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

With the Indians hosting Detroit and their AL Central lead a mere four and a half games, I thought it would be a perfect time to keep an online journal of the game. It turned out to be a spectacular game that featured a little bit of everything.

6:52 EST: As I walked home from the Carroll Street stop , I had one thought that I couldn't shake out of my head as I looked forward to the Indians game against the Tigers. How confident can a Tribe fan be when the best offense in the league is going against your starter whose fastball tops out at 85 miles per hour?

7:24 EST: Travis Hafner strikes out with a runner at third and one out. What happened to the guy who managed a .308 batting average with 34 homers and 111 runs batted in his past three seasons? Suddenly, he is a .250 hitter who continually strikes out with runners in scoring position. In the midst of his worst season as an Indian, he signed a four year contract extension in July. However, if the Indians make the playoffs, he is a guy that is capable of carrying a team like David Ortiz did for the 2004 Red Sox. Mark my words. All is forgiven as Asdrubal Cabrera comes home on a wild pitch. 1-0 Indians.

8:15 EST: The Indians are playing defense like it's 2006 all over. The team is booting balls left and right. Lofton, who manages to recover on his gaffe, Peralta, and last but not least, Jason Michaels who overruns a ball in right. This all happens while I am on the phone, trying to clarify my order with the woman at the Chinese place down the block.

ME: Uhhh... I'd like..." Peralta bobbles it...throws...not in time, a run scores)
Moment of silence as I try not to swear out loud.
HER: Hello? Hello?
ME: Uhh...yeah. we'd like one Unagi Udon, one Buri, and one Dau Dua Xam Tom.
HER: Buri, yes? What Buri?
Santiago up to the plate...bunts to the first side of the rubber. Martinez in, nobody covers first, anothe runs scores. A perfect drag bunt and the Tigers now lead 4-1.
I throw up my hands as I look at my roommate as I try to keep it together. I walk into his bedroom in order to maintain focus and complete the order.
ME: Yeah, uhhh, I guess we'd like a Buri with chicken???
HER: Okay...so we have one Buri Kawon (?), one Unagi Udon, and a Dau Dua Xam Tom (Inaudible).
ME: Uhh, sure. Sounds about right, thanks.
I come back out of the bedroom to see the final out of the inning as the Indians now trail 5-1.

8:27 EST: Peralta hits a solo shot. Typical, the guy never gets a big hit when it matters. Following two back to back singles and a lineout, the inning comes to an end when Catcher Kelly Shoppach grounds into a double play. Why isn't Ryan Garko in the lineup? The Tribe never hit soft-throwers like Kenny Rodgers well. Why not have your best hitters in the lineup for the most important game of the year thus far???

8:35 EST: Watching Paul Byrd pitch against Gary Sheffield is like watching the cow getting dropped into the velociraptor's pit in Jurassic Park. Bad news for the cow, and similar news for Byrd. Sheffield just misses one as he takes a ferocious cut and hits the ball a mile high on the infield.

9:27 EST: The Indians continue to produce against the Tigers bullpen. What a difference a year makes. Zumaya made Indians hitters look foolish last year. They beat him back in Detroit just last month with three runs in the tenth. They'll need three here. Two on, nobody out.

9:32 EST: Jhonny Peralta swings and belts one to right. Ordonez looks up and it's gone! Tie game. The most unlikely of heroes, Peralta lives to strike out in key situations. I assumed he'd be overmatched against Zumaya. My roommate Justin creates a new nickname just moments before the blast: J-Honey. Iffy at best, but after the home run, it sticks.

9:33 EST: We go to the 9th...please don't put in Joe Borowski.

9:34 - 9:45 EST: Borowski, sporting a 7.18 ERA against the Tigers this year, tightropes through the 9th, getting Brandon Inge to end the inning. The inning causes more curses and stress than can be related in this column. BIG SIGH OF RELIEF.

10:08 EST: Going extras...if this was a Yankee/Red Sox game, it would be 11:30 EST.

10:37 EST: Where would the Indians be without Rafael Betancourt. He comes on to face Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Pudge Rodriguez over two innings. His line: 2 innings pitched, one hit, and four strikeouts. He was dominant again tonight.

10:44 EST: Casey Blake, a run-of-the-mill average joe in this lineup, hits his second walk-off home run in four nights. The guy is hitting like .130 with runners in scoring position. He hits a 1-2 curve over the fence in left-center field. He is mobbed at home plate and receives a pie in the face during the postgame interview, a celebratory act that has become a staple of Cleveland last at-bat victories this season.

10:45 EST: My father calls to see if I had been watching. "Didn't miss a minute of it Dad," I say as we rehash the game one more time.

Labels: American League Central, American League Playoff Hunt, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Tribe