'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

Full Price

Really, not much to say about today's game - which is good because it's only 4 PM and I'm still at work and shouldn't be saying much at all. But hey - the sooner I get it over with the sooner I can look towards the Tribe's homecoming and the 3-game slaughter of the Orioles!

Ubaldo was the starter today and I must say he looked damned good - until he didn't. Of course he had us all on the edge of our seats loading them up in the first and getting out of it. He ended up giving up 7 hits and 5 walks for a total of 5 earned runs. He did strike out 5 in his 5 2/3 innings and only gave up one run ... until he gave up 4 more before he was yanked like Fred Willard at the girly show.

Scott Barnes added to Ubaldo's total by promptly giving up a hit when he came in. Then he gave up a run of his own on two doubles in the 7th. Jeez...

Jeremy Accardo ALSO gave up a double but to no ill effect. He ended up striking out 2 in the 8th. He's not looking too bad...better than Barnes who Hamilton declares "not ready for the Majors."

So David Price is in line for this year's Cy Young, and our lineup has been struggling so as you can imagine, it was bad news up and down the lineup for us today.

The absolute highlight - for me at least - was that Asdrubal got a hit! Yessir, one of our two hits off David Price came from the previously struggling Asdrubal Cabrera! Struggling no more? Indeed!

The guy who got the other hit was Jose Lopez. He's also the guy who got a homer off Aroldis Chapman earlier this year. Must like to hit these crazy-good pitchers. Or they have no idea how to pitch to him.

Santana walked twice, so that's pretty cool. Oddly enough, Michael Brantley struck out twice.

That's it. That was today's game. Ubaldo crumbled and our offense was completely denied and David Price is awesome.

Next up is 4 against the O's, who we bombed pretty good in June. The series is at home and there's all sorts of crazy good deals on parking and transportation and stuff. And Beatles fireworks! Let's hope all the fan love gets us a nice set of wins - maybe a sweep?

Tomorrow, Saturday and Monday are all 7:05, and Sunday is 3:05. John Adams will be there - how about you? I'll be there Monday, maybe Saturday too. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"How in the world can you allow Jose Molina to steal a base?!"
- Tom Hamilton after Jose Molina stole a base

"He's gone 7-12 since he recorded a commercial with Darth Vader, so he's got that going for him."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Luke Scott

"When he's in a jam, Ubaldo Jiminez is at his best."
- Tom Hamilton

"No disgrace in getting shut out by Price."
- Tom Hamilton

This Is The Real Deal!

I knew it! I knew that the game against Weaver wouldn't be a good test of whether or not we were hot. Just like beating the Orioles wasn't a good test. But 6 runs and a win off Dan Haren? That's the stuff!

Zach E-Z Mac McAllister was our starter and he looked fantastic! He only gave up 3 earned runs and had there not been an error, perhaps none earned runs (weird situation where you can't assume a double play so what woulda been a double play was an error but only 1 runner was un-earned blah blah...) He gave us 6 solid innings and struck out 5. Right now he's looking better than Derek Lowe!

Smith, Pestano and Esmil Rogers had a near-perfect 3 innings of relief, with only Pestano giving up 1 hit. No walks, no runs, no hits otherwise. Vinnie did good sitting in a 45-minute rain delay and they didn't make him sit after warming up. Rogers pitched one out in the 9th then came back after the second delay. Very courageous of both of them!

Our hitters were on fire tonight, with several guys having a multi-hit game! We ended up with 9 runs, 14 hits and 2 walks. A relatively low (for us) 6 LOB! We got some 2-out RBI, doubles, a triple, a homer and a stolen base. The guys were getting it done!

Pretty excited my little buddy SMac was at his first game tonight - it was a great game for a little fan! He ended up missing the fireworks because of the rain delays but I hear tell he was clapping and cheering along with everyone, and said that Progressive Field was his baseball field. Indeed!

CHOOOOOOOOOO delivered some excitement right off the bat, getting a lead-off triple then coming down to score.He went 2 for 5 on the night with 2 runs and a double as well.

Asdrubal was shut out. I guess he has an awful record versus Dan Haren - 2 for 20. Also bad against Weaver, 6 for 30 and Ervin Santana 3 for 23. He did face their relievers too but he never got through to them. Oh well. His average dropped a whole 10 points from .300 to .290, and now he's behind Choo who has .292.

However, the top 5 guys are batting .281 and that's not skipping ANYONE (Santana is 6th). Cool!

Kipnis had it figured out, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs, an RBI and a walk. Not an All-Star...but you know what? Look for him next year!

LOPEZ! He wasn't in yesterday and look what he did today - 3 for 4 with an RBI, a run and a doule. Think he should play every day when Hafner's not available? Yeah me too. He's got 10 hits in his last 4 games!

Brantley went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI. He got the RBI on his non-hits, and then another run came via an error on Pujols. Yes! Anyway, he was in the thick of a bunch of our runs today. And he got his 10th stolen base!

Santana went 0 for 3 with a walk. Huh.

Kotchman was also out there in the thick of it, going 2 for 4 with a double and scoring 2 runs. His average has pretty much stabilized around .225, which isn't bad for a dude we just need for his fielding. He legged it around from first in the 2nd inning when Hannahan hit a double to center. Kotchman was clearly going to be out except the catcher completely botched the catch and Kotchman came out the hero!

SHELLEY EVERY DAY! Don't worry, I tweeted Manny Acta to remind him that Shelley Duncan rocks hard. He's got Baby Fever (see: Choo, Damon) expecting twins any minute. So before he goes on paternity leave he's going to get red hot. Today he went 1 for 2 with a homer and a RBI on a sac fly. He's got 3 homers in his last 4 games, 9 hits in his last 10 games and 7 RBI.

Aaron Cunningham came in for him, and I'm not sure why. He actually went 1 for 1 with an RBI single!

Supermanahan is back to getting stuff done, thanks to Kotchman getting on base and Choo being red-hot behind him. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI (the aforementioned Kotchman run), both of those hits being doubles. Will be amazing if this means he's back!

Our bats were "Oriole-level Hot" today, putting up 9 runs against the second-best pitching staff in the league. Winning against the guy who is 3 and 0 against us. Tomorrow is Santana who previously had our number but I feel good about our chances against him, as he's looking a little weak right now. And we're looking a little powerful!

Will there be Pronk tomorrow? Will Duncan's twins let him play one more game? Will anyone set my neighborhood on fire with fireworks? IT WILL BE AN INTERESTING DAY!

It's a 4:05 game. Tom Hamilton says you have time to get in a round of golf before going to the game and then going to see your local fireworks afterwards. The Indians have it all planned out for you - See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"People want the Indians to trade him but it's just not possible."
- Tom Hamilton on Zach McAllister

"He makes every play at first base close."
- Tom Hamilton on the hustle of Kipnis

"What a week he's having. Twins on the way and bombs away."
- Tom Hamilton on Shelley Duncan

"You have a chance now that if you hit a ball to deep right field, the third baseman might catch it."
- Tom Hamilton on the wind picking up

"There isn't any aspect of the game that Kipnis isn't doing well right now."
- Tom Hamilton

"Tony LaRussa should pick Kipnis for the National League team and really tick Dusty Baker off."
- Tom Hamilton

"Texas starter Roy Oswalt may wish he's back on the farm..."
- Tom Hamilton on the White Sox crushing the Rangers

"I tell you what, these folks love their fireworks."
- Tom Hamilton on the fans who stayed through 2 rain delays

Bouncin' Back

Hey! Bet you thought I forgot, huh? Naw, I just had promised some folks I'd go out and they were kind enough to wait for the end of the game. So I had to rush out after the game.

I did find myself at a place called Lopez in Cleveland Heights, so we were sure to drink a toast to The Legend That Is Lopez tonight.

Here's a song for you to play during this post:

So where really do we begin? Today's game was the most awesome in a long time, even more awesome than the 10-9 one in Cleveland versus Cincy. It was cool because we broke away and there wasn't much nail biting. Also cool because our pitchers "only" gave up 5 runs instead of 9. Was it the best game of the season? Nah that was probably one of the Detroit games - the O's just aren't that good. But still the game was AWESOME!!

