A Good Little Game

And I do mean little! Two hours, 16 minutes - woah! And the Tribe only got 4 hits!

I think the longest parts of the game was when Ubaldo was pitching and facing 4-5 batters per inning. Otherwise the two starters were both tight, and were just cruising (interestingly both have ERAs over 4.5).

Ubaldo finally had a quality start! Not only quality but the team's league-leading 11th shutout! (Well, like, the bullpen helped...) After the game he said "The fastball was good, and the slider was good too. So that was good." Like pitching for him is an out-of-body experience. Whatever, I'll take it! He did get himself into some jams, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks, but man did he ever get himself out of them. It was actually exciting!

The bullpen actually held up their end of the bargain, too. Allen, Smith and Perez gave us 3 innings without giving up any runs! Perez was a little touch-and-go, giving up 2 singles, but he got out of it unscathed and got himself a save!

The Blue Jays' pitcher was surprisingly tough, and our batters were stymied. But you can't keep a good team down, so when they saw an opening they took it. In the 4th he gave up a walk to Asdrubal then the next three dudes - Kipnis (3-game streak!), Swisher and Brantley got singles and suddenly it was 2-0! I say 2-0 because there was one out when I got out of the car and 2 runs when I got back in. Huh!

The only other hit was pretty nice - a double by Stubbs in the 8th, followed by a nice sac bunt by Bourn and then a sac fly by Asdrubal to get him in to score!

Were you wondering about Stubbs' average? It's .249! He's also hit safely in his last 7 games!! Yes, ever since getting hit in the head with a foul ball! I put it out there on Twitter asking if anyone has commented on this but I'm so out of the loop...I probably wouldn't hardly know if this was a top story or something.

It suits me.

Hey don't look now but the White Sox beat the Tigers 11-4. Yeah, the White Sox, man! This is their first of I think, honestly, 19 games to go for the rest of the season. Do the White Sox have Detroit's number, even if they suck otherwise? Wouldn't that be something?!

Nice game today, even if it was low on action (but you "real" fans know that there can be action in lack of action.) Let's see if we can get another series win! Tomorrow will be Masterson versus - Esmil Rogers! RHP 3.84. That should be fun times (Mickey Callaway wasn't Rogers' pitching coach but he was in the system at the same time as Rogers, so perhaps he's got some insight.)

It'll be a 7:05 game - barring rain. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"This is the epitome of a jam."
- Tom Hamilton on Jiminez with runners at the corners and no outs

"When you get in Tony LaRussa's doghouse, there is no out door."
- Tom Hamilton on Colby Rasmus

"If you can have Ubaldo Jiminez pitch six innings every time out, you would sign right up for that."
- Tom Hamilton

"Boy it's amazing how simple this game seems when you have good pitching."
- Tom Hamilton

Don't Trust The Happy, The Happy Are Insane

Argh, Nick Swisher! I had just outed myself as a hayter and what does he do? He goes and wins two games for us! That's the kind of junk that terminally exuberant people do. They're all "U mad, bro?" then go out of their way to do nice stuff for you until there's no way you can possibly be upset. Upset with the world or upset with them.

So yeah, whatever. I can start rooting for him now.

In other news, Ubaldo Jiminez still can't go past 6 innings. I guess we're pitching him now as a "At least there won't be blowouts anymore" starter, but definitely not as a long guy. His line was pretty busy - 5 innings, 9 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts. Pretty nice on the strikeouts for just 5 innings. But he had to throw a lot of pitches (112!) to get those 8 outs and the other 7 outs it took to pitch 5 innings.

Lucky for us there's this dude Joe Martinez who was for some reason called up to do some relief work. Never heard of him. His AAA ERA is 6.23. He does have 56 strikeouts in 86 innings with only 21 walks, so that's pretty nice. Oh and guess what? He's got his first major league win since 2009!

He looks just as surprised as we are!

 Martinez picked up 2 innings and only gave up 2 hits, striking out one. He doesn't throw for speed - seems to top out at 92 and likes some slower stuff. Instead he seems to like to throw them where they can be hit - for outs. Fly ball outs - nothing wrong with that!

Since all of the other dudes were used up in game 2 yesterday, we got back around to Smith and Perez again today. What we got was the Original Recipe Smith and Perez, with Smith having a blank line and Perez as well! Smith got the hold, and Perez got his first save since May 11. Last night I was bragging on Perez's 5th 1-2-3 inning of the year, now he's already making a habit of it!

The Tribe was held to "just" 9 hits today, and 4 walks. They got back to their habit of hitting the long ball, though - that's how we got 3 of our 4 runs!

Asdrubal was back again at #2, and he went 2 for 4 - with a homer! OMG! Only his 6th of the season, but it's still early for him being that he missed so much time. Since he's been back he has a 4-game hitting streak, going 7 for 15 in that time. YOU HEARD ME! He's back and better than ever!

Which is just fantastic because he's followed up by SLG king Jason Kipnis, who got his 4th homer of the month today, and his 24th & 25th RBI. There's a lot of talk this weekend about how well Kipnis does in Chicago, being from there, but actually when we were there earlier this year he went 1 for 7. This time? 6 for 10! (So far!)

Nick Swisher only went 1 for 3....but it was a total clutch "one." It was a clutch "one." It was the winning RBI "one." Well done, you.

Brantley was kind of hung out to dry today. He went 2 for 4 but didn't get an RBI or a run. No one around him to help out! Santana got a nice double but it wasn't in tandem with either of Brantley's hits.

Did you know that Mark Reynolds has a little 3-game hitting streak going? Pretty awesome. He was hitting really consistently while he was homering like crazy earlier in the year. So perhaps this is a bit of a warm-up for him to explode back in to the team's home run guy pretty soon? Or heck, if he just keeps consistently hitting that's cool too.

Chiz, Aviles (pinch hitter) and Stubbs didn't get anything done today. Sucks. I'm expecting more tomorrow!

Today's game was the half-way point of the season (game 81) and tomorrow's game puts us halfway done with the Sox. Bummer, because if we played these guys every weekend we'd be tops in baseball! We've got two more 4-game series with them and a 2-gamer. Weird, huh?

As for 4-game series this year: 2 split, 2 swept, 1 lost. I would not mind sweeping another!

We're 1 game behind Detroit by the way. They are playing the Rays, who are not too shabby. The Tigers are 4-6 in their last 10 while we're 7-3. Anyway, what all this means is...we could be tied for first by the end of Sunday!

It'll be Masterson versus LHP 2.75. I dare say our guys are really going to need to be on top of their game tomorrow - if nothing else, getting through the starter as early as possible. And Masterson's going to have to pitch a classic Masterson, going long with a low score. Totally, totally can happen.

It's at 2:10 - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"He must have forgot. 'Gosh, I thought I was supposed to do something. I guess I was going to tell people what that play was.'"
- Tom Hamilton perplexed on the home plate umpire's super-hesitant strike call

"What is that a 5.5 hour drive? Six hours? Well, for you 5.5."
"For you, 7. [...] Driving like you is like when you go up to the bowling alley and they have those bumpers up so you can't get a gutterball."
"Have we ever not gotten there safely?"
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on driving to Chicago

"You gotta be careful shaking your head at [home plate umpire] Wally Bell. It's like shaking your head at your dad and the next thing you know, you're over his knee."
- Tom Hamilton

"Wally Bell, with a litle Leslie Nielson action on strike three. All he needs is a little moon dance."
- Tom Hamilton

"He continues to be public enemy number one for the White Sox!"
- Tom Hamilton on Jason Kipnis

"The only thing those guys had going for them is they had long hair and it sort of looked like seagulls."
- Tom Hamilton is totally not a fan of Flock Of Seagulls

"Most of the Indians relievers have an IV stuck in their arm, after yesterday's yeoman duty."
- Tom Hamilton

"Robin Ventura must feel like every time he looks up, Jason Kipnis is at home plate."
- Tom Hamilton

Down With The Sickness

It kind of feels like the team was sick for a while, and now they're getting better and getting on their feet and getting back to their old selves. Right? I told you this wasn't a bad team!

I mean, I'm not going to scream "We're back!" just yet. You know how it is after an illness - one Happy Hour after work and you're down for the rest of the weekend. So let's just watch as the fellas get themselves back in gear, and hope they don't get re-infected on their way.

I couldn't get a read on Ubaldo Jiminez from Tom Hamilton today. Hammy's pretty good at describing whether or not we can trust a starter's outing, but since the team has been doing bad he doesn't seem to have faith in anyone. Well except Kluber last night - Hamilton was pretty convinced by the 6th. He didn't really sell Jiminez tonight, although Jiminez didn't really sell himself. He lasted just 5 innings before leaving with 101 pitches. He just had to work too hard, I guess. He only gave up 1 run and struck out 4, so all in all it was a good performance. Just too short. He got the win, tho!

Ubaldo gave up a walk and a hit in the 6th, so they took him out. Then we had to deal with Hill on the hill (I can't believe I haven't said that yet!) He only had to pitch to Pierzynski and he got AJ to fly out, then they sent him to sit back down. Good riddance.

Then Shaw got the next 2 guys out, and got 2 outs in the 7th. They took him out for Hagadone who got one out. Tired yet? Still two more innings to go!

Smith had a good inning - he took 22 pitches to strike out 3 guys and walk one. Then came Vinnie to work the 9th, just to get some work and in true Tribe Closer fashion he gave up a run because he had a run to give up. Tom Hamilton has been pointing out the last 2 days how you can't trust any sort of lead in the ballpark at Arlington, so he had me nervous when there was a runner on and a run scored with 2 outs in the 9th. I mean, if we can score so many runs after 2 outs and this is a run-producing park, why can't they?? It ended, though. Whew!

