LoKyBuckeye
I give up. This board is too hard to understand.
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Sloopy45
Pimp Minister Sinister
My takes:
1. Quite simply, this is the best pennant race I've ever seen. Not only is it a thrilling & close race between 4 teams, but there're plenty of head to head match-ups in September. The Indians-White Sox series has been a classic so far. Just wish more of those pathetic WS fans would show up for the game .. those bleacher seats were empty! No excuse for that ..
2. If there ever was a case to get rid of the imbalanced schedule, this is it. The AL East & AL Central teams (now in a race with each other for the 'Card) only duked it out head to head six or seven times each this season. You've got to give them more opportunities to get a piece of each other. I would've loved to see more Yankees-Indians or Yankees-White Sox games this season than an overkill of AL East games & Interleague games.
3. David Ortiz has got to win the MVP. Hands down. I don't care if he's a DH or what A-Rod's done. Its not even close. Really. I think he's the best offensive player in baseball right now by a mile. Better than Bonds or Pujols. And you're hearing this from a Yankee fan who hates the guy. There is no one you don't want to see up against your team in a big spot more than Ortiz. No one.
4. This has got to be the best crop of rookies (quantity & quality wise) in baseball since 1975. Look at how many quality rooks there were this year:
- Huston Street (A's)
- Jeff Francoeur (Braves)
- Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
- Jonny Gomes (D-Rays)
- Ryan Howard (Phillies)
- Rickie Weeks (Brewers)
- Tadahito Iguchi (White Sox)
- Gustavo Chacin (Blue Jays)
- Scott Kazmir (D-Rays)
- Chris Young (Rangers)
- Joe Blanton (A's)
- Nick Swisher (A's & former Buckeye)
- Robinson Cano (Yankees)
- Chien-Mien Wang (Yankees)
- Dan Johnson (A's)
- Wilson Betemit (Braves)
- Brian McCann (Braves)
- Ryan Langerhans (Braves)
- Kelly Johnson (Braves)
- Blaine Boyer (Braves)
- Kyle Davies (Braves)
1. Quite simply, this is the best pennant race I've ever seen. Not only is it a thrilling & close race between 4 teams, but there're plenty of head to head match-ups in September. The Indians-White Sox series has been a classic so far. Just wish more of those pathetic WS fans would show up for the game .. those bleacher seats were empty! No excuse for that ..
2. If there ever was a case to get rid of the imbalanced schedule, this is it. The AL East & AL Central teams (now in a race with each other for the 'Card) only duked it out head to head six or seven times each this season. You've got to give them more opportunities to get a piece of each other. I would've loved to see more Yankees-Indians or Yankees-White Sox games this season than an overkill of AL East games & Interleague games.
3. David Ortiz has got to win the MVP. Hands down. I don't care if he's a DH or what A-Rod's done. Its not even close. Really. I think he's the best offensive player in baseball right now by a mile. Better than Bonds or Pujols. And you're hearing this from a Yankee fan who hates the guy. There is no one you don't want to see up against your team in a big spot more than Ortiz. No one.
4. This has got to be the best crop of rookies (quantity & quality wise) in baseball since 1975. Look at how many quality rooks there were this year:
- Huston Street (A's)
- Jeff Francoeur (Braves)
- Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
- Jonny Gomes (D-Rays)
- Ryan Howard (Phillies)
- Rickie Weeks (Brewers)
- Tadahito Iguchi (White Sox)
- Gustavo Chacin (Blue Jays)
- Scott Kazmir (D-Rays)
- Chris Young (Rangers)
- Joe Blanton (A's)
- Nick Swisher (A's & former Buckeye)
- Robinson Cano (Yankees)
- Chien-Mien Wang (Yankees)
- Dan Johnson (A's)
- Wilson Betemit (Braves)
- Brian McCann (Braves)
- Ryan Langerhans (Braves)
- Kelly Johnson (Braves)
- Blaine Boyer (Braves)
- Kyle Davies (Braves)
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Golferdow01
East-Coast Living
I agree with you Sloop, this pennant race is by far the most exciting I have seen in my lifetime.
