"Even The Sky Is Crying"

Even the sky is crying at this game.
— John J. Adams (@TribeDrummer) August 6, 2014

Cripes! Well you know a game is a real downer if it managed to bum out John Adams!

The box score is sad. The 5 hits we got were sad. The 9 runs we gave up are sad. Our 2 little runs are sad. David Murphy getting tricked in to being out at third was sad. Ending the game on a review was sad. Dammit...John Adams is sad!

But hey - we know how to lose, right? We've lost uhm....half of the games this year. It's just extra sad to win 4 in a row then lose one in a pathetic fashion right before the team goes away for a week. And it's raining.

Josh Tomlin did not have a very last-time-we-saw-Josh-Tomlin night. He only made it 4 innings before we'd seen enough. Five runs scored off 8 hits. He did strike out 5! But it took him 82 pitches to get that far, too. But you got to learn to live with what you got.

So since the Tribe wasn't hitting, it seemed, and the Reds had us by 5 runs by the time Tomlin was out, they just left Carrasco in there as "the second pitcher." It didn't feel like relief really since he was going to be the only one and in there for so long. Just the guy who is going to get us through to the end of this game. 

But hey, I do like that Carrasco can just go in there and be used for 4 innings and nobody cares that he gave up 3 runs because - hey, innings.

Carrasco was sleepy tired by the middle of the 9th, so The Boy Pitcher Kyle Crockett came out to get the last two batters. Cookie had left some men on base, because 4+ innings is a lot. Someone hit a ball off Crockett that confused poor David Murphy and I think some 17 men scored. But then one was out at the plate. Something like that. It was over by then, man.

Michael Brantley (.323) got a hit! It keeps his hitting streak alive at 6 but ends his streak of consecutive multi-hit games. SO WHAT! Totally LOB, though. All by his lonesome. He did get an RBI.

Gomes and Aviles both had doubles, and Gomes' was an RBI double. It was on that play that this shit happened.



 So very Cleveland of us.

David Murphy had a bad game but he did get a hit. Well that's how he got to third, and was tricked. Dirty tricksters.

I wonder if we'll see this any more in other games? Now that we know that the play can't be stopped until it's over or something. Everything I've seen says the umpires were right, it's the rules that are dumb. So yeah...expect the Yankees to be writing that one down.

Let's hope that the next two games, the Tribe is filled with revenge anger! I mean, nobody makes David Murphy look like a boob! He's such a good guy! We will run away with 2!!

It'll be 7:10 tomorrow, with  Danny Salazar facing anyone but Johnny Cueto (bonus - RHP!) Excited to see Salazar again now that we are pretty sure he's a good MLB pitcher. And - REVENGE!!!

I didn't get any Radio Chatter today but I did get some Sunday, forgetting that I don't do blogs on Sunday anymore. So - enjoy!

Radio Chatter:
"The ball is really small today, Rosie."
"There's only one of them out there at a time."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the aftermath of "Hammy Weekend"

"These crazy mascots get together, the gloves come off!"
- Tom Hamilton on the mascot party

"Of course, 101 pitches in Japan would be like, eh, two-thirds of the way home."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'm sure the Yankees would say 'Look, we spoke with God and God said this must change.'"
- Tom Hamilton on when things don't go the Yankees' way

"How did we get here? Most of us by car."
- Tom Hamilton is about to give the recap in the 10th

"That one got him in the right biscuit. The trainer waved him off from the dugout. 'I'm not coming out there for that.'"
- Tom Hamilton

Royals

I know, I know. Not positive. But it's a Weird Al kind of week, right? Gotta get my parody out there.

So I don't know who the culprit was today. Starters? Defense? Offense? Relievers? Everyone contributed to the loss. The starter gave up 3 runs. The defense 1. The relievers 2. And the offense only scored 4 - or, the offense without Carlos Santana scored 1.

So at least they were working together on that nonsense.

Here's Josh Tomlin with an empty face:

Much less hair to distract him today. But while he struck out 5 in his 5 1/3 innings, he also gave up 3 runs including back-to-back solo homers. He's given up 16 runs in his last 4 games with an average of under 6 innings per game. These are the 4 games since his 1-hit complete game, by the way. So how do we interpret that??

The Boy Pitcher Crockett came in to finish the 6th for him. He did fine, with one strikeout and one walk. Carrasco came in for that "long" middle, throwing 1 1/3 innings. He gave up a run, though. So they brought in Hagadone who got his guy out. Then they brought out Axford, apparently having been falsely lulled into thinking he was ok to pitch in a tie game situation. He then gave up the winning run, in the form of a huge homer to a guy with 3 homers so far, because he sucks.

Kind of amazing that the game was so close today, seeing how our lineup failed to hit much!

For some reason Dickerson didn't get a hit today (but he was electric in the field), and they put in Raburn to hit instead. Bwuh? He didn't do anything either.

Brantley FINALLY got a hit (.316). He was 1 for his last 18! When does that ever happen, huh? He just went 1 for 4 today but maybe it's the beginning of a new streak?

Carlos Santana, waaaaaaaat!! Two homers for 3 RBI, and a walk. He went 3 for 2 and as I said, scored 3 of the team's 4 runs. He stole a base, too! STOLE A BASE! I don't know if you can really hate Carlos Santana, long-term. He keeps taking us to the edge of disgust and then coming out with the awesome.

Gomes has been pretty consistent lately, huh? Thirteen hits in his last 10 games. Usually they work out pretty well, too, either producing an RBI or a run. Like tonight, he came in to score. With his offensive production as of late and his general lack of errors, it's exciting to have Gomes again!

Oh man - David Murphy! Even though he's after Gomes, his three hits went for NOTHING today! No RBI, no runs. How did that happen? He's such a good guy, though. He'll just keep hitting, no matter who's around.

Jose Ramirez got a bunt down today! Which led to Gomes scoring on a Kipnis sac fly. Tom Hamilton was livid about his lack of ability to get a bunt down last night. So he was quite proud to have been listened to today. Ramirez also got a walk, so he went 0 for 2. They keep mentioning that Asdrubal might be back soon and...weird, I don't feel too excited about it. Just ambivalent. Bad fan.

Tomorrow is a 7:10 game, even though it's in KC. So, don't forget! It'll be our ZMac versus RHP 4.56. We have as much chance of winning Saturday as we did tonight. Let's hope it actually happens! Offense, fellas. We need some offense.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Minor league innings and Major League inning, they have nothing in common."
- Tom Hamilton

"If your doctor says your cholesterol is a little bit high and you should cut out red meat, Kansas City is not the destination for you."
- Tom Hamilton loves him some meat

"I don't read lips but I can only guess the conversation is something like 'If you don't get this bunt down, do you know where you might be practicing bunts tomorrow?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Jose Ramirez

"That ball sounded like it was shot out of a cannon."
- Tom Hamilton on Butler's homer

"They wanted to run Billy Butler out of town, until about 10 minutes ago."
- Tom Hamilton

Ugh - Yankees

Well, they tried to get back to .500 today! They fought hard for 14 innings and in the end, it just didn't happen.

Stupid Mark Teixeira. Stupid Jacoby Ellsbury. Stupid DEREK JETER.

Josh Tomlin and his hair put up 7 innings, which rocks, but he let 4 runs go in that time. Two homers to Teixeira! He struck out 5, and kept the hits down to 8 - with no walks! But 4 was enough to tie it and wear us down over 5 extra innings.

They had to use 6 relievers tonight over 7 innings (5 extra). Atchison, Shaw, Allen, Axford, Zep, Pestano. They combined for EIGHT strikeouts! Ichiro struck out 3 times on the night, and their shortstop Ryan struck out 4. Golden Sombrero! They gave up 4 hits and 3 walks but kept getting out of it. Solid as usual.

In the end, it was Vinnie who gave up the homer to stupid Ellsbury, and that was enough to win. Oh Vinnie!!

The offense wasn't very helpful tonight, though. Twelve hits and 11 LOB! Wat?! At one point they had the bases loaded after 3 walks, with 1 out and...well, we didn't win.

Both Kipnis and Cabrera were UP tonight! Two more hits for Kipnis at leadoff, and Cabrera followed up with 3 hits of his own! Both came around to score once. Unfortunately, no RBI for those guys.

I'm totally diggin' Brantley-Santana-Chisenhall. Aren't you? Feels like a super power trio! And when Kipnis and Cabrera are on their upswings that is one HOT half of the order!

Erm, well, except today when Kipnis and Cabrera got 5 hits and Brantley-Santana-Chisenhall left 4-3-5 on base. Oops!

Brantley and Santana did have the patience today. They each got a hit, but they also each walked. Santana twice. Chisenhall didn't get a hit but a FC or something drove in a run.

Brantley totally almost won the game, along with some aggressive baserunning by Kipnis but...well, Cleveland. Someone made a spectacular catch.

Nick Swisher still plays for the Indians.

David Murphy got a hit, and had a nice play in the outfield. Yan Gomes didn't hit but he also didn't error so that's good.

Chris Dickerson! He's played 3 games with us now and is batting .364 - that's even better than Kottaras numbers! Dickerson went 2 for 6 tonight but it was a bummer that he didn't get an RBI and no one hit him in.

Despite the loss after all that time, it was a fun game with all those extra innings. It's fun to be on the edge of your seat - sometimes!

