Lots of sad stuff happened in today's game. Brantley's streak ended, Hagadone melted down, we lost, Johnny Damon played, Tom Hamilton wasn't there.
But we're going to have to forage ahead and think about what good happened today. Because we seriously need a pick-me-up for Cousin Michael.
1. OMG ASDRUBAL!!! He got his 6th home run today, right out of the gate in the first inning!!! It was super awesome because it was at home, and he hasn't had one since May 19, almost a month. THEN he ended up going 2 for 3 with a walk and now his average is over .300 again at .301. He's totally ready for Asdrubal Bobblehead day on Monday (the bobblehead made a video for you) and he's also ready for the All Star Game. Don't forget!
2. Kipnis went 2 for 4 and is batting .278. He also stole a base! He's tied for 5th in the league in stolen bases. Did you get your We Are All Kipnises t-shirt? I got mine and it's all washed and ready to go. I think I'll wear it Sunday and not Monday - Monday is Asdrubal day. But you can still vote for Kipnis too!
3. Casey Kotchman! He got his 5th home run today, baby! Albert Pujols has finally pulled away from him average-wise (Pujols .260, Kotchman .220) but the big man's not too far ahead homer-wise with 9. Casey's career high was 14 in 2008, and he's not really on pace for that. But he's closer to hitting 10 which is what he did in 2011 when he hit .306. Wow those stats are all awesome and totally useless. I should be in politics!
4. Lonnie Chisenhall got a hit! A hit isn't going to get you very far in a 9-2 game, but Chisenhall came in with a bang and quickly fizzled. He had a homer in his first game then 3 hits on June 1 and since then, pretty much nothing. However he's had 4 hits over his last 4 starts. So is he becoming more confident and settled? Well, hopefully 1-hit games lead to 2-hit games and we can put him in at DH when Jack is full-time (right now Jack is every-other-day) and stop this nonsense with Damon.
5. We only had 3 strikeouts today, and 5 walks. Having only 3 strikeouts isn't a huge thing but did you know we're 2nd to last in the league in strikeouts? That's one of those categories where being last is good. We're also 2nd from the top in walks (you want to be at the top). We're also near the top in the category called "Number of Pitches." They've tracked the number of pitches thrown against us in total. Apparently we make the other guys work! Carlos Santana didn't get a hit today but he got a walk and NO strikeouts so that's pretty good.
6. Joe Smith still has it. Everyone else aside from Masters of the Universe Pestano and Perez might be wishy-washy right now but he's been pretty lights-out in June. Even today going an unusually-long-for-him 1 2/3 innings he didn't give up a run and only gave up one hit. So even if the previously-amazing Hagadone had his worst game yet today, and Sipp gave up 1 in just 1/3, at least Smith was right there in between, being good.
7. Mike Hargrove was on the radio today. Tom Hamilton is at the College World Series for the weekend, so today they roped Grover in to it. Hargrove has some radio experience, in the form of Drug Mart and Our Lady of the Wayside ads. His voice is the opposite of booming, that's for sure. While a game without Hammy still falls sort of flat, Hargrove would be a welcome addition of sweet southern cool to Hammy's Midwestern School Of Booming Radio Voice and Rosie's No-Nonsense Rustbelt Matte Finish. The nice thing about Hargrove is that he's got the player experience of Hegan plus manager experience plus he's a current insider on the team (he's employed by the Indians in some capacity.) So every so often he gets pretty close to dropping super-secret info. The nice thing about having him and Rosie together is that Rosie is a pretty great news guy and he can get good info out of Grover. Plus, he's got a nickname. Anyway, I hope to hear more of Grover on the radio!
8. While reading the news about today's game, I read this piece on Chris Perez's dad, which is a nice piece for Father's Day. It reminded me that I've always wondered what Perez's dad looks like, being that Perez looks like the whitest white guy ever to come from Florida with the name Perez. I'm thinking it's the beard, tho. Anyway, there's no pic of his dad in the linked piece, but there's one from last year from the All Star Game of Chris and his dad. On an article from Perez's baseball academy's site. Perez's dad has the hair going on, and yeah he looks a lot more Latino than his son. So that answers that. I also kind of love that pic because that's two guys right there from Florida and they're pimping the Tribe and FUCK FLORIDA!! (Although they're from the Tampa area, so aren't Marlins or Heat fans but still...FUCK FLORIDA!!)
9. "Hafner to begin running next week." Wow really? He had knee surgery on May 31 and by the 4th week in June he's running? Cleveland medicine rules! They say he might be back by the end of the month but definitely back by after the break. Sounds totally cool to be. Heal up, Pronk. Then come back and bash!
10. There were 30,000 fans at today's game and near 32,000 at yesterday's game. Now of course a good chunk of them are Pirates fans (heck I am bringing 5 of my own tomorrow) but asses in the seats is asses in the seats. Sometimes cheers are cheers. Tomorrow I think it's gonna be pretty crazy, it being Kids Fun Day and Santana Jersey Day. I got a little base tan from today's Color Run (plus I am still slightly green) but I think our seats are in the shade pretty well anyway. How is that a good thing about today's game? Well I'm excited, that's how. Plus it's a rubber match...so I don't have to bring my stupid foam broom. And I can talk trash with my cousin since it'll be the deciding game as to which city has the better baseball club. Huzzah!
So there you go, 10 decent things. Do you feel better now? We'll include a smiley for Michael Brantley, because he needs it. :)
I didn't get any Radio Chatter today because I was exhausted from the Color Run. I didn't even run, but I walked. And before I walked I stood in the sun for a half hour. So I spent most of the game going in and out of consciousness and missing all of the juicy tidbits. Sorry. We'll see what I feel like doing tomorrow after the game, see if you get some Chatter or not. If I get at least 2 comments asking for it, I'll do it for sure!
Tomorrow's at 1:05, Jeanmar versus a guy who is really a reliever and can't throw too many per game. So that could be good if he's had enough this season and we catch him in a melt down. Look for me, I'll be the one in the red Kipnis t-shirt with the green elbows. See you there!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Brantley, Brantley, Brantley, Brantley!
