Indians vs. Angels

Hello out there all you Wahoo maniacs. I know I  just wrote yesterday, but I figured I would give everyone who hates their job something to do at work today. Plus, I want to dedicate an entire entry to the Indians vs. Angels game last night - it was THAT good.

Besides the fact that I'm a Tribe fan going into enemy territory, the cops  were on our ass before we even got into the stadium. Some moron cop yelled at us through a megaphone because we were jaywalking. REALLY? We were already half way across the street and we had to turn around, fight traffic to get back to the sidewalk, and walk two blocks out of the way to get to an effing crosswalk. REALLY? Go arrest someone who's actually committing a crime. 

OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, last night's game was probably my favorite so far. As we are  waiting in line at the ticket center, a guy comes up to us and offers us free tickets. He got them from work and could only use the one, so we joined him in seats behind home plate in the first row of the second deck. Great view of the field, of course.

First of all, we were keeping the official score because we had scorecards left over from the Diamondbacks game. I used to hate keeping score on the bench when I played baseball, but it's been so long and I completely forgot how much fun it can be. You have to pay attention to every play, so the game turns out being way more interesting. What made it even more interesting is that the guy sitting next to me (ticket-giver) talked baseball with me the whole time and filled me in with all the important info about the Angels. 

The game was one of the most exciting we've seen so far. Here's a quick rundown of how things went:

Tribe scores 2 in top of 2nd (2-0)

Angels lead off bottom of the 2nd with back-to-back-to-back HRs (2-3)

Tribe and Angels each score one in the 3rd (3-4)

Tribe tie it in the 5th (4-4)

Angels get that run back in the bottom of the 5th (4-5)

Angels score again in the 6th (4-6)

Angels bullpen does its job and shuts down the Tribe for three innings (4-6 still)

Top of the 9th: Carroll singles. Choo singles. I say to Sam, "Here's how this is going to play out. Victor is going to hit a 3-run HR, we'll take the lead, then Kerry Wood will come in and blow a save." Sure enough, Victor Martinez hits a 3-run HR in that at bat! Peralta follows with a solo HR. (8-6 Indians!)

Bottom of the 9th: Kerry Wood gives up a lead-off double, just to make things interesting. Then he does his job for once and gets a fly out, a strike out, and a fly out to end the game! It's pretty rare that I'm  wrong, but I'm glad I was in this case!

It was a fantastic back-and-forth game with tons of hitting and an Indians victory. That's five in a row for the Tribe. Now if only they hadn't sucked miserably for the first three quarters of the season, then maybe we'd be on to something here. But at least we don't have the worst record in the American league anymore! Since I have a scorecard, let me give you some highlights...

Indians get 20 hits and 8 runs, leave 11 runners on base

Choo: 4-4, BB, 3 runs

Martinez: 1-5, 3RBI (3-run game winning HR)

Peralta: 4-5, 3 RBI, 2 runs

35,371 in Attendance

Pitching: non-existent

The only other important thing to note is the Angels fans. I was extremely confused by them. The ticket-giver was telling us how Dodgers fans are really intense and Angels fans always have a laid-back atmosphere at the game (it is Orange County). I was wearing my Grady Sizemore t-shirt and never once heard anyone give me shit or try to trash talk the Indians. The crowd even clapped and tipped their hats to an amazing diving catch Ben Francisco made in centerfield. I have never been to a stadium where the fans were more receptive to visitors. However, they must have something against each other. We saw a pretty serious fight in the stands half-way through the game. Then at the end, two Angels fans were escorted out for being obnoxious. The best part is that it was other Angels fans that were complaining about it and cheered like crazy when they were finally kicked out!

Anyways, I think last night was one of my favorite games so far (it's still tough to top Camden Yards). We have a few days off from baseball and we'll be spending them enjoying Westwood (UCLA), Santa Monica, and Venice. Life is good.

Go Tribe,

Matt