I also agree with the statements about Oritiz...anytime he's up to bat I'm looking homer...he is an amazing slugger who has really turned it on lately. Of course a great end of the season performance is huge for the votes as well.
I also agree with the statements about Oritiz...anytime he's up to bat I'm looking homer...he is an amazing slugger who has really turned it on lately. Of course a great end of the season performance is huge for the votes as well.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
The Tribe lost a hard fought game last night that they should have won in my opinion, the key play being the Hernandez throwing error........we need to take this game tonight to pull back to 2.5 games out of WS. Cleveland is still .5 game ahead of the Yankees.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
At the end of the year, it is unlikely the Cleveland Indians will be given their outright release or sent back to the minors because the ownership's plan of fielding a team bad enough to break its lease with the city and then move it to Miami backfired.
We can't be 100 percent certain, but there have been no reports of a clubhouse holy war between an evangelical Christian pitcher and a voodoo-worshiping slugger. "You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
And it is highly improbable that the players have a life-sized cutout of owner Lawrence J. Dolan which, for motivational purposes, they strip one piece of clothing off after each victory until they catch the Chicago White Sox (currently only 2½ games ahead) and/or expose Dolan's Cuyahoga warrior.
But other than that, don't tell me we aren't seeing life imitate art – if you are willing to call the 1989 cinematic classic "Major League" art. And I certainly am. "Major League" is my favorite baseball movie, which, although I am no expert on the genre, easily outdistances "Field of Dreams" (a bit sappy), "Bull Durham" (a chick flick in disguise) and the original "Bad News Bears" (although that one is damn close).
You'd be a fool to ignore the similarities between that group of Indians and this hard-charging, largely anonymous, scorned-by-its-own-fans, improbable group that currently has the AL wild card, if not the fast folding White Sox, in its sights.
Don't believe me?
What do you make of …
Closer Bob Wickman, who the last three seasons posted a 1-5 record with a 4.36 ERA as "Wild Thing" Ricky Vaughn. Wickman's career even includes the mysterious 2003 season, which he was not in the majors. The California Penal League, perhaps?
Willie Mays Hayes: "How'd you end up playing there?"
Ricky Vaughn: "Stole a car."
Just like Wild Thing, Wickman is no Mariano Rivera-style, no-sweat closer. He may have saved 44 games in 49 opportunities this year, but he loves to make it interesting, such as Monday's 7-5 victory over the White Sox when he brought the winning run to the plate before recording the final out.
The rebirth of veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood, whose 2.97 ERA is almost two full points below last year's effort with the Phillies, playing Eddie Harris, whose slime-ball routine coupled with the energy of the new guys resurrected his career.
Ricky Vaughn: "What's that [stuff] on your chest?"
Eddie Harris: "Crisco. Bardol. Vagisil. Any one of them will give you another two to three inches drop on your curve ball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close I'll rub a little jalapeno up my nose, get it runnin', and if I need to load the ball up I just wipe my nose."
Suddenly slugging Jhonny Peralta, who entered the season with four career homers only to knock 22 already, as Pedro Cerrano, the mysterious Hispanic power man who worships an ancient island religion in an effort to hit curve balls.
This role could also be played by the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Travis Hafner (.305, 27 homers) although we don't know how many black, Hispanic voodoo worshipers hail from Jamestown, N.D. As for Peralta, there is no word on his choice of religion, but there is no denying something has clicked this season.
Pedro Cerrano: "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come."
Eddie Harris: "You know you might think about taking Jesus Christ as your savior."
And, how about Lou Brown, the three-decade manager of the Toledo Mud Hens and offseason tire salesman, and skipper Eric Wedge (ever heard of him)? Both are no-nonsense. And both came up through the system (Wedge previously managed the Buffalo Bison) only to make the most of their chance in the bigs with a historic late-season rally.
Charlie Donovan: "Lou, how would you like to manage the Indians this year?"
Lou Brown: "Let me get back to you, will ya, Charlie? I got a guy on the other line asking about some white walls."
As for Harry Doyle, the hard-drinking, ill-prepared, completely biased "Voice of the Indians," well, look, Tom Hamilton has done a heck of a job in that capacity the last 16 seasons, but we don't want to insult the guy's professionalism. Besides, there may never have been an "actor" better made for a role than Bob Uecker playing Doyle. We are talking once in a lifetime.