DUDE!!! Michael Brantley has a 22 game hitting streak!!! How crazy was that 8th inning? Did you think he'd get to bat one last time? I was going to be CRUSHED if he didn't get up again...and it was up to *groan* Carlos Santana to get us to Brantley. And he DID it!! He patienced his way to a walk! What excitement...WHAT EXCITEMENT!!
Wooh!
How about that Justin Masterson? You heard me! How about him?! Two games in a row!! That's just a miracle for our guys right now. A 7-inning shutout for him and he actually got the win this time. He struck out 9 and only gave up 4 hits and 3 walks. Please oh please let this be how he is from now on!!
I was driving around the other day, I think listening to the beginning of a game in my car, and I was thinking "I miss Chris Perez." I don't know what brought that on. I think maybe because when you see Chris Perez you know it's a win, or it's close. Now I don't mind not seeing him because we're up by 7 but uhm...that's not who we are this year. Plus when you see Perez it means you get to see Vinnie too. We haven't seen either of them for 5 days now. What a treat to see them tonight!
Oh, they went 2 innings with 1 hit and 1 strikeout between them. No runs, natch. BALLGAME!
Neither Choo nor Cabrera got hits today, but they both got on with walks (Choo 1, Cabrera 2) and both turned them in to 1 run apiece. Asdrubal did a nice piece of running in the 3rd and legged it in from 1st on a shot to left field of all places! That's some heads-up running!
Kipnis didn't do anything tonight, bat-wise, but I am so in love with this play here. All Star Game. Time's running out, yo!
Santana was Classic Santana today, making shit happen. First it was a double in the 3rd that brought home a run. Then he threw a guy out in the 5th. And then the best thing of all (well I guess his original game-winning RBI was the best thing...) was the aforementioned walk to get Brantley his final at-bat. What a shot in the arm he was today!!!
Michael Brantley got his hit and it's so awesome I could just die. Why don't we have clever Brantley t-shirts? There's like 5 clever Cleveland t-shirt outlets around here. We can have OKCLE on short notice, we can have something about Brantley. Get on it!
Johnny Damon played in Cleveland today and he got a hit.
Casey Kotchman, being reliable! After a day of rest, he went 2 for 3. In fact he was the only guy on the team that got multiple hits! What would a game be like with Kotchman, Santana AND Marson be like? Crazy exciting, I bet!
Hey! Lonnie Chisenhall settled in a bit and went 1 for 2. They took him out for Lopez in the 7th, which is reasonable. Didn't work out but I can see it.
Wasn't it nice to NOT see a pitcher batting 9th? Good God, I hate pitchers batting...
Supermanahan! He was back starting at 3rd today! I was trepidations about his return because most guys can't just pop back in and get in to a groove and produce right off the DL. And he didn't. But the great thing is that we didn't need his bat today so he's one day closer to being the old Jack Hannahan and I can hang with that!
Tomorrow's going to be interesting. We have the new-and-improved Ubaldo versus AJ Burnett, who's having a good year but we've had a good history against him. I think if Santana has a good game and Jack gets something to drop we should be good, bat-wise. Ubaldo needs to keep his part of the deal. It's also a 4:05 game, so that's interesting.
Sorry about no Radio Chatter tonight. I missed the first half of the game due to a marching band coming through my neighborhood (seriously). Nothing great really happened in the second half. I feel bad because Hammy's going to be out in Omaha now for the College World Series so we'll be missing his chatter for a few days. But I can't stay up late and re-listen for you cuz I've got to get up early for the Color Run! If you're going, keep an eye out for me - I'll be the fat one in all white!
So don't forget - 4:05. See you there!
Wooh!
How about that Justin Masterson? You heard me! How about him?! Two games in a row!! That's just a miracle for our guys right now. A 7-inning shutout for him and he actually got the win this time. He struck out 9 and only gave up 4 hits and 3 walks. Please oh please let this be how he is from now on!!
I was driving around the other day, I think listening to the beginning of a game in my car, and I was thinking "I miss Chris Perez." I don't know what brought that on. I think maybe because when you see Chris Perez you know it's a win, or it's close. Now I don't mind not seeing him because we're up by 7 but uhm...that's not who we are this year. Plus when you see Perez it means you get to see Vinnie too. We haven't seen either of them for 5 days now. What a treat to see them tonight!
Oh, they went 2 innings with 1 hit and 1 strikeout between them. No runs, natch. BALLGAME!
Neither Choo nor Cabrera got hits today, but they both got on with walks (Choo 1, Cabrera 2) and both turned them in to 1 run apiece. Asdrubal did a nice piece of running in the 3rd and legged it in from 1st on a shot to left field of all places! That's some heads-up running!
Kipnis didn't do anything tonight, bat-wise, but I am so in love with this play here. All Star Game. Time's running out, yo!
Santana was Classic Santana today, making shit happen. First it was a double in the 3rd that brought home a run. Then he threw a guy out in the 5th. And then the best thing of all (well I guess his original game-winning RBI was the best thing...) was the aforementioned walk to get Brantley his final at-bat. What a shot in the arm he was today!!!
Michael Brantley got his hit and it's so awesome I could just die. Why don't we have clever Brantley t-shirts? There's like 5 clever Cleveland t-shirt outlets around here. We can have OKCLE on short notice, we can have something about Brantley. Get on it!
Johnny Damon played in Cleveland today and he got a hit.
Casey Kotchman, being reliable! After a day of rest, he went 2 for 3. In fact he was the only guy on the team that got multiple hits! What would a game be like with Kotchman, Santana AND Marson be like? Crazy exciting, I bet!
Hey! Lonnie Chisenhall settled in a bit and went 1 for 2. They took him out for Lopez in the 7th, which is reasonable. Didn't work out but I can see it.
Wasn't it nice to NOT see a pitcher batting 9th? Good God, I hate pitchers batting...
Supermanahan! He was back starting at 3rd today! I was trepidations about his return because most guys can't just pop back in and get in to a groove and produce right off the DL. And he didn't. But the great thing is that we didn't need his bat today so he's one day closer to being the old Jack Hannahan and I can hang with that!
