Tribe Needs They Should Be Looking To Fill.

With baseball’s Winter Meetings now concluded, and Francisco Lindor still on the Cleveland Indians’ roster, we can now focus on the holes the Tribe still has on its roster right now.

The Indians’ offense was slightly below league average at 4.75 runs per game (the AL norm was 4.88), so that’s a good place to start. Especially when you consider the pitching staff was third in ERA and one of only four American League teams under 4.00 (Tampa, Houston, and Oakland).

The offense needs to get better. Right now, Terry Francona has three solid hitters in his lineup: Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana. Franmil Reyes should be able to provide power (and lots of it), but he also strikes out a ton and needs to get on base a little more.

Oscar Mercado showed signs of being a good player (761 OPS), but he’s another young player who needs (and should develop) more patience at the plate.

And Jordan Luplow was a terror vs. southpaws in 2019 (1181 OPS), but his minor league numbers don’t indicate he should be strictly a platoon player in the big leagues. We would like to see him get an opportunity to play everyday.

However, the latter two players are somewhat gambles, and a team that figures to be in contention in 2020 has to minimize the “ifs” on the roster.

What has to be addressed before spring training?:

2B/3B: Jason Kipnis is a free agent, and let’s face it, hasn’t been the same since 2016, and Ramirez has told the front office he will play either spot, he just wants to stay put. So, president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have to fill this spot, and the internal options aren’t very promising.

They could give the spot to Yu Chang, who had a 560 OPS in a limited role late in the season, but his minor league numbers aren’t exciting either, .251 career batting average, 762 OPS.

They also have Christian Arroyo, a former top 100 prospect who was acquired from Tampa at the deadline last season, but he has been injured much of the last three seasons, and has a 622 OPS in 70 big league games.

We would be looking for another alternative.

OF: We mentioned Mercado and Luplow earlier, and the plan is to use Reyes some in rightfield, but no doubt, he will be more of a DH, so there are a lot of at bats to fill in LF and RF.

With Yasiel Puig a free agent, the candidates include Greg Allen (644 career OPS), Jake Bauers (691), Bradley Zimmer (652), and Daniel Johnson, who batted .290 with an 868 OPS at Columbus and Akron a year ago.

We would think the brass would like another proven bat to patrol the outfield.

Bullpen: Last season, Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis patched through the season with Brad Hand and some twine and rubber bands to put together a solid relief corps.

Fans also got a look at strikeout artist, rookie James Karinchak, who whiffed everyone in the minors, and then eight big league hitters in 5-1/3 innings.

No doubt, the Indians need more power arms at the back of their bullpen, to bridge the gap from an outstanding starting rotation to Hand, and also to not overuse their closer, which is what happened a year ago.

The Indians have some starting pitching depth to fill some of these holes. And while a few of the young players are promising, a contending team has to have fall back options.

That’s what Antonetti, Chernoff, and his crew should be working on between now and when the 2020 Tribe gets together in Goodyear, Arizona.

Evaluating Baker So Far.

A certain media member in town consistently refers to Baker Mayfield as “statistically the worst quarterback in the NFL”. While that is true, you have to remember that the statistic he refers to is really called “passer rating”.

The stat measures basically three things: Completion percentage, average yards per attempt, and how many touchdowns and interceptions you throw. You can pile up incredible numbers in those categories while you are losing a game 28-7.

The point is it is not a true measurement of how great a quarterback is, it does measure how efficient you are as a passer.

The current NFL passing leader is Ryan Tannehill, followed by Kirk Cousins, Drew Brees, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson.

Brees is a future Hall of Famer, while Jackson and Wilson are the favorites for league MVP. The other two?

Cousins was also in the top five a year ago, and the QB who was 6th was Case Keenum, who is no longer a starter in the NFL.

As a frame of reference, the others in the top five last season were Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers. Four excellent signal callers.

