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...
I think I mentioned on Tuesday that I was a little bummed that the game was so short (2.5 hrs), so I got my comeuppance today with an extra 3 innings and an extra 90 minutes. And a win! And a walkoff! And Asdrubal! And a sweep!
Quick recap:
+ 5th #WalkOff
+ 3rd series sweep
+ 6 straight
+ 9 straight @ home
+ At .500 for 1st time since 4/24
+ 3.5 GB of DET
Right?! Also don't forget we swept the Red Sox who are just a bunch of stupid rich dummies and their fans are all morons. Especially the ones from Cleveland. Harumph!
Eleven more hits for the team today, and 14 more strikeouts!! You know who the worst pitcher of the game was? Corey Kluber! And he wasn't really all that bad - he didn't give up any runs until the 6th when he gave up a 2-run homer to Ortiz. Everyone gives up 2-run homers to Ortiz, all the time. He didn't make it out of the 7th, though, when he gave up 2 more runs on a little small ball by Boston. Hey, he's human. It was late and wet!
The relievers cruised through 5 more innings, giving up just 2 hits and striking out 10! Nick Hagadone was back for 2/3 of an inning to face Ortiz. No prob! He got Poopi to ground out and then the next guy struck out. Nice, Nick! Cody Allen didn't have to pitch, finally. Bryan Shaw struck out 2 in the 10th. And you know who got the win? Carlos Carrasco! He threw both the 11th AND the 12th, with 4 strikeouts! Secret late-inning long reliever!
Also, John Axford pitched 2 outs, getting 2 strikeouts. But in the middle of the game. Nice.
It took Michael Bourn for-ever to get a hit, but he doesn't not hit anymore so he got his in the 12th inning to continue his hitting streak at 8. Whew!
Asdrubal had a night tonight!! Back up the upswing! He got a single in the first, stole second and then came around to score the first run. Then he had a bit of a lull for 10 innings, but in the 12th there was THIS!!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!
Brantley (.308) had some kind of night tonight, going 3 for 5 with an RBI and run scored. Two! Hitting streak at two! Also, he is an amazing outfielder.
Jason Kipnis went 1 for 4 with an RBI single, plus a walk and a run scored. He also did this fancy-pants play in which he totally impressed himself - and us!
Lonnie Chisenhall switched up his game today and got a bunt single. Then he successfully bunted again later. The first bunt, at least, led to a run in the next at-bat! No stats for moxy, I'm afraid.
David Murphy got dat run doe! In fact he got 2 runs on his single after Chiz's bunt single. Made it work out for the kid - what a good guy!
Man, Jason Giambi had a double with a head-first slide. And there's no video of it!! Unfortunately when that happens, no more Jason Giambi. For the game, at least - I hope he didn't hurt himself too!
Mike Aviles went 1 for 5, with his hit coming in the 12th. He scored the winning run!
Everyone is very very lucky to have a day off tomorrow, from the players down to the fans. And especially John Adams who must be exhausted after this homestand! He said on Twitter that his day started at 3 AM and might as well end at 3 AM. That guy is the BEST!!
Friday we're back to business at 8:05 in Texas against Choo and the Rangers. The pitching will be a little tricky with Bauer versus RHP 2.08 but you never know what can happen. I'm not nervous - cuz I know Trevor Bauer isn't nervous.
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"Jhonny Peralta was doing really well for Detroit until he got caught taking the wrong vitamin."
- Tom Hamilton
"Ortiz is just now getting to home plate, and going through his usual histrionics."
- Tom Hamilton
"That's Padre baseball...catch the fever!"
- Tom Hamilton on the Padres winning a game with one hit
"The more beers you had, the more you thought you were good at everything."
- Tom Hamilton on whether or not he was good at dancing the hustle
"Late in games, walks are mortal sins."
- Tom Hamilton
"The fans that didn't have 33 dollar dogs are on their feet."
- Tom Hamilton
"Ross is going to have to hit a home run to get Ortiz in from first. Not a triple."
- Tom Hamilton
"Forget the weather. It's dark out, it'll be sunny in the morning and it'll be warmer tomorrow than it is right now."
- Tom Hamilton gives the weather report
There it is! Good starting, good relieving, good hitting! It's all in place today, boys!
TJ House was our man this evening, in his second start. He alllllmost went 6 innings but for David Ortiz. Nice move by Francona to bring in Zep for the tired kid. House struck out 4 in his 5 2/3 inning. He did give up 6 hits and 4 walks, but it only ended up counting for 2 runs. TJ House is good at his job. We need pitches, innings, a warm body, someone with the guts to go up there and do it. Maybe he's not a 7-inning guy (yet) but he's getting the job done as described!
Scott Atchison had a lousy outing. He gave up the tying run on 2 hits and a walk. I don't feel like giving too much shit to our bullpen anymore, though. They all seem like they all pitch every day.
Atchison only lasted 1/3 so we got...Nick Hagadone! Hey bro! He ended up pitching 1 1/3 innings and 3 of his 4 outs were strikeouts! He had a pretty consistent low-90s speed and the super slow slider. Looked good to me!
Cody Allen was the lynchpin here. The Tribe was only up by 2 when he took the ball in the 8th, and they had him come back out for the 9th, instead of, say, John Axford. Even though Allen has worked 5 times in the last 7 days. Wooh, they got some confidence in him! He had to face Ortiz! But Allen handled it in awesome fashion and not only got Ortiz but he had a 1-2-3 inning, once again getting Grady Sizemore for the final out!
The offense was back to double-digit hits today. Once again, low on the extra-base hits but they did get 10 singles and a double!
The first inning saw them get 5 hits in a row and score 3 times! Talk about momentum! Ryan Raburn was half of the momentum killer when he GIDP...but at least he knocked a run in. He ended up with no hits all night. Woe is Raburn!
The only way to describe Michael Bourn right now is ON FIRE!!! Today he was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI - the two winning RBI on a double - and he came in to score a run. He's batting .299 now, with 14 hits in his last 10 games. He's just amazingly reliable right now. I checked his stats and he was actually hitting like this at this time last year. I think we're all impressed anew!
Asdrubal was a boring 1 for 4. But, hey - his one was for an RBI so that's pretty great. Happy to see him not be that first inning rally killer!
Michael Brantley (.301) had an RBI single in the first inning to lead off the scoring, and came around to score as well. Starting a new hitting streak at 1!
Kipnis had a nice night, still batting 4th. He went 2 for 4, and while he didn't make it in to score on that first inning (or on his other hit) he did steal another base. Nobody's really running away (ha!) with the stolen bases this year, so Aviles and Kipnis are tied for 2nd with 6 and Brantley is in the lead with 8.
Lonnie Chisenhall...
...did about the same thing he did last night, which is bloop a single into left with the bases loaded for an RBI. Like it's scripted! He ended up going 2 for 4. Jordan Bastian said on Twitter tonight that Lonnie is 26 plate appearances away from qualifying (erm...which may string out as more games are played because you need 3.1 per game). That is going to take forever! LONNIE EVERY DAY!
David Murphy has a 7-game hitting streak! With 9 hits in those 7 games. Today he was 1 for 3, but didn't get an RBI or a run. Still, a nice guy.
Gomes has been up and down like Asdrubal is. Today he was up and went 2 for 4, with a run scored.
Mike Aviles had a bad sac bunt that ended up getting the runner out at third, instead of him out at first. Luckilly it wasn't both? He then came around to score. That was about it for him tonight.
Boy, do I love beating the Red Sox! Almost as much as beating the Tigers! It's because there's so many dorks cheering for the Sox at games at Progressive Field. Well, suck it, dorks! We've won the series and are gunning for the sweep!
Tomorrow is another 7:05 game, with Corey Kluber taking on WHO FRIGGIN CARES?! Yeah, it'll be awesome. Another RHP really, so look out.
It's JOHNNY MANZIEL day, everyone. AND Dollar Dogs! So much sausage!
Sorry no Radio Chatter tonight. Just one of those nights.
The game was on TV today! Very cool - and this time, for the first time in a long time, nobody stole my attention at all during the game. I saw it all!
Man, watching baseball on TV gives me the munchies, though. I had a bunch of snacks, and I don't even have snack food here! Did anyone else watch with the radio on? The synching was fantastic! Previously it's been double-digit seconds different. Tonight it was maybe 1 second off. Fun!
Speaking of fun, I was having a little fun with the #HeyGirlGrady meme on Twitter tonight. Found a bunch of new followers so that's cool. Check it out, see what Grady had to say!
After declaring last night that our hitting needed to be back up to par today because Justin Masterson wasn't going to take the team very far without giving up some runs, I am TOTALLY gonna eat my hat! After a shaky start in the first inning, he slammed the door shut on the Red Sox with bases loaded and did not look back from there. It was a thing of beauty to see! By the 6th inning I was lamenting that at some point, this game had to be over! And Justin would have to sit down! But for those 7 innings it was just a sight to behold!
