Monday, May 12, 2008

A Ode to Fake & the Stupidity of The Rain Out


Look, we still think the guy is a scrub, but there is no denying that Casey Blake is getting the job done right now. The PD's Dennis Manoloff wrote this column to give the devil his due. His 15 RBI in his last 15 game stretch has put him at 25 for the year, leading the Indians. He is on pace for 112 RBI. If that happens, I will move to Africa. Manoloff states the facts:

Blake has:

-- 30 of 32 starts in the lowest three spots in the lineup. Rare is the player in the AL top 50 in RBI who hits in the bottom of the order.

-- 106 at-bats. It was the lowest total among any of the AL top 20 in RBI.

-- two homers. It was the lowest total among any of the AL top 19 in RBI.

-- a .236 average. It was second only to David Ortiz's .234 for lowest among the AL top 11 in RBI.

-- Blake has piled up the RBI by raking with runners in scoring position. He is batting .444 (16-for-36) with RISP. The average ranked third in the AL entering Sunday.

Does this mean we are officially off of his case? Of course not! We are awaiting the next major skid he hits, because like death, taxes, and Cleveland teams not winning championships, it is inevitable. Until then, we will try to enjoy the ride on the Fakey Fake Express.

------------------------

Who is the idiot who decided to call a rainout yesterday? Not only did it stop by 3 PM and didn't come back until after midnight, but don't these people know anything about momentum? The Tribe is coming off of back to back offensive explosions to the tune of 18 runs, and someone calls a rainout? Our Tribe spies tell us that Jim Folk, the man who is in charge of deciding the rainouts was out in Arizona, so it wasn't his broke-ass call to postpone the game.

The good news for yours truly is that we have tickets for tonight and will be getting two for the price of one. The twi-night doubleheader is the first of its kind at the Jake in over 10 years. The move I will be pulling is to arrive at the Jake around 5:30, watch the second half of the first game and the first half of the second game, getting us home in plenty of time to see the second half of Cavs/Celtics. Fausto Carmona and Cliff Lee will face A.J. Burnett and Shawn Marcum.

More good news (or not), the weather is shitty here again. Could a brother get some nice weather for once when we have tickets?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

this reminds of a similar situation that happened back in the 2002 season. the indians started that year off 11-1 and were poised to go for a series sweep of the kansas city royals on a sunday afternoon game, only to see the indians treat a little sprinkle shower like it was some sort of monsoon. they postponed the game despite the fact that it wasn't raining any harder than anything your intermittent wipers couldn't brush away. good-bye momentum. the tribe then went on to getting swept by the angels in their next series and it was all downhill after that. bartolo colon was traded by june and charlie manuel got fired in july as the indians finished in 4th place in the division with a below .500 record, prompting the rebuilding of the franchise into what we see today. might history repeat itself with c.c. sabathia getting traded and eric "the genius" wedge being fired??? lord i hope not. although i wouldn't mind wedge being fired, but that's beside the point.