Tomorrow's going to be interesting. We have the new-and-improved Ubaldo versus AJ Burnett, who's having a good year but we've had a good history against him. I think if Santana has a good game and Jack gets something to drop we should be good, bat-wise. Ubaldo needs to keep his part of the deal. It's also a 4:05 game, so that's interesting.
Sorry about no Radio Chatter tonight. I missed the first half of the game due to a marching band coming through my neighborhood (seriously). Nothing great really happened in the second half. I feel bad because Hammy's going to be out in Omaha now for the College World Series so we'll be missing his chatter for a few days. But I can't stay up late and re-listen for you cuz I've got to get up early for the Color Run! If you're going, keep an eye out for me - I'll be the fat one in all white!
So don't forget - 4:05. See you there!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Choo, Cabrera, Santana, Brantley ... Marson!
So let's see...what went wrong here?
Josh Tomlin wasn't all that right today. He gave up 6 runs in 4 innings with 4 of those runs coming on homers. Yes to Votto and Phillips but he coulda just thrown them junk. Even I saw that coming a mile away.Tomlin did get a hit, and now he's batting .400.
The untouchable Scott Barnes was touched so much today they almost called the Special Victims Unit. He gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 1/3 of an inning. His ERA went from 0 to 10.38. Ha!
Young Esmil Rogers finished off the 5th for him, and took the 6th (long relief!) and "only" gave up 1 run while striking out 2. Jeremy Accardo ended up being our sweetheart of the day going 2 innings and giving up no runs. Well at least they didn't need to burn our "good bullpen" today.
Batting didn't fare much better, except for the cats mentioned at the top. They all actually had a very very nice game. Too bad the other 4 weren't on board.
CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, who has had 3 homers so far this year, got TWO homers today. TWO TODAY!!! He got a lead-off solo homer - which falsely got everyone's hopes up for the rest of the game - and then another solo blast in the 5th. He ended up going 2 for 5 with just the 2 RBI.
Asdrubal, after having 2 not-so-good games (ending his 12-game streak and then just getting 1 hit yesterday) went 3 for 4 today with a walk, showing once again that he gets pumped by great lead-off hitting (Choo!) One of those hits was his 17th double. Sad, sad, sad then that he got neither a run nor an RBI.
Santana did go 1 for 3 with 2 walks, so that's good for him. He also a run and an RBI. I'm just ready to see "usual for him" and not "good for him."
Michael Brantley! Continuing the streak at 21!!! And not just any old hit, a double that eventually turned in to a run. :) :) :)
Everyone else was all blah, including pitchers (Tomlin and Barnes both got hits, whee), Kipnis, Cunningham, Damon...Jesus, I think we cleared the entire bench!
Everyone, that is, except for LOU MARSON!! Dude went 3 for 4 today. Yeah, better than Asdrubal and Choo and everyone else! But no one ahead of him was hitting and the pitchers were behind him so he got no walks and no runs. Bother.
Sad series in Cincy, so I'm ready to get out of there and back here for the baseball team from Pittsburgh. I'm serious guys - they have a baseball team. They'll be here for 3 games. Friday is a right-handed pitcher and the matchup looks pretty even (Masterson). Let's hope Justin's back in form and the batters can get their shit together. I know they've been missing John Adams - how could you not miss that beat? How does he only have > 4000 followers, too? What is wrong with you, Twitterverse?!
Everyone dust themselves off and I'll see you Friday night for some Cleveland-style baseball!
Josh Tomlin wasn't all that right today. He gave up 6 runs in 4 innings with 4 of those runs coming on homers. Yes to Votto and Phillips but he coulda just thrown them junk. Even I saw that coming a mile away.Tomlin did get a hit, and now he's batting .400.
The untouchable Scott Barnes was touched so much today they almost called the Special Victims Unit. He gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 1/3 of an inning. His ERA went from 0 to 10.38. Ha!
Young Esmil Rogers finished off the 5th for him, and took the 6th (long relief!) and "only" gave up 1 run while striking out 2. Jeremy Accardo ended up being our sweetheart of the day going 2 innings and giving up no runs. Well at least they didn't need to burn our "good bullpen" today.
Batting didn't fare much better, except for the cats mentioned at the top. They all actually had a very very nice game. Too bad the other 4 weren't on board.
CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, who has had 3 homers so far this year, got TWO homers today. TWO TODAY!!! He got a lead-off solo homer - which falsely got everyone's hopes up for the rest of the game - and then another solo blast in the 5th. He ended up going 2 for 5 with just the 2 RBI.
Asdrubal, after having 2 not-so-good games (ending his 12-game streak and then just getting 1 hit yesterday) went 3 for 4 today with a walk, showing once again that he gets pumped by great lead-off hitting (Choo!) One of those hits was his 17th double. Sad, sad, sad then that he got neither a run nor an RBI.
Santana did go 1 for 3 with 2 walks, so that's good for him. He also a run and an RBI. I'm just ready to see "usual for him" and not "good for him."
Michael Brantley! Continuing the streak at 21!!! And not just any old hit, a double that eventually turned in to a run. :) :) :)
Everyone else was all blah, including pitchers (Tomlin and Barnes both got hits, whee), Kipnis, Cunningham, Damon...Jesus, I think we cleared the entire bench!
Everyone, that is, except for LOU MARSON!! Dude went 3 for 4 today. Yeah, better than Asdrubal and Choo and everyone else! But no one ahead of him was hitting and the pitchers were behind him so he got no walks and no runs. Bother.
Sad series in Cincy, so I'm ready to get out of there and back here for the baseball team from Pittsburgh. I'm serious guys - they have a baseball team. They'll be here for 3 games. Friday is a right-handed pitcher and the matchup looks pretty even (Masterson). Let's hope Justin's back in form and the batters can get their shit together. I know they've been missing John Adams - how could you not miss that beat? How does he only have > 4000 followers, too? What is wrong with you, Twitterverse?!
Everyone dust themselves off and I'll see you Friday night for some Cleveland-style baseball!
Radio Chatter:
"Mike Leake might be looking for that IV sooner than later."
- Tom Hamilton on Choo hitting a homer off a sick Leake
"We could be looking at a donnybrook today."
- Tom Hamilton thinks it's perfect weather for a lot of homers
"If his career is as promising as they hope it'll be, he'll be the first guy from Punxsutawney to overshadow that goofy groundhog."
