Bernfield: Cleveland's resourcefulness a challenge for Cubs
On Sept. 17, respected Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes declared the Indians' season was over.
"The Indians won a ballgame Saturday afternoon," Hoynes wrote at Cleveland.com. "But their postseason dreams ended. Write it down."
Hoynes penned this after the Indians lost their second starting pitcher to injury in eight days. First, Danny Salazar suffered a forearm injury on the ninth against the Twins. Then Carlos Carrasco broke a bone in his pitching hand when Detroit's Ian Kinsler lined a ball back to the mound.
Once possessing one of baseball's deepest starting rotations, Cleveland lost two valuable arms heading into the postseason. It seemed reasonable at the time to think losing both Salazar and Carrasco would be insurmountable in October.
But here are the Indians, in the World Series for the first time since 1997, and seeking their first championship since 1948. And they barely broke a sweat in their run to the Fall Classic.
It started with a sweep of the Red Sox in the American League division series. Cleveland rocked 22-game winner Rick Porcello for five runs in Game 1 and free agent prize David Price for five more in Game 2.
Then they neutralized the high-powered Blue Jays in five games in the American League championship series despite being forced to use their bullpen for nearly all of Game 3. Trevor Bauer cut his right pinkie finger repairing a drone before the series - and tried to pitch through it - but was forced out of the game in the first inning when blood gushed from the wound.
Ace Corey Kluber pitched on short rest in Game 4 and rookie Ryan Merritt fired 4 ⅓ shutout innings in Game 5 before the bullpen secured the pennant.
The resourceful way in which the Indians won seven of eight games to reach the World Series embodies their entire season. They don't boast the most powerful offense, finishing 18th in the regular season in home runs, but they scored the fifth-most runs in baseball.
They run the bases well. They stole the fourth-most bases (134) and figure to challenge Jon Lester and the Cubs defense with their speed. Rajai Davis led the Tribe with 43 steals in the regular season, but three other regulars swiped at least 15 bases.
Their greatest improvement this season came from their bullpen. When the Cubs acquired Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, the Indians picked up his teammate, Andrew Miller. The super reliever won the ALCS MVP, and has been the player GM Mike Chernoff envisioned when he traded top prospects to acquire him in July.
Cleveland has an excellent manager. Theo Epstein hired Terry Francona to manage the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, and now Francona has masterfully led the young Indians back to the World Series in his fourth year on the job.
A new set of challenges awaits the Cubs in their final series this October. The Indi-ANS will test them on the bases and in the bullpen.
And huge audiences are expected to watch as baseball's two teams with the longest World Series droughts meet in a dream matchup.
• Jordan Bernfield is an anchor and co-host of "Inside The Clubhouse" on WSCR 670-AM The Score. He also works as a play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN. Follow him on Twitter@JordanBernfield.