Milestones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

Grady Sizemore, he got a hit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

7:05 tomorrow night - see you there!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big Bashers

So you'll never guess how we won this game. It was all homers, all by the top of the order, and without the help of Shelley Duncan! Wow!

Oh AND we also won due to some stellar pitching by Fausto that didn't include any big innings or melt downs. Just 3 earned runs over 6 innings and 3 strikeouts. He got himself a WIN and is now 7-15.

That #bullpenmafia was back today, with Smith, Pestano and Chris Perez. Three innings, 3 batters each, 3 strikeouts total. It was capped off by a fancy twirl and save number 35 for Perez.

Sweet and simple:

Fukudome, 1 for 4 with a homer.

Kipnis, 2 for 4 with a double and stolen base.

Asdrubal, 1 for 4 with a homer.

Hafner, 2 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBI.

Gavin Floyd shut everyone else down except for Trevor Crowe who got 1 hit (and a stolen base!) Considering so few guys got hits and nobody walked, you will all be happy to know that there were only 7 strikeouts! Yesterday we struck out 11 times in just 7 innings. Progress!

So Asdrubal...he has fallen in to the "get hot in Cleveland, get hurt" trap and strained his back while swinging the bat in the 8th. Tom Hamilton went all scorched-earth on me and said "maybe done for the season" right away which is just NOT FAIR because I have tickets to 2 more games yet! Maybe I need to paste "Shelley Duncan" over the "Asdrubal" part of the sign?

Did you see Jack Hannahan was in today? They say he's all better! So, one up, one down...

Just checked out the lineup for tonight's game. Zeke is in, and so is Thome and so is....Valbuena?! Aye aye aye! I guess we just have no choice with this schedule.

Zach McAllister with his 12.27 ERA will be facing another young guy with 0 wins. Maybe it'll be an awesome slug-fest again. For both teams equally of course.

See you tonight!

Radio Chatter:
"If you're gonna miss, miss off the plate not on the plate."
- Mike Hegan gives sage advice

"The guy's as big as Paul Bunyan."
- Tom Hamilton on Adam Dunn

"You ask the man on the street who Juan Pierre is, they might say he's a French chef. Our owns an ice cream company."
- Mike Hegan remembering the sponsors

"This isn't like the NBA where all you have to do is be a mediocre ball club and get into the playoffs."
- Tom Hamilton

"Joe Smith showed some hops!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Well, since we believe in Santa Claus...couldn't he deliver Michael Cuddyer?"
- Tom Hamilton's Christmas list

Test Match

Oh man...I've gotten about 9,400 hits since I started on Opening Day. Of course, nearly 50% of those are from the Asdrubal Cabrera's Tattoo post...but do you think I can make it to 10,000 by the end of the month? People are losing interest in the Tribe fast, so it's hard to get readers. And I am running out of clever titles to lure people in!

Let's hope that another mention of the tattoo brings me closer to the goal...

Anyway, tonight's game seemed sort of winnable with us scoring 4 but it was a day to throw the young kids out there as relievers and test their skills.

Since the Tigers are playing the White Sox and Verlander is pitching (meaning we won't be losing ground on the White Sox who will be losing) it was a good night to see what Hagadone, Judy and Zach Putnam can do.

Of course, Manny probably assumed they wouldn't have to come up after 4-cum-6 runs from Masterson (Hagadone appeared when Masterson had only given up 4, but he left 2 on and they came in to score with the runs going to Masterson) but that is how it worked.

Didn't matter. It was over. Facing the AL West leaders in September in 101 degree heat is a plenty good test for our new guys. And also good not to have to bother our real relievers, saving them for closer games.

The Rangers' starter, Harrison, had pretty much the same stats as Masterson going in, and except for the extra runs given up by Masterson/Hagadone, the Tribe ended up treating him pretty much the same.

Tonight's LOB was only 7 but we didn't walk much so there weren't too many guys to leave.

Fukudome was back to being awesome today after a couple days off from awesomeness (a zero-total-bases game followed by a zero-hit game) to go 2 for 4 tonight, scoring a run.

Kipnis was second and hit a nice double in the second, and got an RBI thanks to Fukudome running like THE WIND! Did you know Kipnis has a 5-game hitting streak? Going back to 8/12, his last game before he got hurt. Ha!

Carlos Santana was the big news of the night. He broke an 0-for-20 streak and hit not only one home run but TWO! One from each side of the plate! The first since Victor Martinez...forget if that was just an Indians stat or a league stat. And what year. But it was neat! Santana also got a double that saw him come in to score.

I'm thinking he remembered to stop tapping his foot when he swings. Maybe they should write it on his hands!

Grady Sizemore got his first hit since July. There's that.

Shelley Duncan didn't get a hit tonight. Not even a home run. Awwww!

Lonnie and LaPorta were bringin' up the rear tonight, and each got a hit. Lonnie's was a two-bagger. I keep being surprised to hear LaPorta's name, even though he's been here the most all season and was only gone for a short while. I guess I just wrote that guy off completely!

Tomorrow's game is on ESPN so it's at 7:05 PM. That sucks because it'll be an extra hour in the sun and heat out in Texas. Record temperatures this summer and it's not getting any better. So that will be fun...

It'll be Huff versus David Holland. Huff has the lower ERA and was back on track his last game so we've got a fighting chance. Fight we will - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Beltrae turns bad hops into outs."
- Tom Hamilton

"Tony Romo probably doesn't want to go out to eat for a while. He is public enemy number one around here."
- Tom Hamilton

"September is a time to find out if some young kids are ready for the big leagues. Nick Hagadone is not."
- Tom Hamilton

"[The Rangers] absolutely own the Indians over the last 3 years."
- Tom Hamilton

Lou Marson Said 'Hi' To Me!

That was pretty sweet! He was warming up before the game and I had seats out by him and I'm like "HI LOU MARSON!" and he smiled and waved! Then Chris Perez came by a little while later, with some other guys, and I'm like "HI CHRIS PEREZ!" and he didn't say nothin!

I think Grady was enjoying people yapping at him from the bleachers during the game. He sorta waved at them or something.

Some older dude in a Carmona jersey came down to where I was sitting, before the game while Carmona was stretching and was all "HEY CARMONA! CARMONA! CAN YOU GET ME A BALL?!" like the starter was going to interrupt his damn stretches 5 minutes before the game to get you a ball, dude.

I think it was that guy's fault that Carmona was distracted. Boo!

But Nick Hagadone looked pretty great, striking out 3 over 2 innings and only giving up one hit. 

Oh so my "OMG ASDRUBAL!!!" sign was on the big board FOUR times tonight. I think just me, the "We are all Kipnisses" and the "BOO TIGERS!" signs, both right next to me, were the only signs in the joint. But hey, that's a good strategy. Just like last time - go on a Tuesday night and be visible. Perhaps I will finally become "a thing"!

Asdrubal was all right this game. He did about 3 sign-worthy feats! Before the game the usher told me I couldn't put my sign up during the innings, only inbetween. He was nice enough so I minded him. Well sorta. One time Asdrubal had a nice play to end the inning so I just shot right up with the sign and left it up for a bit. Another time he got a hit so I just flashed it. Same with the third time. No one in my section seemed to care so that was good.

