That's right everyone Grady is officially too hurt to play at all. He was placed on the fifteen day DL this morning. I am very sad but I hope he gets better soon. The Indians say that the MRI they did revealed no structural damage so that is good but with their track record on injuries and what they reveal I can only be so hopeful. This news kind of killed my day. The poor Indians cannot catch a break this year. Please get better Grady. I will be waiting.
Carl Pavano
Carl Pavano has been absolutely amazing recently. He leads the team with five wins and would have had number six today if the Indians' bullpen had not reverted back to its old ways. Today for example he pitched 7 1/3 innings walking no one and striking out four. He gave up seven hits and three runs. That is less than a hit per inning pitched. He did not give anyone a free trip on base and when Wedge took him out he was not happy about it. I love how he is pitching and competing right now. The other night STO did an interview with him and it was probably one of the best interviews STO has ever done. I am really liking him more and more as the season goes on. I love it even more when he dominates the Yankees.
Last night's game is not really worth recapping. It was probably one of the most boring games I have ever seen. Usually the Indians winning or losing has no bearing on whether or not I find he game entertaining so I really don't know why this game was so boring. Basically same old story for poor Cliff. He could not catch a break and the Tribe decided that last night was not an important night to score runs so we lost 3-1.
This is the pose Grady uses when he is disappointed or sad. So like all this year.
Time to tell me the truth, to burden your mouth for what you say
No pieces of paper in the way...
My memory is cruel, the queen of attention to details
Defending intentions if he fails, until now.
He told me her name, it sounded familiar in a way
And I could have sworn I heard him say it
Ten thousand times, Oh if only I had been listening
Leave unsaid unspoken, Eyes wide shut unopened
You and me, always between the lines.
-Sara Bareilles
What I am really concerned about is Grady's "sore" elbow. Apparently it has been bothering him all year and only when he throws. All year? Really. They could have put him on the DL so much earlier and he maybe would have been back and all better by now. Instead we have hurt Grady who is now hitting better but apparently cannot throw and Travis is coming back meaning Grady has to play the outfield or nothing at all. I wish I just knew the truth about what was happening right now. I have no idea how bad the elbow is. Grady says he hopes it does not become a DL situation but Grady even mentioning the DL makes it seem pretty serious. The sad part is since he is starting to hit better if he goes on the DL I am afraid he will come back rusty and all of this progress he has made recently will mean nothing. I said from the beginning that something seemed off with him and apparently I was right. I just hope they can fix it without sending him to the DL. I would be really sad if he was not playing when I go to the Jake in June.
There you have the American League All Star Voting so far. I will give you my thoughts on each position.
First Base: I have been voting for Justin Morneau. I still have over 100 votes to go so they will make very little difference. That being said Youkiis is not a bad choice. But it should be between him and Morneau in my opinion.
Second Base: I love Dustin Pedroia but I love Ian Kinsler more so I am very pleased with this position. Kinsler has been having a great year and definitely deserves to be at the game if not starting.
Third Base: Evan Longoria is definitely the best choice here. I do not think there is much more I can say about this position it seems pretty cut and dry to me.
Shortstop: DEREK JETER????? Have you seen him play defense? Jhonny Peralta is a better option. Overrated. There is my rant. I can not say I am surprised but I am disappointed. I have been voting for either Jason Bartlett, who is now hurt. This year shortstop is not a very strong position though so it is pretty much over there I think.
Catcher: Joe Mauer and Victor Martinez my two favorite catchers in the AL are leading this position. It has been so hard for me to pick between the two of these players. When I was mad at Victor I voted for Mauer and at other times I have just been splitting votes. Both deserve to be there and both deserve to start but obviously only one of them will so I will be happy with whoever it is.
Outfield: Despite his slow start Grady is still eighth in outfielders. Good job Indian fans and me. The top three are not bad but obviously I think Grady should be there every year. Objectively though, I think the outfield is pretty close to right except for Nelson Cruz seems really high and Curtis Granderson (as much as this pains me) seems pretty low. Johnny Damon is too high but I do not really expect him to drop any being a Yankee and all. I am happy with Ellsbury's position too. he has had a great year and deserves to be right up there with everyone else.
