• Tim Marchman wonders if the long season has taken a toll on the Indians' young starters, which might explain why they've not pitched well lately. For a long time, I've been wondering why we don't consider postseason innings when figuring workloads. As far as I know, nobody's published any significant work on either question. What we do know is that C.C. Sabathia had never pitched more than 210 innings before this season, and now he's sitting on nearly 250 (with perhaps another 20 to go). Prior to this season, Fausto Carmona never pitched 175 innings, and now he's got nearly 230.
• It took me a few years, but eventually I came around: Chief Wahoo has to go. It's actually surprising to me that while most of the Indian-themed mascots have been stripped from colleges and universities, the professional teams seem to have been immunized somehow. I've met some of the guys who work for the Indians, and I believe they're good people. I believe they know there's something wrong with Chief Wahoo, and I believe that eventually somebody will convince ownership that the disgusting caricature has been associated with the franchise for too long. Until that day, about all we can do is wear this t-shirt (or, if you're really into irony, this one).
Late note: Just before submitting this, I remembered to check Joe Posnanski's blog, see if he had time to write about the Indians beating the Red Sox (Joe grew up with the Indians). Turns out, as thrilled as he is with the Indians winning, what he really wants to talk about is Chief Wahoo. And he's on my side (so at least that's one Indians fan).