Post by Commissioner Erick on Feb 10, 2023 12:21:43 GMT -5
San Francisco Giants vs Cleveland Indians
In some respects, the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians are very similar opponents facing off in the 2029 World Series. Both teams were excellent last decade, tore things down, and built prospect-heavy teams that developed into powerhouses. Both teams have struggled with limited offenses however and spent some money in free agency to push their team over the top.
The big difference is that Cleveland is currently a pitching-and-defense powerhouse, while San Francisco tried that route, failed a bunch of times, and traded defense for dingers to make it to the World Series. Both teams have advanced farther than they had in recent history so the approaches have been worth it, but only one team can be 2029 champion. It should be an amazing World Series.
Indians Offense versus Giants Pitching
Cleveland was third in offense in the regular season with a balanced attack, though one that was heavily dependent on Luis Retana’s star power. He hit 30 homers and hit .307, the only player to hit 30 plus long balls or hit over .300. In the playoffs, Retana, Bryce Harper, and Julian Infante have hit, but the rest of the club has been quiet as the pitching and defense of the opposition have improved. Players like Ernesto Adames and Danny Knoch had regular season OPS’s in the mid-300s and those numbers haven’t improved in the playoffs.
Retana’s still hitting over .300 this postseason with four homers, Julian Infante is hitting .324, and Bryce Harper has turned back the clock with a .444 postseason and seven RBIs. It’s tough to expect the mediocre hitters to turn it on against pitchers as good as San Francisco though, and it’s tough to expect Julian Infante to keep hitting over .300. Cleveland will need to find ways to generate offense. Retana will need to keep up his huge play and he’ll need help if Cleveland wants to go all the way.
San Francisco’s pitching numbers haven’t been great this postseason—they haven’t been bad, just not great with a 4.53 ERA. They were third in regular season runs allowed though in a brutal division, and faced the league’s first, third, and fourth best offenses in the playoffs so there are reasons why their ERA is as high as it’s been. They held the potent Diamondbacks to a solitary run in the NL Wild Card Game though, and allowed either four or six runs to a potent Phillies lineup in their last six games—with just two runs in their first game. Those are reasonable numbers that should even better against a less potent offense.
The one area Cleveland can get a jump on is the early series. San Francisco’s NLCS went a full 7 games and the Giants used a bunch of starters late in the series. They don’t have a fully rested arm ready for Game 1. The Giants don’t pitch their starters long, but with four games in five days, San Francisco could find themselves with tired arms.
San Francisco’s three top arms haven’t pitched as well this season as in the past and have all settled in between 3.50 and 4.24 ERA, all unspectacular but solid numbers. The Giants also have a mostly right-handed staff, which should be effective against a Cleveland team that’s very right-handed, and they may need a bullpen game for Game 1.
Their defense has been shaky in the regular season, but Cleveland had the third highest strikeout rate in the American League, so they may not be a team that can take advantage of the defensive issues.
All these factors should keep Cleveland’s lineup from breaking out.
Giants Offense versus Indians Pitching
This is the matchup that will be fascinating. The Giants offense has been strong this postseason against excellent pitching, while Cleveland has an unbelievable 2.30 playoff ERA. If Cleveland’s staff can dominate San Francisco’s offense the way they did Oakland and Baltimore, then the Indians are the probable 2029 champion. If San Francisco can at least battle to a draw, then they probably win the series.
Three of Cleveland’s starters, Luis Esparza, Ernesto Ortega, and Josh Woodward have ERA’s in the 3s this postseason, while Chad Simon has carried a 2.19 ERA. Woodward has led the league in WAR in the past, Ernesto Ortega has led the league in ERA and led the league this year in strikeouts, Luis Esparza has led the league in wins, and Simon has a better playoff ERA than all of them. It’s an elite staff.
San Francisco has handled elite staffs this postseason though, vanquishing Milwaukee’s vaulted aces in the NLDS. Cleveland, however, has two of its elite arms pitching from the left side, which could loom large. San Francisco is a very left-handed lineup and Jadon Ancrum has struggled a bit in the postseason. Having two elite left-handed starters set up to square off against San Francisco’s lefties could be a series-changer.
