Which One Of Tribe Starters Should Be Dealt?

The Cleveland Indians could use an impact hitter in their lineup.

They finished the season ranking 11th in the American League in runs scored, and they tallied two runs or less in 58 games, more than 1/3 of their schedule, and had an 11-47 record in those contests.

This means when the Tribe can put three runs on the board, they have a 70-33 record, a blistering .680 winning percentage.

Cleveland had the second best ERA in the AL, so the presumption by many is Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff will try to get a legitimate hitter by dangling one of the team’s starting pitching, a deal made from strength.

Yes, we know the old adage about not ever having enough pitching, but with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Cody Anderson, Josh Tomlin, and some youngsters close to the big leagues (Mike Clevenger, Adam Plutko, Ryan Merritt), it may be a deal that can be made from strength.

To be sure, the best case scenario would not be to touch one of the top four starters (and we are including Bauer in that group for the sake of argument) in order to get a solid hitter, but it is doubtful another team will give you the kind of hitter you are looking for in exchange for Anderson, Tomlin, or one of the rookies.

Naturally, the hurler most fans would like to see moved is the one who had the worst performance in 2015, and that would be Bauer, who finished at 11-12 with a 4.55 ERA, and struggled in the second half of the season.

This is where the player development people earn their money.

First, because Bauer’s first half was better than his post All Star Game numbers, his market value isn’t as high as let’s say Carrasco and/or Salazar. So, what the Tribe brass has to determine is can the soon to be 25-year-old right-hander pitch a full season as effectively as the first half of this season.

They also have to determine if this is the best Carrasco or Salazar will ever be.

Carrasco will be 29 next year and showed signs this season of being a #1 starter, or at least #1A because of the presence of Kluber. A couple of near no-hitters will be held up as proof. His fielding independent pitching (FIP) is even lower than Kluber’s at 2.84.

Salazar’s figure is 3.62 compared to his real ERA of 3.45, meaning he didn’t pitch as well as his record would indicate. Plus, over the last two months of the season, his strikeout numbers were down as was his velocity.

His struck out only 23 batters in 33-2/3 innings after September 1st, the only month of the season where he did not strikeout as many hitters as innings pitched.

His ERA in September/October was 4.28 too.

The other thing about Salazar in our opinion is that it is tough for him to limit damage. He seems to have trouble getting out of trouble if the first couple batters reach base.

Of course, other teams know the same thing.

If we were Antonetti and Chernoff, we would be more willing to move Salazar to get a bat than any of the other top four starters. If someone wanted to give you a solid hitter for Anderson or Tomlin, that would be the preference, but that’s probably not going to happen.

Let’s see if the front office has the same opinion.

Tribe Starters Fine, But Bullpen Needs Overhaul in ’16

A week ago, we talked about how the past few weeks for the Cleveland Indians should eliminate any notion in the front office’s collective minds that minor tinkering is all the Tribe needs heading into next season.

The offense ranks in the bottom third of the American League and there is no question that should be the primary area of concern this winter.

On the other hand, the pitching staff currently ranks 2nd in the AL in staff ERA, and ranks in the top three in the league in most of the major categories (hits allowed, strikeouts, least walks) and leads the AL in complete games.

The preference would be the leave the pitching staff alone, particularly the starters, because if you are statistically one of the best staffs in your league, why would you make any moves.

However, pitching staffs can be volatile from year to year, and in order to get the bat the Indians so desperately needs, you may have to give up a starting pitcher.

And the Tribe, despite the adage that when you think you have too much pitching, you go out and get more, has some depth in the rotation.

Without question, the big four of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer, are pretty durable, and in spite of Bauer’s inconsistent second half, are pretty darn good.

You also have Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin, both of whom were great after they got healthy after the All Star Game.

Add in T.J. House, who was solid last year, but injured for most of this year, and prospects Mike Clevenger (acquired from the Angels a year ago for Vinnie Pestano) and Adam Plutko, and you can see there is hope for the future.

And perhaps Gavin Floyd will be back as well.

If you have to trade one of the starters, which one should go?

Bauer would be a popular choice, but he’s also the youngest of the quartet, and based on his second half, probably has the least market value.

Kluber would bring the most in return, but he figures to have a bounce back season in 2016 and we would still say in an elite starter.

