Own It, Cleveland!

The video above is a sweet compilation someone put together of the 2013 season up to about the end of August. Watch it, enjoy it, remember it! Own this season, Cleveland - all we have left now are memories of the fun!

If you were following this season closely, you will be satisfied with its outcome. The 2013 Indians were a team that were probably going to the playoffs in March. Then the Tigers became the team that were definitely going, by the end of April. The Indians, probably not...definitely not in August. But wait...maybe by September? Holy cow, they are in!

It was waaaaaay fun to watch them get in to the wildcard and pretty neat to have the top wildcard spot sewn up for a few days. The final game was kind of heart-wrenching but eh, you saw it coming right?

So very awesome to see the crowds at the Prog both on Wildcard night and the weeks leading up to it! Great to see GV Artwork's "Goon Squad" tees selling out day after day. Awesome to see some Tribe trends on Twitter! It was even cool when Chris Perez said to Terry Francona "Hey, I kind of suck right now" (paraphrase)

But speaking of that game, Giambi's [second!] walk-off homer against Chicago was probably the absolute highlight of the season - a season filled with walk-off highlights! Fitting that the last one would be so money.

My second favorite moment of the season was probably when Ryan Reynolds (remember him?) blasted a big fat homer off some dude who had, in Reynolds' previous at-bat, beaned him around the head. It was such an awesome revenge homer! And the pitcher looked to SAD!

And of course there was the Rally Chicken:

And most of April spent with Meryl and her cookies:

Drew Stubbs being hit in the head and then having a several-game hitting streak:

still not a real photo, sorry.

Anything Yan Gomes did, at all:

Asdrubal at the water park:

Tom Hamilton extremely disturbed by the "water park" in Miami:

 Michael Bourn face-plant (sung to the tune of "Rock and Roll McDonalds"):

Sad Angel who lost his glove:

Bourn on the heels of Stubbs:

Tripping Miggy:

Spider Vinnie:

And this:

That is just a SMALL representation of the fun we had this year!!!

I am really excited to see this WHOLE TEAM and staff back next year. Whoever turned around the bullpen needs to come back and turn them some more, enough to fit Vinnie and Tomlin in there somewhere. Maybe maybe a new hitting coach, perhaps someone that knows a good yogi.

Now that Reynolds (God bless) and Meyers are gone, I can't think of any more fat to trim. Well I have an idea but I'm going to end on a positive note and not talk badly about Nick Swisher er...people.

It was different doing the blog this year than previous years, because it felt more like judging what was expected instead of finding joy in the unexpected. Much harder to be all positive and stuff when guys you were told would be good weren't playing so well. Hence a handful of games I completely didn't comment on at all!

But, I'll always love baseball, win or lose, and since I love Cleveland baseball I've got no choice but to be able to roll with the punches. I hope you're the same way, boffins!

See you in 6 months!! WAHOOO!!!

Radio Chatter:
"The right side of the field is like the Ponderosa."
- Tom Hamilton on the shift

"The crowd here is deafening. The tribe scores a run, lookout."
- Tom Hamilton

"The credit goes to Alex Cobb."
- Tom Hamilton

"For as good as Peralta and Rodney are, maybe the answer for the Indians is anyone but Cobb."
- Tom Hamilton

"Molina held it there, but Jerry Davis said 'that's ok Jose I'm not changing my mind.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"Molina, one of the best defensive catchers. He'll never be part of a relay race."
- Tom Hamilton

"Rodney looking at home plate umpire Jerry Davis as if he's from Mars."
- Tom Hamilton

WINDIANS!!

"BALLGAME! THE INDIANS HAVE DONE IT AND CLEVELAND, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER OCTOBER TO REMEMBER!"
- Tom Hamilton

Down To One

ARE YOU EXCITED YET???

I know, I keep thinking about all the extra games, too. But every day this team keeps not losing so it stands to reason that we're not going to lose anymore. Just win win win WIN IT!!!

