I’m agnostic. The Indians were in the postseason as recently as 2007 when they beat the Yankees in the ALDS but lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS. The Rays were in the postseason in 2010 and 2011, losing to the Rangers in the ALDS each year.
There are two managerial stories. The Rays’ Joe Maddon is a two-time AL Manager of the Year, a cunning old bird who believes in keeping the clubhouse loose. The Indians have Terry Francona, who formerly managed the Phillies and moved on to the Red Sox in 2004 when they went on to win their first World Series in 86 years. He was manager when they repeated in 2007. He and the Red Sox parted ways after the 2011 season, and after a year off Francona took the Indians’ job.
The Indians have some old-timers in Swisher and Giambi; the Rays have Longoria and ex-Dodger James Loney (he led the Majors with a club-record .351 batting average (97-for-276) on the road this season. Who could have foreseen that?).
And so it goes for the Indians.
Hey, this Carlos Santana guy can hit – it was George Sherrill, right?
And the Tribe came into this game having won their last 10 games.
If they don’t rally, they are going to throw a wrench into the whole “It’s important to finish the regular season strong” theory.
Because the post-season is independent of the regular season. It’s most important to have your lineup healthy and the rotation set up optimally.
Credit to the pitchers, I guess, but Cleveland can’t seem to get a timely hit.
Tribe batters running out of time to wake up.
A shame the Braves decided to leave Dan Uggla off their NLDS roster – guy was as close to an automatic out as it gets in MLB lately.
http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/74276/why-uggla-was-left-off-braves-roster
Elliot Johnson is Uggla without the power (but he does know how to use a glove).
Yeah, Uggla is horrible with the glove too – amazing he was able to secure that contract with only power to offer – no D, and now no hit for average.
I bet the crowd just went very, very quiet
And you would be correct.
They are busy pulling their hair out
Man, the Indians have to feel snake-bitten.
I cannot really interest myself in a game in a league that would not let Greinke or Kershaw pick up a bat.
Swimming against the tide, I’m afraid.
AL baseball is boring.
Here is another big chance
Now we have a game.
-eh, well, not quite.
or not – big opportunity missed
Okay, c’mon Indians. Let’s make this a tie game.
Anyone else notice something weird with the TBS audio? Some kind of delay or slap/echo thing? driving me nuts.
I’m fine with Loney, but baseball should never be played on an artificial surface.
But of course.
Also, sometimes I think “Florida baseball” is an almost Carlinesque oxymoron.
Agreed, but remember it’s only in the last ten years or so that that became conventional wisdom. There were all those multi-function stadia in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Oakland, St.Louis, Houston. . .
After decades of destroying the aesthetics of baseball. Oakland, however, has never had artificial turf, though Candlestick did for a while.
My mistake. Everything else is wrong with that place, so I thought it had turf too.
Pleased as punch to see Crazy Eyes doing well, even if not for the boys in blue.
Well, I like Maddon a lot more that Francona – but I also like Wahoo the Indian more than I like James Loney now – sorry James.
GO INDIANS !!!
Not sure who to go for, probably Indians (I like seeing teams in the postseason who haven’t been there for a little while).
I remember that series with the Red Sox in 2007 quite vividly