If only the Indians could play by Little League rules...

In tonight's Red Sox broadcast, Joe Castiglione commented that people who travel with the Indians say that they'd have a pretty good record if the game ended after the 6th. That sounds juicy, and it just feels right. I mean, Rafael Perez has an ERA of 15.19!

But statements this pithy are rarely as true as they sound. Thanks to the brilliant resources available online, it's something that can easily be tested for veracity. How true is it, if taken literally?

Not very. The Indians' pen has been legitimately bad but rarely have they affected the outcome of a game from the 7th inning on. They have had some bad outings that might lead people to think that they are singlehandedly losing games for the Tribe, but it's not really the case. Here are some notable games:

• April 14: Indians are losing after 6, and the game gets out of reach in the 8th
• April 15: tied after 6, Indians win the last three innings and the game
• April 16: tied after 6, Indians score 9 in the 7th, win
• April 17: winning after 6, allow runs in 7th and 8th, lose to NYY (-1 win in the standings because of the bullpen)
• April 19: winning after 6, allow 6 runs in last three, lose to NYY (-2)
• April 21: winning after 6 and win the game, but the pen allow 6 runs in the 7th and 8th
• April 23: losing after 6, score 4 in the bottom of the 8th versus KC to win (back to -1 win in the standings - credit the bullpen here)
• April 28: tied after 6, lose in bottom of the 9th to Red Sox
• April 29: winning after 6, lose in 10th to Red Sox (back to -2)
• May 2: losing after 6 and go onto lose the game to Detroit, but the Indians gain and lose the lead in last third of the game
• May 3: tied after 6, lose last third
• May 4: losing after 6 to Toronto, win in extras (add a game in the standings and get back to -1)
• May 5: losing after 6 and lose the game to Blue Jays, but gain and lose lead in last third

So entering tonight's game with the Red Sox, the Indians stand at 10-17. If the games lasted as long as Little League games do (that darned bullpen!), they'd be...11-16, and still in last place in the AL Central.

Perhaps you ding the bullpen for the 2 games the Indians lost when tied after the 6th, but you also have to credit them for the 2 games that went the other way. So no change there.

And no doubt, those two games were the Indians took the lead late only to lose it again sting. But those lead changes took place after our magical 6th-inning cutoff.

Much of the 7th+ inning failure has come against the Yankees and Red Sox (both walk-off victories for the Red Sox), and the successes came against Kansas City and Toronto. That bias towards big-market teams is making people in this story remember the Boston and New York games and forget the others.

Yes, the Indians pen is bad, Joe. But don't foist upon them losses which are not theirs to take.