'Twas a Good Game

If you didn't tune in until the 4th inning, you wouldn't even have known that this game started off in a black hole of first-day jitters. Corey Kluber was hmm....he was miserable. And he made us all miserable. He probably made Josh Tomlin laugh, though.

The Royals, who are suddenly good (within the last 3 days) showed Kluber no mercy scoring 6 runs in the 1st. It started with a home run from the first batter then two singles and a stolen base. Then Kluber got 2 outs but could not get out of it without a walk, a single, a triple, a 3-run homer, another stolen base and a passed ball.

But after that - smooth sailing! Kluber actually struck out 2 guys in the first inning and went on to strike out 2 more and not walk any more in the total 4 1/3 innings he pitched. His start is not much different than Fausto's 2011 start - recall?

It took a village to finish the game, though, as we had to fill up 11 innings with arms. Sipp came in to finish the 5th and complete the 6th, striking out 2 and giving up no hits. His ERA is under 5 now!

Smith rocked the 7th with 1 hit and 1 strikeout, then The Original Vinnie was there for both the 8th and the 9th completely shutting the Royals down, because that's the sort of Vinnie he is. Esmil Rogers was tasked with finishing it off but he couldn't hold it long enough. He gave up a couple of hits in the 10th, and then a hit and a wild pitch and a walk in the 11 put a guy on 3rd for Perez, who gave up a hit and the game was over.

Naturally, Perez avoided both the blown save and the loss. I'm sure that's why he agreed to come in. Heyooo!

Anyway it was definitely lost by our pitchers because our batters came alive today. But all-in-all, excluding the first inning, we had a great game as a team!

But, it's a game of 9 innings - or more. We gotta take that first inning.

The top of our lineup was top-notch today EVEN WITHOUT KIPNIS. And when I say "even without Kipnis" I mean EVEN WITH LILLIBRIDGE! Seriously, 1 through 4 each went 2 for 5. Number 5 got a hit and 6 got 2. Between them they got 6 RBI to tie the game! And - get this! - they only had 4 LOB! WAHOO!

Choo started it off with a single out of the gate. Then he stole second after almost getting picked off first. So then he tried to grab third too and DENIED. You can only imagine the eye rolling by Tom Hamilton as Asdrubal got a single on the next pitch. Choo went on to get another single in the 3rd and come around to score.

Brent Lillibridge was in the 2-hole and you know what? He hasn't been too bad since he got here. He didn't do squat in his first 2 at-bats with us but in the last 3 games he's gone 4 for 12. That's .300. Way better than Johnny Damon was doing after his 5th game with us that's for sure. If Lillibridge can overcome his sub-.200 batting average by keeping up this page, it might be the pickup of the year! Today he went 2 for 5 and came in to score 2 runs. He did strike out twice but so did Choo...

Asdrubal has it turned back on. Six hits in his last 4 games, 2 of them coming tonight. He didn't get any RBI but he did score a run.

Carlos Santana is the name to remember for this week though - 10 hits in his last 10 games, and 10 RBI, 4 homers and 4 walks. Tonight he went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including a 2-run homer. He also had the most amazing pre-game interview with Jim Rosenhaus. Santana had no idea what Rosie was asking and also had no idea how to express himself in English. But you should know that he is very happy to play and he is very excited to be at this position [catcher]. Whatever - you don't gotta speak the good English to hit like that!

Although to be honest his homer last night and the one tonight were less than spectacular. Both times the poor guy had to stop at second and wait for someone to tell him he could go home, he got a homer. That really will take the wind out of a guy's sails! He's sneaking up on the team home run ladder, though - tied for 3rd with Kipnis at 11. One more makes it a 3-way tie for first. Race, boys - race!

Cousin Michael was representin', cuz you can't really have a well-hit game without him. He went 1 for 4 with a double (him, Choo and KC's Alex Gordon lead the league), an RBI and a run. He's up to .288...think he'll crack .300? A few more points and he'll be the highest on the team. Of course, that is unless all the guys keep hitting like they were hitting tonight. Race some more!

Lopez was getting in on the act as well, going 2 for 4 with a walk. Unfortunately there was no one behind him to hit him in, and no one ahead of him that wasn't already hit in. But he did what he could!

Today was the debut of The Other Vinnie, Vinnie Rottino. He's up from the minors, via the Mets' minors, to fill in for Hafner who's on baby leave. Rottino actually did a thing today! He got an RBI on a sac fly! I thought maybe his average would be .000 but it's .162 - he comes to us with 33 at-bats with the Mets. So no fresh slate for us but at least we've got a guy who's been around a bit.

Speaking of Vinnie, The Original Vinnie had something to say on Twitter tonight:

"Never have I been more proud of my team, could have folded but came back and battled. No one is more aware about the past 6 than us

This isnt a test you can study for or a hobby it is and has been our lives, lives forged with blood, sweat and balls from young ages

Losing sucks and trying harder or wanting it more isnt the answer, sometimes you just cant find it and it takes hell to get it.

Believe it or not our clubhouse is more frustrated than anyone could possibly comprehend without being in it. Gonna quote a favorite of mine

“The night is always darkest just before the dawn.” Take it or leave it, love it or hate it, we battle for you everyday. "
- @VinneP52

And of course a tweet from a loving fan:

"@VinnieP52 you guys are sucking dick get off your twitters and start focusing on winning games man. Tell your owners that they suck too"
- @kidnamed_matty

Vinne's response:

"Even when you come to people in humility they still spit in your face, all it take is one…Peace"
- @VinneP52

Personally, I eat that kind of stuff up - what Vinnie said. As long as guys are playing their hardest, etc etc. I mean - yay! Baseball!  It just blows my mind that people can be all up in the jocks of our super-losing (but loveable) football team and at the same time "demand" something from our baseball team. This is Cleveland, baby - you get nothing!

I'm not sure how I feel about this new one from The Famous Mike Polk Jr. I agree with most of the stuff he says but the whole "we need a winning team in order to come see baseball." Well fuck off with that attitude. You know who packs them in every day? The Royals. The Cubs. The Twins. The Marlins. People need to fucking relax and learn how to enjoy baseball and not be so angry about the record. There is exciting stuff going on with this team almost every day. There are more hours of excitement in a Tribe season than there are minutes existing in a Browns season. No more whining! NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!

Anyway, we've got a good jump on what could be a really great weekend. Our guys love to play and beat these Tigers! They're in it mentally again and they know where to put the bats (HA!) After they roll over Detroit this weekend I hope they come home to a hero's welcome!

Tomorrow is Masterson versus RHP with a high ERA. Masterson may have bombed his last start but he knows how to pitch the Tigers. So be looking for that.

I unfortunately will have to meet you later as I'm going to a show at the HOB but I'll be thinking of you and wishing I were listening along. So albeit late - I will see you there!

Radio Chatter:
"If you don't know the meaning of deja vu, look it up. This is it."
- Tom Hamilton on the bad first inning

"The world lost a pharmacist but gained a major league baseball player."
- Tom Hamilton on Vinnie Rattino

"I'm not trying to be Polyanna here, but you really get the feeling that the Indians are going to make a game of it here."
- Tom Hamilton in the 3rd

"Lopez swings and misses as he tries to hit it to the Harry S. Truman Memorial Library."
- Tom Hamilton

"This is like looking at a NASCAR vehicle."
- Tom Hamilton on the wall at Kauffman Stadium

"The good news is Choo does not play badminton. Why that's an Olympic sport, I do not know."
"Has something to do with picnics doesn't it?"
"If you're bored."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus need to reel it in

Outpitched

That's pretty much it. Yeah, Gomez gave up a ton of runs and Accardo tacked on more but even if our pitchers only gave up 2 runs we still would have lost. This kid who pitched for Houston smoked us in a 1-run 6-hit complete game. Although I still contend our batting wasn't up to snuff yesterday either, against a RHP. We almost had no chance against a feisty LHP.

I listened to the game on the audio archive today and it was sort of sad to hear the guys talking so highly about how well Gomez was doing early in the game, myself knowing that there'd be an implosion in the 5th. I think it's time to switch it up and say Jeanmar's had too many chances to prove himself. Yeah he's had a couple of good games here and there but he's 4-7 and has given up 42 runs in 14 games. He looks especially bad today after Tomlin, Masterson and Jiminez looked SO good the lest 3 games.

Also, all our other starters were hitting an Jeanmar didn't get a hit today.

The Twitterverse already has a nickname picked out for Zach McAllister - EZ Mac. I like him, let's bring him.

On the flipside, Tony Sipp surprised everyone by going 1 2/3 and not giving up any runs, or any hits for that matter and actually striking out 2. Keep it up Tony or we're going to Jeanmar your ass.

Jeremy Accardo - 3 runs. Unreliable. He's either giving up no runs or 3 runs. What gives?

Since we were severely outpitched, there isn't much to say on the offensive side except maybe OMG ASDRUBAL!!! Three homers in 4 games!!  He's only 2 away from Kipnis who leads the team and is the only guy in double digits. Love it when Asdrubal's hot! Definitely definitely vying for your vote in the All Star Game! Hey, if you vote 25 times, they'll email you a coupon for half-off tickets for a bunch of games. Limited games and limited seating of course but if you're watching your pennies - cheap tix!

Can't forget Choo, though. He got another goddamn double today! He is tied for first in the league with Kinsler (23) and leads Gonzalez, Gordon, Ortiz and Cano. w00t!

Kipnis is back to being awesome again. He's as unpredictable as Accardo but I guess when you're 1 of 9 you can hide it. He went 3 for 4 today after going 0 for his last 12. *BOGGLE* Is that an inexperience thing? Whatever, tho - I'm still a Kipnises. Poor guy tripped over first base on a single and looked super embarrassed about it. He also spent all 3 of his on-bases not coming home, because no one hit after him.

Well of course Brantley hit after Kipnis, once. He went 1 for 3 and has a 6-game hitting streak. He's had 68 hits in his last 51 games. He's hitting .333 in June. HE ROCKS YOUR FACE!!!

