Yan vs Bran: 2019 World Series Preview

The Indians won't be playing in the World Series tonight but two of our former sons will feature, for the Nationals and Astros respectively.

Michael Brantley, of Houston, and Yan Gomes, of Washington, face off for the title in what's set to be a fantastic contest between two truly excellent teams.

Brantley, who spent 10 seasons in Cleveland, enjoyed a fruitful 2019 in his new home of Houston. In 148 games he batted .311/.372/.503 with 22 home runs, 40 doubles and 90 RBI, for an 126 OPS+ and his fourth All-Star selection. I was so sad to see him leave the Indians, as he'd long been my favorite player on the team. I will admit, it hurt to see him play at his consistently superb level in a new uniform, particularly given the Tribe's outfield struggles this year - we could have really used him. If you haven't seen his unbelievable double play in the ALCS yet, enjoy.

Gomes didn't enjoy the same measure of offensive success as Brantley this year, but did control and organize one of the best rotations in the game. An All-Star in 2018, the Brazilian backstop played 97 games this season for the Nats, sharing time with veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki. This platoon has been utilized by manager Dave Martinez into the postseason as well, but Gomes is still expected to flash his elite defensive abilities for the majority of the action. Gomes batted .223/.316/.389 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, for a disappointing 78 OPS+.

Outside of my support for both Brantley and Gomes, the aspect of the series I'm most excited for is the pitching battles. Both teams boast incredibly stacked rotations and fans aren't expecting a great deal of relief work ahead - just like the old days.

The favored Astros have three legitimate aces they can call upon in Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and mid-season acquisition Zack Greinke. At least two of these men will be serious contenders for the AL Cy Young award in the winter.

The Nationals have a trio to reckon with of their own, thanks to Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. Despite Houston's fearsome lineup of Altuve, Springer, Brantley and Bregman, Nats fans will be optimistic with Strasburg on the mound; in 22 innings of postseason work he's allowed just 4 earned runs thus far.

My personal preference would see the Nationals emerge victorious, despite my love for Brantley. Outside of him, I don't much enjoy the Astro's supporting cast of characters, and Washington's journey has been more fun to follow this season.

A special mention must go to former Indians Asdrubal Cabrera and Joe Smith as well, who will also play some part in the games to come. Infielder Cabrera (Nationals) spent just over 7 years in Cleveland, and Smith (Astros) pitched in relief for most of 5 seasons with the Tribe (with a brief return in 2017).

Even though our current Indians are absent, try and support Brantley and Gomes in the World Series. Once it's all over, we settle in for that excruciating wait until baseball finally returns in March.

Enjoy the show whilst it lasts.

Houston Hold Indians To Split Series

As we get ready to enter the month of May your Cleveland Indians are 15-12.

This is despite Jose Ramirez, an MVP candidate in 2018, looking like a malfunctioning android at the plate. He is batting .188 with 2 homers for a 51 wRC+.

This is despite the team's heart and soul, Francisco Lindor, missing all of spring training and most of April with injuries. The shortstop only returned on April 20, and has already hit 3 home runs in eight games.

This is with an outfield so patched together that it's a daily challenge to remember who is still on the roster and who is in Triple-A. No, Oscar Mercado is not on the 25-man roster, but Jordan Luplow is.

With all of the uncertainty surrounding the team this year, for them to possess a 15-12 record at the end of April (a month the Indians historically struggle in), it's okay. It's not amazing, it's not impressive, but it's decent.

Things could be worse. Just ask Boston.

The Tribe completed a four-game set in Houston this weekend, against those pesky Astros responsible for our ignominious ALDS exit last year, and managed to split the series two games apiece. Let's go over some of the talking points from the series, some of the positives and negatives to take away from Minute Maid Park.

The Good

Trevor Bauer toed the rubber for game one of the series and continued his fine start to the season with another dominant outing and victory in a 2-1 Tribe win.

Faced against his old UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole, the pair of premier pitchers put on a pitching masterclass, but it was Bauer who came out on top. The 28 year-old worked 8 innings and gave up just 4 hits and 1 run (an early homer by George Springer). Strangely, Bauer surrendered 6 walks and struck out just 3 batters, but was able to pitch so deep into the game thanks to his ability to induce weak contact from the Houston lineup. He wasn't even experiencing difficulties with his pitches - the last two fastballs he threw clocked in at 97.1 and 97.6 mph, his fastest of the night.

