Another Injury Causes Vogt, Willis To Use A Tito Model

The Cleveland Guardians head into a huge four-game series this weekend at Minnesota with the starting rotation still very much in flux. Steven Vogt and his staff have done a masterful job working around this issue, and it will be interesting to see how he handles this upcoming series.

The latest starter to miss a start is Tanner Bibee, who didn’t pitch yesterday against Arizona, as Logan Allen was recalled taking his turn. The club is still hopeful Bibee will not have to be placed on the injured list.

Newcomer Alex Cobb pitched for Columbus on Saturday and should make his debut this week vs. the Twins, so hopefully that’s a big help. We know some are optimistic about Matthew Boyd too, but you have to remember he has a 4.94 lifetime ERA.

Perhaps the best news for the Guards this weekend was Triston McKenzie’s outing at AAA Saturday night when he pitched six shutout innings fanning 11. Having McKenzie find his command will also be a huge factor down the stretch.

Ben Lively continues to be consistent, beating Philadelphia and Baltimore in his last two starts, and for the most part, Vogt and Carl Willis are probably very confident he will give them five or six solid innings and Cleveland will be in the game when he leaves the game.

Because of these issues with the starting rotation, Vogt and Willis seem to have taken something from the way Terry Francona handled a similar problem during the 2016 playoffs. That is, if you don’t have a lot of confidence in your starter, see if you can get them two times through the batting order and then go to the bullpen.

It is fairly obvious to everyone that the bullpen is the strength of this team. Fox analyst John Smoltz pointed out in Saturday night’s broadcast that when you are playing Cleveland right now, there is pressure to have a lead after five innings. That’s how good the relief corps is.

It looks like the role of Andrew Miller is being played right now by rookie Cade Smith, who has struck out 75 hitters in 54 innings and has a 2.17 ERA. If the starter gets Vogt into the fourth inning, when Smith is available, he comes in and gets the Guardians through the fifth or sixth, depending on when he is brought in.

And Vogt is trying to save his primary relievers right now, so if they are trailing after five, fans should get used to seeing pitchers like Pedro Avila, who has done a real solid job in this role, Xzavion Curry, Eli Morgan, and even Connor Gillispie, who got called up prior to Sunday’s game and pitched three innings in his MLB debut.

That is totally a sound strategy. Do everything you can to win games when we have the lead. If you are trailing and Avila (or another long reliever) does a great job and shuts the opposition out, it gives the offense a chance to get a lead, but these guys can’t pitch every night.

People can’t be mad that the bullpen is overused and then be angry when Vogt pitches Curry when the Guards are losing 4-1 in the 7th inning. The manager is doing his best to protect his pitchers while still trying to win games in a post-season race.

And right now, he is threading a needle. Until Bibee’s shoulder is healthy, Cobb can make effective starts, and McKenzie is back to his normal pitching, the coaching staff is trying to squeeze out wins anyway they can.

They should get enormous credit for that.

A Young Team? Not Really True For The Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers made news this week when they signed C Jarrett Allen to a contract extension. Earlier this summer, they signed Evan Mobley to a second contract, meaning every member of the so called “Core 4” are signed for the long term.

And everyone is aware that Donovan Mitchell re-upped with the franchise on a three year deal for a ton of cash.

That doesn’t mean none of the contracts are tradeable, but we digress. Broadcaster Jim Rome used to say players can’t “self-gloss”. meaning they shouldn’t give themselves a nickname, and we feel this way about the “Core 4”.

Heck, former Cavs’ GM Jim Paxson somehow got rid of Shawn Kemp’s bloated contract, so it is possible.

The Cavs organization has started calling them that, and our problem is they haven’t accomplished enough to earn that moniker. Winning one playoff series simply doesn’t do it.

And the organization is paying them a whole lot of cash to a group that again, has never advanced beyond the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Another thing that concerns us about the Cavs’ front office is their insistence the team is young. The reality is Cleveland is 16th in the NBA in the average age of the players, ranking between Atlanta and Sacramento with the roster averaging 26.2 years of age.