The top of the order started really getting their stuff together today. Bourn - a Texas boy - was back today and he started the game off with a single! He didn't make it home that time but he led off the 3rd with a single and got to come home. Later on he walked, so he went 2 for 4 on the night. Juuuuust a hair under .300 at .299!

Kipnis kicked it up a notch finally, after sticking out a 7-game hitting streak now he's putting more hits up in one game, going 3 for 5 tonight with a double and a HOMER! Quite a power day for the Kid! I wouldn't mind to see a big long hitting streak from him, that's for sure. How many games are left in the season? How about a streak that long?! Yeah!

Nick Swisher AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHH!

Michael Brantley was up in cleanup today. The 4th spot is where he's been for the third-most at-bats. First is uh...first with 88 at-bats. Then seventh with 35, and then 4th, 5th and 8th are about the same in the 20s. Versatility! He actually does best in the fifth spot.

Sorry, that was boring. Cousin Michael went 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored! He's got a 3-game hitting streak.

Santana went 1 for 4, with a big RBI double. He has a little 5-game streak going. I guess they are trying to move him around more, not have him catch as much. Oh, what do we do with Carlos? He needs to have multi-hit games tho, that's for sure.

Mike Aviles was in it to win it tonight, going just 1 for 4 but his was a 2-run homer! He did have to give back one of those runs today after he committed  an error that allowed a run to score in the 9th. But that's ok - we don't want him getting TO Asdrubally (albeit Asdrubal sure does have a lot of errors this season....) Him and his buddies also turned two today TWICE!

I guess Drew Stubbs' parents have been in town for this Texas series. He's from Alabama and it's a 2.5 hour drive in to Arlington. Tom Hamilton is a big fan of theirs (probably because he travels to see his son play now too!) Anyway, Stubbs got a hit tonight too (got one last night) but that was about it. Hey - he got on, not his fault the guys couldn't drive him in!

Tomorrow's an off day, then back home to host the Nationals on Friday. The Nats are a .500 club who play better at home than on the road. We've got a team that just won 2 after losing 8, and had BEST be back on a roll! Also - Dollar Dogs and fireworks! w00t!

Friday it'll be our hero Justin Masterson versus LHP 3.59. Are you stoked? It's gonna be fun (thank goodness)!

See you there!

[No Radio Chatter tonight, sorry. I was too busy doing stuff to write stuff down. Oops!]

Ryan Raburn Is So Good...

(Not Ryan Raburn's uncle Gene)

...Ryan Raburn is so good that Cliff Lee's mom sent him a _______.

I don't know what's more exciting here, boffins - beating our 4th Cy Young Award winner out of 5 faced this year (no one seems to be mentioning the loss to Jake Peavy, but whatevs), our 4-game winning streak that beats any streak this year and ties last year's, Asdrubal's 10-game hitting streak that includes 7 RBI, or Ryan Raburn's 5-game hitting streak that includes 4 home runs, 13 hits and 10 RBI. It's ALL just fun times and sunshine, here!

Let's start off with Trevor Bauer, to whom I give an A+ for tonight's performance. Not because he was lights-out or went long, because he did neither of those things. And it was great that he only gave up one hit and no runs. Really great! He did walk 6 but he also fanned 5, and since none of those 6 walks crossed the plate, it worked out wonderfully.

What was most impressive about Trevor Bauer is that he did not lose his shit. How many grown-ass, veteran pitchers have we see come through here in the past 2 or 3 seasons and just lose their shit? I'm not talking about Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay losing their shit - we simply out-hit those guys, ha! But I'm talking about Ubaldo Jiminez, Fausto Carmona, Brett Myers, even sometimes Justin Masterson. But mostly Ubaldo and Fausto. It's just so refreshing to see a guy pitch as well in the bigs as he does in the minors, and to be the same guy in person as on paper. Trevor Bauer may be a bit of an "excitable young man" but that kid believes in Trevor Bauer first and foremost and tonight he showed it. No one was going to intimidate Trevor Bauer tonight and Trevor Bauer was not going to look bad!

So kudos to that guy! Let's hope we see him some more, and he is just as good next time. I especially hope to see him more if it means less Brett Myers. Also, we had to give up Nick Hagadone for a bit in order for him to come up so let's not run out Hagadone's options by playing pitcher chess. I wanna see him in 5!

Speaking of pitcher chess, there was a bit of that going on with our bullpen today but that's cool with me. If Francona is going to pitch matchups and win games then a-friggin-men! Brian Shaw came in for the 6th and gave up a walk and a hit, but got out of it. He started the 7th and gave up a single right away, then a fielder's choice (robbed!) and induced a double-play before they took him out. Rich Hill came in to finish the 7th and start the 8th. He got a pop out and then, once again, Joe Smith came in to show everyone how it's done and struck out the next two batters.

Joe Smith's ERA is still 0.00. He's got the most games (10), most innings pitched (8.2) and most strikeouts (11) of any of the 8 guys rockin' the 0.00 right now. That's right - he's better than Vinnie Pestano!

Cody Allen had an uneventful 8th inning, getting three fly outs and end the game. Allen's been super tight lately, not giving up any hits or walks in his last 4 games after a sort-of shaky start. His ERA's down to a respectable 2.19.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE... that after the last two games, where the team hit a total of 10 home runs in the last 2 games that there were NO home runs tonight? Not for either team. Actually, Drew Stubbs technically hit one over the wall, just Laynce Nix's glove was there on the other side of the wall to catch it (yes he is the brother of Jayson Nix. Who'da thunk it?)

We didn't need homers today though because we got clutch hits and had scoreless pitching. This is how you win baseball!

This team doesn't get hot without Michael Brantley being hot, and he was once again hot tonight going 3 for 5 with a run scored. That's 17 hits for him over his last 10 games, and his average is up to .302. Hitting streak up to 4! Woohoo!

Jason Kipnis is still not hot but hey, he walked today and came in to score a run. Good job, Kip! You'll get them next time!

Asdrubal was the DH tonight and only went 1 for 4, but his hit was a huuuuuuuge 2-run double and then he came around to score, too! That's all he did tonight but not only did it give us 2 runs it also extended his hitting streak to 10!

Ryan Reynolds was "quieted" tonight, only going 1 for 5. But he's got a 4-game hitting streak going, too.

Carlos Santana is still hol-ee-cow WOW! right now! He went 2 for 4 tonight with a walk and came in to score twice. So he's got a 6-game hitting streak and leads the league in average, still, by 24 points (.395). I'M SERIOUS!!! I don't even know what more to say about this situation that I haven't said in the past few nights, because he just keeps being confoundingly awesome. Carlos Santana!

Speaking of confoundingly awesome, in case you forgot, my hero Ryan Raburn was at it again tonight! After going 3 for 4 last night with 3 RBI, he went 4 for 5 tonight with 2 RBI! That's 13 hits in 5 games, folks. Oh man...how do we find more excuses for this guy to play?? He's so good...

...He's so good that Nick Swisher left a three-word note in his locker that simply said _________.

Ryan Raburn also pulled a Laynce Nix and went over the wall to pull in a home run. Is there nothing this guy can't do?! 

Mike Aviles was in at short today, and since Mike Aviles is a team player he got another sacrifice fly for an RBI.

Yan Gomes took on the task of catching Bauer, which was an interesting move. And I think maybe not very subtle? I guess Gomes never caught Bauer even though they've been on the same teams here and there (Indians teams) but the genius of this move, I am guessing, is that Yan Gomes is way more of a grownup and leader than Carlos Santana probably is. So Gomes was able to guide the game where Santana may have possibly been a hindrance. This is just speculation but something stopped Bauer from losing his shit so I'm going to give some of the credit to Gomes! Oh, Gomes went 1 for 4 at the plate.

Drew Stubbs looked alive again today, after beating back a hitless streak yesterday. He was back to his old self today, going 2 for 4 with an RBI! And of course that almost-homer. That's 5 hits in the last 2 games for ol' Drew!

Tomorrow is, like, the saddest off-day ever. Because who likes to sit on their hands after a 4-game winning streak?! Who likes to go to bed with no baseball? Lucky for me I have a date with the Olive Garden, where you bet I'll be biding my time under an endless pasta bowl. Fill 'er up!

Friday's game is at home against the Twins at 7:05. I hope everyone shows up - it's the first Dollar Dog Night! It'll be Justin Masterson versus LHP 2.35.

Ooh, since Justin will be there I bet that means maybe Meryl will be there in person? She's been here for 7 night-game wins in a row! She's magic, I tells ya!

I am here for you, boffins!

Have a good day off and I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Ninety-four miles per hour. That's why the Indians want Bauer to have confidence in his fastball."
- Tom Hamilton

"Right now, everything rolling the Indians' way."
- Tom Hamilton after Raburn's infield hit

"There's another way you could look at it. He could be pitching a 6-hitter with one walk and we could be saying 'He's doing a good job of spacing out those hits.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Trevor Bauer in the 5th

"Giambi called himself 'Mr. Potatohead' last night [...] He was taking inventory of all his parts after that head-first slide last night."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"Hard to believe he made an out last night."
- Tom Hamilton on Ryan Raburn

"The Blue Jays can't lose enough. The way they were so smug when we were in Canada...they were like 'Yeah we've got to play 6 months of baseball, but everyone knows where we're going with what we did in the offseason.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"I don't think your contract's that long. You'd better be careful!"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Tom Hamilton's thoughts on the Blue Jays

"How many of you out there have ever sent your ACT stores to Armstrong Atlantic State University?"
- Tom Hamilton on Jeremy Horst's alma mater

"Looked like the Buffalo Bills' field goal kicker in the Super Bowl, didn't it? High and right."
- Tom Hamilton on a wild pitch in the 8th

Clutch No-Go

I was really looking forward to this game today! Yesterday I had my day all planned out around the game and...nothing. Darn weather! So it was nice that I didn't have to wait another 24 hours to get in a game. Except now this game was a bummer and there's no game tomorrow and Friday's game is not until 8:10 so I'm going to be waiting forever for more!

