After a pretty dreary winter for baseball fans in northeast Ohio, the sun peaked out a little yesterday.
First, today is the beginning of the baseball season, another sign that warmer weather will be here soon, and the Guardians will be home next week after six games, four in Kansas City and two in Cincinnati.
Second was the news baseball fans wanted to hear for a long time. Jose Ramirez, one of the best players in the game, signed a five year extension, keeping with the franchise through the 2028 season.
Ramirez could be the first great player to finish his career in a Cleveland uniform while spending every day of it in that uniform since the 1950’s.
We aren’t going to go overboard in praise of the current ownership because they simply did what any owner interested in winning would do. It’s a shame they couldn’t do it with Francisco Lindor a year ago so we could watch the duo of Ramirez and Lindor reach their prime in Cleveland.
It’s a great step in the right direction, but the Guardians’ payroll is still among the lowest in the sport, and the owners continue to put large profits in their pocket. So, forgive us for not sharing a virtual hug with Paul Dolan.
With the games starting to count today, what does the 2022 season hold in store for the newly minted Guardians? We would love to be more optimistic, but we see a third place finish for Terry Francona’s squad, behind Chicago and Minnesota in the AL Central.
Besides Ramirez, the Guardians have one other big thing going for them, and that’s an excellent starting rotation, providing everyone stays healthy. Last year, that did not happen.
Because of the injuries the rotation is probably deeper with the emergence of Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie in the second half of 2021. The five starters, including Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac, give the Guards a chance to win every night.
In today’s game, that’s a big thing.
However, beyond that, your guess is as good as ours.
The offense looks like it will struggle. Francona can really write in one great offensive player (Ramirez) and two decent ones (Myles Straw and Franmil Reyes) every day.
We are interested in seeing how Andres Gimenez does this year, but the organization seems hell bent on finding out for sure on players like Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, and Bobby Bradley.
We are pretty sure we know how that movie ends.
The quicker we see more of Josh Naylor and Steven Kwan among others, the better. And the hitting might get better too.
The bullpen is another area that is up in the air. Who will be the primary set up men for Emmanuel Clase? We are sure Bryan Shaw will start in the role, but who else? We like Nick Sandlin, but he was hurt at the end of the season, and has pitched in just 34 games in the majors.
Besides Anthony Gose, the relief corps right now is filled with pitchers who will be providing length rather than one inning stints.
We will see how that plays out.
Our guess is the Guardians will look a lot different in June and July than they will this afternoon, but did they have to? Last year, the team was very much in the race until Bieber, Plesac, and Civale went down.
If the rotation can avoid the injury bug, the Guardians could stay in the race, but more than likely the lack of offense will be the reason this will be another year outside of the post-season, even with an extra spot available.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 