Setting The Table: The ALDS

So, the American League post season schedule is set at last, and here is what it looks like for the Cleveland Indians after losing to the Kansas City Royals earlier tonight (and thus settling for the second-best record in baseball for the 2007 season and allowing the Boston Red Sox the opportunity to set up the Division Series schedule):

The first three games in the best-of-five series will run as follows:

Thu., Oct. 4 / Jacobs Field / C.C. Sabathia vs. Chien-Ming Wang
Fri., Oct. 5 / Jacobs Field / Fausto Carmona vs. Andy Pettitte
Sun. Oct. 7 / Yankee Stadium / Jake Westbrook vs. TBD

After this, assuming a winner has not been declared, the final two games:

*Mon. Oct. 8 / Yankee Stadium / Paul Byrd vs. TBD
*Wed. Oct. 10 / Jacobs Field / C.C. Sabathia vs. Chien-Ming Wang

So, here we go, kids: a best-of-five between the two hottest games in baseball since the All-Star break (the other being, who else, the rabidly hated New York Yankees). Assuming the Indians can get their sputtery offense going smoothly, this should be an, uh, exciting series as Cleveland attempts to best a team that has won all six times they've been pitted against each other in the regular season. A veritable cake walk.

Assuming this series reaches Game 5 (if the Tribe are destined to fall before these pinstriped bastards, making them sweat it out as much as possible is all we can ask for as a consolation prize), Sarah and I will be in attendance down at the Jake for what will certainly be the most nerve-wracking ballgame I've ever attended (elimination games are hard enough to watch on TV for crissakes), and this is before you even consider what shambling horror we have lurking in the bullpen waiting for the ninth inning.

Thank Goat the Jake is a no-smoking zone as old habits might start to look awfully tempting that evening. If anything, I'd better keep a supply of Tums handy, heh heh.