Indians have been lost cause

The first few weeks of this season looked like a continuation for the Cleveland Indians.

They immediately went about trying to wash away the sour taste of last year's miracle-season-ending losses to the White Sox by going to Chicago and smacking the world champions around in front of their fans in the opening series of the season.

They won two of three games at US Cellular Field, then swept three games from Minnesota. They were 6-1 and atop the American League Central Division the way prognosticators figured they'd be -- and the way the players thought they'd be.

``Our expectations were very high," said Casey Blake, ``not only among the fans but in the clubhouse. Coming into spring training, really, we were very confident. We knew we had a great bunch of guys. Coming off a great year last year [93-69, although with a late swoon], we expected to contend for the Central Division and make a run in the playoffs."

Unfortunately for the Indians, things then took a wrong turn, and they fell to 45-59 -- and well out of contention -- after last night's 9-8 heartbreaker.

The Indians have gotten good seasons from Grady Sizemore (.302 average, 16 homers and 49 RBIs entering last night's game) and Travis Hafner (.296, 29, 85).

They expected to be the team they were last season. ``I definitely didn't expect to be at this point," Blake said.

But there they were, 24 1/2 games out entering last night's game.

Blake has been playing some first base since the Indians traded Ben Broussard to Seattle last week. With Cleveland making some deals, manager Eric Wedge has to spend a little more time deciding how to fill out the lineup card because of all the new names he can choose from. But that's what happens when a team wakes up in the morning knowing it is closer to the last-place Royals than the first-place Tigers.

Who knows where the season turned, whether it was when they dropped six straight to Kansas City and Detroit in May, or when they lost two of three to the White Sox in June, or when they dropped three of four to Minnesota to start the second half.

``Somewhere in there, we kind of went south, and I don't have any answers for that," Blake said.

``It was a pretty helpless feeling," he said. ``I just kind of felt like our morale was down. We weren't getting runners home. We weren't getting big hits anymore. We weren't pitching that well. It was tough.

``It felt like it was out of control, you know, and you couldn't do anything about it. We didn't go on the run like we did last year. Started out great, then we had a couple key injuries, then I feel like we just went downhill from there. That was pretty tough to take."

In addition to dealing Broussard, closer Bob Wickman and second baseman Ronnie Belliard were recently traded, as the Indians began building for next season.

``It's been a disappointing year," Wedge said, a refrain he's repeated for weeks. ``These next two months, it's very important for us to get the most out of them so we can continue to learn more about ourselves.

``Each individual out there has to be honest with themselves and look in the mirror and make sure that this season is not lost [in] these next two months.

``It's a situation where we're taking a step backwards in order to take a giant step forward."