Monday, September 17, 2007

IncrediBlake

As the Indians stole a game from the Motor City Kitties that they had no business winning, the Magic Number has been reduced to 7 (as T-Bone adjusted the number while the Family Truckster was on I-90 speeding away from the Jake).

Thanks to Casey Blake, with some BIG assists from Jhonny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Rafael Betancourt, the Tribe sent the Featherhead Faithful home happy in the biggest game in the past…well…6 years at Jacobs Field, maybe longer.

Sitting in my perch in Pronkville, it was unbelievable to watch the Indians fight their way back into the game as the discussion in the mezzanine centered around what the coolest jersey to sport around Jacobs Field would be (the candidates – Asdrubal 13, The Tank 38, The Chin 1, Jacoby 26), mocking the Tigers fan who bought Whoppers from a vendor at the Jake (the malted milk balls, not the burgers), and watching some guy on the JumboTron do the Frank the Tank move with Gutierrez at the plate while the Erie Warriors willed themselves (somehow) back into the game.

Amidst a raucous (though small at 28, 825) crowd, with Tigers’ fans not nearly as numerous as earlier in the season, the feeling…the vibe…was there. The Indians won with persistence and moxie to put the AL Central away for all intents and purposes.

As Bob Feller’s shirt was telling me, “It’s Tribe Time Now” (too many pictures of the DiaperTribe rendered the batteries uncooperative as the requisite picture that should accompany that line is lost somewhere in the “CHANGE THE BATTERIES” message from the camera).

The Indians are going to the playoffs.
There… I said it. May the thunderbolts stay in heaven and the naysayers send their regrets.

October is a foregone conclusion after tonight…and maybe beyond.

12 comments:

Voltaire said...

My room-mate and I, both as diehard Tribe fans as they come, exploded out of our chairs when Blake let go that shot. We screamed and shouting expletives so loud the entire dorm could hear. I think we woke some people up from drunken stupors.

I'll be at the Jake tomorrow night in my red. I love this team!

rick@waitingfornextyear said...

Anyone going Wednesday? Its going to be an official Halftime Adjustments day at the park. (By the way that means John and I are both going, not much more.)

Voltaire said...

Yeah, my room-mate and I are going Wednesday, too.

Cy Slapnicka said...

I have another STO idea. Why don't they post the Rally Pie videos? Are they allowed? I assume they own that content. When I watch the Extra Innings Broadcast, it always cuts off soon after the game ends.

I'd love to be able to see them and I can only assume it would be a great way to draw a lot of people to their website. Like I wouldn't forward a hilarious rally pie clip on to tons of friends?

Voltaire said...

That would be a great idea, Cy, and I'd love to see it. Since they own the footage, I can't imagine any problems other than whether or not they want to post the video.

Jason said...

I got to hear Peralta's game-tying shot while I was carrying around my fussy 12 week-old son. As I put him to bed I mentioned that he could go to sleep with the sound of Tom Hamilton's call ringing in his ears. "Peralta swings and hits a drive..."

He lay in his crib with his little arms moving in what could be interpreted as a celebratory way.

Is it a coincidence that last night was the first time he slept from 10 PM until 7 AM? He knows that the Tribe has this thing cinched up.

Paul Cousineau said...

On the Rally Pie, they really should post it. I always think that they should show the video that's on the JumboTron (they showed the "More Cowbell" montage too last night) during the broadcast too, forgetting that STO tries to stay objective and not get into the rah-rah sense of covering the games too much.

Jason, that's a great story. After getting back home and posting (I was too excited to go to sleep) with a celebratory Champagne (of Beers), I crawled into bed about 12:30...just as the nearly 9-month-old DiaperTribe woke up with the old "my teeth are coming in and if I'm not sleeping, nobody else is" that we enjoy so much.

Too little sleep and the fact that I probably didn't need that last High Life can't bring me down today, though.

Tribe's flying high.

Cy Slapnicka said...

screw objectivity, i want STO to be out and out indians fanatics like me. i want frank the tank clips. i want them to mic up the indians players intro music during their at bats while manning and underwood drink their warm glasses of shut the hell up. i guess i want to feel like i'm there.

the tribe flag will be flying high above the brown and red line el tracks today in chicago. i've been considering putting a spotlight on the chief...out of respect.

rick@waitingfornextyear said...

Not the best quality, but there is a Youtube of the rally pie clip. Its on halftime adjustments if you haven't seen it.

Unknown said...

DiaTriber,

I was at the Monday game, and have a few shots of the Feller statue in "his" red T-shirt. Let me know how best to get them to you.

Paul Cousineau said...

Chris,
Awesome! It was great to see when you approached the gate, wasn't it?

Send them to me at cousinpt@hotmail.com.

I'll post them right away. Be sure to include your info, if you want to be properly credited for it.

Unknown said...

TabbyCat,

You ended up with (virtually) the same shot.

CHAMPS!

C