- Tom Hamilton on Devin Mesoraco
"Could you imagine the Indians teams of the 90s playing in this ballpark? That'd be a 5 hour game!"
- Tom Hamilton
"I've seen The Godfather 23 times. I know what your dad's capable of."
- Tom Hamilton on Rosie's story about a New Jersey Little League team
"Any time it gets to be 11-3 that's what happens. You say things you shouldn't."
- Tom Hamilton is now going after the French
"You are just leaving a path of destruction in your wake today."
"Hey I'm out of town Saturday..."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton
"Slider and Gapper have been like two kindergartners on recess during this series."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians and Reds mascots
"Mike Leake might be looking for that IV sooner than later."
- Tom Hamilton on Choo hitting a homer off a sick Leake
"We could be looking at a donnybrook today."
- Tom Hamilton thinks it's perfect weather for a lot of homers
"If his career is as promising as they hope it'll be, he'll be the first guy from Punxsutawney to overshadow that goofy groundhog."
- Tom Hamilton on Devin Mesoraco
"Could you imagine the Indians teams of the 90s playing in this ballpark? That'd be a 5 hour game!"
- Tom Hamilton
"I've seen The Godfather 23 times. I know what your dad's capable of."
- Tom Hamilton on Rosie's story about a New Jersey Little League team
"Any time it gets to be 11-3 that's what happens. You say things you shouldn't."
- Tom Hamilton is now going after the French
"You are just leaving a path of destruction in your wake today."
"Hey I'm out of town Saturday..."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton
"Slider and Gapper have been like two kindergartners on recess during this series."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians and Reds mascots
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Brandon Gets the Best of Us
If Torii Hunter is my favorite non-Indian in the AL, then Brandon Phillips is my guy in the NL. Could be that I know what he's up to *touches nose* when he plays against Cleveland, since we let him go all those years ago. Could be that as a former second-baseman myself I just appreciate a great middle man. Could also be that if I'm not able to throw my hands up and say "Well, that Brandon Phillips, you can't beat him!" that I would just curl up and die every time the Reds came around on our schedule.
I did vote for him for the All Star Game, tho. Him and Votto. Wow.
Derek Lowe was the starter today. He wasn't "Wow, Derek Lowe!" tonight but he was better than 2 of his last 3 games. He only gave up 3 in his 6 innings, but he walked a lot (6) which is not what you want to do against a team with a guy hitting .363 (Votto).
Nick Hagadone, however, was absolutely not "Wow, Nick Hagadone!" today. Two hits and two runs in just one inning? I'm afraid I cursed the boy by suggesting him as a Fantasy pickup. My bad, Cleveland. I also apologize for planting grass seed in half my front yard 4 weeks ago - I appear to have caused a bit of a drought.
Esmil Rogers. We just got him from Colorado "for cash" and apparently he needs a little love. Like a malnourished kitten who throws 95 MPH. He got to peek his head out of the cat carrier for the 8th inning today and throw his nastiest stuff at the Reds. It was a good opportunity to put him out there - albeit against a NL team in an NL park so what is the difference? - it was the bottom of their order. He did strike out 2 and throw 96/97 MPH fastballs. Came out unscathed. Can he do that in long relief? Time will tell.
By the way, his minor league team was the Modesto Nuts. Their logo actually makes nuts look tough:
Today's game was about as blah as yesterday's game, batting-wise. A bunch of guys went 1 for 4. Johnny Damon is turning from useless into a liability. Happy to see Santana hit, and a double at that! The pitcher got a hit. I think all of our pitchers have hit this year, or darn close to it.
And of course the biggest, bestest news of the night is that Michael Brantley is at 20 games now!!! He's been slowed down to just single-hit games but whatever, a streak is a streak. He's still hitting like .350 during it too. I can't quell my smilies anymore so I'll just lay a few out right here :) :) :)
Will give props to LOPEZ! for his late-inning pinch hit home run. That's what I'm talkin' bout, Lopez! Show him why you've got to stick around!
That's pretty much it. We were at least closer today at 3 runs to their 5 but still not good enough for a win. Pitching is coming around but batting needs to tighten up. This music video for Akron's Own The Black Keys "Tighten Up" - in which said band gets beaten up by some children - is better than tonight's baseball game.
Tomorrow is a noonly game versus another right-handed pitcher, Mike Leake. Our guy is Josh Tomlin. Should be good, right? Yeah, that's what I thought before these last two games. Oh well, I like a good noontime romp through the ballpark so happy I will be.
See you there!
I did vote for him for the All Star Game, tho. Him and Votto. Wow.
Derek Lowe was the starter today. He wasn't "Wow, Derek Lowe!" tonight but he was better than 2 of his last 3 games. He only gave up 3 in his 6 innings, but he walked a lot (6) which is not what you want to do against a team with a guy hitting .363 (Votto).
Nick Hagadone, however, was absolutely not "Wow, Nick Hagadone!" today. Two hits and two runs in just one inning? I'm afraid I cursed the boy by suggesting him as a Fantasy pickup. My bad, Cleveland. I also apologize for planting grass seed in half my front yard 4 weeks ago - I appear to have caused a bit of a drought.
Esmil Rogers. We just got him from Colorado "for cash" and apparently he needs a little love. Like a malnourished kitten who throws 95 MPH. He got to peek his head out of the cat carrier for the 8th inning today and throw his nastiest stuff at the Reds. It was a good opportunity to put him out there - albeit against a NL team in an NL park so what is the difference? - it was the bottom of their order. He did strike out 2 and throw 96/97 MPH fastballs. Came out unscathed. Can he do that in long relief? Time will tell.
By the way, his minor league team was the Modesto Nuts. Their logo actually makes nuts look tough:
 |
| Fuck off with your monocle and top hat. |
And of course the biggest, bestest news of the night is that Michael Brantley is at 20 games now!!! He's been slowed down to just single-hit games but whatever, a streak is a streak. He's still hitting like .350 during it too. I can't quell my smilies anymore so I'll just lay a few out right here :) :) :)
Will give props to LOPEZ! for his late-inning pinch hit home run. That's what I'm talkin' bout, Lopez! Show him why you've got to stick around!
