Unfinished Business: ALDS Preview

I have to admit, it's a strange world when postseason baseball begins and it is the Indians who are considered the favorites and not the historically rich Yankees. Coming off the back of 2016, when the Tribe came so agonizingly close to winning it all, it would have been a disaster if they missed out on October baseball this year. But we had no reason to fear, not even during those inconsistent first months; all that matters now is that they're back, having retooled and upgraded (thank you Edwin and Jay). Our expectations this month pretty much start and end with a championship. Anything less will be considered a failure.

First of all they must get past the vaunted Bronx Bombers, a team I saw in person this season during my time in New York. I said previously that the Indians are considered favorites but in truth the gap between the two sides is very close. The Yankees are arguably ahead of schedule; no one really expected them to be here in 2017, not yet anyway. Thanks to Aaron Judge's monstrous rookie season, and some fine pitching and hitting from his teammates, the New York side have somewhat crashed the party and won't hesitate to throw everything they have at an Indians team with loftier ambitions than this time last year. 

When Cleveland took on Boston in the 2016 ALDS, I just wanted them to give a good account of themselves, to push the Red Sox to a game 5 and see if they could ride their luck into the ALCS. The fact that the Tribe went on to sweep Boston out of the series was something I never even dreamed of. In 2017 the expectations are much higher and progress past Aaron Judge and his merry men is expected, perhaps even demanded.

Game 1 starts tonight and Terry Francona has made the surprising choice to start Trevor Bauer on the mound and not Corey Kluber. Bauer did beat the Yankees twice in August though, holding them to just a single run in each match-up: 7 innings at Progressive Field on August 4th, then 6 innings at Yankee Stadium on August 30th. But despite his recent success the majority of fans would have expected Kluber to get the nod for the opener. However Francona clearly trusts Bauer, and his bullpen, to get the job done and save Kluber for game 2. It gives the ace a full 5 days of rest ahead of his start and ensures he could feature in a pivotal game 5 if necessary. And with a bullpen that includes the likes of Danny Salazar, Mike Clevinger and Andrew Miller, why wouldn't you be confident? Francona made excellent use of Miller last October and earned many plaudits for it. Now he has even more talent at his disposal and knows full well that to be successful in the playoffs, the guy who starts the game doesn't necessarily have to finish it.

Game 3 would likely see Carlos Carrasco make his first ever postseason appearance, after cruelly being left on the sidelines in 2016 thanks to injury. Every Tribe fan is excited to see Carlos on the big stage and combined with Kluber, that's a two-headed fire-breathing pitching dragon that opposition teams will not want to face. Josh Tomlin is available to pitch game 4 if called upon.

The Yankees send Sonny Gray to the mound tonight, a pitcher I've always admired. Backed by that powerful lineup which led the league in total home runs, with 241 of them, Gray will feel confident facing the Tribe. He pitched against Cleveland three times this season, throwing 16.2 innings with a 4.86 ERA, and Tribe hitters batted just .224 against him. A stern test awaits the Indians for sure but nothing they haven't seen, and conquered, before.

The Indians will ultimately be hoping to make quick work of New York, just like they did against Boston in 2016. I feel this series will be closer than last year's ALCS but overall I still expect Cleveland to emerge victorious. Ideally with plenty of rest ahead of the next opponent.