Want out of Cleveland? Win a Cy Young!

2007 Cy Young Award winner - CC Sabathia.

2008...Sabathia gone.

2008 Cy Young Award winner - Cliff Lee

2009....Lee gone.

Unreal. The fire sale begins anew. Can we please get an owner who wants to win again? Good luck selling this team to the city in 2010. And then don't bitch that you can't sign a big name because attendance is piss poor.

This hurts.

"Losing one Cy Young winner one year and another the very next year is probably hard for a fan to swallow. It's the nature of the game. It's something you're really going to have to talk to Shapiro about, as far as his outlook and his intent with the whole deal. Obviously, he feels he's making the team better with those deals. It's not my job to grade it. It's my job to pitch."

Opening Day 2009!

So it's finally here: Opening Day 2009. Our yearly get-together with decades-long friends. Our one time a year when we ALL take the same time off and enjoy a brief visit to reminisce, drink good beer, watch baseball, and generally have an outstanding time with one another.

Thursday I worked 8-4, er, actually just 8-3. Then it was the 7+ hour drive northward to crash at Duke's in Mt. Vernon, OH. Fellow local beer nut Dale traveled with me this year, so he arrived at my house and we loaded up the Jeep and we took off.

Friday, we made for a 9am departure to arrive at our pregame destination: Great Lakes Brewing Co. The brewpubs to end all brewpubs. Call me a homer, but it's my favorite. Yes, even above my adored Foothills. We arrived before Great Lakes opened. So, it was a quick walk-over to Dave's Supermarket around the corner for some to release their coffee and for me to purchase 5 containers of brown Stadium Mustard. I needed to stock up.

Finally a table for 12 is acquired and we commence the drinking. And eating. But mostly drinking. Their fine, fine beverages were consumed with almost reckless abandon. Every one on the board was ordered...even my arch-nemesis Eliot Ness Vienna Lager. My least favorite. But I sucked it up and ordered a pint just to do it. Just to be stubborn and give Art the mental finger. Just to say I did so. It's on the board, after all.


So a $427 bill later, we make our way to Jacobs Field. The GLBC Fatty Wagon was on the fritz or something, so a smaller van was being utilized to carry revelers across the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge to the ballpark. It didn't carry as many people. So the line didn't reduce by very much with each roundtrip. Frustrated, and only out $1 each for the fare, we made Dave's underage son drive all of us in their own minivan. It made for cozy surroundings and some accidental touching where strangers shouldn't, but we made it across in one piece. And besides, we're not strangers so it's not inappropriate touching.

The game started, and then promptly stalled with a rain delay. Are you serious? ANOTHER year of crappy weather. Well, the rain chilled to the core more so than the SNOW of 2007, so we said the heck with this and left. Back across the bridge. We checked into our hotel, then made our way to The Winking Lizard for some munchies and some more beer. Here, after the Cavaliers game on TV was over, we discover that 60-odd people out of 41,000 had actually stayed in the ballpark and the game was back on after a 3-hour break. Sadly, the Toronto Blue Jays had their way with us afterward and a 13-7 score in favor of the bad guys was the horrifying result.

After the Lizard and the end of the game on TV, most of us went off to bed, but a few intrepid souls made one final trip of the day to Great Lakes Brewing for a dessert nightcap: both beer and ice cream. Blackout Stout, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, and that delicious Edmund Fitzgerald Porter ice cream were on the docket. It took quite some pushing and determination to down that final beer of the long day, and we for the most part did not indeed succeed. Back to the hotel to wake up our sleeping roommates and then crash. And crash HARD.

A wonderful day spent with great friends. I so look forward to seeing everybody in one setting. And this year's trip did not disappoint.

Fantastic.

Opening Day!...on the road for my beloved Indians

Regardless of the recent cold snap, spring is in the air and my step is just a little bit lighter. Baseball season is finally here. Officially. (Granted the first game was Sunday night with just the Braves and Phillies playing, but today was the big day with regard to the teams playing.)