Fukudome! What about that guy, huh? He doesn't seem to care how good or bad we're doing, he's just going to get on base, get a hit, get a home, get an RBI, whatever. Tonight he hit his third homer as an Indian compared to three as a Cub in twice as many games. Plus, he was running all over the place out there in right. Nice stuff!

Kipnis was back today! I didn't know I'd get that treat. And since he's awesome he just came right back and got a hit! He also looked mighty fine out there at 2nd.

You know what tho? They took him out - for Valbuena! No shit! The guy behind me noted that his average isn't even as much as he weighs (I suspect maybe he was a skinny guy). And then, if wonders never cease - he had both a great play AND a clutch hit! He must have felt everyone steaming at him.

So that's about it for tonight's game. Much funner being there than watching or listening, I guess. The weather was awesome. The sky was Tiger orange and blue, I swear to God!

It was sort of ominous...but no rain in sight. And I got to wear my new swanky Indians sweatshirt I bought at the last Tigers game I went to.

Unfortunately the radio archive is not available online right now and I'm not going to stick around to wait for it, so we'll have to go without radio chatter tonight.

Tomorrow is Masterson versus Verlander at noon. Just be glad there is baseball tomorrow, ok?

Fake Sunday

My friend pointed out that today being a holiday it counts as this week's Sunday. And even though we won in grand fashion yesterday, today was our Sunday loss.

Yeah, right!

Tough game today. Detroit's starter Doug Fister was beating up his own strikeout record, ultimately striking out 13.

Ubaldo looked amazing the first three innings, basically matching Fister for strikeouts. He was at his absolute best he's been for us, really. But Victor Martinez got a ball that got away from Ubaldo in the 4th and that was that. A 3-run homer and we never got more than 2 runs.

Jiminez struck out 8 over 7 innings.

Smith wasn't too hot today, giving up a run in his 2/3 of an inning. Sipp and Pestano finished off the game, with Pestano striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.

Grady was back today! I am always trepidatious on a guy's return in a big game. Because really is he going to be amazing out of the gate? He wasn't amazing out of the gate the two other times he came back this year. He also doesn't run as fast as Zeke, who would have legged out the FC Grady hit in to (it was an RBI tho). But, he's one of our main guys and he is still amazing in the field. Hopefully tomorrow he's ready again.

Fukudome did his best to make us win, getting his second homer this year for the Tribe. He hit it right in to the wind too - seems like it took forever to get out! He also got a single, giving him 12 hits in his last 10 games.

Thome got a single, so yay for that. Today was the first game we've lost with him in the lineup.

Lonnie Chisenhall - playing for the injured (!!!) Jack Hannahan - did not strike out today, on a day where we struck out 13 times as a team. Go Lonnie!

Jason Donald is still a stud and got another hit today, batting .368 in his last 10 games. His average is creeping up towards .300 at .293. I don't think he's got enough plate appearances to be "eligible" for anything but not bad for a sometimes-player!

We looked decent today in that we didn't lose our shit like Chicago did last night - losing 18-2 to Detroit. So we've got that going for us. But as Manny always says the score doesn't matter, just the W.

Gotta reach for that W tomorrow, Fausto versus Porcello. I'll be there! It's going to be CRAZY.

For those of you not going to the game, it'll be at 7:05. Look for me and my sign in center field, first row. Go StubHub!

Radio Chatter:
"Amazingly this kiddie-core has kept the Indians in the hunt. They're playing meaningful games in September."
- Tom Hamilton

"I guess everybody growing up in Venezuela is a short stop, huh?"
- Tom Hamilton on Miguel Cabrera's original position

"Ozzie Guillen said it best - 'I don't want to hear any complaining. We're getting paid a lot of money. Go play.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"The only thing good about this scenario? Miguel Cabrera has banged in to 23 double plays. Otherwise...there's nothing good about this scenario."
- Tom Hamilton on Smith loading the bases with Cabrera up in the 8th

Eventful

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

I'd almost forgotten that God Hates Cleveland Sports.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Asdrubal is on the right

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stretching Our Legs

I got to go to the game again tonight! It was nice because it was on a whim, the seats were great, it was just me and a friend, and the tickets were FREE.

No, no, it's not what you're thinking. The Hargroves aren't supplying their new best friend with tickets every night. My friend just got some tickets through work.

Such an awesome game tonight, extremely different than last night. Actually extremely different than most of this month where we had 13 one-run games in 27 games. The last 4 games have been one-run games.

We won tonight, 6-2. What a gap! @RickWFNY on Twitter said "Does Justin Masterson sit and stew on the bench these nights that the Indians score more than 2 runs?" HA!

Today's big news was that LaPorta was sent down to Columbus so Jeanmar Gomez could come up and pitch, since both Carrasco and Tomlin are out now.

I wasn't surprised when I heard LaPorta went down and my thoughts on the matter were in line with what everyone from the Indians said. He isn't being punished, he doesn't suck, it's just the move they had to make. They don't need a right-handed first baseman who's hitting under .240 right now. He'll be just fine.

Talk about fine - Jeanmar Gomez! He went for his longest outing tonight, 6 innings, and gave up the fewest earned runs of his time this year - 0. Perfect timing, Jeanmar Gomez! He had 4 strikeouts and even picked off a guy at first. Holla!

Durbin pitched the 7th, Raffy the 8th (he now leads the league in appearances) and Vinnie finished them off good in the 9th.

Almost everybody hit tonight, save for Shelley Duncan. What up, Shelley Duncan? He's been making some good contact lately but not putting the ball in play. Oh but he did get hit by a pitch. Atta boy!

Zeke had one hit and was on base when Fukudome got a double, and he motored around those bases FAST. He nearly passed up Marson! Kid's definitely got some legs.

Fukdome has been red hot for us. You've probably heard. He's got 13 hits in his last 10 games. Already as many RBI in his time with the Tribe as he had in 87 games with the Cubs. Lots and lots of praise for Chris Antonetti right now. I didn't doubt it, you know. Of all the moves we made this season - Fukudome, Jiminez, Thome - Fukudome is the one I fretted over the least. Lots of praise for me too?

Asdrubal got a hit today, early on, and I had my sign with me! I got a lot of compliments on it today. A lot of people stopped me while I was walking to my seat so they could read it. ALSO, I got it on the big board! It took a long time, all the way in the 9th during the pitching change. I am fairly certain that's the first time it's been on camera. It was so memorable someone stopped me after the game in the parking deck and said "Hey I saw you on the board!" so there you have it. Take note, STO - the people want OMG ASDRUAL!!! yes they do.

Jim Thome got his 1000th walk as an Indian today. According to Bob Frantz and his people that's over 17 miles walking to first base as an Indian. He also got a hit. Like, an honest-to-God single. Weird, right?

Carlos Santana...another home run tonight! This time a 2-run blast thanks to THOME being on base. Will wonders never cease? Oh Lord, I hope the Santana is actually paying attention to what everyone is telling him about his swing this time, and is going to be that guy we were anxiously awaiting this year. We'll forgive his 4-5 months of lameness if he can give us one month of hotness. Er, two. Better make that two.

The biggest man of the night was Jack Supermanahan. He's got FOURTEEN hits in his last 10 games (take that, Fukudome!) including his 6th home run tonight. It was a 2-run dinger just like Santana's, with good 'ol Jerad Head on base. He also got 2 singles and scored a run, going 3 for 4.

