Said Sheffield on Saturday of Cabrera, who supposedly held Sheffield while teammate Carmona pounded his head:

"He'll get taken care of, trust me," Sheffield said. "If you take a cheap shot at me, I'll never forget it. I won't forget it until the day I die."

Then this exchange through the press:

In Saturday's editions of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez was quoted as saying, "He didn't say nothing going down to first base. If he wants to do something, then charge right there. He just walked to first base with that attitude. Who is he? Shut your mouth and keep playing the game."

When told of Martinez's remarks on Saturday, Sheffield replied, "Who am I? Tell him to check the stats. How many years he have? He's going to learn respect. Somebody will teach him respect. Trust me. ... He ain't done nothing in this game. Anybody can have a couple years. Do it for 20 years, and then come talk to me."

Who charges the mound from first base following a pickoff attempt? Only Gary Sheffield. Moral of story: Do not start brawls during seasons when you're not using the cream.

Sheffield Still Steaming [SFGate]
War Of Words Continue In Aftermath Of Sheffield Brawl [Detroit Free Press]
Sheffield Gunning for… Asdrubal Cabrera? [Waiting For Next Year]

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

On July 7, they traded CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. Then they lost three straight to the Tigers at Comerica to put the finishing touches on a 10-game losing streak that effectively ended their season. The Indians were 37-53, 16 games below .500, after that 10th loss on July 9. Today they are 65-67, the closest they've been to .500 since May 21 when they were 22-24. As for trading Sabathia, last year's Cy Young winner, the Indians are 28-16 since the deal.

So it could be argued that if they had only traded Sabathia sooner, the Indians would still be in contention. Fausto Carmona went six innings for the win and Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo each had two-run homers as Cleveland beat Detroit 9-7 at Comercia. The franchise record for consecutive wins is 13, accomplished twice, the last time in 1951.

So the current season is shot for the Indians. But then again ... four days ago, the Tribe Report was writing this:

But while we’re busy worrying about whether Ryan Garko has shown enough to either get back into the picture for 1B next year or bring something valuable in trade, or whether Anthony Reyes is good enough to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter next year, we’re missing some of the best team baseball the Tribe has played since last October. So I just wanted to take a moment to look at the entire forest. The first half of this season was so miserable to watch, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy what we’ve been seeing lately, even if it comes under the category of cheap thrills.

That was four wins ago. Might this incredible comeback continue? And wasn't that the plot of Major League?

A Terrific 10: Shoppach, Choo Fuel Another Big Night As Streaking Tribe Wins 10th Straight, 9-7 [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

From Cleveland.com:

The Cy Young Award-winning lefty pitcher was traded to Milwaukee earlier this month — before he likely would have bolted town as a free agent once the season was over. "You've touched our lives with your kindness, love and generosity. We are forever grateful!" reads the copy in the $12,870 black-and-white ad. "It was something that was in the works almost from the moment he was traded," said Kathy Jacobson, the pitcher's spokeswoman in San Francisco.

But here's where we kind of go through the looking glass with this. How often does an ad run in the print edition of a newspaper, and on that same day, a story about that ad runs on that paper's web site? And in that online story is a reproduction of the ad, which you click on to enlarge so that you can clearly see the whole thing. Meaning that the ad that cost 12 grand in the paper is available for free online.

How about a TV news story about the online story about the print ad? And then there's this post. God I need an Advil.

At any rate, no matter how one looks at it, it was a very warm gesture which I'm sure pulled at the heartstrings of Indians fans everywhere. From the post's message board:

Well he didn't love the community enough to take the gazillion dollars he was offered before the season to stay in Cleveland. So take your full page ad, and use it to wipe your HUGE posterior CC. See ya later Captain Cash. — Posted by kuyuga on 07/30/08 at 10:39AM

CC Sabathia Buys Plain Dealer Ad To Thank Indians Fans For Their Support [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

Or so says everyone from Cleveland, to Milwaukee, to Buster Olneyville. The Cleveland Indians, who at the beginning of the season thought they'd be able to compete, have officially moved white-flagged it by shuttling their number one starter with the crooked cap to the Milwaukee Brewers for power-bat prospect Matt LaPorta, and pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson.
The trade is expected to be announced sometime today and Sabathia is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday night at Miller Park against the Colorado Rockies.

For the Brewers, this is the all-in move designed to take them to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, when Gorman Thomas' mustache roamed the beer-soaked grass of County Stadium. A 1-2 punch of Sheets and Sabathia should make the NL Central a lot more interesting the rest of the year. The Indians, on the other hand, are hopeful a young bespectacled fireballer from Cleveland's prison system can establish himself as the starter of the future.

Tribe on the verge of trading Sabathia [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Brewers Make Trade For C.C. Sabathia [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
CC To The Brewers: Does Anyone Win? [ImWritingSports]

With Marco Scutaro and Kevin Mench running from first and second, respectively, Cabrera made a diving backhand catch of a line drive by Lyle Overbay, touched second base to force Mench and then tagged out Scutaro. Observe:

You don't see it in the video, but as he ran off the field Cabrera flipped the ball into the stands. Isn't the ball used for the 14th triple play in baseball history kind of valuable? Unlike milestone home run balls, thing thing wasn't even marked, so it's lost to history I suppose. The Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki turned an unassisted triple play last season against the Braves. The last one in the AL was by Oakland's second baseman Randy Velarde, who did it against the Yankees in 2000. The first one in history was recorded by the Indians' Ball, in 1909. Wambsganss, a second baseman, had the only one in World Series play, in 1920 during Cleveland's Game 5 win over Brooklyn.

Fausto Carmona (4-1) earned the win for the Indians in the first game, and Cliff Lee lowered his ERA to .067 but failed to get the decision in the nightcap. Toronto's B.J. Ryan worked a scoreless ninth for the win.

• Zito Doesn't Lose! Barry Zito's record remained at 0-7 on Monday as he started and went five scoreless innings against the Astros, then losing a 3-0 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer by Lance Berkman. You can hardly blame him for the latter; Berkman has recently signed a soul leasing agreement with Satan, setting a team record with 18 hits over five games and being named NL Player of the Week with a .682 batting average and 1.136 slugging percentage. Houston won 7-3.