Today was one of those games where we got a lot more runs than we should have, considering the number of hits we got! Just 7 hits and 2 walks and - surprise, surprise - all 5 runs were scored with 2 outs!!

One run was scored with 2 outs and also a total goof by the home plate umpire. Raise your hand if you're really relieved that we didn't just win by one run!!

Kazmir was on the hill today and he had a respectable start. I mean - a quality start! One run on 6 hits and ELEVEN strikeouts! He had 10 in his last game, and a couple games before that it was 12.

What team has thrown the second most strikeouts in all of baseball? It's the Cleveland Indians! (Detroit is tops, duh)

Finishing out the game was Zep-Allen-Smith. Goose eggs, goose eggs, goose eggs. Think they can repeat that a bunch more times?

Batting was NOT top-notch today. But what the heck - they sooooo got hits when it mattered! The biggest hit was probably Bourn's 2-run triple in the 5th (that was both a gift score (probably should have been a double) and a gift RBI (bad call at the plate)).

Good to see that Bourn is back already and we didn't skip a beat with Brantley heating up the top spot and Bourn coming back right where he left off. Or at least where Bourn left off in my mind.

Swisher didn't have a day but Kipnis has definitely drank the "let's DO this!" Kool-Aid. I'm loving that our boy is playing such a big role in this playoff push!

The only other guys with hits today were Santana, Gomes and Aviles. Santana's was a 2-out, 2-run homer of course! Gomes and Aviles both came in to score.

Talk about kicking it up a notch when it comes down to the wire, right? (Yes, mixed metaphors or something) How bad was the team's LOB in the last month, now all of a sudden everyone is coming home? I mean, 4 LOB?? Wow!

I will take it any way it comes, though. As long as it keeps up for the next 1 to 20 games. It's one thing for players to be "hungry" for a win, but it's an entirely different thing for them to actually be able to channel that hunger in to real runs and real wins. Not something this town is used to, for sure.

Tomorrow they start Ubaldo, which gives us the better chance of winning which then gives us the homefield advantage in the wild card. Which means no Ubaldo for the WC but instead Salazar And Eight Friends. But...ok. I'm ok with that. Who are we to second-guess Francona anyway?

It'll be 2:10 tomorrow. Rally caps all day, I say! From when you wake until the game is over! You can't over-rally can you?

Man - last regular season game, last episode of Breaking Bad. If the Browns were playing the Steelers I think I might make myself black and blue from all the flouncing I'd be doing. Although technically it is the game for AFC North first place, huh?

Well, whatever. Go Tribe!

No Radio Chatter today. I was out. I woulda been in but the rain delay messed me up all day.

More & More

Here's your song for today! A feel-good rockin' jazz-rock tune full of horns and guitar to get you pumped about more and MORE runs scored by the Tribe tonight. I've been waiting for this sort of game for a couple weeks now, after playing all those other bad teams (Chicago, Houston). They got close a few times and did score 14 that one game but a big blow-out like this was a long time coming.

It was a slight roller-coaster ride, with the Indians up 9-1 at one point and then suddenly up only 9-6. But more hits, more runs - the game ended 12-6. Whew!

I'm not even going to talk about pitching today because I sort of don't care. It's getting to be a mess up in here, with way too many people and plotlines. Much like the later seasons of the original UK version of Shameless. You dig?

Much more exciting and easy to follow is the offense!

Everybody Hits! It was touch-and-go for a minute, with Stubbs as the lone holdout. But not only did he grab himself a single, he came back for a 2-run homer!

Then the next stat became "Who doesn't have a multi-hit game?" and the surprising answer is Brantley, Raburn and Gomes! The people you least expect! But that's what makes baseball so fun over 162, am I right?

Brantley did extend his hitting streak to 11 games now, but I don't think he's going to make it to .300. It's all right! Around .290 is better than most dudes! (Puts him in the top 20 of the league) Our man Brantley also is one of just 2 players who didn't get any RBI tonight! Surprise!

Swisher was the other guy with no RBI. He did get 2 hits, including a double.

