Cleveland Indians: 5 Reasons the Indians Will Win the 2017 World Series
By Gregory Kula
A Historically Weak Division
The Indians won 53 of their 94 regular season wins at home last season. This would have been nowhere near enough to gain home field in the World Series (The Cubs won 103), but because of the now-defunct All-Star Game rule, they were granted the honor. Excluding the World Series, the Indians were amazing at home.
If the Indians want to win the World Series, they need to play as many home postseason games as possible. To do this they need to win during the regular season. In the Central Division, this will not prove too difficult.
The Indians will again play 19 games against each of their Central opponents, and none of them jump off the page as contenders.
The Minnesota Twins are still rebuilding and are considered by most as the worst team in the American League. They won 59 games last season and aren’t much of a threat.
The Chicago White Sox were supposed to challenge for the Central crown the last two seasons, but nothing materialized and the offseason deals have taken them completely out of contention.
The Detroit Tigers are confounding. They do not seem to have all the necessary pieces to win a championship, yet they continue to push through with large contracts and little results. Look for some big deals to actual contenders at the trade deadline.
Lastly comes the only “real” competition for the division, the Royals They have a team that knows how to win, but many are in the last year of their contracts, so they have a lot of questions to figure out. With Wade Davis and Kendrys Morales gone, this team is not as well-rounded as before.
Aside from the Royals or Tigers making one last miraculous run, it seems the Indians should coast to another AL Central title. With 10 or more wins against every divisional opponent last season, the Indians just have to be consistent against their foes.