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!

Detroit Goes To Eleven

Once again, this game can't be hung on one guy. Just like last night can't be hung on Perez, you can't hang this on Masterson.

Yes, he gave up 5 runs. But the Tribe hitters got just one. It was somewhat amazing that they got the one, being that they only got 4 hits (and one hit batsman). But also it seemed like 4 times they were about to get more. It never happened. Not sure if Verlander is too awesome or the Tribe offense just doesn't have it against a pitching staff like Detroit's.

Funny - last year they had it locked up. They really knew how to take care of Detroit. But Detroit is just...one better right now. They are up to eleven. Honestly guys....this is all Detroit's to lose.

I did notice that last night they were bunting at the hobbled Miguel Cabrera. And tonight Masterson "accidentally" caught Victor on the ankle with  pitch (cleverly disguised it with some "having control issues" earlier in the inning when he hit a guy batting .207). So, I dunno - are they going to take out another Tiger tomorrow? Unfortunately you can't exactly run over Prince Fielder at first (too big), or slide in to Torii Hunter at second (not at second). I say we throw Kipnis in the baseline next time Hunter is running for a double and just flatten him out.

Man, did you see that Don Kelly guy today?  He's hitting .458 against Justin Masterson. He must just scare Masty silly. Not only did he go 3 for 4 today but he got a 3-run dinger that basically ended the game.

Hmm...seems like I got lost in Tiger fever, there. How about our Tribe tonight?

Masterson did go 7 innings, so at least he was all man about it. And he got himself out of a SERIOUS bases-loaded jam with no outs in the 2nd. He struck out 6. But he gave up 5 runs in the 5th inning, and they were all on him (no errors). Sucks.

Marc Rzepcynzki (dangit - Rzepczynski!) is still perfect for us after 3 appearances. Cool.

Matt Albers pitched a hitless, scoreless 9th. Cool.

How about that Bourn?! Another 2-hit night, going 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Dude's finally starting to make up on his sort of slow start on base stealing this year.

It was Asdrubal who got the team's only extra-base hit - a double in the 2nd. He could have scored but he got caught in a rundown but, meh. It did get a runner to third.

Brantley got a hit in the 2nd too, to follow up Asdrubal's, and he was the guy who got on to third and eventually home to score our only run.

Scored by the hand of Raburn, of course!

Man, I just saw this pic on Cleveland.com, of Raburn chasing Kelly's 3-run homer. If you recall, Raburn used to play for Detroit and for some reason they hate him there. How much must this have sucked for Raburn?

From cleveland.com

So that's all. No hits, bad outing for Masterson. Ho hum.

Tomorrow is Danny Salazar, who is not scared...

He'll be facing uhm...some Tiger pitcher. It'll be at 7:05 and it's Dollar Dog Night I believe.

Man there is a shortage of hot dogs around here. I bought a ton of hot dogs for a party the other day and I thought I'd have a lot extra but I only had 5 left! They were so good. I boiled them. I bet if I got a hot dog roller, I'd have even more people at my parties.

Anyway, we forge ahead tomorrow! See you there!

Radio Chatter:
 "No time to feel sorry for yourself when you're facing Justin Verlander."
 - Tom Hamilton

 "You get the feeling that if the Indians don't do some damage here in the 6th, they're in a heap of trouble the rest of this game."
 - Tom Hamilton

There's No "Perez" In "Team"

It was good while it lasted.

Corey Kluber pitched a heck of a game. Didn't look like a young guy pitching against the best lineup in baseball. He went 7 1/3 innings and although he gave up 6 hits and a walk, NO ONE came around to score! We'll throw this up there for him:

He was at 105 pitches with 6 strikeouts when they took him out in the 8th. He was replaced by Joe Smith who, while not lights-out, did get out of the 8th inning unscathed.

Then all we needed was 3 more outs. They brought in Chris Perez and...I dunno, why? Why did they bring in Perez after he'd just worked 2 nights? Why'd they bring in a guy who just left his hometown, who admittedly likes to party? I dunno if we can pin this all on Perez. But, on Perez it will  hang.