Looking at Mayfield, if his interceptions were cut in half, his passer rating would increase from his current 77.6 to 85.3, moving him from 33rd to 24th in the NFL.

So, we were thinking, rating aside, where would the Browns’ quarterback rank in the league based on just our opinion, devoid of any statistics.

AFC East: Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It would be presumptuous to put Mayfield ahead of Brady, but we’d take him over anyone else, including Allen, who is still more dangerous with his legs than his arm.

AFC North: Jackson, Andy Dalton, Duck Hodges. As we said, Jackson is the co-MVP favorite, and until Roethlisberger retires, we would take him as well.

AFC South: Tannehill, DeShaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew. Watson is spectacular, still wish the Browns had taken him in 2017. Otherwise, we’ll take Mayfield over the rest.

AFC West: Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr, Philip Rivers, Drew Lock? Rivers is a borderline Canton enshrinee, but has been bad this year, Mahomes is last year’s MVP and a top two or three QB in the game today. We would prefer Mayfield to Carr, Rivers, and Lock right now.

NFC East: Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins Jr. Although Wentz has struggled this year, and we aren’t huge fans of Prescott, we acknowledge they should both rank ahead of the Cleveland QB.

NFC North: Rodgers, Cousins, Mitch Trubisky, Matthew Stafford. The first two have to be ahead, white Trubisky is clearly behind. Stafford puts up a lot of stats, but doesn’t win. For the sake of argument, we’ll take him over Baker.

NFC South: Brees, Ryan, Jameis Winston, Kyle Allen. No question here, Brees and Ryan are ahead of Mayfield.

NFC West: Jimmy Garoppolo, Wilson, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray. We would say only Murray would be behind his former teammate at Oklahoma.

That would rank Mayfield 16th among the quarterbacks in the league, and you can make a case he could be a little higher.

That’s why talk of being a draft bust is ridiculous. Some players start off great, then have a learning curve, and then wind up being great players.

If at this time next year, Mayfield has shown more signs of regression, then perhaps his leash will be shorter. But let’s wait until that is seen.

The OBJ Dilemma

You would think the center of the drama world might be in New York City or Hollywood, CA, but they have nothing on what goes on weekly in the Cleveland suburb of Berea, OH, the home of the Cleveland Browns.

Yes, the Browns won Sunday to move their record to 6-7 and keep their flickering playoff hopes alive, but after the contest, all everyone could focus on was the continuing saga of Odell Beckham Jr. and the comments about the medical staff by QB Baker Mayfield.

Beckham seems to love this. There is always some kind of issue swirling around him, whether it be a visor tinted too dark, or what kind of shoes he is wearing, or now, is he injured, and if so, what is the extent of the problem?

The big question is does it affect the rest of the roster?

Look, we don’t want to come off as “get off my lawn” guy. Quite frankly, if Beckham were playing at a level that made him one of the best wide receivers in the NFL he could play barefoot with a crown on his head.

Unfortunately, probably due to the injury, he’s not. He’s not even the best player at his position on the team, that would be Jarvis Landry, who seems likely to set a career high in receiving yards in 2019.

We haven’t forgotten the rumor about him telling Browns’ opponents to come after him in the off-season either. We hope that’s all it is, a rumor. Because there is no way GM John Dorsey is going to recoup what he spent on Beckham during the off-season.

We could argue the organization has bent over backwards to make OBJ happy, from changing an offense that worked in the second half last season, to Mayfield trying his best to make him part of that offense. And we definitely feel the quarterback is forcing the ball to him.

There is no question Beckham is gifted. He has the talent to be the best in the sport, and a bust in Canton to go along with it. We question whether or not that’s what he wants.

As former Cavalier Jarrett Jack once said, some players love the game, others love the lifestyle. Which is Beckham?

This isn’t to say Beckham is a bad teammate. He’s a willing downfield blocker on running plays, and hasn’t complained about his role until the comments came out this past weekend. His average yards per game is at a career low.

Again, that could be due to the injury.

