Almost Everything We Could Expect on the Last Day of the Regular Season!

2 out of 3 ain't bad...so says Meatloaf!

Disappointing

• The Tribe loses to the Tigers to finish under .500. Although most expectations were met by this rebuilding team, it sure would have been a bonus to finish this season 82-80 instead of the reverse. However, Manny Acta did get thrown out early arguing balls and strikes...that's a light at the end of the tunnel!

Expected

• St. Louis Cards beat Astros handily and advance to the playoffs! they did get some help from the Phillies who took it to the Braves late in the night.

Elation

• Rays beat Yanks with walk off despite the Red Sox balking about the Yanks laying down.



• Red Sox have no one to blame (except maybe Carl Crawford) for their loss to the Orioles last night and the entire team for their September results.



• Did the Orioles over-celebrate? Naw! They played hard and earned the celebration.

Every baseball fan is tired this morning!

What about Reyes of the Mets?

Although he is not the 1st to pull out of a game to win a batting crown.

As we wait for next year again in Cleveland, we also look forward to a great second season of baseball 2011!

Who are you pulling for?

Me? Like this;

Tigers over Yanks

Rays over Rangers

Cards over Phillies

Brewers over Diamondbacks

That's not exactly how I see it but how I hope it comes out!

What Do You Think?!

• Did the Indians let up too early?

Manny Acta has been talking for two seasons now about how important each game is to the season. That was a refreshing contrast to previous manager Eric Wedge who believed in wait and see or some nonsense like that. Eric never put any importance in just one game.
But look at some of the games we should have won. Of course no one could foresee the collapse of the Red Sox. As late as September 1st everyone thought Boston had a lock on the wild card if they didn't win the division outright. Could the Indians have been playing tonight for the wild card?

• Injuries you say?

Yes, Cleveland has been plagued by injuries all season long. Manny Acta has been missing more than half of his regulars for more games than we care to think about.
But why so many injuries?
You have to go back a few years when we still had the likes of CC, Cliffy, and Jake who all suffered oblique muscle pulls on several occasions.

Ankles, knees, forearms, elbows, stomach muscles (obliques), calf muscles, hamstrings...sounds like not enough strengthening and conditioning, huh?
When the assistant head trainer jogs out on the field being heavily overweight, what message does that send to the players? We all could stand to lose a few pounds but when you have constant access to the best exercise and strengthening equipment, is there any excuse?
I maintain that for years the Cleveland Indians do not focus enough on strengthening and conditioning.
Want to disagree?
So what if I am wrong (which I am not)?
Could stronger players in better condition hurt anything?

• Who are you pulling for tonight for the wild cards?

If it was up to me, Boston loses and Tampa wins...I am just so tired of the Red Sox but not as tired of them as I am of the Yankees.

I am also pulling for the Cards!

Maybe I want the long shots because we could have been there as well.

• Isn't Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal the top reason to buy a Plain Dealer?




• Will Fausto be released and become a star somewhere else when he gets his head straight?




• When will Hafner be Full-ner?




• Does Grady Sizemore need to take his game down to 99% to stay healthy?




• Don't you just want Jack Hanahan to bat over .300 and play 3rd everyday?




• It was great to have Thome back but where will he play next year if he plays 'cause it won't be here.




• Are you a Manny Acta believer? He converted me but I just want him to protect his players with ferocity!

The Cards are winning 4-0!

Both the Rays and Red Sox are losing...Cool! The regular season may be extended!

Psst!...Watch the Waiver Today!

Could Big Jim be on his way back to Cleveland?

Time To Get Real!

So Manny Acta is determined to get back the games that he lost to Detroit and get back in the race.

I would love to see it but it ain't gonna happen.

Let's do the math...

The Tigers are 68 and 58, playing at a .540 clip. They have 35 games remaining. If they continue to play no worse or no better (which isn't that great anyway) they will finish the season with 87 wins.

The Indians are 62 and 61, playing at a .504 clip. They have 39 games remaining. To over take the Tiger and win the division, they must play at a .666 clip, winning 26 of their remaining 39 games.

Impossible? No.

Improbable? Absolutely!

Why?

Because like all other Cleveland teams, they lack the killer instinct. And that starts with their manager.

I am a Manny Acta fan but really Manny, something has to change.

Manny was quoted in the Akron Beacon Journal today in response to the blown call (one of them) yesterday when Lou Marson threw out (but didn't get the call) Austin Jackson stealing second base. The replay clearly showed Jackson was out. Astrubal Cabrera got a severe finger wagging from umpire Tim McClelland who blew the call and then was way out of line reprimanding Cabrera for being upset by the call. Manny hurried out to save his player but missed his opportunity to blast the entire umpire crew for a terrible weekend, from behind the plate to the bases. Manny said, "I guess eventually we're going to have to press that buzzer and use instant replay."

Holy cow, Manny, don't have a stroke over the shitty calls, OK?

Minutes later on a call much less controversial that that, Jim Leyland came back from the dead, and charged out to 3rd base like Teddy Roosevelt going up San Juan Hill! He let the entire umpiring crew as well as the world of baseball know how pissed he was. "You're outta here" was the result and the Tigers felt their manager did what was necessary to keep the playing field level and even.

Want to know why the Red Sox and Yankees games with each other last so long? Because those 2 managers will not stand for any call going against them and argue about everything! In fact, the players on those teams are the best at carping I have ever seen.

So Manny, do I want ya to argue every call? Hell no, just make yourself heard when necessary. Umpires used to say about Ted Williams, "If Ted doesn't swing at it, it's a ball!" The reverse can be said of players with much less talent or experience. A rookie looks at a borderline pitch with 2 strikes and he gets little if any respect, unless he plays for the Red Sox or Yankees.

