WORLD SERIES BOUND

Good day fellow human. Hope your day is pleasant and filled with interesting items and minimal stresses.

Today is October 20, 2016. Today is a significant day. Care to guess why? For those of you throwing out that today represents the birthdays for Tom Petty, Bela Lugosi and Snoop Dogg – I applaud your guesses…but no that is not the answer I was searching for at this moment. Today represents that first official full day that the Cleveland Indians are American League Champions (MLB). In the regular season, the Indians won 94 games. That translates to 58.4% of the 161 games they played. If you are like so that doesn’t sound very impressive, well it compares very favorably to the team with the best record in the American League (the Texas Rangers) who won 95 games (58.6%). Just one win separated the two teams and Cleveland could perhaps have matched the 95 win total. There was one game against Detroit (rained out) that was not made up because in the standings due to tie-breaker rules, it did not matter. The Washington Nationals in the National League matched the Rangers with 95 wins and an identical winning percentage. The overall leader in baseball was the Chicago Cubs with 103 wins for a winning percentage of 64.0%. With so many games played over the course of the year…there is not a huge difference in the percentages.

Now in the post season, my Indians (so far) sport the best winning percentage. They have played 8 games with only a single loss for a winning clip of 87.5%. My hope is that in the next round the Indians finish the series with at least a 57.1% winning margin regardless of whether it’s against the Cubs or the Dodgers – who finished with 91 wins and a winning percentage 56.2% in the regular season.

With this magical and incredible run my Indians have put together, I got a bit nostalgic. I have only been to Cleveland once, late in the summer 2002. At the time I was married and we drove up on a Thursday (August 23rd). Man that was the longest drive of my life (at least until the drive home). We passed through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and finally into Ohio. When I got out of the car as a 30 year old dude, I needed to stand and stretch and massage the ache out of my rear from sitting (on it) for about 11 hours which included fuel and food breaks. The first part of the trip’s destination was Put-In-Bay which is famous for the two mile long party strip for tourists. We caught the ferry to the island and stayed at a bed and breakfast. While at the bed and breakfast that night, I remember having the TV on late. The local news sportscaster was reporting the Indians win and congratulating Josh Bard, a rookie catcher making his major league debut, on his first home run.

In 2002 the Cleveland Indians came out of the chute on fire winning 11 of their first 12 games. On April 14th their would-be 13th game against Kansas City was rained out and it was all downhill from there. The team went on a few extended losing streaks and the season was off the rails by the end of July. So when we rolled into town, the Indians were well back in the standings and attendance was lagging. After a weekend on the ‘island’ looking out at the lake, we headed to downtown Cleveland to check out the sights, do some souvenir shopping and take in a couple of ballgames. I still have a few Put-In-Bay t-shirts plus an Indians sweatshirt, some very well-worn sweat pants, a jacket and some t-shirts from that vacation. No foam finger though.

The last game I saw at Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field) saw my Indians defeat the Boston Red Sox 8-7 on Friday, August 31, 2012. Our seats were in right center field. Jim Thome hit his 42nd home run of that season into the section to the right of where we were sitting. That was game 134 of that year and that win brought the Indians record to 59 wins and 75 losses to that point. The next day we began that long drive home which seemed like it took twenty hours instead of the 10-11 it actually took. To this day, it was still one of the most fun vacations I’ve taken. I’ve also been to New York, Las Vegas and North Carolina on vacation but the Cleveland trip is still my favorite. I loved the city and being close to my team even though they weren’t winning much then.

Fast forward 14 years and the Indians are the toast of baseball again after being mostly an afterthought for so long. People are running to Netflix or dusting off their video copies of Major League to watch. Funny thing is that movie is from 1989 but the majority of the team’s success happened five years later and lasted another handful of years. This same time last year my friends Matt and Tony were getting giddy as the Kansas City Royals were marching towards a championship. This year as all the other contenders are eliminated, I have heard more and more from friends that they are pulling for the Indians. A few are being buttheads and rooting for the opposing teams just to be spiteful but I don’t care. Just like all the nay-sayers who dismissed the Indians when the playoffs started, I am getting the last laugh in their faces. (Nanny Nanny Boo Boo!)

Ultimately time will tell if I get to see my team celebrate a World Series championship and the body art that will accompany such a feat. For those who do not know, probably about fifteen years ago I told a friend that I would get a tattoo if the Indians ever won the World Series. Meaning I would get something to signify the event (because I already have two tattoos presently so the Indians tattoo would be a separate deal).