Our top 4 guys (minus the variable "cleanup hitter") - Choo, Cabrera, Kipnis and Brantley - are hitting .284 right now. They are slowly climbing up to complete awesomeness. O, IF ONLY ... the rest of the lineup was sorted out (and by the rest I mean Santana and hurry-up-already-Hafner). And if we had SHELLEY EVERY DAY.

Do we need Kevin Youkilis? He's a rightie. But his average is only .243 versus left and .219 versus right. He's got a .225 overall average with a measly 4 homers and 7 doubles.

Hafner left the game at .246 but he's a lefty hitting .185 versus lefties. Youk would be playing 1st or 3rd, I suspect, not DH. Kotchman and Hannahan are both batting under .200 against lefties. Santana is slightly better at .206. Our third best lefty hitter is Marson, at .273 (after crazy-awesome Asdrubal and Brantley). But he doesn't get to play because of Santana. IT'S ALL MADDENING!


Clearly Youk is still a baseball player, unlike Johnny Damon, but he's still Boston's leftover old man trash (he's 43 days older than me). And he has crazy stupid facial hair.

I don't know why people are talking about Carlos Lee for us. He's even older (between Youk and Damon) and hits .146 versus lefties. No shit. He is batting .299 overall because he hits righties .340. So the last guy we need is Carlos Lee.

If you didn't know, we are last in ALL OF BASEBALL versus lefties at .216.

So I don't know...243 versus lefties is not bad, if that's the best we can get. It would put him 4th on the team versus left. But ugh, Boston. Isn't there someone in our minors who can hit lefties?? Didn't anyone plan for this?

I think instead of signing Youk we need a mandatory 4-day "how to hit lefties" clinic over the All Star break. Asdrubal and his .325 average versus lefties won't be available at that time, but Brantley and his .291 can tell the guys the secret to being smooth.

I'm not wanting to shake stuff up right now. I think we've got a lot of good stuff going on. Except for Johnny Damon - he was an awful, awful acquisition and he has done nothing but hurt the lineup. And the defense. And caused us to do a lot of shit to accommodate him and keep some good players from having a chance to develop.

AAAAAANNNNYYYWAY....tomorrow's the rubber match against Houston at 2:05 and it's on WKYC, yay! Too bad I won't get to see the seriously awesome starbursty Astros throwback uniforms that they wore Friday. Don't lie - that uniform the first thing you think of when you think of Nolan Ryan! Well maybe now you modern kids think of him this way:

[From the Pop Culture Has AIDS blog]

But the alternateens among us think of this when we think of Nolan Ryan. Or the Astros. Or "weird baseball uniforms":

[From the Hipster or Athlete blog]

Anyway, the Astros have nothing to do with Nolan Ryan any more, except for next year when his Rangers give them a sad welcome in to the American League.

Sorry for veering so far off topic but I TOTALLY LOVE THOSE UNIFORMS! Why can't our marketing department do something stupid like faddish disco uniforms to get fans in the seats, instead of insisting we sign Johnny Damon?

OK FINE. Baseball tomorrow, 2:05. See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Keuchel could have easily thrown it away, or hit him in the coconut."
- Tom Hamilton on a nearly missed move to first

"This just came out of the blue. He retired 12 in a row then started giving up rockets."
- Tom Hamilton on Jeanmar Gomez

"The Indians are making some awfully soft outs here today."
- Tom Hamilton has identified the problem

"You ever weed-whack your weeds with one of those weed-whackers? That's what it looked like with Rosie going through his 14th cup from the frozen soft serve yogurt machine. [...] They've re-named it Rosie's Rustic Inn. A lof of folks have tried to get to that machine with no luck. Rosie's had that baby locked up."
"If I had 13 cups you had 20 then."
"You know, I was eating fruit. Your fruit came in the form of carmel, chocolate, sprinkles..."
- How Tom Hamilton opened the bottom of the 6th

"I bet this marriage isn't going to see the end of 2016. This is the best they could do?"
- Tom Hamilton harping on a bride and groom at the ballpark

"You've probably never heard of Keuchel before [...] but after today the Indians will never forget him."
- Tom Hamilton

"What's interesting now is that Shelley Duncan isn't playing, even against left-handed pitching."
- YES THAT IS INTERESTING TOM HAMILTON!

"Boy it's easy to play GM from the broadcast booth isn't it?"
- Tom Hamilton ponders signing Youk

"9-1, 8-1, 10-1 - whatever it is, it's not pretty."
- Tom Hamilton can't figure out the score

"If Choo tried to score, we'd be in the wrap-up show."
- Tom Hamilton on not testing Bogusevic's arm

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Wow man - 4 hours of baseball and it's almost like nothing happened. Do you remember much of this game? I kept looking at the scoreboard on MLB Gameday thinking "Oh cool, there's still a lot of innings left..."

Of course the thing you'll remember most about this game is that Ubaldo Jiminez sucked. It's a good thing to remember so you don't get your hopes up too much next time he's slated to pitch. Now, he might surprise you like he did last time he pitched and it'll be an even better surprise when you think he's going to suck. But he's probably going to suck.

Here's some nice things, tho - Dan Wheeler and Tony Sipp had to cover 4 innings and they did so without giving up any runs and Sipp struck out 3. We didn't even need Pestano and Smith tonight!

The Red Sox have scored an average of 9.5 runs every time Clay Buchholz (9.09 ERA) pitches. Except for tonight! Jiminez "held" them to 7. Wahoo!

Almost everybody hit tonight except Asdrubal. Can you believe it?! He did get 2 walks and came in to score 2 runs so his average is still safely at .333.

I'm not going to talk about Johnny Damon tonight, as this is the Positive Tribe and not the Obvious Tribe.

Kipnis and Hafner worked some of their shit out and both went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Santana, that bugger...he is still swinging for the fences every time I think. I don't think since John Nunnally  was fired that anyone has told Santana to stop moving his foot so much when he bats. Last year when he woke up from his slump the big news was "we told him to stop moving his foot and look what he did!" I saw the boy batting live last week. I was really close. I could hear the polyester rubbing on his jockeys as the pitch came in. SOMEONE TELL HIM TO COOL IT!!

He did go 1 for 3 tonight with 2 walks so at least he's having patience.

Choo is looking better even if he's not getting the balls to drop. He's got 9 hits over his last 10 games with doubles in the last 2 games. He's been smokin' the ball just right at people. I don't think he was even making contact before (16 strikeouts in April) so this is indeed progress.

 Brantley is settling back in at the bottom of the lineup, hitting 7th today and going 2 for 5. Since the entire lineup was hitting today, it gave Brantley a chance to collect 2 RBI too. He still doesn't have the .335 average I bragged he would but I said he'd have it WHEN GRADY GETS BACK. So that means he has until infinity to get up there right? Heynow!

Casey Kotchman is going to break .200 any day now. Aaaaaaany day. He went 1 for 5 tonight and then handed it off to Donald who stole a base. Can you imagine, Donald at first? Me neither!

Supermanahan still blastin' the hits with his third 2-hit game in a row. Oddly enough he didn't get any of our 5 RBI tonight. But he does look good in a kilt.

We had 12 hits and 6 walks tonight and 14 LOB. *Astonished Smiley* That's crazy! That's why it took 4 hours and I guess that's why we didn't win. The best thing about tonight was that we've still got the good half of the bullpen rested for the weekend. And we don't have to see Ubaldo for 5 more days. Schwing! (Yep, I said "Schwing!")

Tomorrow is a 7:10 game and it's on WKYC so I literally cancelled fun plans so I could sit home and watch baseball. It's our man Josh Tomlin who is going to go for a career-high 9 strikeouts. How hard can it be?

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Boston has lost 11 of 15 of their home games this year, which is unusual for Boston. Usually teams come here and melt."
- Tom Hamilton

"There's no energy at the park tonight. It's like they spend all day yelling at the television and are exhausted by the time they get to the ballpark. They've spent all day being angry at Josh Beckett."
- Tom Hamilton

"The good news is Clay Buchholz's ERA is 9.9. The bad news is that the Red Sox score 9 runs every time he pitches."
- Tom Hamilton

"Jared Saltalamachia would like to be known for something other than having the longest name in baseball."
- Tom Hamilton

"Let's face it - Sam from Cheers is a former Red Sox pitcher, he wasn't a Patriot."
- Tom Hamilton on the difference between baseball and football in Boston

"Fenway Park has become quiet as a church on Sunday. [...] The only difference is no matter what your religion is, you're not going to be booing the minister like this place."
- Tom Hamilton with the bases loaded and one out in the 7th

"Nobody is going to leave Fenway Park saying 'Wasn't that a game to remember?' Unless Neil Diamond was actually sitting next to them singing 'Sweet Caroline' in the 8th inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"Paul Revere could have gone on his ride, gone around to tell everyone the British were coming, come home and had a few beers and some pizza and still caught the last 3 innings of this game."
- Tom Hamilton

"They probably took some of the gifts, if they were cash, and let their step-dad Bruce Jenner get another face lift."
- Tom Hamilton thinks this game lasted longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage and wonders if people got their gifts back

What Ended Up Being A Fun Evening

Ooooh that was a tough one! We had our "B" team in, as it were. The score stayed close, then there was a rain delay, then it was tied up. Would there be extra innings? Would we have to delve in to our bullpen? WOULD TONY SIPP SUCK?!

No, yes, no. Yay!

Tomlin was great! He went 7 1/3 innings. Not a complete game bu even better than McAllister did this afternoon, and 7 1/3 was great! He bested his personal strikeout record with 8 and only walked 2 and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits. He was ready to leave in the 8th, and who wouldn't have been? Cuz it was pouring rain and he'd given us 104 pitches. Oddly enough, he didn't get the win.

Wheeler came in and the umps were like "Uh...him? How about a rain delay?" and there was a rain delay for like an hour and a half, in which time Joe Smith got his shit together and said "Put me in, coach!" and then came in and gave up Tomlin's second run. But then he got Dunn to ground out and if you recall, Adam Dunn Does Not Suck Anymore so that wasn't too shabby.

