Josh Beckett is the obvious reason for the Indians' demise...

10.  Sympathy for Kevin Millar - I am still puzzled as to why Kevin Millar believes he is part of the Red Sox organization when he is in fact under contract as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.  Maybe the Tribe felt bad for the one-time Red Sock who is still trying to bask in the glory of three seasons ago wishing people in Red Sox Nation still used “Cowboy Up” as often as they forget to pronounce the letter “r.” But Millar got permission from the Orioles to throw out the first pitch at Game 7, make commercials for the Red Sox to get the fans pumped up, and even went as far as introducing the lineup for final game of there series by saying that he is “lending his number (15)” to Dustin Pedroia. Hate to break it to you Kevin, but even though you are living off the walk off of Mariano in ’04, it was Dave Roberts who stole the base and scored the run, and if the Red Sox wanted you in Boston, they would have given you a deal.

9.  FOX - Thanks to TBS we know who Frank Caliendo is. Thanks to FOX, we know what the theme song from the Drew Carey Show was as Joe Buck and Tim McCarver’s employer jinxed the Tribe. TBS did play it a few times in the Yankees series, but “Cleveland Rocks” rocked every TV tuned into the ALCS at any sign of the Indians doing something well from taking a pitch out of the strike zone to hitting a three-run home run. And while talking about FOX, it is amazing Tim McCarver is still employed after rambling on constantly about Manny Ramirez’s “pitch identification” skills to making remarks that Jhonny Peralta makes all the plays at shortstop, when anyone who has seen an Indians game this season or in the Yankees series alone knows that Peralta is a season or two from getting the boot from his position. Not that those two things had anything to do with the Indians losing, but FOX, come on, Tim McCarver is the best color guy available to cover the ALCS?

8.  Bad luck and miscues - If I told you I would give you a million to one odds that J.D. Drew would hit a home run in the postseason, you probably would have flushed your dollar bill down the toilet. Well J.D. found the centerfield wall as Fausto Carmona found himself in a flashback scenario from 2006 when he was blowing saves in Fenway the way that Armando Benitez used to blow saves in, well just about everywhere he pitched. The hard hit Taylor-made double play ball off Manny’s bat that found the lip of the infield grass before it found Jhonny Peralta’s glove (not that if it found Peralta’s glove it would have been an out) led to the first run of Game 7 and created an uncomfortable situation for Jake Westbrook and a high pitch count. A runner in motion for Boston that led to first and third thanks to a hit and run from Julio Lugo (as if he really knew where the ball was going, the man his .237 in the regular season) and some other bad breaks including Casey Blake’s error, or Casey Blake’s failed attempt to bail out his third base coach when he hit into a 6-4-3 double play on the first pitch he saw from Hideki Okajima who had pitched himself into trouble, caused the Tribe the series.

7.  Ryan Garko’s Comments - Ryan Garko decided it was in his best interest to say “Champagne tastes just as good on the road as it does at home.” And after the Red Sox completed the series win, he decided to say his quote was mistaken. Here’s some advice Ryan: if you are going to make a statement such as that, you better make sure you hit better than 2 for 8 after your remarks are made public. And, oh yeah, you might want to make sure the rest of the team agrees and wants to play hard as well. Garko’s idiotic comment was just what the Red Sox needed, actually it wasn’t at all since they won Game 5 at Cleveland and had the ball in their court in Fenway Park, turning the series completely around. But nevertheless, if you are going to talk the talk you better walk the walk; ask Jimmy Rollins how to do that.