As it seems I’m rambling a bit now, I will step aside and let the moment continue to shine for my Indians. Regardless of how they perform in the World Series, they are still my team and I will be proud of them and all they have done and overcome this season. Baseball is a great sport and I love to see it getting recognized as such. Everyone can return to paying attention to football, hockey and basketball after the next two plus weeks are finished but for now, my Indians are center stage.

Go Tribe! Believeland! Relieveland! Windians!

Have a great week. Peace.

BTW, if Mark Cuban or Bill Gates happens to read this piece and wants to set me up with a ticket or tickets to go to Cleveland to see the games in person, that would be swell!

Retort to online post about…

OK so every once in awhile I read online articles or blogs or posts about articles and give my two cents worth. Below is a comment I made in regards to an article/blog pertaining to the Cleveland Indians mascot. It was just my opinion and I don’t know if the author will allow my comments but I believe what I said and stand behind it.

There is a difference between racism and discrimination. Most intelligent people could figure it out. A cartoon picture on a hat is not oppressing anyone except someone with no concept of true oppression. So you mean to tell me if I see someone walking around with a hat with a caricature of president Obama’s face…that is racist? Just a disembodied head floating there not doing any action is somehow causing an entire culture of like-colored people harm and shame? If you truly believe that…go drown yourself now and do not reproduce. Hatred and degradation do not come in the form of a cartoon face on a mass produced hat to sit on the head of a five year old child…it comes from teaching. Just like the Blackhawks in hockey and the Redskins in football do not insinuate anything derogatory against Native Americans. Maybe the root of racism lies in those who choose to superimpose such out-dated and archaic concepts into marketing icons for no reason. OK so if you do get rid of the Indians, Redskins and Blackhawks then will that appease these so called anti-racist mongers? I bet you not. Next, some asinine group will step forward and demand the Los Angeles Lakers change their name because the term Lakers is offensive to people who live near lakes. Great a grip America. Instead of home of the brave…sounds more like home of the whiners. Go hit up Jerry Springer’s contact page because apparently you are just fishing for attention on a non-issue. GO INDIANS!

BTW, history taught us (me) that Indians/Native Americans were great hunters and fearless warriors. I do not see what there is to be ashamed of there but if that two inch tall patch on a hat makes you whimper in a corner and afraid to leave your house every day because of some implied slight, then perhaps you need to spend some time on a health professional’s couch.

Peace.

Here is a link to the post I responded to:

The Cleveland Indians are Liars

 

Friday the 14th – Random things & their Google pics!

Purple frog lips

Rain forest of chocolate chairs

Ear buds in too far

Jewel singing Cleveland

Raptor wearing a backwards hat

PS3 on top of an XBOX ONE

An idea you cannot see or comprehend

Unmotivated but hungers for pizza

A land down under the underground

Imitating a zombie ice skating

Assaulting your senses until they are senseless

Politician losing to a deceased candidate

And finally Adam Sandler’s most intellectual work

Ouija Board Discussion

Good day to you. This morning in the car on the way to drop the boy off at school I was engaged in an uneasy discussion. The six year old strapped into his car seat was holding a piece of notebook paper. In one corner was the word YES and the other corner the word NO. I inquired where the paper came from and Ayden said he made it at softball last night and it was a Ouija Board.

Interesting.

I asked him: “Who told you about Ouija Boards?” He indicated one of the older boys he was running about with around the ball fields. I asked: “Did this boy have a name?” As per usual, he responded that he did but he didn’t remember what it was. Ayden is notorious for playing with other children for an extended period of time without knowing what their name is. Often-times he will call them kid or just say hey repeatedly until he has their attention…and can get them to do his bidding. (evil laughter) Anywho, he began to tell me about his notebook paper Ouija Board. You put it down flat, ask a question, then spin around five times until you get dizzy and put your finger down on the paper and that is your answer (whichever word your finger is closer to).

Again interesting.

So I asked him: “Who is answering the question?” His response: A ghost. From here he told me Ouija Boards are real and you are talking to a real ghost. I said, I see. He then said the question he asked was: Do you (the ghost) mean to do me any harm? At this point I was getting a bit creeped out. This sounds like the intro to so many B Horror films. Kids playing and unknowingly stumble onto a presence and release the black vapor demons to terrorize all mankind. You know, the usual stuff. I then proceeded to ask him: “How do you know if the ghost was a good ghost or a bad ghost?” He said the ghost answered ‘NO’ to the question about doing any harm. Of course I followed up with: “Well wouldn’t the ghost lie to you if they did mean you harm? Because if it said it was going to do you harm, you would stop talking to it right?” He agreed and then said, he thought maybe the ghost was tricking him.

