice to see everyone playing good baseball today. Wish they had it in them to play like this before...but we can't go back so let's hope it goes on forward forever!!

Tomorrow is a noon game, our chance to sweep the series. And you know what? JOHN ADAMS WON'T BE THERE!!! Wow. What do we do? How do we score? I sure hope people are filling the stands and going crazy in his stead.
YOU GO BE THIS!

It'll be ZMac trying to redeem himself for not being Kluber or Bauer, versus Scherzer who is actually better than Verlander and was last year too. But he's a righty so NO PROBLEM.

Noon! See you there!

No Radio Chatter tonight. I was at my niece's pre-school graduation. Here she is, a lifetime ago in 2013.





Where You Been?

Where have I been? Cleaning up. Napping. Hustlin'. I didn't make it to the game Friday as my date couldn't find a babysitter so we hung out at home instead. When I turned on the radio as I left to go get warmer clothes, and found the game to be 11-1, I was glad I stayed in the suburbs. And then Saturday's game was a bummer, and Sunday's game was a "OMG not this again!" super bummer....eh, I just couldn't muster up the positive for last weekend.

I'm starting this blog post today (Monday) before the end of the game, because whether or not the Tribe wins, it's a good game. It's even (literally - it's 4-4 now, and figuratively). Pitching is tight against this gigantic lineup. Our offense is good. No errors. It's good baseball.

This is the team I expect to see on the field every day. Not the one that won 15-4 the other day, nor the one that lost 13-3. I can write a positive blog post about a team that loses 5-4 or wins 5-4. I can write a positive post about 15 hits and no errors. I can write one about 2-1!

Don't think that if I don't write a post I'm not listening to the game. I'm always listening to the game.

While I was listening just now, Michael Brantley won the game with a 10th inning, 2-out walkoff homer. That's why you always keep listening!

Michael Brantley ended it but it wasn't just him who won it. Corey Kluber, for instance, had another amazing game. He was all over these Tigers, with 8 strikeouts over 7 innings of work. Just 3 earned runs, and a solo homer by Victor Martinez. *genuflect* He only threw 94 pitches and I'm sure he wanted to come out for 8 but you don't want to short out your Klubot. No sir.

Next was Bryan Shaw who got the hold, and Cody Allen who...blew a save? You take that back, official scorer! Cody Allen does not blow saves! Well, he did give up a homer to a dude who was pinch hitting and got his first major league homer. But somehow...this is not Cody Allen's fault!

Scott "Groundskeeper" Atchison came in and on 8 pitches 1-2-3'd Miggy, Victor and Don Kelly...
This Don Kelly
... so while we're all congratulating Kluber and Brantley, don't you forget old Scott Atchison!

Almost everybody hit today, except for Santana in the 5-hole and Aviles at the end. But Santana did get on base with a walk (like a boss).

Michael Bourn got a hit tonight, and while he went 1 for 6, his one hit was significant - he's got an abysmal record versus lefties and pitcher Drew Smyly has an amazing one. Bourn got just the 3rd hit off Smyly by a lefty this year. The second was earlier in the game, Michael Brantley, natch. Otherwise, Bourn had a sort of crappy night, striking out twice.

Asdrubal was back batting second, like he was in 2011 and 2012. It looked good on him! He went 2 for 6 with his 12th double, and came in to score on a wild pitch.

Michael Brantley (.292) is amazing. He's just so awesome. Don't you love him? He got that homer, and also had a double and a walk. And he looks good in a fedora.
Oh man, he is so so good. So good.

In Francona's shaken-up lineup (finally!) Raburn is the cleanup hitter. As good as anyone, I say! In fact, better than Santana as he went 2 for 3, with 2 hits, 2 walks and a run scored. Not some big power night for him at all when was the last time Santana did that with any consistency?

Santana was 5th, by the way. With his walk. He left 7 men on base.

Yan Gomes had a heck of a night! He went 3 for 4 with a walk. Dayum! And no errors, to boot.

Nick Swisher is still on this team. Bumped down to 7th.

Jesus Aguilar!!!!! Finally, what we've all heard about from the minors has blown through to the majors! Okay, okay. He just went 1 for 3 but he had 2 RBI, with a single and a sac fly. But more importantly, did you know he was humongous? I saw him in the video of the end-of-the-game handshake and he is, like, Miggy-sized! 6'3", 250 lbs. Wow, I hope we're grooming him for DH!
Note he is further from the camera than Francona!
Lonnie Baseball came in to pinch for him in the 9th and he kept the game alive with a hit. Unfortunately, Mike Aviles left the game tied in the 9th with a GIDP. The reign of Handsome Mike is over. For now.

Real pitching, real hitting, real fielding. I love it! They only won by 1 but the goal here is to #BeatDetroit, right? And to just keep playing good baseball!

