O's Noes!

Weird game today (Saturday). Weird because my first reaction to simply hearing the final score was "Goddammit, Carlos Carrasco!" Then I checked out the box score and scolded myself for being so down on ol' Cookie.

Turns out it was a ... pitchers duel! Carlos did just fine - finally - only giving up 3 runs over 7 innings. And, he struck out 6!

The problem actually was with the bullpen, especially Raffy Perez in the 8th who gave up 3 runs. Ugh! He's been pitching pretty well lately with an ERA under 2, and I am so glad I held my tongue the other day thinking about him making a play for under 1, just like Joe Smith. He is up over 2 after just this one game. Oops!

Frank Hermann followed that misery with one more run, which ended up being the winning run.

But! At least it wasn't Carrasco!

The other pitcher, Alfredo Simon, apparently is about to go on trial for manslaughter in his home country of the Dominican Republic. I suspect he could have either been really shaken and pitch poorly, or really determined to have the best game of his life before possibly going to jail for the rest of it. He ended up doing the latter, holding our guys to just 3 hits and striking out 5 over 7 innings. Whoo boy!

We did end up coming back - three runs with only ONE more hit - in the 9th but fell 1 run short. Sucks!

Asdrubal almost got his 3rd homer in 3 games, but stupid Adam Jones brought it back over the wall.

Michael Brantley is still hitting hot against these O's, with 2 more hits and 2 more RBI!

You know who got 3 of our 5 runs? It was...Orlando Cabrera! That cat is not hitting for shit lately but he still can get those critical hits from time to time. Makes everyone forget that maybe we need to send him on his way. Because you do need critical hits. Anyway tonight he got a bases-loaded double for 3 RBI and brought us within 1 in the 9th.

Hey, Ezequiel Carrera was in again today! He tried to bunt again, isn't that precious? Didn't do squat at the plate but he had an outfield assist! So, we'll probably never see that guy again.

Austin Kearns has 8 hits over his last 10 games. That's nice but not necessarily enough right now.

Sorry for the lateness of this post but life caught up with me. I had to choose between the game and bouncy gymnastics time with my niece at the Cuyahoga Falls YMCA. They have a floor that sort of makes it feel like you're walking on the moon. So, who wouldn't choose moon walking over July baseball? Exactly.

Pretty excited, tho, because the next game is now in 20 minutes! And it's on WKYC! What an awesome Sunday, right?

See you later!

Radio Chatter:
"I think you're right, Rosie. I think you're right. I hate to say that..."
- Tom Hamilton begrudgingly thinks Jim Rosenhaus is right about the weather in Minnesota

"So far tonight we're seeing the Carrasco we saw in June."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"He's not hurting the club, that's for sure."
- Tom Hamilton on Chisenhall's performance at 3rd

"You'd have to be an idiot not to know how good the East is, when the Yankees and Boston are spending money faster than you can make it."
- Tom Hamilton

"I can't stop thinking of the Peter, Paul and Mary song 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' thinking about Simon..."
- Tom Hamilton on the Orioles' pitcher having to go back to the Dominican to face a manslaughter trial

"Joe Mauer is a once-in-a-lifetime find. Just because you're 6'5" and a catcher doesn't mean you're the next Joe Mauer."
- Tom Hamilton

"When the highlight of scoreboard-watching is the Kiss Cam, you know you're out of the race."
- Tom Hamilton

Snakes and Ladders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Orlando Cabrera won the game with a home run.

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

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

Can you even follow that? Yeesh.

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

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

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

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

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

Golden Gate Two-fer

Man you know it was a rough weekend when I skipped blogging for the first time this season. I kept putting off Saturday's game recap all day Saturday then Sunday rolled around and I continued to put it off until Sunday's game came up, and I was still not inspired to write enough words to constitute a read-worthy post. Since Sunday's game was more of the same of Friday and Saturday...eh, combining the games into one post just made the most sense.


I've actually been feeling pretty awful since Choo got hurt. I feel sad. So does Choo:

"I just feel bad that I can't help the team anymore," Choo said. "We might make the playoffs. We had a good start and are still in first place, and I can't help the team. I feel sad." 

Oh. My. God.

Ok so let's get the tweezers and see if we can pluck any strands of Good from these last two games.

Actually there's a big chunk of Good right here: Starting pitching was amazing. As good as any team could ask for, ever. Masterson and Carmona gave up 3 earned runs over 2 games. Masterson only gave up 4 hits and struck out 5 in more than 6 innings. Carmona gave struck out 4 and gave up 7 hits, but he went a full 6 innings and did not implode.

Our bullpen (Sipp, Pestano, R. Perez and Smith over 2 days) went back to giving up 0 runs and in fact gave up 0 hits.

Sipp balked with the bases loaded on Saturday, but that was an un-earned run.

In case you are trying to be up-in-arms about how you (the expert?) don't think it was a balk, Sipp says it was:

"I didn't move much, but I felt it," Sipp said. "I guess they're all good at their job. I felt it. I knew I balked." 

Oddly enough, I  was looking up balk stats the other night because we recently benefited from a balk again, scoring a run when someone balked with bases loaded. I asked Nick Camino on Twitter how many balks we've had against us this year and he said 4. I think 2 of them scored runs. When I looked, we were one of the few teams in the majors without a balk. Well now we have one.

Sorry for the jinx.

Someone on a message board I frequent asked about the number of balks committed this year and if it's particularly high and if so, why. I piggy-backed and asked if anyone had a source for the opposite of the balk stat, "balks committed against." No one has answered yet but if I find anything out I'll let you know, because I'm sure you noticed all the balks too. It's especially noticeable when it loses us the game!