Tomorrow is one more game against these Stankees, and TOMORROW is Jeter Day. For some reason I thought it was today. A 7:05 start, TJ House versus RHP 4.01. Not a problem, right?

I'll actually be missing my first game of the season tomorrow! A friend has extra tickets to a thing. Tomorrow woulda been a good day for extra innings! But oh well...at least it's the end of the Yankee fan infestation.

See you there! (After the show)

Fish Slapped

Oh man, Mike Trout is so good! And I love good baseball players, just love 'em! You can't really hate on Mike Trout, can you? I don't know if he's an all-around good man like Torii Hunter but he doesn't seem to be a brat or anything. He's just a damn good baseball player. Like Lonnie, but with a sillier name.

Tribe just didn't have it today, period. Bad pitching from all FOUR pitchers, bad defense (Asdrubal's 13th error), lack of hitting (7 hits but 10 strikeouts). Blergh. Like everyone had their minds focused on Puppypalooza instead of baseball!

I'm not going to go over the pitching. I'll just leave this right here:

More like "ouch, man"

Although, it didn't matter how many runs those relievers relieved themselves of, because the batting wasn't there to overcome Tomlin's 6 runs. Sad trombone.

Did you know that Michael Brantley, the day after being named the MLB player of the week, is on the concussion DL? Yes he is. He so is.

So, it was all up to Lonnie tonight to be the offensive stud and after a 4-game/13-at-bat slump for him he is BACK and ON IT today!

Ride! Ride like the wind! Lonnie went 2 for 4 today with another homer!! He's got 7 on the year (same as Asdrubal, who has played more games) and needs just 5 more to bust his HR total of last year. So he's batting .368. Kinda sad. He needs 18 plate appearances to qualify yet too. Argh! Why isn't Lonnie just the best at everything yet???

He's getting there though! There will soon be Lonnination in the MLB.

No one else had a multi-hit game today, duh. Kipnis and Gomes got doubles. Kipnis got his in the 9th, when the Tribe was down 9-2 and there had just been a short rain delay, and the Angels brought in their closer to stretch his legs, and Kipnis hits a goddamn double. And then Santana hit the bloopiest of inflield bloops, and made it to first while Kipnis literally snuck around behind everyone to score. Grind! (Did you notice Carlos got another hit?)

David Murphy went 0-4 but he did get his team-leading 5th sac fly and his team-second 38th RBI. What a guy!

Raburn and Asdrubal teamed up for a put-out at the plate, but Asdrubal had another error so everyone hates him again. He did go 1 for 4 today tho!

Tomorrow is the final game of the series with these Angles. It's also free GV Artwork t-shirt day! Going to be 10,000 lucky fans that's for sure.

Post by GVARTWORK.COM.

It'll be a 7:10 game, Masty facing a LHP 3.05. Hmm...don't know what to make of that. I'm sure the shirts will make the whole thing exciting, regardless.

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"He wasn't wishing him a very happy early Christmas."
- Tom Hamilton on David Freese arguing with the umpire

"The Indians may not have known Shoemaker before tonight's game, but they'll remember him now. He's pitching a good one."
- Tom Hamilton

"Complaining about Mike Trout striking out more is like saying Kate Upton has a slight wrinkle on her shoulder."
- Tom Hamilton

"Are there beaches in Iraq? There's a lot of sand, I know that."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"They have put the plastic tarp over the mound in the bullpen, and put a stake in the ground with a sign in it 'Gone Fishing.'"
- Tom Hamilton says the game is over

"Does anyone even realize that it's 9-2 in the 9th inning?"
- Tom Hamilton isn't into it like you are!

"Either he is near-sighted and can't read the fingers of Hank Conger, or he just doesn't want to go back to his hotel."
- Tom Hamilton on the Angles' closer

Our Little Shining Stars

I don't have much to say about this game today, because I am running out of time. I'm participating in a garage sale on Saturday and OMG DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME THAT TAKES??? It takes hours, days. It takes a lot of time. Especially when you're in the baby clothes racket. Anyway, I just have time for a few sentences.

And those few sentences, like many sentences, will be about Michael Brantley (.313) and Jason Kipnis - our little shining stars in an otherwise barren sky over 3 days of baseball.

Despite the fact that there was no one around them to help them get home, our little stars got 4 hits between them, including a double (Brantley) and 2 RBI (Kipnis).

Brantley has a modest 4-game hitting streak, but with all the excitement over the-guy-who-was-strangley-left-out-today, no one noticed he has had 8 hits in those 4 games.

And Jason Kipnis, who came back on June 1, has played in every game since then and hit in every game but his first game back. That's a 10-game hitting streak for him with 14 hits and 9 RBI.

He also got a hair cut:


Those two weren't the only ones to hit today. For instance, Yan Gomes who sometimes elates us and sometimes leaves us hangin' got 2 hits today - elation! But he was REALLY left out there in the cold, because guess who is back and batting before him?? Yeah, him.

Raburn and Aviles got singles, and Santana of course got a walk. But there were just way too many holes tonight, too many guys stranded along with too many guys not on base at all. It was no good.

Tomlin was the pitcher by the way. He wasn't so good. Neither was Hagadone who was good for a minute but suddenly is not someone to look forward to. Carrasco, on the other hand, had another scoreless 2 innings. So that's neat.

Let's hope now that we're done with John Lester we can get back to humiliating the Red Sox! Onward and upward!!

Tomorrow it's another 7:05 game with our new-old favorite Justin Masterson on the mound against RHP 3.18. Hooray - rightie!

I'll see you there, while I'm tagging, tagging, tagging away...

Messin' With Texas

Josh Tomlin!! Josh Tomlin's hair!!! Both had fantastic outings in Arlington this afternoon against the Rangers!

Flow it! Show it! Long as God can grow it!

Eight innings, 5 strikeouts, 7 hits and 3 runs. Only one extra base hit! He was getting through innings with ease, doing what the pitching coaches keep telling everyone to do - throw strikes. Guys were swinging away and getting out. It was awesome!

They put Tomlin in for the 9th, but he went up to 105 pitches and gave up a hit, so that was that. John Axford game in with a 5-run cushion, and I totally applaud this move because really how could he mess up a 5-run cushion?? He did give up one hit, as he will, but being so relaxed there were no runs scored.

More double digits in the hit column today for the Tribe (and more 50% off pizza for the fans at Papa John's!) Two doubles and two homers, and while there were 7 LOB the team still managed to score 8 runs.

Michael Bourn is starting his hitting streak back at ONE. He just went 1 for 5 today but he did steal a base.

Asdrubal wasn't feeling it today after last night's awesome game. No more homers today. No hits, actually. He was shut out AND he hit himself with a foul tip. Ouch!

Michael Brantley (.305) is never not hitting, so he went 1 for 5 with his 14th double.

Kipnis had a decent day - he went 1 for 3, but also had 2 walks and came in to score once. Much patience. Kiiiiinda wondering why he's batting 4th instead of Chiz. Maybe 4th is too heavy for the slightly younger Chisenhall?

Lonnie didn't get any extra base hits today either (he does lead the team in doubles, and has 1 more homer than Kipnis) but he went 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI. He got his THIRD RBI bloop single into left field in, I think, four games. I love it!

David Murphy, who is an ex-Ranger and from Texas and no doubt still has a home(s) in Texas didn't get any hits yesterday - no doubt in deference to his old fans who were there to cheer him on. Good guy. Today it was his new team's turn and he went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Interesting to see if he steps it up even more tomorrow!

Jason Giambi went 1 for 3 today with a long single that coulda been a double for maybe Michael Bourn. And everyone went "GROAN!" because on the play prior to that hit, Lonnie got caught hanging off the bag at third and it didn't produce a run. I wonder what kind of words of wisdom G imparted on him about that?!

Raburn came in to pinch hit for Giambi later and got an RBI and a run scored.

Carlos Santana! He went 2 for 2 today with a biiiiig game-clinching 2-run homer, a single and 2 walks. He came around to score twice. He was at first today and....well, he's hit in both of his games since he's been back. Did he get some skill knocked back into him when he got that concussion? Of course, two games does not make a trend. But that'd be pretty fun if true!!

Hey, did you hear they drafted Juan Gomes today? Here I was thinking that "Yan" was "John" in Portugese but it's not. It is "John" in Belarusian or something. And "Juan" is "John" Spanish. Anyway, both brothers are named "John" in different ways. And they are both Indians now. It will be just awesomely amazing when the Tribe with all of its Gomeses plays Tampa or Boston with their Gomes. What if one of those teams gets a Cabrera, too??

Anyway, Yan Gomes went 1 for 4 and it was a big, big one. It was a 3-run homer! That was all for Gomes for the day but that was all we needed from him.

Two more games in Texas yet, and I feel pretty good about them! I think the first game was decent enough and the second featured a lot of hits and matching runs. Nice weather for homers, I guess.

Tomorrow it'll be at 3:05 (for real this time. Yesterday I reported today's game was 3:05 when it was really 4:05). Masterson versus LHP 3.68. Hmm...LHP on the road. Everyone just start the game with rally caps, ok?

No Radio Chatter today - Hammy was out watching his son's graduation, and you're just not going to get quality quips from Mike Hargrove. He was trepidatious about taking questions from Twitter, though! I don't think he answered any haha

See you there!