Sipp was the only guy left, I think, so he had to come in for the 9th. He got the first 2 outs then walked Konerko (not a bad idea) and then gave up an omg-that-was-almost-a-home-run to Tyler Flowers before striking him out. WHEW! Sipp's ERA is now down to 8, woohoo!

So Brantley was back up top tonight and he went 1 for 4, so he had a pretty good day, comparatively. Kipnis, who had gotten shut down this afternoon for the first time in 10 games, got his hit and also went 1 for 4. Both guys had RBIs which isn't bad considering we only had 3 total.

Speaking of 3 - Asdrubal went 3 for 3 with a walk. YES HE DID!!! So he's got 14 hits and 7 walks in the last 10 games. Know what his average is? It's .356 is what it is!!! He's 7th in the league and it's LEGIT!! WOOOHOO!

Santana was at first tonight and he wasn't too bad in the field, to be honest. He went 1 for 3 with a walk and is up to .250.

Lou Marson was behind the plate and his average is lower than Kotchman. Lower than dirt. Seriously bad. But he walked and then stole second, allowing him to score the tying run in the 5th!

Also showing up this evening from the "B" bench was former "B"-bencher-cum-"A"-bencher Shelley Duncan who was at the plate with two on in the 8th. If I had the game on TV I may have looked away. I believe in Shelley in April, I'm afraid of what he might do in May.

Fear no more!!! He got an RBI double is what he did and as it turns out he won the game! There was much rejoicing and a loud clap from me which freaked out my dog who was just coming down from being freaked out by thunder.

So our "B" team - Marson and Duncan - contributed mightily tonight. Our bullpen didn't let us down tonight. Everyone was tight again tonight and basically we did what it took to get the job done. Oh and Asdrubal is the best ever!

We've got 2 more against these White Sox at 7:05 on the next two days. Tomorrow is Masterson and I have a feeling he's going to have one of those games where we're all "That is why he's our first starter!" I just know it.

I love this roll we're on. See you tomorrow!

Radio Chatter:
"This is a guy with 3 walks in 16 at-bats, and that walk became a mortal sin for Eric Stults."
- Tom Hamilton on Lou Marson

"I'm sure the umpires wish one team had an 8-run lead right now. Then it'd be easier to pull the tarp out, wait a bit, and say 'Goodnight, everybody.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"We need Betsy Kling to call the clubhouse and tell them they're lining up the dogs and cats 2-by-2."
- Tom Hamilton

"Look, you don't need to say nice stuff about Jerry Crab just because he's the coach of your son's little league team. You want Nathan to hit third..."
"I'm just saying... [...] But if he hits third that's good too."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Well this isn't baseball now this is just survival."
- Tom Hamilton on the rain

Masterson of the Universe

So that game was double the fun, huh? It was two games - the one where Masterson pitched a spectacular 8 innings and was bolstered by 4 runs....and then the other one.

But wow, Justin Masterson! Eight innings, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, 2 assists and only one earned run. And that was a homer to Jose Bautista who is going to hit a homer off you no matter who you are.

Masterson had a shaky spring (9.something ERA I think) but it just goes to show that you don't listen to the spring stats because they are not real. Whatever little bugs and cobwebs he was getting rid of while he was giving up runs this spring sure did the trick. Dude is now once again our MAN!

Also looking good in that first game were some guys we weren't sure of. First and foremost was Hannahan. Clearly he's the vacuum we want at third but can he hit? Three-run homer says yes. Also, is Michael Brantley back? He got one of tonight's hits so I says yes.

What about Casey Kotchman? (The guy I was about to call "the old man" but uhm he is 4 years younger than me) He did a smidge of situational hitting and got himself an RBI out. But more importantly he was a breath of fresh air for us at first base. He's definitely the guy we signed up for.

Shout out to Shelley Duncan who got a hit and was taken out of the game for Cunningham (who then made some nice and important plays out in left), but now Duncan is hitting .500.

Kipnis did not suck at second. Asdrubal had a couple of "wowzers" today. Watching Hannahan throw to Kotchman is like a thing of beauty. Totally excited for this infield. The weak spot is of course second base but since we got rid of Brandon Phillips all those years ago I think it is our burden to bear. That fella Jose Lopez seems sort of interchangeable with Kipnis at the moment so I hope they give him a go sometime.

Shin-Soo Choo almost got into a fight, which was awesome. It reminds me of the one and only time I saw a live hockey game and Brett Hull of all people started a fight. It was my lucky day! Neither of those fellas are known for their short tempers but GODDAMN DON'T THROW AT MY HEAD! Choo looked a little extra riled up today, running a few times when he shouldn't have. Hopefully he harnesses that energy into some crazy batting and throwing power and leaves the angry at the weight bench. Fighting!

How about that BULLPEN?! Other than that poor soul who now has a 40.5 ERA, and the new guy who got stretched too long at the end, everyone looked dynamite for 6 innings.  They got 6 strikeouts and didn't give up any runs until the unfortunate end. Pestano looked SUPER impressive and Tony Sipp, who faltered at the end of last season, was seriously back on track. Smith worked himself out of some jams and that new fella Jairo Asencio (if that's his real name!) was really not bad at all. A nice addition to the #BullpenMafia I say.

So I'm sure plenty of folks will find a lot to complain about but really, what's there to complain about? Ok maybe a lack of hitting but otherwise what's there to complain about? All right maybe our closer lost his shit but what else is there to complain about? NOTHING! Amazing starting pitching, great bullpen comeback and 2 extra hours of baseball. HURRAY!!

Oh and Jose Valverde, the AL's other awesome closer? He blew a save today too for the first time since 2010. It's not just us!

I will say that I'm glad we have a day off tomorrow to recuperate. All the excitement of opening day PLUS the excitement of 16 innings is just way too much for anyone to handle. Our boys need rest and so do I. So we'll see you Saturday afternoon at 1:05!

Radio Chatter:
"Some fan tried to catch that ball and it landed on his forehead."
"Fans don't have spring training time to get ready."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"Boy if the Indians win and the Tigers lose, the Indians' magic number is..."
"I didn't want to go there but you went there!"
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

"That was Justin Masterson showing the Indians hitters 'I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I'm here to protect you.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"That's how you know it's the Marlins. Do you think Major League Baseball would ever have the Yankees have that schedule?"
- Tom Hamilton on Miami's night game in Miami followed by a day game in Cincinnatti

"I don't think you've ever seen any big-boned yoga instructors."
- Tom Hamilton

Fighting It Out

Man, was it a long day. I spent half the day waiting for my friend to post info about his new baby on Facebook so I could finally share in the revelry (you can't scoop a guy's story about his son being born, especially if you have all the same friends). Then when that got done, I spent the rest of the day counting down the minutes to tonight's game. I had to leave work a few minutes early because I was so useless by then. Took the dog for a walk and hung out with my niece for a bit.

We went over the Tribe lineup a few times...she hasn't watched a game since Choo was still in. So I had to teach her how to say "Fukudome" (a reasonable "foo-koo") and we worked on Asdrubal some more ("doobal"). He favorite was "Zeke."

I also made a point to seek out the game on television, much like I would with a playoff game. It felt like a playoff game to me. This game made a 2-game difference in the standings. This was the AL's best pitcher versus our nominal ace. This was game could break or extend a 14-game winning streak over the Tigers at home. This game was important.

The title of tonight's post is pretty spot-on. Our team was fighting it out the entire game - literally and figuratively! More in a minute...

First off - Good Fausto showed up. You may think that he gave up 4 runs (3 earned) that that's not "good." Well we scored 10 runs off the Kitties last night. If you think Good Fausto didn't show up you also didn't see him pitch innings 3-7 because he was fucking awesome. His 4th and 5th innings he matched Verlander with 3 up, 3 down. His slider was right down in there, it was great stuff.

He only struck out 6 to Verlander's 10, and gave up 7 hits to Verlander's 3...but he gave up the same amount of earned runs and you know who gave up a homer? Verlander - not Carmona. Just a great start for him and his 3rd great start in a row.

Sipp! and Smith were awesome, each with a strikeout and no runs. They really held tight!

Ok as for the "literal" fighting, Santana missed another play at first, on the first play of the game. Granted, it was Chisenhall who got the throwing error but it was Santana who subsequently got reamed in the dugout by Asdrubal. I wonder if he screamed at him in Spanish. Angry, rude Spanish. That'd be even cooler. Manny Acta and Fausto Carmona had to break them up! Everyone on the TV and on the radio and on Twitter was giving props to Asdrubal for being the "veteran" and slapping some sense into Santana.

Then in the 2nd, Santana got a solo homer so....yeah!

And in the 3rd, both Sweet Lou and Kipnis walked and Asdrubal doubled them BOTH in with 2 outs and 2 strikes. So - YEAH!

That was all the scoring we did (the only other hitting was Lonnie with a single in the 5th) but it was pretty sweet the way it worked out. I am really excited we put together 3 runs against a guy who's ERA is under 3 and is considered the best pitcher in the AL. He's always awesome against us. In fact, I do believe they switched up his schedule to have him pitch us. Then after he left, their 32-save closer came in. So...3 runs? I'll take it.

Winning the series I'll take also. Going against the Twins next while the Tigers take on the O's....well, uh...hey maybe their bullpen is still tired?

We had some nice defense tonight too, in case you think all we had to do was bat well. Fukudome showed some leather to make up for the error in the 1st. This Kipnis-Asdrubal DP really saved Fausto's ass. Zeke was throwing himself around the outfield tonight too.

Speaking of Kipnis - hopefully someone gives him a "you can't be a hero every night" speech tonight, as he was pretty miserable compared to last night. He went 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and a walk. Granted, nobody else other than the feisty Latinos to either side of him was hitting tonight, but it's a pretty far fall from 5 hits to 2 strikeouts. Let's not see that again, ok?

No Radio Chatter tonight. I'm glad I didn't listen on the radio, to be honest. I heard some of Hammy's calls in a recap and I think I would have busted my spleen or something when he called Santana's almost-homer in the 6th. Then I may have popped an eyeball with the anticipation he laid on in the 9th, trying to be prophetic about a come-from-behind win. My overall health was greatly improved by laying off the radio dramatics for a day.

