Brownie the Elf crushes the Steelers with a knock knock joke
September 30, 2013NFL Rumor: Brian Hoyer will start Thursday against Buffalo
September 30, 2013Through the course of a baseball season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ebbs and flows and rants and raves of each marginal win and losses. In one corner, we have The 162-Game Season; it hails from The Early 1960s and is the long-standing pastime through which hardcore baseball fans consume the triumphs and tribulations of their favorite teams. In the other corner, the three-man team of Social Media, its more gregarious brother Sports Talk Radio, and their cousin Instant Reaction. Their origin is unknown, but it’s widely assumed they were all conceived in the back seat of a Pinto after a hot date between Click-happy Editor and Rating-hungry Program Director. Even the cousin.
With all 162 games in the Pinto’s rear view mirror, and two days off before the first pitch of the American League Wild Card game in Cleveland, it’s time to exhale and take a look back at how we got here—how we got to a place of leverage, doing so by the margin of one single game. A win is a win, but find me a fan who reacted to the Jason Giambi walk-off home run from a week ago in the same fashion they did when the Tribe beat the Phillies by six runs in the very middle of May. Sure, the Giambi walk-off is still very fresh in our minds, but one could pinpoint any one of the 11 walk-off wins as crucial—the Jason Kipnis infield single scoring Drew Stubbs, leading to a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals still sticks out. Or the botched-but-fortunate home run call against the Oakland Athletics. Or Mike Aviles’ ninth-inning grand slam in Detroit. Or the 1-0 hard-fought win over Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers wherein the only run was scored in the first inning thanks to a lead-off home run from Michael Bourn. Or…
“It’s like the culmination of everything that you’ve gone through, all the ups and downs,” said Terry Francona, the man largely credited with the epic turnaround. “You see guys from different countries, different upbringings, and they’re jumping on the pile and it’s just pure joy.”
For a team to have to win their last 10 games, to win 20 games in the month of September to barely secure a Wild Card birth with 92 wins (one season after losing 94 games) is mind blowing. For a team to actually do it? Forget it. Making things that much more interesting is the fact that both the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers have also been forced to play this entire month as if it already were already the playoffs. The Rays put future AL Cy Young candidate Matt Moore on the mound on Sunday; reigning Cy Young winner David Price will take to the bump in what will be their 163rd contest. The Rangers used Yu Darvish—a player who would be in this season’s Cy Young discussion if not for Detroit’s Max Scherzer—on Sunday; the 22-year-old Martin Perez will lock horns with Price.
So for all of the Asti Spumante and Bud Light and 400 decibels of Macklemore, just like a handful of their 91 other victories, the Indians won a lot more than a game on Sunday afternoon. Young Danny Salazar will do his best impression of Jaret Wright on Wednesday night in front of a packed Progressive Field. Whomever lasts through the play-in game will be throwing their third option. Alex Cobb and Matt Garza are far from pushovers—it’s tough to imagine that their respective teams would be in the position they are if not for a solid-to-considerably-above-average starting rotation; the Rangers made the largest pre-deadline deal in acquiring Garza for a handful of prospects. But in a win-or-die situation, there is little time to be strategic when multiple games are involved. For the Indians, despite their penchant for streaks of the negative variety, to hold all of the cards at this stage is a point that cannot be overstated.
“This is just a little bit of what’s going to happen,” said Salazar amidst a champagne shower. “This is the beginning of a new era.”
A new era indeed if not for an entirely new chapter of this very season. Players like Salazar and fellow late-season hero Matt Carson were not with the big league squad through the duration of the season. Bourn and Nick Swisher and Jason Giambi and his fellow Good Squad members were not a part of the team which nearly lost 100 games under Manny Acta. Comparisons to previous teams and their respective late-season collapses never held merit. Baseball is a game of runs and streaks; players go cold at the plate and mechanics can falter with fatigue be it physical or mental. Even Francona, a manager who is undeniably in contention for AL Manger of the Year, made a few mistakes through the course of the season—starters left in one pitch too long, Yan Gomes not being in every lineup imaginable. But the beauty of a 162-game season, even if it paves the way to absurdly low attendance totals and can produce some of the worst types of overreaction imaginable, is that the cream ultimately rises to the top.
