MIDWEST MISERY By Adam Hirschfeld

On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 to take what for any other team would be a commanding lead in the American League Championship Series.

But I’m from Cleveland, where counting chickens before they have hatched is about as wise as spitting in Chuck Lidell’s face.

The ALCS has been an interesting series for a number of reasons:

-Is it just me, or is Dustin Pedroia killing the Red Sox? He’s batting below .200, not getting on base, and not doing anything to set up Boston’s “Big Two” of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. He also looks like a little kid that wants to put on his winter coat and mittens, even though it’s been unseasonably warm in Cleveland this October.

-You can see why Boston has been unwilling to include Manny Delcarmen in deadline deals for the past couple of seasons. He has a very live arm and is not afraid to pitch in big situations. However, relievers in a playoff series have to be careful of repetition; on Monday, Delcarmen rocked the Indians with fastballs on the outside and upper half of the plate. Tuesday night, Jhonny Peralta was waiting for that pitch and, as he is wont to do, drove it over the right field wall, essentially clinching the game for the Indians.

-Speaking of Peralta: all he has done in these playoffs is hit over .400, hit home runs in key situations, turn every double play, and otherwise play like he hasn’t since the middle of 2005. There is a distinct possibility he will play third base next season (with Asdrubal Cabrera going to his natural shortstop slot, Josh Barfield back at second, and Casey Blake moving to left field), but Peralta is the ALCS MVP as of this writing.

-Peralta’s hitting has been crucial because Travis Hafner is showing that his 2007 regular season was no fluke. My concerns about Hafner in the long term have not been quelled by his post season. A co-worker has taken to calling him the “Designated Striker Outer.” Not a good thing for your $14 million slugger. It will be interesting to see how Hafner is used in Denver if the Indians reach the World Series.

-For fun, let’s look at how each contributor from the Indians was acquired (because I love how a team with nearly one third of the payroll of its opponent has raced out to a series lead):

Indians:

Martinez: came up through minor league system

Garko:  came up through minor league system

Cabrera: acquired for Eduardo Perez; was a minor leaguer at time of trade

Peralta: came up through minor league system

Blake: signed as free agent; was a journeyman at time of signing

Lofton: deadline trade in 2007

Sizemore: acquired in Bartolo Colon deal; was a minor leaguer at the time of the trade and considered the 3^rd best prospect in the deal

Guitierrez: traded for Milton Bradley; was a minor leaguer at the time

Hafner: acquired in Einar Diaz deal; was shuffling between Triple A and the majors at the time of the deal.

Sabathia: came up through minor league system

Carmona: came up through minor league system

Westbrook: trade while at Triple A/Majors in David Justice deal

Byrd: Signed as free agent in 2006.

Lewis: came up through minor league system

Perez: came up through minor league system

Mastny: came up through minor league system

Betancourt: not sure, I think acquired as Rule 5 free agent.

Borowski: signed as free agent in 2007.

Good scouting is just as important as a big bank account.

-Manny Ramirez: nice showboating Tuesday night. If Game 5 is out of hand, watch for one in your ear.

(Plus, the guy is in his mid to late 30s; shouldn’t we expect him to behave like an adult at some point? And where is Enrique Wilson to play “Jack Haley” to Manny’s “Dennis Rodman”? Who is more mature: Manny or Michael Jackson? Couldn’t you see Manny retiring to some big farm in Wyoming and building a giant amusement park?)

-Bill Simmons: nice reference to Cabrera as “ass-dribble.” The Pulitzer Prize Committee is holding for you on line two after such brilliant humor and composition.

 -C.C. Sabathia may or may not have won the Cy Young Award this year (votes are cast prior to the post season), but he needs a big game tonight. So far, his career playoff record is 2-1 and his ERA is North of 5.00. That’s not exactly a performance worthy of a number one starter.

-I’m not always sold on Eric Wedge as a manager, but he has been excellent this year. He has pushed buttons when he’s had to and been willing to infuse younger talent (Cabrera, Lewis) to replace veterans that were not cutting it.

Go Indians.

Comments? Adamh164@yahoo.com