"It Got Up Outta Here"

Hell yeah it did, Michael Bourn! His first walkoff homer of his career, and not only was it a good fast swing but it was also a good fast sprint around the bases to meet his teammates at home. What a great way to end a Sunday!

The team didn't have one of their best hitting days, to be honest. But they hit enough and pitched well enough to get more runs than the other guys. And that how baseball go.

Josh Tomlin was our man today, and he got himself out of the game with 100 pitches and 3 earned runs by the end of the 6th. He did strike out 8 in that time, contributing to a total of 38 strikeouts this weekend of the NL's least-strikey-outey team. Sounds almost like a little competition they had going! Not the length the team was surely looking for with Tomlin, but hopefully it's not a trent.

Outman came in to finish the 6th, right after Tomlin's 100th pitch. Then it was Bryan Shaw who awkwardly gave up the tying run, even though his ERA was a measly 1.37 when he came in. The one thing we learned from the Rockies this weekend is that they never give up!

Zep came in to uneventfully finish the 8th, and then Old Man Atchison mowed 'em down in the 9th with three strikeouts (er, and a double).

Michael Bourn is hitting .288! He's not quite a qualifier yet (3.1 plate appearances * total games, or 176) but he's got 160 at-bats (can't find PA stats) so he'll be there soon. He's rockin' a 5-game hitting streak right now, and he's up at the top there with Brantley and Chiz as far as hitting goes! Nyjer who?

But still, he'll never be Michael Brantley (.307), right? Oh my glob, how amazing is it that we've got him locked down under contract?!?! Today he went 2 for 4, re-starting his home hit streak again at one. One of his hits was an RBI single, and the other a double. Both times he came around to score. Great!

Other than Bourn and Brantley, no one else got any extra base hits. Winding down from the last 2 games, I guess.

Giambi walked in a run, which is always great! Later on Raburn came up to bat for him, and he got a hit! Nothing came of it but any Raburn hit right now is a hit in the right direction.

David Murphy wanted a grand slam, but he followed up Giambi's walk with a sac fly RBI. Save all the glory for Bourn. What a good guy!

Mike Aviles is ramping it back up, going 2 for 4 today with a stolen base. He was on base when Bourn got his homer, too. Always in the middle of things! Speaking of the middle of things....Lonnie went hitless today but he did get a sac fly RBI. Of course!

George Kottaras was back today, and I wasn't paying close enough attention so I thought he was the one who got the walkoff homer and I was thisclose to declaring him the best Indian ever to play in Cleveland! But he didn't get that homer, and in fact he was hitless in the game. But he did walk twice, and that made him 0 for 1 on the day, and he's batting .500. So, you are still welcome here, George Kottaras!!

The next game will be against those stupid Red Sox so the stands should be full and stuff. Although the weather will be iffy...I wonder how it'll pan out? 7:05 is the start time and THE GAME WILL BE ON WKYC!!! So all of you antenna-heads out there, tune in!

It'll be Justin Masterson versus RHP 3.61. The bats definitely need to get back to Friday & Saturday form if they're to pull this one out - don't count on Masterson keeping the score low. But now that our leadoff man is our home run hero, anything is possible!

See you there!

No Radio Chatter today but my house is super clean. 

Josh Tomlin Will Save Us All

Hey, Josh Tomlin is back! He was a big part of our 2012 rotation and then he got bit by the shoulder bug and he missed the end of 2012 and all of 2013 with the Tommy John. Lots of rehab and lots of Columbus later (Carlos Carrasco got his spot in the rotation this spring. OOPS!) he is now back with the club pitching like he never left!

He didn't have an outstanding outing and there wasn't anything too memorable about it but it seemed very special to have him back and to be throwing so well. It was a quality start, with 6 2/3 innings where he gave up 4 hits resulting in 1 run, and struck out 4. No extra bases off him, no hit batsmen and only one walk. Dang - some of the other guys have hardly had a game like that and it's already May!

I was quite curious about Tomlin's hair today - facial and otherwise. Sometimes he's got some crazy mustache going, or long curly locks, or sometimes he just looks like Joe Baseball. I can only find the one photo so far, in the official MLB photos for the game and wow - he's got some hair going on! Yeah yeah all of your television people are completely over it by now but those of us with only radio access get off on the visual suspense!

Zep finished off the 7th, and then Scott Atchison came in for the 8th. Atchison struck out 2 and zipped out of his inning in 19 pitches. Bryan Shaw came out for the 9th and...gave up a run! Noooooo! What's up with that? The bad, it's catching. But anyway, the Tribe had set them up with enough runs early in the game that giving up a run in the 9th was no big deal. Tribe wins!

The first two innings were SUPER fun! Five hits and 4 runs, including an un-earned run on an error "through the wickets." Or rather, "Buckner!" This was for the Tribe, by the way. They were the ones getting hits and scoring runs.

But then it was pretty boring after that. Tomlin kept the Twins quiet but other than a hit and 2 walks, that was it for the Tribe lineup.

The early excitement came from a double by Swisher, followed by an RBI single by Brantley (.269). David Murphy came up and hit that "Buckner" to right field, allowing Brantley to score from first. We'll take it!

In the second, Chisenhall kept it going with a single, and was again in the middle of things when Deduno balked, sending him to second. It was a good place to be when Gomes came up and doubled to center! Gomes made it to third on a ground-out, and then Swisher got him in with a single.

And that's about the long and short of it. Murphy got an infield single, and both Brantley and Chiz walked. Ryan Raburn, who is not being very Goon-y this year, came in to pinch for Morgan and he hit a really long ball but not long enough.

Another error for Gomes, and another for Asdrubal. 33 errors in 33 games. Huh. Is no good.

Here is a man in a funny baseball hat.

Tomorrow is a NOON game so make sure you tune in! It'll be the rubber match in the series, with Masterson versus RHP 6.09. All Masty really needs is 1 or 2 runs to win. They can give him that right?

I don't have any Radio Chatter for tonight, although there were some funny moments. They came when I was washing dishes and taking a shower, though. Gah. But good news! I have some left over from yesterday's game, which didn't deserve a blog post. Lucky you!

Radio Chatter:
"I just saw Rudolph poke his nose out."
- Tom Hamilton on the weather

"After all, it's 'Go play baseball' not 'Go work baseball.'"
- Tom Hamilton on why you should always smile when you show up at the ballpark

"Boy I got up this morning thinking 'I hope Hammy quotes JJ Evans today.'"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"If you keep tipping your cap, you'll get tendinitis in your elbow."
- Tom Hamilton on how the offense needs to step up

Beat Down in Chi Town

Sooooo....did anyone see THAT coming? Woah! I know the White Sox stink but still, their opponents aren't getting double-digit wins off them on the reg are they? (No. Only a handful of times this year have they given up double digits. This is the second most runs they've given up. The most was 19 - to the Tribe in June!)

Oh, I know what accounted for all of the double digits:

He's back! And the team rallied and scored a ton of runs! And he continued his hitting streak at 5! And he has 13 RBI in 5 games.

13 RBI in 5 games!

So really, he is our hero and any game that the Tribe plays without him is a wasted game. Wasted!

Anyway, not as exciting today was Corey Kluber, who was just not The Klube. He was more like The U, last year. Five innings, 2 runs. Meh.

Hey but guess who flew in from Arizona and it would appear his arms are NOT tired? It's Josh Tomlin! I cannot report on the state of his goatee but I do know that he went a long 2 innings and only faced 9 batters, giving up 2 hits and no walks. A bit of a pressure situation and the pride of Tyler Texas took it in stride!

Then it was Vinnie Pestano for the 8th, who uhm, er...well he gave up a run on a walk, single, passed ball and sacrifice fly. Sorta sloppy but better than big hits I suppose.

That Preston Guilmet fella came in for the 9th, in his fourth appearance this year. No runs, no hits, a walk. Well done.

The Tribe got 16 hits and 9 walks today, and scored 14 runs! Hallelujah! The fella we got the first 7 runs off of - John Danks - isn't really that bad. The Tribe actually looked GOOD!

Would you believe....not everyone got a hit today?! The only spot without a hit was #8, Mike Aviles. Now, to be fair, he did walk once and he did get an RBI (sac fly) so it's not like one of the Goon Squad was caught not participating! No sir! Just...no star on the big board over there.

 Another kind of sad thing is they brought in as many of the 3rd stringers as possible to get our best guys out of the rain and into some dry Jockeys. And they all had at-bats (some of them had two) and none of them got hits. Ramirez, Chisenhall, Carson, Kubel, Shoppach, nothing.

But, enough with the sad stuff! Hi K-Shop! Beardy!

Everyone who did hit had a multi-hit game, except our guy Santana - who got 1 hit and 2 walks, so that translated into an RBI and a run scored for him. Also with just one hit was Asdrubal - but it was a big one! Not only his 12th homer but his THIRD in just SIX games! He might meet his 2012 record of 16 still!

Bourn with the triple! He actually got TWO hits today, and that's a 3-game hitting streak for him after being very mediocre for a very long time. Perhaps this means the fire is lit?

Gomes is back up over .300, at .301. He went 2 for 3 with both of those hits being doubles! Slugging is .504!

Drew Stubbs is back from some alternate universe where he wasn't hitting (also, getting benched for Kubel...?) He went 3 for 4 tonight, with a double and a run scored. He also played the heck out of right field, because that what he do!

