Morning Update: WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN!

WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN!!!

I actually SCREAMED when Travis Hafner hit a home run yesterday. And given my reaction now, you'd think we just clinched a playoff spot. But hell we got a win, time to celebrate before we get back to business. WE AREN'T THE NATIONALS!!! AND WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE!! WIN WIN WIN WIN!

I was in the car, so my screaming could be contained. Or else I might have not done it. I would have screamed after the last strikeout, but I had just picked up my mother at that point, and that wouldn't have been good.

So let me try and run through this here before my head explodes the best way I can.

One last note from Saturday's affair. Roy Halladay is the last Cy Young winner to start the year 0-2 the year after he won the award, so he can certainly talk from experience towards Cliff Lee.

"I think teams come out gunning for you a little bit [the year after a Cy Young]," Halladay said. "But more than anything, it's just getting that good feeling that you had the year before. Sometimes you get that early on in a season and it carries out through the rest of the year. You're always trying to get that feeling back."

Carl Willis feels like Lee is pressing a little, just like a few others are because the team hadn't won a game. We'll see how Lee copes on Thursday against CC Sabathia at the opening of the Palace.

We've got the Royals first though, and to do that, we need to wrap up the Toronto Blue Jays series, which has ended on a good note.

Let's start with Trevor Crowe, who got his first major league hit and his first major league RBI all in one at-bat. He also had his first major league letdown and major league bat snap with that bases loaded strike out. I'm so glad he got another shot at it and made good.

"I had a funny feeling I was going to be put in that situation again," Crowe said. "I thought if I was given that opportunity, I'd have to put up a better at-bat."

That pressure is off Crowe now, so maybe he can just settle in and do what he's done throughout his minor league career, when he's not hurt that is, and just hit well and run fast.

The pressure is also off this team. They've got that win and they can forget about all that bad karma..

"It's always different when you get that first win," manager Eric Wedge said. "I think anytime you lose a couple games to start the season off, it makes it a little tougher. But the starting pitchers need to continue to challenge themselves, compete against one another and keep rolling on."

Speaking of starting pitching.. Anthony Reyes was terrific aside from that Vernon Wells mistake. I was real pumped watching him. He gave a good effort going six strong, despite the late blemish that made it a one run game, he was real sharp early.

"That's the first time we've had a starting pitcher go more than five innings," Wedge said. "For him to get to that sixth was big for us, because it allows you to push deeper into the ballgame."

"For the most part," Reyes said, "I was able to throw strikes, work the corners and keep them off-balance a little bit."

And when that happens with going the six innings, it takes soooo much pressure off the Indians bullpen. To only need three more inning instead of like four or five. Jensen Lewis was straight up the bomb in the 7th and 8th inning and then Kerry coming in for the ninth, despite it not beeing a save opp, was pretty huge. Wedge said Lewis was outstanding and Lewis said "that was how you draw it up" in regards to what Wood did.

Rafael Perez struggled a bit though, only getting one out, he's trying to find his slider. Carl Willis says the cold weather has impacted that aspect.

"The slider was slow to come for him last year," Willis said. "We're not seeing the same slider we saw at the end of last year."

One final note on that game before we put it to rest. Wedge said that's the hardest ball he's seen Travis Hafner ever hit. I don't know about that, but he reached over the plate and drove that to left field like the Pronk of old. This wasn't a inside pitch that he pulled, this was one he extended on. That is a better sign than anything we've seen. He did strikeout three times to David Purcey, but it seems like everyone struck out to Purcey in that game. He was being too fine, which led to walks, but it also led to the strikeouts and his early exit.

The injury to Scott Lewis took a positive attitude on Sunday with the news that he'd rest for 5-7 days and then begin to throw again.

"He won't throw for 5-7 days," Soloff said. "We're hoping for an expedited return of 2-4 weeks. Overall, it's highly encouraging news."

With Lewis' injury history, things were kind of murky and worrisome, but I think we all figured it couldn't be that bad if he was still pitching.

Other infirmary news, Jake Westbrook will begin throwing his offspeed pitches this week. David Dellucci is a about a progressive week and a half away from going on a rehab assigment. He did baserunning last week and will start some game activities this week.

Well, no news on Wednesday's starter.. My money is on Zach Jackson, unless he's needed between now and then as a long-man. Then it would be Aaron Laffey who didn't pitch deep in the game on Saturday for this reason.

Jeremy Sowers is supposed to start today and I would guess Jack Cassel on Tuesday. Which means David Huff is a possibility, but I think the Indians are either going with Jackson or Laffey. Saarloos pitched on Sunday, so he's out of the mix.

Think about it.

If the Indians call up anyone, even Laffey or Sowers

It wouldn't be a painful move, just one that would involve possibly dropping Vinnie Chulk. I don't think the Indians want to do that just yet. They could send down Zach Jackson, but what sense does that make?

If they call up a David Huff or Jack Cassel, they'll need 40 man roster spots, which are now not open because of Chulk's call up. That would definitely mean Chulk is out and the Indians don't want to try and risk throwing him through waivers, do they?

My money is on Jackson, my hopes are with Jackson. If he bombs, then okay, make some sort of move for the next start, but just stick with who you got and see how he handles it. He earned it with the job he did against Texas at least.

And finally, from the I just checked ESPN for any sort of possible links I might find interesting department....

Manny Ramirez wants to come back to Cleveland.

WHAT?!

"I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started," Ramirez told USA Today. "I have so many good memories there, why not?

"I think to go back where you started is everyone's dream."

Manny wants to play for Cleveland one more time before he retires.

What the hell is going on here.

I have no issues with Manny as a player or for that matter how he left Cleveland. I think what Boras had him do to Boston was deplorable and really takes away from the respect I had for him. But really, why is this topic coming up?

And why did he go to Thome and say they should go back to Cleveland one more time before retirement?

"Manny was very sincere when he brought that up to me," Thome said, according to the newspaper. "Manny was saying how special that would be for us to both go back together. He was very passionate. Baseball's such a weird thing. You never know what's going to happen."

This is just the last thing our fan base needs. Un-realistic possibilities being brought up in the heads of our fans, which are eager to do something like this everytime someone brings it up or thinks about it.

There are STILL people wondering why can't we bring back Kenny Lofton for chrissakes.

Imagine what they'll be saying now that they know both Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might entertain the idea of making a return to Cleveland together.

I'll say this though.

You guys would have to come on the cheap, the DH spot would have to be vacated, and the year might have to be 1998.

"Me and Thome back in Cleveland?" Ramirez said, according to the report. "That would be sweet.

"I love L.A. I really do. But the way the city responded to me, it reminded me a lot of how it was in Cleveland."

For you? Maybe. For us, who the hell knows. Cleveland loved Manny, and I'm sure if he signed here again, they would forget about all the boos they've given him and Thome. But damnit stop doing this to this fan base. They've already got too many impure thoughts about Kenny Lofton. We don't need this.