Cleveland's bullpen proves the baseball gods are cruel

Originally posted on June 14.

Last year, the 102-win Cleveland Indians were  one of the great teams of the modern era: Their starting pitchers had the American League's lowest ERA, their offense scored more runs per game than all but two AL teams, and their defense was, by Defensive Runs Saved, the AL's third best.

And their bullpen! Collectively, Cleveland's relievers had the game's lowest ERA. Their sOPS+ -- OPS allowed, relative to the rest of the league's relievers -- was baseball's 19th best since 1988, when the current era of bullpen usage more or less began. The Indians' bullpen was so good and so deep that  the club had to leave three relievers with ERAs in the 2s off the postseason roster.

This year, the club is fine. The Indians are playing at an 86-win pace, which is just good enough to feel safe in one of the worst divisions in recent memory. But it's nothing like last year's juggernaut, despite very good starting pitching (second-best ERA in the American League), a very good offense (more runs per game than all but three AL teams) and a very good defense (the AL's third best by DRS).

But their bullpen! Collectively, Cleveland's relievers have the game's highest ERA. By sOPS+, they have the seventh-worst bullpen since 1988. It's enough to make you wonder why Cleveland's front office traded away all the relievers over the winter and replaced them with much worse relievers, but, of course, the Indians didn't do any such thing: