When Tribe Does Spend, Results Aren’t There.

One thing all baseball fans can agree on is that the Cleveland Indians are not a free spending organization.

For whatever the reason, the Tribe’s payroll is usually in the lower third of the American League, and much of that is due to the size of the television market.

The Indians can’t charge the same rights’ fees for local broadcasts, both TV and radio as teams located in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.

So, the Tribe needs to spend their limited funds wisely.

The big problem is they simply haven’t.

The Indians’ highest paid player right now is Nick Swisher, who is suffering through a terrible season, and even last season, didn’t produce at a high level.

Before Swisher, Cleveland highest paid baseball player was Travis Hafner, who had a series of injuries after his last 100 RBI season in 2007, making the reported $10-13 million he was being paid an albatross across the organization’s back.

If you aren’t or are unable to spend with the upper echelon of payrolls in the sport, it is a killer when the players you make a major commitment to don’t live up to expectations.

You can’t lay all of the blame on Swisher either. The Tribe’s second highest paid player is Michael Bourn, who has battled hamstring issues all season long, and to be truthful, hasn’t performed like an all-star either.

We have always said that it isn’t about spending money for the Dolan ownership; it is all about spending wisely. Going out and overspending isn’t good for any franchise; look at the Braves with B.J. Upton.

If they don’t work out, these signings cause a lot of questions for the management. If Swisher were making half of what he is currently earning, or if he were on the last year of his contract, do you really think Terry Francona would continuously write his name in the lineup day in and day out?

Upton is currently hitting .212 for Atlanta (608 OPS), yet he has appeared in 106 of the 114 games the Braves have played.

Swisher’s 615 OPS figure is the lowest of any everyday player on the Indians. Not exactly a big bang for the buck.

As for Bourn, we didn’t like the signing at the time, and to this point we are proven correct. He has never been an elite offensive player, posting an OPS of 704 before signing with the Tribe.

His best asset on offense was stealing bases, having led the NL in that category three times in his career, including 2011, just two years before he arrived in Cleveland.

Since putting on Chief Wahoo, Bourn has stolen just 30 bases, and has been caught 15 times in almost two full seasons.

If you want to blame ownership for not spending money, then you also have to put heat on GM Chris Antonetti and president Mark Shapiro for blowing it when the Dolan family hands them a bag of cash.

When you have limited opportunities, you have to take advantage of them. The Indians’ organization has dropped the ball in that respect.

What can they do going forward? They may have to deal one of the two and pay some salary to improve at their respective positions.

Whether or not the ownership would sign off on that is debatable.

Unfortunately, these mistakes probably mean there will be less big spending in the future. Instead of getting it right, they will just avoid making the commitment.

Just another reason that it’s great to be an Indians’ fan.

Hoyer or Manziel? Whoever Can Win Should Play

The exhibition football season hasn’t even started yet and already there seems to be a quarterback controversy involving the Cleveland Browns.

Veteran Brian Hoyer has his supporters within the Browns fandom, and of course, there is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding rookie Johnny Manziel, aka Johnny Football.

The incredulous thing to us is the Manziel supporters seem to be willing to suffer through another 4-12 and 5-11 campaign in order for the former Heisman Trophy winner to gain much-needed experience.

For a franchise that has lost the number of games Cleveland has over the past 15 years, that is ludicrous.

Who should start for Cleveland in the opener at Heinz Field against the Steelers? The player who gives them the best chance to win and get off to a good start.

Remember, the Browns have won their season lidlifter just once since returning to the NFL in 1999, so a victory in week one would be rarefied air indeed for the franchise.

The notion that Manziel should start no matter what is crazy. If he shows in the pre-season games that he deserves to be under center for the first offensive play of the regular season, then fine, let him start.

There is no hidden agenda for Hoyer here, and we believe the coaching staff doesn’t have an affinity for either QB at this point.

The guess here is that Hoyer is starting against Detroit this Saturday night and will play with the first team offensive unit with Manziel playing with and more to the point, against, the second teamers.

