Jon Lester, Baseball, and why I'm a better hockey fan

Posted 1:23 PM ET | Comments 3

It's summer, and in North America (can't exclude the Blue Jays!) that means baseball is in full swing.

Last night was a rarity in Cincinnnati, OH. The Reds won a game against the Brewers, and the Cleveland Indians were on TV. Being an Indians fan in a rival market, I had an obligation to watch. The Indians were facing the Red Sox last night. Jon Lester, the Red Sox starting pitcher, was diagnosed and treated for cancer in last 11 months. It's such a great story, and wish him the best. As proud as I could be for him, this turned out to be a bad night for the Tribe. The Indians started Jake Westbrook who is 1-5 this season, so I already had a really bad feeling from the first pitch.

The game starts, and Westbrook immediately gets hit off the first 4 batters. I was angry enough that I went out and played 18 holes of Frisbee Golf, to try to forget the fact the Indians' pitching sucks at this point tonight. When I get done with that I am relieved to find out that the Indians are down 5-2 in the middle of the 3rd inning, so maybe theyre on the right track. Well, it looks like things were going well until the bottom of the 4th. Still 5-2, the Indians load the bases with 2 outs, and bring Travis Haffner, their best hitter to the plate. Haffner ends up striking out, and that was the best shot they had of knotting up the game. I did end up watching most of the rest of the game (I flipped on the Reds for a little bit, since they were in extra innings). It ended up being a 6-2 loss that I still felt we played well, but the pitching looked bad for the Indians. Jon Lester did a spectacular job for the Sox given his circumstances. It takes a lot to come back from cancer, and it's great to see that you have overcome it for the moment!

It wasn't until this morning I thought about it. If this were hockey, I think I would have reacted differently. Sure I'd be emotional, but I wouldn't turn off the game as easily. Sure, it can be sometimes boring to watch baseball on TV, but I can't see myself turning off a hockey game as easily, unless theres a good reason (such as a better game or I need to do something else important). Maybe I've been humbled from watching so many Blue Jackets losses.

P.S. I'm comming up with another "Retro-buzz" blog later this week. I have a topic already for this week, but if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!

Filed Under: blue jackets NHL Indians Red Sox