Less than 24 hours ago, Jim Thome was one of my most hated sports personalities out there. (Even ahead of you know who.) Thome was always one of the “good guys” of the sport, one bastion of charity, class, and kindness. This perception of him always grated on me; this was the man that ultimately left our city whilst still hugging us saying, “Great party man. So 7:00 tomorrow for the game, right?” As a wee boy, Thome was the almost Hollywood like slugger. Poised, powerful, clutch, he was a living legend of baseball, and he was only batting 6th in the line-up.
Perhaps to bring my hate to a boil was his recent jumping around the Central Division. I can’t stand what Thome did, but now, here was this man, this hero of mine, who not only ISN’T playing for us, but he’s playing for a rival team! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t clap for him when he hit 600, bringing back memories of that grade-a lumber dressed in those glorious red, white and blue uniforms.
Now, with the their season on the brink of collapse, the Cleveland Indians have made a move that some would suggest is merely to draw more people to the Jake. To go out on a high note, and to ensure Thome retires where he started. It was a sobering thing, to think that Minnesota only used Thome to do the same; draw fans to count down to his 600th home run. (334 of which were blasted into orbit wearing a wahoo on his helmet.)
I am too much of a Cleveland fan to forgive Thome completely. I hope that this last quarter of the 2011 season isn’t his swan song, because then I’d feel as if he was saying one thing than meaning another all over again like in 2002. Thome had a choice to tell the questionable Indians team to shove it and jump ship to almost coast to a ring. However the once-and-again Indian chose to come back to where the first 12 years of his career made him a star.
I obviously can’t root against him now, and I will passionately cry tears of joy when he takes his first rip back in an Indians jersey. Thinking about the season that is now officially spiraling out of control, this move serves both as a nostalgiac gesture and attendance boost, but also to hopefully spark the Indians' offense into pulling the team out of a 6.5 game hole.
The 11 year old me is still tugging at my shirt, holding his scratched plastic helmet with one of the most famous numbers of Cleveland baseball history painted on the back. He’s crying as I am just thinking about that lonely feeling we all had when Thome originally left, and all he can force in between sobs is, “Why?”
All I can respond to him is,
“What if?”
A native Clevelander's ramblings and quips about Cleveland and Columbus' professional hockey teams, as well as the Indians and Browns.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
You knew this was coming..."2 for CLINCHING"
Yes! That's right! A Cleveland team has clinched a playoff spot! Which playoffs? The Calder Cup!
For those of you that haven't been to the Q in a while or haven't look up to the rafters opposite the Cavs' banners, the Calder Cup has graced the city of Cleveland 9 times in the AHL's existence; to what was often regarded as the "7th best team in hockey": the Cleveland Barons. (At the time, there were only 6 teams in the NHL, and the Barons even challenged the NHL clubs for the Stanley Cup but each time they refused to play)
See that? It says "Cleveland", "Hockey", and "Playoff"!
Now, the Monsters still have a shot at the division title. In fact, a good one. Hamilton and Manitoba have also clinched a spot, but are at 78 GMs played apiece. The best part is with 93 points to each of them, the Moose and Bulldogs could end up with 95 each at the end of the season. (Keep up; I'm a bit scatterbrained, I know.) See, both the teams' last two games are against each other. It is VERY likely that they can split the series, with both teams ending up with 95 points.
The Monsters would then have 3 games to make (if they lose tonight) 6 points or 4 points.
In short, the Monsters will need to win 3 out of their last 4 games in hopes of clinching should the series between Hamilton and Manitoba split. If it goes one way, the Monsters can STILL get 1st; but they'd need to win out.
I'm excited for tonight! GO MONSTERS!
~Brett
For those of you that haven't been to the Q in a while or haven't look up to the rafters opposite the Cavs' banners, the Calder Cup has graced the city of Cleveland 9 times in the AHL's existence; to what was often regarded as the "7th best team in hockey": the Cleveland Barons. (At the time, there were only 6 teams in the NHL, and the Barons even challenged the NHL clubs for the Stanley Cup but each time they refused to play)
Now, the Monsters still have a shot at the division title. In fact, a good one. Hamilton and Manitoba have also clinched a spot, but are at 78 GMs played apiece. The best part is with 93 points to each of them, the Moose and Bulldogs could end up with 95 each at the end of the season. (Keep up; I'm a bit scatterbrained, I know.) See, both the teams' last two games are against each other. It is VERY likely that they can split the series, with both teams ending up with 95 points.
The Monsters would then have 3 games to make (if they lose tonight) 6 points or 4 points.
In short, the Monsters will need to win 3 out of their last 4 games in hopes of clinching should the series between Hamilton and Manitoba split. If it goes one way, the Monsters can STILL get 1st; but they'd need to win out.
I'm excited for tonight! GO MONSTERS!