Hey it was Pride weekend in Cleveland. Maybe you're not supposed to beat San Francisco over Pride weekend? Yeah, that's the ticket.

So the only good thing that MLB saw fit to share video-wise for the Indians in the past 2 games is a little highlight reel of Masterson's performance. Tonight's game? Nothing. Not even anything for the Giants.

It only makes sense then that I couldn't muster two whole posts, either.

Personally I thought the kid who pitched for the Giants was pretty impressive. Madison Bumgarner is 21 and came right out of high school to pitch for the Giants in 2009. He struck out a career-high 11 today, and the earned run he gave up was actually questionable as being earned (Orlando hit a ball down the left-field line that was foul on review but called fair by the 1st base ump, as the 3rd base ump was missing since the home plate ump left due to injury. You got that?)

I'm about over San Francisco, though. The Indians are over being in first place. But fuck it, it's ok. It's only June. We've got some work to do and it's best to find our limits and reach our lows now instead of September, right?

So, on to Arizona where the temp is slated to be in the one-teens. By that I mean 111. How do people even live? Yeesh.

Now, Arizona is on Mountain Time at the moment so all three of the games are at 9:40 PM Eastern. How the :40 relates to Mountain Time I do not know. I don't think it does. It just has to do with the wackiness that is Arizona, I guess.

We really need to look alive in Arizona because I have relatives out there who are huge DB fans and I don't need them picking my Tribe apart while we're down. But I just looked at the "Probables" Web page for tomorrow and I see:

"Ian Kennedy, RHP
8-2, 2.90 ERA

Kennedy has won seven of his last eight decisions to jump into All-Star consideration. Last time out, he allowed one run on eight hits over six innings. In his last two starts he has given up just one earned run in 14 innings."

So yeah, I'll see you Monday night. Hopefully with something truly awesome to say. Like "Fluffernutter." That's an awesome word.

Radio Chatter:
"You play the world champions in their park, you can't beat yourself. And that's what the Indians are doing here."
- Tom Hamilton

"No matter what happens this inning, it just has not been a very good weekend. [...] They're just not doing the little things and the little things are what got them to 30 and 15."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's supposed to be a high of 111 degrees [in Arizona]. But, the natives will tell you 'It's a dry heat.' Satan will tell you Hell is a dry heat!"
"An oven is dry heat but you don't put your head in there!"
"Good thing we're indoors, which the entire state of Arizona is indoors."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the weather in Arizona

"If one of those sail boats goes over, since we're high up here is it our job to call the Coast Guard?"
- Jim Rosenhaus

Not Shut Out

After not scoring for two games and being completely blown out before that, it was cool to have a game with hits, runs and a close score. Of course, this sort of situation was much cooler earlier in the season where we were bustin' it out in the 8th and 9th inning, but at least there was some Cleveland baseball tonight.

Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera seriously could not be happier to be back next to each other. They both went 3-for-4 and got all three of tonight's Indians earned runs. Now they totally remind me of Walter and Perry from Home Movies. Michael Brantley belongs at #1 and Asdrubal #2. Orlando at #2...that did not work so well, so end of experiment.

Did you see Asdrubal's home run? Number 12! And then BRANTLEY too!! Brantley has surpassed his 2010 number and Asdrubal has surpassed his 2009 and 2010 combined.


Check out this article by Michael Kramer on The Cleveland Fan, the bit about Orlando Cabrera. Do you think it's time to send our gift horse out to pasture? I would actually like to see one of our farm boys come up and see what's up while the season is still young enough for us to know if they're ready. What's wrong with platooning a young guy with Orlando? He has enough pop left in him to make some cheer-worth appearances but he's leaving a little to be desired at second and lately his bat is doing us no good (although that's not an Orlando-only problem.) Anyway, I wonder why we haven't brought anyone in to dabble at 2nd? Maybe we'll see someone new soon.

Choo got his hit tonight. Not sure how he didn't get his 9th assist tonight but it sure was close. I don't think it was for lack of power on that arm!

Tomlin was the starter and he lost it for himself. I think 6 is a bit much to overcome. Well, for this current team right now. It wasn't a huge loss but it wasn't aces.

Rafael Perez came in and threw TWO scoreless, hitless innings which is pretty impressive for him. Keeping that ERA under 2 still. Durbin came in and shut them down in the 9th. I wonder if Acta throws him out there to bring his ERA down.

So our bats are swinging and our lineup is lining up, and our pitches aren't losing their minds. I'm going to the game tomorrow and so excited to be sitting next to the bullpen. I've never done that in all my years as a fan, not even in Municipal Stadium! I'm starting to explore right field this year...previously I spent a lot of time along the 3rd base line, and in the club seats before that. Right isn't so bad, got some good seat prices out there.

Definitely look for my double-sided "OMG ASDRUBAL!!" foam-board sign!

Oh, and check out this stud muffin we drafted tonight. I hope we see him sometime soon! Ok not too soon because he's a shortstop. If he can play 2nd, sign him up tomorrow!

One more thing - if anyone wants to grab me some Radio Chatter for Tuesday, I'd be eternally grateful!

