Explaining how Indians are winning is like solving Rubik's Cube
CLEVELAND -- The Indians won another game Monday night.
It was, by the manager’s admission, a nerve-wracking affair, with him getting a stomach ache in the ninth as he watched his closer load the bases before getting Alex Gordon to fly out to center to end the game.
The 4-3 was, by definition, his goal, as Terry Francona says over and over he just wants to be one run better.
“Tonight I feel like maybe we were a tenth of a run better,” he said.
But as Francona also said before the game, little things add up to big things, because if a team does a lot right in playing the game, the big picture takes care of itself.
Monday, Nick Swisher threw out a fleet runner trying to score from third on a ground ball. Yan Gomes threw out two runners trying to steal. Jose Ramirez played his first major league game, got two hits and scored from first on a ground ball to third. Three players hit solo home runs. And Ubaldo Jimenez continued his near inexplicable comeback by throwing seven innings without giving up an earned run -- giving him 13 innings in September without an earned run.
It was a playoff atmosphere in front of another small crowd -- below 10,000 for the second time this month. But it was a tense, hard-fought, competitive game. Which is the way it should be between two teams playing well as they pursue a wild card spot.
“I think everybody knows what’s going on here,” Francona said. “It’s a lot of fun to be a part of. It’s nerve-wracking and a lot of things, but it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
This Indians run isn’t finished and it might wind up short, but after Monday’s win they are 6-2 in September and winners of five-of-six. With Detroit losing to Chicago, the Indians also are within four-and-a-half games of the first-place Tigers, who have lost six-of-eight.
Explaining how this is happening, because in some ways the numbers simply don’t add up.
Their leading home run hitter is tied for 48th in baseball (Carlos Santana).
Their leading RBI guy is tied for 28th (Jason Kipnis).
Their best batting average is tied for 56th (Kipnis).
Their highest slugging percentage is tied for 51st (Kipnis).
They don’t have a starting pitcher with 15 wins, and they have a grand total of two pitchers with double-digit wins.
What in the world of Gomer Hodge is going on here?
Because the Indians pieces do not seem to add up to a 77-66 record, and a pace to improve by almost 20 games from last season. At this point, the Indians won-lost percentage projects to 87 wins, which probably won’t earn a wild card spot, but given their schedule those 87 wins could be more by season’s end.
And it may just as difficult to explain how it’s happening then as it is now. The Indians lack a star like Andrew McCutcheon, lack an ace like Justin Verlander, lack crowds like … well … like almost every other city in the league. But they have a won-lost record 11 games over .500, and they are in the playoff chase for the first time since 2007.
“We’re not the team that’s going to bash you to death,” Francona said. “But you show up and try to be one run better.”
The Indians are tied for sixth in the league in runs, and seventh in runs per game. They lack the big home run hitter, but they are 10th in total home runs and eighth in doubles. They are fifth in the league in walks, ninth in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging.
All this is true despite a woeful August when runs were as scarce as … dare we say … fans in the stadium in September.
The Indians are woeful against the Tigers (4-15), but 73-51 in other games, a .589 won-lost percentage. They lose to good teams, but beat up on those teams they should beat.
When the season started, the pitching was a huge question mark. But since the All-Star Break the Indians 3.25 ERA is the fourth best in baseball.
They’ve blown 21 saves, sixth highest in baseball, but they’ve won nine times in their final at-bat at home.
Somehow the whole is greater than the individual pieces, but the individual pieces seem to fit well. It’s probably the kind of team the Indians need to field, given their financial limitations. But with a manager with two World Series rings, they have believed from day one. The pitching coahc has worked wonders with the staff, and the manager has juggled things logically and wisely.
Somehow it has them within striking distance of not just the wild card, but even (with a lot more help from Detroit) the division.
At this point maybe the ‘how’ should be put away for the simple reality that it is happening with this team.