That's pretty much it. We were at least closer today at 3 runs to their 5 but still not good enough for a win. Pitching is coming around but batting needs to tighten up. This music video for Akron's Own The Black Keys "Tighten Up" - in which said band gets beaten up by some children - is better than tonight's baseball game.
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"The last thing you want to do is walk Wilson Valdez in front of this guy."
- Tom Hamilton on Valdez's first walk of the season, before Joey Votto
"They were talking in the dugout about Santana's performance at the plate and shaking their heads."
- Tom Hamilton
"You can't teach 95 miles per hour."
- Tom Hamilton on the training of Esmil Rogers
"People were lined up at the press dinner like it was the Last Supper. [...] If you came home from a long day of work and your wife offered you hot dogs and chili, you'd probably go somewhere else."
- Tom Hamilton on the Skyline Chili (and hot dogs) at the press dinner, of course after describing Rosie coming back from dinner covered in chili like a dirty toddler
"Rosie will be delivered by crane to the Indians plane tomorrow."
- Tom Hamilton after going over all of the foods Rosie had tried in Cincy
"It seems like every time we look up, isn't Joey Votto or Jay Bruce swinging the bat?"
- Tom Hamilton on the too-large number of walks
"It's almost like he's on a mission against the tribe."
- Tom Hamilton on Brandon Phillips
"He's an angry elf."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's hissy fit
"It's like they found a picture and put it on somebody else's body and put an imaginary cap on his head."
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' scoreboard photo of Johnny Damon
"All he's done is thrown strikes. He's come in and pounded the strike zone with mid-90s sliders."
- Tom Hamilton on Esmil Rogers
"These are Little League numbers. Fifty-five strikeouts in 31 innings. Fifty-five strikeouts!"
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' closer
"People ask how can Chisenhall swing at that ball in the dirt? Well when it's going 100 miles per hour, you don't have a lot of time to decide."
- Tom Hamilton
"The Cuban Missle is human."
- Tom Hamilton after Lopez hits one off Aroldis Chapman
"The last thing you want to do is walk Wilson Valdez in front of this guy."
- Tom Hamilton on Valdez's first walk of the season, before Joey Votto
"They were talking in the dugout about Santana's performance at the plate and shaking their heads."
- Tom Hamilton
"You can't teach 95 miles per hour."
- Tom Hamilton on the training of Esmil Rogers
"People were lined up at the press dinner like it was the Last Supper. [...] If you came home from a long day of work and your wife offered you hot dogs and chili, you'd probably go somewhere else."
- Tom Hamilton on the Skyline Chili (and hot dogs) at the press dinner, of course after describing Rosie coming back from dinner covered in chili like a dirty toddler
"Rosie will be delivered by crane to the Indians plane tomorrow."
- Tom Hamilton after going over all of the foods Rosie had tried in Cincy
"It seems like every time we look up, isn't Joey Votto or Jay Bruce swinging the bat?"
- Tom Hamilton on the too-large number of walks
"It's almost like he's on a mission against the tribe."
- Tom Hamilton on Brandon Phillips
"He's an angry elf."
- Tom Hamilton on Asdrubal's hissy fit
"It's like they found a picture and put it on somebody else's body and put an imaginary cap on his head."
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' scoreboard photo of Johnny Damon
"All he's done is thrown strikes. He's come in and pounded the strike zone with mid-90s sliders."
- Tom Hamilton on Esmil Rogers
"These are Little League numbers. Fifty-five strikeouts in 31 innings. Fifty-five strikeouts!"
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' closer
"People ask how can Chisenhall swing at that ball in the dirt? Well when it's going 100 miles per hour, you don't have a lot of time to decide."
- Tom Hamilton
"The Cuban Missle is human."
- Tom Hamilton after Lopez hits one off Aroldis Chapman
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Unexpected Loss
Boy - when I heard we'd be facing a right-hander tonight, I was relieved. I was like "Yeah! Big hits today!" Then when we got 2 hits and a run in the first inning I was all "You are so right!"
Then that was pretty much it. No more runs, four more hits.
BUT MICHAEL BRANTLEY GOT A HIT!!! Nineteen game hitting streak. NINETEEN! I'm 42% less sad at losing today since Brantley kept his going.
But, Asdrubal lost his (he was at 12) so that makes me 14% more sad. Sigh.
So how did Jeanmar do? While he only pitched 5 innings just like his last 4 outings, he only gave up 2 runs (1 earned) much unlike his last 3 outings in which he gave up 5 and 6 runs in each game. After the 5th, Manny thought he wasn't looking too good so he decided to bring in some relievers.
Bad move. Previously-reliable and now-somtimes-unreliable Joe Smith gave up 1. Sipp only gave up one. Then Accardo was like "Ima do better than the rest of y'all!" and gave up 3. Ha!
So even though we can't hit lefties, it turns out we can't hit great righties either. That...does not bode well, huh? Also we looked sloppy in the field.
Choo is all "I don't like lefties! They hurt me!" but he didn't do too well against Cueto today. He did go 1 for 4 which we like to see - better than 4 strikeouts or something!
Kipnis didn't have a multi-hit game. Hmm..this guy MUST be pretty tough if Kipnis was held to 1 for 4.
Although, Santana got a hit and so did Jeanmar Gomez. But I'm thinking Cueto was just throwing some junk our of boredom. He did go 9 innings afterall!
Brantley was held to just 1 but oh what a 1 it was!! He then tried to steal a base to cap it off but that plan backfired.
Lonnie Chisenhall had Cueto figured out! Well, 1 out of the 3 times he faced the guy. The other 2 times, Cueto had him figured out and struck him out.
In other news: The Golden Flashes are going to the College World Series!! How cool is that? Suck it, Akron, is how cool that is. They're going to be facing off against all these warm-weather schools (UCLA, Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina) and uhmm...Stony Brook. Yeah I dunno - New York. So do indeed relish your time with Hammy this week because if things go according to him he'll be gone from the 16th to the 25th while he watches his son Nick and the Flashes go all the way!
Glad we've got a high note to leave on.
