Wednesday, September 05, 2007Terry PlutoPlain Dealer Columnist
When the first-place Indi ans took the field Tues day night . . .
How do you come to terms with that yet? It's Sept. 5, the Indians went into Tuesday's game with the third-best record in baseball. They had a healthy six-game lead over Detroit.
The season is winding down, and they are gearing up.
Wait a minute, is that some grumbling from the eat-dirt-and-die crowd? They are the ones who wake up in the morning and say, "What about The Fumble? The Drive? Jose Mesa?"
They are convinced that if you look hard enough at the collapse of the mortgage market, you'll discover Eric Wedge is behind it because the Tribe manager plays Casey Blake too much and won't bunt enough.
They are certain the only player Mark Shapiro ever signed is David Dellucci and the only trade he ever made was to give away Brandon Phillips. They whine about 2005? Remember how all the Indians had to do was play .500 ball in the last week of the season -- and how they blew it?!
Hands wring, teeth gnash, violins weep.
Can we interrupt this pity party to mention the Indians have only Detroit between themselves and the playoffs? That team is 21-29 since the All-Star break with a 5.35 ERA -- third worst in the American League.
The Indians have the second-best pitching (3.65 ERA) of any team in baseball -- in either league -- since the All-Star break. They are dominating their own Central Division with a 37-21 record; Detroit is 26-28.
They have beaten Johan Santana five times this season. The Cy Young winner is 0-5 with a 4.38 ERA against the Tribe, 14-6 with a 2.85 ERA against everyone else. When you beat Santana five times in a single season, it just may be your year.
Consider that C.C. Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA against the Twins ace this season. That's because Sabathia is truly the Tribe's trump card, the No. 1 starter --even if some still don't like how he wears his cap tilted to the side.
What's happening now is not an accident. The Indians are pitching well nearly every night. They were 21 games over .500 heading into Tuesday, the third-best record in baseball behind only Boston and the Angels.
It's tempting to dwell on the trades and signings that flopped, ignoring that Franklin Gutierrez and Asdrubal Cabrera not only came to the rescue from the farm system -- but they are the products of trades.
Shapiro and his staff are not perfect, but have assembled a roster that has depth and youth. It's not just built for one year, and then doomed to spend the next five summers deep in the Central cellar.
But what about Joe Borowski? He makes everyone nervous. The fact that, going into Tuesday, he was leading the AL with 39 saves doesn't matter. You'd swear some fans think this is figure skating, and saves are rated on style points: 8.1, 8.3 and 7.2 from the Russian judge.
But Borowski was not just a solid 39-of-45 in saves. Detroit has Todd Jones, who was 33-of-39 in saves. Big deal. The Tigers had trashed 19 save opportunities, compared to 12 for the Tribe.
It's either a save or it's not. It's like today is either a Wednesday or it's not. It may not feel like Wednesday to you, but it's Wednesday.
So it is with the Indians. They are solidly in first place, even if it doesn't feel like it to some fans.
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