If I had been told before the season started that the Indians would win 93 games, I would have been ecstatic. After all, 93 wins has been good enough to win the AL Central since the division was created in 1994.
It turns out that 93 wins won't be enough to not only win the Central, but not enough to win the Wild Card. Two AL teams have missed the playoffs with 93 wins since 1994; the 2003 Seattle Mariners, and the 2002 Boston Red Sox.
And not only is there the disappointment that missing the playoffs by 1-2 games brings, the fact that the Indians finished the season losing six out of seven makes it even more painful. In those six losses, the pitchers gave up 4, 5, 1, 3, 4, and 3 runs. Only the final loss was by more than one run. Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.
Losing six of seven during the final week rates as a collapse in my book, but the vast majority of the blame has to go on the offense. As the losses starting to mount, so did the pressure on the players. And almost to a man, the hitters began to press.
Yes, there are many good things to take from this season. And many things that I'd like to talk about in the coming months. But for now, all of those positives have been nullified by one huge negative over one crucial week.