So this is one game that could be a turning point. We've got to hope that it's the case!

Tomorrow's game is going to be AWESOME because it'll be Trevor Bauer versus Justin Verlander. Are you excited about Johnny Football? Wait til you see Trevor Baseball! I bet that guy is drinking SO MUCH Red Bull tomorrow trying to get PUMPED for this game. Go get 'em, BauerOutage!!

See you there! (After my niece's preschool graduation, I guess. That is a thing.)

Sorry no Radio Chatter. I wasn't into writing down stuff today. Hammy did call Twitter "The work of the devil" and said that Rosie was a "Tweeter." Haha! Anyway, here are links for your ears:

Hamilton's call of the walkoff homer.

Talkin' prom on Saturday.

Scott Kazmir gets ejected on Saturday and Tom Hamilton loses his mind. 

So much thanks to John at Tom Hamilton Has The Best Home Run Call In All Of Baseball because he is a total mensch. He brings the world as much Hammy as possible.



Friday, May 16, 2014

Left Behind

Missed last night's game, as I was down taking care of water in the basement. I bet a lot of you did! Or you missed Wednesday's game because the weather was worse, but that's a shame because the game was much better.

I decided to listen to this game at work today just for kicks and boy did it take forever. And I didn't really get interrupted much, it was just a long damn game - 3:23. And not because everyone was scoring so much. I guess maybe it was slow pitching, long at-bats, lots of personnel changes and also a review.

Lots of relievers on our side (6) because Salazar had another one of those bad outings. He just went 4 innings and gave up 2 runs and only struck out 3. He only gave up 2 runs yes but he threw 98 pitches in just that time!!

They brought in CC Lee for the 5th and he promptly gave up 2 runs (single, homer) so his ass was grass.

Everyone but Shaw was there to finish the game. No more runs scored, just a couple hits and some walks. But 4 runs was more than enough for the Blue Jays to persevere this time.

'Cuz the Tribe just can't hit lefties, it would seem. After coming off a 15-run game today they only managed to score 2. They actually got a lot of hits! Nine hits! And also 3 walks. But those lefties just stunned everyone into silence when it counted and 9 men were left on base.

Today was Jesus Agular's first MLB game. Tom Hamilton had a lot of nice stuff to say about him and his plate discipline. Didn't get a hit but he did walk. And his mama is very proud. I've heard a lot of great stuff about him as a minor-leaguer so I'm excited to see what he can do up here!

Bourn was keeping up a hitting streak, now at 5 games. Ryan Raburn, who hasn't played since the 10th, was in at left (Brantley's birthday is today! Also, he is sitting with a sore back) and got a hit. In fact, it was a double!

Santana got a hit. No kidding! And Asdrubal got TWO hits! How does it work when both of these guys are hitting that the team isn't winning? Well...I guess the 7 LOB between them says a lot...They are not hitting when needed.

The 8th inning got slightly exciting when there was a new pitcher and 3 men got on base and Raburn hit that double. But all that came of it was one run, a RBI courtesy of Yan Gomes.

David Murphy is actual hot! Just not fake one-game hot. He's gone 3 games in a row now, first with 1 hit then 5 hits, then 2 more hits last night including a solo homer! Woah, I just got some deja-vu. Does this sound familiar? Maybe Mark Reynolds this time last year, I dunno. Anyway, at least Murphy can hit lefties!

Handsome Mike isn't faring as well - after 3 games of solid hitting, for this game his bat went cold. Poor fella, his average is under .300 now.

Tonight the team is back from the Great White North, and it's Dollar Dog Night and Fireworks too! Unfortunately it'll be hella cold. But I hope a ton of people show up anyway! I was supposed to go but things happened and I'm staying at home. Where it's warm. Wet, but warm.

It'll be ZMac versus RHP (whew) 2.71. Sounds like they will need a lot of help from the fans to get through this one. Go get 'em!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Juan Francisco went after that ball, toward the thrid base line, like he was Sean Penn in 'Dead Man Walking.' Not much of an effort."
- Tom Hamilton

"Lawrie is hitting .234, 7 homers, 24 RBIs and 53 tattoos."
- Tom Hamilton

"Northwestern's [baseball] park looks like a bad high-school field. That recruiter must be a whiz."
- Tom Hamilton

"Adam Lind had a goatee that would make Burl Ives proud."
- Tom Hamilton

"This game's been about as riveting as a piano recital."
- Tom Hamilton




Wednesday, May 14, 2014

See Any Good Baseball Today?

Wooooooooah! Look at all those numbers! "Crooked numbers" as they say. Woooooah!

Today we'll go over the game in order of awesome. Starting with:

Corey Kluber! The Klubot! Totally stoked to have gone 7 innings, only giving up 2 runs and getting a huge win. Nine strikeouts and just 4 hits for the fourth-highest scoring team in the league!
Yeah you are!
Now for the hit parade!

