Wedge doesn't play to cameras

No, it has nothing to do with superstition. It has everything to do with his conviction that he remain out of the limelight.

"As soon as you get done playing and you start managing and coaching, it better not be about you anymore," said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. "It's about the players."

Before last night's American League Championship Series opener at Fenway Park, the onetime Red Sox catcher was asked why he stayed on the dugout side of the baseline during the Indians' Division Series clincher at New York Monday night.

"I've done that all year. It's not just a postseason thing," he said. "If you're talking about celebrations, this is their team. It's their clubhouse. You know, managers and coaches do what they can to help them be the best they can be, but ultimately it's all about the players."

Hours later, his team's 10-3 drubbing complete, Wedge was asked what he would say to his players in preparation for tonight's Game 2.

"We keep going. The day's over," said Wedge. "Our guys do a good job separating from day to day and from situation to situation. We'll chew on this one for a short period of time, a very short period of time, and we'll move on to [tonight]."

Old hat

The majority of Indians may be new to this postseason business, but not so 40-year-old outfielder Kenny Lofton. Last night was his 89th postseason game and 34th in a League Championship Series. It's the 11th season in which Lofton has taken part in the playoffs, but the remarkable aspect is it's been spread among six franchises - Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco, Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers.

He's on his third tour of duty with the Indians (1992-96, 1998-2001), and in each there has been at least one trip to the playoffs. That includes 1995, '98, and '99, when the Indians opposed the Red Sox in the ALDS.

The Tribe won the first two encounters, the Sox took the '99 matchup, and Lofton provided an offensive presence in those series. His numbers in the playoffs against Boston: 16 games, 12 for 49 for a .245 average, 2 home runs, 11 runs, and 6 RBIs. For all those trips to the playoffs, Lofton has played in two World Series, both losing efforts (1995 when the Indians were beat by Atlanta; and 2002 when the Giants were defeated by the Angels).

Cool customers

Cool and damp? Hardly ideal for baseball, but if there's one team that will brush off weather conditions, it's the Indians, given the way their season began.

It was a little more than six months ago when the only warm thing at Jacobs Field was the heated discussion between Wedge and his managerial counterpart, the Mariners' Mike Hargrove. With snow falling in the fifth inning and the Indians desperately trying to make it an official game, Wedge took exception to what he considered questionable tactics by Hargrove, who wasn't called "the human rain delay" during his playing career for nothing.

In the end, Hargrove's ploy worked, because white-out conditions followed, the snow piled up, and with the public address system blaring "White Christmas," the home opener was called off.

It created havoc for the Indians, though in the long run it perhaps tested their mettle. That's because the four-game series was postponed and their next three games were shifted to Milwaukee, where Cleveland "hosted" the Angels. Three of the four games against the Mariners were made up in May, June, and August, while the fourth was played in Seattle in September - making the Indians the only team in major league history to play "home" games in three cities (Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Seattle).

It's not friendly to him

When Travis Hafner took Josh Beckett deep in the first inning, it marked his first home run against the Red Sox this season. During the regular season he batted just .185 against Boston. It was his fifth career home run at Fenway Park . . . Though it was hardly a save situation, the Indians brought in closer Joe Borowski to pitch the eighth. Earlier, the Indians had given the ball to righthander Tom Mastny for the first time in the playoffs . . . Aaron Fultz, the third pitcher of the night for Cleveland, will hardly savor memories of this performance. He faced two batters in the sixth, walking both David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez, the latter with the bases loaded. In fact, Ramírez's three walks came courtesy of three Cleveland pitchers, C.C. Sabathia and Borowski issuing the others . . . In a fitting set of bookends, the Indians started the game by striking out three times against Beckett in the first and ended it by striking out three times against Eric Gagné in the ninth . . . The Indians had more extra-base hits (five) than singles (three). Only Nos. 7 and 9 in the order, Lofton and Casey Blake, had multiple hits . . . What sort of big-game pitcher had Sabathia been this season? Consider that he was 9-2 against AL Central opponents, 3-0 vs. Minnesota's Johan Santana, and 2-0 vs. Detroit's Justin Verlander . . . With 241 innings, Sabathia was the first Indians pitcher to lead the AL outright since Early Wynn in 1954. Sam McDowell shared the 1970 title with Baltimore's Jim Palmer.