My friend is considering making a Supemanahan sign for our game on the 22nd. She's obviously jealous of my Asdrubal. I told her not to get too crazy about it - there's no guarantee he will be playing on the 22nd. How sad am I? Then again, if he stays healthy and hot, we're good to go!

Jason Donald is still hot too. He only got one hit tonight but it was a double and he's got 11 hits in his last 10 games.

Sweet Lou! Went 1 for 3, scored a run and threw a guy out at 2nd. Do you think we'll see more of him now that LaPorta is down in CBus? I would think so!

Really awesome game today with the good pitching and hitting. Fortunately we won but unfortunately so did the Tigers and White Sox.

Ubaldo day tomorrow! Apparently he's pitching .60 at home in his short tenure here. I'm totally getting out my tiny foam broom.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"They both have something in common, they have ... hand issues at second base. [...] They're offensive second basemen."
- Tom Hamilton on Rickie and Jemile Weeks

"I can imagine as a first baseman with so few errors, it must irk you when they say 'just stick him at first base.'"
- Tom Hamilton to Mike Hegan

"I think Hammy just raised his status. He was the subject of a game just now. But they didn't get it!"
"It was a piece of ham, a person who is ill and a one-ton weight. And a tom cat up top."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Mike Hegan discussing the between-innings "Classic Concentration" game (I got it right away, but the contestant didn't)

"If you're Trevor Cahill you're saying 'great, I probably pitched us out of this game.'"
- Tom Hamilton after Cahill gave up the 2-run HR to Santana

"The Indians finally have a game where they can take a deep breath and relax."
- Tom Hamilton, once the score was 6-1

"The day he gets fired, the media in Chicago will get together and cry their eyes out. He has given them such great copy over the years."
- Tom Hamilton on Ozzie Guillen

"He went to North Dakota State University, where they played 3 games every year in good weather."
- Tom Hamilton on A's pitcher Neil Wagner

Welcome Thome

Ok gonna get this off my chest straight off.

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

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

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

Oh yeah I'm bitter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two days to Grover!

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

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

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

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

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

Death Penalty

That was probably the saddest baseball game I've heard this year. Not because we lost, but because I listened to the end of it first and went back and listened to the beginning and middle. The hard part was that the Tribe kept getting guys on base and the fans kept cheering away and the announcers kept saying so-and-so would "break out right here" or "keep it going again" or "get another one" and....none of that happened.

I think it gave me heartburn.

Anyway the big problem in this game today was first pitching, second fielding and third hitting.

Zach McAllister bombed big time, his second game in the bigs. His first two innings garnered nothing but one double and 7 batters, but just like a happy infant one minute he's giggling and having a good time and the next - peas and milk all over the front of your shirt.

So he gave up 8 earned runs in 4 innings (well in the last two of his four innings) and then Hermann gave up one and Durbin did the same. And the fielders gave up 2 un-earned runs of their own from errors. Go team!

Our batters weren't particularly bad but some key guys - Asdrubal and Santana - did not "do it to it" tonight. Neither guy got a hit, a run or an RBI.

Zeke continued his decent streak from earlier today, going 2 for 5 with an RBI and a stolen base. He did get picked off, though. Our team has just not been the team for running this year.

Now, CHOOOO, he's our man today. Working off the high of the birth of his daughter the night before and getting that walk-off homer this afternoon, he kept on going tonight. He went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. A homer and a triple!! Did you know Choo's only got 8 homers? So he got 25% of his season's homers just TODAY! CHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Dunc Tank was back this evening in the DH spot, where a man of his talents should be, and he went 2 for 4. He got his 10th double which is pretty impressive for 44 games! If we can't get Jim Thome...well it looks like Shelley Duncan is going to be our man of the moment. He'll do, right?

Fukudome also continuing the awesome today. Three hits this afternoon and 2 more tonight. He ALSO got a homer and it ALSO was 25% of his homers for the season. How'dya like that?

Jason Donald was also at the game and he got a hit. But it was an RBI single so good on Jason Donald.

But JACK HANNAHAN....now, there is a man! He went 4 for 5 tonight after going 0 for 3 this afternoon! It all only translated into one RBI and one run, however. Such is life at the bottom of the lineup...

So that was tonight's game. Up and down like this afternoon's game. And they did work pretty hard for those 7 runs they did get, only they did leave a lot of guys on and they did have a deficit. I don't know who to blame for all that...everyone coulda just been better.

BE BETTER NOW, OK!?

Tomorrow's game is at noon and it's Tomlin versus Felix Hernandez who is good. So if anyone remembers the strategy we need to have patience and work to get to their bullpen while our starter cruises through scoreless innings. Everybody got that?

See you then!

Radio Chatter:
"There are 4 sides to a baseball. Inside, outside, top and bottom. Well, really, it's a circle..."
"You're going to confuse people!"
- Mike Hegan trying to explain how to hit a baseball to Jim Rosenhaus

"This is the worst offense in the American League and they've sent 17 batters to the plate in the last 2 innings."
- Mike Hegan

"Mike this is one of those nights when the Indians look out of synch in various areas."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"Carl Willis out stalling for time and everybody in the park knows that."
- Tom Hamilton

"Yikes, that's a batting practice fastball."
- Tom Hamilton on a 79 MPH fastball

"Have you ever met a bartender who threw at 97 miles per hour?"
"Maybe at 3 AM."
"That was a good one..."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on comeback pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen

"If this continues, he'll have to work on a couple hours of sleep every day."
- Tom Hamilton on Choo's fantastic day, having had very little sleep after the birth of his daughter

"The Mariner PR people with a little extra time on their hands...Mike Carp had a 20 game hitting streak come to an end last night, equalling the longest hitting streak by a 'fishy' type last name. Tim Salmon and Kevin Bass each had 20 game hit streaks."
- Tom Hamilton

"Franklin Guitierez became an Indian when Milton Bradley learned that a cab ride from Kissimmee to Winterhaven would cost $57.60..."
- Tom Hamilton talks about the end of Milton Bradley's time as an Indian

"Kind of a cardinal rule in baseball that if you lose 17 in a row you're not going to stay in the playoff hunt."
- Tom Hamilton

"One bad week this time of the year is like the death penalty."
- Tom Hamilton

Mut-jju-yo!

That means "awesome!" in Korean, or so I have been told by a Korean.

I was getting a little perturbed that I had used my "*headdesk*" title on yesterday's post. Because GEEZ what a frustrating game!! We had 12 hits and 4 walks, and it felt like there were more than 8 LOB. We were on base every inning but the 3rd, and did score in a lot of innings but it was just one here, one there. We were ahead, tied, ahead, behind, tied, ahead and behind. ACK!!

Thank God for Choo. I mean really. Thank God that his baby daughter Abigail was healthy and that he could come play in today's game (on just a few hours sleep)  and go 2 for 4 and WIN THE GODDAMN GAME!!! Woohoo CHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! He's also got a 7-game hitting streak.

Justin Masterson was ok. He went 8 1/3 innings. Probably 1/3 innings too many because he let 2 guys get on before he was yanked for Chris Perez.

And then Chris Perez, wtf?

Anyway, Masterson only gave up 3 runs in his first 8 innings, then 2 more at the end there. So he wasn't too bad and he did what he needed to do - save the bullpen for tonight's game.

