All of this "woe is me" crap is sickening.  A day of venting about the losses is fine.  Let it out, and then move on.  We've got a game on Sunday and it's against the stinkin' Ravens!  It's gotten to the point where I can't find a discussion board that doesn't sound like Cleveland.com. It's only been 2 games, folks... TWO GAMES!!!  If you are tired of rooting for losing teams, why in bloody blazes are you a Cleveland fan???  Where is your pride?  Where is your honor?

As it has been classically written...

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

Or more eloquently stated...

Animal House: Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor (via CQblogger)

GO BROWNS! 

King George (Recent SI Article about George Steinbrenner)

All of the talk about CC heading to NYC reminded me of this recent article.  I think it really hits the mark on what makes Cleveland so unique in its view of NYC (and the Yankees).

Cleveland's relationship with New York, though, always seemed just a little bit different to me, it always seemed that of a little brother or sister who wanted to wear the same clothes. Growing up, I can remember hearing about New York every week in one way or another.

And it seems to me that Cleveland-New York relationship is close to the heart of the story of George Steinbrenner. He grew up in Cleveland. And in a way I've always thought that defined him. He has to be the most famous New Yorker who never really lived in New York. It's the Cleveland in him.

I'm not sure if the connection is still as strong as it was in the 70s and 80s, but I'd agree that it is unique in relation to other cities. I always thought of Cleveland as having New York heart with Midwestern charm.

IT'S GAME 7!!!

We have had just one other game 7 in Indians history.  Granted, the outcome was not in our favor, but it was against the Marlins- the first expansion team to be in the World Series; not an adversary we expected.  Now we have the game 7 we have always dreamed about.    

Many of you probably share my story.  I spent hours in the backyard playing baseball with neighbors and by myself, imagining this very moment in my mind.  I never worried about games 1 through 6 - it was always game 7.  Game 7!  I didn't dream of Games 5 or 6.  It was always Game 7.  And there were only two worthy opponents in those boyhood dreams: the Yankees and the Red Sox.  I look back on countless afternoons tossing the whiffle ball and dreaming up ninth inning scenarios leading up to the home run against Goose Gossage or Roger Clemens...  Seven-Five score in the ninth inning; two outs and no one on base; a cheap single; then, a walk after fouling off countless pitches; all leading up to the 3-2 fastball launched into the bleachers...  I have been looking forward to this game all of my baseball-loving life.  (In fact, I have been looking forward to this post-season all of my life - we have faced both the Red Sox and the Yankees!).

So, I am not going to let the disappointments of the past couple games diminish this dream.  I am not going to let the "warts" of baseball's current scandals prevent me from enjoying this moment.  I'm not going to let all of the doom-and-gloom Cleveland talk on discussion boards and in the media ruin this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Here's to the dream.  Here's to the anticipation of Game 7 glory.  And here's to the Tribe - a team that I would always want as teammates in my backyard dreams.

Let's Go Tribe!

(NOTE: This may be a little too sappy for the board, but I think it merits it's own diary because every red-blooded baseball fan likely shares this experience.  I hope it gets at the essence of the game.  As I sit here pinned to the computer, struggling, while my wife screams at me (literally) for wasting time, I am trying to make sense of this....)

Until the game begins we have no idea what to expect out of Schilling and Carmona tonight.  Fans of each team can look back on past performance, excluding Game 2, and pull out examples for why they think each pitcher will deliver their teams the victory.  Fausto had that 3-hit performance against the Yankees (albeit, he faced the choking Yankees and the game was at Jacobs Field) and Schilling has some of the greatest post-season performances in the past 15 years (albeit, he is a vastly different pitcher today than any of those instances).

But, we do have the ability to look at how the "head" game has started, and at this time neither has struck me as winning, yet.  Schilling stands out as saying some strange things and appears to be reaching when he says he is a better pitcher than the Bloody Sock Game.  In fact, he says he is "scared to death" - whoa!

Failure too scary for Curt to consider in postseason

Still, this is Schilling and if he wasn't a dumb kid during his first several seasons, we would be talking about Carmona going up against a Hall of Fame pitcher, and that certainly scares me... but not to death.