My Cleveland Indians opened on the road Monday night in Texas. And promptly got shellacked 9-1. And it wasn't even that close. Our lonely singular run was scored on a wild pitch as pictured here. Ugh. 2008's Cy Young Award winner and 2009's #1 guy Cliff Lee just got pummeled. Enjoy the thrilling recap here.

Still, baseball is here and I couldn't be more excited. With the dark cloud of steroids, the shenanigans of pampered athletes, the mind-boggling salary structure, with all of it....I am still a little kid when it comes time for baseball and follow it with obsessive wonder. Major leagues, local minor leagues, Indians minor league teams, all of it.

I love it.

And more importantly, this coming Friday will be another installment of our Kappa Psi fraternity-brother-plus-other-friends Opening Day get-together at Jacobs, er I mean "Progressive", Field to sit in the damp cold and bond with each other...something I really look forward to every year. And this year will be extra special for me in light of recent relationship issues. Their support has been unwavering and, not that there's anything wrong with it, their love keeps me strong. So it will be GREAT to catch up with old friends in person and hug and smack each other and laugh and make fun of each other and revert back to being 19 or 20 years old.

I love baseball.

Hot Stove: Peter Gammons on the Indians

Ah yes, the venerable Peter Gammons. So knowledgeable and worldly, our nation saw fit to use his likeness on the $20 bill. Really! Take a look at one. His recent report on the off-season moves of my beloved Cleveland Indians ooze with promise. But for some reason, there are too many "if this" and "if that" possibilities to occur before an upcoming dominant season is in order. What do you think?



Still, no matter what, I'll be worshipping at the altar of the Cleveland Indians once again. Go Tribe!

No spitball needed.

Really? It's been 34 years? THIRTY-FOUR????

Spitball pitcher Gaylord Perry in 1974. 20 wins. Since? Not CC Sabathia. Not Greg Swindell. Not Tom Candiotti. Not Bert Blyleven. Not Wayne Garland. But Cliff Lee. 20-game winner, Cliff Lee.

Lee first 20-game winner for Indians since '74

CLEVELAND (AP) -Once inside the clubhouse, Cliff Lee 's teammates popped open champagne and toasted his latest win, his biggest win.

Exactly one year after being brought back from the minor leagues, Lee had something major to celebrate: He's Cleveland's first 20-game winner in 34 years.

''Has a nice ring to it,'' Lee said. ''I like the sound of that.''

Lee, who was sent back to Triple-A last season to work on his mechanics and his mental approach, pitched a five-hitter for his second career shutout and led the Indians to a 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

Lee (20-2) is the first Indian to reach 20 wins since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry went 21-13 in 1974. The left-hander's milestone win was his ninth straight victory.

''I never lost confidence,'' Lee said. ''I never got down on myself or questioned my abilities. I never once doubted what I could do.''

With a chance to also join Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Bob Lemon as Cleveland's 20-game winners, Lee shut down the hard-hitting, Central-leading White Sox . He gave up two singles to open the first before retiring 21 straight and finishing his fourth complete game.

''That's the best I've seen him throw against us in some time,'' said Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen , whose club dropped into a tie for first in the Central with Minnesota. ''He's a 20-game winner for a reason. We got to him early and had an opportunity. Then he shut us down, just dominated us.''

After he got Carlos Quentin to ground into a game-ending double play, Lee punched his fist into his glove and hugged catcher Kelly Shoppach as fireworks boomed above Progressive Field. And as he has done 19 other times this season, Lee got in line to exchange handshakes with his teammates.

First baseman Ryan Garko flipped the ball to Lee, and he headed to the dugout as a video tribute from Perry and Feller was shown on the stadium scoreboard.

''It's nice to get this behind me and not have to answer questions about matching Gaylord Perry ,'' Lee said in a typically stoic tone. ''I'm glad I got it over with on the first try. It's a good feeling, especially not giving up any runs.''

Lee's 20 wins put a resounding stamp on his turnaround season.

Ineffective for the first fourth months of 2007, Lee had been sent back to the minors last July, a startling downfall for a pitcher who had won 46 games over the previous three years. In his final start before the demotion, Lee was booed off the field and sarcastically tipped his cap at fans who were sick of seeing him.

Now, they can't get enough of Lee.