Brantley was out today because Manny Acta says his wrist hurts and he can't hit the ball. All of that actual ball hitting he's been doing since he got hurt must have gotten to him. I hope cousin gets some rest while we're playing these not-so-good teams then comes back for an awesome September.

Zeke lead off today instead and he looked pretty swell going 3 for 5. Except he fucked up some bunt attempts and made Tom Hamilton say "mmm mmm mmm." You know that means he's mad! I think Zeke did some good base running today. Someone needs to tell Santana that it's ok for Zeke to go around like a madman, but when you're Santana-sized you just stay put.

Santana's got an 8-game hitting streak!

Nice solid showing from the middle of the order today, who weren't so hot yesterday.

Fukudome rocked the house today going 3 for 4 with 2 runs and an RBI. Two of those hits were doubles, giving him 22 on the year.

Lonnie was in today at DH, because Duncan is attending to some stuff with his mom in the hospital. Lonnie didn't do too bad, not sure why everyone hates his hitting so much. He went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Better than Austin Kearns woulda done, amirite?!

LaPorta got a double too, and he managed to get a sac fly RBI in the 6th which was pretty important. Especially since LaPorta has not been able to get those sacrifices or hits at key times.

Valbuena...was sent down this afternoon so McAllister could come up to pitch. Whew. Valbuena had his best at-bat of the season today when he walked. 'Nuff said.

Everybody go take a little nap, I'm going to go get some fondue, and we'll meet back here late tonight for another round of winning.

Oh God, I hope there's some winning...

Update: Oh yeah I forgot to mention there was an earthquake during today's game. An earthquake! Tom Hamilton felt it and so did I, some 20 miles away. Actually the quake was in Virginia and we just felt the shocks. Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer Tweeted:

Mariners have been in Cleveland for snowed out series, double-rainout series, now earthquake. Locusts and rivers of blood next. 

HA!

Radio Chatter:
"Blake Beavan. He's 6'7", 240 pounds. I'll give you one guess as to where he's from."
- Tom Hamilton thinks they make 'em bigger in Texas

"This is one of those days where if you're a player you'd better have thick skin. The fans' barbs can be heard all around the park."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians are very smart, they didn't combine Puppy Palooza and Dollar Dog Night."
- Mike Hegan

"I don't wanna hear 'well, they're young players.' That's a high school play."
- Tom Hamilton is pissed that Zeke can't get a bunt down

"I always wonder how many cocktails mom and dad had when they decided to name their son Casper."
- Tom Hamilton

"He hasn't been as good as last year but nobody is lining up outside Manny Acta's door saying 'please put me in tomorrow.'"
- Tom Hamilton on facing Felix Hernandez tomorrow

"Just when you think this team is failing, they pull a Lazarus!"
- Tom Hamilton

Two Months of Sundays

The Indians haven't won on a Sunday since June 19 against the Pirates. If you didn't know, it didn't happen for us today either.

Although this is probably the most exciting Sunday game we've had since then. It's only the third time we scored 7 or more runs on a Sunday and the first time we've won or loss by 1 on a Sunday. The game was so riveting I even stayed awake for the entire thing. That's not usual for me on a Sunday.

Ubaldo, Ubaldo, Ubaldo. What is up, bro? Eight earned runs in 3 1/3? Just not cool. Good on you for manning up and coming out again in the 4th (only to give up one more run) but this team right now CANNOT handle a 7-run inning.

Good thing you had Joe Smith saying "yeah sure I can try to pitch a bunch of innings" and then going 2 2/3 scoreless. And then Vinnie and Sipp! to close the barn doors.

Today's comeback was probably our best since the opening day comeback where we also didn't win but scored a lot of runs despite our pitcher. It's an Everybody Hits day! Not bad - we've had 3 such days in the month of August after having none in July!

Brantley wasn't his usual self today, and only got one hit, but it was the biggest, baddest, best 2-run double I have ever seen. It spectacularly put us just 4 runs behind instead of 7 and all of a sudden the game looked reachable.

After the pitcher left, CHOOOO! singled and got Brantley to 3rd, extending his current hitting streak to 6. He's now got 12 hits in the 8 games since he's been back (today he went 2 for 5). AND, as they astutely pointed out on the radio, no doubt saved us a run or two just by being a threat in the outfield.

Today was definitely not Asdrubal's day, even though he went 2 for 3, walked twice and scored a run. He also snapped a little hitless streak for the weekend. In the second inning, Asdrubal hit a monster fly ball that he watched go foul. Well he sort of skipped a little down the base line and tried to "turn it" with his body. That obviously didn't help. It sure did piss of Rick Porcello, tho, who proceeded to throw a 92 MPH fastball at Asdrubal's butt.

Asdrubal didn't get hit but after a bit of conversation, both benches were warned. That's peachy keen, ump, but why the warning with no ejection? Hmmmmm?

Well actually it ended up ok because we totally have Porcello's number lately and in the next inning we got him for 5 runs.

However, later in the game something else didn't go right for Asdrubal. In the 4th inning, Austin Jackson went to steal second and Sweet Lou threw an absolutely perfect throw to get him out. And Jackson was clearly out on the replay - Asdrubal's glove, with the ball in it, was between Jackson's foot and the bag. But Jackson was called safe and stayed safe. Then he came around to score. And we lost by one run so...yeah.

Travis Hafner was not lookin' so good today. He hit himself twice in the foot while batting. When he finally did get on base late in the game, something went wrong in his foot/leg and he got tagged out between first and second, then hobbled to the dugout. Doesn't look good for ol' Pronk, no sir. I guess his foot/leg has been bothering him all year and today it...came to a head?

I was a little steamed when Lonnie Chisenhall came in for Hafner, being that Duncan had come up. But it turns out Shelley Duncan had a family emergency today and couldn't be in the game. Whew. Sucks for Shelley, hope it works out...anyway it made me GLAD to see Chisenhall and not VALBUENA. I think we really could have used Shelley today, tho.

Santana also extended his hitting streak to 6, going 1 for 4 with 2 walks and a big solo homer to start that awesome 4th inning. Although we really could have used him not striking out twice.

Both Fukudome and Jason Donald went 2 for 4 today, scoring runs and being an integral part of the order. Hannahan and Marson each went 1 for 3 as well, both with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Nice stuff from the bottom, there.

Sweet Lou, who will hit when you let him, dammit, was replaced by LaPorta in the 9th and hit into a double play. I wonder if Lou said "SEE?!"

So the offense was actually quite good today, forcing the Detroit starter out after 4 2/3 and causing Leyland to bring in SIX relievers. If nothing else, we showed him that yeah you probably did need to pitch Verlander against us today. WUT WUT!

Defense was good as well, with some nice catches in the outfield and two double plays. Everything had a playoff vibe to it. And sitting there watching, the blood totally drained from my face as the 9th inning played out. It coulda happened...but it didn't.

So now we've got 4 at home against the Mariners who stiiiiiiink. Gotta kill that series, really. No reason not to, right?

We'll see you Monday at 7:05 and then Tuesday for two! Bring it on!

Radio Chatter:
"You can't win if the middle of the order is not producing."
- Tom Hamilton

"What a joke"
- Tom Hamilton's reaction to the benches being warned but Porcello not being ejected after throwing at Asdrubal

"Jiminez has taken the Indians out of this game in the blink of an eye."
- Tom Hamilton

"The natives here at Comerica park are getting restless."
- Mike Hegan after the Indians scored 5 to make it a 5-7 game

"That's a mile and a half away from home plate."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Victor Martinez's pop fly in 5th

"I wonder if Jim leyland feels this game slipping away?"
- Tom Hamilton


"This is a ballgame you've got to tie in order to win it."
- Mike Hegan


"It hit him in the back and Donald never been happier."
- Tom Hamilton after Jason Donald got hit on an 0-2 count

Big Big Win!

