Cleveland Indians: The Evil Empire Has Moved Out of Boston

Come on, be honest. When was the first time you connected the name Edwin Encarnacion to the Cleveland Indians? Days ago, right? And yet, here they are sitting high and mighty with his bat in their lineup for at least three years. Softly and quietly, the “Evil Empire” in baseball may have just shifted from Boston to Cleveland in the blink of an eye.

When MLB Network analyst Peter Gammons first referred to the Boston Red Sox as baseball’s new “Evil Empire,” it was met with a chuckle around baseball, especially because it meant that they were taking the title and back-handed compliment away from their arch rivals, the New York Yankees.

This bit of fun followed, of course, Boston’s sudden and dramatic trade to snare starting pitcher Chris Sale that lit up the Winter Meetings nearly three weeks ago.

But the real drama of the entire offseason has surrounded the biggest prize of all the free agents, Edwin Encarnacion. His name floated out there and had been attached to nearly every team at one time or another, and that inexplicably included even the Tampa Bay Rays.

But throughout everything in this saga, one thing always remained constant about Encarnacion. He’s legitimate. Unlike some of the other big names out there like a Mark Trumbo (one-dimensional) and Jose Bautista (too old), Encarnacion is the real thing and he’s the guy you want in the middle of your lineup to springboard the rest of your team and ultimately, your season.

Cleveland Indians and the Art of the Deal

And we may never be party to the details that surrounded all that went on in the war room of the Cleveland Indians as these negotiations began and developed with the Encarnacion team, but if we could, it would probably emerge as a classic baseball story on how to get things done – the Trump “art of the deal,” if you will.

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And now that it’s over and done with, we might find ourselves saying that it should have been the Indians all along because Edwin Encarnacion is the perfect fit for their team. He’s 33 and joins a team that has young and budding players, as well as a team to which he adds balance and proven production. But maybe the best thing of all is that the Indians have already won something. Okay, yes, they did not win the World Series, but it’s not like Encarnacion is stepping into a situation, as he would be if the Pirates had signed him, where the pressure is on him from day one to carry the team.

The Indians don’t need that. They already have a formidable lineup and all they need is for Edwin Encarnacion to be Edwin Encarnacion. Come October, okay, that’s a different story. But even there, what’s to worry about, because if he has been anything over his career he’s been productive in the postseason.

Cleveland Indians: Baseball’s New Evil Empire

It’s probably no coincidence that the Indians are featuring this promo for tickets front and center on their Twitter page. The city of Cleveland gets an early Christmas present and LeBron James maybe feels a bit of the pressure shifting over to him now because even more than last year, there’s a new gun in town.

Now, with the first and biggest domino fallen, the others are bound to fall quickly and there should be a flurry of activity right after Christmas. For the Indians, all they might do now is to make another run at Mike Napoli, the sticking point having been over a one- or two-year deal. With the thought that he could win a championship with the Indians now clear, maybe Napoli decides to take the one year. Or maybe the Indians say, “What the hell, we’re all-in,” and give him the extra year.

In any event, if you live in the Cleveland area, it is probably a good idea to check out those six-pack tickets before they’re gone. And maybe ESPN should revamp its Sunday Night Baseball schedule that heavily favors teams like the Rangers, Mets and Cardinals to one that showcases the new “Evil Empire” in baseball from Cleveland, Ohio.