Carlos Santana's injury last night was mindful of a game I saw as a kid. In that game, Leron Lee scored the game-winning run in the 9th and slid home and tore up the knee of one Carlton Fisk. Fisk sat out the rest of that year, broke his arm in spring training and didn't return until late June of '75. The year he hit his famous World Series homer.

Anyhow, if you look at the box score of the Lee/Fisk game, the first thing that jumps out at you is the fact that it's a late June game and the second-place Indians drew over 33,000 against the first-place Red Sox. Eight days later, the Tribe was actually in first place for maybe the only time that late, that decade. Or was it the only time that decade period? They drew a million that year, eventually finished in 4th, but Ken Aspromonte was canned following that dismal finish.

Another reason for the turnout was Gaylord Perry. This was during the part of that year where no one could touch him. He won this game to go 14-1 with a 1.27 ERA before July! It was his 9th complete game in a row, a year in which he completed 28 of his 37 starts. Earlier that year, he had tossed a 15-inning game and went into the 11th two other times. Of course, he was traded the following year by mid-June.

Look at that horrible lineup:

Speed merchant Buddy Bell led off.

Jack Brohamer was keeping second base occupied for Duane Kuiper's arrival.

John Lowenstein hit third and played first base. He should have done neither.

Charlie Spikes, "The Bogalusa Bomber" hit cleanup and homered that night.

Oscar Gamble and his hair hit fifth, his best year in Cleveland.

Leron Lee played left and had arrived from San Diego that year.

George Hendrick hit 7th. And we all know a handshake is better than an autograph.

Dave Duncan caught and hit 8th. Much better pitching coach than hitter.

Frank Duffy played here 6 seasons at shortstop. Yawn.

Getting back to Fisk. Lee was on first after a walk and Hendrick ripped a pitch to left. Lee got the wave home, and much like last night, the throw got there just as Lee was sliding into home. Fisk blocked the plate and Lee's slide just shredded Fisk's knee. The Indians won, and in those days, they didn't do a victory dance and pound each other or hop into a dogpile. I think they carried Fisk off on a stretcher and that was pretty much it.

Was a summer of highlights. Just one month later, a House committee recommended impeachment for Nixon.

Meal of Links

Kohl's is running a clearance on Majestic apparel. So, if you feel a need to grab some Tribe gear, do it. A cap is only $8.

50 amazing facts from Mental Floss. They are amazing.

Actors who were edited out of films. Kevin Costner from "The Big Chill", most notably.

Kenny Powers K-Swiss Ad



I am not meant to watch "Law and Order". So it is written.

FX can handle only 12 series at a time. Production and promotion costs are the main reasons.

How broken is the U.S. Senate? The Empty Chamber. And the only Republican House member actually outlining spending cuts.

Zach Galifianakis in "Between Two Ferns" is out-of-control hilarious. Please watch a couple.

Exercise Yard

Kenny Huang is the Chinese investor who picked up a piece of the Cavs about 15 months ago. Now, he is trying to buy Liverpool in the EPL. It's a great brand with a huge following.

But I don't think that's the major news as reported here. The thing that jumps out at me is "...he took a 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA franchise." That seems to me to be significantly higher than I thought. It may have been reported as such, but I thought his interest bordered on more like a 5 percent interest. This lends even more credence to the Windy report during LeBron's decision that Dan Gilbert, with all of the Cavs success lately, had barely broken even the last few years.

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34 Down: "Whip It" band (4 letters) Answer: Devo

Devo Honda Scooter Ad (1984)