Terry Pluto analyzes the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS

Terry Pluto analyzes the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS
Monday, October 15, 2007
Boston

-- It was about 2 a.m. Sunday when I real ized the Indians can actually win this American League Championship Series with Boston. I walked out of Fenway Park, the stands were nearly empty and what remained of the crowd was utterly silent. The left-field wall seemed to be weary, leaning forward as it were just too tired to even cry.

The streets were a different story, bitter Boston fans spitting out the name of Boston reliever Eric Gagne, combining it with vile adjectives that could peel the green paint off that monster in left field. Such sweet sounds!

Final score: Indians 13, Boston 6.

It took 11 innings, 416 pitches and 5 hours and 14 minutes. It seemed Boston could have won it at least three times, and I never once felt good about the Tribe's chances until Trot Nixon . . .

If you see Eric Wedge buying a lottery ticket, just tell the clerk you want the same numbers as the Indians manager. Wedge has shredded his managerial book, managing from the heart and bucking the odds.

Admit it, what were you thinking before Trot Nixon busted that 6-6 deadlock with a run-scoring single into center field in the 11th? The former Red Sox did it against the kind of pitcher that he never even hit when he was young, healthy and believed his days in Boston just might never end.

Here was Nixon pinch hitting for Josh Barfield, supposedly against right-hander Eric Gagne. But Boston manager Terry Francona mercifully removed Gagne, bringing in lefty Javier Lopez.

Understand that the left-handed Nixon is a career .219 batter against lefties. Understand that Wedge had a very viable option in Jason Michaels on the bench, the right-hander being a career .300 hitter against lefties. Understand that inside I was screaming, "Hit Michaels for Nixon!"

Finally, understand that Nixon's last regular-season RBI was July 29, that he's playing with a balky back and some other annoying symptoms that come with age. Understand that there are just some things you can't understand . . .

Like Nixon delivering the base hit.

Like the Indians scoring seven times that 11th inning, including a three-run homer from Franklin Gutierrez. He has been in such a slump, you could put a volleyball on a batting tee and he wouldn't hit it. Before the homer, he was 2-for-19 in the playoffs with eight strikeouts.

Like Tom Mastny coming out of the bullpen to retire David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell in 1-2-3, no-big-deal fashion in the 10th inning -- something the best pitchers in the game rarely do. Mastny didn't even pitch in the first round against New York. He had a 5.06 ERA in September and had fallen deep on the bullpen depth chart, but you'd never know it Saturday.

Like Jhonny Peralta hitting .458 in the playoffs, and how he delivered a three-run homer to the White Mountains -- make that Fenway's deep center field. Like how it came off Boston veteran Curt Schilling, he of the career 9-2 record and 1.93 ERA in the postseason.

Like how the Indians playing their two aces in Boston -- and neither survived five innings. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona combined for a 12.97 ERA this weekend in Fenway Park. Raffy Perez served up back-to-back homers. If someone told you that, what would you have thought happened in Boston?

Like how does all that happen? How do the Indians come home for Game 3 with this best-of-seven American League Championship Series tied at 1-1?

Like maybe, just maybe, this is the Tribe's year.

Boston and the Tribe have been playing baseball for seven months, and both have exactly 100 victories, counting the postseason. But remember that if the Indians had lost, they'd be down, 0-2. Since the League Championship Series went to best-of-seven in 1985, only three of 17 teams have come back from 0-2 to win.

Now, the series is tied, and there's a sense it's not even close to being over -- for either team or their bleary-eyed fans.