How about Kipnis?! The Kid is keeping the afterburners aglow! He's got a 5-game hitting streak and today he was all June-like going 3 for 5 with a single, double and triple (TRIPLE!), 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Santana is ALSO running a 5-game streak. Tonight he went 2 for 3 and both those hits were doubles! Of course he had 2 walks, so he was on base like a boss tonight...

 ...and came in to score 3 runs!

Raburn made it through 5 at-bats tonight, even though it only yielded one hit. Of course, he's so good...

...Well he's so good that his one hit was for 2 RBI! You're welcome!

Asdrubal was MUY CALIENTE A NOCHE!!! For some reason @SportsYelling thinks this is an anomaly. The heck? She must be new here. He's been rocking it since 2007, hello!! Ok not so much this year but whatever...he rocks!

Anyway, Asdrubal went 3 for 5, bitches! Two of them hits were doubles, he came in to score twice and got one RBI. His recent awakening seems to be an every-other-day thing. But one must remember how his awesomeness was non-existant last September so we'll take whatever we can get this fall!

Gomes - just 1 for 5 with one RBI! The humanity! Nobody even bothered to run on him, though.

Hey, Handsome Mike! Wakey wakey! He was on top of things today, going 2 for 5 with 2 singles. One of those singles was a 2-out, 2 run single! Did you know 9 of the team's 12 runs came on 2 outs?

It's a fact!

Another fact:

Indians are only the 7th team since 2000 to have at least 10 players with 10+ homers in a season. Tribe also did it in 2009.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 28, 2013

That is, thanks to Drew Stubbs and his magic at the plate today. He walked early on, but didn't get a hit until the 8th. But then he stole second and came in to score. And THEN, in the 9th - well, I already spoilt it for you but he hit his 10th homer!

Tomorrow's game is at 1:05 you guys!! IT'LL BE ON TELEVISION WAHOO!!! Yeah, on Fox, starting with pregame at 12:30. I am so pumped! Not only because I get to watch a game on TV but also because I was waffling on whether I wanted to go to a party or stay home and watch baseball, but now I can be IN ON THAT because Fox has spoken. Probably the only time in my life I'm ever going to thank Fox for being such whiny bitches. Thanks, Fox!

I'm not even going to look up who pitches tomorrow. Who cares? Whoever's up there has to allow fewer runs to score than runs the rest of the team is able to put across. IT IS THAT SIMPLE.

The Rays lost today by the way. 90 wins for them, 90 for the Trbe. Texas won, they have 89 wins.

Gotta win it out, man. Win it out. I guess if we win tomorrow it guarantees a playoff spot but it's the playoff to get into the wildcard to get into the playoffs. So I am just hoping we win more, the Rays and Rangers lose more and I don't have to sit though any extra tense games. Because I am out of rum.

No Radio Chatter today. I don't know why. I'm sure interesting stuff was said, but I just couldn't focus enough to type any of it out.

Stick around for the guitar solo, though! Big finish!

Michael Says Relax

Whew! I am so tired right now - I feel like *I* just played 9! It is sooooo much harder being a fan of a contending-for-wildcard team than anything else. Most of the rest of the fans in baseball are sleeping like babies right now, their teams having clinched a playoff spot. And the seven people who root for the Rays (yeah, not even all their parents!) have been falling asleep to the 11 o'clock news. It's basically just the Tribe and the Rangers fans who are on the edge of their seats, watching this rediculousness that is the race for the wildcard for the race for the playoffs.

Yay?
 
Michael Brantley is just a MONSTER. Well, not a monster. Look at those eyes!

But when he's at the plate he's just showing no mercy to that baseball!! Not only a 10-game hitting streak but 19 hits in those games, with 9 RBI over his last 5.

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM??

I was sort of joking when I posited that Brantley should hit .300 after this streak...but his average has actually gone up 15 points since the beginning of the streak and he's at .289. How high can it go? I did the math...if he goes 15 for 15 in his next 3 games (might happen if he hits lead-off!) he'll hit .308. If he only gets 12 at-bats, he only needs to get 9 hits to bat .300. Turns out it's pretty do-able for him!

