Area Of Improvement For Tribe: OF Defense

Just when you thought the Cleveland Indians were making defense in the outfield more of a priority, you see a story saying the Tribe is considering playing Carlos Santana out there this season.

Now, we understand there isn’t a lot of write about during the early days of spring training, so it could be Terry Francona just saying there might be a time for Santana to play out there, but here’s hoping the organization doesn’t have thoughts of making this more than a rare occurrence.

Our thought is the Indians believe that because their pitching staff strikes out a lot of hitters, thus keeping the ball out of play, they can survive with less than adequate defense beyond the infield.

To some degree, they are correct. It certainly is less of an issue than it would be if they had a lot of high contact flyball prone hurlers. However, in close games, which the Tribe may be playing plenty this year because of the unproven bats in the lineup, defense is at a premium.

Last season, Terry Francona put an outfield alignment which had Michael Brantley in left field and Melky Cabrera in right field, and asked the centerfielder to run for miles in between the two range challenged veterans.

We have heard various fans talk about playing Jake Bauers in the outfield, but Rays’ broadcaster (and former Tribe pitcher) Brian Anderson said although he can play out there, he’s really a first baseman.

Certainly, Santana can play there, heck, he started a World Series game in left field, but how much would the defense be compromised with him starting, let’s say 25 games out there?

It’s just not worth it in the long run.

This is an organizational issue too.

Remember, Cleveland has played each of the last two post-seasons with Jason Kipnis, a second baseman ordinarily, in center. While we can’t think of any egregious misplays in those playoff games, there were probably balls that an experienced outfielder would have made.

Getting Leonys Martin helped the defense before he got sick. You could see the difference in the few games he played after coming over from Detroit. He played a more shallow center, and got very good jumps on flyballs.

It seemed like management was trying to reverse this trend this winter. Letting go of Brantley’s bat doesn’t help the offense, but it should help the defense. And Cabrera was best suited for LF too, but because of Brantley, Francona used him in right.

The replacements, at least for now, would be a great improvement. Jordan Luplow has good defensive metrics in LF and RF, and Tyler Naquin is solid in the corners. Oscar Mercado has played a lot of center in the minors, so he should be good as well.

Again, this could all be Francona just trying to make his team more versatile, and he wants options defensively against certain pitchers.

Let’s hope that is the case. It would be nice to see the Indians’ pitching staff backed by an outfield that can run down flyballs. And if the team isn’t going to get a great deal of offense out of those spots, then they better be above average on defense.

Cavs Need To See Who Is Part Of Future

When the festivities are done in Charlotte this weekend, and the NBA schedule resumes next week, the Cleveland Cavaliers will still have two dozen games to play.

What can we anticipate seeing over the last couple of months?

First, the organization realizes the new draft lottery system in which the bottom three teams pretty much the same odds to get the first pick in late June’s draft.

The wine and gold have the third worst mark, ahead of only the Knicks and Suns, both of whom have won one less game than the Cavs. Cleveland has a two game lead (?) over Chicago to hold spot #3.

With Atlanta having the fifth worst record at 19 wins, we believe it is safe to say the three worst records in the league will come from New York, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Chicago.

Larry Drew’s squad is already done against Chicago, helping their cause by losing three out of four against the Bulls, and the first game after the break has the Cavs playing the Suns at Quicken Loans Arena.

A week later, Cleveland travels to New York to take on the other team they have a better record than. And on April 1st, the wine and gold kick off a west coast trip in the Valley of the Sun.

One key factor for the Cavaliers is they are getting healthy, and it also appears GM Koby Altman picked up a couple of hungry players at the trading deadline.

Kevin Love is back, and has played two games in the last week. A glimpse into how the club will approach his return may have been revealed this past week.

Love played well in the first half of the win over New York on Monday and said he planned to play in the Wednesday contest at The Q against Brooklyn. However, it was then announced early that day that Love would not play.

Our guess is the team will claim to be very conservative with Love’s toe injury giving him plenty of rest over the last 24 games.