David Murphy: Came back from wherever his head was and not only got 5 hits today (praise the Lord!), and not only were 3 of those hits doubles, but he also got 5 RBI! It's not too terribly strange for Murph to get that many hits in a game (May 19 and May 30, 2013) but he didn't get 5 RBI in any game in the past 4 years that I can see. He only got 15 total in 2012! Now, let's just hope that this is the start of something awesome - again - for our new friend David Murphy.

Lonnie Baseball: Be still my beating heart! The Chiz Kid's first 5-hit game. And to be honest it nearly was a 6-hit game had that outfielder not made a good guess as to where to position himself. One of Lonnie's hits was a double (his 9th) and curiously, he only had one RBI and no runs scored.

Yanimal: Yan Gomes "only" got 2 hits tonight but his final hit was just a thing of beauty. With the Tribe already up 12-2, he let loose with a big bomb out to right field for THREE runs to make it 15-2! Also - No errors!

OMG ASDRUBAL!!!: Everyone was riled up about him GIDP with the bases loaded in the third, but hey - how many hits do you have this year? And he stole a base and there was a review that stood, then 2 seconds later he was out at third. Again - how many have you stole?? He did end up going 3 for 5 with a walk. He got his 10th double. He came around to score 3 times. He got an RBI. His average went up 13 points and is now 60 points higher than Dick Swisher. So nonny nonny to you!!

Handsome Mike: Actually not as on fire as he's been lately ("Mister May" so to say) but of course he contributed tonight! He went 2 for 6 with both a run scored and an RBI. Unfortunately for Lonnie and his 5 hits, Aviles left 7 men on base. Yeowch!

The Other Michael: Bourn - still hangin' tough out there. Still not bench-able. Today he went 2 for 6 with a run scored and an RBI. It's sort of miraculous that 5 games on the turf seems to have taken out both Brantley and Morgan (back and knee - we'll know more tomorrow) but the guy with the bad hamstring - who is doing a lot of running due to hits - is still standing upright. Not only that but he totally chugged it out for a triple, his 4th so far this year! Hope he stays healthy (and learns to hit better against lefties) because he is IT for now!

Carlos: Heck yeah, Carlos Santana got a hit today! And remember all that stuff I said about catchers yesterday? And how he didn't score from second yesterday? Well today he totally scored from second AND he also stole a base. Shut me up!

Brantley/Morgan/Ramirez: Brantley's out with some back trouble. Precautionary. Morgan came in for him and banged his knee on a play and left the field today wearing a soft cast. Jose Ramirez came in to play second and they sent Handsome Mike out to left to cover all the injuries. And Jose Ramirez got an RBI single! He also came around to score twice. Ole!

Nick Swisher: Can go suck an egg.

I can't wait to go see those Jays one more time! Their bullpen seems to be pretty tapped, with 3 guys going longer than an inning each. Then there was the fun times of a position player coming in to pitch (and Lonnie getting a hit off him!)

Tomorrow will be another 7:07 start with another fair-to-middlin' starter for the opposition. LHP 4.63. The guy's last start only went 2 innings so we might wear him down early. Good times!

Now, let's hope Cousin Michael is there to join us. Say a little prayer and see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"...Rosie walked in with one of those holster sets...from Toy Story..."
- Tom Hamilton telling some weird story about Rosie and the engineer and Buzz Lightyear

"If you thought the strike zone was small before, Esmil Rogers, he has now got a thimble-sized home plate to throw to."
- Tom Hamilton

"On the wrap-up show we'll share with you the game highlights. That should take you to morning rush-hour."
- Tom Hamilton

"This looks like a Little League scorecard."
- Tom Hamilton

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Outmatched

Sunday's game was a really good game. I listened to the game while I was napping. Then Monday, I sat down to listen to it for real no fewer than 3 times and just kept getting distracted and having to stop. By the time I got to the 8th inning, it was bedtime! No time for a blog. But it was a fun game, huh? Morgan AND Bourn! Santana at first! (Except at the end when Allen pulled an Axford and we were all like WHAT?! But the rest and the end was good).

Anyway, today's game was pretty good because it wasn't a blowout either way, and some exciting stuff happened. Unfortunately the exciting stuff happened for both teams. The Tribe hung with the Jays but the Jays hung with the Tribe.

Masterson was our starter and he didn't fare so good. No quality start - he only made it 5 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs in that time. Woosh! Seems as though someone has totally figured him out - no doubt going to his mlb.com page and clicking "splits" and noting that lefties are hitting .305 against him while righties are hitting just .171. Amazing scouting! Throw all of our left handed hitters at him! That plan totally worked. Five runs on 6 hits and only 3 strikeouts. Lots of extra base hits.