Tomlin started and Tom Hamilton was making noises about this being Tomlin's final deciding game as to whether he'd remain a starter, get put in the bullpen or go down to CBus. He gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. Not too fantastic but better than a few of his recent outings. Plus he's a "fly ball pitcher" pitching in a "crackerbox park" so the fact that he only gave up one homer surprised some. I'm no pitching expert so I honestly don't know what Tomlin's fate is. I'm thinking he gets yet another chance in a different park, probably home.

Excitingly enough, the 3 guys after Tomlin - Rogers, Pestano and Sipp - gave up no hits and no runs. Yeah you heard me - even Sipp! Praise be!

If you were wondering: defense was a ton better today. No errors (for the good guys) and two double plays. It helps!

Now on to the featured entertainment! The hitting! And boy, was there hitting!

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO (who I think was getting roundly Choo'd by some Bawlmer fans, or Cleveland fans in Baltimore, whatever) had a MONSTER game with 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 runs and 4 RBI and a homer! That means 8 hits, 2 homers, 6 RBI and 7 runs in his last 3 games (against the Orioles). His average is up at .291 now and he's hitting .417 over his last 10 games. *gurgle*

Not to be left out, Asdrubal had a monster game too! He went 3 for 5 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 runs. He did strike out twice, though. Is that what you have to put up with when your guy becomes the team's Home Run Guy?

Speaking of Home Run Guy, Jason Kipnis was shut down today! Well he did get intentionally walked and hit by a pitch. He also stole a base but oddly enough it didn't turn in to a run. And he hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice so I guess we can say he was out there getting stuff done regardless of whether or not he had the stats. But still, in a game with so many hits, quite odd that our team leader in most things batting got shut down!

LOPEZ!!! This is the dude I remember from Spring Training! He played 3rd today and batted cleanup and it was quite a fantastic decision by Manny Acta. Duncan could have been in that spot. Kipnis or Brantley could have been in that spot. But he stuck with Lopez in that spot and he went 5 for 6 with 3 RBI and a run. Yes, 5 for 6!

Brantley went 2 for 5 with a walk. Somehow that didn't turn in to any runs or RBI either (ok, I know how. I know. Left on base.) We're back to a 3-game hitting streak for Cousin Michael! I'm just going to keep counting and re-counting from here on out.

SHELLEY EVERY DAY! He had his homer today. He only went 1 for 6 though - eep! But hey HE'S got  FOUR-game hitting streak, with 3 RBI in those 4 games. Johnny who?

Kotchman and Cunningham were both shut down today. Eh. Still, hard to believe that in a 19-hit game that THREE guys went hitless, right? They did.

Encompassing 4 of those hits was Sweet Lou himself! And he ALMOST went for the cycle, woohoo! He got them all but a homer, got two singles and walked. He only got 1 RBI out of all that but he came around to score 3 times! Did you know he's hitting .284 now? Hate to say it but Santana is already seeming like a distant memory right now...

I don't know what to make of all this. I think I'll stay cautiously optimistic for now because Baltimore sucks right now and their park is a hitter's park. Plus, we saw a ton of runs a couple times against the Reds just last week then went on to score hardly anything against the Astros and Yankees.

However, I will go to bed smiling from ear to ear and I will stash the nugget that Manny had "a talk" with the team the other day and maybe, just maybe, that turned something around. I'll also cling to my fantasy that the Yankee series was rock-bottom and from now on we're rocketing to the top.

Bouncin' back, as it were.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting my kinfolk in Pittsburgh (yeah and hopefully my cousin's 10-year-old and I can talk baseball!) so I won't hear the exciting conclusion to this series until late. But you bet I'll be there as soon as I can!

It's 1:35 in case you didn't know. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Looks good maybe on October 31st if you're a jack-o-lantern."
- Tom Hamilton on Oriole orange

"...at some point, an Orioles hitter has to hit the deck. [...] An Orioles player has to feel the same discomfort"
- Tom Hamilton puts out the call after Kipnis gets hit

"So, they milk cows then go to the beach at night?"
- Tom Hamilton wondering how the Jersey Shore works

"Rosie, when you're born and raised on a dairy farm and you're milking cows, the view never changes.'
- Tom Hamilton tells Jim Rosenhaus why they never discuss Wisconsin

"These are situations, where if a guy like Cunningham wants to stay on this ballclub, he's got to do better than that."
- Tom Hamilton on Cunningham's strikeout in the 5th with a runner on 3rd

"It's not just errors, it's the plays that should have been made but aren't."
- Tom Hamilton on the Baltimore defense

"The Orioles might start feeding him Fudgecicles."
- Tom Hamilton on Matt Wieters losing weight and losing power

Is This Rock Bottom?

Or perhaps, more accurately, we hit rock bottom sometime during this game. By the 9th inning, we'd already began our ascent skyward.

Perhaps rock bottom was when Jack Hannahan was called out on a fantastic into-the-seats foul ball out that wasn't. Jack got thrown out later after he saw a replay and challenged the ump on it. Perhaps he was saying to the ump "hey fuck you, we do enough on our own to lose games we don't need you pushing us down! Erin go Bragh!" Then once the team realized that hey yeah they were losing games all by themselves and now the umps were against them too, perhaps it was time to step up.

We were about to be shut out for only the second time this year, with 2 outs in the 9th, when that Damon guy clearly sent some sort of Bat Signal to his former teammate/replacement Curtis Granderson in order to get a ball to drop in the 9th with Kipnis on 3rd. Then good 'ol Casey Kotchman kept it alive with a single, and in an interesting twist of fate, the guy who was brought in for the tossed Hannahan (LOPEZ!) jacked a 3-run dinger bringing us within 2.

Of course, it ended in a loss - the first time this year we've lost 4 in a row - but at least it wasn't a shutout. And this is totally weird but almost everybody hit today. Santana was the lone guy out. GAH if only he'd had a multi-hit game instead of a no-hit (and no on-base) game. It coulda been a winner.

Hafner is playing in Columbus. He'll be back soon. Perhaps by the end of the week! Although I don't know what happens to a Dakota boy when you put him in Baltimore in late June. I'm guessing something like this:

Gosh, it's hot.

Not expecting to get any run support, Justin Masterson let 4 runs get by him in his 6 innings. If our batters are done fucking around and hitting rock bottom, maybe it's ok if he's going to pitch like that. Four was an overcome-able amount earlier in the season.

Two guys who don't seem to be rising with this phoenix are Sipp and Hagadone. Sipp's last outing was fine but once again he gave up a run in the late innings. And Hagadone...he's toast. He gave up a run too.

It's all speculation right now - and most likely blind hope - but after scoring 8 runs in a game then going on to score 5 runs in 4 games, getting 4 last-minute runs today was pretty spectacular. It's something I'm going to be hanging my hat on until tomorrow around 4 PM.

It's a 1:05 game tomorrow. Hopefully everyone still has glitter in their hair from tonight and it'll be awesome. Ubaldo is presently showing up as Good Ubaldo so that gives us a shot. Of course, the opposing pitcher is Andy Pettitte but let me swing it this way for you - we've sucked against CHILDREN as of late. Little boy pitchers. Perhaps they confuse and alarm us. Maybe we need a nice veteran with a big book that is "the devil we know."

You think, maybe? I'm gonna keep dreaming. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Our wives will be surprised how much we've changed on this road trip."
"How have we changed?"
"Oh I think we've matured a lot."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"If it's going to be 100 degrees in Baltimore, that means 95 percent humidity."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's actually cheaper to land a helicopter than it is to park a car here at Yankee Stadium."
- Tom Hamilton

"Our wonderful engineer back at command central has already dubbed the tape and is emailing it to me..."
- Tom Hamilton's ears were burning while he was away in the 4th

"Big crowd, entertaining itself. Throwing peanuts and hot dogs at each other."
- Tom Hamilton is sort of bored and maybe a little jealous

"It's almost as if the umpire is saying 'great effort, you're out!'"
- Tom Hamilton on an obviously missed foul ball catch

"They feel like they can ever be challenged, they can never be wrong. That's why you will see more instant replay in the future because of people like Mike DiMuro. [...] Mike DiMuro will be having to
watch that replay on ESPN for the rest of the week and it'll make him the laughing stock of the profession."
- Tom Hamilton

"Derek Jeter plays the game the way you'd want your kids to play."
- Tom Hamilton

Nobody is a Hero

Sunday strikes again, huh? I do need to stop complaining about Sundays because I think we're 5-7 on the year so it's not like we lose EVERY Sunday. But like I said before - it just hurts more because I usually get to see it on TV.

