Indians advance to ALCS with 6-4 win over Yankees

The game progressed slowly, painfully so at times. But, as each minute passed, one could almost feel the final few ounces of pessimism being sapped out of Cleveland sports fans.

<p class="MsoNormal">Their manager didn't pick the wrong guys. Their pitcher wasn't lobbing slop over the plate for hitters to crush. Their batters weren't wimping out in key situations. Their team wasn't losing simply because its aggregate salary was one-third of its opponent.

<p class="MsoNormal">And, at 11:41 p.m. Monday, the Indians - no, we're not making this up - sent the mighty New York Yankees home for the winter with a 6-4 victory in Game 4 of the Division Series at Yankee Stadium.

<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, it's amazing what $180 million won't buy these days.

<p class="MsoNormal">It can't buy a pitcher with a less-than-overpowering arsenal who will fearlessly traverse five innings against baseball's most formidable batting order. It can't buy young players who don't care that their postseason candidacy isn't endorsed by ESPN. It can't buy an owner and a general manager willing to endure rough waters without throwing everyone else off the raft.

<p class="MsoNormal">But, spent wisely, $60 million and people with character will get you those things. And, this fall, it will also get you a date with Boston in the American League Championship Series that begins Friday at Fenway Park.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It was amazing, what we did here," Manager Eric Wedge said as his players attempted to drown their teammates in beer and champagne afterward. "To beat a great team on the road like this ... we're very happy."

<p class="MsoNormal">The Indians won the series 3 games to 1, earning their first trip to the ALCS since 1998. The Yankees, meanwhile, haven't won a World Series since 2000.

<p class="MsoNormal">Owner George Steinbrenner could, as soon as today, make good on his threat to fire Manager Joe Torre.

<p class="MsoNormal">While Torre looked jobless, Wedge looked genius.

<p class="MsoNormal">"First off, I want to congratulate Eric Wedge," Torre said. "He really turned that team around. They were tough. You make a mistake, and they beat your brains in, and that's what happened to us."

<p class="MsoNormal">Wedge had ignored the anguished screams of second-guessers around the globe by starting veteran right-hander Paul Byrd instead of using ace C.C. Sabathia on three days of rest. Byrd rewarded his manager's trust by limiting New York to two runs over five innings.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I told me wife, 'I think I'm the pretty heavy underdog,'" Byrd said.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Yankees left the bases loaded in the second when Byrd induced an inning-ending fly ball from Bobby Abreu. New York put only one other baserunner into scoring position before Robinson Cano's leadoff homer in the sixth.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He really just did the same things he's done all year," catcher Kelly Shoppach said. "There was nothing really different ... attack the strike zone. Same ol' Byrdie."

<p class="MsoNormal">Byrd last pitched in the postseason in 2005, while with the Angels. He was the only pitcher to beat the White Sox during Chicago's run to the World Series title.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I've got a lot of respect for Paul Byrd," third baseman Casey Blake said. "That's a tough situation to come up big in, and he did exactly what he needed to do."

<p class="MsoNormal">Shoppach was also Wedge's choice to start, taking Ryan Garko's potent bat out of the lineup but allowing Byrd to retain his battery mate. The backup catcher responded with a leadoff ground-rule double that hopped over the wall in the fourth inning. That hit up

<p class="MsoNormal">Victor Martinez's bases-loaded two-out single through the left side of the infield that extended a 4-1 lead to 6-1. Shoppach dropped another double at the base of the wall in the eighth.

<p class="MsoNormal">Grady Sizemore hit the third pitch of the game for a home run, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta each had run-scoring hits.

<p class="MsoNormal">"When we broke camp, this is where we wanted to be, and we believed we could do it," Sizemore said.

<p class="MsoNormal">Wedge's choice of Byrd looked even better when Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, working on short rest, threw only 32 pitches before being removed. Six of the nine hitters Wang faced reached safely, and he was charged with four runs in one-plus innings.

<p class="MsoNormal">Joe Borowski gave up a home run to Abreu in the ninth, but retired Alex Rodriguez on a fly ball and struck out Jorge Posada on three pitches - one nearly a home run. Borowski's teammates spilled out of the dugout and onto the field to celebrate after the final out.

<p class="MsoNormal">"This is great," left-hander C.C. Sabathia said. "Now, we want two more series. Two more."

<p class="MsoNormal">Reach Repository sports writer Andy Call at (330) 580-8346 or e-mail andy.call@cantonrep.com.

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