Since the first day of spring training in '08, he has been in a groove.

''It's a tremendous tribute to him and the work and the commitment he made,'' Indians manager Eric Wedge said. ''These things don't happen by accident.''

He went 5-0 in April and was 12-2 when he took the mound as the AL's starter at the All-Star game in Yankee Stadium. He went 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in August.

He leads the majors in wins and ERA, and no pitcher has meant more than the laid-back 30-year-old, who has accounted for 30 percent of Cleveland's 66 victories.

The Indians' three-decades-plus drought without a 20-game winner was the longest among non-expansion teams. Tampa Bay, Colorado and Florida have never had a pitcher get to 20 wins, and it's been 30 years since the Montreal/Washington franchise and San Diego had a 20-game winner.

Lee has refused to put emphasis on any start but his next one, and has shrugged off his success with a hey-this-is-my job nonchalance. For weeks, he has downplayed any significance of reaching the 20-win barrier, insisting all he wants to do is give the Indians a chance to win.

Lee has been remarkably consistent, pitching at least five innings in all 27 starts. He has allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of them and hasn't walked a batter 10 times. He has been nearly as good on the road (11-2) as at home (9-0).

His approach has been simple.

''You've got to locate. You've got to work ahead. You've got mix and change speeds,'' Lee said. ''That's the key to pitching.''

Orlando Cabrera and A.J. Pierzynski opened the first with singles. But Lee struck out Quentin and then got Jermaine Dye to hit a hard liner to second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera , who snagged the drive and stepped on the bag for the double play.

Lee gave up two singles in the ninth before he got Pierzynski to fly to left. Chicago's fiery catcher, who slammed his bat down after popping out in the fourth, then stared in Lee's direction. Lee stared back.

''He was chirping from the dugout,'' said Lee, who couldn't recall if he yelled anything back at Pierzynski. ''He gave me a little extra energy. I appreciate that, him giving me a little extra edge.''

Pierzynski denied yelling at Lee.

''I didn't say anything to him the whole game,'' he said. ''I yelled something when I popped up. He pitched a great game and has had a heck of a season. Give the guy credit. Winning 20 games is pretty darn good.''

As the Indians celebrated Lee's win, many of the White Sox remained in their dugout, perhaps upset by the left-hander's posture.

''I don't care,'' Lee said.

One last pitch for Tim Drew

A wonderful way to wake up this morning: laying in bed hearing Frank Deford on the alarm clock talk about former Cleveland Indian Tim Drew. Drew was one of the phenoms Chris followed with devotion (until he was traded with Bartolo Colon to Montreal for (essentially) Grady Sizemore.)

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=93040130&m=93057285

Morning Edition, July 30, 2008 ·
Tommy John won 288 games in the majors, but, of course, he remains far better known for the operation that now generically bears his name: Tommy John Surgery. In 1974, a tendon was replaced in his damaged left arm and, miraculously, he returned to pitch for another 13 years. So no one, perhaps, knows the capriciousness of athletic health better than he.

Today, John is still in baseball, the manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish, who play in the Atlantic League, one of those independent circuits which are pretty much stocked by forgotten older players who've been passed over by major-league organizations but still play for peanuts because they don't know what else to do and/or they let themselves still dream that they'll catch lightning in a bottle.

And, by God, it can happen. A 32-year-old has-been named Brandon Knight was in the Atlantic League last season. Saturday night, he started a game for the New York Mets.

Four nights before that, in York, Pa., John went out to the mound to remove a Bluefish pitcher who had just given up nine runs in barely more than three innings. But this time, when John took the ball from the pitcher, he also paused and embraced him.

The pitcher was Tim Drew. Who remembers now that, 11 years ago, Drew was a glamorous first-round choice in baseball's draft? I only know because of a wonderfully touching story written by Rich Elliott in The Connecticut Post. But, oh, what was written about Tim Drew back then. Not only could the kid throw a baseball 94 miles per hour, but his older brother, J.D., was also selected in the first round. And not only that: seven years later, yet a third Drew brother, Steve, was drafted in the first round.

Well, two outta three ain't bad. J.D., of the Red Sox, was the most valuable player in the All-Star Game a couple weeks ago. Steve is shortstop for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They made it big.

Tim did get to the majors. He pitched in all of 35 games. Mostly, though, he caromed around the minors until he ended up, 29 years old, pitching in Bridgeport.

The human arm really is not built to throw a baseball. Like Tommy John, like a lot of pitchers, Tim Drew's arm busted. He had an operation: Three tacks were inserted in his shoulder. He came back this year, but it didn't take him long to realize that whatever he had wasn't there anymore.

After the game in York, he only asked John for one more favor: Sunday, back in Bridgeport, to start the game against Camden, he put Eric DuBose, his best friend on the team, behind the plate, and Drew threw one more pitch.

Then Tim Drew walked off the mound forever. He's going to go to community college. We hear about J.D. and Steve Drew. But most ballplayers are the brother in-between. They're Tim Drew, and they hate to leave the game, but one day they realize they must.

Just give me one last pitch and I'll be gone.

It was a strike, right on the corner.

Throwing in the towel.

A write-up in the Miami Herald, of all places, concerning our beloved Indians. Miami! Soem good tidbits concerning the three named minor leaguers we received for C.C., er, CC.

Indians brass has thrown in the towel

By Mike Castiglione, Sports Network
The Sports Network

The end of an era -- and subsequently the relevance of the hometown ballclub -- has come to an end in Cleveland.

Less than a year removed from an American League Central Division title and a near trip to the World Series, the Indians have fallen completely off the map. The team has been in the midst of perhaps its most critical stretch of the schedule, with eight straight against division foes, followed by a four-game set with the Major League-best Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

And basically, the Tribe has blown it. Big time.

Entering tonight's game in Detroit, the Indians have lost eight straight and 14 of their last 18. They are 14 games below .500, and the same amount of games back in the division standings. Compounding matters, they've got gashes that simply cannot be fixed with a Band-Aid.

On the disabled list are starters Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, as well as sluggers Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Ben Francisco and Jhonny Peralta are batting in the third and fourth spots in the lineup. The bullpen, 8-17 with a major league-worst 5.14 ERA, is now minus closer Joe Borowski, who was designated for assignment over the weekend.

But the move that made every headline, of course, was Monday's trade of reigning Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for four prospects.

And so just like that, the focus in Cleveland has shifted from another deep playoff push, to the future.

The Sabathia deal even prompted a letter from team President Paul Dolan, explaining the team's desire to "add talent that can impact the short-term and long-term success of the organization."

"After keeping the strong nucleus from our 2007 playoff team intact," Dolan wrote, "we all had high expectations entering the '08 season. Unfortunately, the team did not play up to our expectations and we sustained injuries to key players within our starting lineup and rotation."

From management's standpoint, the trade does appear to make sense. While it can be argued the team could have played the waiting game and possibly received better prospects from other suitors, they at least got something in return. In the offseason, Sabathia turned down a four-year extension that would've netted him $18 million a year. Rather than lose their ace to free agency at the end of the season and be forced to settle for two draft picks, the Indians were proactive.

In exchange for arguably the top hurler in the game today, Cleveland gets outfielder Matt LaPorta, pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson, and a player to be named later.

LaPorta, taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, led the Double-A Southern League with 20 homers and ranked second with 66 RBI. Since being drafted, he's averaged a home run every 13 at-bats.

Jackson was a first-rounder (32nd overall) in 2004, and sprung all the way up to Triple-A after just one season, having gone a combined 16-8 with a 3.92 ERA. The very next year he got a taste of the big leagues, but was sent back down after struggling and has not fared well ever since.

Bryson, drafted in the 31st round in 2006, is a power pitcher who induces lots of strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting just .209 against him this year in the South Atlantic League.

Each could very well prove to be an integral part of the Indians' future. Unfortunately for Indians fans, the distant future wasn't exactly at the forefront of their minds at the outset of the season.

And then another smidgen of hope further down in the article:

WHO'S HOT

Hats off to All-Stars Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore.

Lee (11-2, 2.43) went from battling for the fifth slot in the rotation during Spring Training, to perhaps being the AL starter in the Mid-Summer Classic. This will be his first All-Star appearance.