It was a stupid game today - stupid pitching and stupid hitting. It didn't matter that our pitchers gave up 7 because our batters could only muster 1. Everyone lost this game. Even Johnny Damon who thankfully didn't play today.

Lowe melted down and gave up 3 runs in 6 2/3. Three doesn't sound to bad but it's nearly unsurmountable when your team isn't hitting. Plus when he left the game he had 2 guys on base. He was pretty pissed at himself and once again started tossing shit around the dugout. Well, tossing it then picking it right back up because that's about as shitty as giving up 3 runs. Derek Lowe, the Gentleman Pitcher.

Smith did his thing and finished off the 7th without letting more score. Then Nick "Remember When He Was Good?" Hagadone came in gave up 3 runs, including a homer, in 2/3 of an inning. You know he was fucking good before because after giving up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning his ERA is still under 6. Anyway he left and went in the dugout and had a bit of a "Remember when I was good?" sniffle over his performance (that's the kind of sad stuff you get to see on the TV on Sundays) while Esmil Rogers got the third out. But before he got the third out he gave up a home run.

Dayum!

On the offensive side, Choo was shut down. Asdrubal shut down. Kipnis was shut down. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, BRANTLEY WAS SHUT DOWN!

Lopez got himself a hit - a big honkin' double off the wall. He then came around to score on a passed ball. End of story as far as runs go.

Lessee...Oh yeah, Shelley Duncan started today and even though he didn't hit (just like Asdrubal and Kipnis) he got TWO walks! SHELLEY EVERY DAY!!!

Today's big winner was You Can Always Count On Casey Kotchman (Usually). He went 2 for 4, hoofing out a single in the 5th.

Speaking of good fielding (we were talking about Casey Kotchman, of course) - Kipnis looked pretty fancy out there today. He had another nice one too. I also think that a couple of hits could have been avoided if Derek Lowe didn't fall to the side and check the bus schedule after every pitch. Several hits went right up the middle and it looked like Lowe was trying to get out of their way instead of do stuff like stop the ball.

Lowe did get a hit! He bunted himself to first on a bunt down the first-base line. He snuck by the Astros while they were waiting for it to roll foul. It didn't! This happened on one out. Excitement! Choo and Cabrera couldn't do shit to get him in. Horror!

That's about it for today. I did manage to get a lot of chores done due to the extra hour I had before the game so that's cool. I also got sunburn so now it really feels like summer time. Also I hope you had a chance to listen to the radio because Hammy and Rosie were continuing the saga of the FroYo machine and I can't really print it all here because there's so much of a back story. I did grab some for you. Just note that Rosie really likes the frozen yogurt machine and Hammy calls him out on it, but he likes it too.

Oh yeah also the Astros' announcer Milo Hamilton (no relation) came in to chat and call a couple innings. That was cool...he sounds great, and he's 85 years old! I really hope we get to keep our Hamilton that long...

We're off to face the Yankees now. I hope someone remembers to pick up our bats on the way from Houston to New York. I think they got left in Cleveland!

No break tomorrow - a 7:05 game. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Tom Hamilton is eating a large plastic cup full of ice cream."

- Jim Rosenhsus

"The servers said 'Mr. Hamilton we advise you to get the biggest cup possible because Mr. Rosenhsus has requested a hose to be run from the machine to the booth'"

- Tom Hamilton

"You wonder Rosie if that's a function of hitting 8th. You think 'The pitcher is coming up. I should try to get extra bases.'"

- Tom Hamilton

"It's the bottom of the 6th, there are four hits and two runs and nobody's made an error - that's been called.

- Milo Hamilton

"You can see the video board on Mexico City, it's so big."

- Tom Hamilton

"Boy that ice cream has made you really sharp today. That's where the confidence comes in. You were confident when you went for the Butterfinger crunch..."
- Tom Hamilton after discussing Hagadone's lack of confidence

"I don't care if you're Manny Acta, Eric Wedge or even Joe Torre - if you don't have a bullpen you can count on, you're doomed any way because any decision you make blows up in your face."
- Tom Hamilton

Brandon Gets the Best of Us

If Torii Hunter is my favorite non-Indian in the AL, then Brandon Phillips is my guy in the NL. Could be that I know what he's up to *touches nose* when he plays against Cleveland, since we let him go all those years ago. Could be that as a former second-baseman myself I just appreciate a great middle man. Could also be that if I'm not able to throw my hands up and say "Well, that Brandon Phillips, you can't beat him!" that I would just curl up and die every time the Reds came around on our schedule.

I did vote for him for the All Star Game, tho. Him and Votto. Wow.

Derek Lowe was the starter today. He wasn't "Wow, Derek Lowe!" tonight but he was better than 2 of his last 3 games. He only gave up 3 in his 6 innings, but he walked a lot (6) which is not what you want to do against a team with a guy hitting .363 (Votto).

Nick Hagadone, however, was absolutely not "Wow, Nick Hagadone!" today. Two hits and two runs in just one inning? I'm afraid I cursed the boy by suggesting him as a Fantasy pickup. My bad, Cleveland. I also apologize for planting grass seed in half my front yard 4 weeks ago - I appear to have caused a bit of a drought.

Esmil Rogers. We just got him from Colorado "for cash" and apparently he needs a little love. Like a malnourished kitten who throws 95 MPH. He got to peek his head out of the cat carrier for the 8th inning today and throw his nastiest stuff at the Reds. It was a good opportunity to put him out there - albeit against a NL team in an NL park so what is the difference? - it was the bottom of their order. He did strike out 2 and throw 96/97 MPH fastballs. Came out unscathed. Can he do that in long relief? Time will tell.

By the way, his minor league team was the Modesto Nuts. Their logo actually makes nuts look tough:

Fuck off with your monocle and top hat.

Today's game was about as blah as yesterday's game, batting-wise. A bunch of guys went 1 for 4. Johnny Damon is turning from useless into a liability. Happy to see Santana hit, and a double at that! The pitcher got a hit. I think all of our pitchers have hit this year, or darn close to it.

And of course the biggest, bestest news of the night is that Michael Brantley is at 20 games now!!! He's been slowed down to just single-hit games but whatever, a streak is a streak. He's still hitting like .350 during it too. I can't quell my smilies anymore so I'll just lay a few out right here :) :) :)

Will give props to LOPEZ! for his late-inning pinch hit home run. That's what I'm talkin' bout, Lopez! Show him why you've got to stick around!

That's pretty much it. We were at least closer today at 3 runs to their 5 but still not good enough for a win. Pitching is coming around but batting needs to tighten up. This music video for Akron's Own The Black Keys "Tighten Up" - in which said band gets beaten up by some children - is better than tonight's baseball game.

Tomorrow is a noonly game versus another right-handed pitcher, Mike Leake. Our guy is Josh Tomlin. Should be good, right? Yeah, that's what I thought before these last two games. Oh well, I like a good noontime romp through the ballpark so happy I will be.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The last thing you want to do is walk Wilson Valdez in front of this guy."
- Tom Hamilton on Valdez's first walk of the season, before Joey Votto

"They were talking in the dugout about Santana's performance at the plate and shaking their heads."
- Tom Hamilton

"You can't teach 95 miles per hour."
- Tom Hamilton on the training of Esmil Rogers

"People were lined up at the press dinner like it was the Last Supper. [...] If you came home from a long day of work and your wife offered you hot dogs and chili, you'd probably go somewhere else."
- Tom Hamilton on the Skyline Chili (and hot dogs) at the press dinner, of course after describing Rosie coming back from dinner covered in chili like a dirty toddler

"Rosie will be delivered by crane to the Indians plane tomorrow."
- Tom Hamilton after going over all of the foods Rosie had tried in Cincy

"It seems like every time we look up, isn't Joey Votto or Jay Bruce swinging the bat?"
- Tom Hamilton on the too-large number of walks

"It's almost like he's on a mission against the tribe."
- Tom Hamilton on Brandon Phillips

"He's an angry elf."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's hissy fit

"It's like they found a picture and put it on somebody else's body and put an imaginary cap on his head."
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' scoreboard photo of Johnny Damon

"All he's done is thrown strikes. He's come in and pounded the strike zone with mid-90s sliders."
- Tom Hamilton on Esmil Rogers

"These are Little League numbers. Fifty-five strikeouts in 31 innings. Fifty-five strikeouts!"
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' closer

"People ask how can Chisenhall swing at that ball in the dirt? Well when it's going 100 miles per hour, you don't have a lot of time to decide."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Cuban Missle is human."
- Tom Hamilton after Lopez hits one off Aroldis Chapman

B-Squad Beauty

Man, I knew today was going to be an awesome game! Just about as much baseball as we had in Saturday and Sunday's games but with our team coming out ahead. Thirteen runs, 21 hits, and guess what? Only 4 of those hits were for extra bases. Wow!

