Indians finish regular season with a win, and there is nothing wrong on the planet at all
It is wonderful to feel true contentment about all things, isn’t it?
Ladies and gentleman, we can now close the book on the regular season. The Cleveland Indians finish their 2017 campaign with a 102-60 season. How many games above .500 is that? 42. Did I use a Hitchhiker’s Guide reference to start the game thread for a reason? No, go home, you’re drunk.
I think it’s fitting that the final recap of the season sounds like a dozens of others during the campaign: a solid effort from starting pitcher Josh Tomlin handed a lead to the bullpen, which finished the job in a 3-1 victory over the White Sox.
Here’s where it differs a bit: Six relievers pitched in today’s game. Tito clearly felt that it was important to make sure that his most important bullpen arms all had a chance to tune up before the ALDS begins later this week. The names in question?
- Smith
- Olsen
- McAllister
- Shaw
- Miller
- Allen
I’ve talked about how Tomlin needs to have a quick hook the third time through the order in the playoffs. Do I like Tomlin? Yes, he’s excellent the first couple of times through the order. He challenges hitters, doesn’t throw balls, and keeps the ball in the park. Thing get tenuous around the fifth inning when balls start flying 666 feet. I think we saw a dry run of the Terry Francona 2017 Playoff Plan for Josh Tomlin and the Cleveland Indian’s Great Success. And good lord, did it work. Was it against the worst team in the American League? Sure, but professional baseball players only get so bad. It worked against a group of them. In the playoffs, teams have plenty of opportunities to dip into the reliever well because of how many days off they receive.
The only thing I’m worried about is that Tito might have laid down his pocket hand before the river. Do I think he has AK suited or AA with his pitching staff? Absolutely. I just think that plenty of teams out there in the playoffs have a flush or straight draw, and might get lucky.
If that makes sense to you, god bless you. I figure that it’s the last game of the season — we oughta be able to get fast and loose with figurative language before we button down and suit up for the playoffs, right?
You haven’t even mentioned hitting yet. What is this recap?
Sorry. As you will see over the next couple of days, my mind has almost entirely been focused on the pitching of the Indians, and baseball in general. Let’s talk about some superlative final numbers:
Jose Ramirez finishes the season with 56 doubles, one of which he hit today. I truly believe he will deliver us a 60-double season. While I am said that he didn’t crash the 30-HR party, I think he’ll create the 60-30-20 club next year.
Yandy Diaz finished with a respectable .263/.352/we don’t talk about his slugging, which is as good as anyone could realistically expect given his awful start and first large gulp of Major League pitching.
Francisco Lindor finished with lower than average marks in BA and OBP, but hit 33 home runs. In the words of a great wise man, “That’s nasty.” Somehow .8% of ESPN fantasy leagues did not own him this week. Idiots.
I’m almost positive this was Carlos Santana / Lando Carlossian’s last regular season game with the Tribe, for better or worse. After an abysmal start he finished the season .259/.363/.455 with an OPS+ of 113. Not his best year, but for a guy who is also a gold glove candidate at first base? I like it. May your bombs land deeply in non-Cleveland cities. We will always love you, Carlos, no matter where you end up (Well, we will. I dunno about the CLECOM crew).
The mini-baseball team probably had more WAR than the Phillies.
Edwin Encarnacion met expectations. He slugged the number of home runs that we expected, and provided a much-needed punch in the middle of the lineup. Should we be worried by his unusual dearth of doubles? Worry about that in December, because the Indians have some rings to win.
Bradley Zimmer. Greg Allen. Gio Urshela. Yandy. Francisco Mejia. Tyler Olsen. Ryan Merritt. Mike Clevinger. On top of the wonderful young core the Indians already own, there is an exciting crop of young players ready to take the helm when it is handed to them.
My point is this: being an Indians fan this season has been a privilege. It’s one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, and thanks to the streak, one of the greatest in baseball history.
I hang that hat at the door as we exit the regular season. I do not know if it will matter at the end of October or not, but I want to make sure that we remember it. If the memory does fade, let it be because the Commissioner's Trophy we hoist at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario this season is but one of many in the next five years.
Let’s Go Tribe.