Terrible Ways To Lose a Ballgame, Part I

Tie game on the road in the bottom of the ninth: two bloop singles, an errant pickoff throw into center field, an intentional walk, then a hit batter. Game over.

Ugh.

I realize that by appending the words "Part I" to the subject line, I've essentially created a "Department." I should be clear that I would be perfectly happy never to have to write a Part II, but let's be realistic. There are 162 games in a season, and we're bound to lose more than one in heartbreaking, abominable fashion. Here's hoping this won't be quite so frequent an occurrence as it was last year. The '06 Indians managed to lose games in such innovative and complicated ways that I was in the habit of describing their losses as "snowflake" losses — in that every one was unique, and each one left you feeling a little colder than the last.

Let's try to keep the snowflakes to a minimum, boys. It's bad enough that we had a winter storm here in Cambridge yesterday on April 4. After a long winter of discontent, Tribe fans everywhere — including those of us in New England — are entitled to some sunshine.

Shake it off, release Casey Blake, and move on.