I am kinda sad that I forgot my broom at home, tho. I'm sorry if that in any way cost us a win.

Tomorrow Justin Masterson goes for his 10th win against Carl Pavano of the Twins, who may or may not have a creepy mustache. I guess I won't know until some videos are posted.

See you then!

More Sweet Stuff from the Sprouts

So the Tribe is .500 right now for the first time since April 5. We're 4 games out of first place. Last night, Bob Frantz was pondering whether or not "this is it."

GROAN! First off, no this isn't it. There are 2 more months left. We've got three more players left (Sizemore, Choo, Jiminez) an the possibility of signing someone off waivers.

All that AND our new guys are kicking ass!

Kipnis tonight with his 4th home run in as many games!

Lonnie with a big double late in the game, coming in to score when...

Zeke batting leadoff (love him but BOY did we need Brantley tonight!!) gets a ground-rule double and RBI to tie the game in the 8th.

The only other producers tonight were our steadfast Asdrubal and Hafner, who followed up Kipnis's solo shot with a single and an RBI double.

No help from any other guys. I heard someone say earlier, I think on the radio, that Santana was going to strike out and hit a home run. Well the guy was half right - 4 times!

Now that some of the chaff has been cleared from our lineup (Orlando, Buck - sorry guys!) Austin Kearns sort of sticks out like a sore thumb of badness, doesn't he? Swell guy and his kid is getting good treatment at the Autism Center but...well maybe he can just retire and stay in Cleveland?

If we're going to have guys suck in our lineup let it be the fresh new Fukudome, the wishy-washy LaPorta or Carlos "For fuck's sake stop wiggling your foot at the plate!" Santana. Kearns just isn't doing it for us anymore.

Carlos Carrasco composed himself today and only gave up 2 earned runs. He went as far as the bottom of the 8th, too. Not bad at all - someone must have had quite a talk with him. He definitely had opportunity to melt down, especially after Kearns' run-scoring error in the 1st, but he did just fine. That coolness we saw all through June that had completely evaded him through July.

Our man Sipp looked good in the 8th, striking out 2. Not sure how Smith let the game go but ... well I know how and the answer is FUCK BOSTON ARGH!!

Turns out the game wasn't on WKYC today but it is tomorrow! Not bad because I forgot to tune in until halfway through today anyway.

Still have a chance to split the series. Tomorrow's gonna be a great game between Masterson and Boston's new stud Erik Bedard. Well it'll be awesome as long as Ellsbury doesn't bat in the 9th - amirite?

Only 2 more days until Ubaldo!

See you tomorrow at 7:10!

Radio Chatter:
"Boy oh boy - with Gonzalez at the plate, not quite sure where Pedroia was going."
- Tom Hamilton on Pedroia getting picked off

"He forgot his pre-game plan against the knuckeballer was to hit from the left hand side."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Carlos Santana switching from a right-handed batting helmet to left-handed

"You are living a charmed life in this ballpark when you have 2 runners on in almost every inning."
- Tom Hamilton

"It used to be 'Jim Wisenhaus' when he was in Buffalo but now it's 'Rosenhaus' since he's in the big leagues."
- Tom Hamilton mocking the change in the pronounciation of Marco Scutaro's name when he left Cleveland

"Neil Diamond recorded that song when he had his own hair, and it's become a Fenway tradition."
- Tom Hamilton on "Sweet Caroline"

"You come to Fenway Park and you'd better not go into the 9th tied with the Red Sox coming to bat."
- Tom Hamilton

The Pain pf Contending

OH, boffins, the pain! Yet another Sunday where I sulk for hours until I can muster up the will to post something positive about this afternoon's game.

It's not hard to come up with positive stuff, but the pain is much worse now that we're a "contender." It's like the difference in pain of walking on crutches with a bum knee, and walking without crutches and carrying your cousin on your shoulders too. Your cousin - he represents the extra weight of being a contender. The crutches - that is the cushiony prop of saying "we're building for next year."

Things did go right today. Just fine, in fact. Good Fausto showed up. Well "Good" as in "Not Bad" Fausto, but not any sort of ace. He never really melted down or anything, just slowly gave up 4 runs over 7 innings. Lots of ground-ball outs but only 2 strikeouts.

Tony Sipp came in (he worked last night too) and gave up a run. What's going on, Tony Sipp? Joe Smith came in after that to give up none runs but seems like the #bullpenmafia is teetering a bit. One thing's for sure we're not seeing Chris Perez and his beard enough. But there aren't many save situations comin' around the bend either.

The top of our order was hot shit today. Brantley got his hit. Kipnis - first MLB home run! w00t!

Asdrubal was on fire, going 3 for 4 and a walk. Another double! Also got some air playing defense behind Smith, with a nice grab in the 9th.


Santana also keeping in his groove with 2 more hits, one of them a TRIPLE. He got his first just a couple weeks ago on July 18, a game in which he played FIRST BASE just like tonight. He's gotten 8 hits in his last 6 starts.

Matt LaPorta...he's so wishy-washy. One night he's the hero and the next night he can't see the ball worth shit. I actually want LaPorta to do well...so we can use him in a trade to get someone who is a little more solid. I'm not haytin' on the dude...I am just tired of being teased by him!

Fukudome got his first hit JUST LIKE I SAID HE WOULD in last night's post. I said so! It was a double, even. He walked. And struck out. But he also made an excellent play in the outfield, which is something I'm sure we were all wondering about.

Man, we struck out a TON today. Twelve times! Against a guy with a 5+ ERA and a bunch of relievers.

Ten guys LOB too. Back up in to the double-digits.

Hey did you see Zeke today? Came in to pinch for Kearns (I know, right?) and got a double! His average is the same as Fukudome right now hahaha

Today's lineup also included Jason Donald, who was here for a bit last year. He played some nice-nice at 3rd and went 0 for 2 with a walk. Then they hit Hafner for him, heh.

Neither Lonnie nor Lou did anything in the 9-hole, except Lou did catch a guy stealing. While Santana lost a stealer in the 8th.

Our guys are not doing so hot with stealing lately. Brantley and Asdrubal both got caught today. I can see why we're trying to get runners in scoring position (cuz we need to SCORE) but they keep getting caught and then we've wasted the talent of the top of our order. Brantley has been caught 5 times this season so far! Yowza!

Anyway, I am exhausted from all the trade talk and the contender talk. Exhausted from these close games. We need to get our win on, get ourselves a little padding and welcome August with open arms. When we've got Ubaldo Jiminez and Shin-Soo Choo hangin' out. We could use a little more Pronk and maybe a little Grady if he can be bothered. And there's always more room for as much Asdrubal as we can muster.

Tomorrow we play against the Red Sox (ooOoOooh!) for 4 games. I fuckin' hate the Red Sox, possibly more than the Yankees, and we need to win. Forget contending, forget anything else for now. Let's just beat those stinky Sox. Seriously.

See you tomorrow at 7:10 PM!

Radio Chatter:
"Ichiro Suzuki treats the base-on-balls like a virus."
- Tom Hamilton on the difference between Suzuki and Fukudome and their OBP

"Santana and Lou Marson have missed a double and a home run by a combined total of about 3 feet."
- Mike Hegan

"Fukudome made that play look easy, and it was anything but."
- Tom Hamilton on Fukudome's play in the 8th

Columbus Clutch

Ah, missed another compelling game but I didn't miss it as much as I loved seeing "Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen" at the Beachland! Besides, if I didn't have a Tribe game to listen to in the morning, I probably would have had a much harder time getting out of bed.

Nice work from Good Fausto here, I mean real nice, especially since that's two games in a row in which he didn't suck. Not only did he not suck but he beat out Dan Haren by not giving up any runs. Yes, he had 7 fewer strikeouts than Haren (3) and went an inning-and-a-third less but dammit - he made it through both the 2nd and 5th innings un-scathed and that is LEGEND...ARY for Fausto!

Joe Smith - lights fucking out. Still with that ERA above 1, but slowly chipping away!

Not sure how it is that Vinnie Pestano gave up a 2-run homer but things happen. I do want you to see his MLB.com homepage picture. Derrr....

Our man Tony Sipp, tho, was lights-fucking-out just like his pal there. So that works.

Not much going on hit-wise today for the boys, as suspected when facing Dan Haren. I was visibly stoked (yeah, visibly - I was hopping up and down in the drivers' seat of my car) when Brantley managed to get a hit and then Asdrubal knocked him in in the first inning. GREAT to get up a run on these guys so early!

Absolutely nothing happened offense-wise for the next 7 innings, which is why that first run was so big.

Defensively, though, there was a big turnaround from last week! Brantley with an outfield assist, Zeke with a beautiful diving catch. Even Pestano with a nice backhanded flip to get an out at first, kind of redeeming himself from that 2-run dinger.

So everyone was playing the game right all the way through, with the defense backing up good pitching and the offense getting in a run early, and wearing out Haren enough to get to the bullpen with a few innings to go.

When I say "everyone" I mean "everyone" because Manny brought all 4 of our benchers out in the 8th and 9th. So he knew we were going to have to scrap to make this work. I was amazed that he pulled Marson for a second until I remembered that you can pull Marson for LaPorta while Santana is in the game and still have first and C covered.

Brantley, in the 2-hole, got his second hit of the night to lead off the 9th. Not bad to have a backup leadoff guy while your real leadoff guy (Carrera) is still finding his way. I'd like to thank Michael Brantley's Mom for stepping up and getting Brantley back healthy with the team! Not only was he healthy enough to get two hits, he also stole second to get in scoring position with no outs. Holla!

Sadly, Asdrubal could not make the magic to win the game as the next batter (it was pretty awesome that at least the radio guys totally were trying to call it that he WOULD end the game right there). But don't forget the magic powers of Travis Hafner and the fact that we love the fuck out of that guy again! His massive double to center brings Brantley in easily and ties the game!

Then we get a walk and a HBP which loads the bases. I was ready for a walk or even a balk to win the game. That shit has happened to us this year!

Of course the guy responsible for all that gets taken out and they bring in a new pitcher. Travis Buck tried to be a hero but failed when We Heart Torii Hunter throws out Orlando at the plate. TENSION!

