ALCS: Indians No Strangers to Beating the Odds

On one side of the fence you have Andy Marte, a highly-touted third base prospect that soared through the Atlanta Braves' system.

On the other, you have Ryan Garko, a chubby catcher convert from Stanford.

Which one was being depended on to hit home runs near the bottom of the Indians order?

If you guessed Andy Marte, you're spot-on.

And which one of these guys is starting for the Tribe in the ALCS, has hit 21 long balls, and has established himself as the number-five hitter in a do-it-all lineup?

If you stayed the course and guessed Andy Marte, shame on you.

That, in a nutshell, is the 2007 Cleveland Indians.

Well, not entirely. But it’s a true testament to the upstart character of the team.

Not that Garko owns the only success story. But his is truly a remarkable one. Ryan was just a man without a position last year. While stuck behind Kelly Shoppach and Victor Martinez at catcher, he was in Buffalo honing his skills at first base because he believed the adage: If you have a bat, you will play.

He got his chance in the second half of a lost Indians season. The first base platoon that was Eduardo Perez and Ben Broussard was traded to the Mariners near the deadline—but even then Garko couldn’t crack the lineup. Then Casey Blake went down, and Ryan got his shot.

Garko had 45 RBI in 50 games in 2006. He finished hot and really gave Tribe fans a little bit of nostalgia watching a high socked, number 25 first baseman hit the ball out of the park. Most could not wait to see him next year in the starting lineup.

But that number 25 stuck around a little longer. Garko did make the roster but he was the 25^th man on it. He didn’t pout though, as he believed what Eric Wedge told him: that if he played his game, everything would work itself out.

It did. The super-prospect who was handed the job became a Cleveland punch line, and Garko reprised his role as that slugging first baseman Indians fans could cheer for.

The odds were certainly against Ryan Garko, but they were not the biggest ones overcome by an Indian.

Talk about behind buried on the depth chart: Franklin Gutierrez was six feet under and didn’t even have a foot in the door. The “prospect” that was traded to Cleveland for the headache that is Milton Bradley is now the starting right fielder for the Indians.

Franklin had been with the Tribe before, but he didn’t start the year on the 25-man roster. He was behind more than his fair share of outfielders as a Triple-A player. All the platoons in left and right field made things look grim for Franklin. Ben Francisco’s walk-off home run in his first major league start made things look even worse.

That didn’t stop Gutierrez. His rocket arm and dazzling defense in right field opened up eyes.  And his 13 home runs opened up even more.

That has to be it, right? Can there really be more success stories?

Yes, and they get better.

Asdrubal Cabera was just a kid with a funny name. Then he became a sense of déjà vu:

A switch-hitting shortstop from Venezuela wearing the number 13 acquired from the Mariners organization? No, it's not Omar Vizquel.

But lightning struck twice for Mark Shapiro, who traded Eduardo Perez to the Mariners for Cabrera.

Cabrera tops Garko and Gutierrez in terms of where he started. Despite being in Buffalo last year, Asdrubal started the year in Akron. The Indians said he had to work on his hitting before he could be promoted.

Well Cabrera worked on his stick so much that after he got out of Akron, he didn’t even have to stay that long in Buffalo. He got to the big leagues and, after several starts in place of a struggling Josh Barfield, his play forced Eric Wedge's hand.

Cabrera is a shortstop but he can play anywhere on the infield. His work at second base has been more than impressive. His bat is no longer an issue either. Cabrera is the second park plug in the Tribe lineup, already making his way up to the two hole.

I promise there aren’t too many more stories. I, like Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, do not break a promise.

Though I’m not sure if you can call what Farrell said to Jensen Lewis a promise.

Farrell used to be the main guy in player development for the Indians. Up until this year he was a key cog in the Cleveland front office. But when he told Jensen Lewis to scrap the slider, it might have been a little clue on just how good Farrell is as a pitching coach.

Lewis scraped the slider and credits Farrell for where he is now. Where is that, you ask? He is the hard throwing right-hander out of the Indians' bullpen that hasn’t given up an earned run since August.

Jensen was an unknown coming into the season. He didn’t even break into the Tribe roster until mid-season. He fought through rookie struggles, but already has established himself as the guy behind Rafael Perez and Rafael Betancourt.

Speaking of that Rafael Perez fellow.

He wasn’t always the dominant, left-handed set-up man coming in to ice the opposition with the bases loaded.He too wasn’t on the radar for the 2007 team. Aaron Fultz was the left-handed specialist and there were several others ahead of him in the system.

But Perez would not be denied. Every time Wedge would push him a little farther, Perez gave a little more. He handled every task handed to him and passed with flying colors. Now he is what Peter Gammons of ESPN calls “the best left-handed reliever in the majors.”

There is a lot of that flying around, actually. The most remarkable story is probably the one most of you have already heard of.

Fausto Carmona was just a fill-in—one of those pitchers you call up from the minors to start in place of an injured starter. He had to do it twice before the Indians realized they had to keep this kid in the rotation.  And Jeremy Sowers made it an easier decision by not living up to the standards he set last year.

The story of Fausto is far too long to even recap. What’s remarkable is that it’s only been two years. He’s gone from starter to reliever to closer to cast-off to Cy Young candidate. Now he is a playoff hero and he can achieve much more with more opportunities ahead.

All of these young Tribe stars can do much more. They’ve had to create their opportunities. But now they are being given much more important ones—ones that they will no doubt take advantage of. If you can make the most out of the chances you have had to work for, imagine what you can do with the ones you’ve already earned.

Watch out baseball: There is something special happening in Cleveland. There are too many success stories to not end in glory.

Anything less would just be out of the ordinary for this group.