At one point, he threw 25 straight strikes. Swinging strikes, looking strikes, foul ball strikes. Total legit strikes too, all of them. During that time, he threw a 9-pitch, 3-strikeout perfect inning- An Immaculate inning! He is the 27th American League pitcher to do so...oddly enough, the second one already this year.
He was followed in the 8th by the only guy worthy to follow that performance, who is Bryan Shaw. But Shaw is totally over-worked and not himself so he gave up a 2-run dinger. Dangit! But the Tribe had already scored 3 at this point so it was still ok. Zep got Big Papi to fly out for the third out, and that was that.
Cody Allen - who has red hair, or at least a red beard, and I did not know this - was there for the save at the end. He got them 1-2-3, with Grady Sizemore as the last out. This will make a few of you feel really old:
Allen, on Sizemore's out in 9th: "I was a kid when he was here at his peak. ... To be able to get him out for the 27th out was pretty cool."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 3, 2014
On the offensive side, Michael Bourn is still RED HOT! Today he was 2 for 3 with his 5th triple! He also walked and stole a base, and came in to score twice. I saw someone else on Twitter today saying that they were also getting over Nyjer Morgan. Too bad - he was quite a personality. But Bourn is all over the place now too, they like to interview him and stuff. Also, tomorrow is his bobblehead day so - good thing his hamstring is all healed!
Asdrubal was on the downward end of his current progression, with a strikeout in the first. But then he started shooting upwards when he got a nice RBI single in the 3rd to score Bourn after that triple. He also took part in 2 double plays.
Brantley (.302) went 0 for 3 today with a walk and it made me very sad. I mean...we won, great pitching, some great hits. But no Brantley. Sigh.
Kipnis got a hit, though! They are few and far between yet. He then went on to steal second by getting his hand around the glove. Nice!
Lonnie Baseball was the big winner today. Surprised?? Yeah he totally got a bloop single in to left field with men on 2nd and 3rd. So it was a 2-run bloop single. HE CAN DO NO WROOOOOOONG!!!
Giambi and Gomes were shut out. Mike Aviles was almost shut out but he got on with a fielder's choice, then stole second, then the Red Sox appealed the call and it was upheld. But then the next play was an out.
David Murphy tried with all his might to get more runs for the Tribe - he got 3 hits in 3 at-bats. But no one around him took notice, and no runs were scored.
So really, not to impressive at the plate today but in a twist of fate all of the magic was on the mound!
Tomorrow is Michael Bourn Bobblehead day and it'll be another 7:05 start. It'll be our new friend TJ House versus RHP 4.50. Yes! Bring it on!
Hope the weather is nice and you're all there!
Radio Chatter:
"You can have a lot of energy but if you're hitting 180 people tell you 'shut up!'"
- Tom Hamilton on Mike Availed and his energy (and putting it to good use)
"John Lackey is one of those guys who probably would not be a very good poker player."
- Tom Hamilton
"The Indians are like 'you wanna bunt? Go ahead big guy.'"
- Tom Hamilton on David Ortiz in the 9th
So, did anyone see this coming? In February, in April, yesterday? Did anyone think our weak spot would end up being the bullpen? Specifically Pestano, Perez and Smith? No WAY did you think that!
Granted it's just a very temporary weak spot...and it seems those fellas - at least Pestano and Perez - have some sort of physical weak spots in their arms.
Seriously, though - four runs in the 9th? I'll be a monkey's uncle.
Today I was out all day at a friend's for a cookout. When I left the Tribe was up 2-0 and they looked like they really had a handle on it already. They were hitting and running, and getting Lester to pitch a ton of pitches. The Red Sox outfield was all out of sorts. By later in the afternoon, someone told me the score was 4-1. I was confident!
I got home and checked my email and saw the postgame alert from Indians.com and...5-6? WAT? And then my hard drive died. Serious.
Even though I saw that ugly score, I still listened to the game in full on my laptop while I repaired (rebuilt) my computer. I'm very happy to say that by the end of the game I am about 75% back to where I was yesterday, computer-wise. The computer got better as the game got worse. I think I may have seriously broken something (a screen, a hand, drywall, etc) had the computer project fallen apart in the 9th inning just like Chris Perez. As it stands, though, I am feeling pretty good. Chris Perez can figure his own self out.
Rolling it all back to the beginning of the game...
Corey Kluber pitched a good one. A quality start plus! He went 6 2/3 innings only giving up one run and striking out TEN! That's Justin Masterson (the ground-ball pitcher) numbers! He only walked one and gave up 3 hits - none of them home runs. It's GREAT to see him doing so well consistently - that's 3 quality starts in a row after a horrendous start in Detroit earlier in the month. Not only that but he's improving over his last 2 starts. Go Kluber!
Rich Hill came in to face one guy and walked him, then they put in Cody Allen. Allen got out of the 7th, then came in the 8th to give up a triple and a sac fly, but then finished up all right.
Then was the 9th inning that we're not going to talk about. I will submit this, from the front page of Indians.com:
Ugh.
Our offense really seemed to have it going on today - scoring in 4 innings, hitting some homers, stealing bases, working the pitch count, making the Red Sox defense look as sloppy as ours was yesterday. Unfortunately not everyone hit today - the good stuff was top-heavy - but they looked good enough as I like to see them on a Sunday afternoon.
I really like Michael Bourn, I think he hits like Choo and runs like Kenny. But how come no one (Tom Hamilton) seems to point out that he argues with the ump a lot like Kenny did, too? It's funny because they were bustin' on Kipnis for arguing with the umps today but Bourn does it every other at-bat (when he's not getting a hit) and they don't say anything. Maybe he's always right? Weird.
Anyway Bourn went 1 for 3 with a walk. He stole a base but also got caught stealing. I don't mind if he gets caught if it means he's starting to move it out there! I want steals every day! Looks like he is going at it more for real, though. As for hits he's got 15 hits in his last 10 games. Wow!
Kipnis had a day off yesterday and today he was apparently rarin' to go! He went 2 for 4 with a double and a homer, an RBI and 3 runs scored! He had multi-hit games 5 games in a row a few weeks ago. Then he hasn't had but 1 hit in his 5 previous games. Today - BAM! It'd be pretty swell if he kept this up for 5 games in a row, then.
Asdrubal went 1 for 4 and he's got a 6-game hitting streak going. He's also got 15 hits in his last 10 games, just like Bourn. Fun fact: He was the DH today! I thought that was pretty interesting. Hella more awesome than Jason Giambi being in there!
Nick Swisher is still on his post-paternity kick! First it was a good play, then the next day he went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Today, his third day back, he went 2 for 4 but it included a home run and 2 RBI! I guess it's easier to play baseball when you're not worried that you might have to up and leave. Instead you can rest assured that your wife and kid are being taken care of by a qualified nanny and personal assistant. But whatever works!
Mark Reynolds didn't hit today, but he did tell the trainer to come see what was up with Perez after Perez winced on his last pitch. Beards takin' care of beards, yo.
Santana got a huge 2-RBI single in the first inning today. Unfortunately he ran us out of the inning instead of staying put at first but hey - at at least the kid is still getting on base...
That is it for hitting today! Like I said, very top-heavy.
I am going to give a shout out to Michael Brantley, who didn't hit today ("only" 12 hits in his last 10 games) but he did have an outfield assist, which I love!
Tomorrow we've got the Reds in Cincinnati. Oh man it's gonna be a rough afternoon...maybe playing so poorly in Boston will get the team fired up to be awesome in Cincy? I don't know, that sounds like something this current team would do.
It's a 1:10 PM game, Ubaldo versus RHP 3.25. I don't know what to think of it actually, other then by the time the game is done my computer will be back up running 100% like I never skipped a beat!
So...see you there! Also, thank a veteran today. Even if it's the day we remember the people that lost their lives, either to war or not to war, a lot of the people who are still with us have it rough today. Remember them, too.
Radio Chatter:
"You don't get to walk on this ground and experience a religious feeling without feeling a heavy debt on the credit card."
- Tom Hamilton on people visiting Fenway
"You are like the Kennedys with your relations."
- Tom Hamilton on Jim Rosenhaus's wide-reaching family
"Some of the Red Sox hitters need a giant-sized pacifier when they come to the plate."
- Tom Hamilton
"Mike Napoli just looked in to the clubhouse and said 'Can somebody get me a pair of those cloudy-day sunglasses?'"
- Tom Hamilton after Napoli lost a ball in the clouds
"Most kids in Boston don't have any idea who Neil Diamond is. Then you say 'Remember the guy from the 8th inning? That's the guy.'"
- Tom Hamilton
"Anybody that's a baseball fan knows 5-1 isn't the end of the game at Fenway Park."
- Tom Hamilton predicts the fate of the game
"Oh I didn't realize that was David Ortiz's brother, the official scorer."
- Tom Hamilton doesn't agree with Ortiz getting a stolen base
It's one thing to lose in a blowout the day after serving up a blowout. It's a whole other ball of wax when you lose a game after leading for most of the game. And super hella disappointing when the game is given up by one of the team's best personalities and an up-to-then rock-solid setup guy.
But, that how baseball go.
