Tidbits from Day 2 of the season

Random notes prior to Wednesday night's Tribe game in Texas:

Garko, been there done that: When President George W. Bush visited the Indians clubhouse prior to Monday afternoon's season opener it was a once in a lifetime thrill for most players and coaches. For Tribe first baseman Ryan Garko it was the second time he had met the President. Back in 2001, Garko was a sophomore catcher at Stanford. The Cardinal had reached the College World Series and were playing the Opening game in Omaha against Tulane. To commemorate the first game, President Bush threw out the first pitch......to Cardinal catcher Ryan Garko. And to give the story more of a Cleveland flavor, the starting pitcher for Stanford that day was former Indians pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. And to take it a step further, Tulane featured current Triple A Indians Michael Aubrey and Andy Cannizaro. When President Bush arrived in the Tribe clubhouse Monday, Garko was ready with a photo of that moment and the 43rd President gladly signed it was remembering his meeting with the Indians first baseman.

Scott Lewis ready for home opener: When the Indians take the field on Friday for the home opener, lefthander Scott Lewis will be on the mound, making just his 5th major league start. After growing up in the Columbus suburb of Washington Court House, Ohio and then attending Ohio State, Lewis is excited about the starting assignment for his in state team. Surely he must have been a Tribe fan growing up, or at the very least a Cincinnati Reds fan. Not so says Lewis. "I was a big Atlanta Braves fan as a kid. They were always on TV and they had pitchers that I loved to watch like Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz." Still the home opener in Cleveland will be special to a young man who seemed to be a dark horse to make the starting rotation coming out of spring training.

Welcome to the other side: You have to be a die hard Tribe fan to remember Mike Bascik. The lefthander pitched in only 3 games for the Indians in 2001, but gained major notoriety for serving up the home run that Barry Bonds hit to surpass the great Hank Aaron on the all time home run list in 2007 while pitching for Washington. Bascik was in the Indians clubhouse prior to tonights game working as a reporter for a local all sports radio station. He says he tried to find work on the mound for any team that would have him this spring, but found no takers. An avid fan of all sports in the Dallas area, he says he is now doing the next best thing. I got to know Mike when he pitched for Triple A Buffalo and I was the play by play man there. He is knowledgeable, well spoken and seems ideal for his new line of work.

Tribe falls to Texas: A frustrating night for the Indians as they went just 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position and lost the Rangers for a second straight game, this time by an 8-5 final score. Fausto Carmona was not as sharp as he was in spring training allowing 6 runs in 5 innings.