Our B-Squad was out in full force today. Hannahan is out for real now, and it's not his back. So they brought up Lonnie Chisenhall to fill the gap (because Jason Donald is not so good). So once they came to their senses and took Damon out, we only had 4 "original" players in the lineup. In fact, it went so far as to have our C-Squad catcher start today.

But it wasn't bad at all! In fast,  thanks to Aaron Cunningham coming in for Johnny Damon, Everybody Hits today!

Josh Tomlin was back for the first time in 3 weeks and he didn't miss one beat. In three of his six starts, he had given up 4 earned runs (and fewer in the other 3). How many did he give up today? 4. He struck out an average of 4.5 per game in his first six starts. How many did he strike out today? 4. He walked 2 guys in each of his last 3 starts. How many did he walk today? 2. Little guy is totally predictable and compared to some of our other starters, that's a welcome trait!

The bullpen was on it today, too. We were treated to the full "A-Squad" there - Hagadone, Smith, Pestano, Perez. They took care of the final 4 innings for Josh and struck out 4. They did give up 3 hits and 1 run but whatever. Our bats had it goin on.

Perez, who had 25k on their feet today, got so excited he almost did a faceplant to go along with his inverted fist pump. Says @ChrisPerez54 "Word is they caught that sniper that tried to take me out...Great win today..Our offense was great." His alter ego, @PureRage_Perez said "Good thing no one got in the way of that fist pump. Would have caused decapitation."

Perez also said in an after-game interview "With all that crap I've been talking I've got to back it up." Yeah buddy!

So who was in our lineup today? CHOOOO was in our lineup today! Leading the charge of the youngsters by going 1 for 4 with a walk, and of course scoring a run.

Cousin Michael Brantley is now in the 2-spot and he's got a 7-game hitting streak. Did you notice? I'd give him 7 smileys for that but that's pretty lame even for me. We'll give him one and make it out of a seven. :-7 Anyway, he went 1 for 3 with a walk and TWO runs. And a stolen base. And an RBI. This is the Michael Brantley I was looking forward to seeing this year. If he needs to be hidden in the 2-spot to get it done then good, let's put him there.

Shining in the 3-spot is Jason Kipnis who cannot be stopped! Except for when he was stopped last week but now he cannot be stopped! He went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs and a stolen base. Did you realize he leads the team in steals? You'd think it'd be Brantley (8) or Choo (7). Nope, it's Kipnis - who even after a little slump (more like a dip) is also leading in hits, runs, homers and RBI. He's also second to Asdrubal in average and if he keeps it up he'll be over .300 by the end of the week, too. I am fully prepared to worship this man this summer. I might even treat myself to a "We Are All Kipnises" t-shirt. Can we work on the Katniss meme a bit too? No?

Lopez was hitting cleanup today. He was in for Hannahan, who came back for a game, so they moved Lopez to DH. But then Hannahan actually did hurt himself (calf) so Lopez is back at 3rd. Clearly not Supermanahan on the field but passable, but he is excelling at the plate. He's got 11 hits in his last 10 games and went 2 for 4 today! Those 2 hits yielded 3 RBI, even! He did make a baserunning blunder, again, I guess. He tried to extend a hit to a double after hitting it to Alex Gordon, which you don't really do. He's (Gordon) like Choo in that regard. But he did get a RBI before getting out. Then later on he got to first on an error and a run scored so it's all good in the hood for LOPEZ!

Kotchman, who hits fifth, is the only other original or "A-Squad" guy in the final lineup today. And, being that he's old reliable Casey Kotchman, he got a hit today and went 1 for 4. He even went so far as to give us an RBI!

And that is all for guys with major league careers. But even then, heck - Hammy pointed out today that Kipnis doesn't even have 90 MLB games (84) under his belt!

Oh yeah there was Johnny Damon but cooler heads prevailed and Aaron Cunningham with his 40-points-higher .192 average came in to bat in the 7th and got a single.

Batting 7th was your favorite and mine - Lonnie Chisenhall! Chosen-hall? Chisen-halelujah? Chisen-hell-yeah? Three pitches in to his first at-bat and he hits a homer!!!! How cool is that? I actually had been listening to the game with a house full of people and everyone but me stepped outside the moment that it happened. I thought maybe I had imagined it, so I had to text my friend to confirmed. He said it was cool and he was "really pumped" to hear Chisenhall was in the lineup. Yeah me too! He's hitting .324 in the minors and doesn't have any "never been in the Bigs  before" hurdles to get over so let's hope he's IN!

Luke Carlin is our 3rd string catcher. I was really interested in what this guy was all about. Records say he's 31 and has been in the minors since 2002. He has always been with Cleveland and even did a few (6) games with us in 2010. He's also got a mohawk brewin':

Well so far since coming in to last night's game he's gone 3 for 6, or 2 for 4 today, with a run. Better than Lou? Well I don't know about that just yet. Acta says Sweet Lou is back tomorrow - he had to get stitches in his mouth (!!!) after being hit yesterday. But I bet we see some more Luke this summer!

Rounding out the 9 today was Juan Diaz at short. He's no Asdrubal but he's not a complete disappointment like maybe some other acquisitions made this year have been. Diaz was not an acquisition this year but you know what I mean. He in fact came from AA Akron just to cover for Asdrubal! What an honor. He wasn't even hitting that well in Akron, just .232. I wonder who our SS is in Colum...Oh, Jason Donald. Ok.

So I wonder how long these Wunderkinds can keep it up? It's been a fun few games with them doing a great job keeping our minds off the loss of Hafner, Cabrera, Santana and Hannahan. I was pretty spot-on when I mused to my friends last Wednesday at the Tigers' game before Johnny Damon popped out that "there are a hundred kids in the minors right now who could get a hit in this situation but we have to put up with Johnny Damon." How is it, though, that we have 5 kids from the minors - one from AA ball even - actively playing on our team and scoring runs, and we still have Johnny Damon?

I should start a second blog for those thoughts. The Frustrated Tribe.

Anyway, tomorrow is going to be even more awesome because it's Masterson versus some kid making his second start with an ERA of over 13. Everyone that is left is loose and having fun, just getting around the bases and making runs out of whatever they can.

It's a 7:05 start. Can't wait! See you there!

PS: Hope you all did some memorializing on this Memorial Day. Don't forget - 

Radio Chatter:

"So much for pressing. He may have been in spring training, but he looked pretty relaxed right there."
- Tom Hamilton on Lonnie Chisenhall's homer

"Tom Hamilton with the South Pole Elf on this Memorial Day. He's an angry elf."
- Tom Hamilton is making fun of Jim Rosenhaus for some untold reason

"I wonder if the first thing ownership said to Jack Zduriencik is 'Never make another trade with the Cleveland Indians.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the acquisition of Juan Diaz and Ezequiel Carerra from Seattle

"He was not a free agent per se, but the Twins said 'You are now!'"
- Tom Hamilton on Minnesota getting rid of Jose Mijares

"Perez is a strike-throwing machine. It seems like he's never pitching from behing the batter."
- Tom Hamilton

The Justin Is Dead Long Live The Justin!

