Indians in the playoffs
Behind the strength of two true aces, the Cleveland Indians are in the 2007 playoffs. This is a reality that I have waited on for many years - constantly saying that the team's youth and farm system would develop to a point where they would terrorize the AL Central. With the White Sox meeting the regression everyone knew they would (and I made a few bucks betting White Sox total wins under 88.5), the Tigers having slight injury problems and a low-OBP lineup weighing them down, the Indians cruised to the postseason after finally running hot and winning more than their projected standings would predict.
Sabermetricians and performance analysts often talk about how useless intangibles are; some choose to discount them entirely, while others acknowledge their existence but believe their effect is significantly less than any ESPN analyst would say. I fall into the latter category; as a baseball player myself, I know I perform differently in tougher situations.
Perhaps one of the greatest displays of character and toughness this year was in an Indians game where Sabathia was pitching extremely well into the 8th inning. He caught a sharp comebacker in the glove arm, recovered, and made the play at first base. Not two batters later, he took a ball off his pitching shoulder and made the same out. Manager Eric Wedge came out to inspect Sabathia and seemed ready to pull him for Perez, but Sabathia simply walked off the mound towards third base and refused to even speak to his manager, demanding that he complete not only the inning, but the game as well.
That type of fearlessness and endurance is indicative of a true athlete. In an age of pitch counts and bullpen specialization, it is indeed quite rare to see a power pitcher throw 230+ innings with no injuries.
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