Ok so we're 1.5 out and now Chicago is 4 out. That's PRETTY COOL, right?!

It's getting pretty intense, tho. Instead of every game being "whee, baseball!" now I'm like "whee baseball and we gotta win!" I almost feel like canceling plans for tomorrow so I can listen to the game that could possibly put us .5 out of first place but really...that would be absurd. I've cleared my calendar for the 2 after that tho, duh.

Anyway - see how it gets with a pennant race? Always looking forward and worrying about the next game. Tragic! What about tonight's game?

Tonight's game was all Masterson! He gave up his 6th home run of the year but it was just a solo shot, and one other run on just 7 hits. Dude finally got his 10th win...sometimes it felt like that would NEVER come. His ERA is 2.71, and that's 4th in the league. NOT BAD, NASTY!

He went 6 innings and then our very awesome lineup of Raffy, Smith, Pestano and Chris Perez came in and were ice cold. Especially Vinnie who struggled and ended up striking out 2, and Chris who got back to shutting them the fuck down with a 1-2-3 9th.

Not everyone hit tonight, and it wasn't close or amazing like I thought it would be. Well 2 guys didn't hit, Hafner and Donald.  Donald came in almost literally in the last minute to replace the scheduled Kipnis. The good news about Kipnis is that it wasn't his oblique injury that sat him down, it was tightness in the hamstring. Anyway, Donald didn't get a hit but hey at least he was there to fill the gap!

...I was just informed that Kipnis is now on the DL. So even tho his hamstring does hurt, so does his oblique. Someone get that kid a banana!

Godspeed, Jason Donald.

Brantley got a double but it didn't go anywhere, and Asdrubal has an 8-game hitting streak! He also walked in a run today which is unusual for a guy who's such a big hitter but he showed some restraint and didn't strike out in the 6th with the bases loaded and the pitcher bouncing the balls to the plate.

Fukudome and Choo are heating up lately, which is great because it took a while for Fukudome to come around and with Choo, it's always iffy when a guy comes off the DL. They combined for the go-ahead run in the 6th when Choo singled and then Fukudome tripled (!) and Choo had a really pro-looking slide at the plate. I mean he didn't stick the landing but to me that just looked like a really effective baseball slide.

LaPorta went deep with a 2-run dinger, what do you think about that? He's only got 10 home runs but it seems like he has more because they all seem to come at an important time or something. Ugh do I have to get out my green visor and magnifying glass?

Ok.

I did some research. LaPorta's homers haven't been that big, score-wise. Just that last one that 3-run walkoff won us the game in KC. And tonight!

LaPorta can stay on my good side. I'm sort of not concerned about him either way. I want him to do well and be a good player for us but I also want him to do well so he can be someone we could trade maybe.

OMG I just read that Valbuena is coming in to replace Kipnis. NOOOOOOOOOO!!! I hope they mean replace him as a bench warmer.

Big big series coming up. Three against the Tigers. But guess what?! NO VERLANDER! It'll be like butter, I swear.

Like I said I'll be gone Friday night but don't be surprised if I come home late at night and listen to the game and regale you with my thoughts afterward.

We won the last 2 series and the team is just primed and ready to win the next. See you when I see you!

PS Scott totally linked to this story yesterday in comments, about Jack Hannahan getting home for his son's birth with the help of the team. You might not have seen it tho. I heard the story the night before, at this link provided by my brother. Totally forgot to share it. Bollocks!

Radio Chatter:
"Prohibition was more popular than Adam Dunn, here in Chicago."
- Tom Hamilton

"Ohman last worked in Tuesday night's game, which really is no big deal because everybody did."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"It's not like they're tearing the cover off the ball, but they've got a 2-run lead."
- Tom Hamilton

"Did you ever think we'd be sitting here today saying 'If Ubaldo Jiminez can throw as well as Masterson, the Indians would be in great shape'?"
- Tom Hamilton

"These days it's not a good idea to go to Chris Perez and say 'Hey how about that Hurricanes football program?'"
- Tom Hamilton

Scoreboard Watching

Today was a great day for scoreboard watching because we were playing one of the teams we want to watch, and we're only interested in one other team.

The Tigers lost and the White Sox lost so we gained a game on both of them (1.5 over the Sox, 2.5 under the Tigers). Needless to say, it was a BIG WIN!!!

Fausto Carmona was MONEY tonight. Do the kids still say that? It seems appropriate here. He's been pretty solid since he got back to work in the second half of July but tonight was definitely his best start of the season. Against the team responsible for his worst starts of the season - 18 runs over 8 innings in 2 games. He was totally cool. Carrasco cool (when Carrasco was still cool).

Fausto gave up just one run over 8 1/3. He struck out 6 and had 15 ground ball outs!

The only help he needed was from Chris Perez to finish them off in the 9th. He got the save (Carmona left a guy on base) and also got some more work, which is great. He has said that he does better when he gets work, and hiding him from view isn't going to help anyone.

Speaking of Fausto pitching completely differently than usual against the White Sox - how about Buehrle? Sucked! He is usually very awesome against us, every year. We totally gave Mark Buehrle a loss, y'all!

Once again we ALMOST got an Everybody Hits, but Sweet Lou was too busy catching/calling an awesome game to get his hit on. He did walk and then score so he's got that going on.

Apparently Brantley is having real and continuing pain in that wrist, but so far it looks like he's going to stick it out for the rest of the season. That must really suck for him. They were saying on the radio that it hurts most to swing and miss. Yeowch!

Choo was all FIGHTING! tonight with his 3 hits in 5 at-bats! He must have been pounding the Red Bull all day because he was working his ass off in the outfield last night. I swear he was involved in almost every play. Today he just had WINGS!

Asdrubal - 7-game hitting streak! I put my OMG ASDRUBAL!!! sign in my garage and now it makes me all fired up for baseball every time I get in the car.

Both Santana and Fukudome went 2 for 4 tonight and neither struck out! Santana smashed yet another double. Once again it seems like he's got more than he really does - but he's still short of Asdrubal.

Want to see a cool picture that will make you go "Awww..." and then feel a little racist?

MLB.com

I wonder if those guys sort of hate each other because they might end up fighting for a job, or if they have camaraderie because they're sort of similar ducks in an unfamiliar pond? I wonder how many times so far people have asked Choo to translate for Fukudome and they both had to be polite about it?

Jason Donald is still doing pretty well at the plate. He seems about even with Kipnis in the field and while he's not hitting Kipnisly (out of the park) he is hitting fairly reliably. It feels like he's doing well enough for Manny to keep him in longer to let Kipnis heal whatever muscle strain he's got as long as possible.

I forget what they said about Kipnis' return...Friday maybe?

Tomorrow's game looks awesome. Masterson, who rocks, versus some dude who's given up 4 in each of his last 4 starts. I am hoping maybe for another Everybody Hits tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"I wish they still had the scoreboards that showed the other scores from around the league all the time. Who cares about this game? Who cares about strikes and outs?"
- Tom Hamilton wants to know who's winning the Tigers/Twins game, dangit!