Kipnis was his same badass Chicago self tonight, getting a single in the first (and stolen base) then an RBI double in the second, then another RBI in the 4th via the sac fly! I guess he's hitting something like .480 at Cellular Field. No joke!

Swish got another home run tonight, too, so he's got 3 in 6 games just like Asdrubal! Do we win when those two guys hit? Absolutely, bro! Swisher also got a big 2-RBI single in the 5th to contribute to that 7-run inning.

Once the Tribe was up 14-1, it was time to sit everyone. So after Raburn's 5th RBI and the team's 14th run, he was taken out for a pinch runner in Carson and that was the end of the fun.

Oh so Raburn went 3 for 3 with a single, double and homer. He got 5 RBI (3 on the homer). Oh my gosh he is so good...

...He's so good that next to his name on the lineup card it says ______________!

This is the lineup that I love, by the way. Not too worried about who's where but any lineup that includes Gomes and Raburn and Stubbs is a lineup I crave. No messing around with Kubel or Giambi or whatever (he can come in later!) Of course, this leaves out Brantley but someone just needs to figure that out!! Platoon Raburn, Stubbs and Brantley around right and left. There you go! Aviles, he can stay. Or platoon with Lonnie, that's fine. As long as Lonnie has his eye on the ball.

Tomorrow is more of this excitement hopefully, right in the middle of the day, at 2 PM. The good news is that I won't miss the game while I'm at a wedding. How do you like that? I'll be able to twerk the night away without wondering "DID RYAN RABURN GET A HIT TONIGHT?!"

It'll be Salazar and friends (surely) against LHP 3.44. According to the MLB preview, this guy was "chastised" by his pitching coach for being too wild. All I gotta say is - Please stay safe, Ryan Raburn!!

Ok so don't forget, 2:10. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Should be like a boxing match. Should be able for them to throw the white towel out of the dugout onto the field."
- Tom Hamilton

"Josh Tomlin doesn't care...it could be snowing. But he's just happy to be back throwing in the big leagues."
- Tom Hamilton

"If the Indians win tonight - and it's like saying 'If the sun comes up tomorrow morning...'"
- Tom Hamilton

"Better look at the dugout to see if the manager is Walter Matthau."
- Tom Hamilton

"Somewhere in America there are more people at a bingo parlor than are at this ballpark."
- Tom Hamilton

No Alarms and No Surprises, Please

I can't believe I did it. I came home and I read the box score and even after that I flipped to the audio archive and sat here and listened to today's game. I had to, though. I had to hear how that 4 hours and 10 minutes of baseball went down. Because really, it was pretty much the best baseball we've played on this road trip. It was a great game. It was full of surprises!

Surprise 1: The new guy, Chris Seddon, could have been much worse. Yes 4 runs in 4 innings but he was better out of the gate than Corey Kluber.

Surprise 2: Christ on a cracker - Ezequiel Carrera! I was saying yesterday how it was fun to watch him go but I didn't think it would last. But here he is continuing on - 3 for 5 with a HOMER.

Surprise 3: Josh Tomlin just killing the 9th inning. The game was supposed to be over after Jackson's lead-off triple. No. Josh Tomlin said no.

Surprise 4: Travis Hafner hitting a home run. Yeah I know technically that's what we pay him to do but he doesn't lead the team in homers. And this team doesn't do comeback wins anymore. And he was hurt just yesterday. Him getting a 2-run bomb to un-tie it in the 10th is a total, TOTAL surprise.

Surprise 5: Chris Perez spectacularly blowing everything at the end. If you've been around past the 1st game of the season you know that doesn't happen. You know that after Vinnie Pestano, Chris Perez is the most sure thing on this team. Giving up one run when we've got a 2+ run lead? Always. Giving up 5 to lose a game in the 10th? Ne.ver. I'll guarantee you no one is more surprised than Chris Perez. I would hate to be a wall fixture in the visitor's clubhouse tonight.

The surprises were all good, except for the one that was really, really bad. You can't even imagine how hard it was to get to that 10th inning for me, listening to the archive. Like waiting for "that moment" in Old Yeller.

Anyway, on to the game.

Seddon started. Here's a picture of him pitching:

I happened to catch some of the game on TV today and I was all "wow we got our own Lincecum!" You know - tall, skinny, hair. Turns out he's 5" taller than Tim and not nearly as stupid looking - he just happens to have long hair. I don't get out much.

He gave up 4 runs to a team that had 3 starters batting over .300. So far he's just as good or better than the dude he replaced (Lowe). Hopefully every start is a little better. His line was 7 hits and 4 runs in 4 1/3, 2 strikeouts and 3 walks. Only one home run.

Manny threw the entire contents of the bullpen up there today. Here's another small surprise: the only guy other than Perez to give up a run was SMITH. Not Sipp, not Accardo, not even Tomlin. Joe Smith, I'm sure, is equally surprised.

The arms we saw were Allen (still pitching 0.00!), Sipp (still under 5!), Smith, Pestano (still calls your mom!), Tomlin and Perez. Pestano went 2 innings and struck out 3 because he is a man.

I don't have to go over Perez's inning. You got the gist.

Here's another surprise (THEY DON'T STOP!) - on a day when everyone was getting in to the act, and a day when he got 6 at-bats, Jason Kipnis did nothing. No walk, no sac fly, no nothing. He struck out twice and otherwise hit in to outs. I am totally wearing my We Are All Kipnises t-shirt to the game tomorrow because clearly the JK Kid needs some inspiration.You should tweet him.

Nice game for Asdrubal who went 2 for 6 and came in to score 2 runs. One of his hits was a double, his 24th. He also stole 2 bases which give him only his 3rd and 4th for the season. Ever since he pulled a little trick some time just before the break by dancing around at 3rd and coming home to score, he seems to be concentrating a little more on his running game. He's scheming to try to make it work. I think he's been caught stealing and caught trying to stretch out a single a couple times since then but perhaps today he's broken through a barrier of some sort.

Choo wasn't seeing it today, going 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts. But when he DID see it was when he Scherzer deep in the 3rd for a solo homer! I seen it on TV! They took him out in the 9th during that Tomlin madness to put in Lopez to have a 5-man infield. I am pretty sure that was a good decision because the batter ended up grounding in to an inning-ending double play. You never like to lose your Choo but this time - what fun!

After being shut down last night, Santana was back in full force today going 2 for 4 with 2 runs and an RBI. He also walked. He's walked in 6 of his last 8 games and gotten 7 hits. Keep going!

Brantley was smoothin' it out today, going 3 for 4 with his 31st and 32nd doubles. Still not ahead of Choo but still squarely in 3rd place! He also got an RBI and a walk. Finally his average is moving again, up to .293. He now leads the team! (Leads amongst qualifying players. Zeke's average is .583 but that's just over 3 games!)

Once gain with the baby power is Travis Hafner (see Hannahan, Choo, Damon, Duncan) who went 3 for 5 today after coming off baby leave and then a day of a sore back. Before he got his homer to crush Detroit in the 10th he got a RBI single in the first and one in the seventh. He also struck out twice. But all of that together is exactly what every team wants their DH to do. Fan-friggin-tastic day for Pronk!

You don't expect your fast little rookie outfielder to do the same. He also went 3 for 5 with a homer and 2 strikeouts today. And he stole a base. How does this happen?? He's now 7 for 12 since he got here. Way!

Brent Lillibridge was in for Hannahan and struck out 3 times before Manny realized we were still in this game, so he put Jack in for the 7th and Jack ended up going 1 for 2 with a run scored. That's nice to see - being able to make effective changes in a lineup like that.

Laser Lou was back today. Not only did he go 2 for 5 but he caught a guy stealing and presumably shut down their base-stealing game because nobody else tried. Marson's only caught 6 this year and has let 42 go. It's crazy because he got 30 of the buggers last year! Ah well - nice to see him snag one today, hopefully it will be a trend! His last hit was an RBI double that put us up 3 runs in the 10th, so he was just contributing all over today!

So yeah it ended in deafening heartache. We've lost a team-record-setting 9 games on the road and a season-high 9 games in a row. But what are you going to do? Not tune in tomorrow? There are 54 games left - 1/3 of the season. We've got new players to watch develop and original players pledging to only do better. Yeah, we're probably out of the playoffs but it's Cleveland, bitches. It's not within your idiom to get what you desire.

Just remember to love baseball, because when it's cold and dark and the Browns are doing no better than the Tribe is now due to a complete lack of linebackers, you will miss it.

I'm off to the game tomorrow (7:05, McAllister versus Twins LHP) so post will be late. Gonna be rockin' the top of the bleachers I hope. Anyone else going? I'll see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Marson was out by anywhere from 15 to 20 feet."
- Tom Hamilton on Marson trying to be a hero in the 2nd

"If either team was going to be on edge this weekend you'd think it'd be the Indians."
- Tom Hamilton on Jim Leyland getting tossed in the 2nd

"You don't get a really good feeling watching Chris Seddon today, from the standpoint of the Tigers are having really good at-bats."
- Tom Hamilton

"After he hit it he thought it may go out but then he remembered where he was and took off."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Fielder's long fly out in the 5th

"If you're hitting .179 you'd better be able to get a bunt down."
- Tom Hamilton on Brent Lillibridge

"One win could change everything."
- Tom Hamilton

"Talk about inheriting an explosive situation."
- Tom Hamilton on Vinnie being brought in with 2 on and no out

"Is this how Russell Crowe felt in the final scene of Gladiator?"
- Tom Hamilton on Tomlin's 9th inning

"It's as if that home run by Hafner lifted a weight off the club mentally."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"I mean if you gave this script to Hollywood they'd say 'Nah, sorry - we don't deal in make-believe.'"
- Tom Hamilton when the game is tied in the 10th

"How about all of those people who left the ballpark early now probably pounding their dashboards, driving to the suburbs of Detroit? Indians fans have probably driven off the road."
- Tom Hamilton

"There's gotta be another word other than 'unbelievable.'"
- Tom Hamilton's last word

Surreal

I have to admit, I did not see that coming. Surely you did not either. Losing 11-0 to the worst team in the AL after beating the best pitcher in the AL just doesn't seem possible. But it was and it happened and it was real.

