Some Hitting Hope

So for once it was one of our star starters that maybe cost the Tribe a win today. We maybe had better hitting than pitching today. Probably. We definitely had better hitting than pitching today.

It's not so bad.

Carrasco - no doubt still in a wonky situation after his stutter steps to starting (paternity leave, at the end of spring, throwing a game, getting hit in the fact, throwing a short game, today) - didn't do so hot. He only made it 4 1/3 innings before getting pulled. He was already up to 91 pitches, and had 5 earned runs. He still had 5 strikeouts! A bad start for sure but the last guy you want to give up on is Cookie Carrasco, I tell you what!

Scott Atchison was fine finishing the 5th inning but goddamnit, Miguel Cabrera! He got a 2-run homer off Atch to make it 7-2 in the 6th. Miggy's average against the Tribe this year is .632 and his slugging is 1.00. ACK!!!

Zep came in for a flawless 7th. Cody Allen "needed work" so even though there was no save anywhere on the horizon, he game in for the 8th and gave up a run. To Miguel Cabrera on a SAC FLY. MOTHER!!!!

So, pitching wasn't too good. But the highlight of the game for me was not only scoring 6 runs (double our average - and pizza discount eligible!) but also that 4 of those runs were scored in the late innings! Fantastic!

Brandon Moss got HOT again! Great balls of fire! No extra bases but he did go 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and a run scored. That's 9 RBI in this series - how many have you hit this week?

A bigger story might be Ryan Raburn, who got his 6th double and made it an RBI double. He was tagged out at third but at least he's trying to be aggressive. He got 2 hits today to give him 6 in the last 4 games. His average is .385!

Aviles and Brantley each got a hit today and scored a run, batting 2nd and 3rd. Brantley's average dropped .018 points from last night's hit-fest down to .341. Ha! Only .341! Chisenhall got a hit too, by the way.

How's this for a blast from the past? Good Guy David Murphy came off the bench and hit a homer in the 9th! GOON SQUAD!

So the Tribe actually came within striking distance, and sort of kept pace in the later innings. It didn't happen but there was a lot more bat activity - 10 hits and only 4 strikeouts - than we've consistently seen this season. Put together with all the other losses and the series so far it was just another loss. But as a regular baseball game - well it wasn't so bad!!!

Tomorrow Kluber tries to get his first win, versus the Royals at home and an LHP 6.75. Oh no, LHP! Well whatever, I can't even manage to be scared anymore. These guys gotta just go out there and GRIND.

This will be the debut of the 6:10 home games, so don't forget! I won't be around and probably won't get to hear the game at all, so cheer loud for me!!!

Radio Chatter:

"You're playing with fire when you put batters on base against this ballclub."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"The next time the Indians make Cabrera uncomfortable at the plate will be a first."
- Tom Hamilton

Michael Brantley is So Awesome!

I didn't get to hear today's game live, but I did catch the audio archive after it was over. I couldn't avoid seeing the score, and it's always a little extra sad listening to a loss after-the-fact. Especially after last night, Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus were so upbeat and hopeful at the beginning of the game but I knew that all their hope was mis-placed. Ouch.

Bauer was supposed to pitch today but he had food poisoning and couldn't make it. Conspiracy? PROBABLY. They ended up having to put TJ House in and that kid ain't ready for anything, let alone the Tigers, so he only made it 3 innings, giving up 3 runs.

Also part of the dastardly plan was to use up our bullpen, which also happened. McAllister, Swarzak, Hagadone, Shaw. Although props to those guys because they went 5 innings with only one run scored, off McAllister. They - and House - actually managed to get 10 strikeouts, keeping up the team's excellent record thus far. Not bad against the Tigers, really, considering how the Tigers played us earlier this year. But still - it was no Bauer!

The Tribe didn't win because the lineup went back to being shit today so I ain't even gonna say. Except...

Holy schnikes, Michael Brantley is HOT! Today he went 4 for 4 with a double, and the team's only RBI. That is 7 for 8 in these 2 games against the Tigers, and his average jumped up to .359!!!

WHAT A STUD!

And he also looks good in a hat!

So, whatever. Totally not House's fault because once again the starter could have given up one run and still the Tribe wouldn't have won. Lame!

On to tomorrow. Yeesh. It'll be Carrasco versus LHP 3.74. LHP, huh? Everyone be sure to go to church!

See you there!

We're Gonna Make It After All!

Tribe fans, unclench!! That team we read about in February has finally taken the field!

How excited are you about Indians baseball right now? As excited as you were when you saw the Sports Illustrated cover? (Before you thought "Oh no....") I'm not even 2 paragraphs into tonight's game and I can't wait for tomorrow's!

Sorry I missed covering the last 2 games. But there was no Positive to wring out of those. Wednesday was just vile wasn't it?

BUT ENOUGH OF THAT! Tonight is the first night of the rest of our season! Onward and upward!

Danny Salazar was sent to Columbus to get his shit together, so he did. And then he came here and was pretty great on the 18th for the win. Just two runs and 10 strikeouts in 6 innings. Today he kicked it up a notch - just 1 run and 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. He had his STUFF!

Tribe leads the league in strikeouts, by the way. Uh huh!

To round out the game they let ol' Atchison come in and keep his 0.00 ERA through another inning. Anthony Swarzak came in to finish the game in the 9th with a 12-run lead, and gave up two hits. But whatever - he also struck out 2 and ended the game on a soft popup. BALLGAME!

The kid who was starting for Detroit today had a .390 ERA coming in to the game and was the hottest pitcher in baseball. Tribe got 9 hits and 8 runs off him in 4 innings. His ERA is 3.00 now. SUCK IT, TIGERS!!!

Almost everybody hit tonight. Well, not Bourn or Perez. But seeing all those crooked numbers up and down the "hits" column is so so nice! And new!

Kipnis was batting second and he is rising from his slump nicely, now with a 3-game hitting streak. He had 2 hits tonight and oh yeah he was uh-mazing in the field!

Michael Brantley is a god among men. He just shows up and hits the ball. Hit, hit, hit is all he does. Today he went 3 for 4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. He did what he does best in the first inning - getting a hit with two outs, and then being on base when it's time to score. EPIC BRANTLEY!!

You know it was a good game for hitting because Santana walked twice and got a hit. Not just one walk, baby - TWO. And he came around to score all three times! Two doubles and two RBI, too.

Oh hey guess who showed up today? It was Brandon Moss! The Brandon Moss we've all been patiently waiting at the window for. Our big bat that was going to give us a run or two per game. Our homer guy. HE WAS HERE!

Right?!

Dude got 7 RBI tonight. SEVEN R-BEEE-I!!! A 2-run double, a 3-run homer and a 2-run homer. Still not half of the team's total RBI (crazy!) but more RBI than total runs scored by the Tribe in any prior game this season. THIS IS TRUE!!

Is this the end of his slump? Well, he does love to bat at Comerica Park. His average is around .500 there. So probably no slumping this weekend and hopefully a SPRINGBOARD to the rest of his season!!

David Murphy is keeping up with his promise to be a good hitter if designated so. He started off pretty horrible, but in the last 3 games he's stepped it up with 3 hits in the Chicago series, and 2 more tonight, including a double!

Murphy came in to score after Lonnie F'n Chisenhall came up after him and hit a 2-run homer! The Tribe didn't have any multi-run homers before tonight and suddenly it's the thing to do! Lonnie also got a double, just like Moss. It was his second double but his first homer. Yes - do it like that!

Jose Ramirez made his contribution today too - like Kipnis, both at the plate and on the field! He went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored, holding down the 9-spot.

So everyone really was on point today - hitting with two outs, hitting with runners on base. Even Perez who didn't get a hit got a sac fly to advance the runners. Grinding away, leading to runs!

Like I said, I can't wait til the game tomorrow! Of course I have to wait because I have an event all day and then some stuff in the evening. So who knows when I can listen. Such a bummer because the momentum of tonight's game is STRONG! And it'll be one of our faves, Trevor Bauer, on the mound tomorrow afternoon.

It'll be a 1:08 PM start, and Bauer will be facing RHP 1.74. They killed a guy with a .39 ERA today, so we should score like 40 against this guy right?

Can't wait! See you there!

Sorry for the lack of Radio Chatter. I was wrapped up in other things today.

Radio Chatter:
"Brandon Moss not able to take the field in the 9th inning due to being battered and bruised by his teammates in the dugout."
- Tom Hamilton

Dat Shaun Marcum, Doe!

