Guardians notes: Cleveland begins the postseason following a long layoff

CLEVELAND — The Guardians are about to find out whether a long layoff equals rest and preparedness or rust and a loss of momentum they meet the Tigers in Game 1 of the Division Series at Progressive Field on Saturday afternoon. After its regular-season finale was canceled, Cleveland hasn't played since Sept. 28. "There's nobody in our clubhouse that has ever gone through something like this before, so we're figuring it out as we go," said catcher and clubhouse leader Austin Hedges. "But based off of how we've competed and prepared the last few days, I think we're more than ready. Obviously we're rested. "It's fun to compete against ourselves, but we're dying to go compete against the rest of the world. And I think we're right where we need to be going into (Saturday)." The Guardians held workouts Tuesday through Friday, playing simulated games to prepare as best as they could. "It's been great for our guys. It's been great for them to get the rest, the preparation," manager Stephen Vogt said. "We've been able to really go over some little things and get everybody excited. Once we found out we were going to be playing Detroit, it was time to start bearing down and preparing. The guys have put in a great week of work. They've worked really hard to make it as game-like as possible. So we feel really good going into (Saturday)." The Tigers enter the series in much different fashion, fresh off completing a two-game sweep of perennial postseason power Houston in the wild card round Wednesday. "I think that's one of the biggest challenges of getting that first-round bye is you're playing against a team that just won a playoff series," Hedges said. "There's no bigger momentum you can have than coming off a playoff win." Doctor's office The signs continue to point to right-hander Alex Cobb making the ALDS roster and potentially starting a game. Cobb pitched a simulated game Thursday, throwing 60-65 pitches. "He feels good. We were really happy with the way he threw the ball," Vogt said. "So we have some decisions to make over the next however long we have, until 10 (a.m. Saturday). But it was good to see Alex coming in and feeling good." Welcome back Not surprisingly, the reaction to Terry Francona returning to manage the Reds was all positive. "I think it's great," Vogt said. "Tito is obviously somebody I've looked up to. He's helped me tremendously this year, and to see him back in baseball … we want the best people working in baseball, and Tito is definitely one of them — sure-fire Hall of Famer." "The Ohio Cup can be a much bigger deal now," Vogt joked. "But I couldn't be more thrilled for Tito and for the Reds. They're getting a good one. Obviously you all know that better than I do. But like I said, when the best people are in the game, the game is a better place, so I'm really excited for Tito." Hedges thinks the Reds made a good choice. "If you hire a Hall of Fame manager, it's probably a good decision. Very happy for him," Hedges said. What a relief The Guardians built one of the majors' best bullpens, headlined by All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. But asking the front office to duplicate the feat is a little unrealistic, according to team president Chris Antonetti. "Our goal is to always build a good bullpen but I think the way this group's come together, they've been among the best bullpens in the last 25-30 years by any number of measures," he said. "So while I would love to sit here and say, 'yeah, every year, we're gonna build a bullpen that good,' I'm not sure how realistic that is, and I think that would be taking away from how special this group has been and just how consistent and how reliable they've been throughout the course of the season." Cleveland's relief corps, especially Clase, has created a comfort level rarely seen late in close games. "I think it takes some pressure off when we have those one-, two-run leads because you know those guys are coming in and shutting that door," center fielder Lane Thomas said. "I think that definitely helps. But it definitely doesn't make us want to take our foot off the pedal. We still want to go out and take good at-bats and put some pressure on their guys deep in those bullpens." The new guy It wasn't easy for Thomas to fit in with the first-place Guardians when he batted .143 in August — the first month after being acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Nationals. But he turned it around over the final month, hitting .264. "It was tough," he said. "I feel like this team has done a good job of accepting me and making me feel like I kind of belong here. So that was refreshing after the first couple weeks. It feels like we're moving in the right path, for sure." Saturday will be the first postseason appearance for Thomas, who was injured when St. Louis qualified in 2019. "I've heard this is a great place to play in the postseason," he said of Progressive Field. "I got to watch some cool games in 2016. So I've heard nothing but good things. So I'm excited to play in front of the fans that have been supporting us all year." Roundin' third Cleveland is in the postseason for the 17th time since 1901, owning an all-time 60-58 record, but losing 11 of its last 17 games. ** Cleveland hasn't advanced past the Division Series since 2016, losing its last matchup 3-2 against the Yankees. ** Saturday, 1:08, Game 1 ALDS, vs. TBS, TruTV; WEOL 930-AM and 100.3-FM, WTAM 1100-AM, WMMS 100.7-FM. Bibee (12-8, 3.47 ERA) vs. Holton (7-2, 2.19). Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.