And don’t forget Tristan Thompson is said to be ready to return as well. The training staff will be very careful to not give Thompson too much of a workload the remainder of the season.

Besides giving those injuries more time to heal, the Cavs have to be wanting to see more of Marquese Chriss, acquired from Houston.

In four games with Cleveland, Chriss has averaged 14 points and six rebounds, while shooting 53.7% from the floor. Now, we realize his 56.3% mark from three point range is unsustainable, but as of right now, you have to sign him as a restricted free agent this off-season.

We have said this before, he’s just 21 years old and 6’10”. You simply cannot discard that kind of size and skill.

You also need to see more of Ante Zizic, another big man in an organization that has ignored size for years. The 6’11” Croatian scored 12.6 points and grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game in January, playing 25.5 minutes a night.

Zizic just turned 22 on January 4th.

If the Cavs get one of the top three choices in the draft, undoubtedly that player will become the centerpiece of what will hopefully be the next Cleveland team to make the post-season.

But both of those big guys could be big contributors as well, and the organization has to find out what they have in Chriss and Zizic.

That’s something to watch in these last 24 games.

Tribe’s OF In Flux

It is almost universal throughout the baseball community that the Cleveland Indians currently have an outfield substandard for a team which should be a World Series contender.

The loss of Michael Brantley, the best hitter among the players who patrol the grass, makes the weakness even more prominent.

In 2018, the Tribe searched for a centerfielder most of the season. Bradley Zimmer opened the season as the regular, but he was striking out at an alarming rate (44 times in 114 plate appearances), and Rajai Davis and his 559 OPS wasn’t the answer either.

The front office thought it fixed the problem by dealing for Leonys Martin at the trading deadline, but he went down with a serious illness, and the problem was there again.

Greg Allen finished the year strong, but he was displaced by Jason Kipnis when Josh Donaldson was acquired.

Melky Cabrera settled down RF after Lonnie Chisenhall was hurt, but he isn’t a plus in the field, and Brandon Guyer never regained the production he was achieving when he arrived in 2016.

This brings us to 2019 Spring Training.

We actually like the situation in center, where Martin and Allen figure to platoon. The former had a 799 OPS vs. right handed pitcher a year ago, hitting .279 with a .451 slugging percentage.

Allen hit .297 after August 1st in ’18, and although he is also stronger against righties, he’s not as bad as Martin vs. southpaws. He might get some time in rightfield against right-handers too, if he can hit like he did at the end of last season.

Tyler Naquin is slotted to garner a good share of playing time, but after a very hot start to his career, he has struggled. Since August 1, 2016, he has batted just .247 with 5 HR and 35 RBI. And he will be 28 years old in April.

He has also had problems staying healthy over the past two years. Defensively, he seems better suited to a corner outfield spot, which is where he figures to play this season.

25 year old Jordan Luplow is an interesting case. He couldn’t find playing time in a crowded and talented Pittsburgh outfield, and he’s hit just .185 (631 OPS) in 92 big league at bats.

However, in AAA, he’s a .300 hitter (857 OPS) with 51 extra base hits in 132 games at that level. To us, he deserves a long look as an everyday player at one of the corner positions.

Recently signed Matt Joyce (34), had solid seasons in 2016 and 2017 with Pittsburgh and Oakland respectively. But last year, he hit just .208 (675 OPS). He’s a platoon piece, with a career OPS of 802 vs. right-handers and a .184 batting mark vs. lefties at the big league level.

At his age, the big question is can he hit like he did in the two seasons prior to 2018.

The unknown player (and often forgotten) is Oscar Mercado, who came over from St. Louis at the trade deadline for Connor Capel in a rare prospect for prospect deal.

A right-handed bat, Mercado spent all of last year in AAA, hitting .278 with 8 HR and 47 RBI between Memphis and Columbus. He also stole 37 bases.

As a bonus, his strikeouts have dropped and his walks have increased as he has advanced in the minor leagues. He’s just 24 years old.