• You're Not Funny! One reason newspapers are dying: Baseball beat reporters will laugh at anything. Witness the comedy stylings of Carlos Zambrano, following the Cubs' 12-3 win over the Padres on Monday. Zambrano (6-1) went seven strong innings in 41-degree weather to earn the win, prompting this line. "It's OK for me. I'm from Alaska,'' Zambrano said, drawing laughs at his postgame news conference. Tough crowd ... NOT. Zambrano deserves credit for great efforts on the mound and at the plate (a double and a single), but comedically he's a rung below Carlos Mencia. Note to sports media: Every word out of an athlete's mouth is not automatically comedy gold. Quit sucking up.

• Twofer Monday At Miller Park. Ryan Braun hit two homers for the second game in a row and two Cardinals were ejected — manager Tony LaRussa and catcher Yadier Molina — as the Brewers walloped St. Louis 8-3. Molina and La Russa were tossed for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth, shortly after the second of Braun's homers. Both came off of Adam Wainwright III (3-2), who is not prone to doing that sort of thing very often.

• Quote Of The Day. Manny Ramirez, who hit homer No. 498 in Boston's 7-3 loss to Minnesota on Monday: "I know I have two more to go, but I ain't counting." Whaaa?

The Cavs victory wasn't the only thing Mistake by the Lakers celebrated yesterday while eagerly awaiting their next 23-cent pizza day. Grady Sizemore homered twice and drove in five runs to propel the Tribe to a 12-0 throttling of the Blue Jays. It's enough to get Indians fans off their ice cream helmet binges. The still-struggling Travis Hafner went 0-for-3 but he did get hit by a pitch. Just keep leaning into 'em like Roger Dorn, Pronk. Aaron Laffey pitched seven inning of scoreless ball to pick up his first win of the season.

Orioles fuck with the DeJesus, still win: David DeJesus went 2-for-3 with a triple and scored two late runs, but Baltimore held on over KC thanks to a three-run homer by Kevin Millar (really?) in the 1st. The win marks the 12th straight win by the Orioles over the Royals.

That's a quality start: Kevin Millwood left with a strained groin after getting two outs in the 1st. I try to do that before the game starts, Kevin. The Rangers bullpen handled the rest. The A's snapped the Rangers 33-inning scoreless streak in the 3rd, but Texas picked up three late runs, two of which credited to the monster that is Keith Foulke, to earn the victory.

Winning Uggla: The Marlins continue to be one of the game's surprises this season while the Nationals, uh, do not. Dan Uggla drove in five runs and Andrew Miller pitched seven inning of two-hit ball to down the Nats 11-0. There's always Five Guys to soothe your sorrow, Nats fans. Mmmmm, cajun fries.

Mad Old Dog Collects Meaningless Milestone:: Greg Maddux picked up his 350th career win, becoming one of nine pitchers ever to do so, in a Padres' 3-2 win over the Rockies. Next up on the list: Roger Clemens at 354. Better start juicin'!

Lee (5-0) ran his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 27 before Wladimir Balentien's three-run homer in the seventh. That raised his ERA from 0.28 to 0.96, still lowest in the majors. Franklin Gutierrez had a run-scoring single in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth for the Indians, still two games below .500 in the Central.

• At Wrigley Field (15th Place). Mark Cuban watched the Cubs exceed Brandon Bass' playoff scoring average as Chicago unleashed hell on the Brewers, 19-5. It was the Cubs' 17th April win, a club record. Geovany Soto had two three-run homers for Chicago.

• At Yankee Stadium (20th Place). Placido Polanco — one of the Three Tenors, if I'm not mistaken — had two homers to lead the Tigers to a 6-2 win over the reeling Yankees, who played their first game with Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list. Gary Sheffield had two hits for Detroit, which has won seven of nine but is still below .500 (13-15).

• At Shea Stadium (28th Place). Tom Gorzelanny allowed one hit over five innings for the win, then sent his bobblehead doll to talk with reporters after the game as the Pirates beat the Mets 13-1. Pittsburgh scored nine unearned runs, and ex-Met Xavier Nady was 3-for-3 with three RBI.

• Bad News Braves. Mike Hampton, who was supposed by be back for a May 10 start with Atlanta, won't be coming back any time soon. And the Braves need him, dammit.

Over at Clevescene, they're keeping their head about this whole thing. Here's their reaction to last night's game:

Theiona diaevion aeionfvaewoivna!!!?!? Lidsj navienvae!! Hiag!!?@! Ghai;oehg!! $#&%*#&%!! Dihweof weonaweovi oeivna!!

Roughly translated: F*#k!!!!!!

To be fair, anytime Borowski successfully saves a game, nobody notices; it's the blown saves that inspire the overheated reaction. (If the Tigers could ever win, Todd Jones would be going through the same thing.) This is going to get uglier before it gets prettier.

Joe Borowski Blows Another Save [CleveScene]
Bench Borowski

Save the unassisted triple play and the balk, is there a more exciting happenstance on the four-pointed meadow than the long sock with the bags bursting? The Grand Aria? The Cosmic Clout? How about a four-run four-bagger that propels your side to victory? Such a blazing instance of base balling prodigiousness is excitement enough to keep one awake until the wee hours.

So blame Two-I Torii Hunter for your inability to enter the land of Nod. His biggest of big flies turned defeat into glorious, unexpected joy in Disneyland, home of the fairy tale. The skip-away homer gave the O.C. boys a 6-4 win over the Cleveland nine and a half, and its hapless anchorman Jittery Joe Borowski.

Yes, 'tis true — the glue-handed patroller of the middle exterior known far and wide as "Butterfly Net" won this encounter with his ash, not his cowhide. Hunter socked as many balls over the distant fenceline as ego-letters contained in his forename. The first of his brace came in the penultimate innings, snapping a theretofore-tied 1-1 encounter.

Unfortunately for the Winged Ones, ordinarily terrifying concluder Francisco "Babalu" Rodriguez engendered little fright. Santeria let down the slightly built winger on this evening, as the Cuyahoga Chiefs popped a cap in Sancho in their final at bat. Right away, Frank gave a free pass to Pronk Hafner, and his substitute legs, Asdrubal "Mouthful" Cabrera, scored on a laced two-bagger into the farthest reaches of right field by El Jugador del Jugadores, Victor Martinez. He too was deemed unable to propel himself around the sacks with sufficient velocity, and David "Red Stick" Delluci brought his superior speed into the game in his stead. Jhonny "Spelled Wrong" Peralta than blooped a well-placed double into right. That plated another run, but avarice cost the 'H' man his place on the paths, getting cut down at the corner sack attempting to advance after the throw homeward.