Then "the Kid" Jason Kipnis (note that by this time, both Lonnie Chisenhall and Ezequiel Carrera are veterans and no longer "kids") is up. Sounds like some movie plot where the manager is all "We'll keep the kid in," even though the kid has had no hits since he's been up in the majors. But the truth of the matter is that there was absolutely no one left on the bench to come in for him so, dude, you're going to have to do something here with 2 out in the 9th, tied and 2 men on. Ok?

No problem! (That's a nice clip because they show the hit twice, once with Hamilton's call)

So that's that. The Tribe seems to have gotten their shit together at least for now, with good pitching, good fielding and hold-on-until-the-bullpen batting. Don't forget it takes good, patient batting to get a starter out of the game with time enough to wear down a bullpen. We had that today.

And maybe a little growing up by some of our boys, too.

Next game is 7:05 tonight against Jared. Weaver. Grrrroooaaan...Perhaps we'll have a little momentum to carry us through a game against a dude with a 1.81 ERA. That's a STARTER with numbers like that. Let's just hope we show tons of patience at the plate and get rid of that guy after 6 or so. It's our only hope.

See you then!

Radio Chatter:
"Tell you what - if you're a good student at Pepperdine, your concentration is off the charts."
"A few distractions out there?"
"The ocean is one...you can figure out the rest! [...] There are a lot of kids who have gone to Pepperdine. They did very well in the 10 years at that school."
- Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan on Dan Haren's alma mater

"If you're going to beat the Angles, you're going to have to beat them 4-1, 2-1, 3-2. In otherwords, Carmona, Tomlin and Huff are going to have to be sharp."
- Tom Hamilton

"Everyone who's interested is interested in all of the people available."
- Tom Hamilton on pretty much everything we know about the trade deadline

"Well it was over the inside corner, but the coin came up tails so it was called a ball."
- Tom Hamilton is not amused by the home plate umpire

"These kids have probably never seen anybody who can throw this slow and still get you out."
- Mike Hegan on the 3 minor-league players facing Dan Haren

Lost in Space

Actually, I mean "Left On Base." I just happened to be reading an article about Keir Dullea visiting Cleveland last weekend.

Justin Masterson rocked out tonight, giving us over 7 innings and striking out 6. He didn't give up any runs. And how do you think the Indians repayed him? That's right - 8 LOB. Of course not as bad as we've been doing lately with double-digits LOB but that's only because no one was getting hits. Half of those 8 guys were walked.

Tony Sipp did his job in the 8th and then Chris Perez, of all people, blew a save. BLEW IT! I'm pretty sure he's upset about it, as evidenced by this screen grab from @PureRage_Perez. "So sick of Double Bubble."

But you know who helped him blow it? Luis Valbuena, who was playing the outfield for the second time in his career (Brantley out with the bubonz and Buck beaned in the belfry). He came upon a fly ball from Danny Valencia with the bases loaded in the 9th, and just sort of let it drop there while two runs scored. The tying and winning runs. At least that's how Tom Hamilton explained it and that's the story I'm sticking to.

Valbuennnaaaaaaaa!!!!

So with Buck out and Valbuena in, who is even left on our bench? Hafner and Chisenhall. Not too bad to have on your bench (actually not our usual bench - more like LaPorta and Chisenhall) but hopefully Shelley will be back up again soon. Acta's post-game description of whatever Brantley has doesn't sound good at all.

That's all that happened in today's game. Glad tomorrow's game is 7 hours early so we don't have to prolong the sadness.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be fucking hot in Minneapolis again. So far our guys are handling it ok, especially playing 2 on Monday. Tomorrow is Tomlin versus another mediocre Twins pitcher. Let's hope we have enough guys to show up and make it 9 to a side.

See you there! Bring a lunch!

Radio Chatter:
"The Mariners may have a new edict, and that is 'quit trading with the Indians.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the acquisition of Carrera from Seattle

"At some point the Indians have got to make Liriano pay for all these walks!"
- Tom Hamilton in the 6th after 4 walks

"When the fans heard Matt Capps was coming out, they said 'Are you kidding me?'"
- Tom Hamilton on Matt Capps

"We don't have any money raised tonight, and we don't have any highlights either."
- Tom Hamilton in the post-game wrapup

Limping In to the Break

Wow y'all, what a nasty weekend, huh? Especially after all that EXCITEMENT Thursday night with Hafner's grand slam.

I saw the score for Sunday's game before I heard the game. I decided a while back that I didn't need to run around and try to avoid the score. The score doesn't matter - I'll still listen to he game!

So today while I worked from a hotel room in Redmond, WA, I listened to the game. Meh. MEH!

It actually started out pretty great. Bases loaded and only one out. Here's when knowing the final score is 7-1 Toronto sort of puts a damper on the fun. But at least you get to hear the utter disappointment in Tom Hamilton's voice when nobody scores. Amirite?

Carlos Carrasco had his second bad outing in so many starts. Has that ship sailed already? God, I hope not.

We got to see a good chunk of our bullpen (save for Chris Perez) because of the break. Frank Hermann did 2 whole innings with just one hit. Raffy Perez struck out 2 but also gave up 2 runs. Joe Smith is now pitching with a .85 ERA and he's getting more work. Did you see what I did there?

Vinnie Pestano made up for recent transgressions and struck out the goddamn side. 3-up-3-down!

Tony Sipp, who also has some ass-kissing to do, tried to strike out the side but the first guy popped out. Awww!

Wink.

So the bullpen was teh awesomez. Our hitters were not so much. Asdrubal missed his first game of the season! I guess to travel. I wonder how he feels about that...he seemed to be looking for some Iron Man recognition after he hurt his ankle the other day, not wanting to miss the next day.

While Michael Brantley managed to get a hit (but not even close to .300 like I predicted), the Other Cabrera was shut out and so was Hafner.

Actually, those two are the only two who didn't get a hit! But, once again - 13 LOB. Sigh.

Grady and Santana looked ok in the middle of the order there, both with 2 hits each and Grady with our only RBI.

Sweet Lou was moved up to #7 and got himself a double. Valbuena got a hit but it's his first hit but it's his only hit in 8 ABs so far. Those two actually put two hits together, and the rest of their team dropped the ball that inning.

Well, if there was a ball to drop. Carrasco had already left us 5 down by then.

So that's all for the first half. We are .5 game out of first place. But, as Tom Hamilton noted, this time last year we were 15 out. SO QUIT YOUR WHINING! Well he didn't say that last bit but I could feel it in his mind.

The Home Run Derby's about to start and for the first time in 5 years I'm actually in the presence of a TV with ESPN. So I'm getting pumped about the All Star Game. So far I've been watching for a half hour and there's not been one mention of Asdrubal but lots of pictures of cacti.

We'll hear more about Asdrubal tomorrow, when he goes in and kicks the ball's ass.

Hey, maybe I'll write a blog post about the ASG! Won't that be fun? Or maybe not, depends on how much play Asdrubal and Perez get. But, don't forget - 8 PM Eastern on Fox.

If you don't hear from me tomorrow, see you Thursday at 7:05 PM for more BASEBALL!

Radio Chatter:
"There is something about watching the All Star game and seeing your club first in the standings."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have preached and preached both to Carmona and Carrasco - when you're in trouble quit trying to trick hitters."
- Tom Hamilton

"It almost looks like some guys are on the All Star break too soon."
- Tom Hamilton

"John Farrel feels Jose Bautista has done enough damage for the weekend."
- Tom Hamilton on Bautista leaving the game

"He's like Secretariat right now."
- Tom Hamilton on Bautista leading in homers by so many

"A year ago at this time, the Cleveland Indians were 20 games under .500 and 15 games out of first. This has not been a good weekend but look at the first half as a whole."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians may be the only playoff contender that doesn't need bullpen help."
- Tom Hamilton

A Night of Magic

Tonight's game was sort of boring. Mike Hegan said so, Manny Acta said so. I actually didn't notice because I had to work so it could have droned on for 8 hours and I would have been fine with it.

I don't think it's that boring when we get 10 hits. It's definitely sad when we get 10 hits, 5 walks and strand 9.  And strike out 8 times.

But, it was cool to see a rookie pitcher, Zach McAllister, come start and do a decent job. He was shaky for sure, walking 4 and giving up 3 runs in 4 innings. But Fausto does shit like that all the time and he has been in the pros for a while.

And we've got the bullpen to back it up! Raffy, Durbin, Hermann and Smith shut 'em down for 4 innings. Joe Smith - ERA of .91! Our man Sipp came in in the 9th and gave up a run and...got the win? Whatever. Giving up a run was no big deal 'cause we were already down 3, why not 4? And it was a home run to Jose Bautista, his 29th. Someone had to do it, you know?

Pitching wasn't really the story of the night, though. Neither was Lonnie getting hit in the face with a pitch (Fuuuuucck....)

The story is not Travis Buck getting his 9th hit in 8 games, putting his batting average 30 points higher than the middle of June, a respectable .252.

The story is also not Matt LaPorta smashing a double off Francisco in the 9th, after Buck's single, further solidifying his back-ness.

The story is not, no matter how much I want it to be, Asdrubal being "Clutch-drubal" and getting a bases-loaded single in the 9th, driving in our first run of the night.

But with the bases loaded and the Tribe down by 4 (thanks to the wounded Asdrubal, in case you forgot)...after 3 hours of sort of boring baseball...well this happened.

Ok I won't make you click the link because I hate when I have to watch a video to get the rest of a story. But you really should click the link and hear it. Because Travis Hafner, good ol' Travis Hafner, he hit a walk-off grand slam. And Tom Hamilton called it and it was beautiful. I mean really beautiful.

It's nights like these where I really hate sitting here alone listening to the games. Scott Cabrera was ignoring baseball. My brother was off doing something. The dog was asleep. There was absolutely no one to high-five. Nothing to yell. Nothing to do during that perfect post-homer moment when Hammy lets the crowd noise spill through the radio.

