The Detroit Tigers dreams have been answered as their only two competitors face off against each other for four games. The Indians and White Sox will be playing each other for second place in the AL Central, and the best team should win as 8 of the last 22 games are against each other. It will be interesting to see if the Indians take advantage of the pressure being off by resting Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana, or if they fight the inevitable, going all out to win every game until they are officially eliminated. Because he only pitched about an inning in his last start, Fausto Carmona has been moved ahead of Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation. That makes this series' starters look like this.

September 8th, 8:10 PM

David Huff (2-3, 2.81) vs. Gavin Floyd (12-10, 4.45)

September 9th, 8:10

Jeanmar Gomez (2-2, 4.11) vs. Mark Buehrle (11-7, 3.34)

September 10th, 4:10

Fausto Carmona (6-14, 5.18) vs. Philip Humber (9-8, 3.45)

September 11th, 2:10

Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2, 5.27) vs. Zach Stewart (2-3, 4.56)

Get used to seeing these guys play each other. Along with the 8 games against the White Sox the Indians have 7 against Minnesota and 3 more against Detroit. Hopefully the rest of this season won't be a train wreck as the Indians still have a couple things to play for. The two main goals for the rest of the season should be to maintain a record above .500 and to beat the White Sox out for second place.

This is it. Now that Detroit has taken care of business, sweeping their two divisional rivals back-to-back, the Central Division race is over and Wild Card race never began. Now is the time for the Indians to ready the ship for 2012 and a more series attempt at winning a championship. The success of the 2011 team took a lot of people by surprise, but no one will be surprised next year. In order to make sure everyone is ready for next season, there are a few things that need to be done this year still.

Heal the Wounded

The most prominent reason for the Indians failure down the stretch was the plethora of injuries that occurred to almost every starting player on the team. Since there is nothing left to play for, these players should get extra time off for any surgeries, rehab or just plain rest. Michael Brantley and Carlos Carrasco are already out for the season with hand and Tommy John surgery respectfully, but there are a few others that could use the rest of the season off. There has been a lot of talk about Travis Hafner needing foot surgery to repair a tendon and he might as well do it now. The earlier the better as it will give him more time to get into running shape for next season. Jim Thome is a more than capable replacement at DH and will be a bigger draw for the fans anyway. Other veterans who have battled injuries should also get more time off, including Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. Both players will be extremely important to the team next season and need to get any series medical issues fixed now.

Play the Rookies

Baseball pundits often talk about how inexperience can hurt a team. This is the perfect time to help some of the younger players get some experience. Lonnie Chisenhall should play every single game for the rest of the year. He has had a lot of time off of late so Manny Acta could play Jack Hannahan's hot bat, but with Hannahan injured and certain to be gone to free agency after this season, Chisenhall should see all the playing time at the hot corner. Seeing him in the pros for another 20+ games will go along way to finding out exactly what he is capable of. Jason Kipnis and Ezequiel Carrera should also play just about every day. For Kipnis this is mostly just for experience, but Carrera needs to prove that he deserves a spot on next years squad. The Indians should have a lot of outfield depth with Grady, Brantley, Choo and Trevor Crowe available to play. A couple of relief pitchers should also get a closer look. Josh Judy and Nick Hagadone could be great assets to future Indians teams as Chad Durbin will be gone and Rafael Perez is getting older.

A Day of Rest

Asdrubal Cabrera deserves a day off. He has done absolutely everything within his power to help the Indians win and he is starting to look dead out there. Let Jason Donald take over short at least one day a week with Kipnis and Cord Phelps manning second. This will not only give the three young players a little more playing time, but will give Cabrera a break after working harder than just about anyone else all season. He is not going to win the MVP, so Manny doesn't have to try to get him every single at bat he can for the rest of the year. Another player who has been playing every single day at a high skill position is Carlos Santana. He has played in every single Indians game since July 8th at either catcher or first base. Of course during his games at first, Lou Marson has had to catch, so I'm sure he could use some time off as well. The Indians need to bring back Matt LaPorta to take over first base on a daily basis and to bring up another catcher, hopefully Luke Carlin, to spell Lou Marson. The Bullpen Mafia could also use some time off after being the work horses of the Tribe. Save their fantastic ERAs and get some other pitchers some playing time by cutting back the use of Rafael Perez, Chris Perez, Tony Sipp, Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith. Already mentioned Hagadone and Judy are good options for this, as well as Josh Tomlin (who will be returning from the DL soon) and Mitch Talbot (who is still in AAA). Both players have started for the Indians this season, but are no longer needed with Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff pitching well in the rotation.

