CLEVELAND: Just as they have all October, the Indians will enter yet another series as the underdogs when they meet the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
It’s something the Indians have grown accustomed to, being expected to fall short each step of the way. As the odds continued to be stacked against them, the Indians have seemingly gotten better, responding to each obstacle with more resilience.
It’s reached the point that the Indians might like it.
“I think we’ve embraced it pretty well. I think we enjoy it,” reliever Cody Allen said. “But those are opinions and projections from outside this clubhouse and we can’t worry about that stuff. I believe there’s 25 guys in here that don’t think we’re underdogs, that believe in every single guy in this room. … But if we want to be labeled as the underdogs, we’re fine with that.”
According to Bovada, the Indians’ odds to win the World Series are worse than they were against the Boston Red Sox or Toronto Blue Jays. The Cubs are opening as nearly a 2-1 favorite over the Indians.
The Indians don’t necessarily see it like that. Or, at least, they have found a comfort within their own clubhouse despite the opinions of those outside of it.
“We believe that if we go out there and play the game the right way, play as a team like we’ve done, we can win a game on any night,” first baseman Mike Napoli said. “We’ve shown in the past two series we can’t be taken lightly and how we do play as a team. We’re a confident group.”
There are valid reasons why the Cubs are favored. Namely, that they won a league-best 103 games with a rock-solid club while the Indians have dealt with several significant blows around the roster, especially to the pitching staff. The Indians weren’t supposed to advance but did twice, earning the benefit of the doubt. They are not picked to win the series, but they can’t be counted out, either.
Still, the Cubs being the most-talked-about team in the league won’t stop now that they are close to ending one of the most well-known droughts in sports. But that won’t bother the Indians.
“We haven’t been talked about all year, which is fine for us,” Allen said. “They deserve that right. They won 103 games in the regular season; that’s an extremely talented group over there. They deserve everything they’ve gotten to this point. They’re a tough assignment, a tough task, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Then again, Cleveland has, for the most part, always been the underdog, one way or another. It’s essentially built into the fabric of Cleveland sports. Perhaps it’s nothing new.
“I’ve never seen Cleveland be the overdog,” said Sandy Alomar, current first base coach and formerly one of the leaders on the ’90s Indians teams that twice reached the World Series. “The only time we were the overdog was against the Braves [in 1995] and you see what happens when you run into four quality starters. Most of the time in postseason it’s mostly pitching and defense. You get a couple runs and hopefully your bullpen can hold it up. We haven’t scored that many runs, but our pitching has been remarkable and we’ve been getting some timely hitting.”
There’s also some recent history going against the Indians, who had the longer layoff of five days before Tuesday’s Game 1. The Cubs’ layoff was only two days. The last seven teams to have the longer layoff ended up losing the World Series.
To combat any rust, the Indians have been active with live batting practice and simulated games. Every pitcher except for Andrew Miller and Allen have thrown, and just about every hitter has seen some pitching.
“We’re still working and doing stuff to keep us fresh, but at the same time this will give us time to get some rest, any of the nicks and pains we have we can get treatment,” Napoli said. “We’re going to go into this thing feeling pretty good. We’re taking the right steps to stay fresh.”
Timing is a main concern.
“When you’re used to playing every single day for the last 200-something days, you lose a little bit of that timing, that feel, that crispness,” catcher Chris Gimenez said. “It’s your timing on a breaking ball or a fastball, that’s how it affects you. You’d think as a player you’d love these days off but once you get to this point, your body is so tired it almost goes into survival mode and you know when you’re ready to go.”
In many ways, things are going against the Indians, just as they have all October. Though it’s only seemed to give them more fuel to this point.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