The Name Game

So here's the deal…

The Indians have been on the road for a few days now, and while this weekend I was preoccupied with Hoopfest, that has now come to a very disappointing end, We are back to all Indians all the time.

During our off time I got to thinking...We are now far enough along in the season where it is not good enough to know the players' names  numbers, positions or even hometowns. No, we are now to the point of the season we start calling players by nicknames. That's right, we were now to the point where we cheer for our club with a little more creativity and personality.  The problem is we don't have or know Indians nicknames. There may be some clubhouse names floating around but unfortunately we are not privileged to those little gems. So Sean and I are taking it upon ourselves to hand out nicknames to our current Indian players the way we see fit and we reserve the right to be completely random. Some players will get obvious ones, some players it's is completely made up. So let's play the Name Game…

Alex "Chi Chi" Gonzalez - Surprise surprise our Golden Boy 1st Rounder already came pre-packaged with a great childhood nickname.  As if Chi Chi didn't already come with a the makings of a great pitcher, he came with a alias perfect for the mound. I probably would've just gone with the simple and subtle old fashioned "AG" but hey Chi Chi seems to be working alright for him.  Thanks for making this one easy.

"Cam the Man" Schiller - Cam has got a lot of love from from us on this Blog but for good reason…HE'S THE MAN!  He is all over the place, all the time. Cam does it all for the Indians 1st Base, 2nd Base, 3rd Base, consistent base knocks, post game interviews with dorks writing a blog…What doesn't this guy do?

Saquan "Say What?" Johnson - Not so much a nickname, but more of a chant.  Sean and I have both thought from Opening Day that Saquan seems like the jokester of the team and the guy that keep things light in dugout.  So what better way than to have a little fun than every time the Avista announcer Scotty Lewis says Saquan the crowd roars back "Say What?"  I envision this repeating about 3 or 4 times "Saqaun…Say What? Saqaun…Say Who? Saqaun…Say What? Saqaun…Say Who?"  This name idea is stole from DToms but I happily take all the credit.

"Big Z" Mike Zouzalik Not to be confused with the surfing penguin Big Z played by the legendary Jeff Bridges.  Our Big Z from the gets his name for no other reason than the fact that he's tall, standing at 6'3", and his last name begins with a Z. 

Brandon "Vegas" Gracia - Brandon may get the coolest nickname, and for no other reason than he is from Las Vegas, NV. That simple.

Chris Garia "CG3" - Oh man, where do I start with this one.  Much like Clippers (Ca-Ching!) PG Chris "CP3" Paul, our CG3 rocks jersey #3 and is a man of many talents.  Great in the field, hell of a bat, and quick as snot. CG3 fits him perfectly…and he's got 3 dingers on the season. 

Alex De La Cruz "Cosa Salvaje" - In our draft post I blindly compared De La Cruz the Charlie Sheen's character in the movie Major League "Wild Thing" Ricky Vaughn, and labeled him the latin Wild Thing "Cosa Salvaje".  Little did I know that I was dead on in my comparison. Its not a physical comparison but more of a character trait comparison.  Straight faced, focused, with just enough edge to make batters wish they were on his team so they didn't have to bat against him.  He has a wild side to him on the mound, but damn if he doesn't throw with some gusto! 

Roberto Duran "The Little Big Hurt" I know its hard to compare a guy that has yet to jack one out, to one of the games best power hitters, Frank Thomas, but Duran may fit the bill as far as the Indians are concerned.  Every time  steps to the plate he tries to take the cover off the ball…Boasting a modest 5'11" 190lb frame and bearing the #35 we can't help but deny the similarities.

Yohander "Tre-Mendez" Mendez - Yohander is Sean's boy so I'll leave this one for him to name.
-Andy, I hi-jacked your post to say that I struggled with this one a lot. "Of Mice And Mendez" got stuck in my head and I couldn't get it out. Then I went to "The Human K Card". Then "Yo Mendez brings all the girls to the yard". Then "Roca y Fuego" because it's a direct translation of "Rock and Fire" but the translation makes no sense to anyone who speaks Spanish. I settled with Tre-Mendez because so far he has been, well, tremendous. 

Kevin"Killa Kev" Torres - Killa Kev has an intimidating stone cold look to him. Every time he approaches the plate he looks like he wants just destroy the ball (in which he did a few days ago getting his first HR of the season). I think even the umps are a little afraid of him.

Ryan "Stretch" Cordell - I envision Ol' Stretch robbing players of home runs hit 20' over the right field fence by not even leaving the ground. He just raises his glove in the sky and shoots arm out like Inspector Gadget.  

Indians are back home on the Fourth of July so we'll get our first chance to start using these sweet nicknames.  For now I'll be practicing nicknames listening to the radio broadcast in my car.  

Nicknames still to come:
Barrett Seratto, Ryane Slack, Kyle Castro, Janluis Castro, Jamie Jarmon