Nevertheless, the Clevelanders now led, and after another base on balls, Rodriguez was off to the clubhouse, where he may have shattered a few of those false idols. His barrister would point out that a bum ankle from a tumble down the dugout steps half a fortnight ago is giving the slightly built hurler fits. Rubber replacement Sturdy Scotty Shields fared little better, though, giving up consecutive safeties, and the lead swelled to 4-2, Tribe. But with the bases at SRO (a situation we would see again moments later), Shields whiffed Casanova Sizemore, and got a harmless bounder from Jason Michaels to staunch the hemorrhage.

Down a pair, California could at least take comfort in the presence of the Human Heart Attack toeing the slab. Borowski the Palpitating Pole managed an initial out, but the cursed base on balls energized the Haloes. The Brown Russian golfed a lancet into left, and another series of wide ones to Local Legend Garrett Anderson put three men on. Enter the Hector of this particular epic. Torii speculated slider, and was proven Buffet-esque in this capacity. The breaker came as expected, and Two-I pounced, sending a towering thunderbolt to left, one that arced around the fair pole, nestling deep in the grandstands. Quite a way to ingratiate yourself with a new band of mates, and earn that munificent bi-weekly pay envelope.

The great Mitchum, a devoted base ball fan, was not in attendance, no doubt canoodling with good friend Mary Jane, but even so, it was truly the Night of the Hunter. At the final Station of the Diamond, the entire uniformed contingent of the franchise greeted the hero with ferocious backslaps and a pounding not seen since the Molineaux-Cribb bout — all with good intent, let me assure you.

"I told you when I got here, me and the rally monkey would be good friends," exulted Hunter in the dressing room. Someone has to pal around with that mangy, unlovable ape, one supposes, and cheers to Two-I for taking that particular travail for the team. As for his buried meaning, there was never any doubt in this scribe's brainpan about Hunter's ability at the urgent moment—despite previous failures I may have ascribed upon his inking with the club to his lack of inner fortitude.

The rest of the choir showed another unusual appreciation of Hunter's valor, vim, and vigor by pouring several bottles of unquaffable, domestically crafted and bottled admixtures of barley and hops over the diminutive outfielder. Time was, rest assured, the assembled wretches stained by ink who took as much joy in Two-I's feat as did his mates would have joined in the damp celebrations.

Alas, times have changed.

Of course Monday's real star was Manny Ramirez, whose two-run homer — career No. 493 — led a three-run rally in the ninth. Hmm, the Red Sox staging a comeback from a large deficit to overtake the Indians? Sounds very familiar, but I can't place it ... . It was the 132nd career homer at Progressive Field for the former Indian, who hit it off of Joe Borowski, who led the AL with 45 saves last season.

• A-Rod Mingles With the Stars. Meanwhile, with Derek Jeter back in the lineup, the Yankees beat the Rays 8-7 as Alex Rodriguez rubbed shoulders with the great Ted Williams and Willie McCovey, one of whom is dead, so that was kind of weird. It was homer No. 521 for Rodriguez, tying him with Teddy Ballgame and Stretch for 15th on the all-time list. And when you account for cattle steroids, corked bats and such, it puts him in 11th place. Robinson Cano, who is also not dead, had a pinch-hit homer in the eighth for the winning run.

• Big Unit Back In Stock. Now let's head over to the NL, where Randy Johnson returned to great fanfare for the Diamondbacks! And he pitched well (seven strikeouts, four walks, three hits over five innings). But the Giants won it 5-4, when reliever Chad Qualls gave up a run-scoring groundout to Ray Durham and a sacrifice fly to Bengie Molina in the seventh. After a 1-6 start, SF has won two straight and is is 6-8.

• Can You Hear Me Now? Whoa, what's going on with the Athletics? Greg Smith, making his second Major League appearance, gave up one run and six hits over seven innings to lead a 2-1 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, where the gametime temperature was 42 degrees. (Not much better in the Bay Area, where it was 54 in San Francisco.)

• Messing With Texas. Ervin Santana entered Monday's game with Texas with a 1-4 record and an 8.92 ERA in seven career starts in Arlington, then gave up three runs in the first. So it goes without saying that he went on to get the win as the Angels prevailed, 7-4. Mike Napoli homered as LA handed the Rangers their fourth straight loss.

1. Detroit Tigers. We know the pitching is a bit of a mess, but man, we really just can't get past that lineup.
2. Cleveland Indians. It's amazing how they became the hot World Series pick right after Gammons started touting them.
3. Kansas City Royals. We always, ALWAYS overrate the Royals. This happens every year. We don't
4. Chicago White Sox. How old do you think Jose Contreras really is? We're going with 44.
5. Minnesota Twins. Remember when Joe Mauer was the next face of baseball?

That's it, we're done, predictions as always, awful.

Dan Friedell grew up in Cleveland in the 1980s, and as a result, his formative Indians memories have to do with other teams taking advantage of the lowly Tribe. He saw Greg Swindell's Major League debut (the Indians lost to Boston, 24-5) and a Dave Stieb no-hitter (Sept. 2, 1990). And like every true Clevelander, he hates the Yankees, which is why he's fond of the midges and not sure what to make of LeBron. His words are after the jump.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—--

What can you say about a season that ends one game short of the World Series?

Plenty.

"I wish we had won one of those games."

"I hope C.C. Sabathia doesn't pitch as badly this year as he did in the playoffs."

"The Indians would have beaten the Rockies, too."

"Can they get back this year?"

It's provocative when your team blows a 3-1 lead in the ALCS and misses the chance to play in its first World Series in 10 years.

But hey, at least the Indians have been to the Series in my lifetime. Clevelanders have to take solace in the little things, like the fact that the Browns and the Giants were the only 10-6 teams in the NFL regular season to end the year with a win.

And, as a Clevelander who has spent most of the last decade in the New York City area, it was incredibly satisfying to see the Indians manhandle the Yankees. Thank God for the midges! Take that, Michael Kay!

(On an aside, Joba Chamberlain and I have something in common — 18-inch necks and games interrupted by bugs. But mine was probably a whiffle ball game with my little brother in the backyard in 1987.)

But past is past. We're looking toward 2008 now, right? It's hardly fair to be asked to write this late February, but at least the Indians being one of the last teams alive in 2007 means this preview won't run on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament like it did last year. I did get a kick out of one commenter who said the sound of chirping crickets accompanied my story. (Too bad he didn't know what a midge sounded like.)

Anyway, onto the exercise of absurdity that is this preview.