I'll also admit that I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony with the Tribe game going on in my ear. And the Opening Ceremony was even more surreal than the Indians game, I kid you not. Steampunk Branaugh, parachute Queen, Mary Poppins army, Mr. Bean in Chariots of Fire, bicycle birds and a lengthy dance tribute to socialized medicine. THIS IS ALL REAL!

All in all I was pretty glad that I had something so crazy to take my mind off what was happening here.

What happened here was that Josh Tomlin lost his shit, then Jeremy Accardo lost his shit too.

Cody Allen did not lose his shit, and other than Hafner's two hits that was the best thing that happened in the game.

We got 3 hits, yo. Yesterday we got 10. No walks today, and 6 strikeouts. Yes, even Choo. Even Kipnis. YES GUYS, ALL OF THEM!!!

I don't know what this game means and I also don't know what a flaming cauldron in the middle of an Olympic stadium means but I suspect we'll find out more tomorrow.

Oh don't forget the other weird things that happened today - the Browns were sold and it rained for longer than 15 minutes. I am soooo ready for tomorrow...

Tomorrow is Masterson versus RHP. Masterson is good again now, right? That's what I thought. That's what we're gonna see tomorrow.

I'll see you there - if the 100' Captain Hook puppet doesn't get me first!

Radio Chatter:
"It's hard liquor and handgun night at the old ballpark!"
- Tom Hamilton on the Twins' beer chugging contest

Coulda Been Worse

Coulda been a shutout. Shelley Duncan coulda broke his face when he tripped over first base. Carlos Santana could still be shitty.

Josh Tomlin looked hella good tho didn't he? Well except that 2-run homer in the first. That didn't help us none. But he went 6 innings and those were the only 2 earned runs he gave up. He only struck out 2 but didn't walk any. That's a quality start, though. Like, the legal definition.

Esmil Rogers, who has pleased me much lately, gave up a run in the 7th and it was a bad, bad time for him to start being displeasing. Jeremy Accardo, who makes a habit out of being displeasing, didn't disappoint today. He was plenty disappointing, giving up the winning run in the 8th.

Cody Allen came in for the 9th and didn't give up any runs, so yay Cody Allen!

Not much really happened in this game today for the good guys. At least they looked good on the field. But so did the birds.

Choo and Kipnis both got on twice (Choo with walks, Kipnis with singles (not doubles, I get it)) but to no avail. Asdrubal wasn't doing anything today between those two. I dunno why, I dunno why. Hopefully it's just a Sunday Slump and not indicative of a false start.

Carlos Santana. Wat?! He went 3 for 4 today with a double, a homer and 2 RBI. While he hasn't necessarily been hitting he does have a 16-game on-base streak so that's pretty great. Well not as great as his homer today. It was only his 7th so he's got a bit to go before he catches up to where he should be but hopefully today was a glimpse of things to come!! Actually it was a glimpse of how things have been, and hopefully will be. You know what I mean.

Shelley Duncan was in on the near-comeback in the 9th. After Santana's homer he got a big hit and everyone was praying for it to be a homer - no one praying harder than Tom Hamilton - but it was just a double off the top of the wall. Maybe woulda been a triple - I guess Shelley wiped out going around first but impressively got the double still. His hard work paid off as he came around to score on a pinch-hit single by Hafner (batting for Marson).

Pretty exciting! Three runs in, only one out, one on base. Woohoo! We'd been waiting all day for this! Then Damon was up and yadda yadda Asdrubal got the third out. Grumble...

But late-inning comebacks are rare for this team this year so I was thrilled to see it. Hoping it carries over to tomorrow. I should have some influence on it as I will be attending batting practice. This will be my third attempt at attending batting practice - it's rained the other two times. And guess what? IT IS SUPPOSED TO RAIN TOMORROW!! Argh!

Oh well at least I'll get to go to a game with my friends. And it's Photo Day again so we'll get to have our picture taken with oh...hmm...well heck, Roberto Hernandez isn't busy, maybe him! I sure hope it's Chris Perez tho, that'd be the bees knees.

Anyway, if I'm at batting practice tomorrow I'll be sure to tell everyone they're doing better lately but they gotta calm down. Asdrubal especially. Even Brantley, he's not seemingly Smooth right now.

Glad we got a little glimpse of some baseball today, at least. Tomorrow's back at regular time - 7:05 so I'll see you there! (But not til late)

Radio Chatter:
"If somebody told him he'd hit better standing upside down, Joe Madden would be the one to try it."
- Tom Hamilton

"Oh man, do they Indians need SOMEBODY to deliver a big hit right now."
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th with 2 on and 1 out

"Lot of ways to get here. Very cheap. Indians dot com."
- Tom Hamilton's wrap-up of the new offers

"These pitchers now are walking a tightrope with no net underneath them."
- Tom Hamilton on the Indians' pitchers

Bases Loaded and Nobody Out

Tonight's game was pretty much the same as last night's, except we lost it. Which we could have done easily last night as well.

I just don't know what's up with our hitting right now. You guys have seen what these guys can do, right? You all remember when Asdrubal was scorching past .300 and Lopez was fun to see and Shelley got his groove back, right?

What's the deal? It just feels so helpless sitting here watching these guys fail at the plate like this. With runners on, too. Nobody's under .200 anymore but the team average is around .250. The fuck?

Josh Tomlin was the starter and he gave up 3 quick runs, sort of attributed to his 11 days off. He gave up his first steal since 2010. Asdrubal gave a good argument to the ump that he got the tag down but he didn't win that one. Interesting stat on Tomlin there, tho! After the 3-run first he was pretty strong through the 6th, where he gave up a 4th run and was taken out before it got too bad. 

You know who came in to not let it get too bad? Tony Sipp. And it didn't get worse! No shit! He ended up finishing up the 7th and Accardo came in for the 8th and it STILL didn't get worse. Woah!

The top of the order was the bit of the order that had it going on tonight. Choo and Cabrera both went 1 for 4 (oh thank you God, let Asdrubal continue to hit!!)

Kipnis was back to being impressive going 1 for 3 with a walk and a RBI. He scored Sweet Lou in the 5th, who had gotten on with a walk.

The book is out on Brantley - they seem to like walking him now! Poor guy went 0 for 2 because he walked twice. No RBI, no runs, nothing.

Lopez at least did a thing, bringing in Asdrubal on a sac fly. So there's that. LOPEZ!

Good ol' Casey Kotchman got his hit today. I was beginning to get worried that we could not, in fact, always count on him! He had his 4th error of the year, though. It sounded kind of spectacular with falling down and stuff, but I don't see a video online.

Shelley Duncan didn't do anything today. He left 4 guys on base, is what he did. I'm mortified. But you know, this sort of shit wouldn't happen if you just let him play EVERY DAY!!

I'm thinking of putting a Chief Wahoo temporary tattoo on my right forearm, just under the inside of my elbow. The antecubital region of my arm, if you will. I had a temporary tattoo last month on my bicep and it lasted like 5 weeks. I think I can get away with this - I don't work in public, who's going to care? I just can't decide if I want to do it now or later in the season but...well, I can just get more at the Team Shop.

I think I'll wait til Monday, when I go to batting practice. The guys will be so very impressed!

Yawn. More Rays tomorrow, again at 7:10. But this time it's Masterson! Which means we'll give no run support but also he won't give any up. Right?

Oh by the way if you're bored and need something to do between 5:00 and 7:10, all of the Bad News Bears movies are on Netflix Watch Instantly now. They're only like 90 minutes each. I may or may not have watched 2 today at work.

All right, see you tomorro!

Radio Chatter:
"There is no variation in his pitches. They are either 96 MPH or 95 MPH."
- Tom Hamilton on Matt Moore

"I went to Catholic grade school and she didn't look like any of the nuns that taught me. 'Mrs. Zoberist would you slap me with that ruler again?'"
- Tom Hamilton upon learning Ben Zoberist's wife is a Christian recording artist

"For some reason the management here has decided the key to every game is for the fans to go home with a splitting headache."
- Tom Hamilton says the music is too loud at Tropicana Field

Pronk Smash!

I text with some of my friends during the game, and today I was going to text "I have a feeling Pronk is going to go yard tonight" in the first inning. Even though his other at-bats weren't that productive, I just felt like today he'd Pronk one out of here.

Of course, I didn't text that to anyone even though I thought it, so there is no proof of the level to which I am tuned in to this team. Ah well.

