So, does John McCain suspend his campaign again until he masterminds the passage of the Wall Street bailout? What a farce that was. Before we go blame one side or the other for defeat of the bill, take a look at this.

Of 38 congressmen who were in races considered toss-up or leaning toward one candidate, 30 voted against the package. Those who were safe went 197 for, 198 against. Contrast those numbers with the numbers for the 26 congressmen not running for re-election. 21 were for the bill, 4 against.

So, as you can see, if you had an election in 30 days that could go either way, clearly the risk of a yes vote clouded passage of the bill. Those leaving the House were overwhelmingly for the bill.

Meal of Links

Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad softening his stand on Israel? Last week, he admitted Israel's right to exist and it was not considered news for some reason.

The secret story behind Gilligan's Island. Little buddy, you devil, you.

Flea is a freshman. He is a Music Major.

Steely Dan, Sonic Youth, Split Enz, Squeeze, Spoon. All right here. My kind of reading...and listening.

Exercise Yard

Now that the season is over, I decided to look back at April and how I thought the Indians would do. They finished in third place with 81 wins.

My prediction was 89 wins and no playoff baseball. So, I feel I was kinda right.

I thought Detroit would be good and win the division. Uh, I missed that one.

"The leftfield platoon still bores me." Chalk one up for me. I also said about Ben Francisco: "Not sure he's the answer, but let's see what he can do at the big league level." I think I was correct on both counts. I also said Sizemore and Martinez were solid at center and at catcher. I'll get to Sizemore sometime in the off-season. Note Kelly Shoppach not on my radar. Ditto for Jamey Carroll.

For three paragraphs, I was hot:

"Franklin Gutierrez, Turtle Boy, is now the regular rightfielder. Not a big fan. I think he's a 2-tool player. For all of Jhonny Peralta's faults, the dude carried us in the playoffs last year. So shortstop doesn't seem to be an issue. The $6 million dollar man, Casey Blake, is at third, and quite frankly, no use going over his abilities again. The heir apparent at third, Andy Marte, seems to be have regressed at this point.

My running joke since last year is, "Do you mean the soon-to-be .244-hitting Asdrubal Cabrera?". Possesses a great glove, but his late September and playoff decline at the plate have me questioning the Hall of Fame status already bestowed upon him by some. I think this is a huge question mark for 2008. He must hit. Same with Ryan Garko at first. I love the guy, he's the darling of "The Jim Rome Show" and bloggers everywhere, and he is probably my favorite Indian. But you can't be a corner infielder and knock in 62 runs (well, unless you're Casey Blake). He must do better at the plate. Don't forget in 2006, he knocked in 40-some runs the last two months. That is the guy we need.

That leaves Travis Hafner as DH. He hit .255 this spring and had 12 walks and 2 homers. The Indians seemed satisfied, saying he had been pretty selective at the plate. But selectivity has never been an issue and those stats echo his 2007 season. Hafner, for whatever reason, was not able to drive the ball last year with disdain. His walks were still up, so an expanding strike zone was not an issue, he just lost some pop. However, in what was considered a down year, he still had over 20 homers and knocked in 100. I'll take that and we'll have to see if he'll ever get back to that 40-120 plateau."

Give me credit on Gutierrez and Marte. Peralta installed at cleanup was the least of our problems. I had Asdrubal Cabrera figured out like most AL pitchers until he got sent down to AAA. Most amazing comeback upon his return. Developed into a solid major league hitter and, as the roster stands now, probably moves into the Number 2 slot in 2009. Garko tied for the team lead with 90 RBI.

You could write a book on Travis Hafner's disappointing season. I sensed something wrong with Hafner coming into the season, but didn't think he'd finish the season with a batting average under .200. Early in the year, walks were way down, and strikeouts were way up. Scouts are correct. Most of his outs now are grounders to second and fly balls to left. So much so, Chicago was not even putting on the dramatic defensive shift on him anymore. Actually saw him hit a homer in September, testing the blind squirrel theory.

So, I think I had our offense pegged. What about the pitching?

"Starting pitching is the team's strength. Can Paul Byrd repeat his performance last year? If not, Cliff Lee should pick up the slack with a hopeful return to form. Keep in mind, Wedge hates him, so that's a short leash we're working with here. Westbrook, Sabathia and Cabrera should be solid.

Bullpen is pretty much the same, except for the additions of Breslow (a late add), Julio and Kobayashi. I see these questions and they are not going to provide simple answers, I believe. Do you honestly believe Perez and Betancourt can duplicate their 2007 seasons? These guys had ERAs below 1.45! I don't think that can happen again. Even a full run more of an ERA, which would still be very good, could be the difference in some losses. And Jensen Lewis, who wasn't touched the last two months of 2007, is he for real? I say no. And do we think Joe Borowski can do it again? We thought he was on borrowed time last year, so it may be more of a tightrope in 2008."

OK, starting pitching was the team's strength. Did not think Byrd would do well, continuing his pattern of when he throws a lot of innings one year, he's dog meat the next. Lee had a year for the ages. But he'd won 18 games before and I always liked him. But 22-3? Never thought that would happen. Cabrera and Westbrook getting hurt really damaged us. Sabathia was bad early, but was really good later. Then the trade came and he won 11 with Milwaukee. Amazing that Lee and Cabrera were the only ones standing at year's end. Cabrera had the problem of hitters laying off that sinker and his walks were way up this year. He has to get back to 2007 form.

That bullpen worried me and I was right. Julio, Kobayashi and Breslow were never factors. Breslow had a fine year with the Twins after we let him go. Julio? Not sure where he went. Kobayashi was a mystery. The Indians actually touted him as a potential replacement if Borowski faltered. Then they refused to pitch him in April in close games, had a bit of success until about June and then was pretty bad and rarely used after August 1. Signed for next year, so he'll be back.

I didn't think either Rafael, Perez or Betancourt, could duplicate 2007. They were unbelievable that year and both had awful starts in 2008. Perez righted himself after April and was the most consistent bullpen guy for the year. He had zero competition though. Amazingly, Betancourt never figured out how to pitch until late August. Was actually decent down the stretch, but he was a disaster for the year.

Kinda right on Jensen Lewis as he was sent down to AAA rather early. But he saved a bunch of games late in the year and may be the setup man next year, if we get an established closer. Joe Borowski was plain awful. Who knew when I wrote that on April 1, he had already been hurt for 2 weeks? He was gone rather early.

I apologize to Shin Soo-Choo. I usually refer to him as "The Asian Trot Nixon", but he's looking awfully good in right field. But I wanna see him repeat that next year. Other than that, it looks like we will be looking for a second or third baseman, and a closer. I see at least two bullpen spots open and really we'll have competition for third, fourth and fifth starting pitchers. Westbrook should not be counted on for 2009.

Visitor

23 Across: "The Big Chill" actress (12 letters) Answer: Mary Kay Place