Allen wasn't too much better - he gave up a hit and a walk. Well ok, Allen didn't give up a homer to a guy hitting under .200. But he did give up a hit and a walk and only got 2 outs before needing relief.

Another appearance by Zep, who got the last out. Marc Rzepczinski....spelled that without looking. Oops! It's Rzepczynski.

The other highlight of today's game, aside from Kluber, was the fielding. It was tight as heck, with nothing getting past Kipnis or Cabrera. The infield was happy to be back on real midwestern grass, and the outfield was glad to be back in a baseball-sized stadium. Both Brantley and Stubbs had outfield assists! Holla!

The offense wasn't actually that impressive - they only got 5 hits and 2 walks. But boy, did they get hits when it mattered most!

Only 4 guys even got hits - Kipnis, Brantley, Santana, Giambi.

Kipnis went 1 for 4 and nobody brought him around to score. He's got a 4-game hitting streak!

Michael Brantley is just awesome, and in the midst of all those zeroes, went 2 for 4 and came around to score both times! He had a rough go of it in Miami so it was nice to see him being a difference-maker in this game. Because he's a difference-maker on this team! Oh and not only did he get the two hits, he also stole a base and had the aforementioned outfield assist. Smooth!

After Brantley stole second, it was Giambi who drove him in with a single in the 2nd inning. And then in the 4th, Carlos Santana had a double to drive in Brantley as well. Those were it for runs!

Props to Lonnie Chisenhall who hit one over the fence, but that dang Austin Jackson (who is quite awesome) pulled it back in. Sonofa.....

So that's it, man - just a few hits only got a couple runs and then a blown save and we're down one whole game. That how baseball go.

The jockstrap-head Indians reporters are all huffing and puffing on Twitter about how Perez didn't talk to the media tonight after the game. What the heck was Perez supposed to say to the media? And what was the media going to say to him? No good could come of it, only more rage. Nick Camino is all "A few #Indians players unhappy that closer Chris Perez did not talk with the media following tonight's loss." Wondered if it was the 5 guys who didn't get any hits, and/or the 3 guys who struck out.

Anyway, there's still 3 more games. I was so very pleased with how the starter and the defense looked tonight. Just need to get those bats working - it'll be Justin versus Justin tomorrow so something's gotta give, one way or the other. Let's hope it gives the other way.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"I hope they keep it up all series."
- Tom Hamilton on Michael Bourn jawing at Miggy

"Austin Jackson played Spider Man!"
- Tom Hamilton on Jackson's catch in the 2nd

"Wish we could repeat what some of the Indians players said about Alex Rodriquez tonight, but they'd probably not appreciate it."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have put on a defensive clinic here tonight!"
- Tom Hamilton

"They had the camera on the crowd, urging them to dance, and a 10-year-old boy decided it was time to audition for the Chippendales."
- Tom Hamilton says somewhere a mother is horrified

Did You Know We Got 11 Hits Today?

Totally - 11 hits, just one walk but only two runs scored! Even two of those hits were doubles and still only one scored. I guess the Miami pitchers today were just in to getting in and out of jams?

Scott Kazmir did well, with a quality start - 6 innings, 2 hits and no runs. It took him 102 pitches, though. He's gotta get that number down but whatever - he's looking great compared to his last outing (5 innings, 4 runs). He may have had a bit of a rocky time but in his last 4 games, just that previous one was bad. The others, and today, were all shut outs.

Speaking of shut-outs, this was the Tribe's league-leading 15th shutout today!

Shaw came in for the 7th and struck out the side - but gave up 2 hits inbetween. heh. Joe Smith was out there in the 8th, all Smith-like, striking out 2 and giving up no hits or runs!

Chris Perez settled back down from Friday where he got himself into a jam (and out of one). Today he had a 1-2-3 inning which has become the rule instead of the exception since the All-Star break. RAEG!!!

