This game is in peril. The government says there is a huge green cloud headed for Progressive Field and it is not referring to Miguel Cabrera. Two options seem possible. The first: Indians leadership decides a break in the weather will come at some unpredictable moment and will keep the tarp on the field for hours. The second: The doomsday cloud strikes fear in their hearts and the game is postponed. The likelihood of a routine three-hour, nine-inning contest seems slim.

Having said that, I must admit I’m no weatherman and my predictions might be no better than Sports Illustrated’s.

UPDATE: I am now reliably assured that the bad weather has passed and the game will be delayed only 10 minutes. for my second prediction I will say Cabrera will go 0-for-5 and the Tigers’ pitchers will give up 10 runs. I wonder if SI is hiring.

Indians Tigers
2B
Jason Kipnis
CF
Anthony Gose
SS
Francisco Lindor
2B
Ian Kinsler
CF
Michael Brantley
1B
Miguel Cabrera
DH
Ryan Rayburn
DH
Victor Martinez
1B
Carlos Santana
LF
Yeonis Cespedes
LF
Mike Aviles
RF
J.D. Martinez
RF
Brandon Moss
C
James McCann
3B
Giovanny Urshela
3B
Andrew Romine
C
Roberto Perez
C
Jose Iglesias
SP
Trevor Bauer
SP
Kyle Ryan

There was a delay and it produced good news for the Indians. What looked like a triple was eventually rules a double with one instead of two runs scored thanks to a great play by Lindor.

Here is what seems to be the exigent ground rule:

Thrown or fairly batted ball that goes over, or between fence rails from dugouts to foul poles: 2 BASES.

All of the Progressive Field ground rules may be found here:

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/ballpark/groundrules.jsp

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Is anyone surprised that the Indians are struggling against a rookie again. This time it appears the Tigers dug deep to find a left-hander, maybe any lefthander, to go against the lefty-heavy Indians lineup. Kyle Ryan came in with only 19 major-league innings but when your pitcher wears his glove on the right hand and you have Miguel Cabrera in the lineup, you have a good chance against the Indians.

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Well if the Indians are going to continue to but, it’s nice to see Lindor has some talent for it.

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Trevor Bauer threw 88 pitches and only got nine men out. The bullpen will be asked to handle at least five innings tonight so don’t be surprised if the Indians call Columbus for help again. Not only do the Tigers hurt the ERAs of Indians pitchers, they tend to tire them out, too. It reminds me of how the Indians used to abuse pitching staffs back in the 90s.

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Did you ever tune in late to a game and hear Tom Hamilton or the TV guys casually chatting about whatever has been in the news? That’s a clear clue the game is out of hand. So far, Hamilton has discussed the Hot Dog Races (not sure that term merits capitalization), Caitlyn Jenner, Pete Rose and numerous facts documenting what we already know — the Tigers consistently mash the Indians. For those of you reading this in the morning, pat yourself on the back for getting some much-needed sleep while the rest of us extended our frustration.

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FINAL: Tigers 8, Indians 5

The game did run long, but not because of the weather. My next predictions: The Browns will win the Super Bowl.

 

 

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