Our guess is the Indians’ management would like Mercado to start the year in AAA, but if he has a great spring, who knows…

Based on past production, Terry Francona will earn his money figuring out who are the best three guys to play in the outfield on a game by game basis. Hopefully, by the end of May, it becomes clearer who can contribute and will the Indians need to add someone by the end of July.

Meet The Tribe Bullpen Options

Last year, one of the biggest problems the Cleveland Indians had was its bullpen. The relief corps was beset with injuries from early in the season, and never really righted itself.

While the starters had a 3.39 ERA in 2018, the bullpen ERA was 4.60, up almost two full runs per game (2.89 ERA in ’17) from the previous year.

Bryan Shaw signed with Colorado as a free agent after 2017, and Andrew Miller was felled by a series of injuries, and only pitched in 37 games last season.

And Nick Goody, who was very effective in the early relief role, also missed much of the year.

That put a major strain on Cody Allen, and he was worked hard early in the year because of the absences of the others, and by the end of the year, he was pretty much out of gas.

However, we feel pretty optimistic about the relief pitching heading into spring training because, unlike the outfield, the front office has brought in plenty of alternatives. It’s the proverbial throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall, and hoping some of it sticks.

With the volatility of relief pitching in the sport, that’s an acceptable way of doing business.

One holdover candidate we got a glimpse of at the end of ’18 was Jon Edwards, who appeared in nine games and had a 3.12 ERA, striking out 10 in 8-2/3 innings. Unless Edwards is shelled in camp, he would appear to have the team made.

Jefry Rodriguez came to Cleveland in the Yan Gomes deal, and made his debut in the big leagues a year ago with the Nationals, pitching as both a starter and a reliever. He has control issues (37 walks in 52 innings), but he has a 6.75 ERA starting and a 2.70 ERA in six relief gigs.

If he can harness his control, he could be a factor late in games for the Tribe.

Chih-Wei Hu was acquired from Tampa Bay and has a 3.52 ERA in 11 major league appearances, spanning two seasons, striking out 21 hitters in 23 innings.

Hu had a 3.06 ERA in AAA in 2017 before returning as a starter, which he was most of his career, in the minors last season.

Nick Wittgren, who just came over from Miami, has made 118 trips out of the ‘pen in the bigs over the last three seasons, compiling a 3.60 ERA, and is coming off his best season a year ago, with a 2.94 ERA in 31 contests in 2018.

Last Friday, the front office brought in their most accomplished reliever, inking Alex Wilson to a minor league deal. The 32 year old right-hander has a 3.23 ERA over 290 appearances in his six year career, with the Red Sox and Tigers.

Wilson is on a minor league deal, as is A. J. Cole, who was with the Nationals and Yankees a year ago, and had a 4.26 ERA with New York, punching out 49 in 38 innings.

Cole did allow 15 home runs in 48 innings total, but 8 of those came in dinger friendly Yankee Stadium.

And don’t forget they resigned Oliver Perez, who was a godsend a year ago when he signed on June 2nd. The lefty had a 1.39 ERA and 43 punch outs in 32-1/3 frames for Terry Francona in ’18.

They also have Tyler Olson (13 scoreless appearances in the second half after returning from the disabled list), and Adam Cimber, who was outstanding with the Padres, and Francona never found a comfort level with him.

The whole bullpen is set up because you have a closer in Brad Hand, and he’s a good one. As many wise baseball people have said, you start with the closer and build back from there.

Hand has saved 53 games over the past two seasons, and has whiffed over 100 hitters in relief over the past three years.

The only fear we have is the loyalty factor. Will Tito go with Goody and Neil Ramirez instead of let’s say Hu or Rodriguez even if the latter two pitch better in Arizona?

Making that mistake could be the difference between getting off to a quick start or a slow start to the 2019 season.

Cavs Get More Picks, And Gamble On A Young Big Man.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a busy week before the NBA trading deadline, but some wish they’d have done more.

Yes, they moved their two most tradable commodities in Rodney Hood and Alec Burks, and they did gamble on some young players, but they didn’t make the big splash many hoped for.

