ERMAHGERD!

Woah baby! I bet you were wondering where I've been all day and whether or not I caught this game huh? I'm sure the whole time you were watching the game you were like "Oh man, JJ is gonna dig this!"

Well I missed it live because I had a ton of stuff to do this afternoon but when I finally got home and saw the box score in my inbox, I immediately cordoned off 4 hours for playback. Why four? Well sometimes I get distracted and I have to rewind and listen again. And sometimes it's just that great I gotta listen again!

Isn't this how you guys do it too?!

In case you missed it, we won the game 15 to 3 and had a 10-run inning that included a grand slam by Asdrubal. We got 19 hits and 5 walks and the BEST part... only 10 left on base! HOLLA!

Zach McAllister had a great last game! A quality start (that's 2 in a row and half of his last 10 starts) with 6 2/3 innings and only 3 runs. Only 5 hits, too! How he managed to do that with only 2 strikeouts, I don't know. We didn't even turn any double plays today or anything! I hope Zach makes it on to the roster next year. He wasn't lights-out this year by any means but he gave us a lot of length (only 2 appearances of 22 were fewer than 5 innings) - a good strong young guy. And wow, I didn't know this but he's huge! He's six foot six inches and 240 pounds. Wow!

Thanks to Zach going so long we didn't need much relief, and that's good considering everybody and the Ghost of Bob Wickman even pitched last night. Sipp finished off the 7th and did the 8th with no consequence, and Frank Herrmann did the 9th all safe and sound.

Would you believe that with 19 hits that not everybody hit today? Of course you would, because it happened yesterday too with TWO guys not hitting and 21 hits! But everyone did get on base. I don't think I could lower my standards and change my scoring system, though - I mean they are gold stars WITH EYES not like, just dots. Gotta keep it lofty.

Choo got his 43rd double today and Alex Gordon got none, so he's now tied for 4th (you're right - Alex Gordon not getting a double has no bearing on his spot in the standings as he already has 51. But still - Choo got 3 doubles this weekend and Gordon got ZERO so who's the leader of this weekend huh? Neener neener!

Oh yeah Choo also got both his hits in ONE inning and his second hit was a 2-RBI single, and both times he came around to score. And he stole a base. He's got a 10-game hitting streak with 17 hits in those games and 10 RBI. KIM NAE YO!

Thomas Neal came in for Choo in the 8th because of course, and he got himself a hit. More Neal!

You know Jason Kipnis was going to be a huge part of a huge game! He went 2 for 3 with 2 walks - giving him 9 walks over his last 4 games. He got an RBI [ground rule] double and came in to score 3 times!

Cord Phelps came in as his replacement in the 8th and he also went 1 for 1 with an RBI!

Asdrubal, man...do you think he got another pain shot today? Last time he hit a homer was after he got a pain shot in his wrist. Then today he was THE MAN!! He put down a nice bunt single and came around to score in the inning. Then everyone else got on base and scored more runs and OMG ASDRUBAL GRAND SLAM!!! GRAND SLAM!!! GRAND SLAM!! I don't know if we've had other grand slams this year. I think just one. Can't remember when or who. BUT THERE WAS ONE TODAY WOOHOO!!

Asdrubal was 3 for 5 on the day with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored!

Vinny Rottino came in for him in the 8th but he did not get a hit. Aww...

Can you believe that Lonnie Chisenhall didn't get a hit? He didn't! Yesterday he was batting cleanup and he told Sandy Alomar "It's about time!" and he did awesome but today, nothing. Well he did walk so there's that. He only left 2 on base.

LaPorta came in to pinch for Chiz in the 8th and got a 2-RBI double! As Tom Hamilton said, it's nice to see him in the game making a difference. Of course you know what's going to happen next - he's going to make some horrible error next game or strike out 5 times or something. Oh, Matt!

Hannahan had a super big day! He went 3 for 5 with an RBI  double and 2 runs scored. How that guy left 4 on base is anybody's guess!

Oh, Brent Lillibridge - you were so not bad yesterday! Today, nothing but a walk. Pray on it, brother!

Casey Kotchman was in on things today, and not in the "guy who left the winning run on base three times" way he was in on things yesterday. Today he was making a difference going 2 for 5 with a run and a RBI. And surely stopping every ball that came his way.

Lou Marson was in today. I think Santana is out with a sore knee. Do you think Sandy Alomar - 9-time knee surgery recipient - asks Santana every day how his knees feel on a scale of 1 to 10? (Well, uno a diez) If he answers anything lower than a 7 (siete) he's got to sit out. Hmm...

Anyway Lou Marson was the first Indian to get a RBI today with a single in the 2nd! He then went 3 for 4 with a walk and came in to score 2 runs! Nice to see him just pop in and be able to get stuff done.

Zeke was out today and he may have been the dude with the sore knee. I was listening to Sandy's post-game interview with only one ear. Someone has a sore knee and thus got the night off. Anyway Jason Donald, the greasemonkey, was in his place in center (Brantley still in and out with a pulled groun). I don't think he's every played much OF at all. But according to Hammy and Rosie he is quite the athlete and he was working his tail off out there. Maybe that's a better place for him than third - longer reaction times. Anyway, he did this. WAT! You go, greasemonkey! At the plate he went 1 for 4 and scored 2 runs and got an RBI. I tell you what that was pretty Carrera of him!

So we come back around to where we were in the beginning of the season - thoroughly embarassing the Royals. I must say, it's pretty fun! I would have loved to have been at today's game but there were 18k who made it so good on all you!

Tomorrow we start our final series of the season, against the White Sox. The series where we can CRUSH THE WHITE SOX HOPE FOR THE PLAYOFFS BWAHAHAHA! It's a 7:05 game, Kluber versus LHP (3.69). A dude who's a transitioned reliever. Hmm.

I'll be at the game. Before it starts I'm supposed to go to this Social Media Appreciation thing. I get a free ticket, a free t-shirt and a free DINNER! Just for having this fancy blog! And I get to meet a player and some dudes from STO and get to be all "Uh, I don't know who you are because I don't have cable." Gonna be awesome. Unfortunately I can't watch the game from my primo seat they gave me, as I am meeting some friends up in the nosebleeds (where I belong!) but the seat is in "nose broken by foul ball" territory down the right field line so really I'm not too sad.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"We ought to call down to Steve Smith, the third base coach - I wonder if he has his cell phone with him - to tell him to hold up Choo at third even if Cabrera hits it off the wall."
- Tom Hamilton wants to give away the Grand Slam Payoff Inning prize, dangit!

"Unless there's a major miracle at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, Hochevar will end the season 8 and 16, his worst record in the big leagues."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Angels can surf in the Pacific come Monday. They won't be going to the playoffs."
- Tom Hamilton

"Jeffres is the kind of guy who might throw it 100 miles per hour. He also might throw it against the backstop."
- Tom Hamilton

"Those ratings mean absolutely nothing because nobody has the time to go around and scout every high school player in the country. But, you can sell magazines pretending you do."
- Tom Hamilton on high school player rankings

"I don't know that Brent Lillibridge has ever had a strike called on him that he agrees with."
- Tom Hamilton

"And that's how you get some people to notice you. In a 15-3 rout you bust your tail and make that kind of a play!"
- Tom Hamilton on Donald's good catch in the outfield

Watch Out Behind You - It's The Tribe!

What a game, boffins! And what a surprise, after proclaiming yesterday that the Tribe didn't "have the ability" to win today's game. Well, between all 20 players Manny Acta threw on the field today we pulled out a WIN in TEXAS!

The sweetest part? The loss went to Joe Nathan! (Yeah, he plays for Texas now)

Oh wait no, also pretty sweet was the fact that before today the Indians were 1-75 this year when trailing in the 8th. AGAINST ALL ODDS!

Zach McAllister was murdered last time he pitched against Texas. Absolutely murdered, folks (7 runs in 5 innings) - then put away and re-animated for another turn, this time in their home park where they hit a lot of homers. Well re-animated Zach McAllister had NO problem with these Rangers here today and only gave up 1 run in 6 innings, striking out 6. I'm serious! A quality start! Looks like the kid is making his way back to the top of the pitching heap for Cleveland.

It took 4 more arms to get through 3 more innings against Texas but Manny seemed pretty hungry to end this road trip on a high note. The game was tied at 2 when Esmil Rogers came in for the 7th. He is so much more comfortable in that early relief spot than the later ones, it's not even funny. He had a 1-2-3 inning, striking out 2. Of course it was the chaff of the Rangers' order but whatever, he did it with no runs.

Next was Joe Smith, who has been truly a gem in this snowstorm of a season (?). His infield let him the fuck down - both Lillibridge and Hannahan had errors which resulted in 2 runs. Yeep! Joe only lasted one out.

