For the last couple of months, we have focused on the soft schedule the Cleveland Indians were facing starting on June 11th, and the opportunity it gave them to get back in the post-season chase.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the Tribe will be facing a brutal schedule once the Houston Astros come to town next Tuesday night to begin a three game series, though.
We understand that between then and August 18th, Cleveland will play three against the Astros, four games at Target Field against the Twins, three home games vs. Boston, and four more at the bandbox called Yankee Stadium.
In between the Houston set and the trip to Minneapolis, there are six home games against the Angels and Rangers.
Of course, those games will be played after the July 31st trade deadline, so what will those teams look like when they arrive at Progressive Field?
Both teams are on the edge of the race right now, 5-1/2 (LA) and 6-1/2 (Texas) games behind Oakland for the second wild card spot.
It’s quite conceivable that one, if not both, organizations will be sellers before the calendar turns to August, meaning their rosters could be weakened by the team the Indians play them.
That’s the state of the American League the past couple of seasons, there are the have’s and have not’s.
The National League has 14 of the 15 teams within 7 games of the second wild card spot, the AL has nine.
What does this have to do with the Indians?
It means that after the Yankee series is done on August 18th, Terry Francona’s crew could go another month where the only contending teams they play are Tampa (August 30th-September 1st) and Minnesota (September 6th-8th in Minneapolis, and September 13th-15th in Cleveland) until the last nine games of the season.
While the Indians have done a remarkable job against the also-rans on the schedule, going 24-7 against the Reds, Rangers, Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays, and Orioles, and they still have six vs. Toronto and Kansas City before Houston arrives, it’s not easy.
Just last week, we witnessed the Twins losing two games to the New York Mets, and heck, the Indians themselves lost a series to the lowly Baltimore squad.
You just can’t take for granted that you will consistently beat the bad teams, so you have to give the Tribe credit for seizing the opportunity to right the ship and put themselves in position to make the post-season.
We don’t care who you are playing, but 29-11 in a 40 game span is very impressive.
Remember the last week of the 2005 season, when the Indians won just one game against a bad Tampa team and a White Sox squad that had the division wrapped up.
It is true the Tribe struggled against the A’s (1-5) and the Rays (1-3 to date) in 2019, but they did split with Houston on the road, and took a three game series against the Red Sox on the road and did the same in Cleveland against New York.
The old saying about beating up the bums, and splitting with the contenders very much applies to the Indians.
It is weird that people are complaining that the Tribe is beating the bad teams. Would they rather they lose to them?
Plus, if it was easy, wouldn’t every good team go on 10-12 game winning streaks all the time?
It isn’t easy, and give the Indians credit for dominating these teams. However, the rest of the schedule isn’t daunting once you get past the middle of August.
If you wanted to experience a pennant race, you will have that opportunity.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 