Hello Tribe fans everywhere!

See how important Cleveland's extra-inning victory over Detroit was on Tuesday? Not even two subsequent losses to the Tigers, including today's 12-3 hammering, could prevent the Tribe from leaving Motown with a 1-game lead in the A.L. Central Division.

The victim in today's loss was C.C. Sabathia, who yielded three home runs and seven runs in four innings. It was by far his worst outing of the season. Hey, anybody can have a bad day, and, if truth be told, it might not be a bad thing for the Indians to stub their toe against the Tigers. Cleveland is not a powerhouse club by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm getting a little concerned about so many Indians fans talking about "the return of the Jacobs Field magic," and all that happy horse manure.

This is a nice Indians team -- a fun team to watch. But it's going to have to claw and scratch for everything it achieves. The players or fans can't afford to get swelled heads.

As we head toward the all-star break, I have few serious complaints about Tribe manager Eric Wedge, who's in the last year of his contract. Let me amend that; I wish Wedge would go with the hot hand, meaning that young Ben Francisco should be inserted into the starting lineup and remain there until his bat cools off.

A good rule of thumb is: if a batter is hitting .500 or better, play him! No ifs, ands or buts.

Now, let's quickly forget about today's Indians loss and set our sights on Toronto for the weekend. Cleveland needs to finish off what's been an enjoyable first half of the season by winning this final series before the break.

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The answer to the last quickie quiz is: Norm Cash. The Indians traded him for Steve Demeter. Yes, I know, Steve Who? Another beauty of a trade by Frank Laine.

Today's quiz: Name the hall of fame Indians outfielder who broke into the majors 60 years ago today.

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-- Kevin Cuneo