Wow, that was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Random thoughts:
1. I can't believe Francona sent Hentges out for that 3rd inning. It almost backfired but, in the end, it worked out.
2. Ramirez to Naylor. I hope that play never gets lost in all the talk about this season, this series and this game. It is the stuff legends are made of.
3. Oscar Gonzalez - A lot will be written about the how the Guardians almost lost him, first as a minor league free agent then by not adding him to the 40-man ahead of the Rule 5 draft that never happened. This kid has a long way to go and may flame out like so many before him but, for this moment, in this year and all the dreaming on his improvement going forward, I hope we have found our right fielder for the next 5 years, at least.
4. Can't say enough about Francona and the front office. Looking back over the season, they played as if they were trying to get ready for the post-season. I can't stress strongly enough that, in my opinion, this is how you have to manage your team no matter what team you are given. By that I mean that you have to manage your team like you KNOW you are going to win the championship and you just want to keep your guys healthy and get them mentally and physically prepared to reach that goal AND be effective in the playoffs, while winning enough regular season games to get there. People can dispute my opinion on this but, from where I sit, that is exactly what Tito did. He never panicked and, to his credit, did not overuse his guys.
In order for this strategy to work you need to avoid injuries (which is partly what you do by using this strategy) and you need to get performances from EVERYONE on the roster, especially in the last half of the season. Francona and his staff got that out of his players. We had one of the lowest rates of IL time in the majors this year and I don't think that is an accident. I think Francona gets some of the credit for that. What is amazing to me is that this team could play as hard as they did every day and STILL avoid a lot of injuries.
5. What may be lost in this is that this team won this wild card series while not doing much on offense. By that I mean that the Guardians said, once again, 'this is the hand we have been dealt and we are going to play this hand until the end'. When we had the bases loaded and no outs and Ramirez and Naylor couldn't get it done, some teams might have folded. Not these guys. You cannot put a dollar value on that. They just kept their heads down and kept playing.
6. For those skeptics out there, of course there is a little luck. Look at the Cardinals who were, essentially, in the same spot as the Guardians going into the playoffs. One bad inning in the first game doomed their playoff run. We didn't have that inning or the bad luck they had with their closer in that inning. But the point is that we had to battle for 15 innings and never gave up.
7. To be a little negatve here. I am listening to the game at mlb.com. Every inning they lag behind on the broadcast. One time Rosario was in the 5th pitch of an at bat by Gameday and the radio broadcast was still on commercial. Then, when Gonzalez hits the HR, they come out of the commercial during the celebration. First time all game where they didn't start the inning coming out of the break. Unbelievable MLB. Now, maybe it was just my device that had an internet glitch but, if so, it was the first and only time in these two games that the inning did not start from the beginning on the radio broadcast.
8. I will talk more about what is coming next tomorrow and Monday but I can almost hear the disappointment in our radio and tv announcers' voices when Miller comes up and fails to deliver an important hit or screws up a simple play in the field. I was screaming when they didn't put Benson in to pinch hit instead of Miller today. I can almost see the disappointment in the faces of the players when Arias makes a bad play in the field. The veterans KNOW there is no margin for error here and as much as they want to be good teammates and friends, you don't have room for that type of bad or ineffective play on the field during the playoffs. There will be changes to the roster for the next round but, outside of the pitching roster changes I think will happen, I see us going with an iron-nine the rest of the way, despite who is pitching, with the bench players staying on the bench except in the case of emergencies.
9. Anyone who thinks that the ownership groups owes us ANYTHING at this point should rethink that position. I, personnally, want to thank the ownership group for sticking with this city even when people weren't coming to games. I mean, since 2013 we have had one losing season and like 6 playoff appearances and yet, after opening day and discounting when the Yankees come in town, PEOPLE JUST DON'T ATTEND GUARDIANS GAMES. It is embarrassing to me as a lifelong fan to see the apathy that has existed in Cleveland during the Francona era. When I hear people railing against the name change I want to stand up and say that they don't deserve a voice in the matter if they are not attending 40 games a year. People, you are in a golden era of Cleveland baseball. Get off your rear ends and go see this team play. Every game. Every year.
10. Finally, I want to thank the players and all those who support them for giving us one of the most enjoyable seasons in my over 60 years as a fan of this franchise. It has been a great ride and the ride continues this year. But, beyond that, looking at the young talent on this team and the young talent on the cusp of being on this team next year and in 2024, for the first tme in my life I see the possibility that what we are seeing this year could become a common scene for the next two years with this team being this good or even much better, top to bottom in the roster, for the next 5 years or more.
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