Scott Maine came in next, cuz, why not? He gave up a hit and everyone said "here it goes again" and then he got a guy to ground into a double play and NO ONE errored and that was that. Maine ended up with the win, too!

Chris Perez - FUCK YEAH! So awesome to see him without the qualifier "...needs work." We needed him this time instead! He blew through the first two batters in the 9th inning and then Elvis Andrus was up. Andrus has hit safely in all of the 31 games he's played against the Tribe in his career, but hadn't hit one tonight. But Chris Perez always gives up a hit and in his last at-bat, Andrus pulled out a triple. So....cool? It's cool. Interesting baseball stat. Especially cool because the next guy struck out and BALLGAME! (Still beardless. Still excited by winning. Still awesome.)

Crazy f'n lineup today, with tons of substitutions too.Carrera, Lillibridge, Kipnis, Santana, Rottino, LaPorta, Neal, Marson, Hannahan. That is not the lineup of a team that was poised to win today but there they were!

Zeke had a Choo-like night in the top spot, going 2 for 4 with a run and a RBI. Oh yeah those both came on a home run! I mentioned yesterday that hopefully Zeke has forgotten that when he first got here for a few minutes he had some power and then he goes and does this. Well, Zeke, you did strike out twice tonight trying to hit homers in your other at-bats so don't get too smug just yet!

Brent Lillibridge...oh man, that guy is just so bad at short. He just can't do it - two errors today and at least one previous in 13 games at short. He IS a utility guy but he doesn't really have much of a history at short. Asdrubal, come back! (He is going to see someone about his wrist but he actually came into the game for the 9th because there was nobody left!)

Lillibridge went 0 for 3 and had his 2 errors so it was nice to see him come out and Canzler come in to get some real man work done. He got a single and then a pinch runner in Jason Donald, who came around to score!

Kipnis! Homer! Ah, the JK Kid started off September with a bang then quickly turned down the "fizzle" road halfway through the Minnesota series. Last night he was shut out but tonight he hit the game-winning 2-run homer in the 9th! I'm serious baby - it was as dramatic as you think!

¡Mira!

Sad Joe Nathan

 Carlos Santana was the DH tonight. Then he was the catcher which meant we had to give up the DH spot which meant all of our pitchers technically got put into the lineup in the existing catcher's spot but none of them had to bat. It makes sense somehow but whatever. Carlos didn't care - he needed to stay in, he was hot hot hot going 3 for 5! I get to apply my "When Carlos Santana has a multi-hit game, we win" theory here yay! After all that, though, he didn't score any runs or get any RBI. Huh.

The Other Vinny Rottino was in at left today, cuz whatever. He got a single in 3 tries and then in the 8th there was a weird thing with a bat and a ball and a bunt and the foul line and ... sacrifice bunt. An "excuse me bunt" I guess you'd say. He did get the runner over but that inning was a bunch of August Sadness because the bases got loaded and nobody scored.

Matt LaPorta showed up BIG TIME tonight! He went 3 for 5 with his first homer of the year, and it was a 2-run jobby because Vinny Rottino was on base! It tied the game! Way to go Vinny! Haha just kidding, way to go Matt! LaPorta also had a coupla singles to go along with that homer. He's a guy that definitely needs to step it up this September if he wants to come back and play in the bigs next year. Everyone in the organization seems to love him - I hope it works out!

Hey what's up Thomas Neal? Inglewood always up to no good! I keep bringing up Neal's hometown like I might say "I've got a black friend!" What a loser. Thomas Neal, on the other hand, is no loser! Today he went 1 for 3 getting his second MLB hit! Nothing came of it but, hey man, keep it real.

We started against a lefty today so you know it was Lou Marson's turn. He went a respectable 1 for 3, then got pulled for Chisenhall from whom we all expected great things and...nothing happened. I bit my hat, I did! 

Jack Hannahan did not get a hit today. His was the only slot in the lineup without a hit. Curses! He also had an error today which ended up in an un-earned run. Nobody likes to be disappointed in Jack Hannahan, yet here we are...

Brent Lillibridge, the other guy who gave up an error run and who didn't get a hit tonight (although someone else did in his spot) has already apologized. Warm fuzzies!

Now, go out and beat those Tigers for me tomorrow!!

So tomorrow it's Corey Kluber versus a certain RHP (2.91). But we have the secret element - surprise. Surprise and fear. Two elements, surprise, fear and the craziest unknown lineup in baseball at the moment. I mean, who would be more afraid to lose to the worst team in baseball than Justin Verlander? It looks bad, man!Better not choke!

Tomorrow I get to go to the game with my little buddy SMac and I think it's gonna be a pretty rockin' time. There will be fireworks! Provided the weather holds up, of course, but Weather.com was right on the money for me last week so let's hope it's on the money this week too. Storms over at 7 PM. Fireworks after a win! 

Can't wait - See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Texas looks like a softball team here with these red jerseys. They crush the ball like a softball team too."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's a moral victory, keeping Texas off the board for two innings."
- Tom Hamilton

"Nobody wants to hold off on their swings with 2 strikes."
- Tom Hamilton is not happy with all our utility guys and their penchant for striking out

"It's frustrating to watch a team like Texas say 'Here, we'll give you the run' and watch guys swing away like it's the Little League home run derby."
- Tom Hamilton is catty meow!

"The door man has better teeth than anyone I've ever seen."
- Tom Hamilton is extremely impressed with the hotel

"When I grow up, I want to towel off the forehead of Jessica Simpson."
- Tom Hamilton

"Is there anybody, Rosie, that you root for more than Matt LaPorta?"
- Tom Hamilton is a believer

"This is as drastic an outfield shift as you have ever seen on a lefthanded batter!"
- Tom Hamilton on Carrera's at-bat in the 6th

"Hey I got a seven dollar baseball, but I lost a tooth!"
- Tom Hamilton on Ranger fans scrambling for foul balls

"One thing we have found out about the base lines here in Tezas - they are slanted to favor the hitter."
- Tom Hamilton in the 8th

"Well Rosie, I bet you didn't know that when you jumped into that pool this morning, full of senior citizens in their water aerobics class, that was as good as it was going to get today."
- Tom Hamilton

"These fans are like the Romans awaiting the Christians at the Coliseum. Let the tigers loose! We want more blood!"
- Tom Hamilton

So How About Them Tigers?

What do you think - are you going to root for the Tigers in the playoffs? Generally I don't pay attention to playoffs that we're not a part of but I am curious about how these Tigers might do. I of course would want them to murder the Yankees and if the BoSox get in, take care of those idiots too. Texas and Tampa I could care less about.

The Lions are 3-0 right now, the city of Detroit could stand to have an awesome October.

Sometimes people say you have to root for the team that represents your division. Others would say you don't want anyone from your division rising so high. So I don't know.

I think I will root for them. Because it's the rust belt and hey, I'd feel a lot better to know we came in 2nd to the World Series Champs, right?

In the meantime...Ubaldo Jiminez was no good. Ho hum. He gave up 6 in 5 innings after a 1-2-3 first. He only struck out 3 which is normal for most of our guys but pretty bad for Ubaldo.

Not to be out done, Corey Kluber came in and gave up 4 runs. Then Josh Judy gave up 4 more. Yep.

The bats didn't do anything...except Asdrubal! He got a single in the 4th. He was taken out in the 9th for Valbuena. VALBUENA!

Before that, Jerad Head came in for Fukudome to get some swings. He got a hit too! Off the Detroit reliever, but still...

The other guy to get a hit was NOT Shelley Duncan. It was Matt LaPorta who didn't just get ONE hit he got TWO.

Doug Fister pitched an 8-inning shutout, with no walks and 9 strikeouts.

At least it wasn't a rainout. And we didn't get any errors. Here's a little Lou for you:

Chin up, fan!

Same time, same place tomorrow. 7:05 in Detroit - maybe it will be more exciting? See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"That's the one downfall of this Detroit lineup. They can't run worth a lick."
- Tom Hamilton

"With Avila and the 3 guys on base...if they were on a relay team...that race would take 2 days."
- Tom Hamilton

"Last outing for the year for Jiminez is...not a good one."
- Tom Hamilton

"Welp, Corey Kluber, making friends early here in Motown."
- Tom Hamilton after Kluber hit Miguel Cabrera

"This is men against boys."
- Tom Hamilton on Doug Fister

"Right now the Indians feel like the Christians did in the Roman coliseum. They are getting devoured right now by the Tigers."
- Tom Hamilton

It's a Beautiful Day for Baseball - Let's Play Two.

Thanks, Ernie Banks. I agree. Even though it's September I'm still feeling the rush of excitement from baseball. Perhaps it is me getting all I can from the game before it goes to sleep (in Cleveland) for 6 months, but it truly is a treat to have a double-header today. I was in the mood for it!

