GAME OVER Last chance on last day isn't the way it was supposed to end

By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- Ask any baseball fan on opening day about their hopes for the season and most would agree that still being in contention after 161 games would be a dream come true.
Today, Indians fans are feeling ragged and unnerved after their 2005 dream turned into a nightmare when the Tribe's bats were tamed -- again -- in Game 162.
Sunday's 3-1 loss to Chicago before 41,034 fans at Jacobs Field capped a dismal week that saw the Indians lose six of their last seven games, including all three to the Central Division champion White Sox.
"We swept a few teams this year -- it just kind of sucks that it was our turn to get swept at the end of the season," said Indians left fielder Coco Crisp after going 1-for-4 against White Sox pitchers Brandon McCarthy, Luis Vizcaino and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.
Flame fizzles
After blazing for most of September, the Tribe went 1-5 in their final homestand to finish two games behind the Boston Red Sox for the American League wild card berth to extend this heartbroken city's drought of professional sports championships to 41 years.
"It's not that we didn't play well," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We just couldn't scratch out enough runs."
For the second time in six seasons, the Indians were eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the season.
But unlike 2000 when the All-Star-laden Indians (Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Roberto Alomar) were expected to contend after five straight postseason appearances, this year's club was a surprise, coming out of the pack in August to throw a late-season scare into the Yankees and world champion Red Sox.
"These guys deserve a great deal of appreciation for what they've done, but it might be tough to recognize that today," said Wedge of the 93-69 season.
Didn't materialize
For the Indians to survive another day and get to play one more game to decide the wild card, they needed to defeat the White Sox and hope the East Division winning Yankees would pin a loss on the Red Sox in Boston.
Neither happened.
"It's been a rough week -- we just lost our momentum somewhere," right fielder Casey Blake said. "We faced some tough pitching and for whatever reason we just didn't have it.
"It was a weird set of circumstances," said Blake, who went 1-for-4 on Sunday. "We expected to win today, we expected to win the whole last week."
McCarthy, a 22-year-old right-hander who split the season with the White Sox and Triple A Charlotte, limited the Indians to one run over the five-plus innings he threw, scattering six hits and two walks.
Consecutive doubles by Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez in the sixth inning produced the Indians' only run and chased McCarthy.
But Vizcaino immediately retired the next three batters to kill the Tribe's outburst.
This didn't help
In all, the Indians stranded nine base runners and batted 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"I don't think anybody was actually pressing -- most of the at-bats were pretty good," said Crisp who hit a two-out double off McCarthy in the fifth frame. "Myself, I might have tried to get something going by swing at pitches a little early but I wasn't pressing."
The White Sox, who were tuning up for Tuesday's Division Series against the Red Sox, jumped on Indians starter Scott Elarton almost immediately and sent him to the showers in the top of the third inning after 51 pitches.
Elarton surrendered a run in each inning as Chicago won its 99th game.
On the 10th pitch of the game, Jermaine Dye hit a two-out solo homer deep into the left-field grandstands for Chicago's 1-0 lead.
The advantage doubled in the second inning after Elarton hit Aaron Rowand with a 2-2 pitch. Back-to-back singles by A.J. Pierzynzki and Joe Crede brought Rowand home.
Tadahito Iguchi's lead-off triple had Elarton on the ropes in the next inning. Dye needed eight pitches to draw a walk, prompting Wedge to yank him for David Riske.
Easy RBI
Paul Konerko drove in his 100th run of the season with a popout to Grady Sizemore in center field. Sizemore's off-target throw allowed Iguchi to score easily for a 3-0 lead.
"I wasn't overly nervous," Elarton said. "I felt good in my bullpen session. After the first batter [when] I fell behind 2-0 to [Scott] Podsednik and I ended up getting him out, I felt really good and that's the frustrating part.
"I wish I could have put away a couple of guys when I had the chance and I just didn't get it done," said Elarton who finished 11-9 with a 4.61 earned run average.
williams@vindy.com