Angry, Relieved, or Both?
September 2, 2008Beanie is Out of the Boot
September 3, 2008
While the Indians and fans alike are still reveling in the 20-win season of Cliff Lee, there is no denying that we’re are always looking at the “what-ifs.”
What if Dennis Northcutt caught that pass against the Steelers. What if we don’t give up 30 yards on a third-and-long screen pass to the Raiders? What if LeBron makes that layup against the Celtics. And what if we actually had a bullpen this season?
Thankfully, when it comes to the would-be wins for the Cy Young hopeful, the DiaTribe’s Paul Cousineau did the digging no decisions that have been tagged to Lee’s name. Check out some of the details here:
May 12 vs. Toronto – 9 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 2 BB (Indians lost 3-0 when Betancourt gave up 3 in the 10th)
June 14 vs. San Diego – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 6 K, 0 BB (Indians lost 8-3 with Kouzmanoff GS in the 10th)
June 20 vs. Los Angeles – 7 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 K, 1 BB (Indians won 6-4 in 10 after a JoeBo BS in 9th)
July 1 vs. Chicago – 8 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 K, 1 BB (Indians lost 3-2 with JoeBo BS in 10th)
How ’bout that bullpen!? Part of me gets a bit angry every time I think back to when Eric Wedge would go on record to say that “Joe Borowski was his closer” regardless of any setbacks and injuries – until it was too late.
To have 40 percent of a team’s total wins is one thing. To think that it could have been so many more is just icing on the proverbial 2008 cake. Even if it does leave a bad taste in our collective mouths.
Twinny Twin Twin [DiaTribe]
16 Comments
so sick
Yes, the bullpen stunk this year, but so has situational hitting for the majority of the season until recently. Here’s a question to pose, is this thing really over yet? Here’s what the rest of the schedule looks like:
4 against CHW
7 against KC
4 against BAL
3 against MIN
3 against DET
4 against BOS
So with a win today they’re 8.5 – 9 back ( Depending on the Twins, who are struggling ) and 24 games remaining. They have 7 against the 1st place team[s], and the only other team they play over .500 is Boston. As unlikely as it sounds, is it really time to wrap this up? If the Rockies can pull it off, can’t anyone?
And yes, i do realize it’s probably just a pipe dream.
More importantly, if the Mets could collapse last year, then so could any team.
Mike and Mike were on the same page as you are Chris… I just can’t allow myself to get my hopes up.
I think the worst thing that could happen is if we wind up like a game or two out given all of our tough losses this year…
chris i was actually just looking at the standings and thinking the same thing…
knock on wood.
if anything we can take pride in being the spoilers.
Just remember, recently it hasn’t exactly been good to play against a team under .500 for the Indians. We can pretty much just write off those games against Baltimore and Kansas City (and probably Detroit) as losses…
If you want an idea of how much a pipe dream that really is, check out the postseason odds report at baseballprospectus.com. Yyyyeeeaaaah…..it’s over. It’s BEEN over.
And even so, how ridiculous would it be to make the playoffs after having traded away last year’s Cy Young winner? Would you even want that? To think of “what could have been” as we are knocked out after 4 games in the first round? I understand anything can happen in October, but getting there and not having the use of C.C. is not something I’m ready to deal with. And how brilliant would it be if they somehow made it to the World Series and faced the Brewers? Oh god.
Anything that would keep either the White or Red Sox out of the playoffs would make me happy.
I will go on record as saying that, even if the Tribe ends up 1 or 2 games short, I still think trading CC was the right move. Feel free to rip me apart!
I’m with you Scott, however improbable this may seem. At this point, I would settle for the Indians knocking the White Sox out of the playoffs.
I agree with you DP, it was a good move even if we somehow make it to the playoffs.
How ironic would it be if we beat the Brewers in the World Series this year? If I were Sabathia I would be very very frustrated. (thats me keeping this PG)
resigning them to the role of “spoiler” wasn’t exactly what I had in mind at the beginning of the season, but ruining the Red Sox season would be quite the consolation prize.
Unfortunately, the BoSox play almost the entire month of Sep. at home, whilst TB plays almost the entire month on the road.
If it meant throwing a few games against the Twins to keep NY and BOS out of the ’08 playoffs, sign me up.
Has anyone looked at the schedule and figured where CC’s turns would have come, what the outcome of those games were, and where we’d be if he’s stuck around and, say, gone 9-0? Or is that just going to make it hurt more?
I thought I was the only one thinking that! We can maybe possibly if we get lucky and the ball bounces our way and the sox and twins collapse…pull… this… off
I think this article jinxed us in the hopes of making it – see loss today to the White Sox. I’d love nothing more than to spoil the White Sox playoff hopes, but am somewhat torn between rooting against the White Sox and the Red Sox – only one is gonna make the playoffs, and it’s a damn shame that one of them will.
I wonder about that awful 0-10 road trip back in June. If the Indians won just half of them they’d be only a handful of games back. A long shot, but not impossible.
And would the CC trade have even happened?
THAT was the turning point of the season.