CLEVELAND — Following the Guardians' 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Division Series Sunday night, you might expect the mood to be one of fear and dread.
The Guards had a chance to clinch a trip to the AL Championship Series in front of a sellout crowd at Progressive Field. Instead, they will head back to the boisterous Bronx for a winner-take-all Game 5, a spot where they haven't fared well in the recent past.
Yes, things might seem bleak, to the naked eye, but don't tell that to Terry Francona.
"You know, if you'd have told me back in March, 'Would we have signed up to play Game 5 in New York to go to the ALCS?' shoot, I might jog to to New York," Cleveland's manager told reporters following Sunday's action.
Francona's words echo the thoughts of most of the baseball world. Before the season began, the Guardians were seen as a fringe contender, at best, with some reputable publications even pegging them for last place in the AL Central. Instead, the league's youngest team won the division going away before sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the new wild-card round, and now finds itself one victory away from challenging the mighty Houston Astros for the AL pennant.
Cleveland will turn to Aaron Civale to start tomorrow's game at Yankee Stadium, his first-ever playoff appearance after 11 days of rest. The big bullpen arms -- such as Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak -- will be fully rested and ready to go, but Francona wants the 27-year-old Civale to enjoy the moment just as much as he will.
"I think he'll be just fine," Francona said, with a smile on his face. "I said [to him], "Man, you go pitch your heart out.' I said, 'Don't you worry about when we take you out. Just keep pitching until we take you out.' He seems like he's in a good place."
But despite the optimism, the Guardians will also have to battle some troubling history if they want to win on Monday. It's an unfortunate trend that goes all the way back not necessarily to 1948, but to the 1999 ALDS, when the then-Indians blew a 2-0 series lead to the Boston Red Sox in a brutal collapse that wound up costing longtime manager Mike Hargrove his job.
Since Game 3 of that series, Cleveland is just 4-20 in postseason elimination games, including a startling 0-8 when they themselves are the ones in danger of being sent home. Three of those previous four wins have been during Francona's tenure, but so have 11 of the 20 losses, with the most recent in the latter category taking place tonight.
Still, Francona lives for these moments, and will be heading into familiar territory on Monday. After all, he was the skipper for Boston during Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox clobbered the Yankees 10-3 in New York to claim the pennant and complete an historic comeback from 3-0 down in the series. He would also win his first of two world championships that year.
"I'm excited," the future Hall of Famer said of this latest showdown, seemingly giddy at the mere thought of it.
However, for those wondering, don't expect Tito to actually "jog" to the Bronx.
"Probably won't even walk," he quipped.