2. The Indians’ quest to take the final step
Few teams have come closer to winning a World Series without actually doing so than the Cleveland Indians did in 2016. For baseball fans it Cleveland, another tough loss stings. The Indians’ championship drought is not quite on the same level as the one that the Cubs recently snapped. Still, 1948 was a long time ago. Is it their time to break through and end the futility?
Recent karma is on Cleveland’s side. Remember, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the NBA Finals in 2015, only to come back and win in 2016. Within baseball, a division rival of the Indians — the Kansas City Royals — lost a heartbreaking World Series in 2014, only to win in 2015.
The even better news for Cleveland’s baseball team is that it has more than just karma on its side. The Indians are loaded. Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar both missed most (in Carrasco’s case) all of the 2016 postseason. Those two are now healthy and along with Corey Kluber, give Cleveland’s starting rotation a formidable top three. They’ll give the Indians a lot of late leads, which Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller are not likely to blow.
Offensively, Cleveland will be buoyed by the return of Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes. Making matters even better, the Tribe also replaced a good slugger in Mike Napoli with a great one in Edwin Encarnacion.
But like the Dodgers and Nationals, having the pieces to win a championship and actually winning it are two different things. The Indians’ quest will be something to follow as 2017 progresses.