The case for the Indians to win it all

Even though the two best teams in baseball in 2017 did indeed meet up for last year's World Series, there was a time when there was a third team in the conversation for being the best -- especially after they won 22 games in a row. That was the Cleveland Indians, who had an amazing season with 102 wins before getting upset in the ALDS by the New York Yankees. Fortunately, Cleveland managed to keep the band together for the most part — and that could be both a blessing and a curse.

Why the Indians could win it all in 2018:

The 'Land of Power: Cleveland spent most of last season churning through their competition as a well-oiled and well-rounded machine. Led by Francisco Lindor adding a power stroke (to the tune of an explosion of 33 home runs) to his already-versatile tool set, Cleveland had one of the best lineups in baseball. It would be hard to not have a good offense when you have Lindor complementing the likes of Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis. Cleveland will also be hoping that the addition of Yonder Alonso as a replacement for Carlos Santana can help keep the good times rolling at the plate.

Kluber alles. On the occasion when Cleveland's offense should be stymied by the opposing team, their pitching should be good enough to keep them in most games. Corey Kluber is coming off of his second career Cy Young award-winning season and has shown that he can still improve and take his game to a new level. Carlos Carrasco is coming off of a career year of his own on the mound, which means that Cleveland will have a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Similarly, their bullpen has a fearsome duo of their own in the form of Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. This pitching staff was historically good last season, and while they could miss their former pitching coach Mickey Callaway (who is now the manager of the Mets), this group should still be able to mystify hitters all season.

Lack of competition. Finally, the schedule should help Cleveland out as the season rolls on. While the Twins could prove to be a challenger, they may not have enough tools to compete with the two-time defending AL Central champions. Other than that, Cleveland will get to play three rebuilding teams on a regular basis in the form of the Royals, Tigers and White Sox. If Cleveland can take care of business against these teams, they'll rack up a smorgasbord of wins with relative ease and should be in good shape once October rolls around.

Why they won't win it all in 2018:

Because they're the Indians. The postseason will be the ultimate test for this team and that may be where we see the Tribe stumble. Again, continuity for this team can be a blessing and a curse. If last year's team wasn't good enough to even get out of the ALDS — much less return to the World Series — then how can they expect to make it back to the Fall Classic without making substantial improvements? Cleveland is the clear favorite to win a third consecutive AL Central title and should win plenty of games on the way, but once they get in the playoffs, they will need to play like they did during their 22-game win streak in order to finally end that long World Series title drought.

Still, Cleveland has all of the right tools in each facet of the game to defeat any team that they come across and win it all. Plus, with Chief Wahoo on his way out, Cleveland could very well have some good karma on their side as well — and everybody wants good karma, right?