Fire from the Hip: Thoughts on Sports & Real Life

Perhaps you've seen the baseball classic, Major League, the best sports movie ever made about Cleveland. Indians commentator Harry Doyle uttered the words above after Cleveland Pitcher Rick Vaughn beans a Yankee hitter following a grand slam to nemesis Clue Haywood. With the score 8-0, Doyle was pleased to see the Indians express some frustration.

While watching the listless Tribe for the last two and a half weeks, frustration has been growing. Even the Cleveland Plain Dealer was advocating a display of some emotion but it wouldn't come before three straight losses, the last a shellacking at the hands of division-rival Detroit. Well tonight, the Tribe finally came alive.

The Indians rose to the occasion, hammering the Tigers. Not only did they beat them, they knocked around Tiger ace Justin Verlander. Further more, Indian Starting Pitcher Fausto Carmona plunked two Detroit hitters after Verlander had beaned two Indians. Intentional or not, Carmona's actions showed that team would not go quietly into the night. (Sorry, I love Bill Pullman and the Fourth of July) Cleveland needed a win tonight, desperately. Putting some runs up sends a statement that maybe they can produce enough runs to compete against the high-powered offenses of Detroit, New York, and Boston.

A win tonight gives me hope that maybe Fausto Carmona can step in for a struggling C.C. and keep this team out of prolonged losing streaks. It gives me hope that the team isn't going to fold like a cheap tent in a rain storm. Maybe they're not the '06 Indians. At least, I don't see Guillermo Mota in the bullpen, not yet anyway.

Labels: Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers

Watching the Cleveland Indians isn't an easy hobby. I sure it’s not for fans in Baltimore or Pittsburgh either. Last season's collapse against the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series damaged my psyche more than Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Even though I recall griping about how the Marlins bought a World Series with talent they couldn’t afford, the 90s-era Indians, fueled by revenue generated from a sellout streak that would eventually reach 455, could at least keep up with big market teams’ spending.

Not so for the Indians of today. Sure, they can keep it close against teams that spend twice as much but sooner or later, the $160 million dollar left fielder or even the under-achieving $75 million dollar right fielder is going to outperform the out-of-nowhere second year starter or the closer who was only signed after he failed a physical for another team. Sound like sour grapes? Perhaps, but it’s true.

Like many fans, my team’s track record plays a part in how I perceive them. Specifically, the history that I’ve personally witnessed. The Tribe has collapsed at critical moments in the playoffs since I was 11. And they’ve failed to live up to expectations at every turn, especially in 2000 and 2006. After overachieving in 2005, the team of young talent and over-achieving veterans struggled to string together hits as the bullpen imploded. So through thirteen games, I am ready to peg this team as a 2006 redux. Too early, perhaps but you try watching a game like Monday night’s against the Sox.

The only thing I was assured of as Manny Ramirez stepped to the plate against Cleveland closer Joe Borowski was a free beer courtesy of the bartender for pain soon to be inflicted. Interestingly enough, it was the same bar where I witnessed Borowski’s implosion against the Yankees last April. The one where the Yankees scored six runs with two outs to shock the Indians in the Bronx. I received several free shots for my troubles that day.

So am I pegging them as a disappointment in 2008 a bit too early? Do I already assume C.C. Sabathia is as good as gone as a free agent this winter? The answer to both questions is a definitive yes.

Hey, that’s my team. Only four months till the Browns play the Giants in the first of six primetime appearances they’ll make in the 2008 season. They’re my other team, the team in a league with a salary cap. I heart salary caps and Grady Sizemore.

Labels: Boston Red Sox, cleveland browns, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland sports, MLB