The Tribe ended its winning streak at 3 today, and it was no doubt due to poor hitting. Not getting on base and then when they did get on base, they couldn't follow it up.

Zach McAllister was the starter and he wasn't stellar. Not horrible but he only went 5 2/3 and gave up 3 runs. They were comparing him to Masterson's last two starts which also weren't "crisp" and he struggled too much to get his pitches thrown. He walked 5.

Hill, Shaw, Hagadone and Smith finished out the game. They only walked 1 between them and gave up no hits and no runs. That was pretty good and Francona was smart to be so strategic about relievers (nobody pitched a full 3 outs) but DANGIT! Why can't the offense score more runs?!

Say hey, Michael Brantley! He had the best day of anyone, going 2 for 4 a run. It's a 4-game hitting streak for him! Michael Bourn is getting his stitches out soon...not sure what that means.

Kipnis got a hit and an RBI today! Only his second hit with RISP this year. He also stole two bases. Unfortunately he didn't get to score after that because we're not playing that sort of baseball this year, but...cool. He also made a sweet play in the field, which is nice to see because I forgot we had an awesome infield!

Mark Reynolds continues to be awesome. Impressive. Useful. Surprising. He went 1 for 3 today with an RBI double. Mark Reynolds!

Mike Aviles was in and he got a hit. He's in for Asdrubal who has some sort of muscle soreness somewhere. Nice when guys can take off at the first sign of trouble to avoid further injury. Thanks Mike Aviles!

In other news, Lou Marson is back and Yan Gomes is in Akron. I love me some Sweet Lou but boy was Yan Gomes endearing. Wasn't he? I don't think we got to see him enough to know whether or not we're really getting the short end of the stick with Marson but he was fairly glittery while he was here.

In other other news, I am totally over this season's radio commercials already. I say this every year but this year I am super over it. There are not one but THREE commercials from Progressive with Flo singing. They are awful. I don't even care that her singing is bad really (that's part of her charm! Hur!) but it's just not friggin FAIR to have that many singing commercials! Doesn't anyone realize that we hear these commercials 18 times per game?! HOLY SMOKES!

Help me.

Tomorrow is an off day and then we're in Kansas City on Friday at 8:10. It'll be Scott Kazmir against RHP 2.48 and let me just say our bats need to be out that night, for real.

I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The key here is to get out of town before this White Sox team finds it's legs offensively."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'm guessing this guy has to be single. There's no way that guy's wife let him leave the house like that today and said 'This looks good on you.'"
- Tom Hamilton on a Superman-costumed White Sox fan

"That's the kind of Superman outfit that if you took it home and gave it to Nate for Halloween, he'd say 'Dad I don't think I'm going to go trick-or-treating this year.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Superman

Enter Sandy

Looks like it's not only the White Sox's turn to have a late-season skid, but also the Royals. And here we are to be a part of it - yay! It also could not be a better time for Sandy Alomar to take over as manager. Not because Manny Acta was running the team into the ground or anything - we all know he wasn't to blame - but because our team is on a little upswing and the last 2 teams we're facing here are on a bit of a downswing. Also the fans have been calling for Sandy since uhm...last year so it's nice for him to start off at home.


I got a baseball with Sandy and Manny's autographs on it last week. How about that? I can't tell if it's lucky or unlucky for anyone...

So, on to the game.

Our new favorite guy, David Huff, is now 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA. He went 6 solid innings today giving up only 3 runs and striking out 5. Yeah he gave up a homer but to Billy Butler who is dying to get #30 (it was #29). Huff only threw 89 pitches but Sandy was following Manny's lead - get your quality start and get the guy out of there before it goes south!

Cody Allen was back to his old self today. He threw an inning and gave up nothing. Scott Maine had the opposite fate - he didn't even get an out but gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. NOT COOL!

Even Sandy recognizes the value of Joe Smith and put him out there to finish the 8th. Chris Perez rocked the 9th and got his 39th save. Awesome - still 5 more chances to get his 40th!!!

The top of the order was solid tonight but there were so many hits, the bottom of the order got in on the act too!

CHOOOO went 2 for 4 with his 41st AND 42nd double - both of them packaged with an RBI! That puts him tied for 4th in the league with 2 other dudes for doubles! He also walked and scored a run. He's got an 8-game hitting streak with 13 hits in those games!

If Choo wasn't exciting enough, ol' Cord Phelps was shoehorned in the 2-hole (Asdrubal out with wrist again I guess) and went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Gotta love the new guys having a good September!

Kipnis was knocked down to 3rd, and kept up his hitting streak (10) going 1 for 4 with a walk. His one hit was pretty awesome, though - it was a 2-out bases-loaded single that scored 2. Choo and Phelps couldn't get anything done but The Kid came through! He got another RBI on a force-out, earlier in the game, for a total of 3 plus he got his 31st stolen base!

Santana didn't get a hit tonight - Ended his little hitting streak but he does have a 4-game walking streak. And his OBP for September is .389, so not bad. And look - we managed to win without Santana having a multi-hit game!

How is Russ Canzler doing? Just fine, thanks! He went 2 for 5 tonight with a run and is keeping his average over .300 (.313). So he's got a 5-game hitting streak with 10 hits in those games.

The Chiz Kid had no hits against lefties in 22 at-bats so far this year. Then tonight all of a sudden he's 3 for 5 against lefties. Bam! One of them was even a RBI double (his 4th double). It'd be pretty nice if something has "clicked" for him and he suddenly is hitting lefties like a champ. Heck it'd be good for any of our guys to hit lefties like a champ so it might as well start with him!

Brent Lillibridge was at short today and made ZERO errors AND he went 2 for 3, got hit by a pitch and scored 2 runs. A red letter day for Brent!

Zeke continues to be on the ball there in the 9th spot. Today he went 3 for 4 with an RBI and came around to score 3 runs. Incredible! He's got a 6-game hitting streak with 10 hits in those games, plus he's scored 7 runs and gotten 4 RBI! Who knew that goddamn Ezequiel Carrera would be such a useful addition to our team?? Now if only he were 50 lbs. bigger and had an arm we could put him in right - I hear there's an opening in 2013!

Still tied with Minnesota for last place. That blows! But we've got 5 more games against teams we've got no problem with all of a sudden.

Here's something nice - we won't lose 100 games this year! If you're curious we're 66 and 91. Pretty crummy, I agree. But hey at least the problem (Acta) is gone now - right?! (Woah, slow down, sarcasm)

Tomorrow is another one at 7:05 against the Royals at home. It might be rainy...but I hope people come out to the game anyway. Winning baseball! Go see who's on tap for next year!

I just sold my last two Perfect 10 Vouchers (for half price, yech!) but never fear, I've still got 2 more games on my slate. Monday I'm going to a special Social Media meeting which is swell, considering they keep passing me by for visiting their Social Media Suite. This seems like a pretty good consolation prize. And perhaps if Mark Shapiro is there I will plead with him to not get rid of Perez.

I'm going Wednesday too with some primo seats from StubHub. I've gone to the last 4 years final games so I've decided it's a tradition now and I made my friend go this year (she's been to 3). Gonna be cool. Free stuff!

Anyway, that's then, this is now. Tomorrow another rout of the Royals? Maybe! Tomorrow is Jeanmar (ack) versus RHP (5.06) that we had a good game against last week. Should be a good game...

See you there!

Sorry about the lack of Radio Chatter today. It was sort of solemn with Manny being gone, and sort of pro praising Sandy. I did what I could!

Radio Chatter:
"David Huff trying to make a statement this year. Basically 'Don't forget about me, I'm still here.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"There won't be any hugs after that ceremony."
- Tom Hamilton on Omar's retirement after blasting the Toronto club in the press

'Twas a Good Game

If you didn't tune in until the 4th inning, you wouldn't even have known that this game started off in a black hole of first-day jitters. Corey Kluber was hmm....he was miserable. And he made us all miserable. He probably made Josh Tomlin laugh, though.

The Royals, who are suddenly good (within the last 3 days) showed Kluber no mercy scoring 6 runs in the 1st. It started with a home run from the first batter then two singles and a stolen base. Then Kluber got 2 outs but could not get out of it without a walk, a single, a triple, a 3-run homer, another stolen base and a passed ball.

But after that - smooth sailing! Kluber actually struck out 2 guys in the first inning and went on to strike out 2 more and not walk any more in the total 4 1/3 innings he pitched. His start is not much different than Fausto's 2011 start - recall?

It took a village to finish the game, though, as we had to fill up 11 innings with arms. Sipp came in to finish the 5th and complete the 6th, striking out 2 and giving up no hits. His ERA is under 5 now!

Smith rocked the 7th with 1 hit and 1 strikeout, then The Original Vinnie was there for both the 8th and the 9th completely shutting the Royals down, because that's the sort of Vinnie he is. Esmil Rogers was tasked with finishing it off but he couldn't hold it long enough. He gave up a couple of hits in the 10th, and then a hit and a wild pitch and a walk in the 11 put a guy on 3rd for Perez, who gave up a hit and the game was over.

Naturally, Perez avoided both the blown save and the loss. I'm sure that's why he agreed to come in. Heyooo!

Anyway it was definitely lost by our pitchers because our batters came alive today. But all-in-all, excluding the first inning, we had a great game as a team!

But, it's a game of 9 innings - or more. We gotta take that first inning.

