Nothing went as planned for Tribe — except title

The plan Monday called for a shutdown start from Cy Young candidate Corey Kluber to put an emphatic exclamation point on the Indians’ first division title since 2007.

It didn’t go to plan. And the Indians won anyway.

How’s that for a single-game reflective of the bigger picture?

The Cleveland Indians are American League Central elite not because so many things went right this year but because of how they responded to so many things gone wrong. Kluber leaving this start at Comerica Park after four innings was an awfully unsettling sight for Indians fans (who were relieved to learn the Klubot was battling groin tightness and not an arm or shoulder malady), but the fact that the Indians finished off the 7-4 win without him was also an awfully apropos ending to this championship chase.

Obviously, every division title is something to be applauded and, if the spirit moves you, toasted with bubbly.

But despite some friendly preseason projections from the calculator crowd (which, as the 2015 Royals can attest, isn’t always so effective on the forecasting front), none of 2016’s division winners was or is more unlikely than the one Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff constructed and Terry Francona guided.

This Tribe team entered the year with the seventh-lowest payroll in the game — a payroll lower than any other ballclub that’s advancing to October. And the $86 million tally was actually even punier when you consider Michael Brantley — the Tribe’s second-highest-paid (and best) player — was essentially a sunk cost.

Going into the year, you would assume — or, at least, I did — that the Indians’ chances rested primarily on Brantley coming back healthy and productive after November shoulder surgery.

Nope. Brantley played just 11 ineffective games (the Indians’ actually had a win streak that lasted longer than Brantley’s games played total).

You would assume — or, at least, I did — that, with or without Brantley, the rotation would have to be an unrelenting, dominant force.

Nope, not really. On measure, the rotation was very good, sure, but it also has the sixth-highest ERA in the sport going back to July 2. And while the September shelf status of Carlos …

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