Tied

Some reasons to love postseason:

• If anyone had told me before the series started that CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona would both pitch like crap and that the Indians and Sawx would still go back to Cleveland tied 1-1, I would have asked for a swig of whatever they were drinking.
• Unlikely postseason hero #1 - Tom Mastny. If the Indians win this series, Tom Mastny's 1-2-3 inning against Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell, will likely have been the turning point. On paper, this should have been disaster. Once the Sawx had to bring in Eric (L'Homme Brulant) Gagne, the game was over. The fact that the Indians torched the last guys out of the Sawx bullpen has to be giving them concern in the Back Bay.
• Unlikely postseason hero #2 - Christopher Trotman Nixon. After pinchrunning for Pronk in the 8th, Wedge needed another DH in the 11th, and in came Trot Nixon, in his old home park, with the go-ahead run on second base. And he stayed in the game after the Sawx brought in a lefthander to face him. And then, he calmly stroked a single to centerfield where Coco Crisp proceeded to throw weakly to the cutoff man, requiring the cutoff man to make a perfect throw to get Grady Sizemore at the plate. The throw was not perfect. Even though Sizemore got a bad read on the ball and a late jump, he still beat the throw. Anyone in Cleveland still missing Coco?
• Wasn't Curt Schilling supposed to be The Super Clutch Pitching God with postseason experience who was going to see the Sawx through against the raw rookie Carmona, who was going to crack under the pressure?
• Think the Sawx would like to have Kason Gabbard back?
• Come back, Rafael Perez. We need you.
• Franklin Gutierrez is no longer afraid of the Green Monster.

I don't have anything to say about Game 1 or the first part of Game 2 for the simple reason that I didn't see any of it. Longstanding personal commitments, including singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Columbus Symphony Chorus and a house full of classmates back in town for our 20th college reunion, kept me from seeing any of that baseball.

The Indians go home having taken the home field advantage from the Sawx. I would be surprised if the series does not go back to Boston for a Game Six, but it is nice to know that a return to Boston is not necessarily foreordained if the Indians can take care of business. I still think it goes seven, but last night's game will at least put a little hitch in the giddyup of the Red Sox Express.

If you're not reading Ryan Garko's postseason blog, you're missing out.

Next up - Westbrook v Matsuzaka at the Jake. Let the sinkers sink and let the gyros gyro!

Three Is a Magic Number

"Three is a Magic Number" - Schoolhouse Rock

Three is now the magic number for the Cleveland Indians to clinch the American League Central Division after yesterday afternoon's victory over the Motor City Kitties.

After spotting the Kitties a 2-run lead in the top of the third inning, the Indians came back off Goggle Boy Nate Robertson with a solo home run by Casey Blake in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Indians took the lead in the 5th with three runs. Key hits were back to back doubles by Gutierrez and Michaels and an RBI single by the Beaded One, Asdrubal Cabrera.

CC Sabathia went 7 strong innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 7 and walking only 1, turning in another ace-like performance. CC Sabathia knows how to Beat Michigan. Senor Slow came in and pitched an uncharacteritically tense 8th inning, loading the bases before getting Marcus Thames to fly out to end the rally. Joe Knows Closing pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to send the fans out to get an early start on celebrating happy hour. Jason Michaels got served Leadership Pie.

The Tribe now has the opportunity to clinch at home this weekend without anyone's help by sweeping the Oakland Athletics.

A few words about the Tigers. It strikes me that their window is closing while the Indians' is opening. The Tigers took a risk by signing expensive free agents that priced themselves too high for anyone else (Rodriguez and Ordonez), and it paid off last year. Everything went right for the Tigers last year - their young pitching matured all at once, and all their overpriced veterans stayed healthy and produced.

The problem with depending on overpriced veteran free agents, especially older and/or injury-prone ones is that eventually they do experience a drop in production, and they may not stay healthy. This year, unlike last year, their overpriced veterans did not stay healthy (Kenny Rogers, Gary Sheffield).

Their young pitching also got hurt or was not nearly as effective (Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney both spent significant time on the DL, Jeremy Bonderman spent the last couple months in a funk before being shut down, Nate Robertson was ineffective most of the season, Mike Maroth is now a Cardinal).

Kenny Rogers is finally showing his age, leaving a void at the top of their rotation. Andrew Miller wasn't ready this year - he might be next year. How badly is Bonderman hurt? Was their pitching staff a victim of overuse last year? The Tigers will probably come to regret giving up top pitching prospects for Gary Sheffield, especially if Sheffield continues to miss games at the rate he did this year while their prospects go on to shine for the Yankees.

Pudge Rodriguez is a shell of his former self, both offensively and defensively. Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames had career years last year, and both came crashing to earth, Monroe crashing so hard that he was dealt to the Cubs.