Don’t get us wrong, we are happy with what GM Koby Altman did. He accumulated more assets. Cleveland added another first round pick in this year’s draft (from Houston) and more second rounders, which can be used to sweeten the pot in some other deals.

We have heard folks be critical of the Hood deal, but the player had approval over where he could have gone, and quite frankly, the way Hood played in the wine and gold didn’t have other GMs beating down the Cavs’ doors.

Hood is 6’8″, athletic, with a decent shooting touch. He visually looks like he should be a very good NBA player. However, he disappears when he’s on the floor a lot. He had an opportunity in Cleveland to be a primary scorer, but never embraced the role.

Perhaps he’d be a better player if he had the attitude of Jordan Clarkson, who comes in and wants to be a scorer. But that kind of aggressiveness can’t be taught.

Burks was destined to be moved as soon as he arrived, because of his expiring contract. And really, he was part of the Hood deal, because the two players received for Hood (Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin) were sent to Houston in the deal that moved Burks to Sacramento.

In addition to the first round pick acquired in the deal, Altman did want we wanted him to do in picking up a young player who had been a disappointment to his current team in the deal.

He did that in getting Marquese Chriss, a 21 year old, who is 6’10”, something needed for the height challenged Cavaliers.

Chriss was the 8th overall pick in 2016 by Phoenix, and played every game as a rookie, starting 75 of them. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds on 45% shooting.

Last year, he lost time due to the drafting of Josh Jackson, and started the year coming off the bench. When he did start (he started 49 games), he averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on 44% shooting. He was traded to Houston, with Brandon Knight (familiar?) for Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton.

Is Chriss a future star? Who knows, but again, he’s only 21 years old. He should be a senior in college.

The Cavaliers have 28 games to evaluate him. And he did have 13 points and 8 rebounds in his debut.

Knight, who came to Cleveland in the deal, isn’t a bad get either, and he’s an expiring contract next season, which is a valuable trade piece at the very least.

He was the 8th overall pick the year the Cavs took Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and averaged 18 points and five assists in his third year in the league with Milwaukee, who was being coached by Larry Drew.

He was traded three times in his first four years in the league, and we believe mostly because he’s more of a Mike Conley-style point guard than an Irving-style player.

He’s battled injuries throughout his career, but he’s only 27 years old. Perhaps if he gets healthy, he can carve out a niche in the NBA.

The rest of this season should be about auditions for Chriss, Ante Zizic, Knight, and others to see if they have a place in the Cavs’ future.

However, it is easier to accumulate assets than it is to cash them in. That’s the challenge for Altman going forward.

Bad Winter For Supporters Of Tribe Ownership

If you have been a proud supporter of the Dolan ownership of the Cleveland Indians, this has been a tough winter for you.

The goodwill that came from hiring Terry Francona as manager after the 2012 season has been used up and once again, fans are questioning the ownership’s commitment to winning.

And when we say winning, we mean winning a World Series.

Perhaps the Dolan family got caught up in the emotion of getting to Game 7 of the Fall Classic in 2016, and gave Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff more to spend in the next two seasons, but that appears to be short lived.

A few days ago, Antonetti said in a story by Paul Hoynes in The Plain Dealer that we was told to trim the payroll. This is what has been feared all off-season. We figured the front office was just re-allocating money from declining veterans to younger players with upside.

However, we were fooled.

The ownership’s mantra has always been that they will spend when the time is right, and most fans figured that is when they had a chance to win. Most fans have to be scratching their collective heads wondering why the time isn’t right now!

The Indians have two of the best position players in the sport in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. They have arguably the best starting rotation in baseball.

When MLB Network aired it’s Top Ten Starting Pitchers Right Now, three Cleveland Indians’ were mentioned: Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer. You could easily put all three in the top 15.

They are trimming the payroll when almost everyone who comments on the sport is proclaiming their outfield situation a mess. Their current set up would appear to be Tyler Naquin in LF, a platoon of Leonys Martin and Greg Allen in CF, and maybe Jordan Luplow or Oscar Mercado in RF.