We would dangle Salazar because we think he is the most mentally fragile. He may improve this with experience, but he doesn’t seem to battle his way out of trouble when things start to go bad.

The bullpen should be rebuilt because outside of closer Cody Allen, the relief corps was inconsistent down the stretch. Zack McAllister has a dominant fastball, but needs to be able to throw a breaking pitch for a strike.

Bryan Shaw seems to be suffering from the huge workload he has had over the past two years, and would seem to have decent trade value.

The rest of the ‘pen is filled with guys that Terry Francona doesn’t have a great deal of faith in, although we would keep Kyle Crockett because he’s demonstrated in the past that he can be effective vs. left-handed hitters.

There are some options in the minor leagues too that haven’t received a decent shot at the major league level. Shawn Armstrong deserves a shot, and the club could take a good look at Jeff Johnson and Josh Martin as well, and there be plenty of veterans available as well in free agency.

The pitching staff is the strength of this team. Unfortunately, the offense wasted a great job by the staff in 2015.

Despite Criticism, We Think Tribe Still Has a Chance

If you read this blog on a regular basis or follow us on Twitter, you might think we feel the Cleveland Indians should forget about this season and start working toward the 2016 campaign.

And you would be wrong.

Why? Because a quick check of the standings shows the Indians are still just 5-1/2 games out of a playoff spot. The truth is, that’s why we keep pushing for the Tribe front office to make some moves, because there is still very much hope, although not with the team as it is currently constituted.

We grew up in the era where a contending team didn’t come around all that often. Okay, it didn’t come around at all. That was baseball in this town from 1969 through really, 1993. There weren’t too many reasons to get excited about the squads that toiled at old Municipal Stadium.

That’s why we can’t bring ourselves to look toward the 2016 season. There is a legitimate chance here is the front office stops looking through rose-colored glasses and sees they need to take action for the rest of the season.

This past week, we read various things about how the Indians are unlucky. They hit the ball hard often, but don’t get hits, Their opponents hit bloopers that fall in, etc.

First, to borrow from the sport that uses an oblong ball, as Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says you are.

And the Tribe is currently four games below the break even mark at 45-49. And that’s a mediocre record.

What gives us hope is the starting pitching staff, which is capable of shutting down teams on a nightly basis. You can say with conviction that Terry Francona’s team in capable of holding the opponents to two runs or less every night. That doesn’t mean they will, but they have starters capable of doing it.

The problem is with the offense, and the baseball fairies aren’t going to come down and sprinkle magic dust on the Indians’ bats and they will finally start to hit.

To the “bad luck” folks, we say this: Is it bad luck that on most nights, Francona writes out a lineup that includes four hitters batting .230 or less, and only three hitters with a mark of over .260.

We know, we know, stat people, batting average is overrated. The league average for OPS is 718. A typical Cleveland lineup with contain five batters with an OPS under the league average. And since you are statistically driven, that would be more than half of the team they put on the field each day.

One of those hitters is OF/DH David Murphy, who the optimistic fan base thought was going to hit .325 all year. Murphy has started to regress to his normal batting mark of around .270, so if the front office were to deal him sometime next week, we would not consider that folding up the tent.

The season is more than half over, so pretty much what you see is what you are going to get from these players. Sure, Carlos Santana and/or Brandon Moss are capable of getting hot, and perhaps Yan Gomes too, but will all three get hot at the same time?

And really, your basing your success on players getting red-hot?

The Indians need to make some moves, even if it is just giving some more young players a chance, if they want to contend for the playoffs.

They are too close to just throw in the towel. Moving on with an eye toward next year will just further alienate an already apathetic ticket buying public.

Tribe Will Need to Win Some Games With Their Bats in Second Half.

Our beloved Cleveland Indians are in the midst of another stretch of good baseball, winning 8 of 11 since the debacle double shutout in Baltimore, and now sit just two games below the .500 mark at 42-44.

The starting pitching has carried the Tribe over this stretch allowing just 29 runs in the 11 contests, which nine of those tallies coming in the opener of the current home stand against the Astros.

That means, in the other ten games, the opponents have scored 20 runs, and even those bad in math would recognize that averages to two runs per night.

