It's a lovely, sunny Saturday

I haven't been able to post in a while because I just got back from Chicago, where I spent four days at a nursing conference. I'm not a nurse, in case anyone was wondering, but there's certainly no shame in being a male nurse.

Anyway, I'm going to round up all my recent thoughts in a fun little package of vignettes. I hope you enjoy them.

• Yeah, the Cavs' loss to the Celtics on Thursday was disheartening. The Fighting LeBrons had a chance to steal Game 1, but Game 2 was over long before it was over. Of the six games the two teams have played this year, including the regular season, that was the first blowout. The Celtics have done it with defense, holding Mr. James to just 19% shooting (8-for-42) in the first two games. Clearly, LeBron's going to have to either figure out how to get open or let his teammates take some of those shots. I would like to point out the home team is still undefeated in the season series, and the next two games are in Cleveland. So all is not lost. But these Celtics are tough.
• C.C. Sabathia is looking like he's back to his old self, thank goodness. C.C. was fantastic last night against the Blue Jays, giving up one run on six hits in seven innings, and striking out nine. He won the battle between Cy Young winners, beating Roy Halladay, who was cruising until getting battered in the seventh. C.C. has now made eight starts this season. In his first four, he went 0-3 with an ugly, ugly 13.50 ERA. In his last four, he's 2-2 with a 1.98 ERA. In one of those losses, he only gave up one run in eight innings. So he's now 2-5, 6.55. That's not great, obviously, but recent signs are encouraging.
• It sure was good to see the Tribe offense break out last night, putting a 6 on the scoreboard in the seventh. Travis Hafner and Casey Blake each had two hits in the game, bringing their batting averages up to .220 and .221, respectively. One of Blake's came just a few feet from being a grand slam, going for a two-run double instead. The offense has been struggling, Victor Martinez's hot start notwithstanding. I hope to see them do this kind of thing more often.
• Speaking of Victor, he'd be second in the AL batting race at .340, except he doesn't have quite enough plate appearances to qualify. Remember, of course, that Victor has missed a handful of games due to various ailments, most recently a stiff neck. That's what tends to happen to catchers as they get older. Yes, Victor is only 29, but 29 is fairly old for a catcher. Around this point in their career, most catchers start playing first base or DH-ing (both of which Victor has dabbled in). In any case, when he has been well enough to play, he's been the Indians' most consistent threat at the plate. Interestingly, the leader is Twins' catcher Joe Mauer, and I don't know if catchers have ever finished 1-2 in a batting race, but I doubt it.
  
• Remember Jody Gerut, Tribe fans? He finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2003, while wearing our smiling chief on his hat. He slid in '04, got traded twice in '05 (we got Jason DuBois for him, for those who don't remember), then never reached the majors again ... until this year. He opened the season on the Padres' big-league roster, went 1-for-6 in the first week of the season, then got sent down again. But when the Daddies released Jim Edmonds yesterday, Gerut was the guy they called up. May he prosper.
• Speaking of former Indians, Richie Sexson embarrassed himself when he charged the mound against Kason Gabbard on Thursday night, and nailed Gabbard with his batting helmet. Sexson, now with the Mariners, was obviously anticipating some payback after M's pitcher Felix Hernandez hit two Rangers, including Ian Kinsler in Kinsler's next at-bat after hitting a home run off him. I think we can all understand that Sexson might have been on guard. But the pitch to which Sexson took exception was not inside. It was up around his eyes, but it was over the plate. It didn't even come close to hitting him. Sexson's former teammate Eduardo Perez, now a commentator on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," points out that Richie had spent the previous night in the hospital with his sick 2-year-old son, and that he apologized afterward. Those are mitigating factors, but they don't make it less ridiculous that he charged the mound and threw his helmet at the pitcher after a pitch that was over the plate.
• Danica Patrick ran over somebody on the racetrack yesterday. Like most people I know, I don't care the least bit about auto racing, but I saw the footage on SportsCenter, and it was hard to watch (though I admit I couldn't look away). It was a member of another driver's pit crew, and she got him with both left tires. His injuries were not serious. Racing great Mario Andretti saw it happen right in front of him, and said it "wasn't anybody's fault." I'm sorry, but if a guy gets run over on pit row, there has to have been a serious error somewhere. Either he shouldn't have been standing there, or she shouldn't have been driving there.