With baseball still on the shelf, the only way you can get the feeling of following a team day by day is by checking out the various simulations of the 2020 season out there.
In April, we checked out a couple such games, the Out Of The Park simulation being conducted on BaseballReference.com and the other being played out on StratOMatic.com.
According to both of these sites, baseball fans in northeast Ohio and missing one helluva season.
BaseballReference.com: The Tribe leads the AL Central with a 48-27 record and holds a seven game bulge on the second place Minnesota Twins. That mark is the best in the American League, and third best in baseball, behind the Dodgers and Cardinals.
Offensively, the Indians are being paced by Carlos Santana (.315, 14 HR, 54 RBI, 932 OPS), Francisco Lindor (.288, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 887 OPS), and Jose Ramirez (.274, 16 HR, 46 RBI, 867 OPS).
Franmil Reyes has belted 20 long balls, and Tyler Naquin returned to the active roster in May and is hitting .323. Jordan Luplow is getting steady playing time and has 10 homers to go along with a .283 batting average.
Newcomers Cesar Hernandez (.301, 6 HR, 34 RBI, .370 OBP) and Domingo Santana (.256, 10 HR) and fit in quite well to the lineup.
As we noted in April, this game has been playing Greg Allen at the everyday CF, and he’s done well, batting .280 with a .347 on base percentage.
Pitching wise, Shane Bieber has fit the profile as a staff ace with an 11-4 mark and a 2.98 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 114 innings. Aaron Civale is 7-3 with a 3.75 ERA, and though Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.30) and Mike Clevinger (3-3, 5.37) have struggled a bit, rookie lefty Scott Moss has picked up the slack, going 7-1 with a 4.48 ERA.
Brad Hand has 17 saves, and James Karinchak has a 1.98 ERA in 13 innings, but has fanned 24 hitters in that span.
The game had the Tribe picking up veteran relievers John Axford, Jim Johnson, and Daniel Stumpf as well.
One bone to pick–they had Cleveland dealing Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Juan Carlos Mejia to Texas for catcher Robinson Chirinos, a deal the Indians’ front office would never make.
StratOMatic.com: This simulation also has the Tribe sitting with a 48-27 record and an 8 game lead over the Twins in the Central. Cleveland has the second best mark in the AL (behind Houston) and third in MLB overall (Dodgers).
Reyes is the offensive machine for the Indians, batting .334 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs, Lindor leads the team in ribbies with 55, along with 19 bombs and a .271 batting average.
Ramirez checks in at .259 with 14 homers and 45 runs knocked in.
They also have Luplow getting more playing time, and he’s responded with 7 HR, 26 RBI, and a .290 batting average.
Hernandez has had a fine season to date here as well, batting .295 with 8 dingers. And Carlos Santana is batting .300 and is third in the AL in walks with 50. His power is down so far with just 6 homers.
They have used Delino DeShields as the primary CF, hitting .258 although Bradley Zimmer has just been recalled. Oscar Mercado is on the team, but batting just .232.
Clevinger has been the best pitcher, going 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 74 punchouts in 73 innings, while Bieber has been solid, with an 8-5 mark, 3.59 ERA and 114 whiffs in 100 frames.
Zach Plesac is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA.
Brad Hand has struggled. He has 21 saves, but a 5.73 ERA, but the relievers have been buoyed by strong performances from Phil Maton (1.44 ERA), James Hoyt (1.26 ERA in just 14 innings).
Karinchak has a 3.20 ERA in 25.1 innings with 32 strikeouts, and he has been joined by rookies Cam Hill and Kyle Nelson.
If these games are even close to realism, we are missing a great season to date by the Indians. Guess that should make everyone even more sad about what is going on in The National Pastime.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 