Oh my goodness TJ House you were super bad today! Wanna know what his ERA is right now? It's 40.50. Forty point five! All we can do is laugh about it because I'm sure Tiger Junior has done enough crying for us all. Poor fella went 1 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on just 6 hits.Dude.

Austin Adams and Shaun Marcum sped to Cleveland today from the Clippers' hotel in Indiana to fill in for the over-used bullpen and it was a darn good thing because no way were any of our existing guys going to have enough juice left over to cover the 7 2/3 innings House left on the table.

It was a great call because Adams and Marcum did awesome! Especially Marcum who cruised through the final 5!

Austin Adams did give up a homer to Miguel Cabrera but who hasn't? Kluber can't do anything with Miggy either so oh well. And it was a solo lead-off homer so Adams was ok. He went 2 2/3 innings only giving up one more hit and a walk. Just that one run.

Shaun Marcum! He came to us from the Mets after having that surgery where they take out one of your ribs to stop some constant pain and numbness ("thoracic outlet syndrome.") We've heard of other pitchers having this I think. He must be completely healed tho because for 5 innings he totally quieted the hottest bats in baseball. He gave up 3 hits and 3 walks, but just one run - a solo homer to a guy who already had 2 others. He struck out 4. And you know what? He's 33 years old! BOOM! Also, he once pitched an entire inning with a dragonfly on his hat. He also has hit a grand slam. Shaun Marcum rarely pitches over 90 MPH.

I for one am quite intrigued by this Shaun Marcum, and interested as to where he fits in with our bullpen. We might need more long guys than previously assumed. Marcum is the man!

Our offense was not given much of a chance by our pitching (or our defense - another error today). But they did keep trying to come back. They scored in the first, third and eighth. Unfortunately, they never scored enough to overcome House's deficit, let alone the other two runs that got tacked on.

TIGERS!! Grr.

Bourn got his first stolen base today! It came in the first inning after getting on base with a single then moving over on a FC. He stole third and on the next hit he was able to come home. Cool! Unfortunately that's all she wrote for Bourn for today.

Kipnis continues to keep his streak alive, now at 5 games! He's hitting .308. He got a single in the 5th...unfortunately, after striking out his first two at-bats.

I think Carlos Santana almost hits a home run every game. Does it feel that way to you? Today he didn't walk at all but got on twice via two singles. One of them was an RBI single, and on the other he ended up coming around to score! He's got a VERY solid .333 average.

What was our new hero Jerry Sands up to today? Well, he wasn't playing at Sands-ian levels today but he did eke out a hit in the 5th. He was the last man up to bat for the Tribe today too, so at least he brought the excitement! But it proved to be too much and he struck out. Ballgame :(

Hey, Brandon Moss is finally unwinding himself! He managed to get his second hit today (a double) and then walked twice, resulting in not one but TWO runs scored. Teammate!

You know who was the offensive hero today? It would be none other than Ryan Raburn. People have been throwing a lot of shade at Raburn on Twitter lately, and he might not last long. Maybe not. But today he had a good game, going 2 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI and a run scored! He hasn't been the sort to have these sorts of days consistently, but he is a right-handed bat so at least he's around when we need him. And every so often he has a day like this.

Chisenhall is still in the basement. Yeep! Average of only .167, just 3 hits in 18 at-bats. No errors yet but he did get help from a scorekeeper in Houston. Lonnie got a hit and a sac fly RBI. He also got hit by a pitch. Rudi Stein award for him today!

Roberto Perez had a sac fly RBI and a throwing error today. Yan Gomes is out 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure but I think Perez is up to the task of everyday catcher - just need him to settle in to it. Soon.

Monday is an off day and I think we all need it. Already! Missing a day doesn't mean missing a pitcher, it just means we get to see Carrasco on extra rest. Yessssss! We'll be facing a LHP with an ERA of 9 on Tuesday so I am excited to see a nice lopsided game in the Tribe's favor. Right?!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"You just don't replace a guy like Yan Gomes."
- Tom Hamilton

"CB Bucknor puts the silver dollar back in his pocket. It came up heads."
- Tom Hamilton on a bad call

"The strike zone is so big today that the new Corner Bar is going to be out of beer by the 5th inning!"
- Tom Hamilton

"So all you single ladies...if you want Brian to put a ring on it..."
- Tom Hamilton trying to get a birthday date for engineer Brian Motsay

"It is truly a choice between which poison you find least debilitating."
- Tom Hamilton on walking Cabrera to get to Martinez

"The guy behind the plate today has been brutal. But I tell you what he has been consistent. He does not have a favorite."
"Perez caught that in the dirt!"
"He'll probably get a raise after that."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

The Legend of #Jerry Sands

Wow, it was a long one tonight! In fact, today's 4:16 game was three minutes shy of the longest 9-inning game ever played at Progressive Field. The Tribe didn't win but the length can be attributed to them never giving up!

Kluber was our man today, which is exciting every time it happens! Wooohoo! Kluber day! He had one heck of a rough day, though. Only gave up 2 runs but the first run was a homer by the leadoff man. Owch... The next run was also in the first inning, goshdarn Victor Martinez hit into a double play and yet STILL managed to get an RBI. Being that he's Kluber, he got himself a reboot between innings and came back to go run-free through the 7th! Klube had 10 strikeouts today, which is more than he had his first game. Excelling already! They let him come in for the 7th (with a 1-run lead!) and ultimately throw 107 pitches. He got the first guy to strike out and that was it for Kluber, leaving with still a chance to get the win.

Except, the best bullpen in baseball was doing their impression of the worst bullpen in baseball, I think. Something went horribly wrong because it took 6 of them to give up 7 runs and ruin everyone's night. Zep - who came in that first night in Houston to throw one pitch and end the inning with a double play - came in tonight and did't even get one out before leaving the game with 2 earned runs under his belt.

Shaw gave up 3 hits and a run, and then Atchison finally stopped the bleeding to finish up the 7th.

Anthony Swarzak made up for his bad outing by having a good outing, leaving things exactly as he found them (no hits, no walks, no runs).

The Tribe had it all tied up going in to the 9th (woohoo!) when Cody Allen came in and just fucked everything. That's what happened, he fucked everything. Three runs. His ERA is now 21.60. So he's got to live with that.

The Boy Pitcher Kyle Crockett, who had heretofore been squeaky clean, also came in and gave up a run because all the older boys were doing it.

Tigers won it 9-6, that was the final of the game. Remember Kluber left when it was 3-2 Tribe.

Michael Brantley was out today, which makes everyone sad. Especially Michael Brantley. But we also want him to be as healthy as possible for as many games as possible so we'll all bite the proverbial bullet for now and see what these other guys can do without him.

They did manage to score 6 runs! And they came back from losing twice! And mostly it was due to Jerry Sands!

Jerry Whonow? Jerry Sands, you guys!

Jerry Sands came to us from Tampa Bay where he was recovering from wrist surgery. He only averaged .190 with them in 2014 and then .268 with the Durham Bulls. Then we brought him here and he had a great spring with 2 homers and 7 RBI, batting .304. Everyone wanted to see him in the lineup (right handed bat!) and since we were facing a lefty today well there Jerry was.

I mean - THERE JERRY WAS!!!

Jerry Sands went 3 for 4 today in his debut with the Indians, knocking in 4 runs and bringing the Tribe ahead of the Tigers once and then tied with the Tigers his second time.

Cleveland is currently in love with Jerry Sands (he plays right field, by the way) and even Progressive Field was getting in to it by leading the chants of "JER-RY! JER-RY!" Aren't we all so lucky his name isn't "Ron"?

Other batters to contribute today were Mike Aviles - who went 1 for 4 with a hit and a walk. He came around to score both times. Jason Kipnis who totally, totally is back, went 2 for 5 today to extend his hitting streak to 5 games. Also those two guys teamed up in the 9th inning with 2 outs to score a run. Cuz they got HEART!

Carlos Santana went 1 for 3 because he walked twice. Oddly enough he doesn't lead the league in walks yet (he has 6 to Ryan Hanigan's (BOS) 7) but he has walked in every game but one so he'll be at the top in no time!

Yan Gomes. Caught another guy stealing today. Then he got hurt while doin' his job in the 9th. And I don't mean protecting the plate I just mean keeping his foot on the plate while a guy comes running in. The guy was out, for what it's worth. But now Yan is scheduled for surgery on Monday. YUCK!!

Hooray for Roberto Perez and his decent start but Yan will be SORELY missed. And we might need to get rid of #Jerry to bring up a backup catcher!!! NOOOOO!!