Bauer has long enjoyed success against the Astros, and is one of just two active pitchers who have made nine starts against Houston without recording a loss (the other pitcher is Justin Verlander, who plays for them!)

He didn't hesitate to savor the moment either, reigniting his feud with Astros third baseman Alex Bregman on social media:

👋🏻👋🏻 @ABREG_1 #TakeItBack #RallyTogether @astros @Indians @MLBNetwork @IntentionalTalk @barstoolsports @Starting9 pic.twitter.com/koQV8vD5ph

— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) April 27, 2019

Bauer kept Bregman hitless and celebrated the only way Bauer knows how. For a recap of their ongoing battle, check out MLB.com's recent rundown containing all their history.

Another highlight of the series was the Indians' timely hitting - both victories in the series lent themselves to key hits at important moments.

In Bauer's game one start, the lineup provided him with limited run support but thankfully Leonys Martin and Jake Bauers each launched a solo homer to back their starter. Martin had a pair of home runs in the series and Bauers, whilst not as eye-catching as Yandy Diaz perhaps (the man he was traded for), is developing into a considerable presence at the plate. The young Bauers had a hit in every game of the series, batting 5-for-13 overall.

Clutch hitting was responsible for the Tribe's second victory as well. After starter Corey Kluber battled through 5 innings and 3 earned runs, the bullpen took over and were superb (especially Brad Hand), managing to keep them off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

It was up to the Indians hitters to rescue the day and with the score tied in the top of the 7th inning, Tyler Naquin emerged as the unlikely hero. Naquin crushed a 95mph fastball into the gap in right-center field for a huge double, plating Greg Allen to push the Indians ahead. In the top of the 9th, Lindor put the result beyond doubt with a 2-run shot to opposite field, sealing the 6-3 victory. It was his second home run of the day, and the 101st of his career.

The Bad

Jason Kipnis began the season on the injured list but returned to the team on April 15th and played well, bringing some much-needed stability to the lineup. Kip batted .308 in his first seven games back and I for one was happy to see him out there.

Sadly that nice little run came to an abrupt end in Houston, as Kipnis went 0-for-16 against the Astros with 5 strikeouts. His average has since plummeted to .190 and the "out with Kipnis" naysayers have returned. It didn't take them long did it?

It's an incredibly small sample against one of the best teams in the league, so I think Kipnis, after his many years of service to Cleveland, deserves to be cut some slack before fans start calling for his head. The idea that Brad Miller should have been retained on the roster at Kip's expense, based purely on their April numbers, is laughable.

Kipnis certainly wasn't alone in his struggles against the Astros. Carlos Carrasco was enjoying a fine day on the mound before being stung late in the 7th inning, taking the loss in 4-1 defeat that secured Houston a split series.

Carrasco was cruising through the Astros' lineup, and had a 1-0 lead thanks to a Carlos Santana home run from the 4th inning. He ran into serious trouble in the 7th though, when a Michael Brantley (ouch) single marked the beginning of the end for the Venezuelan native.

The Astros tied the game when a Yuli Gurriel double scored Brantley, but it was the decision to intentionally walk Josh Reddick that came back to bite the Indians. Reddick was issued a free pass in favor of Robinson Chirinos and theoretically the move made some sense; Reddick entered the day with a .354 average, and Chirinos was batting .279. Terry Francona chose to attack the seemingly inferior player.

With two outs and men on first and second, Carrasco tried to muscle a low and inside fastball past Chirinos but the big Venezuelan wasn't fooled and absolutely destroyed the ball for a 3-run homer.

Carrasco was rocked and didn't recover. Two straight singles later and he was toasted; within the span of 14 pitches Carrasco's terrific performance was completely undone and the Tribe couldn't come back. The score remained 4-1 to Houston.

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The Indians move on from Texas and enjoy an off day before they take on the Marlins for a brief two game series in Miami.

Perhaps the Florida sunshine is just what this team needs.

