Division Aftermath: The Week Ahead for the Cleveland Indians

The much berated, rarely praised, and always questioned Eric Wedge finally has something on Indians fans:

A division title.

But will that be good enough for crazy Clevelanders?

I doubt it.

This city is hungry for a championship, and the 2007 Indians might be the team to do it. Wedge is the man in charge, so obviously he gets all of the blame and none of the praise.

The hard work is over—the division has been won and the team is headed to the playoffs.

But does that mean Eric Wedge can take the rest of the regular season off?

No way. No how. Don't even think about it.

There's plenty left to accomplish. The top seed in the AL is still very much on the line—especially given the way the Red Sox have played these past few weeks.

So what does Wedge do in these remaining seven games, with the division clinched and  a half-game lead over the Angels and Red Sox for the best record in the majors?

He could line up his rotation, give his better players some rest, or throw everything he has at the Mariners and Royals to ensure that the Tribe land the number-one spot.

But is it possible he could do all three?

The rotation already looks to be aligned—Aaron Laffey will get the start Tuesday, followed by Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers in the double-header and Paul Byrd in Thursday's finale in Seattle.

The doubleheader and the travel day to Kansas City likely mean headaches for Wedge. He needs get his guys days off, but he also needs to worry about winning every game.

Right?

Just how important is getting that best record? More important than getting your players ready for the postseason?

Wedge isn't one to shy away from a challenge, and my guess is he'll play to win in these last seven games. C.C. Sabathia will start Friday at Kansas City, and from there on it's anyone’s guess.

The off-day on Monday would have allowed Wedge to throw Sabathia earlier and possibly squeeze an extra start out of him, but he obviously doesn't want to stress his innings-eater.

Wedge is facing a lot of questions these days—but that's nothing new. If anything's sure about the skipper, it's that he knows how to perform under pressure.

And though he doesn't get much praise, there's no denying that he's done a damn good job of handling the criticism.