Tomorrow is the last time we see those Tigers until...the end of the month. Whomp whomp. Tomorrow we really got to show them what we're made of. I wonder who will come up for Gomes?

It'll be TJ House's first start versus a LHP who also has no games yet this year. Let's see how our lefty does against this crazy Tiger lineup. Don't forget that Victor got hurt during this game, so he might be out too.

It's a 1:10 start - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"That banned substance is not in something you buy at GNC."
- Tom Hamilton on how a player wonders how an illegal drug got in his system

"Most people didn't know who Jerry Sands was prior to yesterday's introductions. He could be the city's favorite son with one swing of the bat."
- Tom Hamilton

"Twitter aught to have a new name, call it 'Apology'. Every time someone says anything, the next day they issue an apology."
- Tom Hamilton

"Only in baseball can these scripts be written."
- Tom Hamilton on Jerry Sands

Home Opener For The People

It's actually going to be a short blog post today, because there is just TOO MUCH to day about the Home Opener but no doubt you've all been ingesting Tribe-ness all day long and there is nothing left for me to add.

The Home Opener - even more than Opening Day - is SUCH a joyful, Tribe-ful day in Cleveland that it hardly needs any extra rah-rah that this blog can bring. It's like the one day when we're all on board with The Positive Tribe!

Everyone was friggin excited about the ballpark changes and from what I saw they looked great! It's a little bittersweet but I am actually quite happy about losing 6,000 seats. That's 6,000 less empty seats on cold, cold days. And even though I'm not a drinker the new bar looks so cool! And all the people are really enjoying it and that's what I like. The Kids Club changes got thumbs-up on Twitter, too. More bodies in the stadium! How about that crazy bullpen setup, too? And the view between E. 9 and the stadium? I am not quite sure how that looks from E. 9 yet but it looks pretty from home plate!

If you haven't had a chance to look at pictures be sure to hop on Twitter, or go to Cleveland.com or maybe Scene or something and check out all the fun everyone had at the ballpark today.

Usually I don't go to games until like, May (cuz I hate being cold) but I am officially itching to get there sooner, now. I'm comin' home!

Oh one thing that sucks is that apparently Progressive Field WiFi is only for Verizon customers now. Suuuuuuuucks! I am a Verizon wireless customer actually but I don't have a smartphone plan through them. So whether or not I can get on to the network and tweet from the park remains to be seen. One of the best new additions to the park is gone already!

So, the game. You win some, you lose some. Today we lost some. Some sloppy defense and not-our-best pitching came to light and the score ended up being 8 to 4, Detroit. Yowza.

Zach McAllister gave up 13 hits and 5 runs over 4 innings of work. That's more hits and runs than the entire staff gave up the first 3 games, isn't it? So maybe he needs more time to warm up than the first 3 guys. Those 3 guys are in fact insane - perhaps ZMac is too human.

Crockett still rocked it, so did Shaw and Atchison. Anthony Swarzak is still with us. Did you know? He gave up a run. Zep gave up two un-earned runs. Nick Hagadone was tacked on at the end there. So uh maybe we won't see him for the rest of the series?

Bourn got more hits! Two per game average - what do you think? Can he keep it up? Sadly, he got caught stealing after his first hit. Oops...

Kipnis is still hitting. Just one today but he came in to score. He just needs to keep hitting consistently and he'll fill our role as "keystone" nicely.

Brantley is back! From his back. I hope he didn't over-play, but he said "Every home opener is important to me" awwwww. He went 1 for 4.

Santana, man that guy is on a tear so far. He hit a homer that was ruled a double then reviewed as a double but it was a homer that someone touched before it was a homer. Dangit. Still he went 2 for 3 with another walk  and 2 RBI. Oso!

Brandon Moss got his first hit! He's got a ways to go, yet.

Gomes got another putout so that's cool. But Miggy stole third on him so that's not so cool.

Tribe had their first error, by the way. Zep air-mailed one to first. Like, super bad. And 2 runs scored. But 1 error in 4 games is better than last year already!

So that was that. Yes we lost the home opener but there's a lot more baseball to be had. And everyone had a great day ANYWAY! Right?

Tomorrow is Kluber versus Detroit's #1 guy, also a LHP. I'll admit that doesn't sound too good for us. But things change after the hoopla of the Home Opener - let's see if today's game gives them a charge for tomorrow. Don't forget, it's a 4:10 game.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:

"The way it's flying it might need somebody to take it home."

- Tom Hamilton on a wayward pigeon on the field

"Anyone else would have had a 5 year contract extension."

- Tom Hamilton on Cespedas coming off a "bad" year

"If the play is overturned Greg will get a bonus, be able to get that Big Mac meal super sized."

- Tom Hamilton on the video review crew guy

"The replay official will be visiting the optometrist tomorrow in New York City. Hope they're open on Saturday."

- Tom Hamilton on what he believes to be the wrong call

"The Tigers must get down on their knees every night. How they got out from under that Prince Fielder contract and got Ian Kinsler....unbelieveable."

- Tom Hamilton

"I have no idea why I brought that up"

- Tom Hamilton pondering why he is pondering the size of the flags

"Dale Scott has a dinner reservation at 8. He's not missing that baby."

- Tom Hamilton on calling a strike on a check swing

"Jobs chamberlain pitching like he gets paid by the minute."

- Tom Hamilton

The Chris Dickerson Show With Special Guest Carlos Santana

Chris Dickerson is the real deal. It's like he's so appreciative of being picked up by a new team that he can't help but be awesome. Yes he failed to hit on Friday but he more than made up for it by getting the only two runs of the first 8 innings of the second game by way of the home run. Two home runs!

That was the second game, of course on my mind at the moment. But let's roll it back to the first game...

The first game was like smooth sailing, being that Kluber had the ball for the good guys and some kid throwing his first MLB game had the ball for the other guys. Yeah, there was a few innings wasted while they figured the kid out but during that time Kluber was just like "PITCH. PITCH. PITCH." And then when the Tribe finally managed to score in the 5th he just kept going.

And before you knew it, it was the 9th inning and he had thrown 114 pitches, struck out 10, walked just 1 and given up just 2 runs. There were 2 outs, and in deference to the run he just gave up and then the man on second from a double, Klubot was turned off for the night. Bryan Shaw came in to get that last guy. That was the ballgame.

Ok, maybe there was more to the ballgame, like chasing that new kid off the mound after 5 innings and 3 earned runs. Then hitting their bullpen for 3 more. And not even seeing Albequerque!

While the homer carried Friday's game and Saturday night's game, the afternoon game was about 10 singles and 5 walks. The 5th inning saw 5 hits and 3 runs!

Kipnis kept it up, going 2 for 5 with 2 more RBI. And even Asdrubal did things, going 1 for 5 and thus giving him 12 hits in his last 10 games. Yes, 9 strikeouts, yes yes. But he has 2 RBI in 2 games!

Brantley (.327) got the game's first hit and that was all for him. Just 1 for 5 in this game. Santana - who I didn't even realize was back to being slumpy (but Hammy and Rosie can't stop talking about it) at least got on base with 2 walks. Chiz upped his league-leading road average by getting TWO more hits in the afternoon game, plus a walk and a run scored.

Gomes and Swisher both had doubles. Gomes had an awesome game going 3 for 4, and since David Murphy went 2 for 2, Gomes came around to score 3 times!

Raburn was in the 9-hole, but that didn't go as well as we thought. He came up at 0 for 4.

So this afternoon's game was kind of a walk in the park, lead by Corey Kluber. I just got an awesome mental image of all that.

The night game was Zach McAllister stretching his legs before getting on the bus to Columbus, versus Cy Young Award Winner Max Scherzer. Not so much a walk in the park.

McAllister was like Bauer on Friday, in that at one point he looked awful and it seemed like we couldn't possibly win the game if he threw one pitch more...then he went on to pitch 3 1/3 more innings and only gave up 1 run in total, on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts. Oh. Well - good job, ZMac!

Axford was next and he provided some un-needed intensity with a wild pitch. But then the next two guys struck out and it was over for another day.

Atchison was next and somehow he gave up a run! It was the go-ahead run so that wasn't cool. But there was still time left and we were facing the Tiger bullpen so really it was ok. Carlos Carrasco came out in the 8th to swiftly handle Miggy, Victor and the New Martinez and he was great! Strikeout, groundout, groundout. Atta boy, Cookie! I told you that guy is a team player.