Outman kept it tight to finish off the 6th and *gasp* Axford came out in the 7th with the Tribe down by 1 run. He had a 1-2-3 inning, striking out 1! Way to not crumple and die, Ax Man!

Zep and Lee paired up to finish the 8th and that was it. No one gave up any runs except Masty.

Michael Bourn had a good night at the plate. He not only went 2 for 4 but he also got a hit off a left-handed reliever, presumably brought in just to face Bourn. He rose to the challenge and took his sub-.200 average against lefties and got himself an RBI single! Is it wrong to be frustrated when he does well because I want to see more Morgan? I think it is, a little bit.

Swisher just went 1 for 4. He did follow up Bourn's bases-loaded RBI with a sac fly RBI. Hey you know what I saw? The Indians posted about the Swisher bobblehead today and a bunch of people said nasty things about how Swisher is bad. That made me happy! I mean, it makes me happy to know that I am not the only one who is so down on the dickhead. I like feeling like part of a group.

Michael Brantley (.278) ended his hitting streak today, at 11 games. *sob* But I bet tomorrow he starts a new one!

Carlos Santana got himself a hit today! He got to second on a passed ball, then Yan Gomes got a single and Los totally tried to score the tying run but he is a catcher and it played out how these things have gone historically when catchers try to run. Out. Moving to third base has not made him any faster.

Asdrubal got back on the hit horse after going 0-4 on Sunday and today went 1 for 4 with a run scored. He's back!

After being fairly useless in May compared to super useful in April, David Murphy went 2 for 4 today with a run scored. Don't get too excited yet, though - he had a 3-hit game last week then went silent again for 3 games. Can't call him hot yet - but let's hope!

Yan Gomes has been pretty good this month when it comes to hitting. Nothing spectacular but at least 1-2 hits per game. Tonight he got 1 hit and 1 walk, with a run scored. And he tried to get that RBI but you know...catchers.

Lonnie Baseball did not get a hit, but once again he was in there making stuff happen - getting hit by a pitch with bases loaded! He's been HBP 4 times this year so far, which ties him for 9th in the league with a lot of guys, including Asdrubal. But I'm telling you - he's always in there getting stuff done!

I'm surprised Aviles wasn't more of a game-changer today. He did have a few opportunities, and left 3 men on base. He went 1 for 4 and did come in to score a run, but I've just been on a Handsome Mike kick lately, you know? Oh, but here he is working on a Mother's Day card on Sunday. Seriously.

Aviles, he has HEART!!

All right, tomorrow  is another one in the Great White North (take off!) at 7:07 PM. It'll be our Klubot versus RHP 4.63 which is more than a whole point over Kluber's ERA. Yes!

I only have one bit of Radio Chatter from tonight, the rest are from Sunday. Cherish all!

Radio Chatter:
"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! But he doesn't live in the North Pole he lives at the Rogers Centre!"
- Tom Hamilton on a correct error call

------------
"Michael Pineda...who feels that pine tar on the neck is the newest hot fashion."
- Tom Hamilton

"He is 38 years of age. Doesn't look a day over 50! But he can catch."
- Tom Hamilton on Jose Molina

"If he gets a bunt single, then we are going to have a total eclipse tonight."
- Tom Hamilton on Jose Molina

"He got about 10 steps out and realized 'Hey I'm Jose Molina, I can't go!' then he went back."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Molina trying to steal a base

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Momentary Lapse of Awesome

All that excitement from yesterday - great starting pitching, great hitting - came to a screeching halt in today's game. The starter didn't make it out of the 5th and the team only got 3 hits and one run in total. Two of the hits and the run didn't come until the 9th!

ZMac just didn't have a good outing. He gave up 5 earned runs. Ok, that happens. The offense should be able to pick you up on those days. They didn't. And the bullpen should be able to save things for you. They couldn't.

Lee came in for long relief halfway through the fifth, and did go 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Then Josh Outman appeared and strangely gave up 2 more runs! Carlos Carrasco finished out the game for an inning and 2/3 and didn't give up any runs. Cool.

John Axford is done closing for now, by the way. Whew! It'll be closing by committee which is totally fine by me. Mariano is gone and there won't be another.

Nobody was hitting. Just Ryan Raburn who got a double. A few guys got on with walks, and nobody hit them in. Unreal.
 
Michael Brantley (.287) did get a single in the 9th. And Lonnie Baseball came in to not only pinch hit for Swisher but also play first base (YES!) and he got a hit too.
 
Asdrubal's fire was temporarily snuffed out today.  Hoping it returns in full tomorrow.

That's it. No more to say about this game. We'll see you tomorrow at 1:40 for the absolutely exciting return return of Josh Tomlin! He'll face RHP 4.91.

