Big East
For those of us raised in the Midwest, the national media's obsession with the Yankees and Red
Sox is usually beyond irritating.

But what's very troubling is that this season, the Indians appear to have bought into the hype.

After last night's loss to the Red Sox, Cleveland is now 1-6 this season against the Yankees and Red Sox.

One of my concerns about Tribe manager Eric Wedge is that he still seems like a minor league manager, referring to his players as "kids" and backing them up at all costs (unless, of course, you're Jhonny Peralta).

This is good and bad. But one of the drawbacks of Wedge's style is his team's inability to play under a great deal of pressure. When playing against New York or Boston, the Indians are often on national television, and get more press than usual.

For me, it all goes back to 2005. The Indians were poised to win the Wild Card. But when the pressure was on, they did not perform.

The closest thing to postseason pressure in the regular season is games against New York and Boston. Games against Detroit are also like that. But the Indians play the Tigers so much, the pressure likely wears off.

The Indians only see the Yankees and Red Sox a few times a year. And it's usually not pretty when they do.