The Cleveland Indians’ goal for the 2019 season was as cut-and-dry as you can get – win another AL Central crown and try to get back to the World Series.
Said season just wrapped up, and the Tribe is watching the playoffs from home. Despite hanging in there until the final week, Cleveland fell well short of its objective for the year, landing eight games behind the division-winning Minnesota Twins.
In attempting to explain this shortcoming, many point to the lackadaisical winter the Indians had before the season began. For the bulk of the offseason, Cleveland sat on its hands and shed payroll, an odd approach considering how soundly the team was defeated in the 2018 playoffs.