Fire from the Hip: Thoughts on Sports & Real Life

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

For the last few weeks, a marvelous feeling of tranquility has overtaken me. No, I still don't have a job. No, I haven't found my "center." And no, I haven't paid my ever-growing credit card bill. But what I have discovered is an Indians team that is cruising towards a Central Division title and a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2001. I feel that I am getting a rare glimpse of what it's like to be a Red Sox or Yankees' fan. It is the expectation that your team will win, that your team is going to perform when it matters most, and that a fear of the team self-destructing isn't necessary. In the 2007 regular season at least. It isn't a completely foreign feeling as I recall something similar back in the mid 1990s. However, this is unique.

I still remember Cleveland's last playoff game in 2001. So does my fraying Tribe hat. I vividly recall the sunny fall day in October as I watched the Indians looked utterly hapless against Jamie Moyer at Safeco Field in Seattle. My hat received it's first four stitches that day. The bill came apart from the rim of the hat after I tossed it in frustration after Robby Alomar grounded into a crucial inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. I can't believe we started Chuck Finley in that game. What a mistake! Okay...enough reminiscing.

Since that October day, GM Mark Shapiro dismantled the team and rebuilt it around a core of young players. I witnessed their potential in 2004 when they clawed to within two games of Central-leading Minnesota before losing ten straight games, ceding the AL Central title to the Twins. In 2005, I was so nervous as the Indians rolled through August and early September looking like a playoff team. I couldn't dare trust the Tribe to play with a lead. And sure enough they broke my heart, losing six out of their final seven games and missing the playoffs. With that painful memory still very fresh in my mind, you might understand why I think no lead is safe with this squad.

However, watching last Thursday's afternoon game in Minnesota, I couldn't help but notice how calm I felt. No longer was I comparing the Indians and Tigers schedules. I hardly panicked as we left countless runners on base against Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey. And I started to slowly come to the realization that this team is different. They don't need to be examined closely for fear of finding the cracks. I find myself enjoying the games and the contributions of young players like Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, and Rafael Perez.

The last two nights in Chicago provide good reasons for why I am composed. The Indians were on the road playing their 21 and 22 consecutive game without a day off, in U.S. Cellular Field where they tend to struggle. At critical junctures in each game, unsung players made big contributions. With the Indians trailing 2-1 Monday night, minor league call-up Ben Francisco lined a game-tying single into left. Two batters later, Cabrera hammered a two-run go-ahead homer down the left-field line. In a ten minute span, the Indians had taken control of the game. Last night with the Indians seemingly in control at 8-3, Jensen Lewis came on with runners on second and third with one out. It was an opportunity for the Sox to claw back into the game. The rookie right-hander who started the season at Double A Akron struck out the next two batters on six pitches to thwart Chicago's final scoring threat. Performances such as those highlighted above have left me awkwardly calm as the season winds down.

That's not to say that this team doesn't have flaws. Closer Joe Borowski is a heart-attack, waiting to happen, as he continually walks a tightrope in the 9th inning of games as evidenced by his 5.40 ERA. Their platoon at each of the corner outfield positions also leaves something to be desired. While, I can still tell you the remaining schedule for both Detroit and Cleveland and how many games each squad will play against teams with a record above .500, I am starting to believe it won't matter. I won't completely relax until the Tribe clinches but at least for the time being, I am enjoying the Indians September stretch run without the benefit of an oxygen tank. A pleasant change of pace.

Labels: AL Central, AL playoffs, American League, American League Central, Asdrubal Cabrera, Ben Francisco, Cleveland, Cleveland sports, Hunt for October, Indians, October baseball, Tribe