Now it's sudden death

For the first time in these playoffs the Indians face an elimination game. Judging by the way they have handled the "pressure" of being up 3-1, and then 3-2, I'm not hopeful.

They say good pitching stops good hitting, especially in the post-season.

You could say this series is putting that theory to the test.

You could say that, but you'd be wrong.

This series is about good hitting pounding the crap out of awful pitching - at least from the two guys we were counting on most.

The horrible performances of CC and Fausto in this series come down to three things - too much rest between starts to stay sharp, too many innings overall since April and - probably the explanation that carries the most weight (CC kind of weight) - they both were unable to stand up to the pressure of the bright lights. Plain and simple, they choked.

And while we're counting those who choked - even though he doesn't pitch (or apparently hit either) - you have to say Travis Hafner may have swallowed the biggest apple of all.

So tonight we rely on what has been referred to as the back-end of our rotation. The guys who, if we lost this series, were likely to be the reason.

Tonight, in reality, we have the only two guys we've been able to count on for anything - Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd if Westbrook needs a quick hook. Why we waited 10 post-season games to find out Aaron Laffey could do the job is anyone's guess, but after last night he is spent. He did allow Wedge to save Raffie Right's arm for tonight. And if Beckett can throw a couple of innings - as is being talked about - than so can CC, though that may not be a good thing.

It all comes down to tonight. One roll of the dice. A game of craps. And if there's anything I know from watching Cleveland sports for most of my 51 years, when it comes down to a game of craps the Cleveland team always rolls snake eyes.

--

It took me until the sixth inning of the sixth game to find a way to watch a game without the annoyance of the FOX announcers and the FOX presentation - aside from turning the sound down that is.

When the score hit 5-1 last night and Fausto was coming out, I could see things were going nowhere.

We were in our hotel room in Montreal and I was getting sick watching, and my wife (not a sports a fan) was getting sick of watching me watch. So we decided to take a break from the game and do something fun.

When we returned to the game, I came across a French language broadcast. Same video, different audio. Since I had no idea what these guys were saying it couldn't annoy me. I could still feel the atmosphere - but without all the faux drama the FOX announcing crew tries to create. Too bad we're not staying in Montreal for one more night.

So I plan to enjoy my day. Have breakfast with my son and say goodbye and then see zillions of multi-colored leaves as we drive through the Adirondacs and then the Catskills on our way home.

What's waiting for me at home -- that I'm not so sure I'll enjoy.