Cleveland Indians: The nightmarish end to the 2017 season

The Cleveland Indians played like a completely different team in October after what was a historic regular season in 2017.

It was hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of dread when Didi Gregorius hit his second home run of the night off Corey Kluber. Cleveland Indians fans still believed, but the worry was there.

This team has been one that has provided fans with wild comebacks, including last Friday when a rough start from Kluber was made up for by the offense putting up nine runs and winning in walk-off fashion.

But then the bats went cold.

Five hits in Game 3, four in Game 4 and five in Game 5. Then there were the errors. Four in Game 4 and three in Game 5. A lot of the focus from this series was on the pitching decisions made by Terry Francona, but none of that mattered when the offense and defense played like a minor league team.

It all adds to the nightmare that fans woke up to this morning. Less than one week after holding a 2-0 series lead and seemingly demoralizing the New York Yankees with a walk-off win, it’s all over.

Indians fans, myself included, get upset when the national media brings up how bad the Indians have been in series-clinching games. But it’s true. It’s not an anti-Cleveland storyline, it’s just a fact.

The one somewhat positive takeaway is that this team should be right back here next year. Playoff baseball is so random that the best teams don’t always win, so it’s not like this series loss will doom the Indians to be a last-place team next year. Just look at the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of five straight NL West titles and the masters of painful playoff exits.

The frustrating thing about a great team losing so early in the postseason is that fans know the team was great. This Indians team is much better than the Yankees when both teams are playing at their best.

Fans came into the season confident after much of the 2016 Indians roster returned for 2017. They all had the experience of making it to the World Series, so the pressure should be off the second time around.

But pressure is a funny thing, and all it took was three games of lackluster defense and slumps at the plate to derail what was supposed to be the year.

Next: Clevinger's playoff usage

The focus now shifts to free agency and retaining the free agents currently on the team, so the 2018 version of the team may be a bit different than what we saw the past few years. It’s just a shame this group had to end things this way.