Cleveland’s bullpen has been elite this postseason. The Indians pen has allowed a single run in 28.2 innings, a miniscule 0.31 ERA. Rich Fernandez and Ape Montiel have been terrific in short relief setting up Terrible John Kinser to finish teams off. The concern is that those arms are right handed. Only Tony Fleury is left-handed in the Cleveland pen and he was mediocre in the regular season. Whether Cleveland’s pen can continue its dominance against a ferocious left-handed lineup is a huge question mark.
The Giants have four players with an OPS above 1.000 this postseason, which is incredible. Kelyn Klattenburger, Brian Hampton, Zipper Willemsen, and Cannibal Espassandim are having huge postseasons. With 17 driven in, Hampton is 5 RBIs away from the most runs driven in for a single postseason. Among their struggling players Andrew Benintendi and Juan Campos are players who had excellent postseasons and have hardware in their past. It’s such a talented lineup and seeing how they fare against Cleveland’s staff is going to be such a treat.
Off the bench, the Giants chiefly use Jadon Ancrum, Bobby Sheesley, and Victor Robles. Those players have struggled a little bit, but Salesman played well in Game 7 of the NLCS and Sheesley crushed lefties in the regular season. That gives them some flexibility if they want to pinch hit against Fleury.
San Francisco can also run. They have 10 steals in 15 attempts, so they’ll challenge how well Cleveland holds runners. However, Cleveland threw out three of four baserunners in the ALDS, and after the Orioles went 4-4 on steals heading into the ALCS, they didn’t attempt a steal in the round. Part of that is Cleveland never allowing any baserunners, but they’ve controlled the running game this postseason well.
Deciding Questions
Can Cleveland’s exceptional right-handed arms do what Milwaukee couldn’t and shut down San Francisco’s lefties?
Will San Francisco’s starting pitchers cruise through a relatively light Cleveland’s schedule?
Aside from Retana, who can step up for Cleveland to fuel their offense?
Prediction: Cleveland can pitch itself to a couple of wins, especially early in the series while San Francisco’s own pitching is tired and in flux. Once the Giants get a chance to rest, they have excellent arms in their own right and the bats to muscle up to Cleveland’s aces. It’s hard to see Cleveland having a big offensive game in the series. Giants 4-2.
In some respects, the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians are very similar opponents facing off in the 2029 World Series. Both teams were excellent last decade, tore things down, and built prospect-heavy teams that developed into powerhouses. Both teams have struggled with limited offenses however and spent some money in free agency to push their team over the top.
The big difference is that Cleveland is currently a pitching-and-defense powerhouse, while San Francisco tried that route, failed a bunch of times, and traded defense for dingers to make it to the World Series. Both teams have advanced farther than they had in recent history so the approaches have been worth it, but only one team can be 2029 champion. It should be an amazing World Series.
Indians Offense versus Giants Pitching
Cleveland was third in offense in the regular season with a balanced attack, though one that was heavily dependent on Luis Retana’s star power. He hit 30 homers and hit .307, the only player to hit 30 plus long balls or hit over .300. In the playoffs, Retana, Bryce Harper, and Julian Infante have hit, but the rest of the club has been quiet as the pitching and defense of the opposition have improved. Players like Ernesto Adames and Danny Knoch had regular season OPS’s in the mid-300s and those numbers haven’t improved in the playoffs.
Retana’s still hitting over .300 this postseason with four homers, Julian Infante is hitting .324, and Bryce Harper has turned back the clock with a .444 postseason and seven RBIs. It’s tough to expect the mediocre hitters to turn it on against pitchers as good as San Francisco though, and it’s tough to expect Julian Infante to keep hitting over .300. Cleveland will need to find ways to generate offense. Retana will need to keep up his huge play and he’ll need help if Cleveland wants to go all the way.
San Francisco’s pitching numbers haven’t been great this postseason—they haven’t been bad, just not great with a 4.53 ERA. They were third in regular season runs allowed though in a brutal division, and faced the league’s first, third, and fourth best offenses in the playoffs so there are reasons why their ERA is as high as it’s been. They held the potent Diamondbacks to a solitary run in the NL Wild Card Game though, and allowed either four or six runs to a potent Phillies lineup in their last six games—with just two runs in their first game. Those are reasonable numbers that should even better against a less potent offense.