So what if an umpire gives a warning to the bench because the manager and his coaches are riding him about balls and strikes. That umpire is hot but also aware that every call he is making in being scrutinized. He's a better ump for it.

Manny had the perfect opportunity to get thrown out yesterday defending his catcher and his short stop. That action would have unified the team and possibly changed the outcome of the game yesterday.

OK, OK, enough...what does it matter? They aren't going to win 26 more games, are they?

Not unless Lou Brown comes back and says, "I think we are contenders, we just need something to pull it all together."

Couldn't you just hear Lou say, "The way I figure this thing, we need 26 wins to win it all!"

We're all listening Lou...I mean Manny!

She's Hoarse and Can't Sing No More!

Pretty good season, huh?
Too bad we couldn't hang on.
Went to Detroit on Saturday to see the Indians give up on the season, from the manager to the ineffective DH. When Travis Hafner jogs to first base (when he doesn't strike out), he is displaying the roll-over attitude that this team appears to have adopted.
Need more?
Manny Acta continues to stay put in the dugout when he should be protecting his players.
Instead his pitcher gets thrown out of the game and then goes back out on to the field to let the umpire know that he should find another line of work.
I love ya Manny but why don't you forget about trying to win the Nice Guy Award, especially with the umpires?
He's not alone though.
The Tigers have a very talented team, much more than they are showing. It appears that they will win the division but I doubt that they will advance past the first playoff series.
Why?
Jim Leyland has become ineffective during the game. He has adopted an Eric Wedge type of style that when the game starts, the manager's job is done.
He just got a one year extension from Detroit.
I think he may be El Cid.
I think he died but they have him propped up in the dugout just to make other teams think they still have a manager.
Did anyone ever thing Joe Girardi or Terry Francona stop managing or fighting for their players during a game?
Of course not, that is why if the Yankees or Red Sox don't win their division, the 2nd place team between them wins the Wild Card.

What an embarrassment Saturday night's game was.
Blow out the candles and cut the cake!
Today isn't much better. Throw at our guy so we get penalized and cannot react. Where was Manny during all of that?
How about Cabrera tagging out the runner stealing 2nd and the runner is called safe on a blatantly blown call?
The ump wags his finger in Astrubal Cabrera's face. Manny comes out and did not get thrown out! he failed to take advantage of the opportunity to fire up his team.

Sing if you can. Sing to a season where expectations were exceeded but resulted in underachievement.

The division was there for the taking.

We wait for next year again, hoping to add some inspiration and infuse a "never quit" spirit.

That really is all that was missing.

Teams with less talent have achieved more.

Sing 'cause it's over.

Too bad because the Yankees and Red Sox don't have what it takes this year either.

Other than being fierce competitors and never quiting, neither the Yanks or Sox will win the world series.

Too bad.

Cinderella left the ball early.

No, Not Good Enough!

Plain Dealer writer states the following;

Cleveland Indians need to take at least 2 of 3 games against Detroit Tigers, says Dennis Manoloff

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/08/cleveland_indians_need_to_take.html

No, the Cleveland Indians must enter this 3-game home stand with the division leaders with a "SWEEP" mindset.

This is the team that surprised nearly everyone in the baseball world with their fabulous start of the season as well as with their ability to stay in contention to this point.

This is the team with their top management putting on a different hat prior to the trading deadline more that a week ago. In the previous 3 seasons, they have been cleaning house of their soon to be free agent stars. Instead, they admitted that their team is a contender by making recent acquisitions to bolster that belief. Good or bad acquisitions? I applaud the front office for going for it instead of sitting pat!

This is a team that has put together a starting rotation that has kept them in not only most ballgames, but in contention for the division. The starting pitching was thought to be the weakest part of this team back when the snow was flying in Cleveland.

Detroit is thinking they need to take 2 out of 3 from us.

That is why they were trailing us most of the season until lately.

We must think 3 out of 3!

If we think 2 out of 3, we may settle for 1 out of 3.

Time is running out. It is time for this team, the team that has already exceeded expectation, to not settle for mediocrity any longer!

Manny must put the best 9 on the field, not the best rested 9 and not the best righty/lefty match-up 9, but the best 9 for this series.

Back in late April, we took 3 of 3 from Detroit at home with swagger, confidence, and yes, some late game heroics.

Take all 3 and get within 1 game at the same time!

Remember, to make the playoffs, we must win the division!

Manny Stays With Fausto!

Manny Acta was asked what he will do with Fausto Carmona since his most recent failed start. Manny's response was, "Fausto will start again in 5 days."

What options does he have?

He can relegate him to the minors to see if he can get his form back. Fausto would have to agree to that but that would not be out of the question if he wants to get back to his winning ways. This seemed to work before in 2009 but the fix didn't stick.

He could "physically disable" him (it has been done before) and assign him to rehab work in Columbus and/or Akron. This could be in Fausto's (and his agent's) best interest.

He could trade him but his value has plummeted with his pitching woes of 2011.

He could stay with him and hope that through coaching he will work out the problems that are plaguing this gifted pitcher.

But if Manny is going to stay with him as he has indicated, he must get into his head. He has to make him pitch his pitches and stop reacting to the home plate umpire. To do that, Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher must position themselves on the top step of the dugout and fight for the low strike calls every inning that Fausto pitches. Instead, Manny is shown on TV with a look of deep concern on his face when Fausto gets into trouble.

I am a big Manny Acta fan and he is certainly closer to the issue than any of us but would fighting for some pitches really hurt?

The good news is that pitching coach Tim Belcher has made Fausto his focus now through Sunday when Fausto pitches next...Should be very interesting!

Hey Manny, hope to see you on the top step of the dugout Sunday...It could be fun and rewarding!