The Indians won a ballgame Saturday afternoon, but their postseason dreams ended.
Write it down. On Sept. 17, the Indians were eliminated from serious postseason advancement before they even got there.
That may be a bit of dramatic overstatement but the supporting information for that prognosis — losing 40% of your starting staff in less than a week, among other things — aren't exactly things that have Indians fans making plans for a November championship parade either.
It's September, at the end of a very long season, and sentiments like that from one of the beat writers can irk the ballplayers. So it wasn't entirely surprising that the small paragraph turned into bulletin board fodder.
Then don't bother showing up the rest of the way... Can write from home if you already know how this one plays out! https://t.co/RmjFCQeAcB
— Jason Kipnis (@TheJK_Kid) September 18, 2016
I notice @hoynsie wasn't at the game today doing his job like the rest of us were. To say what he did then not show up for work? #coward
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) September 18, 2016
Anyway, that happened.
The magic number sits at 7 after yesterday's loss, which means it's a great time to remember Matt LaPorta.
[image-1]
Here's some flavor on the gator via Anthony Castrovince back in 2010.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The legal pad sitting on a counter in the middle of the Indians' locker room is titled, "Wall of Knowledge." It's a collection of quotes from various Tribe players and staff members, capturing the crazy things that come out of people's mouths when they're cooped up in Spring Training camp for six weeks.
Matt LaPorta's words dominate this "wall." LaPorta is not just one of the more promising young players on a developing Indians ballclub, he's a fountain of what Tribe players have begun to refer to as "LaPortaisms."
LaPorta came in from a workout one day and asked, "Is it bad that I'm dehydrated in one leg?"
When a teammate made mention of having his car shipped to Arizona, LaPorta responded, "In a box?"
In the lunch room one day, somebody commented on one of LaPorta's skills. He summoned his inner Yogi Berra and responded, "It comes naturally. I just have to think about it."