There you have it. My thoughts on All Star Voting so far.
Here is my vote for the starting lineup:
First: Justin Morneau, Twins
Second: Ian Kinsler, Rangers
Third: Evan Longoria, Rays
Shortstop: Jason Bartlett, Rays
Catcher: Joe Mauer, Twins/Victor Martinez, Indians
Outfield: Josh Hamilton, Rangers Nick Markakis, Orioles Grady Sizemore, Indians (Incredibly biased pick there, leave me alone)
That was my reaction while jumping up and down at the verge of tears last night when Victor hit his game winning single to center last night. I probably looked insane but I really do not care. I watched that entire game except for the 1-2-3 top of the first. I gave up on them like everyone else with half a brain but they proved us all wrong. It was amazing. The best game I have seen in a long time, the best ninth inning anyway.
In case you missed it here is what happened. The inning began with a walk to Grady. Victor popped out. Jhonny singled. and moved Grady to second. Choo hits a tailor made double play ball that should have ended the game but Rays shortstop Reid Brignac threw it over the second baseman's head and Grady scores while everyone else moves up one base. Mark DeRosa absolutely crushes a line drive but right at Evan Longoria. Two outs and Ryan Garko is up. Ryan Garko hits a three run home run. A-Cab walks. The Rays bring in Isringhausen. At this point I think we may have a chance. Francisco walks. Jamey carroll walks. Bases loaded, two outs and Grady is at the plate. What does Izzy do? Walks Grady and walks in a run. It is now a one-run game. Victor comes up and is currently 0-18. Make that 1-19 as he hits a single into center and two runs come around to score and the INDIANS WIN! Amazing and unbelievable. Anyone still watching the game was in shock I am sure. That was the happiest I have been all season. Yes I was even happier than when Grady hit the first grand slam in the New Yankee Stadium's history. And even happier than when two days later we beat the Yankees 22-4. It was amazing.
Here's the problem. Anthony Reyes is probably out for the year. Aaron Laffey is out for four-six weeks. We currently do not have a pitcher for Wednesday's game or Thursday's game. So something miraculous will have to happen to keep us in this. Something miraculous happened last night though so maybe the Indians have a few more miracles up their sleeves. I hope so.
Other notes from last night's game: 1) Jhonny really wants to play shortstop and he showed that last night with his defense. 2) Victor=clutch. 3) Grady should wear high socks more often. They are clearly the reason we won and he looked good.
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements even if it leads nowhere?"- ADELE
The Indians lost their series against the Reds this weekend in the 11th today. Was it disappointing? Very. Can I accept it? Surprisingly, yes. The Indians were trailing 3-1 in the top of the seventh when with two outs Grady hit a RBI triple down the right field line and then scored on a controversial interference call by the third base umpire. I did not see any interference but here is why it is okay that the umpire mad the call: 1) the Reds catcher did
not tag Grady at the plate. It was close but he did not tag him so he was safe despite what the home plate umpire called. 2) The Indians have had way too many questionable calls go against them this season that they deserve one (well more than that but this is a start) to go in their favor. Then in the bottom of the eleventh Vizcaino comes in and give up a lead-off single, a sac bunt, and then a walk-off base hit to end the game.
So why am I okay with the bullpen losing us another game? Because they threw ten scoreless innings before that. Because for the second day in a row the Indians came back from behind two days in a row. Because Grady and the Indians refuse to give up. Because Grady may be back as the leader of this team. He made a daring play to tie the game that maybe people would call stupid with Victor coming up next and a real possibility of getting thrown out at the plate but he refused to give up on this team's ability. He showed today why he has been called the leader of this team and everyone I think he is back. I hope he is back. If he is really back the Indians still have a shot at this division. Detroit's lost two in a row, Kansas City has been struggling, Chicago has been REALLY struggling. The Twins are the only team in the Central right now that look good. Which is exactly how I want it. Indians and Twins battling it out for the Central in September. That is my wish. Today the Indians showed they have the heart and the fight to help make it come true for them. So the answer to the question in the title... NO! Absolutely not. If Grady is not giving up, then I am not either. I do not care if this season goes nowhere in the end, I refuse to give up.
Next up the Rays. After a controversial end to last weekend's series this looks like it could be pretty interesting. Personally I hope both teams just forget last weekend and play like grown men but as we all know baseball players sometimes do not behave like the mature adults and model citizens they should be so I guess we will see how they pitch to Victor and the other Indians tomorrow night and how the Indians behave tomorrow night.
Thanks everyone for visiting and reading. Thanks to you I am now #10 in the Latest leaders. My first visit to the Top 10!
In honor of my ranking this time this entry is dedicated to Kelly Shoppach.
Kelly is the Indians' current slightly more than a backup catcher. Kelly was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 after receiving the Johnny Bench Award for best collegiate catcher and being named the Big 12 Player of the Year at Baylor. He is one of few catchers in the Majors right now who has actually been a catcher his entire baseball career. He made his Major League debut in 2005 with the Red Sox after entering the season as the Red Sox top catching prospect. He only appeared in 9 games for the Red Sox in 2005. In 2006 Shoppach was sent to the Indians and spent most of his time that year as the backup catcher and some time in AAA Buffalo. Later in the season he saw some more playing time when Victor Martinez played first occasionally. 2008 saw Kelly break out of his role as backup catcher for the Indians and really shine. Due to an injury to Victor Martinez Kelly was called on to catch every day and he made the most of it. He led all American League catchers in home runs. This year because of his success last year he has been promised more playing time than an average backup catcher and is guaranteed to catch every day Cliff Lee pitches and so far has caught most of Pavano's starts as well. He is sort of an all-or-nothing hitter and seems to always be swinging for the fences but he always plays hard and is a great all-around guy. He is from Fort Worth, Texas, and is married with three daughters.
Yesterday my mom and I drove across the state to watch the Indians take on the Royals in the Royals newly renovated stadium. We got to see Zach Greinke and Carl Pavano. Both pitchers were very evenly matched with Greinke giving up one less run and Pavano giving up two less hits. Both pitched for six innings and then it was up to the bullpens. The Royals' bullpen wasted no time giving up Greinke's one-run lead while the Indians bullpen showed flashes of the incompetency Indians fans are so accustomed to but managed to give up no more runs while the offense scored six runs in two innings to win the game 8-3. It was a very good game to go to for me. I saw great starting pitching from both sides and the Indians' offense finally came to life at the same time all of the pitching decided to work. Plus I got to see Grady from about twenty feet away and he is about ten times cuter in person. Also he got a hit, walked twice, and sac bunted twice. Good game for the Gradester. He is supposed to back in center for the series this weekend against the Reds.
Now to the stadium. It is very nice. You can walk around the whole stadium and they have a lot of new amenities for their fans. On a hot day like yesterday sitting in the new seats underneath the fountains would be very nice. I have always like the K and it is now even better. Great job on the renovations.
Royals' fans have all of a sudden become very obnoxious and cocky. A little bit of success and they suddenly act like the rule the world. It probably does not help they all tailgate before the game and get drunk before they start drinking more at the game so that by the third inning or so they are completely gone. Unfortunately since most Royals fans have not been to many baseball game sin the past ten years or so they are not very aware of fan etiquette. For example do not stand up for like ten minutes waving your arm around while talking on your cell phone. Also do not go to your seats in the middle of a play. And beach balls? Seriously? As my mom said, "This isn't a rock concert." And when the screens tell you to get loud do not stop being loud as soon as they turn off. If the Royals keep playing well maybe they will learn. However I am happy to see that the Royals are drawing crowds and the crowds do get into close games and they do cheer very loudly when something good happens for them.
My Pictures
Behind the fountains
Jhonny and Valbuena warming up
Ben Francisco stretches while Grady and Jamey Carroll talk to the trainer
Pavano warming up
Jamey carroll apparently knew this guy because he talked to him for like ten minutes
Grady stretching. Grady turned around every time I tried to take his picture. Annoying.