Offense wasn't nearly as exciting in this game as it was in the first game. The Tribe only got 8 hits and 6 walks, which seems like a lot but they didn't all come together until the 9th. Before that, it was just 2 runs in 8 innings.

Kipnis kept his stuff up by going 0 for 2 - with THREE WALKS. He came in to score once. Asdrubal was out, so Aviles was the shortstop and second batter. He got a sneaky little bunt hit in the 3rd but nothing came of it.

Michael Brantley (.329) could only muster 2 for 4 with one double this evening. That gives him 7 hits and 3 runs scored during this series so far. Damn!

Carlos Santana, who had been getting ragged on all day by the radio guys, came up in the 9th with the bases loaded and got a 3-run double. I don't know what it is about that guy, but he keeps coming back to impress us! I know that I don't give two shits when Nick Swisher does the exact same thing (suddenly does something good to counter-act his awful average) but Nick Swisher is a $15mm pair of new sneakers and Santana we got at the thrift store 5 years ago and damn is he comfortable.

Anyway, I still love Carlos Santana. Even though he's frustrating. It seems like he's always the dumbass kid who occasionally does something magical and right.

Chisenhall quietly ended a 6-game hitting streak by going 0-4 this evening. But he and Brantley are still 4 and 5 on the batting chart.

Swisher still plays for the team, and Murphy went back to doing nothing. Poor Murph.

Roberto Perez was in the lineup, as promised. In only his second game with us, he hit a double! They put Asdrubal in to pinch run for him. I wonder what's up with that? Don't you think a 26-year-old should be able to run even if he's a catcher? But whatever, that's what they did. And he came around to score on Santana's game-winning double. Yee-haw! I wonder how much we'll see him? Maybe just once a week?

Oh yeah so....Chris Dickerson! Here he is, by the way:

And as an Indian:

So yeah, he didn't hit yesterday and he was out for the first game today, but then he made up for all of that this evening by going yard TWICE. You know who didn't get any home runs today? All of the Tigers! Not in either game. Not Miggy, not Victor, not New Martinez, not even little Rajai Davis who got his first of 2 homers of this year off the Tribe.

Things must not have been right at Comerica for a home run today. Except for Chris Dickerson. Chris Dickerson who got two. We love you, man!

How cool is it that we came back from the break winning 3 straight against Detroit? The team is 3 games over .500. They're in second place, 4.5 games back. They're 1.5 games out of the Wild Card.

I guess we'll see Sunday when Tomlin takes on LHP 4.00. We're on the road against a lefty, where we perform better both at home and against righties.

If we can pull it out tomorrow, then it's the real deal. However it gets done, too. Real deal. If it's the real deal then get ready for a HECK of a second half!!!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"He's gotta realize there are 18 guys playing this game, not just him."
- Tom Hamilton on Miggy

"That would have been a home run in any park but here and Yellowstone."
- Tom Hamilton

"Both baserunners move up on a wild pitch. That might be an understatement."
- Jim Rosenhaus thinks it was a crazy weird wild pitch

"One good month out of four isn't what you can have."
- Tom Hamilton on Carlos Santana

"To decipher those boos...they're simply saying 'Rent, Joe. Don't buy.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the Detroit crowd's feelings about Joe Nathan

The First Day Of The Rest Of Our Season

Here's a song for you for tonight's big rivalry game post!


I just gotta laugh whenever it seems like there's a game where Everybody Hits, but not everybody hits, and instead of the odd-man-out being a lame-o like Swisher or a rando like Raburn, it's Chris Dickerson who is hitting .400 and has hit in every game he's played with us. Until tonight, of course.

But everyone else - wow! Fourteen hits tonight and 9 runs in a spectacular turnaround game, where one minute Tom Hamilton was saying how Trevor Bauer lost the ability to throw strikes and the next minute it's 7-3 Indians. I love it!

Bauer was our man on the hill tonight against Anibal Sanchez. There were rumblings wishing it was Kluber going against Sanchez but I like when Bauer goes opposite these big important guys. I think a huge part of his game is his ego and his need to prove himself and I think matchups like this are totally in his favor. He had a quality start tonight, going 6 innings and only giving up 3 runs. He struck out 5 in that time and got his first win on the road! He's 4-4 with an ERA of 3.89.

Our favorite trio of Atchison, Shaw and Allen came to finish out the game. They each had 2 baserunners but nothing came of them. No homers, no errors, nothing exciting but a double in the 9th. SHUT DOWN.

Speaking of shut down, the Tribe was shut down for 6 innings. There was much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands. "This team!!" "They are no better than the first half!"

Actual Tribe fan

Then it was the 7th inning and hit, walk, hit - the bases were loaded with no outs. Would Swisher hit into a double play? Nope! A two-run double!

Pitching change. Would Raburn pop out to shallow right? Nope! An RBI double!

Pitching change. Al Albequerque, who has an 8.10 ERA versus the Indians this year. Now's our chance! Strikeout. Strikeout. Oh no!

Three-run homer Kipnis! Solo homer Asdrubal! Albequerque's ERA is now 11.25 versus the Indians this year!

Sad Albequerque

Michael Brantley singles again before the inning is over. He was the one who led off the inning with a single, anyway.

The Tribe goes on to score 2 more in the game. Kipnis with 2 homers, Asdrubal with one. I observed that Kipnis had 4 days no doubt at home with his mom, and suggested that perhaps his mom needs to be installed with the team. He hasn't hit one out since April 21!!

Brantley had said in a pre-game interview that the team definitely did not play up to their potential, and everybody needed to do better. So what does he do? Well he raises his average by .07 as a result of getting 4 hits, something he hasn't done yet this year [in a 9-inning game]. He also stole a base, got his 23rd double and came in to score twice. He probably would have thrown some guys out at the plate if the situation presented itself, but then again he did need to keep some stuff in his pocket for being better tomorrow.

How about that Raburn, huh? He used to be our secret weapon and the first half he was kind of a dirty little secret. He did get that homer against the Dodgers and came back with a hit against the Royals but he's just not the sure thing at the plate anymore. Tonight he went 2 for 3 AS a pinch hitter! Things look very good for us if things go very well for him the rest of the way.

We'll talk more about Swisher once he's consistently doing this stuff he did tonight. I'm not going to bite this good-game-here-and-there baloney. Put up, put ALL the way up, and then we'll talk.

When we have games like this, I'm reminded that this is the team I was waiting for in March, and the team I was pretty sure we were getting. Yes they were stifled by the starter but they both got to the starter and then super-got-to the relievers. If you're not good enough to clobber a good pitcher, be good enough to get him out of the game!

I don't know what is up with the lack of consistency. But I do know that this is the real team. The team where no one hits and runs don't score...that's the Bizarro Tribe.

Tomorrow is TWO games!! Oh man oh man! I am totally going to clean the heck out of my house and my garage during my 6 hours of baseball. I wrote it down so I can hold myself to it.

We'll get to see Roberto Perez catching. He told me on Twitter.

@positivetribe yea
— Roberto Perez (@robebo23) July 19, 2014

It'll be Kluber against a newbie RHP at 1:08 and then McAllister's return against Scherzer at 7:08. Do we have the series won already?

Can't wait to see if they break the mold and come out swinging 3 games in a row! See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"If Max Scherzer had taken that contract they offered him last year, your Little Ceasar's Hot 'n Ready pizza would only have one pepperoni on it."
- Tom Hamilton on the owner of the Tigers also owning Little Ceasar's

"There's no way you're going to second guess him. You'd better swing the bat when Sanchez is on the hill."
- Tom Hamilton

"He went to the slider one time too many."
- Tom Hamilton on Kipnis' homer

"Dave Dombrowski's calling Texas right now saying 'Whatever you want for Soria, we'll pay it.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"That's a home run in every park in America, except Comerica."
- Tom Hamilton on a missed homer, by the Tigers

"Lance Diaz says 'Hey you haven't been up here long enough to point to any place on the plate and tell me what is low.'"
- Tom Hamilton on Eugenio Suarez

"Somewhere in the Tiger clubhouse, Anibal Sanchez is standing there with a beer in his hand, staring at the wall thinking 'What happened?'"
- Tom Hamilton

Omar Day!

Hey fan! Sorry I haven't been around much. Going through stressful stuff at home and just not feeling like taking the time to blog after games. I have been glued to the radio (and TV!) for the games of course but afterwards....on to other more serious stuff.

I hope you took in tonight's game! There were 40,000 of you at the game, plus it was on Baseball Night In America on Fox so really there was room for everyone in Cleveland to see it with their own two eyes. On Friday the game was on WKYC so that was pretty special - to see two games in a row on TV!