In short, Michael Brantley is amazing.

Speaking of guys creeping up on .300, Yanimal woke up today!

He was shut down yesterday but Gomes went head-to-head with Brantley, also getting 3 hits and 2 RBI! He got a big stinkin' 2-run homer. Can't stop won't stop!

What else is going on with the Goon Squad? Ryan Raburn gets to play because Bourn is hurt, so of course he's hitting too. Raburn went 2 for 4 today before once again being pulled for Carson - talk about can't stop won't stop (Raburn's injury!) He's actually been shut down in his last two appearances so let's hope if he's in it for the next three he's "all in" - Raburn style.

Kipnis got his 35th double, so Santana went and got his 36th!

All of this awesomeness added up to 6 runs. Man, I am still having a hard time shaking off this near-loss!!

The pitching situation was another throw-everyone-at-them situation. Not sure why they are putting everyone out there with 3 more crucial games to go. Do any of our starters go long anymore? No...so why are they burning out arms?

So it was ZMac with 6 of his friends to follow. McAllister only went 4 1/3 innings, then they did some matchups. Shaw was pretty tough going 1 2/3 and getting the win. Zep gave up a run, Allen and Albers did fine. Chris Perez. Joe Smith got the save.

I'm tired just writing that down.

Ok so MOVING ON....let's move on...

Tomorrow, again at 8:10. Kluber versus LHP 6.05. Cool! We've got this one, right? Let's hope Klube has a ton of innings in that Alabama arm of his. Maybe something along the lines of 8 innings?

Get some rest...I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Ice fishing is right around the corner."
- Tom Hamilton on Minnesota

"If we have four teams tied for the wildcard, well then we'll ask you to go back to college to figure this all out..."
- Tom Hamilton after explaining wilcard scenarios

"Dreams sometimes do become reality."
- Tom Hamilton on the moves made last offseason

"You knew [Brian] Hoyer was a very intelligent man the day he proposed to his wife, who is from Avon Lake."
- Tom Hamilton

"There's enough electricity in this ballpark...to power a 25-watt bulb."
- Tom Hamilton

"Dennis Eckersley was one of the greatest relievers of all time and I don't remember this kind of...oh yeah, he played for Oakland."
- Tom Hamilton on the exit of Rivera and the hoopla involved

"This just doesn't seem possible."
- Tom Hamilton in the 9th

Goodnight Field

Goodnight field,
goodnight fans.
Goodnight footlong hot dog man.

Goodnight drummer,
goodnight cheers.
Goodnight Pepsi, goodnight beer.

Goodnight scoreboard,
goodnight hot dog race.
Goodnight to the best and worst seats in the place.

Goodnight Tribe -
what fun you did bring!
Goodnight field - we'll see you next Spring.

Fun time at the Prog tonight! Me and 30,945 of my closest friends! The place was "packed" for the final home game of the season - I think this is about my 5th year of going to the final home game. My friend was smart and bought our tickets early this year, so instead of whatever it would have cost for this playoff-like game, we paid like $60 for two great seats down by the tarp. Forethought FTW!!

Did you like it? I did! The crowd was way cool - they've been cool at all 3 games I've been to in the past week. These were the true fans showing up! Lots of cheers for anything remotely good or interesting happening. Giambi with 3 standing ovations. Salazar got a standing ovation when he exited in the 6th. The place went bananas when Masterson came in for the 9th. Every second strike - by every pitcher - set off more loud cheers and chants. I LOVE IT!!!

By the way - if you're wondering why I'm giving a melancholy goodbye to the park when there is still a very real chance that there will be more games played there this year...don't worry! I haven't given up on the season! I'm just not the class of people who gets to go to playoff games. Doesn't bother me - I love all the games on the radio anyway! So I'm cool with saying goodbye to the field now, and it doesn't mean I'm saying goodbye to baseball!

They had the whole crew out pitching again tonight, which was undoubtedly the plan since not only is Salazar on a low pitch count but it's crucial now to save him for playoffs. And to get innings for our 'pen to see who's coming with us in October.

