He was riding a cold streak after his big rip and maybe just maybe the magic had worn off.

That's what you think!

It was Andy Marte's solo home run as the lone blemish against Scott Baker, who can't seem to suck against the Indians.

"He's been a tough matchup for us," manager Eric Wedge said. "We mis-hit a lot of balls, and we fouled a lot of balls off. He does a good job moving his fastball around. For whatever reason, we just haven't been seeing him very well."

And no, Justin Masterson isn't referring to the entire team like Wedge is, he's talking about himself despite the use of we.. That's what I like the guy though.

"For the most part, we had a good time walking the first batter," Masterson said. "It would have been nice to change that. ... It was just a weird anomaly."

"With his stuff, they're going to mis-hit a lot of baseballs," Wedge said. "So we need him to be more aggressive early in the inning and early in counts."

One play tricked Jamey Carroll and ended up letting two runs score instead of one. Masterson went six innings giving up just one earned run.

I also like Masterson because of an odd quote like this one. He's definitely a rare breed.

"I'm starting, so I assume I'm a starter," Masterson said. "I'm working to be a workhorse here. Especially going into next season. We've got Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona slicing and dicing. We've got Aaron Laffey and David Huff and whoever else is up there. I'd like to think I'm thrown in there, too."

Let's talk Marte though.

The o-12 or whatever it was, was snapped with the home run and maybe was a result of not giving Marte so many fastballs. Perhaps pitchers have wised up.

"Pitchers know about me now," said Marte.

"I'm getting pitched tough. It's time for me to make some adjustments."

That's going to be so key. We've seen him get the job done, but now he's gotta come back around and do just as well after that struggling point. He can hit at the major leagues, but can he do something that can stop many players from ever being regulars? Make adjustments.

Anyway... Let's move onto some tidbits.

Shin-Soo Choo has been absent, not because of injury, but the birth of his second child. Congrats to the Choo family and the new little Chooster!

Hopefully Choo is back, not just to hit a home run for his new son, but to see the Wonder Girls perform the hit song 'Nobody" and throw out the first pitch for today's game. I use the term "hit" with skeptical amazement.

I no way endorse the following song. Listen at your own risk. Okay so they're saying You... But the South Korean in them makes it sound like Choo.



Onto some more... pressing matters?

Not that Nobody but Choo isn't pressing.

Eric Wedge had the funniest quote of the season when he was approached about fan's anger that Sizemore was still playing. The question was phrased as if we need to "get him ready" and Wedge completely owned it.

"What did they want him to be ready for, Christmas? Did they want him to be ready on Thanksgiving? We shut him down at the right time.

Next year, smart ass.

If there is a next year for Wedge.

Shapiro and Dolan have not started their evaluation and probably won't for a little longer. Wedge wants to know by the end of the year, they might not have an answer for him by then, but as noted by Dolan earlier, they won't waste any time after the season is over.

Anthony Castrovince was able to catch up with Carl Pavano and this was the exchange.

I caught up with Carl Pavano, who said he's acclimated well to his new surroundings in the Minnesota clubhouse. He had laudatory things to say about playing for Eric Wedge and about working with head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff. Pavano said the Indians had no real financial incentive to be careful with him and his pitch counts early in the season, but they are the reason he is still on the field at this juncture of the year. He's still dealing with the shoulder issue that caused him to skip a couple starts with the Tribe, and he said that's left some of his pitches up.

The Yankee fans who hate the guy can suck it. Carl's been nothing but a professional since he came over. Carl is a great guy and we've seen no evidence of some of the stuff Yankee players, fans, and NY Media members have talked about as far as quotes or media reports.

And of course the Indians being the stand-up organization they are, sticking up for the guy when they didn't have to.

Finally.. After picking on Manoloff yesterday, it's time to pick on Hoynes.

First off, your new Hey Hoynsie...

I'm not Hoynsie's biggest fan, by any means, but this is too good to not note.

Hey, Hoynsie: It took a lot of nerve for you to rip the real baseball fans of Cleveland as complainers and whiners in your "Paul's Rants" piece last Sunday. Then you proceed to defend perennial losers Eric Wedge, Mark Shapiro and the Dolan family. How outrageous of us to demand a championship once in our lifetime. -- Joseph Ladd, Cleveland.

Hey, Joseph: You sound like my late mother. She always told me I had a lot of nerve. I guess I do, especially when it comes to whining Indians fans.

Joe, I hope you're not one of those fans who tell their friends, "I just wish the Indians would win one World Series before I die." So what happens if they win it next year? Will you kick the bucket (I pray you don't) immediately after the last pitch? No, you won't. You'll say, "I bet they can't do it again next year."

Enjoy the ride, Joe. From reading your e-mails, I know you saw the Indians reach the World Series in 1995 and 1997. They didn't win them, but wasn't it a blast? What if that's as good as it gets for Indians fans? Are you going to whine about it, or look back and enjoy it?

Ouch... Joe, you got smacked by Hoynsie.. That must suck.

And you know what, in his latest rant, Hoynes tried to make a good point.

We do complain when someone doesn't play through pain and then complain when Sizemore does. The situation dictates it, so Hoynes is kind of wrong in this situation, but hey good effort Hoynsie.

How about that college football yesterday? As we've probably noted, I'm a fan of the much hated Michigan Wolverines. Around these parts, I'm an evil person. Anyway I can in now say I'm a Michigan fan without hanging my head in shame of their suckitude. I'll also be in Ann Arbor next Saturday for Michigan and Notre Dame. I know right, awesome? Even you Buckeye fans are saying, hey that's pretty cool, a big time rivalry and you get to be there.

Yeah or not, I'm an ass, whatever works. I'll take it. We all like the Indians here though. So we're still friends. And I haven't yet made fun of Peralta, which I just realized. Ah well, day off Jhonny.