Tonight's game was sort of a throwback to how the late-90s teams used to win. I guess this time the difference was that the Indians only hit one home run, and that their bullpen stopped the bleeding.
Scott Elarton may be running out of gas. Or there's something wrong with his mechanics that he needs to fix. Either way, he wasn't throwing strikes and he was leaving pitches over the middle of the plate. Good thing Jeremy Bonderman was doing the same thing.
This is one of those victories you don't really deserve, but the way the teams ahead of them are playing, the Indians will gladly take it. The Tribe have now tied Los Angeles for second place in the Wild Card race and are for the moment a half game back of the Yankees for the lead. New York is playing on the West Coast, while the Angels are off before starting a crucial series with the Oakland A's.
If you've been following the news lately, you've heard about Hurrican Katrina and the damage it's done to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Now what's left of Katrina is scheduled to hit Ohio tommorrow, so there's a good chance that Tuesday's game will be at the very least delayed. At this point in the season, the last thing you need are rainouts, because they aren't easy to make up. Remember 2000 and all the games the Indians had to play in the month of September? The Indians have off days in four of the last five weeks of the season, and that's a big advantage as the season comes to close; you can skip a struggling starter, give your key relievers a day off, and allow Victor Martinez play almost every game. A couple rain outs could throw a wrench into that scenario. So hopefully Katrina stays to the east.