I don't know how to feel. There's that blind faith, the foolish optimism that grows on us because we're just sick of the gloom and doom. Maybe we don't have it in us to keep the glass half-empty any more. I know that I like to think that I've exhausted enough negative energy for three lifteimes, but a light shove can knock any one of us into that pool of pessimism at any given time. While we don't forget that it's only baseball, only a game, there's no denying this is one of the constants in our lives.
The word "due" rattles around the brain at times like this. That should be upgraded to "overdue", and even saying "way overdue" would be overstating nothing. That's Cleveland, the only one I've ever known; the city hopes, and waits, and walks away disappointed. It feels like that happens every season, going back several decades, but sometimes we are granted mercy. At times, there is no hope and no waiting for the disappointment, so the disappointment doesn't sting; it's just a long, dull pain that we'd rather not experience.
Not only was I there twice during the posteason, I was there several times down the stretch when the Indians had some heated games against the Detroit Tigers en route to winning the AL Central in 2007.
Baseball is an amazing game. After 161 games, the Indians, Rays and Rangers are separated by just one game in the standings. A long season that started way back in April comes down to a single game for these three teams, with a playoff berth on the line. The “every game is important” mantra was one that Indians fans learned well in 2007, when one more Tribe victory would’ve given the Indians home field advantage in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. We all know how that turned out. Here we are again six years later, and one game could make the difference between a postseason run and hitting the golf course in the first week of October. The Indians have won 91 games already, not bad for a team that Vegas put the over/under at 76 ½ coming into the 2013 season. They’ve won 23 more games than they did in 2012. They’ve won 20 games in September, including 14 of their past 16. And yet, it could all be for naught if the Indians lose today and Tampa Bay and Texas both win. That would trigger a complicated scenario in which the Indians would host Tampa Bay on Monday, with the loser of that game traveling to Texas, and the winner of those two games making the playoffs as the two AL Wild Card representatives. 
The Cleveland Indians do not have a superstar. There are no Cy Young candidates. There are no MVP candidates. If you’re into traditional stats, the team will finish the year without a guy that hit 25 home runs, without a .300 hitter, without a 90 RBI guy, without a pitcher with 15 wins, without a starter with an ERA under 3.00, without a closer with 35 saves, and without a pitcher with 200 strikeouts.