Those insects are probably midges, according to the Cleveland Paper...they live in Lake Erie as larvae and come out two or three times a year, mate, and die...they are more commonly called Mayflies or Canadian Soldiers. I remember swarms where they practically coat roads and plaster folks windshields...but it has always been a spring event...May and June. They have been bothersome during some previous ball games in the past as well. I have never heard of them this late...apparently there was an "extra brood" because of the abnormally warm weather lately...it got nearly 90 today...I played golf and it was like mid-August. Canadian Soldiers
Thank... <t>GOD I am not a Cubs fan. LOL !!<br/> <br/> Lets here it for my old HS Bellaire's Chris Young and his long ball barrage to finish the Cubs. Chris Snyder the D-Backs young catcher I have know since my son played against him for two years in the same high school district and was a star at the U of Houston. Congrats guys no matter the outcome of the series w/ the Rockies.</t>
We have Mayflies here at our lake in the spring. Big suckers when they land against the window screens. Harmless but bothersome, as they were in Cleveland.
Many in the press were questioning why Wedge was throwing Byrd instead of Sabathia last night - giving the Yankees hope, they said - but Byrd went out and tossed a gem. Congratulations on the win, Tribe fans. Here's to an exciting ALCS, no matter the outcome.
Thanks George...it was an exciting night for me. I don't necessarily think of the Indians as the best team this year, but I think they are the best team nobody paid much attention to. Regarding pitching Byrd: I thought it was the right move...for a number of reasons. Even though the Yankees seemed to have had Byrd's number earlier this year, this is the rotation that got us here...you have to at some point show trust in your players. I think that also is a good reason for Borowski to come into the ninth inning...you've got Betancourt pitching the 8th and being almost unhitable, while Borowski, with all his saves, has a 5.3 ERA and always makes it interesting...but if you don't bring the league saves leader in under those conditions, how much good is he going to be to you the rest of the series? The last time the tribe tried pitching their ace on three days it blew up on them...Bartolo Colon got hammered. If you pitch Sabathia last night and he wins, now you have to start the ACLS with Carmona...then do you pitch Sabathia Saturday or keep your rotation? What's worse, if you pitch Sabathia and he bombs, then you try to finish the Yankees on Wed. with Carmona, and if he wins you start the Boston series with both of your aces watching from the bench. Not starting Byrd would have been a complete panic move...I mean the guy's a real veteran and has 15 wins this year.
Plus.......Sabathia threw over 110 pitches in 5 innings in his last outing. IMO, the risk was much greater than warranted with Byrd available as a reliable #4 starter. The media heads are long on opinions and short on knowledge.
The Canadian Press had some good quotes from Wedge. Raised some of the same points you boys did, really hammering home Sid's pitch count remark toward the end. Wedge says Indians never considered pitching Sabathia on three days' rest NEW YORK - Eric Wedge has been asked several times about his decision to pitch Paul Byrd in Game 4 against the Yankees instead of ace C.C. Sabathia on three days' rest. So the Cleveland Indians' manager explained his choice on Monday - again. He said the team never considered going back to Sabathia before a potential Game 5. The Indians held a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series going into Monday night. "We said coming in Paul Byrd was our fourth starter, and he is. And we knew if we started on Thursday we were going to need four starters, and that's the way it's played out," Wedge said. "Paul won 15 games for us. He has playoff experience. We wouldn't be here without him. And we feel strong about him." Then, Wedge talked about protecting Sabathia, a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award who went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts this season. The big left-hander won the playoff opener against New York in a taxing effort. "I think common sense has to come into play at some point in time just in regard with C.C. I mean, he threw 114 pitches in five innings. Arguably worked as hard as he's worked all year. And he's pushing 250 innings for the year," Wedge said. "And one thing we'll never do, I don't give a damn what the situation is, we're not going to put our players in harm's way. We're not going to put them in a position for something like that to happen. The only way we would have even considered it for some reason, he had a very short outing and didn't throw very many pitches the first game. Paul Byrd's our guy," he added. Wedge said he probably wouldn't consider using Game 2 starter Fausto Carmona out of the bullpen Monday night, but the right-hander would be available as a reliever in Game 5 if necessary.
Because Eric Wedge is a Fort Wayne boy - He hit the hardest and longest home run I've ever seen by a HS player - I'd like to see him and the Indians do well. However, I also would like to see the Red Sox do well. It's nice to have this dilemma.
Since.. <t>Chris Young went to my HS here in Houston and I met him prior to an exhibition game in Arizona when he was with the White Sox prior to the trade to the D-Backs plus the catcher Chris Synder I have know since he was a Soph at Spring Woods HS in Houston and a great young man I am pulling for the D-Backs.<br/> Big Grady Sizemore fan here so go Indians.</t>