Scott Kazmir was the starter for the Tribe and I don't think he looked that bad. Not as bad as Tom Hamilton would make him out to be! True, he only went 5 innings but he struck out 6 and only gave up 2 earned runs. What else do you want? It took him 107 pitches to get through those 5 innings but that's a function of the other team too.
Bryan Shaw came in for an inning and it's hard to say if he was on it or not. His ERA was 1.54 when he came in. He gave up a single, and then a guy reached on a throwing error. Then he intentionally walked Elsbury, which I'm sure was a good move but that put a guy on third with no outs. Gomes, J, put up a pop fly that allowed a run to score. That was the end of it, though, so that's good. But it was a bad day for relievers to be giving up runs.
Then it was Joe Smith, who continues to be your daddy. He struck out two, and while he did walk one, he was the only of our pitchers today who didn't give up a hit. Go Joe!
Then comes Vinnie. Vinnie didn't do too well. He did not well at all. Let's not talk about it.
None of our pitchers gave up a homer!
Of course, neither did any of the Red Sox pitchers. But we did eke out 3 doubles and Asdrubal had a red-letter day!
Stubbs was at leadoff today and it seems to have stunned him, as he went 0 for 3. But I did note something interesting when he was at bat - Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus were talking about how the other players give Stubbs some hassle about what a stud he is. Apparently he's got quite a body. I mention this because I actually noticed it on Friday night when I saw the game on TV, but I wasn't sure if it was just me or a real "thing." Apparently it is! Hard to tell if a guy is ripped under those polyester jerseys but with Stubbs you can just tell. Anyway they were also talking about how fast he is compared with Bourn, which I pointed out Friday too. They were imagining a foot race between the two. Apparently Stubbs would win.
Aviles was at 2nd today, giving Kipnis the day off. He went 1 for 5 and came in to score a run. Did you know he's got the fewest strikeouts per at-bats as anyone on the team? (with a significant number of at-bats) He strikes out once every 9.66 at-bats, with Brantley next at 1 in every 7.35 and Gomes 1 in every 5. Everyone else is between 3 and 4. Pretty nice, Aviles!
OMG ASDRUBAL!!! Hot hot hot this series! He went 3 for 5 today with a double, an RBI and a run scored - and 2 stolen bases! He would have had 2 runs scored but the muddy field caught him out at the plate (albeit on a close play!) This gives him a 5-game hitting streak with 9 hits over those games. And he leads the team in doubles!
Swisher is back for more good stuff after paternity leave. He went 2 for 4 also with a double, an RBI and a run scored. It's a good day when you can nearly match Asdrubal! If he's going to be turning a corner now that he's a dad - I'll take it!
Reynolds and Santana both got singles today. Santana still is getting on base like a boss (Like a boss!) but it hasn't been incredibly spectacular. Reynolds, however, has a 4-game hitting streak and is still back on track for not being disappointing, so that's cool!
Speaking of not being disappointing (ever), Cousin Michael is still blowin' em away. He went 2 for 4 today with a double. That gives him a 4-game hitting streak with 8 hits over those games, 13 hits over his last 7 games. I love it!
Michael Bourn was benched today for a day off. He pinch-hit for Raburn in the 9th and got a single, but that was the end of our hits.
Seems like the Tribe was still being their same old plucky selves, it's just their pluck wasn't enough today. Maybe it was the rain, maybe the pitching, maybe lack of time off, whatever. I'm pretty hopeful yet for Sunday's game and absolutely hopeful about the rest of the season.
I'm even hopeful about Vinnie, who is saying out loud that he's only throwing 87 MPH. Good that he admits it, so now let's address it. Get it done now before it's too late!
Tomorrow is our last game of the year against Boston. It's at 1:35, Corey Kluber versus LHP 5.61. Really great chance we'll blow 'em out tomorrow. I can feel it!
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"It's so cold here that the fans who showed up are buying bowls of chowder and putting their hands in them."
"Is that why you wouldn't shake that fan's hand earlier?"
"It was a bit slippery."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus
"This will sound a bit goofy but he is quite a specimen ."
- Tom Hamilton on Drew Stubbs
"It was like they traded away the Anti-Christ."
- Tom Hamilton on the parting of Josh Beckett
"Boy he's a good hitter. I would pay just to watch Dustin Pedroia play baseball."
- Tom Hamilton
Welp, after yesterday's trouncing of the Red Sox - in the rain - the Indians went through their own trouncing tonight. In the rain.
John Lackey - not a Cy Young Award winner - pitched 7 innings at us, only giving up 2 hits and 1 run. His buddies gave up 2 more hits but that was it on the night. Four hits for us.
Justin Masterson threw 6 innings + 1 batter and gave up 5 runs. His ERA jumped back up over 3. Perhaps he doesn't like the rain? It was weird though because his 2nd inning was bad and then he had three 1-2-3 innings in a row, and then gave up a run in the 6th and then a double in the 7th that came around to score when he was done. So parts of that outing were good but taken as a whole...it was bad.
Rich Hill didn't do anyone any favors by coming in and hitting a guy. Then he let Masterson's baserunner score, along with two of his own. And then more got on and scored. ALL ON SINGLES!! For Pete's sake, Rich Hill - that ain't right!
Matt Albers came in to save Hill from himself, only to let Hill's last two batters score. SERENITY NOW!!
Aaaaah...Vinnie Pestano for the 8th, No hits, no runs, one strikeout. Much better. Too late, of course, but much better than that wild dog and pony show of the 7th!
Asdrubal went 1 for 4, extending his little hitting streak to 4.
Nick Swisher was back today from paternity leave. And as with all returning-from-paternity-leave Indians in the past have done, he did something a little bit spectacular. Sometimes the guys have an all-around great game, sometimes they hit well, Swisher took to playing some good defense. I'm telling you - it's a thing!
Check it out:
June 6, 2013 - Albers throws a 1-2-3 inning on his return
July 7 & July 14, 2012 - Shelley Duncan 2-run homers
Mark Reynolds kept up his "back" status with a hit today. He's got a 3-game hitting streak going after a 3-game no-hit streak. He got a single, then Brantley got a single, then they double stole (Mark Reynolds!) which completely confused the Red Sox (who said "Mark Reynolds?!") and they threw the ball away allowing Reynolds to score.
Brantley is still crushing your face, tonight going 2 for 4 with a double and that stolen base. Ten hits in his last 6 games. Which I believe are 6 games since his dad visited him in the clubhouse. He must have scared something in to the boy!
That is it for today's game, though. Just those 4 hits from 3 dudes! Not sure what's up. I mean, the weather was bad but it didn't stop them last night and it didn't stop the Red Sox.
Tomorrow is I guess the rubber match, where Sunday might be uh...the extra match? We really need to win it because my friend is predicting a 1-5 road trip and to that I say NONSENSE! It'll be a 1:35 game and from what they're saying it will be raining still. Or maybe not - maybe that's why the game is re-scheduled for the afternoon? My schedule has it at 7:10. But it's definitely 1:35 now.
It'll be Kazmir versus LHP 3.15. Another guy with a name, who is known to be good, so surely we shall beat him senseless! Let's hope Kazmir is on board with all this.
I'll see you there!
Radio Chatter:
"They didn't see Noah's Ark yet so they figured they could start the game."
- Tom Hamilton
"It's always a bad sign when you come to the ballpark and see a St. Bernard wrapped up in a blanket. And his flask is empty."
- Tom Hamilton on the weather
"All I can think of is Nick Nolte and Robert DiNero in Cape Fear. Aren't we near there?"
- Tom Hamilton on the weather
You can't hold these guys down for too long, can you? After a crummy game versus Scherzer in Detroit, and then a good but losing game against Verlander, the Tribe brought Terry Francona back to the Boston and totally showed off what he can make them do.
Everybody hits today! And not just a few hits, either - we're talking 16 hits. Don't forget the 8 walks and 12 runs. Almost everyone got an RBI, even!
All of this without a single home run, too - only one of 3 times we've gotten 12 runs, 15+ hits and 8 walks since 1957. Sweet!
Zach McAllister started and at first he just looked so-so. Basically he was in line with the Red Sox starter, Ryan Dempster. Both were kind of getting worn out by the 3rd inning. It was the 3rd where McAllister gave up a 3-run homer to Big Poopi, allowing the Red Sox to get within 1 and to make the Indians' 4 runs in 3 innings look way less meaningful. But after that homer, man, McAllister was all like "no". He faced 9 more batters and got all of them out excepting one walk. He didn't end up with a quality start but he threw 96 pitches over 5 innings, so it was time to go. Also, by the 6th inning the Tribe had a 9-run lead so if there was a time to mess around with testing out bullpen arms, now was that time.
Cody Allen pitched the 6th and he was tight as heck. Two strikeouts and a popup. Guy's ERA is now 2.05!
Next was Scott Barnes, who joined the team directly from Columbus - meaning Nick Hagadone joined the Clippers directly from Detroit. Sounds good to me, man. Nick wasn't getting it done anymore. Barnes proved himself worthy tonight going 3 innings, striking out 4 and only giving up 2 hits. All of this in the rain, too. We don't get many guys going 3 innings out of the 'pen anymore, so that's pretty awesome. Save those arms, Barnes!
