TRIBE & TRUE
INDIANS MATCH AL-RECORD STREAK
PICK your extreme. Which do you focus upon daily? They are both historic. The fall of the Dodgers or the rise of the Indians?
To say I am stunned by what has befallen Los Angeles defies understatement. It would be like Rafael Nadal suddenly being unable to get out of the first round of any tournament.
Three weeks ago the Dodgers were on the cover of Sports Illustrated which asked whether they were the greatest team ever. They were on a 116-win pace and were outscoring opponents by 213 runs. You know those movies in which the ugly duckling becomes the swan? So unrealistic. Well, this is reality. The Dodgers have transformed from the 1998 Yankees to the 1962 Mets, losing 15-of-16 through Monday and 11 in a row to become a Hollywood disaster.
In the half-full world, though, there are the Indians, who essentially developed amnesia for how to lose. They won their AL recordtying 20th straight Tuesday night, beating the Tigers 2-0 for their seventh shutout during this run. In this streak they have outscored their opponents by 102 runs (134-32).
“You have to have humility to know that things can change quickly,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said by phone.
If he needed illustration he could offer his players the before and after results of the 2017 Dodgers. But this also is the core group of Indians who led the Cubs three games to one in last year’s World Series and lost three straight, the last two in Cleveland, including Game 7 in 10 Von Miller-blindside-hit painful innings. Why I chose to hone in on the Indians today is because they are better than last year, more equipped than the 2016 team to win Cleveland’s first title since 1948. Here’s why:
1. The Indians lost Nos. 2-3 starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to injury late last season. Manager Terry Francona was credited for understanding the urgency of October and going to his powerhouse pen early and often. But he really had no other options. The Madduxesque Corey Kluber was brilliant. But Francona had no other good options.
This season Kluber is as great as ever, Carrasco is thriving in the No. 2 spot, Trevor Bauer is finally fully honoring his high first-round pedigree and Mike Clevinger is a pleasant wild card. The bullpen is still a strength, but Kluber has real sidekicks this time around.
2. The entire 20-game win streak has been constructed without Cleveland’s most dominant player, Andrew Miller, the greatest force in last year’s playoffs. Miller (knee tendinitis) threw a simulated game Monday and Antonetti said he “is champing at the bit” to be activated. Antonetti said that would occur in the next few days. So, the Indians, who lead the AL in rotation ERA and the majors in bullpen ERA, are about to upgrade their pitching staff.
3. From 2013-15 the Pirates made the playoffs and had among the majors’ best teams, but refused to leave their conservative cocoon and expend big money and/ or big prospects to go for it. The Indians, operating from a similar market, have understood the value of seizing the moment. They obtained Miller at last year’s trade deadline, then shocked the game by signing Edwin Encarnacion last offseason and took on the remainder of Jay Bruce’s contract in August.
Encarnacion and Bruce have helped make Cleveland’s lineup deeper and more treacherous than last season — it already had five more homers than it hit in all of 2016. In addition, the middle infield of Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor ranks first and third in the AL in extra-base hits — Ramirez has four more than anyone in the league.
And the Indians expect Jason Kipnis back in the next few days, but with Ramirez thriving, the second baseman is going to try some outfield, like he played at Arizona State. And there still is a chance, Antonetti said, that Michael Brantley will get back in time to help for the playoffs. The deep Indians have had this great success in 2016-17 mainly without Brantley, who previously had been their best player.
4. The Indians remind me of the 2015 Royals, who responded to a Game 7 World Series loss the year before by blowing away the AL Central and winning their first title since 1985. It took a few months for these Indians to right themselves. It is easy to forget now they opened the second half by losing five of six to the dreadful A’s and Giants, bringing on a version of what the Dodgers are experiencing now — what is wrong with the Indians?
The answer is very little to nothing. Their front office has done a remarkable job of layering the roster with excellence on a tight allowance — Cleveland just might have seven of the best 75 players in the game and then another 6-7 in the next 75-100.
Ownership has permitted that tight allowance to expand in this moment of championship possibility. The team excels at every phase of the game, is deep, has playoff experience and — in Francona — has a differencemaking manager now and in October.
“Our guys have enough awareness that you have to earn success,” Antonetti said of concerns about peaking too soon before the playoffs and growing overconfident due to the winning streak. “They know as soon as you think differently how quickly everything can change in this game.”