~Brett
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Monsters Beat Down Toronto; Inching towards Clinching
The Cleveland Monsters are a pubic hair away from clinching the first PRO hockey playoff spot in a LONG, LONG time. ~ Rocco Trem, Dangeroushockey.com
I am aware that my giddiness about the clinching was erroneous; I didn't catch Abbotsford down there in the standings. It's only a matter of time. Don't fret.
The Lake Erie Monsters, very likely second-guessing their poise and talent level after 2 hard losses at home, dug inside and pulled out a good, clean 2-0 win over the struggling Toronto Marlies. This would mark the death call of the Marlies as they are nearly eliminated from the playoff push. Also, it would be the 5th win against the Marlies in a row.
Catching as much of the game as I could on the radio (And honestly paying more attention at first to the Gladiators); here's my take on the game.
-I don't know if it led to the PP goal, but Patrick Bordeleau was again getting under the Marlies' skin and drew a penalty. It's awesome to have a guy like that on our squad. I love it; he's on a roll of playing innocent when it counts.
-Jason Bacashihua. I mean, this guy is just a force right now. Tallying his 3rd shutout of the year, Cash made 21 saves and pulled out some amazing glove saves that put out the fire of the Marlies' momentum a multiple of times.
-Ben Walter again with the first goal for the good guys. He's really fulfilling that "C" on his chest. He's doing as much as he can to take the game into his hands and he was rewarded with the game winning PP goal last night. Which leads me to my last point...
-SPECIAL TEAMS Yes, 3rd time in a row I'm mentioning this; but this time it's a positive mention. The Monsters' PK was 4/4 on the night and their PP was 1/7. 1/7 isn't jaw-dropping but Toronto is the 1st ranked PK in the AHL.
With the win, the Monsters continue their road win streak and improve to a respectable 90 points on the season. Now, with a few more wins, the Monsters can clinch a playoff spot. I will keep you updated as necessary. (So will the Monsters'
The Monsters meet the Marlies for the last time this year at home on the 6th. It's highly likely that this win will be the clincher! Go! Cheer! Boo!
~Brett
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Monsters Take Inspiration from Indians; Drop the Ball Against Hamilton
For those of you who were confused or angry about my recent profile change to the Steelers' logo, please calm down and look at the date. April Fools!
Well, I'm still angry about the loss. I'm sure the 12,407 (plus a few dogs) in attendance were too. I was seeking solace from the piss-poor play I witnessed this afternoon against the Chicago White Sox, seeking a trouncing and battling Lake Erie Monsters team to regain steam from the deflating loss. Sealing with an empty netter, the Bulldogs won 4-1. (and subsequently passed the Monsters in the standings)
Nothing was noteworthy from the Monsters tonight except Ben Walter's wake up call to the rest of the team late into the 2nd period. The likes of which I'd expect to see from someone like Rick Nash or Alex Ovechkin, Walter battled through 3 Bulldogs to swivel the puck around Hamilton's netminder on his right side. Unfortunately, the Monsters refused to wake up from their slumber. Passes were going every which way, centering swipes and rebounds were falling on invisible Monsters. However, I find it comes down to maybe a cliche sports analyzers use too often, in that our special teams lost us the game. (Again)
I was excited to see that Patrick Bordeleau was up to his old tricks early on in the game. He drew a retaliation penalty and I was certain the Monsters would get their groove on and make some decent moves early.
But, in all of their might and muster from just a few games ago, the Monsters returned to their previous, more docile powerplay. Locked into their plan of waiting for a chance to take a shot and then quickly passing the puck away. I think they executed maybe 3 or 4 shots on their 4-5 powerplay tries. However, my biggest disappointment was with the penalty kill.
Usually our bread and butter, the PK has broken down twice in as many games at the most crucial moments of a game. This one put the game 2 goals out of reach and basically shut the Monsters down.
sigh...
Well, we're not out of the race yet. (Though I'm convinced they're not going to win one more game playing like this). Thankfully, the Moose also dropped a game against the Rochester Americans today, so 1st place is still only a win away. However, because of the loss, Hamilton is 1 point ahead of us. We're safe; for now and maybe for the rest of the season.
Let's say the Monsters do indeed lose out. (Roll with it, I'm feeling pessimistic today).
They will finish with 88 points. Now! The Toronto Marlies (who we play tomorrow) are sitting at 81 points. If they win 4 out of their next 5 (Which to be honest is not likely. But, again, roll with it.) the Monsters would be eliminated from the Calder Cup run.
With 2 more wins (out of the next 5 games) the Monsters can clinch a playoff spot. Should they wake up and win out, they might still have a shot at the divisional title. (We lead both series between Manitoba and Hamilton).
It's a headache. It really is. Cheer against the guys around us but more for the boys in Wine and Black.
Sorry if the style was different tonight. I'm struggling to stay sane thinking about the Indians and Monsters (and to some extent the CBJ).
Leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or whatever.
Go Monsters.
~Brett
Well, I'm still angry about the loss. I'm sure the 12,407 (plus a few dogs) in attendance were too. I was seeking solace from the piss-poor play I witnessed this afternoon against the Chicago White Sox, seeking a trouncing and battling Lake Erie Monsters team to regain steam from the deflating loss. Sealing with an empty netter, the Bulldogs won 4-1. (and subsequently passed the Monsters in the standings)
Nothing was noteworthy from the Monsters tonight except Ben Walter's wake up call to the rest of the team late into the 2nd period. The likes of which I'd expect to see from someone like Rick Nash or Alex Ovechkin, Walter battled through 3 Bulldogs to swivel the puck around Hamilton's netminder on his right side. Unfortunately, the Monsters refused to wake up from their slumber. Passes were going every which way, centering swipes and rebounds were falling on invisible Monsters. However, I find it comes down to maybe a cliche sports analyzers use too often, in that our special teams lost us the game. (Again)
I was excited to see that Patrick Bordeleau was up to his old tricks early on in the game. He drew a retaliation penalty and I was certain the Monsters would get their groove on and make some decent moves early.
But, in all of their might and muster from just a few games ago, the Monsters returned to their previous, more docile powerplay. Locked into their plan of waiting for a chance to take a shot and then quickly passing the puck away. I think they executed maybe 3 or 4 shots on their 4-5 powerplay tries. However, my biggest disappointment was with the penalty kill.
Usually our bread and butter, the PK has broken down twice in as many games at the most crucial moments of a game. This one put the game 2 goals out of reach and basically shut the Monsters down.
sigh...
Well, we're not out of the race yet. (Though I'm convinced they're not going to win one more game playing like this). Thankfully, the Moose also dropped a game against the Rochester Americans today, so 1st place is still only a win away. However, because of the loss, Hamilton is 1 point ahead of us. We're safe; for now and maybe for the rest of the season.
Let's say the Monsters do indeed lose out. (Roll with it, I'm feeling pessimistic today).
They will finish with 88 points. Now! The Toronto Marlies (who we play tomorrow) are sitting at 81 points. If they win 4 out of their next 5 (Which to be honest is not likely. But, again, roll with it.) the Monsters would be eliminated from the Calder Cup run.
With 2 more wins (out of the next 5 games) the Monsters can clinch a playoff spot. Should they wake up and win out, they might still have a shot at the divisional title. (We lead both series between Manitoba and Hamilton).
It's a headache. It really is. Cheer against the guys around us but more for the boys in Wine and Black.
Sorry if the style was different tonight. I'm struggling to stay sane thinking about the Indians and Monsters (and to some extent the CBJ).
Leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or whatever.
Go Monsters.
~Brett
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
CBJ Game 33: "No Way..."
They haven't been doing so well, and of course this game wasn't televised so I didn't catch it. The highlights (like every game in the NHL) are online though, so, here we go.
Living up to their rather appropriate theme, the Blue Jackets played hard and pulled out the win. Encouragingly, they improved to an astounding 13-2 when scoring first.
Let's take a look at some good, "diggin' in" play.
Look at that. Something I haven't seen in a long while. There's good 'ol Boll, sitting there and the puck spurts out and with a crushing motion throws that puck in the back of the net.
It's not near enough to get them back into contention, but it sure is a start. The next game sees the Jackets hosting the Vancouver Canucks and the Sedin Twins. Last time the 2 met, it ended in a swift OT goal against Columbus.
You can catch it on FSO Thursday at 7:30.
~Brett
Sunday, December 12, 2010
LEM Game 30: "Smashing the Mirror"
The Lake Erie Monsters; still stinging from a deflating 7-4 loss to the Toronto Marlies; almost repeated a disheartening loss. However, they saw yesterday's game's reflection in the mirror, and shattered it. Coming out of the 2nd period scoring 3, they never looked back and won 5-2.
It didn't start off wonderful. I myself was almost slinking back into my chair when I witnessed the two opening goals of the game. After the first, the Monsters went onto the power play with a chip on their shoulder. Much to my chagrin, the Aeros did exactly what I've seen happen way too many times to the Monsters. A short tip off of a bad pass, and the Houston Aeros had a 2-0 lead early in the game. Thankfully, it didn't last long as Luke Walker buried one on the 5-on-3 powerplay and kept the Monsters heads in the game.
After that poor first period, the remainder of the game was all Lake Erie, with some highlight reel worthy goals witnessed by the 4,210 in attendance. My personal favorite was a gnarly deflection that ricocheted off of 2 Lake Erie sticks before rocketing into the net behind a clueless Houston goalie.
