Caravan satiates baseball-hungry fans
01/23/2006WALNUT CREEK, Ohio -- The meal was perfectly fitting for the setting.
Fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pie filled the plates of the 500 or so fans who came out Monday night for the Indians' Winter Caravan stop at the Carlisle Village Inn.
How appropriate -- down-home, old-fashioned cooking in a down-home, old-fashioned kind of place.
But from out of the kitchen came a rather startling site that stood in stark contrast to the simple surroundings.
It was, shockingly, a lone bottle of Tabasco sauce, ordered up by a rebel attendee.
The culprit? That wasn't as surprising. It was Tribe catcher Victor Martinez, who felt the need to add a little flavor to his fowl.
This, it would appear, is what happens when a Venezuelan comes to Amish Country.
"Latin spice," said Indians broadcaster Matt Underwood, who emceed the event and ratted Martinez out to the crowd. "He needs that."
And the fans who packed this charming country inn needed their fix of baseball talk.
That's just what Underwood, Martinez, right-handers Paul Byrd and Rafael Betancourt and hitting coach Derek Shelton delivered through a Q&A session with fans, an evening punctuated by an autograph session and live auction.
The Q&A session was all of about a half-second old when a fan raised his hand and asked, "What about the Coco Crisp trade?"
Clearly, the potential trade that would send the popular outfielder to the Red Sox is the talk of this and any town that supports the Indians.
Underwood responded with the same answer general manager Mark Shapiro had given reporters at Jacobs Field earlier in the day -- no deal is done, so there's not much comment to offer.
And so the focus shifted to more certain matters.
Fans wanted to know what the team will do to get off to a better start in '06, and Shelton replied that the club will do more hitting drills in Spring Training to be more prepared for the season.
Fans wanted to know why Byrd chose to sign with the Indians, and he told them about his affinity for the Tribe's defense and the organization as a whole.
"And I don't like the White Sox, so that helps," Byrd added with a smile.
That drew a round of applause from the audience, which seemed to enjoy the opportunity to converse with a few players about the season ahead.
The players got just as much enjoyment out of the experience, as well as the setting. Needless to say, this two-hour bus ride down Interstate 77 was much different from the road trips a big leaguer makes during the regular season.
"It's nice down here," Shelton said. "It's great to see different people and how excited they are about the season."
Shelton had visited Amish Country before, but this trip was a first for Betancourt.
"It's nice and quiet," Betancourt said. "That's the way I like it. I don't like a lot of noise."
Laughter was the noise that filled the air when the news spread about Martinez's order. One fan wanted to know if he had put the Tabasco sauce on his pie.
"I didn't eat any pie," Martinez replied.
Blasphemy. Who could pass up the pie in this place?
"I don't think we should invite him back next year," Underwood quipped.
Well, that's probably not a good idea. After all, who else is going to use up that Tabasco?
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
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