6.  Josh Beckett - He pitched great.

5.  Eric Wedge - If you give the manager credit for wins than he has to take the heat for the losses and letting your team lose a 3-1 lead only to lose three in a row is unacceptable. A few different moves here and there could have prevented that such as taking Jake Westbrook out of Game 7 after the sixth when he had allowed two hits over his previous three innings or starting Franklin Gutierrez (2 for 15 entering Game7) in that same game rather than Trot Nixon (3 for 7) who had just played all his home games for a decade in that park. Not to mention that whole righty vs. lefty thing that managers tend to go by. Wedge had a chance to get to the World Series, and it was right there for him in Game 5, to wrap it up at home, but his No. 1 man couldn’t do the job on the mound, which is why Mr. Wedge (a strong candidate for Manager of the Year) is only No. 4 on this list, while his No. 1 holds down the title of No 1.

4.  David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez - David Ortiz needs knee surgery?  Really…that is a little hard to believe. And these reports of Big Papi almost calling it quits before heading to Cleveland in the ALCS because of his knee seem to be more farfetched than the possibility of J.D. Drew hitting a grand slam in the playoffs, oh wait. I now understand what is meant by the phrase “just Manny being Manny” and I hope that maybe next season people will say it’s “just A-Rod being Manny.” The man took a month off and came back in time for October and in time to make the league’s best pitching wish the strike zone would double the size for right handed hitters with long dreadlocks and baggy pants. Whether he is striking a pose for a solo home run when his team is down by four runs or hitting a walk-off blast over the Green Monster and into the side of a Toyota Camry on the Mass Pike off of K-Rod, Manny just being Manny in October means loads of trouble for the opposition.

3.  Kenny Lofton - Sure he has played in almost every playoff game the Cleveland Indians franchise has ever been apart of, but maybe that is why they haven’t won a World Series in 59 years. Kenny did his part in defeating the Yankees only to add the 2007 ALCS to the list of chokes he has taken part in. Yes he might have been safe at second on that leadoff hit to left, but you are trailing by three in Game 7, you really need to be going for a double as the leadoff man in the inning? Let’s take a little trip down Kenny Lofton Lane into the life of the World Series champions’ version of the 40-year-old virgin. Kenny’s historic voyage through a career of October failures began n in 1995, his first playoff appearance as the Tribe fell to the Braves in the fall classic. In 1997, he figured if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and he did so, joining the Braves, though the Marlins were too much to handle in six games in NLCS. The next important year on the back of Lofton’s baseball card would have to be 2002, when as a member of the Giants, his club held a 5-0 lead in the seventh inning of a chance to clinch the title before the Angels came back and won that game and Game 7. Two years later, he was part of the Red Sox 3-0 comeback against the Yankees, and in case you haven’t seen the pattern, well Kenny was wearing pinstripes in that series. Just a few examples of Lofton’s failures, but the man has been in the postseason every year since 1995 except 2000 and 2005, that’s 11 of 13 Octobers and nothing to show for it.

2.  Joel Skinner - Wow. I think the only word that can sum up what happened the other night when Manny Ramirez was crawling to the base hit that should have scored Kenny Lofton from second. The bullet line drive hooked around third base only to carim off the wall and redirect into left field, miles away from a slow-footed Manny. But for some reason, Indians third base coach Joel Skinner thought that Vladimir Guerrero had suddenly replaced Ramirez and left and was ready to fire the ball to home. Don’t get me wrong, Manny has a great arm, shown by the play mentioned before when he threw out (but not really) Lofton at second, but replays showed time and time again, Lofton would have been able to run into home standing, race through the dugout into the clubhouse, and shower in enough time to catch Manny’s throw home on live TV from the clubhouse.

1.  C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona - The duo entered the series coming off a huge upset (that’s right upset even though they were playing the wild card team) over the Yankees. The two so-called “aces” were winless in four combined starts, while Sabathia failed to win even a single game in the postseason. You can tell me all you want about their regular season numbers and ERAs so low they are almost in negative figures, but like their opposition in the first round (Chien-Ming Wang cough cough) the two Cy Young candidates did not show up when needed the most. The arms of Sabathia and Carmona carried the Indians to the Central division title and past the Bronx Bombers, but couldn’t find a way to win in Boston. Maybe next time they reach October they will throw first pitch strikes. Maybe then their offense will give them support.