No longer laying low, Cleveland's ready for the big show

Perhaps it's because everyone expects so little out of Cleveland sports. Because on the morning of a day when they could potentially ride a pair of sweeps into the World Series – something that has never happened in the divisional era of baseball history – the Cleveland Indians are still somehow seen as somewhat of an unlikely entrant into the mid-October fray.

Perhaps it is the fact that they are a Midwest team in a city that is more known for its basketball legend, football ineptitude and musical hall of fame than its prowess on the diamond. In all fairness, with the exception of the run of Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome and company some 20 years ago, Cleveland has been a dead source of baseball spotlight for decades. Charlie Sheen and Corbin Bernsen are more prominent mainstream Indians in the minds of some than many of the players that are inhabiting the jersey on an increasing amount of televisions around the nation. Yet despite this negligence to their road to sitting on the brink of history, these Indians are perhaps the most dangerous set of unknowns in baseball history.

And looking back at their path to this point, it is fair to understand why even some ardent baseball fans may not have seen this coming from this team. They were one of the more resounding short comers in the game last year, limping to an 81-80, third place finish, 13.5 games out of first place. This was on the heels of them being the popular pick to make a breakthrough in the American League, as they had finished as a hard luck 85-win team the year before. But they were unable to break the glass ceiling, and showed little reason to be seen as a threat to dethrone the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals, nor to absolutely outdo the Detroit Tigers or Chicago White Sox, both of which had promising offseason upgrades.

But in the end, the Indians had done that and more. The relentless Indians emerged as one of the most dangerous and well-rounded teams in the game. They had quietly reinvented themselves as a speed and defense-first attack, which could relentlessly put the pressure on opposing pitchers, while still reserving enough potency to change the scoreboard in a hurry. It’s understandable to think that a team whose offseason headline additions were mid-'30s journeymen Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis were putting themselves in a position to become baseball’s biggest breakthrough property of the year.

Yet and still, that is exactly what they have emerged as. They have gone 7-0 against much more ballyhooed American League East teams that boast much sexier names and track records than the perceived runts of the AL litter. All the while they have finessed their way to the doorstep of the World Series simply by adjusting on the run better than any other team in the game. However, the notion of these Indians being some sort of overnight success is an incredibly inaccurate depiction of them. Since August 1 of last year, these Indians have won .601 percent of their games. Starting around that time last year, Francisco Lindor began to cut his teeth, hitting .346 from August 1 on, and .301 this season.

While he was the revelation last year, Jose Ramirez was this season, leading the Tribe with a .312 average and 46 doubles. Their previously tepid free agent adds of Davis and Napoli played the roles of catalyst like no other additions in either league: Davis led the AL in stolen bases with 43, while Napoli connected for 34 home runs and 101 RBI. No Indian hitter topped 20 HRs or 85 RBI the previous year.

While longtime top producers Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana stayed at their usual high standard, the Indians made this climb while only getting 43 plate appearances from their best player prior to this season, Michael Brantley. The 2014 AL MVP runner up had been good for 10.4 Wins Above Replacement on his own over the past two seasons, but only made 11 box scores on the year. So the Indian incline had to be propelled by not only individual upswings, but also in compensating for what could have been a major void in both its lineup and defensive potential.

Speaking of defense, which is another non-sexy element of the game that this club specialized in. The Indians led the American League in run prevention as a defensive unit, which in turn enhanced a pitching staff that already took business into its own hands better than any other. Led by Corey Kluber’s 227 strikeouts, Indian pitching led the American League in both strikeouts and lowest batting average against. Tie together that overwhelming pitching offering with an elite level defense, and it explains in easy to read terms why this team allowed the fewest runs in the American League. Keeping score? Just as a reminder, this is a team now that has: a) scored the second most runs in the AL, while b) allowing the fewest, and finally c) won their division by eight games while short their most productive everyday player and (new info time) seeing over half of their starting rotation see the disabled list in the second half.

So how could they not only stay afloat, warding off hard late season charges from the Royals and Tigers, but actually become a more dangerous team? Well, they had unquestionably the hungriest front office in all of baseball at the trade deadline, as general manager Mike Chernoff spared no expense in making sure this team was in line for the success it is experiencing now. He aggressively went after All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy, even completing a deal before Lucroy waved it off via his no-trade clause. (Lucroy has since been swept out of the postseason as a member of Texas Rangers.)

When this deal did not materialize, Chernoff immediately rallied his horses and made what could go down as the best second-chance move in trade deadline history, sending a treasure chest of the team’s top prospects to the Bronx in exchange for relief ace Andrew Miller. Miller went on to be a major stabilizer in the Indian pen that has gone on to be the biggest difference making unit of any in this year’s postseason. Miller himself has gone on to potentially be on the verge of an ALCS MVP trophy, which would make him the first non-closer relief pitcher in history to do so (18 strikeouts vs zero walks, with two holds and a save in three games, by the way).

So all things considered, these Indians have done anything but step out of the abyss. If anything, they have had their hand up, waiting to be called on, longer than any other team that was ‘supposed’ to beat them. They are an all hands on deck mashup of a complete baseball entity, capable of just as easily going blow-for-blow with any opponent, as they are with parrying them into submission. Like the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants before them, who made ‘sudden’ runs to upset October greatness, the plan has been in action for a longtime around Progressive Field. There’s more than one underdog that’s making historic waves this year – but don’t tell anybody, they probably won’t believe you anyway.