And the beauty of the this Cleveland Indians squad—in a world where economics aren’t exactly on their side—is that their cream was undoubtedly hard earned. This two-day break couldn’t be more well-deserved. Even the trolls and talk show hosts can’t argue with that.
91 Comments
I attended 6 games this season and 4 of them were walk off wins, it almost became comical. For some reason the ones that stick out most in my mind are a Nick Swisher walk off single in April and a Stubbs walk off double in May.
Completely forgot the Kipnis 3 run walk off against Seattle.
Hate to play the “what if” game (that the Indians wanted us to play last year!), but …
Does anyone realize that we finished 1 game behind Detroit in the Central? One game. One. Freaking. Game. If we had beaten Detroit just two more times. Or won just two more games.
We only would have had to beat Detroit one more time to actually hop them, assuming the records stayed the same. Woof.
So you are attending this Wednesday?
C’mon man!
And I have pointed to 2 huge losses that could have turned the fortunes. I’m not one to pile on Chris Perez, but 2 blown saves- the Sunday game in Boston where CP got was hurt and went on the DL, and the Monday night of the (I think last) Detroit series in Cleveland, both save opportunities and both lost in the 9th inning.
(not necessarily pointed out here, bit on twitter and to friends)
Well, we’d be tied, and I think head-to-head record takes effect there, no?
Hammy was interviewed on the radio the day after the Giambi miracle. He said that when CP blew the save in the opener of that crucial 4-game series vs. Detroit in Cleveland, it literally took the team and the clubhouse a week to get over it. If you remember correctly, we went on a 6 game (I think) losing streak started by that. It completely deflates the team. But, the miracle walk-off actually propelled them SO HIGH after that, that there was no way we were losing any of the final 5 games.
Thats one of the games I mentioned below.
I wasn’t a big fan of this second wild card and I’m still not. The Indians would be preparing for a series verse the mighty BoSox after claiming the wildcard spot but because of the newly added second must wait to play one more game just to face the mighty BoSox. They played all year won a rightful spot in the playoffs only to have to have the season rest on one game just to play in a series they deserved to in the first place.
Unfortunately, no, but I do have tickets to both ALDS games.
Well clearly we’ll know who to blame if Wednesday goes south. What’s your address? 😉
True, but would you be singing a different tune if they had only made the second wildcard spot? It took a couple of clutch Rays losses and an epic Texas collapse for most of Septermber for them to even be in this position
162 games you know what happens. It is what it is enjoy what you have after all it wasn’t that long ago you were on the other side of the fence looking on.
I’m okay with a loss where a guy gets hurt, and I remember that one. It was crushing, but I can live with that one.
Progressive Field
2401 Ontario Street
Cleveland, OH, 44115
c/o Christopher Perez
Of course not but I think this two team wildcard thing is headed to a series. One game for the right to advance after 162 or more doesn’t make sense.
Agreed
Touche!
Figure one more Indians win vs. Detroit is one LESS Tigers win. When playing head-to-head each game swings 2 games. But, no matter.. WIN ON WEDNESDAY
On more positive note, Mrs. Owen just ordered this t-shirt for me.
Agreed….I’m ok with the 1 game this year because the two Wild Card spots were only separated by a game in the standings.
Imagine if the Tribe won the 1st Wild Card by 4 games and Texas and Tampa were only ever duking it out for the 2nd spot. We would be super pissed if our superior season was cut short on a flukey 1 game playoff.
This is about the craziest Tribe season I can remember. The ’97 team was in the playoffs it’s third straight year (probably would have been it’s fourth straight but for the ’04 strike). The ’07 team had that year’s Cy Young and really good players entering their prime.