The top of our lineup was top-notch today EVEN WITHOUT KIPNIS. And when I say "even without Kipnis" I mean EVEN WITH LILLIBRIDGE! Seriously, 1 through 4 each went 2 for 5. Number 5 got a hit and 6 got 2. Between them they got 6 RBI to tie the game! And - get this! - they only had 4 LOB! WAHOO!

Choo started it off with a single out of the gate. Then he stole second after almost getting picked off first. So then he tried to grab third too and DENIED. You can only imagine the eye rolling by Tom Hamilton as Asdrubal got a single on the next pitch. Choo went on to get another single in the 3rd and come around to score.

Brent Lillibridge was in the 2-hole and you know what? He hasn't been too bad since he got here. He didn't do squat in his first 2 at-bats with us but in the last 3 games he's gone 4 for 12. That's .300. Way better than Johnny Damon was doing after his 5th game with us that's for sure. If Lillibridge can overcome his sub-.200 batting average by keeping up this page, it might be the pickup of the year! Today he went 2 for 5 and came in to score 2 runs. He did strike out twice but so did Choo...

Asdrubal has it turned back on. Six hits in his last 4 games, 2 of them coming tonight. He didn't get any RBI but he did score a run.

Carlos Santana is the name to remember for this week though - 10 hits in his last 10 games, and 10 RBI, 4 homers and 4 walks. Tonight he went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including a 2-run homer. He also had the most amazing pre-game interview with Jim Rosenhaus. Santana had no idea what Rosie was asking and also had no idea how to express himself in English. But you should know that he is very happy to play and he is very excited to be at this position [catcher]. Whatever - you don't gotta speak the good English to hit like that!

Although to be honest his homer last night and the one tonight were less than spectacular. Both times the poor guy had to stop at second and wait for someone to tell him he could go home, he got a homer. That really will take the wind out of a guy's sails! He's sneaking up on the team home run ladder, though - tied for 3rd with Kipnis at 11. One more makes it a 3-way tie for first. Race, boys - race!

Cousin Michael was representin', cuz you can't really have a well-hit game without him. He went 1 for 4 with a double (him, Choo and KC's Alex Gordon lead the league), an RBI and a run. He's up to .288...think he'll crack .300? A few more points and he'll be the highest on the team. Of course, that is unless all the guys keep hitting like they were hitting tonight. Race some more!

Lopez was getting in on the act as well, going 2 for 4 with a walk. Unfortunately there was no one behind him to hit him in, and no one ahead of him that wasn't already hit in. But he did what he could!

Today was the debut of The Other Vinnie, Vinnie Rottino. He's up from the minors, via the Mets' minors, to fill in for Hafner who's on baby leave. Rottino actually did a thing today! He got an RBI on a sac fly! I thought maybe his average would be .000 but it's .162 - he comes to us with 33 at-bats with the Mets. So no fresh slate for us but at least we've got a guy who's been around a bit.

Speaking of Vinnie, The Original Vinnie had something to say on Twitter tonight:

"Never have I been more proud of my team, could have folded but came back and battled. No one is more aware about the past 6 than us

This isnt a test you can study for or a hobby it is and has been our lives, lives forged with blood, sweat and balls from young ages

Losing sucks and trying harder or wanting it more isnt the answer, sometimes you just cant find it and it takes hell to get it.

Believe it or not our clubhouse is more frustrated than anyone could possibly comprehend without being in it. Gonna quote a favorite of mine

“The night is always darkest just before the dawn.” Take it or leave it, love it or hate it, we battle for you everyday. "
- @VinneP52

And of course a tweet from a loving fan:

"@VinnieP52 you guys are sucking dick get off your twitters and start focusing on winning games man. Tell your owners that they suck too"
- @kidnamed_matty

Vinne's response:

"Even when you come to people in humility they still spit in your face, all it take is one…Peace"
- @VinneP52

Personally, I eat that kind of stuff up - what Vinnie said. As long as guys are playing their hardest, etc etc. I mean - yay! Baseball!  It just blows my mind that people can be all up in the jocks of our super-losing (but loveable) football team and at the same time "demand" something from our baseball team. This is Cleveland, baby - you get nothing!

I'm not sure how I feel about this new one from The Famous Mike Polk Jr. I agree with most of the stuff he says but the whole "we need a winning team in order to come see baseball." Well fuck off with that attitude. You know who packs them in every day? The Royals. The Cubs. The Twins. The Marlins. People need to fucking relax and learn how to enjoy baseball and not be so angry about the record. There is exciting stuff going on with this team almost every day. There are more hours of excitement in a Tribe season than there are minutes existing in a Browns season. No more whining! NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!

Anyway, we've got a good jump on what could be a really great weekend. Our guys love to play and beat these Tigers! They're in it mentally again and they know where to put the bats (HA!) After they roll over Detroit this weekend I hope they come home to a hero's welcome!

Tomorrow is Masterson versus RHP with a high ERA. Masterson may have bombed his last start but he knows how to pitch the Tigers. So be looking for that.

I unfortunately will have to meet you later as I'm going to a show at the HOB but I'll be thinking of you and wishing I were listening along. So albeit late - I will see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"If you don't know the meaning of deja vu, look it up. This is it."
- Tom Hamilton on the bad first inning

"The world lost a pharmacist but gained a major league baseball player."
- Tom Hamilton on Vinnie Rattino

"I'm not trying to be Polyanna here, but you really get the feeling that the Indians are going to make a game of it here."
- Tom Hamilton in the 3rd

"Lopez swings and misses as he tries to hit it to the Harry S. Truman Memorial Library."
- Tom Hamilton

"This is like looking at a NASCAR vehicle."
- Tom Hamilton on the wall at Kauffman Stadium

"The good news is Choo does not play badminton. Why that's an Olympic sport, I do not know."
"Has something to do with picnics doesn't it?"
"If you're bored."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus need to reel it in

Roll Tribe!

Verlander watching Pronk's homer leave the yard

I'm lovin' it, for real!! Do you feel it, boffins? What a great night! The Good Guys never gave up, never gave in, and never crumbled under pressure and showed their potential. THIS is the Tribe I see in my mind before every game. So glad to see them come out the other side of one!

It was a great team effort, so many heroes! First off and most important was Zach McAllister who I think was just brilliant for his age, his experience and his opponent. He gave up 9 hits but none of those hits were to Miguel Cabrera and none of them were a home run for Prince Fielder. He only gave up 2 earned runs (3 total) and SEVEN STRIKEOUTS!! (Verlander only had 4) Plus he went 6 2/3 innings, setting up the terrific trio to follow. No mess inbetween.

Joe Smith finished off the 7th, and we were lucky to get him because he doesn't usually come in when we're losing. But Manny knew the score. Smith was tasked with facing Miggy and threw two pitches, the second of which went to an inning-ending double play. Most important two pitches of Smith's season!

Next was Vinnie who was there to hold what now was a winning score, and hold he did. Three up, three down with two pop outs and a strike out. He's waaaay ahead of the rest of the league with 29 holds (22 for 2nd place). I guess he hurt himself a little bit on Tuesday, pulled a muscle. But he was thankfully better by today.

Perez came in for the 9th and got himself into a jam. He always seems to find his way in to a jam when we have an insurance run or two. But he proved awesome and even though he gave up a double and walked a guy, nobody scored. And he managed to get 4 outs by being a bit screwed over by a double play that wasn't called as such. BALLGAME!!...no, its not! Hahaha!

The top of the order was just aces tonight, doing all the things we know they can do and all the things they had to do to get us the win.

Choo went 2 for 4 with a double, and came around to score 2 runs - as a lead-off man should do!

Asdrubal's light went on in the 7th, after the game was tied. He got an RBI single that was the go-ahead run (and he stretched it in to a double, noticing nobody covering second). OMG!!!! Maybe the proudest I've been of him all season!

Kipnis was totally locked in, going 2 for 2 with a walk, a sac fly and 2 RBI. He left NOBODY on base! He was makin' stuff happen for sure - Justin Verlander can't scare TheJK_Kid!

Michael Brantley almost hit it out of the park 4 times, I swear. Tom Hamilton was under that impression as well. All of his hits went to the track, except the one that dropped in for a single. He never did come around to score, though. I went and peeked in on his hitting streak, though - he's already back to 6 games! I guess I haven't checked in a while. Go Michael! :)

Carlos Santana! How about that?! He was a second too slow getting to 1st base in the 4th inning and could have avoided the double play. Otherwise, he got 2 hits including a double AND a home run! I told you when that guy gets more than one hit, we've got it locked up! He's had 11 hits, 3 homers and 8 RBI in his last 10 games. Back!

[aside]
I think my friend Jen, who hopefully is reading today, hasn't been reading lately because she was under the impression that Carlos Santana sucks. I would just like to point out to her that no he doesn't suck, he was just not playing up to his full potential and recently he has been. He's heating up to what he's supposed to be!
[/aside]

Travis Hafner only got 1 hit tonight and hoooooo boy was it a big one! It wasn't just his second homer in two games, it was the team's second homer in two at-bats! He followed up Santana's dinger with one of his own to tie the game. I don't know if you saw Pronk last night after striking out twice, but he Hulked out a little bit:

(awesome grab from Tom Hamilton Has The Best Home Run Call In All Of Baseball)

Tonight he didn't strike out at all but was also 0 for 2 when he got his bomb. Not striking out is progress!

Since this is The Positive Tribe and not The Angry Tribe I'm going to keep my statements brief on the replacing of Duncan (.224 vs left) with Lillibridge (.083 vs left) in the 8th. Possible maybe a bit better fielder if someone hits one down the line in the top of the inning? Sure. Probably not going to hit in the bottom of the 8th and is likely to strike out? Extremely. Not just Shelley Every Day - now we need to campaign for Shelley All Day! Good grief!