Player of the Game

Shelley Duncan knocked in 4 and scored 3 times to win today's 'Player of the Game' award. Duncan hit two home runs off probable Cy Young award winner, Justin Verlander. Combined with the 2 he hit 3 games ago, he has now hit half his home runs for 2011 in the last 4 games. Duncan also added a single and scored when Lonnie Chisenhall hit a two run home run of his own in the 7th inning. Duncan earned 8.44 total 'POG' for the game, a score marred by his error and the eventual unearned run that was allowed.

Feathers Up

Trevor Crowe is finally back in the Major Leagues after spending the first 5 months of the season on the disabled list. While the Indians could have really used him earlier this season while dealing with the all of the outfield injuries, it is better late than never. At least now Crowe will be able to play a month to get his timing right before competing in Sring Training next year for the starting left fielder role. Jared Head was designated for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster for Crowe.

Shelley Duncan absolutely owned Justin Verlander today, pulling two home runs onto the left field home run porch. He has now hit 4 home runs in as many days with 9 RBI and 5 runs scored to go along with it. All the hits came in 2 games Kansas City and today against Detroit. It makes one wonder if the Indians would have been able to score more runs with Duncan playing first and Carlos Santana catching instead of Lou Marson behind the plate. In 9 less games Duncan has 7 more home runs and 21 more RBI than Marson. Matt LaPorta is also better than Lou Marson with 10 more home runs and 32 more RBI in 33 more games played, but since Manny Acta has a vendetta against him, he isn't an option. Both Duncan and LaPorta have spent time in AAA this year even though there have been expendable players that are much less talented on the roster all season.

Feathers Down

After starting off great, Masterson fell apart in the 7th and left with the bases loaded without getting an out. Masterson was well out-pitching the other Justin until this point, only giving up 2 runs while Verlander allowed 4. With Masterson out, Joe Smith gave up a single and run, following which Tony Sipp gave up everything else on a Victor Martinez grand slam to give up the lead.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Detroit Tigers 8

Player of the Game

Kosuke Fukudome provided the only Indians offense tonight with his third home run as an Indian in the 7th inning, giving the Indians their only run of the night. He was tonight’s “Player of the Game” with a score of 2.93. Nick Hagadone came in second tonight with a score of 2.27.

Feathers Up

Luis Valbuena and Jason Kipnis returned to the ball club today, Valbuena from AAA Columbus and Kipnis from the DL. The Indians might finally be able to take advantage of the expanded September roster, and hopefully Kipnis can continue smashing the ball like he did before the injury.

Nick Hagadone had a great appearance in relief tonight. He pitched 2 innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 2.

Feathers Down

Fausto Carmona had a rocky first inning after retiring the first two batters. A two-out walk, single, balk, and five more singles gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead before the Indians even had a chance to bat. Carmona pitched just and inning and a third before being pulled from the game. Carmona gave up 7 runs on 8 hits in his very short outing tonight. Of course, it doesn't matter how many runs you give up when your offense can only score you one run.

The Indians elimination number is down to 14, meaning any combination of 14 Indians losses and Tigers wins will mathematically eliminate the Indians from playoff contention. Starting postgame tomorrow the E# will be listed underneath the Central Division standings on the right side of the page. Coming into the series it was a much more manageable 18, but the Tribe has lost to the only team they could absolutely not afford to lose to. A loss in tomorrow's game could be the final nail in the coffin for the 2011 Cleveland Indians.

Final Score: Detroit Tigers 10 - Cleveland Indians 1

When the first place Cleveland Indians fired hitting coach Jon Nunnally on June 18th, it came as a bit of a surprise. The Indians were producing enough runs to win games and the offense was much improved from the previous season. One of the main concerns manager Manny Acta had at the time were strikeouts. At the time of Nunnally's departure, the Indians had already struck out over 500 times, which was the worst in the American League. The question is: Does introducing a new hitting coach mid-season impact the statistics of the hitters? Jon Nunnally was replaced by Bruce Fields, who was the Indians minor league hitting coordinator. This article will compare the Tribe's offensive statistics under each hitting coach and determine if the coaching change was necessary.

Jon Nunnally ended his reign as the Indians hitting coach on June 18th. In 2011, he had coached in 69 games. While Nunnally was coaching, the team batting average was .251. The total team strikeouts was 502, averaging 7.28 strikeouts per game. strikeouts aren't the only concern for a hitting coach. Run production is also very important. Under Jon Nunnally, the Indians scored a total of 302 runs, averaging to 4.38 runs per game.

