Written by Nino Colla

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Sit down and let me tell you a story about a man and a hawk that were fused together. Combined, they became Hawkman.

 

September 14th, 2011

 

Cleveland Indians - 1

 

Texas Rangers - 9

 

W: Derek Holland (14-5) L: David Huff (2-5)

 

[BOXSCORE]

 

It started out as just any other ordinary night and it ended like the previous. But in it all, there was a special feat that would make the night unique. And that special feat didn't happen just once.

 

Nor twice.

 

It happened three times.

 

The ball. It flew. It flew high and far. A young man with a wild haircut, he went by David. He was the one in control of the ball. Young David could not prevent the other team from hitting the ball however.

 

So he tried. And he tried. He let the ball go, only to crank his head around and see it fly. The ball flew far.

 

But it didn't fly far enough. For there was a Hawk.

 

Not just any ordinary Hawk, but a Hawk that had been transfused with a man. They called him, Hawkman. He is vigilant, and powerful, but no one believed of Hawkman to be one who could swoop through the air with any grace.

 

That was until Young David gave him the opportunity to do so.

 

The first time Young David let the ball go, Hawkman ranged back. Feeling the hard cold steel of the cage behind him, Hawkman knew he was getting close to the barrier behind him. The ball was running out of steam, so he leaped up.

 

When Hawkman returned to the ground and bounced off the barrier, he had the ball.

 

Young David was pleased.

 

But the story is not over.

 

Young David still needed to out duel the Rangers under the Texas sun. So he kept throwing. He kept throwing until the ball was hit long and far once again.

 

But it was hit towards Hawkman. This time, it was more difficult. As Hawkman's eyes locked into the white object, Hawkman unfurled his wings and leaped. He knew the unforgiving steel behind him would stop him from going any further and stop his path, however he didn't need to go any further. His arm reached up and snagged at the ball.

 

As Hawkman sat at the base of the fence, he looked into his glove. Young David, approved once again and walked off the mound. The final out of his adventurous first inning.

 

The story, is again, not over.

 

Young David trotted out to the mound for his second inning. With zeros still on the board, he was still in control. But soon he'd get behind. Young David, facing a man named Young no less, forced to give up a ball that could be hit far.

 

And it was.

 

But again, towards the area patrolled, by the Hawkman.

 

With doubters afoot, Hawkman soared back and turned around. Without much grace he leaped. He again slammed into the steel, this time back first. Grounded and in shock, Hawkman looked into his glove to see the ball yet again. Shock appeared on his face Even he could not believe what he had done.

 

Young David, approved for the third time in a row. He was overjoyed. He had been saved three times by the prowess of the Hawkman.

 

Young David did not last much longer on this night. He eventually let the ball go further than Hawkman could go. But Young David learned a valuable lesson this night. He had a Hawk on his side, if he ever needed it.

 

Random Details...

 

Be honest, you enjoyed that more than a boring recap of a game the Indians lost 9-1... Didn't you?

 

Manny Acta acknowledged the catches, but all he could say was "good." That was more than good, that was, fan-freaking-tastic!

 

David Huff was all over the middle of the plate on this night. It was only a matter of time before those pitches were hit over the wall or out of the reach of Shelley Duncan. Huff owes Duncan some steak. Just throw him a dead carcass, so the Hawk can feast!

"I left too many pitches over the middle," said Huff, whose ERA is still a respectable 3.40. "A guy like Hamilton doesn't miss many mistakes."

He hung in there for three innings, and then the wall. All of it wasn't Huff's fault, he wasn't helped by the Chisenhall error and there were some balls that did not bounce his way, but he still wasn't very effective. And if you are not effective and giving the Rangers the chance to hit the ball far, eventually they are going to go far enough.

 

And that was your game. Really that was it. Lonnie Chisenhall home run, 10 strikeouts, six by Derek Holland, enjoy your night.

 

[NEXT YEAR IS NEXT YEAR]

 

Everyone is kind of looking forward to next season now. With this season seemingly over in the standings, the focus has become, "What will happen here, what is going on there." And it kind of starts with the 2012 schedule being released.

 

It will be a Progressive Field Opening Day with the Indians opening their season at home for six games. The first opponent, the Toronto Blue Jays. It is much different than the usual Chicago White Sox, who seemingly are, home or away, always the first team the Indians face out of the gate.

 

The Indians drew the Astros (suck), the Pirates (not as much suck), the Cardinals (pretty damn good), and the Marlins (suck), in Interleague play in addition to the Reds. They also get to go to Minute Maid Park for the first time ever as a visitor to the Astros. The IL games have been split up this year, with them visiting St. Louis and Cincinnati, returning home to face the Pirates and Reds, then hitting the road to face the Astros to finish up Interleague. Instead of having the Reds in the initial interleague series in May, they will have the Marlins at home.

