CLEVELAND -- Well, sure, Paul Dolan has enjoyed watching the Indians put together a franchise-record win streak that stood at 15 games going into Friday's homestand-opening matchup with the Baltimore Orioles. But the Tribe owner felt last year's 14-game run in June -- the run that propelled the Indians to the top of the American League Central for good -- was more meaningful.
"I think there was probably more of an impact last year with the streak," Dolan said Friday. "It really established us as a frontrunner, rather than just a contender. This streak is more of an affirmation. So it's great to have this streak, but I'd rather win two out of three all year long and have the longest winning streak be two games. If you win two out of three every time, you hoist the trophy at the end. Streaks are nice, and it's fun to break our own record, but two out of three through October would be fine."
Coming off last year's run to Game 7 of the World Series, Dolan green-lighted major investment into the 2017 product with the signing of Edwin Encarnacion, and he has since doubled-down with the late-season acquisition of Jay Bruce. That's all part of the notion of maximizing the Tribe's current competitive window. The reliance on the depth of the roster in a winning streak that took place with Andrew Miller, Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley on the shelf and even Bruce absent for a significant stretch due to a neck issue has made Dolan all the more confident in the strength of his organization.
"Before the streak really took off," the owner said, "just the fact that we went 19-9 in August when we had a tough schedule and we were doing it with the whole roster, it's very satisfying to see and gives me more confidence that we'll be more successful this year and beyond."