I tell you, the bugs were as big as blimps!

















I was at the Indians-Yankees playoff game last night. Family affair as Ron, Gale, Stephanie and Cory were in attendance. Well, you can forget about Fausto Carmona being afraid of the big stage. That was one of the most dominant performances by a pitcher that you'll see. When he's good, which is often, you wonder how he could ever lose a game.

For instance, I saw him pitch against Kansas City twice this year amongst other games. In those two KC games, he threw 15 innings, gave up 10 hits, walked one, and struck out 14. In two of his losses, the Tribe did not score. In four others, they scored one run. If he gets help, they can win, because there are games where he is unhittable.

There is always a constant battle between what are the better games to watch, a slugfest or the a pitcher's duel. While Game 1 against the Yanks was fun, it was a game where you could leave for a bit and the Indians were still winning by a big margin. But last night, with only 1 run scored in the first seven-and-a-half innings, the game hinged on every pitch. That's pretty exciting and it would be difficult to argue otherwise.

On to the details. The Indians had baserunners seemingly every inning. But that's the difference when you have a playoff-tested pitcher like Andy Pettitte instead of Wang. He got out of every type of jam imaginable, including a bases loaded, no one out inning. Pettitte got some help early in the second when Jhonny Peralta got thrown out at home. He was out by plenty, and that's being kind. It's the second game in a row, he's been thrown out at a base other than first in the two games and the fact the Indians have won both should not obscure that fact.

Carmona gave up a third inning homer to Melky Cabrera, and it would have been gut-wrenching if that had remained the only run that scored. Hard to pick out one Yankee who is hitting the ball well after two games. They have been shut down completely.

Now I've seen countless oddities during my time watching Indians game at the old Stadium and now Jacobs Field. Wrong lineup cards submitted, teams batting out of order, fires, power failures, bomb threats, Randy Johnson afraid of big jets. But I've never seen bugs have an impact on a game as much as last night. Typically, each June you'll get a few games where they are a nuisance, but you never have players so consumed with them. The Yankee pitcher, Joba Chamberlain seemed especially flummoxed. As the bugs were clinging to his body, he gave up the tying run in the eighth, without giving up a hit.


















He called for the bug spray while warming up, as they were landing all over him. Then everyone got into the act, including the umpires. The outfielders didn't seem so concerned. Robinson Cano ran over from second as if he'd never seen a bug before. It was high comedy. Derek Jeter kept waving his hands in front of his face before every pitch in a "Get these damn bugs offa me!" motion. A-Rod opted for the windshield wiper method of bug removal. It was so bad, with one out, Chamberlain again called for the spray. The scoreboard responded with a "Bug Off, Yankees!" message. Inside that park last night, it was extremely humid, so the bugs showed up for about 40 minutes, then eased up. It was as if the Indians had run out of tricks on how to score and got a delivery from Acme just in time. It was amazing to watch.

The Tribe got two good innings again from Rafael Perez and finally won it the eleventh. Travis Hafner with a bases loaded single off of Luis Vizcaino and then major noise from the fans. Well, that only took 4:23 to play.

The view from 546:

















My first game this year, it snowed. My last game, bugs invade. Maybe it's our year. Let's see what they can do in NYC, starting tomorrow.

Meal of Links

It is sometimes baffling what what you can find. I think my all-timer was an ax in my backyard.

Black Friday was yesterday, Huh? Oh, it's Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday.

Strange day of horse racing on ESPN. Patrick Biancone, a well-known trainer, was suspended for having cobra venom (it's a painkiller) in his barn. Two horses were euthanized and another broke down. However, on a fun note, Independent George ran in the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland today. Remember, "A George divided against itself, cannot stand!". He finished fourth, part of a Superfecta that paid $11,354.60.

Exercise Yard

Kid snares foul ball from Angels catcher off of Manny's bat in the fifth inning. A run eventually comes in to tie game. Later, Manny wins in it in the ninth with a homer.

Visitor

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