Of goofy hats, line drives and promising pitching

The Indians suck. Everybody knows that. There are a few teams that suck harder (Seattle, Pittsburgh, and possibly Kansas City), but this is a bad Indians team. Nonetheless, they managed last night to beat the aforementioned Royals 7-3 for their 63rd win of the year -- meaning, with eight games left in the season, that they have clinched a two-digit loss total for 2010. For anyone who's curious, the Indians haven't lost 100 games in a season since 1991. And if they go at least 3-5 the rest of the way, they'll beat last year's record of 65-97. And they're a half-game behind the Royals for fourth place in the AL Central. It's not much to cling to, but it's at least something.

Josh Tomlin pitched a complete-game four-hitter for the win, his first career complete game in his 11th career start. Tomlin was a 14th-round draft pick who started the season in the bullpen at AAA Columbus, and has been a very pleasant surprise since getting added to the rotation in Cleveland in late July. He's now 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA, and has gone at least five innings every time he's taken the mound at the big-league level.

During last night's game, there was an elderly man sitting in the front row near home plate on the first-base side who was in the shot whenever the camera focused on a left-handed hitter. In the first inning, he was wearing a bright yellow ballcap that ensured that the viewer's eyes landed on him whenever he was in the shot. By the third inning, he had switched to a hot pink cap with Chief Wahoo on it, and later in the game, he was wearing a blaze orange cap. He may have changed his hat more often, but I didn't watch every inning. I can only guess what he might have been up to. Maybe he was just trying to confound people. Who knows. But I thought it notable.

Another incident in last night's game underscored the very real necessity to pay close attention when you're at the game. A line drive off the bat of Drew Sutton screamed into the seats along the third-base line, and went into the last four or five rows in the lower seating area. Several fans tried to catch it, but it was too hot, and wound up hitting a woman in the face. The fans around her alerted an usher, who immediately started waving for help, and then the screen went back to Sutton. Announcers Matt Underwood and Rick Manning were completely oblivious, as they continued their discussion about Royals pitcher Gil Meche, and I have not found any references to the woman in the media reports, but she could have been seriously hurt. You've got to pay attention at the game. A baseball can seriously injure you. That's today's lesson.

Bye, Jhonny; roundup

• In case you missed it, the Indians traded Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers just before last night's game against the Yankees. Peralta came up through the Indians system and debuted in the majors in 2003, then replaced the great Omar Vizquel as the Indians' shortstop beginning in 2005. He never really lived up to the expectations the Tribe front office had for him. In '05, at just 23 years old, Peralta hit .292 with 24 home runs (the latter number a team record for a shortstop) and appeared to be a budding superstar. But he's never had another year that good. He's been a good enough hitter for a shortstop, except that he was never a very good defensive shortstop, which is why they moved him to third this year to make way for the slick-fielding Asdrubal Cabrera at short. He is just 28 (barring any forged documentation; he is Dominican, after all) and may have more good years in him, but I wouldn't put money on it. And since he is in the walk year of his contract and the Indians aren't going anywhere, there was really no reason not to move him.

• Coming back from Detroit is Giovanni Soto, who is not to be confused with Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. This Soto is a 19-year-old minor league pitcher who hails from Puerto Rico, and is 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA in A-ball. He's a long way from the majors, but his early results are promising. He's struck out more than three times as many hitters as he's walked, and he's given up just two home runs in 82 innings. Still, though, a lot can happen to a young arm, and the proverbial streets are proverbially littered with the proverbial bodies of many promising young pitchers who never made it because their young elbows and shoulders couldn't handle the strain they were putting on them. I'd have thought the Indians could have gotten more than that for an established major league infielder who can play short or third and has some pop in his bat.

• I love this a lot more than I feel I should: Some douchebag showed up at the Indians-Yankees game last night wearing a Miami Heat LeBron James jersey, and got screamed at and taunted so much, he had to leave. The police escorted him out. I don't know if he left voluntarily or what, but he probably should have known better than to pull that crap. Nobody seems to know who he is, but he looks young, which, as anyone who's lived through adolescence and is old enough to reflect on it knows, equals stupid. He probably intentionally showed up in that to get attention, but he's lucky he didn't receive that attention in the form of fists to the face.

• Oh, yeah, the Indians lost 8-0 to the Yankees. Fausto Carmona had his worst outing of the season. The Tribe offense couldn't get anything going. Alex Rodriguez didn't homer, so he's still stuck on 599. The end.

• But how about Tuesday night's game! Josh Tomlin beats the freaking New York Yankees in his major league debut! That's fantastic. Tomlin outpitched former Indian (and Cy Young winner) CC Sabathia, taking a shutout into the eighth inning, then came out after giving a leadoff double to Robinson Cano. He held the Yankees to three hits and zero walks in his seven innings of work. Bully for you, Josh! Keep up the good work! (Oh, and he struck out just two. Now, don't be negative.)

• Rest in peace, Jack Tatum, 1948-2010. The Ohio State great is best known for paralyzing a guy on a hit in an NFL game, but it was a perfectly clean, legal hit. That's just the nature of football. He wasn't a dirty player, he was just a hard hitter.