 

As they finish that interleague trip, it starts a 10-game road tilt that takes them from Houston to New York to Baltimore before a seven game homestand going into the All-Star break. The Indians have just 11 home games in September compared to 16 on the road. That is preceded by a 10-game home stand against the Yankees, A's, and Rangers.

 

The Indians first road trip is one that goes out west from KC to Seattle to Oakland.

 

Click here to view the entire schedule.

 

Also in discussion about next year is the rotation, of which Manny Acta says Jeanmar Gomez has a chance at in 2012.

"He's one of those guys that's done well in Triple-A," Acta said. "You never know what we'll do in the offseason. But he should have a chance."

He will have a chance, but hopefully, it's a spot that is hotly contested.

 

Something that I feel will be a hot-topic of debate this offseason is first base. The Indians have Matt LaPorta, but don't seem to be convinced enough for him to be their guy moving forward. Is Carlos Santana that guy some of the time? Are they going to make an addition? Is someone young going to get an opportunity? What will they do?

 

Acta says Santana can do both, but what he does in 2012 will depend on what they do in the offseason. I think the Indians would like to get Marson some more playing time behind the plate in 2012 as someone who can work the pitching staff and sacrifice some offense there. That means they need to stay healthy everywhere else and get production from all their other spots. Your catcher, unless it is Santana, isn't a position that typically supplies a ton of offense anyway, so it can be done.

 

I actually think it helps the Indians pitching more than it hurts the offense to have Marson there. But that's a topic of discussion for the winter months.

 

[RANDOM RUNDOWN]

 

He's baaaaaaaaaaack! Again... For like, the third time... Shin-Soo Choo is expected to suit up and be in the lineup for the Indians tonight in the series finale against the Texas Rangers.

 

How much he plays will be a question, probably not the entire game, but I'm sure Manny Acta is going to be glad to have him back period. The adventures of Hawkman have been fun, but, how often is he going to do that?

 

You could expect Jack Hannahan to be back with the club this weekend. I mean, they are in Minnesota after all and he has to supply the burgers to everyone. More than anything, Lonnie Chisenhall enjoys having him around. This is now officially Chiz's job going forward and who knows if Jack will be back next year. This is his shot to pick his brain about the defensive nuances of the position and to learn anything and everything possible.

"Having Jack with him for a few months has had a big impact on him," Acta said. "He's been unselfish in being willing to pass on whatever knowledge he has to share with him."

So, get back Jack! He won't play much, but he certainly will help Chisenhall out.

 

Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera are not only dueling it out for the team home run lead, they are dueling it out to pass Victor Martinez for the club-record of most home runs hit by a switch-hitter in one season. Martinez belted 25 in 2007 and Santana is three away from tying that.

 

The Columbus Clippers evened up the fight for the Governor's Cup with a 4-1 win over Lehigh Valley last night. Mitch Talbot went the full nine innings and struck out seven hitters to earn the win. He walked no one and gave up a run off seven hits. Beast. Big Bad Beau Mills had a key hit in the four-run eighth inning as he singled in Jerad Head and Jared Goedert. This after Argenis Reyes scored on a wild-pitch. The Clippers and IronPigs switch venues tonight as the series switches to Lehhigh Valley for the final three games (fifth if necessary).

 

Kinston meanwhile saw their series even up as well after they dropped the second game to Frederick 3-2. Although, first, they watched the rain for three hours. The Keys scored two runs in the eighth inning to overtake the K-Tribe, Kyle Landis victimized in his second inning of relief. It spoiled a good start by Michael Goodnight, who went into the sixth inning giving up one run. Jesus Aguilar hit another home run, a solo shot, and Adam Abraham knocked in an run. This series is also shifting, but shifting to Historic Grainger Stadium. The K-Tribe will close out their franchise history and that park, in style, right? Right!

 

[RAFAEL PEREZ TWEET WATCH]

 

I was waiting for this....

 

Toru Murata: まさかの雨で3時間遅れで始まり22時開始だった。 それも逆転負け…。 これから6時間かけてホームに帰ります。明日も通常通り試合。 現在の時刻AM1時半前…。

 

Tyler Holt: what does that even mean??

 

Murata does tweet in English, but mostly in boxes and numbers. Unless of course you have a translator installed into Google Chrome.

 

Make sure you are following the roommate situation between Tony Wolters and Tyler Holt, who are roommates for instructs. But Holt wants to switch so he can room with LeVon Washington. Oooh juicy.

 

Days Without a Tweet: 114

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You can read more Morning Rundown and other features on Nino's blog, The Tribe Daily.

Follow @TheTribeDaily