The hottest team in Major League Baseball is right here in Cleveland, but it is possible that fans of the Cleveland Indians are the only ones who know that. The Tribe is 33-17 over their last 50 games, almost a third of a season. If the Indians had started the season with that record, it would have been a major story. However, a 13-19 start has relegated the team to flying under the radar.
After winning the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader with the Tigers, Cleveland finished the first half of the season with a 45-36 mark, on pace to win 90 games. But when the national pundits talk about the American League wild card (The Tribe is not catching Chicago), you hear talk of Minnesota, Baltimore, New York, and Texas. Forget about the fact the Indians have a better record than all of those teams excpet for the Twins.
This team has moved from 13th in the AL in runs scored to eighth in a matter of three weeks. Parlay that with a pitching staff that ranks in the top five in ERA, and has the league’s top bullpen, and you will find one of the better teams in the Junior Circuit.
The media can ignore the Cleveland Indians all they want, but the team is for real. Adding another productive right handed bat can make the Tribe a serious contender for the post season in 2005.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 