Indians pregame chat

All throughout the postseason, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge has made certain after each victory not to cross the foul line and go onto the field to congratulate his players, instead waiting for them to come off the field. Was this some kind of superstition?

Well, maybe not, according to Wedge.

``Actually, I've done that all year, it's not just a postseason thing _ if you're talking about the postseason celebrations,'' Wedge said. ``It's their team, it's about the players. Managers and coaches do what they can to help them be the best that they can be, but, ultimately, it's all about the players.

``As soon as you get done playing and you start managing or coaching,'' Wedge continued, ``it sure as hell better not be about you anymore or you shouldn't be doing it, because you're time is done. It's about the players. It's about what they do and what they mean to each other. They've earned the right to be out there and they show us the respect by coming through and shaking our hands when it's all said and done.''

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Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro and Patriots' vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, both friendly from Pioli's time with the Browns' organization, appeared together earlier today on WEEI's ``Dale and Holley Show'' with Dale Arnold and Michael Holley and spoke of their mutual admiration, shared beliefs and values, and not-so-foreign experiences managing the personnel of a professional sports franchise.

At Shapiro's request, Pioli spoke to the Indians about winning it all after the Patriots' 2001 Super Bowl victory. Pioli recalled how he became emotional after making a video presentation to the team when he looked down at his Super Bowl ring and reflected on the hard work it took to reach that point.

Shapiro, though, reminded Pioli of the text message he sent as the bedraggled Pats VP celebrated on the field. Said the always nattily-attired Shapiro: ``I sent him a message that said, `Two words: Collar stays.' ''