Hold Steady

Anthony Castrovince wrote a good article about feelings behind the Thome statue. He pretty much nails how I feel about the issue, so I'll just let you read it. Since I'm the Positive Tribe I'm not going to rain on today's parade with my feelings. And it doesn't matter anyway.

I will say that it's always nice to see a big crowd at the stadium, and always nice to see Indians fans cheer on Indians - old and new. So if nothing else, it was very nice to see all of the excitement for Thome today.

And then a win! They did a big win last night for Hammy day, a respectable win tonight for Thome day. Wonder what will happen tomorrow on Slider's birthday??

TJ House was our man today. Man - can you believe how young our rotation is? Or maybe not young, but green? It's almost amazing we've got this many wins, considering how much these kids don't get picked up by the offense. Hats off to the rotation!

Anyway, House did have his struggles today. He only lasted 5 innings because it took him that long to throw 97 pitches. But he struck out SEVEN in that time! Lookout!! No runs allowed by House, with just 3 hits and 2 walks. When he wasn't striking them out, he was getting ground outs.

Up next was Old Mat Atchison. According to Jim Rosenhaus he is a-ok with the ribbing he gets about his age. Some of the players have been Tweeting "Atchison is so old..." stuff lately and I guess he gets it in the dugout. Tonight everyone was like "WOW look at him go!" when he chased down Elvis Andrus during a rundown between third and home. After the game Francona quipped that Atchison might not be able to walk in the morning. Zing! Well, Atch got the win, you whippersnappers. He also stuck around for 1 2/3 innings.

Shaw had a 1-2-3 groundout inning in the 8th, and then Cody Allen came in to "close." But not officially still? I dunno, he's our closer. I think after making a big deal out of Perez and Axford, everyone is afraid to mentally knock a guy down by calling him a closer! Anyway, it was a little shaky going at the end there with a walk and a single. But In Cody We Trust. The game remained a shutout!

Good thing, too. Because the Tribe had a heck of a time figuring out this Mikolas fella who came in to the game with an 8+ ERA. He lasted 7 innings and struck out 6 Indians, only giving up 5 hits. But thankfully they put a couple of those hits together and scored 2 runs. With the good work of House and the 'pen, that was all they needed!

Kipnis is still making a go of it, now with hits in 3 games in a row. He even came around to score!

Michael Brantley (.322) is sloooowly creeping back up to my magic .330! He's hit in 3 games now, as well. Even though Kipnis has a respectable 4 hits in those 3 games, Brantley has SEVEN. Because, Brantley. Shameful he didn't get an RBI or score, or get any extra bases. But he'll keep grinding out those hits.

Santana went 0 for 2. Hey, turn that frown upside-down! Cuz you know what that means? Two walks, yo! On base, like a boss!

Chiz and Swisher both got 2-out RBI singles in the 6th, which is all there was of scoring today. Good to know that the team still has that 2-out run scoring ability. Nice to see it BEFORE the 7th inning, too.

Also, Chiz back on the hit-horse. Do you think we'll ever have a statue of him? I just advised my brother to pick up Lonnie for his fantasy team because I have an inkling that he'll be on an upswing the rest of the year. I hope I'm right!

Tomorrow is a 1:05 game, and it's Slider's birthday! I hope he has a bunch of mascot friends there. I always find that amusing. I like the Phanatic and Mr. Met. I noted last year that the Padres sent over some actual Catholic-looking guy and not the Chicken. What's up with that??

It'll be Bauer tomorrow versus RHP 2.90. Hmm, scary. But today we only scored 2 against a guy with an 8+ ERA so maybe tomorrow we'll bust it open against this guy? Stranger things have happened.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"It's like somebody there ticked off God."
"Or someone is there with a doll wearing a Texas jersey, sticking pins in it."
- Mike Hargrove and Jim Rosenhaus on Texas' fall from the top

"I'm glad they didn't ask me to talk, cuz I have a lot of stories."
- Mike Hargrove on the Tom Hamilton anniversary presentation

"If I really said how I feel, we'd both be fined by the FCC and we'd be doing something else."
- Mike Hargrove on Thome hayters

"I feel bad about this but my first thought was 'He'd better be dead.'"
- Mike Hargrove on Slider falling off the wall and interrupting play in the 1995 ALCS

"That's worth the ticket right there."
- Mike Hargrove on the interesting Thome-statue-related play by Mustard during the Hot Dog Derby

Everybody Hits!

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Nice job, 4-hole!

Shelley Duncan had an RBI double, so now he's got 22 hits and 23 RBI in the month of September. That's in just 25 games. HOLY CRAP SHELLEY DUNCAN!

I know, right?!

He also got on base due to a fielding error AND had a sweet catch in the 6th. It pains me that it's not a highlight clip, though, because Tom Hamilton made it sound great.

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

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

Zeke and Sweet Lou were also-rans tonight in the race for Everybody Hits! but dangit, they did their parts and got their hits. Lou also went the extra mile and caught a guy stealing.

Stayin' in the game, fan!

So let's see...not winning tonight means we won't end up over .500. Winning tomorrow means we'll be at .500. If we lose and Chicago wins we'll be tied for second.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fan Appreciation Day...

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

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

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

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

So around 11:40 they had the players come out and let the fans through the gate. Our gate featured Zach Putnam (actually it was "Who Was That?" until I just now looked it up), Justin Masterson and Jim Thome. This group did not include Perez, Shelley or Asdrubal so we ran through to another gate where we found Perez, Grady and Sipp. I wanted to take a picture of myself with Perez but I heard an usher tell someone no pictures with adults so, fair enough. They also said no autographs. The guys were handing out short packs of baseball cards. I got this picture:

I got another picture but my phone screwed it up. But anyway, Chris Perez did shake my hand. He's got some big paws! I've got big paws myself so it's nice to see that our closer dominates me in the hand area.

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Wouldn't you have loved to see OMG right there?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sorry for the un-positiveness. And Thome-hating! Argh what is my issue?!

Awwww, I'm tellin'!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, see you there!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thomecoming. I'm into it.

Ugh why am I such a downer about Jim Thome? Get over it, me! HE IS SORRY! I am such a grudge holder. Not even a Jim Thome statue in center field can make me feel good. In fact the statue makes me kinda grumbly since they offered him a statue to stay in Cleveland before, and he left and got a statue anyway.

But...well...3 RBI and a homer on "Let's all honor Jim Thome Day"? That's pretty sweet. I like that. I'll have Jim Thome back now, if he'll have me. Perhaps maybe in flesh only...I'll have to think on it.

Justin Masterson had a long night. He only made it through 4 2/3 but left after 100+ pitches. He gave up 3 earned runs in that time. The offense was actually giving him runs to work with! But, you can't be the ace every night and hell we scored 11 yesterday so 4 we can deal with. And that same offense gave him 2 errors while on the field too.

Even though it was a short game for him it was a good enough outing. He struck out 4 and got himself out of two big jams.

Manny said this was Masterson's last night and he ended up 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA. And we all know about his poor run support and stuff. The ERA tells the tale. Good season, Nasty.

The #bullpenmafia came in and held it up just fine. Hermann, Raffy, Smith, Pestano and Chris Perez were just like old times except Raffy gives up (a) runs now. Chris Perez got the Win! Funny.

So last night's heroes was the top of the order and tonight those guys didn't do shit. But that's ok because Thome grabbed LaPorta and Chisenhall by the ears and said "Follow me, boys!" and they did.

First off, tho, Fukudome got another hit and looks to be finishing the season with flare. Our outfield next season is going to be VERY interesting...

Kipnis, Cabrera and Duncan were silenced tonight. Weird, right?

But Jim Thome had a lot to say. We all thought he hit it out in the first, but it was "just" a double. A RBI double so that was pretty awesome. But then in the third he hit it out for real - close to where they're about to erect a statue of him - and well...well fuck yeah! He wasn't done yet, he also had an infield single. He ended the night 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and one triple away from the cycle. The radio guys and Manny Acta had a good time poking at Jim for his lack of ability to run for three.

Keep an eye on the Tom Hamilton has the Best Home Run Call in all of Baseball page because you're going to want to hear that one!

Lonnie Chisenhall and Matt LaPorta were duly inspired by Thome. The two of them had 5 hits together with Lonnie scoring 2 and Matt putting him in twice. Both guys got doubles, too - just like Big Jim! It was adorkable.

Sweet Lou was lookin' good in the field tonight, participating in a great double play to save some runs. He also went 1 for 3.

Then they pinch hit Carlos Santana for him, just as I was getting out of my bath (YOU HEARD ME!) and my roommate must of wondered why I was laughing and clapping all by myself in the bathroom. Well, dude, it's because Carlos Santana just hit a walk-off home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the 9th THAT IS WHY! Bwahahahahaha!!!

I always forget that the players are so young. Carlos Santana got so happy and he hopped in to home after his home run. Yes, hopped. We've seen him do this before...see here.

Fun times, kids. This is why we pay attention to all 162! Tomorrow we get TWO baseball games and I can't WAIT!

1:05 and 7:05 tomorrow - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Sunday's game set baseball back about 20 years. There were 6 errors in that game."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians/Twins game last Sunday

"When you start mentioning Lou Boudreau and Asdrubal Cabrera in the same sentence you know you've had a good year."
- Tom Hamilton

"The key to success for a good pitcher is to be able to go to the mound when you don't have your best stuff and take care of business."
- Mike Hegan

"And why wouldn't he get an infield single? On tonight of all nights!"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Thome's single in the 5th

"We thought this would be a pitcher's duel but both teams came out swinging the bats."
- Tom Hamilton

"Good LORD, what are the Indians doing there?"
- Tom Hamilton questions Zeke throwing home instead of his cutoff man

"Tosoni went in like a running back trying to run over a linebacker."
"This is fall and I know it's Friday night but the football game is down the road."
"Tosoni did what he was supposed to do and Marson didn't budge."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on our second out at the plate

"For Asdrubal Cabrera, trying to get a hit off Pavano is like trying to swim across the Atlantic ocean and reach land."
"Pavano knows Asdrubal is not going to get a hit and Asdrubal knows he is not going to get a hit."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan

"There are a couple of generations of fans who think the elbow is named after Tommy John. [...] Those of us in broadcasting are relived that Jarrod Saltalamachia  wasn't the first to have that surgery."
- Tom Hamilton

"It was over the outside corner but that's not a strike tonight. Al Porter is not Umping tomorrow so he doesn't care that it's a day nighter."
- Tom Hamilton

Milestones

It's pretty fitting that a game that started with Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel hugging at home plate (after exchanging lineup cards) ended with both Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera reaching milestones and breaking records. The new face of the Tribe? Absolutely.

Hafner got his 1,000th career hit tonight. A double. He hit that right after Asdrubal hit his 25th homer of the season, the most ever for an Indians' shortstop. Asdrubal also has the most RBI for an Indians' shortstop since Lou Boudreau in 1948 with 96 (Boudreau had 106).

It was a milestone game for me tonight too. Sort of - it was my 10th game. I think my previous record was 6 unless we ended up going to more games than I thought in the 80s.

It was the second time in history that the Indians have had 2 home runs to start the game at home. Last time was 1971, 40 years ago.

It was Asdrubal's second 5-RBI game of the year and guess what? I was at both! My friend OMG was only at one, sadly.

I made a call to add another game to Everybody Hits over there. I added it with an asterisk. Because the only guy who didn't hit (Hannahan) got 2 walks and came around to score 2 runs. So it's my blog and I put it up there. In the tradition of baseball, I gave it an asterisk!

After all of that milestoneage, I decided to walk all the way up 5 floors of the parking garage to get to my car. First (and last) time for that! BAM!

Where was I? Special game indeed. Let's get to the stats!

Jeanmar Gomez? Awesome! He's gone 5 and 2 this year with a 3.52 ERA so far. Tonight he only gave up 1 earned run and struck out 3 in 6 innings. Perfect, perfect outing for any of our starters, let alone our newest! He has gone 5-0 in his last 5 starts and in those 5 starts has given up 5 runs. Think we'll see that guy next year??

Joe Smith came in to handle the 7th, which was great because by then we were only leading by 3. Your reliever with a 1.82 ERA is exactly the guy you want to see in that instance.

Once we were leading by 7, it was time for Putnam and Kluber to stretch their arms. Guess what? They did AWESOME, with Putnam going 1-2-3 and Kluber walking two but striking out one. BALLGAME!