I was totally running all over today during the game so I didn't get any Radio Chatter. I was lucky enough to hear most of the game! But I'm sorry I missed getting you some quotes because Tom Hamilton just does not ever have anything good to say about Florida and it is hilarious. Today he was telling people not to come to Tropicana Field if they like to visit ballparks, because it sucks. He says that since there's no basketball team in the area, they crank the music as loud as they can to create a basketball-like atmosphere where you can't talk to your neighbor. Also he had a long rant about the DJ Kitty hat for tonight's giveaway (which drew 29,000 fans) and yesterday he ranted about DJ Kitty himself. I think he hates Florida more than he hates Minnesota!
What's so bad about a DJ Kitty hat, man??


Friday, May 9, 2014

Life's A Happy Song


Life's a Happy Song on Disney Video
With someone to pitch strikes and someone to bash the ball over the fence and also just get the ball in play with RISP, you know?! That doesn't rhyme at all but when you match our now-dominant starting rotation with some guys whose bats are hot, it sure makes things look like sunshine and happiness on the road ahead. You know, when you have your pals to back you up and stuff. If you're not backing up the Klubot, your heart is not really in it.

Tribe's won FOUR in a row! Wahooooo!

Corey Kluber gave up 9 hits. What?? Wow....9 hits! But 9 strikeouts, NO walks and just 2 earned runs! It was big big big that Kluber didn't allow but 2 runs to cross because it took until the 6th inning for the Tribe to score. Leave it to Kluber to carry the team on his back for 6 innings. He can handle it!

Zep and Shaw came in for the remainder of the 7th and the 8th, doing what they do best. Which is not letting anyone score. One hit and 2 strikeouts between them.

John Axford, I am very done with. He gave up 2 hits and 2 walks and a run. Then he loaded the bases and the winning run came up to the plate with 2 outs. And I still feel very wobbly from this experience. I hate the idea of making light of PTSD, so I need a different term for how I feel about unreliable closers. Or rather, a term for how we feel when things are the same-ol-same-ol as they have been in the recent past for Cleveland fans.

Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus are SO over Axford. I've never heard them be so down on an Indians player as they were today with Axford. And also Carlos Santana. I think being in Florida makes people do and say things more freely. But when Hammy gives up on you...woah man, you are way doing it wrong.

Cody Allen came in to get the third out in the 9th to end the game. Because you can ALWAYS count on Cody Allen! End of story.

So Michael Bourn got a triple today. That's pretty cool. But he also went 1 for 5, striking out 3 times. It's really hard to watch that sort of thing when you know Nyjer Morgan is 30 feet away...

Swisher actually went 2 for 5 today. So yay for him. I just had an idea, though....Aviles at first when Kipnis comes back. Do you love it?!

Michael Brantley (.286) actually only went 1 for 5 today but check it out, fools: 1) He doesn't get paid $15mm a year and 2) His one hit was a HOME RUN, man! It was his 7th of the year and 31st RBI and he didn't hit that level until July in 2013. Go on with your bad self!

Carlos Santana walked twice, and came in to score once. Classic 2014 Santana....but how long do we have to put up with him at clean-up? Tom Hamilton was just murderous on him today!

David Murphy did nothing today. Nothing. What's up with that?

On the other hand...OMG ASDRUBAL!!!! You shoulda seen how the Twitter was burning up with praise for our Cabby! Tom Hamilton was blown away by his turnaround! @sportsyelling was confused at all the good! Everyone was putting up stats about how good Asdrubal has been lately! He hit his second home run in 2 games (third of the year) and got the team's first run in the 6th. He went 3 for 4 today with no strikeouts, giving him NINE hits in his last 3 games. He raised his average from .205 on the 6th to .254 today. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!!!

Now, please, MLBJesus, let this be the new trend and not just a temporary breaking of a season-long slump. Amen.

Yan Gomes, who has yet to thrill me with his post-paternity-leave explosion, at least has a 3-game hitting streak and today he went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Oh, and he caught a guy stealing and once again didn't throw it in to the outfield! Maybe this weekend he'll show off his dad muscles. His folks were there watching the game tonight. Adorbs.

Lonnie Baseball was just 1 for 3 today but once again making things happen - he got hit by a pitch. Never a dull moment!

Holy cats - MIKE AVILES!! He is hanging tough with Asdrubal and Brantley and getting all of the excitement for this team! Jason Kipnis is actually afraid for his job! (Although I know Aviles can play first or third if needed....) Tonight he had just one hit and it was the big hit that I don't think ANYONE has been able to get so far this year. That is, the game-winning homer that brought in all of the RISP. He had struck out his first 2 times up but after Brantley homered in the inning and Gomes got his RBI single, Aviles LAUNCHED one to give us 3 more runs, making the score 6-2. BOOM!