Sizemore (.269, 22 HR, 18 doubles, 50 RBI, 20 steals, 56 runs) is making the trip for a third straight year and may participate in the Home Run Derby. He has blasted 14 homers in his last 34 games.

Both were part of the Bartolo Colon trade in 2002. Tribe fans can only cross their fingers and wait to see if General Manager Mark Shapiro has struck gold again with the Sabathia deal.

Carsten Charles Sabathia...professional Brewer

C.C., erm, excuse me. I meant "CC" Sabathia is now a Milwaukee Brewer. The "mid-market" Cleveland Indians, who claim to have no hope to compete in the wildly expensive free agency signing party, have traded C.C., er, CC Sabathia to the money-soaked huge media market Milwaukee Brewers. [sarcasm delivered free of charge]

The Associated Press story:

Brewers send 4 prospects to Indians for Sabathia
By CHRIS JENKINS – 20 hours ago

MILWAUKEE (AP) — With one XXL-sized move, the Milwaukee Brewers hope to transform themselves from scrappy underdogs to a big, bad pitching powerhouse intent on chasing down the Chicago Cubs and making the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

The Brewers obtained reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on Monday, giving up four prospects in a gamble that favors the present over the future.

"I'd say we're going for it," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "That's the way I look at it."

The deal stacks the Brewers' deck with a pair of aces, Sabathia and Ben Sheets — but only for a few months.

Barring blockbuster contract offers from a small-market team that already is stretching this year's payroll into the $90 million range, both players will become free agents after the season.

And the deal hardly assures the Brewers an easy road to the playoffs. Milwaukee began Monday a percentage point ahead of St. Louis for the second-best record in the NL, and both teams are chasing the Chicago Cubs, who are 3 1/2 games ahead in the NL Central.

"Let's face it: This is still a calculated risk," Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said. "The other teams in our division aren't going to sit back and look at this and say, 'Oh, now the Brewers have got CC Sabathia. Let's just roll over.'"

The football player-sized Sabathia, who went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA last season, is the first reigning Cy Young winner to be traded since Roger Clemens was dealt to the New York Yankees after winning the award with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998.

For Cleveland, it's a sign of surrender hardly anyone would have imagined going into the season.

Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said the team's string of injuries and disappointing performances made it hard to imagine a significant rally in the second half.

"We all headed into this season with what feel are well-founded expectations for a championship-contending season," Shapiro said. "Four core players on the DL — tough for almost any franchise to overcome — as well as disappointing performances from many components of our team, most noticeably in the bullpen, leave us at the juncture we're at. There wasn't much doubt or question in our mind that it was nearly impossible for us to become a contending club this year."

Sabathia was scheduled to arrive in Milwaukee before Monday night's game against Colorado and to pitch against the Rockies on Tuesday night. He also is expected to pitch against Cincinnati on Sunday, giving him a pair of starts for his new team at home leading into the All-Star break.

"We're trying to get four starts out of him before the break," Melvin joked. "But we'll settle for two."

Milwaukee sent Cleveland outfielder Matt LaPorta, pitchers Rob Bryson and Zach Jackson and a player to be named. Shapiro said the player to be named would be among two specified in the deal.

Melvin said the Brewers' strong farm system gave him flexibility to deal away a good
prospect.

"Matt LaPorta is going to be a good big league player, and I hope he is," Melvin said.

Attanasio said the acquisition of Sabathia will push the team's payroll around $90 million this season. Attanasio said the move might prevent the club from turning a profit this year, but it was made possible by increased fan support and sound financial decisions in recent years.

"We'd always love to go for it," Attanasio said. "But you can go for it in a stupid fashion, and Doug and his group have never done that."

Sabathia had a slow start but is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA. Cleveland scored two runs or fewer in 11 of his 18 starts.

Milwaukee's starting pitching has been thin ever since Yovani Gallardo went on the disabled list on May 2 with a torn knee ligament that required surgery. His rehab was supposed to take four months, which gives him an outside chance of returning before the end of the season.

Sheets (10-2, 2.77 ERA) is off to the best start of his career, but the All-Star righty is in the final year of a $38.5 million, four-year contract and hasn't wanted to talk about his upcoming free agency.