This team had 8 and 6 game losing streaks and were pounded by their division rival. And a closer with a fetid pile of on and off-field issues. A young third baseman dropping the job handed to him a second straight year.
Really remarkable how many things went right – the starting staff, the bench, the crazy resiliency. 92 wins and pedal to the metal to just wipe out everyone at the end. I attribute this mainly to Francona. The personnel moves were nice. The relatively good health of the staff and position players is crucial. But it is Francona and his staff who developed Gomes and Kruger and Salazar, who maximized the bench performance, who pulled the team out of tailspins and distractions. This team believes in him. The type of team-first attitude and player closeness we see here never lasts indefinitely – guys eventually want their money, someone is going to knock Swisher’s block off in the weight room – but can be pretty powerful while it’s going on. This just might one of those once a lifetime years. we shall see. Who still thinks that among the local teams it’s the Cavs closest to a ring?
I stopped paying attention to the Tigers in early August so could be completely wrong, but I imagine they rested a lot of starters (especially the ones that have been banged up…i.e. Miggy) the last series or two and set their rotation up exactly how they want it for the playoffs. They lost 5 of their last 7 so I’m guessing this might be the case.
They would have played harder. That seems to be a characteristic of this Tigers team – they think they can turn it on and off and, at least so far, have been able to.
I’m sure you’re right (and Harv, too). That’s the problem with the “what if” game. What can I say, though? I was raised in (or about) Cleveland.
That’s the beauty of the Indians situation now. It’s all only about what they do. They have one task: Win. Win 12 more games. That’s it.
Christmas in September?
It’ll probably just take a little while for me to get used to this extra wildcard game I understand it makes things much more dramatic while giving everyone an extra chance but for the true wildcard team I can’t help but feel like they are being jobbed after playing 162 games.
With the starting pitching they have it’s hard to blame them. It’ll be interesting to see what Oakland can do.
“Rightful spot”? “Deserved”? Lol. I’m old enough to remember the angst directed at the 2nd wild card being directed at the 1st wild card team back in the early 90’s. What was once blasted for being new and scary is now being cited as the old established order against the new and the scary.
Any wild card team should be happy to get into the playoffs while not winning their division. It’s a loophole created by the quest for more TV and more money.
Birthday in October. (She couldn’t keep the secret.)
You appear to have missed the Entitlement Train as it ran through millenial kindergarten. You must be older than 30.
Nice.
I’ve always maintained the creation of a second wildcard was purely for monetary benefit and not the game but it is what it is just like attendance no need to talk about it. I do however maintain that you will see the game between the two wildcards become a series. I think that’s only logical and I’m not even Vulcan.
If we had beaten Detroit just two more times, they probably wouldn’t have half-assed it down the stretch. Did you see that lineup they threw out there yesterday?
In the six division era, I feel it’s become necessary. The best #2 is frequently just as good as the worst division winner.
Really nice post here.
I did choke a little on the “Terry Francona, the man largely credited with the epic turnaround.” True– and I think wrong.
I’m a continual skeptic on “chemistry” and “clubhouse,” mostly I think from my own experience with high school ball where anecdotally my teams that had infighting and drama and even general dislike of the coach happened to do better than the happy teams. Of course, it’s maybe ridiculous to think that a little 35 game HS season has anything like the structure or complication of the big-money pro marathon, but it still seems true to me that this has to be less important in baseball than any other sport, just by it’s structure requiring precious little cooperation and seeming to reward the lack of emotional attachment to outcome.
That said, I think that if there is a manager that has added wins by helping to create harmony and happiness, it would have to be Francona. There’s no question that the atmosphere on this team is right at the very top of the majors, despite playing for a 6-times-bitten–12-times-shy fanbase. And while there’s not much concrete you can show in game management (stalling on Gomes being perhaps first in line for the prosecution), he and his pal Giambi have dialed up some huge ones, and hey, we are where we are.