Radio Chatter:
"Good news, guys! Julie is 24 and still single! But you'd better not dawdle, as pretty as Julie is..."
- Tom Hamilton during the birthday greetings

"If Travis Hafner can hit for the cycle, aaaaanyone can."
- Tom Hamilton on Brantley's performance

"Rosie has reminded me to do a station identification for the first time in about a month. Stephanie Hagel has been barking at us about it for weeks."
- Tom Hamilton

"I tell you what Tom if you saw the way he started you wouldn't think he'd be here in the 8th inning."
- Mike Hegan on Scott Baker's performance

"They've set the table but nobody's clearing it!"
- Mike Hegan on Brantley and Asdrubal's performance

"For the Minnesota Twins, the 8th and 9th innings have become the Bermuda Triangle. It's where victories get lost."
- Tom Hamilton

...And We're Back!

I'm sorry boffins, I'm sorry I didn't get a post up in a timely manner. It's Memorial Day weekend and you know what that means. No, not so much honoring the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces as well as remembering those who have died, but rather being invited to places in which very little honoring is done but we all get together to eat because most of us don't have to work Monday.

It's ok though because I know you were all brave little boys and girls and took in Saturday's game without trepidation and were soundly rewarded by its outcome. I'm sure - SURE! - you felt some moments of the game where it would be appropriate to yell "That's typical!" only to stop yourself and say "no, no that sort of awful play is not typical at all." Perhaps also you spread the good news by correcting a nay-sayer who happened by your baseball on the way to the drink cooler. "Oh, haven't they lost three in a row?" "Why yes, but the World Series Tampa Bay Rays lost seven in a row during their World Series season. And, it's no big deal anyway as we are still atop the American League. Now why don't you come enjoy some baseball with me this fine Saturday afternoon?" That happened to you, too, right?

Ok maybe it didn't but however your day played out you might want to keep yourself "armed" with positivity for the long weekend as you encounter the nay-sayers. They are out there.

Yesterday's game was quite fun, especially to watch with a nay-sayer, because it started out with four straight hits and two runs.

You also got to see Asdrubal getting his THIRD triple of the season! Wowee! He's over .300 now at .303. It'd be awesome if he could keep it up through the ALL-STAR GAME.

And CHOOOOO he got his hit. .249!

LaPorta. Remember Matt LaPorta from Friday? Yeah well forget that guy and remember that he hit a solo homer Saturday as well as a single and a walk, going 2 for 3. These fellas aim to please, right?

SHELLEY DUCAN! Since Grady is serving as DH during our Turf Tour, Shelley isn't starting. However, he did come in as Mr. Amazing Pinch with the bases loaded and got a two run single then came around later to score. Can you imagine the glimmer excitement for Manny Acta when he sees the bases loaded and Shelley Duncan is on his bench? He's hitting .389 with runners in scoring position, .313 with two outs and .375 late in the game. Would you say that Duncan enjoys the pinch hitting aspect of the game? I would!

How about Carlos Carrasco, huh? You sort of forget about that guy since he's not Masterson or Tomlin or Fausto and he lost a few starts due to injury. He's pretty middle-of-the-pack for us but being the middle of this particular pack is nothing to laugh at. He got the job done Saturday with 6 innings, 2 runs and 4 strikeouts. A very even start for him and I look forward to seeing him do it again. Oh, and for his efforts he gets the W.

Our favorites Pestano and Sipp came in to combine for two total innings with zero runs and three strikeouts. #bullpenmafia!

R. Perez's part of the 9th was a little hairy. The Rays were going all Cleveland on us, finding ways to get guys on the bases. With two outs, bases loaded and the tying run on deck, Chris Perez came in to an actual save situation. It is iffy whether or not Perez is a shut-the-fuck-up sort of closer right now...he did give up a run. But right after he gave up a run - and I mean technically on the very same play - they got the third out and the game was over and Chris Perez had game 14. In case you missed it, here is how the game ended.

So we got our losses out during the week, and if you caught Saturday's game you'll know we got our basepath silliness out Saturday, so hopefully we'll be back to "normal" (do I have to qualify that with "2011 Normal"?) for the remainder of Turf Tour 2011.

Oh hey, here's two nice short articles about how Acta thinks Asdrubal is going to knock your socks off EVEN MORE coming up, and how Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks we're the shit.

Joe Maddon gets it, it seems. I wonder if he reads The Positive Tribe? From a different article:

"They have a lot of good players and they've done it in a very typical Cleveland way: quiet, and then all of a sudden they spring it on you," Maddon said. "When you really look at it, it's not really that surprising."

I know, right?!

Today's game is at 1:40 PM. You heard me. So we'll have 35 minutes extra to twiddle our thumbs and wait for baseball. Oh well, I have to make a casserole anyway.

Radio Chatter:
"With Joe Maddon, you could see anything. He's sometimes a mad scientist."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've lost Rosie. We'll get to him in the next inning. He's still convulsing over the cat."
"That's DJ Master Cat I think."
"You like that cat don't you? He'll probably be in our hotel lobby later. [...] The kitty has gone away now and this place has gone deafly silent."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the Ray's 7th inning entertainment

"The biggest play of this inning is the double play Ben Zobrist didn't turn."
- Tom Hamilton

"Avril Lavigne. Come on...as a man with two daughters you should know who this is."
"I'm just asking the question. Can't I invoke my fifth amendment rights? [...] As a father of daughters you might be better off not knowing."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on Tampa's post-game entertainment

"Oh boy...my wife was listening. 'Ha ha ha, Rosie got you.' Our engineer Ralph can vouch...nothing wrong with daughters, I love the daughters! When boys have a problem with friends they punch them in the nose and that's it. With daughters, it's a whole soap opera. Ralph's daughters are glaring at me now. I'm done... [...] And for all the girls out there listening, we love our daughters just as we love our sons. And that's the end of the story."
- Tom Hamilton

Windians!