His teammates like him as well, much like they did in New York.

If Beckham wants to be here in 2020, we would like to see a renewed emphasis on football. That means more appearances at the off-season programs, not all of them, but enough build a rapport with Mayfield.

It also means running routes with more precision, something his QB prefers to a free lance approach.

We’d also like him to take more of a leadership role, although that may not be in his makeup.

If he can’t or won’t do that, maybe it is better for the Browns to move on from this noble experiment. It was noted earlier in the year that perhaps it was too soon for the Browns to take on a player like Odell Beckham Jr.

We believe you need to have a culture of winning in place before taking on a “diva wide receiver”. That’s something Cleveland is still working on.

If Anything, Beilein Should Be Tougher On Young Cavs.

We have been saying for the past couple of seasons, the one good thing you could say about the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is they haven’t brought in any knuckleheads.

After the reports that some players are quoted that coach John Beilein’s too much of a “rah rah” college coach, we stand corrected.

To be fair, it could be a false report, or it could also be the rantings of a disgruntled player who is trying to ease his way out of Cleveland, but with the Cavs currently at 5-17, and losers of 12 of their last 13, it wasn’t a good time to be happening, for everyone involved.

First of all, Beilein was brought in for his teaching skill. The wine and gold have a very young roster, outside of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, and maybe of them need to learn how to play the game, and we aren’t speaking about just the pro game either.

Second, if a player is upset about not getting playing time in Cleveland, he should be more worried about his future in the NBA. The Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the league, and if you can’t get on the court for that team, then perhaps as Chuck Noll used to say, you need to get on with your life’s work.

In our opinion, Beilein should be tougher. The coach says he wants a team that moves the ball, like Boston or Dallas, but his starting guards average 2.9 assists (Darius Garland) and 2.4 assists (Collin Sexton) per game.

The teams’ best player, five time All Star Kevin Love, averages the third most shots on the team, behind Sexton and Thompson, and is barely ahead of Garland and Jordan Clarkson.

And it isn’t like Love is coasting, waiting to be dealt to a contender. He’s still averaging 10.5 rebounds per night, and this is for a Cleveland team that is smaller than the opponents on a nightly basis.

What would be do if we were coaching? We know Beilein was brought in to develop the young players, so he is trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we would start making some cuts in playing time to send a message.

Sexton is showing signs of being a “chucker”, looking for his shot before anything else. It might be time to have some time to understand what the coach is looking for offensively.

We have said this for a few weeks, but we would move Nance into the lineup at small forward (he’s shooting 37% from three) and move Cedi Osman to the two. That would instantly make Cleveland bigger, but Nance is a very good passer and Osman isn’t bad, so it would increase ball movement.

And maybe, it lights a fire under the second year guard, who we think has regressed from the way he ended his rookie season.

It would also open up some time for Alfonzo McKinnie, who we would like to see more of.

Whose minutes would be cut? We understand the Cavs would like to deal Clarkson, an asset because of his expiring contract, but his shoot first mentality is an odd fit here anyway.

Moving Nance to the three would also open up minutes for Ante Zizic, who the organization needs to find out about.

Thompson was very vocal after Friday’s game about the comments about the coach, saying it was a bad look, although he was much more forceful than that.

GM Koby Altman should be finding out who made the comments and get them out of town as quickly as possible.

The Cavs made a bold choice in bringing in Beilein. Now they need to have his back.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Thus Far For Cavs

After getting off to a decent start to the NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have become what most people thought going into the season. They are one of the worst teams in the league at 5-15.

Only three teams have a worse record: Atlanta (5-16), New York (4-17) and Golden State (4-18).

With three players 20 years old or younger getting primary minutes, the wine and gold’s poor record isn’t unexpected. And we certainly feel John Beilein has done a solid job teaching and guiding the young roster.

That said, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly as the Cavs hit the quarter pole of the 2019-20 campaign.