We also think the following week against the Redskins, the roles will be reversed, and the rookie will go with the first team offense against the Washington starters. As a matter of fact, that’s the fair way of doing things.

After those two outings, head coach Mike Pettine will make a decision before the third exhibition contest, the dress rehearsal if you will.

We understand the feelings toward both players. Hoyer is a hometown kid, and he sat and watched and worked with one of the sport’s all time greats in Tom Brady while at New England. He’s going to do a professional job.

Last year, he got an opportunity to start three games and the Browns won all three, although in his last start he was hurt and Brandon Weeden got the bulk of the action in a victory over Buffalo.

Hoyer’s second start, a workman like win over the Bengals at home, is more the type of game we would expect to see from the former St. Ignatius and Michigan State star. The Browns used a ball control offense and a tough defense to dominate Cincinnati.

Manziel is obviously the flashier of the pair, and fans want to see the guy who took college football by storm the past two seasons. He will probably make a lot of great plays, but the potential for some colossal mistakes because of inexperience is there as well.

Mike Pettine has a defensive background and those coaches generally try to win games with that unit. They don’t like quarterbacks to make mistakes which put the defenders in bad situations. That would seem to give Hoyer the edge.

However, the games will start this week although they obviously don’t count. So, if one of the two plays very well and the other doesn’t, the decision will be an easy one. If both Hoyer and Manziel play well or play poorly, then we believe Pettine will go with the veteran to minimize errors.

Either way, the guy who gives the Browns the best chance to win should start. The franchise needs to start putting numbers in the win column this season.

Disconnect Between Tribe and Fans Grows

The Cleveland Indians’ organization just doesn’t get it.

They don’t get the ever growing disconnect between the front office and the fan base.

Yes, the current team is flawed, they are a .500 team with over two-thirds of the schedule in the books. On the other hand, there are plenty of teams in the same boat, so as this is written they somehow are just four games out of a post-season berth.

They continue to operate under the premise that was stated by the current ownership many years ago, that is they will spend money when people start showing up to Progressive Field.

Compare that to the buzz surrounding the Cavaliers, who likely will put a title contender on display at Quicken Loans Arena, and the Browns, who drafted the most talked about rookie in the NFL last May.

They are shiny pieces, attractive to the eye. The Indians are like a gray sweater. They simply just don’t, or perhaps don’t know how to make a splash with the area’s baseball fans.

They made two good baseball decisions this week, trading two players who will be free agents this fall, and who weren’t producing as expected for the club either. They picked up two young players who may help the Tribe in the next couple of years instead of letting them leave for nothing.

Still, the fans expected them to take a shot at making the post-season for the second consecutive year, a feat not accomplished by the current ownership or management team.

Instead, they claimed they couldn’t or weren’t willing to get a deal done.

Team president Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti and the Dolan family are good people, well liked by the media in northeastern Ohio. Therefore, there wasn’t really much of an outrage when other teams around the Indians in the standings made move to improve their teams while the Tribe didn’t.

There seems to be an agreement between Shapiro and Antonetti and the ownership that the executives won’t bring up the lack of cash available and the Dolans won’t hold them accountable for the lack of success.

We even heard a member of the media floating the ridiculous contention by the organization that Tampa Bay wanted Danny Salazar, Carlos Santana, and Francisco Lindor for former Cy Young Award winner David Price.

Really? What did Tigers’ president Dave Dombrowski do, hypnotize Rays’ GM Andrew Friedman to convince to accept just Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin, and an 18-year-old prospect?

The fact of the matter is, there haven’t been enough results by this regime since the turn of the century. Just three playoff spots, the first done with holdovers from the division and pennant winners of the mid-90’s, and one of those a one game wild card game.

To be fair, the Indians would have made the playoffs as the wild card under the old rules.

You have to go for it when you have the chance. Now, we aren’t advocating dealing Lindor, who may just be the sport’s premier prospect, for a play who would spend a half season, or even a year and a half in a Cleveland uniform.

