This story on the Indians-White Sox game last night is pretty good. It should probably be harsher on the Indians, actually. They had a man on third with one out twice in the ballgame and couldn’t score. Bad show. Here is the story from the Plain-Dealer. The two scenarious for the Indians to get in the playoffs are these:
If the Indians win the last two games of the season, they can win the wild card outright if the Red Sox or Yankees lose the last two games of their series.
If the Indians win the last two games, they could force a one-game playoff if the Yankees and Red Sox split the last two games of their series.
The situation has gotten a bit more serious since Dr. Schramm made this post.
Indians need a win today, and a Yankee win (with old friend Jaret Wright toeing the hill for the Evil Empire) to force a one-game playoff with Boston tomorrow to determine who receives the wildcard.
The last one-game playoff the Indians participated in was in 1948, when Gene Bearden pitched the Indians into the playoffs by beating -- you guessed it -- the Boston Red Sox in a one game playoff. The Indians went on to win the World Series that year, the last WS Champion to play in Cleveland.