When The American League Champion Cleveland Indians Had Plenty Of Reason To Make Excuses, It Was Their Opponents Who Ended Up Making Them
When the Cleveland Indians had every reason to make excuses, it was their opponents who were making them instead, and that’s why the Indians are American League champions.
The Indians were accused of stealing signs by Boston, and the conspiracy theory of “circumstances” working against the Blue Jays was contrived by Jose Bautista. These, of course, were lame attempts to justify convincing defeats at the hands of the Indians, who had every reason in the world to make excuses themselves, but never had to. They’re going to the World Series, and they’ve lost one game all postseason long. They’ve accomplished that without two of the best starting pitchers in the American League in Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, without their primary catcher Yan Gomes, and without their number three hitter of a year ago in Michael Brantley.
Everybody talks about the losses of Carrasco and Salazar, because A.) They’re the most recent, and B.) Because starting pitching is so crucial in the postseason. But I don’t think enough has been made about the loss of Brantley. This wasn’t just a spoke on the wheel type of player. This was a player who led the league in doubles and got MVP votes last year as the cornerstone bat in Cleveland’s lineup. The Tribe had to make do without one of the most impactful bats in their lineup, and they still had the second best offense in the league, and still made it to the World Series.
Speaking of that offense, the Indians have managed to go 7-1 this postseason, all while the Cleveland hitters are batting .208 with a .635 OPS. How do you manage to go on a tear like that without hitting the ball? Well, for one, they’ve had timely hits. Despite the bad overall mark, the Indians are hitting .270 with a .742 OPS with runners in scoring position. While the offense hasn’t really gotten going in October, that doesn’t apply at all to Francisco Lindor, who’s hitting .323 with a .942 OPS this postseason, all while playing a Gold Glove caliber shortstop.
But, we all know what the biggest reason for their postseason success is. It’s been their pitching. As a team, the Indians have a 1.77 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP this postseason. Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin, and Game 5 starter Ryan Merritt have combined to make 8 starts with a 1.86 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. In the bullpen, ALCS MVP Andrew Miller and Cody allen have appeared in six games each with a 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. Timely hitting plus lights out pitching equals World Series. Pretty simple equation, if you ask me.
And the lack of excuse-making, which is the theme here today — where do you think that comes from? It’s the manager. Terry Francona has remained calm throughout this entire thing. I remember watching his press conference before the ALDS started, talking about the team’s losses of Carrasco and Salazar, and he mentioned how they’ll just have to find other ways to win. I remember sitting there and thinking, “There’s no way he actually believes that, right? Like, he has to know his team is fucked without those two guys.” Welp, so much for that.
Here’s something that isn’t being mentioned enough — since Francona was hired as the Tribe’s manager prior to the 2013 season, the Indians have the best winning percentage in the American League. Under Francona, the Indians are 352-294, a .545 winning percentage, which is just above the Royals and the Orioles. In my personal opinion, just getting to the World Series with this group is enough to cement a Hall of Fame legacy for Francona. However, that doesn’t mean that I think Cleveland can’t defeat either the Cubs or the Dodgers. I’ve learned my lesson to stop doubting this Indians team.