However, the Tribe does have middle infield prospects and power bullpen arms that could’ve been used to fill a weakness.

We have said it before, they didn’t need to get Price or Jon Lester, they just needed to get someone better than Justin Masterson, T.J. House, Josh Tomlin and Zack McAllister.

Instead they picked up another middle infielder, who likely will be moved elsewhere and has shown no strike zone judgment in the minor leagues, and yet another left-handed bat in an organization already top heavy from that side of the plate.

After making the post-season and winning 92 games a year ago, a way to bring fans back to the ballpark would have been to make the playoffs again. Show them that last year was no fluke.

It could happen, but it isn’t likely when you have two shaky starters, and that’s crossing your fingers on Salazar, who has been solid since returning to the majors.

It appears the only team Antonetti improved at the deadline was the Columbus Clippers. Somehow, the front office doesn’t understand the disappointment of its fan base.

Tribe’s Substractions OK, But No Additions Have Us Saying “Huh?”

The Cleveland Indians made two deals before the trading deadline, and we have no problem with either of them.

We do have a problem with the trade or trades that they didn’t make.

Dealing Justin Masterson, who was suffering through a terrible season and can’t put together two solid seasons in row is fine here. He’s a free agent at the end of the season, and the Tribe wasn’t going to make the qualifying offer, so to get a solid prospect in James Ramsey, a top ten guy in a solid farm system like the Cardinals, is a good move.

Moving SS Asdrubal Cabrera, a player who has declined at the plate and in the field, and is also a free agent at the end of the year also makes sense.

The player coming back from Washington, INF Zach Walters, is a switch-hitting power hitter who strikes out a lot. He’s listed as a shortstop, but with Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Erik Gonzalez in the system, his future is likely at third.

Power hitters are worth a gamble, and again, the Tribe wasn’t going to keep Cabrera anyway, why not take a look at someone with a little pop in his bat.

The problem is GM Chris Antonetti didn’t address the problem areas on his squad, even though the Indians sit just five games out of a playoff spot.

They didn’t address their pitching problems.

Now, we understand the Indians didn’t have the prospects to go out and get a Jon Lester or David Price, and though it would be nice to do that, they really didn’t need to.

They needed to get someone better than Zack McAllister, Josh Tomlin, or T. J. House, and they failed in doing that.

The Twins traded Sam Fuld, SAM FULD!, to get Tommy Milone out of Oakland. Milone is a better pitcher than any of the three players we mentioned. But he won’t be coming to Cleveland.

Currently, the Indians are in a race for the second wild card spot, or at least on paper they are, even though the front office obviously doesn’t think so.

Three of the other four teams in the race, the Mariners, Yankees, Royals, made moves to strengthen their teams. The Indians chose to sit this one out.

Antonetti needed to go out and get someone to bolster his pitching staff, and he failed. Again.

That’s the profile of this organization. They rarely go out and make a bold move, either in the off-season or at the trading deadline. We guess based on that we shouldn’t be all that disappointed.

However, the Indians seem mystified that the fans in Cleveland aren’t drawn to them. It’s because of the lack of faith in the organization, and they can’t figure that out.

Earlier in the week, we tweeted that an organization that is 3-1/2 games out (which the Tribe was at the time) and didn’t make a move deserves the ire of their fan base.

And if they did want to create some buzz, they would bring up Lindor and let him play shortstop the rest of the season. Of course, they won’t do that either.

When you have a chance to make the playoffs, even a one game wild card contest, you have to take the chance because you don’t know when you will get another shot.

Instead, the Tribe will go with their usual strategy of wishing and hoping for guys like House and/or McAllister to come through.

Maybe they should also hope fans will show up at Progressive Field.

Browns’ Camp Starts. Please Don’t Overreact.

The Cleveland Browns’ training camp has started and it is one of those things that make us smile.

Not because it is the start of football season, but rather because of all of the over analyzing of everything that happens during each session.