Grady batting.
Zach Greinke pitching
New scoreboard looking the best it will look all season ;)
Shout out to the Cardinals: Sweeping the Cubs right out of St. Louis. That's how we roll. haha
Are you ready for this? I don't think you are. I am about to go into full rant mode. This means you will have to really try to find sense in the next paragraph or so. Here we go. (To be clear I am in no way yelling at A-Cab or Cliff Lee.)
What the heck Indians? You call yourselves a baseball team? What baseball teams have you been watching? The Nationals? Even they are better than us (the records may not show that but who would argue?). Seriously Cliff gives you another phenomenal start and again you blow it. What does the poor guy have to do to get a win? Let me tell you what real baseball teams do not do. 1) They do not condone giving up when you are down nine runs. 2) They do not tackle catchers, we are not playing football. Please Luis, do not channel Chris Duncan, that is not okay. 3) They do not give up three run leads in the bottom of the ninth by giving up two consecutive home runs and then an RBI triple and then a sac fly. That is NOT how you win baseball games.
Next, Grady. What is wrong with you? Something is wrong with you. Believe me I know. I watch you and analyze you much more than anyone else ever. You are not right. You are broken and someone needs to fix you. You better not be hurt. The more I see this season the more I think you are. You better not be lying to me. I would not be able to take it. Because I am fairly sure that would mean you have been lying to me for like two months. Not cool. Reasons Grady may be hurt: 1) He is failing. 2) The Indians suspiciously gave him essentially three days off by making him the DH. Since when has Grady needed three days off? He never used to need ANY days off. What is wrong? DO NOT LIE TO ME INDIANS! I CANNOT TAKE IT IF YOU LIE TO ME! YOU ALREADY KILL ME EVERY NIGHT DO NOT BE LYING TO ME TOO! 3) Oh yeah, he is failing.
Please, please, please, please fix this Indians Your fans are begging you and I would hope you are begging yourselves.
I hope that was not too incredibly irrational and that you got something out of that. Just that I am very frustrated.
Ken from How About Dem O's Hun AND Jews on First guessed correctly that the title of my entry two entries ago was from 10 Things I Hate About You and the title of my last entry is from School of Rock. Today's title is not form a movie so do not try to guess. And since he has two blogs mentioning both totally counts as his two shout outs.
Someone please explain to me why the Indians fail at baseball. This is getting ridiculous. I seriously want to cry; curl up in a ball and cry. What have I done to deserve this from them. I watch every night that I can, I defend them even when I am pretty sure they are wrong, and I am going to their games this summer. And what do they do, every night? Break my heart. Just when things start looking up they manage to find another way to epic fail. EPIC FAIL. Like blow a 7-0 lead epic fail. Or apparently just not show up at all epic fail. Or scream profanities at the other team's manager epic fail. Now yesterday I am placing the blame almost solely on the umpires but I am very upset with Victor. I will forgive him eventually but if he could come out with some sort of explanation that would help. For example please explain to me why it is wrong to steal bases when you are losing. I do not understand this position. I want to know that if Grady had stolen 2nd and 3rd when the Indians were losing 9-0 Victor would have had problems with Grady for doing that. (Which by the way he totally would because honestly are you trying to tell me that the Indians just give up when they are losing by a lot? That would explain a lot actually so maybe they do.)
They need to win this series against the Royals. A sweep would be fabulous but I feel like that will nit be happening since we are facing Grienke on Thursday. I am also going on Thursday so while I am excited to see Grienke I am not excited at the fat that it means the Indians will probably get their butts kicked especially since Cliff Lee is not pitching that day either. So while all of you are watching teams that are not EPIC failures (except for the Nationals, I am so sorry, I feel terrible, or according to my father the Cardinals and judging from last night that applies too) this week I will be here (or in Kansas City) watching the Indians. Probably throwing many things and yelling. Hopefully not, but probably.
Facebook Quiz
On Facebook you can make a quiz about yourself and have people take it. Since not all of you have Facebook I thought I would put it on here and you can see how well you know me.