For example: If I had told you last year that the key components of the Indians playoff run would be Fausto Carmona — the guy who hadn't won a game in nearly a year — and Asdrubal Cabrera — a Double-A shortstop who would make his greatest impact in the big leagues at second base — you would have laughed ... or at least made that aforementioned crickets sound. And, if I said the Tribe's seemingly solid pair of lefties, Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers, would have spent most of the season in the minors ... crickets again. But the point is that in February, no one can really say whether a team will be any good.

But I'm going to say the Indians will be good. They have a chance to get to the World Series. That's the best I can do. I mean, a year ago, Mark Shapiro was singing the praises of David Dellucci, Trot Nixon and Jason Michaels. We never figured that guys with the names of Jhonny and Asdrubal would be driving in runs in the playoffs and cleaning up grounders on either side of second base.

Unfortunately for the Indians, they won't be able to sneak up on anyone this year. Which means they'll have to play hard in Kansas City in July, something I'm still not sure they can do. And they'll have to bunt guys over in the April snow in Cleveland. And dive for fly balls when their bodies are tired after a grueling stretch of games in August. That's their prize for being the runner-up in the AL. If they're not prepared to do all that, they'll disappoint a lot of fans in Cleveland.

Call me a realist. Even great teams fall short of the World Series. And last year, the Indians weren't great. So having the chance to make the series and falling short hurts.

And while the Indians will take on the world with essentially the same team that made it to Game 7 of the ALCS, there are some positives ahead.

There's no Johan Santana (even though the Indians seemed to figure him out in 2007), the White Sox are going for a youth movement, and while the Tigers may hit with the Indians, their pitching staff is shaky.

I'm going to look for the Tribe in the playoffs this year. And I'm hoping their 2007 success will give them regular-season confidence.

But I'm also going to look for a good place in the Progressive Field bleachers to hide my capsule of live midges so I can remotely release them in October. Hopefully Joba will be on the mound again.

The bug spray didn't work at all, but that isn't stopping MLB.

Major League Baseball Properties and MLB Advanced Media announced Monday that an exclusive auction of game-used and autographed items from this past postseason will begin on Friday. The auction will run until Dec. 7, and it will feature more than 50 extraordinary items that will make historic keepsakes.

They say the bug spray "promises to be a huge conversation piece," and this is true, if you are a psychotic. Or A-Rod.

That Isn't Bug Spray You're Bidding On; It's Authentic Game-Used 2007 Playoff Bug Spray [Lion In Oil]

Thank god we live in a world where we can die in an Indians casket:

Fans who live and die with the Tribe can now spend eternity with the team, too.

A firm that promotes Major League Baseball-licensed urns and coffins rolled out an Indians vase this summer and plans to add a Tribe casket next year.

The company, Eternal Image, also offers urns and caskets for eight other MLB teams, cat lovers, dog lovers, and Star Trek fans. While it looks rather cool, the Star Trek urn is a poor choice, because this means a Trekkie has a friend to purchase it after he dies.

Now It's Possible To Really Live And Die With The Cleveland Indians [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

Mitchell has denied that he was responsible for the leak that happened right before Game 7 of the ALCS — he said, oddly, that he "had no prior knowledge of those allegations," which makes us think the Mitchell Report is going to suck — but it's perfectly reasonable, we think, to ask: Mitchell doesn't have any alternate agendas, does he? Don't get us wrong: We don't think he's going to be strategically releasing steroid names of Rockies over the next week. But because the whole investigation has been done in extreme secrecy, it's reasonable to wonder whether everything's on the up and up, who's leaking what, what's going on.

Because Byrd's right: He is a Red Sox guy.

Mitchell Investigation Raises Questions [Fox Sports]
Mitchell Report Petition [It Is High ... It Is Far ...]

A reader sends in a horrific rundown of Lofton's postseason resume, just to remind us all. Lofton's teams have blown postseason leads a whopping seven times in 12 years.

• 1995: Lost to Atlanta in six games, final out of series.
• 1996: Lost to Baltimore in ALDS despite being heavily favored and at home.
• 1997: Lost to Florida in NLCS despite being favored and with home
field advantage.
• 1998: Blew 2-1 lead to New York in ALCS.
• 1999: Blew 2-0 lead to Boston in ALDS, Pedro's epic Game 5.
• 2001: Blew 2-1 lead and a lead late in Game 5 to Seattle in ALDS.
• 2002: Blew 3-2 lead, Game 6 lead in World Series to Angels. Final out
of series.
• 2003: Bartman.
• 2004: Blew 3-0 lead to Boston in ALCS.
• 2006: Swept by Mets.
• 2007: Blew 3-1 lead to Boston in ALCS.

Clearly, he needs to get back to the Cubs. (Sorry!)

• With All Due Respect to Ryan Garko, Champagne Tastes Much Sweeter At Home. Of all the things I'll miss about the ALCS broadcast, one has got to be the frequent shots of Indians GM Mark Shapiro and his apparently Paxil-addicted trophy wife (pictured above). Every time the cameras caught these two, they were frozen in the exact same poses — Shapiro furrowing his brow and reflecting on how he's gonna explain this latest collapse, and the missus looking glassy-eyed at nothing in particular, her thoughts likely shifting between, "If we lose, will we have to sell the hovercraft?" and "Man, do I like vanilla." [Surviving Grady]

• The End. 162 regular season games. 11 playoff games. Approximately 550 hours of baseball. All changed by five minutes in time. Facing the 12-year-old Jacoby Ellsbury, Senor Slo-Mo induced a grounder to Blake, who booted it, allowing the "tweenie" to lead off the inning standing on second. After Julio Lugo sacrificed Ellsbury to third, Dustin Pedroia (all 130 pounds of him) stepped to the plate and, with one swing, ended the Indians' season. Plenty of time (that's all we have now) to discuss the fantastic ride that the 2007 Cleveland Indians took us on and what lies ahead for this young, talented team of players. [The Diatribe]

• Rox And Sox 2007 World Series, It's On. Wonder how smart Tito looks to the guys that hacked him in Philly now? 3 post seasons, 2 world series appearances in 4 years here. Nice to know he gets that last laugh. Starting Wednesday it's on. [38 Pitches]

• The Tag Or Joel Skinner? (Message Board) what the F**K is it with us??? Why can't we ever, ever, ever, EVER just WIN???? [The Disappointment Zone]

• Don't Wake Me. For the record, I was wearing my "JD" Red Sox t-shirt, along with a pair of cheap-o Red Sox earrings...all while watching the game next to my Jacoby Ellsbury bobblehead doll and sipping from the same bottle of Caberknuckle — for all of the last three games. Hey, it worked! [Red Sox Chick]