Milwaukee, which hasn't been in the postseason since Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, fell two games short of the division title last year.

The Indians, who fell one win shy of the World Series last year, are in need of power-hitting corner outfielders and LaPorta is expected to fill that void. He hit .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Huntsville.

Sabathia rejected a $72 million, four-year extension from the Indians during spring training and announced he wouldn't negotiate until after the season.

Shapiro said seven teams were interested in Sabathia, and the trade came after three to five days of intense negotiations with Milwaukee.

"C.C. made it clear that once the season started he did not want to entertain any negotiations," Shapiro said. "Our exploration of a contract was thorough enough in spring training to understand the combination of our capabilities and C.C.'s expectations didn't align."

Cleveland has seen Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle leave in free agency.

Associated Press Writer Joe Milicia in Cleveland contributed to this report.

All we read about during the failed runs at World Series crowns was pitching. If only we had some pitching. So we deal away the best pitcher we had. I guess it coincides well with the Indians' offense going into the crapper this year. Sigh...

4 minor leaguers. The best of the bunch from AA. For the reigning Cy Young Award winner. This stinks.

The basement.

The American League Central Division standings:

Team
W-L
Games Behind, Winning Percentage, Streak
Chicago White Sox
43-35
-, .551, Won 1

Minnesota Twins
43-36
0.5, .544, Won 9

Detroit Tigers
38-39
4.5, .494, Won 2

Kansas City Royals
36-43
7.5, .456, Won 5

Cleveland Indians
35-43
8, .449, Lost 3


"Bats, they are sick... Bats are afraid."

No thanks, I got it myself.

For just the 14th time in Major League Baseball history, and only the 8th time in the 107-year American League, an unassisted triple play occurred. One player getting all 3 outs in one play. Amazing. Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera adds his name to history. The full list.

Indians / Blue Jays in the 2nd game of a doubleheader. Blue Jays on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Trying to start a rally, they run before contact is made. A line drive right into Cabrera's glove, then boom! Three outs. Chris was watching it live on DirecTV's Extra Innings package, and unfortunately the announcers for that telecast were Toronto's. Crazy.

The video from the Cleveland television telecast:


Now the Indians have had THREE players accomplish this all too rare feat; one of whom did it in the 1920 World Series!

Again, amazing.

Baseball's best players...via uniform number

Sports Illustrated recently ran an online story compiling the best players in baseball by their uniform number, i.e. the best player to wear #5, or the best player to wear #20, etc. It was some interesting reading (for one member of the House of Gordon at least) but didn't generate much controversy. Some folks tried to argue that for #42 Mariano Rivera is a better choice than Jackie Robinson, but they are respectfully full of crap.

Some Cleveland Indians made the list to Chris's joy. Some players were listed who at one time wore an Indians uniform (Bert Blyleven, Rick Sutcliffe, Roberto Alomar, etc.) but couldn't consider Cleveland their "primary" team. Here are the Indians who made the cut:

#18 - Mel Harder

#19 - Bob Feller

#29 - Satchel Paige

#52 - C.C. Sabathia

#63 - Rafael Betancourt
Peruse the entire list. Anything you agree with 100%? Anything stand out as idiotic?

The missus is away.

Kimberly is away in Washington, DC this week for a nurse anesthesia legislative conference. What to do tonight with the pooches to pass the time without her?
Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout + a slightly illicit Cuban Cohiba + Miles Davis Kind of Blue + the beloved Cleveland Indians + the joyous voice of broadcaster Tom Hamilton + WTAM 1100 AM on the interwebs.

The dogs are just wondering:
a) where their mommy is, and
b) why their daddy is camped out in the garage like this.

Opening Day 2008!!!

The fresh start of a new season: baseball's Opening Day! It's another yearly adventure of the Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity - Gamma Delta chapter gang from Ohio Northern University and a sprinkling of fresh baseball-loving faces in the mix. The destination: Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Give it some time for "Progressive Field" to become part of the vernacular. After all, we have 16 years of sponsorship to do so.)

