Anyone who stayed up to watch that one deserves a Grandstand Manager's ticket.
Tuesday night's game between the Indians and Red Sox was not exactly the finest example of Major League Baseball ever played at Progressive Field.
The first three innings took one hour and 55 minutes. The teams used eight dozen baseballs in those three innings. One hundred and ninety-three pitches were thrown.
By the eighth inning the teams were tied and the game was just short of four hours long. After eight innings, the two teams had scored 16 runs and left 20 runners on base.
The game ended on an error, when Boston could not complete a routine flip from first baseman Kevin Youkillis to pitcher Javier Lopez. Lopez dropped the flip, which allowed the winning run to score from second.
Give the Indians credit for coming back. They were down 5-1 heading into the second and 7-3 heading into the third and tied the game in the third on Ben Francisco's home run. They trailed 8-7 entering the seventh, and tied it up in the bottom of the seventh.
Special mention to Mark DeRosa, whose home run tied the game in the seventh. Then in the ninth, he did a nice bit of hitting to drop a leadoff base hit into right field. He scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. After 410 pitches had been thrown.
It was not a pretty win, but an 8-13 team needs any win, no matter how ugly.
Prior to the game, Eric Wedge talked about remaining confident. About winning series (which the Indians have a chance to do with a win tonight). About the team putting things together. He wants more leadership from his clubhouse, from within the team, and he probably needs it.
But sometimes leadership comes from clutch hits and good pitching and solid defense. From wins.
"Right now it's tough for everybody," Wedge said. "But you have to stay strong and try to get these guys back to being as confident as they should be and as they ought to be. And we're trying to do that from day to day."
The Indians confidence is borne from coming within one game of the World Series two years ago, but that was back when they had CC Sabathia. They don't anymore, though they did replace him with another Cy Young winner last season in Cliff Lee.
The remaining core of the team remains the same, though — and might be better in the bullpen with Kerry Wood as the closer.
It's up to them to prove that '07 season was not a fluke and that the belief shown in this core is not misplaced. The weakness of the division helps the cause, but it's past time they do something about it.
If this keeps up, I wonder at what point in the season the media is going to pressure Shapiro into giving Wedge the ominous public "vote of confidence."
By the way, I reiterate that Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs and the surrounding area equals a terrible baseball town. Perhaps Vernon Stouffer was right, and the franchise should have been moved to New Orleans.
One of the two Cadillacs of the American League is in town for their only Progressive Field appearance in the entire season, and they draw 18,000 for the first game and 19,000 for the second game. Hell, with that kind of attendance, you'd think they were playing the Toledo Mud Hens on 10-Cent Hot Dog Night.
And yet, people complain, whine and cry that Dolan doesn't spend more. Instead of these people shrieking like women during that time of the month, perhaps all of these same people should invest in a bathroom mirror.
Amen, Alan T., Amen. Also, the same folks will continue to bark, wear rubber dog masks and support a football team that except for a few years in the 80's has been pathetic since the exit of Blanton Collier. Since the building of Gateway the Indians have been the most successfull and affordable franchise in town. Get over it already, people. Wake the hell up!
"like women during that time of the month"………….wow, classy comment.
"Classy," Joyce? I don't know about classy. "True," maybe. But classy? Nah.
Alan, do you realize how much work it is to be so nasty to everyone, all the time? I know that every blog needs a snarling junkyard dog, and you fill that role very well, thank you. But, jeez, take it easy, guy, at least every other post, if you can do it.
Who's being nasty? It was nothing personal. You're reading too much into stuff.