The one area Cleveland can get a jump on is the early series. San Francisco’s NLCS went a full 7 games and the Giants used a bunch of starters late in the series. They don’t have a fully rested arm ready for Game 1. The Giants don’t pitch their starters long, but with four games in five days, San Francisco could find themselves with tired arms.
San Francisco’s three top arms haven’t pitched as well this season as in the past and have all settled in between 3.50 and 4.24 ERA, all unspectacular but solid numbers. The Giants also have a mostly right-handed staff, which should be effective against a Cleveland team that’s very right-handed, and they may need a bullpen game for Game 1.
Their defense has been shaky in the regular season, but Cleveland had the third highest strikeout rate in the American League, so they may not be a team that can take advantage of the defensive issues.
All these factors should keep Cleveland’s lineup from breaking out.
Giants Offense versus Indians Pitching
This is the matchup that will be fascinating. The Giants offense has been strong this postseason against excellent pitching, while Cleveland has an unbelievable 2.30 playoff ERA. If Cleveland’s staff can dominate San Francisco’s offense the way they did Oakland and Baltimore, then the Indians are the probable 2029 champion. If San Francisco can at least battle to a draw, then they probably win the series.
Three of Cleveland’s starters, Luis Esparza, Ernesto Ortega, and Josh Woodward have ERA’s in the 3s this postseason, while Chad Simon has carried a 2.19 ERA. Woodward has led the league in WAR in the past, Ernesto Ortega has led the league in ERA and led the league this year in strikeouts, Luis Esparza has led the league in wins, and Simon has a better playoff ERA than all of them. It’s an elite staff.
San Francisco has handled elite staffs this postseason though, vanquishing Milwaukee’s vaulted aces in the NLDS. Cleveland, however, has two of its elite arms pitching from the left side, which could loom large. San Francisco is a very left-handed lineup and Jadon Ancrum has struggled a bit in the postseason. Having two elite left-handed starters set up to square off against San Francisco’s lefties could be a series-changer.
Cleveland’s bullpen has been elite this postseason. The Indians pen has allowed a single run in 28.2 innings, a miniscule 0.31 ERA. Rich Fernandez and Ape Montiel have been terrific in short relief setting up Terrible John Kinser to finish teams off. The concern is that those arms are right handed. Only Tony Fleury is left-handed in the Cleveland pen and he was mediocre in the regular season. Whether Cleveland’s pen can continue its dominance against a ferocious left-handed lineup is a huge question mark.
The Giants have four players with an OPS above 1.000 this postseason, which is incredible. Kelyn Klattenburger, Brian Hampton, Zipper Willemsen, and Cannibal Espassandim are having huge postseasons. With 17 driven in, Hampton is 5 RBIs away from the most runs driven in for a single postseason. Among their struggling players Andrew Benintendi and Juan Campos are players who had excellent postseasons and have hardware in their past. It’s such a talented lineup and seeing how they fare against Cleveland’s staff is going to be such a treat.
Off the bench, the Giants chiefly use Jadon Ancrum, Bobby Sheesley, and Victor Robles. Those players have struggled a little bit, but Salesman played well in Game 7 of the NLCS and Sheesley crushed lefties in the regular season. That gives them some flexibility if they want to pinch hit against Fleury.
San Francisco can also run. They have 10 steals in 15 attempts, so they’ll challenge how well Cleveland holds runners. However, Cleveland threw out three of four baserunners in the ALDS, and after the Orioles went 4-4 on steals heading into the ALCS, they didn’t attempt a steal in the round. Part of that is Cleveland never allowing any baserunners, but they’ve controlled the running game this postseason well.
Deciding Questions
Can Cleveland’s exceptional right-handed arms do what Milwaukee couldn’t and shut down San Francisco’s lefties?
Will San Francisco’s starting pitchers cruise through a relatively light Cleveland’s schedule?
Aside from Retana, who can step up for Cleveland to fuel their offense?
Prediction: Cleveland can pitch itself to a couple of wins, especially early in the series while San Francisco’s own pitching is tired and in flux. Once the Giants get a chance to rest, they have excellent arms in their own right and the bats to muscle up to Cleveland’s aces. It’s hard to see Cleveland having a big offensive game in the series. Giants 4-2.