Tonight was only the second game I've watched on TV this season, the first being a yawner from Toronto. I tell you what was the most noticeable to me watching the game live - Michael Bourn is FAST. Not only does he break out of the box like a little point guard (backwards!) but he's also got it going on in center field. Check out this clip from tonight when he ran up on a line drive then hurled the ball back in to home to catch Jacoby Elsbury doubting him. I say that makes up for last night's outfield gaffe...at least half way - he did end up saving the pitcher one run on his ERA (due to the subsequent Ortiz homer).
Bourn went 3 for 6 at the plate with 1 run and 2 RBI! That gives him 13 hits in his last 7 games!
Kipnis wasn't having his best night, but he did get a hit. The Kid went 1 for 5 and struck out twice before being replaced by Cord Phelps (who did nothing either.)
Asdrubal was back to being a force tonight after an early retirement from last night's game. He went 2 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. He's got a tiny hitting streak going with 5 hits in his last 3 games. I think I heard mention of his son being at the game tonight (I read it on the closed captioning. I still can't not listen to the radio when there's a game one!) which I swear is a huge boost to Asdrubal! If you recall he came out of his last slump when Meyer made an appearance. Kind of sweet, I say!
Michael Brantley actually cooled off tonight, getting only one hit in 5 at-bats. He did walk once and came around to score both times he was on. He's still hitting over .300!
Carlos Santana had quite a night - and he didn't hit the ball out of the infield! His first hit was a bunt down the third base line that totally stayed foul. I'm guessing nobody expected it...not just because it was Santana but because he was the first batter in the inning! The Red Sox liked the way the ball stopped dead in the grass, so they tried the same thing later (also successfully). Santana ended up going 1 for 2 on the night, and came around to score 3 runs - because he walked 4 times! I guess the last Indian to do so was Grady Sizemore, like in 2009 or so.
Mark Reynolds is back! He saw that big expanse of Fenway Park and just wanted to drop baseballs in there. After going just 2 for 34 in his last 9 games, tonight he went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and a run! AND they were all singles! It'd be pretty great if this were the end of Reynolds' slump. Right now, today. End it!
More Gomes today! Did you know he's hitting .311? Tonight he went 1 for 4 with a huge bases-loaded double to contribute to that 6-run 6th. That is the definition of clutch! [not technically the definition of clutch] He's got 7 RBI in his last 3 games!
Mike Aviles was in there contributing today. First off he's helping fill the Chisenhall-sized hole at third base and he's getting hits where Lonnie probably isn't. Aviles went 1 for 5 today, but also got a force-out RBI. The next time he was up he got a single, stole a base then came around to score.
Speaking of fast - remember when I was speaking of that? - Drew Stubbs is a fast mofo too! I've been to a few track meets in my time (the literal use of "few") and the way Stubbs ran during his triple (buried here around :40) is the way those kids run foot races for trophies. Dude had a great night tonight, breaking an 0-for-10 skid with 2 doubles and a triple! He got 3 RBI and came in to score a run. His average is back up to exceptional-for-Stubbs range at .255.
Super-fun game today and what a great one to see on TV! Looks like the next one on broadcast won't be until June 28. I'll just have to do some more imagining.
Won't it be cool if every game is like this? I hope every game is not rained out. I guess the weather report is bleak in Boston from here on out. I thought the Pilgrims came to America to avoid the tyranny of British weather?! Note this - the Red Sox used 5 relievers tonight, in the cold and in the rain!
Tomorrow is Masterson versus RHP 3.31. No problem, right? I so look forward to seeing Masterson pitch nowadays. Don't forget he's a former Red Sox too, just like Francona. And Francona I'm sure had a ball beating his former team tonight!
Ok, sweet Caroline - we'll see you there!
Radio Chatter:
"There are no sacred cows in this ballclub."
- Tom Hamilton on the ribbing of Michael Bourn
"I tell you what folks, if you're having trouble going to sleep buy a video of Dempster pitching. It will zonk you right out."
- Tom Hamilton
"It's pretty safe to say that Yan Gomes is not going to see Columbus again
until the Indians go there on the press tour."
There were almost 13,000 people at the game tonight, which is 3,000 more than last night. I bet there were a lot of walk-ups due to the nice weather! The team is still rockin' the strikeouts - tonight striking out 11 (16, 10, 11 over 3 days). I wonder who won the $100 tonight?!
The Tribe gave it a go today and didn't let it get away from them, but it was a hard-fought battle that we never got too close to winning. Maybe at one point in the late innings but we're still very poor offense-wise, or reliability-of-offense-wise, so any time we got close to coming right back the Red Sox just kicked dirt in our faces. Again.
Zach McAllister was the starter and he went 5 innings giving up 3 earned runs. He struck out 7! I say he was pretty decent - 3 runs shouldn't be unsurmountable. But he might be falling to the place where Masterson was last year where 3 runs is too many when you have no run support.
Hagadone came in for the 6th and gave up a run. We can't be having that, with the way the team is batting. Shaw was in for the 7th and 8th and he gave up 2 un-earned runs thanks to an error by Cord Phelps. I'll give you a moment to moan about Jason Kipnis. There, there...
Chris Perez came in and he was awesome! He threw 17 pitches with 13 of them strikes! He totally did his job today that's for sure!
We only got 6 hits today but 3 of them were doubles, so that's pretty cool. We did manage to score 3.
Brantley was the leadoff again. He does not like being leadoff, dangit! He much prefers the middle of the lineup. This year his average is .318 when batting 5th and .000 when batting first (well, it's slightly off now since he did get a hit today). Last year it was .308 when batting 5th (where he was the most) and .350 when he was 6th, but only .227 when he batted leadoff (where he was the second most). SOMEONE PLEASE FORWARD THIS INFORMATION TO TERRY FRANCONA!
Ok, ok...I just looked at Stubbs' splits and he's no better batting first. Bourn is our guy. But then again Stubbs is mediocre up and down the lineup while Brantley clearly prefers the middle so that's another good argument to get him out of the top spot. Also, for those of you who read the blog in 2011, forget what I said about how much Asdrubal loves hitting after Michael and how well Michael does in the top spot. That was two World Series ago!
Asdrubal also got a hit tonight, going 1 for 4. He is not one of the dudes who got a double.
Carlos Santana is one of those guys! He's batting .405 now, and went 2 for 4 on the night. It was an RBI double giving him 6 on the season...still less than half of the leader, Mark Reynolds. So nice to have 'los back and presumably healthy.
Nick Swisher is very sad that he didn't do anything tonight and if he didn't have to go buy treats for the team's trip to Houston tomorrow, he most likely would have a press conference to apologize for his poor performance. But hey, there's always tomorrow, buddy!
Mark Reynolds was the man again tonight, getting one of those doubles going 1 for 3 with a walk. He came in to score - did you know he leads the team in runs?
Mike Aviles is keeping it up! He was in at 3rd tonight and got one of those doubles (his first) going 1 for 4 with a run scored. He's a rightie and Chiz is a lefty so I guess we'll see Aviles any time the team faces a lefty pitcher. They have given Chisenhall chances against lefties both this season and last season but he's just not ready for it yet.
Stubbs didn't get a hit today holdin' down the 9-hole but he did get an RBI ground-out so that's all right with me. He went 0 for 2 with a walk.
Tomorrow we're in the west in Texas, playing the Astros, bless their hearts. They just got swept by the A's, so that's much better than facing the Red Sox who won 4 in a row before coming here. It'll be Old Man Myers versus RHP 5.63. Oh man, I hope it's a big hit-fest. Even if it's a hit-fest on both sides, I don't care...this season is so far kind of boring. Let's stir it up!
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"They like to go deep in the count, and they are always flaberghasted when there is a strike against a Red Sox player."
- Tom Hamilton
"Right now Jarrod Saltalamachia feels that with his swing and this wind, Chagrin Falls is within reach."
- Tom Hamilton
"Victorino becomes the eighth hitter in this game to bark at [the homeplate umpire]. He's going to develop a complex before this game is over. Nobody likes him."
- Tom Hamilton
I went to the game today. I bundled up in my winter walking boots, Indians sweatshirt and Chief Wahoo fleece scarf (courtesy of Jo-Ann Fabrics at the 2011 Fan Appreciation Day game), and took OMG ASDRUBAL!!! and drove downtown in the SUN (!!) to see my first game of the year.
I must have looked super-fanish to the Fun Bunch because as soon as I got in the gate, a young lady stopped me and asked if I'd like to be the Circle K Fan of the Game. At first I said "no" because at the end of last year I got into a situation where I was in a contest involving me having to dance in front of the camera. Now, I don't care about looking stupid in front of the camera, that's no big deal. My problem was that I was bad at it and not entertaining at all, and I felt like I wasted the contest!