Harry Doyle: "That's all we got, one goddamn hit?"
Color Man: "You can't say goddamn on the air."
Doyle: "Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway."
And there is more.
Are you telling me Coco Crisp doesn't sound like a made-up movie name?
Or how about if the Indians do make the playoffs and a showdown with either the movie nemesis New York Yankees or the defending World Series champion Red Sox looms? You can't say there is a better Clue Heywood clone than the menacing David Ortiz. "How's your wife and my kids?"
Or how about Cleveland fans, accustomed to recent losing, being so skeptical of the Indians when they finally started winning that Jacobs Field was mostly empty until the last week.
Jake Taylor: "I play for the Indians."
Old Lady at the party: "Here in Cleveland? I didn't know they still had a team."
Taylor: "Yup, we've got uniforms and everything."
But if the Indians can pull this off – come back from 15 games down in August to win the AL Central – the Jake will be rocking like old Cleveland Stadium in the movie, and we know how that one turned out.
So you can ignore the similarities at your own risk, but just remember one thing:
"Forget about the curve ball Ricky, give him the heater."
Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
We can't be 100 percent certain, but there have been no reports of a clubhouse holy war between an evangelical Christian pitcher and a voodoo-worshiping slugger. "You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
And it is highly improbable that the players have a life-sized cutout of owner Lawrence J. Dolan which, for motivational purposes, they strip one piece of clothing off after each victory until they catch the Chicago White Sox (currently only 2½ games ahead) and/or expose Dolan's Cuyahoga warrior.
But other than that, don't tell me we aren't seeing life imitate art – if you are willing to call the 1989 cinematic classic "Major League" art. And I certainly am. "Major League" is my favorite baseball movie, which, although I am no expert on the genre, easily outdistances "Field of Dreams" (a bit sappy), "Bull Durham" (a chick flick in disguise) and the original "Bad News Bears" (although that one is damn close).
You'd be a fool to ignore the similarities between that group of Indians and this hard-charging, largely anonymous, scorned-by-its-own-fans, improbable group that currently has the AL wild card, if not the fast folding White Sox, in its sights.
Don't believe me?
What do you make of …
Closer Bob Wickman, who the last three seasons posted a 1-5 record with a 4.36 ERA as "Wild Thing" Ricky Vaughn. Wickman's career even includes the mysterious 2003 season, which he was not in the majors. The California Penal League, perhaps?
Willie Mays Hayes: "How'd you end up playing there?"
Ricky Vaughn: "Stole a car."
Just like Wild Thing, Wickman is no Mariano Rivera-style, no-sweat closer. He may have saved 44 games in 49 opportunities this year, but he loves to make it interesting, such as Monday's 7-5 victory over the White Sox when he brought the winning run to the plate before recording the final out.
The rebirth of veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood, whose 2.97 ERA is almost two full points below last year's effort with the Phillies, playing Eddie Harris, whose slime-ball routine coupled with the energy of the new guys resurrected his career.
Ricky Vaughn: "What's that [stuff] on your chest?"
Eddie Harris: "Crisco. Bardol. Vagisil. Any one of them will give you another two to three inches drop on your curve ball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close I'll rub a little jalapeno up my nose, get it runnin', and if I need to load the ball up I just wipe my nose."
Suddenly slugging Jhonny Peralta, who entered the season with four career homers only to knock 22 already, as Pedro Cerrano, the mysterious Hispanic power man who worships an ancient island religion in an effort to hit curve balls.
This role could also be played by the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Travis Hafner (.305, 27 homers) although we don't know how many black, Hispanic voodoo worshipers hail from Jamestown, N.D. As for Peralta, there is no word on his choice of religion, but there is no denying something has clicked this season.
Pedro Cerrano: "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come."
Eddie Harris: "You know you might think about taking Jesus Christ as your savior."
And, how about Lou Brown, the three-decade manager of the Toledo Mud Hens and offseason tire salesman, and skipper Eric Wedge (ever heard of him)? Both are no-nonsense. And both came up through the system (Wedge previously managed the Buffalo Bison) only to make the most of their chance in the bigs with a historic late-season rally.