The Tribe didn't win by the long ball today. In fact, there were NO homers for our guys today even tho Shelley and Kipnis and Santana were in. We still managed to score 8!

Also, while our strikeout count wasn't happy (7), the Twins left with 13 K's and had 8 LOB. See how that loses ballgames?

David Huff had quite a turnaround after his last game. His previous game was nasty when he gave up 9 runs to Seattle. My uncle was making fun of me because I said Huff was good. I should have said "good" with air quotes and said he was streaky. Because he is.

After just going 2 2/3 Monday, Huff went 5 2/3 today only giving up 2 runs and had SEVEN strikeouts. Those are Ubaldo numbers right there.

He didn't get the win, though, because we were tied when he left. Putnam came in and looked good striking out a guy to finish the inning, then he hit Rivera and gave up a single. He eventually settled down and got the next guy to line out then struck out the rest.

Frank Herman came in and actually pitched 2 innings - which is great on a double-header day - and struck out 3.

Jason Donald started the afternoon game at short today and continued to hit well. He only went 1 for 4 but that gives him 13 hits in his last 10 games. He worked hard for his single today, too, beating a close play for an infield single!

Kipnis had a phenomenal game. Makes me think Asdrubal would have too if he were batting behind Kipnis! Kipnis himself went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. His batting average is hovering up around .300 at .294. He's also got 19 RBI in just 32 games!

Pronk was in this afternoon game. Must be that Thome is in the night game. That's weird that we have such a platoon of designated hitters. Just before we got Thome we had none! Travis went 1 for 3 and scored 2.

Shelley Duncan! He got back on his shiny horse today and made a crazy awesome catch in the 2nd, reminiscent of his "famous" catches in Texas.

Again!

He also scored our first 3 (and thus winning!) runs with a 2-run double in the 1st and then a sac fly in the 6th to start our huge 6-run rally. Rock!

LaPorta got in on the act today, getting an RBI double after Shelley's double. It was his 5th RBI in 4 games. Then Hannhan and Fukudome came in with RBI singles after that! Getting it done, small-ball style!

Fuky wasn't slated to play but he had to come in and relieve Trevor Crowe who re-injured his shoulder in the 1st inning while in the field. Manny says Crowe is OUT for the rest of the season. Dammit...No word yet on Twitter from @tcrowe4 but be sure you send him good wishes because I am sure he is BUMMED beyond belief.

Great game this afternoon, with a lot of well-timed hitting. Granted it all came at once but it sure was a lot at once! I can't wait to see what tonight brings, how about you?

Tonight is the TRIUMPHANT RETURN of Mitch Talbot. Heya! He'll be facing another youngin in Scott Diamond. Perhaps a high-scoring game? I'd be up for that.

As long as we win.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"We all know how good the 90s teams were, but they never hit wall-scraping home runs. There was never any doubt about it."
- Tom Hamilton

"Those two schools could play marbles and pack the house."
- Tom Hamilton on OSU and Michigan

"When you break in with Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, I guess that is a sign you're going to have a heck of a run in baseball.
- Tom Hamilton on Mike Hegan's career

"I think when Kirk Gibson tells you to do something, you do it."
- Mike Hegan

"Right now Liriano's body language would tell you he would like to be anywhere but the mound."
- Tom Hamilton just before we scored 6 off Liriano

"That's the thing about Matt LaPorta. He shows those signs every once in a while where you go 'wow.'"
- Mike Hegan

"Ron Gardenhier heading to the mound to choke Liriano."
- Tom Hamilton

"Carlos Santana is looking for a 96-mile-per-hour fastball that he can send out to the Bob Feller statue."
- Tom Hamilton on Santana's at-bat in the 6-run 6th

"GOT HIM! Or no...I guess not."
"You trying to get out of here?"
"Four-thirty mass at the cathedral."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on Hamilton's missed call in the 8th

Thomecoming. I'm into it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Left Hand Suzuki Method

Doesn't quite make sense, but I think that every time Suzuki comes up. Here's the song to go along with it. I really don't know what to say about today's game so I'll just say Left Hand Ichiro Suzuki Method.

I have some brownies baking, and I just had some of the best watermelon ever. I'm not exactly sure where it's from but it's local, part of the Fresh Fork Market pickings from last week. I don't know where watermelons are usually grown (Wikipedia says "not around Cleveland") but when you're out getting corn, lettuce, tomatoes and squash from your local farmers try to get a watermelon too. Because they will knock your socks off.

As I said, I'm also baking brownies. I was mixing the brownies while I was eating fresh watermelon. Summer, or what?!

Oh yeah there was a baseball game today. Not much to say about it. We lost.

Shelley Duncan is awesome. Really, so glad he's here! Five hits total in his last 9 at-bats (2 games). If we're not going to get Thome or Kubel (or maybe we are?) we'll at least always have Shelley Duncan. Well unless he runs out of options, however that works.

Matt LaPorta was saucy today, going 2 for 4 and having a spiffy catch.

Jason Donald also went 2 for 4 and did not leave the shortstop position in shambles. He was in today for Asdrubal's 2nd day off of the season. Asdrubal was not hitting lately so I didn't quite miss him.

Zeke got another hit and a stolen base, so that's cool. He also walked, which is what ya gotta do when you bat first.

Smith, Durbin and Pestano pitched well. Three hits and 3 strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings for them. The other 5 2/3 innings, not so good for Tomlin and Raffy.

So everybody had the afternoon off and Thursday off to think about what they've done. Friday we're back at it with the Royals at 7:05.

Only 4 more days til Grovery Day!

What do you think I should ask him? I think I am going to ask how a team starts so well then stops doing so well. Is it fatigue? Ego? Lack of experience and leadership? Do other teams suddenly figure them out? I bet he tells me "If I knew I'd be the winningest manager in all of baseball!" Then I will get really mad because dammit, Mike Hargrove, I paid a lot of money to ask you this question can't you at least give me a two-sentence answer?!

My brownies are done. Be good. See you Friday.

Radio Chatter:
"Saying 'rookie' is redunant. Seattle has 12 rookies on this ballclub. Twelve!"
- Tom Hamilton

"It's just amazing how the Indians have become a MASH unit."
- Tom Hamilton on our injuries

"Strike 3 called on a fastball right down Euclid Avenue."
- Tom Hamilton

"I tell you what - Shelley Duncan and Jack Hannahan have really picked this ball club up."
- Mike Hegan

"We have seen what happens in one week's time...the opposite can happen too."
- Tom Hamilton's glimmer of hope

"Rosie why don't you go down to the Indians dugout and see what you can learn. There's nothing else going on. Be a part of the solution here!"
- Tom Hamilton wonders what the kerfuffle was in the 8th inning

Stayin' Alive

Kiiiiind of a crap win today, but whatever. We need a win - crap or not - because the Orioles look to not be handling the Tigers like we need.

Everybody Hits, tho!! Just noticed that! We got 12 hits and everyone in the starting lineup contributed.

Even though everyone hit and we got 12 hits, Masterson started today. So you know what that means - no run support. Left on base. It happened again, with Nasty only giving up 2 runs and not getting a decision. He struck out 4 and went 7.2 innings, which was great! But only his mom is going to remember what a good 2011 he had...not the record books.

Raffy came in to finish the 8th and Perez had a very solid 9th, taking care of business in 9 pitches.

Hey guess who had an error! Carlos Santana did, yes he did. Here's video of Asdrubal getting in his face from yesterday. I wonder if Sandy Alomar got in his face today?

Ok ok you know that of course Carlos got an RBI or two (or an RBI and a run) to make up for it, right? Yep. He also caught 2 stealing! Un-standing! (unbelieveable + outstanding)

Hey, CHOOOOOOOOO was back today! Total surprise. He was just suiting up with Lake County just a couple of days ago. I guess the skin on his broken thumb is still so thin that he has to keep it wrapped. But he hit lead-off (!!) in order to get the most practice and smoked a couple to the outfield before landing an actual single in the 6th! Then he came around to score! CHOOOOO!!!

Choo ended up scoring on an error in the 6th, which was our first of the night. Then we waited until the 8th to first give up the go-ahead run. Meep!

Never fear! It's time for the doubles game! Hafner singles and Smacta put in Brantley to run for him. That gives us some speed to score on Santana's double, and also keeps Brantley off the DL! Yay!

Then Matt LaPorta - hanging on being wishy instead of washy again - blooped one into center and Santana scored!

Another last-at-bat win!

For the record, Shelley Duncan was put in to bat for Chisenhall after LaPorta, and they walked Shelley. Did they walk him just for the force-out, or because he's the Dunc Tank? I'm going with Dunc Tank.