Now, we like the centerfield situation. Martin is a solid bat against right-handed pitching and we have always liked Allen’s potential. We like him better than Bradley Zimmer, which may be heresy for some.

Since the end of July 2016, Naquin has accumulated 335 at bats, batting .248 with five home runs and 35 RBI. That’s not good enough for a team that should be viewing themselves as a World Series contender.

Luplow has very good minor league numbers, but he has less than 100 at bats at the big league level, and is hitting under .200 in those plate appearances.

Mercado has never had a big league at bat.

Couple those two positions with Jake Bauers (very good potential, but a .201 hitter and 726 OPS) and Roberto Perez, a lifetime .205 batter in the majors (638 OPS), and you have a lineup that would appear to have problems scoring runs.

As we always say, we aren’t expecting the Cleveland payroll to reach the same levels as the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers. Why cut $15 million off the payroll going into the season where the front line talent is there?

We don’t believe for a single minute that the Indians are losing money, and we understand people own businesses to make cash.

In professional sports though, there is an obligation to win, particularly if you own a team that has the longest span without a championship in that respective sport.

Where is the commitment Indians’ fans deserve from the ownership? Let alone the commitment players like Lindor, Ramirez, Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, and the rest of the players should be getting.

Looking At Cavs’ Future…

As former Cavaliers’ GM Chris Grant might say, the team is in “asset acquisition mode”, right now as the NBA trading deadline grows ever so closer, that date being February 7th.

What will the wine and gold look like after Thursday and even looking ahead to this summer?

The front office will no doubt want to keep Cedi Osman, who has played much better since the calendar turned to 2019, and Collin Sexton will get an opportunity to work on his game this summer, and hopefully come back with added dimensions to his game.

Larry Nance Jr. would also seem to be a keeper.

Beyond that trio? Your guess is as good as ours.

Kevin Love’s inactivity thus far would seem to mean he will finish the year with Cleveland. Since he hasn’t played since October, his value is low, but a fine last two months of the season would make him very appealing to a contender.

It will also be interesting to see what the organization does with Tristan Thompson. The big man from Canada would seem to be more valuable to a contending team than he is to a squad that is a couple of years away from the playoffs.

If you can get a first round pick and some promising young players, you have to do it.

Same with Jordan Clarkson, who has been the Cavs’ leading scorer this season, but his value may never be higher.

We doubt Larry Drew will return as head coach. In looking for a replacement, GM Koby Altman should be looking for someone with along the Kenny Atkinson (head coach of the Brooklyn Nets) model, someone who can teach a group of young players how to play NBA basketball, and also refine their abilities.

Forget about big names or retread guys, fine someone who can communicate and teach the fundamentals, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

Altman needs to find a coach who will use a style of play that will emphasize the strengths of the team. That may seem simplistic, but think about how Tyronn Lue tried to play with the roster on hand at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

In looking at possible trades, we would take a shot at any player drafted in the last couple of years that has reached a point where their current team is disappointed in them.

Here is a list of players whose current teams seem disenchanted with them, many because of where they were drafted. From the 2017 draft, we would be interested in Josh Jackson (Phoenix) or Frank Ntilikina (Knicks), and if Philadelphia still wants to part with him, the first overall pick that year, Markelle Fultz.

From the year before, we would be interested in Marquese Chris (Houston) or Thon Maker (Milwaukee). Both are big men who have struggled in their career to date. With the shortage of height on the Cleveland roster, why not see if either are just late bloomers, which many big men are.

The Cavs’ Ante Zizic was a later pick in that draft, as was newly acquired Wade Baldwin, who came from Portland in the Rodney Hood deal.

Just because a player didn’t do well in one system doesn’t mean they can’t play. And the Cavs should be using the rest of the season like they have the last two months, like an extended tryout camp.

If you see yourself as someone who likes to evaluate talent, the rest of this NBA season may be right up your alley, that is, if you follow the Cavaliers.

Browns Fans Watching The Game Today With Hope.

Today is Super Bowl LIII, and there is no need to remind you that the Cleveland Browns are one of the few teams in the NFL who have never played in the game.

