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.

Tribe Pitchers Need to Throw Strikes, Get Better Defense

There is certainly no question the Cleveland Indians have gotten off to a slow start. They have one of the worst records in the American League to date.

However, if the season ended today, and we still have about 5/6ths of it remaining, the second wild card would be the Baltimore Orioles, who currently sit at 12-11.

For you math majors, that means the Indians are just 3-1/2 games out of the playoffs with a whole lot of season to go.

That doesn’t mean that the Tribe’s roster isn’t flawed and is in need of improvement, of course, we said that all winter.

The recent offensive resurgence has put the Wahoos 9th in the AL in runs scored per game, but the pitching staff, considered to be the reason Cleveland was supposed to contend this season, has gotten off to a woeful start, ranking 13th in the junior circuit in ERA, ahead of only Boston and Toronto.

Surprisingly, they’ve done that despite ranking second in the league in striking out hitters.

If not for Danny Salazar, who didn’t even make the team out of spring training, the rotation would be going through a two and a half week stretch with very few good performances.

We aren’t concerned about Corey Kluber as of yet, and Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco have really been more good than bad to this point, so the starters have done okay. Not spectacular, like they were in August and September 2014, but they’ve kept the team in games.

Unfortunately, the bullpen, which has been tremendous over the past two seasons, is leaking oil, and the team’s defense has not improved from a year ago, even though the errors are down.

The Tribe pitching staff ranks 14th in the league in walks and the relief corps has contributed greatly to that statistic.

The wildness plagued Nick Hagadone has walked five in nine innings. Marc Rzepczynski has issued four free passes in 6-2/3 innings. Bryan Shaw’s walk rate is up as well.

And although Terry Francona has supported closer Cody Allen, he has to be getting nervous. Allen has allowed a whopping 15 hits and seven walks in nine innings of work. He pitched on Sunday and gave up a bomb to Russell Martin. If you come into a game and starting walking people, you are going to get yourself in trouble.

The question is how long with the skipper be confident in the guys who have served him well for so long?

The Indians have enough problems getting leads to cough them up once they have them.

And the defense hasn’t helped the pitching staff either. Yesterday, the Blue Jay scored six runs in the fourth, an inning where Cleveland did not make an error, but gave Toronto five or six outs.

Jose Ramirez didn’t get to a ball good shortstops would have fielded. Lonnie Chisenhall didn’t get an out on a high chopper. Carlos Santana caught a runner straying too far from third base, but didn’t record an out.

Trevor Bauer fielded a chopper, looked home, realized he had no play, and didn’t retire the batter.

So, instead of no runs or maybe one, the Jays put up a six spot.

It should be a concern because it was a huge problem last season and it hasn’t improved much.

How can it be fixed? It probably can’t at this point without a drastic move. As far as the bullpen goes, it looks like the usage of the past may have caught up with these guys.

Several people suggested moving a couple of the current crew in the off-season, to bring in fresher arms, but the front office wasn’t proactive.

The Indians aren’t buried in the standings, but they do need to start playing better. Improvement in throwing strikes and in the defense would be two areas to help the Tribe improve.

Some Things Bothering Us With The Tribe

The baseball season is still very, very young. That’s why no one should be too upset about the Cleveland Indians start after 14 games.

The Tribe is 5-9 for the season, and really the only problem with that record is that Kansas City and Detroit have launched the 2015 regular season on a hot streak.

The Indians were 5-9 at the same point in the season in 2013 and went on to win 92 games that season and made the playoffs.

If you are looking at how games behind Cleveland is in the standings, be advised that on May 18th last season, they were 10-1/2 games out of first. They still went to the final weekend of the season before being eliminated from the post-season.

However, there still are some disturbing trends that have shown up in the first three weeks of the season, and they are being carried over from a year ago.

Defense. The Indians thought this would be improved from last year because Jose Ramirez replaced Asdrubal Cabrera at SS, and Carlos Santana was established at 1B. It’s still a problem.

Ramirez has booted some routine plays in key situations giving opponents extra outs, and the fears about Brandon Moss in right have proven true. He has missed cut offs routinely, and several fly balls which looked to be outs off of the bat have fallen in safely.

On a team built on pitching, the hurlers deserve better defense behind them.

Let’s face it, shortstop and centerfield are the most important defensive positions, and the organization’s best defender at SS is in Columbus.