So almost everyone hit today. Can you guess who didn't hit? Nope - it wasn't the pitcher! Scott Kazmir got himself a single, yo! No, it was actually Raburn! Red hot Ryan Raburn finally had a day off!

Bourn was speedy as heck again today. First he beat out an infield hit for a single, and then he saved Perez's bacon by flying through that football-field-of-an-outfield to make a Web Gem in the 9th.

Aviles was checking out the view from the top of the order, taking over the 2-spot as Swisher was having a bro-nap on his day off. He ended up with a double, going 1 for 5, and coming home to score!

Kipnis was up and at 'em - he went 1 for 2 with a walk. He hit a successful sac bunt in the 8th to move Aviles over to 3rd, which allowed him to score on a single.

Michael Brantley, who was up next with a runner on third and 2 outs, well he did what Michael Brantley does and totally got an RBI single. TOTALLY. That was the second and clinching run of the game!

After that was Yan Gomes getting his 3rd hit of the day. He went 3 for 4 and came around to score but didn't get an RBI. If you're wondering how many hits Yan Gomes has had in the last 7 games, well the answer is 14. FOURTEEN HITS IN HIS LAST SEVEN GAMES.

Do you think he's giving pep talks to Mark Reynolds? After being Sucky McSuckerson for a while, he's got 3 hits in his last 3 games. Today he had an in-any-other-park homer that was a double in the record books. And it wasn't just that one hit, he also got a singles, going 2 for 4 on the day. Let's see an amazing August, Reynolds!

Chisenhall was down in his 8-hole and he was effective today - 1 for 3 with the team's first RBI! He got an RBI single in the 2nd. He also laid down a sac bunt in the 7th, but no one could do anything to help the runner the rest of the way.

The only guy to hit in the 9-spot was Scott Kazmir, who hit a 98 MPH fastball for a single in the 5th. No one else hit in the 5th tho, boo! Also, no one else got hits in the 9-spot - neither Giambi nor Swisher could hack it.

I will admit - it was awful hard work to beat these stupid Marlins 2 out of 3 this weekend. But maybe it was due to the dancing girls. And the incredibly large outfield. I think the Indians hit at least 4 home runs!

We did take 9 out of 10 in this 3-series run against crummy teams. And 1 more before that. Unfortunately, the Tigers are doing just as well. Booooo!

Tomorrow is our big chance to finally gain some ground on those kitties. The first of a 4-game series against the Tigers. Ack, I can't believe I scheduled something for Thursday night! Let's hope the party winds down early (Oh, friends with kids - excellent, it'll be over by the 3rd inning!)

We're still firmly 3 games behind the Tigers in the division. How long has it been - 3 months like that? Argh! Could you imagine if we won 4 games? That'd put us 1 game AHEAD of them. (Even if we lose all 4, we're still .5 ahead of the Royals, by the way.)

It'll be Corey Kluber versus RHP 2.59. Totally do-able - most of our guys are hitting over .300 against this dude in the last 5 years. They definitely have to strike early on in the series to get some wins in before it's Scherzer time. Good planning on Tito's part that most of our guys were benched today for rest time.

I'm nervous. I had a hard time concentrating at work during the Detroit series last year too. Weird, right?

Well, nah - not weird. Baseball.

Radio Chatter:
"The excitement here when they announced to the crowd was about the same as when they pass the collection plate on Sunday morning."
- Tom Hamilton on the pre-game festivities in Miami, honoring the 2003 World Series

"Giancarlo Stanton must wonder 'Why do they hate me?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Miami trading most of their team but Stanton

"How does he go through a metal detector at the airport? Don't the magnets suck the metal out of his face?"
- Tom Hamilton on Dennis Rodman

"All we know is that the Tigers have been able to take advantage of a guy who has been caught cheating, for 110 games."
- Tom Hamilton on Jhonny Peralta

The problem for Cubans trying to get over to the United States...well, it seems it started with Hymen Roth 'This is the business we have chosen,' in Godfather II. He had a heck of a welcome when he got to Miami."
- Tom Hamilton is running out of things to say about Miami

Speedy Delivery!