Two playoff teams rank in the top 10 youngest rosters: Oklahoma City is 2nd at 23.4 years old, and the team Cleveland defeated in the first round, Orlando is 4th at 24.0. That’s why fans and the front office should be concerned about finishing in the top four this upcoming season. Orlando will no doubt improve.

The Cavs should also worry about Indiana passing them in the standings, as the Pacers are the 11th youngest squad and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

Of the ten oldest rosters in the league, all but Chicago had winning records a year ago, but none of the teams in that group would be considered “up and coming” because of their age.

Cleveland has only six players born after the turn of the century and of that group, the only ones who get significant playing time are Mobley and Darius Garland. Mobley is beginning his fourth season, and Garland is entering his sixth.

Everyone is expecting Mobley to make a leap at some point and without a doubt he has improved, but in his first three seasons, his per game averages in points have been 15.0, 16.2, and 15.7, and his rebounds have been 8.3, 9.0, and 9.4.

If he doesn’t show dramatic improvement this season, we fear this is what he is, a very good, solid player, but not an all-star.

Many people say he can’t get better because of the presence of Allen, and we will agree to a point. We will see how new coach Kenny Atkinson handles the duo offensively before saying having them both on the floor doesn’t work.

Garland’s stats tumbled last year, but we would attribute that to injuries, but he’s also now been in the league for five seasons. How many players make a big leap in performance after five years?

And of course, we also wonder about the fit between him and Donovan Mitchell. And when we say that, we aren’t insulted anyone’s talent, but in basketball, the pieces have to fit together.

In our minds, this is another reason the Cavs should not run it back in 2024-25. They aren’t a young team. At this point, the players are who they are.

Don’t believe the young team stuff spouted by Koby Altman and his staff. It’s a myth.

Guardians’ Deadline Moves: OK, But Also A Bit Disappointing

The baseball trading deadline came and went and the Cleveland Guardians, who have the best record in the American League weren’t satisfied with their current roster and made a couple of moves for the last two months of the season.

They added OF Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals for a trio of prospects, the most recognizable being Jose Tena, who has appeared in the big leagues, but the highest ranked player was Alex Clemmey, who was a second round pick a year ago.

Recently, we’ve discussed how rightfield has been an issue for the Guardians, and the acquisition of Thomas is an upgrade at the spot. First, he’s been very good vs. left-handed pitching in his career, a lifetime 888 OPS against them.

Last year, he belted 28 homers for Washington and so far, this season had a 738 OPS and had 28 stolen bases. Over the last two months, his OPS was over 800. He didn’t have a great strikeout to walk ratio a year ago (176:36) but has improved in both areas in 2024, dropping his K rate from 25.8% to 21.1% and raising his walk rate from 5.3% to 9.4%.

Yes, rightfield was a need, but the biggest area the Guardians needed to improve was the starting pitching and they basically went with two lottery tickets.

We know the only starting pitchers of consequence traded at the deadline were Jack Flaherty, who the Tigers weren’t likely going to deal to a division foe, Yusei Kikuchi, and Paul Blackburn, who has made one start since May 10th.

Obviously, the hope is Matthew Boyd, who signed a few weeks ago coming off elbow surgery, and Alex Cobb, who was picked up from the Giants at the deadline. Cobb had hip surgery and shoulder issues and has made six rehab starts this year, pitching a total of 18.1 innings.

Getting Cobb is a spring training move, low risk, high reward. In the middle of a pennant race? It’s meh.

Cobb is 36 years old and did make the All-Star team a year ago with San Francisco, pitching 151 innings with a 3.87 ERA. Again, neither Boyd nor Cobb have thrown a pitch at the major league level this season.

And that’s what the front office is banking on to bolster a shaky rotation for the last two months of the regular season and hopefully, a playoff run.

We understand the frustration. Yes, the Guardians have a solid farm system, recently restocked with the first overall pick in the recent amateur draft, Travis Bazzana. But the success rate of prospects is still 50/50 at best.

