TORONTO—One has to wonder what the Cleveland Indians brain trust are thinking.

Last year they came within a whisker of clinching a berth in the playoffs; it was a final week meltdown leaving the Tribe on the outside looking in. The Indians did so on the strength of their farm system, names very familiar to Buffalo Bisons fans: Peralta, Sizemore, Westbrook, Martinez and Hafner to name just a few.

This year the Indians bolstered that lineup by bringing in such high-priced talent as Eduardo Perez and Guillermo Mota. The results have been disappointing. They find themselves under .500 as the calendar hits September. But the Tribe has been playing their best baseball of the season since instituting their garage sale in early August, turning to farm prospects who made their mark here in Buffalo.

How are they doing it? Once again, on the backs of ex-Bisons such as infielders Ryan Garko and Joe Inglett, hot prospect and third baseman Andy Marte, and the newest addition to the Tribe’s lineup, Kevin Kouzmanoff, who dazzled Bisons fans in his one-month tenure in Buffalo and was suddenly promoted to Cleveland on September 2 after an injury to Travis Hafner created an opening in the lineup.

“I can’t quite put a finger on it,” said Cleveland’s Joe Inglett. “From the time I got into this organization, there has been a solid philosophy to create a winning team and attitude on every level. Guys like us carry that attitude into the big league clubhouse.”

Ryan Garko, who played parts of three seasons with the Herd and was on the 2004 Governor’s Cup championship team, fully believes that the Indians can contend in 2007 with their current core. “Guys like [Jeremy] Sowers, [Jeremy] Guthrie and Fausto [Carmona] can all start in this league and perform,” Garko said. “The coming training camp should be interesting.”

Kevin Kouzmanoff was the hottest hitter in the minor leagues with a .379 average. He was with the Herd in Rochester when he received a call around midnight on September 1 that he was going to the Show. “I hardly got any sleep,” he said. “I called my mom right away and she let my dad know. Then I got messed up on my flight connections to Dallas and barely made it in time for the Indians game at Texas.”

But make it he did, and his debut was a memorable one. In his first ever major league at bat, Kouzmanoff hit a grand slam home run, only the third player in MLB history to perform such a feat. “It really wasn’t different than any other at-bat. I just stepped into the batter’s box and made good contact with the ball.”

But Kouz! You’re in the history book, man, hasn’t this all hit you yet? Kouzmanoff gazed up at the roof of the Rogers Centre in Toronto as it was opening in preparation for that day’s game between the Indians and the Blue Jays. “This is all happening so fast,” he admitted. “I’m still pinching myself, wondering if this is all really happening or all just a dream.”

Cleveland might contend for the World Series come this time next year. And if GM Mark Shapiro, Assistant GM Neal Huntington and Player Development Director John Farrell are smart, then they will look first to their own roster right here in Buffalo. If history is any guide, then Bisons fans know that our parent team will again be stocking our roster with blue chip prospects.

CHEERS AND JEERS

Cheers…to the Zooperstars, which comes to town each season and manages to introduce a new character and skit to keep the show fresh. Derek Cheetah and Ichiroach Suzuki recently joined their lineup.

Jeers…to the Famous Chicken. The same old show: Little chickens pee on the umpire, umpire takes out the KFC bucket, visiting players strip chicken to his skivvies. Does this act really command a five-figure fee?

Cheers…to Bisons Event Coordinator Matt Lasota and his staff. Great music tracks and videos. Gone were corny clips from The Golden Girls and Napoleon Dynamite; in were the Cha Cha Slide and Chacarron Macarron.

Jeers… to the Bisons/BPO July 3 extravaganza. They still pack ’em in, and thousands more come downtown just to be around the ballpark for the fireworks. But can’t the event be more light and festive, like the Boston Pops esplanade concerts, and less like a para-military rally? Memo to BPO conductor Paul Ferington: time for a new script, dude!

Cheers…to the Bisons for coming up with their best promotional giveaway in years. On August 23, a replica of Dunn Tire Park was given out to the first 4,000 fans. And this was no ordinary giveaway. The piece weighed almost a pound and was stunning in its detail.

Cheers…to the Bisons for sponsoring “Faith Nights,” inviting the area’s religious groups to enjoy a night of baseball and pregame gospel music. Thankfully, unlike in Atlanta, the hate-mongering group “Focus on the Family” wasn’t in tow.

Jeers…(an ongoing series of them) to Cleveland for continuing to wear the most hideous and racially offensive logo in professional sports. The over-reddened caricature of Chief Wahoo is proof positive that not all “tradition” is good and that its passing is long overdue.

Cheers…to the Bisons for never placing this logo on their jersey in any form.