Today was the day they inducted Omar Vizquel into the Indians hall of fame. He's the 40th Indian to be inducted and of course the greatest short stop. And aside from Bob Feller...the greatest Indian? How about greatest since 1950? I like it.

Omar's with the Tigers now. Not sure how that came about. I'm hoping it's due to iron-clad contracts and no room for him where he needs to be. Because...Detroit? Oh, Omar!

The team has been on their BEST behavior in the field while Omar is around. How could you not? No errors and a few pretty, pretty plays so far.

Unfortunately for the Tribe, the Tigers also have our Victor Martinez and he's hitting over .400 against us and it just really. really. hurts. Especially when he gets a home run (which seems like every game) and the Tribe loses by 1. I guess we made him cry, he'll make us cry now. Argh - he's so good! Not fair that the stupid Tigers get to have him and Miggy AND Torii Hunter. For Pete's sake!

Trevor Bauer was our man today, and he still is not scared. He is also not untouchable - three homers for 4 earned runs. He did go 6 1/3 innings on 100 pitches, and only walked 2 and struck out 5. It was the long ball that got him. And you could say "Well, the Tigers, man - you'll get that" but one of his homers was to leadoff man and speedster Rajai Davis so...fail.

Old Man Atchison mopped up after the kid and finished the 7th for him as well as completed the 8th. No hits for him. Kyle Crockett pitched to one guy in the 9th and that was a success, then it was Vinnie's turn to get that hold in the 9th. Yeah you heard me - Vinnie! They took the rotation down to 4 and brought up Vinnie who was throwing a .48 ERA in Columbus. He threw the final 2 outs in the 9th and nothing bad happened so that was awesome!

Cody Allen came in with the game tied in the 10th and wouldn't you know it - he un-Allenlike gave up a run. Nuts! After all that work to tie it up, in front of all those people, on Omar Day! But really if anyone was going to be out there we wanted Cody, right? I mean, who else? Is Shaw even here? Anyway, we got what we wanted and it didn't work out so oh well.

The Tribe got its offense in some interesting ways today. Not from Nick Swisher, of course. But from his pals at the bottom of the order. And Brantley and Kipnis BOTH were shut out! I am not kidding you! Brantley did get a pinch hit on Friday when he came in late after being on the concussion DL, but it just wasn't happening for him today. And not sure what Kipnis' deal was. You don't really want him flubbing while the whole town is watching but it wasn't going his way today.

Michael Bourn had a great night, going 1 for 4 with an AWESOME clutch hit in the 9th to tie the game! It was fall-outta-you-chair-worthy, man! That guys waxes and wanes on the excitement meter but since he got revved up he's been pretty steady on the reliability meter.

Speaking of unreliable, poor old Good Guy David Murphy had been 0 for 25 when he broke that streak to get on base so he could come around to score later on Bourn's single. Talk about a nice surprise!! He really reached back and dug around for his clutch-ness and brought it back at just the right time today.

Asdrubal had a night! He went 3 for 5 with a double and a HUGE RBI. It was his 18th double, which is tied with Chisenhall (who also got his 18th double tonight) which leads the team. They are better than Michael Brantley in a category! Woah!

Carlos Santana!! He's up over .200 now with a .201 average! Check him out! He's like, the hottest player in June or something. He's batting .340 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in 53 at-bats. Did you know this??? It's almost insane that his average can still be so low but he's raised it 39 points since June 6th. Looking pretty decent at 1st base, too. He's back, man!!

Gomes had a solid hit today too but he ended up not coming around. He also threw out a guy trying to steal, which makes it 6 in a row. And people still do not seem to know not to run on Gomes (or Brantley). Bwahahahaha!

Ok I'm fading fast and have to get to sleep. Tomorrow's game is more Tigers and they gotta win to avoid the sweep! It'll be Tomlin and his hair versus Scherzer and his eyes. They have the exact same ERA! This should be interesting...

See you there!

Best. Game. Ever.

Man, I was lamenting the lack of baseball last weekend and for the last three days the Tribe has been BRINGING it! And today, they served up 5 hours of epic, epic baseball! Even if they lost it woulda been epic but to end with a walkoff balk? UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

Good evening, sir...

Sad Albequerque

There was so much game today. So much. All the pitchers. All the hitters. Errors, stolen bases, guys thrown out at the plate, guys thrown out of the game, two Cabreras, two Martinezes, three starting pitchers and a guy who pitched relief for himself.

I almost am hesitant to recap this game because 1) I hope you read about it online and see it on TV and watch some videos 2) I hope you listened to/watched it anyway or maybe want to check out the replay tomorrow 3) It's so crazy, how could I possibly do it justice?!?

There were definitely low spots to this game. Two errors and a base-running mishap were big, plus a bad start from Zach McAllister. He's sort of falling down that same rabbit hole that Carrasco was, where he's putting together strings of bad starts. Except unlike Carrasco, he started off awesome. Is he hurt? I kind of hope he is...? Because you don't want him just turning bad overnight.

So after ZMac gave up 4 earned runs in 2 innings (plus one homer to start off the 3rd), he was done. Glad Francona got him out of there early. There was no time for playing around today! No one probably realized that there'd be 11 more innings to go, so relief became crazy important.

Atchison did as Atchison does and went 2 very strong innings with no runs scored. He actually didn't have to face the cream of their lineup but even the low guys on this team are all up over .230. Someone posted this amazing photo meme to Twitter and I love it:

@CLERallyChicken @Indians pic.twitter.com/4qUoAh8Hhe
— Nathan Edwards (@NateEddy4) May 21, 2014

Scott Atchison is old. Get it? Hilarious!

Zep was next and HE had to face the cream and it did not go so well for him. He gave up 2 runs and didn't make it out of the inning. Carlos Carrasco had to bail him out. Embarrassing! Cookie actually did ok and pitched 2 whole innings. He also frustrated Miguel Cabrera enough to get him to get ejected. Heynow! It was a lovely ejection. I love ejections. Here's the video - the Detroit announcers are like "Tim Timmons was quick to pull the trigger" and then a minute later "this is the third time he's been ejected at the plate" so....really, guys?

Next was Axford, who really fucking sucks. Two more runs. Although one was an un-earned run on an error but we'll blame that shit on him anyway. So he was no help in the length department, going only 1 out.

Next, Josh Outman. Fine. One full inning, no hits, no runs, no strikes, no balls. Huh!

Next was this guy:

No kidding! He was there for a Major League game! And he totally got 5 outs, including Don Kelly and Victor Martinez. Oh, his name is Kyle Crockett. Really awesome to see him blow through like that today - especially since the older, veteran, millionaire Axford couldn't get two outs.

Bryan Shaw, who was throwing his third game in a row, came out just to finish the 10th inning. Francona was out of pitchers, as Allen was just off the table and he was the last one. Who was next? Tomorrow's starter, Josh Tomlin! And his hair!

Tomlin threw THREE innings and basically pitched like he would have pitched tomorrow. Two hits, one earned run and SIX strikeouts. Yeeehaw! Don't mess with Texas!

After all that it was Tomlin who got the win, cuz it was still tied up when he came in and it was very un-tied by the time he left. So now the bullpen is SPENT and our starter for tomorrow is used up. Will be interesting to see what they do. I would figure they bring in the next starter but I am not in charge of such things. I'm sure there's a lot of gum-chewing going on right now in deep discussions about this.

So, that was just the pitching!

Would you believe....that not everyone got a hit today? I'll give you a guess as to who fell short. No, not Dick Swisher but really good guess. Carlos Santana, that's right! But did he walk? Of course.

Michael Bourn is going up up up again, today upping his total to 3 hits (last night, 2) with his 5th double of the year and 2 runs scored.

Asdrubal was kind of cooled off in the second spot, just going 1 for 6. He also got HBP in the knee, and I don't know how or why but he stayed in the game. I guess because he knew Yan Gomes was not going to be able to come in to play short for him. Plus it was the 13th inning so who wouldn't want to be on base when the winning run scored? And like, SCORE THE WINNING RUN? On a balk!

Michael Brantley (.302) is a god among men and I think we should all start sending him notes every day about how much we love having him in Cleveland. Why isn't he on Twitter? Why must we be forced to send him weird notes on paper? That's weird. Brantley went 4 for 7 today and got 3 RBI, including the tying RBI. He also stole 2 bases because, dangit, nobody else was. And 2 of his RBI came with 2 outs. So, get your purple pens out and start telling him how awesome you think that is!!