Ack, what a GAME!! Am I right, boffins? Seriously after getting to bed late last night due to my $5 Pepsi Max and a whole box of late-inning energy and then balancing a nail-biter with actual work at work, I'm about ready for a nap. You too, I bet.

I'll be the first one to admit that I was not confident in our ability to win today. However I was much more confident seeing what we managed to do against Fister. Our hitting was meager but meaningful and our pitching was top-notch. I went from giving them a 40% shot of winning to a 60% chance after last night.

The key of course was Masterson. He's been up and down this year. One run, 6 runs, 2 runs, 8 runs. What was he going to do today, the most important day? Because today was the day we needed a guy to pitch like Derek Lowe, except it couldn't be Derek Lowe.

He did it. He gave us 7 innings with 5 hits and only 1 run. He walked 5 but he struck out 4. He almost made it look easy, I dare say. He had all his stuff with him today, combining with Verlander to make the game just 2 hours 21 minutes. Masterson also did this weird-ass move which resulted in a missed balk call and both the Detroit manager and a coach getting tossed. Ha ha!

Verlander didn't need help from his bullpen, but we had Vinnie and Perez so why not use them? Joe Smith really really wanted to come in but he tried to come before he was invited and had to scurry back to the pen. Pestano handled his old friend Young, Boesch and Avila then Pure Rage got Jhonny, Berry and Dirks for his 16th save and 3rd in 3 days!

The other key to the game was Choo, who after going hitless last night and ending his streak at  9 came in and smacked a homer off Verlander on the 3rd pitch of the game. That was an apology home run, I think. It was 1 of the 2 runs we needed to complete the sweep and it couldn't have come from a better source! He also walked because apparently he is not intimidated by Verlander.

Big smiles today for Michael Brantley who was also not intimidated by Verlander. He went 2 for 3 and stole second, coming around to score the winning run all the way back in the 4th.

The big RBI hitter was none other than LOPEZ! who was also making amends for last night when he got caught stealing (or sleeping) at a crucial point in the game. Not only did Lopez drop one into right field to score Brantley from second, but he also saved us a run by making a good play at the plate. After last night's game and today's game I have decided that the play at the plate is my favorite play of all time! Well other than a in-the-park home run. Is that a play?

Let us not discount hit-getters Kotchman and Marson. Both went 1 for 3. Marson is now hitting an even .100! He's gotten 3 hits this year and 1/3 of them have been of Justin Verlander. Yes!!

Yes!!

No one else hit today and we only got 1 walk. But we only got 1 less hit than last night against someone who isn't Verlander. Total awesome success - Choo homer, Masterson low-scoring win, beat Verlander, beat Tigers, sweep Tigers, 16th save for Perez.

Can't wait for us to take all this and roll over the White Sox, widening our lead atop the Central. There's still more than 24 hours to go, the game is at 8:10.

This has definitely been 3 days of fantastic baseball, I hope you all got to experience it. I'll see you tomorrow!!

Radio Chatter:
"There doesn't seem to be a question of 'Will he get a third no-hitter?' but 'When will it come?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Justin Verlander

"They're not up there because they're left-handers, they're up there because they're going to mash it."
- Tom Hamilton on Detroit's big hitters

"'It's not how good you hit your good shots, it's how good you hit your bad shots.' If this is a bad outing, that shows just how great Justin Verlander is."
- Tom Hamilton

"Verlander right now has that mindset 'You will not touch the baseball.'"
- Tom Hamilton

The Marlins Catch Us

Well we knew this was going to be a bit of a yawner today. And it being the 21st game in 20 days as well as a Sunday, there was a pretty good chance that our Tribe wasn't going to fare well, and they didn't.

I was at least excited to be able to catch a game on TV. Last weekend I missed both games, and I missed the game on Saturday too. Today I was all "I will come help you later, AFTER the game." And I sat there with my dog and my iPod Touch and we watched it for free in glorious over-the-air HD.

So that was an awesome thing about today's game. That I got to see it. And 23,000 people saw it live. I wonder if Chris Perez cares?

There's a bit more to the Perez saga if you didn't see for yourself. Nobody's mad at him, I guess. Not in the Indians organization. Hell if people come to the park just to boo him I think the organization would be happy. Not sure how Rage would feel but he might throw 98 MPH.

Back to the issue at hand. Derek Lowe still looks good but today we couldn't put up the numbers on the offensive side to help him out. Well we ultimately did but his buddies in the bullpen weren't as razor-sharp as they've been known to be. Lowe gave up just 2 earned runs in 6 innings, striking out 2. He "only" had 14 ground-outs this time. His ERA is just .01 higher than Verlander and he's in a 5-way tie for most wins. Way to go Lowe!

After Lowe was my new favorite Hagadone and he seemed a little weary out there. He ended up giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk, at a time when we really couldn't afford to give up a run. Jeremy Accardo, who was beautiful the last 2 times we saw him, gave up TWO runs in the 8th on 2 hits and a walk. Aye aye aye!

Nobody gave up any homers, tho!

This Josh Johnson fella kept us pretty silent most of the afternoon (as did, I think, the afternoon sun). We only got 7 hits and 3 walks, scoring only 3.

Choo will not be silenced and increased his streak to 8 games by getting a hit and walking twice. He stole second but alas, he did not come around to score.

Kipnis, Cabrera and Hafner were all shut out completely. Not even a walk between them! Or a sacrifice! What's up with Kipnis, huh? He was hot as hell the first 3 games of the month, in Chicago. He cooled down to nary a peep lately.

Santana got a hit and went 1 for 4. Did you know he's kept the same batting average - .261 - since Friday? How weird is that. Oh, he got switched over to catcher later in the game and he threw someone out at 2nd. He's had a GREAT weekend for caught stealing! I see he's already caught 9 this year and he had a total of 18 last year.

The second half of the lineup was actually the "hot" half. Brantley and Damon both got hits, going 1 for 4. Damon almost hit a homer but he didn't. He did do this, to which Shelley Duncan replied:

My replacement? Wut?

Brantley came around to score twice and stole a base. Damon came around to score too. So there was that.

The day belonged to LOPEZ, tho! Dude went 3 for 4 today with two doubles and 2 of the team's 3 RBI. He's getting to be as fun and reliable as our man Hannahan down there. I wonder if we can get Lopez to catch and he can be the backup catcher instead of Marson? I loves me some Sweet Lou but he can't get a hit this year. He also had a little running error which maaaaay have lost us a run or two. But really I chalk that up to not baserunning every day. Heck I wouldn't have slid there either.

Casey Kotchman, on the other hand, is "red hot" (not really) and good enough to pinch hit for Marson in the 7th. In the 9th, he got a fielder's choice RBI. Rock on, Kotchman!

Tomorrow the guys get their first day off since April 30. Yeep. I'm going to the game Tuesday or Wednesday. I want to go Tuesday since Wednesday is Dollar Dog Night and they won't need my ass filling a  seat as much as they will Tuesday. But Tuesday it's supposed to rain, and it rained the last time I took all my friends to see the Tigers so like...I should probably go Wednesday. Argh.

Everyone have a nice day off tomorrow! Tuesday night is Ubaldo versus Porcello. I don't know if I want to see Ubaldo, either (I've already seen him!) although Wednesday is Fister and I don't want to see HIM. I should just go to both. Maybe I will just go by myself!

Anyway see you Tuesday, boffins! Have a nice day off!

Radio Chatter:
"Reyes was given part of South Beach to sign with the Marlins."
- Tom Hamilton

"We normally look forward to 12 donuts on Sunday. Here we are the, Indians in first place and Brian Hoffer shows up with a box of 6 donuts."
- Tom Hamilton on the injustice of it all

"Rosie I gotta believe the Indians will find some more at-bats for Lopez even when Jack Hannahan gets back."
- Tom Hamilton knows the score

"This isn't Detroit so the radar readings are pretty accurate."
- Tom Hamilton

"The problem with Ramirez is you never know which guy will show up. The guy who's one of the best players in the game or the guy who says 'Eh do I really feel like playing today?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Hanley Ramirez

"Again the schedule maker flunked geography many years ago."
- Tom Hamilton still not a fan of the schedule

No Room For Error

Man, today's game looked like a great one when I was viewing it out of the corner of my eye while at dinner. Hitting, running, scoring, two runs in!