I'm not even going to TELL you again how awesome Asdrubal Cabrera is. You MUST know by now, right?

I hope you're not sitting around thinking "boy, if only our 'star' players were in the lineup then we could have a shot at beating the Red Sox..." BUT NOW YOU KNOW! Our star players are already here! Tell your friends!

Some numbers for Asdrubal just for tonight: 10th home run, 10th double, 33rd and 34th RBI, 8 hits in his last 9 at-bats, .312 batting average,  2 stolen bases in the last 2 games.

The Indians have beat the Red Sox 4 out of 4 this year. The Red Sox are the "hottest team in America" coming in to tonight, winning 8 of their last 9. They moved from last place to 2nd since we last saw them in April to 2nd.

The Indians, at 30-15, are the best team in baseball. The only team in the AL with a winning percentage over .600.

What do we think about all this, Lillian D. from Washington D.C.?

Wahooooooo!

Michael Brantley, what a STUD! (Still nicknamed Dr. Smooth...) How much do we love this guy batting first? Yes, we still love Grady with ALL OUR HEARTS! But he is not here and Brantley is and Brantley is getting hits when it matters. Almost half of his hits have come with two outs, cleaning up after the end of the order and also getting on for Asdrubal and Choo to get him in. And if he's down in the 6- or 7-spot when Grady comes back? Just as valuable.

Man that'll be great when we get Grady back, and Hafner back.


Kearns is getting back into a groove like I said he would. Just needed some more at-bats. He's got 8 hits in the last 10 games. Exactly what we need to see from guys filling in.

How's this for a cool call? Acta got tossed out of the game for arguing a call in the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th, after Hannahan got a hit, replacement-manager-and-bench-coach Tim Tolman put Everett in to pinch run. Everett is slightly faster than Hannahan. Everett comes around to score - barely. Slightly faster than Hannahan would. Even our COACHING lineup is deep!

Justin Masterson! Gave us 7.2 innings, three strikeouts, a fancy-assed catch on the mound and even was involved in a controversial play at first (that got Acta tossed).

Nice group pitching effort in the 8th. Masterson, Raffi and Smith combined to get the Red Sox 1-5 hitters. Smith got the W.

Chris Perez, and his beard, got Carl Crawford to ground in to a DP to end the game in the 9th. Carl Crawford is a speedy mofo and has not grounded into a double play in 180 at bats. Save #13 for Perez.

That double play was a great one by Dos Cabreras. Orlando looked spectacular again tonight. Everyone doing their part...

Even the great crowd out there tonight, honest. It truly sounded like a Tribe game instead of an away game like it usually is when Boston is in town. And sitting in the rain? YOU GUYS ROCK! Obviously I did not make it to the game...I'm sort of stuck here with my dog when there's a storm. The dog did great tonight during the storm, by the way. She must be inspired by good baseball! Perhaps Hammy and Hegan soothe her? Or, I finally got the Xanax dosed correctly.

I knew it was going to be a good night when I felt a drop of rain the minute I was done mowing the lawn. It was serendipity.

Oh hey, did you know the game was on national TV tonight, on ESPN2? (Blacked out in CLE, of course). Yeah...basically everyone on the east coast now knows how serious we are. SERIOUS AS A HEART ATTACK!

Tomorrow is going to be dicey, facing Josh. Beckett. But we're on fire, we've got the wind at our backs. If we win tomorrow it will be a thing of beauty. I can't WAIT!!! It's supposed to be rainy but think good thoughts. Too bad ESPN2 won't be there again - I have a feeling they played a part in keeping this one going.

See you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"He is having an MVP-type season."
- Tom Hamilton after Asdrubal's 6th hit in a row

"It's amazing how much velocity Asdrubal Cabrera gets on a throw with both feet off the ground."
- Tom Hamilton

"Clay Buchholz tonight acts like he gets paid by the hour."
- Tom Hamilton on the Red Sox pitcher's slowness

"How about that? If Jack stays on the bag, it's a tie ballgame."
- Mike Hegan after Hannahan caught stealing and Kearns' double in the 5th

"One of the Boston folks was saying tonight that the Red Sox would give anything to get Justin Masterson back."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've not seen Manny Acta this upset in all his time with the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton after Acta got thrown out in the 8th

"What a job by Masterson. He gets a standing ovation and he should."
- Tom Hamilton on Masterson's exit

"That wind, howling out towards right field. That makes everyone a home-run-hitter if you hit it out to right field."
- Tom Hamilton

"Welp, no such thing as a routine 9th inning."
- Tom Hamilton

Can We All Agree Now That Asdrubal is the Best Player On the Team?

I mean seriously, folks - 5 for 5 today with two home runs and 5 RBI? Leads the team with 9 homers and 32 RBI, and leads the league's shortstops in both categories as well. And of course you have this defensive play and this one and this one  and those are just from May.

Here's a lovely article about Asdrubal and his son Meyer, in the form of tonight's wrap-up on Indians.com.

Speaking of Meyer, Asdrubal and his tattoo are responsible for about 75% of the traffic on this blog. Is there anything this dude can't do?!?!

I was at the game today. SO angry that I still haven't made my "OMG ASDRUBAL!" sign yet. Would today have been perfect or what? I wonder how many of you were wondering just that...."did JJ remember to make the 'OMG ASDRUBAL!' sign and bring it along?" No. I didn't. My excuse today was that I was sitting in the middle of a really crowded section and didn't want to piss anyone off. And, I haven't made it yet.

I didn't bring my stupid broom head either, but I did invest in a foam broom from the souvenir shop. Man, I wish it wasn't so TINY. You can't see this thing on television or anything. Sigh. Here's a picture of the broom alongside a long envelope for size perspective.