The Good. Tristan Thompson has improved his offense, averaging 13.9 points (more than two points above his career high) and continues to rebound well, also at career high 10.6 per game. Whether he stays with the Cavs or is moved before the trade deadline, he has been a positive influence both on and off the court.

Larry Nance Jr. has improved his perimeter shooting, hitting 39% of his three point shots. He’s averaging 10.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. We do wish the team would take advantage of his passing more often.

Kevin Porter Jr. has shown flashes enough that we can see him living up to his reputation as being the steal of last year’s draft being the last pick in the first round.

He’s getting 20 minutes per night, usually at small forward where he is usually undersized. And he’s a pretty good passer for a rookie too.

The Bad. Collin Sexton seems to have leveled off, perhaps because he is sharing the playmaking duties with rookie Darius Garland. His three point shooting has dropped to 32% from 40% last year, and his assist total has dropped. There are too many possessions for the Cavaliers where Sexton is the only one touching the ball.

Which brings us to this–Kevin Love is getting the least shots per game of his Cleveland career at 11.4. Love is still the Cavs’ best offensive player. It would help if everyone else on the team realized that.

Granted, he’s missed some time lately with a back issue, but the five time all star has taken more than 14 shots just three times since the sixth game of the season. He took more than 14 is three of the first six games.

The Cavs need more size. They are statistically the smallest team in the NBA, averaging 6-5.5″ per player. The league average is a full inch larger. The tallest Cav is Ante Zizic, who plays little.

Basketball has changed, but you still need big guys to play it at the NBA level.

When Cleveland plays a team with any size at all, they get battered inside. Any move GM Koby Altman makes this season should involve bringing in size, at all positions.

The Ugly. For starters, Matthew Dellavedova’s three point shooting percentage of 9.4% (3 for 32). Perhaps, Delly is better off passing on the long range shot.

Cleveland is third last (ahead of only New York and Portland) in assists. This has to be Beilein’s pet peeve, as he stresses ball movement ad nauseum. Watching games, there is still way too much dribbling and not enough passing.

It might help if the ball were in the hands of guys like Love and Nance, both good and willing passers more often.

And the Cavs’ defense is starting to show signs of returning to last year’s horrific state. Part of it is the size issue as Cleveland is last in the NBA in blocked shots. The wine and gold need a rim protector in the worst way.

Browns Don’t Have Enough Talent, Stop Saying They Do.

All year long, we have been reading about all the talent the Cleveland Browns have.

The Browns have so much talent, they will certainly make the playoffs in 2019. That was an opinion shared by a lot of experts, both nationally and locally.

The fact is although Cleveland has a lot of talent in some areas, they don’t have enough throughout the roster. And that’s a big reason why Freddie Kitchens’ team sits at 5-7 with four games remaining.

GM John Dorsey bears the blame for this. Dorsey put together a roster with a lot of style, but no substance.

Yes, the Browns have great skill players on offense with Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Odell Beckham Jr., and Jarvis Landry. However, their offensive line hasn’t allowed that talent to show through.

Sunday, the Steelers defensive line couldn’t be blocked well enough for Baker Mayfield to use those weapons, particularly his receivers. He simply didn’t have time enough for anything to develop.

Defensively, Dorsey emphasized the front four and the secondary, which is a good place to start in today’s NFL. Rush the passer and cover the wideouts. It’s sound strategy, and they spent a lot of money on it.

Unfortunately, the Browns, as has been the case for most of the last 20 years, can’t stop the run, ranking 7th from the bottom in the league this season. If you can run the ball effectively, it negates a pass rush and puts the entire defense back on their heels.

It’s funny that Dorsey, who seemed to be all over the television, radio and print media when the Browns were the talk to the town in the second half of last season, winning five of their last seven, has vanished this season.

When is the last time he’s been seen on camera?

Shouldn’t he be held accountable for the losing record to date, at least as much as the coach? After all, he’s the architect.