When I got home I was pretty surprised to see that other than a few walks and a single (LOPEZ!) that bit of baseball I saw was pretty much the only bit of baseball in this game.

Masterson was back! And I mean that good pitcher Justin Masterson, not just any pitcher named Masterson. Not only did he only give up 2 runs but he went a full 7 innings! He struck out 5 in those 7 innings. But, woe is Masterson - of course there wasn't a win in it for him!

Sipp came in for the 8th and didn't look so hot. He walked a guy then gave up a fielder's choice and was replaced with with Smith. Smith then muffed a throw to 2nd and then Sipp's walk eventually came around to score. Oddly enough, all 3 of the Marlins' runs came from guys who were walked. Huh.

Pestano came in to hold them, and he did, but it wasn't in the books for us to get the win tonight. Sipp got the loss, if you're following.

Not too many hits today - 1 each for Choo, Kipnis, Kotchman and Lopez.

Choo now has a 6-game hitting streak! He also walked today. He's definitely taking care of business at that leadoff spot.

Santana didn't hit or walk today but he did throw out Emilio Bonafacio for his first caught stealing of the year - dude's got 20 steals and leads the majors by 7. He threw out 2 other guys too, since Ozzie Guillen sends everyone. Those guys got their first CS's today too. Show 'em, Santana!

I'll give props to Johnny Damon, just today tho. Went 0 for 1, being that he walked 3 times and came around to score one of our 2 runs. Yay Damon.

Casey Kotchman! He's only .002 below Pujols. I thought he'd have had a hitting streak too but he doesn't. He does have 11 hits in his last 10 games, tho.

LOPEZ! What do you say? He went 1 for 3 tonight with a walk. I still like that guy. I'm sort of sounding like a broken record on him - I think I tell you how pleased I am with him every night. But - that's because he keeps being pleasing! He's got a streak as well - 5 games.

That's really all there was today. The second inning was cool and that was it. My dinner was pretty delicious, and The Avengers was good too.

Tomorrow is everybody's pal Jeanmar Gomez versus Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez only has a 2.28 ERA but we've done better against better. No way is Miami going to come in and shut down this roll we're on, are they? Bump it, yes. Shut down, no.

The game is at 4:05 but I think I'm going to have to wait til later to listen and post about it because I'm scheduled to be renovating a bathroom again. Ho-hum.

But, looking forward to a good game - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"He went out with guns a'blazing."
- Tom Hamilton on Ozzie Guillen leaving Twitter

"Mark it down folks. May 18 - the first time in 21 attempts that Bonafacio has been caught stealing."
- Tom Hamilton

"Verlander's at it again. Can he throw another no-hitter? Why not - it's Pittsburgh after all."
- Tom Hamilton

"Don't forget the Marlins have a closer, Heath Bell, who's been anything but reliable."
- Tom Hamilton before we see the suddenly-reliable Heath Bell

LOPEZ!

I've been waiting for Jose Lopez to do something spectacular for over 5 months now so I could use that title. What's even better, last night I was listening to the game with my friend and I said "LOPEZ!" and he said "LOPEZ!" and we both knew what it meant. It means this!

Sorry I didn't get the blog posted right after the game but it was a really long game (4 hours) and you know how work gets to be around 4, you gotta do stuff like WORK and you can't just blog away. So I finished that work thing, and watched some more of the ditch project (seriously it takes FOREVER to fill in a ditch, it seems) and now I'm here.

Were you surprised like I was with the way this game started out? It kinda seemed like how the game should have gone YESTERDAY with Felix Hernandez shutting us out and Ubaldo giving up 3 runs in 5 innings. Instead it was some dude named Hector Nosei keeping us quiet and Zach McAllister looking not perfect (but still better than Ubaldo on a bad day).

McAllister made it 4 good innings only giving up one run. In the 5th he started looking shaky 5th when he walked 2, struck out 2 then "gave up a run" on a passed ball. The 6th was not pretty and he gave up a run and left a guy on base, who Asencio managed to let score. So he ended up giving up 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings, pretty much like Tomlin (but maybe fewer innings). He did strike out 6, and I think last time he struck out 8 so that's pretty wicked.

After the 6th we still had 5 more innings to go so everyone in the bullpen had to come out and play. First was Hagadone who recovered just fine from his last outing and struck out 2 in 1 1/3. Jeremy Accardo was next to finish the 8th and he is still perfect. He even struck out one.

Tony Sipp came in and had a 1-2-3 9th and then had his third strikeout in the 10th. Chris Perez put 2 on and I listened through my fingers as he got the last 2 outs. We needed someone to pitch the 11th and it was either Smith or Pestano and I would trust both of those guys to do it. But Smith gave up the go-ahead run in the 11th and it was all scary until...

Back to the beginning, where Choo started off the game with a double. Yay! But then he ended up going 1 for 6 with 3 strikeouts and that was not so nice. Kipnis didn't fare so well either but at least he got 2 walks and scored a run. But that still adds up to 0 for 4.

Asdrubal, however, since he's a motherfuckin maniac, he went 2 for 6 today with 2 RBI. One in the 7th as our first run and then the tying run in the 11th!! Oh man how it's nice to see someone do something clutch! (With Hannahan on the bench) His average is .326 right now by the way. It's so real I can touch it from here!

Hafner went 1 for 4 and it was just a single and that's ok, because as long as he's getting on base he's still our man. Sadly, he got hit by a pitch (I forget - the leg? The arm?) and while he finished the inning he didn't come back up for his next at-bat. Aaron Cunningham, a Seattlite, did his job in the 11th and walked. Good job! Hafner's status is still up in the air...we'll know tomorrow.

Lopes was the title of today's post but Santana was I guess the hero of the game. Well maybe Brandon League was! Santana was already 1 for 4 with 2 walks by the 11th when Seattle closer League walked two, gave up the tying RBI to Asdrubal and walked Cunningham to make the bases loaded with one out. What usually happens here is a strikeout. What often happens here is a pop out or grounding in to a double play. What never happens here - but what happened today - was Santana got a HIT and the game was won!!! Tom Hamilton said "Santana listened to his hitting coach and didn't try to do too much." YES!

Whew. I have to catch my breath. There is still happiness yet! We have to get to LOPEZ!

Michael Brantley was on a happiness break. More from him tomorrow.

Johnny Damon was in this game.

Casey Kotchman! Who knew his time was now? A total vacuum at the corner and now he's batting over .200? Today he went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk and scored 2 runs. That's a lot of numbers for Kotchman!

Finally we get to the #9 guy, LOPEZ! He's been playing for Hannahan at 3rd and maybe he's not the best 3rd baseman (he had an error today - fewer than Jack!) but Seattle used to be his team so I'm guessing he was pretty stoked when he TIED THE GAME WITH A 3-RUN HOMER! So stoked, he stopped at first not sure if it went out or not. He also walked and came in to score another run. Did you know Lopez already has 2 homers in just 23 at-bats? I'll repeat myself for like the 5th time...I am so glad we have him and have a chance to use him since we must!

Lots of heroes today on what started out looking pretty grim. It was great to have a really climactic game like that. One of those 2011-type wins!

Tomorrow the Marlins roll in to town, hopefully with their showgirls and maybe everyone will meet at the casino afterwards and spend a boatload of money. People travel from Miami to Cleveland to go to a casino, right?

A 7:05 start tomorrow, but I'll be missing it in favor of eating at Yours Truly and seeing The Avengers because that is a totally Cleveland thing to do, isn't it? MOVIES SHOT IN CLEVELAND MAKE BILLIONS!

So after The Avengers, I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Itchy trigger finger down there? [...] Sometimes it's the thought that counts."
- Jim Rosenhaus on a mis-cue of the home run siren

"A day of futility for these two offenses."
- Tom Hamilton

"Whatever it is, Chris Perez has trouble in non-save situations. But every manager in baseball uses their closer in this situation."
- Tom Hamilton

Thugs and Thumps

What's with all the hitting and the fighting, boys? On the one hand it makes me feel bad, like as a team we're like a frustrated pre-teen and are acting out because it's the only way we know how. On the other hand - I love a good fight. Apparently, so does Jack Hannahan!