So to recap - Choo scoring twice, Asdrubal tying up the game, Kipnis making many things happen, Brantley keeping a hitting streak alive, Santana with two extra base hits and Pronk with a homer. THIS is the team that they put together a couple years ago, with Kipnis filling in the blank spot. This is the team that can get it done. And if the rest of the lineup can throw some sugar on it (they actually didn't tonight), then even better. If this is our team for the rest of the season, then we are going to be right up there at the end.

But that's too far off. Tonight we celebrate a tremendous victory over the top team in the division and the top pitcher in the league. Hopefully we take this win and roll over and over and over the super-pitiful Twins the next 3 days. I've got a fire in my belly - let's hope these guys do too!

Tomorrow is Josh Tomlin versus LHP in Minnesota at 8:10. It's also the opening ceremony for the Olympics at 7:30. I'm guessing they don't start right at 7:30 and end 40 minutes later...but I really want to see this spectacle so I'm going to have to split my focus between the radio and the TV. Nothing I haven't done before!

So excited to keep this rolling through the weekend - see you there!

PS Welcome to all my new Twitter followers! Sorry that I am no good at Twitter - hopefully you will come and enjoy the blog instead. Drop a line if you love to be positive about the Tribe!

PPS The Tom Hamilton Has The Best Home Run Call In All of Baseball dude was on the ball tonight - got your video right away! Enjoy!

Radio Chatter:
"When it's Justin Verlander on the hill, sometimes a one run lead is a death sentence."
- Tom Hamilton

"He didn't look like any 12 year old you'd ever seen in your life."

- Tom Hamilton on witnessing the young Prince Fielder

"If he had pitched for the Yankees there'd be another statue next to the Statue of Liberty."

- Tom Hamilton on Justin Verlander

"It's like waiting on death row for that call from the governor. Usually that call is not going to come."
- Tom Hamilton on being behind in the count to Verlander

"If you were a betting man you'd be homeless. You would have bet the mortgage on Verlander after 6."

- Tom Hamilton

Homers? Homers!

Woo woo!! What the heck is up with this?! The Tribe winning the game on homers? Against a lefty? WITH HELP FROM JOHNNY DAMON??

Seriously, that is what happened today.

Zach "E-Z Mac" McAllister came up today in a nice trade with ourselves for Jeanmar Gomez. Thank you, ourselves! He pitched 5 2/3 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs, striking out SIX. Goddamn! I had thought Lowe was pitching today (oops, that's tomorrow) but Zach was just as good. Like vintage May Lowe.

After McAllister was done we got Joe Smith and Esmil Rogers who faced 10 and sent down 10. Rogers struck out 3 in 2 innings. Like that guy yet? I do!

So it looks like our pitching staff had it together, all at once. Cool!

We had a couple guys with a mutlti-hit game tonight, and we also got back to getting WALKS. Seven on the night. Still had 8 LOB but...well, that'll have to come down later.

CHOOOOO! Had himself a homer today, going 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs. Stills struck out twice, tho. What's up with that?

Not to be outdone, OMG ASDRUBAL!!! Must have read about my disappointment in him yesterday. He ended up going 2 for 5 with a 3-run dinger. NO strikeouts.

Kipnis wasn't shut out - he got 2 walks. Didn't turn in to anything, tho.

Lopez was in at first, and went 1 for 3 in the 6 innings he was in. Not sure why he came out for Kotchman, because the switch happened before a pitching change. Perhaps there were a bunch of lefties coming up and they needed the vacuum on the right? Who knows. Kotch didn't do anything with the bat.

Michael Brantley got TWO hits and TWO walks and didn't strike out once! :) :) He went 2 for 3 on the night with 1 run. Of course he got his 23rd double - it's actually been a while since he got one!

In a bold move they had Duncan in at the SAME TIME as Damon. It paid off - he went 1 for 4 with a walk.

And speaking of Damon, ok, he got a 3-run homer in the 2nd. Yay for Damon. I'll be a jerk and point out that we had 4 other runs besides his and only needed 3.

Wow, what a jerk I am.

Sweet Lou was behind the plate today - because 1) he's a great catcher for a rookie 2) because he's 4th on the team versus lefties and 3) because Santana's back hurts. And he's bad at the plate right now. Lou went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run. His hit was a double!

So good starting, good relief and good batting. Good batting against a very good lefty starter, even. Weird!

Did we hit rock bottom the other day like I said? And now it's all up from here? Maybe so, maybe so...I'm especially excited about the guys hitting a lefty.

Tomorrow is more of the same, and THIS time it's really Lowe against some other guy. This other guy is a RHP. Let's get 14 runs!

I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"You're not in Japan anymore, not when you're facing Derek Jeter."
- Tom Hamilton on Chen's start in the Majors

"I can tell you he's the most excited 39th round draft pick for the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton on his son Nick

"Pitchers love throwing to Lou Marson. He's a pitcher's catcher."
- Tom Hamilton

"So basically it's been a triple crown for the Orioles tonight as far as categories of play in baseball."
- Tom Hamilton says the O's didn't bat, pitch or defend well

What Ended Up Being A Fun Evening

Ooooh that was a tough one! We had our "B" team in, as it were. The score stayed close, then there was a rain delay, then it was tied up. Would there be extra innings? Would we have to delve in to our bullpen? WOULD TONY SIPP SUCK?!

No, yes, no. Yay!

Tomlin was great! He went 7 1/3 innings. Not a complete game bu even better than McAllister did this afternoon, and 7 1/3 was great! He bested his personal strikeout record with 8 and only walked 2 and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits. He was ready to leave in the 8th, and who wouldn't have been? Cuz it was pouring rain and he'd given us 104 pitches. Oddly enough, he didn't get the win.

Wheeler came in and the umps were like "Uh...him? How about a rain delay?" and there was a rain delay for like an hour and a half, in which time Joe Smith got his shit together and said "Put me in, coach!" and then came in and gave up Tomlin's second run. But then he got Dunn to ground out and if you recall, Adam Dunn Does Not Suck Anymore so that wasn't too shabby.

Sipp was the only guy left, I think, so he had to come in for the 9th. He got the first 2 outs then walked Konerko (not a bad idea) and then gave up an omg-that-was-almost-a-home-run to Tyler Flowers before striking him out. WHEW! Sipp's ERA is now down to 8, woohoo!

So Brantley was back up top tonight and he went 1 for 4, so he had a pretty good day, comparatively. Kipnis, who had gotten shut down this afternoon for the first time in 10 games, got his hit and also went 1 for 4. Both guys had RBIs which isn't bad considering we only had 3 total.

Speaking of 3 - Asdrubal went 3 for 3 with a walk. YES HE DID!!! So he's got 14 hits and 7 walks in the last 10 games. Know what his average is? It's .356 is what it is!!! He's 7th in the league and it's LEGIT!! WOOOHOO!

Santana was at first tonight and he wasn't too bad in the field, to be honest. He went 1 for 3 with a walk and is up to .250.

Lou Marson was behind the plate and his average is lower than Kotchman. Lower than dirt. Seriously bad. But he walked and then stole second, allowing him to score the tying run in the 5th!

Also showing up this evening from the "B" bench was former "B"-bencher-cum-"A"-bencher Shelley Duncan who was at the plate with two on in the 8th. If I had the game on TV I may have looked away. I believe in Shelley in April, I'm afraid of what he might do in May.

Fear no more!!! He got an RBI double is what he did and as it turns out he won the game! There was much rejoicing and a loud clap from me which freaked out my dog who was just coming down from being freaked out by thunder.

So our "B" team - Marson and Duncan - contributed mightily tonight. Our bullpen didn't let us down tonight. Everyone was tight again tonight and basically we did what it took to get the job done. Oh and Asdrubal is the best ever!

We've got 2 more against these White Sox at 7:05 on the next two days. Tomorrow is Masterson and I have a feeling he's going to have one of those games where we're all "That is why he's our first starter!" I just know it.

I love this roll we're on. See you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"This is a guy with 3 walks in 16 at-bats, and that walk became a mortal sin for Eric Stults."
- Tom Hamilton on Lou Marson

"I'm sure the umpires wish one team had an 8-run lead right now. Then it'd be easier to pull the tarp out, wait a bit, and say 'Goodnight, everybody.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"We need Betsy Kling to call the clubhouse and tell them they're lining up the dogs and cats 2-by-2."
- Tom Hamilton

"Look, you don't need to say nice stuff about Jerry Crab just because he's the coach of your son's little league team. You want Nathan to hit third..."
"I'm just saying... [...] But if he hits third that's good too."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Well this isn't baseball now this is just survival."
- Tom Hamilton on the rain

Masterson of the Universe

So that game was double the fun, huh? It was two games - the one where Masterson pitched a spectacular 8 innings and was bolstered by 4 runs....and then the other one.

But wow, Justin Masterson! Eight innings, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, 2 assists and only one earned run. And that was a homer to Jose Bautista who is going to hit a homer off you no matter who you are.

Masterson had a shaky spring (9.something ERA I think) but it just goes to show that you don't listen to the spring stats because they are not real. Whatever little bugs and cobwebs he was getting rid of while he was giving up runs this spring sure did the trick. Dude is now once again our MAN!

Also looking good in that first game were some guys we weren't sure of. First and foremost was Hannahan. Clearly he's the vacuum we want at third but can he hit? Three-run homer says yes. Also, is Michael Brantley back? He got one of tonight's hits so I says yes.

What about Casey Kotchman? (The guy I was about to call "the old man" but uhm he is 4 years younger than me) He did a smidge of situational hitting and got himself an RBI out. But more importantly he was a breath of fresh air for us at first base. He's definitely the guy we signed up for.