ALDS Review: Astros Annihilation

Another baseball season draws to a close in Cleveland, not with a bang but a whimper.

Just like last year, the Indians exit the postseason at the first stage, this time swept out of the American League Division Series by the reigning champion Houston Astros. It was upsetting to see the Tribe play just a single playoff game at home, and even more frustrating to watch them throw the game away (literally).

There will be a great deal of questions asked of this team after such a disappointing conclusion to the season. Was the Indians lackluster divisional race a cause for their uninspiring performance? The 103-win Astros were pushed all the way in their race for the AL West by Oakland, keeping them sharp as they entered October. The Indians on the other hand coasted to their divisional title, perhaps dulling their ability to rise to the playoff atmosphere that Houston thrived upon.

In the Indians' defense, they were up against a team stacked head-to-toe with quality, with no visible weaknesses in any department. The Astros pitching was particularly dominant, and entered the postseason ranked first in team ERA (3.11), starters ERA (3.16), bullpen ERA (3.03) and strikeouts (1,687) for the entire league. Their dominance showed through in each game, severely limiting the Tribe hitters.

It's no wonder the Indians batted a pitiful .144 (13-for-90) for 6 total runs in the entire series.

Two of those runs came directly from the bat of Francisco Lindor, as the star shortstop hit two solo homers. In fact, Lindor was the only player to perform well at the plate for Cleveland, batting .364 in 11 at-bats, scoring 3 runs, basically accounting for 50% of the offensive output. The 24 year-old face of the franchise never let his head drop.

On the other hand you have Jose Ramirez, Cleveland's most dangerous hitter during the regular season, reduced to a shell of his usual self against Houston. In 11 at-bats, Ramirez couldn't record a single hit and dating back to last season, Ramirez is 2-for-31 in postseason play.

He wasn't alone in his struggles. The Tribe's other big bats like Edwin Encarnacion (1-for-10), Josh Donaldson (1-for-11) and Yonder Alonso (0-for-6) also underperformed. Even the consistent Michael Brantley was limited to just 2 hits in 10 at-bats, in what could well be his final games in an Indians uniform.

The lineup will take the brunt of the criticism for this postseason letdown, as they rightly should. You don't need a degree to know that scoring runs will win you games and sadly the Tribe hitters just couldn't get it done against an admittedly superior Astros team.

However, the Indians' pitching staff must take their share of the responsibility as well, as they were far from perfect.

Something was off right from the start of the series, when Corey Kluber took a beating in Houston to open game one. The ace of the staff never looked like his normal self and gave up three home runs in his 4.2 innings of work. He continued to leave the ball up in the zone and the Astros hitters punished him accordingly.

Thankfully Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger, the starters for games two and three, were very effective. Carrasco lasted 5.1 innings, giving up 6 hits for 2 earned runs and kept the Tribe in the game. Clevinger was superb in his start, showing just how far he's progressed in 2018. Sunshine pitched 5 innings with 9 strikeouts, allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run.

The biggest problem, as was so often the case this season, was when Carrasco and Clevinger handed the game over to the bullpen.

Cody Allen and Brad Hand were the two individuals who really suffered and were taken apart by the vaunted Astros lineup. Allen made two appearances, pitching a third of an inning in game one and two thirds of an inning in game three, and was diabolical, giving up 4 hits for 6 earned runs, two of them homers (one in each game). Considering this series was likely Allen's last time in a Cleveland uniform, it's a very somber and disappointing way for him to bow out.

Hand, considered the bullpen saviour in the season's final months, was also hit hard. He pitched an inning in game two and two thirds of an inning in the game three nightmare. The left-hander was stung for 3 hits and 2 earned runs altogether, including the three-run bomb by Carlos Correa that sent Tribe fans heading for the exits in game three.

Perhaps the performance that hurt Tribe fans the most came from Trevor Bauer. For so long this year a Cy Young-worthy starter with untouchable stuff, Bauer was reduced to pieces over the course of three relief appearances. Bauer walked out of the bullpen in each game and logged 4 innings in total, but gave up 7 hits and 3 earned runs. He saved the worst until last.

