Cleveland Sports Forum

Tribe Fan in SC/Cali wrote:Suddenly the tying run is in the hole for Tampa.

Now the tying run is on deck.

My old pal Jhonny comes back to haunt us once again. Along with Victor, they pierced us with the double edged sword once again.

We gave it the old college try. This one really was a tough one to lose. A dying quail just behind the bag at first and a ground ball just inside the bag at third, a sac fly equalled two runs to tie the game at 3. We get the possible go ahead run in and the baseball in the dirt nicks Fukudome's foot. The wild pitch is negated and we fail to score. An appropriate finish to the season.

Longoria just made it 7-6!

joez wrote:My old pal Jhonny comes back to haunt us once again. Along with Victor, they pierced us with the double edged sword once again.

Joez, seriously....are you sure you are still primarily a Cleveland Indians Fan?

From my perspective as an Indians Fan, your positive notes of Peralta and Victor Martinez fall into the category of grave dancing at a time I prefer to think about the good things of 2011 and the possibilities for next year.

The Boys in Boston are suddenly sweating a bit while waiting out the rain delay.

Great baseball happenings.

It's 10:30PM now in Baltimore, and according to ESPN the MLB brass has said the rain delay will be waited out even if lengthy in duration.

Joez, seriously....are you sure you are still primarily a Cleveland Indians Fan?

Cali!

I think I've more than done my fair share of cheering these kids on. If I had to go back and check out all the posts, I think I'd find out that I've been one of the more positive posters on the forum, donch'a think?

Mostly agreed.

I just don't think tonight is the time to mention all the former Indians who still might be playing baseball tonight and beyond in 2011.

But hey, that's just me.

I also wouldn't mention Pomeranz got the win today.....

And Betancourt the save.

To the bottom of the 9th in Tampa.

7-6 Yanks, and ESPN swears the Yankees will not use Rivera in this game.

DETROIT --

There were incredible highs and extreme lows. The season began with a magical run that had Cleveland dreaming about dancing into October and it ended in the city that claimed the crown the Indians so coveted.

On Wednesday night, the Tribe wrapped up its 2011 campaign with a 5-4 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Cleveland secured sole possession of second place in the American League Central, but was unable to end the year even in the win and loss columns.

The loss to Detroit -- this season's division champion -- dropped the Indians to 80-82 on the year. There are two sides to every story and the Tribe's 2011 tale is no exception. On one hand, Cleveland has three losing seasons in a row for the first time since 2002-04. Another way to view things would be to note the Indians' 11-game improvement over last year.

Cleveland lost 93 games a season ago and had 190 losses combined over the past two tours. This year, the Indians believed they had the young and talented pieces in place to make a run at the division, and the team's 30-15 start seemed to back up the organization's early optimism.

The club's youthful roster, combined with a wave of devasatating injuries, eventually caught up with Cleveland. The Indians slid down the standings while the Tigers surged. Wednesday's defeat in the Motor City marked the 10th straight loss to Detroit, which held the Tribe to one win in nine games at Comerica Park.

Indians manager Manny Acta watched the final game of the season from inside the visitors' clubhouse after being ejected by home-plate umpire Dan Bellino in the first inning. After Asdrubal Cabrera struck out to end the frame, Acta said something from the dugout and Bellino immediately tossed him from the game.

Acta argued with Bellino on the field briefly before leaving the field. His ejection allowed bench coach Tim Tolman to manage the final game of the season. Prior to the game, the Indians announced that Tolman was stepping down from his duties as bench coach partly due to his battle with Parkinson's disease.

Rookie right-hander Zach McAllister took the mound in the season's swan song and walked away with a no-decision after giving up one run on six hits over five innings. The Tigers (95-67) struck for a pair of runs off reliever Joe Smith in the sixth inning. One frame later, a wild pitch from Zach Putnam allowed Danny Worth to score to put Detroit ahead, 4-3.

That was a four-run swing for the Tigers, who trailed the Indians 3-0 in the fourth inning. Ezequiel Carrera tagged Rick Porcello for a run-scoring triple in the third inning and the Indians added two more against the Detroit right-hander in the fourth. Jack Hannahan's sacrifice fly off Ryan Perry pulled the contest into a 4-4 deadlock in the eighth.

A familiar face came back to haunt the Indians in the end, though. Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta -- the former Indians infielder -- launched his 21st home run of the year in the home half of the eighth, sending the first pitch he saw from Vinnie Pestano into the left-field seats to put the Indians behind for the final time this season.

I don't think having Zach Putnam on the mound in a key situation when the team is trying to finish at .500 and everyone has 5 months of rest coming up qualifies as giving it "the old college try."

I'm sure you'll all be shocked to learn that I'm coming away from this season pretty pessimistic. I don't think teams change their essential natures--the Indians' epic collapse at the end of the '05 season was the first sign that that particular generation of Tribe players (to say nothing of their manager) was mentally weak and would not respond well to pressure and expectations.

And now, this current generation fell under .500 after leading the division for most of the season, and lost something like 740 straight games to the team they were trying to chase. People might want to believe they will learn something from this, but history shows that what they've mostly learned is how to lose.

One frame later, a wild pitch from Zach Putnam allowed Danny Worth to score to put Detroit ahead, 4-3.

I found that to be ironic in that we had the wild pitch that would have placed us on top in the game at 4-3 but the ball nicked Fukudome's foot. The run was negated. The tale of two cities!

Tied in Tampa!

That'll put a Dent in the Red Sox wicket.