Anyway, the girl said all I had to do was cheer in front of the camera for 45 seconds, and if the Indians threw 8 strikeouts during the game I'd win a $100 Circle K gift card. I actually did not fully understand the gift card deal until after I agreed to do it. Once I was done with the cheering (with direction) I was like "Wait, 8 strikeouts, really?" Really! Being that they'd thrown 16 the night before and 8 before that, I knew there was a great chance I'd win.
So I did that, then I gave Mustard a high-five, which netted me a Mustard magnet (sweet!) and finally was done entering the park. It's hard to be this popular!
My friend and I went and purchased tickets for the last home game of the year. Cool, right? Then we browsed the Team Shop and bought some junk. They had Choo and Sizemore stuff for 50% off, but no sales on cold-weather wear! I got my 2013 Topps team set, and one for my friend's kid, and a heavily-discounted 2012 for my niece who's 3 and won't notice that Nick Swisher is missing.
Check out these cards, though. I think they are really stellar shots compared to the rest of the team. Exceptional baseball cards, I say.
Kipnis, Masterson, Perez and Brantley 2013 Topps.
We bought hot dogs and fresh-cut fries, which are awesome (except if you have too many and don't often eat fried food, it's heartburn city!) And then I was hit with a bombshell: No. More. Diet. Doctor. Pepper. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Man when I heard there would be $2 refills this year I immediately decided I would try to drink my weight in Diet Dr Pepper, until I realized that I could never afford that or have the time to do it. However I still meant to drink at least 64 ounces of Diet Dr Pepper per game this year. I've always loved the fact that Progressive Field is one of the few places where you can get fountain Diet Dr Pepper. Well it WAS...now, no more. Now it's just Diet Pepsi or shut up. WHAT THE HELL???
I drank 64 ounces of Diet Pepsi.
My friend and I had tickets right up against the bullpen, which is a neat place to sit IF you're not surrounded by weirdos who are begging for the bullpen crew to throw them balls. But in the two times I've sat there, that's been my experience. Both times too it was one person getting a ball then the person they're with begging for a ball the rest of the game. What? Especially bad today was the dude who was begging for a ball after his girlfriend got one (the girlfriend to whom he had to explain every facet of the game). He was begging while some little kid was standing there silently next to him. Finally one of the catchers came up and handed the little kid the ball and told the dude "I already gave your girlfriend one." HA!
I'd still sit there again, even with the weird beggars. It's neat being so close to players. We got to see a lot of Perez milling about and I had a conversation with Vinnie Pestano!
I told him we needed 2 more strikeouts as a team for me to get my $100, so please get some strikeouts if you go out. Or if not, tell your friends. He actually did have a dialog with me - he asked if I meant one pitcher or the whole team.
Joe Smith actually got me the 8th strikeout (which was sort of weird because Smith looked awful tonight for some reason but he got the K!) but when Vinnie went out he got 2 more anyway. I like to think it was from me asking! I also was joking that it would be awful if Vinnie went up with 6 strikeouts then got all choked up and gave up a bunch of hits and got NO strikeouts. But, silly me - that didn't happen!
When Smith pitched the 8th strikeout I stood up and yelped and it was eerily silent otherwise. Like everyone else had given up on the game already (it was kinda gone anyway). They put my name and hometown on the big board, and did it again at the end of the game. But they never showed my 45 second video! I am fine with that - I made a fool of myself in person, in the stands. Don't need me on the big board looking goofy. But now I'm afraid I won't get that gift card in the mail, only a blackmail letter or something. "Send us $1000 or we'll show this video to your professional circle!" Ha! Joke's on them, I don't have a professional anything!
Also, I found a Sharpie.
That was my fan experience at the ballpark today. There's always something! I'm glad my friend asked me to go because I wasn't planning on doing any games in April. Don't you know it's cold in April? But the weather was awesome and even though there were lots of boring and frustrating parts in the game, we had a lot more action than a lot of other games this year so that was fun.
Quick rundown of what happened on the field...
Masterson had a bad start but as someone on the post-game radio said "If only Ubaldo's bad starts were like this!" Indeed! He gave up 4 runs on 11 hits but also struck out 5 (yeah buddy!) and got himself out of not one but two bases-loaded jams. He also had some nice help from the guys in the field with a coupla plays at the plate. He looked pretty awful in the first but after that I'd say he was back to his previous-three-game-winning format. So, nothing to worry about here.
Corey Kluber popped back in for a visit. He pitched the 6th and gave up a run on three hits (and strikeout number 6!) He didn't look amazing but he was adequate. Rich Hill was in again and he gave up a run as well. Joe Smith...I don't know how he didn't give up any hits or runs. He did have a wild pitch. He looked crazy bad for Joe Smith but he snapped out of it and got me my 8th and final strikeout!!
Vinnie Pestano was tight and got two more strikeouts for a total of 10 on the night for the team. He shut them down hard!
Brantley was leading off tonight and he just doesn't do well there anymore. In 2011 he was the man up top but tonight he kept coming up and then letting down. And his average is going down. Oh no! I totally guessed his name right in an early-inning trivia game, though. The question was something like "Who is from Bellevue, Washington and likes to golf and fish in his spare time?" My friend was impressed at least!
I brought OMG ASDRUBAL!!! with me in hopes that today would be his breakout game but it wasn't He was up with bases loaded and two outs. It didn't happen. It was so close, boffins - like, just a few feet away from going over the wall or at least hitting it. It didn't happen. He still played well in the field, though. Well he almost had an amazing catch and that didn't happen either.
Harlem Shake break!
Carlos Santana was not at his best today either, in his second game back. He went 0 for 3 with a walk. And he got hit in the mask with a ball (or a bat?)
Nick Swisher was the big hero of the night! Not only was he in right field, throwing balls to almost every fan that asked for one, but he also had a couple sweet plays out there AND he got himself a 2-run homer! He went 2 for 4 on the night and is batting .295. He hit his homer into the bullpen. here's me reaching for it:
The red hat is me!
Everyone was disappointed because the guy who was in the bullpen and chased down the ball had to give the ball up to some dude who stuck his head in the door and asked for it. I thought it was kind of neat that Swisher (presumably) wanted his home run ball!
I kept urging Jason Giambi, tonight's DH, to please endear himself to me. He kind of did tonight by following up Swisher's home run with one of his own. But I still find it hard to care that Jason Giambi is on our team. Meh.
Now, Mark Reynolds has indeed endeared himself to me and he's a guy we can get behind! Tonight he aaaaalmost had some huge hits, but he definitely had a huge double in the third. He legged it out and the play was super close at second but I think Reynolds impressed the umpire with his moxy and gave him the bag.
Cord Phelps was in playing second and he also seems to be playing catch-up. Any day now.
The Chiz Kid over-extended himself trying to turn a long single into a double and he got caught. Drats! He did end up going 2 for 4, though, so I'm pumped about that!
Drew Stubbs was back down in the 9-hole and he did alright for himself. He went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. Sucks that the top of our lineup was shut down today! Stubbs also looked pretty good in the outfield at least once, making a big catch in the 7th. Everything else was just...well it was hit out of reach.
Whew! I think the Diet Pepsi is finally wearing off. My fire is lit once again for live baseball. I'm already making plans for the next home series! Despite the cold weather, I do kind of like it when the stadium is mostly empty. Short lines, no waiting, and I get to be the Fan of the Game!
Tomorrow is the last game of the series, and the triumphant return of our new favorite - Zach McAllister! He'll be facing LHP 1.42. This game is a good example of why I don't say opposing pitchers' names anymore. You don't need to know...you just need to know that he's left handed and the game is at 7:05.
See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"Tim Timmons must have had a conversation with Tim McClelland in the offseason and McClelland said 'Hey look, try to keep everybody guessing at the ballpark. Dont' tell 'em if it's a ball or a strike.'"
- Tom Hamilton
"The kind of guy who, when you were in kindergarten, he spent a lot of time in the corner chair looking at the wall."
- Tom Hamilton on pitcher Alfredo Aceves
"Not to be overly dramatic but this could be your entire ballgame right here."
- Tom Hamilton at the end of the second
"The Indians had Felix Doubront on the ropes all night, but he was like Muhammed Ali, he played rope-a-dope all night and stayed on his feet."
- Tom Hamilton
"Get ready for a Leslie Nielson scene coming up here if this is anywhere close."
- Tom Hamilton is amused by the calls of homeplate umpire Tim Timmons
"Mantua? How do you get Man-too-ay from m-a-n-t-u-a?"
- Tom Hamilton is new here
"For those of you who have trouble sleeping at night, get a tape of Alfredo Aceves pitching. An instant cure for insomnia."
- Tom Hamilton
"The Indians look like the Bayonne Bleeder. They're Chuck Wepner. They're bleeding from everywhere but they're still standing."
- Tom Hamilton is a fan of boxing
"Rosie's back with pepperonis from Domino's pizza all over the front of his sweater."
- Tom Hamilton, forever intrigued by Jim Rosenhaus's eating habits
I made a pledge not to talk about Ubaldo anymore in my posts, lest I lose the whole "positive" angle thing I've got going here. So the first two innings are moot.