Even with the Indians’ anemic offense, you can win a lot of games that way.

Which is the problem the Tribe faces going forward, after play resumes next Friday in Cincinnati. Can they win games consistently when the pitching isn’t overwhelming.

To put together a long sustained streak of success, Terry Francona’s squad is going to have to win some 6-5 or 8-6 games.

When Indians’ pitchers allow five runs in a game this year, they are basically screwed. Their record is 3-27. Which, of course, when they hold teams to four runs or less, they are 39-17.

The problem is that they’ve allowed five or more runs in 30 of their 86 games.

As a comparison, the first place Kansas City Royals are 7-20 when they allow five runs or more. The Astros are 9-21. The AL East leading Yankees are 6-25, and the Twins, who would qualify for the post-season if the season ended today, are 8-23.

We understand that no team is going to be over .500 allowing over five runs a game, but notice that the better teams in the AL have all doubled the Indians win total in that situation.

And if the Tribe had the six wins these other teams have, they would be 45-41 for the season, and be sitting just 1-1/2 games out of a spot in the post-season.

So, will the front office try to do something to help the Indians score more runs after the All Star break?

As usual, we are skeptical. Sure, they may try to use the “we are getting Nick Swisher back, and that’s like adding a bat in a trade” line. Or “if Carlos Santana can get hot, that would be better than making a deal” baloney.

But the reality is they need to do something, and it doesn’t have to be a big splash like trading for a guy like Carlos Gomez, although he is under contract through 2016, and would be a dramatic upgrade in centerfield and a right-handed bat.

However, dealing for him would be a great move and as a bonus, might get people who buy tickets interested in this team.

Knowing the Indians’ conservative management, they could also simply make some internal moves to help the offense.

First, they could add a bat from Columbus (yes, we are advocating for Tyler Holt again), because with the starting pitching doing well, there is no need for eight relief pitchers. Guys like Jeff Manship and Ryan Webb are collecting cobwebs in the ‘pen because they are rarely used.

Why not convert them into someone who can play CF vs. lefties, therefore eliminating the need to use Michael Brantley there and also there would be no need to use Mike Aviles in left.

Perhaps it is because of his bulky back, but Brantley is no longer even a decent defensive player in center. And we believe DHing more often would make him drive the ball more.

Was it a coincidence that Tuesday night as a DH, he had three hits and hit his first home run in more than a month?

The organization also has to be thinking (or at least they should be thinking) that the platoon of David Murphy (lifetime .276 hitter currently hitting .326) and Ryan Raburn, will show some regression at the season wears on.

To be fair, Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela, who have shored up the left side of the infield, should improve at the plate going forward.

At any rate, the onus is squarely on GM Chris Antonetti. If the Indians can make it to the playoffs, their starting pitching can be dominant enough to carry them deep into October.

But you have to get there. Your move, Mr. Antonetti.

The Only Consistent Thing About Tribe at Halfway Point…

For a team as inconsistent as the Cleveland Indians are, it is fitting that their record at the halfway point of the season is right around the .500 mark, although slightly below at 38-43.

And they start the second half of the year against the same team and pitcher they opened the regular season against, with Houston pitching Dallas Keuchel tonight.

Terry Francona’s squad went 12-15 over the last 27 games (1/6th of the season), down from the 16-11 in the second sixth of the season.

The first 27 games was a disaster at 10-17.

Such is the fate of the up-and-down Tribe, who can’t get anything going this season, and probably won’t be able to as long as the roster is made up of the same group of players.

The trip that just ended was a microcosm of the Cleveland season.

They looked horrible against Baltimore, getting shutout in the last two games, a doubleheader, which ended a sweep of the series by the birds.

Then, they visited Tampa, with the Rays owning a share of the top spot in the AL East, and took four straight from Tampa, the first three with their starting pitchers flirting with no-hitters.

They won the first game in Pittsburgh, then reverted back to their anemic offense, losing 1-0 on Saturday, and getting a paltry five hits on Sunday in a 5-3 loss, although the NL’s winningest pitcher, Gerrit Cole, was on the hill for the Bucs.

The best thing about the Indians’ season to date has been the jumbled nature of the American League, where no team is more than 6-1/2 games out of the second wild card spot.

