The Race

Well, the race is really starting to heat up now. Not the race you're
probably thinking of, though. I'm talking about The Great American League
Strikeout Race of 2007.

Heading into Friday's action, the Indians trailed the Devil Rays 864 to 841.
When Todd Jones finished off the Rays up in Mo'town, the Tigers had added
nine punchouts to the Rays' gaudy total. The Tribe only had eight at that
time, but still had three innings to go. A leadoff whiff by Franklin
Gutierrez in the seventh assured the Indians of not losing any ground in the
race.

Curiously, the Indians failed to take full advantage and it wasn't until
Kenny Lofton swung at two pitches that almost hit him in the neck with one
out in the ninth before Derek Shelton's charges logged their tenth and final
K of the game.

Here's how the standing shape up after Tuesday's games.

Devil Rays--873
Indians--851

As long as Sizemore stays healthy, the Indians should have little trouble
passing the upstart Rays by seasons end.