Cody Allen had been rotting away in Columbus but he got to come up, and thank goodness he did because he was quite useful today! He did give up 3 of the other guy's runs, but his line looks clean. Three innings, four hits, no runs and SIX strikeouts! Everyone was kind of adjusting their ties and saying "we have no long relief" but it looks like Allen is willing and able to fill that role. Well, maybe not LONG relief - I guess that may have been 5 innings instead of 3? I don't even know - you ball players and your jive! But Allen had a great showing, hopefully he keeps it up.
In fact the entire bullpen was great and didn't give up any runs. They combined for 15 strikeouts! Nick Hagadone took over the 6th and 7th and was lights-out, giving him an ERA of 0.00 over two games now. Rich Hill and Bryan Shaw struck out six more to finish off the game.
Everyone is now adjusting their ties and bemoaning the "overuse" of our bullpen today, after such a long rest (??) but geez....four guys over 7 1/3 innings. What would Bob Feller say? (Oh, something you wouldn't want to repeat to your mother, that's for sure.)
But then, nothing happened.
Terry Francona pointed out that our team really fought back after the second inning debacle. And they did! They had the bases loaded with one out! Then the bases loaded with Mark Reynolds up! Terry noted that that was great, even though nothing happened.
I think we should call that The Cleveland Gut Punch.
Anyhow, we only got 6 hits today but we also got 6 walks. They were patient, they were scrappin, they almost got it done. There were also some really good plays on Boston's part *shakes fist*
Michael Bourn got a bunch of stitches in his hand. Pants! Drew Stubbs led off and he's not half bad. He's only half of Bourn tho, going 1 for 3 with 2 walks. Bourn would have gone 2 for 3, sucka! But Stubbs was on base a heck of a lot and that's all we ask. His friends never hit him in, though.
Asdrubal got a hit! It was only one hit, and he paired it with a strikeout, but hey man it's better than 2 strikeouts and no hits, right?
Kipnis is still out and I think they are just playing it safe with him. Why play Kipnis when it's Ubaldo on the mound, eh? Eh?
Santana was back today. They sent Santos down. Santana didn't come back with the same punch he left with but oh well. He went 0 for 4.
Good ol' Swisher was out there getting it done today, tho. He went 1 for 3 with a walk. No one on our team got any extra bases tonight but here's a fun fact: No one on Boston got a home run! Woah!
Mark Reynolds did not get us the grand slam we wanted. HOWEVER, in defense of Mark Reynolds, he did not strike out today. He walked twice, like a grown up and a good role model for Santana.
Cousin Michael is still hot hot hot! Not sure how his average dropped below .300 but .282 will do. Today he went 2 for 4 with no strikeouts. Unfortunately he was not up at the right times for anyone to capitalize on those hits. Love how he's staying hot even when the team is ice cold!
Mike Aviles is still grinding it out, too. He's at second base still. He went 0 for 3 but he did get a sac fly and got one of our two RBIs on the night.
Lonnie Chisenhall, on the other hand, is still stuck in the very rut that Asdrubal is in. This is no good because I told everyone he's the guy to watch this year. Get going, Chiz!
Ryan Raburn took over as the solid 9th batter, instead of Stubbs who was playing the exciting first batter today. He went 1 for 2 with a walk before being taken out for Cord Phelps. Hey Cord Phelps! Cord didn't get any hits.
It was just a rough game today. We did ALMOST so well against the top team in the AL East. In fact if it weren't for 1 2/3 innings of nameless baseball, we would have won. But, we didn't.
Tomorrow I'm going to the game and I'm PUMPED!! I was not looking forward to going to a cold, rainy game surrounded by a bunch of faux-Boston-fans but now I'm excited to be 1 of 10,000 fans in attendance. There will be Perez and there will be screaming. And I will be next to the bullpen so everyone will friggin hear me. EVERYONE!!
I was wondering if I should bring a whistle but I bet that is probably not a good idea. I wish I had a cowbell, I'd bring that. I might actually waltz into the Team Shop and get me some sort of clapping device. I'll be able to afford it because hot dogs are cheap. BAM!
Hmm there might be no Perez tomorrow because Justin's already up again! Huh! He's facing RHP 6.75. No contest, right?
Can't wait - see you there!
Radio Chatter:
"Send that script to Hollywood and they'd say 'We're not going to use it.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the unbelieveably true story of Daniel Nava
"Unfortunately for Ubaldo Jiminez, this inning represents all of the struggles he's had in the past."
- Tom Hamilton on the 2nd inning
"'Crisp' wouldn't be the best adjective to describe today's pitching performances by Jiminez and Doubront."
- Tom Hamilton
"Homeplate umpire Lance Diaz must be mumbling to himself 'Can anyone here throw strikes tonight?'"
- Tom Hamilton
"It's like an epidemic tonight. The virus is called 'Lack Of Command.'"
- Tom Hamilton
"The only guys playing tonight are the pitcher and the catcher."
- Tom Hamilton
"John Adams is now pounding on his forehead."
- Tom Hamilton
- Kluber sucked, wow. And so did Tomlin. But the good news is that he's Corey Kluber and not our "ace" (Masterson) nor is he the guy we paid a lot of money for to save us (Jiminez). He's just some kid that had to come up because Lowe was toast and Tomlin was failing. Oh and Tomlin did bad because Tomlin is failing.
- Cody Allen still pitching 0.00, now over 11 innings.
- John Lester had a hell of a game. He was pitching like people had hoped he would pitch but he never actually did pitch. Perhaps we could have eked out more than 1 run but it wasn't likely. I don't think we can necessarily say there was bad batting today.
- Ha!
- Jason Donald is still showing up, going 1 for 4 today. Not sure how long he will keep it up (not like he's a stuperstar or anything...) but good to see him not totally failing.
- Zeke is also still showing up and not a fluke. He went 1 for 2 today with a walk and a double. Batting .393.
- There wasn't a pitching meltdown on Gaylord Perry day, because that would have been embarrassing. Although he would have had some fantastically southern things to say about it.
- It was a lovely day. The weather turned out to be nice, I hung out on a playground with my niece. I ate a piece of cake. Couldn't really let a baseball game turn it sour. Hope you didn't either!
Onward and upward to tomorrow. The boys are no doubt already in Anaheim to play the Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim. Or the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles? I hope you all brought your sleeping bags because it'll be 9 days of late games (4:05 Sunday woohoo!) against the Angels, A's and Mariners.
Tomorrow (yeah, no day off!) is Masterson versus LHP (3.34) who has been struggling lately. Behind Justin will no doubt be a team ready to rip the cover off the ball. Yeah!
10:05 - see you there!
Radio Chatter:
"You can almost gaurantee that's what Acta went to the mound to tell Kluber and Marson - 'Hey, fix it up! Didn't you learn anything from Kansas City?'"
- Tom Hamilton in the first inning
"If everybody in the ballpark can see you're upset with the umpires, good luck getting any close calls."
- Tom Hamilton
"Starting to look like a spring training scorecard with all the changes."
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th
"Well we told you he's never been out there before and he looks like it."
- Tom Hamilton on Santana's catch in left
"This is one game that is certainly not going to go into anyone's scrapbook if you're an Indians player or fan."
- Tom Hamilton
Back to great starting pitching and great defense, and good-enough hitting for the win! Literally - a win!
Zach McAllister starter today and he totally shook off that "zomg that was awful!" start against Minnesota (where he only had 2 ER but there were like 10 runs in the 2nd inning) and pitched a beauty! He went 8 innings. EIGHT! Not only did he win the game but he saved the bullpen. In his 8 innings he struck out 4 and only gave up 3 hits and 2 runs. He's our new rotation stud! So nice to have someone reliable around.
Speaking of reliable, ol' Smooth Face Perez came up for the 9th and just wasn't having any of it. He got 2 outs really quick then got Pedroia to 2 strikes then gave up a single. Then he was like "Yo, Justin, I'm really happy for you. Imma let you steal that base but I just want to say that Ezequiel Carrera is the best left fielder we've had this year." BALLGAME!
Zeke wasn't the only defensive highlight today. Asdrubal was hot stuff, natch. Not just once but twice! Brantley and Lillibridge teamed out for a super sexy outfield assist, as did Duncan and Lillibridge. Plus there was some baserunning going on - double steal!
Man did you hear the "Let's go Red Sox!" chants at one point? Who ARE these people? I think Red Sox "fans" are just IRL griefers. They probably go home and steal kids' money on World of Warcraft. That shit didn't last too long beyond the 6th inning. "Red Sox fans" are fickle as hell.
The hitters were totally chipping away at the score today. They scored in 5 out of 8 innings, albeit 1 run at a time. They only got 6 hits but coupled that with 4 walks and then of course, as I said, double steal!
Kipnis was out again today. I guarantee he is aggravating his neck by being upset about his neck. He needs to relax his TMJ muscle. Too bad our friend Jen is on vacation - she's got the magic touch when it comes to massage, I'd totally get him an appointment with her. Everyone send him well wishes on Twitter! Oh, looks like he's got a Facebook page now. And he's really stepping out into the community, which Kenny Lofton urges all players to do. Bravo!