If you didn't hear, the game started with 2 home runs. First Fukudome knocked one out on his 2nd pitch then Kipnis followed up with one of his own. Fukudome has more homers, more RBI and fewer strikeouts than he did with Chicago this year, in 30 more games!

Fuku (or as Acta says "Fuky") ended up going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, a walk and 2 runs. He also looked great out in the field, catching a fly from Adam Dunn who is not slated to get any more hits this year.

Kipnis hasn't gotten a homer in FOREVER (since before he got hurt) so it was great to see him go yard. Although he hasn't had a homer, he has gotten 14 hits in the 12 games since he's been back!

Asdrubal, Asdrubal, Asdrubal. Did not let me down! I showed up with my sign and dragged it aaaaalll the way up to the upper deck (which, as it turns out, does not have cupholders or even a practical place to lean a sign) and the usher at the front of the section said "Oh, you know he's out for the rest of the year?" I told her no way, but then I hadn't heard any news.

Yeah so she came an apologized to me for her misinformation about the 3rd inning. Heh.

Tonight he went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI and 1 run. No strikeouts. Some nice field play - although nothing TOO crazy... you can tell he's being a bit conservative with his body out there. GREAT night for me to be out there with OMG but section 457, in the upper deck above the plate? Not particularly good for camera exposure. Oh well, I think my section appreciated it. A bit.


This is 3 homers in a row for Asdrubal, too, having homered Monday, Tuesday and now tonight. He also has 12 RBI in his last 4 games. I am sure there is some sort of stat about that that involves Venezueleans and short stops but I am no statistician!

Also mentioned above was Hafner's 1000th hit. I don't think I've ever been in the building when a guy hits a milestone. That was really special for me, to be able to cheer for him like that. I really wish you could see the ovation (and we had 21k fans out there tonight!) but alas, MLB.com does not see fit to share it with you.

Hafner, by the way, looked just ducky running around the bases in the 6th (he got on on an FC) so Dr. Me says "Foot all healed! Look out, 2012!"

Carlos Santana did not want to be left out, so he got a hit. But it turns out he did get left out because he didn't get any RBI or score any runs or even get extra bases. He does have 10 hits in his last 10 games including 3 homers so....THERE!

Grady Sizemore, he got a hit.

LaPorta was making me nervous about getting a hit but he came through in the 6th AND it was an RBI hit. Regardless of that, he was a MONSTER in the field tonight. Not sure why there are no highlight videos of his stuff but I guess he was just doing his job. I think he saved a few runs for sure and just looked TIGHT out there.

Jack Hannahan is the guy who didn't technically get a hit tonight. But like I said he walked twice and scored twice. Plus HE was a monster in the field tonight. Not only did he do a classic Hannahan bare-handed put-out from across the diamond, but he had another play where he flattened out on the line and stopped a ball from going through. He didn't get the batter at first but he still got a wild round of applause for that niceness!

Zeke was looking great tonight. He is so super-fast! He almost got a triple but Chicago whined about it and it ended up a ground-rule double. He also had a walk, a single and a stolen base, and came around to score every time he got out there! Zoom!

Such a great game tonight and I was so lucky to be there. It was reminiscent of the first game I went to with this very group of friends, exactly 4 months ago. On May 22 we saw Asdrubal get 5 RBI as we smacked the Reds 12-4. My friends and I also completely BAKED in the sun that day. Then I took them to a game in August where it poured rain and there was a 2-hour delay and then 14 innings of boring baseball. So this time I got the weather right AND the team had the bats going. So I'm hoping my friends will remember this all winter and want to go back next year!

We've got 4 games in 3 days against the Twins. It's gonna be AWESOME and we're gonna score tons of RUNS. Especially Asdrubal, and anyone else who wants to get in on the hit parade. And Shelley Duncan.

Speaking of which, I sent Shelley "his" picture tonight on Twitter. He was asking fans to sum up the season. I think that sums it up, don't you?

7:05 tomorrow night - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Humber is the pure definition of a 6-inning guy."
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th, before we scored our 5-6-7 runs off Humber in the 6th and 7th

"You know what Ron Washington would say to that? 'That's the way baseball go.'"
- Jim Rosenhaus on the possible insanity that is the AL Wildcard

"It's an infield convention."
- Tom Hamilton in the 8th when there was a high pop-up above the pitcher's mound. Asdrubal took care of it.

"If the Mariners ever make another trade with the Indians, it may be after we're dead and gone."
- Tom Hamilton

"There was no drama when the month began for the Major League Baseball playoff races. None!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Any time you've got a shortstop with 25 homers and 90 RBI, look around and see how many shortstops there are that can do that."
- Tom Hamilton

Too Few

Too few runs scored. Too few good bullpen guys at the moment. Too few Asdrubals in the second game. All too few.

Zach McAllister brought his ERA down some 4 points today by only giving up 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings. He actually hadn't given up any runs on his exit but left two guys in for Raffy to send home. He had a great game, I think. And he picked Omar Vizquel off second!

Then Raffy gave up one of his own which was all...what? The next 3 guys were newbies - Putnam, Hagadone and Judy. Hagadone and Judy have had a little bit more work than Putnam (maybe one game each) and he gave up 2 while the other guys managed to put a lid on it.

Putnam and Judy did hit THREE guys in their 1 1/3 innings. Ooops....

Didn't matter tho because 5 runs was too much for our old beat-up team to overcome. We did get 4, however.

Jason Donald was FUCKING AWESOME tonight going 4 for 5. Unfortunately there were too few hits before and after him, giving him just one run and no RBI. That gives him 12 hits in his last 10 games tho. I wonder what that means for his 2012?

Thome had it going on tonight. He was another guy (along with Donald and the lead-off, Zeke) who didn't play this afternoon. He ended up going 1 for 2 with two walks, a run and an RBI. He seems to be doing pretty good against his two former teams.

Shelley Duncan, or "Little Blond Thome" as we might call him, also got 2 walks and went 1 for 1. He came in to score one of the runs. They pinch hit Fukudome for him late in the game...I bet Fuku thought that was weird.

Sizemore and LaPorta both had RBIs. Sizemore was in the form of a sac fly and LaPorta had an RBI double. Yeah, I know - LaPorta!

Luis Valbuena went 1 for 3. Ok.