• There's Only One Choke-tober. Nothing save memories of The Skinner, the newest image to add to the Cleveland Sports Misery Pantheon. That's in honor of third-base coach Joel Skinner, who held Kenny Lofton at third base when Franklin Gutierrez roped a ball down the third base line that banged off the facing of the stands and landed 30 feet in front of Manny Ramirez. As Lofton rounded third and headed for home, Skinner threw a stop sign up in front of the fastest man in Indians history and prevented him from scoring the tying run in the seventh inning. Next man up, Casey Blake, immediately banged into a double play. Ball game over. Series over. [God Hates Cleveland Sports]

• How's That Champagne Tasting, Donnie Garko? White hankies aside, you know what Cleveland's real problem is? Too many ridiculous beards, that's what. I hope the Rockies fans have enjoyed that streak, because it's gonna be a memory come Wednesday night. [The Soxaholix]

• Shit. This sucks. This really really sucks. After I attended game 4 at the Jake, I was flying about as high as I'd ever been. Now I am in despair. I feel for those guys in the clubhouse. They gave it everything they had. Seeing Victor cry in the dugout after the game just reinforced my feelings for this team. To want something so bad, for so long, then to come up just shy, is nothing short of crushing. Even in defeat, I still love these guys. Every one of them. [The Cleveland Sports Animal]

• Seuss Series. Rocks. Sox. The Rocks play the Sox. Rocks. Sox. Fox. The Rocks and Sox are seen on Fox. Wall. Ball. A ball will hit the wall. Hawpe. Papi. Everybody Hawpe on Papi! [Baseball Musings]

To make things more interesting, there's a very real chance Byrd will come out of the bullpen if Jake Westbrook, how shall we say, "Carmonalizes" in the first trimester. We may also have special appearances by Josh Beckett, Coco Crisp, Joe Borowski, Mo Vaughn, Eric Plunk, John Henry Williams, Roger Dorn, Dick Pole, Max Patkin, and Crispus Attucks. I doubt we'll see Dane Cook, though. He looks busy.

I think I can stay up to watch this entire game. No, honestly. After a full day of college football on Saturday, NFL this afternoon, and photoshopping a sock onto Jason Varitek's hand, there's no question I can ... muster ... the ... ... *collapse*

Byrd: HGH Was For Serious Condition [Yahoo! Sports]

J.D. Drew Would LIke To Apologize For Ruining Your Sunday Dinner Plans. You can't tell me you didn't call it. Because you did call it. I called it. Your grandmother called it. The guy who played "Dr. Zaius" in the Planet of the Apes movies called it. Those original, still-in-the-box Mego Aquaman action figures you've been preserving in the attic for the last 35 years, hell, they probably called it, too. When J.D. Drew came up to the plate in the first inning with the bases loaded and two outs, everybody in Red Sox Nation — black, white, green, members in good standing of the Foghat Appreciation Society... basically every sentient being on the eastern seaboard with the possible exception of Mitt Romney — got down on their knees and said, "Here's your chance to make up for what could be perceived as a lackluster year at the plate," give or take a word. [Surviving Grady]

Melting ... Melting ... If I didn't know better, I'd say the Indians placed all their eggs in the basket of clinching the series at home in Game 5. When it became apparent that wasn't going to happen, they lost their collective composure. [Erik Cassano's Weblog]

JD Drewski's 4-run Bomb. When Theo Epstein rolled the dice and signed JD Drew in the off-season, legions of Red Sox fans — including this guy — groaned. "WHY!?!??" we asked. That refrain was heard again and again throughout the summer, as JD Drew performed like a terrible robot version of his supposed former self. [Red Sox Monster]

Ace in the Hole. Tonight is do or die. Tonight, is the meaning of October baseball. Tonight is what we dream the playoffs will be. Tonight its win for the Pennant or dream of next year. Cleveland doesn't want to dream anymore. They've been dreaming for a sports championship since 1964, let alone a baseball championship, since 1948. This town suffers more then them all. The Sox had their win in 2004, but ITS TRIBE TIME NOW. [Let's Go Tribe]

Ryan Garko Is a Class Act. Cleveland first baseman Ryan Garko was in the batter's box at Fenway with his team down 12-2 in the ninth. He was in a god awful spot. ... A foul ball dropped in Garko's direction. If there was ever a time to get away with being less than gracious, this was it. Sure, maybe you toss it into the crowd, but to seek out a kid to hand the ball to, even though he's a fan of the team that's crushing you? That's class. [Foul Balls]

I Summon the Ghost of Francisco Cabrera! After the Game 4 victory, we all saw the graphic: 65 teams have taken 3-1 leads in best-of-seven series; 55 of them have gone on to win. Of course, a lot of them (most, in fact) went on to win 4-1 or 4-2. I'm more interested in knowing what happens when a team, down 3-1, forces a Game 7 (thus implying a huge momentum swing). Some quick research reveals 14 such instances—not a lot to go on, I realize. Still, 10 out of 14 times, the team with the momentum went on to win the series. Only 4 teams out of 14 have managed to "plug the dam", so to speak, and win Game 7 after blowing a 3-1 series lead. [Mistake By The Lake Sporting Times]

Photo courtesy Cleveland Plain Dealer, whether they know it or not.

Much like in the movie Independence Day when Bill Pullman fired test missiles at the alien ship to see if Goldblum's virus worked, Drew played the Randy Quaid character by causing Carmona to implode. After that, it was fire-at-will for the rest of the game. And since Fausto Carmona was essentially manhandled for the first two-plus innings, I suppose in this metaphor he's the Jada Pinkett Smith Vivica A. Fox character.

By the end of the first inning, it was a foregone conclusion that the Red Sox would go on to a 12-2 cocktwisting of the Cleveland Indians. As a bonus prize, one of the Indians are now subject to breaking news about buying HGH a couple years ago. In this case the subject was Paul Byrd. Good thing Boston won, because otherwise the HGH story would have been about ... oh, let's say ... Jason Varitek.

There will be more, much more, about Game 6 of the ALCS, and certainly way more on tonight's Game 7. Whether you like it or not. Whether you're Paul Byrd or not. And you thought it was just another NFL day.