Bruce Fields took over on June 19th, and as of September 5th, had also coached in 69 games. Since he took over, the team batting average was .248, very similar to that of Nunnally. The total team strikeouts was 577, which is 75 more strikeouts in the same amount of games as Nunnally. The average strikeouts per game since June 19th was 8.36, over one more strikeout per game. The total runs scored under Fields is 280, averaging 4.06 runs per game. While an average difference of 0.32 runs per game does not seem like much, the Indians scored 22 more runs in the same amount of games with Jon Nunnally as the hitting coach.

Other factors also need to be considered when looking at these numbers. There have been many injuries on the team this year, with big hitters like Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Shin-Soo Choo spending time on the disabled list. This meant that Triple-A and bench hitters replaced them in the line-up, possibly skewing the stats one way or another. The bottom line is that Indians players enjoyed the coaching style of Jon Nunnally and his presence in the clubhouse and were taken off guard by his firing. His replacement, Bruce Fields, was brought in to try to take the Tribe's offense where it needed to be in order to contend for a playoff spot. The Indians strikeouts have noticeably increased, which has become very frustrating for the fans to watch. The Indians 1,079 strikeouts on the year make them the worst in the American League and tied for 5th worst in the majors. So can the hitting coach work magic and make strikeouts disappear? Would the Indians find themselves 7.5 games back in the AL Central if Nunnally was still their hitting coach? It is hard to tell at this point, but the offense has obviously not improved since Fields took over.

Player of the Game

Kosuke Fukudome won his second 'Player of the Game' with 2 hit, 2 strike out night. Both of Fukudome's were critical and would have helped the Indians win if any other offensive player had done anything. His first single loaded the bases with two outs while his solo home run late in the game brought the game within 2 runs. His final score was 3.34.

Feathers Up

Ubaldo Jimenez looked great through the first 3 innings, striking out 5 of the first 6 Detroit outs and only allowing one base runner. The rest of the game didn't go as well as it could have for him, but he did only allow a single run scoring hit in his 7 innings pitched. It's not his fault the Indians can't score more than 3 runs a game.

Feathers Down

There were really only two important situations in this game, one for each team. In the bottom of the third, the Indians got two men on with one out for Grady Sizemore, who then struck out. After Kosuke Fukudome singled to load the bases, Asdrubal Cabrera struck out as well, ending the inning and the best offensive chance the Indians had all game. Detroit's chance came at the top of the next inning, when they did the same thing, getting 2 runners on with only one out. The difference is, they took advantage with Victor Martinez hitting a 3 run home run that accounted for all the Tigers runs until the 8th.

Grady Sizemore is back and making up for lost time. He struck out twice today and may be trying to catch up his lost ground in the career strike out race. Grady probably thought the record was within his reach with only about 600 more k's to go, but then the Indians re-signed their all time strike out leader. His two today put him within 18 of the player with the third most strike outs in an Indians uniform, Jhonny Peralta.

As stated in the Series Preview today's loss makes it absolutely necessary for the Indians to win the last two games in this series. Any other outcome and you can basically kiss any shot at the playoffs goodbye.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Detroit Tigers 4

It has all come down to this. The Indians are 6.5 games behind Detroit with the Tigers coming to Cleveland for the most crucial series so far in 2011. There are four possible outcomes for the series and only one leaves the Indians with much chance at going to the playoffs this year. If the Indians lose this series, either 2-1 or 3-0, they will be a minimum of 7.5 games back with only 22 games left to play. The Indians do have the benefit of having 3 more games to play than the Tigers, but this can only make up 1.5 games in the standings and the Indians would have to win all three (These three games will take place 9/19 against the Mariners, 9/20 against the White Sox and 9/24 against the Twins). Assuming the Indians win all these after losing the series to Detroit, they would have 6 games to make up with 19 left to play. Assuming Detroit continues at their current pace, they will win 10 of these last 19. This means the Indians would have to win 16 of the last 19 to break even and would still probably have to sweep Detroit in the final 3 game series to have any chance. The Indians need to win this series more than any other series in a very long time.

There are a few good factors going for the Tribe going into the series however, to give off a little ray of hope. Grady Sizemore is scheduled to come off the disabled list tomorrow and should take Jared Head's place in the lineup. While he did hit an RBI double in the season finale against Kansas City, his 2 hits in 23 Major League at bats show that he isn't quite ready for the big time. Grady Sizemore has been one of the best players on the Tribe this season and is currently third among Indians in slugging percentage (of players with more than 2 at bats). The ability for the Indians to move Ezequiel Carrera to left field and possibly out of the leadoff spot makes a gigantic difference in the make up of this team. 