Michael Bourn/Top of the lineup. The centerfielder’s career has been in decline since arriving here, and to this point, nothing has changed.

In his years in the National League, Bourn was a career .272 hitter with a .339 on base percentage and a 704 OPS. In two years with the Tribe, those numbers have dropped to .257/.313/.667.

While it is very early, Bourn isn’t off to a good start, hitting below .200 and second on the team in strikeouts despite having just two extra base hits.

He’s never been a very good leadoff hitter because of his on base average, but he’s becoming a liability at the top of the order. It will be interesting to see how patience Terry Francona has with the veteran.

The guy batting after him, Jason Kipnis, is also struggling. He has just one extra base hit in 58 at bats. Just two years ago, Kipnis had 57 extra base hits for the season, today, he ranks last on the club.

It wouldn’t be as bad if Kipnis was getting on base, but he’s drawn just two walks on the season, meaning his OBP is just .246.

It’s difficult for the offense to get going when every game seems to start with two outs and nobody on.

The Bullpen. Francona has ridden his bullpen hard the last two seasons, and whether it has taken a toll or not remains to be seen. However, the relief corps has had a problem throwing strikes, and that is not good.

Cody Allen has walked six hitters in five innings. Nick Hagadone, whose control has always been an issue, has walked three in six innings of work.

Bryan Shaw has walked two in four innings, but has been behind in the count often, leading to allowing eight hits in that workload. Kyle Crockett, now at Columbus, walked three in less than three innings.

Putting extra men on base especially in key, late game situations is never a good idea. This is an area that could turn around quickly.

We generally don’t form a solid judgment on a team until they get to 27 games, or 1/6th of the season.

But the first two things noted here were around all last year, so it becomes more of a trend.

Sure, the Indians could start hitting this weekend in Detroit and come back home in a much better spot. The starting pitching, especially at the top of the rotation has been spectacular.

Let’s hope the Tribe starts playing much better starting Friday night.

Tribe Should Emphasize Plusses, Not Lack of Cash

Spring training is a little over a month away, and sports fans through northeastern Ohio are starting to think about baseball. The cold, cold winter does that to you.

On Friday, Indians’ president Mark Shapiro was doing a radio interview and when asked about the roster brought up (once again) that the team is financially limited.

Most of the interview was Shapiro talking about what the Indians have focused on most of the winter, namely the construction at Progressive Field. We get that, he’s the president now, not the general manager, so he doesn’t want to steal GM Chris Antonetti’s thunder.

However, it almost seems like a reflex for anyone in the organization to bring this up when talking about trying the add talent to the current roster.

And it is a sensitive buzzword for many potential ticket buyers. As we have said before, like it or not, perception is reality and the perception around Cleveland is the ownership is cheap.

We get it.

Most fans understand the Indians will never be able to have one of the top ten payrolls in the sport. However, there are many teams in the sport who have managed to stay relevant without spending $150 million on talent.

So, we will play public relations/advertising consultant for the Indians. Why not talk about the positives the Tribe has going into this season.

1). The Indians have had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 years, and made the playoffs in 2013, and were still alive in the playoff chase until the last weekend of the 2014 season.

2). They have a widely respected manager in Terry Francona, who has piloted two World Series winners.

3). They are the only team in the American League with a player who finished in the top three in both the Cy Young Award voting (Corey Kluber) and the MVP voting (Michael Brantley). Really, the only team in baseball because although a Dodger claimed both awards in the NL, it was the same guy (Clayton Kershaw).

4). The Indians have a good core of young players. Their best players are Brantley, Kluber, Yan Gomes, Cody Allen, and Carlos Santana. All are under 30 years old.

5). They have one of the game’s top prospects in SS Francisco Lindor, who should make his big league debut in 2015.

6). The last two months of the ’14 season were highlighted by excellent starting pitching, led by Kluber, but also with dominant months from Carlos Carrasco (27), Danny Salazar (24), Trevor Bauer (23), and T. J. House (24).

7). The Indians had the sixth best ERA in the American League, and they did it with the youngest pitching staff in the AL at 27.2 years of age. And that figure includes the ageless Scott Atchison.

8). They traded for a left-handed slugger who made the All Star team in 2014 in Brandon Moss, who, by the way, also hit two home runs in the wild card game.