Jason Donald was leadoff today and he continued his hot streak (work with me here) going 1 for 4. Unfortunately that didn't translate in to any runs or RBI.
Asdrubal's only appearance on base was from a walk, but he made the best of it. Choo also didn't get any hits but he was on after Asdrubal when he got hit by a pitch. That's when they did the double steal! Then Santana gets put on and Brantley hits a sac fly to score Asdrubalfor the go-ahead run.
Santana went 1 for 3 with a double in the 8th inning. He came around to score when Zeke came in to bat in Shelley's spot and got an RBI single. He's hitting .385! (Not Santana - he's only hitting .240)
The man of the night was Brent Lillibridge. In fact he was one of Head & Shoulders' Mane Men tonight and they made a whole video about it! He went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. Plus he had that sweet play to get Ellsbury at 3rd. Oh and he was a triple shy of the cycle. Yeah, he got a homer in the 3rd inning, his first of the year! If you didn't know, we got him from Boston, but he only played 10 games with them (they were "renting" him?) They got him from the White Sox, where he hit under .200 and he hit .125 with Boston. So far he's hitting .300 with us in 11 games. I am, without a doubt, coming around fast on this guy!
Oh crap - I just decided to see if he had a Twitter account (@BSLillibridge) and he does and uh it's uh...well he loves Jesus. Don't get me wrong - Jesus is just all right with me. But Brent is sort of enthusiastic about it on his Twitter account. But what the heck, I'll give him a chance. Maybe that's why he's thriving here? A good chunk of our team is Crazy4Christ. Those heathens in Boston did not jibe with his exuberance for the Lord and today Brent and the Lord made them pay.
Sweet Lou executed a perfect suicide squeeze today, to score Lillibridge after Kotchman moved him over to 3rd. Praise be!
Nice game all around today and Brent Lillibridge played a big part, no doubt. Kind of fun seeing some new faces when those new faces are doing well and making a difference. Unlike when we saw Johnny Damon's stupid old face and he ruined everything.
Tomorrow is the 4th and final game against the Red Sox at 1:05. It's Corey Kluber versus LHP (5.36). If we can score another 5 we'll be golden. Have a nice fresh bullpen waiting too if Kluber can't hack it but his last start was great so I'm hoping to have a nice Sunday win for a change! Of course I'll be out kid wranglin' at a first birthday party so you'll have to wait for my witty and clever commentary, and over-abundance of exclamation points.
See you there!!
Radio Chatter:
"New floormats are nice this time of year."
"Why don't you purchase them for Andrew?"
"You brought it up - just making suggestions from the accessories department."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on what could be given away instead of a Nissan for a grand slam
"Ellsbury probably still can't believe that wasn't a home run!"
- Tom Hamilton on Brantley's outfield putout of Ellsbury in the 6th
"If you can't turn your head, it makes it tough in baseball."
- Tom Hamilton on Kipnis' stiff neck
"He's got 106 pitches now and he looks like one of those olympic runners staggering to the finish line."
- Tom Hamilton on Franklin Morales before he's taken out
"Good to hear John Adams banging the drum in the bleachers. When the Indians were in a losing streak he was banging his head in frustration."
- Tom Hamilton
If you didn't know, a quality start is a baseball stat, not just a nice thing to say. It means that a starting pitcher went 6 innings and gave up no more than 3 runs. Tonight Chris Seddon had the team's 3rd quality start in 3 days! Not sure when the last time we had a QS before that...I think McAllister on July 26. It's been a while!
Seddon did have a start today that one would describe as "quality" as well. He went 6 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs. The two earned runs came off a 2-run homer in the 6th. The other run was actually off an error throw that he made himself. He struck out 3 and only had 7 hits in his 6 innings.
Sleeper bullpen hero Cody Allen came in for the 7th and had such a fun time shutting them down 1-2-3 that he came in for the 8th. He got one out but then gave up a hit and a walk, so his fun was done and they brought in Esmil Rogers. Rogers got the guy to ground into a double play, which HE thought was fun so he came in for the 8th and plunked Will Middlebrooks who had to leave the game with a hurt hand. Fun! The next two guys struck out - no doubt out of fear.
So nobody hit today except Asdrubal. And ... OMG!!! He got home run number 13!! It was a solo shot in the first. Then in the 4th inning he got a double! So he went 2 for 4.
Eeeeeeeveryone else was 0 for 4 or 0 for 3. Jason Donald was hitting 9th and he got on on an error, and then made it to 3rd on another error on the same play! Then Zeke - who was batting leadoff in place of Kipnis who is still out with a stiff neck - got a nice sac fly to score Donald. Not bad for a team that got 2 hits and no walks!
Zeke is looking better in the outfield every day and Michael Brantley continues to show his stuff. Once again - Grady who?
The game was only 2:40 which is super fast for a Red Sox game. But the pitcher Buchholz was locked in. He didn't need tons of visits from his catcher - Kelly Shoppach! Maybe it's because K-Shop is totally awesome.
There were over 27k fans tonight and they seemed to be pro-Cleveland, so that's always nice at a Cleveland game. The weather cooperated and they get fireworks tonight!
Tomorrow's game is at 6:05. I guess uhm...I don't know why. So your kids don't have to stay out too late on a Saturday? It'll be McAllister versus LHP (3.14). Let's hope for another quality start to make it 4 in a row!
I'll be late tomorrow. Got some art work to take care of. But eventually...I'll see you there!
Radio Chatter:
"Eric Cooper, the home plate umpire, is not afraid to call strikes. This is refreshing. [...] Nothing wrong with that, everybody knows it going in."
- Tom Hamilton
"I changed many of those doo-doo diapers."
- Gaylord Perry on being a ballplaying dad
"We haven't seen that kind of athletecism since the days of Coco Crisp."
- Tom Hamilton on Carrera in left
Another good-looking game! Everyone was playing their hearts out and whatever nastiness that was infecting the pitchers, fielders and batters now has turned in to niceness and everyone is playing like we know this team can!
Chris Perez has been clean-shaven for 2 days now. Is he the new Dr. "Smooth"? His chin is 2-0!
Not Chris Seddon
I wonder what they're going to do with the Perez scoreboard silhouette thingy? The one I haven't gotten a picture of and can't find online. It's beardy, you know.
Check it out! >>> Everybody Hits today! Yeah Shelley didn't hit but the guy who came in for him got a hit and that's house rules around here. Everybody Hits!
It's been A MONTH and five days since Everybody Hits! Wow!
Huge shout out to Ubaldo Jiminez who did what we thought he would do until he started not doing it at all until sometimes he did but today he did it better than ever. Got me? He went 6 innings and struck out 10. TEN! That's the most for him this year and matches the team's high for a starter in 2012, which was also 10 by Masterson way back on April 5. He only walked 1 and even better gave up just 3 runs. And two of them were on a homer by A-Gon who is paid to hit homers.
Pitching coach Scott Radinsky was let go today and the AAA Columbus coach, Ruben Niebla is up to replace him. Surely Radinsky isn't the linchpin for the total collapse of the team but I'm guessing he was made an example of. I did talk yesterday about how someone behind the scenes had to go and I agree with getting rid of Radinsky. Let's hope that something good does come out of it, though. Maybe this Niebla is a total hardass.
Tweets from beat writer Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian):
Ubaldo, on Radinsky firing: "He did everything possible. It's my fault.
It's all the starting pitchers' fault. We haven't been consistent."
Chris Perez, on recent 11-game losing streak: "During that streak, it's
like a cancer. We looked like we forgot how to play ball, honestly."
Good. Let's go out there and win it for Radinsky - every day for the rest of the season.
Our bullpen was aces tonight, and I don't mean Smith-Pestano-Perez. I mean SIPP-Pestano-Perez yes I do! Tony came in for the 7th after Ubaldo gave up a leadoff double. Then he struck a guy out and then the next guy grounded in to a double play ... technically. 'Cuz it wasn't no 6-4-3 double play it was 6-5-6-4 with a rundown and then a good throw to get Carl Crawford trying to sneak in behind it.
Pestano gave up a hit and also hit a batter. I think he was all "I hate running all the way out here then just mowing them down one-two-three, so let's make it exciting!" He got those 2 guys on base with one out then he was done. And when Vinnie's done I mean the other team was done!
Perez got his 30th save by doing what he does, except this time he didn't give up a hit or anything he just got 2 pop outs and a ground out. BALLGAME!
So get this - Jason Kipnis was taken out of the lineup today at the last minute because he had a stiff neck. Purportedly from sleeping funny. I dig that - sometimes if I get a stiff neck from sleeping I definitely make it worse by fiddling with it all day. Anyway they had just brought Donald up and were like "ok play 2nd today and lead off." And you know what that greasy little dude did? He got a leadoff homer and then later in the game got a RBI fielder's choice. Really! For the night he was 1 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
Oh, stop worrying, Worried Jason Kipnis! Jason Donald is NOT going to steal your job! You're our best dirtbag!
Asdrubal was clutch today, only going 1 for 4 but it was a big one! An RBI double that started a 3-run rally in the 5th, which was all we needed behind the awesome pitching. Plus Asdrubal was tight in the field, of course!