Only four franchises have never won their conference championships in the Super Bowl era, and two of them, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, are expansion teams, both coming into the league after 28 championship games had been played.

Yes, the Browns are technically an expansion team as well, rejoining the NFL in 1999, but played in five conference title games in the Super Bowl era before they were ripped from the city and moved to Baltimore.

So, it leaves just the Detroit Lions and the Browns as teams around when the Super Bowl started and have never been there.

Actually, the Lions have only been to one NFC Conference title game, in 1991, losing to the Redskins.

The Browns lost to the Colts in ’68, the Vikings in ’69, and the famous three losses to Denver in the late 80’s.

This year’s Browns give you hope that it won’t be too long before Cleveland can get to the Super Bowl for the first time. They appear to have their quarterback in place at long last in Baker Mayfield, and in going from zero wins to seven this season, the future certainly looks bright.

However, let’s slow down on talk that the Browns can be in Super Bowl LIV next season. Yes, the second half of the season was impressive, and we aren’t even going to bring up the argument that the team didn’t beat anyone good.

They lost to a Ravens squad that everyone was deathly afraid of in week 17 (we weren’t, because of their “gimmick” offense), but had a chance to win on the game’s last possession.

They also lost to another media darling team, the Texans, when Mayfield threw three first half interceptions, and then had a dazzling second half.

The reason we say this is because the Browns haven’t even made the playoffs since 2002.

We understand that it can happen. Heck, the Eagles went from not making the playoffs for three straight seasons to winning the Super Bowl last year.

When the Rams won in 1999, it was their first playoff appearance in ten seasons. So, it can happen. When the Patriots won their first title, they were coming off a 5-11 season.

Still, the Browns have a lot of improvement to make in this off-season. The defense ranked as one of the worst in the league, and even though they have an elite pass rusher and a shutdown corner, there are still improvements that need to be made.

And they have to build depth. Playoff teams withstand injuries, so there must be a “next man up” mentality. It helps if that guy can play professional football at an acceptable level.

Fortunately, John Dorsey has demonstrated he can find these players. And with 11 draft picks and a ton of salary cap space, he will have to opportunity to fill the holes on the roster.

We are also quite satisfied that he knows where these holes are, and that is half the battle.

The biggest thing is having Mayfield though. After a brief period (2001 and 2003) where quarterbacks like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson won the big game, for the most part, the winning signal callers are at the top of the heap among QB’s.

Only Joe Flacco and Nick Foles would not be considered Hall of Famer type players among winners in the last 15 years.

We’ll bet Dorsey has learned that once you have the franchise quarterback, you build around him, and not rely on him to erase all of the other roster problems.

For the first time in a long time, Cleveland fans can watch the Super Bowl with hope.

Tribe’s Kipnis Dilemma

In game seven of the 2016 World Series, Indians’ fans thought Jason Kipnis won the team’s first world title since 1948 with a drive down the right field line.

The ball went foul, the Tribe lost, and Kipnis’ career may have reached its apex.

The native of Chicago, had a great Series, going 9 for 31 with two home runs, including one which put the fourth game away for Cleveland, giving the Indians a 3-1 lead.

The Tribe second baseman was outstanding that year, hitting .275 with a career high 23 home runs and 82 RBIs (811 OPS). It was his third season like that in a four year span, with only 2014 as the exception.

He was 29 years old that season.

Since that time, Kipnis had an injury plagued 2017 campaign, playing just 90 games, and hit just .232 (705 OPS) in just 90 games. And the Indians got hot when, he was hurt, and Terry Francona shuffled Jose Ramirez to second base, and playing Yandy Diaz and Gio Urshela at the hot corner.

When he returned, Francona moved him to centerfield for the playoffs, keeping Ramirez and Urshela, a better defensive infield, right where they were.

Last season, at age 31, it didn’t get much better for Kipnis. His OPS was 704, with a .230 batting average, 18 homers and 75 ribbies. He did stay healthy, and was able to play 147 games.

When the front office acquired Josh Donaldson on August 31st, Kipnis again moved to the outfield, and Ramirez moved from third back to 2B.

