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Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
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Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
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Do IT this week: Layering
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:36 p.m. EDT, May 05, 2009
TORONTO: Josh Barfield took a whirlwind tour of the best and worst that baseball has to offer Monday night.
In a span of four innings, Barfield went from hero to goat to hero again, as the Indians rallied three times to earn a 9-7, 12-inning win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Until then, his only appearance for the Tribe came April 14, when he was used as a pinch hitter and thrown out trying to steal second.
Barfield entered the game Monday night as a pinch runner in the ninth inning and scored from second on a close play at the plate on Asdrubal Cabrera's single to right that tied the score.
When the inning ended, Barfield trotted to left field for his first appearance as a major-league outfielder. Sure enough, a two-out fly ball on which he got a slow start landed in front of him for a two-run single that tied the score 6-6.
But in the 12th inning, Barfield singled sharply to center to snap the tie and continue a rally that reached three runs.
''It was nice to get back out there and be able to contribute,'' said Barfield, who was deemed expendable and sent to Triple-A Columbus for 12 games when the Tribe needed an extra reliever.
Barfield had little doubt that he would score in the ninth, even though Alex Rios had a play.
''I should be able to score on anybody unless the ball is hit hard right at someone,'' he said. ''I was breaking with the swing and with two outs, you don't have to read anything.''
Indians manager Eric Wedge didn't think that scoring was automatic.
''Probably nobody scores but him,'' he said. ''He got there quick, but he barely scored.''
Of the ball that fell in front of him, Barfield said, ''That's the way it works [for inexperienced defenders]. But I played out there in spring training, so I have a pretty good comfort level.''
There was a reasonable explanation of why Barfield broke so tentatively on the fly ball.
''The guy took a big swing and hit it off the end of the bat,'' Barfield said. ''I probably could have gotten there [otherwise].''
Having a big game in Toronto is special to Barfield, because his father, Jesse, played the outfield for the Blue Jays.
''It never fails, when I come here I get about 50 Jesses,'' Barfield said. ''When I do something here, it means a little bit more. There's a lot of history here for me. We used to live down the street from the ballpark when I was a kid.''
That's when his playmates were Prince Fielder, Cecil's son, and the sons of Lloyd Moseby and Willie Upshaw.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
TORONTO: Josh Barfield took a whirlwind tour of the best and worst that baseball has to offer Monday night.
In a span of four innings, Barfield went from hero to goat to hero again, as the Indians rallied three times to earn a 9-7, 12-inning win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Until then, his only appearance for the Tribe came April 14, when he was used as a pinch hitter and thrown out trying to steal second.
Barfield entered the game Monday night as a pinch runner in the ninth inning and scored from second on a close play at the plate on Asdrubal Cabrera's single to right that tied the score.
When the inning ended, Barfield trotted to left field for his first appearance as a major-league outfielder. Sure enough, a two-out fly ball on which he got a slow start landed in front of him for a two-run single that tied the score 6-6.
But in the 12th inning, Barfield singled sharply to center to snap the tie and continue a rally that reached three runs.
''It was nice to get back out there and be able to contribute,'' said Barfield, who was deemed expendable and sent to Triple-A Columbus for 12 games when the Tribe needed an extra reliever.
Barfield had little doubt that he would score in the ninth, even though Alex Rios had a play.
''I should be able to score on anybody unless the ball is hit hard right at someone,'' he said. ''I was breaking with the swing and with two outs, you don't have to read anything.''
Indians manager Eric Wedge didn't think that scoring was automatic.
''Probably nobody scores but him,'' he said. ''He got there quick, but he barely scored.''
Of the ball that fell in front of him, Barfield said, ''That's the way it works [for inexperienced defenders]. But I played out there in spring training, so I have a pretty good comfort level.''
There was a reasonable explanation of why Barfield broke so tentatively on the fly ball.
''The guy took a big swing and hit it off the end of the bat,'' Barfield said. ''I probably could have gotten there [otherwise].''
Having a big game in Toronto is special to Barfield, because his father, Jesse, played the outfield for the Blue Jays.
''It never fails, when I come here I get about 50 Jesses,'' Barfield said. ''When I do something here, it means a little bit more. There's a lot of history here for me. We used to live down the street from the ballpark when I was a kid.''
That's when his playmates were Prince Fielder, Cecil's son, and the sons of Lloyd Moseby and Willie Upshaw.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
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