The Tigers have a solid core in Granderson, Verlander, Ordonez and Bonderman. However, they have a lot of questions - is all the hype on Andrew Miller legitimate? Can they find a shortstop that will give them enough offense to allow them to move Carlos Guillen to first base to keep him healthy? Can Ordonez continue to avoid injuries? What do they do with Pudge now that he's lost it? How long can they keep riding Todd Jones at closer, and is Zumaya really ready to close? Can they put together a decent enough bullpen to get games to Rodney/Zumaya/Jones?

It will be a critical off-season for the Motor City Kitties that determines how well they continue to stay in contention.

The Truth About Asdrubal Cabrera's Necklace

From the Plain Dealer:

"Clubhouse confidential: No, that's not a pearl necklace that second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera wears. It's a necklace of beads that his wife, Lismar, made for him."

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1188390648188850.xml&coll=2

Now you know, as Paul Harvey might say, the rest of the story.

Tribe Finds a Pearl in Cabrera

Asdrubel Cabrera, the Tribe's "Shortstop of the Future" is looking more and more like the "Second Baseman of Today." All he did yesterday was get a clutch two-out 9th inning hit to send the game into bonus baseball. The day before he made a totally sick play where he fielded a wicked hop groundball and shoveled the ball to Peralta to start a double play - with the runner going. Plus, he's got a signature fashion statement - a necklace which appears to be pearl. Not every baseball player could get away with that.

Since The Pearl was inserted into the starting lineup, the Tribe is 7-3. They finish a road trip where they won all three series at 6-3. Small sample size? Heck yes. Were two of those teams Tampa Bay and Kansas City? Yes. But he seems to have given this team some sort of spark, and the team certainly needed it. On this road series, the Indians did something they hadn't been doing - they beat teams they should have beat. And they took 2 out of 3 from the Tigers.

It was nice to see Pronk get a big base hit yesterday - the winning hit in the 11th in fact, smoking a liner up the middle that actually fell in. Pronk has been a victim of some bad luck lately, but he looked good on that at bat. Turning point? Maybe. We'll see. We've had so many potential turning points recently for Pronk and he's not turned on any of them.

The series against those Pesky Twins will be big for both teams. A good showing here by the Tribe will likely knock the Twins out of playoff contention and perhaps even make them August 31 deadline sellers instead of buyers. Wouldn't that be pleasant to see?

Mojo Watch
Pronk: . I'm giving Pronk back some Elvis, since he got the game winning hit and all.

Indians hitting: This team actually displayed some clutch hitting over the weekend - big hits with two outs and two strikes and game on the line and whatnot. Sure, it was KC, but it bodes well.

Indians pitching:

Asdrubal Cabrera: This kid's got major Elvis going right now, and it seems to be catching.

The Cleveland Indians: Let's give them 4 Elvi for taking care of business on the road. Now it's time to come home and do the laundry and put the Twins through the wringer. We haven't seen much Leadership Pie lately. Time to go to the bakery on this key homestand.

Age, Treachery and Facial Hair

"Age and Treachery will overcome Youth and Skill" -- popular T-shirt

The Indians' version of Age and Treachery, Paul Byrd, bamboozled the Minnesota Twins on 4 hits to pitch a complete game shutout, using only 99 pitches to go the distance. The Twinkies were completely off-balance all night, grounding out weakly and popping out.

The Tribe managed just enough offense off Carlos Silva. A clean-shaven Casey Blake, sacrificing his beard for the good of the team, had 2 RBI, and Pronk hit a mammoth clout off the facing of the upper deck in right field. The Indians actually had some timely hitting, getting 2 of the 4 runs with two outs. One run was the direct result of Pronk breaking up a double play.

The suddenly surging White Sox, fresh off of a sweep of the Motor City Kitties, will host the Tribe tonight, with Westbrook going against Danks.

In other news, utility infielder Mike Rouse was DFA'd after the game. It's not known who his replacement will be. Possibilities include Joe Inglett, Asdrubal Cabrera, and someone off the waiver wire. It is unlikely to be Luis Rivas, who is currently on the minor league DL. Rouse, a reasonably solid fielder, has made several critical fielding mistakes lately, and was hitting about at the Neifi Perez line, which is several notches below the Mendoza line.

Still no word on the ulitimate disposition of Fernando Cabrera. Hector Luna got picked up by the Blue Jays. Go figure.

Mojo Watch

Cleveland Indians:

The Tribe showed some Elvis last night. I hope this will carry over into the White Sox series.

Pronk:

Pronk showed substantial Elvis last night, crushing one to the facing of the upper deck in right, and breaking up a double play. However, his Elvis has been so low lately that he's still barely above Michael J. Fox level.

Paul Byrd:

The old guy's still got some major Elvis left. Last night's win was victory #10 on the year. Yeah, it's Vegas Fat Elvisness because it's all about age and treachery and the old school full windup, but it's still Elvisness, a quality this team has been dangerously low on lately.

Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory

Tough weekend for the Tribe, as they lose very winnable games to the Twins on both Saturday and Sunday and lose a second straight series at home.

The weekend started out as if it were going to be party time for the Tribe on Friday night. Kenny Lofton was in the house, the Jake was rocking and Boof Bonser was throwing Minnesota Golden Gopherballs. Jhonny Peralta whent dheep twhice and Paul Byrd pitched a beauty and the Tribe won 10-4 on Trucker Cap Giveaway Night. (No kidding - it doesn't get much better than 10-4 on Trucker Cap night, does it?). Kenny Lofton went 3 for 5 and got a taste of Leadership Pie (TM).

Then came Johan Santana. For six innings on Saturday, he was virtually unhittable and had the Tribe guessing and flailing about cluelessly.

I had a bad feeling about Saturday's game when Jake Westbrook gave up an early line-drive home run to Jason Tyner, who had not homered in his previous 1,221 major league at bats. But, going into the bottom of the seventh, Westbrook had held the Twins to two runs, and the Indians were in the game. Then - a bloop single by Martinez, a monster shot by Pronk, and, suddenly, it was a tie game, Santana was out of the game, and hope had returned to the Jake.

Alas, it was not to be. Joe Borowski came on in the ninth, surrendered a double to Torii Hunter. A groundout advanced Hunter to third. JoeBo plunked Rondell White. The next batter hit a slow roller to Mike Rouse at second base, who had only one option - make a perfect throw home. His throw was high, and the run scored. JoeBo struck out the next two hitters, but the damage was done. Nathan retired Martinez, Hafner and Garko meekly in the 9th. Final 3-2 Twins.

Sunday, it was a pitching duel of CC Sabathia vs. Matt Garza, with the Tribe holding a precarious 1-0 lead going into the top of the 8th. Pesky Jason Tyner was hit by a pitch with one out. CC K'd Bartlett, so there are now two outs. Mike Redmond pinch-hit for Nick Punto and drove one to deep right field. Trot (Blind Squirrel) Nixon apparently did not understand that a batter with some actual skill had been placed in the lineup, and so he was playing shallow. The ball sailed over his head. Tyner scores. Game tied. Runner on second. The next batter hits a slow roller to Barfield, who boots the ball for error #1, then throws the ball past Garko for error #2. Another run scores. 2-1 Twins. The next batter, Morneau, rips a double down the left field line. Another run scores 3-1 Twins. That was pretty much the ballgame. Lew Ford added a solo shot in the 9th for the final 4-1 score.

When you give the other team 5 outs, chances are, they will score runs. However, this sequence creates a couple questions:

1. Why was Trot Nixon still in right field in the 8th inning of a 1-0 game given his clear defensive inferiority?
2. Isn't the job of the bench coach to remind Eric Wedge that it's a 1-0 game and that Trot Nixon is still in right field and Gutierrez in on the bench ready to play?
3. Why didn't anyone on the bench notice how shallow Nixon was playing in right field and position him correctly?

I have a hard time blaming managers for losses - generally, the manager's job is to put the best players on the field in the best position to perform. This one, however, is on Eric Wedge, not CC Sabathia 0r Trot Nixon. He has to make that defensive substitution. Trot Nixon should never be out there in the field past the seventh inning in a one-run game given his clear defensive liabilities. Franklin Gutierrez catches that ball and the inning is over.

All things considered, however, the glass is very much still half full, maybe even three-quarters full for the Tribe. They are still only a half-game out of first place, since Detroit has obliged by going to LAnaheim and getting fLAttened. While the Tribe has been going 4-6 in their last 10, the Tigers have been even worse, going 3-7 in their last 10. In addition, the Tigers had to put Kenny Rogers on the DL, depleting their pitching staff even more. The Tigers play Oakland tonight while the Indians are off, so the Indians will either be tied for the lead or 1 game back when they start their next series at home on Tuesday with the Rangers. Considering how well the Indians have played lately, that's pretty good, and cause for much optimism.

In addition, the demotion of Cliff Lee and the trade for Kenny Lofton are a clear sign that management is playing for this year and no longer has the patience to let even a veteran like Lee work it out at the major league level.

The Lofton trade will not be the last one made by this team to upgrade before the deadline. This team still could use another quality bullpen arm, and could probably use an upgrade in their middle infield options. Mike Rouse was in the ballgame to make his not quite good enough throw to home on the key play of Saturday's game because Barfield was removed for a pinch-hitter. Granted, it's hard to do much complaining about the utility infielder, who only starts occasionally, but Rouse has made Neifi Perez look like a potential upgrade at the plate.

In other news, Asdrubal Cabrera, uberprospect middle-infielder who is tearing up AA has been promoted to AAA, where it is said he might play some 2b and 3b. If he lights up Buffalo, we may see him in a utility role sooner rather than later. Postseason rosters aren't set until August 31.