Look at George Valera, who was a top 100 prospect by pretty much every ranking service in 2022 and 2023. He’s now played 173 games at the AAA level and his OPS is 748. Had the Guardians moved him after ’22, they likely could have got a haul.

Now? He’s another failed prospect.

We understand the importance of prospects, especially for a franchise that cannot sustain a $200 million payroll, but there are two things at play here.

First, this group of Guardians has the best record in the AL and one of top records in the game. If there is ever a year to go out of the organization’s comfort zone and move a highly rated prospect, it’s this season.

Second is 1948. It’s been 76 seasons since the franchise has won a World Series. And the fans are coming out. They love this team.

Hopefully, when the front office scratches off the lottery tickets of Boyd and Cobb, they come up winners. Because if the rotation continues to struggle and causes the bullpen’s collapse, they should have to answer why they didn’t do more in the last week.

It’s Been Frustrating For Guardians’ Fans At Times, But The Wins Keep Coming

The last month for the Cleveland Guardians has been fascinating to be sure. Prior to last night, the offense has struggled in most games, with a team batting average of .223 and an OPS of 625.

By comparison, here is their OPS for the first three months of the season–April: 719, May: 715, June: 756. It’s a stark drop off to be sure.

Despite this, they are still 12-12 for the month with one game remaining against the Tigers, who Cleveland will have played 10 times by the time the calendar turns to August.

There is no question that a lack of hitting is the most frustrating thing for a fan to watch, and seeing your favorite team being shut out six times in a month certainly heightens fan angst.

We are no exception. Seeing the Guardians getting blanked by Tyler Phillips, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley or a host of Tigers’ relievers drives us crazy too.

However, the amazing bullpen has allowed Steven Vogt’s squad to tread water, to not go into a period where they lose 15 of 20 games because the offense cannot produce runs.

That is truly remarkable.

Again, we get the frustration level. We feel it as well. But the Guardians still have the best record in the American League and the second-best record in baseball at 63-42.

Since the all-star break, Cleveland has won games 5-4, 2-1, 3-1, and 4-3. Before the Mid-Summer Classic, the won back-to-back games against the Giants by identical 5-4 scores. They scored four runs in a three-game series in Tampa and managed to win one of the contests.

They are 7-3 in one-run games during July, meaning in games not decided by a single tally, they are 4-8. This means many of their games are either nail biters or ones a viewer can watch something else after the fifth inning.

It is true that many of the top teams in the AL have also been going through a tough spell, the Orioles and Mariners are 9-12 in July, the Yankees are 8-13. Boston is 11-10, but have lost seven of their last nine.

The Guards, who have been one of the highest scoring teams in the league over the first three months of the season, are now sitting in the middle of the pack, seventh, and are now behind their division rivals, Minnesota and Kansas City in generating runs.

And frankly, the ballclub needs Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor to produce first and foremost.

Before last night’s performance, Ramirez had a 632 OPS with just a single home run and just six extra base hits and the same number of RBIs for the month. Naylor has only two dingers and an OPS of 665 and just five non-singles, while Kwan’s numbers aren’t bad, he has come down from the unworldly pace he was at, with a .275 batting average and 730 OPS since July 1st.

It is quite evident the real star of this Guardians’ team is the bullpen. When Cleveland has the lead after six innings (and sometimes less), Cade Smith, Scott Barlow, Hunter Gaddis, and the game’s best closer, Emmanuel Clase will lock it down.

That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be nice to ease the workload of those guys though. It would bode well for the rest of the year and the post-season (fingers crossed) if the starting rotation picked up more of the load.

Those guys have kept this team out of long losing streaks, and despite the frustration of watching a team struggle to score runs, the Guardians are holding their own in the pennant chase.

Guards Biggest Needs: Starting Pitching (Duh) And???

The Major League Baseball trading deadline is Tuesday afternoon and there is a lot of speculation on what the Cleveland Guardians will do before then.