After all that, the Tribe still left 10 guys on base. Imagine if they were hitting with men on. I guess baby steps...now at least they're hitting at all? Can't believe we won 4 in a row, though!

Tomorrow is an evening game, at 7:10. ZMac versus LHP 4.35. Their pitcher looks just no good, so it's going to be hard for the team to avoid hitting him. How about ZMac with a complete game now? Sounds like fun!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Tampa doesn't have a weather issue, they just have a lack of fans interested in coming to see the team play."
- Tom Hamilton

"Odorizzi is going to make sure that the folks selling beer here at Tropicana Field are going to have a long time to sell it. [...] He lulls everybody to sleep, including his defense."
- Tom Hamilton

"Holy cow! How do you get that hot in two games? Asdrubal Cabrera is scorching!"
- Tom Hamilton

"It's like he's made up his mind to swing the bat when the ball is halfway to the plate."
- Tom Hamilton on Carlos Santana

"It doesn't matter how you get that run in from third, as long as you get it in."
- Tom Hamilton

"The way he's swinging that bat, he's never leaving this lineup!"
- Tom Hamilton on Mike Aviles

"I told you it was a goofy night, folks! You can't have Tom Jones and 80-yr-old men dancing!"
- Tom Hamilton on the between-inning entertainment

"Wow. Wow wow wow."
- Tom Hamilton on Axford's performance in the 9th

"The Indians are going to feel like they plowed the back 40 the way this game is going."
- Tom Hamilton is tired and wants to go home

"Bottom line this game should not have come down to this in the 9th inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"They were cruising until John Axford literally had this Tropicana roof fall in on him."
- Tom Hamilton employs hyperbole

"If this whole year is going to be like this, none of us is going to have a heartbeat by October."
- Tom Hamilton

Thursday, May 8, 2014

What Snowmen Do In Summer

Today's temperature at game time was 20 degrees above what it was at the beginning of Monday's game. By the end of today's game, there was nearly a 40-degree spread from the temp at the end of Monday's game. Is warm weather and sun what it takes to get these guys hitting where we expect?

Some guys didn't live up to expectations* but the guys who did step up stepped up BIG. In fact this is the first time since 2009 that the team has had 4 players with 3 hits or more in a game. There were 15 hits! Nine extra-base hits! Nine runs scored! And over 13,000 fans there - what an afternoon!

The numbers to focus on for Justin Masterson are of course are equally as important. Six and 1/3 innings, 7 strikeouts, only 2 earned runs. He walked 4, hit a guy and committed an error but even through all that, there was just the 2 runs. And even though there were 4 runs total on his watch - this lineup was FINALLY able to overcome whatever deficit the pitcher (and the defense) put up.

Scott Atchison - who "Can't help that he has gray hair and looks like the groundkeeper for the Red Sox" according to Francona - came in to finish the 7th and also throw the entire 8th. He did let one of Masty's runners score to start off with, but then he had a 1-2-3 8th inning. A 1.88 ERA!

Carlos Carrasco pitched the 9th, which is fine. He had a 5-run lead. It was fine.

Nyjer Morgan wasn't in today, but he was reportedly in the dugout being an awesome cheerleader! Keep it up, Tony Plush!

The first two batters were crummy so we won't mention them. It's never a bad thing to leapfrog to Michael Brantley, anyway!

Brantley (.289) went 3 for 5 today, a triple away from the cycle! Three hits, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI. No strikeouts for cousin Michael, natch. He is second in the league in RBI now with 29, just behind Colabello's 30.

Santana had a hit and a walk! He hustled it to first for his single. Unfortunately none of this translated in to runs.

They're still working on Murphy and Cabrera as 5 and 6 hitters. They're perfect for that spot if they can get going - and today they did!

Murphy went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a walk! He came in to score twice and got an RBI. And he stranded no one! What a good fella.

Asdrubal had some kind of day today! Of course I missed his first hit - a home run in the 2nd inning because of work stuff. Grr. But I was there for the rest of the excitement. Just like I was there - literally, in the park - for his two 5-hit games in 2012. Just sayin'... Anyway, he also totally flubbed a ball which let 2 runs score but he wasn't charged with an error. In exchange for that, his RBI hit in the 8th inning where he made it to third base was not counted as a triple, it was a double and uhm...not an error. Not sure how it was a double. But it was and he didn't get the cycle. But hey! A 4-hit game with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Chiz Kid got no hits today but as I like to point out, he was still in the middle of things. He ended up going 0 for 3 but came in to score twice. He got on base from catcher interference in the 6th, and in the  7th he grounded in to a force out but reached first and then came around to score. Stay in it, Lonnie Baseball!

