Ace in the Hole

And the series, and the hopes of Cleveland, come down the Jake Westbrook. Jake has been shaky all year, but his last start against the Sox was solid. Dice-K, has been shaky the entire second half and the Tribe beat him good in game 3. That would give the Tribe an advantage, right? Well, right if we were not in Fenway. All the critics have again counted us out. They say Jake cannot put together two brilliant performances after another. The Sox have Beckett ready to go if Dice-K chokes. They have Papelbon ready to throw the heat. But what they don’t have is the ability and the magic the Tribe has had to come back all season long. They don’t have the unity in the clubhouse which makes this try team special. They don’t have a will which is stronger than the Tribe. It hasn’t been 59 years since they won a championship. Tonight is do or die. Tonight, is the meaning of October baseball. Tonight is what we dream the playoffs will be. Tonight its win for the Pennant or dream of next year. Cleveland doesn’t want to dream anymore. They’ve been dreaming for a sports championship since 1964, let alone a baseball championship, since 1948. This town suffers more then them all. The Sox had their win in 2004, but ITS TRIBE TIME NOW. It’s time for us to be the miracle team. It’s time for our championship. Jake, we believe in you now! Go out there and win the pennant for this city!

There were a few bright spots in the Tribe loss last night, though, including Aaron Laffey. If the Tribe makes the series, I think I might consider starting him, if I were Eric Wedge. He pitched 4.2 innings of shutout ball and really came through for us. Right now, inserting him in for a struggling CC or Fausto might help. But that's a big if, because there is still game 7 tonight. But either way, I see Laffey as a solid 4 or 5 starter in the rotation next year.