Game One: Oh, Hamburgers
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 6:28 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
125 comments
The Indians have produced two Cy Young winners in a row; pride of the organization. And now, two years in a row, our reigning Cy Young has totally soiled the sheets on Opening Day. (In fact, both of those guys soiled the sheets today.)
Say it with me: It's a long season.
The story of this game is simple. Cliff Lee got nailed above the elbow by a line drive comebacker in the second inning, and though he evidently was not hurt, the Rangers scored four runs on six baserunners that inning. Lee bounced back to shut down the Rangers over the next two frames, striking out four, but he ran out of steam in the 5th, allowing three more runs followed by three flyball outs.
The Indians lineup found our old friend Kevin Millwood evidently in top form and never mounted a serious challenge against him.
Let's look for some silver linings:
- Lee doesn't appear to be hurt.
- Victor's hamstring made it through Opening Day intact, for the first time since 2006.
- A slimmed-down Hafner looks like a threat on the basepaths!
- Barry Larkin picked Carmona to win the 2009 Cy Young — and, presumably, to soil the sheets on Opening Day next year.
- Masa didn't pitch his way off the team.
- No Indians hitter made more than three outs at the plate.
The best way to look it at it, I think, is that three months of deathless spring training got extended by a couple of days. This was just a spring training tuneup for Lee, and for Steel Rafi and Stomp. One more chance to see if Masa can keep it together and break camp without getting DFA'ed. And the lineup? They're just bored, waiting for the season to start.
True, we also spotted our divisional rivals a game in the standings, but more likely than not, we can afford that. We'll try this again on Wednesday.
Say it with me again: It's a long season.
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It’s a long season.
It’s a long season.
It’s a long season.
/hoping that if I say it enough, it’ll sink in.
"It's hard to win when you don't score." Cliff Lee, 9/28/05.
my therapy is watching cc get an L on opening day
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Trust the process.
Trust the process.
Trust the process.
/Wedge’d
by JulioBernazard on Apr 7, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Joe Morgan makes a bad Joe Biden / politician joke
So 2009.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 6, 2009 6:37 PM EDT reply actions
I hope it is a long season. Like 175 games or something.
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
That is one of the great things about baseball, though. Even when a season goes well, it still takes forever to play out.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
They might be talking about alcohol
So 2009.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 6, 2009 6:37 PM EDT reply actions
So I’m at work telling myself, “Don’t check the score, don’t check the score, wait till you get home and watch it on Tivo.” Guess what? Now I have nothing to watch tonight.
That’ a bummer, but trust me, you missed nothing. In fact, the game threads have about 20 really enjoyable moments — some folks already in midseason form — while the game itself had maybe two. Quite a few people would probably say that the best part of the game was when I banned a trolling twit.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, and it got crazier. He shows up with the username = cliffleetwoandtwentytwo
And I’m like, dude, explain that or maybe I should just ban you right now.
And he’s all innocent, like, what’d I do wrong? even while explaining that it is, in fact, his “prediction” for 2009.
So then this other guy pops up all of a sudden, and says: It was 22-3. And this other guy, his username = “for the record”
So I’m thinking, this guy just registered as “for the record” so he could post that correction!
But no, he actually registered in January, posted a single comment, and then just never resurfaced until that exact moment.
So anyway … “for the record” … game ball for you.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I know, right?
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions
hey, I guess LGT has “made it” as a blog if someone thought enough of it to prepare three months for a five-minute joke.
Having ‘sleeper trolls’ is the definition of making it?
"It's hard to win when you don't score." Cliff Lee, 9/28/05.
just wait till I let lose with my “APV” punchline
by APV on Apr 6, 2009 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
sleeper trolls. Its like the sleeper cell equivalent for blog terrorists
by world dictator on Apr 7, 2009 3:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Jimmy, in case you’re desperate to know, I’m going to delete anything that could be taken even half-seriously as criticism (or praise) as someone in politics. So, that was my standard.
So, you feel it is the same person? Orchestrating a little joke? Or that “for the record” is only going to post at moments to make a correction to wrongly stated stats?
No, although that would be an amusing thing for someone to do.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Woo! Gameball! I think the significance of my comments on the site peaked right then and there.
by for the record on Apr 6, 2009 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
/stares
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Apr 6, 2009 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions
About two weeks I go I registered, “WellChuckI’mReadyForYourApology.”
And now it’s a waiting game.
Steel Nick
by nickjs21 on Apr 6, 2009 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Coke is coming in
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
BAD TIME MACHINE
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
i should probably leave work sometime
So 2009.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 6, 2009 6:51 PM EDT reply actions
if you’re getting paid to watch baseball, stay.