How about that Josh Tomlin?! Nailed it! Seven innings, 2 hits, one run? He's only limited the other team to 1 run in 3 of his 14 games this year. Actually one of those times was 3 starts ago - but in his last 2 starts he gave up 11 in just 9 innings. So this is a huge turnaround for him right now! Wow if we have all 5 of our guys giving up 3 or fewer every game, and we keep hitting like this...this is how we have an amazing second half!

Vinnie and Perez came on for the 8th and 9th. You know what they did! Yeah buddy!

Speaking of Vinnie, here's some shenanigans from the 4th of July:

 

What a joker!

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! He started off the game with a solo shot, his 9th homer on the season! That's 3 in the last 10 games, where he's been hitting .389. He also stole his 2nd base today (really, that few?) and ended up going 2 for 3 with a walk. Awesome!!

PRONK! Hafner only went 1 for 4 but his 1 was a big one! A solo homer in the 8th (his 7th on the season) which, judging by how the Rays were not hitting and the fact that it was Perez's turn, pretty much ended the game RIGHT THERE.

No Lou today - Acta basically said "Sorry, we hired Santana as our catcher." Sigh. But at least we have a hot backup catcher, and Santana can play first and if nothing else one of them can bat for Hafner. 

Anyway, Santana did something today in the form of getting a hit, going 1 for 4. Good job!

COUSIN MICHAEL! Brantley's back in the swing of things with his second homer in as many games! And in case you didn't know he's got a total of THREE on the season. He's got 11 hits in his last 10 games and tonight he went 2 for 3. Not too many guys got hits tonight and he got 2!

Man - looking at this lineup, we've got 4 guys who are hot and staying there (Choo, Cabrera, Kipnis, Brantley), two guys who are hot when they can play (Marson, Duncan), one guy who is just about to blow up (Hafner) and two guys who are hopefully going to get it going any time now (Hannahan, Santana). If we get this lineup firing on all cylinders, and rotate Marson, Duncan and Lopez in when we can AND the pitching stays like this? Holy smokes!

And don't forget Casey Kotchman, thank you - he went 1 for 2 tonight with a walk. He's got 5 hits in his last 9 at-bats! I just don't know how or where to count on him as a batter. I'm fine with him staying around .230, maybe .250. Just keep doing it at first base!

Aaron Cunningham would also like to not be forgotten. He was the subject of a "15 Questions" TribeVibe blog post today. One of his favorite movies is Despicable Me, he watches it over and over. HA! I've never seen it but now I have to check it out, to get deeper in to the head of Aaron Cunningham.  Anyway, I thought he looked good in right yesterday and today he had a great play from left after he took over for Damon. The radio guy on the post-game show said "no offense to Johnny but there's no way Damon makes that play." Finally, someone agrees with me! (to be fair I don't listen to much post-game anymore. I just can't hang with Bob Frantz anymore. So maybe he dislikes Damon a lot too, I don't know. But Tom Hamilton seems indifferent. Grr!)

You're going to want to check out Tom Hamilton has the Best Home Run call in all of Baseball later on tonight to hear, I think, all 3 homers. I know he called Choo's and Hafner's and since Brantley hit his in the 2nd that should be Hamilton too. Hafner's was great - it was a classic Pronk too. The way the guy does it you get to see the video with Hamilton's audio overlayed. It's a thing of beauty! Don't forget to check it out!

Tomorrow is Masterson versus a righty so there's a pretty good chance we've got this on in the bag. Also the pendulum is swinging towards a better home record, as opposed to how it was early in the season when we weren't doing as well here. Weather? Prolly.

It's a 7:05 game - see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Maybe he just needed to get ou tof the month of June."
- Tom Hamilton on Josh Tomlin pitching better

"Pena's got one thought in mind - he is looking middle-in to rip one out of here and tie the game up."
- Tom Hamilton

Bouncin' Back

Hey! Bet you thought I forgot, huh? Naw, I just had promised some folks I'd go out and they were kind enough to wait for the end of the game. So I had to rush out after the game.

I did find myself at a place called Lopez in Cleveland Heights, so we were sure to drink a toast to The Legend That Is Lopez tonight.

Here's a song for you to play during this post:

So where really do we begin? Today's game was the most awesome in a long time, even more awesome than the 10-9 one in Cleveland versus Cincy. It was cool because we broke away and there wasn't much nail biting. Also cool because our pitchers "only" gave up 5 runs instead of 9. Was it the best game of the season? Nah that was probably one of the Detroit games - the O's just aren't that good. But still the game was AWESOME!!

Tomlin started and Tom Hamilton was making noises about this being Tomlin's final deciding game as to whether he'd remain a starter, get put in the bullpen or go down to CBus. He gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. Not too fantastic but better than a few of his recent outings. Plus he's a "fly ball pitcher" pitching in a "crackerbox park" so the fact that he only gave up one homer surprised some. I'm no pitching expert so I honestly don't know what Tomlin's fate is. I'm thinking he gets yet another chance in a different park, probably home.

Excitingly enough, the 3 guys after Tomlin - Rogers, Pestano and Sipp - gave up no hits and no runs. Yeah you heard me - even Sipp! Praise be!

If you were wondering: defense was a ton better today. No errors (for the good guys) and two double plays. It helps!

Now on to the featured entertainment! The hitting! And boy, was there hitting!

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO (who I think was getting roundly Choo'd by some Bawlmer fans, or Cleveland fans in Baltimore, whatever) had a MONSTER game with 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 runs and 4 RBI and a homer! That means 8 hits, 2 homers, 6 RBI and 7 runs in his last 3 games (against the Orioles). His average is up at .291 now and he's hitting .417 over his last 10 games. *gurgle*

Not to be left out, Asdrubal had a monster game too! He went 3 for 5 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 runs. He did strike out twice, though. Is that what you have to put up with when your guy becomes the team's Home Run Guy?

Speaking of Home Run Guy, Jason Kipnis was shut down today! Well he did get intentionally walked and hit by a pitch. He also stole a base but oddly enough it didn't turn in to a run. And he hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice so I guess we can say he was out there getting stuff done regardless of whether or not he had the stats. But still, in a game with so many hits, quite odd that our team leader in most things batting got shut down!

LOPEZ!!! This is the dude I remember from Spring Training! He played 3rd today and batted cleanup and it was quite a fantastic decision by Manny Acta. Duncan could have been in that spot. Kipnis or Brantley could have been in that spot. But he stuck with Lopez in that spot and he went 5 for 6 with 3 RBI and a run. Yes, 5 for 6!

Brantley went 2 for 5 with a walk. Somehow that didn't turn in to any runs or RBI either (ok, I know how. I know. Left on base.) We're back to a 3-game hitting streak for Cousin Michael! I'm just going to keep counting and re-counting from here on out.

SHELLEY EVERY DAY! He had his homer today. He only went 1 for 6 though - eep! But hey HE'S got  FOUR-game hitting streak, with 3 RBI in those 4 games. Johnny who?

Kotchman and Cunningham were both shut down today. Eh. Still, hard to believe that in a 19-hit game that THREE guys went hitless, right? They did.

Encompassing 4 of those hits was Sweet Lou himself! And he ALMOST went for the cycle, woohoo! He got them all but a homer, got two singles and walked. He only got 1 RBI out of all that but he came around to score 3 times! Did you know he's hitting .284 now? Hate to say it but Santana is already seeming like a distant memory right now...

I don't know what to make of all this. I think I'll stay cautiously optimistic for now because Baltimore sucks right now and their park is a hitter's park. Plus, we saw a ton of runs a couple times against the Reds just last week then went on to score hardly anything against the Astros and Yankees.

However, I will go to bed smiling from ear to ear and I will stash the nugget that Manny had "a talk" with the team the other day and maybe, just maybe, that turned something around. I'll also cling to my fantasy that the Yankee series was rock-bottom and from now on we're rocketing to the top.

Bouncin' back, as it were.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting my kinfolk in Pittsburgh (yeah and hopefully my cousin's 10-year-old and I can talk baseball!) so I won't hear the exciting conclusion to this series until late. But you bet I'll be there as soon as I can!

It's 1:35 in case you didn't know. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Looks good maybe on October 31st if you're a jack-o-lantern."
- Tom Hamilton on Oriole orange

"...at some point, an Orioles hitter has to hit the deck. [...] An Orioles player has to feel the same discomfort"
- Tom Hamilton puts out the call after Kipnis gets hit

"So, they milk cows then go to the beach at night?"
- Tom Hamilton wondering how the Jersey Shore works

"Rosie, when you're born and raised on a dairy farm and you're milking cows, the view never changes.'
- Tom Hamilton tells Jim Rosenhaus why they never discuss Wisconsin

"These are situations, where if a guy like Cunningham wants to stay on this ballclub, he's got to do better than that."
- Tom Hamilton on Cunningham's strikeout in the 5th with a runner on 3rd

"It's not just errors, it's the plays that should have been made but aren't."
- Tom Hamilton on the Baltimore defense

"The Orioles might start feeding him Fudgecicles."
- Tom Hamilton on Matt Wieters losing weight and losing power

Feeding the Stereotype

Remember how well Josh Tomlin pitched last time? It was when I had met him the day before, on Photo Day, and shook his hand. He went 6 2/3 and gave up 1 run.

Tonight he was in NYC shaking God Knows Who's hands, and he only lasted 3 innings, not before giving up 6 runs. Ho hum.