On the other hand, the Tribe has the 10th best record in the AL, meaning there are more teams ahead of them than behind.

This clumping reduces the number of teams that will be sellers at the trade deadline at the end of the month, so it will be difficult for GM Chris Antonetti to make a move to improve the roster.

Unless, however, they do it from within, which has been our contention all along.

There isn’t a blockbuster trade out there, and really, we don’t want the Indians to give up their core position players (Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Francisco Lindor) in any deal.

Nor do we want to deal the young, controllable starting pitchers either.

What should be done is more incremental moves, even subtle ones, that make the team better.

Cleveland did just that over the last 30 days by bringing up Giovanny Urshela to play third base and Lindor to play shortstop.

The defensive matrix says Lonnie Chisenhall did a solid job on defense this season, but at the very least, we can say Urshela is as good with the glove (our opinion is he is better), but he is hitting better (Urshela’s OPS is 651 compared to Chisenhall’s 585).

And the rookie has shown consistency, with a 13 game hitting streak just ending yesterday.

Lindor has struggled at the dish, as expected, but he is still performing better than Jose Ramirez did (Lindor’s OPS is slightly higher), and the defensive statistics say he is already the Tribe’s best glove man.

Which brings us to our favorite whipping post, Michael Bourn.

Let’s say the Indians replace Bourn with Tyler Holt, and Holt hits .265 with an OPS of 700, which is slightly below average in the AL. That batting average would be 25 points higher than the veteran’s, and the OPS figure would be more than 100 points better.

Think the Indians would be a little better then?

We understand the contract status of Bourn, but right now, you are paying him to hurt the ballclub, and you don’t have to.

Yes, yes, we know he had a decent weekend against the Pirates, but that’s what we talk about in terms of consistency.

He had two good games. He may go 0 for 12 this week against the Astros and A’s.

Can the Indians make a run? Of course, but it will take a significant run of good play to do it, something they were unable to piece together in the first 81 games.

Time For Tribe Shake Up If They Want to Contend

The Cleveland Indians are starting a 10 game trip which could make or break their season.

Yes, they are still just six games out of the second wild card spot in the American League, but their record is 33-39 and an unsuccessful trip would put them with too many teams to pass to claim a playoff spot.

From May 14th through June 2nd, the Indians went 13-5 and it looked like perhaps they turned around their season.

Unfortunately, that 19 day span is the only consistent baseball they played all year, and outside of that stretch, the Tribe is 20-34, a truly mediocre record over a 54 game span, which is one-third of the season.

The Indians will tell you there isn’t much they can do about the current roster, but that’s a lie. Here is what we would do:

We hate to see anyone lose their jobs, but despite what the Indians front office will tell you, baseball is a results business. They seem to think it’s an entertainment business.

1). Get a new hitting coach. Ty Van Burkleo made not be the reason the Indians can’t hit with men on base, but sometimes a new voice is needed. In 2005, Eric Wedge replaced Eddie Murray with Derek Shelton and the offense took off.

Maybe it’s a reach, but it’s worth a shot. Rouglas Odor was just named the hitting coach for the AAA All-Star Game, so perhaps he should be promoted.

The offense has struggled for more than just this season, it was tough to score runs the second half of last year too. It’s time to try something different.

2). Eliminate the dead weight on the current roster. Think about how many players Terry Francona doesn’t want to play or pitch with the game on the line.

It’s quite obvious the organization has lost confidence in Michael Bourn, relegating him to a platoon role. It’s time to release him.

We know how much money he is making, but right now he is hurting the team. A better alternative is to pay him (you have to anyway) and not have him hurt the team. This roster would be better off with Tyler Holt or Tyler Naquin on the team instead of Bourn.

Besides, this is making Michael Brantley play more centerfield, which is not good for his back, which in turn is not good for his bat. Brantley needs to move back to left permanently, and perhaps he will start hitting better.

The same goes for the bullpen. Francona doesn’t have faith in Nick Hagadone and it seems his confidence in Zack McAllister is waning as well. Cleveland has organizational depth in relief pitchers, so why not use it.

They’ve been loathe to give Austin Adams a shot for most of the season, instead, going with Scott Atchison, and right now, C.C. Lee deserves an opportunity.

Why not see what you can get for Hagadone and McAllister and get some more prospects.

