Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I missed most of, well a big part of today's game due to Memorial Day activities. By the time I got home, it was already 9-0 in the 4th, then 10-0 and I just checked the message boards real quick on TheClevelandFan.com, and we all pretty much wrote the Indians their eulogy. The Indians got two runs in the bottom of the 4th to make it 10-2 after a 2-run home run by Ryan Garko. At that time I thought to myself, great, he finally hits one when it doesn't matter for shit, big deal. A couple more innings dragged on, and the game was turning into a documentary about Tampa Bay shortstop Reid Brignac's cousin (if you were watching on STO), apparently a softball player who was 25-0 with a 0.00 ERA. I don't know if it was in high school or college and personally I don't care, but it seemed to be the focus of Matt Underwood, and quite frankly, I can't say that I blame him. Time had to be killed and what better way to do so rather than talk about the garbage of a game being witnessed.
Fast forward to the 8th Inning, the Tribe gets two more runs, which at this point, I think myself and everyone who was still watching and or had the game on in the background while doing anything else, figured great, two more meaningless runs in another freaking throw away game. I'm thinking earlier tonight, this is pissing me off, just fire Wedge tomorrow morning, and I wouldn't be upset if that were to still happen. But just when this Indians plane was about to crash and finally turn this 2009 season into a fatal existence, in steps Jeremy Sowers doing his best Sully Sullenberger impression, and take the controls off of of pilot Fausto Carmona, and co-pilot Jensen Lewis, who seemed to be asleep at the wheel. Sowers pitches five scoreless innings and keeps the bleeding down to just ten runs.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians get a run on a walk, a hit, and then a throwing error by who else but Reid Brignac, who just rained on his cousin's parade that she probably hasn't even realized was thrown for her. Up comes Ryan Garko, with Shin-Soo Choo on 1st safe on the throwing error and Jhonny Peralta on 3rd courtesy of his single and the aforementioned throwing error. Ryan Garko said let me show you I can do this in a more meaningful setting and topped his earlier two-run blast with a three-run round tripper this time, cutting the lead to 10-8. The only bad thing was there were two outs and no one on. The good news was Grant Balfour and Jason Isringhausen paired up to do their Fausto Carmona impression to the next four hitters, yes, that means one more than the base paths could hold, forcing in a run to make it 10-9 now with the bases still juiced, and bringing up the heart and soul of the Indians Victor Martinez. Normally you would hate to see a guy in an 0 for 18 slump step up to the plate in this situation, but not this time. This had end of slump written all over it. I think everyone still at the game knew it, everyone watching knew it, and every member of the Indians knew it, and sure enough the gritty gamer from Venezuela, always having that "never quit" expression in the way he plays, and that "take it personally" look after the tough losses both this year and past seasons, took it upon himself and delivered the game winning, two-run single to completing a comeback that NO ONE saw coming back in the 4th inning and even up to the 8th for that matter. And that might have been the longest run on sentence in the history of the English language.
I didn't even intend on writing about this game, but how could I let this one slide, it was by far the best win of 2009. Fausto Carmona is a mess, but right now it's time to embrace this win for tonight and embrace the fact that Tampa Bay hasn't won at Progressive Field in 14 games and counting. Tonight was Ryan Garko's night, but if not for Jeremy Sowers it wouldn't have been, so I'm giving my player of the game to the young lefty who's been given up for dead by many, including myself. After a tough loss by the Cavs, the Indians of all people gave us Cleveland fans a lift, on a day that we honored so many men and women who did that and so much more for this great country.
Keywords: Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays.