"Thank goodness for that, the Odor X. [...] Rosie is in the upper level up there and sometimes on warm summer days it gets a little gamey in here."
- Mike Hegan helping with the ad-libbing on the Dr. Scholl's commercials

"Twenty three thousand are stunned right now."
- Tom Hamilton after the Indians take a 4-1 lead in the 7th

"Adam Dunn runs like your grandmother. He's at second."
- Tom Hamilton

"Some guys at third base, look like everything's a fight. But not Hannahan!"
- Tom Hamilton

"This must be the most satisfying start of the season for Fausto Carmona."
- Tom Hamilton

"You get an 0-2 with Konerko and you might roll it up there and he will take a swing at it. He's not very discerning."
- Tom Hamilton

Hangin' On by a Homer

Argh! Missed Asdrubal's 20th homer! Although I missed it on a Saturday night when I had 2 different options of being out-and-about so I'd be a real loser if I complained.

And, lucky me - today's game was rained out and I was able to replace it with a re-play of last night's game in the Gameday Audio Archive. Huzzah!

Not much went on in this game - it was pretty low-scoring. Tomlin was awesome, just like the 2 starters before him and just like himself in the last game. No longer looking like the weak spot in out starting rotation, either! He went 6.1 innings and while he only struck out 2 he also only gave up 4 hits and one run. No homers and only one extra base. And he made this great defensive play, without getting hurt!

In fact, his start is the best since Ubaldo's now-no-earned-runs start on Wednesday. Fausto and Masterson looked superb and struck out more than Tomlin, but Tomlin just gave up that one run.

Smith, Raffy, Sipp! and Chris Perez came in to finish off the 7th (Smith and Raffy), 8th and 9th. Perez got his 25th save. Pitching was just STELLAR for this game!!

Hitting wasn't too shabby today either. We only scored 3 runs, and it was on a 3-run homer, but we got 10 hits and 4 guys had a multi-hit game.

Choo was leading off again, to get more at-bats. Brantley is still out nursing that wrist. Choo didn't hit but he did show patience at the plate and got a walk, then came around to score.

Jason Donald is in for Kipnis, who has some soreness (from flopping around in the infield. Srsly.) and Donald is not looking too bad. He's our original sprout, from last year (ugh - just forget about Valbuena ok?) and his batting average is an impressive .278 over 18 at-bats already. His second hit of the night was a TRIPLE!

Choo was on from his walk and Donald on from his first hit in the 3rd when Asdrubal went DEEP for his 20th homer of the season. OMG!!!! Since this post is a day late, you get to hear the call on the Tom Hamilton Has The Greatest Home Run Call in Baseball Facebook page. Yay you!

The Dunc Tank was back in again and he was DH-ing for Hafner who needed a day off. No heroics today, just a single in the 6th. Sadly, he's been sent down already as of Sunday to make room for David Huff. While I love me some Huff, I always love having Shelley around as our #1 bencher. I hope to see him again soon.

Fukudome is over in center now that Choo is back. I guess center is his main position. He had 2 singles and a nice sac bunt today, only the guys behind him couldn't make it work any further than that, even though LaPorta got 2 hits and Hannahan got 1. There were some ill-timed strikeouts for all 3 guys and Fukudome got himself caught stealing.

Stop trying to steal, y'all! Nobody on this team seems to be built for it except Carrera and maybe Brantley. Everyone else is too old or too big.

So we pulled that game out, and then today's game was going AWESOME with Huff and the helm and they yanked the rug out from under us and postponed it. ARGH! We were so gonna win. And the Tigers lost. So now we're dangling at 2.5 games behind and we have 4 makeup games now. Two versus Seattle, one versus Chicago and now one versus the Twins. All of them will be at home and at least 2 of them will be a double-header.

No more baseball until all the way at 8:10 PM on Tuesday, when Ubaldo blows past the White Sox. I don't care that it's against Gavin Floyd who shut us out last time because that was the slumpy Tribe and Tuesday will feature the re-generated Tribe.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Seems like every time something big happens, Asdrubal is right in the middle isn't he?"
- Mike Hegan

"You put the ball in play Jim and many good things can happen."
- Mike Hegan

"Now if you don't have a good bullpen you have no chance of winning. And the Indians have one of the best in baseball."
- Tom Hamilton

Can I Get a Kipnis?

Did you see what I did there? Don't forget "We Are All Kipnesses"!

After last night's epic snoozefest-win, today's game was all full of awesomess!

First there was Ubaldo Jiminez, who kicked ass and took names the first 3 innings, faltered a bit in the 4th and then ended up going EIGHT innings for us, totally saving the bullpen. Six strikeouts, only one walk and just those 3 hits. He was totally an ace and I can't wait to see him again!

Our new hero Frank Hermann came in to throw 9 goddamn pitches and shut 'em down in the 9th. Wahoo!!!

So, pitching rocked for the second night in a row. What of batting?

What of batting?!

First did you notice ---> Everybody Hits! Hell yeah! I was actually considering switching up the sidebar with something more abundant, such as "walk-off wins" (9 I think it is?) but now I am convinced there will be a lot more before the end of the season and we'll have smiley stars for everyone.

Not only did everyone hit but we got a season-high-tie 7 doubles tonight!

Zeke led off tonight and he got one of those doubles. A surprise bit of power off the right field wall. It was an RBI double and then he also came around to score...

...On Kipnis's 6th home run, which was his second hit of 5 for the night. Dude got a double, a homer and 3 singles. Three RBI and he scored 4 runs! He matches Asdrubal this year in 5-hit games and is the first Indian rookie to do it since 1952.

Wahoo again! I didn't know we had this big bat in the minors, or that he would accelerate so fast. Did you?

Asdrubal went 1 for 3 and got hit by a pitch. Then he left the game! Because he was gimpy where he got hit in the foot. But I'm pretty sure he's just going to ice it and be back tomorrow. Luckilly we could totally afford to lose him for a few innings tonight and replace him with Jason Donald.

Hafner went 2 for 4 with an RBI. His average is creeping back up to .300, sitting right now at .297. He got to leave a little early, too, and was replaced by LaPorta.

Santana was pretty sweet tonight, at the plate at least. He went 2 for 5 with a double, RBI and 2 runs scored. He wasn't so hot in the field, again, but at least he wasn't bumbling behind the plate.

Fukudome! Obviously got the elbow-nick of his career last night because he was absolutely on fire tonight. He went 3 for 5 with TWO doubles and an RBI. Hot stuff!

Oh man - Shelley Duncan! So glad he's still here, but only because he's not embarrassing me. He's being good! He was our last to get the "Everybody Hits" tonight but he pulled it out in the 6th with an RBI single! And he didn't get charged with an error when he missed a ball in the outfield. Go Dunc Tank!

Chisenhall, another sprout with a double (all 3 of them got a double tonight, actually) and a multi-hit night going 2 for 4 with a run scored!

And last but not least....Sweet Lou. Back behind the plate where we want him, hitting .222, and he broke an 0-for-19 slide by hitting a double and then scoring a run. Woooooooo Looooouuuu!!!

So we got 18 hits and only 8 LOB. HOLY COW!

Now, if we can keep up this hitting craziness and Good Fausto shows up, we have a fighting chance against Verlander tomorrow. YOU HEARD ME!