David Murphy being a good guy is a meme now, or at least a trending Twitter hashtag. Check it out, there are some very clever photo memes being made! Today, Murphy and the Lord teamed up together go to 2 for 6 but most importantly they had 4 RBI. Including a 2-run homer in the 9th to tie the game. A.MEN.

Nick Swisher is still on our team. He had a walk and then got a pinch runner in Justin "SellBlock" Sellers.This guy:

California love

Jason Giambi got his first hit of the season! He also walked. Somehow, this didn't translate in to any RBI or runs scored but it's nothing but up from here. Uh...I hope. He woulda been up during the balk but they had Raburn pinch run for him, so it was Raburn who "won" the game!

You've already heard the sad, sad tale of C-los, batting 7th.

The Chiz Kid played at third and first today. He moved to first after Swisher came out for pinch runner Sellers, who plays second. Aviles went from second to third. Easy peasy. More Lonnie at first, please!

Lon went 2 for 5 today with a walk, and his 11th double on the season. He got an RBI and came in to score 2 runs. He did have an error (tied for 5 with Santana) and a base-running blunder but fuck it. Dude is hitting .367. Nick Swisher has 6 errors and he does nothing to contribute at the plate. Bah.

Handome Mike had a Handsome game today, himself. he went 3 for 6, also with a double, and also with an RBI and 2 runs scored. He did a really nice job hustling to score the tying run on Brantley's single in the 13th. Aviles is everything!

Man that was so much awesome baseball, I never want it to stop. It's like a rebirth, with all the fun on Twitter and talking to the non-usuals about what a great game it was and watching highlights and seeing all the memes and stuff. Is this the start of something good?

My brother posited "What happened with the Tribe?" and my answer was they FINALLY happened! It's not too weird that they played like this today (except McAllister) - the weird part is that they HAVEN'T played like this all season! And not just today but all 3 games here. This is totally the team I was bragging on the day before the season started, and the team I was sure would be knocking on Detroit's door all season. What changed to bring this out in them? Was it the lineup changes? The personnel changes? The return of Giambi? Quicker Columbus trigger fingers?

Whatever it is, we must see it carry over to the Baltimore series. It's imperative. And if it does - it's FINALLY going to be an awesome season for us!

Tomorrow they face Baltimore in Baltimore. It'll be a MYSTERY PITCHER (since Tomlin pitched today) versus LHP 3.69. O noes! LHP! It will be a fine test indeed.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Of all people that you can't give a 4-run lead to, it's Max Scherzer."
- Tom Hamilton

"Max Scherzer is probably saying [to his pitching coach] 'Why don't you talk to my defense and ask them to catch a fly ball?'"
- Tom Hamilton

"This Tiger club with their offense, they are never out of a ballgame."
- Tom Hamilton

"Carlos Santana must feel like a pinata when he's catching. I've never seen someone take so many foul tips."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's almost like Scherzer started the game then Scherzer came in for long relief."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're just joining us...yikes, you've missed a lot."
- Tom Hamilton

"Martinez knew it was strike three. The only person who didn't was [umpire] Tim Timmons."
- Tom Hamilton

"Knowing Josh Tomlin, he probably went up to Terry Francona and said 'Hey, put me in there.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"They heard Miquel Cabrera probably say some things they probably should not repeat."
- Tom Hamilton on what the kids at the field for Weather Day may have learned instead

"We enjoyed lunch with you, now we enjoy supper."
- Tom Hamilton

"HOW ABOUT THAT!! We now. have seen. Everything!! A walkoff balk! Unbelieveable!"
- Tom Hamilton

 

Bauer Boy, Tell 'Em!

Again, with the baseball! The Tribe playing baseball!

And, hey - Everybody hits!!

But first - our main man Trevor Bauer.

Awww yeah! The kid is back, and he's the perfect guy to throw out there against Verlander because he's totally a cocky sunofagun. Trevor Bauer ain't afraid! He didn't strike out too many in his 6 innings - just 5. He also gave up 2 homers. Solo homers, though. Otherwise, he was getting the ground outs, just like Justin Masterson (who normally is out there on Verlander days!) Bauer got up to 100 MPH, according to the Progressive Field gun. And according to Jim Rosenhaus it's a couple digits high, but whatever - it's worth a shout-out! I remember last time I saw Verlander pitch in 2011 he was throwing 100. But what was special about that it that it was the 8th inning and his 111th pitch. HA!

Bauer finished 6 innings with 95 pitches. No HBP, no wild pitches. Great stuff! Bryan Shaw came in to do what Bryan Shaw does - namely throw TWO innings with no hits and no runs. And of course he faced some .330+ worth of batters because their entire lineup is crazy good. Shaw got an out and a double play in the 7th, then in the 8th Kinsler popped out, Lonnie made a double-saving play at third and then Shaw strikes out Miggy. Yep!

So what was left after that? Cody Allen versus only like, .300 worth of batting average. V-Mart, Austin Jackson (who is always just awesome against the Tribe) and Castellanos. Strikeout, out, out. BALLGAME! No problem for Cody Allen!!

Like I was talking about yesterday, we need some REAL BASEBALL around here and that meant not only pitching and hitting but some stellar FIELDING too. Today we got it again. The aforementioned awesome stop by Chiz. Another outfield assist by Brantley - his league-leading 5th of the season (I love having an awesome player that nobody seems to know!) THREE double plays and no errors!

The Tribe got 12 hits! Eleven of them were off Justin Verlander. Holy SMOKES! Four doubles and a homer off the man, and 5 earned runs.

Michael Bourn had a good night, going 2 for 5 with 2 big doubles, one for an RBI. And he totally rocked Verlander by stealing 3rd - only his 3rd steal this year but I guess that makes him more surprising to catchers! Bourn's got 12 hits in his last 10 games, by the way.

Asdrubal again in the 2-hole and he's heating up again, going 2 for 3 with NO strikeouts. A walk, a run and an RBI. His average is a big, beautiful, beefy, round .268!!! And two DP for him today to boot! (No, no booting.) He's got 14 hits over his last 10 games.

Michael Brantley (.291) is still our God. He should make $45mm a year. He "only" went 1 for 4 today - 6-game hitting streak! But he had that huge outfield assist, nabbing Ian Kinsler in the 5th. Boop!

Lonnie Chisenhall had the cleanup spot today. Which...duh! Dude is batting .366. Not leading the team in homers (er...he has none) but he's up there in doubles. He leads on on-base percentage. Still not enough at-bats to qualify though, as they just don't let him hit versus lefties. Grr! He only went 1 for 4 today but he got the job done on that one with an RBI!

David Murphy was the last guy to get a hit today, but he's such a good guy he wanted me to update my list and so he got a HOMER in the 7th! He also walked.

Santana's chillin' down in the 6 spot. He got a single to go off Miggy's glove and roll down the first-base line, and 'Los took the opportunity to try to hustle out a double. I know he stole a base the other day but really he ain't that fast. I also know that he was counting on Miggy to go all slow on the play - and he did - but his throw still beat out Santana at second and he was out. He went 1 for 4 today then (that 1 was a 1 and out) with 2 strikeouts.

Nick Swisher is batting above .200 now. He is much less scared of the ball batting 7th.

Gooooomes! A big 'ol double and a walk tonight. His walk was made way more exciting when it was followed up by a huge 2-run double from Aviles to start off a 4-run inning. Yeah! Handsome Mike is back to wow us!

So nice to see everyone playing good baseball today. Wish they had it in them to play like this before...but we can't go back so let's hope it goes on forward forever!!

Tomorrow is a noon game, our chance to sweep the series. And you know what? JOHN ADAMS WON'T BE THERE!!! Wow. What do we do? How do we score? I sure hope people are filling the stands and going crazy in his stead.

YOU GO BE THIS!

It'll be ZMac trying to redeem himself for not being Kluber or Bauer, versus Scherzer who is actually better than Verlander and was last year too. But he's a righty so NO PROBLEM.

Noon! See you there!

No Radio Chatter tonight. I was at my niece's pre-school graduation. Here she is, a lifetime ago in 2013.

Tigers On Ice

Wow, I am super happy that the Tribe beat the Tigers today! They are the toughest team we've played thus far and we came out ahead!

Maybe, maaaaaaybe there was some help from the weather but hey, Zach McAllister pitched in the same conditions as Sanchez and he did just fine.