The Indians have been creating some- wait for it- baseball fusion recently. Sorry. That was really cheesy but true.
Okay so no one guessed my title from the other day. So it's still available. Here it is: "Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?" And today's title is also up for guesses. If you name both title's I will find a way to mention you in my next two blogs. To review: You have to name the movie that the quote is from. I spend a lot of time watching movies to find good quotes and I work really hard. I know your hearts bleed. haha
WhiteSox/Indians- May 13
The Indians won this game AND their second series of the year. I know that is really sad. BUT I am hoping they have a little momentum going. Victor Martinez is being amazing so far and I have been waiting for his hot streak to let up a bit but it is showing absolutely no signs of doing so. He has reached base every game except one this season. He has never had successive hitless games this season. he has 7 home runs one of which he hit in the first inning on Wednesday off of Buehrle. The Indians also handed Buehrle his first loss of the year as well as getting more runs off of him than any other team so far. Cliff Lee tied a career high with 9 strikeouts. Overall a great and fast game. The game lasted 2 hours and 23 minutes. I was done with baseball for the day at 1:30. Ridiculous.
Rays/Indians- May 14
I learned from Rays Renegade that the Rays have never won on May 14. They still have not thanks to the Indians. The Indians are also 20-5 against the Rays in their last 25 games. They just always play the Rays really well. The final score tonight was 11-7. It was 9-0 going into the bottom of the sixth. Fausto lost it in that inning and gave up 3 runs and left with 2 on. Herges promptly gave up a 3-run home run to Zobrist making it 9-6. The Indians tacked on 2 more runs in the eighth, one of which Grady scored. Aaron Laffey came in for 2 innings and gave up only 1 run. A-Cab made a fantastic play which I was very excited to see on Web Gems but unfortunately my mom is for some strange reason very interested in the Bruins/Canes game which is currently in Overtime and forgot to change it to watch Web Gems so I have no idea if it made it (it should have) or how high it was.
UPDATE: I went to ESPN's website and looked at last night's Web Gems and A-Cab was #1!
The Gradester
Despite his issues recently Grady is still in the leadoff spot. He is 2-31 with 4 walks in the first inning this season. Terrible. Tonight he tried to bunt his way on but it was not a very good bunt so he was out. He has apparently forgotten how to bunt for a base hit because he is 0-2 in bunt attempts this year. I appreciate him trying though. Again tonight he hit it hard but Pena robbed him of a base hit and an RBI. Also despite his struggles Grady is on a 6-game hit streak which is something. They are all singles but you have to start somewhere.
I will be taking a break for the weekend because I have Lifeguard Training all weekend. Tomorrow: 6-9 pm Saturday: 9 am-9 pm Sunday: 9 am- 6 pm
Wish me luck. I am a little worried about not passing because on paper everything seems really harsh. But I was on swim team for all 4 years in High School and some of the lifeguards at my pool, no offense, cannot be better swimmers than me so I figure if they can do it, I can do it.
Julia from Julia's Rants knew that yesterday's title came from Bring It On. Same deal today.
The Indians... lost. Big surprise for Indians fans who are used to having every win save one followed by a loss.
Jeremy Sowers gave up five runs via three home runs, two by Jim Thome. The offense did score four runs and at one point even gave the Indians the lead which Jeremy promptly blew in the next inning by giving up another two-run home run. We never got it back.
Enough on that. What is wrong with Grady? Something has to be seriously amiss. He has been caught stealing six, yes SIX, times this year in eleven tries. Last year he was caught five times all year. He strikes out at least once a game and is rarely on base. I had not thought of this but one very observant fan who comments regularly on Anthony Castrovince's blog suggested something that may have some merit. He/she (my vote's he but that may be stereotypical) thinks Grady may be pulling a Victor Martinez circa 2008 and has been battling an injury and the Indians are not telling anyone. While this would make me probably the saddest person on the planet it would explain a lot. Like why lately he hasn't been quite the same center fielder, and why he seems to be unable to steal bases, and why he cannot seem to get more than a single in any game. I don't know how likely this actually is; it is just another explanation. My personal opinion is that he needs to calm down and be himself. I do not know how much players read and see in the media but if he is reading what some people are saying about him I would not blame him for being nervous and feeling like he has to hit a home run every single at bat. People are calling the "almost star" and "the most overrated player in baseball." Not just any people either: Indians fans. Come one guys. I think he is allowed to got through slumps and I would rather have him in a slump now than in August and September. I just hope he comes out of it soon so we are not completely out of contention by then. I still think this team can turn it around and they are showing signs of being on their way. The problem is at the moment we appear to have a starter who needs huge amounts of run support every fifth day in Sowers (I will say this until he proves he can pitch at the big league level, he has never done that for me) and an offense that still has not fully clicked.