Despite my lack of sign and stupid tiny foam broom, I did get a chance to explain some baseball to my friend Jess. I tried to explain how there are 2 leagues in the MLB "just like every other sport, you know?" but apparently baseball is the sport she knows the "most" about so she didn't quite get the comparison.

My friend T was also there and it was her first baseball game ever. She lives in Cleveland at the moment but is from Dayton, and had been visiting Dayton this weekend and drove all morning just to join us at the game! And then she cheered for the Tribe! So proud!!! She's about the quietest person I know too, and she was hollerin' right along with me. We agreed that a baseball game is a great outlet for a normally-quiet person. Nobody there knows you and as long as you don't swear, no one's going to complain about your yelling (please don't swear at baseball games, folks. It doesn't become you.)

The heat today was brutal. Just relentless sun. Yes, I am a weather wuss when it comes to going to Tribe games. I prefer not to go when it's freezing or sweltering. Afternoon games are not my favorite. You should SEE my arms...I seem to have missed a few spots with the sunscreen. I did manage to keep my face and ears pretty burn-free, and those are really important areas to keep safe. The hot sun did help clear out our section a bit and allowed us to spread out some. Half of the crowd had a long drive home to Columbus or Cincy and an air-conditioned car was a much better environment than a sweltering 7-2 ballgame.

I got the silliest sunburn. I rolled up my shirt sleeves so the burn ends at my shoulders. I look like I got burnt while getting an x-ray at the dentist's office, wearing that lead smock.

Today there were a bunch of military families at the game, with video greetings from their active-duty soldiers/Marines/sailors on the board. My friends and  I pretty much gave up complaining about the heat after seeing the first greeting. Ugh.

Ok so, game recap. Carrasco pitched 6 innings and was not that impressive. BUT he did only ultimately give up 4 runs and against a normal-caliber pitcher that is small change for the Indians. He also took it like a man and gave us 6 innings, which is how our starters roll now. They also roll by giving up 2 solo homers when they give up homers (like Carrasco did today). In fact, our staff has not given up any 3-run homers or grand slams this year. For his bravery and compliance, Carrasco got the W.

Durbin came in for the 7th and looked fantastic with two strikeouts and a flyout. After the offense gathered up 4 more runs in the bottom of the 7th, Raffi Perez got 3 ground-ball outs in the 8th. Newcomer Josh Judy was rolled out for the 9th (great way to make an easy first appearance!) We were instructed by someone on Twitter that he is to be called "Judge" (as in Judge Judy) so I managed to get a couple of judge jokes out to my emptying section. He looked swell, striking out the first guy he faced. Then he gave up two hits and then was saved by Ezequiel Carrera (a single-inning replacement in center for Brantley) on a super-star catch and got the final guy to fly out.

How are you liking the top of our order? I pointed out their top-of-the-order-ness a few days back but it was a highlight again today. Brantley, Cabrerra and Choo aligned for TEN hits today, two doubles, two homers, two stolen bases and 9 RBI.

Also hitting today were Orlando, Kearns and Hannahan. I knew Kearns couldn't stay under .200 forever! He raised his numbers with a TRIPLE!

Did you notice how most of the hits today went to right field? That's because I was sitting out there I think.

Nice looking defense today. Orlando was really on top of his game after he became a citizen on Thursday and followed that up with American-style lazy-assed errors Friday and Saturday. You saw Carrera's play and Kearns was all "rly!" in the outfield too. I love when guys have to play hard to vie for a job!

As for Reds defense, check this nonsense out. Herb Score always used to say that you'll see something interesting in every game. I would have actually felt a little bad for the Reds if we had won by two. Lucky for all of those goobers involved in that play that we won by 8 instead!

Hey, good news! This game was so delicious that I had to experience it twice. After a lovely dinner with my ladies at Flannagan's and some custard at East Coast in Lyndhurst, I just could not resist hearing what Hammy and Hegan had to say. So, I tended to my sun burn then sat back and listened to the audio archive. So you get a heapin' helpin' of Radio Chatter today, even though I said I wasn't going to have anything.

Did anyone take my advice and eschew television for the radio broadcast today? I hope someone did - it's worth it!

Ok so the next 3 games are against Boston. You remember Boston, right? Last time we saw them we swept them and left them at 0-6. Now all of a sudden they are dancing around 2nd in the AL East. Hmm. Well how about this? When we first saw the White Sox they kicked our ass, and then dropped to 10 games behind us in the standings and still kicked our ass. So standings are apparently meaningless. We just need to kick the Red Sox asses like we did before.

I'm thinking of trying to get someone to go out to the game with me Monday or Tuesday, since I know how awful Boston-fan-heavy these games can be. I think the Indians can benefit from my hollerin'. I think I shall cast that net on Facebook and see if I catch any more fishfans. Or maybe I'll just go by myself. I do have a free ticket voucher that expires at the end of May.

Radio Chatter:
"It looked like a drill that went bad."
- Mike Hegan on the weird double steal/errors in the bottom of the 1st.

"The last time I saw a play like that was at Bleser Park in Avon Lake when [my son] Nick was 8. Little league."
- Tom Hamilton on the weird double steal/errors in the bottom of the 1st.