Jason Kipnis also is looking to come off the disabled list this series, if not in the first game. Kipnis was on fire before being sidelined with a couple muscle strains. He had one five hit game and he hit 6 home runs and 4 doubles in his first 18 Major League contests. The majority of the damage he did came against the Red Sox and Tigers, two of the best teams in baseball.

Another positive injury note is that the Tigers just lost outfielder Brennan Boesch for the season. Boesch was an important part of the Tigers lineup, hitting .283 with 16 home runs and playing strong outfield defense. He has been a top of the lineup hitter for Detroit most of the season, hitting 2nd, 3rd and 4th and will now be replaced by Delmon Young (recently aquired from the Twins) in left field.

Game 1

Doug Fister vs. Ubaldo Jimenez

I'm not posting the stats for either pitcher in this match-up, because they are very misleading. Both pitchers started with other teams (Fister was on the Mariners, Jimenez the Rockies) and now find themselves in much more meaningful games with at least a slight improvement in the offense behind them. The Indians have already faced Fister 4 times this year and the results have not been very promising. While the Indians have won 3 of the 4 games, they have only averaged 2.75 runs per game that he has started. To be more exact, Fister has a 2.35 ERA against the Tribe this year, so everything else can be ignored.

Jimemez is another story entirely. Rather than the elite shut down ace the Indians were hoping for when they traded Drew Pomeranz and Alex White to Colorado, he has been rather erratic, looking amazing at times, while just falling apart elsewhere. Unfortunately, so far there has been more bad than good from him, but his last two starts have seen improvements. This includes him getting more movement on his fastball which has lead to more swings and misses, adding up to 16 strike outs in his last 13 innings. Against the Tigers this year Jimenez is 2-1 with a 6.06 ERA. These numbers reflect his outings accurately as his first game as an Indian against Detroit was his best game so far and his last was his worst. It is extremely important that Jimenez pitches well in game 1, in order to save the elite members of the bull pen and to give the Indians a chance at the much needed sweep.

Game 2

Rick Porcello vs. Fausto Carmona

The Indians have faced Porcello 3 times this season with mixed results. He should be the easiest of the three pitchers Detroit is puting out in this series, but you could say the same thing about Carmona from the other side. Porcello has a 9.42 ERA against the Tribe this year, but the youngest member of the Detroit rotation should not be over-looked. 

Fausto has pitched well against Detroit this season, but has been hard to figure out all season. When he pitches well, the hitters have a hard time figuring out how to hit his sinker and when he doesn't no one can figure out why. While he has pitched better since his return from the disabled list not every game has been a gem. This game certainly seems like a must win at this point and may be the calm before the storm. 

Game 3

Justin Verlander vs. Justin Masterson

The battle of the aces. Masterson and Verlander are two of the 8 American League pitchers with an ERA below 3.00 and both have been absolutely dominant in 2011. Verlander has been especially impressive and is the favorite to win the Cy Young this year, with his ERA of 2.34 and a WHIP under 1.00. He was not just the first pitcher to 20 wins, but won his 21st before another starter got his 20th. Currently, Masterson has only 11 wins, but that is mostly due to his lack of run support this year. He won't be able to expect many against Verlander either as he has allowed only 1.69 runs per 9 innings against the Indians this year.

In order to win this series, the Indians can't just play better, they need to be better. This means they need the absolute best players available on the field at all times. This means Grady Sizemore and Jason Kipnis instead of Head and Donald. It means Matt LaPorta instead of Lou Marson and a strong DH in Jim Thome. If a relief pitcher outside of Perez, Perez, Pestano, Sipp and Smith gets into a game, I will assume that Manny Acta has given up on the season. This is not the time for random off days or whining little injuries. This is the time to win the Central Division and if the Indians really want it, they need to take it now.

Player of the Game

Shelley Duncan demolished two baseballs today, sending them deep into the left field seats. This feat alone, along with the 5 RBI that came with it, won him today's 'Player of the Game'. Duncan earned a 10.17 for his 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and a walk.

Feathers Up

The offense woke up again, just in time as just about every game the Indians play for now will be the most important game of the season. If the Indians lose even one game to Detroit, it will be extremely hard for them to make the playoffs. A bonus feathers up, the Indians game was over before 4:00 pm eastern and the Tigers don't even get to start their game until 8:00 pm in Chicago. Hopefully this, along with the projected starters of Ubaldo Jimenez, Fausto Carmona and Justin Masterson will give the Indians a small advantage over the Motor City Kitties.