It’s not like these moves would be catastrophic. The Tribe is struggling mightily now. Why not try something else? It is doubtful that the replacements for these players or coaches could perform worse than they are right now.

The front office of the Indians has a history of patience and sitting on their hands. It’s time to get up and do something, and do it now. Otherwise, the attendance figures at Progressive Field are going to keep declining.

And instead of coming up with reasons for that…just look in the mirror.

Using WAR to Identify Tribe Veterans Not Helping Club

This seems to be an annual thing to write when it comes to the Cleveland Indians and their manager, Terry Francona.

It is about the difference between patience and stubbornness. Even Francona himself acknowledges that he can be stubborn at times because he trusts the players you have performed for him in the past.

Once again, it seems like Tito and general manager Chris Antonetti have some decisions to make if the Tribe is to remain in contention for the playoffs in 2015.

As the season nears the halfway point, it is becoming apparent that a few players aren’t contributing to the success of this team, and the question is should they be replaced?

Now, we aren’t total proponents of WAR (wins above replacement player) because our opinion is that it is tilted toward middle of the diamond players. One of the selling points on Michael Bourn when he signed in 2013 was that he had a 6.1 WAR in 2012.

We looked at the stats and said he was a terrible offensive player for most of his career. His WAR rating was high because he plays centerfield and he was a solid defensive player.

However, within a team, WAR does tell you who is contributing and who isn’t.

For example, the lowest WAR among position players on the Indians belongs to Nick Swisher at -0.6, meaning a player in AAA would be better than him.

The only other position player with significant playing time and a negative in this category is Jose Ramirez. Which kind of validates the statistic.

On the pitching staff, the hurlers who have a negative WAR on the season are Bruce Chen, who is now retired, T.J. House, who is currently injured, and two current members of the bullpen.

Those two would be veteran Scott Atchison and Nick Hagadone.

The former is now 39 years old and had an excellent season with the Indians in 2014. Unfortunately, that was last year.

This year, he’s allowed six home runs in just 18 innings of work, and Francona can’t be comfortable bringing him into a game. By all accounts, Atchison is a great guy, but he doesn’t appear to be able to be effective anymore.

Hagadone is one of those pitchers who has unbelievable stuff, and he’s left-handed to boot. Scouts and personnel people always love guys like that.

His problem though is that he can’t throw strikes consistently, and that leads to problems. He’s given up more hits than innings pitched and has walked ten in 23 innings. His career ERA is 4.79. And he will be 30 on New Year’s Day.

The point is this isn’t some 24-year-old flamethrower we are hoping will be able to corral his pitches. He’s another guy that Francona has to be hesitant to bring into the game.

You can’t tell us the relief corps wouldn’t be better off with Austin Adams (2.38 ERA in 7 games) and Kyle Crockett (five scoreless appearances) pitching in Cleveland rather than Columbus.

Here’s a list of players hovering around a zero WAR, meaning they are replacement players: Carlos Santana (0.3), Bourn (0.3) Mike Aviles (0.4), David Murphy and Brandon Moss (0.5).

And these pitchers: Cody Allen (0.1 although he’s been better since the end of April), Marc Rzepczynski (0.0), Ryan Webb and Bryan Shaw (0.4).

This shows there are a lot of Indians who aren’t getting it done, and they need to pick it up if this team is going to start winning.

Remember, once players get into their 30’s, they aren’t getting better. You can live with Giovanny Urshela and Francisco Lindor struggling a bit, because they will improve.

It’s not likely that Hagadone and Atchison will be better as the season goes on.

Stats Show Tribe Pitching Just As Responsible For Up and Down Year.

We all know the Cleveland Indians got off to a bad start this season, and then played much better in May.

However, they are back in a rut again, treading water in June, having won just six of their last 15 games.

They are trying. They’ve brought up heralded prospect Francisco Lindor to play shortstop and add Giovanny Urshela to play third base, and tomorrow will mark the debut of right-hander Cody Anderson, who will start against the Rays.

The hitting takes the bulk of the blame, but in reality, they are only half of the problem, because the team ERA ranks 12th in the American League, although they might rank higher if not for some questionable official scoring.

