Some awful numbers to chew on

These numbers are probably harder to swallow than the bran flakes some of you will not doubt be munching on as you read this Monday morning.

In the first three games against the Twins the Tribe has left 46 runners on base. They are 3 for 22 with runners in scoring position. Jhonny Peralta has left the most runners on in this series - 10, followed by Josh Barfield at 8 and Trot Nixon at 7. You've got to cut Nixon some slack though, since he only played in two of the games. If he had played in three, he no doubt would be in the lead. The Tribe is 22 for 96 in the series so far in Minnesota. That's roughly .230. (it's too late and I'm too tired to do the precise math).

Lest you think the Tribe's woes are limited to the Homer Dome, they have scored two runs or fewer in 8 of the last 12 games, having lost 1-0 in two of those games. They also won a 1-zip game in that stretch.

During the period the Tribe's starting rotation has a 2.91 ERA, but the team has a 4-8 record. The Tigers during that stretch are 2-10. Talk about your wasted opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Yankee, who many had given up for dead - myself and many of their own fans (if they're honest) included - are now only 1/2 game behind Detroit for the wild card spot. And, only 1 game behind the Tribe should the Indians slip behind the Tigers.

The Yankees have scored 149 runs in their last 15 games. You don't even need a diploma from Parma High School to know that is, for all intents and purposes, 10 runs a game. They are 12-3 in that stretch. They are coming to town this weekend.

Just a little something to make the Cheerios go down a little easier.

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I don't usually get involved in questioning every managerial decision that comes along (Eric Wedge is not hitting .095 with RISP), but this one strikes me as legit and I can't just let it go. In the eighth, when running for Trot Nixon, why send in Jason Michaels rather the Franklin Gutierrez? Gutierrez is faster on the bases and a better defensive replacement than Michaels, no?

I guess it doesn't much matter since Peralta bunted into a double play anyway. But if the players need to do the "little things" right to win the close games, isn't it necessary that the manager do the same?

Back in the saddle - if only by a half game

It took a 9 of 11 losing skein by Detroit but the Tribe has clawed its way back into first place in the A.L. Central - by half a game.

They are there on the strenght of a hard-fought victory over Twins ace Johan Santana. And it's not like a win over Santana is something new for the Tribe - at least this year.

The Indians are 3-0 in four games against the elite lefty. Santana's ERA against Cleveland this year is 3.67, which is not at all bad, but more than a half run higher than his overall ERA of 2.98. While Santana is winless against the Tribe in '07, he's 11-6 against the rest of the league.

Give Grady Sizemore credit for most of the offense tonight. The Tribe's centerfielder went 3-for-5 with four RBI and put the Tribe ahead initially with a two-run home off Santana in the third.

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Troubles continue to mount for the Tigers.

Gary Sheffield is being shelved at least for a while with a sore shoulder. He plans to try to play through it after giving it some rest, but there is major concern about the slugger in Motown.

Meantime, Andrew Miller left his start for the Tigers tonight after four innings with a strained hamstring. He had already given up 6 runs before leaving. He's also said to be day-to-day.

Then there's backup infielder Neifi Perez, who will miss the rest of the season serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned stimulant - for the third time.

And, reliever Fernando Rodney, who was expected to come off the DL this weekend, is now looking at some time next week after his latest rehad outing didn't go so well.

Sleep well tonight my friends we'll be in first place when you wake up in the morning.

I'm just sayin'

Nice game today from the Tribe for a change.

Jake Westbrook pitched six, somewhat sloppy, shutout innings. But shutout innings nonetheless.

Although he has been lumped in with Cliff Lee as the poster boys for the Tribe's pitching woes, Westbrook has been fairly decent since his return from injury, at least when you look at the numbers.

Since his return, Westbrook has had eight starts - five of them quality starts. In three of the eight he gave up two runs or fewer. His ERA since his return is 4.05.

Westbrook's difficult starts came in the middle of the stretch, at a time when Lee was blowing up and even C.C. was having difficulty. That set off panic among the faithful (myself included) and made it easy to lump Westbrook in with the Lee meltdown.

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Victor Martinez has been the picture of consistency all year but has been in a funk for about 10 days now - going 3 for his last 33 (still with 5 RBI). It had to come sooner or later. It does for every hitter. Let's hope it doesn't last too long.

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When I started this blog, the Tribe was 52-36, one game behind the Tigers and - more importantly to a guy living in NY and taking Yankee-fan crap for 24 years - eight games ahead of New York in the wild card race. Some 20 games later - as you'll note on the Yank -O-Meter - that lead is down to three (it was as small as two as of last night).

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The Blue Jays are said to be ready to designate SS Royce Clayton for assignment tomorrow. This is interesting to Tribe fans for a couple of reasons. First, it means old friend Johnny Mac has - after all these years - claimed the shorstop job for the Blue Jays. More importantly it gives Tribe management an option to replace Mike Rouse as the utility infielder. Clayton has always been a .250 hitter, but he does have 110 career homers and, from what we've seen lately out of Rouse, seems also to be a superior fielder. I doubt the Tribe would have to give up a whole lot to get Clayton in a waiver deal. At a time when it looks like every game is going to count, even small upgrades are important upgrades.

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Tempests in other teepees:

Despite their shoddy play of late, the Tribe still seems to be pulling as one and playing hard every day. But there are some problems in the clubhouses of other contenders of late.

In New York, Johnny Damon isn't playing every day any more and he's not happy about it:

"As a player, you always want to know what your role is and what's happening," Damon said. "If I'm still out there on the margin, especially with Jason coming back . . . Anything's possible. I know a lot of teams are interested. With Jason (Giambi) coming back and a number of outfielders going down, the Yankees could probably get a better player now than what they probably got offered July 31." -- Damon quoted by Newsday.

In Seattle, some of the veterans are more than a little upset at the recall of super-prospect Adam Jones, an outfielder. Among the most vocal is Jose Guillen - oddly enough an outfielder himself:

"This team has been good with what we have and I don't think that's what we need...he's a No. 1 prospect and he's going to be here sooner or later somehow, some way, but I just completely don't understand that move right there.
I don't know what they're trying to do. I hope they don't do something stupid to mess with the lineup that we have. Because I believe we have a pretty good one.''--Jose Guillen quoted by the Seattle Times' Mariners Blog

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And, of course we've all heard about the Twins' unhappiness with the trade of Luis Castillo. It's seen by many in the clubhouse - especially pitching ace Johan Santana - as a sign of front-office surrender.