Good thing everyone got acquainted with Handsome Mike last night, because he was back again being a big player today! He had another 3-hit game with 2 doubles. Although he didn't leave any men on base, he somehow managed to not get any runs scored or any RBI. That's kind of weird right? But hey - hits is hits and now his average is a crazy .328!

Fun time today interacting with the Indians' Twerps on Twitter. Wondering what people who go to day games do for a living. Someone is very excited because they took a picture of Terry Francona driving his scooter on the bridge, and the Tribe is 3-0 since he posted the pic.

Oh and now that that's all over, I guess the next 29 hours will be spent talking about the NFL draft. Sigh.

While the all-important Draft is going on, the Tribe will be traveling to Florida - where it is ALWAYS warm! - to take on the Rays for 3 games. The Rays' record is as bad as ours so that's good. And it'll be Kluber (again? Already? Yay!) versus RHP 6.83. I look forward to more hits upon hits upon hits!

*Other than Chisenhall, the guys who didn't live up to expectations were Bourn and Swisher, neither of whom got a hit and who are the two highest-paid players on our team by miles. Not very positive thoughts about these guys so they go as a footnote.

Radio Chatter:
"Kevin Correia, in no hurry to get to Detroit."
- Tom Hamilton on the hesitation of the Twins pitcher

"The way Masterson looks today, one run might be enough."
- Tom Hamilton

"The way the pitching has been, they have a chance to win every night if they get the bats going."
- Tom Hamilton says the truth

"Doink!"
- Tom Hamilton describes a foul ball hitting the Terrace Club

"Number thirteen looks like he's back!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Horses used motor oil in 1866?"
- Tom Hamilton is pissing off the sponsor

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Have You Met Handsome Mike?

Mike Aviles is a great Indians player, and we're lucky to have him. No joke! I saw him before the 2013 season at the Fan Fest and he was as happy to be an Indian and excited to play baseball as Jason Kipnis. He was super serious about his job, too, not like Nick Swisher who thinks his job is just to hop up and down and spit out nonsense platitudes. Aviles is a hard-core baseball player. He's not just our backup infielder now, he's our backup everything including outfield. Right now he's our backup Kipnis!
Via Facebook/GV Artwork

Rewind, though, to Danny Salazar. I don't know why but I heard a lot of Danny hate today. How do you hate this guy? I mean he's no ace but he's like what, 20 years old? He's not perfect but he looked better than Masterson at some points this year!

Salazar did just fine, and although he gave up TWO runs instead of the usual ONE run that starters have been allowed this year, he still had a quality start. Very nice line with 6 1/3 innings and 7 strikeouts. One of his 3 runs was let across by a reliever, so there's that. While he did give up 3 doubles, there were no home runs and just one walk. Danny Salazar, you are safe and make it to the next round!

Bryan Shaw looked a little rickety today - he gave up 2 hits and let Salazar's runner score. He's pitched a lot lately, so he's probably out for a bit now.

Cody Allen doe - wow! Twenty strikeouts in 13 innings. He got 2 more today. I can't tell you how fast he was pitching because the Indians' web site is broken, but Tom Hamilton says it was darn fast. "What a find he was," said Hamilton. No kidding!

John Axford was just...ugh. Why? He finished all right, yes, but with 26 pitches and a double. Ugh.

Hey how about that Indians defense today?? Yes yes, Yan Gones had ANOTHER error but Nyjer Morgan was leaping around the field, pulling down balls. Brantley with the outfield assist. Carlos Santana - the worst hitter on the team - was on FIRE at third, even going in to the stands to snag a foul. And even Handsome Mike got dirty flying after a shot down the middle, and taking it to the bag himself.
So proud! So pants!
 While the defense was a million times better than usual, the offense was fair-to-middlin. They got 9 hits but only between 5 guys. The guys who were hitting were hot stuff!

Morgan went 1 for 3. Not sure why he's not stealing much yet. I think he keeps turning the pitcher's head with those pants. Check out his post-game interview - love that laugh!

Brantley (.276) is sticking with the 3-spot, and he went 2 for 4 with a biiiiig 2-RBI double in the 3rd. His slide in to 2nd was challenged - just like his outfield assist to 2nd was challenged - but no matter what the ruling was (he was safe) it still scored 2.

Carlos Santana...what do...I mean how....when is.... sigh....He went 0 for 4 tonight with 2 strikeouts.

Asdrubal was hitting 6th and even though all you're going to hear about for the next week is his error YESTERDAY, at least TODAY he went 2 for 4 with a big ol' DOUBLE in the 9th with the score tied, and he made it over to 3rd on a bunt then came home to score when Handsome Mike hit him in to win the game!


The Chiz Kid was not at his best at the plate today, and Gomes was not the best behind the plate but he did get another homer which is why we love him so. Is this the apex of his paternity comeback or is there more? Maybe an errorless game AND a homer?