First, the hitting. Despite ranking 3rd in the AL in on base percentage, and 9th in slugging, the Tribe ranks 10th in the league in runs scored. This is mostly because they are terrible with men on base.

That’s mostly because they don’t have enough solid bats in the lineup.

Right now, they have Jason Kipnis, who is having an MVP quality season leading off, and Lindor is hitting second, with Michael Brantley third. Kipnis (.417 OBP) and Brantley (.381) get on base a lot.

After that, there aren’t a lot of guys doing anything.

David Murphy and Ryan Raburn are doing well platooning at DH, but Raburn has slowed after a hot start. Carlos Santana is batting .212, and his most consistent skill this year is walking. While that is better than making an out, it’s usually not resulting in runs being scored.

Yan Gomes has been pretty consistent, but was out six weeks with a knee injury, and is batting .211 on the season.

Brandon Moss has shown some flashes, but because he strikes out a lot, he is prone to those 0 for 15 slides that don’t help the team score runs. Michael Bourn is a blight on the offense with his .238 average and OPS under 600.

So, how would you expect Kipnis and Brantley to score based on who is hitting behind them?

We have always maintained you need to have at least seven solid hitters to have a formidable offensive team. How many do the Indians have?

Right now, three (Kipnis, Brantley, DH platoon) and we think Gomes, Moss, and Santana can be. That still leaves them one bat short. Lindor and Urshela are too young and inexperience to be counted on, although both haven’t been bad so far.

The pitching has been a disappointment too. They lead the AL in striking out hitters, but when teams hit the ball, it hasn’t been good.

Tribe pitchers have the 2nd highest batting average against on balls put in play and have allowed the third most home runs in the league. The first figure points out the Cleveland defense hasn’t been good most of the year.

None of the starters have an ERA under 3.00, and several parts of the bullpen have been crazy inconsistent as well. Cody Allen has righted himself after a bad start, and Bryan Shaw has been solid lately too, but Zack McAllister is up and down.

Why Ryan Webb and Austin Adams haven’t received a better chance is a mystery, and it may be time to cut bait on Nick Hagadone and Scott Atchison.

The fifth starter spot has been held by several guys, and perhaps the best of them, Shawn Marcum (who pitched well in four of six starts) was designated for assignment on Thursday.

Maybe Anderson can stabilize that spot.

Because the American League is so tightly packed, if Terry Francona’s club can get some consistency and can rattle off something like 14 wins in a 20 game span, they would be in the top half of the league record wise.

Unfortunately, outside of a three-week stretch in May, they haven’t been able to do that.

Kluber’s Resurgence Sparks Tribe

When Corey Kluber took the mound on May 13th against the St. Louis Cardinals, he had an ERA over 5.00, and hadn’t won a game.

He showed his Cy Young Award winning form that night, striking out 18 hitters in eight scoreless innings, and allowed one hit in a 2-0 victory.

The Indians’ pitching staff seemed to rediscover itself on that night.

In the last 11 games, including that night, the Tribe pitchers have allowed just 30 runs, an average of less than three runs per night. You will win a lot of games when you hold the opponents like that.

And Cleveland has, they have won eight of those contests.

It seems that getting Kluber straightened out has sparked the club, and the other starters have followed the ace’s lead, starting with Trevor Bauer, who the next day, pitched a gem of his own, striking out 10 Cardinals in 7-1/3 innings, before Marc Rzcepczynski gave up a two-run HR to Matt Carpenter.

Yes, the offense is performing a little better, particularly since Terry Francona moved Jason Kipnis to the leadoff spot, but in this recent run, the Tribe is only averaging four tallies per game, scoring three runs or less in six of the 11 ballgames.

Everyone thought the starting pitching was the reason Cleveland would be a contender in 2015, and right now they are living up to those expectations.

When your starters perform like the Indians’ hurlers have over the last 10 days, you have a chance to win every single night.

And it helps that veteran Shawn Marcum gave his team a strong outing in his first start, beating the White Sox, giving up only two solo home runs in 6-2/3 innings of work last Wednesday.

Up to that point, the fifth starter spot had been a black hole for Cleveland since the first turn through the rotation.

Francona also made some changes in the bullpen too, as Nick Hagadone and Scott Atchison have taken a backseat after a few shaky outings.