Shout out to Shelley Duncan who got a hit and was taken out of the game for Cunningham (who then made some nice and important plays out in left), but now Duncan is hitting .500.

Kipnis did not suck at second. Asdrubal had a couple of "wowzers" today. Watching Hannahan throw to Kotchman is like a thing of beauty. Totally excited for this infield. The weak spot is of course second base but since we got rid of Brandon Phillips all those years ago I think it is our burden to bear. That fella Jose Lopez seems sort of interchangeable with Kipnis at the moment so I hope they give him a go sometime.

Shin-Soo Choo almost got into a fight, which was awesome. It reminds me of the one and only time I saw a live hockey game and Brett Hull of all people started a fight. It was my lucky day! Neither of those fellas are known for their short tempers but GODDAMN DON'T THROW AT MY HEAD! Choo looked a little extra riled up today, running a few times when he shouldn't have. Hopefully he harnesses that energy into some crazy batting and throwing power and leaves the angry at the weight bench. Fighting!

How about that BULLPEN?! Other than that poor soul who now has a 40.5 ERA, and the new guy who got stretched too long at the end, everyone looked dynamite for 6 innings.  They got 6 strikeouts and didn't give up any runs until the unfortunate end. Pestano looked SUPER impressive and Tony Sipp, who faltered at the end of last season, was seriously back on track. Smith worked himself out of some jams and that new fella Jairo Asencio (if that's his real name!) was really not bad at all. A nice addition to the #BullpenMafia I say.

So I'm sure plenty of folks will find a lot to complain about but really, what's there to complain about? Ok maybe a lack of hitting but otherwise what's there to complain about? All right maybe our closer lost his shit but what else is there to complain about? NOTHING! Amazing starting pitching, great bullpen comeback and 2 extra hours of baseball. HURRAY!!

Oh and Jose Valverde, the AL's other awesome closer? He blew a save today too for the first time since 2010. It's not just us!

I will say that I'm glad we have a day off tomorrow to recuperate. All the excitement of opening day PLUS the excitement of 16 innings is just way too much for anyone to handle. Our boys need rest and so do I. So we'll see you Saturday afternoon at 1:05!

Radio Chatter:
"Some fan tried to catch that ball and it landed on his forehead."
"Fans don't have spring training time to get ready."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Boy if the Indians win and the Tigers lose, the Indians' magic number is..."
"I didn't want to go there but you went there!"
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"That was Justin Masterson showing the Indians hitters 'I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I'm here to protect you.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"That's how you know it's the Marlins. Do you think Major League Baseball would ever have the Yankees have that schedule?"
- Tom Hamilton on Miami's night game in Miami followed by a day game in Cincinnatti

"I don't think you've ever seen any big-boned yoga instructors."
- Tom Hamilton

Fighting It Out

Man, was it a long day. I spent half the day waiting for my friend to post info about his new baby on Facebook so I could finally share in the revelry (you can't scoop a guy's story about his son being born, especially if you have all the same friends). Then when that got done, I spent the rest of the day counting down the minutes to tonight's game. I had to leave work a few minutes early because I was so useless by then. Took the dog for a walk and hung out with my niece for a bit.

We went over the Tribe lineup a few times...she hasn't watched a game since Choo was still in. So I had to teach her how to say "Fukudome" (a reasonable "foo-koo") and we worked on Asdrubal some more ("doobal"). He favorite was "Zeke."

I also made a point to seek out the game on television, much like I would with a playoff game. It felt like a playoff game to me. This game made a 2-game difference in the standings. This was the AL's best pitcher versus our nominal ace. This was game could break or extend a 14-game winning streak over the Tigers at home. This game was important.

The title of tonight's post is pretty spot-on. Our team was fighting it out the entire game - literally and figuratively! More in a minute...

First off - Good Fausto showed up. You may think that he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) that that's not "good." Well we scored 10 runs off the Kitties last night. If you think Good Fausto didn't show up you also didn't see him pitch innings 3-7 because he was fucking awesome. His 4th and 5th innings he matched Verlander with 3 up, 3 down. His slider was right down in there, it was great stuff.

He only struck out 6 to Verlander's 10, and gave up 7 hits to Verlander's 3...but he gave up the same amount of earned runs and you know who gave up a homer? Verlander - not Carmona. Just a great start for him and his 3rd great start in a row.

Sipp! and Smith were awesome, each with a strikeout and no runs. They really held tight!

Ok as for the "literal" fighting, Santana missed another play at first, on the first play of the game. Granted, it was Chisenhall who got the throwing error but it was Santana who subsequently got reamed in the dugout by Asdrubal. I wonder if he screamed at him in Spanish. Angry, rude Spanish. That'd be even cooler. Manny Acta and Fausto Carmona had to break them up! Everyone on the TV and on the radio and on Twitter was giving props to Asdrubal for being the "veteran" and slapping some sense into Santana.

Then in the 2nd, Santana got a solo homer so....yeah!

And in the 3rd, both Sweet Lou and Kipnis walked and Asdrubal doubled them BOTH in with 2 outs and 2 strikes. So - YEAH!

That was all the scoring we did (the only other hitting was Lonnie with a single in the 5th) but it was pretty sweet the way it worked out. I am really excited we put together 3 runs against a guy who's ERA is under 3 and is considered the best pitcher in the AL. He's always awesome against us. In fact, I do believe they switched up his schedule to have him pitch us. Then after he left, their 32-save closer came in. So...3 runs? I'll take it.

Winning the series I'll take also. Going against the Twins next while the Tigers take on the O's....well, uh...hey maybe their bullpen is still tired?

We had some nice defense tonight too, in case you think all we had to do was bat well. Fukudome showed some leather to make up for the error in the 1st. This Kipnis-Asdrubal DP really saved Fausto's ass. Zeke was throwing himself around the outfield tonight too.

Speaking of Kipnis - hopefully someone gives him a "you can't be a hero every night" speech tonight, as he was pretty miserable compared to last night. He went 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and a walk. Granted, nobody else other than the feisty Latinos to either side of him was hitting tonight, but it's a pretty far fall from 5 hits to 2 strikeouts. Let's not see that again, ok?

No Radio Chatter tonight. I'm glad I didn't listen on the radio, to be honest. I heard some of Hammy's calls in a recap and I think I would have busted my spleen or something when he called Santana's almost-homer in the 6th. Then I may have popped an eyeball with the anticipation he laid on in the 9th, trying to be prophetic about a come-from-behind win. My overall health was greatly improved by laying off the radio dramatics for a day.

I am kinda sad that I forgot my broom at home, tho. I'm sorry if that in any way cost us a win.

Tomorrow Justin Masterson goes for his 10th win against Carl Pavano of the Twins, who may or may not have a creepy mustache. I guess I won't know until some videos are posted.

See you then!

Oh? Oh!? Ooooh.....

Looked really promising today, folks. Like, REALLY promising.

Then the promise was violently yanked from beneath our hovering toes as we all crashed to the ground in a gigantic heap of woe.

Or, whatever. Looked good but just not good enough.

Tomlin had a very very strong outing. Seven shutout innings with 4 strikeouts, only giving up 2 runs in the 8th before he was pulled. Best outing for him since the 4th of July.

They put in Smith after Tomlins 2 runs and guess what happened? No, not "lights out" as scripted. He in fact gave up 3 runs and got nobody out. I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!! Joe Smith!!!

He just said on Twitter:

Tomlin was awesome. Great defense. Brantley rakes. I was absolutely awful. Off day to get our legs back. #wewinathome

So at least he knows, and is ready to move on.

Brantley does indeed rake (??), and perhaps also rocks. He got 2 of tonight's 3 RBIs with a triple and a homer. He was hitting them pretty far all night. Wrist: fixed.

Both Kipnis and Asdrubal ended their hitting streaks tonight (7 and 9) but Kipnis did get on with a walk and then stole 2nd.

Hafner got his hitting britches back on tonight after being shut out yesterday, and managed to score after some slow and steady work by Santana, Fukudome and finally Chisenhall.

And that was all. Three one-runs innings spaced out over Tomlin's lovely 7 shut-out innings. And then we lost and I made a funny face. Well actually, right at the end of the game my dog farted and I said "Oh, REALLY?! How apropos, dog!"

We did finish the road trip 3-4, which is what everyone said we needed to do. Still 4 games behind Detroit but 12 games left to play against them - three of those games being this week, starting Tuesday.

I'll be at the game Tuesday! With my OMG ASDRUBAL!!! sign, too. Look for me in the top right portion of the bleachers.

Radio Chatter:
"No lead is ever safe at Fenway, and that's even more true in this ballpark."
- Tom Hamilton

"That had extra bases written all over it."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's smash to Hamilton in left

"You don't break up a battery that is throwing a shut-out."
- Tom Hamilton on why Marson did not come in to hit instead of LaPorta

"The way this road trip has gone, this game is far from over."
- Tom Hamilton in the bottom of the 8th

More Sweet Stuff from the Sprouts

So the Tribe is .500 right now for the first time since April 5. We're 4 games out of first place. Last night, Bob Frantz was pondering whether or not "this is it."

GROAN! First off, no this isn't it. There are 2 more months left. We've got three more players left (Sizemore, Choo, Jiminez) an the possibility of signing someone off waivers.

All that AND our new guys are kicking ass!

Kipnis tonight with his 4th home run in as many games!

Lonnie with a big double late in the game, coming in to score when...

Zeke batting leadoff (love him but BOY did we need Brantley tonight!!) gets a ground-rule double and RBI to tie the game in the 8th.

The only other producers tonight were our steadfast Asdrubal and Hafner, who followed up Kipnis's solo shot with a single and an RBI double.