It's my opinion that we have 2nd place locked up. We can win the next 1 or 2 against the White Sox and we could very well take 4 against the Twins. Even if the Tigers devastate us the last 3 games of the year (they'll probably play a B-squad!) we're good.

So my advice is just...everyone stay healthy!

Ok it's been a long day so everyone get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow at 7:05 for some Ubaldo-on-Buehrle action!

Radio Chatter:
"They keep talking about Flowers and what a show he puts on during batting practice, but 5:05 is very different from 7:05."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's audition time!"
- Mike Hegan on rookie pitchers in September

"Ozzie Guillen is a killjoy tonight."
- Jim Rosenhaus on the intentional walk of Thome

"The young kids, for them, they have been in awe since Thome got here."
- Tom Hamilton

Sloppy Sweep

Aaah...sweet, sweet day today. Got to hang out at my niece's 2nd birthday party and eat delicious Elmo cake, then watch the Browns win then watch the Tribe win and come home and listen to the excitement on the radio.

Then I come home to see an awesome comment from reader Allie who totally gets what I'm trying to do with the blog here. Another Tribe fan who understands the importance of Cleveland baseball first, winning baseball second. Holla, Allie!

The Tribe had a surprisingly hard time winning this one, considering the ease of our last two wins. But we also won on big innings the last 2...I assured my dad when we were losing 3-0 not to worry, there will be a big inning. I was right.

Poor Masterson. He actually got some run support today but not until the 7th inning. To add insult to injury, the team behind him committed 4 errors for 2 unearned runs. Masterson did go 6 and while he only struck out 3, he did induce 3 double plays.

Smith had a flawless 7th (with 3 assists!), and then Sipp came in for the 8th and struggled mightily. In a weird twist of fate, the guy who usually lets other guys' runners score (Sipp) had two of his runners score courtesy of Vinne Pestano. That scenario was pretty unbelieveable...I guess just everyone was looking sloppy today in this sloppy weather. Pestano walked in two runs, just like the Twins did. Unreal.

Chris Perez came in and didn't give up any runs but a hit. He got the Save (34) and Masterson got the Win (12).

Fukudome got back on the hitting horse today going 1 for 4 with a walk. Sad because his average is slipping below .270. Oh no!

Asdrubal was out today, which is ok because Kipnis didn't do anything exciting (remember, I think he gets inspired by the guy who bats ahead of him). Well, Kipnis did have a super fantastic at-bat in the 7th and walked in a run. Then there was a pitching change and Santana walked in a run! Woah, nelly!

Then Thome was up with the bases loaded and everyone chewing their fingernails. Then he did the weirdest thing you'll ever see modern Jim Thome do - he got a broken bat single that never left the infield grass. It was seriously in slow motion because nobody (NOBODY!) expects Jim Thome to not hit the ball out of the infield when not striking out. Wowee!

So 3 of our first 4 runs that brought us into the lead came on an error, a single, three walks and an extremely short single. Messy as all get out!

Who's got two thumbs and drove in our first, 5th and 6th (winning) runs today?

This guy!

Yeah that joke didn't quite work with that picture but I love that picture! You're probably going to start to hate it because it's coming out probably every time Shelley plays for the rest of the season.

Shelley Duncan, by the way, got 2 hits (homer and double), 3 RBI and scored a run today. Because he's awesome.

LouMar did not have a good day at all in the field today. One error and one passed ball. What up, Sweet Lou?

Next time, champ.

He DID go 2 for 4 today but he didn't even steal a base, which as it turns out, is a thing he likes to try to do these days.

Anyway, after all that weirdness and nonsense and rain, we won. Not only won but SWEPT!!! When was the last time that happened?? (June 19, Pirates)

As promised, while I didn't have my sad little foam broom with me today...

It's very small.

...I did talk about it to several people. I was with my family so they had to listen.

Tomorrow is a one-off weird 4:05 start makeup game versus Seattle. It's supposed to rain so I sent my aunt & uncle to Wal Mart to get us some Emergency Rain Ponchos for the game, because we'll be there. I'm kind of nervous because the seats I ended up getting are right down there behind the 3rd base tarp. Which is where foul balls go to break faces. Eep! I can't for the life of me find my glove. Have any of you seen it? It's a Wilson softball glove and it has "JB" written on the side in black Sharpie, and the thumb adjustment string is really great to suck on when you're bored out of your mind playing right field.

Oh well...my uncle's friend Rick is going with us. I'll put him in charge of putting his face in front of foul balls.

So yeah, tomorrow at 4:05 for a WIN because we're obviously very good against last-place teams.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Manny Acta loves the fact that Kipnis swings the bat with power, the other way."
- Tom Hamilton

"Good lord, it's ugly out here. Can't believe these folks are sitting through this."
- Tom Hamilton on the cold, rainy day

"This is going to be a 5-out inning, the way the Indians have kicked the ball around."
- Tom Hamilton at the end of the 6th inning

"The play today has matched the weather - sloppy."
- Tom Hamilton

"Boy is he unhappy with himself. Kipnis had a pitch that he knew he could hit to Bloomington."
- Tom Hamilton on Kipnis' at-bat in the 7th

"A hearty group of fans has stuck it out. They wanted an open-air stadium, now they have it."
- Tom Hamilton

"Here the Indians are trying to give up an out to advance a runner and the Twins pitcher isn't able to throw a strike."
- Tom Hamilton on Marson trying to bunt in the 8th

"What you hope is that nobody is at today's game seeing a major league game for the first time in their life - and they never come back."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's almost as if Mike Everett has said 'We're going to make this strike zone juuuust a bit bigger.'"
- Tom Hamilton thinks the umpire is tired of this game

Casual Friday

Whew, finally a team we can handle! Not one that is leading its division or one that we're fighting for second place. A nice, gentle bottom-dweller with a losing streak.

Ubaldo was our man today, getting his 4th win with us and 10th overall. He only gave up one earned run in 6.1 innings and struck out 4.

Since we've been pitching our baby relievers against Texas, Sipp, Pestano and Chris Perez came in tonight. Sipp of course gave up some runs for Ubaldo (he's always giving up other guys' runs!) and then one for himself. Pestano was lights-out, of course. Perez...I dunno, he doesn't seem to be set up for being a closer anymore. Seems to falter when he doesn't get enough work. Tonight he gave up 2 runs with a 3-run lead. WTF?

