Ohio State holds steady at No. 2 in AP, Coaches Polls
October 17, 2016Indians 4, Blue Jays 2: Let’s do this one more time, with feeling
October 18, 2016Happy Tuesday, WFNY!
I hope, like me, you are all enjoying your half-tired, half-delirious with joy haze this morning as we all try to come to grips with the fact that the Cleveland Indians are now one win away from the World Series.
How about a little alliteration this morning?
Cleveland
Circumstances
Collaboration
Confidence
Collected
Contagious
Coronation
Celebration
Coexisting
Champions
As I’ve said before, none of this is pre-destined. The Indians are making their own history, here. But you can’t shake the feeling that something is different. When starter Trevor Bauer went to the mound and subsequently sprung a leak in his stitched-up pinky finger, there’s a parallel Cleveland universe where fans freak out and say “How can this be happening to us again? Woe is us!”
But not this Cleveland universe. Not the one where we celebrated a Championship this summer and where the momentum and confidence from that one event is permeating everything throughout the state of Ohio. There’s a Cleveland where the bullpen falls apart, the manager expends all of his arms in a losing effort with no respite for anyone in Game 4, and the series slowly slips away. But not this Cleveland.
I’m sure there’s more than one skeptic out there who says none of this stuff matters, it’s all nonsense. There was no curse, the Championship drought itself didn’t factor into the teams not winning, it was all on the players, etc, etc, etc. But I’m calling bullshit on all of that. I will never be convinced the weight of previous playoff failures didn’t way into the minds of the fans, and then trickle down into the mood of expectations among players themselves. You can’t tell me players don’t feed off the energy of a raucous crowd, and in the same vein, I believe players fed off the nervous energy of the silence of a bewildered crowd.
On the WFNY podcast last week, Craig and I talked about this topic, and I wanted to expand on it a bit today. Mostly because I think this is a very real phenomenon that is happening. LeBron James delivering on his Championship potential and wiping away all of the Championship anxiety in Cleveland has completely changed the sports scene in Cleveland.
It doesn’t change how strongly anyone wants the Indians to win the World Series. What it changes, though, is the feeling if that doesn’t happen. It will suck. It will hurt. We’ll feed sad about it. But it won’t be life and death. It won’t be the latest appendix firmly affixed to the end of a misery montage highlighting the 52 years spent in the Championship-less expanse. If anything, it would only have us excited for next year, when Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco, and Danny Salazar are all potentially healthy. It’s different because Cleveland has a championship in its back pocket now.
And the players on this team are playing like a team unburdened by pressure or expectation. While everything seems to be falling apart for a Toronto team that just completely dismantled the top seeded Texas Rangers, the Indians are out there having fun. Hitting in baseball sometimes seems contagious, and the Tribe offense is coming up with a much-needed run time and time again. The starters are giving the team exactly what is needed, the bullpen is delivering on their promise, and Terry Francona is managing out of his freaking mind.
Of course all of this could have happened had the Cavaliers not won the NBA Championship this year. This isn’t some statement of factual causality. But I believe in factors like confidence and momentum, and I truly believe the non stop celebration of that championship high is carrying over to the baseball team.
Seeing LeBron James and his Cavalier teammates going to Indians playoff games, returning the support that the other Cleveland teams gave to the Cavaliers, is hugely important as well. It’s not just that LeBron won the Championship, but he is actively trying to spread that confidence and momentum to the Indians.
Look, I’m a basketball guy. I’m sure some baseball folks reading this are rolling their eyes at this and are feeling like I’m trying to hijack what the Indians are doing and making it all about the Cavaliers and LeBron James, a guy who once wore a Yankees hat to an Indians playoff game. I get all of that. I really do. I’m not trying to overstate the role of the Cavaliers championship on this. I’m just trying to say that I think it’s one small factor in what is happening, and why Cleveland teams suddenly seem to be able to overcome the odds being stacked against them.
When Carrasco and Salazar went down with injuries, I don’t know how many Indians fans truly disagreed with Paul Hoynes. Most of us would have chosen a better time and way of saying it, but it was a tough blow to the team, no question. And I just know that once upon a time the narrative in Cleveland would have absolutely been “Not again”.