Of course, there are the callous fans who think they will do nothing, it will be status quo for the front office, after all, the Guardians have the best record in the American League and one of the best records in baseball with the current group of players.

But we know the other competitors for post-season spots will make moves to get better, so president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have to seek to make the roster better in order to “keep up with the Joneses”.

In terms of WAR (wins over the replacement), the Guardians chief need is no surprise, it’s starting pitching. A few years ago, Cleveland had a rotation of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber, and with that, you knew they had a chance to win every night.

Those guys were that good.

These days, you can only have confidence when Tanner Bibee and the surprising Ben Lively take the hill. Gavin Williams is still working his way back from an elbow issue, and his last few starts have been hit or miss. Hopefully, that improves going forward.

Carlos Carrasco was a nice story coming out of spring training, but he’s allowed 106 hits in 95 innings and has an ERA of 5.68. Pitching five innings and giving up three runs is not a good outing.

And the fifth spot is a revolving door right now.

We hear a lot of talk about upgrading at SS, and surprisingly, the other positions where the Guardians are getting the worst production are catcher and right field, not shortstop.

We doubt catcher is considered an area of need by the organization and we agree with that. Now that David Fry’s elbow is allowing him to play the position, we think the Guardians are satisfied with him, Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges, although with Fry back, the latter’s at bats can be few and farther between.

Perhaps that’s where Angel Martinez and Jhonkensy Noel should be getting their at bats? Will Brennan has received the bulk of the playing time there, but he provides neither power (.379 slugging percentage) or the ability to get on base (.291 on base percentage) walking just 16 times in 247 plate appearances.

That’s a bad combination particularly for someone who plays a corner outfield spot.

We agree that it would be nice if Brayan Rocchio hit more. But he is the best defensive shortstop option on the squad, and we have always said you need seven solid bats in your lineup to have a good offense.

Anyone else the team plays at short now that Gabriel Arias was sent down seems to have issues with the glove. And if your pitching staff, particularly the starters, are struggling, you have to put solid defenders behind them.

Actually, the best way the offense can be helped would be for their best hitters to start producing again. If Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor started swinging the bats again at their career norms, that would go a long way in straightening out the offense.

Altman All In On Blaming The Coaching

Cleveland Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman is apparently using the ultimate “cover you a**” move this off-season.

He is putting all of the blame for a second round exit in the playoffs on J.B. Bickerstaff. While he hasn’t said this publicly, that he has made no moves so far this summer reflects this.

Apparently, he believes Kenny Atkinson will fix the problems the wine and gold had last season.

We guess this means Atkinson has the ability to make players grow, because that’s one of the problems the current roster has. The simply aren’t big enough. They still have two guards who are under 6’3″ and a caste of small forwards who are 6’6″ and shorter.

At the risk of being called negative (we prefer realistic in this case), the Cavs were fortunate to get past Orlando in the first round. Despite virtually no playoff experience, Cleveland had its hands full with the bigger Magic squad.

It took a yeoman effort from Donovan Mitchell to win. Mitchell averaged 28.7 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the series, and outside of Jarrett Allen, who only played the first four games, 17.0 PPG, no one else on the Cavs scored even 15 points per contest in the series.

In the deciding seventh game, Mitchell scored 39 points with 9 boards and 5 dimes. The next best scorer? Caris LeVert with 15 points.

It seems Altman has done what many first-time executives have done, and that is fall in love with the players he has drafted. He looks at all the things that those players could do to cause them to draft them and doesn’t look at how they fit together or how those talents translate to the NBA game.

To be fair, we have been around coaches who are just the opposite, they love players from afar only to grow to dislike them as players when they actually have to coach them. It does work both ways.

Let us say here that we love the hire of Atkinson. He was our first choice because of what he accomplished with the Nets. But this isn’t the college game. Coaching doesn’t make that much of a difference in the NBA in terms of scheming.

How many great NBA coaches are there? Yes, there’s Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich, but how many others?