Today the name of the game was speed! Steal those bases, boys! Six of them today, which is the most for the team in one game this year. It was because of steals and double steals that we got 4 runs today and held on to the lead. It's what this team was built for - let's do it!

Here's Michael Bourn taking third on a wild pitch (I do believe that the official score has it as a steal...which is why reports are saying 5 stolen bases but I'm reading 6). It's pretty awesome because it's like he's just toodling around the bases and coming home like there's no ball in play. Zip zip zip!

I wish I had a video of the double steal of Stubbs & Bourn but, alas, it is not to be found. Cool thing that they brought in Stubbs for McAllister and he was able to do some damage and stay in the game, while they put the reliever Cody Allen in Ryan Raburn's spot.

So yeah - McAllister was teh awesome, not giving up any hits or runs until the 6th where he seems to have lost something....giving up two singles and a double, resulting in 2 runs to tie the game.

But! In came Stubbs and up went the double steal. Then later came Kipnis who was ON IT tonight, putting some well-timed bat behind Speedy and Speedier and driving in both guys (with a close play at the plate. Ooh!) Our guy went 3 for 4 on the night and got 3 RBI!

I wonder if it's just the young single guy (Kipnis) who can relax in Miami? While all the old married dudes are just spending a lot of time feeling tense. And married.

Bourn and Stubbs weren't too shabby at the plate, by the way. I mean, you gotta get on base to steal bases! Bourn went 2 for 4 with a walk and came around to score every time he was on! Stubbs went 1 for 2.

Cabrera, Raburn and Aviles all got hits too but tonight it was all speed + Kipnis. At least we have one thing that Detroit doesn't have! (That and crushing debt.)

That's all for my wrap-up. I am dead tired.

Tomorrow is the rubber match in Miami, with Kazmir versus RHP 3.47. I hope we can have another easy win like we did against Chicago in our last game. Scrapping to get runs against Miami is just so not fun.

Radio chatter is sadly cut short today because my archive cut out. But you should TOTALLY try to catch Sunday's game on the radio because Tom Hamilton is freaking the heck out about the fact that Miami is Miami. The stuff that's offending him about Miami is hilarious and he is not shy about saying it! I couldn't even write it all down if I tried. So here's a little bit but really, check it out Sunday - it's a real hoot.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Ideal weather conditions when you've got a retractable roof. And the air conditioning bill is monsterous."
- Tom Hamilton

"I tell you what, if you breathe incorrectly he'll throw you out of the ballgame."
- Tom Hamilton on umpire Angel Hernandez

"There must be a shortage of fabric in Miami. It really seems like all of the women here are not able to buy dresses and blouses that fit them."
"Not that you were noticing."
"No, no..."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Put it this way...if they walked out on the street like that in downtown Cleveland, they'd be arrested. Here, they're allowed to dance and everyone's like 'Oh yeah that's Suzy, she's our next-door neighbor.'"
- Tom Hamilton

So, That Happened

I hope Jose Fernandez wins the Cy Young Award. I hope he wins it soon! Because it appears that he is impossibly awesome and the Tribe needs to be able to point to this outing and say "Clearly that kid was impossibly awesome. How were we to win?"

Also, the Tribe only beats good pitchers after they've won the Cy Young. But drafted-out-of-high-school, three-days-over-21, Cuban refugee phenoms? We're just going to sit this one out.

Ubaldo was shaking in his shoes, too. He only lasted 4 innings against the lowest-scoring team in baseball. He gave up 5 runs on 9 hits...but just 2 earned runs. Because Asdrubal had two errors and three of the runs were attributed to those errors.

Asdrubal should be shaking that Fernandez kid's hand after the game. Because there was no way we were going to beat him, and that fact totally gets Asdrubal off the hook.