So we only got 3 runs to their 2 and one was un-earned. Pretty sorry against the Twins but I guess Carl Pavano really has our number so we're lucky to have scored at all, or something?

Lucky ducks tonight, or just some great clutch hitting. Tomorrow I expect even better stuff, perhaps a replay of Wednesday's Tigers game where we scored a lot of runs. I expect Choo to be primed and ready and Santana to really want to not suck. It's Tomlin Time!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Jim Thome will become the 8th player in the game to hit 600 home runs. He'll be the 5th to do it legally."
- Tom Hamilton

"For Masterson it's deja vu. Once again working without any run support."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well would it be a Cleveland Indians game without the opportunity for a late-inning rally?"
- Tom Hamilton

"Boy it would be nice to have an uneventful evening."
- Tom Hamilton

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

Nervous Night

I was pretty nervous for the ballgame tonight. I was already a bit on edge due to last night's shenanigans. "I really hope this isn't the future of this season," I thought.

Then I got a message from my friend T who was at the game with her brother and sister-in-law, who are visiting from out of town. T went with me to her first game earlier this summer (when we played the Reds and Asdrubal went 5 for 5), and then to her second game a month or so later (which was the first game where Carrasco kicked ass). She's also got a little tension in her family, and is hoping to make Cleveland her new home. So I was just really really nervous that tonight her family was going to see "those Indians" and, I dunno - make T move back to Dayton or something.

Instead they saw THOSE Indians. The team with over 30,000 fans at home. The team with some spectacular defense. The team with masterful pitching (pun!). The team that gets walk-off wins with 2 outs. And then they saw a fireworks show that might possibly be the best fireworks show they've ever seen (I am quite partial to the Rock 'n Blasts).

I was happy T and her family got to see all that, and I am pretty happy for myself for getting to see that. On TV nonetheless!

And for those of us in the know, not only did we get all that but the Tigers also lost and we might just be getting a new player in the form of 2010 All-Star starter Ubaldo Jiminez.

All-in-all, not a bad night!

Big Nasty was on fire tonight, going 8 innings with 5 strikeouts and only 2 runs. And those 2 runs were in the 1st and the 8th. He got 8 ground-ball outs too. His ERA of 2.56 has him tied for 4th in the AL, along with that guy Sabathia. Fuckin' A, Justin Masterson!


Even tho I'm excited that we pulled off a win, I'm still not blown away by our offense. Seemed like there was way too much of this going on tonight. Only 4 LOB tonight, which is better than 13. But it's about 33% of our OB.

Brantley was leading off tonight, with Carrera down at 9th (sneaky, right?) He was only 1 for 3 but he did get the game tying RBI. Definitely need that guy to turn it up juuuuust a notch.

Kipnis....still not hitting with any regularity. But check this out.  Are you surprised that Orlando Cabrera just got let go? (Traded to Giants for a hurt outfielder.) I liked Orlando ok, but he was replaceable.

Asdrubal had a spiffy play too, and looked good working with Kipnis. He also got a hit but he's just not hitting with that Asdrubalness we've come to expect this year (well I've been expecting it since 2008, but that's just me.)

RUMOR has it that Asdrubal let shit get to his head since the All Star Game. I don't know anything about Asdrubal the person, just the on-field player so I don't know if it's something he could suffer from or not.

Carlos Santana - did they light a fire under his ass again? Around Memorial Day they were telling him to stop moving his foot at the plate and he did and he exploded. Then he went back into his old ways. They reminded him again and he's wavering between multi-hit games and no-hit games. But, fuck the worry. Because he went 2 for 4 tonight AND he was catching. So Carlos Santana is not as bad as I thought he was the other day.

Fukudome. Not much to say about that cat yet but he did just enough for us for people to be excited. Actually, he did more than most of our guys would usually do lately in that he got a sac fly to score a run. How many of our guys would have hit a short pop-up to left? Probably a lot of them right now. So, good on you, Fukudome. DOMO!!

Both Lonnie and Zeke produced for us tonight. Lonnie with THREE walks - which turned in to 2 runs - and Zeke with a hit.

The BIG news tonight was Matt LaPorta. I'll admit right now that I was ready to trade LaPorta. Not because of how he fucked up on Tuesday. That sort of stuff happens to most of our guys. But, I don't think we need him if we're putting our eggs in Santana's basket. If we're sticking with Santana he needs to play more 1st base because he sucks as a catcher and needs time to concentrate on his batting. We don't need a logjam at 1st.

But then LaPorta was spiffy at 1st tonight, got a huge double, made the Royals' catcher BLEED from his FACE and then uh, won the game with a walk-off 3-run homer.

So everyone would be super-sad if he hadn't been there to wow us tonight. I think everyone would also feel REALLY awkward if we had to put him on a plane after all that.

Just realized that the 2 games I saw on TV this week were the 9th inning on Tuesday with LaPorta fucking the fuck up, and the 9th tonight with LaPorta the hero. Fun!

We're having a lot of problems with momentum lately so let's hope we learn to ROLL ON and get another win tomorrow.

What I want to see is a shitton of runs against Kyle Davies, who sucks. And I want to see Good Fausto. I want to see Fukudome get his first hit as an Indian and LaPorta have two awesome games in a row

Oh man, Ubaldo Jiminez is breaking my heart. Here's what he has to say about leaving the Rockies. Video.  I hope he feels ok here. He'll be with countrymen Manny Acta, Carmona, Raffy Perez and Santana so hopefully that makes it easy. I read earlier that he lives in Denver with "his parents." How lovely is that? I hope he has a lovely time in Cleveland.

Pending a successful physical, of course.

Ok so 1:05 PM tomorrow for us busting Kyle Davies to little pieces. Fukudome to get a hit. Mark my words.

Radio Chatter:
"Right now for the Indians every night Is a pitchers duel."
- Tom Hamilton on our lack of offense

"Treanor is up on his feet buying not sure If he knows he's in Cleveland."
- Tom Hamilton

"Let's hope this booth isn't bugged."
- Tom Hamilton after coming from a break, presumably after gossiping like girls with Hegan about pending trades

"That was a professional at bat."
- Tom Hamilton on Fukudome's sac fly to tie the game

Twitter Patter:
"Shout out to Nastyson... I meant Masterson. Sorry for constantly taking your wins!!!!"
- @SippTony (Tony Sipp)

Over the Heartache

No, I'm not over heartache for good. I'd have to move out of the Cleveland area, right?!

Naw I mean that I was really bummed a few minutes ago, at the end of the game there. With the big buildup and the crushing end. Super sad.

But I'm over it already because I'm looking at the box score and thinking about the game as a whole and feeling pretty good.

First off let's give some major applause to Justin Germano who had a perfect game in Columbus tonight. Only the 5th perfect game in 120 years of the International League. Seriously. DAYUM!

All right, so...Josh Tomlin. EIGHT innings! Seven of them were scoreless! Only 4 hits, 1 walk and eventually 2 runs in the 8th. LOVE IT! We really needed that from him tonight. He did exactly what we needed. Even the two runs were ok really.

He gave up 4 hits and Jared Weaver, who started the All Star Game and a 1.81 ERA gave up 7 hits and 2 walks and only went 7 innings. Which starting pitcher won the battle of starting pitchers tonight? Josh Fuckin' Tomlin is who!

Speaking of Columbus, our Sprouts showed up tonight for real. Carrera, Chisenhall and Kipnis all had hits. Kipnis with a double (off Jared Weaver!) and Chisenhall with the most be-you-tiful bunt ever in the 9th.

Also showing up tonight were our power guys Hafner, Santana and LaPorta. Carlos Santana actually got TWO hits after coming in to the game 1 for 15. It was LaPorta who went long tonight, scoring the Tribe's only run with a solo homer.

Unfortunately it was left up to LaPorta and then Kipnis at the end of the game there and...well neither the sprouts nor the power guys pulled through.

Our defense was tight again tonight. Nice stuff going on in the infield and Brantley is making up for lost time out there in left, running around and catching balls.

All in all I think we played very well, top notch, exactly as we had to be versus Weaver. We just fell slightly short. If a lineup with 3 just-off-the-bus guys and our low-level starter can do all they did tonight, then I am quite satisfied with tonight's game and look forward to seeing the team improve from here through September.

Tomorrow's game is a nooner. I hope to see a lot of folks wowing me with the ability to get off work at noon for baseball! It'll be our new favorite pitcher David Huff versus some dude named Ervin with a Creepy Beard.

By the way did you know the game was on Channel 3 today? I didn't, until the 8th inning. I opted for radio instead. Too bad because they didn't put Lonnie's 9th inning bunt up on the video clips. But right after that I tuned in. And watched the sadness.

