The Cleveland Indians season came to a disappointing end in the American League Division Series for the second straight year, and this time they can’t even complain about blowing the series.
Giving up 21 runs in a three game series, while scoring only 6 doesn’t make anyone wistful about what might have been.
We were worried about the Tribe’s offense throughout the season, and our worst fears came true, as the Indians got just three hits in each of the first two games, and had only four yesterday until the Astros blew the game open off the Cleveland bullpen, which by the way, was another concern.
The offense was top heavy all year long, buoyed by excellent seasons by Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Michael Brantley. When Ramirez’ bat went AWOL around the middle of August, the offense really sputtered.
One thing that is needed during the winter is the addition of some solid, consistent bats to pick up the slack with that trio, and Brantley may not be back, isn’t hot.
While we all look at statistics, particularly the new ones, the analytics people need to realize that going 4 for 5 on a given night, and following it up with a couple of 0 for 4s, makes you 4 for 13 (.308 batting average), but you didn’t do anything offensively on two of those nights.
This year’s Tribe had too many players (Yonder Alonso, Jason Kipnis, anyone playing centerfield and rightfield) who did nothing at the plate on a nightly basis.
Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have a lot of spots in the lineup that need an upgrade.
And while the starting rotation is the cornerstone of the team, the bullpen will need a massive overhaul. Brad Hand and Adam Cimber will return, but beyond that duo, who knows?
Cody Allen and Andrew Miller are free agents, and it is doubtful they will be back.
Terry Francona tried to force Trevor Bauer into the Miller 2016 role in the series, but Bauer is a starter, and being moved out of his normal role didn’t work.
He did it because he no longer trusted Allen and Miller to get big outs when needed.
And speaking of the skipper, he needs to do some internal auditing as well.
The patience vs. stubbornness fine line continues to be an issue. He wanted Miller to be the ’16 edition when he brought him out of the bullpen in Game 2, and probably pulled Carlos Carrasco too early as a result.
But that Miller disappeared midway through last season. Hoping he would come back didn’t help against Houston.
Perhaps there should be a dissenting voice on the staff. The current staff has been with Tito for awhile, and they probably think a lot alike. Sometimes, it’s good to look at things with a different slant.
The first order of business will be the free agents. If Brantley wants to stay on a one or two year deal, we would welcome him back. Let’s face it though, he’s declined defensively, and ideally should spend much of his time at DH.
However, the Tribe has Edwin Encarnacion for another season.
The contention window is not closing. The Indians still have a strong rotation, and still have two of the top ten players in the sport in Lindor and Ramirez. However, you can’t have below average players everywhere else and get to where you want to go.
That and rebuilding the bullpen are the biggest jobs the front office has this winter.
For Tribe fans, this loss with sting until spring training begins in mid-February.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 