Oh well. Don't forget to keep up with the :60 Seconds With Pure Rage videos on The Dugout Sports Show site.

Had a couple of new heroes tonight, as will happen with this team. Donald was out and Asdrubal back in, but still no production from Asdrubal. Also nothing from Fukudome who was leading off.

Kipnis was second and playing second. He went 2 for 5 with a double. According to Mike Hegan, Kipnis is all healed up!

Thome went 2 for 4 with a HOMER! His second with us this year! They gave him a standing ovation on his first at-bat (not a homer) which is nice. Did we do that on his first game back to Cleveland or did we boo him? I hope we booed him. Because we're sore like that.

Santana got a homer too and now leads the team with 24. Actually he passed up Asdrubal the other day when he got 23. Oh well...Santana is, after all, the guy who is supposed to be leading the team in home runs. Asdrubal's total is still amazing considering his other years.

Lonnie Chisenhall was unstoppable until his last at-bat, going 3 for 4 tonight, getting 2 RBI and scoring 2! He had a piece of heads-up baserunning turning a single into a single plus a base on an error, then came around to score!

Sweet Lou was great at the plate and on the bases tonight. He went 2 for 4 and got 2 RBI, and also stole a base. He did get caught stealing once as well but made up for it by throwing a guy out.

That was for you, fan!

I hope tomorrow's game is as refreshing as today's was, with hitting and scoring and such. Two guys with similar records, Jeanmar Gomez versus Anthony Swarzak. Our team is better nonny nonny!

A rare Saturday noon game - noon in Minnesota, of course. So 1:10 here. Nope, not on fancy TV just on STO.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"I don't think anybody really knows what's wrong with Joe Mauer."
- Tom Hamilton

"Lots of Svenolis and Elkas here tonight. [...] They're not enjoying this."
- Tom Hamilton impressed with the size of the crowd

"Puzzling."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's slump

"A lot of people here are dressed like the movie 'Fargo'. A lot of blankets, a lot of Elmer Fudd hats."
- Tom Hamilton

WTF SHELLEY DUNCAN?!

I'm wondering if now that Asdrubal has seemingly hung it up for the season (hitting first and second pitches now, dude) that I need to retire "OMG ASDRUBAL!!" for now and debut a "WTF SHELLEY DUNCAN?!" sign.

Of course, that probably won't get on the big board because it's somewhat naughty. And Shelley being awesome is seemingly an every-day thing right now (like Asdrubal being awesome) but what makes it special is that it's unexpected. So you don't want to spoil the unexpected with a "professional" sign.

Carmona wasn't that bad today, for Carmona. He went 5 innings and struck out 4, only giving up 3 runs. That's do-able for a good team to overcome, especially when you're playing the White Sox who aren't the Tigers.

The #bullpenmafia had a hell of a time this afternoon. The White Sox loaded up the bases three times. Maybe four. They had 9 walks over 4 innings and 5 guys had their chance out there. They brought Chris Perez in for the 10th inning and he loaded up the bases and let a grand slam go. Oops!

Sizemore was back in today, but not leading off. Good call because he struck out 3 times. Unfortunately ol' Fukudome who DID lead off did not fare any better. Well better in that he only struck out twice but worse in that he didn't get on base in 5 tries compared to Grady's 4.

Jason Kipnis, on the other hand, is a stud and got himself a hit today. He's got 3 hits in the 3 games he's been back. No home runs yet but...give him time! He did look decent in the field today too.

Thome was in today, playing again against his old team. Standing ovation and all that. Blah Blah. But HEY! He got 2 hits!

As I alluded to, Shelley Duncan had another AWESOME game today. That is why he is playing alongside Jim Thome instead of in lieu of Jim Thome. Dude got another homer and a double today, meaning his 5th homer in the past 7 days and 10th RBI. He has more than DOUBLED his home run total for this year in just one week. Yes he has!

Lonnie is still in and he is still there making us not miss Jack Hannahan THAT much. At least not so much that we're in tears. He went 1 for 4 today and scored a run.

So Duncan got 2 of our 3 RBI and guess who showed up to get the 3rd? Matt LaPorta! He had to come up because Santana was a bit beat up so we needed a first baseman, and Shelley was already in the outfield so there you have it. He went 1 for 4 today but that one was a 1-run double! You're a sneaky one, Matt LaPorta! Not sneaky enough to score from third on a pop to shallow center, though. Remember that for next time.

Sweet Lou also went 1 for 4, and was caught stealing. He stole a base the other night and now I think he thinks he can do stuff like that.

Speaking of stolen bases, Zeke was missing today. Hmmm I hope he's not hurt...

In case you were wondering, they kept the LOB down again today. But strikeouts? 15. Gah!

Tomorrow is baseball and football, at 2 PM and 1 PM respectively. Both are on TV even, can you IMAGINE?!

My strategy will be to watch the Browns, and flip over to the Indians during breaks, then after the game listen to the radio archive. That is the plan.

I think somebody in my house is making cupcakes.

So, if you can tear yourself away from football for a few minutes we'll see you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"Alex Rios and Adam Dunn are the reasons the White Sox aren't doing better than they are right now."
- Tom Hamilton

"Here's Adam Dunn. He gets booed from the moment he sticks his head out of the dugout."
- Tom Hamilton

"I tell you one thing. If a strikeout was a vrirus the Indians team would be flat on it's back. It's not just one guy, everybody has it."
- Tom Hamilton

"If Adam Dunn strikes out here he might get into his car and never come back."
- Tom Hamilton, before Adam Dunn struck out

(Not) Giving Up

No, not me! I mean giving up - or not giving up - seven runs worth of homers! Not cool!

David Huff looked fiiiiiine for 7 innings. Much better than his last start and more in line with his first two starts with 5 strikeouts and 5 hits. And of course this start involved rain. But no postponement! Seems like the umpires are tired of the AL Central too.

I'm not sure if Huff was left in a little too long (he left 2 on base) or the bullpen was brought in a little too early (Hermann proceeded to let those two guys come in, and another, on a homer) but that's the way it ended. And since we had nothing to lose, they brought in Josh Judy just to see a guy named Judy pitch to a guy who's first name is pronounced "Diane."

Asdrubal was gettin' stuff done today, going 2 for 3 with a double, single and walk. And he stole a base! And scored! And picked a bushel of appels!