I actually ended up doing something like this:

No fucking joke!
Even though we love Carlos Santana, and his walk-off grand slam was neato, it wasn't as neato as Pronk's. I think they need to replace Santana's "What If?" video with a Pronk one STAT. Because no matter how much we think Carlos Santana is going to be, I don't think he'll ever be Travis Hafner in Cleveland.

Things are feeling much better lately with guys getting hits and us having the ability to come back. That's something we took for granted in April and May and completely lost in June. Guys are also returning from their injuries and getting right back to where they left off (LaPorta, Buck...Asdrubal). The bullpen is no fluke whatsoever, our starters - while not perfect - are really a phenomenal bunch.

We're going to hopefully roll into the All Star break in 1st place. Some of our performances lately are really a great way to start the second half. It seems like we're getting better from the bottom-up as we rotate though our bench and Columbus. There's still a lot of striking out going on, and the occasional sloppily-defended game. But it looks like they are back to trying everything it takes to get the win.

I think tonight is a great look at more wonderful things to come!

See you tomorrow for more magic. It's going to be rocky on our side with Talbot, but their pitcher is reported as having given up 14 runs in his last 15 innings pitched, so we'll take a big heapin' helpin' of that mess!

Radio Chatter:
"I don't think Villanueva is going to invite Dana DeMuth for a late-night dinner."
- Tom Hamilton on the home-plate umpire's tight strike zone

"They've got a shift on for Hafner. My goodness, there is a second baseman in right field, about 40 feet."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians have the makings of a pretty good rec league basketball team now with [McAllister], Masterson...Carlos Carrasco is a big boy too, maybe on point."
- Jim Rosenhaus

"You know, 94 pitches here in the big leagues, the way he had to work so hard, is like 120 pitches down in Columbus."
- Mike Hegan on McAllister's pitch count

"This game has had the pace of the old tortise and the hare race. [...] As we've said before, some 4 hour games are too short and some 3 hour games are too long. This game is too long."
- Mike Hegan after 3 hours

"Encarnacion jumps up in the air and he's not happy. But he's got to get in line, Dana DeMuth has 15 other people unhappy with his calls tonight."
- Tom Hamilton after Encarnacion strikes out

"If the Indians don't win this game, they have only themselves to blame."
- Tom Hamilton

"You don't want to be down 3 runs but if you have to be down 3 runs this is the situation you want to face."
- Mike Hegan with Hafner up and the bases loaded

"A night of utter frustration ends with one of the best 9th innings ever at Progressive Field."
- Tom Hamilton

Austin Kearns? Austin Kearns!

It was a low-hitting game. We had an error. Nobody scored until the 7th. But MAN what a game!

First off, it was a sellout on the 4th of July. Stands to reason, as it was against the Yankees. A friend of mine was at the game and he said while there were a lot of Yankee "fans" there they didn't dominate the crowd like usual. I know I could barely hear them on the radio broadcast. Sometimes when we play the Yankees and especially when we play the Red Sox, you can't tell who's home stadium we're at!

Josh Tomlin did his thing and went 7 innings, giving him the modern era record for most consecutive 5-plus-inning games (29). He actually had a no-hitter going in to the 7th! He did end up giving up 2 in the 7th but now that our guys are batting, albeit still a skeleton crew, 2 is just ducky.

Our favorite trio came in to finish off the game. Sipp, Pestano and Chris Perez. Pestano did give up a homer to Curtis Granderson, but Granderson has 23 homers and 2 against the Tribe in 4 previous games so somebody had to do it.

Perez was back after his bereavement trip, and got his 20th save! Here's a clip of the last out, which is a very nice clip because there's some fancy fielding plus a very happy sell-out crowd and lots of smiles and handshakes. And about 75% less Rage Beard as well!

Our hitting, overall, wasn't very amazing as a team. Although Asdrubal went 2 for 4 and Pronk got a hit in the 3-hole.

Grady didn't hit but he did get 2 walks, one of which resulted in scoring a run on a very clutch 2-out single from Shelley Duncan.

Before Duncan was up, Lonnie Chisenhall had a "major league at-bat" fouling off 4 pitches from AJ Burnett and walking after 8 pitches, which included a wild pitch. He looked good up there, being selective.

But then after that, after Shelley got that hit and everyone was all riled up, and there were 2 outs and 2 men on base, and we were losing 2 to 1....Austin Kearns came up. Austin Kearns who used to be pretty awesome on other teams and he was sort of awesome for us last year but this year hasn't managed to be anywhere near awesome. Austin Kearns batting 9th and filling in for the injured Choo with his .192 batting average, 37 strikeouts and 0 home runs. He came in and did this.

Lucky for all of you that I'm posting this a day late (I had a party last night so I got up early to listen to the game archive!) and I'm able to link right to the "Tom Hamilton ... Home Run Call" Facebook page video/audio of the call. As one FB commenter put it "Hammy just reached through my radio and punched me in the face!"

I feel you, commenter!

I'm actually quite surprised that Hamilton didn't wax poetic about this team and this season and magic and something special. Maybe he's finding it too cliche anymore? Whatever...I just loved that call. I've listened to it about 7 times already today. Awesome stuff!

So after that display of 7th-inning magnificence, AJ Burnett was done. We weren't done, though, because in the 8th Carlos Santana went deep and opposite for a 2-run homer. Oddly enough to score Travis Hafner and himself! Santana had even been catching as opposed to playing 1st like he usually has. Not sure of the stats on when he hits homers while playing 1st versus when he's catching. Those would be interesting stats.

Aside from Perez's 20th win, that was all for us for the night. What a magical night, I say! I'm glad 40,000 of you were there to enjoy it! I'm also glad I got to listen to it in full this morning. It actually helped me get out of bed!

Tonight is Cookie Carrasco versus CC Sabathia. CC won't be going to the All Star game this year, even though his name has come up in Cy Young Award talks. We love to beat CC, a lot. I am super excited you bet!

See you tonight!

Radio Chatter:
"For nine days I twiddled my thumbs until the 7th inning then hoped I got an at-bat."
- Travis Hafner to Tom Hamilton

"They don't like the balls and strikes being called, but get used to it that's what he did in the first inning! [...] One thing about the Yankees - they never believe that a call should go against them."
- Tom Hamilton on a dust-up between the Yankees catcher and the home plate umpire

"I don't think anyone in the American League is sorry to see [pitchers batting] go."
"You know who will miss it? Josh Tomlin. He got some great hits!"
- Mike Hegan and Jim Rosenhaus on pitchers batting

"CC Sabathia already said 'I'm going to the Bahamas, don't call.'"
- Tom Hamilton on the All Star Game picks

"The last time these teams faced each other on the 4th of July was here, 5 years ago, and the Indians won 19-1! Tonight, nothing but goose eggs!"
- Tom Hamilton

"His numbers have started to drop a little with age. And a lack of vitamins."
- Tom Hamilton does not like A-Rod taking "vitamins" (HE MEANS STEROIDS)

"Well it had to have hit something or Teixeira would have caught it. He catches everything!"
- Tom Hamilton on a mysterious bounce in the 7th

"How about...you get your first home run on the 4th of July against the New York Yankees, and your second hit off of AJ Burnett?"
- Tom Hamilton on Kearns' homer

"Vinnie Pestano was 10 during Derek Jeter's rookie year."
- Tom Hamilton

"It doesn't matter how the weather is at home, how the wind is blowing. It's blowing in tonight and they just hit two more homers at home! We all know how miserable the spring was in Cleveland yet the Indians have now hit 53 home runs at home, 24 on the road."
- Tom Hamilton

"This is kind of a micrcosm of this season. This ballclub does not rely on one guy."
- Tom Hamilton

Snakes and Ladders

Wow man. I was really scared coming in to this game, I'm not going to lie. With the way we played over the weekend and the recent outings of their starter, I was really afraid we were going to completely blow it in front of my aunt & uncle, who are DBackers to the point of having a shrine room. And we'd fall further behind the Tigers in the standings.

I also worried that all of our barking for Lonnie Chisenhall to be brought up would be for naught as he struggled to get settled in the majors.

I was wrong, I was wrong and I was wrong!

We start with pitching, which was run-of-the-mill Talbot. Three runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Mitch was yanked after 5 innings and 71 pitches in favor of Travis Hafner batting with 2 on and 2 out, which I was not totally opposed to. Except he struck out. Although Talbot was looking great since he gave up 3 in the first inning, Hafner did have a better chance at getting more runs in than him. Plus, we had the whole #BullpenMafia looking to bust out.

And bust out they did. We got almost the entire gang - Smith, Sipp, Pestano, Raffy and Rage. The only one that had a little problem was Pestano who gave up two hits and a run. But, as Rick from Waiting For Next Year tweeted: "Can't even be mad at Pestano. First run he's given up since little league I think." Yeah, pretty much.

Raffy pitched to one guy and got the win, but it was a big strikeout, closing out Pestano's bad inning. Rage came in and gave up a hit, I think in order to allow himself to get the next 3 out or something, and then he got the save.

And now, the exciting story of our bats waking up!

First off, many thanks to Asdrubal for coming out of whatever funkety-funk he's been in lately (got down to .290. Can you believe it?!) and hitting a 2-run dinger at his first at-bat, surely to impress my aunt and uncle who were sitting in the stands behind him. He went 2 for 4 tonight, bringing his average back up to a respectable-for-Asdrubal .295.

Asdrubal's other hit was a double in the 6th, and he was driven in by none other than sometimes-Indian Travis Buck! Buck also had a lovely catch in the 9th to help out ol' C. Perez.

So - Lonnie Chisenhall! His first at-bat he flew out. Then everyone in Cleveland breathed a sigh of relief as little cousin started off the 5th with a double! Woohoo! Save the ball!

Wait, it gets better! Later on in the 6th he got his first RBI, which was the go-ahead RBI! So, hopefully he'll be back tomorrow. Sorry Adam Everett...

So then Pestano gives up the tying run and we're all tied yadda yadda Orlando Cabrera hits a home run.

Serious! I mean, we have seen him do well in clutch situations and we have seen him ho-hum us at the plate. It was more in the first few weeks of the season that we were wowed. They do say the dry heat is excellent for old folks. Whatever, it was a night for Dos Cabreras to go long and go long they did.

