Savor These Potential Playoff Moments

Savor this.

Savor it with everything you have. I sense that most people reading this blog are under thirty, so you may feel that having had to wait since 2007 for a contender has been unbearable. I was 34 years old before the Indians made the playoffs in my lifetime, and at no time prior to that were they close enough to make September worth paying attention to. My dad was fifteen when the Indians last won a World Series, and he died before he ever saw another one.

Savor it because there are four types of sports teams: those that are not are expected to w in and don’t, those that are expected to win and don’t, those that are expected to win and do and those that are not expected to win and do. Being a fan of the first two groups sucks, as we know all too well. Being a fan of the third group imposes a kind of pressure that takes away a certain percentage of the enjoyment, unless the season ends in a championship. Any Ohio State football fan can identify with this. Next year the Indians will be in this category, and if they aren’t five games up by May we will spend our time nitpicking every move like we are being deprived of something we are entitled to. The fourth category is really the only kind of team that rooting for is pure, unfettered joy. That is where we are right now, and we will not experience this again until they gut the team and rebuild it again, which will hopefully be a long time from now.

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Savor it because the Indians still have a shot at the playoffs and the Yankees, barring a miracle, do not.

Savor it because we could be in the process of swallowing our tongues like the Rangers, or watching a team with great expectations go down the tubes, like the Angels, Blue Jays, or Nationals.

Savor it because if you thought this was possible when the Indians were making the Browns look good last August, you are lying through your teeth.

Savor it because if you thought this could happen with no contribution from Brett Myers or Trevor Bauer, with Vinnie Pestano getting sent to Columbus at midseason, with Mark Reynolds hitting so badly he got released, and with Asdrubal Cabrera hitting .240, you should share whatever you’ve been smoking.

Savor it because if you thought Ryan Raburn would lead the team in OPS, Yan Gomes would be leading the league in basestealers thrown out and hitting almost .300, Scott Kazmir would go into the last week of the season with a shot at double digit wins, we would be talking about Danny Salazar in the postseason rotation, that a crucial game would be decided by Matt Carson, and Ubaldo Jimenez would be the best pitcher in the American League since the All-Star break, you should stop smoking whatever you’ve been smoking and seek medical attention.

Savor it because we’ve lived though Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore wrecking their careers with injuries, through watching CC, Victor, Martinez and Cliff Lee leave town, through Eric Wedge and Manny Acta, through Andy Marte and Matt Laporta and Adam Miller, through Jose frickin Lopez hitting cleanup and trading for Brent Lillibridge like that would put us over the hump. That’s just in the past five years. If you are old enough to remember the old stadium, you can make a list ten times that long. If you are still buying tickets or paying attention after all that, you deserve this.

Savor it because there’s a guy who’s been sitting in the bleachers playing his drum for forty years.

Savor it because these guys are fun. They are playing smart baseball and they are playing their asses off. They are pitching wonderfully, which for a true baseball fan is the most fun baseball to watch. There is not a guy in the batting order who isn’t capable of getting a big hit. And if you can’t get excited watching Jason Kipnis and Nick Swisher play baseball, schedule yourself for an autopsy.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Savor it because they are sixth in the league in runs scored with nobody driving in more than eighty, and eighth in the league in home runs despite nobody having more than twenty. Eight players are in double figures, and three more have a shot at reaching it. No other team has that kind of balance.

Savor it because the people you are sharing it with might not be around the next time it happens. If you have a dad or a grandfather, watch a game with him this week.

Savor it because you are not one of those dumbasses who think the Browns are the only thing that matters, because you had the good sense to stick with baseball when football training camp started. Especially because the Indians were about five games out when training camp started, which most years would have been ample reason to stop watching.

Savor it if you were one of the 26 thousand who came to Sunday’s game. I decided to go at the last minute, and the electricity was higher than it has been since the 90s, especially in the middle innings when the game turned around.

Savor it because aside from great sex and deep fried shrimp, a baseball pennant race is the best thing you will ever experience, and we’ve been waiting for this since 2007. If you’ve been waiting since 2007 for sex or fried shrimp, get off the Internet and go meet people.