Except for strikeouts (ZMac = 4, Sanchez = 8) McAllister did better in every way than Sanchez! He went 6 innings to Sanchez's 5, 1 run given up to Sanchez's 3, only 2 walks to Sanchez's 4. Good stuff, guy! That's two W's for him already and two quality starts. I think our pitching is getting better every rotation don't you think?

Bullpen is staying solid, too. They shut down the Tigers in the 7th, 8th and 9th. First Bryan Shaw, then Cody Allen (who is keeping his 0.00 still!) and then John Axford with his 5th save. Axford's 9th was a bit Perez-y with a double, then an error to put the guy on third. But Axford got out of it like 2012 Perez, with a strikeout and a groundout.

Good thing the pitching was so nifty, because the offense is still not so good! They ended up with just 5 hits, and their 3 runs came on 3 hits (and 4 walks).

Michael Bourn was back today, and Nyjer Morgan was in Columbus. Everyone was really sad about it. Michael Bourn didn't make a good case for himself, going 0 for 4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

WTG!

Then down the line, goose egg, goose egg, goose egg for everyone. Even Brantley (.275)! Santana didn't even get a walk. He did get an RBI by grounding in to a bases-loaded, no-outs double play in the first. See above.

Asdrubal had a night! Compared to the other guys, at least. A walk and a single.

Of course, not as much of a night as Lonnie and Yan!

I've got a theory that dudes do really well right off of paternity leave. Lonnie was in at third today and got himself a double and a single, going 2 for 4 on a night where everyone else was doing nothing! He's batting .421...only 18 at-bats but, woah.

He's still no Yan Gomes, though. A two-run triple and a single! It's really nice when a gamble pays off, isn't it? Although betting on Yan Gomes to be awesome every day wasn't really too much of a wild bet, but so far so good.

The Tribe definitely "found a way to win" today, even if it was winning by the Tigers sucking. By July we won't even remember how we came to win the first one - as long as there are many more!

Tomorrow is a 1:05 game so don't forget. Actually, the site says 1:08, no foolin. Anyway, around 1 tune in to hear Salazar throw against some RHP with a 2.57 ERA. Let's hope the batters are more inspired this time, maybe?

Sorry no Radio Chatter today. But, here's a collage of pictures of my dog. She is 12 today!

A Day of Firsts

You go, Mike Aviles! It was totally your turn to be the big hero off the bench! A 9th-inning grand slam?! That is epic!

Our first win since 8/25.

I have to admit - and please let me know that I'm not alone - that I am not nearly as pumped about this win today as I should be. I suspect it has something to do with the 5 losses before it. And really....the 8 innings before the clincher.

Salazar looked good. He went 6 innings and didn't give up anything but hits. He struck out 5 too, so he's still doing the strikeout thing. Only 77 pitches, so he's being efficient.

Hey there was Nick Hagadone! He had a rough go, giving up a hit and a walk and only getting one out. But Cody Allen was there to save his bacon.

Chris Perez was a little shaky, huh? Probably because he hasn't worked in forever. He gave up 3 hits and one felt like it was going to be a homer. And then he was saved by a ball hitting a runner lulz

We saw Jason Kubel today for the first time. He was just picked up from the DBacks cuz uhm...well, in case he might be able to hit some home runs in Cleveland but can't hit them anywhere else? He got a hit today and a walk. So that's nice. Matt Carson was called up from Columbus and he ran for Kubel in the 9th and he actually got to come in and score on that Aviles grand slam.

Also scoring on the grand slam was Jose Ramirez, who we saw today for the first time. He was the pinch runner for Santana. Then Gomes caught the 9th.

Michael Bourn and Michael Brantley both got stolen bases, and Nick Swisher had his first. Another first for today: Drew Stubbs got his first pickoff/caught stealing on the year!

Tomorrow is Masterson versus RHP 4.91, at 4:05 (it's a holiday, n' stuff). We've actually got a sporting chance on this one, so be sure to tune in.

Sorry I'm not able to be more positive lately. Baseball is breaking my heart right now.

See you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"The Indians are not going to shed any tears leaving Detroit today."
- Tom Hamilton

"Quite frankly, if Detroit doesn't win the World Series this year you wonder if they ever will."
- Tom Hamilton

"Boy there is nothing routine about the Indians getting a win against this Tiger ballclub."
- Tom Hamilton in the 9th

Titanic

I think I'm still on strike, or something. Sigh.

Inside-the-park homerun though, huh?! Neat!!

Asdrubal looking good!

Brantley with a triple, woohoo!

That's all.

Radio Chatter:
"You could say [Kazmir] only had one bad inning, but then the Titanic only hit one iceberg."
- Tom Hamilton

Welcome Back, K-Shop!

Kelly Shoppach got picked up today as our third catcher! How cool is that?!

Nothing else cool happened today, so here's some cool stuff Tom Hamilton said.

Radio Chatter:

"It's hard to explain how an abdominal muscle hurts to run but not to swing the bat."
- Tom Hamilton on Miguel Cabrera

"...Iglesias making a play that obviously wouldn't have been made if Jhonny Peralta hadn't been caught cheating."
- Tom Hamilton explains how Peralta is still screwing over Asdrubal

"This ballgame might hang in the balance right now."
- Tom Hamilton on bases loaded with VMart at the plate (the first time)

"Bottom line - there isn't anybody you can trade for right now and put him in your four-spot and tell him 'Take us to the promise land.'"
- Tom Hamilton

Swept Away

So, the Tigers are just that good. Man, they are good! And they don't stop. They didn't seem tired or worn out or uninterested today. Nope, they were in it to win it - which I guess is a nod to the Indians because they felt they needed to keep the whole team in for the whole game to keep up with us. But really, 10-3...they coulda given Miggy a nap.

Oh so quick news rundown on "the business of baseball" in case you missed it...

1. Vinnie sent down to Columbus to make room for LHP Marc Rzepcyznski.
2. Ubaldo sent down to bring up Salazar and give Ubaldo a day off.
3. Kluber hurt his finger, just like McAllister had, so Ubaldo is back up.
4. Raburn signed to a 2-year contract.
5. Reynolds designated for assignment to make room for an 8th bullpen guy, RHP Preston Guilmet.

Zach McAllister didn't have such a good night. As goes Masterson so goes McAllister? Dude gave up 6 runs on just 4 hits (not home runs!) in 2 1/3 innings. Woah! He does give up runs usually but more like 2 or 3, over 5 or 7 innings. Today he was just beaten the heck up and beaten bad. Too many walks and too many Princes and Victors.

So, enter the new guy who they're like "Hey new guy, time for long relief against the best team in baseball!" Preston Guilmet had no choice but to go do that. He didn't fare much better than McAllister but we all figured he was either going to blow it or be surprisingly good. So I don't think anyone was surprised when he gave up 4 more runs in 2 2/3 innings. Hey, at least there were only 4 more innings to fill!

Next up was Albers who can do 2 innings, no problem. He managed to only give up 2 hits and no runs or walks. Then was our "whenever" guy, Zep, who pitched the 8th and kept up his scoreless streak with the Tribe. His ERA is under 6 now! How good does the rest of this pitching staff make Zep look, huh? Lucky dog.

Then for the 9th, something I love as much as plays at the plate, outfield assists and inside-the-park home runs - bringing in a position player to pitch!

And Ryan Raburn, at that! The guy who has gone 0-9 since they decided to extend his contract. The guy who used to play for the Tigers but hit a slump and the fans boo him when they see him. He pitched himself a 1-2-3 inning against the Tigers in the 9th!!

Here's him striking out Tuiasosopo:

I don't know why this has stuck with me, but Jamey Carroll did the same thing the other day against the Royals. A 1-2-3 inning for the Twins after they were getting routed 13-0.

It really warmed my heart, tho, seeing Raburn up there pitching against his old team. Ah, baseballl!

Here's some other fun stuff that happened tonight. Miggy tripped over third base. And then tips his cap to the crowd.

Prince thought it was hilarious:

Michael Bourn went hard after a ball even though it was 10-2. He landed on his nose:

See? Baseball is still fun!

Since everyone was having fun and clearly the pressure was off, Asdrubal took the opportunity to be awesome again and got his first (and second) RBI hits since July 26. Two RBI doubles, man!! OMG!!!

Too little too late but Asdrubal, Kipnis, Bourn and Brantley were the only guys who got hits. Kipnis also went 2 for 4 with a double and a single, and came around to score both runs.

Michael Brantley got a single in the 9th to score Kipnis because...right? I mean, Michael Brantley is NOT giving up. Also, he's got a hitting streak rolling at 5 now!