9). Although the players are far away, the ’14 amateur draft was rated the best in baseball by Baseball America.

Those are things to talk about if you want to encourage people to purchase tickets. That, and get rid of the dynamic ticket pricing that most fans dislike.

There are plenty of positives to talk about with the Cleveland Indians that don’t involve money and/or ripping seats out of Progressive Field.

We just wish the front office would talk about these instead of playing the “small market” card.

Right Now, Tribe Counting on Good Things to Happen for Contention

Roughly two years ago, around this time, the Cleveland Indians announced the signing of free agent Nick Swisher to a four-year contract.

We bring this up, because it’s the last time the Tribe front office did anything off the field to excite its fan base.

There is no question the Indians are in a tough situation. They have assembled a solid young core of talent that is under control for the next three to four seasons.

They have the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the American League in Corey Kluber and another player in Michael Brantley that finished in the top three in the AL MVP voting.

They have one of the top catchers in the game in Yan Gomes, and a host of good, young arms, albeit without extensive track records in the starting rotation.

However, the face of the franchise is probably their manager, Terry Francona.

GM Chris Antonetti has made one move this off-season, getting left-handed slugger Brandon Moss from Oakland for a minor league second baseman, but that move gives Francona a glut at 1B, RF, and DH with Moss, David Murphy, Carlos Santana, and Swisher, not to mention Ryan Raburn.

The Indians made the wild card game in ’13, and went to the final weekend of the 2014 season with a chance to repeat a post-season appearance. So, they most definitely have to be considered a contender.

That’s why this would be as good a chance as any to take a shot and “go for it”, like many teams have this winter.

The franchise has needed another solid bat, particularly one from the right side for several years, and they could use another reliable veteran starter to go with the kids they’ve assembled. However, the ownership’s glass ceiling of an $85 million payroll ties the hands of the front office.

Instead, the management talks about how the Tigers likely won’t be as good as they were this season, and the Royals look like they will lose James Shields, so the Tribe is in the mix.

It seems their primary plan to win is other teams not being as good.

Within their own division, the Tigers have a better hitting lineup on paper with Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Yoenis Cespedes in the middle of the batting order, and Chicago has two top starters in Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija. Not to mention the Royals are the defending American League champions.

The Indians are hoping Jason Kipnis has a rebound season, Lonnie Chisenhall hits in the second half like he did in the first half, and Michael Bourn and Swisher can stay healthy.

They also need seasons similar to last season from Brantley, Gomes, and Kluber.

That’s a lot of wishin’ and hopin’.

While defenders of the ownership will claim attendance has to improve for the team to spend, we are here to tell you there is a large core of baseball fans in the area who want the front office to show they are all in, much like the White Sox have shown their ticket buyers.

Imagine if the Indians traded for Samardzija or signed Melky Cabrera as a free agent. The former would have formed a great one-two punch with Kluber at the top of the rotation, while the latter would have been a great fit in RF, a switch-hitter with a high average and some pop.

Yes, we know the White Sox play in one of the top media markets in the country, but Seattle isn’t and they signed a player who hit 40 homers a year ago.

We are excited about the Indians because they are a solid team, but they need a boost to make them a favorite for a division title, and to interest the fans in the area.

They still have two months until spring training starts, so there is still time for trades, but right now the Indians seem content to do what they normally do.

Fair or not, they need to do something to compete with the Browns and Cavaliers for the ticket money and headlines in the media.

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”.

Can Tribe Improve? That Depends on Front Office

The baseball season is half over, and the Cleveland Indians have shown pretty much nothing in the way of consistency.

If you divide the season into six equal pieces, the Tribe has improved as each slice of the pie unfolds. They were 11-16 after the first 27 games, went 13-14 in the next sixth of the 2014 season, and finished the first half with a record of 15-12 over the last 27 contests.

However, to this point in the season, it doesn’t feel like a playoff squad.

The Tribe sits 6-1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central Division standings, and is just 4-1/2 games out of the last wild card spot, currently held by Seattle.

So, with the trading deadline coming at the end of July, right now you have to consider the Indians buyers. You can’t give up on a season when you are within striking distance. Remember, Cleveland was five games out at the end of July a year ago, and still made the post-season.