See you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"How many time have you been watching an NFL game and wondered if a touchdown was scored, and the referee lifted one pinky to signal a touchdown?"
- Tom Hamilton

"The best thing for the Indians about Jared Weaver tonight is this is about to be pitch 90 for him."
- Tom Hamilton

"Eric Wedge has shaved his mustache to try to turn things around with this losing streak. If they lose tomorrow he might be as bald as a cucumber."
- Tom Hamilton on the Mariners

"Some people are chanting 'USA.' Somebody must have bought a brat[wurst]."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're Jordan Walden...you may have short-term memory loss but you may also have short term memory recall."
- Tom Hamilton after Angels reliever Walden seemed to be breaking down in the 9th for the second day in a row

Sloppy Sunday

Oh, boffins...once again uninspired by Indians baseball on a Sunday afternoon.

New sprout pitcher Jeanmar Gomez was up to pitch today, and was deceptively good until it was too late and he had already given up 3 homers and 5 runs. Then, Joe Smith did something Joe Smith is not supposed to do, and gave up 2 runs. Now his ERA is 1.30!!! Nooooooo!

I still haven't found the place on the Internets that lets you compare stats for Major League Bullpens. You know, how everyone says "The Indians have the [#]-ranked bullpen in the league!" or "The Indians bullpen has given up the [#] fewest runs so far this year!" The stats exist but the extrapolation does not exist easily so I don't know how the bullpenmafia has slipped lately but they have.

The first few batters tonight, Hamilton was all "They might not be able to figure [Orioles pitcher] Mitch Atkins out until the second time through the order." Then, Travis Hafner cruuuuushed one and then Santana cruuuuushed one. After that, Hammy and Rosie were all "They totally have Mitch Atkins figured out!" and "ZOMG Rosie they are gonna kick some butt!"

But then they pulled Atkins and put in this Hendrickson guy from Friday. Let me tell you, this man is very thin. He is 6'9" tall and if you read previous Radio Chatter on him, you'd know he played for the Cavaliers at one time. Anyway it was 90 degrees out with I think 99% humidity and dude was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Probably partly because he was cold and partly because he is embarrassed of his very thin arms.

Anyway, we got no hits off of fatty there, and no runs off anyone for the rest of the game.

Eleven LOB, folks.

Other than the 2 homers we did get 8 hits. Travis Buck got 2 hits and the only other RBI, off a double. He hit in Ezquiel Carrera, who was running for Grady, who ... is out with a knee injurygoddammit.

I think I said yesterday that we'd never see Zeke again but uhm...surprise! He'll be here until Grady is back I suspect.

Valbuena, who I still don't trust, had 2 hits. He also struck out so, boo! Hiss!

Matt LaPorta was kinda OK today. He went 1 for 2, getting hit by a pitch and walking once.

They shut down Asdrubal and Brantley today, tho. Big time, since the pair has been doing pretty super good against the Orioles. They didn't even get walked!

Asdrubal did have an awesome play today - another behind-the-back flip going past second. I honestly can't find it online anywhere. I mean, it was just as spectacular as his previous flip from this year so where is it? Is it clichéd to show Asdrubal rockin' the infield now? Was that play from yesterday instead? Am I confused?

I am pretty sure I saw it happen. It was awesome. Sorry that you missed it!

Tomorrow's going to be TIGHT. Well, "tight" in a sense that it's a sort of way to describe "exciting" and "exciting" is a way to describe a day with two baseball games. I can't say that I have the utmost confidence in our starters, or our even-further-skeletonized offense but hey - 6 hours of baseball!

So the games are at 1:10 PM and 8:10 PM. Bring your radios to work!

Radio Chatter:
"You have problems if you can't figure out Mitch Atkins."
- Tom Hamilton

"Rosie if Mitch Atkins is around in time for you to do the play-by-play in the 4th inning, I'll be shocked."
- Tom Hamilton (Atkins lasted 3)

"I don't like the way this game is going. The Orioles keep hanging around."
- Tom Hamilton

My Own Double-Header!

It's been decided - by me - that the $19.95/year for Gameday Audio (or maybe it's $14.95? I forget) is a must-have for anyone who doesn't have a DVR and SportsTime Ohio. In fact, it's probably better than a DVR and cable because I can listen to the games from anywhere, any time.

Like today, when I woke up in Redmond, WA (why yes, I DID go to the Microsoft store!) and listened to some of last night's game, then went to Seattle (why yes, I DID go up into the Space Needle!) then came back and finished last night's game and went right on to tonight's game. Extra fun: I got to fast-forward through commercials!

Anyway, it's all pretty cool. Oh yeah, having a laptop to take with you is cool too. Would you believe I didn't have a modern working laptop until just now? Truth!

Ok so today's post is a double-header since I listened to Thursday and Friday's games sort of like a double-header with a huge rain delay in the middle.

First off the pitching was once again awesome. Probably because it was Masterson and Tomlin and not uhm...Carmona and Talbot. Tomlin did give up 3 homers (he has given up 18 this year - he likes giving up homers) but 2 of them were solo shots, and in the same inning. Wow, is that cat predictable!

Masterson gave us 6 and didn't really need any help finishing up, but Smith, Pestano and Sipp came in to do the job. Smith and Pestano worked on Friday too AS WELL AS Durbin, Raffy and All Star hero Chris Perez. Together the 8 guys pitched 7 innings, struck out 9 and gave up ZERO runs!

Tony Sipp struck out the side in the 9th on Thursday. Chris Perez got his 22nd save on Friday. And Joe Smith? His ERA is .80 and he did pitch two days in a row.

Don't you just love the #bullpenmafia?!

Taking care of business on the offensive side was, well, almost everyone. But ESPECIALLY the top of the order.

Let's start with our All Star Asdrubal, who apparently was tired since his trip to Arizona but not too tired to hit a homer in his first at-bat on Thursday, then another on his second at-bat on Friday. He was 4 for 10 over the 2 nights with 2 homers, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. I suppose maybe he was too tired to do anything spectacular defensively? He did, like, get an error...

Also coming alive these last two games, and somewhat surprisingly, were Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana. Carlos followed Asdrubal with his 14th homer in the 1st (Santana has 14, Cabrera 16) and on Friday Grady got his 10th. They both also got doubles on the nights they got their home runs. Unfortunately, both guys weren't feeling it both days so they didn't quite back each other up. They also were a bit strike-out-y when not hitting longballs. However, if they're taking the chance to hit for power while in Baltimore, I won't complain!

Hafner was pretty tight even though he didn't join the Bawlmer Howmer Club yet. He's being patient and getting walks - 4 walks over the 2 games. In fact, Thursday night he was 2 for 2 with 2 walks, no strikeouts and 1 RBI. Friday he didn't get any hits but did walk twice and score once.

Scoring 3 runs over these 2 games was Michael Brantley, who got his ass on base 5 out of 10 times!

Further on down the line is LaPorta who isn't looking too bad still. He's hit in every game he's been back except one, and has even had a couple multi-hit games.

Lonnie Chisenhall - despite looking like "Michael Jackson in that video 'Thriller'" according to Tom Hamilton, due to a bruised face and a bloodshot eye - managed to get a double and then a game-winning single in the 6th. They let him sit out the 9th inning because, damn, I bet he has one hell of a headache!

Oh you know who came in to play for a bit on Thursday? Ezequiel Carrera! He probably won't be up much longer - I guess we have 2 extra guys on our bench until Talbot and Cabrera's replacements have to pitch - but there he was!

Really nice couple of games here to bring us back from the break. If you recall, we were pretty sad before the break. Granted, the O's are pretty bullshit this year but what a way to stretch our legs, right?

Two more in Baltimore after this, too! That's pretty smooth. Unfortunately I think I'll be missing Saturday and Sunday's games too. Live, at least. But never fear because I've got my own time delay machine woohoo!

See you next time!

Radio Chatter:
"It almost looks like one of those fake eyes you would see used in one of those horror movies."
- Tom Hamilton on Lonnie Chisenhall's injured eye

"Teams like the Orioles with a lot of veterans...they can go south in a hurry."
- Tom Hamilton on the sorry state of the Orioles

"Guthrie's been a different guy since that double play ball got him out of a jam in the 3rd."
- Tom Hamilton in the 5th, when the game was still close

"Hey, you're a starter and you go to the pen? That's a promotion on this club!"
- Chad Durbin via Mike Hegan on Masterson's relief pitching last friday

"That right there is why the Orioles don't win. First pitch swinging, you're an RBI guy, and you pop it up? It just can't happen."
- Tom Hamilton is disappointed in Nick Markakis

"There was  time when Joe Tate was saying 'Wham! With the right hand...' for Mark Hendrickson. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'm telling you folks - you can write it down if you're scoring with us. He is going to strike out for the third time tonight in one or two pitches. He can't touch Pestano's slider."
- Tom Hamilton on Mark Reynolds, two pitches before he struck out in the 8th

=================
"When you left the Orioles ballpark in '97 did you ever think it would be like this today?"
- Jim Rosenhaus on the sorry state of the Orioles

"Indians lead 3-2 but I tell you what, it feels like it should be 8-2."
- Tom Hamilton by the 3rd inning

"...none of which can be aired, or Rosie loses his job."
- Tom Hamilton on Jim Rosenhaus's interview with former Indian Wayne Kirby

"It looks like you on Saturday morning."
- Tom Hamilton suggesting Rosie has eyes as red as Lonnie Chisenhall's injured eye after a long Friday night.

