Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians for winning the American League pennant. They beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 in Game 5 of the ALCS despite the fact that Indians pitcher Ryan Merritt was making his second ever big league start. Jose Bautista would be wise to keep his mouth shut in the future.
But the big pitching story for Cleveland was reliever Andrew Miller who won the ALCS MVP striking out 14 batters in 7 2/3 innings pitched over four appearances.
This marks the Tribe's first AL pennant since 1997. Of course, the Indians haven't won a World Series since 1948. If Terry Francona leads the Tribe to ending their World Series drought after having done so with the Boston Red Sox 12 years ago then he should be inducted into Cooperstown post-haste.
However, I do think the Indians are at a disadvantage. Game 1 won't begin for six days. The earliest the NLCS between the Cubs and Dodgers could end would be tomorrow. If it goes a full seven games it will conclude on Sunday. The longer the NLCS goes then the less it favors Cleveland.
As for the Blue Jays, the team has lost its second straight ALCS. Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are unlikely to return in 2017. They still have Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin, but will it be enough? Will Michael Saunders step up? Do they have a diamond in the rough? Or will the Jays score big with a trade or free agent signing? Or will the the Jays be dethroned by Gary Sanchez and the New York Yankees?
Those questions will be answered next year. The next question to be answered is whether the Tribe will face the Cubs or Dodgers come Tuesday night.
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