What is even more ludicrous is the daily question and answer period with new coach Mike Pettine, where the media asks him some inane stuff and other questions that he cannot possibly answer as he is coming off the practice field.

This year, because of rookie QB Johnny Manziel, that position is particularly under the microscope, with every throw, and especially every interception is discussed ad nauseam.

First of all, it is practice. It’s called practice for a reason. If the players and the team were in mid-season form, they would start the regular season this weekend. Practice is a time for rookies to try to impress the coaching staff, and it’s also a time for the veterans to pace themselves and perhaps try some new techniques and test their limit.

When the exhibition season starts, that will be analyzed even more. And God forbid if Brian Hoyer plays a poor series or two in the pre-season opener against the Lions. The calls for Manziel will grow loud immediately.

Unless of course, Manziel is terrible, in which case, he will be called a “bust” by fans and media alike.

These games are for the staff and the quarterbacks to find out what plays can be successful and which ones won’t work. And when you think about it, that’s the perfect time for errors to occur. You don’t want poor play and execution in Heinz Field during the opener against the Steelers.

So if Hoyer forces a throw, maybe he’s testing the reaction of a defense. If Manziel misses on some over the middle throws, perhaps it is because he missed a pre-snap read.

Really, training camp is great for the fans to watch, to see their heroes preparing for the long season ahead. It’s also a rite of passage. My father took me to Hiram College in the 60’s to get a close up view of Jim Brown, Paul Warfield, and Gary Collins go through the paces, and today, dads are taking their sons to see Manziel, Joe Haden, and Joe Thomas.

However, it should be taken for what it is in terms of football. It’s practice. It is not a game.

Coaches are examining how players respond to different circumstances and challenges, and they also give veterans some privileges they wouldn’t receive during the regular season and certainly during games.

Pettine has already said he will give Thomas off certain sessions, a nod to his status as one of the game’s premier offensive linemen. We can’t imagine the coaching staff taking Thomas out during games once the contests start for real.

Heck, these days, there isn’t even a lot of hitting doing on. For the most part, it is glorified touch football. Yes, there are days when the practice will go live, but it is the responsibility of the head coach to make sure players stay healthy for the regular season.

Training camp is a cool way to spend a summer day. Just realize, that maybe, just maybe, the players and coaches are making mistakes on purpose and don’t read too much into it.

Tribe Doesn’t Need Big Splash, Just Need to Address Holes.

The Cleveland Indians are not a good baseball team. That is implied by their 51-53 record as of this morning.

It is easy to say the Tribe shouldn’t do anything before the trade deadline because they aren’t consistent and are hovering around the .500 mark.

However, if you look at the American League as a whole, the Tribe is just 3-1/2 games out of a playoff spot and they are pretty much in the same boat as the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners, and Royals.

Those teams are around the break even mark too, and they certainly are not phoning in the rest of the season.

Neither should the Indians.

Last year at around this time, the Tribe was five games out of the second wild card spot and they wound up winning 92 games and won a post-season berth.

Now we acknowledge it would be darn near impossible for Terry Francona’s crew to go 21-6 in September again to make the playoffs, but it is incumbent on the front office to shore up the problems that have beset this baseball team since April.

And that would be finding consistency in hitting, and reliable starting pitching.

Reading other sites and listening to fans talk about the deadline, you hear people discussing pitchers like Jon Lester and David Price, two guys likely with higher price tags than the Indians are willing to look at.

However, the reality of the matter is GM Chris Antonetti just has to replace the guys who aren’t performing with players who are better than them, they don’t have to be all-star caliber players.

What we mean is that Antonetti merely has to get a starting pitcher better than Justin Masterson, Zack McAllister, Josh Tomlin, T.J. House, or Danny Salazar. He doesn’t need to get Lester or Price.

That’s how you improve your team.

On the offensive side, he just needs to upgrade over Ryan Raburn or Nick Swisher. You don’t need to get Giancarlo Stanton, not that Miami is going to trade him.