"Tag made by Orlando Cabrera. He was waiting for Reynolds. [...] Absolute perfect throw from Carlos Santana, and Orlando Cabrera sort of had to stay there in the crouch saying 'Any time you want to get here Reynolds, so I can tag you out.'"
- Tom Hamilton

Tal-Bot Fail

Ok we're not going to dwell on pitching today. You can tell by the title that things didn't go well for Talbot. Again. Also our bullpen is pretty much done for the moment and they need some All Star Break.

Look at me, I'm so spoiled...our bullpen gives up 3 runs and I'm all like "Nooooo! They're so burnt out!!"

Joe Smith's ERA is still .91. But, he didn't pitch today.

Moving on...

Michael Brantley! He was tired of being in a slump, or questionably in a slump, so he went 4 for 6 today, with 2 runs and 2 RBI. If you've been following along that's 8 hits in the last THREE games, where he'd had just 4 hits in the 9 games before that. Hey hey!

Oh hey did you hear that Derek Jeter is opting out of the All Star Game starting lineup? That's right - Asdrubal is now the starter! I'm sort of bummed that since I'll be on the west coast, now I have to make sure I'm back in my hotel room by 6-ish so I can catch his start, instead of being able to wait around and see him replace Jeter and then Perez shut down. Ugh - how do you people in the Pacific time zone live with this sort of schedule?!

Anyway, Asdrubal got two hits tonight. He's .06 points away from going into the break with a .300 average. What do you think?! He also got his 51st RBI and he leads AL shortstops. Duh!

Our man Shelley Duncan was in tonight, and he got a hit. Then when they switched up their pitching, Travis Buck made an appearance and got a two-run double!

Just like Buck, LaPorta's been hitting just fiiiine lately. In fact, so has Austin Kearns. The whole middle has been just beans.

Problem is no one is getting key hits, or something. They're getting singles when no one is on, or getting 2 hits but not enough to drive guys in. We got 15 hits tonight but had 13 LOB! That's 4 more than last night!

Also hitting tonight - surprisingly - were Hannahan and Marson, getting 3 and 2 hits respectively. That's real great when your number 8 and 9 guys get on base, especially if your 1 and 2 guys are Brantley and Cabrera.

Yay to those two for their hitting but boooo to Supermanahan and Sweet Lou for totally botching a throw from home to 3rd while trying to catch a guy stealing. Jack was asleep at the bag and let one get by him while Rajai Davis both stole 3rd and then waltzed home.

The loss was pretty bittersweet tonight. Not because it came after such an awesome win, but because the guys at the plate were all our 3rd string guys. They did quite well, actually, scoring 7 runs and hitting the aforementioned 15 hits. It was Hafner who went down swinging tonight...going 0 for 5 and leaving 8 men on base. It was the starter and the bullpen who couldn't keep the runs under double digits. Tonight it was all the old reliable guys who weren't there.

Of course, Brantley and Asdrubal were there!

However it worked out, it was quite a fun ride. I had some butterflies in my stomach a few times.

Tomorrow's game will not feature Mitch Talbot (in fact, rumor has it that very few future Indians games will feature Mitch Talbot) so we have a fighting chance. Josh Tomlin is up, and we need desperately for him to give us 7 or 8 innings. Smith and Perez, they have the 8th and 9th. Everyone else, they need a nap.

Game will be on WKYC tomorrow at 7:05 PM. Woot! See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Basically when you see what we saw last night from Travis Hafner, it's like seeing a perfect game, frequency-wise."
- Tom Hamilton

"So much for the Indians being able to capitalize off the momentum of last night's comeback."
- Tom Hamilton

"You wonder how many starts he's going to get before the Indians go to triple-A."
- Tom Hamilton on Mitch Talbot

"Try to figure out this one. Jo-Jo Reyes goes three years without a win, and he's trying to beat them for the second time this year."
- Tom Hamilton

"Well the good news for the Indians is that they have Josh Tomlin tomorrow."
- Tom Hamilton

"You can't go into the 9th inning down 5 or 6 runs thinking 'Well, we'll get 'em, just like last night.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"All the time, Orlando Cabrera seems to be in the middle of it."
- Tom Hamilton on Orlando at bat as the tying run

A Night of Magic

Tonight's game was sort of boring. Mike Hegan said so, Manny Acta said so. I actually didn't notice because I had to work so it could have droned on for 8 hours and I would have been fine with it.

I don't think it's that boring when we get 10 hits. It's definitely sad when we get 10 hits, 5 walks and strand 9.  And strike out 8 times.

But, it was cool to see a rookie pitcher, Zach McAllister, come start and do a decent job. He was shaky for sure, walking 4 and giving up 3 runs in 4 innings. But Fausto does shit like that all the time and he has been in the pros for a while.

And we've got the bullpen to back it up! Raffy, Durbin, Hermann and Smith shut 'em down for 4 innings. Joe Smith - ERA of .91! Our man Sipp came in in the 9th and gave up a run and...got the win? Whatever. Giving up a run was no big deal 'cause we were already down 3, why not 4? And it was a home run to Jose Bautista, his 29th. Someone had to do it, you know?

Pitching wasn't really the story of the night, though. Neither was Lonnie getting hit in the face with a pitch (Fuuuuucck....)

The story is not Travis Buck getting his 9th hit in 8 games, putting his batting average 30 points higher than the middle of June, a respectable .252.

The story is also not Matt LaPorta smashing a double off Francisco in the 9th, after Buck's single, further solidifying his back-ness.

The story is not, no matter how much I want it to be, Asdrubal being "Clutch-drubal" and getting a bases-loaded single in the 9th, driving in our first run of the night.

But with the bases loaded and the Tribe down by 4 (thanks to the wounded Asdrubal, in case you forgot)...after 3 hours of sort of boring baseball...well this happened.

Ok I won't make you click the link because I hate when I have to watch a video to get the rest of a story. But you really should click the link and hear it. Because Travis Hafner, good ol' Travis Hafner, he hit a walk-off grand slam. And Tom Hamilton called it and it was beautiful. I mean really beautiful.

It's nights like these where I really hate sitting here alone listening to the games. Scott Cabrera was ignoring baseball. My brother was off doing something. The dog was asleep. There was absolutely no one to high-five. Nothing to yell. Nothing to do during that perfect post-homer moment when Hammy lets the crowd noise spill through the radio.

I actually ended up doing something like this:

No fucking joke!
Even though we love Carlos Santana, and his walk-off grand slam was neato, it wasn't as neato as Pronk's. I think they need to replace Santana's "What If?" video with a Pronk one STAT. Because no matter how much we think Carlos Santana is going to be, I don't think he'll ever be Travis Hafner in Cleveland.

Things are feeling much better lately with guys getting hits and us having the ability to come back. That's something we took for granted in April and May and completely lost in June. Guys are also returning from their injuries and getting right back to where they left off (LaPorta, Buck...Asdrubal). The bullpen is no fluke whatsoever, our starters - while not perfect - are really a phenomenal bunch.

We're going to hopefully roll into the All Star break in 1st place. Some of our performances lately are really a great way to start the second half. It seems like we're getting better from the bottom-up as we rotate though our bench and Columbus. There's still a lot of striking out going on, and the occasional sloppily-defended game. But it looks like they are back to trying everything it takes to get the win.

I think tonight is a great look at more wonderful things to come!

See you tomorrow for more magic. It's going to be rocky on our side with Talbot, but their pitcher is reported as having given up 14 runs in his last 15 innings pitched, so we'll take a big heapin' helpin' of that mess!