Now, Kipnis is coming off two consecutive seasons where he has not performed to the level he established early in his career, where from 2011-16, he made two all star teams and was a key offensive cog for the Indians.

Unfortunately for management, Kipnis’ compensation, which was based on his early success for gone from a little over $4 million in 2015 to $13.7 million last year, and he will make $14.7 million in 2019.

Talk about getting less bang for your buck!

That’s the dilemma for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff. They would love to deal the player, because he’s not performing up to his salary, but because his production has dropped since 2016, no one is interested.

We are sure they tried to make deals where they move another player with more value and attach Kipnis, taking back less in return, but to be sure, management didn’t want to (nor should they have) give up anything of value.

And he’s the player they have tried to phase out in each of the last two seasons.

What has changed for Kipnis is the pop in his bat. His extra base hits have declined from 59 in 2015 and 68 in ’16 to 37 in 2017 and 47 last season. His walks haven’t changed much.

Plus, it’s clear to most people that Ramirez is the superior defensive second baseman. Kipnis isn’t terrible, but Ramirez is better.

If the Tribe had a solid lineup, Kipnis’ declining production wouldn’t be as much as an issue, but they don’t, so he becomes a liability. And if his numbers continue to go down, as he will be 32, he becomes a player who shouldn’t be getting everyday at bats, and right now, he’ll be in there everyday.

The Indians need to have at least six solid hitters to have a good offense this season. As we said, they have three. If Kipnis doesn’t get off to a good start, it will represent another tough decision for Francona and the front office.

Cavs’ Bad Plan Going Into This Season

There is no question that sometime this off-season, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be announcing a new head coach.

This is not to denigrate the job Larry Drew has done, because he has had to deal with a roster beset with injuries, and for the most part, the players who have been healthy are either inexperienced, or limited in terms of ability.

If you ranked the current roster from the best player on down, there wouldn’t seem to be too much of an issue that Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. would land in the top seven or eight.

The first two have missed considerable time this season, and the latter is rounding back into shape after a sprained knee.

The trio also consists of the Cavs’ best shooter (Love), likely their best rebounders (Love and/or Thompson), and probably their best passer (Nance).

That’s a tough situation for any franchise.

It has been reported that the front office has already started preparing a list of people to interview as possible coaches for the wine and gold next season. This isn’t a surprise because we assumed Drew would finish out the season and both parties would move on as soon as Game #82 was completed.

However, it does point out the mistake made by the organization after LeBron James announced he would be signing with the Lakers as a free agent. And that was bringing back Tyronn Lue at all.

This isn’t meant to bash Lue, after all, he guided the Cavs to their only championship, but it seems clear now, his heart wasn’t in guiding the post-James roster. We don’t blame him for feeling that way, but we do wish both sides would have analyzed the situation better before training camp started.

No one could have foreseen the injury to Love a week into the season, but Lue wanted to play at a fast pace, which might be appropriate for an experienced team, one that knows how to make the right pass and when to make it too.

And if you had Love, George Hill, JR Smith, Thompson, and Kyle Korver on the floor, it would have worked. But outside of those five, and perhaps Nance, who has a knack for passing, the rest of the roster were young players that couldn’t handle it.

The veterans knew “how to play”. Remember who struggled in the playoffs last season. Guys like Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood, who couldn’t adapt on the fly.

Unfortunately, you have to have a system for the entire roster, because how many times a game were the vets, who knew how to make the right play, on the floor?

With all of the young players on the roster, including your first round draft pick, Collin Sexton, you needed some structure on offense and a better defensive system.

Drew has tried to run more plays offensively and slow down the pace, but it would’ve been better had that been the plan when training camp opened.

And of course, a new coaching staff would have meant a new coach in charge of the defense, and that’s needed right now. Perhaps the Cavaliers would have a better foundation on that side of the ball had that happened.

It doesn’t seem to have been a lot of thought put into the decision, and parting with Lue amicably in July would have been the smart move.

Let’s hope the Cavs’ ownership and front office learn from this mistake.