Game 162: White Sox 6, Indians 5

by Ryan on Oct 3, 2010 7:08 PM EDT in Game Recaps

The 2010 season ended how it began: with a loss in Chicago.

The White Sox jumped on Indians starter Justin Germano for five runs in the first two innings. Germano has been effective at times in relief, but he's also had a couple of really bad outings. In just two innings he allowed the five runs on seven hits. The six relievers that followed Germano allowed 1 run on six hits and one walk, allowing the offense time to get back into the game.

Many of the Indians regulars sat out this final day of the season, including Shin-Soo Choo, who will end his season with a tasty .300/.401/.484 batting line. Trevor Crowe, Luis Valbuena, and Jordan Brown got one more chance to make an impression before the winter roster decision, while Drew Sutton and Luke Carlin got chances to bolster their chances to land a plum NRI next spring. Carlin hit his second home run with the Indians in the fifth, while Sutton hit a two-run shot in the ninth inning. That home run only got the Indians to within one run, for Chicago had scored an insurance run in the eighth on a Juan Pierre single.

A.J. Alphabet and Paul Konerko were recognized by the Chicago crowd in case they had played their last games with the White Sox, but strangely no recognition was given to Andy Marte's last at-bat as an Indian. Andy didn't make the start, but Manny Acta was able to give him a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning. Andy's last at-bat was a strikeout, thus marking an end of an era in Indians baseball.

With Michael Brantley's groundout to second, the off-season officially began. The 2010 Indians are finished, but there's just under six months until the 2011 Indians run out onto Progressive Field. It's now time to reflect on what happened this season, and look forward to next year. Thanks again for making Let's Go Tribe your Internet home for the Indians this season, and be sure to stay tuned to this IP address for analysis as well as other original content that will hopefully make the long off-season seem just a bit shorter.

20101003_indians_whitesox_0_79_lbig__medium

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Trevor Crowe	.038	Justin Masterson	-.349
Tony Sipp	.031	Jayson Nix	-.085
Justin Masterson	.025	Luis Valbuena	-.084

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Comments

Vinnie Pestano cost me first place in my fantasy baseball league. I lost by one RBI and one stolen base to the guy with Juan Pierre.

by Chemo on Oct 3, 2010 7:46 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks, Ryan. You had a ponderous cross to bear this year.

by ken from alexandria on Oct 3, 2010 8:03 PM EDT reply actions

So we finished ahead of the Royals.

by Roger Dorn on Oct 3, 2010 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

and that one or two game difference proves we are destined to greatness in 2011, and they are destined to the cellar. Cause the opposite positions in the standings would have predicted the opposites, right?

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Oct 4, 2010 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Farewell Andy Marte.

by Toxicadam on Oct 3, 2010 11:12 PM EDT reply actions

Thank you guys for providing a bastion of sanity and reason for Indians fans to hang out. I appreciate every article, every game recap and every game thread (no matter how chaotic or sparsely attended) and consider this the premiere Indians site on the web. Great work, as always!

--
"Most players will tell you that even when they're 100%, they're not really 100% ... if that makes sense."

by vbc3 on Oct 3, 2010 11:59 PM EDT reply actions

seconded. thought my posting fell off dramatically this season, my appreciation and love for this site remains high. great work, everyone!

by macasson on Oct 4, 2010 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions

5 of the 8 playoff teams this year were not in the postseason last year.

Of the 5, 4 were above .500 last year, and the 5th, Cincinnati, won 78.

Of the 2009 teams above .500 that did not make the postseason last year, half
(4 of them) made the postseason this year. The other 4 (Tigers, Mariners, Marlins, and Cubs) slipped rather than move up.

by palcal on Oct 4, 2010 1:10 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks to the mods and everyone who posted for being part of a vibrant, smart community.

Without qualification, I loved being an Indians fan this year, perhaps more than any other year ever.

From, Ben

by bentausig on Oct 4, 2010 1:32 AM EDT reply actions

Closure rec.

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Oct 4, 2010 3:25 AM EDT reply actions

Tough loss to end the season. Hopefully we can start next year swingin’ with a healthy Sizemore and Santana.

The saga continues.

by Heavysoviet on Oct 4, 2010 3:17 PM EDT reply actions

Not just a healthy sizemore, but a sizemore who can hit again. Healthy Sizemore hasn’t hit for a long time.

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Oct 4, 2010 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Occam’s razor suggests that this probably is not correct.

by Jay on Oct 4, 2010 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions

William of Ockham was a hack.

by Ryan on Oct 5, 2010 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Touché.

by Jay on Oct 5, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Is it logical to assume Sizemore was injured at the beginning of this season? It seems the simpler explanation is that he wasn’t injured until he… got injured.

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Oct 6, 2010 1:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Well, i could just say that you can’t read too much into 33 games.

On the other hand, I could point out that Grady slugged .233 over the last 27 games, and yes, I believe that he was already playing hurt for most of those 27 games. That is a reasonable supposition, although the evidence in the data is not strong.

by Jay on Oct 6, 2010 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions

There was one article (I’ve linked it previously) that said he originally hurt the knee in spring training, and that in the Baltimore game he hurt it further to the point of having to have surgery.

Plus, his abdominal injury in 2009 occurred in spring training, and his elbow was reported to be a cumulative-type injury too. Basically, he hasn’t been healthy since 2008. I don’t think it’s a question if he can hit…the question is, can he stay healthy?

by TribeJay on Oct 6, 2010 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions