Tribe removes all doubt
If there was still any hope among the fan base that the Indians could make a miracle run to overtake Detroit for the division title, the Tribe removed any doubt that the season is over on Wednesday.
Not even Shelly Duncan taking Justin Verlander deep for a pair of two-run homers (wonder if that will cost Verlander any Cy Young votes?) could prevent the Indians from being swept by the Tigers at Progressive Field.
“They took care of business; obviously, we didn’t,” Indians manager Manny Acta said after the game. “You can’t give up, though. Things can change in a week.”
Sorry, Manny, but they really can’t. The Tribe now sits 9.5 games back of Detroit and that, truly, is it for the season.
The Indians actually led, 4-2, before Tony Sipp threw gas on the fire in the seventh inning, giving up a grand slam to Victor Martinez.
On the season, Sipp has let in 14 of the 35 inherited base runners – that’s 40 percent – (by comparison, Rafael Perez has only let in 6 of 39), which shows that you can’t judge a reliever by his ERA alone.
Everything that can be said about this team has been said, we’re tapped out.
Thankfully, we’re only four days away from the Browns starting the 2011 NFL season, so maybe its for the best that the Indians are stepping aside for Cleveland’s No. 1 team.
(Photo by The Associated Press)
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