CLEVELAND _ The Indians are set to enter the postseason as divisional champions for the second consecutive season, but much has changed regarding the perception of this team from a year ago.
The Indians entered the 2016 postseason, at least on paper, just trying to hold on. They were going to have to scratch and claw and fight their way through the postseason after their roster _ specifically the pitching staff _ became depleted with injuries.
They were the underdogs, entering their first divisional series since 2007 and trying to do it without two of their top three starting pitchers and their No. 3 hitter. Objectively, their chances didn't look particularly high. Francisco Lindor at one point commented there was almost no pressure on them, considering the circumstances, because so few thought they'd advance.
This October is different. There's no more underdog label to be found, the moniker the Indians sported right up until Game 7 of the World Series 11 months ago. This time around, it's been replaced with a target on their collective backs as by many accounts, they are perceived as the best team in baseball sitting atop the power rankings.
Statistically, this 2017 team is better than the 2016 counterpart nearly across the board.
The Indians of 2016 scored 777 runs and allowed 676 in the regular season, a run differential of plus-101. This season? They scored 818 runs and allowed only 564, a margin of plus-254, the best run differential in baseball by 56 runs. If you only counted the Indians' 22-game winning streak, they still had a better run differential in those 22 games (plus-105) than during the 2016 season.
The Indians won the second-most games in franchise history, trailing only the 1954 club, which won 111 games. In 2016, the Indians' 14-game winning streak elevated the club to the favorites in the division. This season, that 22-game streak, arguably the best stretch of 22 games ever played in baseball history, lifted the Indians to the top of the power rankings.
The Indians' 2016 pitching staff was good. Really good, even after the injuries. The 2017 staff was much better.
A statistical argument can be made that the 2017 Indians had the best pitching staff in baseball history. According to FanGraphs, the Indians' pitching staff posted 31.8 WAR, besting the 1996 Atlanta Braves for the most in baseball history. Last year, they had 18.6 WAR. They also set the single-season strikeout record this season with 1,614. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer became the first three teammates to all win at least 17 games and strike out at least 190 batters in the same season. Kluber has a chance to win the Cy Young, and Carrasco, who was hurt last postseason, could finish in the top five. Bauer, took a big step forward in the second half. Not to mention the contributions from Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin, Mike Clevinger and arguably the game's best bullpen, the backbone of last year's postseason run, led by Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.
A year ago, the issue was finding enough impact pitching to get through the postseason. This year, it was who to leave off the roster, the Indians' depth becoming a good problem to have.
The lineup is also more dangerous. Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor are each MVP candidates, both taking a major step forward offensively by each slugging more than 90 extra bases, the first two Indians teammates to do that since Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez in 1996. And the Indians have added two sluggers _ Edwin Encarnacion, one of the more dangerous hitters in baseball who belted 38 home runs and drove in 107 runs, and Jay Bruce, a late addition to add insurance for Michael Brantley. Brantley's health is still a question mark, but he was able to pinch-hit over the weekend.
And both catchers are healthy, something that wasn't the case last October. Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez have each been playing well in the past several weeks. Essentially from top to bottom, this Indians roster is in better shape than it was heading into Game 1 of the ALDS a year ago. Nearly every key piece is back, with the real exception being Rajai Davis and his bedlam-inducing home run in Game 7. Austin Jackson has more than made up for Davis' offense, but is not the same threat on the bases. Others were added in the offseason or at the deadline. Others took steps forward to make bigger contributions. Others are now healthy.
Baseball is a fickle sport. The Indians proved that last year. Being the favorite doesn't actually mean anything once the jets fly overhead and the first pitch is thrown. Being better on paper counts for nothing. The run the Indians went on last year was improbable if not incredible, and it was certainly a fall to remember for fans. This year? A 22-game winning streak, 102 wins, another division title. And, some health heading into October.
The question is if it's enough to win the one game they couldn't last November.