The Tribe has won 13 in a row against the Tigers in Cleveland. Why should that change tomorrow?

Such a big game tho. We'll either be 1 behind them or 3 after tomorrow. I am so on edge, for real. Tomorrow is going to be such a long day. Oh yeah and I am waiting for my best friends' baby to be born (yeah that was the right punctuation - two friends' baby!) and he needs to get here fast because I don't think I can worry about him AND the Indians both at the same time.

All right everyone get some sleep and we'll all meet back here tomorrow at 7:05, aight?!

Radio Chatter:
"It'll take a triple to score Cabrera."
- Tom Hamilton on the slowness of Miguel Cabrera

"When was the last time that happened? Maybe when he was at Old Dominion."
- Tom Hamilton on the idea of Verlander being due for a bad outing

"Boy you can't understate the importance of finding a way to win that game last night."
- Tom Hamilton

"Wow it's 9:45. At this time last night we were in a rain delay."
- Tom Hamilton

"That'll get Dave Krepop digging through the archives to find out what rookie last had a 5-hit games for the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton after Kipnis' 5th hit

#bullpenmafia Brought to You By Red Bull

So I was AT this game. I was up in the bleachers, being both bummed and elated about just how full the bleachers were. Then I was in the flash rainstorm (where it was raining on 1st base but not on Eagle Ave.) and then I was standing inside with lots of other hot and smelly fans. Then I was outside again only to be rained on again (this time it rained first on the left side of the bleachers then the right) but then the bleachers weren't as full. And then I sat and watched no-run baseball for many, many hours.

What fun! And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

The game started out pretty awesome with the Tribe getting 2 runs right away in the first inning. Everyone looked sharp and like they were hitting to win.

Unfortunately the Tigers looked pretty sharp in the 2nd inning and got 2 off Masterson. It's sorta maybe possible that those 2 runs could have been prevented by throwing to home instead of getting the sure out at 1st, but that's not traditionally the 2nd inning strategy.

Then the rains came and the longer we waited the more I knew there'd be no more Masterson. I was right, and the delay was 2:20.

Thus began the rest of a seriously long night. I would like to give a shout-out to all the fans who stayed because there were a LOT of us. More people than most of the games in April!

Especially my friends who came with me to the game, who let me stay til 1 AM! I was ready for them to want to leave at 9 and they were all "what, we've got nothing else to do!" and I was all "WOW YOU GUYS ROCK!" then they had lots of fun watching me yell at Carlos Santana to, for God's sake, STOP TRYING TO STEAL.

Anyway, a lot of us fans seemed to be wearing orange and holding signs about Brennan Boesch but...well, plenty of Tribe fans left, I tell ya. Plenty!

Nothing really happened for the next 12 innings after the rain delay, except we had the treat of seeing every single guy from the bullpen trotted out for an inning or two, knock down 3 to 6 Tigers, and then wonder who'd come out next.

Chris Perez is my favorite pitcher but I must say he was the most TIGHT of all the guys who came out (which was actually all of the guys). He put 3 down in 13 pitches, it was pretty awesome.

Hermann got the win and he was pretty awesome too because he pitched between like 1:30 and 2 AM. I'm just a regular person doing nothing but standing in the bleachers yelling and I was dead tired by 1 AM, so I can only imagine how tired he was. Then he had to throw a ball 90+ MPH? Woah.

The Tigers' bullpen was pretty much matching ours all night. Both teams struck out 13 total and we walked 4 while they walked 3. They gave up 7 hits and we gave up 10.

Looks like the Tigers' pen got worn down first, because the bottom of the 14th was sloppy and we ended up winning on a walk, single, intentional walk and hit-by-pitch. I love how Fukudome is now part of an Indians' walk-off win. Ha!

It was a super-weird, super fun game. I am glad I left my OMG ASDRUBAL!!! sign in the car, even though I had sprayed it with clear coat in anticipation of rain (yep).

So that's one down and 2 (or 11) to go. Last night was the most even matchup EVER so it will be interesting to see tonight who's got the stamina to come out ahead.

It's also Ubaldo night! So, see you then!

We Are All Kipnisses

What do you think about that little slogan? Perhaps too soon, but interesting to think about. Someone drew up a poster already. I didn't come up with the slogan or anything - just seeing it on Twitter.

Missed posting last night because I was having an awesome time with my friend M, listening to the game on the radio. That's the ultimate right there, I say. I love listening on the radio but usually the television is the preferred mode for catching the game as a pair or a group. If you can find a friend who enjoys listening as much as you do, well - hang on to that friend.

Anyway, listening with a friend does not lend itself to taking notes so I got to re-listen to the game this morning. That also turned out to be pretty awesome because there's no afternoon game today (I'm guessing they don't play afternoon games in Texas in August because it's probably 125 degrees). So I get to sleep in then get up and listen to some baseball and still have time for a nap before the game tonight. What? It's Sunday - we nap!

Ok so I bet you're just about tired of reading about me wax poetic about how and when I catch Indians games and would rather read me waxing poetic about JUST HOW FUCKING AWESOME WAS THAT GAME?!

Very little went on during the first 6 innings of the game. We got 3 hits and a walk, and nobody scored. Oh yeah - nobody scored for Texas, either!

Carmona was rock solid in this game - OMG! He was like the Carmona we imagine him to be.  Only 2 strikeouts but 13 ground outs! He eventually did give up 2 earned runs in the 7th (2 un-earned as well) but IMHO it was past his time, due to the heat.

Wanna see a funny exchange from Twitter?

hoynsie (Paul Hoynes): It's 106 degrees and Fausto Carmona hardly looks like he's sweating. What gives? #Indians.
MarkSchwab (Mark Schwab): @hoynsie There's an "ice water in his veins" line somewhere in there
positivetribe (The Positive Tribe): @MarkSchwab Is that why he's prone to melting?
MarkSchwab: @positivetribe Ba-doom, CHING! (Canned laughter)

Ha ha! Look at me being clever on the Internet!

After Carmona was Sipp, Hermann and Chris Perez. Luckilly, also after Carmona was 4 runs scored by the Indians. Because for some reason, even though Sipp and Pestano were lights-out, Chris Perez saw fit to give up a run in the 9th.

I think I officially hate the All Star Game now. Asdrubal and Perez have only been percentages of themselves since they got back from Arizona. Asdrubal went to the break with 7 errors and has made 6 errors (one tonight, which resulted in 2 un-earned runs) since the break. Perez had given up 9 earned runs before the break, and already 7 since.

So yeah, while I was excited to see my two favorite Indians representing...I am now thoroughly disgusted. Being alongside the greatest players in the game is no place for a Cleveland Indian!

All right so what of the exciting offense that ensued tonight? I shall explain!

In the 7th, Fukudome and SHELLEVY DUNCAN teamed up to score the night's first run. Not a homer for Duncan but a double! Then Shelley was pulled for Carrera as a runner.

Chisenhall didn't get a hit but he moved Carrera over to third. Sweet Lou walks and then there's a pitching change. And...the pitcher just dropped the ball for a balk! So Zeke walks in from 3rd. I do believe this is the FIFTH run we've scored this year off balks.

Then with a guy in scoring position, Evildoer Michael Young helps us all out with a bad throw and Lou scores. That's how we got our 3 runs in the third - messy, but in the books.

