[ad_1]
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Chris Antonetti said there was no lack of conclusion in baseball. He should know better than most as president of baseball operations for the Indians.
But if there was one, that's his baseball club.
Never pushed, never threatened, the Indians clinched the Central AL medal on Saturday with a 15-0 win over Detroit in the Progressive Field.
They did it in stages, like an old man getting out of bed. They took first place on April 21st. On June 27, they had an advance of 81/2. Since August 8, they have led 10 games or more in a division where all other teams are rebuilding. They did all this by barely showing a pulse.
There have not been a series of historic victories of 22 games like 2017. In 2013, the first year of Terry Francona as manager, they had to win their last 10 games just to get a wildcard place . This team never found itself in such a dangerous situation because the competition in the division was so poor.
Yes, the Tigers prevented the Indians from qualifying on Friday night with a well-rounded victory at 5-4. But Saturday's win is much more revealing of what AL Central is going through outside of Progressive Field.
Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley set the tone with consecutive returns to start the first run. At the end of the inning, the Indians were tied 6-0 and the Tigers had made two of their four mistakes. Next, Mike Clevinger is busy doing business on the other side of the ball with six scoreless innings.
Saturday's win made the Indians the first team this season to win a division title and give them a record of 83-65. With 15 games to play in the season, it seems absurd to suggest they have not played their best baseball yet. But Francona would be the first to say it.
Now that some players have rested in the last two weeks of the season, it may not be possible before the playoffs. The Indians had their moments, but this team was designed for one thing: play well in October.
So, if the third division title of Tribe was so sure, why celebrate it? Just turn the page, hit Edwin Encarnacion's right ankle a bit – he left in the fourth inning after twisting to second base – and start shooting down the Houston Astros for their encounter scheduled in ALDS on 5 October.
It would be a mistake. When a team launches, whatever the situation, the champagne must be sprayed and the cigars smoked. This is the sixth consecutive season of Indian victory since Francona became manager in 2013. This is the third consecutive trip in the playoffs and fourth place overall under Francona.
This is the longest-running series of Indian baseball games since the playoffs, which have won six division titles in seven years, from 1995 to 2001. These teams celebrated after each victory and each time they won. progressed in the playoffs. The reason is simple: as soon as victory becomes a routine, it can end.
The property may change in the opinion. Teams can be sold and the payroll reduced. Players get older, are injured or leave an agency or free trade. After the Indian victory in 2001, they played in the playoffs for the next 11 years. So when teams have the chance to celebrate, they should do it.
When the Indians landed the AL Central in 2001, CC Sabathia was a rookie. I remember him soaking in champagne, imagining that it was like that every year with the Indians. At his side, veteran Chuck Finley. When Finley was a rookie in 1986 with the Angels, he went to the playoffs and never returned before joining the Indians before the 2001 season. He told Sabathia to take advantage of that moment because he would not come back -to be more.
Sabathia said she understood Finley's message. But he was only a kid and luckily for him, he played in the playoffs again seven times in his long career. But that does not always happen like that.
So now, attention is shifting to October. Indians can send their scouts, if they are not already on the road, to track their potential playoff opponents. They will also plan for the future.
The Indians, for the second year in a row, may lose several free agents. Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Brantley, Josh Donaldson, Melky Cabrera, Rajai Davis and Lonnie Chisenhall are among the players who will be free agents at the end of the year.
The goal of the organization is to continue to win, to resist the tendency that small and medium sized market teams have only a limited life to be a claiming to the playoffs. To do this, you need contributions from every part of the organization. The Indians did it for a year longer.
They should take a moment and enjoy it.
Source link