So Salazar went 5 1/3, eight strikeouts and 6 hits. He ended up giving up 2 runs - one in the form of a solo homer and the other in the form of Bryan Shaw letting one of his guys score. But he was throwing that heat and for the most part keeping those Sox at bay!

You guys bring adrenaline to keep us positive all the time, it was a pleasure for me throw the last game home of the regular season
— Danny Salazar (@DannySalazar67) September 26, 2013

The bullpen followed Salazar's 8 strikeouts with 8 more of their own. Not sure if you're familiar, but at the park they have a Circle K strikeout tracker thingy and it's only set up for 14 K's at a time. For the first time ever I saw the sign "turn over" - where they put up a "14" and took down all the K's, only to re-add them again when more strikeouts were thrown. I'm glad the Circle K Strikeout Dancer was properly trained for this situation!

Masterson came out to throw the 9th and he totally put on a show! The people, they were excited. And Masterson was all "Wut? I can throw all day!" He did give up a hit but otherwise struck out 2 and got a ground ball out. BALLGAME!

Like the last game I went to, it SEEMED like everybody hit because so many runs scored, but in reality there were some holes in the lineup. But dudes who didn't get hits were getting sacrifices - Aviles with a sac bunt and Stubbs with a sac fly RBI.

Since Bourn has an injured hand (which led to Giambi being in the game last night!) they had him sit out and put Brantley in at the top spot, which he did last time Bourn had an injured hand, earlier this season. Brantley is still ON FIRE and got 2 singles and a double, going 3 for 5 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. So that's 17 hits and 8 RBI in his last 9 games.

Imagine if he and Raburn were both playing all the time right now! It'd be a hit fiesta!

Swisher got a big honkin' hit in the form of a 2-run homer in the 5th, with Brantley on base. It added a ton of padding and let everyone really relax!

Kipnis is getting his stuff together again, now with a modest 3-game hitting streak. Tonight he went 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored, and he got hit by a pitch. Oh and he stole a base. He had a rough night in the field, but somehow didn't get charged with an error. My friend says he needs to shave!

Santana didn't get on base his first two trips to the plate, but as soon as I mentioned to my friend that he rarely doesn't get on base - boom, a single! He also walked and they put in Carson to run for him, and Carson came around to score.

Gomes, man...didn't do a dang thing today. Ouch.

Asdrubal was looking good today, going 2 for 4 with a big 2-RBI, 2-out hit in the 7th to put us up 7-2. He TOTALLY saw my sign today! Totally! He's seen it before and he was probably like "Hmm...I've seen that before, haven't I?" But in Spanish, because he probably talks to himself in Spanish. Anyway, I'm sure he was very proud to play for his fan!

I think I am going to retire my sign this fall, perhaps in a fire if I have another one. I'll make a new one, of course! But this one is so ratty....it's been through 3 seasons, probably 30 games or so. I need to make a new one!

Giambi was the man of the day today! He didn't do too bad, either, with his .187 batting average - he went 1 for 2 with a single and a walk. I wonder how much last night influenced Francona's decision to start him today? The fans wanted it and we got it!

Chiz and Aviles platooned in the 8 spot and at 3rd. Chiz got on on a fielder's choice then came around to score. Aviles had a great sac bunt that eventually led to scoring, and he also had a couple nice plays at third!

You can all thank me but the Tribe's last two biggest wins (9-2, 7-2) were while I was in attendance! Of course, we were 20,000+ strong those days too. But surely I helped!

Now the team is off to Target Field in Minneapolis for a 4-game series. Michael Brantley's proposed (by me) 13-game hitting streak is on the line. Texas is relentlessly winning and so is Tampa Bay, so the Tribe really can't lose anymore. Like, for real.

It's making me pretty stressed out. But these wins SURE ARE FUN!!

Tomorrow will beZMac versus LHP 3.98. It's in the Central Time Zone, so 8:10. See you there!


