Fan survives fall as Indians suffer a 12-1 pasting in Texas.
View full sizeRangers fan Tyler Morris is in fair condition after falling from the upper deck at the Ballpark at Arlington trying to catch a foul ball in the Tribe's 12-1 loss to Texas.The Texas Rangers added to their AL West lead and the Cleveland Indians slid lower into the AL East cellar. Not that it mattered. Evan Grant's Dallas Morning News account of Tuesday night's fall from the upper deck by a Rangers fan put everything in perspective.
The Rangers won a game Tuesday night in which C.J. Wilson allowed three hits, Andres Blanco got three hits and Joaquin Arias drove home four runs. And, really, none of that mattered.
During the fifth inning, a fan fell some 30 feet from the club concourse into the lower seating bowl while trying to catch a foul pop. It drew screams from the crowd of 20,428 fans and gasps from players who saw it. In the end, though, the fan may have escaped critical injury.
The fan fell while apparently trying to catch Nelson Cruz's foul pop. It's not clear if he was leaning over the low railing around the club seats or if he backed into it. But when he fell, he hit several people below. That may have helped save him.
"The preliminary indications are that it could have been a lot worse," Rangers President Nolan Ryan said after the game. "You are concerned for the fan and for the other people who were hurt during the fall. Our emergency personnel got there very quickly and got him stabilized. I'm very proud of that."
A Dallas TV station identified the man as a local firefighter, Tyler Morris. A spokesman for the Rangers said Morris was responsible and able to move all his extremities. He remained hospitalized at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth in fair condition, according to the hospital. A representative for the hospital said the family had requested privacy, so no details about Morris' injuries would be released.
'Scuse us for being cynical (which Starting Blocks is only willing to do because Morris survived), but no details will be released . . . until the press conference to announce the book tour and liability award.
Clubhouse reaction
Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram talked to Indians and Rangers players about the fall.
Said (Indians pitcher Justin) Masterson, who saw the fall and thought it might have affected some of the players: "I'm sure in someway it did. It's not something you see at the ballpark, and you never want to again."
Said Indians manager Manny Acta. "It was just tough to watch. It didn't affect the outcome of the game at all, but I think the guys were pretty relieved when we got news that the guy was conscious and he was OK. I think everybody went back to normal when we got news that he was conscious because we were anticipating something worse. A fatality could have happened there, and you don't want to be a witness to it."
Said Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson: "We're really relieved to hear that the guy who fell is OK and the people that were down there were OK. That's the weirdest think I've ever seen happen at a stadium. I'm just thankful I didn't see it. You saw how shook up a lot of the Indians guys were. Guys were covering their faces."
All-Star musings
Starting Blocks, just so you know, is one big worrier. Where do we find replacement bulbs for that light inside the dryer that was made when Eisenhower was a plebe at West Point? What happens to the post-Armageddon cockroaches after the last Twinkie is eaten? What kind of wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck COULD chuck wood, anyway?
Even with that, SB can't hold a candle to Jon, a blogger for waitingfornextyear.com.
He's petrified about Fausto Carmona pitching in the All-Star game in a relief role. Why? Let him tell it:
It was late July of 2006, and Mark Shapiro had just traded Bob Wickman to the Atlanta Braves, leaving the Indians with a hole in the back-end of the bullpen.
In all of his Wedgian Wisdom, the Grinder turned to a shy, 22 year-old rookie who barely spoke a word of English and had been with the team all of three months to assume the interim closer duties. And in a span of seven days . . . Fausto Carmona recorded four losses and three blown saves, shattering an otherwise promising young pitcher's confidence for the remainder of the season.
. . . We all know that the Indians have put the last two years into rebuilding Fausto's confidence, his delivery, his composure, his mound presence, his psyche. Where any of these things went is anyone's guess, but Fausto lost himself after that magical 2007. And guess how many relief appearances Fausto has had since that fateful 2006 stint as closer. None.
Until next week, that is. Since Shin-Soo Choo will not be available for the All-Star game due to injury, Fausto will represent the Cleveland Indians in Anahiem. If he pitches, it will be in a relief role, in a situation that he isn't used to, with gobs of media pressure, surrounded by players he doesn't know, and with a manager he's likely never spoken to before. And it makes me nervous.
It makes me nervous because I don't want to see Fausto fall apart again. . . . For me, only bad things can happen if he pitches. I suppose this is the essence of Cleveland Pessimism, but I can't help it.
Geez, dude. Lighten up. The last person who cared about the All-Star game was Pete Rose, and nobody got hurt when he . . .
Oops.
From The Plain Dealer
Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes had to endure the 12-1 shellacking and witness the frightening fall by the fan, but he also got a bit of possible good news: Star outfielder Shin-Soo Choo might not need surgery on his injured thumb after all.
Dr. Thomas Graham informed (the Indians) Tuesday that Choo might not need surgery on his sprained right thumb after examining the Indians' right fielder at Cleveland Clinic. It was speculated that Choo, placed on the disabled list Sunday, could miss six to eight weeks, but if he doesn't need surgery, he might be able to rejoin the Indians sooner.
Choo, who sprained the ulna collateral ligament in the thumb, must wear a splint for the next seven to 10 days to keep the thumb immobile. If the thumb shows improvement, Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, said Choo will go on an "aggressive" return program.
The account is in Hoynesie's Indians Insider column.