The best executives can look at the talent assembled and realize what and who fits and who doesn’t. He can see a problem like a lack of size and fix that problem. That’s what Altman needs to do.

This isn’t to say Altman can’t do a good job, but he does have to be open to seeing the warts. Mitchell and Darius Garland aren’t bad players, but they don’t seem to bring out the best in each other.

And that’s alright. But now is the time to fix it.

Look, Altman sped up the progression of this roster when he traded for Mitchell, a perennial all-star. You don’t do that and then wait for an incremental improvement.

However, since he traded for Mitchell, his only additions to the roster were free agents Max Strus and Georges Niang, three-point shooters. We felt Strus was not as good of a shooter (he isn’t) as Altman thought, and Niang is pretty much a one-dimensional player, although we do think he is better than what he showed in the playoffs.

There is still plenty of time for Altman to upgrade this roster. But he can’t keep looking at the players he selected and think coaching did them in.

Guards Need To Remember How They Got Here Offensively

The post-All-Star part of the schedule did not treat the Cleveland Guardians any better than it did before the break came. Steven Vogt is going through something for the first time as a big-league manager. A streak where nothing is going right.

That’s how you have a period where your team has lost 14 of the last 22.

A couple of weeks ago, the Guards were scoring runs, but the starting pitching simply wasn’t giving the team a chance to win. Not enough length, which has been the case most of the season, and then they were giving up runs early, putting the offense in a tough spot.

A visit to Tampa cured the pitching staff. They still weren’t giving Vogt much length, but they were keeping the opponent off the scoreboard. But now the offense has taken a siesta, a deep sleep.

In their last 11 games, the Guardians have been shutout four times, and scored one run twice. In Friday’s win over San Diego to open the second half slate, Cleveland scored one run in the first seven innings before putting up six in the eighth to seal the game.

Even with that seven run effort and scoring nine in one of the games vs. Detroit, the Guardians have scored just 28 runs in those 11 contests, an average of 2.5 runs per night for the mathematically challenged.

It’s tough to win doing that.

The team seems to have gotten away from what made them successful early on. A lot of solid contact and aggressive base running.

Daniel Schneemann is getting a lot of playing time and has a 30% strikeout rate. Jhonkensy Noel was getting at bats (though that has tapered as of late) and he fans 40% of the time.

Note both players have limited at bats.

We would also note that Angel Martinez is been getting regular at bats and he whiffs just 14.9% of the time.

The players who seems to have lost at bats are Tyler Freeman (14.9% K rate) and Brayan Rocchio, who has a 19% strikeout rate. And the latter is by far the best glove the team has at shortstop.

Schneemann has been used there recently and has made a number of defensive mistakes.

They also have seemed to abandon the stolen base, pilfering only 8 during the month of July and five of those came in two games. We know, we know, it is difficult to steal first and that’s been a big problem as of late, not getting runners on, but when they do get on, it seems like there isn’t a lot of aggressiveness.

It’s only three games into post break play, but the Guardians need something to get them going again. Obviously, the offense centers around Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor, but literally, no one else is doing anything either.

Andres Gimenez has been in a hitting funk over the last month. Because of David Fry’s elbow issue, it has forced more at bats for Austin Hedges, and that’s not going to help the offense.

Maybe it’s time to go back to what got the Guardians in first place. Put the ball in play and put pressure on defenses to make plays.

It wasn’t broke, but the Guardians tried to fix it. Now is the time to get back to the roots of the ’24 season.

Browns’ Biggest Question? Still Watson

The Cleveland Browns start training camp this week, meaning an end to the local sports talk stations searching for content.

Because even though the Cavaliers made it to the second round of the playoffs this year, and the Guardians have one of the best records in baseball, football is the preferred subject for the radio sports talk folks.

The Browns went 11-6 a year ago, making the playoffs before they “picked a bad day to have a bad day” to quote coach Kevin Stefanski, losing to Houston in the wild card round.

