I had the weirdest dream last night. The Indians were trailing by one run in the seventh when one of the best baserunners of his era was held up at third by a career-backup catcher turned third base coach on a ball hit to the outfield. And then hordes of orcs from the Red Sox Nation led by their second baseman Gollum and then the Indians manager Eric "Denethor" Wedge lost his mind and all control of the game. The Red Sox Nation prevailed, chased Frodo Tulowitzki into the Rockie Mountain, and nabbed his one ring.

Then I woke up and—bang!— the first part came true.

The Indians are now left a shell of a team.

Skinner will likely be fired—or will become the cynosure of the locals which is what all third base coaches desire.

Wedge will have to answer questions as to his implacable reliance on weak-hitting Franklin Gutierrez while former Red Sock Trot Nixon languished on the bench, and what the hell was he thinking leaving Rafael Betancourt in for an inning and two-thirds to soak up seven runs!?! Betancourt stayed in for four outs and five runs after the monstrous home run by that dainty, newly-minted Eckstein, Dustin Pedroia. He got to face Pedroia an inning later and gave up another big hit—this time a double with the bases loaded—before Wedge mercifully gave him the hook. And even though Kenny Lofton had a decent series, who would think that an outfield with Kenny Lofton in left and a rookie Pat Sheridan in Gutierrez in right could cut it in the ALCS even with one of the best young players in the game in center (Grady Sizemore) to balance them out?

Casey Blake's game fell apart after he hit into a double play to end the seventh. His error to lead off the bottom of the seventh opened the floodgates. The whole team looked like the pre-Kelly Leak Bad News Bears on a Jason Varitek fly ball down the left field foul line that bounced into the stands for an automatic double after three fielders circled and missed it. At least the Bears had Tanner to throw a "God Dammit!" and a glove to inspire some sort of emotion after the play.

So it at least was a great seventh game for two-thirds of the game. That Skinner-Lofton play was the turning point. Really, the game started with the Red Sox charging out of the gate 3-0 after three. The Indians climbed back 3-2 after six. And then the debacle followed.

In the end it was among the most lopsided deciding games in a playoff series ever. It is the worst since the 15-0 pasting the Braves put on the Cardinals in game seven of the '96 NLCS. Those Braves were also down three games to one before two big blowouts (14-0 in game 5 and 15-0 in game 7) and one close game (3-1 in game 6). The ReD Sox won 7-1, 12-2, and 11-2 in the last three games.

Here are the most lopsided deciding games in a playoff series all time:

It was also among the most runs allowed in a deciding game ever:

And now we have to wait three days for a World Series featuring a club the nation appears not to care about—at least from the abysmal NLCS ratings—, a team that will have an unprecedented eight-day layoff against what Boston thinks is baseball's version of the Patriots. I hope and pray that the Red Sox lose, but it pains me to root for an expansion team that used a wild card—actually a playoff for the wild card—to get to the playoffs. I have to root for Colorado, but I can't say I am thrilled about it.

Yankee Doodles

File this under the most ironic quote of all time. Hey Hank, how did you get your job?

"Where was Joe's career in '95 when my dad hired him?" Hank Steinbrenner told The New York Post. "My dad was crucified for hiring him.

"Let's not forget what my dad did in giving him that opportunity -- and the great team he was handed," Steinbrenner told the paper.

At least Torre won with the "great team he was handed". Also, Torre won almost half of his 2067 career managerial wins before he joined the Yankees (i.e., 894 of 2067). Torre is eighth all-time in wins but still would be 62nd if you eliminated his Yankee career. He managed for parts of fifteen seasons for three different clubs before he became a Bronx institution. Do your homework, Hank!

The jury is still out on how well Hank Steinbrenner will do with the great team he has been handed. So far, I am not impressed.