Then yadda yadda we're down 3-4 in the 9th.

Once again, Fukudome got on base and scored, thanks to the genius of Zeke being there to bunt him over and then Chisenhall getting his second hit of the night to finish the deal (recall in the 7th Shelley was there to double Fukudome in and Zeke came in to run for him). A little veteran-on-sprout team action, there and the game is tied!

Brantley, who we love and miss dearly, showed us his wrist was just fine and gets his first hit of the night to get Chisenhall in with the go-ahead run. He hit the ball so hard that it just popped out of Nelson Cruz's glove!

Pitching change.

Jason Kipnis goes DEEP for his 5th homer in 7 games (now in 3 different parks) to score 2 runs and put us up 7-4!!!! I am just amazed at this kid, really. He's got a 7-game hitting streak with 10 hits and 5 homers in those 7 games. Exciting to see him - and of course his fellow sprouts - play every day ESPECIALLY this late in the season where that sort of stuff is EXACTLY what we need!

Asdrubal was up after Kipnis and he had been having a shitty night, including an error. But he did get a single and extend his own hitting streak to 9.

Then Perez, one run, BALLGAME!

Spectacular team effort tonight, even if we did commit 2 errors. Young guys and old guys alike did their jobs and made runs happen. Everyone said it would be awesome if we left this road trip 3-4 and we've got our 3...I seriously can't wait til tonight when we try to make it out of there 4 and 3!!

Tomlin versus Colby Lewis, which on paper is quite an even matchup. Except Tomlin has become our weak spot but maybe he'll be inspired by Masterson and Carmona's last starts and Take Care of Business in a big way.

Tonight at 8:05 - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"If Brantley hits one down the right field line, he could walk to third."
- Tom Hamilton on the shift for Brantley

"Carmona throwing one of his best games of the year, when you consider where it's at and who it's against."
- Tom Hamilton

"This house of horrors continues to haunt the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton

"Kinsler can crawl home."
- Tom Hamilton on the length of Hamilton's sac fly in the 7th

"Wow what an inning!"
- Tom Hamilton in the top of 9th inning

"Every time you say 'That's the biggest win of the Indians' season' about a week later you're looking at one thinking 'uh-oh, THAT might be the biggest win' and that is what we might be looking at here tonight."
- Tom Hamilton

"This would be the understatement of the year, but I'll say it anyway. You can't lose this game tonight after you come back with a 4-run 9th to take the lead against Neftali Feliz. [...] If you don't, you really wonder what is going to happen to this ball club the rest of the way."
- Tom Hamilton in the 9th as Perez struggles

"Indians fans, you can breathe! The Indians have survived 7 to 5."
- Tom Hamilton after the last out

Doin' Stuff

The Tribe was doin' stuff tonight. Striking guys out, getting hits, stealing bases, not making errors, smashing balls off the Green Monster. All sorts of stuff that win you a game.

An win we did! A crucial win to split the 4-game series with the Red Sox and pick up a whole game on the losing Tigers.

First off, Masterson was even BETTER than usual getting NINE strikeouts over 6 innings *boggle* He even got 4 strikeouts in one inning which does do a lot to raise your K total.

The #bullpenmafia was back to true form tonight. Pestano, Sipp and Perez. Zero hits and zero runs over 3 innings. Goodnight!

Tons of hits for our sleepy-hitting lineup tonight, too. And the big stars of tonight weren't the sprouts!

Speaking of sprouts, Kipnis did not get a 5th homer in t a row. He did get a hit, tho, for a 5-game hitting streak.

Asdrubal extended his hitting streak to 7 with just one hit but he got on base enough to score 3 runs - thanks in part to 2 more stolen bases!

Hafner went 3 for 4 and is back up to hitting .300. They're basically calling his min-slump over again. He smashed two huge doubles off the Green Monster.

Santana went 3 for 4 as well, with a couple singles, a walk and 2-run homer in the 6th. Unfortunately his catching sort of stunk...but maybe it's ok if it stinks and we win. It drives the point home to Acta and we also end up with the win.

Fukudome woke the fuck up today! He went 3 for 5 scoring a run and getting a RBI. I watched the game on TV today and boy does his swing look weird. Just really awkward. Maybe he's not trying to swing like that but he always seems to be reaching and leaving the box. But, he made contact. He also had some nice patient at-bats.

LaPorta wasn't too bad today, getting two hits. He even got an RBI. So today he was wishy. 

Jason Donald - who is a sprout I'm not yet excited about - got a hit, and then was traded for Hannahan in the 9th, who struck out. Yaaaaawn...

Justin Masterson got the backing of SEVEN runs (well, 6 by the time he left) and 14 hits. Finally got his 9th win!

UBALDO tomorrow!! Who's stoked? I hope the team keeps their hittin' and Ubaldo does some magic and it's an awesome game. Can't wait - sad it's not on TV and that it's not until 8:05. Ugghh...I might seriously just go to the gym longer just to keep myself busy while I wait.

I did something different today and didn't hang on every word of the radio. I did chores and stuff. The furnace filter doesn't clean itself, you know. And the dog certainly doesn't brush herself, oh no. Anyway, I only have one Radio Chatter for you.

See you tomorrow. UBALDO!

Radio Chatter:
"Boy you won't hear a much quieter Fenway park than you do now."
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th inning after we had 6 runs

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

Well, Fukudome

Ha! Too early? Too softball?

Shitty game tonight, Indians. I was stoked to see our new guy tho, Kosuke Fukedome from the Cubs. Here to play right field while Choo is away (Choo says he'll be back August 15!) and while he didn't hit (which was why we got him) at least he played a little right field. Dear God, I hope he doesn't think we play like this every night...

So Carrasco was bad, which is not cool because in June he was our best pitcher. Now he's giving up tons of runs, home runs, and then throwing at Billy Butler's head. Which got him ejected and cleared the benches. But it wasn't very cool of him because...well, Travis Buck and Lonnie Chisenhall can tell you about being hit in the head.


Makes me sad that Carrasco is completely off the rails, because if you recall I was really psyched about him just a month ago. He's gone all Carmona in the head.

Durbin and Hermann had to come in to save him after he gave up 7-yeah-7 runs in 3.1 innings. Then Durbin gave up 1 run and Herman FOUR runs. So that wasn't too good.

Uhm, oh, Chad Durbin threw inside to Melky Cabrera who was crowding the plate (he had hit a grand slam off Carrasco) and then Melky grounded out. Ha ha. Much better than throwing at a guy's head when you're angry at yourself.

Brantley, Asdrubal, Santana and Orlando hit today. Brantley and Santana with doubles even.

Our LOB is out of sight! HAHAHAHA....heh...These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Lou Marson caught tonight. We want to see more of that.

We're still only 2.5 games out of first place, you know. And it's July. So everyone keep moving forward.

We'll see you tomorrow at 7:05, on TV even on WKYC!

Radio Chatter:
"The media thinks that if Boston wants to trade for you, you should automatically go to Boston."
- Tom Hamilton on Hiroki Kuroda turning down Boston's offer

"Fukudome hasn't seen a fastball that slow since he was 12."
- Tom Hamilton

"You gotta make him throw you a strike. He doesn't want to, but you gotta make him."
- Mike Hegan on Royals pitcher Jeff Francis

"If Brantley, Cabrera and Hafner don't hit this team doesn't score any runs."
- Tom Hamilton