However, Cleveland earned a lot of respect within the NFL last season. Myles Garrett was voted the league’s defensive player of the year. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was voted the NFL’s best assistant coach, and Stefanski himself was named Coach of the Year for the second time.

Many of the team’s star players are in their prime: Garrett, CB Denzel Ward, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, and TE David Njoku. The secondary is among the league’s best led by cornerbacks Ward and Martin Emerson along with S Grant Delpit.

And with Schwartz in his second year, the defense which allowed the least yards in the league last year should be able to provide some new wrinkles, particularly on the road where they had some struggles last season.

Nick Chubb, who suffered a severe knee injury last season, has attacked rehab like he attacks would be tacklers and amazingly looks like he could be ready for the season opener.

To be honest, we felt we wouldn’t see Chubb until mid-season.

But the key to the Browns’ Super Bowl hopes is still QB Deshaun Watson. Many in the local media continue to think with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, Watson can get close to being the quarterback he was in Houston in 2020, when he led the NFL in passing yards, yards/attempt and yards per completion.

Notice we said that happened in 2020. This is 2024.

Watson is coming off shoulder surgery which cost him the last eight games of the regular season in ’23, but that’s the only injury which cost him playing time since his last productive season.

The national media have their doubts to whether or not we will ever see that Watson again. And if they are correct, can the Browns get to where they have never been? That being a Super Bowl.

The first thing for Watson is availability. He’s been with the Browns for two seasons and due to suspensions or injury, he has played 12. In both seasons, the offense looked better with another passer, the first year it was Jacoby Brissett, and last season Joe Flacco.

That’s what the national guys are seeing.

If you look at the teams who are getting to the conference championship game, most often than not, those teams are getting very good quarterback play. Watson doesn’t have to be the 2020 version, but he has to be close for Cleveland to get where they haven’t been since 1989.

And here’s another big question. What if the Browns get off to a slow start, say 1-3 or 2-5, and a big reason is Watson still hasn’t regained his Texans’ form?

Does the organization have the stomach to make a change? They brought in Jameis Winston for a reason, he’s a capable NFL signal caller. There are 230 million reasons they won’t make a change but remember what we said earlier.

This team is built to win NOW. What about the great players currently wearing the Browns’ uniform?

The organization and the fans need to see a Pro Bowl version of Deshaun Watson. The biggest question for the franchise is does that guy still exist?

People On The Spot In Second Half For Guards

The All-Star Game is over, and the Guardians contributed to the American League’s victory with an RBI single from David Fry, and Emmanuel Clase’s save, his second in the Midsummer Classic.

It’s back to the regular season grind on Friday night with a seven game homestand against San Diego and Detroit. And we will see a lot of the Guardians at Progressive Field for the rest of the year with 40 of the remaining 69 games at home.

There are key figures for the team in the second half, some with names and others will come to light as the rest of the campaign plays out. Here are some key people and/or situations to watch for starting this weekend:

Gavin Williams is a big key for the starting rotation especially with Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen currently in AAA. Williams missed most of the season to date recovering from an elbow issue which occurred in spring training.

In his three starts so far, he’s pitched 14.1 innings compiling a 3.77 ERA. The first number isn’t good, but the second number is solid. Because he’s still building up from his late start, if he can start giving Steven Vogt at least six effective innings in each start, that will go a long way toward easing the burden off the bullpen.

He’s been throwing in the upper 90’s in his starts, it’s a matter of pounding the strike zone and being able to throw his breaking stuff for strikes.

If that happens, it will provide a huge boost to the starting rotation.

The offense has struggled lately, most because Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez haven’t hit like they have all year over the last week or so. That’s not a criticism, it’s just that they were putting up ridiculous number which probably weren’t sustainable.

Those two and Josh Naylor have been carrying the attack all year. Kwan leads the AL in hitting and Ramirez and Naylor are 2nd and 3rd in the league in RBIs.

Someone has to step up and help. In April and May, that was Fry, who was setting a blistering pace early and came up with big hit after big hit.