Radio Chatter:
"I don't think Villanueva is going to invite Dana DeMuth for a late-night dinner."
- Tom Hamilton on the home-plate umpire's tight strike zone

"They've got a shift on for Hafner. My goodness, there is a second baseman in right field, about 40 feet."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have the makings of a pretty good rec league basketball team now with [McAllister], Masterson...Carlos Carrasco is a big boy too, maybe on point."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"You know, 94 pitches here in the big leagues, the way he had to work so hard, is like 120 pitches down in Columbus."
- Mike Hegan on McAllister's pitch count

"This game has had the pace of the old tortise and the hare race. [...] As we've said before, some 4 hour games are too short and some 3 hour games are too long. This game is too long."
- Mike Hegan after 3 hours

"Encarnacion jumps up in the air and he's not happy. But he's got to get in line, Dana DeMuth has 15 other people unhappy with his calls tonight."
- Tom Hamilton after Encarnacion strikes out

"If the Indians don't win this game, they have only themselves to blame."
- Tom Hamilton

"You don't want to be down 3 runs but if you have to be down 3 runs this is the situation you want to face."
- Mike Hegan with Hafner up and the bases loaded

"A night of utter frustration ends with one of the best 9th innings ever at Progressive Field."
- Tom Hamilton

Hello Nasty, Where You Been?

Just do we're all on the same page: Big Nasty is one of Masterson's nicknames. Hello Nasty is the title of one of the best Beastie Boys albums of all time. And the blog's title is a line from one of the songs on said album. All set? Here we go!

Justin Masterson, he's actually been here the whole time. Problem is the rest of his team seems to take a nap when he's on the mound. Seriously, I think they were revolting against the beard or something.

Nasty was up again tonight, squeaky clean again and looking even better than his last start. There were 5 strikeouts and 4 hits last time. Tonight - 6 strikeouts and 3 hits. None runs. BOOM! Giving 8 innings again too, which is awesome because even though our bullpen is the shit, you don't really need to test the shit every night.

Pestano came in for the 9th and was all...bad. So Chris Perez was all "I got this!" and 10 pitches later, save 21 out of 22 save opportunities. TWENTY ONE, GUYS!

I am actually excited about the All Star Game. Possibly for the first time ever.

The team got 10 hits tonight, and when you combine that with bitchin' pitchin' and golden glovin' what do you get? A big stinkin W and first place in the AL Central by 1.5 games!

How do you like this "vintage Grady" from tonight? Austin Kearns looked at him as if to say "Yeah, I wasn't going to jump up for that. Good work."

Oh yeah, speaking of awesome defense, Asdrubal started tonight. I find this to be good news because he's not hurt but my first reaction was "I hope he's not pushing himself only to be busted by September." Really. They said he's taped up as much as one can be taped up, and he tested the tape right away in the first. He was still going strong in the 8th, being amazing in the field. Maybe we should tape everyone from head to toe every game?

I guess I can breathe easier about Asdrubal's ankle.


Lots of nice at-bats for the boys tonight, getting walked 5 times and chasing their starter out after just 5 innings. Of course, dude just came off the DL but you really picked the wrong team to face just off the DL so don't let the door hitcha, Hughes!

Travis Hafner. Is that dude for real? I mean, I just don't believe it that someone can come in and out of the lineup like that and just be great. He's hitting .338...although not enough ABs to get him on top of any lists. But he's actually hitting like he is hitting .338...you know? Tonight he was 2 for 4 with a walk. That's actually hitting .500 but in reality a guy hitting over .300 is going to hit and that's what he did. You follow me, right?

Speaking of coming in and out of the lineup and being great - Matt LaPorta! I didn't have any expectations for that guy tonight, his first day off the DL. But he got 2 hits! I honestly thought his leg was wrecked, the way they helped him off the field when he got hurt. But Hamilton said it was more of a 2-week vacation for him. No rehab required. Let's hope he takes a page out of Pronk's Book of Hitting Good and stays hot!

Lonnie Chisenhall! First major league homer (Hamilton audio)! I've been excited about that guy since his first game. He's been pretty solid for us so far, with 8 hits in 8 games - at least one hit in every game but one. I have not followed much about his defense, other than he's got a "cannon" and I think he's got an error already but we can't all be Supermanahan at the corner.

Austin Kearns has hit in 5 of his last 6 games. I still don't know if I trust him completely but he's our right fielder now and that is helping his bat.

Michael Brantley hasn't had a good series but tonight he went 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored. So, not slumping but I think maybe still slouching.

The guys on WTAM behaved themselves a bit better tonight. There was a little bit of Yankee-stroking but our team played well enough to garner their attention. Comedian Frank Caliendo was in the booth doing impressions I guess. I caught the first few innings on TV so I missed all that fun. I'm not sure why Frank was there, other than the game being on ESPN. But I thought he was TBS's guy? I'm so confused. He was on Hot In Cleveland the other day too. I thought he lost his relevance in 2008.

You know who should be on Hot In Cleveland? Tom Hamilton. Wow, I just cracked myself up! Should I start a Facebook petition?

Oh yeah, as I mentioned, this game and all of our awesomeness was on ESPN tonight. Since we played the Yankees, of course. So everybody rocking and then kicking the Yankees' asses was totally on national TV.

I'm going to have to brace myself for the flood of "Asdrubal Cabrera's tattoo" searches tonight. I hope Google's servers don't get overwhelmed.

Ok so 4 in a row against the Blue Jays now, all at the regular time. Meaning 7:05 PM every day, even Saturday, and 1:05 PM on Sunday.

Tomorrow's starter is Zach McAllister and if you're paying attention you'll notice that he's new. Called up from Columbus to replace ol' Fausto for a bit. He's got a respectable 8-3 record with a 2.97 ERA down there so it stands to reason he'll be EXACTLY THE SAME up here. Right?

Welllll....if not, Frank Hermann really likes long relief and Joe Smith has an ERA under 1.0 so really, what could go wrong?

I'll see you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"That was vintage Sizemore!"
- Jim Rosenhaus after Grady's awesome catch in the 5th

"The problem with a 2-0 lead...if you're Manny Acta you hold your breath every time a Yankee comes to the plate with a man on."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have had so many opportunities, they need to cash in here or rue the day."
- Tom Hamilton on having the bases loaded

"Well you don't have to guess where Boone Logan is from. Texas. With a name like that he's not from North Dakota."
- Tom Hamilton

"With bases loaded and less than 2 outs they're hitting .613 as a team."
- Tom Hamilton, on the Indians

C is for Cookie

Carlos "Cookie" Carrasco is on FIRE lately! Only gave up 1 run in his last 3 starts (tonight). He crept up on a no-no into the 6th inning, with only one walk. Until he gave up a hit in the 6th, he had pitched 21.1 scoreless innings in a row. I don't know what's gotten into this kid (he's 24) but DAMN! Anyone picking him up for fantasy? He's 6-1 over his last 7.

In case you were wondering who Carlos Carrasco is, let me introduce you:

MLB.com

Awesome relief pitching, as usual. Joe Smith is still rockin' the under-2.0 ERA (1.29). Our man Sipp! gets his second closing opportunity in as many nights, again giving up none. Both guys struck out 2!

Hafner didn't play tonight, and Grady was at DH. But we still looked fine without Pronk, which is great. Means he's not carrying us yet making us stronger.

Grady rocked out tonight with a double and a triple. The triple was due to some great baserunning on a looked-like-a-homer ball. If Manny Ramírez had hit a ball like that he may have been thrown out at first.

Asdrubal, gettin on base, stealin' bases, scoring runs, batting .301.

CHOOOOO 1 for 2, with 2 walks. Walking a lot lately which means that he's really focused at the plate. He had 10 walks and 28 strikeouts in May, but with June more than halfway over he's already got 7 walks and only 12 strikeouts. Tonight he went the other way for his hit, got an RBI and got his 10th stolen base as well. Nice stuff!

Carlos Santana did not get a hit tonight BUT...he got a sac fly for an RBI. He hasn't had one of those since May. Brantley also got himself a SF-RBI.

Orlando Cabrera is making a case for himself. He did sort of miss a ball to give the Pirates their first hit in the 6th, but then he came back and hit his 3rd homer of the year. Hrm.

Austin Kearns is doing better in an occasional role. He had a hard time getting started off the bench, but he's hit in 3 out of his 5 games here in June. Tonight he went 2 for 4 and scored a run.

Sweet Lou Marson was behind the plate again tonight, which my friend C agrees with me is the right place for him. Now that LaPorta is out for a bit (owie in the ankle with video *shudder*) we should see more Carlos at first. And we get Buck back too. Man I hate to lose LaPorta but I do like those players in those places...but, speedy recovery to Matt - he wasn't having too bad of a month.

Great great team effort again tonight, just like we've gotten used to. Solid starting pitching, shutout relief, small ball offense.

Hafner's back in tomorrow night. I'm excited to see the lineup! I might watch the game on tv with my dad if that's ok with everyone. No Radio Chatter, then. But that's ok as it's a little tiring this weekend without Tom Hamilton.

It's a 1:05 game tomorrow, bring your broom! Heck I might bring my broom to my dad's, just cuz I paid for it and stuff.

See you then!

