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Should Wedge juggle the rotation?

After the way Elarton pitched last night, and after watching the Indians take two of three from the Sox, this may seem like a foolish question but should Wedge consider adjusting his rotation a bit so that C.C. and/or Lee can go in next weekend’s Sox series? As the rotation currently stands, the Indians will be running the same trio of starters out for that series (Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton), and while each starter pitched well enough to win (or well enough for the Indians to win, anyway) this time around, this scenario just makes me nervous.

Sabathia and Lee are arguably your two best pitchers, but at the very least Sabathia, Lee and Millwood are your three best — how you slot them is up for debate. C.C. may be the hottest pitcher in baseball right now and Lee, on some writers’ scorecards, has vaulted into Cy Young contention in the AL. With a series that potentially is going to have so much riding on it, you almost hate to have two of your best starters on the bench watching the drama unfold.

Of course, the argument against juggling the rotation would be two-fold. First, why mess with success? Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton led the Tribe to a series victory this time around, so why couldn’t they do it again? And second, adjusting the rotation could have a negative effect rather than a positive one. These guys are used to a routine, and taking them out of that routine by moving starts up or back could take them out of their rhythm and cause the move to backfire on the Tribe. Plus, if you adjust the rotation for the Sox series, how does that affect your potential playoff rotation?

These are, of course, valid points, but what if that weekend series rolls around and the Indians need a sweep to get into the playoffs? Or what if they need to win two of three but split the first two games? Who do you go with Sunday? You could always have C.C. and Lee ready to go in the bullpen if needed, but will that be enough? Would they even be effective in relief? These are all questions Wedge needs to consider now because, if he is going to make some changes, now’s the time to do it in preparation for next weekend. Most people would probably elect to stand pat and go with what got you here, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Wedge did just that, running Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton out there next weekend. But it would be such a shame to see this team miss out on the playoffs by a game or two while their two best pitchers are riding the pine.

Bandwagon officially open for business again!!

The absolute pummelling the Tribe put on the White Sox last night makes the world feel right again. Jayson Stark at ESPN is banging the MVP drum for Hafner, who was simply dominating last night, with two homers and 5 RBIs.

This week, on the South Side of Chicago, in the biggest series of the Cleveland Indians’ season, Travis Hafner had himself the kind of September series that MVPs are made of. Four home runs — at least one in every game of the series. Seven extra-base hits altogether. And 10 RBI. In 12 at-bats that might have changed the course of events for both the Indians and that White Sox team they were playing for those three nights.

And after a one-day hiatus, Jay Marriotti at the Chicago Sun Times is hilariously back in choke mode.

After a one-night breather, Choke Job Theater returned to the South Side. Media watchdog A.J. Pierzynski wants to know why we speak of the Sox in such harsh terms, saying, “It would be nice to open a newspaper one day and see someone write an article that this team is still good and still has a chance.” Well, I was thinking about it until the Wheezinators managed no runs and five singles off someone named Scott Elarton while Travis Hafner and the Indians — I repeat, the most complete team in the American League — were mashing baseballs long and far over the outfield fence.

Wheezinators. Hysterical.

Browns vs. Colts previews

The Indianapolis Star notes that Romeo Crennel has a, shall we say, great record vs. Peyton Manning.

With Crennel pulling the defensive strings from 2001-04 and including the playoffs, the Patriots posted a 6-0 record against the Colts. They got physical with Manning’s receivers and forced Manning to move around or vacate the pocket, limiting him to nine touchdowns and forcing 10 interceptions.

The Dayton Daily News also focuses on the Crennel-Manning matchup…

“I don’t know that we got in his head; he just didn’t win the games,” Crennel said of Manning. “There’s been some discussion about the success I’ve had against the Colts, but I went back and looked and I wasn’t on the field for one play. The players play the game.”

And Colts president Bill Polian apparently loves Trent Dilfer…

He was perfect for the Baltimore Ravens when they had that great defense and great running game when they went to the Super Bowl. He’s the perfect quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. He won’t make mistakes. He won’t turn it over. He’ll hit the high-percentage passes. He’ll make the right audible.

Should we propose a trade to Polian? How about you take Dilfer, we’ll take Manning.

How big is OSU vs. Iowa?

Big, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Tressel’s downplaying it, oddly.

“What I think we’ll find is in the Big Ten, all these games are big,” Tressel said. “Any thoughts one would have about playing for the national championship would end [with another loss this week], but I don’t know if the Big Ten world would end. Last year, Iowa opened the Big Ten season with a loss to Michigan and ended up being co-champions. Certainly, it’s a big game, and as we begin conference play, it’s always important to get off to a good start.”

They’re all must wins from now on.

DawgBones analysis

A list of the good, the bad, and the unimpressive, including the following…

The run defense is still horrid. The Packers were not able to stick with the run, due to falling behind by 2 scores. Good thing for the Browns run defense. We realize that the Browns run a 3-4, but it seems more like a 1-4. Does any other linemen play besides DE Orpheus Roye?

We don’t seem to have any pass rush at all, either.

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