The Battle of Ohio Series Opener: Super Sizemore steals the show

By TheNaturalMevs on May 19, 2007

Last night I made the journey up I71 to Cleveland to see the opener of the Battle of Ohio series. Clearly, Grady Sizemore stole the show. Sizemore collected 4 hits on the night, 3 singles and a homerun to the seats in right that landed just over our heads. He raised his average to .276, much to the delight of me, his fantasy baseball owner. Oh yeah, he also stole a base and scored 3 times. His stolen base was his 15th consecutive successful stolen base (now 15/15 on the season).

In batting practice I got some pictures of the Indians different banners of their championships. This is the team that ended up making me a guy that followed this team. 1997 was pretty magical year for the Tribe and it was a team that reminds me a little bit of this Indians team of 2007. It is very hard to believe that was 10 years ago.

One thing that I like about Jacobs field is they allow fans to enter the game nearly 3 hours before first pitch through one of the gates if you choose to wander around the stadium, get to know the place, and watch batting practice. Many teams for a 7:00 game (Reds) don’t allow you to enter the stadium until 5:35 pm, which is a travesty.

Overall I’d say the atmosphere created for the fans at Jacobs Field is top notch, other than the NAZI ushers, who will get your ass if you sneak into the prime seats that are not yours. Even if it is 2 and 1/2 hours before the game is to start, they will smell a liar, and they will find you.

It was a pleasant night at the Jake. The weather was supposed to be frigid, but much to our surprise things were very nice and it was just a cool, breezy nights.

After the first few innings it was 9-4 Indians, after just 3 innings to be exact. It looked as if we were going to sit through a 4 hour + ballgame and see a slugfest that would bring us some 20+ runs from both teams combined. However, Cliff Lee got his shit together and settled in for the win, allowing only 2 earned runs and getting the win. Kyle Lohse did not fare as well, and he didn’t make it out of the 3rd innings. Things are going south fast for the Reds and Jerry Narron.

After the game was over, in an Indians win of 9-4, “Again Tonight” by John Cougar Mellencamp was played at the stadium (and what a song that is) as the Indians celebrated their victory. The win was the 4th straight for the Tribe, all of which have been at home. This team just really shows up to play at home.