Based on the sabermetric statistic WARP (wins over replacement player), there are three Indian players received significant playing time that are not as good as the average player at their spot–David Murphy, Raburn, and Swisher.

There is no question that Swisher isn’t going anywhere because of his contract, but if you can find hitters better than Raburn and/or Murphy, then you’ve made your team better. And isn’t that the job of management?

Last night, the Tribe handed McAllister a 5-0 lead in a game that needed desperately. He didn’t do the job, which is pretty much something he’s done since his first four starts of the year.

And the game winning HR was given up by Nick Hagadone, a guy who is very familiar with the route between Cleveland and Columbus, and a guy most known for not having a good grasp on throwing strikes.

The night before, the game winning blast was allowed by John Axford, whose performance has ebbed and flowed all year-long.

These are the guys Francona has to turn to when he needs victories? To me, it says the front office isn’t being diligent in improving this baseball team.

If the Indians do nothing in the remainder of the month, they deserve all of the ire and vitriol their fan base will heap upon them. We’ve all seen the warts on the 2014 edition of the Tribe.

Doing nothing just re-emphasizes their lack of trust in the current administration and ownership.

Tribe Needs A Bat, Need A Starter More

The major league baseball trading deadline will be here a week from today, and most of the American League playoff contenders have made moves.

Oakland, Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York have all tried to strengthen their clubs heading into the stretch run. The Indians have not made a move yet, even though it appears they desperately need to do so.

Does the Tribe need a quality hitter, a starting pitcher, or some more help in the bullpen?

Certainly, the offense is inconsistent to be sure, but Cleveland still ranks 5th in the league in runs scored, so even though it can be maddening to watch the Indians’ hitters being baffled by the likes of Minnesota’s Anthony Swarzak, they do have games where they put up enough runs to win.

To us, the biggest problem Terry Francona has is getting enough innings out of his starting pitchers on a night to night basis, particularly when that night’s starter is not named Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. Since the all-star break, here are the number of innings Tribe starters have pitched:

Bauer vs. DET                       6 IP
Kluber vs. DET             8-2/3 IP
McAllister vs. DET       5-1/3 IP
Tomlin vs. DET            4-1/3 IP
House vs. MIN                     5 IP
Salazar vs. MIN                   5 IP
Bauer vs. MIN                     6 IP

The lack of length provided by the starters means Francona has to go to an already overworked bullpen and lean on them heavily every night. Eventually, you have to think that will come back to bite the Indians.

This isn’t something new, either. It has pretty much been this way since the beginning of the season, and it is a tribute to the skipper and Mickey Callaway that they have managed to keep the relief corps performing at a high level all season.

It would be another thing if the McAllisters, Salazars, Houses, and Tomlins were providing these short outings allowing either zero or one run, but they aren’t.

Tomlin has now been mediocre in seven or his last eight starts, the exception being his one-hit masterpiece against the Mariners at the end of June. Every other start is basically around five innings, allowing around four runs, with of course, an obligatory long ball allowing in the mix.

House is also below average at this point in his career, he can give you five or six frames, pitching in and out of trouble usually, but allows around three or four tallies.

Salazar needs to show better than in his last start, where the Tribe gave him a 3-0 lead early, only to watch him load the bases with walks right after getting the lead. He did escape unscathed, but the number of pitches made in that inning forced him out after five innings.

Yes, this group is capable of going out there and throwing seven quality innings every once in a while.

That’s the point, once in a while isn’t good enough. If GM Chris Antonetti can’t find someone who can be closer to Kluber and Bauer, and can be counted on to get deeper into the game soon, it doesn’t look like the Indians can stay in the race for the long haul.

And spare us the “what if Justin Masterson comes back” scenario as well. That’s a hope, but the front office simply cannot count on that happening.

The competition in the American League standings are making moves to shore up weaknesses. Here’s hoping the Tribe doesn’t provide its fans with another case of “we tried, but we couldn’t get anything done”.

One More Opinion on Getting Love

Since the return of LeBron James to the Cavaliers, the biggest speculation around town is whether or not the Cavs should deal Andrew Wiggins, the first overall pick in the draft to obtain Kevin Love, one of the league’s premier players.

Because Love is just 25-years-old, it really is a no-brainer. Love IS one of the NBA’s top 20 players, and that’s conservative. Wiggins MAY be one of the league’s top 20 players someday. It is just that simple.

Here is looking at it another way. James will turn 30 years old this December, meaning he will be the LeBron James he is right now for another 4-5 years. That’s the kind of window Cleveland likely has to win titles.

Now think of Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in 2011, now entering his fourth year in the NBA. We can all agree that Irving is a very good player right now, but he’s not an elite one at this point.

Let’s say that Wiggins has a similar career path as Irving. He makes an impact his rookie season, and gets a little better each year in the league in his second and third seasons. As we just said, that would make Wiggins a very good player, but he still wouldn’t be an elite player.

Kevin Love is that right now.

Some fans have painted a picture of Love as a “stretch four”. To us, that is selling the big man out of UCLA short.

Rashard Lewis is a stretch four. Ryan Anderson is a stretch four. Yes, Love is a very good shooter with three-point range, but he’s also one of the top rebounders in the sport, capable of getting 20 in a game.

He also has the best outlet pass since Wes Unseld played in the league in the 60’s and 70’s.

He’s a lot more than a stretch four.

The other question about Love is his defense. He’s not regarded as a great defensive player. We say that the first thing about becoming a solid player when the other team has the ball is desire. And don’t you think that Love, and Irving for that matter will pay more attention on the defensive end of the floor, particularly when the game’s best player is on their team and demanding everyone give maximum effort on that end of the floor?

Also, coaches can scheme defensively to hide weaker defenders or provide help to those players. Good coaches teach a sound defensive philosophy that will help any player who wants to get better on defense.

A team led by James, Love, and Kyrie Irving would become an instant championship contender. All three can score, and James and Love are both very good passers. James and Irving can get to the rim with the best in the league, and a defense that collapses on them will have to deal with Love on the perimeter and near the basket.

However, the real point is this. The Cavaliers can be a title contender by getting another of the league’s elite players in Love, and if you have to give up a player who has never played one minute in the NBA, the question is why wouldn’t you do it.

Outside of James, who was the last first overall pick, or any rookie for that matter, who stepped right in to the league and was a force immediately. Even if Wiggins is someday going to be a great player, it likely will not be for three to four years, at which time LeBron James will be nearing the end of his dominance.

It really shouldn’t even be a question. If you have to give up Wiggins to get Kevin Love. You have to do it.

Cavs’ Griffin A Man of His Word, So Far

When he was hired as Cavaliers’ GM, David Griffin said the team needed to improve its basketball IQ, and get some players who can make shots.

So far, Griffin is a man true to his word.

Of course, it helps a great deal when the best player in the league decides he wants to come home and play for your team.

LeBron James was the smartest basketball player on the court when he was here previously, and with even more experience, it is doubtful he has lost his ability to play the game the correct way.

James took a lot of heat early in his career so making the right basketball play, that is to say, he hit the open man rather than force up a bad shot.

We can remember times when James wasn’t in the game where the Cavaliers took poor shots when the team needed a basket. We said at that time the rest of the Cavs could have learned from watching the younger LeBron play basketball.

His younger teammates should be in learning mode, and when the teacher happens to be a four-time league MVP, if they aren’t willing to gain knowledge from James on how to play the right way, they likely will not be in the wine and gold for long.

Griffin’s other two free agent signings help with the shooting problem the team had last season.

Last year, Cleveland didn’t have a lot of consistent shooters from the perimeter. Yes, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters had their moments from outside, but their strength is more taking the ball to the basket.

Signing Mike Miller and James Jones as free agents addresses the need for players who can put the ball through the hoop from outside.

And they should get plenty of open looks with the way James, Irving, Waiters, and rookie Andrew Wiggins can go to the basket.