Timeout. I am 44 years old and in the entirety of my life, I have never-ever played with a Ouija Board. The reason? It spooks me. I am not worldly or overly spiritual but I have some common sense and logic in my holster. There are so many things unexplained over the course of mankind’s time on this Earth. Do I think there are ghosts and spirits potentially out there? Yes I do. I cannot see them and have never experienced them first-hand (that I know of) but you just never know. So with that being said, it would just be my luck that I will never win the Powerball lottery but I would somehow lock onto the frequency channel of some evil or pissed off entity that would haunt and follow me for all my days. Just saying.

Young master Ayden, who is all of six years old, pretty much went on and on about his Ouija Board and all of the cool things he could do with it for the 15 minute ride to school. As we pulled up to the school, I called upon him to drop the topic and try not to bring it up at school lest the teachers think him/us a little cuckoo. I imagine that little talk went in one ear and out the other ear as soon as it was time to sit down and color or draw today. Because as most kids his age are, when they come up with an idea that is new and ‘cool’, of course you have to share it and see if that will become the sensation among the 6 and under crowd. Now I know I am probably blowing this topic out of proportion, after-all kids have vivid imaginations and what harm can come from pretending to talk to ghosts? Heck some of them still have imaginary friends. Ayden himself has talked about his friend “Frinkle” whom we cannot see and his exploits that often seem to run parallel to the most recent movie plots we have watched.

When it comes to horror movies I love watching them and getting spooked with a well executed scare. There were many nights when I was ten or so that I remember sitting on my bed, under the covers, with the lights on late at night listening for the telltale groan of a floorboard or a door creaking open. My mom and I shared that love of the macabre and occasionally scaring each other. It’s a bonding thing. Kristi and Ayden share that same bond, although as he gets older and he starts comprehending a little more, he cries off before the really scary parts unfold. Perhaps I will dig out my movie Witchboard (about a Ouija Board) for him to watch and see if he still thinks they are so cool. (evil laughter echoing and echoing)

With two and a half weeks until Halloween, maybe put the Ouija Boards away until the pilgrim holiday? Maybe? Please?

Have a great day and check me out on my other social media outlets: Podcast (Podbean), Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and of course this blog and the hundreds of posts from yours truly! Peace.

Cleveland Indians Defeat The Boston Red Sox – 3 Games To 0 (SWEEP)

Today is Tuesday, October 11, 2016 and the day after Monday, October 10, 2016. In the scope of Major League Baseball, today is the day that David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is now officially retired. At the onset of the 2016 season, Big Papi as he is known in baseball circles announced this season would be his last.

So when my Cleveland Indians won the third consecutive game in the Division Series last night, they eliminated the Boston Red Sox team including Big Papi from the 2016 quest for a World Series title. Nationally quite a few people were pulling for the Red Sox since this was David Ortiz’s farewell tour but for me it was nine years to exhale.

Let me explain.

The year was 2007 and the Cleveland Indians had advanced to the American League Championship Series. Four games into the 2007 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox…my Cleveland Indians imploded. Just one win away from the World Series, after having dominating three of the first four games, my Indians laid down and Boston ended up in the World Series. That team was Cleveland’s best chance since the 1997 crew that came within an inning of becoming World Champions. Boston stood in the way in 2007 and the team failed. They stood in the way again here in 2016 and the scrappy bunch representing the Tribe found a way.

The next series against Toronto again will not be easy, if anything it will be harder. Toronto is just as explosive and with a longer series, depth could come into play. The Indians will still be missing two of their top pitchers in Salazar and Carrasco. On paper Toronto has more power but if Cleveland can pitch, play some defense and keep the Blue Jays from hitting a ton of homers…then maybe, just maybe I will see my team in the World Series for the first time in 19 years. Fingers crossed.

For today I will enjoy the victory over Boston. Come Friday it’s time to hopefully take another step in this post season quest.

Peace.

