Start of Something Great? Yet?

Hey hey! Everybody Hits today! Thirteen hits and 9 RBI for the Tribe today. Against the ROYALS, man! Wahoo!

This is the Tribe team that Sports Illustrated was talking about, by the way. Great hitting one through nine, a strong starter and competent relievers. This is the Tribe on paper, now realized.

If only, Dear Lord, we can have these guys more than once every 10 games. Is this possible???

Carrasco was the starter tonight, and he didn't have some amazing game but he did have a Quality Start. He went 7 innings giving up just 3 runs and striking out 6. Actually I couldn't believe he only struck out 6! I think they were saying he was getting over an illness too? (like Bauer) Anyway he was perfectly good and got his 4th win out of it. It was his longest start of the season. Against the Royals!

Zep and McAllister came in and did a fine, boring job of pitching the 8th and 9th inning. So boring - no hits, no runs, 3 strikeouts between them. Ho-hum. BALLGAME!

New lineup today - Kipnis, SANTANA, Brantley, Raburn, Moss, Swisher, Aviles, Chisenhall, Catcher (Hayes). No Bourn but he is available for pinch running and hitting, which he did today.

So, how did it go?

Well, they ran the starter out of the game after just one inning, 6 hits and 4 runs scored. Kipnis got 2 hits (including a double) and an RBI, while Santana got a hit, a walk and came in to score 2 runs. Brantley took forever to get himself a hit but finally did get one and came in to score a run. Raburn didn't get a homer but he got an RBI double. So yeah - that 1-through-4 works PRETTY WELL for me!!

Brandon Moss WHAAAAAAT?! Dude is really looking to being a producer for us. Nice to have him tucked in there behind Raburn. Tonight he went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. He got his 7th double, behind Raburn's 8th and his 5th homer. Sploosh! Right in to the fountain!  His average is way up to .241, which seems like nothing but he spent SEVERAL games with it at .000. So yeah - quite a recovery for him!

Handsome Mike Aviles had a nice game there, filling in at short. He went 3 for 4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Nothing fancy with him - no extra bases or anything. But dude is still out there grinding away and he's got a .288 average to show for it!

Chisenhall and Hayes rounded out the bottom of the lineup, each with a hit and an RBI. Make Lonnie's a double!

I don't know what else to say other than...let's see more of this! We know they can play like this - but why not every night? Beating the previous-year's league champs and the second best team in the league really counts for something. Doing it two days in a row in their home stadium counts for a LOT!

Tomorrow is Kluber. Dude doesn't have any wins yet!! Someone pointed out on Twitter the other day that his April numbers were pretty much the same last year - if not identical. So he does have ample time to get back to Cy Young form. Of course you can't get a win if you have no run support. So let's hope they get some for the Klubot!

It's an afternoon game - 2:10 to be exact. So don't forget! Klubes goes against RHP 2.10. Nice little ERA dude but we like righties!

See you there!

Some Hitting Hope

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

It's not so bad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Radio Chatter:

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

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

We're Gonna Make It After All!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can't wait! See you there!

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

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

Kluber Continues to Dominate!

... And his team continues to disappoint.

Errors and strikeouts, ya'll. Remember how the Tribe used to do to Justin Masterson? No run support. It's happening again.

But at least we got some free baseball? (aka "extra innings")

Kluber cruised through 8 innings, striking out 8 and giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. He actually had a perfect game going in to the 6th, when Tom Hamilton was all "PERFECT GAME!" and just like last time, the perfect game and no hitter were immediately squashed by the whoever at the plate. The 6th started with a single, then a wild pitch (!) and then a guy scored, and there was a bad throw so a guy moved to second. Then a fielder's choice, and a bunt, and another wild pitch (!!!!!) which was a strike-out but the guy on third scored and then they intentionally walked a guy and then GIDP.

Yes, Kluber was still in! He threw 2 wild pitches in one inning, and only 3 last year.

Kluber righted himself by coming back for a 1-2-3 7th inning. Then he hit a guy in the 8th which is weird. He finished the 8th with just 96 pitches! Kluber's "game score" was 75, versus the other starter's 55. I forget what the "game score" is already but Kluber is 20 better!

But, you know, 2 runs. Two measley runs. Couldn't come back from that, apparently. Not even over the sad-sack Twins.

It's not as if Michael Brantley didn't try, though!! He was back for only the 2nd time this year and he got right back on his hit horse, going 2 for 5 with 2 singles and of course no strikeouts.

Lonnie Chisenhall continues to hit lefties, going 2 for 4 tonight. He's got 5 hits in his last 3 games! His hotness was recognized with an intentional walk in the 11th inning. Respect!

Mike Aviles came in in the 9th and got a double! And Carlos Santana stole a base (after walking, of course).

The big news from the bench tonight is that Brandon Moss got a homer! Hey hey! The guy we hired to hit homers is doing it! And now I get to use my swell graphic:

Here's to many more where that came from! And perhaps a few smaller hits inbetween?

Tomorrow is another day, thank goodness. It'll be at 2:10 with Danny Salazar on the mound versus an RHP who already has 2 losses under his belt. YESSSSS! Even if Salazar suffers a shaky start and the bullpen continues to be questionable, hopefully the offense can pick up the slack and cover everything with some BIG HITTING. Can't wait - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Once it leaves your bat there's nothing you can do about it. Murphy did his job - he smoked it."
- Tom Hamilton

"If I'm Corey Kluber I'm saying 'I'm looking for a strikeout to end this inning.'"
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th

"When he's done playing, no school will make him a principal."
- Tom Hamilton on Adrian Peterson

"You gotta be able to do a better job than that."
- Tom Hamilton on Bourn bunting

"It's as if they're looking for anything but a fastball."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians watching strike 3 go by