Best Clean Text From Last Night ever: (830): If I was Danny Tanner and my wife died and left me with three kids I would hire a nanny rather than bringing in the sexually promiscuos uncle with a fetish for leather and rebellion and my obviously mentally ill (possibly gay) best friend Joey, who has never had a girlfriend and consistently talks in cartoon voices... a nanny is just a better choice
Close Second: (203): I came back to the apartment and he was waiting for me, covered in mustard. (203): needless to say I left
This is for my own benefit. Feel free to skip if you don't need to see Grady being awesome.
Ten points and a shout out to whoever can tell me what movie the title is from. Really all you should care about is the shout out because the points do not matter. It's like Who's Line Is It Anyway. With Drew Carey, who I believe is an Indians fan. I may be wrong but I feel like I have heard that somewhere.
The Indians won last night! It was a great game for the Indians. Everything seemed to click. Passable starting pitching, great offense, and a bullpen that gave up no runs! I know that last bit is a shocker. The White Sox' starter Gavin Floyd was not very effective against the Indians from the beginning. Grady led off the game with a single and later scored. A-Cab who was walked also scored that inning. The Indians really broke it open with a four run fourth though. They tacked on three more insurance runs and won the game 9-4. Pavano wasn't great, per se, but he got the job done. He kept his team in the game and despite looking like he was going to give up the two-run lead early he got an inning ending double play to stop the rally. Overall he gave up four runs, walked no one, and struck out three. Not bad, but he could have been better. But if he is going to have a shaky outing I think he is allowed to do it when the offense scores nine runs.
Tonight the Indians will face Clayton Richard, another White Sox pitcher with two first names. He has been in the bullpen so far this year and has an ERA of 4.32. He started last year for the Sox and was 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA. Some may say the Indians have the advantage here but we are countering with Jeremy Sowers who is 0-1 with an ERA of 12.60. That ERA is slightly inflated because Masa Kobayashi was put in to keep the Boston game last Thursday
close and keep his inherited runners from scoring. We all saw how that turned out. We are also countering with an offense that has been struggling a bit lately. I know nine runs does not seem like a struggling offense but they have scored 12 runs in their last 38 innings. This is an offense led by Grady Sizemore batting .226 with a .310 OBP and averaging just over one strikeout a game. In my opinion Grady is at the end of his slump. He is at the part where he hits the ball hard but right at people or where people make amazing plays and steal game-winning home runs that could possibly break you out of your incredibly disappointing slump. I am not bitter at all. This is also the most frustrating part of the slump but to me it means it is coming to an end because he is figuring out how to make solid contact with the ball. Hopefully these next few games with the White Sox will pull the Indians and Grady out of their slumps and they can start having fun again and playing baseball. They have shown many times they have the talent. We have beaten the best team in the American League twice. We have come close to beating or have beaten the Red Sox four times out of six chances. Our only series win is against the current leader of the AL Central. This team needs to remember that and remember that they are a good team. Hopefully tonight helped them remember that.
