Click Here For The Good News

Ok folks, there is good news. Even after our third loss in a row and our third shutout of the year, there is good news.

The good news is: This is strange.

I mean, did you expect Grady to return from the DL and strike out twice with no hits? No, because when he returned before he exploded back to his normal self.

Were you thinking it was normal for Tomlin to give up two two-run homers? No one on the team has done that yet.

Did you expect LaPorta to strike out four times? No, and it isn't going to happen again.

You didn't even expect Santana to GET a hit, did you? But he did.

Of course you did expect Asdrubal to get a hit? Of course you did!

Anyway, everyone who says "Oh, this is so TYPICAL..." with regards to a 3-game loss or tonight's shut-out. really doesn't know what they're talking about. Because it is anything but typical. This is not a losing team or a shut-out team.

Hell did you see the lineup today? It's hardly our team at all! Choo sat out for the first time in 47 games (only player left who hasn't sat out is....Asdrubal, natch.) Grady was in but he was DH in the 6-spot. Asdrubal batted third and Orlando batted second.

I don't think the order of the lineup mattered much tonight, tho. Pitching seems incredible across the league this year. Like, scary incredible. If we land on a game with one of these 2011 phenoms, there's a good chance we're sunk. Don't forget the last David Price Game where Hamilton and Hegan gushed all over the place about him. They warned us!

Anyway, it's ok to be sad when your team loses but if you take it too far, you just sound like a BOOB. You heard me - a boob! If you know anything about baseball in 2011 you know that the Indians are a very good team and that the season is just 25% over. You know we're still way in first place in the Central, that Grady just got back, that John Nunley and Manny Acta are going to make some tweaks and that pretty soon it will be all right.

If you don't know that, well then, you are in the wrong place, Jack. Cuz here we're positive about our Tribe!

Oh yeah check this out. I can't believe this was actually submitted to the Internet in 2001...did they even do this sort of thing on the Internet in 2001? (Sharing.) Anyway, here is a Flash representation and radio call of The Impossible Return game from August 5, 2001. Pretty fun! I listened to it in lieu of one of tonight's innings.

We'll see you tomorrow at 4:10 PM. Chin up, ok?

Radio Chatter:
"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

Price is Right

Man, what a softball headline. I betcha the wrap-up on Indians.com has the same title or something similar in a 32pt font. How often do you think they use that headline in the Tampa Bay newspaper? Only once, I hope.

Anyway, I think David Price is angry and he's taking it out on the Tribe. He's angry because a couple weeks ago he gave up 5 runs and 12 hits to the Blue Jays. So now he's all "I'M GOING TO PITCH A PERFECT GAME!" "Or maybe a complete game shutout." "Or maybe a complete game."

You can't really pitch those sorts of things against these Indians. Well you can pitch a complete game if you can pitch more than 100-120. And if Grady is out getting an MRI and Pronk is having his night off and if we have to bring in Austin Kearns. What's really going to happen is that you pitch 8 and you luck out because our pitcher is just back from the DL and is not quite so good.

Here's a funny story about me and Austin Kearns...last year I was telling my friend (a Braves fan) how much I like our young team and how we've got some cool new youngsters, like Austin Kearns. And my friend, who doesn't listen to every word so he obviously missed me saying "youngsters", told me how he remembers Kearns being in some sort of home run race in 2006 or so. And I said "Wut? He's new." And my friend said "no, he's been around, like, forever." And we looked it up and sure enough, his rookie season was 2002.

Oops. I wasn't paying attention at all, was I? Well, it IS hard when you only hear games and never see them. Unless Hamilton tells me a guy's age and history, I guess I assume he's from our farm team.

Other story about Austin Kearns: He "came with" Manny Acta from Washington to Cleveland. The move turned out great for him and his family because they got a lot of help for their son at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Center of Autism. We sent him to the Yankees last July but he came right back because Cleveland is the best place for his family to live. Cool, huh?

He's going to be here a long time, I guess, so we'd better embrace him. I am ready to embrace him, for real. Except there's no real place for him right now. Other than our Hot Bench Of Awesomeness!

Anyway, back to David Price. Because this is the David Price edition of The Positive Tribe. I should let our less-aware readers know that David Price is the pitcher for Tampa Bay that pitched against us and won. He's pretty good I guess...but he's only 4-3, he's no Masterson. He isn't on any of the League Leaders lists. But for some  reason not only did he hold the Tribe to 5 hits, he went 8 innings and also only gave up 2 runs.

Oh, and Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan gushed over him all night. Weird.

When he WASN'T busy getting Indians out, he was busy giving up doubles. Four doubles tonight! Satana, LaPorta and Dos Cabreras!

Brantley got a hit too, a RBI single. His AVG is creeping up to .300!

Tomorrow's game is at NOON so don't forget! Anyone able to go to that sort of thing? I went one year with my friend AJ and it was fun but we missed half the game because it took forever to park. Hmmm...that's right, AJ is a teacher so he's free for afternoon games all summer. I think I might need to skip more work this year! But not tomorrow. School's not out yet.

Ok, that's all about the Tribe for tonight. "But, I want to know more about David Price!" you say? Well, Radio Chatter has you covered.

Oh yeah, here's a link to the Indians.com/MLB.com wrapup. It's not up right now (I scooped them!) but it'll be up shortly and you can see what clever Price-praising headline they came up with.

Radio Chatter, The David Price Edition:
"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