Miller, now 34 years old, enjoyed a bit of a career renaissance this year, playing his most minutes since 2009-10. He’s a lifetime 46% shooter from the floor, including 41% from beyond the three-point circle.

Last season with Memphis, he shot 46% on three pointers.

Jones is more of a three-point specialist, with more than half of his shots in his career coming from behind the arc.

He will be 34 years before the season starts and he’s made 40% of his threes over his career.

Neither Miller nor Jones will be starters.

Miller will probably be a rotation player, backing up at both the off guard and the small forward spots.

Jones only played in 20 games for the Heat last season, so he will probably be used as a specialist, playing in situation where three-point shooting is needed, maybe for plays at the end of a quarter.

The point is, both of these signings are minor in terms of neither player will be getting 30 minutes per night, but they are bringing a skill set needed on the wine and gold, and also another veteran presence for a team that doesn’t have many experienced players.

They will help James get the message to the young players and relate what is needed to win an NBA title.

Neither player is killing the Cavs in terms of salary cap space.

So far, Griffin is keeping his word in terms of rebuilding this franchise. It helped immensely that James returned to the franchise, but getting shooters, something lacking for Cleveland, is a great help too.

Tribe Front Office Needs Realistic Viewpoint

The Cleveland Indians have hit the all-star break and are very clearly in contention for a playoff spot despite a .500 record for the first 94 games of the season.

The big question is can the Tribe put together a strong enough second half to make up the 3-1/2 games currently separating them from the American League’s final playoff spot. Right now, that belongs to Seattle.

The other serious contenders to play in the wild card game are Kansas City, Toronto, and New York. The first wild card spot looks like it belongs to the Angels. Quite frankly, several other teams could get back in the mix with a good hot streak too.

All four of the primary contenders are looking to add to their roster and to be fair, Tribe GM Chris Antonetti has said he is looking to upgrade the Indians as well.

As we have written in the past, the Tribe has been a slave to inconsistency throughout the roster for much of the season. The only real steady players this year have been Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Mike Aviles on the offensive side, and Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and the back-end of the bullpen (Scott Atchison, Bryan Shaw, and Cody Allen).

Management’s problem in evaluating the rest of the roster is that they look at the good side of each player’s streaks as what they truly are. For example, yesterday it was said that Asdrubal Cabrera was getting hot at the plate, on a 7 for 16 run.

However, he’s put together three or four good games in a row before, and then follows that with a 2 for 13 streak. That’s the kind of player he is, and he’s not the only one, he’s just the one picked for this example.

Look, not all major league players are great, nor are they steady day in and day out. However, you have to recognize that the one’s who can’t maintain regular production are not good players, and the team should be looking to improve at that spot.

The worst thing for a coach or manager to deal with is inconsistency. It drives them crazy if they don’t know what to expect when they put a player into the game.

It’s even worse for a starting pitcher, and that’s been the Tribe’s biggest problem as to why they haven’t been able to put together a long winning streak.

Justin Masterson has been mostly terrible since the middle of May. Josh Tomlin almost threw a perfect game against Seattle, but that was really his only good start in a six start span.

Zack McAllister started out 3-0 in his first five starts, but hasn’t won since. T.J. House has pitched well in some games, but has had trouble pitching five innings in several others.

It’s difficult to put together winning streaks when three fifths of your starting rotation can’t give you a solid six innings on a regular basis.

The lack of consistency is the biggest reason the Indians need to pull the trigger before the end of the month and they should look to bring in a right-handed bat, a spot Ryan Raburn hasn’t been able to handle thus far (.197 average, 2 HR), and a starting pitcher who can provide six or seven solid innings on most nights.

The biggest bait Antonetti may have is 2B Jose Ramirez, hitting .298 with a .353 on base percentage at Columbus. Ramirez is blocked in Cleveland by Jason Kipnis, and probably should be playing in the big leagues now.

Here’s hoping that the Tribe is willing to do something substantial at the deadline. It’s tough to rely on going 21-6 in September every year.