"Volquez looks like he's wearing a hat that is two sizes too small for his head. Like those kids wore in the Little Rascals. He has to keep tugging and pulling to keep it on. [...] Who the heck is the equipment manager for the Reds? Give the guy a bigger hat!"
- Tom Hamilton

"Michael Brantley has had two hits today that haven't gone 60 feet."
- Tom Hamilton

"Volquez says 'let's go through the signs again' and [Reds catcher] Hernandez says 'you only have 3 pitches.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians lead it 6-1 and [Reds manager] Dusty Baker is going to the mound to choke Volquez."
- Tom Hamilton

"Another broken belt. I'll have to ask [equipment manager] Tony Amato what the budget for belts is. Asdrubal has exceeded it."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's second busted belt this weekend

"Oh by the way, on our daily update of oblique injuries, on which we have someone to add every day..."
- Tom Hamilton on the latest injury for the Twins

"When you're getting over 2 baserunners an inning, you're going to score some runs."
- Tom Hamilton's great insight

"First base is open and that didn't look accidental."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal nearly getting hit by a pitch in the 8th

"Brandon has not tortured the Indians this weekend like he normally does."
- Tom Hamilton

"What's really amazing about the Indians on the home portion of this schedule...they've lost four games, they've only lost to two teams [Chicago and Tampa]."
- Tom Hamilton

"Good attempt by Edgar Renteria who five years ago would have made that play."
- Tom Hamilton

"Brandon Phillips...[laughing] he went to tag Orlando Cabrera who had stopped [running to second] and instead they high-fived each other and that completed the tag!"
- Tom Hamilton

"You knew this club was better, but nobody - nobody - foresaw a 29 and 15 record. As Herb used to say, that's why you play the game. Everybody and their brother can make a prediction and 99.9% of the people who make predictions don't have anything at stake so it's easy to predict."
- Tom Hamilton

"Hernandez just kind of lumbering into third [...] Is Ramon Hernandez hurt?"
"I just think Ramon doesn't run too good. He wasn't going to score, Tom. He wasn't going to try down 8 runs."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan in the 9th

Hey! Runs!

So there you go, Vin Mazzaro - it's not your fault that you gave up so many runs last night. The Indians are just that good. It could have happened to anyone (not really. That many earned runs in that few innings  hasn't happened to anyone in the entire history of baseball.) I'm bet at least he was relieved to see that the Indians are proving, again (since we seem to be taken to task every damn day) that they are really seriously good for real.

The Tribe has scored the most runs in the AL so far this season. Is it me or does that not seem right? It doesn't feel like we're putting up 19 runs each night or anything. But we have only been shut out once, by the Angels. Is that the difference? If you were wondering, we have 207 runs (I think that was before this game) and have given up 144 total (earned/unearned) runs, which is the second lowest in the AL. Good hitting, good pitching, all together in Cleveland. Can you dig it?!

Carlos Carrasco had a very very good night. SOOOO glad to see him pitching 5-plus and only giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, just his second outing after returning from the DL.

Raffi Perez came in and finished the 6th for Carrasco, this time remembering that he doesn't give up any runs. Smith was walking guys and making everyone say "Awwww geeeeeeeez, Joe Smith - we thought you were good!" But then our man Sipp! came in helped us forget about Smith, hooking us up with a scoreless 7th and 8th. This led the way for Chris Perez to come in and...not look like a closer at all. He was actually sort of fucking around out there, throwing hard and giving up two walks, a hit and a run. Perez doesn't seem to want to perform real tight if he's not eligible for a W or a S. He likes those badges!


Almost got an Everybody Hits! tonight. Matt LaPorta, who I accused of being "hot" [at the plate] did not get a hit tonight. He did get a walk but that does not count in the strict recordkeeping that is the Everybody Hits! board.

If almost everybody hits, that means that CHOOOOO got his hit!

More doubles and more homers for the club tonight. Both Hafner and Brantley were up with bases loaded - which goes to show how good both the top AND bottom of the order are. Hafner got a 3-run double in the first inning, setting the stage for the rest of the game. No walk-off wins tonight, yo! He actually got a SECOND double later on, and came in to score. Second night in the row for a 3-run double for him, yaknow.

OMG ASDRUBAL! Home run number 7!!! Back to leading the team! Carlos Santana also got a homer tonight, putting him at 6 which is tied for second on the team. Santana got TWO hits tonight - way to be!

Travis Buck, who we are welcoming with open arms, got himself an RBI single today too.

Did you catch some of the lovely gloves? Asdrubal with a nice one and Hannahan too, then Santana threw a bullet to pick off a runner at 2nd to end the 7th. Five strikeouts and 7 groundouts for Carrasco.

Sorry I was late with the ol' post tonight...I was enjoying me some Cake at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium. The mellowest rock show I've ever been to. They even gave away a tree to a lucky fan. A real tree.

But, I ran home and listened to the entire game on the Gameday Audio archive. I totally did! I don't know why my Radio Chatter is so crummy, tho. I apologize for that. It's actually sort of hard to listen to the archive and fast-forward through the commercials, and also not have Gameday going in the background when there are three Cabreras on the field. Did you know that the Gameday Audio pop-up tries to synch up/rewind Gameday while you listen to the game? Unfortunately Gameday is about an inning or two ahead of the audio. I think that the Gameday is synching up with the time on the Gameday Audio, which INCLUDES an hour or a half hour of pre-game. Someone should tell MLB.com. Maybe I will.