Epilogue

Monday night in between innings of my two softball games I was checking my phone for updates on the ballgame. My teammates were also giving me updates if I was on the bases or hitting when something happened in the game. After the second game was over and we had split the two games, winning the first and losing the second, I hung around for a bit next to the aluminum bleachers. Sitting on the bleachers was the team we had just played. The baseball game was in the eighth inning with Cleveland up 4-3. I made some small talk with the guys from the opposing team while I was scanning my phone. As the game went to the bottom of the ninth inning in Boston, a guy sitting next to me was keeping track of the game on his phone too. When Cody Allen of the Indians induced a fly ball to Lonnie Chisenhall in right field for the final out of the ballgame, the guy sitting next to me held up his hand and I gave him a high five and promptly exhaled. Even though it was cool outside, I had been sweating while intently watching that screen waiting for the update. It was a satisfying and cool moment. Somebody who didn’t even know me was sharing a moment as another human being. It’s nice to know there are still times when we as people can just be decent to one another without something to personally gain.

Have a great week my friends.

Demons

Ask a child what is a demon and you will probably get a creative description of a ghoul with a scary face and long cruel claws lurking in the shadows. Pose that same question to an adult and you may get a very different response. Something along the lines of an affliction or an addiction. What haunts and scares each of us does not wear the same appearance. To some, the worst demons are self-contained…

Peace.

Smile

Good day friends and stalkers alike.

Each and every morning brings something new – even on a minuscule scale. Some mornings it may seem like the same old, same old. Some mornings you awaken with a good feeling and endless energy abound. But some mornings a tragedy lances through your world. It make not be a Point A to Point B connection but more of a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of association. Even so, take a moment to appreciate the things you love. Close your eyes. Say a quick thank you to your lucky stars, the universe, the deity of your choosing or just a prayer to your own heart. So much in life is just up to chance. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time or something internally breaks unexpectedly – it happens.

So again, think of the things you hold dear and smile.

Peace.

Indians In, Cardinals Out

The last time the Cleveland Indians were in the MLB postseason and the St Louis Cardinals were not…was in 2007. Nine years ago. In the bulk of recent years, the Cardinals have been in the postseason. In those nine years all the Indians had to show on their postseason resume was a wildcard play-in game in 2013 that they promptly played themselves out of against Tampa Bay.

So in this years edition of the playoffs the Indians will be matched up against a team that knocked them out of their last legit playoff run – the Boston Red Sox. In 2007 the Indians defeated the New York Yankees in the first round three games to one. Then in the first four games of the series versus the Red Sox, they built a three games to one lead…only to crumble against Josh Beckett and Terry Francona.

What a difference nine years can make. The manager for the team that knocked the Indians out of the playoffs and held the line with his team (the Red Sox) on the cusp of elimination: Terry Francona. The manager for The Tribe this year…is now Terry Francona. It may be too much to hope for to take this scrappy, rag-tag bunch through 11 more wins this October but you know I will be hoping and offering sacrifices to the dark lord to make this happen. Yes I am talking about a Sith Lord. Shoot electricity out of your fingers or your bum, I don’t care which! We must defeat the enemies of The Tribe! Cleveland could bring balance to Major League Baseball. Win they can, easy it will not be. Yes master Yoda. Sixty-eight years is a long time. That is the calendar time that Indians fans have collectively waited to see a (baseball) championship return to the shores of Lake Erie.

Yes I am aware that the traitor LeBron brought a basketball championship to Cleveland a handful of months ago. But basketball is not the same as baseball. Admittedly I have not been a huge fan of basketball since MJ23 (Michael Jordan #23) retired but I have followed KG5 (Kevin Garnett #5) when he played for the Boston Celtics hoping he would get a championship ring. It’s a little ironic I would root for a Boston-based team to win a championship less than one year after one of their franchises bumped my Indians from the playoffs…but I did. My support and cosmic juju brought the Boston Celtics, along with Kevin Garnett, to the winner’s circle to hoist the NBA Championship. The Celtics run as NBA Champions only lasted that one season and within a few more years the team was broken up. KG went on to play for teams that had no realistic shot to win it all over the next eight years. Eventually KG ended up back with the team he started his career with, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and retired this year. So again I am left really not caring who does what in basketball. LeBron’s accomplishment is nice but really doesn’t mean much to me. It is a World Series title or bust this year and every year for The Tribe.

The division series starts this week and it is a best of five format. First team to win three of the five games, wins the series. If you run into me this week and I am stumbling more than usual, it is probably because it is hard to walk with my toes crossed!

GO INDIANS! C’MON CLEVELAND! WINDIANS! BELIEVELAND!

Peace.