His pal Jeanmar Gomez got sent down yesterday. Is Josh next? Maybe he was hella nervous about his future. Jeanmar going down meant Barnes coming up so at least we had a long reliever to cover for him. Barnes did give up 1 run in his 2 2/3 innings but it's suspected that he pitched 1/3 innings too much. I like him so far but I also liked Nick Hagadone once...I'm not gonna get too attached.

Rogers (our other long reliever) came in for the rest of the 6th and the 7th and struck out 2 for his 4 outs. Accardo finished it out with no more runs.

Of course, our batters still aren't doing very well. Just like yesterday. Doesn't matter that our starter melted down because we weren't going to beat the opposing pitcher anyway. Even though Yankee Stadium APPARENTLY is generous to the long ball. Doesn't make a difference to the once-first-but-now-12th home-run hitting team. The Yankees, on the other hand, had fun showing Tomlin what they could do (3 times!)

We actually did almost mount a comeback in the 8th. Lonnie singled, Choo doubled and they took out their starter. The first 2 hits went towards Nick Swisher in right, and so did the next 3. He wisened up and caught the last 3, leaving us with just a sac fly RBI.

Choo ended up going 2 for 4, the only guy with a multi-hit game. Brantley is back on the hitting horse again, going 1 for 3 with NO STRIKEOUTS! Johnny Damon got on base once. No one else did anything.

So yeah, whatever - the Indians went to New York and the Yankees teed off on our pitcher, their fielders caught all of our stuff, and their pitcher seriously out-pitched our team. I suppose that's the general, 100-plus-year-m.o. of the Yankees, but not the 2012 Yankees. What really happened was that our started had a melt down and our hitters can't hit.

Oh well, there's more baseball tomorrow. Maybe someone will go nuts in the clubhouse tonight and light a fire under these guys. But probably not. They're probably going to do New-Yorky things like shoe shopping and carriage rides in Central Park. Or get distracted by the MLB Fan Cave.

See you tomorrow, 7:05 for more of the game you love.

Radio Chatter:
"Nobody's talking about Jeter making a position switch. He will play shortstop until the day he retires."
 - Tom Hamilton

"How big was the turkey? That leg is huge! The turkey must have been a former Rockette."
- Tom Hamilton on the Yankee Stadium turkey legs

"For the first time in a long time the Indians are getting good relief work from somebody not named Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano or Chris Perez."
- Tom Hamilton on Scott Barnes

"The way Kuroda is pitching, it seems like even 0-2 would be a huge deficit."
- Tom Hamilton

"If Teixeira didn't get hit on the right hand, he's a real thespian. Then again, this is Broadway."
- Tom Hamilton

"If you're down 7-0 you'd better be able to walk in to second."
- Tom Hamilton on Chisenhall's long single

"It's Chris Perez times 10 in terms of energy."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Nick Swisher

"At one time he could throw in the mid-90s. He still can, he just needs to be 40 feet from the plate to do so."
- Tom Hamilton Freddie Garcia

OMG ASDRUBAL!!!

Hold on, gotta peel myself off the ceiling.

"He come with a fastball and I hit the ball hard." Fuck yeah you did, Asdrubal!

[Tape rewinding]

Man, what a SNOOZER today! At least compared to yesterday. Tim Belcher (filling in on the radio) was at least impressed. The most exciting parts of the game pretty much happened in the field. Our defense was pretty rock solid tonight.

Helping out the defense tonight was the rock-solid Tomlin. I shook his hand yesterday, you know. The one he uses to throw them strikes. He had THE POWER today! He went 6 2/3 only giving up 1 run. That's 1 run to this Reds team that has scored 33 runs off our pitchers in the last 4 games against Cleveland. NOT BAD, JOSH TOMLIN! And he only had to strike out 2! He also only walked 2. He held Votto and Phillips to 1 hit each. He tamed the beast!!

He also left the bases loaded in the 7th, but Esmil Rogers came in and threw 98 MPH balls at Mesoraco until he was out.

We were treated to Pestano and Perez for the 8th and 9th, which means the Reds didn't score any. But neither did the Indians so we had to go to 10.

Smith got some guys on base, and Hagadone - who is not awesome anymore right now - threw one in the dirt, and one of Smith's guys scored. They left it at 2-1 Reds.

Check out what I saw while I was on the indians.com schedule page, counting Reds' runs just now:

I think Aroldis Chapman's mom works in the scoring department

Anyway that's not how it ended. As you may have noted, we actually won 3-2 in the 10th. You know who got the win? Hagadone. LULZ.

Choo went 3 for 4 tonight! None of those hits were leadoff homers but you know he got a double, yes he did! And a walk and a run, naturally. He's got 6 hits in his last 3 games! He's also doing the good defense thing.

Asdrubal overcame his bad defensive Sunday and his bad offensive Monday and WON THE FUCKING GAME TODAY!!! OMG!!! Here I'll let Matt Underwood tell you. The guy he hit it off had a 1.06 ERA and he'd only given up 1 other homer this year. To Lopez last week! HAHA! Today a 2-run walkoff homer for Asdrubal! WAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Oh man, ok, there were other guys playing the game today. Ahem. Yeah so Kipnis was shut down again (why does he tease us so?) but he's really turning in to a great second-baseman! Here's an interview with him on the MLB Network. He's got a cool shirt on it says "I play for the American League. We will win." I think he sounds dorkier than a Jason Kipnis should sound. Cool dork!

Santana didn't multi-hit today. He didn't even walk. BUT once again he was in the middle of thing happening, and he's the one who scored the run that tied the game. He was on base with a double! Getting more reliable for sure, but we still really need multi-hit games from him. We know you can do it!

Brantley is on to a 3-game hitting streak now. Are you following? He went 1 for 4 today. He also did this amazing shit in the outfield. Grady who?!?! I am not going to point out the huge difference between yesterday's left fielder and this amazing player.

Kotchman didn't get a homer today. Bummer, right? But he went 2 for 3! And of course he was smokin' at first base. I think every game now he's saving a run for us. And tonight he was the one hitting the run in!

Supermanahan went 1 for 4 tonight, and like everyone else he was dynamite on the field. Ok he had an error. But he also had a double play and a couple put outs!

Really the entire team was fantastic today. I had highlights for almost everyone! Shelley Duncan started in left because the old man is injured. Neither Dunc nor Cunningham did anything at the plate today but they kept left field from being taken over by flies and they didn't embarrass the team one bit. So I say that's much improved over the last two games!

Not sure how the Reds got away without hearing from Lonnie at DH but they did. Don't worry, he's got their number for next time.

Man I can't believe there was a walkoff win tonight. And it was my guy Asdrubal. And it was against Chapman, the closer a 10-year-old had just warned me about. Perfect ending to a fairly crummy day!

Sorry I didn't get any Radio Chatter. Tim Belcher was not as "on" tonight as he was last night. I'm guessing he was too busy admiring the pitching today (as opposed to last night where he was basically cringing the whole time.) He did drop a nugget that his nickname for Cousin Michael is "Favorite Player." He wasn't being cheeky, he actually calls Brantley that, whether or not he IS his favorite player.

Speaking of radio, all the fans at the Tom Hamilton Has The Best Home Run Call In All of Baseball agree that Jim Rosenhaus's call of the walkoff should be posted. I'd say it was Rosie's best yet. Of course it won't make it on the audio promos like Hammy's call of Santana's walkoff grand slam last year...but it was good. I hope it gets posted!

EDIT: Here you go!

One more against these Reds tomorrow at 7:05 and we're done with them until next year. Maybe by then Votto will be hurt and Phillips will be bad. Nuyk nyuk.

By the way, we're killing the Battle of Ohio. Way on top now!

See you there!

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!

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

Tribe 1, Champs 0

What a fun game tonight! I don't know why but that was the best game I've seen on TV in a while. Maybe because most of the TV games are crappy Sunday games which we lose. Or because Busch Stadium is a really nice stadium and I totally fell in love with the arch in the outfield last October. And then the real Arch in the distance. Maybe it's because I finally got to see the Perez Progressive commercial (which, I am told, gets a lot of air time on cable.) Perhaps too it was that I got to see the new Chisen-mustache that I'd only heard about. Here's a picture of it:

Lonnie Chisenhall as The Beatles. George is sporting a Tomlin Plus.

I'm pretty sure the main reason I enjoyed today's game so much was that the team hit well, scored runs and Tomlin pitched like a sonofagun!

Would you believe if I told you Tomlin (and his facial hair) only struck out 1 tonight? In the 7 innings he pitched he did only strike out one. He actually gave up 8 hits too! But you'll have that against the best-hitting team (average and hits) in the NL. They only got 1 extra base off him, and one walk. He was in the groove tonight. With how fast him and Westbrook were pitching I was expecting the game to be over by 9 PM. And you know what? He only threw 76 pitches. I'm guessing they were all quality.

The bullpen was a treat again tonight! Smith gave up two hits to Molina and Craig but those dudes are hitting waaaaaay over .300. Remember that guy Freese who hit all of those homers in last year's post-season? Struck him out. Struck out Matt Holiday, too. Hagadone didn't give up any hits and struck out one, while Perez warmed up in the 'pen for no real reason than to let people know that he's returned, suckers.

Choo wasn't hitting tonight but he was leggin' it out there in the field. There's a lot of ground to cover out there!