But THAT said, there is no way that I think Francona belongs at the very top of any list as to why we are where we are. The team exceeding expectations should be credited more to individual players who have exceeded their expectations, and a front office that has structured limited resources incredibly well. Off the top of my head, in order, the list of players might look like Kluber, Kazmir, Gomes, Brantley, Salazar, Rayburn, Kipnis, Santana, and Allen. Which one of those players do you think you could replace their numbers with their pre-season expectation and be within 3 games of where we are?
I sure don’t mean to run Francona down or downplay the positive effect that he and his staff may have had on the play of some of these guys (although this cuts both ways for underperformers). I just don’t care for the way that the “national name” of Francona and the easily-sold story of his managerial magic overshadows some of the real story here. Which is largely one of a well rounded young core growing by leaps and bounds, and a front office doing things the way they need to be done in this kind of market.
if you are going to have divisions, then they should mean something. I’m happy they do it this way now (even though it technically hurts the Tribe this season).
Why do they have to mean more than what they are, a way to minimize transportation costs? Yes, they also can drum up attendance by organizing some local rivalries, but there is nothing about winning a division that makes you a better team.
Notwithstanding your last paragraph, I do think that you might be downplaying a little bit “the positive effect that he and his staff may have had on the play of some of these guys” (which you admittedly concede, a bit, with the subsequent parenthetical).
I think the “national name” of Francona may be a bit inflated, but he built that name by doing in Boston what he did here. He has consistently taken guys like Kluber, Kazmir, Gomes, Brantely, Salazar, Rayburn, Kipnis, Santana, and Allen and brought out the best in them, simultaneously forming them into a cohesive, highly functioning team – with lineups, rotations, and relief appearances that he orchestrated. Maybe Manny Acta could have had the same results with this group? I guess; but I really doubt it.
Absent evidence to the contrary, I would have to credit the “young core growing by leaps and bounds” to Francona and his staff. As the old saying goes, the guy at the top gets all the credit for what goes right and all the blame for what goes wrong. Unless and until someone demonstrates that this growth would have occurred despite Francona, I have to give credit where credit is due.
I agree with your take on chemistry and clubhouse mumbo jumbo.
I would add that Antonetti and Shapiro have not (and probably won’t ever) get the credit they deserve for being the driving force being putting this winning team together.
At best, you hear that they finally got serious and brought in Francona. Maybe Tito had some pull in bringing in Swisher and Bourne, but those have been two of the smaller additions to this turn around.
The reason that Gomes, Jimenez, Masterson, Salazar, Kazmir, Kluber, etc. are here is because of the front office.
It’s a question of time though. They won’t shorten the regular season and don’t want to have the postseason drag on any longer. Not to mention forcing the winning teams to sit around for a week.
I was envisioning a three game series short and sweet.
The part of the team that grew the most was the rotation. Callaway did wonders with those guys. But that’s not Francona, and Francona has made it fairly clear he doesn’t mess with the pitchers, it’s not his forte. And Callaway was a guy already in the Indians’ organization, as the minor league pitching coordinator.
But the reason they’re playing well is arguably Francona.
(And I agree that the FO does not get enough credit. I just don’t think that one truth detracts from the other.)
Well, that’d be at least, what four days for the series plus one for travel? So something like five. Which puts game seven of the series at something like November 5th or 6th. This year’s game seven would be on the 31st of October.
Anyway, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but I constantly hear that MLB doesn’t want to be playing ball in November. Of course, money changes everything.
I think saying that these guys are playing well because of Francona is a disservice to them. Personally, I think they’re playing well because they’re all extremely talented individuals. Yes, Francona has put them in the right positions to succeed.
I just think, especially in baseball, 90% of it is the talent you have. The other 10% is managing and developing it.
I’ll take a roster of troubled talent and a bargain bin manager over a roster of hard-working characters guy and Tito every time.