That leaves us with our man Mike Aviles, from the beginning of this post. You've heard of his defense, and you've heard that he won the game. But don't forget his double and his other single and his run scored. Or his .302 batting average. He'll be in for a while as Kipnis is on that 15-day DL for like 12 more days. And we should all be thankful that he is here for us.
Aviles is sexy and he knows it.
Ok so I spent all day today thinking it was Thursday. I got ready to post my brother's "happy birthday" Facebook post. I turned on the radio at noon, looking for the game. I was ready to go for my Thursday swim. I even was surprised to see the garbage trucks go by a day late. Anyway that's why I told you that today's game was at noon.

But since nobody is paying attention, nobody was mis-directed. Well done! TOMORROW'S game is at noon though so don't be late!

It'll be Masterson versus the RHP 6.09 I promised for today's game. No rubber match, since this series has expanded to 4. But it'll be a good game for us to win anyway!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"When you walk the number nine hitter, who is batting .109, it's a disaster in the making."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well [umpire] Doug Eddings is not getting invited to the Twins team party if they are having one tonight."
- Tom Hamilton doesn't think the Twins like the calls

"The life of a closer is like being one of they flying Wallendas without a net."
- Tom Hamilton gives an excuse

"It's not his fault. The baseball gods will find that player..."
- Tom Hamilton on rookie shortstop Escobar missing a catch while playing in left field

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Josh Tomlin Will Save Us All

Hey, Josh Tomlin is back! He was a big part of our 2012 rotation and then he got bit by the shoulder bug and he missed the end of 2012 and all of 2013 with the Tommy John. Lots of rehab and lots of Columbus later (Carlos Carrasco got his spot in the rotation this spring. OOPS!) he is now back with the club pitching like he never left!

He didn't have an outstanding outing and there wasn't anything too memorable about it but it seemed very special to have him back and to be throwing so well. It was a quality start, with 6 2/3 innings where he gave up 4 hits resulting in 1 run, and struck out 4. No extra bases off him, no hit batsmen and only one walk. Dang - some of the other guys have hardly had a game like that and it's already May!

I was quite curious about Tomlin's hair today - facial and otherwise. Sometimes he's got some crazy mustache going, or long curly locks, or sometimes he just looks like Joe Baseball. I can only find the one photo so far, in the official MLB photos for the game and wow - he's got some hair going on! Yeah yeah all of your television people are completely over it by now but those of us with only radio access get off on the visual suspense!

Zep finished off the 7th, and then Scott Atchison came in for the 8th. Atchison struck out 2 and zipped out of his inning in 19 pitches. Bryan Shaw came out for the 9th and...gave up a run! Noooooo! What's up with that? The bad, it's catching. But anyway, the Tribe had set them up with enough runs early in the game that giving up a run in the 9th was no big deal. Tribe wins!

The first two innings were SUPER fun! Five hits and 4 runs, including an un-earned run on an error "through the wickets." Or rather, "Buckner!" This was for the Tribe, by the way. They were the ones getting hits and scoring runs.

But then it was pretty boring after that. Tomlin kept the Twins quiet but other than a hit and 2 walks, that was it for the Tribe lineup.

The early excitement came from a double by Swisher, followed by an RBI single by Brantley (.269). David Murphy came up and hit that "Buckner" to right field, allowing Brantley to score from first. We'll take it!

In the second, Chisenhall kept it going with a single, and was again in the middle of things when Deduno balked, sending him to second. It was a good place to be when Gomes came up and doubled to center! Gomes made it to third on a ground-out, and then Swisher got him in with a single.

And that's about the long and short of it. Murphy got an infield single, and both Brantley and Chiz walked. Ryan Raburn, who is not being very Goon-y this year, came in to pinch for Morgan and he hit a really long ball but not long enough.

Another error for Gomes, and another for Asdrubal. 33 errors in 33 games. Huh. Is no good.

Here is a man in a funny baseball hat.
Tomorrow is a NOON game so make sure you tune in! It'll be the rubber match in the series, with Masterson versus RHP 6.09. All Masty really needs is 1 or 2 runs to win. They can give him that right?

I don't have any Radio Chatter for tonight, although there were some funny moments. They came when I was washing dishes and taking a shower, though. Gah. But good news! I have some left over from yesterday's game, which didn't deserve a blog post. Lucky you!

Radio Chatter:
"I just saw Rudolph poke his nose out."
- Tom Hamilton on the weather

"After all, it's 'Go play baseball' not 'Go work baseball.'"
- Tom Hamilton on why you should always smile when you show up at the ballpark

"Boy I got up this morning thinking 'I hope Hammy quotes JJ Evans today.'"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"If you keep tipping your cap, you'll get tendinitis in your elbow."
- Tom Hamilton on how the offense needs to step up