Cody Allen seems to have better control and as a result is looking more and more like the pitcher we saw in 2014. He picked up his 9th save today, and has fanned 25 in 17-1/3 frames, although the 12 walks is still a scary statistic.

Zack McAllister seems to be the primary set up man, with a 1.64 ERA out of the ‘pen and 27 whiffs in 22 innings as a reliever. Rzcepczynski is the situational lefty of choice used by the skipper right now.

It was telling that the other night when Danny Salazar could only give the team six innings, that Francona went with newcomer Ryan Webb, who has allowed just five hits and three walks in 12-2/3 innings. Webb seems to be getting a more prominent role in the bullpen right now.

Bryan Shaw has been prone to giving up the longball, allowing three bombs in 13-2/3 innings to this point in the season. It appears he has lost the eighth inning spot he had in 2014.

But it starts with the starters giving Francona and Mickey Callaway six solid innings on most nights. That means the relief corps does not get overexposed and keeps them fresh.

That needs to continue.

If it does, the Indians may just be able to climb over the .500 mark and stamp themselves as the team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

It would be nice if they would hit a little better and catch the ball better too.

However, this is a team built on starting pitching and the ace of the staff seems to be back on the beam. That’s what got the Indians pointed in the right direction.

Lack of Consistency Killing Tribe

It has been well documented that the Cleveland Indians have had issues stringing together wins. When they emerged victorious both Friday and Saturday in Texas, it marked the first time the Tribe has won two in a row since the first week of the season.

The biggest problem? Consistency.

Terry Francona’s club simply can’t put anything together on a day-to-day basis.

For example, in their last seven games, the Indians have had games where they are tallied eight runs twice, and another where they scored ten times. In the other four games? Cleveland scored one run twice, two runs once, and three runs once.

Since it is difficult to win games where you score three runs or less (although the Tribe did win 2-0 on Corey Kluber’s gem on Wednesday night), this team can’t put together any kind of streak.

The pitching isn’t any better. In the same seven games, Cleveland hurlers had contests where they had a shutout, allowed two runs twice, and three runs once. That’s good, right?

Except that in the other three games, the pitching staff allowed eight runs twice and five runs on another occasion.

Even individual players have had the same ups and downs. Now, we realize that not everybody can be like Michael Brantley, but some of the Indians players have been woefully inconsistent.

While the starting pitching looked to be a strength coming into the year, the main starters have yet to reach a point where they are good most times they take the hill.

Kluber has had four of eight starts where he has thrown six or more frames allowing two runs of less. The other four appearances? 23 innings pitched allowing 19 earned runs.

Carlos Carrasco has been about the same. In four of his eight starts (we threw out the game he was hit by the line drive), he has pitched 24-1/3 innings and allowed eight runs, for an ERA of under 3.00. In his other starts, he has pitched 19 innings, allowing 14 earned runs.

To be fair, Trevor Bauer has been good in five of his seven starts and Danny Salazar in five of his six opportunities.

The fifth spot has been an out-and-out disaster, with southpaws T.J. House and Bruce Chen combining to allow 38 hits in 19 innings of work.

The bullpen has been most up and down as well, with only Zack McAllister and lately Bryan Shaw showing solid efforts on most nights. Long man Ryan Webb has done his job well also.

That’s not good enough if you want to put together a winning streak.

The hitters aren’t immune either. Brandon Moss was counted on to be a power presence in the middle of the order, and he does lead the club in home runs (5) and RBI’s (23). That’s great until you see three of those dingers and 13 of the runs he has knocked in have come in THREE GAMES!

In the other 32 games, he’s hit 2 homers and knocked in 10, which is about what David Murphy has done in part-time duty.

We will leave Jason Kipnis out of this because he’s been torrid for about a two-week stretch, it hasn’t been a select few games.

We know Nick Swisher is battling back from surgery on both knees. He came into today at 9 for 35 on the year. He was 7 for 8 in two games, and in the other eight games he appeared in, he was 2 for 27.

Until the Tribe starts getting good performances on an almost nightly basis from their hitters and pitchers, they are going to keep scuffling.

What makes players good is consistency. Many guys can have a good night every once in a while, and right now, that’s what’s happening here.

It has to change soon, because the other teams in the AL Central are all playing pretty well.