He's tied up with Fukudome for "qualifying" batting average at .275 (Kipnis leads the lineup with .284 but he's low on games played.) Ol' Fuku has actually cooled off a bit. Hitting regularly but only one hit today, 11 in his last 10 games.

Thome was rockin' it today in his "old" home. He went 2 for 4 and was the one who drove Asdrubal in in the first.

So excited about Kipnis. He's getting hits when he's in! Ok, this is only his second game back but it was his second hit! I guess his ma was there today to watch him play for the first time. Sweet.

Shelley Duncan played first base to give Lou a night off from catching. I guess this was a little too heavy for Shelley as his bat was silenced.

Lonnie "Not Jack Hannahan" Chisenhall was at 3rd today and got a hit. There's definitely a lot to be said for having some innings under your belt when it comes to being able to hit consistently. They can't all be Shelley!

Man I had the best lemonade today. Minute Maid Light at the Subway in Macedonia on Rt. 82. Of course I was just out from a very hard workout and hungry as a horse but damn was that good lemonade! We should all give kudos to whoever mixes up the lemonade there. I know this is a non-sequitor but NO ONE is around to tell this to. And I am still thinking about the lemonade.

There's more baseball tomorrow, and it's at 8:10 again. So that's what I'm doing tomorrow night. How about you? Jeanmar versus Mark Buehrle. Whoooboy...

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"That great start kept them in the race for basically 5 months."
- Tom Hamilton ruminating on the beginning of the season

"It's miserable out. Those people sitting way out in right field are going 'why did we come?'"
- Tom Hamilton

"You'd think the batters box was like the pitching mound..."
- Tom Hamilton wonders why they didn't put drying agent in the batter's box

"Welp, this is the kind of baseball you sometimes get in September..."
- Tom Hamilton

Eventful

Such an awesome game today! And I'm not just saying that because Asdrubal peeked out of his slump in order to get a 2-run homer. Because before that he bashed himself in the knee with a foul ball and after that he left the field, unable to continue playing.

I'd almost forgotten that God Hates Cleveland Sports.

We'll put that nonsense behind us for now, and concentrate on how good tonight's  game was. Yay!

First off, ol' Nasty got himself a 5-run lead to work with. The Twitterverse thought this was a hoot. Five runs for Masterson! He did end up faltering after 5 innings but being the ace that he is, he didn't melt down he just kept going until Vinnie Pestano could come in to save him. Only 4 strikeouts in his 7 innings but 11 ground outs.

Chris Perez came in to the 9th with just a 1-run lead and got them out 1-2-3. Ballgame!

Royals pitcher Bruce Chen usually gets our goat, but not tonight. We totally broke through him with 5 runs!

Fukudome is still awesome. He's hitting about .320 since the start of August, when we got him. Tonight he had 3 hits and came around to score 2 runs. Almost as nice as having Kipnis in the 2-hole. In fact, if Asdrubal doesn't come out of it by the time Kipnis gets back I wouldn't mind seeing a test of Kipnis and Fukudome in the 2-3 spot. Or Kipnis-Fukudome-Cabrera. Interesting.

I'll mention it again that Asdrubal got a 2-run homer! First homer and first RBI(s) since 8/27. Ok that's only a week but it seems like a year, considering how he played for most of the rest of the season.

Did anyone see last week's Hot In Cleveland? The bartender looked like Asdrubal with an afro. Screenshot!

Asdrubal is on the right

Carlos Santana got his 28th double today, still 1 behind Asdrubal. But it was a good one - he got the first RBI, then came around to score on the next batter.

Jim Thome! He got himself a long single in the first to score Santana. Did you know we've been undefeated while Thome was in the lineup? That's pretty freaky. We've only played Oakland and KC since he's been here - two pretty awful teams - but the two games he sat, we lost.

I bet you didn't know this, but Jason Donald has an 8-game hitting streak. Today he knocked in his first home run of the year. Last year he had 4 in 88 games. Looking at stats...wow, he's only played 19 games this year? That makes his 8-game streak particularly nice! He also got his 4th double of the year today. Atta boy!

So tomorrow it's Huff versus Hochevar, and I think we'll give it to Huff. The Detroit/Chicago game looks evenly matched after tonight's Verlander whoopin. We did gain a game on Chicago!

Tomorrow at 8:05, so cancel all your plans. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Tigers now beating White Sox 5 nothing in the 5th. So that game's over. With Justin Verlander on the hill...thanks for coming, Chicago."
- Tom Hamilton

"How neat would it be to see Jim Thome and Grady Sizemore in the same Indians lineup?"
- Tom Hamilton

"Another ball that should have been in his hip pocket."
- Tom Hamilton on Zeke missing a fly ball in the 6th

"You're down 3 runs with one out, you're not trying for a sacrifice. He was bunting for a hit and he didn't get it."
- Tom Hamilton on the scoring of Escobar's at-bat in the 7th

"Fouls it back our way...and into our booth. And we no longer have an engineer."
- Tom Hamilton

Jack the Ripper and Suphermann

So get this...

First off, I missed listening to a good chunk of the game (I watched on TV with some friends), so I was planning on staying up late and catching the audio archive for some quotes. This was the plan around the 8th inning which is when I got back to my desk. I ended up catching 8 whole innings anyway, and staying up late anyway. But it was all fresh baseball!

Secondly, due to Jack Hannahan's two homers, I was ready to roll out the "Supermanahan" blog post title today already by the 6th inning and guess who Supermaned us to victory in the 16th? Super Jack is who!

But there is also Frank Hermann who went FOUR scoreless innings for us, just like he did in that long Detroit game. And funny how his name fits with Superman...well, it's late. This is the title you get. If you guys want to start a meme, please run with it!

Anyway my point is I'm totally psychic.

This is a funny one from Twitter: "You can tell the A's scouting has gotten lazy when they just sign pitchers with last names like Outman."

So the game went 16 innings, in case you didn't know. Ubaldo went 6 and gave up 3 runs, which probably isn't what Manny wanted for the sake of the bullpen. But what he REALLY didn't want was the bullpen going 10!

Ubaldo did strike out 6 in his 6 innings, so he wasn't half bad. Three is pretty acceptable to overcome, especially now that we're hitting again.