No help from any other guys. I heard someone say earlier, I think on the radio, that Santana was going to strike out and hit a home run. Well the guy was half right - 4 times!

Now that some of the chaff has been cleared from our lineup (Orlando, Buck - sorry guys!) Austin Kearns sort of sticks out like a sore thumb of badness, doesn't he? Swell guy and his kid is getting good treatment at the Autism Center but...well maybe he can just retire and stay in Cleveland?

If we're going to have guys suck in our lineup let it be the fresh new Fukudome, the wishy-washy LaPorta or Carlos "For fuck's sake stop wiggling your foot at the plate!" Santana. Kearns just isn't doing it for us anymore.

Carlos Carrasco composed himself today and only gave up 2 earned runs. He went as far as the bottom of the 8th, too. Not bad at all - someone must have had quite a talk with him. He definitely had opportunity to melt down, especially after Kearns' run-scoring error in the 1st, but he did just fine. That coolness we saw all through June that had completely evaded him through July.

Our man Sipp looked good in the 8th, striking out 2. Not sure how Smith let the game go but ... well I know how and the answer is FUCK BOSTON ARGH!!

Turns out the game wasn't on WKYC today but it is tomorrow! Not bad because I forgot to tune in until halfway through today anyway.

Still have a chance to split the series. Tomorrow's gonna be a great game between Masterson and Boston's new stud Erik Bedard. Well it'll be awesome as long as Ellsbury doesn't bat in the 9th - amirite?

Only 2 more days until Ubaldo!

See you tomorrow at 7:10!

Radio Chatter:
"Boy oh boy - with Gonzalez at the plate, not quite sure where Pedroia was going."
- Tom Hamilton on Pedroia getting picked off

"He forgot his pre-game plan against the knuckeballer was to hit from the left hand side."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Carlos Santana switching from a right-handed batting helmet to left-handed

"You are living a charmed life in this ballpark when you have 2 runners on in almost every inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"It used to be 'Jim Wisenhaus' when he was in Buffalo but now it's 'Rosenhaus' since he's in the big leagues."
- Tom Hamilton mocking the change in the pronounciation of Marco Scutaro's name when he left Cleveland

"Neil Diamond recorded that song when he had his own hair, and it's become a Fenway tradition."
- Tom Hamilton on "Sweet Caroline"

"You come to Fenway Park and you'd better not go into the 9th tied with the Red Sox coming to bat."
- Tom Hamilton

The Pain pf Contending

OH, boffins, the pain! Yet another Sunday where I sulk for hours until I can muster up the will to post something positive about this afternoon's game.

It's not hard to come up with positive stuff, but the pain is much worse now that we're a "contender." It's like the difference in pain of walking on crutches with a bum knee, and walking without crutches and carrying your cousin on your shoulders too. Your cousin - he represents the extra weight of being a contender. The crutches - that is the cushiony prop of saying "we're building for next year."

Things did go right today. Just fine, in fact. Good Fausto showed up. Well "Good" as in "Not Bad" Fausto, but not any sort of ace. He never really melted down or anything, just slowly gave up 4 runs over 7 innings. Lots of ground-ball outs but only 2 strikeouts.

Tony Sipp came in (he worked last night too) and gave up a run. What's going on, Tony Sipp? Joe Smith came in after that to give up none runs but seems like the #bullpenmafia is teetering a bit. One thing's for sure we're not seeing Chris Perez and his beard enough. But there aren't many save situations comin' around the bend either.

The top of our order was hot shit today. Brantley got his hit. Kipnis - first MLB home run! w00t!

Asdrubal was on fire, going 3 for 4 and a walk. Another double! Also got some air playing defense behind Smith, with a nice grab in the 9th.


Santana also keeping in his groove with 2 more hits, one of them a TRIPLE. He got his first just a couple weeks ago on July 18, a game in which he played FIRST BASE just like tonight. He's gotten 8 hits in his last 6 starts.

Matt LaPorta...he's so wishy-washy. One night he's the hero and the next night he can't see the ball worth shit. I actually want LaPorta to do well...so we can use him in a trade to get someone who is a little more solid. I'm not haytin' on the dude...I am just tired of being teased by him!

Fukudome got his first hit JUST LIKE I SAID HE WOULD in last night's post. I said so! It was a double, even. He walked. And struck out. But he also made an excellent play in the outfield, which is something I'm sure we were all wondering about.

Man, we struck out a TON today. Twelve times! Against a guy with a 5+ ERA and a bunch of relievers.

Ten guys LOB too. Back up in to the double-digits.

Hey did you see Zeke today? Came in to pinch for Kearns (I know, right?) and got a double! His average is the same as Fukudome right now hahaha

Today's lineup also included Jason Donald, who was here for a bit last year. He played some nice-nice at 3rd and went 0 for 2 with a walk. Then they hit Hafner for him, heh.

Neither Lonnie nor Lou did anything in the 9-hole, except Lou did catch a guy stealing. While Santana lost a stealer in the 8th.

Our guys are not doing so hot with stealing lately. Brantley and Asdrubal both got caught today. I can see why we're trying to get runners in scoring position (cuz we need to SCORE) but they keep getting caught and then we've wasted the talent of the top of our order. Brantley has been caught 5 times this season so far! Yowza!

Anyway, I am exhausted from all the trade talk and the contender talk. Exhausted from these close games. We need to get our win on, get ourselves a little padding and welcome August with open arms. When we've got Ubaldo Jiminez and Shin-Soo Choo hangin' out. We could use a little more Pronk and maybe a little Grady if he can be bothered. And there's always more room for as much Asdrubal as we can muster.

Tomorrow we play against the Red Sox (ooOoOooh!) for 4 games. I fuckin' hate the Red Sox, possibly more than the Yankees, and we need to win. Forget contending, forget anything else for now. Let's just beat those stinky Sox. Seriously.

See you tomorrow at 7:10 PM!

Radio Chatter:
"Ichiro Suzuki treats the base-on-balls like a virus."
- Tom Hamilton on the difference between Suzuki and Fukudome and their OBP

"Santana and Lou Marson have missed a double and a home run by a combined total of about 3 feet."
- Mike Hegan

"Fukudome made that play look easy, and it was anything but."
- Tom Hamilton on Fukudome's play in the 8th

Who's These Wahoos?

Not my Wahoos, that's for sure.

No-hit today. For the first time since Jim Abbot in 1993. Dude no-hit Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner. Unreal!

Also unreal is that there were 5 errors. By 5 different guys! INCLUDING ASDRUBAL!!

I guess that is good for David Huff, who ended up only giving up 1 earned run, keeping his ERA at .71 (for 2 games). That's exactly what we wanted from him, too.

Joe Smith came in and did his stuff, and then Pestano came in and struck out the side! That was pretty awesome to hear, in this otherwise-blah-of-a-game.

Even Chris Perez, who by last night I was totally jonesin' for, sucked a little bit and gave up a run. That's not what we need you to do, dude.

Overall, great pitching in this series, especially from starters. We were outscored only 7-5 over 3 games.

All that nice stuff I said about the defense last night was out the window today. Not sure how the guys are going from bad to good to bad again. We have outfielders in the outfield and everything!

Zeke looked pretty cool today, scurrying around the bases and scoring our only run. Yeah, we scored a run in a no-hitter! So...it's nice to know we can do stuff like that.

Here's a little trivia for you, that Tom Hamilton keeps trotting out: Ervin Santana (the guy who pitched a no-hitter today) had his major-league debut in Progressive Field 6 years ago. The first 4 batters hit for the cycle (a triple, double, single and homer between them).

No baseball tonight, natch, and then we're totally off tomorrow. There's no baseball until Friday and I have a thing to do Friday night so I will be late with my post, if I manage to live that long without baseball!

In the meantime keep an eye out for trade news. We passed up on Beltran today, which I was relieved to hear when I heard that we offered money and "a substantial player." I do not want to lose any substantial players (ok MAYBE...Santana?)

If anyone asks you how to pronounce our shortstop's name between now and Sunday at 4, run the other way! They can't take him if they don't know his name...

See you Friday night!

Radio Chatter:
"Basically the Indians have now bought Verizon Wireless, to save on the cell phone bill."
- Tom Hamilton on all of the phone work for trading

"The Indians still don't have a hit, folks. We're in the 6th inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"Welp, why should today be any different? The first two games have gone right down to the ninth inning. Looks like we're going that way again."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's getting harder and harder not to have Lou Marson catching."
- Tom Hamilton

Limping In to the Break

Wow y'all, what a nasty weekend, huh? Especially after all that EXCITEMENT Thursday night with Hafner's grand slam.

I saw the score for Sunday's game before I heard the game. I decided a while back that I didn't need to run around and try to avoid the score. The score doesn't matter - I'll still listen to he game!

So today while I worked from a hotel room in Redmond, WA, I listened to the game. Meh. MEH!

It actually started out pretty great. Bases loaded and only one out. Here's when knowing the final score is 7-1 Toronto sort of puts a damper on the fun. But at least you get to hear the utter disappointment in Tom Hamilton's voice when nobody scores. Amirite?

Carlos Carrasco had his second bad outing in so many starts. Has that ship sailed already? God, I hope not.

We got to see a good chunk of our bullpen (save for Chris Perez) because of the break. Frank Hermann did 2 whole innings with just one hit. Raffy Perez struck out 2 but also gave up 2 runs. Joe Smith is now pitching with a .85 ERA and he's getting more work. Did you see what I did there?

Vinnie Pestano made up for recent transgressions and struck out the goddamn side. 3-up-3-down!

Tony Sipp, who also has some ass-kissing to do, tried to strike out the side but the first guy popped out. Awww!

Wink.

