The Indians had a scheduled, though probably unwanted, off day Thursday. Having just completed a three-game sweep of Detroit, Cleveland has won 10 games in a row, its longest winning streak in six years.
Ironically, the streak comes six weeks after the Indians made the first of three white-flag trades, signifying their concession that they will not be contenders in the second half of the season. The Indians traded 40 percent of their starting rotation, CC Sabathia and Paul Byrd, plus versatile veteran Casey Blake. Amazingly, the Indians have a winning record since they traded Sabathia.
The loss of Sabathia and Byrd has been offset by Cliff Lee's spectacular season, plus the return from the disabled list of Fausto Carmona, and the surprisingly effective starts from rotation newcomers Anthony Reyes and Zach Jackson.
The offense has been led by shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who has done a nice job of replacing the injured Victor Martinez in the cleanup spot. And Grady Sizemore is having a career year in center field.
Even the bullpen, a trouble spot all year, has settled down somewhat with the emergence of Jensen Lewis as the closer. All of which has helped the Indians lift themselves out of last place in the AL Central Division standings. Indeed, their record of 28-14 since July 10 is the best in the American League in that span.
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