Tribe vs. Halos: 07.03.12

[Erie Warrior]

1. M. Trout, CF
2. T. Hunter, RF
3. A. Pujols, 1B
4. K. Morales, DH
5. M. Trumbo, LF
6. A. Callaspo, 3B
7. H. Kendrick, 2B
8. E. Aybar, SS
9. J. Hester, C

vs. McAllister

1. S. Choo, RF
2. A. Cabrera, SS
3. J. Kipnis, 2B
4. J. Lopez, DH
5. M. Brantley, CF
6. C. Santana, C
7. C. Kotchman, 1B
8. S. Duncan, LF
9. J. Hannahan, 3B

vs. Haren

Pre-partying for 'merica tonight!

[bac5665]

Back to back Ks to start.

So we'll probably lose.

[bookelly]

That was quite pretty. Zack looks on his shit.

[Erie Warrior]

ZMac toss the high stinking cheese in the first.

95 to Trout. Who's this fucking guy?

[Erie Warrior]

Kipnis not in the Midsummer Classic is a tramashamockery.

[dazindiansfanuk]

ZMac pounding the zone - 15 out of 18 pitches for strikes in the first two frames.

[bookelly]

Hit 95 on 4 seamer...81 on the curve. 2 seamer sits at 90-92 with late movement. Hmmm...me like.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Damn Casey Kotchman is slooooow.

Somehow he scores though!

[bookelly]

Ooh. And there's a slider out the stretch that was nasty. 87?

[bookelly]

That Morales sequence was beautiful. Hook, change-up (? - it appeared to break to the right), Hook (swinging), then 4 seam money for the K. Really great stuff there.

Edit - Does he have 5 pitches?

4 seam high heat at 95
2 seamer down in the zone at 92
Change that looks identical to the 2 seamer (breaks right) at 82
Curve at 81
and a Slider at 89 that violently breaks left.

Damn, for Austin Kearns!!! KEARNS!!! it.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Will be interesting to follow how ZMac performs going forward.

He's been great SO FAR tonight but, this is the first time he's actually had a spot in the rotation based on performance reasons. Every other time he's been up he's been an injury fill-in/september call up.

SLOTH!!!

[bookelly]

Seems like they are waiting for the 80 mph curve. But he's throwing that 2 seamer for strikes at will. I'd like to see him mix in that 4 seamer up in the zone a bit more.

[bookelly]

Seems like they are waiting for the 80 mph curve. But he's throwing that 2 seamer for strikes at will. I'd like to see him mix in that 4 seamer up in the zone a bit more.

oops. Kendrick heard me.

[LakeErieWarriors]

There is no force out in right field.

[andrew6586]

Someone should tell this ump that rookies don't get the calls at the dish.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Fuck Hannahan!

That was awful and it cost us

[bookelly]

Hard to fault Zmac...it's tough when you give the other team 5 outs in one inning.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Nice job by the offense to bounce right back, ACs shitty AB aside.

Pick up those two runners now Brants!

[LakeErieWarriors]

What a rollercoaster this is turning out to be. Fun game to be at for sure. I'll be there tomorrow for the possible pitcher's duel and SA Jr. bobblehead.

[Am I Here Again?]

Ah, paybacks. We give them more outs in the top and, thank you very much, the As give us extra chances too. Sweet!

[dazindiansfanuk]

Gotta love the kipper!

Balls to the wall runner, full on hustler!

[Am I Here Again?]

Hey daz, noticed your "least favorite player" note and wondered something. Did the news about Shill's video game company make it across the pond? Basically he crashed and burned after <2 years and now owes the state of Rhode Island about $75 Million to them. Getting ugly.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Hey daz, noticed your "least favorite player" note and wondered something. Did the news about Shill's video game company make it across the pond? Basically he crashed and burned after <2 years and now owes the state of Rhode Island about $75 Million to them. Getting ugly.

Didn't make the news here, but I saw it on ESPN/BBTN etc, yeah.

Dude's a first class dick..... would happily suffocate him with his bloody sock!

Not sure I'm liking sending ZMac back out for the 6th. I know you want at least 6 out of your starter but, that 5th inning was very high stress.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Nice play Kipper!

I stand corrected on ZMac.

[bookelly]

Rain on its way. Some big systems too. But they look like they'll blow through in an hour or so.

[justmebd]

Been chasing my 2-year old around the house for most of the game. When Kipnis knocked the ball away at the plate and Lopez came sliding in behind him, even my boy stopped, threw his hands in the air and screamed, "Yeah!!"

I think he's hooked.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Great, call for the tarp after Vinnie's warmed up and faced a hitter.

We get a delay of more than 20 mins and we'll need another 8th inning guy.

[Prosecutor]

Nice comeback after being shut out last night.

Duncan is definitely getting on one of his hot streaks, which is probably why he got the start in left tonight instead of Damon even with a right-hander on the hill.

Armstrong looked fantastic until the Hannahan error. But still, there's no shame in giving up home runs to Trout and Pujols, two of the best hitters in baseball. Then he recovered nicely, got out of the inning and pitched a solid 6th.

Lopez with three more hits. This guy is turning into a pretty good signing. That's what management has to do -shop in the bargain bin and find guys who are useful when placed in the right situations.

Smith and Vinnie lock down the 7th and 8th, as usual.

Kipnis just does everything. The only thing is that he hasn't homered in a while, but I'm not complaining.

[TouchEmAllTime]

Was there tonight, nice crowd, playoff type atmosphere, ok that's a bit of a stretch, but it felt more like times of old, even if it was a "we're off work tomorrow and there's fireworks" type crowd. McCallister looked great and I think the error got to him mentally, something I think he'll learn to work through. You could tell the way he was walking off the mound that he looked somewhat defeated, or maybe it was a phew thank God that inning is over, but the change in body language was evident. Casey Kotchman is slow as shit as someone mentioned above, and Carlos Santana can't hit right handed either. Fun game to be at, and I can finally say I saw Albert Pujols play in person and jack one out like he was McGwire in the home run derby in '97.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Quote of the day from Kipnis

"Ninety-nine times out of 100, he makes that throw," Kipnis said. "So no one really got on him or really said a word to him because we know that's one in a million right there."

Erm...... good math!

[Prosecutor]

McCallister looked great and I think the error got to him mentally, something I think he'll learn to work through. You could tell the way he was walking off the mound that he looked somewhat defeated, or maybe it was a phew thank God that inning is over, but the change in body language was evident.

I don't agree that the error got to him mentally. The next batter was Mike Trout, who is leading the AL in hitting. McAlister battled him for about six or seven pitches, throwing quality pitches on the edges of the zone that Trout managed to foul off before hitting the home run on a 3-2 hanging changeup. Like Acta said, he shouldn't have thrown his third best pitch in that situation. Just a great swing by a great hitter who's hitting .340 and going to the All-Star game at the age of 20. Trout looks like the next superstar to me.

After getting Hunter, McAlister gave up a HR to Pujols on a fastball at the letters. Another great swing by a future Hall of Famer. No disgrace in giving up a long ball to Albert, especially when he went out of the strike zone to hit it. Then McAlister finished off the inning with a strikeout.

I thought he stayed mentally tough right through the inning, which required about 40 pitches thanks to the error. He just made the one bad pitch to Trout. Overall I thought it was a very encouraging performance. At one point he had thrown 36 strikes in 46 pitches. He came right at them - no nibbling or signs of being intimidated. If this guy is our 5th starter next year we're in good shape.