Who can emerge in the second half?

Perhaps it’s Angel Martinez. Martinez has made a big impact since being called up, playing several positions and putting up an 850 OPS in just 56 plate appearances. The thing we like about him? He has eight walks and seven strikeouts.

He seems to understand the strike zone and is willing to take walks. That’s a big help when the hits aren’t falling.

The front office is also among the people to watch. The Guardians currently have the best record in the American League. Right now, their path to the post-season is not winning the usually weak Central Division.

They have a chance to get a bye into the Division Series and avoid the best-of-three wild card round. To do that, the front office needs to improve the current roster.

The organization still has a plethora of middle infielders, and they upgraded their farm system by taking Travis Bazzana with the first overall pick in Sunday’s draft, making him the organization’s top prospect.

They did it in 2016 and it paid off with an American League pennant. This group deserves the same consideration especially if it rights itself after the break.

Evaluating The Guards First Half

The Cleveland Guardians have the best record in the American League at 58-37, but kind of limped into the All-Star break losing 11 of their last 18 games. While it’s true that many of the other teams with good records have struggled lately as well, that doesn’t mean all of those teams will rebound.

So, while we are not worried about the Guardians right now, we do have a level of concern. For example, the Mariners had a 10 game lead in the AL West a few weeks ago, and have lost 18 of their last 25, and now the lead is just one.

One of the troubling things is this stretch came against AL Central Division teams and a Tampa Bay squad that is treading around the .500 mark.

The offense, which has scored the 4th most runs per game in the AL this year at 4.78, an increase from 4.09 for all of 2023, hasn’t produced, averaging just 3.4 runs per contest in those 18 games. In that stretch, Cleveland has put up nine runs once, eight runs once, and seven runs twice.

Needless to say, that means there were some droughts, and the Guardians scored three runs or less in ten of the last 18 games. That makes it difficult to win.

The offense isn’t a huge concern because a big part of the problem is Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez aren’t hitting. Over the last 14 days, Kwan is batting .283 (well below his .352 season mark) and Ramirez is hitting .216 with no homers and just one run batted in.

Another all-star, David Fry, is not hitting either, going just 3 for 30 in that span. When one third of your lineup isn’t producing and they are your better offensive players, it’s going to be difficult to put runs on the board.

Steven Vogt has done a very good job in his first year, but let’s face it, things have been going swimmingly so far and this is the first rough patch for the Guardians. What does the skipper and his staff do to get the team righted?

There is an old basketball saying that if you never play your bench, you will never have a bench. We are reminded of this with Vogt’s use of the bullpen this season.

The Guardians need length out of the starting rotation, but Vogt has a quick hook with the starters, sometimes pulling them prematurely. The bullpen is so good it works out, but if you don’t allow the starters to go deeper into games, they are never going to be able to do so.

We would also like to see more stability in the lineup. We get the “beat today’s starter” philosophy, but it seems some of the players who got the Guardians off to their red-hot early pace have fallen by the wayside.

For example, Daniel Schneemann, who got off to a great start after coming up from Columbus is now in the lineup most days despite hitting .185 with a 676 OPS in the last 28 days with 23 strikeouts in 76 plate appearances (30.2% rate). And he’s played some at shortstop (to get his bat in the lineup), and he made two critical errors there over the weekend.

The one rookie who does continue to impress is Angel Martinez, who seems to have a great grasp of the strike zone so far (8 BB, 7 K), and looks very comfortable in the #2 hole. We would find an everyday spot for him right now.

As for Fry, it could be that he is overexposed a bit and needs to go back to a platoon role where he plays mostly against southpaws.

The influx of young players could be due to the front office wanting some extended looks at players before the trading deadline. So, the herd could be thinned when the calendar turns to August.

When the season resumes on Friday, the Guardians should have a bit of a sense of urgency to get things turned around quickly.

On the other hand, Cleveland has 40 of its remaining 67 games at Progressive Field, including 16 of the last 19 contests. That could be a big advantage down the stretch.