Fausto rehashed his pitching coach's remarks ("I was trying to be a little too fine") and saying that he put the last game behind him.  Typical comments, and the safe comments for a young pitcher who does not speak English.  I would have liked to hear Fausto say something a little different, but I can't put words in his mouth.

Carmona set for fresh start

I hope that Carmona really has put the game behind him.  Fenway Park has a lot of ghosts for him and since I have not seen him vanquish them (including the Game 2 start), I cannot go into this game with much confidence.  I'm certainly hopeful - very hopeful - but not overly confident.

Looking for something to discuss and get my mind off a possible Indians World Series.  So, I now want to think about the Red Sox coming back.  How do they do it?  What would Francona need to do?

If you visit the Red Sox Nation sites much of the talk is about what Francona needs to do with the lineup.  I'd like to have a similar discussion and think it would be easier to have it among the more reasonable fans of LGT.  That, and I want to avoid the impression of trolling.  

As the chatter goes, there are three guys on the Red Sox bench that have the potential to turn things around:
*Ellsbury, the fleet-footed rookie that made a big splash in September
*Kielty, the pedestrian waiver pickup
*Cora, utility player extraordinaire that teases with fine performances in his backup role.

That leaves three players you can potentially remove:
*Coco, the bat-waving defensive wiz that makes RSN sometimes think that Damon's arm was not so bad
*Drew, Scot Boras's $55 million boondoggle that makes Kielty look like a savior
*Pedroia, the odds-on Rookie of the Year (though stumbling in the playoffs) and David Eckstein clone, though he is far better defensively and offensively than that scrappy Caucasian.

My vote?
Replace Coco with Ellsbury - you will not get any worse and the upside is great.
Replace Drew with Kielty - this is based on lefty-right matchup facing CC
Keep Pedroia in the lineup - they need that token "scrappy white guy" [NOTE BELOW]

The twist in my vote is that I do not have Ellsbury lead off.  That is too much pressure to put on the kid and Youkilis would be a better since he has the ability to set the tone.

Youkilis
Ellsbury
Ortiz
Manny
Lowell
Pedroia
Veritek
Kielty
Lugo

Looking at the options and how the players are performing, it is very tough to be in Francona's shoes right now.  It's not like he is the one striking out and hitting into the double plays.

[NOTE] Trying to be as far from racist here - because when you always associate white (and never non-white) infielders as "scrappy", you are saying that non-white infielders can never be scrappy.  Depending on your definition, some race is being slighted.

So, my wife is sitting next to me and is fascinated by the the guy sitting next to John Adams for the past two games.  Does anyone know his story?  He is an older man with long bushy sideburns and a throwback cap (with an old "C" on it).  He is also dressed up in a heavy parka.

Has he always been there?

Less than 700 comments in the game thread last night.  Only a smattering of comments this morning.  And no apparent excitement for tonight's game.  I feel like Ben Stein:
There is a team from Cleveland in the playoffs.  We were all excited about the team throughout the season.  The team is...  Anyone?  Anyone?  The Indians.  The team is playing against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, with the winner going to the... Anyone?  Anyone?  The World Series.  Anyone know the last time the Indians won the World Series?  Anyone?  1948.  

I'm hopeful the team will wake up tonight, but wonder if Wedge will do something to shake things up.  I'm not talking about a major shift in the lineup or other changes.  Maybe just a note on the bulletin board or a little rant in the locker room.  You don't want the Red Sox to get on a roll.  They limped into the playoffs and it would be nice to get some of the doubt they were feeling in September back into their minds.

This might not be the best place to post this, but I've been a big fan of this site and the LGTers (I don't post much, but read it faithfully).  So, I wanted to give you folks the first chance at some tickets for Game 1.

My brother has 8 tickets (now it might be 4 as someone has contact me) in the bleachers (section 185) that he wants to sell.  It's Game 1 and he has a conflict with a high school soccer game (he's a coach), so he needs to unload them.  

He just called and asked how to sell them - eBay or Stubhub.  I asked if he can wait to post them until I see if any LGTers would want them.

If you are interested, please let me know.  He is asking $60/ticket and wants to sell them asap.  If I don't get any requests through LGT, he will post them on SH or EB this evening.

Please send me an email and I will make arrangements.