In other news, sort of, IF, sort of a big if, if the Indians fire Eric Wedge a few people have suggested a, in my opinion, sort of surprising but intriguing choice for his replacement. Rick Manning. I have mixed feelings about this choice. On one hand he does know his baseball. He is pretty outspoken and I am fairly sure he would have no problem telling people what he really thinks since he does that pretty much daily in the booth. However, if he became the manager he couldn't announce anymore and if he couldn't announce anymore who would make me laugh when they are losing. I guess some people may say that the point of hiring him is so they stop losing but they will still lose sometimes and then who will I have to cheer me up, Matt Underwood and... who else? There is also the probably somewhat more important issue of experience and whether or not Rick has proved he can handle managing a big league club. I personally think he can but that is because I am biased and if I like someone I think they are capable of anything which explains why I still think Grady is capable of hitting 45 home runs and stealing 45 bases this year despite his not-so-encouraging start.
Sorry I have not been posting. It has been a rough few days. And yes I mean for the Indians and therefore also me. I, like many of you I am sure, allow the Indians wins and losses affect my mood. I am very frustrated with the Indians right now so I do not have too much to say about them.
A few key points:
1) Curtis Granderson chose a real bad time to be a good center fielder. He was just starting to get on my good side and then he goes and kills poor Grady's chances of coming through in the clutch, something he has struggled with all year. If Granderson makes Grady look that sad again I will never forgive him. Right now he will have to wait about a year for my forgiveness. I am sure this break's Granderson' s heart, too.
2) Grady did still get his RBI for the series today in the 2nd inning.
3) The Indians showed some fight in the bottom of the ninth by scoring 2 and bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of Shin Soo Choo. Choo hit a lazy fly ball into right field to end the inning, but they at least appeared to come together a little bit towards the end of the game.
4) I am REALLY not a fan of Curtis Granderson. Oh wait, I already said that. Sorry. I am just really not.
To cheer myself up I have been going to Texts from Last Night, a great R-Rated website that I do not advise young children visit and watching Major League and two YouTube videos religiously. The first was found on Plunking Gomez a couple of weeks ago. The second is its sequel and is found below.
Happy Mother's Day everyone! Moms are great people make sure you let yours know how much you love her today!
As you all know I went to Busch Stadium last night to watch the Cardinals play the Pirates. The Cardinals beat the Pirates by a score of 4-2. It was a good game. I even saw an Albert Pujols home run and almost an Adam Wainwright home run. If that seems confusing to some of you who remember that Wainwright pitched Tuesday night, he was a pinch hitter. That's right, Tony LaRussa pinch hit a pitcher. Wainwright is a good hitter though so it is not quite as silly as it sounds.
The Indians also beat Boston 9-2. Amazingly the bullpen managed to not give up any runs and blow a 7-run lead which would have not surprised me in the least. Victor Martinez and Mark DeRosa both hit home runs. Grady was 0-4. I have only wish for Grady in this series: I want him to get on base against Wakefield with no one in front of him because this is pretty much a guaranteed steal. I know he can do it despite a bunch of Cleveland fans giving up on him and saying he is not a good hitter anymore. Someone (a Toronto fan, so maybe not very credible) even suggested sending him down. No thank you. My guess is he would do terribly in the minors. He will figure it out I promise you.
Our view.
Our view of St. Louis and the Budweiser scoreboard.
Cardinals warming up.
The Pirates warming up.
Big Mac Land.
First pitch.
Albert batting. Albert was 4-4 with a home run and 3 singles.
Cardinals dugout.
This picture took forever to get right. My brother refused to smile normally or at all for about 10 pictures before this.
Hey y'all! I'm back in St. Louis and the heart of Cardinal Nation! The sight of Busch Stadium greeting me as I crossed the MIssissippi was a beautiful one. I will be going to Busch Wednesday night for my first baseball game this year.
The Indians had a pretty depressing weekend from what I can tell. I didn't see Friday or Saturday's games and I only saw the end of Sunday's game. I know they won on Friday but it was 6-0 when the bullpen took over. They won 6-5. Saturday they lost after a few comebacks I think. The bullpen blew it again but at least it wasn't a 6 run lead. Sunday was a classic pitcher's duel and the frustrating part Sunday was not the bullpen but instead the offense's inability to drive in runs in a bases loaded no out situation.
I genuinely think they can turn this season around. It is barely May. This team has so much talent and potential. Sometimes I wish I could just tell them they better than this. I watch them and they just look dead. It's only May! They're still in this division race. I have never been a Wedge hater, I think anyone who reads this blog regularly could guess that but recently I have been wondering if he could do anything more.