Not cool when we lose our pitcher (who we shouldn't have lost) and our prize third-baseman due to fighting. Lucky for us we had another starter sitting around needing to have some work today in his schedule anyway. Luck o' the Irish, eh Jack?!

Jeanmar Gomez was doing ok, whatever, when he left. He did his thing tho and hit a guy after Choo got hit in the third (he was sent over the edge because the pitcher was the same who broke his hand thus breaking his season in 2011). There's some confusion over whether or not the benches were warned but Gomez was ejected the second he hit Moustakas in the back to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. Tom Hamilton is all pro-beaning now so high-fives all around for Gomez. Acta got tossed too and we got to see Sandy Alomar's managerial skills!

Josh Tomlin was just hanging around in the bullpen, tending to his facial hair, when they were called to finish the 3rd and do some long relief. But he didn't do too good. Neither did his un-facial-haired buddies that relieved after him. It took the scruffy Asencio and the "Brawny" Chris Perez to close it out and hold down the fort while the hitters tried their best to overcome extra innings. Again.

I was all excited yesterday for our stunning hitting but I knew it could possibly be a fluke. Also while it was exciting it was really just one inning. Today we added on to that idea by having not only one exciting scoring inning, but three more innings in which we scored.

All in all we got 14 hits, 11 runs, 6 walks, 2 homers, a triple and 4 doubles. Everybody hit tonight! THAT is some exciting baseball! Now, the Royals might have a rickety starting rotation and a too-big outfield but whatever it took for us to get some juice in our bats, now was the time for it to come.

Michael Brantley got a hit tonight, adding on to his out-of-slumpness from yesterday. He got himself a triple! This of course excited/ignited Asdrubal who promptly smacked Brantley in, starting off a 5-run streak for us in the 3rd. Asdrubal went on to get 2 more hits and raised his batting average back to "OMG!" levels.

Choo actually had a rough night, with being hit and then the fight. He was being "not Choo'd but boo'd" during his at-bats. But guess who won the game with his first hit of the night, a 2-run double in the 10th? Well it was CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Santana was nice and patient at the plate today. He ended up going 2 for 4 with 2 walks and 2 RBI.

Duncan - hitting over .300 - was platooned with Cunningham. Shelley went 1 for 3. Cunningham struck out.  So there's that.

This is awful (for me) but I couldn't help but think of this Kids in the Hall sketch any time Lopez was up to bat tonight. Which is strange because 1) Lopez is a very common name in baseball with 5 current players 2) I didn't think of this a month ago when we got the guy. But you should watch the sketch and then we can start "a thing" and maybe it will be funny. Or if nothing else you'll at least share my pain. LOPEZ!

Get it? The sketch actually goes on longer, in 4 parts. Anyway, our Jose Lopez did more of what we brought him along to do and that is to hit. He's appeared twice and gotten two hits. LOPEZ!

You know who hit homers today? It was not Asdrubal or Santana. It was Kotchman and Kipnis. And you know who stole a base? Kotchman. I think Kotchman is going to be our new Casey Blake. Except good in the field. People who casually follow the Tribe will be all "Who is that guy? I like him" and we'll all nod in agreement.

Kipnis and Donald both got 2 hits tonight (as I mentioned, Kipnis homered) which is good because they always are cringe-y parts of the lineup for me. But on a day when Everybody Hits and Jack Hannahan is in the penalty box, well Everybody must include those boys.

Today's game was fun. I mean every game is fun when you're delusional like me but it was nice that our bats can now counter-act our bipolar bullpen. It was good hitting too, extra bases and stuff.

One thing we haven't mentioned but Acta has hit upon is even though the team is (was) not getting hits, we do lead the league in walks right now. So there is patience and choosiness. Now it's just a matter of properly executing a swing when the right pitch comes down the pike.

Tomorrow is 2:10 and once again on WKYC. Cool! I wonder who will get beaned? I wonder how big on an inning we can have? I hope Travis Hafner plays and I hope Brantley stays "hot"! Whatever happens I'm pretty sure it'll be another fun one. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The Giants weren't going to trade you Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain. They'd give you Barry Zito but nobody wants him."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'm sure the relief pitchers are 'Oh for the love of pete...' [...] They are walking back like Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking."
- Tom Hamilton after the bench-clearing fight in the 3rd

"Little Timmy Collins is up throwing. I say 'little' because he's little."
- Tom Hamilton

"My lord is there a full moon tonight or what?"
- Tom Hamilton

"He's in agony but... Suck it up let's go. The Royals have had plenty of drama tonight but haven't paid the price."
- Tom Hamilton

"CASEY KOTCHMAN has a stolen base for the Indians! Something you would not have bet the mortgage on."
- Tom Hamilton

"The way this game is going, expect the unexpected. It's been a wacky wacky night."
- Tom Hammilton

"[The Royals] have played shallow all night long and they have gotten burned all night long."
- Tom Hamilton

"Suddenly Kauffman Stadium sounds like a Sunday morning cathedral."
- Tom Hamilton after Choo's tie-breaking double

"Boy Jason Donald has put the drama back onto the throw from third."
- Tom Hamilton

Choo Did Not Break His Hand

The best part about this game, I think, was Choo staying in after being hit in the hand, then stealing second, then coming in to score.

The worst part about this game - that did not involve Choo's hand - was I guess Tomlin's pitching. I mean, he didn't do particularly bad for a 4th starter in April I guess but not only did he not live up to the rest of the rotation's standards, I'm not sure he lived up to the standards of his facial hair.

It looks like he's trying to rock a little Tommy Lee Jones but giving up 2 homers in the first inning isn't something Tommy Lee Jones would do now, is it?

I make this look good.

To Tomlin's credit, however, he did strike out 7 in just 5 innings which is a personal record for him. It was also more than Lowe (1) and Jiminez (3) had. So that's pretty awesome for Tomlin. And he did give up 24 homers in 26 games last year so I guess SHAME ON US for expecting anything different this year. Ok, 200% more homers is pretty unexpected at this point.

But never fear, as we've still got The Bullpen Mafia who gave us 4 scoreless innings today and that was pretty awesome of them. There was no save situation so no Pure Rage. I was waiting for him to come in just for fun anyway. Raffy Perez made his first appearance and cruised through the 9th. New dudes Asencio and Wheeler were the other two relievers and they proved to be just fiiiiine. Are you lovin' it yet??

Speakin' of lovin how about Jose Lopez? I want so bad to love him because, for example, he homered today in his first appearance with us. He also hit .327 over the spring. But apparently he's sort of shitty as a fielder - case-in-point he had a bit of a botched play today when he was playing first. But then again I think he spent all of spring learning how to play second, not sure what he was doing at first. Oh yeah - right handed. Ho hum.

You know who wasn't botching things tonight? Lou Marson! Sweet Lou didn't get a hit but he did what he does best and threw a guy out at second. Lovely leg kick there, Lou! Maybe someday he'll go on to be on Dancing With The Stars.

I take it back that the worst part of the game was Tomlin's pitching. We're going to have to go back to that old stand-by "lack of hitting." Man, the 9k fans who went to the game tonight are SUPERFANS for real. It's freezing out and we only got 5 hits. I bet those folks all love Lopez because he gave them a nice warm cheer spot in the 9th.

Really tho what we're going to take away from this game is that Choo did not break his hand. Well maybe he did break his hand but if everyone brushes their teeth and says their prayers before bed like good little children, perhaps the x-rays will be negative in the morning. Choo will play with a bruise. Hell, Choo will play with a broken hand! Perhaps a previous fracture made the thumb area stronger. That's how it works right?

More batting, boys. Tomorrow, right? We've got another one at 7:05 against these same ChiSox, presumably with a different lineup (Brantley, Kotchman and Hafner back). And the debut of Jeanmar Gomez! Cool!

Radio Chatter:
"De Aza had help from the wind on his homer. Pierzynski didn't need any help."
- Tom Hamilton

"Obviously he's not represented by Darth Vader. Scott Boros would have never let that happen."
- Tom Hamilton on Chris Sales' patience in the draft

"That's been a problem for the Indians - not capitalizing on the other team's mistakes."
- Tom Hamilton

"What a country! You could be a family without one ounce of talent and you can be multimillionaires."
- Tom Hamilton on the Kardashians

How I Spent My Winter Vacation

Welcome back, boffins! I am totally stoked! Are you totally stoked? It's 2012, there are 162 games to go. One hundred sixty-two nights (and afternoons) of excitement. One hundred sixty-two more blog entries (er, give or take an entry or three).

