Player of the Game
How fitting that a middle reliever wins the Player of the Game in the final game of the year. Tony Sipp took his third award of the season after pitching an inning and a third as well as anyone could. Sipp struck out three and stranded two runners when he first came into the game for a score of 2.06. Final Player of the Game standings for the year will be announced in the next couple of days.
Feathers Up
Shin-Soo Choo set a new high with a 13 game hitting streak with a single in the 8th inning. This streak will continue into 2013.
This season is now officially over, meaning only that the Indians players will be able to do whatever they want instead of showing up to the stadium every day since the Indians season was technically over more than a month ago. With the regular season over the Indians will be able to focus solely on 2013. This means officially hiring a manager, resigning players eligible for arbitration and looking for new players (and possibly coaches).
With the Indians done in 2012, Burning River Baseball will now be rooting for that other team from Ohio, the Cincinnati Reds, in the playoffs. This decision is for a few reasons, some what because it means rooting against the hated teams of the Yankees, Tigers and Braves, but mostly because the Indians share a Spring Training facility with the Reds and a World Series title should cause a real spike in attendence. Hey, it worked for the Giants, but of course, they play in Scottsdale.
Feathers Down
Not for the first time this year, an Indians player made an error (this time it was Lonnie Chisenhall) and the starting pitcher had a complete breakdown. David Huff had pitched an average game until the 5th inning, when Chisenhall started that inning by turning what would have been a great play into a two base error. After quickly recording two outs, Huff allowed three singles and two home runs (not in that order), and was unable to get even close to getting that third out. This turned a three run game into a seven run game as Tony Sipp came in to control the madness.
Vinnie Pestano probably wishes the season ended yesterday. He gave up two home runs tonight before getting an out, something he had not done all season. Although he should still be considered the best reliever on the Indians, this game certainly didn’t help his numbers.
Play of the Game
Travis Hafner hit a single in the 7th inning, very likely his last hit as a Cleveland Indian.
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 0 – Chicago White Sox 9
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