Orlando Cabrera won the game with a home run.

That's why we love baseball, folks - anything can happen!

I don't know if you read the box scores in the morning but check this nonsense out. This is slightly extreme but this is generally how National League box scores end up:

Can you even follow that? Yeesh.

So, I'm pretty happy. Going to go to bed happy. Going to look forward to tomorrow's game and everything, maybe get myself some more popsicles.

Don't forget, 9:40 PM tomorrow and Wednesday. The pitching matchup tomorrow is absolutely even, stats-wise. Can't wait to see what Lonnie Chisenhall has going on in his second game!

Radio Chatter:
"Travis Buck has racked up the frequent flyer miles going between home and Columbus."
- Tom Hamilton

"And how 'bout the kid?"
- Tom Hamilton on Lonnie Chisenhall

"My friend went golfing today, his tee-time was 2:30. Since nobody is outside golfing since it's so darned hot, it was $7 to tee off at 2:30 on a nice course!"
- Tom Hamilton can't believe how hot it is in Arizona

Golden Gate Two-fer

Man you know it was a rough weekend when I skipped blogging for the first time this season. I kept putting off Saturday's game recap all day Saturday then Sunday rolled around and I continued to put it off until Sunday's game came up, and I was still not inspired to write enough words to constitute a read-worthy post. Since Sunday's game was more of the same of Friday and Saturday...eh, combining the games into one post just made the most sense.


I've actually been feeling pretty awful since Choo got hurt. I feel sad. So does Choo:

"I just feel bad that I can't help the team anymore," Choo said. "We might make the playoffs. We had a good start and are still in first place, and I can't help the team. I feel sad." 

Oh. My. God.

Ok so let's get the tweezers and see if we can pluck any strands of Good from these last two games.

Actually there's a big chunk of Good right here: Starting pitching was amazing. As good as any team could ask for, ever. Masterson and Carmona gave up 3 earned runs over 2 games. Masterson only gave up 4 hits and struck out 5 in more than 6 innings. Carmona gave struck out 4 and gave up 7 hits, but he went a full 6 innings and did not implode.

Our bullpen (Sipp, Pestano, R. Perez and Smith over 2 days) went back to giving up 0 runs and in fact gave up 0 hits.

Sipp balked with the bases loaded on Saturday, but that was an un-earned run.

In case you are trying to be up-in-arms about how you (the expert?) don't think it was a balk, Sipp says it was:

"I didn't move much, but I felt it," Sipp said. "I guess they're all good at their job. I felt it. I knew I balked." 

Oddly enough, I  was looking up balk stats the other night because we recently benefited from a balk again, scoring a run when someone balked with bases loaded. I asked Nick Camino on Twitter how many balks we've had against us this year and he said 4. I think 2 of them scored runs. When I looked, we were one of the few teams in the majors without a balk. Well now we have one.

Sorry for the jinx.

Someone on a message board I frequent asked about the number of balks committed this year and if it's particularly high and if so, why. I piggy-backed and asked if anyone had a source for the opposite of the balk stat, "balks committed against." No one has answered yet but if I find anything out I'll let you know, because I'm sure you noticed all the balks too. It's especially noticeable when it loses us the game!

Hey it was Pride weekend in Cleveland. Maybe you're not supposed to beat San Francisco over Pride weekend? Yeah, that's the ticket.

So the only good thing that MLB saw fit to share video-wise for the Indians in the past 2 games is a little highlight reel of Masterson's performance. Tonight's game? Nothing. Not even anything for the Giants.

It only makes sense then that I couldn't muster two whole posts, either.

Personally I thought the kid who pitched for the Giants was pretty impressive. Madison Bumgarner is 21 and came right out of high school to pitch for the Giants in 2009. He struck out a career-high 11 today, and the earned run he gave up was actually questionable as being earned (Orlando hit a ball down the left-field line that was foul on review but called fair by the 1st base ump, as the 3rd base ump was missing since the home plate ump left due to injury. You got that?)

I'm about over San Francisco, though. The Indians are over being in first place. But fuck it, it's ok. It's only June. We've got some work to do and it's best to find our limits and reach our lows now instead of September, right?

So, on to Arizona where the temp is slated to be in the one-teens. By that I mean 111. How do people even live? Yeesh.

Now, Arizona is on Mountain Time at the moment so all three of the games are at 9:40 PM Eastern. How the :40 relates to Mountain Time I do not know. I don't think it does. It just has to do with the wackiness that is Arizona, I guess.

We really need to look alive in Arizona because I have relatives out there who are huge DB fans and I don't need them picking my Tribe apart while we're down. But I just looked at the "Probables" Web page for tomorrow and I see:

"Ian Kennedy, RHP
8-2, 2.90 ERA

Kennedy has won seven of his last eight decisions to jump into All-Star consideration. Last time out, he allowed one run on eight hits over six innings. In his last two starts he has given up just one earned run in 14 innings."

So yeah, I'll see you Monday night. Hopefully with something truly awesome to say. Like "Fluffernutter." That's an awesome word.

Radio Chatter:
"You play the world champions in their park, you can't beat yourself. And that's what the Indians are doing here."
- Tom Hamilton

"No matter what happens this inning, it just has not been a very good weekend. [...] They're just not doing the little things and the little things are what got them to 30 and 15."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's supposed to be a high of 111 degrees [in Arizona]. But, the natives will tell you 'It's a dry heat.' Satan will tell you Hell is a dry heat!"
"An oven is dry heat but you don't put your head in there!"
"Good thing we're indoors, which the entire state of Arizona is indoors."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the weather in Arizona

"If one of those sail boats goes over, since we're high up here is it our job to call the Coast Guard?"
- Jim Rosenhaus

C is for Cookie

Carlos "Cookie" Carrasco is on FIRE lately! Only gave up 1 run in his last 3 starts (tonight). He crept up on a no-no into the 6th inning, with only one walk. Until he gave up a hit in the 6th, he had pitched 21.1 scoreless innings in a row. I don't know what's gotten into this kid (he's 24) but DAMN! Anyone picking him up for fantasy? He's 6-1 over his last 7.

In case you were wondering who Carlos Carrasco is, let me introduce you:

MLB.com

Awesome relief pitching, as usual. Joe Smith is still rockin' the under-2.0 ERA (1.29). Our man Sipp! gets his second closing opportunity in as many nights, again giving up none. Both guys struck out 2!

Hafner didn't play tonight, and Grady was at DH. But we still looked fine without Pronk, which is great. Means he's not carrying us yet making us stronger.

Grady rocked out tonight with a double and a triple. The triple was due to some great baserunning on a looked-like-a-homer ball. If Manny Ramírez had hit a ball like that he may have been thrown out at first.

Asdrubal, gettin on base, stealin' bases, scoring runs, batting .301.

CHOOOOO 1 for 2, with 2 walks. Walking a lot lately which means that he's really focused at the plate. He had 10 walks and 28 strikeouts in May, but with June more than halfway over he's already got 7 walks and only 12 strikeouts. Tonight he went the other way for his hit, got an RBI and got his 10th stolen base as well. Nice stuff!

Carlos Santana did not get a hit tonight BUT...he got a sac fly for an RBI. He hasn't had one of those since May. Brantley also got himself a SF-RBI.

Orlando Cabrera is making a case for himself. He did sort of miss a ball to give the Pirates their first hit in the 6th, but then he came back and hit his 3rd homer of the year. Hrm.

Austin Kearns is doing better in an occasional role. He had a hard time getting started off the bench, but he's hit in 3 out of his 5 games here in June. Tonight he went 2 for 4 and scored a run.

Sweet Lou Marson was behind the plate again tonight, which my friend C agrees with me is the right place for him. Now that LaPorta is out for a bit (owie in the ankle with video *shudder*) we should see more Carlos at first. And we get Buck back too. Man I hate to lose LaPorta but I do like those players in those places...but, speedy recovery to Matt - he wasn't having too bad of a month.

Great great team effort again tonight, just like we've gotten used to. Solid starting pitching, shutout relief, small ball offense.

Hafner's back in tomorrow night. I'm excited to see the lineup! I might watch the game on tv with my dad if that's ok with everyone. No Radio Chatter, then. But that's ok as it's a little tiring this weekend without Tom Hamilton.

It's a 1:05 game tomorrow, bring your broom! Heck I might bring my broom to my dad's, just cuz I paid for it and stuff.

See you then!

Radio Chatter:
"The final count was over 60,000 dogs last night. [...] Sales of antacid in the Cleveland area were high today."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Friday's Dollar Dog Night

"Hammy is our big toe."
- Jim Rosenhaus on Tom Hamilton's absence

"Nobody can hit that breaking ball, Mike."
"Not just this ball club, nobody period."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Mike Hegan on Carrasco's breaking ball

"How many hitters would have watched it and not gotten to 3rd base?"
- Jim Rosenhaus on Grady's home-run-turned-triple

Shake It Up

Man, I really wish the title of tonight's post wasn't the same as a Cars song, in case someone thinks I like The Cars. I don't, just so you know.

Manny Acta had told us to "wait until Monday" to see if there was anything funny happening to the lineup. Here's tonight's starting lineup:
DH Sizemore, 1B Santana, CF Brantley, SS ACabrera, RF Choo, LF Buck, 2B Phelps, 3B Hannahan, C Marson

Not terribly different but it puts Grady in first and Brantley third instead of down in the 6ish-spot when Grady hit first last time. Santana second instead of cleanup. Asdrubal cleanup which is a no-brainer (but still Walter to Brantley's Perry) and Phelps in the lineup instead of Orlando.

What does all of that madness get us? Well not 7 runs or even 7 hits but a WIN! And what's better than a win? A win against the Yankees in New York!

Asdrubal got that RBI, you know. Him and Brantley teamed up to get all of the run tonight.

Let's not talk about that though. Let's talk about our pitching tonight. OMG I AM LOVING CARLOS CARRASCO! I saw him the last time he pitched, the last time we won, the last time it was 1-0. That was when I sat next to the Indians bull pen and got to watch him warm up.