But that’s what is so fascinating about this to me. That’s not what happened. Nobody was willing to give up. Why not? Why did fans lash out at Paul Hoynes? Why did so many people refuse to give up on this team? There might be many reasons, but can we all at least agree that one of those reasons was because we just saw the Cavaliers overcome even longer odds when they were down 3-1 against the best regular season team in NBA history?
This Indians team watched that play out. They were at the playoff games. They were supporting the Cavaliers. They saw the Championship, they saw the celebration, they felt the joy of the city, and they experienced the confidence that comes from knowing a team can overcome anything in sports. So yeah, something special feels like it is happening right now in Cleveland and I’m fully embracing this ride, to whatever end it might take us.
And while the Indians are playing like they have nothing to lose, those players themselves deserve the credit. What they are doing right now is unbelievable. This isn’t like those 90s Indians teams that were stacked with superstars at seemingly every position. This is a team that is following the leadership of Terry Francona and believing in one another, with every player taking his turn picking up his teammates when needed. It’s inspirational as hell and I don’t want this momentum to slow down.
I have been completely won over by this team, no matter what happens the rest of the way. I know I’m not alone. Even the most die hard fan I know is awestruck by this team:
#windians – this team is all heart and balls. Just went into the most hostile home field and won ALCS game 3 on essentially a bullpen day.
— T.D. Dery (@TD1TribeKU) October 18, 2016
Five more wins. Feels like destiny. God damn I love this team. Miller and Tito are Gods. #RallyTogether
— T.D. Dery (@TD1TribeKU) October 18, 2016
The Indians now have taken care of business and acquired the three easiest wins of the series. They now have four chances to get the hardest win, and when they do, it will be on to the World Series. I’m ready for what’s next.
26 Comments
Before the game last night, one of the announcers was describing Bauer’s repertoire, and near the end of a pretty long list of pitches he mentioned the “split finger” without realizing that he just made a joke.
I don’t remember if he mentioned a “cutter” as well.
I thought for sure that ground-rule double that cost us a run would come back to haunt us.
I can’t help it.
A year ago, all of these seemingly endless bad breaks would have had me in the ugliest of moods. And honestly, I still expect this to be the 2015 Cavs ending for the Tribe, especially if the Cubs advance from the NL (they’d be formidable even if our battle station was fully operational). But instead of that having me rending garments and gnashing teeth, I’m just able to enjoy the ride–something I have rarely, if ever, done. This team is doing some incredible things against all odds, and it’s fun to watch. Somehow managing to win the whole (damn) thing would be one for the ages. But if we don’t, re-watching my 2016 NBA Finals DVD will bring more than enough comfort to help soothe the pain. So thanks, Cavs, for making it much less stressful to be a fan.
2015: If Kyrie and Love were healthy…
2016: If Brantley and Cookie and Salazar and Gomes (and Bauer?) were healthy…
Coagulation. (Please?)
Crap.
“All hearts and balls” should be their pre-game recited manatra…ala Friday Night Lights.
“But instead of that having me rending garments and gnashing teeth, I’m just able to enjoy the ride–something I have rarely, if ever, done.”
This. This this THIS. I can’t really put into words how much less stress I have experienced watching this run.
I was a college junior in 1997, and I can remember having a complete suite of superstitions with which I watched every game. I was so sure that not doing the right thing would upset the Karmic balance (and, of course, there was the moment with Jose Mesa on the mound where I told one of my roommates to “shut the hell up, I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment and you’re not [bleep]ing ruining it,” which had been my cross to bear for 19 years).
I have none of that. Sure, a lot of that is attributable to maturity, having a family now, and a shift in priorities in my life. But, still. I’m sitting on the couch, enjoying the game, and not melting into a pool of anxiety at every tiny bump in the road.
It’s magnificent.
All heart, all balls, can’t lose!
I wrote something right after the Cavs won about how that team completely redefined what “Only In Cleveland” means to us as fans. It was more than just two plays, but LeBron’s Block and Kyrie’s Shot completely changed the meaning of “Only In Cleveland” for us all.
