Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Indians
May 26, 2009
Matt Garza vs. Carl Pavano
Progressive Field
Cleveland, Ohio
Its game two of the series, or better known as the night of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Indians are looking to build momentum after last night’s incredible comeback. I don’t remember ESPN covering even a Tribe playoff game in ‘07 as intently as they did last night’s game. Opposing hitters are only hitting .199 against Matt Garza, which leads the league, and he picked up a victory over the Tribe a little over a week ago. That being said, Carl Pavano has been the best Indians pitcher not named Cliff Lee. I like Cleveland to win their 15th straight at home vs. Tampa Bay 5-2. I also like the Cavs tonight in a tight one 97-94. We will definitely see what the guys not named Lebron are made of tonight.
Some things I liked tonight, heard through the day, or came to mind as I was writing:
-Kudos to STO for incorporating a new player highlight clip going into the break before the Indians came up in the bottom of the first. I thought the Asdrubal Cabrera one to start the game off was very well done.
-I’m surprised that Eric Wedge stuck with Ryan Garko’s hot bat, but it paid off early as Garko blasted a solo home run in the 2nd.
-Garko will probably homer again later then have the next four games off to make room for a combination of Dellucci or Crowe in the lineup.
-I’m not even a huge fan of Garko, but it’s more of a way to show my frustration of Wedge to use his use of Garko as an example of one of many ways in which the skipper lacks the ability to draw up a consistent lineup.
-Trevor Crowe might not be able to hit a lick, but he’ll damn well get to that gap shot faster than Matt LaPorta could have when we’re already down five runs.
-Reid Brignac was one of Tampa’s Top Ten prospects according to Baseball America as recent as last year, but they are going to miss Jason Bartlett’s surprisingly huge offensive production. He was putting up the kind of number’s the Rays were expecting to get from B.J. Upton but aren’t. I’ll be interested in what the Rays record is these next two weeks.
-There is no reason why there needs to be a Metallica sign hanging outside of the Q. A scroll by on the outside jumbotron is plenty enough for those media whores.
-I’m gonna talk some Cavs and NBA as well tonight, just a heads up.
-I don’t really like Mo Williams guaranteeing a win. At this point he just needs to shut up and promise to play better if he feels he must open his mouth. I guarantee Stan Van Gundy is playing up the Mo Williams guarantee to his guys, before they take the floor, on their home court. Can I change my prediction now? Just kidding. I still like the Cavs in knock-down, drag-out, but have to say I have a new found respect for Stan Van Gundy. I hope the Heat secretly gave him a ring in 2006.
-Back to the Indians real quick, Asdrubal Cabrera hits the Tribe's second solo shot of the night to put them on top 2-0. Anyone care to be on base next time?
-Even if the Cavs lose tonight, I’m not one of those in the it’s over camp. Yes, they would be on life support, but it still means you only have to win one game in Orlando. You may or may not have heard it here first, but I don’t think you’ll hear it from many others.
-I wonder if Carl Pavano ever called Alyssa Milano “Samantha”, you know, if she called him daddy while they….were playing catch.
-I like Carl Pavano, but sometimes I wonder, if his contract wasn’t so incentive laden, would there be some kind of injury issue by now? It just seems a little strange that after all the years in New York, and being older now, he’s been as healthy as he’s ever been in his career.
-The tarp has officially been pulled at 8:11 PM EST. This will at least create a window of opportunity for possibly catching a good part of the beginning of the Cavs game, here’s hoping anyway.
-One suggestion for the new show Beer Money on STO, let the poor people keep the $10, or $20 they get if they miss the second or third question, I mean c’mon Ashley and whoever that guy is on with you, have a heart!
-Because he doesn’t act like a jackass and say as many ridiculous things, Reggie Miller doesn’t get the attention Charles Barkley does, but I find him to be funnier than Chuck.
-The Indians game is back in progress and Mo Williams just made a runner in the lane, a good sign for sure, Cavs within two at 5-3.
-Lebron makes some Magic Johnson-esque passes, the same could not be said for MJ, it’s just the six rings that separate the two at this point.
-I’m thinking if Akron Aeros catcher (for the casual fans) Carlos Santana had as many at-bats in the big leagues as Kelly Shoppach has so far this season, he’d probably have better numbers.
-Matt Garza hits Ryan Garko after having hit three home runs in the last two games, re-kindling the feud started two weekends ago in Tampa Bay, but this time it was costly as the next batter Mark DeRosa homered, scoring Garko and giving the Tribe a 4-0 lead in the 6th. Was a little retaliation worth two runs?
-Amway Arena, really Orlando? Was the OxyClean Arena or the Slap-Chop Center already taken?
-Freddy Kreuger is sitting all alone at the Pepsi Center, with a Denver Nuggets foam finger, and an Orlando Magic pennant in David Stern’s dream.
-Wally and Boobie on the floor at the same time. I should switch over to STO real quick and see if Ben Francisco is pitching.
-I am thankful to have not heard the term “crooked number” in awhile.
-Mmmm, scrambled eggs on my face, fluffy and delicious as Boobie Gibson knocks down his second three. The only thing that would have made them sweeter would be hearing “from deep in Amway Arena” after each one.
-It’s nice to be able to say shoot Boobie shoot again instead of shoot, Boobie, shit!
-Kelly Shoppach hit a solo shot while I flipped over to the Cavs game, 5-1 Indians going into the 8th.
-The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to their second straight Stanley Cup Finals, and are probably going to face the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year. This brings forth an interesting question, would you trade having a shitty baseball team for the rest of life as we know it, if your NFL and NHL teams were in contention for a championship almost every year? And throw in actually winning a few.
-The solo home run fest known as tonight’s Indians game has come to an end. Indians 5, Rays 1.
-The Cavs are up 70-63 right now. I might write more about this game later or comment on it tomorrow.
As for the Indians, no huge surprise here, make it 15 in a row at home vs. Tampa Bay. The first sweep of the year looks like a realistic possibility right now. Carl Pavano’s gotta be the number two pitcher from here on out. This was a good win in that the Indians carried the momentum of yesterday into today. Now let’s win three freaking games in a row for the sake of us fans sanity. I don’t want to hear a trivia question ten years from now, “who was the only team in Major League Baseball in the 2009 season to not win more than two games in a row?”.
Keywords: Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Orlando Magic., Tampa Bay Rays