Jeanmar Gomez pitched admirably today, making it until the 4th inning before he allowed his first, and only, run of the night. Gomez has been up and down all season, both literally (up from Columbus and back down) and statistically, but he has pitched well in both starts since his latest return from the minors, earning a win in each game.

There was some good news today about Grady Sizemore and it seems he may be able to join the team as soon as tomorrow's game against Detroit. As far as I'm aware, Jason Kipnis is also planning on returning for that game which means the Indians could field an almost completely different team than they have been the last couple weeks. If Hannahan goes on the DL and Matt LaPorta is recalled (more on that later) they would have new players at first, second, third, catcher and center field. This is a really good thing as it is going to be tough to beat the Tigers anyway, but will be almost impossible while starting Jason Donald and Jared Head.

Feathers Down

Jack Hannahan went down with a calf injury after hitting a single in the third inning. What more can you expect from an Indians team with only 2 starting hitters (Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana) who haven't been on the DL this season? Hopefully his injury will not lead to him going on the DL, which would basically end his season, but will lead to the return of Matt LaPorta, since Hannahan was considered the only back up first baseman. I also wouldn't mind seeing a little more of Lonnie Chisenhall at third base, so if this is a serious injury, it wouldn't be that terrible of a thing.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 9 - Kansas City Royals 6

Player of the Game

Ezequiel Carrera takes the 'Player of the Game' for basically scoring the first run all by himself. He singled then, when the pitcher tried to pick him off at first, went all the way to third on the overthrow. Carlos Santana quickly followed with a one out sacrifice fly to bring him in and the Indians stopped scoring for the night, almost before they started. David Huff earns bum of the game for allowing all 5 runs in just 6 innings. Huff allowed 6 hits, including 3 extra base hits, to effectively destroy any chance the Indians had at winning this game.

Feathers Up

It's not that bad that the Indians lost today. They faced a Cy Young caliber pitcher in Jeff Francis and are so far up in the divisional standings, there's no way Detroit can catch up.

Feathers Down

The White Sox lost to the Tigers for the second day in a row and Detroit looks to sweep tomorrow. While this may seem nice as it places the White Sox further behind the Tribe, the Indians really needed the White Sox to help bring Detroit down a game or two. The next series against Detroit could make or break 2011 for the Cleveland Indians.

Jared Head started his career going one for one, but has fallen off a bit late, going 0 for his last 18. Head has been a defensive upgrade over Shelley Duncan and Austin Kearns, but is an obvious step down from Michael Brantley. Too make what could be a long note short, Indians fans won't be sad to see the return of Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo in the coming weeks. Head did get his first career steal today after being safe on an error. The steal came on what looked like a botched hit and run. I look forward to seeing the tens of steals that Head will get over the rest of his career.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Kansas City Royals 5

Player of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera showed some offense after a short slump with a 2-run home run over the left field wall in the top of the third inning. This home run gave Cabrera enough points to win "Player of the Game" with a score of 4.40. This is Cabrera's 17th award of the season, the best on the team by 6 games. Jason Donald came in second in the PoG race tonight with his solo shot, giving him a score of 3.68.

Feathers Up

The Indians hit the scoreboard early tonight. Kosuke Fukudome hit a long single in the top of the first inning and Carlos Santana would later hit a double, which scored Fukudome. Jim Thome singled Santana in, giving Masterson a 2-0 advantage before he even threw a single pitch.

Jason Donald hit his first home run of the year in the top of the fourth inning with a solo shot to left field. This was Donald’s first Major League home run since August of 2010.

Justin Masterson received plenty of run support from his offense tonight. In the first inning alone he got more support than he did his entire last outing. The Indians hitters gave Masterson a 5-run buffer tonight, which was enough to give Masterson the win.

The Indians bullpen was perfect again tonight. Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez combined for 2 innings pitched, retiring all 6 batters faced with 2 strikeouts.

Feathers Down

In the same at bat he hit the home run, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a foul ball off his knee. He continued that at bat and remained in the game for defense in the bottom of the third inning. With just one out in the inning, the pain was unbearable and he was removed from game.

Carlos Carrasco joins Michael Brantley on the list of Indians out for the season. Carrasco is scheduled for Tommy John surgery, effectively ending his 2011 campaign and putting 2012 in doubt. This is especially disappointing as the Indians are now have very little pitching depth outside of the Major League roster.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Kansas City Royals 4