CLEVELAND _ The Indians are 2-9 in the postseason since they took a 3-1 lead on the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series.
That seems almost unfathomable, considering that year they were a rain delay away from the franchise's first championship since 1948.
Of Cleveland's three professional franchises, the Indians have the best front office, running a virtual farm system for Major League Baseball executives. They have the best coach/manager (sorry, Tyronn Lue). Since the departure of LeBron James, they have the best talent.
And yet the Indians have flopped in the playoffs ever since manager Terry Francona stuck too long with right-hander Trevor Bauer in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field. With the Tribe leading by one, the Cubs began taking Bauer deep, but Francona left in Bauer, who gave up three runs on five hits in the fourth inning as the Cubs prevailed 3-2.
Since then the names have changed, but the Indians continue to underachieve.
They blew a 2-0 lead and lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series in 2017. On Monday, they were swept in the ALDS by the defending champion Houston Astros, who closed it out with an 11-3 victory at Progressive Field.
What went wrong?
The Indians have been a disaster at the plate the last two postseasons, batting .144 this year and .171 in 2017, compared to their opponent's .327 and .201. The Astros outscored them 21-6 and outhit them 34-13. Last year, the margin was not nearly so wide, with the Yankees claiming a 21-18 edge in runs and 35-28 edge in hits.
More alarmingly, their stars have failed them.
Last year, Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor went 4-for-38. This year, leadoff man Lindor batted .364 with two solo home runs, but his teammates were ghosts behind him.
In a slump since August, Ramirez went hitless in 11 at-bats. Prized 2017 free agent signee Edwin Encarnacion, who made over $18 million this season, is 1-for-17 in the postseason since joining the Indians. Josh Donaldson, an Aug. 31 trade acquisition thought to be the X-factor, was nearly the 0-factor, waiting until the ninth inning of Game 3 to come through with a single.
Jason Kipnis had one hit in the Astros series and is 5-for-31 in the playoffs over the last two years.
In a conversation with Mark Shapiro years ago when he was president of the Indians, the issue of finding players who could hit in the clutch came up. Shapiro insisted there was no metric, no way to identify who could handle the pressures of the postseason. He shrugged off the suggestion that playoff success in high school or college might be an indicator of who had the right stuff, whether on the mound or at the plate.
The Indians couldn't find the right players to win the World Series during the Shapiro era, and they still haven't.
Corey Kluber has not been himself in the playoffs (7.71 ERA this year, 12.79 last). Last year, it was speculated he was bothered by a back injury; this year, concerns centered on a right knee injection he needed in mid-July.
The bullpen was not up to its high standards in the playoffs. Although he didn't give up an earned run in two games, Andrew Miller surrendered a game-changing, two-run double in Game 2. Cody Allen posted an ERA of 54.00, Brad Hand 10.80.
The errors continued. Nine last year against the Yankees, three against the Astros, all coming on Monday from pitchers Mike Clevinger and Bauer (two) when the game had yet to be decided.
Kipnis believed there was plenty of blame to go around after the crushing sweep.
"We were just outplayed. I wish it weren't that simple. It just seems from top to bottom we were outscouted, outpitched, outcoached a little bit," Kipnis said. "They really did just a fantastic job over there of being ready and prepared before the series. I don't think we were underprepared. They just went out and executed and played the way you need to play to win."
The question is where the Indians go from here. There are no easy answers, save for better discipline at the plate. But 2-9 will hang over the franchise until they find players who possess what Shapiro once said was impossible to measure.