It’s a lot different to take over a team that has won one game over a two year period, and put them on the road to being an average NFL squad. There was nowhere to go but up.

Taking that same team from a 7-8-1 record to a playoff berth is a tougher job.

Dorsey added a lot of shiny trinkets, like Beckham, last spring and summer, but he forgot that football is still a game won in the trenches. We are confident he knows better, because we helped build the Chiefs current roster.

This isn’t to say Dorsey should be fired after the season. You can’t keep having knee-jerk reactions every time someone tries something and it doesn’t work out.

However, we are tired of hearing about all of the talent on the roster. There is in some areas, but in other areas (offensive line, safety) it is lacking, and it needs to be addressed.

Football is a sport that is very symbiotic. All areas have to work in concert with each other. You have Odell Beckham Jr. but he can’t stand out because you don’t have a QB with a strong arm (Eli Manning), or you don’t have good enough protection (Mayfield).

Either way, it’s a waste to have him on your roster because you cannot maximize his talents, unless you have an offensive coordinator who is open to try different things.

We aren’t sure the Browns have that either.

John Dorsey has to take care of these weaknesses before the 2020 season, or he and Kitchens will be on a very hot seat. The Browns ownership has never been known for their patience.

Can the Browns take a leap into contention next season? Absolutely. But you have to have talent spread out throughout the roster, not concentrated in a few areas.

Kitchens Starts Instilling Discipline On Browns

One thing about doing something for the first time is you plan it out in your head, but sometimes the results don’t turn out the way you envisioned.

We believe this is what happened to Browns’ coach Freddie Kitchens.

When the long time assistant got his first head coaching job, he probably figured he’d be like the young college graduate who gets his first teaching job. He’ll be the cool new guy, allowing the students freedom of choice in terms of doing their homework, taking tests, classroom behavior, etc.

Sometimes, the students (depending on where you teach) have enough self discipline to handle this. They understand their job to get their assignments done, and they want to please the cool new teacher. They want him to be their friend and their teacher.

Other times, the students take advantage of the laissez faire attitude of the head of the class, and then the teacher has a choice. Does he continue with his original plan, and get run over by his classroom, or does he put his foot down.

Kitchens got the head coaching gig in Cleveland because of his relationship with quarterback Baker Mayfield and the way the Browns’ offense performed in the second half of last year.

He figured he could lead the entire team the way he related to Mayfield, and everything we be fine.

Unfortunately, not all players have the internal drive to succeed that Mayfield has, so when Kitchens gave them freedom, and the Browns started 2-6, and did so while committing stupid penalties, and doing questionable things like wearing very expensive watches during games, and taking unnecessary risks with the football.

After the New England game, Kitchens had enough. Three early turnovers took his team out of the contest early, and after the game, he said things had to change. The penalties and turnovers had to end.

The penalties stopped against Denver the following week, but the Browns lost anyway, falling to 2-6 despite the Broncos playing a QB that hadn’t taken a meaningful snap in years.

In that game, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. wore cleats in violation of NFL league rules. Kitchens claimed he didn’t notice, but we guess he did and wasn’t happy.

Before the next home game, WR Antonio Callaway showed up late. Kitchens told him he would not dress. A few days later, it was revealed Callaway failed another drug test, and was released.

Then, news came out yesterday that S Damarious Randall missed a practice, and so the coaching staff left him in Cleveland for today’s game.

Fans were upset by this news, but they were the same folks who complained about the lack of a firm hand by the coach. You can’t have it both ways.

Whether this change came from on top or it was Freddie Kitchens realizing being a “players’ coach” wasn’t working, we agree that it was needed.

And kudos to the staff and/or organization for figuring out that the original plan wasn’t working.

Being a leader involves making some tough decisions, and Kitchens figured it out. That’s why unless there is a total collapse by the team, we think Freddie Kitchens will be on the sidelines when the Browns open the 2020 season.

It took a little while, but the toughness we thought we would be getting from Kitchens finally appeared.