Only in Cleveland can a team comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the greatest regular season team in NBA history.
Only in Cleveland can a team overcome a Game 7 on the road.
Only in Cleveland can a team overcome injuries to 40-60% of its starting rotation and be one win from going to the World Series.
Only in Cleveland can a bullpen pitch 8.1 innings of 2-run baseball against one of the best lineups in the game.
Only In Cleveland, my friends.
I see no problem in embracing that, and in giving respect to the team that made it all possible.
“I will never be convinced the weight of previous playoff failures didn’t [weigh] into the minds of the fans, and then trickle down into the mood of expectations among players themselves. You can’t tell me players don’t feed off the energy of a raucous crowd, and in the same vein, I believe players fed off the nervous energy of the silence of a bewildered crowd.”
I see what you did there, and I approve.
If Francona and the Tribe win the WS this season, I beleive Terry will have stamped his ticket to Cooperstown. Don’t bet that he hasn’t thought of that, either.
it’s a blessing in disguise that Gomes is unhealthy.
So 1997 was YOUR fault!!!
ha – 97 really doesn’t feel that bad to me because I was on a plane. I was in Chicago and we had a terrible snowstorm so the plane was super delayed. We boarded just after the Bonilla HR. I heard nothing until we landed when one of my friends said, “Sorry dude, but the Marlins won the World Series.”
I have never known the real-time collapse that was Jose Mesa, and I have never watched it on replay. But now that Cleveland has a title, I may go back and fire it up for old time’s sake.
Maybe. Depends if we’re getting 2014 Gomes or 2016 Gomes.
We were not getting 2014 Gomes. It is, after all, 2016.
If we were indeed able to get 2014 Gomes we would have solved the riddle of time travel and, frankly, the World Series probably wouldn’t matter that much.
https://media.tenor.co/images/d4a3049ad58d1bdc2421592ee239d7ed/raw
I would heavily bet that he was already on his way there, and after hearing quotes like the one about the 50-50 raffle yesterday, sometimes I’m not sure Francona thinks through much of anything.
It was.
/hangs head
I know I’ve shared this before, but this year, while watching the Believeland documentary, was the first time that I ever saw the “collapse” (which was actually just terrific hitting by the Marlins, which I never knew).
Again, to share the tired old story (sorry), when it happened (on my 24th birthday, fwiw), we had just started a 45-day field training exercise in Korea. I watched the previous 6 games, but knew that I probably wouldn’t know the outcome of Game 7 for at least a week, and maybe longer, depending on when we got a copy of Stars and Stripes. One of my best friends was in garrison (didn’t go to the field with us), and he watched the game in the barracks. Being a Mariners fan that never forgave the Indians for ’95, he figured out a way to make a pay phone call to our Army radios in the field. I was called to the operations tent to take a radio call(!), just to hear him announce, through evil laughter, that the “Indians blew it in the 9th, and the Marlins won!,” and then hang up. That was it. I had to wait 45-days to get my revenge, but by then, I didn’t care anymore. When I got back, by buddy and I just went out for beers and dak galbi.
Perfect.
What if someone goes into cryogenic freeze? Say, he goes into freeze in 2014 and comes out in 2016. In a sense, wouldn’t we get the 2014 version of him when he thaws?
Carbonite? I guess, maybe, that wouldn’t count. Because Han Solo looked older in ’83 than he did when he went into hibernation in ’80.
Who needs a starter? Incredible effort by the bullpen. It’s nice to finally be the team that has a reliever that you just know will shut the opposing team down.
I’m fairly confident this team can take the Cubs or Dodgers, even with the injuries,but one thing at a time. But yes, the Cavs winning has changed how I’ve watched the Tribe’s run. Stressful as hell, but no apocalyptic do or die mentality that has dogged this fanbase for years. It’s a beautiful thing, folks.
We don’t have time to wait around for the unfreezing process.
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view4/4048941/austin-powers-pee-o.gif
It’s kind of like the inverse of that feeling we all had in 1999 when Pedro came in from the bullpen in Game 5.
And we get it Every. Single. Game.