Oh man oh man oh man I can't wait to see what we do with the White Sox tomorrow (tonight). Don't forget - 8:10 PM. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"[Asdrubal] Cabrera is starting to make either jump throws or throws-off-balance better than any player in the league."
- Tom Hamilton

"Treanor dancing off the bag there. Why, I don't know. It's sometimes more distracting for the hitter than anything."
- Tom Hamilton

"And Matt Treanor gets picked off at second for the final out of the seventh with his club down five! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
- Tom Hamilton, moments later


"He'd be a bad poker player wouldn't he? He's out there wearing his emotions on his sleeve when he doesn't have that good command."
"Yeah he's an adrenaline guy. If he were a poker player right now Rosie he might throw the deck of cards back at the dealer."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on Chris Perez's not-so-awesome 9th

Rolling Over the Royals

As I was watching the game tonight (yeah, watching! On TV...) I thought "wow, this was once us. This coulda been us this year, too." I remember just last week when the Royals were a threat to us, with their good pitching, good fielding and good hitting. I said we just needed to win with our bullpen and I was wrong. They got us 2 out of 4 and got pretty close to us in first place.

Just a week later it appears that the Royals are falling apart (I don't follow the Royals well enough to know if this is true) and that's the sort of thing Indians fans are used to with our club. One week we're unstoppable and the next we can't get the bat on the ball, or can't get a guy out. The team that was shaking at the site of us is hitting our starters out of the park and all over the grass.

Instead of us being that team that gets beaten up by surprise, we are that team that comes back from a so-so road trip and whoops on anyone who crosses our threshold.

Last night it was homers and tonight there wasn't a homer in sight (for the Good Guys, at least) but we still managed to score 7 runs and it was beau-ti-ful!

You know who got a hit? EVERYBODY got a hit! Woohoo! I should start a "thing" where maybe I put up an "icon" for every time the entire team hits. That might be fun. Just more things to do...

Shelley Duncan was in for LaPorta at first today instead of Santana, and Marson was catching. Hmmm...did Manny finally decide that Santana wasn't working out as our cleanup guy just now? Just so you know, Duncan batted 4th and Hafner batted 5th. L-O-L GO SHELLY DUNCAN YOU BEAUTIFUL OAF! I shouldn't call him an oaf...Jhonny was an oaf. But look how he wears his batting helmet. I don't know why I think he's like one of the kids from "Ed, Edd and Eddy" (the one with the hat). Actually dude got some AIR tonight over at first, hopping up to rob someone of a single. Yeah buddy!

Once again I'll say how NICE it is to have a productive bench. One guy not doing so well? No prob, we've got a Band-Aid for him.

Smacked a lot of doubles tonight. Not only did Duncan get one but so did Orlando (a 3-run double, at that!), Sizemore and CHOOOO. Man, Sizemore has SEVEN doubles now and only 30-some at bats.

Choo picked up a stolen base and so did our man-of-the-week, Jack Hannahan.

Say, how about that Josh Tomlin? He gave up two solo homers but that wasn't until after we'd scored 6 runs for him in the first. So maybe he was trying out some new special sauce and it didn't work out for him. But no worries - he got win number 4 and broke his own record of being the only pitcher in team history to pitch 5+ innings in his first (now) 17 starts. He also led us to our 9th straight win at home. It's maybe also the 30th day he's gone without washing his socks or something...lots of streaks there.

My brother pointed me to the Facebook page of the "Defend Cleveland Show" which is a sports talk show on WRUW, Monday mornings (more info on the Facebook page!) Anyway, I just Liked them, myself. You should too. Lots of positive stuff to say about the Tribe. Apparently the guy, Mike, works at the Beachland if you'd ever like to avoid a show by talking Cleveland sports.

Anyway, Mike had this to say about Josh Tomlin earlier this month:

"How is it possible to not love and root for Josh Tomlin? He's like a summation of John Hughes-ian characters, it's like he's both Anthony Michael Hall and Emilio Esetevez in "Breakfast Club" Sure, he was the jock, but no one ever thought he was going to win anything since he wasn't the best on the team and was so busy studying from taking all honors classes."

Ha!

Raffi Perez still has an 0.00 ERA. We won't talk about Joe Smith and Chad Durbin because this is a positive blog. Well I will say this - it was nice that we had a 5-run lead so Joe Smith and Chad Durbin could get a chance to pitch. End.

So what do you think about tomorrow? Fausto versus Kyle Davies. Both dudes had bad last outings. Similar ERAs and W/L. I say Tribe, hands down.

OH, speaking of SWEEP...I got an email back from the Indians (promptly, I might add) about brooms at the stadium. They are forbidden but you can bring a broom head or buy a foam broom. So I'm glad I didn't lug a whole broom out there with me. You might want to invest in a foam broom this season, really, because we might be sweeping a lot at home.

Another thing...There are signs on the back of the bathroom stalls sponsored by the Sewer District and they are headlined "Thank You For Your Business" with a cheeky-looking water droplet beneath. Get it? I found it funny every time I visited after drinking my half gallon of Diet Dr Pepper but I kept forgetting to tell people. Now you know.

And, speaking of cheeky...why can't I come up with a good Royals-Royal Wedding joke for tomorrow's headline? Somebody...help!

I didn't hear any WTAM at all tonight so I don't have one bit of Radio Chatter at all. Sorry!

Things Not Going Our Way

That was sort of a cool game. It seemed to be won and lost by defense, and a home-run replay.

Hey, guess who got a hit? CHOOOO! He also threw out two guys at home. TWO! Both guys ran through the third base coach's "stop" sign. Here's a quip from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire from MLB.com:

"If [Choo] wins a Gold Glove, we'll probably have [Twins third base coach Steve Liddel] hand it out."

ZING!

