Is this the end for Indians or the beginning?

Cleveland Indians have unanswered questions
Is this the end for Indians or the beginning? Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Paul HoynesPlain Dealer Reporter

Jacobs Field sat there Monday in the morning sun, green and manicured. All it needed was a ballgame.

There could have been one there Wednesday. Game 1 of the World Series between the Indians and Rockies was almost a reality.

Then came one of the biggest folds in Indians postseason history. Leading Boston, 3-1, in the American League Championship Series on Oct. 16, the Indians lost three straight games by a combined score of 30-5. It cost them their sixth trip to the World Series and a chance to be world champions for the first time in 59 years
So instead of resting Monday, taking care not to talk too loudly because of their champagne hangovers, after clinching the pennant Sunday in Game 7 at Fenway Park, the Indians were cleaning out their lockers. They will each have an exit meeting with General Manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge before escaping into the off-season.

Amid the boxes, bats, gloves and clothes, C.C. Sabathia still couldn't believe how he pitched in three postseason starts.

"I wanted to win so badly, I got real emotional, real competitive," said Sabathia. "It took me over. That hasn't happened to me in a couple of years."

Sabathia, who lost to ALCS MVP Josh Beckett in Games 1 and 5, went 0-2 with a 10.45 ERA.

"We all felt like we were going to win it," said Sabathia. "I felt like I had to throw perfect pitches and shutouts. That's not me."

Sabathia and Fausto Carmona won 19 games each during the regular season. They made four starts in the ALCS and went a combined 0-3 with a 12.67 ERA (23 runs in 16 1/3 innings).

Fenway Park has become Carmona's personal haunted house. After blowing consecutive save opportunities at Fenway in his short trial at closer in 2006, Carmona lasted six innings in two ALCS starts at Fenway. He gave up 11 runs on 10 hits and nine walks.
"I would have bet my paycheck that Fausto and I wouldn't have done that," said Sabathia. "I'll take the blame on that. Fausto is still a young guy. This was his first full season in the big leagues."

Closer Joe Borowski, who saved 45 games during the regular season, had one of only two saves in the ALCS.

Jonathan Papelbon had the other, entering Sunday’s 11-2 victory in the eighth inning with the Red Sox leading, 5-2.
“We lost the first game and won three straight,” said Borowski. “Then they won three straight. I guess we shouldn’t have lost the first game.”

It was the Indians’ first three-game losing streak since they lost four straight from Aug. 10 through Aug. 14. From Aug. 15 through Game 6 Saturday, the Indians never lost more than two in a row.

The Indians’ late-inning collapse in Game 7 stunned Borowski “It’s something you haven’t seen all year,” he said. “Jake Westbrook is pitching a great game, and in the blink of an eye, the game is suddenly out of reach. Sometimes it only takes one little thing and it snowballs.”

A little thing like third base coach Joel Skinner stopping Kenny Lofton after Franklin Gutierrez’s single over the third base bag bounced off the grandstand in foul territory and rolled into left field. Skinner thought shortstop Julio Lugo had a shot at the ball and stopped Lofton. The ball, however, rolled to left fielder Manny Ramirez.

Lofton’s run would have tied the score, 3-3. When he didn’t score, Casey Blake promptly hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Then Blake started the bottom of the seventh with an error at third to set up Dustin Pedroia’s two-run homer off Rafael Betancourt, who had not allowed a run in the postseason before Game 7.

Boston scored six more runs in the eighth, three on Pedroia’s double and two on Kevin Youkilis’ two-run homer off the Coke bottles above the Green Monster.

“It’s sad that we lost the series, but I thought that we had a great season,” said Gutierrez.

In the visitor’s locker room after Sunday’s game, catcher Victor Martinez, who hit .296 (8-for-27) in the ALCS and .318 (14-for-44) in the postseason, was close to tears.

“I did not see Victor crying, but it would not surprise me,” said Gutierrez. “He loves this team.”

While Martinez hit throughout the Tribe’s 11 postseason games, others did not. Travis Hafner hit .148 (4-for-27) and set an LCS record with 12 strikeouts. Grady Sizemore hit .222 (6-for-27).

Boston out-hit the Indians, .318 to .254, and outscored them, 51-32.

“We got beat by a great team,” said Ryan Garko, who hit .292 (7-for-24) in the ALCS.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team. This wasn’t the end of something, it was the beginning of something.”