So there will be no revenge coming from my dog this evening.  Not necessarily because of the win this afternoon, but because the Puppypalooza was sold out when we got there.  Since we had the dog with us, we obviously had to give up and come home; so I watch on TV tonight I guess.  (Here’s an approximate animation of what happened tonight.  Okay, so it didn’t exactly go down like this, but you get the idea).

I listened to this afternoon’s game on the radio while I was at work.  I was so irritated by the top of the 9th, that my joy barely registered when Shin-Soo Choo hit the walk off home run.  When he hit it, I honestly yelled “oh brother, are you kidding me?”  My boss was certain that they lost, from my less than enthusiastic reaction.  In my most cranky way possible, I said, “no, those jerks just won in another walk off.”  To be honest, I felt almost more relieved than happy.  There’s still over a month of baseball left, but you can’t keep losing games that were once within your grasp.

I was kind of surprised that Manny Acta left Justin Masterson in for the 9th, but it made some sense.  The bullpen was taxed over the past few days, and Chris Perez obviously had a terrible night last night.  What I really disagree with was the choice of Perez once he finally went to the bullpen.  He threw 30+ pitches last night; with a night game this evening it just seemed that he should go with someone else.  Vinnie Pestano, Tony Sipp, and Josh Judy were all viable options.

Zach McAllister gets another attempt at the Major League level in the night cap.  He looked sharp in the first inning, but was aided by some great defensive plays.  Luis Valbuena was sent back to Triple-A, thankfully.  They had a chance to put some insurance on the board in the 8th inning of game one; Valbuena grounded out to end the threat.

Back on the injury/roster front – as mentioned in the comments of the earlier post, Travis Hafner may be done for the season.  He may need surgery on his foot, and if so, it would end his season.  Hafner hasn’t seemed quite the same since his original oblique injury, so I won’t be crushed by this (particularly if the Indians are able to acquire a DH before the waiver deadline).  Grady Sizemore is working out and there is talk that he may return soon.  I hope they’re not rushing him; I think one of the reasons he played so poorly for much of the season is that he was never quite 100%.  As far as I’ve heard on the Jim Thome front – the White Sox aren’t likely to let him make it to the Indians.  Since waiver claims are made from worst record to best, the White Sox get a stab at him before the Indians (or Phillies) get a chance.

And last but not least, this story has nothing to do with the Indians.  But because I have the maturity level of a 10-year-old, I’ve been laughing all day about this.  It’s definitely an interesting reason to delay a game.

Edit/Addition: Michael Brantley’s wrist is really acting up again, so he’s going to be shut down for the next few days.  He may end up having to go on the DL.

8 Comments

  • SeattleStu says:

    some observations….perez is awful, save, no save….asdrubal has not been the same with the bat since he jumped on santana – look it up….lots of bad clutch at bats for him in past few games….once again manny proved he cant handle our staff..in nightcap it was obvious mcallister didnt have it (boy would white or pomenranz have been nicer in a spot start?)….also obvious we were teeing off on M’s similarly green call up starter….so rather than play it close to the vest he lets the guy stay in 3 or 4 runs too long…i would have given him the hook when it was 3-1 and he was scuffing….u know a meatball was coming up there….not that frank hermann was an improvement (how does he have a job?)…really really bad hitting by tribe w/ RISP in the 2nd game…guys, check it out – we are getting manhandled at home by one of the worst teams in the majors with a lineup that struggled to score 3 runs a game for much of the season….take it from seattlestu, the M’s are AWFUL….what are we doing?

  • PatrickSands says:

    I watched the day game and was angry, pissed, and delighted all in the same inning. It’s nice to see Choo coming back into form it just seems far too late. I stopped watching the night game after it was 10-2 in the 4th inning. The only good thing was that I got to see Kyle Seager play finally. He played soccer and baseball with me growing up so that was a cool treat. I hope the Indians can find their way again soon. They have some winnable series’ coming up but then again I thought this would be a winnable series

  • Stephanie Liscio says:

    Hmmm, interesting…I realized Asdrubal was pretty awful lately, but I didn’t notice the fact it was since that incident. On the flip side, Santana’s been relatively solid (last night excluded) I was mad that McAllister was in for so long (he has no control every time he comes up here. Everything is wild or right over the plate). What really made me mad were all of those squandered bases-loaded opportunities. You plate a couple of runs in each of those, and you’re back in the game. I was thinking that Seattle had terrible offense coming into this one, so thanks for confirming. Even Ichiro’s numbers appear down this year.

    I will say – Choo was definitely a bright spot recently. He’s been much better than earlier this season. And that’s very cool about Kyle Seager! If they win the noon game today, they split the series. Unfortunately, they’re terrible in noon games, and King Felix is pitching. This reminds me of that Baltimore series – split against a bad team when you should’ve won all 4. (Although last night’s game wasn’t necessarily like that).

  • Jerry says:

    Since we’re out of it……..All non rookies batting .250 or less gets benched Sept 1st…..Id rather see some Triple A talent then this inept hitting I’ve watched this year. You can sit our dopey closer as well. Im not a fan of our manager either….. Send the Rockies pitcher down to get some help, his mechanics look terrible….

    Jerry

  • Stephanie Liscio says:

    You want to know something sad? The other day I saw someone that was designated for assignment…the story mentioned their stats. Some of the Indians regulars are so terrible, I honestly thought to myself, “they’re releasing them with those kind of stats?” And I’m talking like a .240 average, maybe .300 OBP…it seemed too high for a DFA considering some of the Indians’ regulars!

  • Connor says:

    It’s really sad how so many of our players are hitting .240 with 5 or 6 home runs, and still gettin playing time. Time to go out ang get a right handed hitter, possbily one that can hit .260 with 9 home runs! (I say this sarcastically.) Time to get a major leager.

  • PatrickSands says:

    I don’t think we should get more than one bat. I like the Thome idea cause for one he is my favorite player but also we probably wouldn’t have to give that much up. We have so much talent if they could just stay healthy. Kipnis-Cabrera-Choo-Santana-Hafner-Sizemore-Laporta-Brantley-Chisenhall. That would be a pretty formidable lineup for the future. Then you have hannahan on the bench for defense, carrera and donald for running, and Duncan for pinch hitting since that is his specialty. That would be a complete team

  • Connor says:

    I could agree with that lineup, except there is one flaw. When are Sizemore and Hafner EVER healthy at the SAME time? And when will LaPorta WAKE up!?