Cleveland Indians finish a difficult weekend on a positive note

The Cleveland Indians had a disastrous day on Saturday. Sunday was a bit better as a spot in the playoffs remains possible.

Cleveland Indians fans will be better off pretending Saturday didn’t happen.

The doubleheader from Hell was tough to watch and made Sunday’s game a bit more somber than it needed to be. At least until Roberto Perez hit his huge go-ahead home run to save the weekend and the season.

I was in attendance Sunday and I can actually be seen on the replay of Perez’s home run after securing some prime seats in center field. I even saw a squirrel in the bullpen. Fascinating stuff, I know.

An elderly fan in front me remarked how quiet it was on Sunday and he wasn’t wrong. Even when the Indians held the lead it was an odd atmosphere. The sky was overcast and there was a consistent sense of doom justing waiting to happen.

But James Hoyt and Oliver Perez secured the win and kept playoff hopes alive.

Saturday seemingly knocked the Indians out of the American League Central race. The team enters today 4.5 games behind the Twins with 12 more games for the Indians. That is a lot of ground to make up considering the Twins play the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers the rest of the way.

The Wild Card is where all hope is not yet lost. The Indians are 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and three games behind the Oakland A’s. The Rays still have games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees before the season is over. That should be good news for the Indians if they can just not blow it against the lowly Tigers and White Sox.

As I just said, all hope is not lost. Sunday was still an odd experience. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was because I was in a smaller, quieter section of fans. Something was just off. The win was more of a relief than something to celebrate.

I know why, but I’m trying not to think about Saturday.

All we can do now is move on and hope the Indians take care of business the rest of the way. The journey continues Tuesday with a three-game series against the Tigers. If the Indians don’t sweep 44-104 Tigers I may have a heart attack.

I would also like to propose that Ryan Flaherty no longer appear in the starting lineup. I’m sure he is a great guy, but come on. Please be smart, Tito.