Asdrubal and Kipnis picked up the slack by both going 2 for 5 tonight and both coming around to score. Kipnis got an RBI, too. That's two multi-hit games in a row for Kipnis and a 10-game hitting streak for Asdrubal! Once again, dazzling in the field too. Don't forget to vote for them to be in the All Star Game!

Kipnis hit himself in the knee/shin area with a foul ball early in the game. Made me sick - that's just about what happened to the 4-6-week Hafner. Hafner also finished his game like Kipnis did tonight. Kipnis is the LAST guy we need to lose, holy smokes...

Santana didn't disappoint today, going 1 for 4 with a RBI double. He also hit one that was a hit except for the awesome play on the other end. And he walked which they say "is a good sign" that he is on his way back. And he didn't strike out once!

Michael Brantley stretched his streak to 16 today :) :) Not only that but he got his first hit early and then got ANOTHER hit to go 2 for 4! WITH an RBI and a run. Here's a weird thing, tho - he struck out twice. And he struck out twice yesterday. Trying too hard? Maybe. Someone send him a memo to chill out. You know - be smooth.

Johnny Damon was a useful member of the team today and got a 2-run homer.

Kotchman was crazy good in the field today, as usual. And he proved himself reliable at the plate going 1 for 4, which is near what his .222 average lead you to expect. So, above-average hitting by Kotchman today - with a bonus RBI!

Lonnie Chisenhall was not Chisenhall-esque exciting today - no homers, no stolen bases - but he was Kotchmen-esque exciting also going 1 for 4, just like Casey. Unlike Casey, that is slightly under average for him.

Josh Tomlin! Yeah, not only did he pitch 7 but he also got himself a RBI single, stinging one to right field just like the "professional hitters" before him! What's not to like about Tomlin's performance tonight?!

Guess what - the game is on FOX tomorrow so I get to watch AGAIN! Happy days! Normally I love the radio and in fact I listen to the radio during TV broadcasts anyway. But the arches....and Tom Hamilton is away for the weekend so I'm happy having the TV for the missing color.

Tom's away because he's in Eugene, Oregon watching the Golden Flashes play in the NCAA baseball semi-finals. His son, Nick, is the team's DH. If you haven't already, read these articles about Nick Hamilton from The Plain Dealer and The Akron Beacon Journal. Amazing kid with an amazing family. If you are a fan of Hammy's - and if you read this blog I'm pretty sure you are - then you're going to be one huge fan of Nick's. I can't wait to see that kid in a Tribe uniform! What a great attitude!

Anyway, I'll stop gushing. Tomorrow night is another one against the 2011 World Champions of Baseball, in their beautiful arch-y stadium. And bonus for all of us without cable - it's on FOX! Two nights in a row! Nobody better call me to tell me they ripped out their bathroom and need a hand (that's what happened last time I meant to chill and watch a game on a Saturday night.)

I will see you there - and that's a promise!

Radio Chatter:

"I'd assumed the Indians retired my number when I left, but Tomlin's out there wearing it."

- Scott Bailes

"There's a league rule that there has to be 2 minutes 30 seconds between innings. Westbrook hates that rule. He is ready at a minute and a half and has to wait around"

- Jim Rosenhaus

"He's got a shutout going... I bet he's more proud of that [RBI single]."

- Jim Rosenhaus on Josh Tomlin's hit

"The Cardinals, maybe they used up all their runs last night."

- Jim Rosenhaus on the Cardinals' 14-run game

Aw, Naw...

A heartbreaker tonight. Scratched and clawed our way back from a 4-0 deficit only to lose it later on. From home runs. By the worst home-run-hitting team in the AL. Sigh.

Was it me or did it seem like the Twins had pretty awesome defense tonight? It felt like there was a lot of "robbing" going on. Of course I refer to Ben Revere but even before that there were some gems. On our side, too. Listening to the game made me think "ooh, wish I'd seen that on TV..." a lot.

I didn't see it on TV, even though it was on FOX. It's cool tho, I was at Brasa stuffing myself with meats then at the Ohio Theater to see the All-City Musical put on by the best of the best from Cleveland schools. Footloose. It was a crummy, crummy musical written from a crummy movie, but the kids were great. I mean really, they had so much fun and were very talented, so A+ to them! Eric Carmen was there of course because he wrote "Almost Paradise" for the movie and he is from Cleveland. He also went on stage and I wondered "who is that creepy old lady?" but then I saw him in the lobby afterwards and put two and two together.

Anyway so I was all pumped for this game and then got in the car to go home after the musical and found out we'd lost so I was sad. I did listen to the whole thing, though, so here we go.

Tomlin, who has thus far given up a predictable 4 runs most games, now has an ERA of over 5 runs so that is what he gave up today in 6 innings. Ten hits, good gravy! He woulda been ok if he hadn't given up that last hit, a homer in the 6th. Tipped him over to 5-run side of the 5 ERA. He only struck out 3 which is on the low side for him.

The game was lost by the time Sipp came in, and you know he lost it some more. Two hits, two earned runs - a big homer for f'n Joe Mauer. So there was that. After him was Joe Smith, who had an "up" day (no hits, no runs) and our new favorite Scott Barnes who has kept his 0.00 ERA over two games now. Hurrah!

Our guys had a lot of strikeouts tonight. Eight total, Choo with two. I hadn't noticed this at all since he became out awesome leadoff guy, but he's got a 6-game strikeout streak going, with 10 strikeouts in those 6 games! It just never occurred to me that he was racking up the K's but there you have it. I guess I was blinded by him racking up the hits too, although tonight he was just 1 for 5. He did turn that hit into a run, though!

Kipnis is still going gonzo, again with the multi-hit game going 2 for 5 tonight. Yes he stole a base and he even helped turn two double plays! He didn't get any extra bases and in fact nobody did.

Asdrubal tried to get a double but it didn't happen. He got a long RBI single in the 3rd then tried to hoof it over to second to no avail. Looks like the team has been really trying to ramp up their running game lately and it's working out only about half of the time. I don't know that it worked out for them at all tonight but in other games it has. I guess if we can't even be near the top of the league in any extra-bases category, we can lead the league in stolen bases. Did you know we lead the league in stolen bases? We do. We still lead the league in walks too in case you forgot.

Boston is at the bottom of the stolen bases list with 17 to our 46 because they are very old. And fat. HAHAHA!

Jose Lopez was representin' at DH again today. Remember when I said I was happy with Hafner's performance even though he was just walking and getting singles? Because he was on base LIKE A BOSS! Well, Lopez is sort of settling into that groove now. He's got a 6-game hitting streak and tonight went 1 for 3 with a walk.  Hafner's OBP was still .380 when he left (albeit dwindling) and Lopez is merely .305 but he's working his way up there. He's got 4-6 weeks to try.

Holla at your boy Michael Brantley! He's got an 11-game hitting streak! He went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI, giving him 10 RBI in his last 10 games, making him 2nd on the team (but dayum, still 10 behind TheJK_Kid). How do you like the top 5 in our lineup? They have a combined average of .277. That is pretty nice right there... Asdrubal is sort of sliding away from .300 but Kipnis and Brantley are keeping the dream alive!

Kotchman was "red hot" for a bit there but he's cooled way off. He hasn't hit in his last two games. He's still hitting better than Damon, who continues to play left field for the Indians.

Speaking of the .300 dream, how about Lonnie Chisenhall? Oh my Maude is he bringing the excitement or what?! Dude went 1 for 4 today and of course he stole a base because Kipnis stole a base. He almost had a 2 for 4 night had Ben Revere not done those acrobatics in the 9th. One of those "We know you've got the stuff, kid" sort of plays. I look forward to seeing what he'll do next, every game! (Lonnie, not Revere. I would not mind if it Revere stayed on the ground from now on.)

Good ol' mortar mouth Lou Marson was back in tonight and he continued his 4-game hitting streak going 1 for 3. Yes he's only hitting .175 but that makes his "streak" especially good. They brought Shelley in to pinch hit for Lou in the 9th and he got a single, which is one more hit than Damon got so why are we not replacing him? Blargh.

There were 25.5k folks out there tonight! That's pretty cool! Good job filling up 2/3 of the stadium for national television! Sunday is your last chance to see them in town until the 15th. It's also Carlos Baerga's mustache bobblehead day and "kids fun day" and a weirdo 3:05 game so hopefully there will be a nice crowd on hand to see the guys take the series. I feel a Vinne and Rage afternoon coming on so you're in for a treat if you go!

Ok the game is now in 12 hours, I gotta go to bed. See you there!

Oh yeah - congrats to the Golden Flashes for taking care of Kentucky in round 1 and Purdue on round 3. They're now on to the regional final in Indiana on Sunday. Which means no Tom Hamilton for us but could mean a trip to the College World Series for them. Go Flashes!!

Radio Chatter:
"Shin-soo Choo saying 'do not do that to me, do not take that big turn of I will throw it right behind you.'"
- Mike Hegan on Choo's attempted throw-out of Span

"Kipnis was sliding in to second when the ball was halfway to home plate!"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Kipnis' stolen base

"The official scorer and I agree. After further review, the play does not stand."
- Mike Hegan agrees with the reversal of a play to give Kipnis a base hit

"He's made that full mental change to leadoff hitter. I think Manny would rather see him hit the ball out of here with 2 outs."
- Mike Hegan on Choo