Tomorrow is Derek Lowe against another right hander, with a much higher ERA. So I'm going to set myself up for that one too and say "Yeah! Big hits tomorrow!"
We'll see you tomorrow night and see how that turns out!
Then that was pretty much it. No more runs, four more hits.
BUT MICHAEL BRANTLEY GOT A HIT!!! Nineteen game hitting streak. NINETEEN! I'm 42% less sad at losing today since Brantley kept his going.
But, Asdrubal lost his (he was at 12) so that makes me 14% more sad. Sigh.
So how did Jeanmar do? While he only pitched 5 innings just like his last 4 outings, he only gave up 2 runs (1 earned) much unlike his last 3 outings in which he gave up 5 and 6 runs in each game. After the 5th, Manny thought he wasn't looking too good so he decided to bring in some relievers.
Bad move. Previously-reliable and now-somtimes-unreliable Joe Smith gave up 1. Sipp only gave up one. Then Accardo was like "Ima do better than the rest of y'all!" and gave up 3. Ha!
So even though we can't hit lefties, it turns out we can't hit great righties either. That...does not bode well, huh? Also we looked sloppy in the field.
Choo is all "I don't like lefties! They hurt me!" but he didn't do too well against Cueto today. He did go 1 for 4 which we like to see - better than 4 strikeouts or something!
Kipnis didn't have a multi-hit game. Hmm..this guy MUST be pretty tough if Kipnis was held to 1 for 4.
Although, Santana got a hit and so did Jeanmar Gomez. But I'm thinking Cueto was just throwing some junk our of boredom. He did go 9 innings afterall!
Brantley was held to just 1 but oh what a 1 it was!! He then tried to steal a base to cap it off but that plan backfired.
Lonnie Chisenhall had Cueto figured out! Well, 1 out of the 3 times he faced the guy. The other 2 times, Cueto had him figured out and struck him out.
In other news: The Golden Flashes are going to the College World Series!! How cool is that? Suck it, Akron, is how cool that is. They're going to be facing off against all these warm-weather schools (UCLA, Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina) and uhmm...Stony Brook. Yeah I dunno - New York. So do indeed relish your time with Hammy this week because if things go according to him he'll be gone from the 16th to the 25th while he watches his son Nick and the Flashes go all the way!
Glad we've got a high note to leave on.
Tomorrow is Derek Lowe against another right hander, with a much higher ERA. So I'm going to set myself up for that one too and say "Yeah! Big hits tomorrow!"
We'll see you tomorrow night and see how that turns out!
Radio Chatter:
"I don't know what 'hermetically' means, it just sounds good."
- Tom Hamilton after mentioning that he and Rosie are in a hermetically sealed bubble to keep from getting sick
"He'll say 'Dad how many hits did you have in the NCAA Super Regional?'"
- Tom Hamilton after mentioning his son wasn't hitting well over the weekend
"Johnny Cueto runs the bases like he's 75 years old, and that may be a disservice to those of you who are actually 75."
- Tom Hamilton
"There's not going to be any suspense in the 9th inning. The Reds have taken all of the drama out of this one."
- Tom Hamilton
"Maybe he'll leave Cueto in so he can get some cheers on the way back to the dugout."
- Tom Hamilton on Dusty Baker visiting the mound to "boo"s in the 9th
"I don't know what 'hermetically' means, it just sounds good."
- Tom Hamilton after mentioning that he and Rosie are in a hermetically sealed bubble to keep from getting sick
"He'll say 'Dad how many hits did you have in the NCAA Super Regional?'"
- Tom Hamilton after mentioning his son wasn't hitting well over the weekend
"Johnny Cueto runs the bases like he's 75 years old, and that may be a disservice to those of you who are actually 75."
- Tom Hamilton
"There's not going to be any suspense in the 9th inning. The Reds have taken all of the drama out of this one."
- Tom Hamilton
"Maybe he'll leave Cueto in so he can get some cheers on the way back to the dugout."
- Tom Hamilton on Dusty Baker visiting the mound to "boo"s in the 9th
Sunday, June 10, 2012
We Are All Kipnises!
Amazing game today, boffins! Hit streaks! Great Ubaldo start! Winning home run! Double switch! Save! Won the series! ALL ON A SUNDAY!!!
Ubaldo Jiminez had his second good game in a row. IN A ROW! He struck out 7 in 7 innings and only gave up 5 hits and one run. That run was to Carlos Beltran who hit a home run, but that's ok because it was a solo shot, it was the only homer he gave up, and it is Beltran's specific talent to hit home runs. And the guy who leads the league in giving up walks gave up NO WALKS!! UBALDOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
He was shit at the plate, tho. UGH I hate NL rules...
Vinnie Pestano came in for the 8th as a treat for us all. Then he loaded them up on 3 walks!!! WTF Vinnie?! I think he likes to pitch under pressure and he got out there and gave himself pressure. Cuz then after that he struck out the next two guys to end the inning un-scathed.
By the time Perez came in we had a 3-run lead, and it was cake for him. He gave up one hit and struck one out, as we've come to expect. Then before he had a chance to do something he might regret, ballgame! Here's an article about Perez's return to STL "Perez Thankful Cards Traded Him". If you've ever wondered if he's happier here than there, well now you know.
Oh yeah I guess Perez puked right after the last out. Right there on the field. Carlos Santana was all "WTF? Gross!" and good 'ol Shelley Duncan was actually checking to see if he was ok. I'm guessing too much adrenaline plus an accidental swallowing of chew juice. And heat. Anyway, he's got 20 saves now. His middle name is "Ralph." No, seriously it is.
Wait WTF? Is that clip from WKYC?? Did they broadcast the game on Channel 3 today and not add it to their broadcast schedule? NOT FAIR!!! I rely on that schedule for my total happiness! Am I going to have to start turning on my television every day to check? Not cool.
On the offensive side, the team got 10 hits today but only from 6 guys. Because dudes were multi-hitting!
Guys like CHOOOO who went 2 for 5 today and scored a run. Asdrubal didn't multi-hit but he extended his hitting streak to 12, and rocked it in the field of course. Did you vote for him for the All Star Game?