The #bullpenmafia ended up pitching 10 scoreless innings which is great for everyone's ERA but not so great for the arms. Two for Sipp, one for Rage, one for Smith, one for Durbin and as I said, 4 for Hermann.

Nine strikeouts in the 10 innings for the guys and of course no runs. It's really nice to rely on that 'pen in a regular situation but to rely on them for 10 innings is insane. Go, guys!

Batting could have been a lot better today, even though we got 11 hits. Why? LOB is why. Ten LOB.

Zeke started off the game with a triple (dude is FAST!) and then scored on a Fukudome sac fly. Our man Fuku did get a hit tonight but he didn't razzle-dazzle like he has been lately. He kind of let us down by striking out with 2 on in the 15th...if you haven't been paying attention, that is not what we expect of Fukudome anymore.

Jim Thome actually played in to the win tonight, getting on via single (single!) and having his pinch runner Cord Phelps score the winning run. He also had a double earlier in the game. This was his first multi-hit game for us!

Carlos Santana actually wasn't the hero tonight, being held to just one single.

But Jack Hannahan....!!!! He got his 2nd homer in 2 nights - and then his 3rd! Both of them were solo shots. Then he got that hit in the 16th to bring Phelps home. This puts Jack at 16 hits in his last 10 games. Since his son Johnny was born in early August, Jack has had 21 hits and 13 RBI in 16 games.

If you recall, Choo was looking to be Super Dad too right after his Abigail was born. Unfortunately his body betrayed him.

You know who has a 6-game hitting streak? Jason Donald does. That's actually 12 hits in his last 10 games. Tonight he got 2 hits including his 4th-ever double. Unfortunately, the fellas behind him - Jerad Head and Lou Marson - combined for 1 hit and 5 strikeouts. Oops!

So not bad hitting tonight but also not good situational hitting. And nothing from Asdrubal. I wonder if he'll get more extra days off during this murderous stretch of 31 games in 29 days? Or if we're just going to push him to THE EXTREME!!!!!?

Man I need to get some shuteye. It's really lucky for me that tomorrow's a noon game (ELEVEN HOURS! WOOT!) because I gotta start sleeping at night again. After the Hargrove game, last night's live game and audio archive and then 16 innings tonight, I haven't had my 8 hours in a while.

So one more against the A's at noon. Bring your brooms!

Radio Chatter:
"Juan Gonzalez...he always had an entourage. Many of those people are incarcerated now."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're not going to bunt in that situation, you shouldn't be taking 2 or 3 bunt swings during batting practice."
"If Reggie Jackson can bunt, so can Brandon Allen."
- Mike Hegan and Tom Hamilton don't like Allen not having bunted in the 10th with runners on

"We're going to have to do a bunting clinic tomorrow. Brandon Allen is excused, since he never is allowed to bunt again."
- Tom Hamilton being meta in the 12th inning after Coco Crisp had a messy bunt attempt

"Frank Hermann is doing the job in long relief. Middle relief. Late relief. Whatever you want to call it, he's doing the job."
- Tom Hamilton

"The people are too tired to go after it. They just waved at each other and said 'It's yours.'"
- Tom Hamilton on fan foul ball apathy in the 16th

"My score sheet is just one page. I've now erased every Indians' first name and am keeping score along the side."
- Mike Hegan in the 17th inning

Just Like Before

Yeah Jim Thome got his 5-millionth HR for the Tribe and that was just like the 90s. And wow was it awesome because we need Thome to do shit like that right now, for real.

But what I meant was that tonight's game was just like the Indians of April and May.

Fausto started and he actually wasn't post-break Fausto he was earlier-season Fausto, albeit his meltdown came slowly without huge innings, but 5 earned is a bit much for an "ace." He didn't strike out many but he did get two double plays.

The bullpen was pretty effective, save for Sipp's one run. Although early in the season they were giving up a lot more runs than they are now (none runs) so it was a bit of a "throwback" for them too.

Following Sipp were Raffy, Smith and Chris Perez who combined for two innings, with Rage striking out two in the ninth as well as making a sweet play to get the runner at 3rd on a bunt. Dontcha just love it?

Another thing that made tonight's game a "throwback" is that everyone was contributing, even guys you wouldn't expect or guys who are obviously not our main guys. Because those guys are all on the DL.

And the biggest excitement is that the charge was led by OMG ASDRUBAL!!!! Apparently pre-All-Star-Game Asdrubal yay!

Ok so, Fukudome was hitting lead-off tonight because Brantley is hurt and he actually was the leadoff guy for the Cubs before coming here. Zeke has been ok but Fukudome really has heated up lately. He seems to really be settling in finally and lord knows it was right on time. He went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a double, scoring 2 runs.

Asdrubal was back in the 2-spot and he must have gotten over missing Brantley and Kipnis because he was ALIVE tonight. He has been abysmal lately and it looks like when Asdrubal isn't hitting, we aren't winning. But tonight....it was all back, baby! He went 3 for 5 tonight with a single, double and homer. Oh and FOUR RBI. And he scored a run. And painted a house. And baked a cake.

Choo made an appearance tonight but it wasn't meant to be. While he was able to magically heal his thumb many weeks early he has not been able to heal his oblique overnight. He got 2 at-bats in before he was sat for Carrera. Carrera got a hit so Choo, you rest up, buddy. Oblique massages for the whole family.

Carlos Santana did nothing. Nothing. How weird is that lately?

Hey did you hear it was Jim Thome's 41st birthday today? Wow, 41. That's way older than me and I am way old. But he totally hit a homer, yes he did. And then Tom Hamilton got so excited that he called him "James Howard Thome" like he was his son. Precious.

Don't forget to check out Tom Hamilton has the Best Home Run call in all of Baseball. on Facebook, who should have both Asdrubal's and Thome's homers soon. In the meantime check out a Thome call from 1995 and a replay of Thome's first at-bat yesterday.

Hi Shelley Duncan, playing left field and going 1 for 3! Throwing out a guy at home! We love you! Play more baseball in Cleveland!

Jason Donald - what's up with that kid? He's totally trying to kick Cord Phelps to the curb. Little brother was 3 for 4 tonight with a run scored. Hittin' .280 and all. And no errors at second. Holla!

