An observation

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling this year. Mostly for vacation, but there was a three-day library conference in southern Ohio thrown in there as well.

By my calculations, the Indians have played 20 games this year when I’ve been away from home. Let’s see how they’ve fared in my absence.

April 23-29: I took a vacation to Santa Rosa and San Francisco, California. The Indians beat the Royals at home during my first two days away, but then lost the next five games out on the west coast: three to the Giants, and two to the Angels. I was at AT&T Park to see two of those losses. Two wins, five losses.

June 20-22: I went to Nashville to see Elvis Costello at the Ryman. This trip coincided with a three-game home stand against the Tigers. The Tigers swept the series. No wins, three losses.

July 27-August 1: I went to a library conference in Wilmington, Ohio, then visited friends and relatives in Kentucky and West Virginia. Of my four trips out of state this year, this is the only one in which the Tribe acquitted themselves favorably, beating the Royals in Kansas City, losing two of three to the Mariners at home, then beating the Rangers at home. Three wins, two losses.

August 5-9: I visited a friend in South Orange, New Jersey. The Indians lost a game to the Reds at home, then traveled to Cincinnati, where they were twice beaten by the Reds. Then the Tribe went to the Bronx to play the Yankees, losing the first game and winning the second. One win, four losses.

Summing up: out of 20 games when I was away from home, the Indians won 6 and lost 14. That’s a .300 winning percentage. During games when I’ve been in Cleveland, their record is 53-45, a winning perecentage of .541, which would put the Indians in a near dead heat for the second AL wild card slot instead of being five games back.

I’m a somewhat educated man. I realize full well that correlation does not imply causation. But just the same, I think I’m going to stay put for the next few months.