Carrasco - who, let's face it, NOBODY saw coming - went 7 innings with 7 strikeouts and no runs. He got himself into an honest-to-goodness JAM in the 1st with the bases loaded, then getting a flyout (A-Rod), strikeout, groundout. He gave up 3 walks and as many hits as the other starter, but, as Hammy said, "got stronger as the night went on."

He also says "Jankee Stadium" in the post-game interview and says "I do my best for my team." How precious.

Then Tony Sipp, who has some ridiculous ERA against the Yankees, comes in for the 8th and gets two outs. Then they flippity-flop to VinnieP and he takes care of the last out of the inning. I hear tell that Vinnie's sprint from the bullpen was booed. Whatever, New York.

Then - THEN! - Pure Rage Perez comes in and is all GAME OVER, NEW YORK! and strikes out the side. Three up, three down! IT WAS AWESOME! Save number 16.

Speaking of IT WAS AWESOME! Check this shit out from Jack Hannahan. That was all Asdrubal-y of him. Also check this shit out from the MLB Fan Cave and Jack Hannahan in a kilt. Apparently Jack Hannahan has a "legend" and it is "growing." Srsly.

So I am just happy happy tonight after this game. The pitching was so awesome. The defense was pretty good. The offense still needs a shot in the arm (Hafner. Soon.) but at least we still can count on Brantley and Asdrubal.

I got an Asdrubal baseball card today. How cool is that? Not signed or anything but still cool. I used to collect cards in the early 90s so I haven't seen ANY of these guys on cards, not even Orlando.

The Tigers are a half game behind us at the moment, but they are tied in the 9th with Tampa Bay. So when we wake up tomorrow we'll be facing the Tigers while tied with them or a whole game ahead of them.

We have no choice but to rock. Unlike The Cars, who do anything but.

Let's hope this momentum carries over to tomorrow's game! I know I'm excited! See you there, 7:05 PM.

Radio Chatter:
"[Umpire] Mike Muchlinski tells him 'look that's not going to be ball 3 after you just took a bunt like that.'"
- Tom Hamilton

"Well they just made an announcement here at Yankee Stadium that should clear some of the park. Eduardo Nunez is coming in to bat and play short for Derek Jeter."
- Tom Hamilton

"Boy, Jack Hannahan has played Gold Glove third base all season long."
- Tom Hamilton

"This might be one of those games where if you're going to win you've got to win one to nothing."
- Tom Hamilton

"The Indians looking to get out of New York with a 1-run win or better, and hoping that the Tigers and Tampa Bay play 23 innings."
- Tom Hamilton

Just A Replay of Yesterday

Except I wasn't there. And Texas ended up using their bullpen for 4 outs.

Otherwise, a shutout for us and two homers by them.

I am pretty sure that the Rangers look how we looked about a month ago. Very sharp, very complete with their lineup and very hard to score runs off of.

Even though I watched the game on TV and just finished listening to the radio archive, I still don't have much to say about it. It really just felt like a replay of yesterday right down to me looking at the crowd thinking about how hot they must feel.

Our pitching was good. Talbot gave a good performance aside from the two homers. We've discussed it here on The Positive Tribe that our pitchers give up two homers at a time. And it was funny. Funny when our offense was getting 5-10 runs a game. Not so funny now!

Smith came in in the 7th after Talbot had left two on and then Smith walked the bases loaded. But he got out of it without giving up a run!

Sipp! Struck out the side! For all of the great pitching we've had this season, I don't know how often we've seen that!

Chris Perez once again gave up a hit before shutting them down in the 9th.

Our defense looked good today (yesterday too). Everett made a few really nice plays at 3rd, which is good because I think he missed a couple last night. Hannahan still out with some muscle soreness. Asdrubal, of course, is awesome. And check out this nice one by LaPorta in the third. He made another nice stop in the third too.

So, our pitching and defense have been up to snuff lately. Our bats are just STYMIED. What up with that? Hopefully we'll get our gears loosened a little bit against Minnesota here before we head off to the Bronx.

Since this post is so short, I'll show you some pictures from last night. The owner of these pictures can step forth and claim them as hers or remain anonymous. I won't take credit for them, though.

Although, I might steal that camera!

 

Radio Chatter:
"I wonder if there's something going on between Santana and Talbot. You don't see Belcher run out like that. I mean, he ran."
- Tom Hamilton with regards to an interesting meeting at the mound

"I bet this pleases the Rangers...CJ Wilson's hobbies include travelling - ok - surfing, and auto racing."
- Tom Hamilton

"I'll say one thing about home plate umpire Tim Timmons. He's been consistent in one area - he's got hitters upset on both ball clubs."
- Tom Hamilton

"Tim Timmons better not need a ride to the airport. Not one of the players would give him one!"
- Tom Hamilton, several innings later

"Boy it's a weekend when the Indians have hit a ball hard, it is right at someone."
- Tom Hamilton

"Nelson Cruz...has had two home runs in this series. What he thinks every time he comes to the plate is 'Let's see how far I can hit this puppy.'"
- Tom Hamilton

...And We're Back!

I'm sorry boffins, I'm sorry I didn't get a post up in a timely manner. It's Memorial Day weekend and you know what that means. No, not so much honoring the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces as well as remembering those who have died, but rather being invited to places in which very little honoring is done but we all get together to eat because most of us don't have to work Monday.

It's ok though because I know you were all brave little boys and girls and took in Saturday's game without trepidation and were soundly rewarded by its outcome. I'm sure - SURE! - you felt some moments of the game where it would be appropriate to yell "That's typical!" only to stop yourself and say "no, no that sort of awful play is not typical at all." Perhaps also you spread the good news by correcting a nay-sayer who happened by your baseball on the way to the drink cooler. "Oh, haven't they lost three in a row?" "Why yes, but the World Series Tampa Bay Rays lost seven in a row during their World Series season. And, it's no big deal anyway as we are still atop the American League. Now why don't you come enjoy some baseball with me this fine Saturday afternoon?" That happened to you, too, right?

Ok maybe it didn't but however your day played out you might want to keep yourself "armed" with positivity for the long weekend as you encounter the nay-sayers. They are out there.

Yesterday's game was quite fun, especially to watch with a nay-sayer, because it started out with four straight hits and two runs.

You also got to see Asdrubal getting his THIRD triple of the season! Wowee! He's over .300 now at .303. It'd be awesome if he could keep it up through the ALL-STAR GAME.

And CHOOOOO he got his hit. .249!

LaPorta. Remember Matt LaPorta from Friday? Yeah well forget that guy and remember that he hit a solo homer Saturday as well as a single and a walk, going 2 for 3. These fellas aim to please, right?

SHELLEY DUCAN! Since Grady is serving as DH during our Turf Tour, Shelley isn't starting. However, he did come in as Mr. Amazing Pinch with the bases loaded and got a two run single then came around later to score. Can you imagine the glimmer excitement for Manny Acta when he sees the bases loaded and Shelley Duncan is on his bench? He's hitting .389 with runners in scoring position, .313 with two outs and .375 late in the game. Would you say that Duncan enjoys the pinch hitting aspect of the game? I would!

How about Carlos Carrasco, huh? You sort of forget about that guy since he's not Masterson or Tomlin or Fausto and he lost a few starts due to injury. He's pretty middle-of-the-pack for us but being the middle of this particular pack is nothing to laugh at. He got the job done Saturday with 6 innings, 2 runs and 4 strikeouts. A very even start for him and I look forward to seeing him do it again. Oh, and for his efforts he gets the W.

Our favorites Pestano and Sipp came in to combine for two total innings with zero runs and three strikeouts. #bullpenmafia!

R. Perez's part of the 9th was a little hairy. The Rays were going all Cleveland on us, finding ways to get guys on the bases. With two outs, bases loaded and the tying run on deck, Chris Perez came in to an actual save situation. It is iffy whether or not Perez is a shut-the-fuck-up sort of closer right now...he did give up a run. But right after he gave up a run - and I mean technically on the very same play - they got the third out and the game was over and Chris Perez had game 14. In case you missed it, here is how the game ended.

So we got our losses out during the week, and if you caught Saturday's game you'll know we got our basepath silliness out Saturday, so hopefully we'll be back to "normal" (do I have to qualify that with "2011 Normal"?) for the remainder of Turf Tour 2011.

Oh hey, here's two nice short articles about how Acta thinks Asdrubal is going to knock your socks off EVEN MORE coming up, and how Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks we're the shit.

Joe Maddon gets it, it seems. I wonder if he reads The Positive Tribe? From a different article:

"They have a lot of good players and they've done it in a very typical Cleveland way: quiet, and then all of a sudden they spring it on you," Maddon said. "When you really look at it, it's not really that surprising."

I know, right?!

Today's game is at 1:40 PM. You heard me. So we'll have 35 minutes extra to twiddle our thumbs and wait for baseball. Oh well, I have to make a casserole anyway.

Radio Chatter:
"With Joe Maddon, you could see anything. He's sometimes a mad scientist."
- Tom Hamilton

"We've lost Rosie. We'll get to him in the next inning. He's still convulsing over the cat."
"That's DJ Master Cat I think."
"You like that cat don't you? He'll probably be in our hotel lobby later. [...] The kitty has gone away now and this place has gone deafly silent."
- Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus on the Ray's 7th inning entertainment

"The biggest play of this inning is the double play Ben Zobrist didn't turn."
- Tom Hamilton

"Avril Lavigne. Come on...as a man with two daughters you should know who this is."
"I'm just asking the question. Can't I invoke my fifth amendment rights? [...] As a father of daughters you might be better off not knowing."
- Jim Rosenhaus and Tom Hamilton on Tampa's post-game entertainment

"Oh boy...my wife was listening. 'Ha ha ha, Rosie got you.' Our engineer Ralph can vouch...nothing wrong with daughters, I love the daughters! When boys have a problem with friends they punch them in the nose and that's it. With daughters, it's a whole soap opera. Ralph's daughters are glaring at me now. I'm done... [...] And for all the girls out there listening, we love our daughters just as we love our sons. And that's the end of the story."
- Tom Hamilton