Cleveland wins with tape, string
CLEVELAND — This Indians team has earned the benefit of the doubt.
A lot of what it has accomplished during its run to the World Series hasn’t made much sense on paper. The Indians probably shouldn’t have beaten the Boston Red Sox at full strength, but, in fact, they pulled off a sweep in the Division Series.
They and their beat-up starting rotation probably shouldn’t have been able to handle a sevengame series to begin with, and especially not after Trevor Bauer had to be pulled after the first inning of Game 3, but they handled the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the American League Championship Series.
And they will probably be underdogs in the World Series, whether they face the Los Angeles Dodgers or Chicago Cubs.
But they can’t be counted out, no matter the odds. It’s happened too many times. The Indians just pulled a kid from the instructional league in Arizona and put him on the mound for ALCS Game 5. All he did was shut down the Blue Jays’ high-octane offense for four-plus innings, which led to a shutout and a ticket to the World Series.
It wasn’t the conventional way teams trudge through the difficult postseason stretch. It’s also a far cry from how the Indians and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti envisioned they might get to the World Series. But, here they are, writing a new script as they go.
“It’s certainly not the script we would have written at the start of the year,” Antonetti said. “To be standing here took a collective effort by a great team with a great leader in (manager Terry Francona), the coaching staff and everyone throughout the organization, our player development group, our scouting group, our coaches, our trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, everyone.”
Who could have predicted the injuries to starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar in September? Who could have predicted Bauer would slash a finger on his pitching hand while working on his drone on the eve of the ALCS? To get weirder, Francona lost a tooth right before the first pitch of Game 3.
The circumstances could have beaten this team into the ground so many different times. But the Indians keep punching back, even as conventional wisdom says a team shouldn’t be able to overcome what they have while playing the better teams in the American League.
This run has been nothing short of improbable. The Indians have serious concerns about the roster heading into the World Series. Will Bauer’s pinkie hold up? Can rookie left-hander Ryan Merritt — pressed into service to start Game 5 of the ALCS — do it again, or will Corey Kluber have to throw on short rest, potentially twice? What if the bullpen can’t keep this lockdown pace?
The Indians probably won’t be favored to give Cleveland a second championship parade this year. Maybe that’s how they like it.