Their 2 chief concerns
Lindor, Ramirez need to do better than last year’s flop
CLEVELAND — October’s immense pressure can breed stars or break them. Last year, it cracked Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
Dynamic from April until September, the Indians’ AllStar duo was dreadful in the postseason.
“It was surprising to me,” Indians center fielder Jason Kipnis said as the club prepared to face the Astros in the AL Division Series. “Only because of how consistently good they are.”
After posting offensive statistics not recorded by teammates in decades, Lindor and Ramirez both fell into prolonged postseason slumps at the same time — the worst time. The pair batted a combined .105 (4-for-38) with 13 strikeouts, and their ineptitude was one of the main reasons the Indians coughed up a 2-0 series lead and were eliminated in five games by the Yankees.
The end was stunning. So was watching Lindor and Ramirez flail at pitches.
It can’t happen again, not if the Indians have any plans of unseating the defending World Series champion Astros or ending their own 70-year Series title drought.
Make no mistake, Lindor and Ramirez make the Indians go. They’re the pistons to an offensive engine that has sputtered at times this season. Both possess surprising power and speed and are as capable of working a walk as driving a ball into the gap for a double.
Ramirez led the Indians with 39 homers, Lindor connected for 38 and the infielders became the first The Indians will look to Jose Ramirez, left, and Francisco Lindor to be the cornerstones of their offense. G1: Indians (Kluber) at Astros (Verlander) 2:05 p.m. Friday, TBS G2: Indians (Carrasco) at Astros (Cole) 4:37 p.m. Saturday, TBS G3: Astros (Keuchel) at Indians (TBD) TBD Monday, TBS G4: Astros at Indians TBD Tuesday, TBS G5: Indians at Astros TBD Thursday, TBS Games 4-5 if necessary switch-hitting teammates in history to reach 30 homers in the same season. Tack on their other numbers from last season, and Ramirez and Lindor are the first teammates to get at least 80 extra-base hits in consecutive years since 1936-37.
The first? Only Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. And Lindor, 24, and Ramirez, 26, may just be getting started.
But while they’ve put together remarkable regu- lar seasons, the postseason is when greats are judged, and Lindor and Ramirez didn’t measure up last October.
Lindor’s grand slam in Game 2 helped the Indians rally for a 9-8 win in 13 innings, but he got just one more hit in the series and finished 2-for-18 (.111) with six strikeouts. Ramirez was as bad, going 2-for-20 (.100) and fanning seven times.
They shrunk, and the Indians withered with them.
Cleveland’s lineup is deeper this time around. Starting with Lindor leading off to Kipnis in the No. 9 hole, the Indians have power from top to bottom.
“I don’t think these guys are feeling any more pressure to do more than they’re capable of doing,” said former MVP Josh Donaldson, who came over in August from the Blue Jays. “At the same time, it takes a total team effort. ... It’s important for everybody to be sharp, be ready.”