Not to mention Jason Bacashihua played out his sub-par netminding from Toronto, saving 25 out of 27, an impressive .926 SV%.
With the win, the Monsters hold their 4th place in the Northern Division and with 32 points, are only beat by Toronto(33), Abbotsford(33), and Hamilton(36). These 3 teams are ironically the Monsters most heated rivals.
I hope we get to see a lot more of them. Next up on the Monsters schedule is Milwaukee. Last time we saw them they effectively shut down the Monsters' offense, beating them 4-0 and 3-2.
Time for some payback.
~Brett
It didn't start off wonderful. I myself was almost slinking back into my chair when I witnessed the two opening goals of the game. After the first, the Monsters went onto the power play with a chip on their shoulder. Much to my chagrin, the Aeros did exactly what I've seen happen way too many times to the Monsters. A short tip off of a bad pass, and the Houston Aeros had a 2-0 lead early in the game. Thankfully, it didn't last long as Luke Walker buried one on the 5-on-3 powerplay and kept the Monsters heads in the game.
After that poor first period, the remainder of the game was all Lake Erie, with some highlight reel worthy goals witnessed by the 4,210 in attendance. My personal favorite was a gnarly deflection that ricocheted off of 2 Lake Erie sticks before rocketing into the net behind a clueless Houston goalie.
Not to mention Jason Bacashihua played out his sub-par netminding from Toronto, saving 25 out of 27, an impressive .926 SV%.
With the win, the Monsters hold their 4th place in the Northern Division and with 32 points, are only beat by Toronto(33), Abbotsford(33), and Hamilton(36). These 3 teams are ironically the Monsters most heated rivals.
I hope we get to see a lot more of them. Next up on the Monsters schedule is Milwaukee. Last time we saw them they effectively shut down the Monsters' offense, beating them 4-0 and 3-2.
Time for some payback.
~Brett
LEM Game 29/CBJ Game 28: "Momentum Switch"
The Lake Erie Monsters returned home tonight to take on the in-division Toronto Marlies. With the Marlies leading the Monsters by a single point in the standings, this game was important to both sides. Unfortunately, the Marlies climbed out of the hole they dug and buried the Monsters in their own snow, stomping them 4-7.
It didn't start out as a rout, though. The Monsters came out swinging with brutal checks, physically dominating play and an effective iron curtain defense in the opening period. At just 3:19 into the tilt, the Monsters Curtis Fraser opened up the dam by firing a shot that trickled behind the Toronto goalie. Everyone in the arena celebrated by throwing stuffed bears onto the ice. This was hilarious to see each team react; the Toronto goalie was absolutely irate and almost tore one in half.
No more than 5 minutes later though, the Marlies score on a defensive breakdown and spin Bacashihua around in his crease at the 7:00 mark. At only 12 minutes in, fights were aplenty and the two teams hatred for each other was already showing. As a result, the Monsters eventually go to a 5-on-3 PP. After one expires, the Monsters scored (a powerplay goal! Wow!), and made the game 2-1.
After the 1st, the rest of the game was a blur of good passing and poor execution. Bacashihua melted down and so did the defense. In the end, the Monsters were trying but the many errors did them in. Couple with late 3rd period penalties, it was the nail in the coffin.
They play the Houston Aeroes tomorrow; I hope they can turn around.
___________________________________________________________________________________
As for the CBJ, they beat the New York Rangers today and win 2 crucial points (and hopefully some newfound confidence.) With the win they climb back to 8th in the Western Conference.
*phew*
It didn't start out as a rout, though. The Monsters came out swinging with brutal checks, physically dominating play and an effective iron curtain defense in the opening period. At just 3:19 into the tilt, the Monsters Curtis Fraser opened up the dam by firing a shot that trickled behind the Toronto goalie. Everyone in the arena celebrated by throwing stuffed bears onto the ice. This was hilarious to see each team react; the Toronto goalie was absolutely irate and almost tore one in half.
No more than 5 minutes later though, the Marlies score on a defensive breakdown and spin Bacashihua around in his crease at the 7:00 mark. At only 12 minutes in, fights were aplenty and the two teams hatred for each other was already showing. As a result, the Monsters eventually go to a 5-on-3 PP. After one expires, the Monsters scored (a powerplay goal! Wow!), and made the game 2-1.
After the 1st, the rest of the game was a blur of good passing and poor execution. Bacashihua melted down and so did the defense. In the end, the Monsters were trying but the many errors did them in. Couple with late 3rd period penalties, it was the nail in the coffin.
They play the Houston Aeroes tomorrow; I hope they can turn around.
___________________________________________________________________________________
As for the CBJ, they beat the New York Rangers today and win 2 crucial points (and hopefully some newfound confidence.) With the win they climb back to 8th in the Western Conference.
*phew*
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