It started as a late trip after a 8a-4p Walgreens workday to Duke's house in Mount Vernon, OH. A 7-hour trip turned into 8 with nasty tunnel construction on I-77 in Virginia. Such a late arrival didn't stop us from staying up until 3:00am with craft brews, scotch, Godfather Part II, and humane and genteel talk of politics.

The following day, the group made their way to northeast Ohio. First destination: The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, OH. We sampled their wares with good microbrews and delicious barbeque; not the nasty vinegar concoctions of North Carolina, but rather the scrumptious thick red smoky sauce. Nifty decorations of beer tins and plates on the walls. The mouth-watering aromas of brewed beer eminate from the back as this is a "brew-your-own" establishment as well.


After full bellies of slathered pig, it's time for our next stop, checking into our home away from home:

Our room's view:



Once we settled into our rooms, it was off to Lakewood, OH and The Buckeye Beer Engine. A favorite dive of ours (and it was indeed a DIVE) when it was located on the east side in Bedford Heights, it's recently moved across town to the west side in Lakewood into a "fresher" location.

From there, it was back downtown to Rock Bottom for more microbrews and pool. And another instance has occurred which reinforces the knowledge that we just SUCK in pool.


Finally, we make it back to the HO-tel (classic inside joke) for some civil disobedience with bounty brought back from Chris's Dominican Republic mission trip.

Monday morning. Opening Day. 3:05pm start. Beforehand as always, we make our door-opening 11:30am pilgrimage to Great Lakes Brewing Co. for award-winning world-class beers.


The great thing about Great Lakes for pre-game? The Fatty Wagon to take us to and from the game in style:

Instead of $20 parking close to the park, why not just pay $5 in Ohio City across the bridge, eat great food (mmmm, pierogies and bratwurst) and drink great beer, and then pay $1 for a round-trip ticket on the Fatty Wagon? $1! Can't be beat. And saving on parking helped out our wallets where the tab did not....


Bellies full and cheeks flushed, we arrive at the park. It's Opening Day, mind you, and it sells out every year. Even last year when it SNOWED OUT:


So with it selling out, tickets are a challenge to come by (and kudos to Duke for being our Ticket Master every year with successful acquistions!). Our seats were along the first base line, Section 537, Row X. Sadly, Row X is the very top row of the park. No Y or Z here! So, Art has it in his mind to nab good seats until we are politely told to scram. Art, Lude, and Chris find three, and Duke, Bones, and John find three others. (Chris M. was illin' and just met us for lunch before going home.) We enjoy the first two innings up close:

Then we get the boot, so we make our way down even CLOSER for three more innings!


Alas, it's not meant to be, as the rightful owners nab their own seats. As an aside, WHO COMES TO OPENING DAY AND DOES NOT FIND THEIR SEAT BEFORE THE FIFTH INNING??? I would venture to say they forfeit their good seats by then. But I digress...

We make our way to Section 537, Row X and observe the remainder of the action. As opposed to the close-up pic of #24 during the first two innings, enjoy this photo of Grady Sizemore from our proper seats:


It's a touch colder in Row X than in the comfy confines of more expensive seats. Must be the wind-stopping ability of chain link fencing. The cold and wind must also have drained the usual sharp wittiness from my brothers in this video. Thanks to Lude for trying at least.


When all is said and done, the Indians act correctly for us and finish victoriously with a 10-8 win. Enjoy the decidedly un-Carolina-like gray dreary skies that dominate this video.



We make our way back to the Fatty Wagon drop-off at the base of the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge for our trip back to Great Lakes Brewing. It's dinnertime! More brewskis and more delicious grub. This time, their tasty Pretzel Chicken fits the bill:


We crash at the HO-tel again Monday night, then Tuesday morning we all make our separate ways and head homeward: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and North Carolina. It is always a treat to see the guys. Sadly, not everyone could make it this year (come on now, 2-Live!!!). It just sucks that with all of our crazy schedules, get-togethers of this magnitude cannot occur more often. Baseball, good beer, and great friends make these annual couple of days the highlight of the spring, if not the whole year.

We close this lengthy post with a photo or two of the drive back home to Greensboro. Go Tribe!!!