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Jason Kipnis (left) and Mike Clevinger (right) have a dugout conversation during the loss to the Astros last Monday. (Phil Long / Associated Press)
CLEVELAND – Michael Brantley may have been found for the last time in front of his locker in the Cleveland Indians' pavilion and glared at the crowd of journalists.
"You look around this room, they still have phenomenal leaders, great players," said the fieldman at the Indian center on Monday night watching the players swap farewells. What he's heard is the sound of bats wrapped for the winter. He felt he might not see these guys that often, at least not in the months to come, and maybe a lot longer than that.
"They'll be good for a long time," he said. "I hope to be part of it."
The Indians did not know much about Monday, but their 2018 season was certainly over, the eighth day of October, after only three playoff games that did not take place. They were swept by the Houston Astros in the division series of the American League. They scored six points in three games and were eliminated, 11-3, in the classification of Astros. The Astros looked like a reigning World Series champion who struggles to repeat himself. The Indians looked like a little speed bump in their path, a team that won a noncompetitive division and never regained speed, and now has to deal with a dead season that has begun to change an alignment that has won 91 regular season games, and then did not win. Do not win again.
[George Springer and Astros complete ALDS sweep with a rout of Indians]
Brantley, who led the Indians with a batting average of .307 this year, will be an independent player for the first time in his career. Closer Cody Allen and reliever Andrew Miller are also expected to enter the open market. Josh Donaldson, the third baseman who arrived in Cleveland on a late transaction, is not under contract beyond 2018. Neither Melky Cabrera, who started in the right field in the playoffs. Nor Oliver Perez, a 37-year-old southpaw who was a key arm out of the Indian paddock.
On nameplates above the Progressive Field bins, rapidly changing nameplates recalled the unmet goals of the Indians. The words "Back to Back, 2018 Central Division AL Champions" were dropped in each of them. This group of veterans lost in the World Series in 2016 before falling into LTC in the last two years. Their common legacy in Cleveland, if this winter involves upheavals, will have to build on that.
"I just told the guys, we have a number of guys who are free agents," said Indian director Terry Francona. "You know there will be some turnover, and this is a really special group for all of us. So it's hard to say goodbye before you're ready to do it. "
Before looking to the future, the Indians will look back at the past to try to understand why their race ended with such noise and how the Astros dismantled them in three games.
Optimism for their future begins with two young stars in the short stop Francisco Lindor and the third base player, Jose Ramirez. Lindor is introduced against the Astros, homer in matches 2 and 3. Ramirez did not do it, without success in 11 kills after finishing the regular season with 38 home runs and 105 points products. The Cleveland attack was often the same as it did, so it weakened when its bat cooled against the Astros, continuing a slump that started with a batting average of 0.174 in September. .
There is no reason for the Indians to have lost to the Astros, who had a great start like Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, they are on formidable hitters in George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez and have hit starters and relievers Indians. But the strong lack of production of Ramirez was part of it.
"You want to succeed, but I fell. That's all I can say, "Ramirez said through an interpreter of the team after Monday's loss. "I have not played as I wanted, but these are things that are happening in baseball, and the only thing I can do is wait impatiently for the off season and work on the dead season to get better. "
Ramirez is signed at least until 2021 and is an integral part of the Indians' projects, forgotten performances in the playoffs or not. The same goes for Lindor, the 24-year-old electric shortstop, Edwin Encarnacion, who hangs out, and a solid core of pitching pitchers in Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger. The uncertainty lies in Brantley, the cornerstone of the franchise, and in the arena, one of the strengths of this team during its recent run of success.
Brantley had limited ideas about his free contract on hold Monday, saying he had plenty to discuss with his family before thinking about the aftermath of the events. Miller, the versatile southpaw and one of the best baseball lifters despite a year marked by injuries, did the same. They will both require important contracts during the off season. Allen, having converted 27 saves and 89 in the last three seasons, should also do well. Cleveland will have to evaluate all the values of these players while taking into account other needs.
"I have not even thought about it yet," Miller said of his future with the Indians. "There is a small process that I must follow. You really have nothing left after the playoffs, it's now a playoff game that we will not be part of any more. "
That was the only reality that had settled when the clubhouse had been cleaned around him. More is likely to come.
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