No Radio Chatter tonight but here are rookies in costumes (they'll probably be in TribeVibe soon, with names...):

Here's rookies dressing up! #IndiansRookies pic.twitter.com/bLgXMgGvHz
— Morales (@fmorales60) September 26, 2013

Here's another one! #IndiansRookies pic.twitter.com/TEf2B9bUZe
— Morales (@fmorales60) September 26, 2013

And another! I have to be in this one! #IndiansRookies pic.twitter.com/wdmQhdWVnN
— Morales (@fmorales60) September 26, 2013

And the next one! #IndiansRookies pic.twitter.com/Tydefqghr8
— Morales (@fmorales60) September 26, 2013

My favorite! Don't rate it LOL. #IndiansRookies pic.twitter.com/WZ72F7m0eL
— Morales (@fmorales60) September 26, 2013

I Love Baseball So Much Right Now!

I'm trying to embed the Giambi walkoff homer video for you, because it's the only thing you need to know about this game. But for some reason it was taken offline as soon as it was put up. What is this conspiracy?!? I wish it was online...

Did somebody say wish??

Now you've seen it....but you can't appreciate it until you HEAR HAMMY DO IT!!!


Before all of that...Tribe up a measly 3-2 in the 9th. Perez comes in to shut it down and not only does he give up the tying run on a homer to the first batter, but he gives up the go-ahead run later on, on another homer. I MEAN DAMN, CHRIS PEREZ!!!

My thoughts on the Perez situation: I still like him as a personality but he's gone from tolerable to liable. It sucks that our damn team can't seem to string together enough runs to give the guy a huge padding but he's tipping the scales on reliability. Used to be he was reliable enough to get the save but it's going the other way now where he's reliable enough to not be relied upon.

So, that's probably the end of Pure Rage. I've made my peace with it and, well, it was quick.

I've also changed my tune on Ubaldo Jiminez. But you guys knew that - I was digging him by like his 10th appearance. But it took me a long time to love Ubaldo - as long as it took me to dislike Perez! Anyway I was pondering it today and I think he might be the Indians' player of the year. What do you think? Not because he was the best but I think his role was extremely pivotal. Masterson was the best pitcher and Kluber was probably the best surprise but Ubaldo seems to have combined the ace-like tendencies with the surprise of having said tendencies and keeping it up, which was key to giving us a solid second winner in our rotation.

You can argue for Gomes and Raburn to be pivotal new members - or maybe Lou Marson's demise to be our good luck (sorry Sweet Lou!) - but Ubaldo had it all on his shoulders every 5 days. And he did good.

Tonight, though, the most important Indian of 2013 - or maybe ever, I don't know - is Jason Giambi!!! Kind of funny because he was in pinch hitting for Carson, who was our hero a few days ago. And Carson was only in because Bourn got hurt and WAIT BOURN IS HURT?! Sucks...

They keep playing the Giambi homer on the post-game on WTAM and I keep getting distracted. Hard to come up with other stuff to write about - I forget the first 8 1/2 innings!!!

My fav Q of the night: "I made him (Chris Perez) give me a hug because he needed it. He can wipe this away & start fresh tomorrow." - Giambi
— Stephanie Storm (@SStormABJ) September 25, 2013

While this was all happening, don't forget for one minute that Michael Brantley is also AMAZING and is keeping up the 13-game hitting streak I asked for, now with 8 games! And 14 hits in those 8 games. And 9 RBI in those 8 games.

He went 3 for 4 tonight, with a homer. Mister September!!!

21,083 at the park today. My friend and I bought tickets for tomorrow's game some time in April! We always go to the last home game to say good-bye. Now we get to go to say OMGAAAAAAAAWD!!! I'm guessing it'll be a playoff-like atmosphere there tomorrow. How awesome!

I didn't get any Radio Chatter today because I spent a good amount of the game scrubbing my shower. Seriously, my shower was very dirty. Also I was at my friend's for a few minutes, watching the game via Mobile Gameday. There just wasn't a lot of opportunity for me to write stuff down.

But this is all you need from the radio today anyway. Hear it again and again and again!