The Browns Path To Playing In January.

Former Browns’ coach Marty Schottenheimer used to say no regular season game is critical unless you are eliminated from post-season consideration by losing.

On face value, that may be true, but even though the Browns wouldn’t be out of the playoff race mathematically by losing to the Steelers this Sunday afternoon, they would be waiting for someone to drive the nails into their coffins at any time.

A loss would drop Cleveland to 5-7 on the year and their only chance for a playoff spot would be to win out and hope. It would drop them two full games behind the Steelers, who currently hold the 6th (and last) seed in the AFC.

On the other hand, a win would vault Freddie Kitchens’ ahead of Pittsburgh by virtue of the tie-breaker, having won both meetings between the two teams.

Also, the two of the other teams at 6-5 are playing each other as Indianapolis plays Tennessee. Since the Browns lost the opener to the Titans, fans of the brown and orange should be rooting for the Colts in that one.

The other team at 6-5, Oakland, takes on Kansas City, which will be a difficult game for Jon Gruden’s team to win.

So, when this week’s action is over in the NFL, there could be a logjam at 6-6 in the AFC, a game behind the winner of the Titans/Colts clash for the last playoff spot.

We know the Browns do not have a particularly tough remaining slate, with two games vs. Cincinnati and a contest with the 3-7-1 Arizona Cardinals remaining. But you have to figure the Bengals will be a desperate team trying to avoid 0-16, and the Cardinals’ game is on the road.

Kitchens’ squad should have learned by now not to take anyone lightly.

And of course, there is the rematch against the red hot Baltimore Ravens.

As for the other contenders, Oakland follows up the game with the Chiefs by taking on the Titans, and if both teams come into that game at 6-6, that would basically be an elimination game for the loser.

The Colts toughest remaining foe is New Orleans, who will be fighting for a first round playoff bye. That game is in the Big Easy too.

Tennessee has the most brutal schedule down the stretch with two games against the division leading Houston Texans, as well as the aforementioned contests against the Colts and Raiders. The other remaining date left is a game at home vs. New Orleans.

Based on this, that early season loss to the Titans may not be a big factor for the Browns.

Pittsburgh also has to play Arizona and Baltimore, and they have a game against the 8-3 Buffalo Bills (who the Browns already defeated) as well.

So, there is definitely a path for the Browns to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. However, we did forget one thing. They need to keep winning. We still believe 9-7 will get them in, so they could afford one loss, and the way the Ravens are playing, that might be it.

The Browns have to keep taking care of business. And it starts Sunday against the bitter rival Steelers.

It Doesn’t Hurt If Cavs Win Some Games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won their fifth game of the season the other night, and as is the case with most wins for the wine and gold (or whatever color they are wearing), a certain part of the fan base gets disenchanted.

They are interested in getting better odds for the NBA Draft Lottery, so they are the tanking crowd. Their idea is the only way to get better is to get the best player available in the draft, meaning get the first pick.

This flies in the face of reality though. It assumes that teams which are in the lottery eventually become playoff contenders, and it also assumes the best player in the draft each year is the first overall pick.

You have to learn to play winning basketball. And you learn it by winning. You can accumulate a bunch of talent and throw it together and until the group starts winning, they won’t know how to win.

And that means getting some veterans who do know and having that information passed along to the younger players. It’s why the Cavs still have players like Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova. Part of their job is teaching the young guys.

Look at the Atlanta Hawks, a very young team that won 29 games a year ago. To be fair, they lost John Collins to suspension, but they still have Trae Young and a good rookie in De’Andre Hunter and they sit at 4-12.

You also have annual lottery participants in Sacramento, a franchise that hasn’t been over the .500 mark since 2005-06. They did get to 39 wins last season, and currently sit at 7-8 this year.

As for the best player being the first overall pick? That’s becoming a myth too. While it is too early to evaluate the players picked this summer, the best player picked a year ago was not Deandre Ayton, the first pick, but rather the third choice in Luka Doncic, who is probably one of the top five players in the league right now.