OMG you guys, gotta check out this video here. I've been being obnoxious on Twitter today trying to get Kipnis or @Indians to relay the message to Choo that he needs to use this song as his at-bat music. Hit play and let it go while you read the rest of this post!
Right? He's totally manly enough to rock that when he comes to the plate! No need to hide behind Rage Against The Machine!
Anyway Choo was slightly stymied today, just going 1 for 4 with a walk. Not bad but he didn't get any runs or RBI. It wouldn't look so bad if that song was playing in the background, amirite? Hey why aren't you still playing that song??
Santana had it going on tonight, for real - 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI. His average is out of the .230s! He was the DH and he totally did as a DH should do, ending up with 0 LOB of his own.
Brantley got his 34th double, which was his only hit of the night but he had both a great sac fly with bases loaded, and a back-to-the-plate catch in late innings. He's the total package! Oh yeah and he's on an 8-game hitting streak :)
Shelley Duncan was totally felling the pressure tonight. I don't know, maybe he doesn't like playing left field and batting. Just too much. They took him out in the 7th and put Zeke in. Then in the 8th Zeke got a lead-off single and came around to score. But hey you know if they played Shelley every day he'd be better every day! I promise!
Brent Lillibridge is here to stay for the rest of his season. He's gotta be - there's not much more fat we can trim! So we'll root for him. He's no threat to the complete fabric of the team like Johnny Damon was. Woohoo! Lillibridge went 1 for 3 today!
You know what? I heard rumblings of LaPorta or Canzler coming up when they take the bullpen back down to 7. I hope it's Canzler so we can have Kotchman, Kipnis, Cabrera, Canzler. Even more fun when Kluber pitches. Stuff like that makes me miss Herb Score on the radio!
Kotchman was on it today, being reliable again going 1 for 3, which is .062 better than his average would allow. So - way to beat the odds, Casey!
Sweet Lou was in catching again. He's actually seeing a lot more time right now with Hafner out and Santana able to DH or play first. But he's done with the hot streak he had in June, going 1 for 3 tonight and just 1 for his last 9. But whatever - he's still our guy. How could you not like this guy?
Ping!
So that's two games in a row now where the guys clearly put everything out there AND it all worked. I'm sure over the 11-game streak they were trying to put it all out there but it fell to pieces. But these last two games just felt different. Did you feel it?
Tomorrow I'm going to give blood, and my good blood vein is in my right arm. It's an inch above the temp tattoo I plastered on there Tuesday night. Hmm...so I either have to scrape off the worn-out-looking Wahoo or I need to let them try to stick my left arm. I'd say the Wahoo has been good luck but I put it on before we lost on Tuesday. It's not some sort of The Last Leaf thing either where they score fewer runs the more Wahoo wears away (5, 6, 5). I think probably being able to successfully donate blood will trump having some worn-out temp tattoo anyway. I'm an adult, after all.
Meaning of course I can buy more!
Tomorrow is FNG Chris Seddon versus RHP (4.48). If you recall he pitched a relief inning the other night. I also saw him warming up Choo between innings in the outfield. So either he's being worked hard or he's trying hard so let's give him a big hurrah and hope he can follow these last two - three - outstanding starting performances!!
By the way good job to the 19k+ fans out were out there tonight! Yes, many of you dumbasses were cheering for "your" Red Sox but there was a great deal of fervor for the Tribe. Fireworks tomorrow - I hope there's even more rooting for the good guys!
It's a 7:05 game - see you there!
No Radio Chatter tonight. I was hanging out with my bro. Listening to the game of course but mostly the crescendos. The best chatter is in the lows.
My brother asked for a little help at his house on Saturday afternoon, but I told him "I can help but only until 7. The game is on TV. I want to see the Tribe trounce Boston!" I'd actually already told my friends to fuck off, because they wanted to hang out an I wanted to watch the game (my friends don't share the same...fervor...as I do for the game.) I was on my way back home to get comfy on the couch when my cousin's wife called to tell me my cousin had taken apart my aunt's old shower and found a moldy mess and was faced with a complete gutting and asked if I could go give him a hand. Yadda yadda I got home at 1 AM on Monday and hadn't heard a stitch of baseball nor seen any on TV.
It would seem that other than the blisters, cuts, scrapes, slivers and lack of sleep the bathroom remodel was a good thing because it saved me from having to survive a weekend of sad, sad baseball. The Indians losing in spectacular fashion to the shitty 2012 Boston Red Sox. In Boston. Yuck!
I didn't bother to go back over Saturday's game - that would have meant like 9 hours of baseball for me today! I of course checked out the box score. Zach McAllister - pitching for an injured Tomlin (!!) went 7 innings and gave up 4. That's actually really good for your second start of the year. Tomlin gives up about 4 per game himself. He struck out 8, which is Tomlin's high!
Unfortunately our guys couldn't overcome the deficit, even though we had our "good" lineup (the one that doesn't include Damon or Donald). We just can't hit lefties right now. Which, I dunno...you'd think they would have thought to practice that earlier this year. Not like it was a surprise we have a bench full of lefties. Perhaps they were counting on Shelley and Asdrubal just to carry everyone?
So that was Saturday. Kind of boring all around. A predictable 4 runs given up and a lonely run batted in. Asdrubal didn't even get a hit (but Lou did!)
I did make a point to listen to Sunday's game this afternoon, even though I saw the score. I figured maybe Tom Hamilton may have been furious and started talking goofy after 12 runs. Unfortunately it was sort of a sleepy Sunday (as usual) and nothing exciting happened on the radio (don't worry, I still got the quotes!)
Justin Masterson is breaking down. I wonder if he's got some physical issue that he's not telling anyone about. Do pitchers just have like, one good year in them anymore? (See: Carmona, Jiminez) Well I guess not. Cliff Lee, Joe Nathan, Jared Weaver, etc etc etc. Oh, I see the pattern. It's only pitchers we can afford that have an early expiration date.
Anyway, Masterson gave up 6 in 6 innings and got his 3rd loss. Funny, though - even if he only gave up like 1 or 2 runs he still woulda lost. Maybe he has just given up? "Yo, I'm only throwing well when I have 5 runs or more behind me!" Actually I'm sure he feels awful about it. Maybe that will help.
Dan Wheeler came in for the 7th and promptly gave up 6 runs including a homer. He was sent away before the team even left Boston. Says Jordan Bastian:
Before he left the ballclub, Wheeler was asked if he was given a reason for the team's decision to part ways with him.
"Did I really need to hear one?" Wheeler said.
Well at least the guy's humble. Now we get to dig in to our pool of minor league relievers and bring someone up to add to the bullpen. I hope that's as fun as it sounds and doesn't end up being scary!
I wonder if there's any other veteran players that we can consider "not working out"....
We only scored one run (Asdrubal with a bases-loaded walk!) but some guys had a good game.
Jason Kipnis hit .375 against Boston last year and so far is hitting .412 against them this year. They say he likes hitting in Fenway, which happens to be the only place he's played against Boston. He went 2 for 4 and his average is creeping up towards .300, at .284.
Santana and Choo each got a hit. Still not a multi-hit game like they both need to have but I guess 1 is better than none.
Michael Brantley had a great day! He went 3 for 4 with his team-leading 12th double. He's actually tied for 5th in the league. Not bad for a guy who's not having the year I thought he should! He's only hit in 5 of his last 10 games but in those 5 games he had 12 hits. I guess once he settles in to a pitcher, he is locking in. Or otherwise locked out!
That's all she wrote in terms of offense. Walked-in run, seven hits, three of them by Brantley.
It's never a happy time when we lose to Boston, especially when we end up losing 3 in a row. Growly growl.
Oh well, at least we're moving on to Minnesota who sucks better than Boston. Hopefully we can handle them (ok the game is already half over as I write this - we're handling.) Maybe getting rid of Dan Wheeler will be the catalyst this team really needed!!
Hahaha just kidding. Sorry, Dan Wheeler.
Next game is Minnesota at 8:05 Monday. That was 75 minutes ago. See you there!
Radio Chatter:
"Gonzales said, after rounding first base 'If you're not going to play good baseball and cover second, I'll just walk in to there.'"
- Tom Hamilton after a bad offensive play in the first
"Indians had the tables turned with the big 2-out hits on them for a change."
- Tom Hamilton
"The Indians might be in first place by a scant 2 games, but if they're to do anything this summer they have to get Masterson figured out and Jiminez figured out."
- Tom Hamilton
"Red Sox will say 'Thank you, go ahead.' If you've got a guy up who's either going to double or homer, you'll gladly give that to him."
- Tom Hamilton on Choo getting a bunt single
"He's only made 93 pitches, but it's been a deflating 93 pitches."
- Tom Hamilton on Justin Masterson
"People say 'Oh, the train, that ought to be neat.' Well it is if you're not on it."
- Tom Hamilton on the train from New York to Boston
"The Fenway Faithful, they're bored. They're doing the wave."
- Tom Hamilton
