Hopes up

The teeth of Indians fans are once again unclenching. The roller coaster is on the way up again.
A 6-5 come-from-behind win over the Tigers Sunday clinched a three-game sweep. They have now won eight of their last 10 to improve to 60-52, the first time they have been eight games over .500 since being 46-38 on July 6.
A gangbusters June. A tepid July. Now, it appears the Indians are in for a winning August.
What does that mean for September? Or shouldn't I ask?
The fans keep waiting for the Indians to gain some measure of consistency, to find some kind of water level above .500. Is this hot streak it? Or are they going to tank again at some point this season?
One more stretch of baseball like the Indians had in mid-July, and that will probably be the end of playoff contention this year. As it is, they sit 4 1/2 games out of the wild card, and can't seem to make up any ground on the smoking-hot Athletics, who are in the midst of the best two-month stretch of baseball in team history.
It seems the only hope for the Indians to reach the postseason this year is for the Angels to fall and for the Yankees and their Jurassic Park pitching staff to remain inconsistent. At this rate, Oakland will win the AL West.
The Indians certainly have the schedule in their favor. The final two months are chock full of dates against dregs like Kansas City and Tampa Bay, and reeling teams like the Tigers, Twins, Rangers and Orioles. The Tribe is done with the Angels, Yankees and Red Sox, and has just three games left with the A's in September.
The biggest hurdle the Indians have to clear is six dates with the White Sox in the final two weeks of the season. By then, however, the White Sox should have the AL Central title formally secured and might be on pre-playoff auto pilot, more concerned with resting their regulars than running up their win total.
My preseason prediction of a Cleveland wild card berth is still possible, but the slide in July means the Indians aren't in the driver's seat. They need other teams above them to stumble.
There's a lot to be hopeful about. Travis Hafner is back from a beanball concussion and has picked right back up hitting. Victor Martinez has been hitting since June, Jhonny Peralta is hitting around .300, as is Coco Crisp, Grady Sizemore has leveled off in the .280s and has held onto his leadoff spot, and even fan punching bag Aaron Boone hit over .300 in July.
Boone's July was enough for the Indians to pick up his 2006 option.
The pitching has no Cy Young candidates, but Kevin Millwood is among the league leaders in ERA, Cliff Lee is among the league leaders in wins, Jake Westbrook and Scott Elarton have been good, and even C.C. Sabathia has gotten off to a good start in August.
Bob Wickman is still tops in the AL in saves, too.
Last year at this time was when the Indians crashed and burned after a valiant run that brought them to within a game of first place. This season promises, if nothing else, playoff hopes extending deeper into the season. How much deeper depends on the intestinal fortitude of the men on the field and the coaches in the dugout.
The stats are all nice, but stretching the win column out is the only real goal.