Kouzmanoff’s big splash, another near-heart attack
How ’bout that Kouzmanoff? First pitch of the first at-bat in your big league career, and it’s a jack with the bases full. All those who were watching know that he is only the third person ever to do that. What’s remarkable is that 2 of them have been in the last 13 months, and that the only other one was by a pitcher in 1898.
I certainly didn’t expect the offense to call it a night after the second inning. During the middle innings I was flipping back and forth between this game and the Auburn game, and settled back on this one as the Rangers crept closer and my War Eagles lengthened their lead.
I think we got a break on the call at home, and the Rangers got hosed. Victor blocked the plate well, but that camera right behind the plate seemed to indicate – to me, at least – that dude slid around the tag and Victor’s leg and I thought he got his foot to the plate. But I’ll take it. Mastny made like Bob Wickman in the ninth, getting the save but making us die-hards sure we would go into cardiac arrest by the end of the game.
So now we’re 18-5 in the last 23, within 4 of .500. When I got up the morning of Aug. 9, if someone had asked me what did I want the Tribe to accomplish the rest of the season, I would have said, "Just that they not lose 90 games." When you’re 17 under .500 with 2 months to go, 90 losses is what’s staring at you. Now, with this hot streak, we can hope for something much better – a winning record. For the last 28 games, I hope they match the August record by going 18-10. That would give us an 83-79 record. Even though it’s only 1 game, 83-79 just sounds better than 82-80. After the misery of May, June and July, it would be wonderful to go into the winter with a winning record of any sort.