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2017 ALDS | Indians vs Yankees

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Who wins?


  • Total voters
    61
  • Poll closed .
About time for a Players Tribune article about getting back on the grind, staying hungry and redeeming themselves.

This year is different. The players must all feel sick. They don't have their built in "our pitchers were hurt" excuse. They didn't look carefree and loose this year. They caved under the pressure of being favorites. I don't think we will hear much out of them.
 
About time for a Players Tribune article about getting back on the grind, staying hungry and redeeming themselves.

I was thinking the same thing. It's coming I'm sure, from Kipnis or Miller or somebody. Fuck that shit.,
 
Because he is one of the best pure hitters on the team and seemed best fit for a pinch hitter role. If Tito knew Edwin would get hurt and miss ~3 games, I'm sure he would have carried Yandy. Although he had his own struggles 2nd half of September.

Saying the team has better chemistry without him is based off of absolutely nothing. Just because we made the World Series last year and went on the 22 game streak this year without him in the lineup doesn't mean we are a better team without a .300 hitter in the lineup. Implying a correlation there a such an unbelievably large stretch.

I said better chemistry in the lineup. Putting his bat in the line up (when he couldn't catch up to major league pitching yet) would cause pressure on others around him in the lineup to press in order to "cover" for him.

Also sorry I am not sold on Brantley any more. He may have been one of the best pure hitters but he played a total of 100 games in 2 seasons.
 
I had to skip past about 30 pages of posts and I assume someone has already said this, but if so I'll add to it.

This team flat out didn't deserve to advance. They didn't continue to do the things that got them here. They didn't field. They swung at horrible pitches. The pitchers nibbled and weren't aggressive in pounding the zone. Our ace was ordinary at best and not pitching like an ace. Our clutch hitters were anything but clutch.

If the Indians would have played all season the way we played against NY we never would have made the playoffs. I'm not happy about the way we underperformed. But considering how badly this team crapped the bed I'm glad the season is over.

I don't know if much has been said about teams that over perform in the RS tending to fall flat in the playoffs. Seems like we just suffered that fate and I don't understand why it happens.

The team didn't advance, but we, as fans, deserved to HAVE them advance. We deserved our day in the sun. Almost all other franchises have their ups and downs. Why must we endure only crushing defeats?
 
guys this blows but Tito didn't lose the series...the players did...Lindor and Ramirez didn't show up and our defense imploded...despite what the numbers say we are not a very good hitting team...we are incapable of sustaining long rallies with the dead weight we have in the lineup. The bottom third is abysmal and needs to be addressed in the off season. I think Kipnis doesn't have a place on the team anymore unfortunately...a few tweaks we'll be back!
 
^^^One thing to add. I guess this begs the question, did the team underperform, or did they over-perform last year and return to their true talent levels in this last playoff series?

They have talent; what they DON'T have, is heart.
 
guys this blows but Tito didn't lose the series...the players did...Lindor and Ramirez didn't show up and our defense imploded...despite what the numbers say we are not a very good hitting team...we are incapable of sustaining long rallies with the dead weight we have in the lineup. The bottom third is abysmal and needs to be addressed in the off season. I think Kipnis doesn't have a place on the team anymore unfortunately...a few tweaks we'll be back!

Without a massive increase in attendance, the Indians can't attract free agents. But why should attendance increase, when fans get punished for their loyalty?
 
I had to skip past about 30 pages of posts and I assume someone has already said this, but if so I'll add to it.

This team flat out didn't deserve to advance. They didn't continue to do the things that got them here. They didn't field. They swung at horrible pitches. The pitchers nibbled and weren't aggressive in pounding the zone. Our ace was ordinary at best and not pitching like an ace. Our clutch hitters were anything but clutch.

If the Indians would have played all season the way we played against NY we never would have made the playoffs. I'm not happy about the way we underperformed. But considering how badly this team crapped the bed I'm glad the season is over.

I don't know if much has been said about teams that over perform in the RS tending to fall flat in the playoffs. Seems like we just suffered that fate and I don't understand why it happens.

The playoffs in baseball are largely a crap shoot. The WC team having a winning record against the league champion shows that.

This year sucks but blowing a 3-1 lead in a WS is just the thing I will never get over. Talk about being undermanned, injured, whatever but this series doesn't even hold a candle to the Cubs series.....but it coming on the heels of the WS makes it sting that much more.

The Indians were the better team but NYY was largely the second best team in baseball over the second half. They could play a little looser as the underdog and got the timely hitting the Indians just could not in game 3, 4 & 5.

The thing that is so grueling about baseball is that you don't even need to have a bad SERIES to get sent home. A bad 1-2 games can do it. Lots of second guessing to be had but if your best players can't get you across the finish line with a 2-0 lead, all the excuse making means little.

I cant remember a time where any team, let alone a Cleveland team, had 3 elite players collectively shit the bed across an entire series. I am absolutely dumbfounded by the performances of Ramirez, Lindor and Kluber. Guys so insanely even and consistent that it doesn't make ANY sense they could all, at the same time, just completely self destruct. It's probably something no one will ever be able to explain.
 
Is this team's record a product of the AL Central, out of curiosity? Any convincing argument to disprove that theory?
 