Charlie Donovan: "Lou, how would you like to manage the Indians this year?"
Lou Brown: "Let me get back to you, will ya, Charlie? I got a guy on the other line asking about some white walls."
As for Harry Doyle, the hard-drinking, ill-prepared, completely biased "Voice of the Indians," well, look, Tom Hamilton has done a heck of a job in that capacity the last 16 seasons, but we don't want to insult the guy's professionalism. Besides, there may never have been an "actor" better made for a role than Bob Uecker playing Doyle. We are talking once in a lifetime.
Harry Doyle: "That's all we got, one goddamn hit?"
Color Man: "You can't say goddamn on the air."
Doyle: "Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway."
And there is more.
Are you telling me Coco Crisp doesn't sound like a made-up movie name?
Or how about if the Indians do make the playoffs and a showdown with either the movie nemesis New York Yankees or the defending World Series champion Red Sox looms? You can't say there is a better Clue Heywood clone than the menacing David Ortiz. "How's your wife and my kids?"
Or how about Cleveland fans, accustomed to recent losing, being so skeptical of the Indians when they finally started winning that Jacobs Field was mostly empty until the last week.
Jake Taylor: "I play for the Indians."
Old Lady at the party: "Here in Cleveland? I didn't know they still had a team."
Taylor: "Yup, we've got uniforms and everything."
But if the Indians can pull this off – come back from 15 games down in August to win the AL Central – the Jake will be rocking like old Cleveland Stadium in the movie, and we know how that one turned out.
So you can ignore the similarities at your own risk, but just remember one thing:
"Forget about the curve ball Ricky, give him the heater."
Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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0
OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
After the HUGE win last night 8-0 over Chicago, Cleveland goes to Kansas City for a 4 game series. The Tribe is now just 2.5 back of WS and 1 game ahead of the Red Sox for the Wildcard. 
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
8-0 last night, the White Sox didn't even show up in a HUGE game for them, they basically could have put the division away by winning last night and going up 4.5 games, instead its now down to 2.5 and Chicago is choking.
Garland their best pitcher, got beat and that is not a good sign with the Twins coming in.
Ouch.......its not symbolic......its reality.
Garland their best pitcher, got beat and that is not a good sign with the Twins coming in.
Ouch.......its not symbolic......its reality.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=750 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=560><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=7><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Cleveland (89-63) at Kansas City (52-99)</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Preview - Box Score - Recap</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=ysptblclbg3 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=5><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD> Game Info: 8:10 pm EDT Thu Sep 22, 2005
TV: FSOH </TD><TD noWrap align=right>Add to Calendar
Buy Tickets </TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2 colSpan=2 height=1><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR class=yspwhitebg><TD colSpan=2 height=15><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=190 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2><TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=ysptblclbg1><TD>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=yspsctbg><TD class=ysptblhdr height=18> Starting Pitchers</TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2><TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=yspscores noWrap align=middle width="35%">
C. Lee
Cle </TD><TD align=middle width="30%">vs.</TD><TD class=yspscores noWrap align=middle width="35%">
R. Hernández
KC </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2 colSpan=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>17-4</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>Record</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>8-12</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow2 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>3.75</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>ERA</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>5.24</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>136</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>K</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>84</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow2 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>49</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>BB</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>64</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>21</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>HR</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>16</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Cliff Lee will try for his ninth straight win when he takes the mound for the Cleveland Indians in the opener of their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals.
Lee is 8-0 with a 3.55 ERA over his last 12 starts, including a 3-0 mark with a 2.57 ERA in three starts in September. He surrendered four runs and five hits over seven innings on Saturday in a 5-4 win over Kansas City.
The strong finish has turned Lee into a leading contender for the AL Cy Young Award, along with 20-game winner Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.
``I think he (Colon) has got me by a little bit,'' Lee said. ``I might have to throw two shutouts. If I had to pick a winner, it would be him.''
A 27-year-old left-hander, Lee is 3-1 with a 5.28 ERA in five starts against the Royals this season.
Cleveland pulled within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with an 8-0 victory on Wednesday in the deciding game of their series. The Indians lead the wild-card race by one game over Boston.