Good news: Friday and Saturday Grady appeared to be making strides to come out of his slump. Sunday he was 0-4 with 2 strikeouts but so was pretty much everyone else so I am not taking that too seriously.
I am hoping this week gets this team excited to play baseball and allows them to turn it around. I truly believe as long as this team starts believing in themselves they can start to win. However everyone on the team has to start believing in themselves. Every part of the team has to be at the very least passable. I know they can do it. They just need to know they can do it. I personally volunteer myself to go tell them they can do it. Someone tell the Indians organization I am offering my services as a motivational speaker. I'll fly to Toronto right now if I need to. I've never been to Canada.
Carl Pavano pitched a seven-inning gem, giving up only two runs on Friday night against the Tigers. Very encouraging.
No baseball in this post y'all. You get a tribute to Clemson University and it's awesomeness.
I know this is the part where the end starts
I can't take it any longer, thought that we were stronger
All we do is linger, slipping through my fingers
I don't wanna try no, All that's good-bye to find a way to tell you
I hate this part right here, I hate this part right here,
I just can't take your tears, I hate this part right here.
I Hate This Part- Pussycat Dolls
I know you'll ask me to hold on and carry on like nothing's wrong
But there is no more time lies cause I see sunset in your eyes
Today is my last day as a freshman at Clemson. Sad but true. So here are a few memories form my Freshman year.
The most exciting 25 seconds in college football. I can't wait until next year. Yabba Dabo Do!
Flag football Holmes 5th floor style. That means they scored a total of 3 times all season. Awesome. I made cookies for every game though. So that part was awesome.
Prank wars. My poor suitemates. Let's just say this ended with a very wet bed, confetti that Evan (left) still finds daily, and Dalton (right) missing his clothes.
Halloween. We were the Spice Girls. Can't you tell?
Climbing trees instead of ice skating on the fake ice rink they made in the amphitheater.
Painting up for the Maryland basketball game. Pretty sure we were called the second toughest place to play by EA Sports. Oh yeah and beating Duke. That was definitely a highlight. 74-47. BWAHAHAHAHAHA
Snow in March at Clemson! Coolest day ever. And it gave me a four day weekend. Always a win.
Un-lofting our beds. Mine went down with no problem. My roommate's however...
What I'll miss most:
Wes
Kimberly and Anna my suitemates
Kimberly- die hard Braves fan Hates the mets and Phillies with every fiber of her being.
Anna- She knows Cincinnatti has a team and they're called the Reds and they play at the Great American Ballpark. keep in my mind she gave us such gems as: If there's bamboo in South Carolina can pandas live here? I mean it's hot in China, it's hot here. or: Well maybe weed's like good for you then. (After being told someone's friend ran faster than everyone else but he smoked weed all the time.) or: (we were playig a gae where I named a baseball field and Evan guessed who played there. He was not that great at this game." Anna: Fenwick! Evan: First of all, it's Fenway. Second of all, Red Sox. I love Anna.
Evan and Colin. Both are Red Sox fans but I don't count Evan because he doesn't really care too much. Colin is a true member of Red Sox Nation though. He's from New York so as you can imagine he has kind of a hard time during baseball season.
Dalton. King of the That's what she said joke.
Cory. The prankster and Evan's roommate. remember the video of the bunny kidnapping that girl from the tour group. That was his plan.
Lia. My roommate. We've had our issues but I still love her. And I will miss her this summer.
Tillman. The bells make it impossible to take naps since they ring incessantly from about 11-1 prime napping time but it truly Clemson and one of the best parts.
I will leave you with this video of the Clemson Alma Mater:
Lyrics: Dear Ol' Clemson
Where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness where the Tigers play
Here the sons of Dear Ol' Clemson reign supreme alway.
Dear Ol' Clemson we will triumph and with all our might
That the Tiger's roar may echo, o'er the mountain height.
O yeah Grady could have come here. They wanted him. (Obligatory Grady mention: Check)
