The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Just call him ‘Cy Young’ Kluber
Winning award for second time opens wounds of poor ALDS outings
Corey Kluber won the American League Cy Young Award in a landslide with 28 first-place votes in the balloting announced on Nov. 15, which, fair or unfair, opens the wound of how his failure in the ALDS caused the Indians to exit the playoffs much sooner than anyone expected.
Kluber, 18-4 in the regular season, started two games in the postseason but lasted only 6 1/3 innings. His ERA was 12.79. He gave up four home runs and nine earned runs. He got a no-decision in Game 2 and was the losing pitcher in Game 5.
Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley all failed the Indians at the plate. Those things happen to even the best hitters in the playoffs. But Kluber was so good in the regular season, especially after the AllStar break, that stumbling not once but twice against the Yankees is still hard to fathom. It was like Superman
forgetting how to fly.
“Regardless how tonight went, whether I finished first, second or third, 2017’s in the past,” Kluber said on a conference call. “I’m looking forward to 2018. My full focus is trying to win a World Series.”
Manager Terry Francona hinted before Game 5 of the ALDS that Kluber’s back was bothering him. But then Francona walked back those comments, and, of course, Kluber would never use an injury as an excuse for getting knocked around in the pivotal game the way he did. He gave up two home runs and three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in his biggest game of the season.
To put that in perspective, Kluber’s shortest outing of the regular season, excluding pitching three innings on May 2 when he left with a back injury, was five innings on July 9 in a no-decision against the Tigers.
“I thought from the beginning, he was having a hard time finding his comfort level in his mechanics,” Francona said the day before Game 5 but referring to Game 2. “I think it actually had gone back a couple games. He was getting a little low on that, kind of sitting on that back side. I think there are reasons for it. At times, I think he’s probably making sure that that back doesn’t act up or things like that. I think he’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Who knows if the playoffs would have unfolded differently had Kluber’s final two starts in the regular season been skipped?
“It’s a 162-game regular season,” Kluber said on the conference call. “I don’t think you’ll find anybody that’s 100 percent by the time the postseason rolls around. It was unfortunate we didn’t win that series (with the Yankees). All we can do is look forward to next year and try to have a better finish.”
Still, the Cy Young Award is about how Kluber dominated over the 2017 season. His 18 victories tied Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers for the most in the majors. His 2.25 ERA was the lowest in both leagues and his 265 strikeouts were thirdbest in baseball. He was 18-9 when he won the Cy Young Award in 2014. He is the first Indians player in franchise history to win two Cy Young Awards, and unlike CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee before him, Kluber will not go into 2018 on the trading block. He is signed through 2019 and club options in 2020 and 2021.
The Indians should go into spring training next year as the favorites to win a third straight Central Division title. Once again, Kluber will be the anchor of one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.
Kluber lost only one time in the regular season after July 4. He gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings on Aug. 23 in a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox at Progressive Field. He was 11-1 after July 4.
Nothing is guaranteed in baseball, but Kluber is as close to automatic as it gets — until he got to the playoffs in October.
History shows Kluber will come back strong. And next October he will get the chance to make up for what happened last month.