Everything's Jake

How the wee ones and zeros line up concerning Cleveland's 4-2 win over Boston in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series ...

• 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]