For those who don't fancy the ball of bases, we have the ball of feet. Michigan and Illinois will battle for second place in the Big Ten. Auburn and LSU are both 3-1 in the SEC East, and they have conflicting opinions of who should move to 4-1. Virginia's on a six-game win streak, and are awarded with a trip to Maryland. Kansas is finished with their cupcakes, and looks to gorge on beef jerky in Colorado. Plus there could very well be some curious little Pac 10 games happening as well, but these reports are spurious at best.

But if any of those football teams lose, they still have many games left in the season. If the Red Sox can't keep the Indians off the bases, then it's back to offseason Manny Ramirez trade rumors, and Cleveland will meet its second straight 1993 expansion team in the World Series in as many decades. Otherwise, we're going to have to play baseball tomorrow, which is also football night, and Dick Ebersol won't stand for such insolence.

• Shippin' Up To Boston. Oh, and nice play by the Injuns to bring a former Beckett ladypal to sing at the game. As attempts to get in a guy's head, rolling out the ex is a pretty shrewd move. But it seems to have back-fired big-time. In fact, the extra shot of testosterone may have been just what The Commander needed to finish off the Indians. Because, as everyone knows, Josh Beckett is fueled by testosterone, Coors Light, and the blood of his victims. [Surviving Grady]

• This Just In, Beckett's Got Balls. ...and they're dirty big balls. Where have I seen this before? Josh Beckett on the mound, pressure cooking...game, season, dreams on the line. Oh wait, it happens every single time the dude steps on the hill during the postseason. Trust me, Cleveland fan,s I sympathize with you. And for the record, you can relax...I still think the Indians are going to win this series and I hope they do just that. However, every once in a while you've got to sit back and appreciate just how lights out Josh Beckett is during the postseason. [Ghosts Of Wayne Fontes]

• Beckett, Despite Intense Cleveland Mind Games, Forces Game Six. Absolutely superb. Josh Beckett clearly feels his WS MVP trophy is a little lonely on the mantle. After a dicey 1st in which he escaped partly due to a non-RBI DP off the bat of Travis Hafner, Becks gave a clinic on pitching, being efficient while also striking out hitters, and almost got an opportunity to teach Kenny Lofton some humility in the process. [Over The Monster]

• Big-Game Beckett Beats Tribe Again. I cannot stand Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. McCarver has a great T.V. voice, but my lord, when these guys get going on something...it's like a rabbit during mating season. They just can't stop or help themselves. Josh Beckett is really good. Anyone that watches baseball can see that. Apparently that wasn't good enough for 'Son of Joe,' and 'I've been around a little too long McCarver.' These two spent the better part of four innings ready to anoint Beckett the King of the World. At least they stopped short of saying Beckett was the greatest pitcher of all time. [Tribe Report]

• Shots Equal Victory. Legend has it that Kevin Millar and members of the Red Sox did shots of Jack Daniels before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. They won that game — and so they did shots before each of the next seven games — and won the World Series. In that spirit, Laura and I did JD shots tonight before 8 PM. It worked! [Joy Of Sox]

• A Five-Game ALCS? This Is Cleveland! You didn't think our guys could just reel off four straight against the team they tied for the best record in the whole damn league, did you? Did you?!? Listen, nothing is ever that easy for the Indians in October. In 1995, the year the Tribe lapped the frigging field in the A.L., the Mariners (the Mariners!!) even stretched the Wahoos to six games. Our boys just don't wrap up best-of-seven series in 5 games or less. That's just not how it works for us. This is Cleveland. Nothing comes easy for us. [The Sports Elitists]

• The Morning After: Salvation, And A Peck. Another eight innings with just one more run. That with the brimstone battle between himself and 86 year-old Kenny Lofton, who just fired Joshie up even more, if anything. [Sox Nest]

• Getting A Lead Was Big. It was good to get the lead tonight and build a little more confidence on this team. I think that was a huge factor, just trying to get ahead and trying to get some runs on the board against C.C. I was glad I was able to help there, with that solo homer in the first. [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

• Round 2. (Oct. 18) Tonight is the night, Tribe fans, when Big CC has revenge on Big Papi and co. Tonight is the rematch where CC proves he is finally over the postseason jitters. Tonight, is the night when CC leads the Tribe to its first World Series in a decade. Every single critic has already dismissed CC as a choke. The east coast bandwagon continues to ride the Beckett/ Sox wagon saying they will come back to beat the Tribe in 7 games. It's not going to happen. [Let's Go Tribe]

We're not quite ready to declare this an epic series now that Beckett has staved off the executioner for a couple of days; the atmosphere will be more friendly in Fenway, but Mr. Carmona is a terrifying Game 6 prospect. But the Red Sox made it to the weekend, and Cleveland, once again, doesn't get to clinch a World Series at home. But they don't have to look at Josh Beckett again either.

New England Winter Postponed [Fair And Foul]

Those wacky Red Sox bastards just won't go away. Cleveland carried a 3-1 lead into their home field with their ace on the mound but they were immediately sent reeling by a first inning blast off the bat of Kevin Youkilis. The intimidation emanating from his fearsome goatie and semitic good looks proved too much for the Indians to handle. Oh and then there was Josh Beckett. He started off on shaky ground following his ex-girlfriend's pre-game performance but quickly hit his groove en route to a dominating victory. Unfortunately Beckett also has a bad habit of running his damn mouth, this came to a head in the sixth inning when he mouthed off to Kenny Lofton (who would never talk shit). Follow along for my exclusive transcript of the verbal sparring as well the compelling video of Joe Buck analyzing the umpire's ability to break up a bitch-o-rama on the verge of erupting into an all-out slap-fest.

Beckett: Get your dusty ass back to the dugout!
Lofton: Shut the fuck up!
Beckett: You didn't even get paid for that DHL ad!
Lofton: Shut the fuck up or I'm gonna come rip that shit off of your chin!
/scene

Video courtesy of Awful Announcing

We tend to be nervous nellies as fans, but Indians fans have to be a little concerned if they don't pull it off tonight: Giving Boston a little bit of hope, back in Fenway Park for two games. Plus, you know, it's always more fun when your team clinches at home. Your starters are Josh Beckett for the Red Sox and the suddenly vulnerable C.C. Sabathia for the Indians. It's on, folks. It's Rocky IV all over again. And make sure to listen for "Jub Jub."

That's exactly what the Cleveland Indians are doing tonight.

Country music artist Danielle Peck will sing the national anthem and "God Bless America" at tonight's Indians game. She will not sing, "Stand by Your Man."

Peck, it turns out, dated Red Sox pitching ace Josh Beckett, who is starting tonight's do-or- die game against the Tribe and who handed them their only loss in the American League Championship Series.

