Was this just a hilariously timed coincidence? Maybe. But you better believe Tito knows exactly where all NESN cameras are in Fenway after his eight years there, and he was definitely giving SOMEONE the finger. I’m sure there was an NESN feed in the dugout or clubhouse, so someone probably told him Orsillo was talking shit and he figured the cameras would be on him. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I love this man.
I love him cause he’s a really good manager, cause he’s goofy and gives great soundbites, but most importantly he’s an absolute class act. Earlier this week, Boston manager (and former teammate and pitching coach for Tito) John Farrell announced he’d been diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma and would be taking a leave of absence for the remainder of the season as he begins treatment. Terry Francona and Brad Mills accompanied him to his first chemo session on Tuesday. That was followed by a typical Tito quote.
“I told (Farrell) point blank, ‘Man, I’m not here as your friend.’ I said, ‘You owe me 20 dollars. If something happens to you, I want my 20 bucks,’” Francona, the ex-Sox and current Cleveland Indians manager, said.
Man. Say what you want about how this season has gone, but between this, Mike Aviles’ family situation and a few other things since he’s been in Cleveland, there’s absolutely no other guy I’d rather have managing my team.
I might as well quit posting the division standings cause we have about as good a shot at catching the Royals as the “no alcohol” rule has of being obeyed in the Muni Lot this year. And obviously a seven-and-a-half game deficit in the wild card is a pretty monumental deficit to overcome, but by some act of God we’re not mathematically eliminated yet.
The Tribe had a weird west coast trip last week that I didn’t write about because I can’t stay up for those games anymore. We split 4 games out in Oakland which could have been a series win had it not been for Cody Allen’s tenth inning on the 2nd.
Oakland wins it in 10 innings with a walk off RBI double by Mark Canha. Cody Allen gets the loss #TribeLive
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) August 2, 2015
Then we lost two of three in Anaheim which also could have been a series win had it not been for Cody Allen’s ninth inning on the 5th.
WALKOFF WILD PITCH!
Taylor Featherston scores on Cody Allen's wild pitch, as the @Angels score 3 in the 9th to beat the Indians 4-3.
In the first game after returning home on Friday, Cody Anderson gave up six runs in 2.2 innings but our offense broke out in a big way, putting up 9 runs on 14 hits. We lost 10-9. 25 Indians crossed the plate on Saturday and Sunday, giving us our first series win since we went to Cincinnati on July 17th. It was a bad couple weeks for the Cody’s and one hell of a roller coaster for fans.
But here we are, 7.5 games back in the wild card with a 5% chance of making the playoffs. In 2013, before our magical one game postseason run, our odds were as low as 10% on August 31st. If anything is possible with God on your side, having Abraham has gotta count for something. (He was good, right? My moms gonna kill me)
The Royals are in. Next.
The Twinkies continue to nosedive, as their stern talking-to in The Land over the weekend puts them below the .500 mark for the first time since MAY 1ST. Not even wearing these gross-ass batting practice jerseys in games could right the ship.
OF Byron Buxton, aka the future of their franchise, was activated from the DL on Monday, then inexplicably sent down to AAA. And, despite all these things, Paul Molitor was named the 3rd best manager in the league by Baseball America. Yikes.
The Tigers have been treading water since trading Yoenis Cespedes and David Price before the July trade deadline, going 4-6 in their last 10. Brad Ausmus went with the old “If you can’t beat em’, call em’ cheaters!” adage after Johnny Cueto spun a complete game, 4-hit shutout against them on Monday night.
Miggy Cabrera’s final hurdle before returning to game action will be running the bases, which he’ll attempt to do on Tuesday. He’s been on the DL with a calf strain since early July.
Outfielder Trayce Thompson has three hits in seven at-bats after being called up to the black-pinstriped Chicago team last week. His brother splashes for a living. 1B Jose Abreu is the 7th rated hitter in the past 15 days in ESPN Fantasy Baseball, and I own him, so that’s cool.
In Other News
New Chris on the block, had a bunch of hits, Chinese food actually sounds incredible right now. After coming over in the trade that sent Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and around $15 million American dollars to Atlanta, new guy Chris Johnson made an immediate impact, going 4-4 with two doubles on Sunday. He played first base but can also stand over at third and has played right field once in his life, so Lonnie can coach him up. The guy is actually decently useful against lefties at the plate, but any value whatsoever he brings to the table will be an upgrade from what we gave up. Swisher actually had some weirdly callous comments after being dealt, and it sounds like there were some people in the clubhouse who were as excited as we were to see him go. I did feel a little bad about things not working out with him immediately after the deal but not anymore. Smell ya, bro.
Other new guy Abraham Almonte (from San Diego for LHP Marc Rzepczynski (not checking that)) has enjoyed an even more memorable Wahoo debut. Saturday: 4-5, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI. Sunday: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI. He had five major league home runs before this weekend. You obviously can’t expect anywhere near that production going forward, but he’ll get time in the outfield as long as he hits.
Outfielder Clint Frazier was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for July, in which he led the league in hitting (.363) and was second in slugging (.559). For the season, the 20-year-old is slashing .286/.381/.465 with 13 bombs, 30 doubles and 60 RBI. Here’s an interesting bit from Bottlegate friend Justin Lada about how going back to using a toe tap has helped him turn his season around after some early struggles.
Uh, so this happened a half hour before Saturday night’s game:
That’s actually right across the street from my apartment, so I was understandably nervous when I thought City Tap was going up in flames. Thankfully it was just an apartment. Don’t know what I would have done if that bar bit the dust, nowhere else in the city you can drink while literally inside of a deep fryer.
First of all, I don’t think anyone around here dislikes either of these guys as people, they were great in the community, Swish “came home” to try and win a World Series, it didn’t work out and that sucks. That being said……
Oh happy day. Happy frickin day. I don’t know how much cash we’re sending Atlanta and I don’t really care at this particular moment. I also do not give one single shit about Chris Johnson. He can hit lefties and that’s cool. And of course, as I write this….
Source: Indians sending more than $10M to Braves along with Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher in deal, with Chris Johnson going to Cleveland.
Whoa. Still though. Not gonna get into numbers and statistics because that’s not at all what this is about. The Braves didn’t actually want Swish or Bourn and we didn’t actually want Chris Johnson. It’s a business transaction, like Beyonce and Jay-Z’s marriage.
I’m over-the-moon happy with it though. Johnson will be here a year longer than Swish and Bourn would have been but his contract is a lot less annually. Even though the 10 mil we’re sending over essentially makes it an equal swap money-wise, it gives us roster flexibility to get looks at some of our young guys in the OF (Holt, Ramsey, Naquin, Walters, etc). Hopefully this is a metaphorical turning of the page for the club (and for all of the INSUFFERABLE “bro” jokes from all the Dolan critics).
Indians sending more than 10 million could have sent prospects instead the Dolan's stepped up and opened their wallets
Bottlegate 