This year is different. The players must all feel sick. They don't have their built in "our pitchers were hurt" excuse. They didn't look carefree and loose this year. They caved under the pressure of being favorites. I don't think we will hear much out of them.

The quotes I am seeing from Lindor and Hosey are more like, "These things happen; they are out of your control."

They aren't, "I played with my head up my ass, and I will be better the next time."

I think the fans suffer more than the players do; In a few years, Lindor and Ramirez will sign with the Yankees and GET their World Series ring. The Indians will leave town, before we get ours...
 
There are some players on the team that I feel don't have what it takes to win a title. They can try but they just don't have that mindset (Kluber, Kip, Brantley and you may have to include JRam and Lindor in there as well).

Last year worked because we had some players that won a world series (Rajai, Nap) this year we really didn't have anyone of that ilk for the Locker Room. We had guys that played in last year's world series but when things got tough they choked.
Is this a joke? Corey fucking Kluber doesn't have what it takes to win a World Series?

I genuinely believe that's a ban worthy statement. Corey was a fucking hero last year

@Derek theres some more fodder for your sig
 
Which begs 2 questions. Why was he on the post season roster missing 2 months of the season and only playing in 2 games before the playoffs? I could see the ALCS roster not the ALDS roster.

Also Brantley has been injured for a variety of years. He was hitting .299 before he got injured it also seems like this team had better chemistry and was playing better without Brantley (this year and last)

Not many other options.

It wasn't that noticeable because the team was winning (mainly because the pitching, defense and the top 6 hitters; Lindor, Ramirez, Edwin, Bruce, Santana and Jackson were all producing), but the Indians weren't exactly a beacon of health or certainty coming into this series, particularly in the outfield.

Zimmer goes down for the season on 9/10. Guyer goes down for the season on 9/14. Both of those guys were definitely going to be on the playoff roster. So that gave the Indians two less options in the outfield.

The fallout from that is Kipnis not only having to move to the outfield, but having to start in CF. He clearly doesn't have the range or the arm to play there and he only had 33 at bats from August 23rd until the end of the season. Not only was he out of position, but he simply wasn't ready to play either.

On top of that, with Zimmer and Guyer down, that meant Brantley and Chisenhall both made the roster. Brantley had all of 3 at bats since August 9th and clearly wasn't ready for playoff pitching. Chisenhall basically the same thing. Missed six weeks, came back for two and didn't hit at all, then missed another two weeks and ended up only having six at bats total in the three weeks leading up to the playoffs.

So you add all that up and now you have three guys in Kipnis, Brantley and Chisenhall all on your roster of 14 guys that for all intents and purposes are automatic outs. Toss in Double A outfielder Greg Allen who only made the team for pinch running and defensive replacement purposes and now you have four automatic outs out of 14.

Now we go a little bit deeper. The main reason why they moved Kipnis to the outfield instead of just playing Chisenhall or Jackson there (or biting the bullet and just starting Allen) is so they could have the best infield defense possible. The problem with that is that that meant Urshela starting at third base and it's abundantly clear he can't hit bad MLB pitching, much less playoff pitching. So now five of your 14 hitters are guys that we've established can't hit.

The curious decision to bring Gonzalez and not Diaz = a 6th player out of 14 that can't hit.

So now, through injuries, they've set up a situation where 42.8% of your playoff roster simply can't hit. That makes the margin for error nonexistent. You get one injury and your only solution is to bring in an automatic out from the bench.

You get other guys that were hot down the stretch that start scuffling like Lindor, Ramirez and Jackson did, and the rest of the roster just isn't able to pick them up.

Now all of these problems existed the last month of the season, but they basically didn't matter because the top 5 hitters were all on fire, the defense was top notch and the pitching, both starting and relief, was the best in the league.
 
The quotes I am seeing from Lindor and Hosey are more like, "These things happen; they are out of your control."

They aren't, "I played with my head up my ass, and I will be better the next time."

I think the fans suffer more than the players do; In a few years, Lindor and Ramirez will sign with the Yankees and GET their World Series ring. The Indians will leave town, before we get ours...

Sad, but true. Reading Lindor, man...I know this is why we love him but he doesn't seem like an ultra competitor. Just an insanely talented dude that loves playing baseball. "Loss sucks, but we'll be back next year! *smiles*" I mean, fuck. You have to strike while the iron is hot. There may not even be a next year.
 
Is this a joke? Corey fucking Kluber doesn't have what it takes to win a World Series?

I genuinely believe that's a ban worthy statement. Corey was a fucking hero last year

@Derek theres some more fodder for your sig

No they don't have the heart or mental toughness to do so.

It was like LeBron his first stint in cleveland. They need someone on the team that has the heart to win a series. They don't have anyone right now.

They have a bunch of players who press and feel too much pressure. Again that is why last year worked

Sorry moz sometimes the truth hurts
 
The quotes I am seeing from Lindor and Hosey are more like, "These things happen; they are out of your control."

They aren't, "I played with my head up my ass, and I will be better the next time."

I think the fans suffer more than the players do; In a few years, Lindor and Ramirez will sign with the Yankees and GET their World Series ring. The Indians will leave town, before we get ours...

Truer words have never been spoken.
 

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