Supermanahan, too, hitting something over .400 since little Johnny has come along. I asked my friend what he has done since his little boy Jack has come along (shortly after Johnny). He said he ate some cookies. Jack (the adult) went 2 for 4 tonight with a TRIPLE!! and got himself 3 more RBI to add to his collection. That is 6 over his last 4 games.

Oh Sweet Lou, still not stellar at the plate but gosh darnit you loumared (caught stealing) another Royal today. In a surprise move, Chisenhall came in to pinch hit for Lou in the 8th with 2 outs. And he got a HIT. Then Fukudome walked. Then Asdrubal won the game. Or did Chisenhall win the game? YOU GO LONNIE!!

Actually Joe Smith won the game, pitching to one guy and striking him out. He got the W. Ha!

Oh man, tomorrow's gonna be awesome. It'd better be awesome. Because you recall what has happened every Sunday for the past 2 months, right? I am READY for some SUNDAY MAGIC and I don't want to fall asleep!

Man, Masterson's ERA is 2.83? That's pretty wow. And 5th in the AL, too. Facing a guy tomorrow, Chen, who's been pretty hot so we really need to get dude some run support. Maybe Jim Thome will sit everyone down before the game and say "guys"... no, "fellas, we really need to give Justin some run support." And then it will happen and we'll win on a Sunday and then I'll go mow my lawn happy as a clam, then ONE DAY TIL GROVER!!!

See you soon - 1:05 and don't forget you can watch it for free on WKYC!

Radio Chatter:
"Justin Verlander was human today, he gave up 4 runs."
- Tom Hamilton

"As always, Fausto working hard out there on the mound and it shows. As always, the perspiration dripping off that cap."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"Boy if the Indians didn't have bad luck they wouldn't have any at all."
- Tom Hamilton's take on the string of injuries

"You can't throw the ball better than Lou Marson."
- Tom Hamilton, amen

"They could hear the cheers in Toledo when Jim Thome cleared the 19 foot wall in left."
- Tom Hamilton

"They're not looking forward to tee times in October. They want to play."
- Tom Hamilton

"...he took the [LSU] Tigers to the College World Series. He worked the final two innings of relief against Texas when LSU won the championship. You do that, this isn't that big a deal."
- Tom Hamilton on KC pitcher Louis Coleman

"If this guy doesn't like veal parmesan then he's a Communist."
- Tom Hamilton on Johnny Giavotella

"I tell you what - Eric Hosmer has learned to cheat. He took that back foot and stepped...I don't think he was on that bag when he caught the ball."
- Mike Hegan

"Coleman hung a breaking ball and Asdrubal was ready."
- Mike Hegan

Welcome Thome

Ok gonna get this off my chest straight off.

Am I excited about Thome's return? Nope. I'm more indifferent. I don't think that Jim Thome with his .243 average and 12 homers is going to do anything for this lineup that Matt LaPorta (.243/11 homers) couldn't do.

However, he will help the team. Putting asses in the seats helps. If we're going to make a run for the playoffs it'd be nice to do it in front of sold-out crowds. If he's got some wisdom to impart on the rest of the team, we'll take that too.

But don't think he's the new Pronk or the old Thome. He's this year's Thome. And after his first night back, striking out twice and grounding out twice, I say "Your wife is your rock...is she also your batting coach?"

Oh yeah I'm bitter.

So that's all I'm going to say on the topic of Jim Thome as a "thing." From now on, he's going to have to hit to get into the blog posts and I will cheer him when he does. Otherwise...meh.

Moving along...Ubaldo! Wut wut! Finally looking like the guy we paid for again. After two shitty shitty starts, tonight he came in and struck out TEN which is the first time one of our guys has struck out TEN since September of 2009. And the Royals are no slouches at the plate - they're 5th in the league in batting average!

He did give up a homer but he never imploded. He got the W and it was a great one!

Pestano came in for the 8th and plunked a guy, but worked out of it. Chris Perez gave up a hit but ultimately finished the 9th with just 13 pitches and his 28th save.

The offensive heroes of the night were the second half of the batting order.

Actually, a stand-out tonight was Zeke in the leadoff spot. He walked twice, one of those walks being an RBI walk and ultimately the winning run. He almost gave us all a heart attack by swinging away on 3 and 1, after the pitcher had just walked a guy, but he resolved the situation by getting that 4th ball and walking a run in.

Santana was back hitting tonight, after having a nice streak then getting silenced for 2 games. He went 2 for 3 with a double. He also scored our first run with a hold-your-breath slide at home.

Did you know that the KC outfield has had 44 assists? Woah.

Fukudome! He went 2 for 3 tonight, and Shelly Duncan got a hit tonight for a 4-game streak for him. He was pulled for Choo! I dunno what's up with that but that's not bad to be pulled for Choo (even if Choo didn't do anything).

Supermanahan has been on FIRE lately. Thirteen hits in his last 10 games, with 2 more tonight going 2 for 3 with one of our two RBIs.

Sweet Lou - not so good tonight at the plate but as sweet as ever from behind it. Threw out another tonight! As they say on Twitter - You've been loumared!

Not the best win tonight but definitely with some highlights and a ton of electricity. It's almost as if the entire region has become The Positive Tribe overnight. That's fine, we're always looking for more friends. Just make sure you're still here if things don't go as planned, and maybe still here next year.

Do you think the team will wear their socks up for the rest of the season? I guess they did it in 1997 and had quite a winning streak. I say ANYTHING to help right now. Anything.

Check out Twitterer @Jobu_Lives for some inspiration and hoodoo. We can use more hoodoo!

Ok tomorrow's game, Jim Thome will be there again. So will Fausto and let's hope it's Good Fausto because Bad Fausto has been gone for a while and maybe he's gone for good? See you at 7:05!

Two days to Grover!

Radio Chatter:
"There are  a lot of similarities if you look at the Royals youngsters and the Indians lineup in the 90s."
- Tom Hamilton

"I thought we were getting Jim Thome not Denard Span."
- Mike Hegan on Thome's first ground out

"Those people probably sat down and thought 'we'll never get a foul ball up here.' That's about as far foul as you can hit a ball."
- Mike Hegan

"Man if Kenny Lofton was still playing...and Manny Rameriz hadn't gotten into all that trouble...bring those guys in and we could sell out the rest of the season!"
- Tom Hamilton

"You can't lose Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, Travis Hafner...and say 'Why can't this team score runs?'"
- Tom Hamilton