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
i wasn’t getting paid for the last hour or so
So 2009.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 6, 2009 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions
wow you look like a jackass teixeira
So 2009.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 6, 2009 6:52 PM EDT reply actions
This Pirates-Cards game is hurtling towards an exciting ending. 2 outs in bottom ninth, bases loaded.
Forget the Yankees having to worry about what to do with Jeter when he’s closing in on 3,000… he’s going to be banished to the bench by mid-May
NY needs to replace that Marte with another one. Hughes, anybody?
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
No, Morgan — CC will be more nervous because it’s the first game in the new stadium.
(Tex bails out Jeter)
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
… and facing his former long-time team.
I don’t care how and when we do it, but we are winning that game.
--
Force quit and move to trash.
by vbc3 on Apr 6, 2009 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Furthermore, it won’t be his next start.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 6, 2009 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions
GUUUUUUTZ (yeah, I’ll prob be doing this all year)
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Our offense has looked kind of crap the past 3 games (counting the two others outside of Arizona). Granted, Texas made some terrific plays and the two DP’s really killed us. But, you would hope for more than a single run in that stadium.
Ben Francisco's only fan on LGT
Just noticed going through the box scores that Mujica went a scoreless frame for the Padres in their loss.
Speaking of, Juan Rincon gave up 3 runs (3 hits, 2 BBs) in his inning of work for the Tigers.
Ben Francisco's only fan on LGT
They should have some sort of game like this. Maybe incorporate fan voting.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Apr 6, 2009 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
And the winner gets home field for the World Series!
'Z' button abuser.
by emd2k3 on Apr 7, 2009 8:00 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe somebody said this already, but I’d just like to point out that everyone in the AL Central is 0-1 after today. The White Sox will join us at the bottom come tomorrow, and the Royals will be atop the division for a day…won’t that be something?
One more silver lining, not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else… Dayn Perry picked the Indians to win the AL Central. Not that some sports writer means anything – but he’s annoyed me with being right in the past.
Still the local "Barfield Bounces Back Believer" and confident that there's still a lot of Pronk in Hafner. Oh, and for all the love of Cliffy, there's still a Sleepy Kitten inside.
Some historic context… The Tribe’s record in suppressing runs on opening day is, well, not good. Here are the openers for all of the playoff teams in my lifetime:
1995 TEX W 11-6 1996 NYY L 1-7 1997 OAK W 9-7 1998 SEA W 10-9 1999 LAA L 5-6 2001 CWS L 4-7 2007 CWS W 10-5
For those scoring at home, that’s an average of almost 7 runs a game, in seasons that turned out all right. The 1995 juggernaut that trampled the AL started off by splitting a 4 game set with the Rangers in which they gave up 28 runs.
Cliff did have some issues, but his performance wasn’t that much worse than his last day of work in Arlington, a game in which he failed to get hit in the arm by a grounder:
IP H R ER BB SO HR
2008 5 9 6 6 2 8 1
2009 5 10 7 7 1 5 1
I’m a little more concerned that they left the offense behind in Arizona. Maybe someone should go look for it.
My source of encouragement on the offense from yesterday is that Castro said Wedge was more impressed with Millwood than disappointed in the hitters’ approach. Millwood can be really good but Vicente Padilla and Brandon McCarthy can’t be.
So, I feel like we’ll know more by Thursday night. Like how I did that?
Yeah, but by your same data set, we averaged 7.14 runs per game on opening day in those seasons. So the (short-term) concern about the offense is well taken. We avoided getting shut out in one of the best hitters’ parks only because of a wild pitch.
Oh wait, it’s a long season……
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Apr 7, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions
My brother and I were watching the game when I blurted out “I got a real red wagon!”
Get out of my head, LGT!
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 7, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Honestly, how many times do you catch yourself wanting to say “rec” during normal conversation?
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Apr 7, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Is this indicative of the way recaps will be written this season, or is this more of an “It’s OK, breathe” situation? If the former, I’d like to humbly suggest the restoration of WPA.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Apr 7, 2009 2:03 PM EDT reply actions
i like that as well. but a) hate to request more work and b) don’t know if they’re conforming to a larger SBN standard format
Ryan will be doing the bulk of the Recaps as usual, with the other three of us filling in now and then. I don’t think we’ll necessary adhere to a strict format, although Ryan might. WPA would not have been at all revealing in this instance.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on Apr 7, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I certainly agree with that. And, to echo Brick, I didn’t mean to create a lot of extra work for you guys.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Apr 7, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
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