If you measure by VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), here are the results from the past three drafts.

In the 2017 draft, you can make a strong case that the three best players are Donovan Mitchell (13th), Bam Adebayo (14th), and Jayson Tatum (3rd). Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball went first and second that season.

Ben Simmons might be the best player from the 2016 draft, belying his first overall selection, but the next best players from that year are Pascal Siakam, picked 27th overall by Toronto. Malcolm Brogdan is next, and he was a second round pick (36th) and won Rookie of the Year honors.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the prize of the ’15 selection process, and is the best player, but the next three best are Myles Turner (11th), Montrezl Harrell (32nd) and Larry Nance Jr. (27th).

Look, we don’t want the Cavs to lose their first round pick in 2020, which they will if they aren’t in the top 10 of next year’s draft. However, it’s a good sign for the franchise if this already pretty young team can put together some victories.

By the trading deadline, one of the veterans will likely be moved so the team won’t be as good as the season winds down, so they can keep the draft pick organically.

But you don’t want Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and eventually Dylan Windler to have the only lesson they learn with this team is losing. They need to experience some victories and how you earn them.

John Beilein talks a lot about culture. Gaining victories is part of reaffirming a good culture within a team.

Improve Offense? Tribe Should Deal From Strength

The Cleveland Indians still have too many holes in their lineup for our liking. As the roster currently stands, they have three “for sure” very good offensive players.

Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are the studs. Lindor has finished in the top 15 in the American League MVP voting each of the last four seasons, and has had an OPS over 800 in four of the five years he has worn a Cleveland uniform.

Ramirez is working on a streak of four straight seasons with an OPS over 800, although many doubted he could get there in 2019 after his extremely slow start.

The other is Carlos Santana, who even if his average drops from the career high .281 last season, still has pop and can get on base so much as anybody in the game. He has a career .367 on base percentage.

There are some players who we expect will be solid, most notably Franmil Reyes, who will be just 24 next season, and should hit a ton of home runs, but can he draw more walks and cut down on strikeouts.

We would also hope for progression from Oscar Mercado, who will be 25 and should still be getting better.

There are a lot of ifs offensively with this group, and there will probably be a regression for Roberto Perez at the dish. Perez hit a career high 24 homers in 2019.

So, how do the Indians improve themselves offensively? Luckily they have depth in a category most of the major league teams are looking for, and that would be starting pitching.

With the return to good health for Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland front office has depth in this area.

Shane Bieber made the All Star team (won the game’s MVP) and finished 4th in the American League Cy Young Award voting. And Mike Clevinger went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts after missing two months early in the season.

So, when Kluber and Carrasco are back, they really are the 3rd and 4th starters coming into 2020 with Clevinger and Bieber being the aces.

You can’t forget Aaron Civale, who had a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts late in the season, and had people reminded of a younger Kluber.

Of course, you need depth in the rotation to get through a 162 game season, especially when two of the starters are over 30 years old, and the Tribe has that too.

Zach Plesac (25 next year) made 21 starts and had a 3.81 ERA, allowing less hits than innings pitched and striking out twice as many batters as he walked. And Adam Plutko emerged as a serviceable fifth starter, making 20 starts.

And don’t forget Jefry Rodriguez, who made eight starts for the Indians a year ago, and southpaw Logan Allen, who came over in the three way trade at the deadline and was ranked as a top 100 prospect.

Triston McKenzie, another top 100 arm, is also now on the 40 man roster, although he missed all of last year with an injury.

So, the Indians can afford to move a starting pitcher to get some offense, and still have depth to sustain an injury or a performance not up to the expectations the organization would have.

And that might be a more palatable way to improve the hitting rather than spending big money on a free agent.

The best trades in baseball are always made from organizational depth. The Indians have what other teams want. It’s time to reap something they need for it.