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Well, as long as the bullpen never shows up it looks like the Tribe will be alright. Paul Byrd pitched a complete game Thursday afternoon as the Tribe beat the Twins 3-2 in the series finale. The Indians grabbed a 2-o lead with the help of Hector Luna’s RBI triple in the second inning. While Byrd didn’t have his greatest stuff on the mound, he was able to bear down and make good pitches when he had to. With the game at 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Byrd and the Indians got a scare when Justin Morneau drove a ball deep to center field but Grady Sizemore was able to haul it in at the wall. The 10 complete games by Indian pitchers this season leads the majors.

“I didn’t have great stuff,” he said. “I was grunting and groaning out there to throw hard, and [the pitch speed would read] 83 mph. After the first inning, I was asking some of our other pitchers if I looked like I was doing something different, but they said no. It just happens sometimes, that you don’t have your best stuff, so you adjust accordingly.”

Thank God Wedge left Byrd in. Who knows what could have happened had he brought in Carmona, Davis or anyone else in the pen.

The Indians rode a six-game win streak and things were looking somewhat positive. Unfortunately, they have regressed and are back to their old inconsistent ways again. The monster that is the Indians bullpen reared its ugly head again in their 7-2 loss to the Twins Wednesday night. Starter Cliff Lee battled through his five innings and left with the game tied 2-2. After the relief work of Fernando Cabrera, it was still tied going into the eighth when all hell broke loose for the Tribe bullpen. Fausto Carmona and Rafael Betancourt combined for five runs in the inning, leaving any chance of a Tribe victory. Michael Cuddyer hit a three-run shot off Betancourt in the eighth to blow the game wide open.

What is it with the Metrodome? The dome of horrors continues to haunt the Tribe this season, where they are 2-6.

You had to know the off day would be nothing but a bad thing for the Indians. They were playing their best baseball in several months and were riding a season-high six-game winning streak until Tuesday when they fell to the Minnesota Twins 4-1. Jake Westbrook pitched great until the eighth when he allowed three runs. It was a 1-o game with two outs when Westbrook gave up a backbreaking two-run single to Michael Cuddyer that barely got past the outreached arms of Jhonny Peralta. The Indians did score off closer Joe Nathan in the ninth but that didn’t matter. The story of the night was Twins starter Johan Santana, who allowed only three Tribe hits while striking out nine in eight innings.

“Santana was as good as we’ve seen him,” said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. “He was moving the fastball in and out, up and down, and he always has that changeup. Tonight, he had his slider working, too. He pitched a [great] game.”

The Indians were completely overmatched in this game. With the bottom of the order being Shoppach, Guitierrez, and Marte, those inexperienced guys aren’t going to have a whole lot of success against an experienced All-Star pitcher like Santana. So, the Indians were basically relying on the other six in the order to produce and it’s difficult to win that way.

The Dolans understand this off-season is extremely critical. They have to worry about putting a talented product on the field as well as trying to win the fans in Cleveland back. It’s no secret that Tribe fans are disappointed not only with the poor season by the team but also with the penny-pinching ways of the owners, Larry and Paul Dolan. To win you need to spend and the Dolans are willing to do that this off-season. Just how much is unknown.

“We will spend more money next year. We plan to be aggressive. We will probably spend more than we will anticipate taking in, but I won’t say how much. It’s too early to know.”

Dolan said next year’s payroll will be “north of $60 million.”

Realistically, the payroll must approach $70 million if ownership is serious about returning the team to contention.

The front office also has to change some tactics. So often, they spend the winter chasing free agents and signing none of them. A better approach would be to explore the trade market, dealing for talented players on teams looking to cut payroll, and using prospects as bait.

“That is a possibility,” said Dolan. “We will be in a compete mode this winter, not development.”

Next season is arguably the most important in recent Indians’ history. The Dolans need to show fans that they care about winning as this team is reaching a pivotal juncture. Wedge will be on the hot seat next season as well. After winning 93 games in ’05 and dipping to whatever their win total comes to at the end of this season, the Tribe can’t afford to have another losing season next year. It’ll be up to the ownership and the manager to do their part so they can get this franchise on the right track again.