Radio Chatter:
"The final count was over 60,000 dogs last night. [...] Sales of antacid in the Cleveland area were high today."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Friday's Dollar Dog Night

"Hammy is our big toe."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Tom Hamilton's absence

"Nobody can hit that breaking ball, Mike."
"Not just this ball club, nobody period."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Mike Hegan on Carrasco's breaking ball

"How many hitters would have watched it and not gotten to 3rd base?"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Grady's home-run-turned-triple

Excited For Baseball!

Man, what a good baseball game. I mean REALLY good baseball game!

I could totally feel this coming, after our performance in New York, a tiny win and then a loss to Verlander. That was all different and tonight was it.

The KEY to tonight's game was Fausto not freaking the fuck out. Three runs in the first...and no freakout. Only one of those was an earned run, perhaps that was it. He outlasted their starter, but only going 5. I like the move by Acta to take him out "early." Before there was a chance to melt down. Early enough for a nap.

Then, Raffy - Vinnie - Tony - Perez. Lights out. Zero hits, three walks and six strikeouts in four innings. Chris Perez was SPECTACULAR, striking out two and then getting Brennan Boesch to pop out. Got his 17th save, putting him second in the league by one.

The record is 62, if you were wondering.

Our bats tonight...oh, what bats!!! Everybody hit except for one guy. I'll let you guess which guy.

Did you guess Brantley? I bet you didn't! Brantley didn't hit an in fact struck out twice. But we won - ha ha!!

Speaking of Brantley, I guess he rolled his ankle on his 4th at-bat. I found myself yelling at the radio "No! No Michael Brantley! Bad!" and doing the ASL sign for "no". I think I hang out with toddlers too much. But, he came back for a 5th at-bat so I guess he's ok. Whew!

We won with only ONE double and no homers. Thirteen hits! We even only got 3 walks!

I love it. Just love it!

Ok, so who was on fire tonight? The goddamn BOTTOM of the lineup! Especially Orlando, who got THREE hits and 2 RBI!

LaPorta got 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Sweet Lou got 2 hits and 1 RBI.

Tonight's lineup had Marson catching, Santana at first and LaPorta at DH. I am really liking Santana over LaPorta at first and Marson behind the plate. Marson's only allowed 9 steals in 176 innings, over Santana's 32 over 406. Santana, IMHO, has been better than LaPorta over at first.

And, nothing against Lou, but I don't want Santana run over at the plate anymore. I also don't want him concentrating on calling balls and strikes. There is some article out there about how players who are good catchers get worse at hitting as their catching gets better. I think it's true.

Ok anyway so, Grady struck out a whole lot less today. As in, none. He got himself an RBI. Santana walked again, good good. Also got a hit.

CHOOOOO collected two hits and a walk. Jim Rosenhaus says that even though his numbers may not show a comeback, the way he is hitting the ball looks comeback-y. He hit another hard one tonight. So nice to see that dude cross the plate! It woulda been fun to see that at home, huh? Let's hope he's feeling it for the rest of the week!

So 6 runs and 13 hits is exactly how we played in April and May. The pitching has pretty much been there the whole time, save for a few fumbles here and there. It was particularly harmonious for us to bat like that behind a winning Carmona. If you can't get into that, you crazy!


I just learned that Carrasco's nickname in the clubhouse is "Cookie." Love it!

Oh hey we weren't in first place anymore coming into this game. Now we're tied for first again. Tomorrow is THE game for first place. Weird, right?

Tomorrow's game is at 1:05 PM, against Max Scherzer. He's got an ERA over 4. FINISH HIM!!!

Radio Chatter:
"Catcher Alex Avila goes to the mound and says to Penny 'Look you've got three pitches, which one are you going to throw?'"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"You get the feeling the Indians are going to get to Brad Penny tonight."
- Tom Hamilton

"He realized it wasn't the beard, it was him."
"Shaved it off and hit a home run!"
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on Brennan Boesch's ex-beard

"If Fausto Carmona can throw strikes, Ordonez cannot hit them."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'll tell you what, he takes after mama's side of the family. Because his dad was a big strapping lineman."
- Tom Hamilton on Tiger relief pitcher Daniel Schlerech

"He'd have to be Carlton Fisk to get that one. Or maybe Dirk Nowitzki."
- Mike Hegan on a high wild pitch

"This guy you just hold your breath every time he comes to the plate."
- Tom Hamilton on Miguel Cabrera (no relation)

"He coulda used a relay man there. Hand him a baton...somebody else to go the other 35 feet."
- Mike Hegan on Miguel Cabrera's slowness out of the box

"I said to Tony [Sipp] the other day, how did Clemson do in the post season? 'Don't know, don't care.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Tony Sipp's Clemson coach telling him he'll never make it in the pros

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And Charlie's got the blues."
"[...] By the way, I didn't ignore that. I had something deep to say and now I've lost it..."
- Tom Hamilton cracking up Mike Hegan

Oh, That Fausto...

Well tonight was different. Different than the last few (or dozen?) games in that we ended up doing some batting and did not hang the pitcher out to dry.

It was the same in that Fausto hung himself out to dry. But then something different did happen in that our bullpen came in and gave up a ton of runs and actually ended up losing the game for us more than Fausto had lost the game. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Perhaps they were stupefied by their trip to the MLB Fan Cave today. You gotta read that article and watch that video. It's all sorts of goofy.

Almost everybody hit today. And when I say almost I mean everybody but two guys. But that is soooo much better than our other games of late, you know? For a while it's been ONLY two guys have hit!

Orlando is one of those guys who did not get a hit. He wasn't supposed to be in the game today - Travis Buck was, but he was in a taxi accident yesterday. NOT COOL, NEW YORK!

Orlando played 2nd and Cord Phelps was DH (what?) Phelps got his first major league hit tonight! His folks were there to see it, too. Bravo!

In my no-way-professional opinion, today's team that showed up was the team that we saw on April 1, who then went on to win like a million games. Fausto sucked and we got a bunch of hits and had a bunch of good at-bats and scored a bunch of runs.

Carlos Santana had himself a good night offensively, with two hits, one of them a two-run-dinger. He did however give up a run on an error. Whoops...

Ok, better yet, Matt LaPorta! Pretty stinky lately but tonight had 2 hits and 2 RBI!

Ooh, and there was Hannahan who not only got a double and two walks (I've learned that with Hannahan we "love the glove" and put up with his offense or lack thereof) but he also had a sweet stop that reminded me of my dog versus a moth.

Brantley and Asdrubal got hits today. Brantley even got an RBI. I am really glad about that because I had a really bad day at work. I told my co-worker that if Brantley and Asdrubal get shut out tonight, I just might cry.

Turns out I didn't have to cry. In fact, I quite enjoyed the game really. Of course it could have been better in many respects but it gives me hope.

Oh yeah, and there was an awesome fight. So awesome that the bullpen (see above) came trotting out AND MLB.com put a two clips up. That's pretty rare - they don't always like to highlight fighting.

Tomorrow's gonna be sweet...1PM game and it's on TV! One good thing about playing the Yankees, I guess. We are THIS close to beating those pinstriped jerkfaces. I hope tomorrow is it and I see it on TV.

Radio Chatter:
"The way Carmona is pitching right now he is helping all of the Yankees out of their slumps."
- Tom Hamilton

"Carmona just served one up and said 'see how hard you can hit it.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Granderson's homer

"I don't blame Teixiera for being angry. That is bush league to throw that high after a home run."
- Tom Hamilton on Carmona hitting Mark Teixiera after giving up a home run

"That may be the most useless news story ever."
- Tom Hamilton on a story Rosenhaus read about the official scorer wanting to make sure he scored Jeter's 3000th hit correctly

"I don't even know if I can read some of these other headlines in this paper."
"Well you can, but I'll have another partner tomorrow afternoon."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenaus on The Daily Post

"Rosie's wife Carol is pregnant with their second child, which is great news. [...] I thought it was pregnant women who liked ice cream and pickles, but Rosie is going through ice cream here nobody's business. [...] You went through that ice cream like Sherman went through Georgia."
- Tom Hamilton

"If people could see what you destroyed before we went on the air tonight..."
- Jim Rosenhaus to Tom Hamilton in defense of his ice cream

"Those customs people at the air port are like 'Look, I don't want this job, I don't want to be here, so you are going to be miserable too.' You say 'hi' and they look at you like 'what did you mean by that?'"
- Tom Hamilton on going through customs

"We just heard that the grounds crew has been spotted on Long Island. I guess they are heading to the Hamptons for the weekend."
- Tom Hamilton on the rainy 7th inning

"There's a guy in the stands here who looks exactly like President Obama. Since they put him up on the big board, that guy hasn't bought his own beer all night."
- Tom Hamilton

"That just shows how your bullpen is in disarray, when you have to go to Mariano Rivera when down by 6 in the 9th."
- Tom Hamilton