How have you been holding up? Did you watch October baseball? The last day of the regular season was pretty amazeable. Then there was the World Series which included neither a Yankee, Red Sox OR an AL Central team. The Midwest represented and took it all. Then there was winter.

But it wasn't really a winter, at least not here in Cleveland. A few times I got a little crabby because the weather was better during "winter time" than it has been in most recent Aprils yet there was no baseball.

However, in January I made it to the Tribe On Tour event at Summit Mall in Fairlawn. I really wanted to go last year but couldn't make it. I'm really glad I made it this year and I highly recommend it for any fan. In theory there's some speaking and a Q&A by a panel but - at least in Fairlawn - unless you got there super early you couldn't hear any of the speaking. We got there a half hour before the event was to start and I think we stood in line for 2 hours. Not unbearable for a couple of adults but my friends' kids didn't make it.

Pro tip: If you don't mind missing the Q&A (that you can't hear anyway unless you show up hours early) and/or if you have little kids, show up about a half hour before the scheduled ending time. Take a few minutes to join the raffle, spin the wheel for leftover promotional junk, take a photo with Slider, meet John Adams and bang the drum, get a couple stickers and pop in the end of the autograph line just before it closes. Actually there are 3 lines, and it's near impossible to know which one you're in when you're at the end of one of them, so you don't know who you'll get to sign. But if you show up at the end you can scoot through all of the lines and end up with one bitchin' signed souvenir.

Super insider pro tip: Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus are at this event but not stuck behind a signing table. I think they might do a little broadcasting from the event but otherwise they're totally just STANDING AROUND. Right there in front of Macy's or whatever. I was hoping I'd meet them, as I'd brought my photo I'd taken with them last summer when I was in the Hargrove Suite so they could sign it. Imagine my surprise when I spotted them just hanging around. I got to talk to them and asked Rosie if he was nervous about the upcoming year since there'd be no Mike Hegan buffer. He said there was nothing to be nervous about. I totally should have rolled out a "Oh yeah you're a hall-of-famer" joke but I totally missed it (it was a "jerk store" moment for real). We did laugh about me going to North Carolina to find Hegan to complete the autograph. Har har. Tom Hamilton, by the way, does not sound half as loud in the mall as he does in a radio booth.

I had brought a ball - the foul ball I got from the Hargrove suite - for Shelley Duncan to sign (since he'd hit it). I lucked out and was in his line. He was seated with Jasons Donald and Kipnis, so I had them sign the ball too. I thought it'd be super jerkish to be all "no, not you clowns." I felt stupid enough admitting it was just a foul ball not a homer. I wish I had printed out a picture for Shelley to sign too but...well maybe next year.

I did ask Shelley if he's playing all season this year and he pointed at Manny Acta and said "Tell that guy." And I did. And look who's on the Opening Day lineup...

Anyway, I didn't get Jack, Vinnie and Tomlin's autographs nor Manny Acta's. Next time I'll be ready (see Pro Tips above). However, I DID meet John Adams and not only did I bang the drum I also had a "moment" with him. I said "I write a blog about positive things about the Indians, and I call you our patron saint." He smiled and sort of hugged me and said "I've been called a lot of things but never a saint." I said thanks and he said thanks too. Moment had.

I also got a "remember the Great Comeback Against Seattle" beer stein which uhm...all right. I wanted to trade someone for a Indians skateboard deck (really) but didn't bother.

On our way out of the mall, my friend and I stopped by the Indians Team Shop and I bought myself one of these Authentic Collection Titanium Bracelets for $25. From what I can tell it's like those rubber "Livestrong" bracelets but has the official MLB logo ($5), a raised Chief Wahoo ($5) and Micro Titanium Sphere Zones ($15). Not titanium like a golf club, mind you. Titanium Sphere Zones. Whatever - I've been wearing it 24/7 for 2 months and there's no sign of wear and no sign of allergic reaction so I'd say it was worth the bucks.

Manny Acta

Jack Hannahan, Vinnie Pestano & Josh Tomlin

Jason Donald, Jason Kipnis & Shelley Duncan

Shelley's autograph on the (foul) ball he hit!

Free junk!

So that was January and February was a bore. I just sat around and stared at my rubber titanium bracelet. But March was a good time with spring training games. I usually don't listen to ST games but I was chomping at the bit this year so I tried to catch them between 4 and 5 PM, then read highlights. Of course ST stats suck and that's why I didn't follow too closely. But you know who rocked?

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Dude is back from Army and is going to knock your socks off this summer, I guarantee it. Also lookin' good is Hafner. Man, would it be awesome or what to see him have a great year? Brantley is back to his old self. Duncan is not hitting but when he IS hitting he's hitting the home runs. They keep faltering on trusting Shelley as our every day LF but...I dunno, send him to the batting cages? Santana is homering. This new fella at second base, Lopez, he is exciting with the bat. Oh yeah and even LOUUUUUU is looking good, making a case for more Santana at first. Fine by me.

You got it!

Who is not blowing us away just yet is Asdrubal. But I mean he's still the best infielder in baseball (ok the AL. I am a Brandon Phillips liker) and I think he'll come around. They just today announced he's signed on for 2 more years, even though they whittled his 2012 salary down pretty low. So he's happy and the team is happy and I think as it stands Asdrubal is going to be the only guy we recognize in 2014. At least I'll get more mileage out of my sign!

Also in March it seems that The Indians hired a new Social Media Manager because they came out with a Tumblr page, a Wordpress blog and a page on Pinterest. My suggestions for those are bookmark it, subscribe to it and "what the hell is Pinterest for anyway?" it, respectively. I subscribed to the blog and it's pretty cool. I have the posts come to my inbox. They're a little over-excited thus far with the posting but oh well. I don't have to read if I don't want. I did ask a question in a comment and got an answer and that's the kind of stuff I like. So I'm a big fan now and you should all be fans too.

Jason Donald sat in on Twitter (on the Indians' account) one day and I asked him a question and he answered it 3 times because I rock.

@positivetribe @Indians Hi Jason. What is your intro music this year? (when you come to bat)

@Indians You locked me up @positivetribe, i need some music suggestions. Previous years i went 1980s metal/classic rock type stuff #tweetyourtribe

@Indians A follow up to the last one I really like Van Halen, havent got the new album yet

@Indians The intro music question was a great one, got me thinking and would love some suggestions. #TweetYourTribe #Indians

Right after that I got 5 new Twitter followers (who I am hoping will be blog readers because I don't say much of anything else on Twitter. Hi!) That means now I have to be more active on Twitter because people see me and want to know more. Sometimes I try to follow Twitter during a game but it's not all that fun. It's like watching six sports channels at once.

So what else? Oh yeah I bid in a charity auction for a Belle/Baerga signed ball and LOST (it went for surprisingly more than even the event organizers thought) but I did win 4 behind-the-plate tickets in June as well as a Bob Feller autographed photo so that was well fun. The day I chose to go to the game is Asdrubal Bobblehead day. I've already got one (duh) but this one features him fielding so of course I need the whole package!

I bought my 2012 Tribe Fan Club membership which isn't too bad of a deal. It's $20 and you get Gameday Audio included, and some other goodies. Being that I listen to probably 50 games a year on Gameday Audio and it costs $20 a year on its own, I'm already making money. Because I get some free tickets and some discounts at the Team Shops. This year maybe I'll check out the tailgate parties and Progressive Field tour and stuff.

I re-watched Ken Burns' Baseball over the winter, for about the 10th time. It's very New-York-centric but it is nice to get a reminder that the Red Sox were horrible and miserable for 100 years. Hooray!

That's enough babbling about what goes on when there's no baseball and how I tried to fill the void as best I could. My void will be voided tomorrow and I can't WAIT. Baseball is here and I'm ready.

Remember - whatever happens we're just happy to have BASEBALL and STAY POSITIVE! See you tomorrow!