Hey guess what? I bit the bullet and bought myself a We Are All Kipnises t-shirt today after the game. That's right - between the end of the game and the first line of this post, I bought a t-shirt. To be honest it's not the best time financially or wardrobe-ly to be buying a t-shirt (I'm in the middle of losing a bunch of weight) but I'm going to 2 games next weekend and Kipnis won the game today so I just needed to pay my respects. Plus, I'm a sucker for red t-shirts with Wahoo feathers. Srsly.
So Kipnis not only went 3 for 4 today (he's "back" - as speculated!), he got a game-winning 3-run homer. He walked and stole his league-leading 15th base. Is he gonna go 20-20 this year? He's halfway there with a few weeks left until the halfway point. That'd be fun! Hopefully my t-shirt will help!
If you can't get yourself a t-shirt, you should at least vote for him to be in the All Star Game.
Michael Brantley! EIGHTEEN GAMES!!!! It's still an inconsequential baby streak but it's so friggin' fun. People don't know Michael Brantley but maybe they will learn his name once he breaks 20. Maybe he will permanently replace Grady. Even the outs Brantley is making are awesome. Every ball looks like it's got the ability to be his next hit, nothing garbage from him.
Shelly Duncan was back at it again today! I suspect because his dad and brother are hanging around the ballpark (was hoping Dave Duncan would be in the radio booth). His average is back over .200 wooha!
Lou Marson was part of a double switch with Lopez (who was shut down at the plate today) and Chisenhall and Kotchman. All those substitutions and no hits. Doh!
Awesome baseball this weekend! Great to come out of the World Champion city with 2 out of 3 games and only have given up 5 runs.
Tomorrow is a day off and then we're on to Cincy to face the Reds for 3. They're 2.5 games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Should be a good series - if our starters are really on a roll.
Have a nice day off tomorrow and I'll see you Tuesday!
Oh and make sure you tune in during the week because when KSU defeats Oregon tonight, Kent is going to go to the College World Series and we'll be Hammy-less all next weekend. So get your fix in this week and go Flashes!
Ubaldo Jiminez had his second good game in a row. IN A ROW! He struck out 7 in 7 innings and only gave up 5 hits and one run. That run was to Carlos Beltran who hit a home run, but that's ok because it was a solo shot, it was the only homer he gave up, and it is Beltran's specific talent to hit home runs. And the guy who leads the league in giving up walks gave up NO WALKS!! UBALDOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
He was shit at the plate, tho. UGH I hate NL rules...
Vinnie Pestano came in for the 8th as a treat for us all. Then he loaded them up on 3 walks!!! WTF Vinnie?! I think he likes to pitch under pressure and he got out there and gave himself pressure. Cuz then after that he struck out the next two guys to end the inning un-scathed.
By the time Perez came in we had a 3-run lead, and it was cake for him. He gave up one hit and struck one out, as we've come to expect. Then before he had a chance to do something he might regret, ballgame! Here's an article about Perez's return to STL "Perez Thankful Cards Traded Him". If you've ever wondered if he's happier here than there, well now you know.
Oh yeah I guess Perez puked right after the last out. Right there on the field. Carlos Santana was all "WTF? Gross!" and good 'ol Shelley Duncan was actually checking to see if he was ok. I'm guessing too much adrenaline plus an accidental swallowing of chew juice. And heat. Anyway, he's got 20 saves now. His middle name is "Ralph." No, seriously it is.
Wait WTF? Is that clip from WKYC?? Did they broadcast the game on Channel 3 today and not add it to their broadcast schedule? NOT FAIR!!! I rely on that schedule for my total happiness! Am I going to have to start turning on my television every day to check? Not cool.
On the offensive side, the team got 10 hits today but only from 6 guys. Because dudes were multi-hitting!
Guys like CHOOOO who went 2 for 5 today and scored a run. Asdrubal didn't multi-hit but he extended his hitting streak to 12, and rocked it in the field of course. Did you vote for him for the All Star Game?
Hey guess what? I bit the bullet and bought myself a We Are All Kipnises t-shirt today after the game. That's right - between the end of the game and the first line of this post, I bought a t-shirt. To be honest it's not the best time financially or wardrobe-ly to be buying a t-shirt (I'm in the middle of losing a bunch of weight) but I'm going to 2 games next weekend and Kipnis won the game today so I just needed to pay my respects. Plus, I'm a sucker for red t-shirts with Wahoo feathers. Srsly.
So Kipnis not only went 3 for 4 today (he's "back" - as speculated!), he got a game-winning 3-run homer. He walked and stole his league-leading 15th base. Is he gonna go 20-20 this year? He's halfway there with a few weeks left until the halfway point. That'd be fun! Hopefully my t-shirt will help!
If you can't get yourself a t-shirt, you should at least vote for him to be in the All Star Game.
Michael Brantley! EIGHTEEN GAMES!!!! It's still an inconsequential baby streak but it's so friggin' fun. People don't know Michael Brantley but maybe they will learn his name once he breaks 20. Maybe he will permanently replace Grady. Even the outs Brantley is making are awesome. Every ball looks like it's got the ability to be his next hit, nothing garbage from him.
Shelly Duncan was back at it again today! I suspect because his dad and brother are hanging around the ballpark (was hoping Dave Duncan would be in the radio booth). His average is back over .200 wooha!
Lou Marson was part of a double switch with Lopez (who was shut down at the plate today) and Chisenhall and Kotchman. All those substitutions and no hits. Doh!
Awesome baseball this weekend! Great to come out of the World Champion city with 2 out of 3 games and only have given up 5 runs.
Tomorrow is a day off and then we're on to Cincy to face the Reds for 3. They're 2.5 games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Should be a good series - if our starters are really on a roll.
Have a nice day off tomorrow and I'll see you Tuesday!
Oh and make sure you tune in during the week because when KSU defeats Oregon tonight, Kent is going to go to the College World Series and we'll be Hammy-less all next weekend. So get your fix in this week and go Flashes!
Radio Chatter:
"Another reason to get Hammy back in the booth. I got several emails reminding me I was in the booth for the Indians' first shutout."
- Scott Bailes
"There are two kinds of pitchers - the ones who claim to be good hitters and aren't, and the ones who admit they're not good hitters."