Travis Hafner continued his torrid hitting Wednesday by belting a pair of homers and driving in five runs. Hafner has homered in four straight games and hit .583 (7-for-12) with 10 RBIs in the series at Chicago.
``Probably in my dreams we would have won all three,'' Hafner said. ``I was able to get in a pretty good groove and put some good swings on some pitches.''
Cleveland has won 14 of 16 overall and 20 of its last 26 on the road.
With Wednesday's 4-3 win over Detroit, the Royals are coming off their first four-game sweep in six years. Pinch-hitter Denny Hocking delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win.
``From the first day I stepped into this locker room, the atmosphere has been: 'We're going to go out and win today,''' Hocking said. ``Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.''
The Royals have won six of nine, hitting .296 (90-for-304) in that stretch. With one more loss, Kansas City will lose 100 games for the third time in the last four seasons. The Royals would become the first team to do so since Toronto from 1977-79.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
TV: FSOH </TD><TD noWrap align=right>Add to Calendar
Buy Tickets </TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2 colSpan=2 height=1><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR class=yspwhitebg><TD colSpan=2 height=15><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=190 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2><TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=ysptblclbg1><TD>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=yspsctbg><TD class=ysptblhdr height=18> Starting Pitchers</TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2><TABLE class=yspwhitebg cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=yspscores noWrap align=middle width="35%">
C. Lee
Cle </TD><TD align=middle width="30%">vs.</TD><TD class=yspscores noWrap align=middle width="35%">
R. Hernández
KC </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ysptblbdr2 colSpan=3><SPACER width="1" height="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>17-4</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>Record</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>8-12</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow2 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>3.75</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>ERA</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>5.24</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>136</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>K</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>84</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow2 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>49</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>BB</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>64</TD></TR><TR class=ysprow1 vAlign=top><TD class=yspscores align=middle>21</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>HR</TD><TD class=yspscores align=middle>16</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Cliff Lee will try for his ninth straight win when he takes the mound for the Cleveland Indians in the opener of their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals.
Lee is 8-0 with a 3.55 ERA over his last 12 starts, including a 3-0 mark with a 2.57 ERA in three starts in September. He surrendered four runs and five hits over seven innings on Saturday in a 5-4 win over Kansas City.
The strong finish has turned Lee into a leading contender for the AL Cy Young Award, along with 20-game winner Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.
``I think he (Colon) has got me by a little bit,'' Lee said. ``I might have to throw two shutouts. If I had to pick a winner, it would be him.''
A 27-year-old left-hander, Lee is 3-1 with a 5.28 ERA in five starts against the Royals this season.
Cleveland pulled within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with an 8-0 victory on Wednesday in the deciding game of their series. The Indians lead the wild-card race by one game over Boston.
Travis Hafner continued his torrid hitting Wednesday by belting a pair of homers and driving in five runs. Hafner has homered in four straight games and hit .583 (7-for-12) with 10 RBIs in the series at Chicago.
``Probably in my dreams we would have won all three,'' Hafner said. ``I was able to get in a pretty good groove and put some good swings on some pitches.''
Cleveland has won 14 of 16 overall and 20 of its last 26 on the road.
With Wednesday's 4-3 win over Detroit, the Royals are coming off their first four-game sweep in six years. Pinch-hitter Denny Hocking delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win.
``From the first day I stepped into this locker room, the atmosphere has been: 'We're going to go out and win today,''' Hocking said. ``Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.''
The Royals have won six of nine, hitting .296 (90-for-304) in that stretch. With one more loss, Kansas City will lose 100 games for the third time in the last four seasons. The Royals would become the first team to do so since Toronto from 1977-79.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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And all the while, my Red Sox are slowly fading out of the playoff picture. :(
thats freaking funny. i'm a chi sox fan, and this is what they are doing right now:
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the indians lose and you get nothing in this thread until they win again. how sad.
buehrle is their best pitcher
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the indians lose and you get nothing in this thread until they win again. how sad.
cleveland fans
seriously i didn't see any indians stuff all year, until the past month, now everyone at work has the indians coffee cups out and wearing the jerseys on casual friday...what a joke
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