The Tribe started a three game series today with those Damn Yankees. If you are from Cleveland you grew up hating the Steelers and the Yankees. Any good father from this town passed this sports hate down to their children. Throw in a very strong negative opinion of John Elway and you have the holy trinity of Cleveland Sports hate (I know Jordan hit the shot but its hard to hate MJ, it just is). Its always fun to see a packed house at The Jake but games against New York are just a little different. There is a buzz in the air and there are a few thousands people whose father's failed at life. They allowed their children to grow up and cheer for the Evil Empire. In my life I have attended maybe ten or so Tribe/Yankees battles on the shores of Lake Erie and I'm batting .500. That's right in about half of those I have had the honor of my group confronting one of these lost souls. Signs have been ripped, friends have been tossed into tables at the Batter's eye, a few punches have been thrown. For the record our group has never started any of these confrontations, we have never had to. You can always rely on a loud-mouthed Yankees fan to start that for you. Most of the time its when their team is losing and they can no longer stand the chants of Jeter Sucks AROD! They get a little testy. At the end of each of these melees the Yankees fans have always walked away knowing they have taken the easy road in life and I'm pretty sure have wondered why their parents didn't care about them like mine did.
I watched today's bout from a friend's house (CLE_Dawg on twitter) and tweeted during most of it. I loved watching Tomlin go 7 strong innings, AGAIN, and flirt with a no hitter. CLE_Dawg and I started looking at each other in the 5th with the old, "Hey he hasn't let up a hit yet lets not say a word" looks. That would have been one hell of a story to tell if Tomlin could have thrown the no-no. Instead we received some early 4th of July fireworks from Austin Kearns of all people.
After Tomlin gave up the no-no and two runs in the top of the 7th the Tribe came roaring back in the bottom of the 7th. The Indians had two runners on, had cut the lead to 2-1, and it was up to Austin Kearns to save the day and get a big knock. Yep, the same Austin Kearns that was hitting something like .198 coming in to the day and only had 6 extra base hits and 2 RBIs in 35 games played. My Tweets went something like this...
@BurnRiverSportsBurning River Sports
Really its up to Austin Kearns...
Pls Walk him
@BurnRiverSportsBurning River Sports
HOLY SHIT !!!! #Tribe #Indians
I honestly couldn't believe he came through. When he hit that three run shot the living room at the house I was at erupted with cheers of disbelief. I felt good for the guy. It was really nice to see him celebrate with his teammates after his biggest hit in quite some time. Maybe this will allow him to relax a bit. Who knows, but it sure was sweet for one day. Carlos Santana added a few insurance runs, Perez came in and slammed the door in the 9th, and the Tribe delivered on the 4th of July.
After the game the wife and I packed up the dog and drove home. As we drove we could see fireworks going off in all directions. They scattered the night sky in an almost surreal way. Amongst the sound of fireworks and the soothing melody of Mumford and Sons you could find a happy Cleveland sports fan and happy American. I was proud of my team and proud of the country I live in. I am thankful for the men and women that allow us our freedoms. Without them and those before them I would not have the ability to care about more trivial things like baseball and blogging.
As I pulled into my driveway thoughts of past Indian Summers danced in my head. I swear you could faintly hear "Glory Days" by the Boss still blasting out of the ballpark speakers at The Jake. The sound skipped along on the wind for a moment as I looked up at the night sky and smiled......it indeed was a Happy 4th of July
I honestly couldn't believe he came through. When he hit that three run shot the living room at the house I was at erupted with cheers of disbelief. I felt good for the guy. It was really nice to see him celebrate with his teammates after his biggest hit in quite some time. Maybe this will allow him to relax a bit. Who knows, but it sure was sweet for one day. Carlos Santana added a few insurance runs, Perez came in and slammed the door in the 9th, and the Tribe delivered on the 4th of July.
After the game the wife and I packed up the dog and drove home. As we drove we could see fireworks going off in all directions. They scattered the night sky in an almost surreal way. Amongst the sound of fireworks and the soothing melody of Mumford and Sons you could find a happy Cleveland sports fan and happy American. I was proud of my team and proud of the country I live in. I am thankful for the men and women that allow us our freedoms. Without them and those before them I would not have the ability to care about more trivial things like baseball and blogging.
As I pulled into my driveway thoughts of past Indian Summers danced in my head. I swear you could faintly hear "Glory Days" by the Boss still blasting out of the ballpark speakers at The Jake. The sound skipped along on the wind for a moment as I looked up at the night sky and smiled......it indeed was a Happy 4th of July
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