If you listen to national sports commentators other than real baseball people, they seemed shocked at how good Corey Kluber pitched last night. Some marveled at how his pitches moved and some even suggested he may not be able to replicate that performance.
Indians fans and real baseball analysts know otherwise. Of course there’s no guarantee that Kluber will be just as dominant again, particularly if he ends up pitching in Game 4 on short rest, but another lights out performance would not be surprising at all. Corey Kliber is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and now casual baseball fans are starting to learn what we’ve known for several years. Kluber is a beast with nasty stuff that baffles both righties and lefties, and the Indians intend to ride his talent throughout this series.
Francisco Lindor also introduced himself to the Cubs and a national audience with a single and critical stolen base with two outs in the first inning. That led to Jon Lester imploding by giving up two walks and then two runs. That’s all Kulber would need.
Meanwhile, Andrew Miller looked mortal last night, but he came up with huge pitches when he needed them.
Game 1 was critical for the Tribe, and now they have a chance tonight to take command of this series. Let’s see if Trevor Bauer rises to the occasion.
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Cory Kluber takes the mound tonight as the Cleveland Indians open the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. 2016 has been a bizarre years in so many ways, including a crazy election that’s driving most people to drink, but this year will always be cherished by Cleveland sports fans as the Cavs broke a 52-year championship drought for the city. Now, with the Cavs ready to open their new season tonight by raising their championship banner, we have the Indians trying to complete their improbable run to a Word Series title. Can you imagine two championship parades in one year?
This Indians-Cubs series could be epic, with both clubs trying to end long championship droughts. In any other year, the Indians would probably have the whole country behind them, but with the Cavs ending the city’s title drought and then drawing the Cubs as their opponent, the Indians find themselves as the underdog in the eyes of baseball experts and fans across the country.
But this Indians team doesn’t care about those things. They rolled through the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays despite losing two of their best starting pitchers and another starter to a freak drone accident, and now they’ll at least have Danny Salazar back to possibly start a game or provide help from the pen.
Still, the team isn’t at full strength, so tonight’s opening game with Cory Kluber on the mound will likely be critical. If Kluber can win his starts, the Indians have a great shot at shocking the world and extending the misery of Cubs fans. If Kluber loses, then the Indians will have to rely on Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin to rise to the occasion again and get to Andrew Miller and the rest of the bullpen.
This Cubs team is excellent, but the Indians can definitely win this series. Go Tribe!!
It’s no secret that the Cleveland Indians had a pretty rough time last season, plummeting toward the latter half after a strong beginning. There’s still a lot of hope for the 2013 season, however, since the Indians had a very productive winter making a lot of progress in (hopefully) the right direction. Let’s look at the changes the Indians have implements that just might get them into the playoffs, and maybe even the World Series.
The first thing the Cleveland Indians did this winter was grab some new baseball gloves for the many new members they’ve welcomed onto their team. Having traded a lot of players and signing a couple of free agents, the Indians have revamped their lineup in hopes of bringing stronger players to their team. Matt Albers, Brett Myers, Nick Swisher, and Bryan Shaw have all been added to the Cleveland Indians, giving the proud city of Cleveland hope for this season.
When they began signing their new players, the Indians forewent trying to save money on their payroll by obtaining young players and instead put their money into getting well-known talent. This makes their budget for the upcoming season pretty tight, but it should also assist in helping them regain the immense losses that they incurred last season. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for the team.
Ubaldo Jimenez was the height of discussion last season as his performance continued to decline since the Cleveland Indians brought him onboard in 2010. A very talented pitcher in the past, he was called a disappointment by a lot of Indians fans for his 5.25 ERA (the second worst for the entire year). He plans to step it up in this upcoming season though. Throughout winter, Jimenez spent a lot of time with the Indians’ pitching coach to better his performance and solidify his techniques, admitting that last year was really bad for him. If he takes the training to heart, the boost in Jimenez’s ERA will be a huge advantage for the Cleveland Indians this season.
Carlos Carrasco should also be returning to the Indians this year after having undergone surgery in his elbow. Always a promising player for the team, the return of Carrasco will also benefit the Cleveland Indians immensely and will definitely help them in their upward mobility toward the playoffs. Scott Kazmir, who pitched during the winter league, will also be joining the team this year after being gone from the majors since 2011.
What the Cleveland Indians need is consistency and a strong lineup of fresh, talented players will provide that. If they can continue to scout out the best players and train the ones they already have, they will definitely be on mark to potentially make the playoffs, even if they aren’t quite ready to get back into the World Series.