The Indians claim they had no idea, and that's it's just a coincidence. Right. Of course. We think we might have just figured out a way to slow down Tom Brady this season.

Head Games? Tonight's Anthem Singer Is Beckett's Ex [Cleveland Plain-Dealer]

To remind, and to fill space:

"Why should we panic? We've got a great team. It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."

Ah, Boston. Only in Boston could a person say, "You know, the world will not in fact burst into flames and break apart into pieces as a result of one baseball game," and the reaction be shock and outrage. Or even better, more Manny Being Manny nonsense: He's crazy ... heh heh ... "not the end of the world?" That Manny ... WHAT A CHARACTER.

Yes, Red Sox fans are holding out hope, as well they should. But just in case Manny's wrong ... we recommend stocking up on perishable items and canned good this evening. Game starts at 8 p.m. Plenty of time to get to the store and back, and also so goodbye to your loved ones.

Maybe Manny Should Reconsider Being Manny [Sons Of Sam Malone]
Smokin' Hope [Soxaholix]

As someone who spent four years at the student newspaper of a university with a Native American mascot, we are as exhausted by the "debates" about this stuff as anybody. But seriously, red face? With those ridiculous cartoonish smiles? We know it's just a reflection of the logo, but we're not exactly fired up about that either.

Some people are better about explaining this than we are.

Chief Wahoo is the Indians' mascot, a grotesque caricature grinning idiotically through enormous bucked teeth. He's a reminder of the days when whites regarded native Americans as savages on the warpath, with scalps dangling from their belts. And it's time for him to go.

Sorry: We just think it's weird.

The Indians' Mascot Must Go [Christian Science Monitor]

(Joe Posnanski, as usual, nails this better than we ever could.)

• How We Roll [Promoted Diary. Yeah. That's Right.]. Look guys, we're down three in an ALCS. So what?! This is how we roll. You know, to make it interesting and stuff. Let the Rockies have their sweep. BOOOOORRRRRRINNNGGG. No, it's like the Mighty Casey...you spit on a few pitches before you send one out of the park. Gives the fans something to chew on. Anyone can come back from a game down, but three? That takes brass balls. Brass Balls are a major export for our region so I'm not really worried. We here in Red Sox Nation have a flair for the dramatic. And not the hot-pink purse with black pumps type of flair no, no, no. We're talking trip, fall, and accidentally knock over the Empire State Building-type flair for the dramatic. So now comes the fun part. The winning. THIS is how we roll. [Over The Monster]

• Got You Where I Want You. I suppose we have them just where we want them now, these Cleveland Indians. Lulled into a false sense of security, riding high on the shoulders of Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez, waving their towels and blasting their "Tribe Time" theme song and guzzling cheap wine like they're on their way to the World Series. Everything else that has transpired, to paraphrase the Emperor from Star Wars, has done so according to our design. One game away from elimination? F@#k that noise. We prefer to think of you guys as three games away from elimination. And hanging on by a slender thread. [Surviving Grady]

• Collectively Collected. On the day that World Series tickets arrived to the Tepee in the mail, and with Game 5 tickets under my bed, calm is settling in. Next up...the storm of a potential World Series berth. [The DiaTribe]

• Game One Hundred Seventy: Indians 7, Red Sox 3. But the biggest hit of the game came after Wakefield left. Manny Delcarmen's mid-90s heat was supposed to provide a major change of pace from Wakefield's lazy knucklers. Apparently they weren't aware of Jhonny Peralta's affinity for the outside fastball. Peralta rocketed a high Delcarmen fastball to the right field seats. [Let's Go Tribe]

• Suddenly, The Playoffs Aren't Nearly As Awesome As Dane Cook Promised They'd Be . All right, I'll go on record with it: I think Josh Beckett should have been given the ball tonight. It's not that I distrust Tim Wakefield — even with his 18-day layoff and his late-season struggles, we all know that he's entirely capable of rising to the occasion — but I like the idea of the Sox having their ace lined up to pitch Game 7 on regular rest. And while the history of pitchers going on three days' rest in the postseason is abysmal, Beckett is the exception. [Touching All The Bases]

• Play For The Day. I think the biggest thing you've got to do is, you have to go out there and scrap and play like there's no tomorrow. I think sometimes you can be more of a dangerous team when there is no tomorrow. For us, we've been in a lot worse spots. We're down 3-1 now, but we were down 3-0 in 2004. We just have to go out there and play for the day — just go out there and play as hard as we can and not worry about yesterday, and we'll just play for the present. [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

• We're In A Great Situation. I'll take credit for Jhonny's homer. I told him to move up in the box, because some of Wakefield's knuckleballs were just downright nasty and down in the zone. I told him to move up, and he just laughed. When I'm not playing, I kind of live through Jhonny, because I know he's trying to go deep with every swing, just like me. And he did it tonight. I loved it. It seems like every game I don't play, he goes deep. I get to mess around with him and towel him off and give him a cup of water. [Ryan Garko's Playoff Blog]

Riffing on Bill Simmons' befuddled confusion that these aren't the loose, wacky Red Sox of recent vintage, FWJRB (as he will be referred to in this post) lays out the case.

1. Recent post-season success

2. Bloated payroll

3. Aloof, superior fanbase

4. Aging and/or worthless pitching (with Eric Gagne playing Roger Clemens)
5. Offense predicated entirely on home runs.

Yep: That's pretty much dead on. The Red Sox have turned into the Yankees, and suddenly, their quirks and eccentricities aren't charming anymore. When Manny poses after hitting a home run that brings his team within four runs, it's not funny or cute: He's just being a dick. And Manny's one of the likable ones! The Red Sox have the only player in the major leagues who Cardinals fans boo.

Boston's gonna be fine; as a friend told us last night, if you could build a Major League Baseball franchise from scratch, they'd look a lot like the Red Sox. But that team, that next team, is in the future. This Boston team now, they're look old, they look confused and they look like this fun, talented and fiery Indians team is about to wipe them straight out of the playoffs.

Would The Red Sox Please Make This Interesting? [Fair And Foul]

(Advantage to putting up About Last Night at 5:30 in the morning; smart commenters will write the site for you!)

We were surprised to learn that Wakefield's postseason ERA was 6.12; we had remembered him pitching better than that. He's gonna have to improve on that tonight, or the Red Sox are going to be down 3-1 facing the Indians' two studs. They catch the relative break that is Paul Byrd tonight, a man who looks like a squat Floyd Landis to us.

