ALCS 2016: 5 reasons Indians will win
Here are the five biggest reasons the Cleveland Indians will win the ALCS and advance to the World Series.
In one of the more surprising sweeps in recent baseball history, the Cleveland Indians downed the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the ALDS. It was never in question, as the Indians led early in every game and were able to keep the Sox at arm’s length the entire series. The Indians outplayed the Red Sox in every facet of the game on their way to brooming them out of the playoffs.
Waiting for the Indians in the next round are the Toronto Blue Jays, who also reached the ALCS by way of a sweep. The Indians were not given much of a chance to beat the Red Sox in the first round, but debunked that notion fairly quickly. Although the Tribe was left for dead by one of their own beat reporters in mid-September, Terry Francona’s scrappy bunch keeps proving doubters wrong.
On paper, the Blue Jays may appear to be healthier, more talented, and the odds-on favorite in this series. Baseball is not a game played on paper, however, and the Indians have a real shot at reaching the World Series. Here are the five biggest reasons the Indians will win the ALCS.
5. Believeland
Do you believe in destiny? Maybe yes, maybe no. Regardless, 2016 has the feel of a year of destiny around Major League Baseball. How much more perfect could a matchup between the Red Sox in Big Papi’s final season and the supposedly cursed Chicago Cubs have been?
The Indians scuttled every marketing professional’s dream matchup by knocking out the Red Sox and ending David Ortiz’s swan-song season a few rounds too early. Cleveland, long viewed as America’s biggest city of downtrodden, losing sports teams, is having a year of destiny of its own. The Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the best team in NBA history on their home court. Now, why not a turn for the Indians?
Destiny and supernatural talk aside, there is a special feel to this Indians team. Baseball is one of the few sports where the sum of the parts is often greater than the individual parts themselves. Outside of Francisco Lindor, Cleveland does not have one player who could be labeled a household name. Two-fifths of the starting rotation, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, are out. Jonathan Lucroy, an All-Star catcher, vetoed a trade to Cleveland because he felt the Texas Rangers gave him a better chance at postseason success. Instead of Lucroy, the Indians rolled into the playoffs with Roberto Perez, a .183 hitter on the season, behind the dish. Of course, Perez homered off Cy Young candidate Rick Porcello in Game 1 of the division series.
The best team does not always win in baseball’s postseason. The hottest team or the team best capable of handling the pressure in October does. We saw that with two consecutive runs to the World Series by the Kansas City Royals. The Indians, with their enthusiastic, exuberant brand of baseball have that feel this year. After decades upon decades without a championship parade, the city of Cleveland may be destined for two in one year.