So that's it - those 4 guys, those 6 hits. Only 1 walk and surprisingly only 6 strikeouts. Stupid Max Scherzer gets his 17th win. Ugh - so good!

So now we're, like, a million games out of first but still gotta keep those Royals at bay. Still have a chance for one of the wild card spots, no doubt. I don't know if I could take the 1-game playoff situation...yeesh. Or the whole "every game tonight counts huge" situation like 2012. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it!

But, I need to calm down, there's still 7 weeks to go. Tomorrow the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come to town and the Tribe will take out all of their 4-game-swept aggression out on those guys, right? Hey, we get to see Danny Salazar again soon! And maybe Ubaldo will be all happy to get his second (fifth?) chance and pitch like an ace.

You never know, guys!!

Tomorrow at 7:05 it'll be Kazmir versus RHP 2.90. Yikes, two good pitchers in a row! But don't forget this is the team that beat 10 out of 11 Cy Young Award winners so we got this.

Put this all behind you and see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"We didn't have to take intelligence tests to get this job. You could be as dumb as door nails like I am and still be up here."
- Tom Hamilton on being a sports announcer

"Doesn't matter how you get there.  Get there!"
- Tom Hamilton on October baseball

"I looked down and thought 'holy cow how many donuts did Santiago eat between innings?'"
- Tom Hamilton confuses Tuiasosopo with Santiago

"Why didn't he start this game??"
- Tom Hamilton on Raburn's 1-2-3 inning

"I don't think the Indians will shed a tear when the Tigers leave Progressive field tonight. They've seen enough of this juggernaut."
- Tom Hamilton

As Close As We'll Come

I really love this team - in general, and specifically this team - but there's no doubt about it...the Tigers are damn good. Super damn good. They are amazingly good. They got it all, really. Pitching, hitting, and their defense isn't half bad.

So when the Tribe faces off with the Tigers and throws a rookie kid out there and he gives them a hard time, and then we get 14 hits and make it go 14 innings and only lose by 1 well, good. Good game tonight, on all fronts by our guys. There was no blowout, no huge mistakes, no disappointment - not even a bad bullpen! Even the bad stuff looked good. The Tribe was good but the Tigers were just that much better.

What can you say about Danny Salazar?

Heck yeah he's not scared! Also, he throws like a dang slingshot. Upper 90s, upper 90s, upper 90s and if he can't get you out like that then - bloop! 87 MPH changeup. Ha! I mean, how are you supposed to follow that nonsense?? He struck out almost every Tiger at least once tonight, some of them 3 times! And it didn't take much work to do it - he only had 103 pitches after 7 2/3 innings. Not bad for a guy who is "coming off" Tommy John surgery and was kept to 55 pitches his last time out! And his second major league start? No, this guy is not scared!

He left one out for Miggy - after striking him out 3 times - and that was the end of that fun. But what are you going to do? He's the damn best hitter in baseball. He doesn't get to be that way by striking out 4 times in a game!

Totally stoked about Salazar, like I'm stoked about the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi. Sad to see both Kluber and Matt Smith go but new isn't necessarily bad. And both Salazar and Capaldi have proven themselves to me! (I'm guessing Hulu streams of The Thick Of It are through the roof this week!)

How about that bullpen today, eh? They brought in Rich Hill first which was smart. Mainly to face lefties but also to get him out of the way I bet. He gave up a hit before finishing off the 8th. I cringed! Then he came back out for the 9th and gave up a walk. I squirmed. Then a single. I yelled! Then he was gone.

Check this out from friend of the blog @Twimpus/SMacR:

HA! Exactly!

Cody Allen came in to get the 9th finished and he ended up with the bases loaded. But he got two fly-outs to end it, big thanks to Drew Stubbs who was out there being fast as hell in right field!

Then Perez was up for the 10th and everyone was all "ugh, Perez" and I was like "Heck yeah, Perez!" He struck out their catcher Perez but the last pitch was wild and Perez-the-catcher went to first. Then he struck out Fielder. Then he picked off Perez - heck yeah! Victor got a hit because he's Victor, but Rage got the last out with no damage done. So, whatever, haters! He picked off a guy at first!

Joe Smith gave up a walk and a hit but I felt like he looked great. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the sidearm (oh yeah, the game was on WKYC tonight - by surprise!) but I don't even know how right handers can tell where the ball is going, coming across his body like that. Austin Jackson looked positively stymied!

Bryan Shaw was the big man in the bullpen, going the longest of all the relievers - 2 1/3 innings. However it was 1/3 innings too long. He gave up 2 hits that turned in to 2 runs and that was all for the game. Marc Rzepczynski (nailed it!) came in to finish and let Shaw's runners score and that was that. Zep hangs on to his 0.00 ERA for us - magic!

Our batters really battled hard tonight. Just some key spots had huge holes. Namely Asdrubal, Santana and everyone who came up in the DH spot (Giambi, Raburn, Chisenhall - not one hit between them!)

How much better do you think we'd be if Asdrubal was hitting .250/1-for-4 right now? That'd be at least one more run per game I think.

I have a theory now...he has braces, I believe, and having braces sucks. I don't care if you're a big tough guy, your teeth are moving around and they friggin' hurt. I don't even know if he has them anymore but if he does, that's exactly his problem and don't let him convince you otherwise. Braces should be for the off season only!

When Michael Bourn came up in the 14th they said he was 0-5 and I'm like "No way Michael Bourn goes 0 for 6!" Well, he didn't. He got a nice RBI double! He had been on base once earlier on the game, on a walk, and came around to score. This time he nearly won the game for us by seriously messing with Joaquim Benoit's head. He was pitching all over the place, being nervous about Bourn's lead at 2nd! In fact he threw a big wild pitch and Bourn went to third. That's our guy!

Oh yeah - also with an outfield assist - AT THE PLATE! Definitely a game-changer, too!

Swisher had a novel night, getting his first hit(s) since 8/2. Not only did he get one hit but he got THREE, going 3 for 4 before being replaced by Stubbs. He did have a costly error, though, because...ugh. Of course he did. But I'll take his 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Dick.

Stubbs went 1 for 3. I think his catches in the outfield were pretty key to the game being so long/so close. He had the chance to tie it up for us in the 14th but it didn't happen. I like the fact that we could all believe it could happen, tho.

Kipnis went 2 for 6. None of his hits resulted in runs or RBI. But I think he and Asdrubal looked pretty tight up the middle there today. No errors and 2 double plays!

Twitizen @sportsyelling threw this up tonight and had a caption contest. Special:

You'll have to check out her feed to see what the winning caption was. My entry was "You small. Do you even lift?" which was funny because someone had the exact same idea, but went the other way with it. "You're fat. Do you even lift?" or something. Ha!

Brantley was hot as heck tonight, going 3 for 5 with a walk and a run scored. Two of his hits were doubles! He's got 7 hits in his last 4 games! It sucks that he got so many hits and just 1 run came out of it. Oh, baseball...

Santana had a rough night. He only struck out once but he only went 1 for 6. He grounded into a double play and left 3 guys on base (to be fair, Kipnis did the same things too).

Gomes, of course, was a big player in this game...even though my brother picked him up for fantasy! He got a big homer tonight to lead off the third, to tie the game! Later on he got the game-tying RBI on a ground-out with 1 out and Brantley at third. Oh! How we love Yan Gomes!

Mike Aviles was holding down the 9-spot today like a boss! He went 2 for 6 and came around to score both times. He had a big double in the 7th and came around to score on Swisher's follow-up double. Then in the 14th inning he got a 2-out single and then motored around to score on Bourn's double, to put us just one run down. Also, he looked pretty good in the field!

I'm telling you guys - everything looked so good today. It was like a good honest playoff game. If only Salazar hadn't hung that one pitch, or if only we had a little bit of action from the cleanup or DH spots, things would have gone differently. But dang did we get our money's worth! Plus I got to see the whole thing on TV and hear it on the radio and watch along with the Twerps on Twitter. Good times.

And there were "only" 20,000 fans out tonight but it looked like everyone stayed! And everyone did a great job cheering - they were really into it! So good job by everyone tonight - the team, the fans at the park and all of us at home. What a great game!

Tomorrow is ZMac versus RHP 2.85. Don't be scared! Danny Salazar isn't scared! We've got as much chance tomorrow as we did these other 3 games...maybe it's our time.

No Radio Chatter tonight, I was overloaded on media. Hammy really had some good ones towards the end of the game, too. He reminded us that there's still 7 weeks to go, so everyone just calm down! Him and Rosie did a nice job too.

Ok, one more chance - see you there!