It's still possible it will rain, but if they play, we're gonna have a lot of answers right quick. At least there will be no bugs.

• And The Hits Just Keep On Not Coming. But nobody wins when the umpires are bad beyond belief. To paraphrase one of my favorite SNL sketches, what the f@#k game was that home plate ump watching? Did he have an iPod Nano tucked into his mask? Did he forget to wear his corrective lenses? Did he have a hot date with a steak sandwich and an east side hooker that took up most of his focus ("Do I start with the sandwich, or the boobs? Sandwich... or boobs?")? Because he sure wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the game. One of the worst performances I've seen this year, and I'm including game two of the Walpole Penitentiary World Series, which was eventually called on account of rain and sodomy. [Surviving Grady]

• Game One Hundred Sixty Nine: Indians 4, Red Sox 2. This was my first time at a Jacobs Field playoff game, and it was different that any regular season contest. The fans didn't need much coaxing from the digital cheerleaders; they were on their feet early and often, whether it was with two strikes on a Boston player, or runners on in the bottom of an inning. When Borowski came on in the ninth, the mood was anticipatory but hesitant. Everyone was on their feet, hoping for an easy inning, but knowing that just one base runner brings the tying run to the plate. And in case you didn't notice, Borowski allows a lot of base runners. But, other than a long battle with Jason Varitek, he retired the Boston hitters rather easily. And with that, a happy stadium-full of Indians fans poured out of Jacobs Field, and blared their horns on their way out of downtown Cleveland. [Let's Go Tribe]

• No Time To Panic. You can't be in panic mode. A lot of times, it's panic mode in Boston, but we're not in panic mode. We were in a situation a lot worse than this in the 2004 ALCS, and we won that. This is easy compared to 2004, when we were down 3-0 against the Yankees. For us, we're not in panic mode. We're just excited to go out and win a ballgame tomorrow and get this series back to even. [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

• Boston's FOX 25 Blows Off The National Anthem Before The ALCS. Friday night, Boston's FOX 25 was doing their pregame for Game One of the 2007 American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians ... But there's something interrupting their broadcast. A drunken streaker? A F-14 flyover? Jonathan Papelbon? No, just that pesky National Anthem ... [Home Run Derby]

• Top 10 Things I'd Like To See At The Jake Tonight. Due to the fact that the Red Sox started off the season at a .700 clip, and then rather casually swept the Angels in the ALDS, there haven't been many must-win games for them this season. Really, none...until tonight, when they're staring down a 1-3 pit if they don't put up a W. The chances of taking the series get exponentially smaller otherwise, and don't be telling me it's all good because look what happened in '04, either. Part of what makes '04 legendary is that most of the time, huge comebacks don't happen. [Red Sox State Of Maine]

• ALCS Game 3: Jake Westbrook Comes Up 'ACES' Against Red Sox. Westbrook did what he does best. He forced ground balls, which in turn, got him through several innings. When it was all said and done, Jake gave up two runs on a Jason Varitek home run in the seventh inning. He did this giving up seven hits and three walks, and striking out two. In other words, it was typical Westbrook pitching when he's on. No, he doesn't blow it by you like the two Indians' aces do. He just gets it done, and helps the maintenance crew mow the infield. [Tribe Report]

It's also clear at this point that Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't quite earned his Red Sox Nation badge yet or, for that matter, the $102 million it cost to get him. He wasn't horrible last night, but he didn't resemble any kind of stopper either. The Indians, if you East Coasters can believe it, are an outstanding team, and they can take this series by the throat if they can win tonight. (Or if it doesn't rain.) If Boston doesn't win tonight, they're looking at Cleveland's top two pitchers, both fully rested. Ask the Yankees how easy it is to knock around Paul Byrd. This could get worse before it gets better.

First Timers [Fair And Foul]

(Oh, and we rewrote that first sentence. Sorry. That was gnarly. Late night.)

Still another game to go tonight. We'll check back with you whenever that's over as well, assuming it's before it's time to start the site tomorrow.

(Getty Images Photo)

This is the most pivotal game of this postseason so far, and we're sure Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will rise to the proverbial occasion. There's plenty of stress in the air in Boston, so much so that fans are becoming envious of the Patriots. (This seems like piling on.) But they'll all feel much better if they can take back homefield advantage tonight.

Your starters are Jake Westbrook for the Indians and the estimable Daisuke Matsuzaka for the Red Sox. If there's ever a time that $103.11 million pricetag will be tested, it's tonight. Enjoy.

• Epic Fail. Maybe someday, when all this is over, we'll sit down with (or maybe without) Terry Francona and we'll all have a good laugh out of all of this. Because when it became obvious that Curt Schilling didn't have it (and he was OK, but clearly didn't have his A game, or even the B+ game he's been getting by with), maybe a different manager would have gone to Jon Lester, or Julian Tavarez (whoops! he's inactive) to go a few innings. Instead of having to dip into Okajima and Timlin too early. Which leaves not much in the bullpen except Eric Gagne. Which, from a traffic-control perspective, is a pretty good way to empty out Fenway early. [Bostonist]

• Spiders 13, Sox 6 (11). I figured the teams would split the first two games, and they did, though this route is a bit tougher to take. Still, I cannot fault Francona's bullpen management at all. Cleveland's trio of Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt and Mastny shut down the Red Sox when it counted, allowing only one baserunner in the 6th through 10th innings. [The Joy of Sox]

•The Gagne/Lopez Comedy Hour. It was a outrageously bad ending for a game that, until the eleventh, marked the welcome return of Heart Attack Theatre — both teams trading the lead with dramatic hits and home runs until hitting that 6-6 deadlock. With a heady mix of alcohol and caffeine pumping through my veins, I found myself pacing and punching and swearing and kicking at walls in a manner typically reserved for October games against the Yankees. And it felt good. But when Tito pulled the trigger and brought out The Bot in the ninth with the score tied, he was playing for us to win it in the bottom of that inning or, at worst, the tenth. Once that didn't happen, the wheels came off the wagon, and rather f@#king quickly. [Surviving Grady]

• Classic Playoff Game. Strange game. Storylines you can't make up seem to happen. Is the series over? Not by a long shot. We're now 1-1 and heading to Cleveland for three games. Bad karma? The team that has won Game 2 in seven of the last eight LCS has advanced to the World Series. The one team that lost Game 2 and advanced? You guessed it: the 2004 Boston Red Sox. [Hit and Run]

Bonus: Manny Ramirez caught digging for gold. [beRecruited SportsWrap]