So the bullpen was teh awesomez. Our hitters were not so much. Asdrubal missed his first game of the season! I guess to travel. I wonder how he feels about that...he seemed to be looking for some Iron Man recognition after he hurt his ankle the other day, not wanting to miss the next day.

While Michael Brantley managed to get a hit (but not even close to .300 like I predicted), the Other Cabrera was shut out and so was Hafner.

Actually, those two are the only two who didn't get a hit! But, once again - 13 LOB. Sigh.

Grady and Santana looked ok in the middle of the order there, both with 2 hits each and Grady with our only RBI.

Sweet Lou was moved up to #7 and got himself a double. Valbuena got a hit but it's his first hit but it's his only hit in 8 ABs so far. Those two actually put two hits together, and the rest of their team dropped the ball that inning.

Well, if there was a ball to drop. Carrasco had already left us 5 down by then.

So that's all for the first half. We are .5 game out of first place. But, as Tom Hamilton noted, this time last year we were 15 out. SO QUIT YOUR WHINING! Well he didn't say that last bit but I could feel it in his mind.

The Home Run Derby's about to start and for the first time in 5 years I'm actually in the presence of a TV with ESPN. So I'm getting pumped about the All Star Game. So far I've been watching for a half hour and there's not been one mention of Asdrubal but lots of pictures of cacti.

We'll hear more about Asdrubal tomorrow, when he goes in and kicks the ball's ass.

Hey, maybe I'll write a blog post about the ASG! Won't that be fun? Or maybe not, depends on how much play Asdrubal and Perez get. But, don't forget - 8 PM Eastern on Fox.

If you don't hear from me tomorrow, see you Thursday at 7:05 PM for more BASEBALL!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Battle of Joey Bats

So tonight I'm strapped for time. Gotta be on a plane in 10 hours, which seems like a long time but I gotta sleep before then too.

Not much to say about tonight's game anyway. Tomlin wasn't sparkling and Chris Perez got a loss. Neither of these situations are optimal. No one really hit, except GRADY who got a very exciting home run because we are all really curious about whether or not Grady can rock anymore.

Oh, and Joe Smith's ERA is now .88.

The 9th inning was pretty cool when we scraped out a run to tie it up, but then Jose Bautista got his 2nd home run of the night in the 10th and that was all she wrote.

Luis Valbuena was up from Columbus, and Cord Phelps went back down. I have never been a fan of Valbuena but he was hitting .313 in AAA so they brought him up. As expected, he didn't do jack shit tonight.

That's all for me tonight. I'll have tomorrow's game maybe tomorrow night or Monday morning. See you then!

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

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

You Do It To Yourself

Ooooh, Mitch Talbot. What are we going to do with you? You're no Carlos Carrasco, that's for sure!

Today everyone was saying how bad Talbot usually is in the 1st inning. Then he shocked everyone by having an un-eventful 1st, but sneaking a bad 2nd by us. Then he was just ducky in the 3rd, and then he gave up 3 more runs in the 4th and it was time to go.

Six runs is actually not too many runs for our Indians to overcome, especially in the "hitter's park" that is Great American, but it did prove to be too much for our skeleton crew today.

Josh "Judge" Judy (did you remember that one?) came in to relieve Talbot in the 5th and gave up a homer, but otherwise he did alright for himself. That was his only hit in 2 innings and he struck out one.

Durbin came in for the 7th and Smith finished off the 9th even though Perez was back. Wanna know what Joe Smith's ERA is now? It's .95.

Even though we got ourselves 5 runs, our lineup was sort of unimpressive. I won't mention what Asdrubal and Santana did today.

Hey do you remember when Asdrubal went 5 for 5 when they played the Reds in May? Josh Judy pitched in that game too. Good times!

Three guys who did take the helm today were guys who haven't been doing what we need lately.

Grady Sizemore went the other way with 2 outs in the 6th to score 2 on a single. That is not something we've been experiencing lately, huh?

Hafner, who has only gotten one hit as a pinch hitter so far, got his second pinch hit today AND it was for an RBI! He'll be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Yankees. Hopefully fully-charged and ready to do some Yankee killing!

The big gun for us today was Mr. Shelley Duncan! He impressed the hell out of me early in the season as a rock-solid pinch hitter. Then he cooled off and we sent him down for a bit, due to the upcoming pitching matchups. He had a really shitty June, that's for sure. BUT! Today he got THREE hits and one of them was a 2-run homer! He also scored another run, and didn't strike out once. Geez, did you know he struck out 4 times in San Francisco?

I hope this indicates some good things to come from Shelley, cuz I have a feeling we'll be seeing him a lot more with LaPorta and Choo gone.

Lonnie Chisenhall got a hit today and scored a run, hangin' in there with a .300 average. He also committed his first error in the majors. I wonder if they keep that ball?

Brantley got himself a hit today, scored a run and walked. He's still not at pre-slump levels of reliability but keeping that average above .250 at least.

So All-Star voting is over and the tally is done. And, even though he's currently rehabbing in the minors, Derek Jeter beat out Asdrubal for shortstop. Oh well. Asdrubal IS going and I betcha dollars to donuts he'll get to play and he will do something awesome. I just hope he gets out of his mini batting slump before then!

Chris Perez also made the All Stars! That's pretty cool and I actually am looking forward to watching the game. I'll be on vacation at the time, but I'll be on the west coast so I won't have to stay up too late to watch it. Of course I'll have to tune in ridiculously early but whatever. I'm guessing we won't see Asdrubal until the second half and of course no Perez until the end.

I wonder what a road trip with Asdrubal and Perez is like? Even though his name is Perez he doesn't seem like the sort of guy who knows a lot of Spanish. I haven't heard Asdrubal on too many interviews, I wonder how his English is. Oh, how I wish the Dugout Sports Show was tagging along!

I got a Chris Perez baseball card today, in a pack of 2011 Topps. It looks really nice, almost like a painting. A lot of the pitchers are captured mid-throw and look extremely awkward. Perez looks pretty awesome. And his beard isn't too out of control.

I don't know why getting Indians' cards in my packs excites me so, but it totally does. It also seems like half of the rest of the cards are ex-Indians. I wonder if baseball is half made up of ex-Indians?

So tomorrow starts our return home yay! And a 3-game series against the Yankees boo! But we're coming off a great few games so maybe we'll rock? Yay!

Game starts at 6:35 PM which means I will totally miss it unless my party guests take off early. Fat chance. I'm either going to listen to the game after the party, or catch it during work the next day. Hopefully, that is. If the game ends up anything like the 3 we just played in The Bronx, then I won't waste my time.

Let's go Tribe, beat those Stankees!

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

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

Snakes and Ladders

Wow man. I was really scared coming in to this game, I'm not going to lie. With the way we played over the weekend and the recent outings of their starter, I was really afraid we were going to completely blow it in front of my aunt & uncle, who are DBackers to the point of having a shrine room. And we'd fall further behind the Tigers in the standings.

I also worried that all of our barking for Lonnie Chisenhall to be brought up would be for naught as he struggled to get settled in the majors.

I was wrong, I was wrong and I was wrong!

We start with pitching, which was run-of-the-mill Talbot. Three runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Mitch was yanked after 5 innings and 71 pitches in favor of Travis Hafner batting with 2 on and 2 out, which I was not totally opposed to. Except he struck out. Although Talbot was looking great since he gave up 3 in the first inning, Hafner did have a better chance at getting more runs in than him. Plus, we had the whole #BullpenMafia looking to bust out.

And bust out they did. We got almost the entire gang - Smith, Sipp, Pestano, Raffy and Rage. The only one that had a little problem was Pestano who gave up two hits and a run. But, as Rick from Waiting For Next Year tweeted: "Can't even be mad at Pestano. First run he's given up since little league I think." Yeah, pretty much.

Raffy pitched to one guy and got the win, but it was a big strikeout, closing out Pestano's bad inning. Rage came in and gave up a hit, I think in order to allow himself to get the next 3 out or something, and then he got the save.

And now, the exciting story of our bats waking up!

First off, many thanks to Asdrubal for coming out of whatever funkety-funk he's been in lately (got down to .290. Can you believe it?!) and hitting a 2-run dinger at his first at-bat, surely to impress my aunt and uncle who were sitting in the stands behind him. He went 2 for 4 tonight, bringing his average back up to a respectable-for-Asdrubal .295.

Asdrubal's other hit was a double in the 6th, and he was driven in by none other than sometimes-Indian Travis Buck! Buck also had a lovely catch in the 9th to help out ol' C. Perez.

So - Lonnie Chisenhall! His first at-bat he flew out. Then everyone in Cleveland breathed a sigh of relief as little cousin started off the 5th with a double! Woohoo! Save the ball!

Wait, it gets better! Later on in the 6th he got his first RBI, which was the go-ahead RBI! So, hopefully he'll be back tomorrow. Sorry Adam Everett...

So then Pestano gives up the tying run and we're all tied yadda yadda Orlando Cabrera hits a home run.

Serious! I mean, we have seen him do well in clutch situations and we have seen him ho-hum us at the plate. It was more in the first few weeks of the season that we were wowed. They do say the dry heat is excellent for old folks. Whatever, it was a night for Dos Cabreras to go long and go long they did.

Orlando Cabrera won the game with a home run.

That's why we love baseball, folks - anything can happen!

I don't know if you read the box scores in the morning but check this nonsense out. This is slightly extreme but this is generally how National League box scores end up:

Can you even follow that? Yeesh.

So, I'm pretty happy. Going to go to bed happy. Going to look forward to tomorrow's game and everything, maybe get myself some more popsicles.

Don't forget, 9:40 PM tomorrow and Wednesday. The pitching matchup tomorrow is absolutely even, stats-wise. Can't wait to see what Lonnie Chisenhall has going on in his second game!

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

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

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