Carlos Carrasco only lasted 3 innings and left with soreness in his shoulder. Uh-oh. Jeanmar Gomez got a chance to do some long relief. If you recall, he's the guy we brought up to replace Mitch Talbot in the rotation and then he missed his start Friday with the rain-out, so Acta threw him in the game for funsies. He ended up giving up three hits and a run so...meh.

Rafael Perez came in in the 7th and gave up an un-earned run (it was Gomez's runner) and also got the loss but still has a 0.00 ERA. Yep!

Michael Brantley almost got his first homer, and it would have been a 3-run homer, and it may have won the game. It was homer-length but what it did was bounce off the flower box in right field. Seriously...flower box. See here - that lighter-colored limestone part in the right half of the picture is a big limestone flower box. So, ground rules for Target Field: In the flower box, homer. Off the flower box, double. Here's a better picture, with some flowers.

How do they keep flowers in bloom in Minnesota in the spring? What is their flower budget? I'm kind of jealous. Do we have any flowers at Progressive Field?

Hafner got two hits. Still hitting over .300 with .348!

Much ado was made about Jack Hannahan being home in St. Paul for Easter dinner. For the first time in 8 years. He got a hit too!

Hannahan would have scored the tying run in the 9th and made his ma proud, except Denard Span had quite a catch out there in center, keeping Hannahan from being on base during Grady's subsequent double. Spaaaaaaaaaan!

Rumor has it that Thome is looking to finish his career in Cleveland. 'Cept Cleveland doesn't really have the room for him like we had for Eddie Murray. What do you think about him returning? On one hand...FUCKIN' THOME! and on the other hand, FUCKIN' THOME! See what I mean?

I dunno what it is about these Twins, man. They seem to shake us up good, no matter who's on our team and how we're playing. They've got some class acts over there. But, we managed to get out of there only having to play 2 instead of 3, and while we were gone, the Rangers clobbered the Royals so we're still in first place.

BUT...the Tigers snuck up into a tie for second while we weren't looking. So next week we SERIOUSLY have our work cut out for us, as we'll be playing the Royals then the Tigers. While we're playing the Royals, the Tigers will meet the Mariners...who don't seem to have gotten much better since we saw them. However, once we're done with the Royals they will move on to the Twins, who we've primed good and are ready to win.

So, critical week coming up. Glad I have the night off tomorrow to get ready. Hopefully I'll be going to a game this week, too - it's my birthday Thursday! If I am going to a game, I need to suck it up and make my poster already.

I reviewed the game's audio for you this evening, so here's a good sample of radio chatter...

Radio Chatter:
"It's only a matter of time before Minnesota wakes up, and starts to play winning baseball. You just don't want to be the team that gets them going."
- Tom Hamilton

"Ohio State has 4000 people to see the band play before the game."
- Tom Hamilton, commenting on the sorry state of Minnesota Gophers football

"The tag is on Morneau...AND HE IS OUT BY EIGHT FEET! ... So Choo retires more hitters in the third than Carrasco did."
- Tom Hamilton at the end of the third inning

"It's amazing how many people that write for a living can't come up with an original thought. How can you all be writing about the same thing....nobody was writing it a year ago."
- Tom Hamilton's reaction to all of the recent stories that Joe Mauer should be moved from catching

"Gomez needs to pitch well, because if he doesn't there's a guy named Alex White knocking on the door."
- Tom Hamilton

Second Sweep of the Season

OMG ASDRUBAL! Home run #3! Hamilton pointed out that he has as many home runs as the entire Mariners team. He also leads the Indians now. While he's still racking up some strikeouts, he did rack up 3 hits today putting his AVG over .300 again.

CHOO! got two hits and is slowly and stoically climbing out of his early season hole.

Hafner was benched today, as he was three games ago. I suspect he is on some sort of bench schedule, which is good if it's needed but man do I miss him when he's gone! It's really great to be excited for Pronk at the plate again.

Jack Hannahan is climbing back up too and getting a respectable AVG. Today he hit his second home run. 

Another great start from our starter, Josh Tomlin. According to Hammy, Josh Tomlin is the only pitcher in Indians franchise history to work more than 5 innings in each of his 14 major league starts. Considering our recent history, it feels like he's the only Indians pitcher EVER to give so many innings.

Chad Durbin relieved Tomlin in the 7th, but gave up a run. Then Acta went with what now seems to be the "old reliable" bullpen succession of R. Perez, Sipp and C. Perez. Sipp again looked fantastic and C. Perez picked up his third save.

Milton Bradley didn't play today, so he didn't grate on Hamilton's nerves. However, the Mariners did put up the roof on Safeco Field in the middle of the game and roof talk dominated Hammy's banter.

So yeah, if you didn't know, the Tribe is in first place in the Central and we just swept two series in a row. TWO SERIES IN A ROW. Uh, granted, it was against one team that is 1-7 and another team that is rumored to be the worst team in baseball this year...but if nothing else it's really priming the team for the rest of the season. Acta can test his lineup and his rotation, the bullpen can find their place and the team can shake those spiderwebs out. It's almost like an extended spring. As our opponents start getting more "serious" our team will have had the chance to ramp themselves up and learn how to be winners.

Hopefully all of the winning will also bring more fans out of the woodwork, and by the time they're back home next Friday we'll have more asses in the seats!

Three more west coast games coming up, against the Angels. Two late night games and a surprise 7:05 ET start on Wednesday. I'm stoked for us to roll on to a new team and see how our guys do against another set.

Radio Chatter:
"If I told you the Indians were 16-12 in the month of April, you'd probably say 'Oh, ok.' But if your team goes 4 over .500 every month of the season, suddenly you're 24 games over .500 by the end of the season."
- Tom Hamilton