Cleveland is a good, balanced team. They had the second best record in the American League, at 94-67. (The team with the best record, Texas, is already eliminated.)
Hitting: Cleveland had the second-highest scoring offense in the 15-team American League, though the margin between second and fifth (Toronto, the team they now play) is small. They hit roughly an average number of homers but had the third highest batting average in the league, are patient hitters who draw walks, and run the bases better than anyone in the American League; left fielder Rajai Davis led the league in steals. The team’s best hitter is probably Carlos Santana, a Cleveland lifer. None of Cleveland’s catchers can hit at all but otherwise it’s a balanced lineup.
Pitching: Cleveland had perhaps the best pitching staff in the American League, but are hampered by the fact that two of their fine young starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, are hurt, so they will be at a disadvantage ion Games 3 and 4 against Toronto, when they will have to start pitchers not as good as Toronto can present. Nonetheless they still have Corey Kluber, one of the very best pitchers in the world, and an excellent bullpen anchored by Andrew Miller, who is ludicrously awesome.
Fielding: Cleveland is one of the best fielding teams in the American League and has a very strong infield, especially. Shortstop Francisco Lindor is tremendous and very fun to watch. The only real weakness is left fielder Rajai Davis, who is not a technically sound fielder and has a weak arm. As Toronto’s hitters are mostly righthanded (meaning they hit to left field) Davis will be put to the test.
Cleveland presents a harder lineup to deal with tactically. They have skilled hitters on both sides of the plate, and are more balanced top to bottom than Toronto, whose good hitters are all righthanded and who are more dependent on an elite core of star hitters at the top of the lineup. You will likely see Cleveland try to maneuver things to bring in the mighty Andrew Miller to face the heart of the Toronto lineup. If Miller can shut them down, and he has been nearly unhittable this year, Toronto will be hard pressed to score runs late in ballgames.
It would be fair to say that Cleveland will be at a disadvantage early in the game, except when Corey Kluber is starting, but will be at an advantage later in the game.
Managing: Cleveland’s manager Terry Francona, a World Series winner with Boston, is as good a tactician as the game has. Francona’s use of his bullpen is unorthodox and much more effective than most managers.
How They Stack Up Against Toronto: The teams are very similar in overall skill on both offense and defense; both are good hitting teams, both are extremely good fielding teams and both can pitch. Toronto’s modus operandi is different; their offense is based on drawing a lot of walks and hitting home runs, and they don’t steal bases or hit for average like Cleveland does, but the sum total of both teams is about equally effective. The Indians will not strike out as much as Toronto will.
Although Cleveland had a slightly better pitching staff Toronto’s is also very good and Toronto does not have an injured starting pitcher, which confers a bit of an advantage.
Toronto’s manager, John Gibbons, is relatively conventional and predictable in his approach, except in how he orders his starting rotation. He seems to have an unusual ability to choose the right starting pitcher for the right game, though; he has made some unusual choices and they usually work. Francona, however, has vastly more experience in playoff battles. He is as clever as they come. Any team managed by Terry Francona can win any playoff series against any opponent.
Interesting Facts:
The executives currently in charge of Toronto, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, worked for the Indians until this year. The Indians squad was largely built by them.
Cleveland last made a World Series in 1997, Toronto in 1993. Neither team has any player who was even in the major leagues in 1997.
Cleveland has never played against Toronto in a playoff series before. The only team left in the playoffs they have ever played in the postseason are the Dodgers, who they beat in the World Series 96 years ago, in 1920, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. That World Series is famous for Indians infielder Bill Wambsganss making an unassisted triple play, the only time that has ever happened in a postseason game. In the same game in which Wambsganss pulled the rare feat (it has been done only 15 times in the major leagues, making it rarer than a perfect game) two other World Series firsts happened; the Indians’ Elmer Smith hit a grand slam, the first ever in a World Series, and Indians pitcher Jim Bagby hit a home run, the first time a pitcher homered in a World Series.
Interestingly enough, of the 15 unassisted triple plays in MLB history, 3 have been turned by Cleveland Indians.
)