Tribe pulls one out

I know that many of you have hardly been paying attention to the Indians lately, and I certainly understand why. We all know it's been a lost season for the Indians, Browns camp has started, the Buckeyes are looking good again, the Cavs have made some big moves, etc., etc. But what a game the Tribe played last night in Baltimore!

Andy Marte is the one getting the headlines today, and not without cause. Marte's been a pretty big bust since he came over here in the Caca Crisp* trade, and that home run he hit off O's closer Jim Johnson was clutch. Marte has been hitting much better lately, and that was his second home run in his last three games, which is great to see.

But I'd like to point to the previous hitter, Matt LaPorta. LaPorta, up with two outs, nobody on base and the Indians trailing by a run, won an epic battle with Johnson. He worked the count full, then fouled off pitch after pitch before finally singling up the middle. (I want to tell you how many pitches LaPorta faced, but unfortunately, I've been unable to find that information, and I didn't count them. But it was a lot.) Without that great effort from LaPorta, the game would have ended right there, and Marte would never have come up to hit that home run.

LaPorta and Marte both spent most of the season in Columbus before the recent flurry of trades created opportunities for them. They were both hitting great down there, but had both struggled in previous major-league opportunities. I don't want to make too much out of a small sample size, but it's nice to see those guys swinging the bat well.

* For the record, I have nothing against Coco Crisp. In fact, I like him. I just think it's funny to call him Caca, much as I think it's funny to call a certain former teammate of his Feces Sabathia. This is my blog, and I can be as infantile as I want.