In the seventh inning with a narrow 2-1 lead, Bauer made an errant pickoff attempt that allowed Houston's Tony Kemp to reach second, and he later scored on a Jose Altuve grounder to tie the game at 2-2. Alex Bregman proceeded to chop a pitch back to the mound, where Bauer attempted to start the inning-ending double play, but his throw to Lindor at second base was wild, pulling the shortstop away from the bag, resulting in Bauer's second error of the inning and no outs on the play. The bases were then loaded to keep a double play opportunity alive but a 95-mph fastball way above the zone was pounced on by Marwin Gonzalez for a double that plated two more runners. It put the Astros ahead 4-2, and the game beyond the Indians' reach. A 6-run eighth inning meltdown by the rest of the bullpen put the final nail in the Tribe's 2018 coffin.

Where do the Indians go now? One thing for certain is some significant roster turnover in the near future, as a number of key players become free agents this month. I will be paying close attention this winter to the club's activity but for the next few weeks, I'll enjoy the rest of the playoffs, sad in the thought of what might have been.

Thanks for reading this season.

Lindor Lifts Tribe Over Astros, Win Series

The Indians took two out of three from the Astros this week, and they did it in style. In the rubber game Thursday night, down a run and into the bottom of the seventh, Francisco Lindor stepped to the plate with Yan Gomes already stationed on first base. Lindor took Houston reliever Chris Devenski to a 2-0 count before unloading on the ball, sending it deep into center field and over the fence to push the Tribe ahead 4-3 on the night. The Astros couldn't reply and the Indians were victorious, capturing the series victory over one of the better teams in the American League.

Lindor vs Correa: Battle Of The Ages

We live in a golden age of shortstops, a time that rivals the days of Jeter, Garciaparra and A-Rod. Two of the very best in today's era hail from the shores of Puerto Rico, a historically blessed baseball nation. Lindor, from Caguas, and Correa, from Ponce, will be battling each other for the next decade for the title of best shortstop in the majors and they faced off against one another for the first time in 2017.

Over the course of this series the two of them went head-to-head. Correa had a total of 4 hits, 2 of them doubles, 2 walks, but 6 strikeouts. Lindor had just 2 hits, one of them a double, but the other was the mammoth home run that clinched the series win, collecting 2 RBI for his efforts. He also had 2 walks and struck out just the once, as opposed to Correa's half dozen.

So far this season Correa is slashing .219/.310/.329 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Not exactly the kind of output the fans in Houston were expecting, but it's still early days. Whereas Lindor is performing much better, with a .301/.368/.614 batting line, and leads the Indians with 6 HR, and has 14 RBI, trailing only Jose Ramirez for the team lead.

Lindor is winning the battle between the duo so far and is off to a very hot start this year. His Thursday night homer traveled 456 feet, and was recorded as the longest home run of his professional career. When told after the game how far he hit it, Lindor said, "Really? I'm not supposed to be hitting the ball that far." He's such a legend already. Long live Frankie Lindor.

Here are some other quick takes from the series:

• Dallas Keuchel shrugged off 2 home runs to go the distance in the opening game Tuesday night, and pushed his record to 4-0. He looks in fine form and has made an early case for Cy Young contention. I realise how ridiculous that sentence is in April but the guy has been a force so far. Josh Tomlin battled him and wasn't too bad, but ran into a tricky fifth inning. Overall the Texan allowed 3 runs over 6 innings, scattering 8 hits and 6 strikeouts but took the loss.
• Cody Allen recorded back-to-back saves to seal the Indians' wins. On the Wednesday night Allen entered the game in the eighth in relief of Bryan Shaw, who had almost let the Astros back in the game. Allen got a crucial groundout and pitched a clean ninth to record a four-out save. He was back in action Thursday night and made things a bit more interesting, as he likes to do sometimes. Despite putting runners on the corners he worked his way out of the jam, picking up his 5th save of the year. Allen continues to do stellar work, despite making us sweat.

The Tribe now welcome another AL West opponent to Progressive Field, the 10-13 Seattle Mariners. In tonight's matchup the M's are likely to start 28 year-old Cuban lefty Ariel Miranda against Carlos Carrasco, who will be looking to continue his fine start to 2017.

Thanks for reading.