What possibly could have been distracting him today? ...

Anyway so Ubaldo only went 4, so they had to go digging in the dirt for someone from our bullpen to cover a ton of innings. Never good news. That someone today was Bryan Shaw, who actually did good - 2 innings, no run.

Next was Marc Rzepczynski, which is pronounced "Zep-chin-ski." Silent R, no joke. He just came over from the Cardinals and is our other lefty who is not Rich Hill. Hooray for that guy! But Vinnie had to go to Columbus in exchange for him so grumble grumble for that guy. But you know what? He and Vinnie grew up together and used to play Little League together. Vinnie was the only guy that [heretofore named] Zep knew on the Indians when he came in. Ooops!

But, Vinnie knows what he has to do. He's out there sharpening his skills right now!

Anyway, Zep pitched an uneventful inning. Here's to 40 more!

Matt Albers, who, along with Bryan Shaw, has been the least disappointing addition to the bullpen this year, had an awful awful awful 8th inning. It was awful, guys. It was 5 runs awful! On 7 hits! And NONE of those hits were homers! He had no choice but to finish it out, though - I mean, we weren't coming back from 6-0, or 7-0, or 8-0. 10-0? Well, whatever. Just don't use up any more of the bullpen tonight.

We weren't coming back because we weren't hitting. Fernandez gave up 3 hits and struck out 14. I don't think even Masterson has struck out 14 in a game this season! (13 I think?)

Swisher kept him out of a no-hitter. Asdrubal got a double, which was quite nearly a home run and a home run in any other park. Then Ryan Raburn, who is so good, he's got 11 hits over his last 10 games. Oh yeah and today's hit was off the bench.

That's it, man. The whole story of the day was Fernandez and the sexy, sexy Miami stadium. It was also part of the story was that the Tigers won because Chicago is so crap. Ubaldo and Asdrubal are off the hook, for now. Asdrubal's got to come back tomorrow and totally have an awesome game. People are starting to talk.

Tomorrow is ZMac versus RHP 2.65 and...what? That guy's ERA is even better than Fernandez! The name of the game is going to be bullpen. Hopefully they don't pull that same name out of their hats too.

It's a 7:10 game...see you there!

Radio Chatter: 
"Even a bad offensive club will score if you give them extra outs."
- Tom Hamilton on the error in the first inning

"Nobody's warming in the Indians bullpen - they're all in the pool."
- Tom Hamilton

"Ubaldo Jiminez may be going in to the Indians dugout and telling Tito Francona 'You don't need to get the bullpen busy, you need to find a new shortstop.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"So much for mom, apple pie and baseball in the USA. If you brought your mom to the stadium in Miami she'd probably choke on her apple pie watching the exhibitionists here..."
- Tom Hamilton

"We know one thing for sure - the Miami Marlins aren't sponsored by Disney."
- Tom Hamilton

Not Scrapping - Winning!

Yesterday I was all:

It's going to take a lot of muscle to either make it an easy win or get yet another scraped-together win.

Looks like today they did the former - FINALLY! I've been waiting all series for the Tribe to just sweep these silly White Sox off their feet and it seemed like today was the day!

Masterson and Brantley were actually the weak spots in today's game. No I am not kidding! Masterson only went 6 2/3 and Brantley got shut out at the plate. Two of our best guys had a less-than-stellar game and we still whomped those Sox. Holla!

Masterson was only like 85% ace today. Ha! He went those 6 2/3 innings, striking out "only" 7 and giving up "as many as" one run. Five hits and 3 walks. I think he did more than his part though - heck, it was a quality start! I feel icky even entertaining the thought that I feel like he's letting us down if he doesn't go 8. Hehehe...

So what next? Next was Oh No Not Rich Hill, who we might have to re-christen something like Ok So Rich Hill. He's been doing all right lately at least taking care of lefty-lefty matchups when he's brought in for that. Since the starters are going longer the staff is able to be more selective about who pitches where and not leave Hill out there longer than his welcome. Strangely enough, they had him out there to get the last out in the 7th AND back in the 8th to complete the inning. And you know what happened?