- Scott Bailes
"The best way to quiet that Cardinal crowd is throw strike one then strike two."
- Scott Bailes on Pestano's jam in the 8th
"Another reason to get Hammy back in the booth. I got several emails reminding me I was in the booth for the Indians' first shutout."
- Scott Bailes
"There are two kinds of pitchers - the ones who claim to be good hitters and aren't, and the ones who admit they're not good hitters."
- Scott Bailes
"The best way to quiet that Cardinal crowd is throw strike one then strike two."
- Scott Bailes on Pestano's jam in the 8th
Saturday, June 9, 2012
A Loss, But Not A Bad Loss
So yeah we lost but I think it was good baseball game. In fact, I thought it was good even for a pitchers' duel which is a type of game that I've never been a fan of. I mean, I understand why they're good and I praise great pitching but my personal makeup doesn't allow me the patience for slow baseball. But even the outs in this game were pretty exciting, so I could hang. Plus - the arches.
Masterson was finally friggin great! But Kyle Lohse was even better, so no win for Big Nasty. But he went 7 innings and struck out 6, only giving up 1 run. How about that? He's only given up 1 run in 2 other games this year, so it was magic for him. Oh yeah and he was facing the NL's best-hitting team, so there's that. And he had to bat! He looked funny up there all 6'6" of him at the plate. He's no Josh Tomlin so he didn't do anything but he didn't make a fool of himself.
Accardo came in for the 8th and gave up another run but it actually kinda didn't matter. Our bats just weren't doing anything today.
Our guys only got 3 hits and 2 walks today. The first time all year we've been shut out! Not bad to make it in to the second week of June without being shut out, right?
We only struck out 4 times so there was a lot of contact with the ball. No doubt that's what made the game watchable. There were some solid plays for both sides.
The nicest thing is that the guys who got the hits tonight are two of our guys who are harboring streaks - Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Fucking Brantley!
Asdrubal went 1 for 4 and continued an 11-game streak! He hit a bomb to right which coulda been a homer but it wasn't, and it coulda been a double but it also wasn't that. It was just a long single.
BRANTLEY is now at 17 games, and to prove his worthiness he didn't just get a bunt single today but also a legit single out of the infield and in to center.
So, he's pretty awesome!
That's about all for today's game. There aren't even any video highlights from the MLB for this game. Heh.
Why is Bob Frantz on the radio crying about how there was a shutout today? It happens dude, buck up. Be super happy that this is the first!
Not only are there no video highlights, there's also no Radio Chatter tonight. I swear, I only wrote down like one thing. Not worth it. Hamilton is off at the College World Series semi-finals. Kent's game versus Oregon is not until 11 PM Eastern, so if you want to know how things went check out the very nice bracket on the NCAA site.
In honor of Busch Stadium, which continues to enamor me, I am going to post a list of things all of the current baseball stadiums are named after, in order of stadium seating size:
A baseball team
A beer company
A baseball team
A rich guy
A communications company
A bank
A baseball team
An insurance company
A baseball team
A baseball team
A beer company
A bank
An insurance company
A pet store
An insurance company
A bank
A communications company
A beer company
A baseball team
A rich guy
A juice company
A communications company
A department store
A bank
A rich guy
A geographic area
A baseball team
A geographic area
A juice company
Seems kind of creepy when you break it down like that doesn't it? Did you even realize that we had two juicy stadiums?
Tomorrow's game is at 2:15. Sadly, not on television but that's ok I've gotten my fill of Busch Stadium this year. Let's hope there's more good pitching from Ubaldo and we get a Sunday win!
See you there!
Masterson was finally friggin great! But Kyle Lohse was even better, so no win for Big Nasty. But he went 7 innings and struck out 6, only giving up 1 run. How about that? He's only given up 1 run in 2 other games this year, so it was magic for him. Oh yeah and he was facing the NL's best-hitting team, so there's that. And he had to bat! He looked funny up there all 6'6" of him at the plate. He's no Josh Tomlin so he didn't do anything but he didn't make a fool of himself.
Accardo came in for the 8th and gave up another run but it actually kinda didn't matter. Our bats just weren't doing anything today.
Our guys only got 3 hits and 2 walks today. The first time all year we've been shut out! Not bad to make it in to the second week of June without being shut out, right?
We only struck out 4 times so there was a lot of contact with the ball. No doubt that's what made the game watchable. There were some solid plays for both sides.
The nicest thing is that the guys who got the hits tonight are two of our guys who are harboring streaks - Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Fucking Brantley!
Asdrubal went 1 for 4 and continued an 11-game streak! He hit a bomb to right which coulda been a homer but it wasn't, and it coulda been a double but it also wasn't that. It was just a long single.
BRANTLEY is now at 17 games, and to prove his worthiness he didn't just get a bunt single today but also a legit single out of the infield and in to center.
So, he's pretty awesome!
That's about all for today's game. There aren't even any video highlights from the MLB for this game. Heh.
Why is Bob Frantz on the radio crying about how there was a shutout today? It happens dude, buck up. Be super happy that this is the first!
Not only are there no video highlights, there's also no Radio Chatter tonight. I swear, I only wrote down like one thing. Not worth it. Hamilton is off at the College World Series semi-finals. Kent's game versus Oregon is not until 11 PM Eastern, so if you want to know how things went check out the very nice bracket on the NCAA site.
In honor of Busch Stadium, which continues to enamor me, I am going to post a list of things all of the current baseball stadiums are named after, in order of stadium seating size:
A baseball team
A beer company
A baseball team
A rich guy
A communications company
A bank
A baseball team
An insurance company
A baseball team
A baseball team
A beer company
A bank
An insurance company
A pet store
An insurance company
A bank
A communications company
A beer company
A baseball team
A rich guy
A juice company
A communications company
A department store
A bank
A rich guy
A geographic area
A baseball team
A geographic area
A juice company
Seems kind of creepy when you break it down like that doesn't it? Did you even realize that we had two juicy stadiums?
Tomorrow's game is at 2:15. Sadly, not on television but that's ok I've gotten my fill of Busch Stadium this year. Let's hope there's more good pitching from Ubaldo and we get a Sunday win!
See you there!
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