Nothing happened. Hill didn't give up any runs. Not even any hits, my friends. And in fact, Rich Hill struck out 2. Did he finally figure out "his thing"? Because, that is what we need to cruise through the rest of this season. Less "Oh No" and more "All Right!"

Joe Smith came in for the 9th and let nothing get by, like we are always to expect with Joe Smith but don't always get anymore. So hooray for classic Smith!

Bourney was out today so we were graced with Extra Stubbs (you know, extra at-bats when you hit first.) Go extra Stubbs! He went 3 for 4 with a walk and came in to score 2 runs - and he amazingly didn't steal any bases even though he was out there 4 times! It must have been one of those games where stolen bases would have been...uncivilized.

Swisher, 1 for 5.

So, Ryan Raburn was in today, playing right field and batting in the 3rd spot, the Kipnis spot. Man, that guy is so good...

He's so good he went 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI today, okay Gene Rayburn?! When not getting RBI from his home runs, he was getting one on a single with 2 on.

So Raburn has 9 RBI in his last 6 games with 9 hits. Woah - he's batting .283, too! His last 6 games were over 10 days, too, so he's definitely been playing more. Play him if it means wins!

Man, Asdrubal is just the pits lately. He did get an RBI on a sac fly today and that says a lot - get work done for the team!

Carlos Santana had another bomb-diggity day. He went 3 for 4...no RBI but he did come in to score a run! He's got 13 hits over his last 10 games, and 6 in this series - even after being shut down in the first game!

Yan Gomes went 2 for 3, because he got hit by a pitch and hit two singles. He extended his hitting streak to 5! No RBI or runs for him, though - Raburn took nearly everything himself today! 

You know who did get an RBI, tho? Mark Reynolds! Hey Mark Reynolds! I totally want that guy to do well, if just to spite my uncle who wasn't even an asshole about telling me how disappointing Reynolds was in Arizona. He was just telling me, in a nonchalant way. And now I'm all "OMG I HOPE MARK REYNOLDS PROVES YOU ALL WRONG!" Of course, he's kind of not proving anyone wrong except for the fact that he's not hitting 40 homers and striking out the rest of the time like everyone said he would. No, man, he's popping out! Wheeeee...

Anyway, he got himself an RBI single today. A single, guys, not a homer. Way to prove them wrong!

Mike Aviles was in the 9 spot today, being that Drew Stubbs was needed elsewhere (in a flash!) He went 1 for 4, because he's always solid, that Mike Aviles.

So there you have it - the Tribe took not one but TWO 4-game series from the White Sox this season. And Masterson has 4 wins against the team this year too, with a .85 ERA. That's crazypants....

Speaking of pitching: Frank Herrmann reports that he played catch today for the first time in 5 months. Josh Tomlin has been hanging around the Tribe clubhouse. Vinnie Pestano was sent to Columbus the day after "Spider-Vinnie" blew up and I got a ton of new Twitter followers.

Would be fun to have all those boys back in September, wouldn't it? It would. I feel like Vinnie is out battling cancer or something, and we're rooting for him to pull through so he can finish the season with the team. Come on, Vinnie! We all believe in you!

So tomorrow the team is in Miami and I wish I could watch the games on TV because I think the Miami stadium is crazy. There's a fish tank, and dancing girls, and I think a pool. Aye aye aye! Jason Kipnis reports on Twitter right now (around 11 PM Eastern) that they're at a steakhouse that brought them a plate of complimentary bacon as a starter. What?

So yeah, tomorrow is Ubaldo versus  RHP 2.71. Whatever - we got this!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The Indians and Royals have a great chance today [to gain ground] - the Tigers aren't playing!"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"I tell you what, the game needs more umpires like John Hershbeck."
- Tom Hamilton