Will the Indians’ front office make the necessary moves to reach the playoffs in back to back seasons for first time since 1998-99? That depends on whether or not the brass thinks changes are required to compete for a spot in the post-season.

We all realize GM Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona are very patient, and even the latter admitted earlier this year that sometimes that quality turns into stubbornness.

Will the belief that Francona has in his players preclude the GM from improving the current roster?

Yes, the Indians rank 5th in the American League in runs scored per game, but they have also scored three runs or less in almost half of their games (38 out of the 81 played).

That points to lack of consistency and means Antonetti should be looking for another reliable stick in the lineup. We all know about Nick Swisher’s horrible season to date, but Ryan Raburn has been equally disappointing with a .203 batting average, his second flirtation with the “Mendoza line” in three years.

The defense has been deplorable, leading the American League in errors with 70. Asdrubal Cabrera has been the chief culprit in that area, making most of his miscues on routine plays, including dropping three throws on possible double plays.

Swisher is here to stay because of his contract, but how long does management wait before making changes with Raburn and Cabrera? After reading in the newspaper this weekend that the team isn’t concerned with Cabrera’s glove, it doesn’t seem like any move will be coming any time soon.

On the pitching side, the only reliable starter has been stoic Corey Kluber. Trevor Bauer has kept the Tribe in the game in most of his starts, but has had issues holding leads when he gets one. Justin Masterson has been up and down more that a pogo stick, and the skipper can’t be sure what he’s going to get on a nightly basis when he takes the hill.

Josh Tomlin was not good in June until his one-hitter on Saturday night, and the last spot in the rotation has been less than stellar with rookie T.J. House and Zack McAllister not providing a lot of quality innings on a start by start basis.

The bullpen has been ridden hard with Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, and Mark Rzepczynski all ranking in the top ten in the AL in appearances. The heavy workload is a result of Francona’s lack of trust in anyone else in the ‘pen. That may be changing with Carlos Carrasco’s good work since joining the relief corps.

The key will be when does the management feel enough is enough with the performance of certain players? And when they do, will it be too late to do anything about it?

The success of the 2014 season depends on the timing of making these changes. That doesn’t bode well based on past performance.

Tribe Off-Season “Plan” A Dud So Far

As spring training approached, we discussed how apparently the Cleveland Indians’ plan to improve the team that won 92 games a year ago, was to hope for a return to form by several veteran players.

The Tribe finished fourth in the American League in runs scored in 2013, but you had to figure on regressions by players like Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles, and even Jason Giambi.

To account for that, the front office needed bounce back seasons by Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, and Asdrubal Cabrera.

So far, that formula is a big, fat dud.

Bourn has missed more than half of the Tribe’s games this season, but he has actually been the best of the three, hitting .266. However, he has a poor .299 on base percentage for a leadoff hitter, continuing a downward trend from his .348 mark in ’12. It was just .312 last season.

Swisher has hit just two home runs thus far, and his batting average is also below the Mendoza line at .197 and his OPS has dipped to a terrible 597. A figure like that for a full season would get a player released.

Cabrera has his batting average at .211, but he has just eight extra base hits on the season and his OPS is also ridiculously low at 604. It is getting to the point where you have to think Francisco Lindor could hit just as well (at least) and provide better defense to boot.

Add in the horrific start to Carlos Santana’s season and you have one of the worst batting teams in the American League this season.

The Indians have scored three runs or less in 19 of the 32 games played thus far, a whopping 59% of the contests.

You aren’t going to win many games with that kind of attack.

Is there a solution for manager Terry Francona?

Tito exhibits a great deal of patience to be sure, as does the entire organization, but with so many players not hitting what can be done.

At this point, the Indians only have a handful of players with an OPS of 700, which is slightly below average. They are Lonnie Chisenhall (911), Michael Brantley (776), David Murphy (744) and Yan Gomes (724). In addition, Nyjer Morgan is at 791, but has played only 11 games.

Outside of Gomes, all are left-handed hitters, which makes it difficult to balance the lineup on a nightly basis.

One solution would be to group all of these guys together, particularly when a right-hander starts for the opposition and hope you can generate some offense that way.

However, that makes you susceptible to a lefty coming out of the bullpen late in games to match up with all of these guys.

The other problem that Francona has is that the only bench guy hitting is Mike Aviles, currently at .271, but with just two extra base hits. So, if he replaces one of the regulars, he doesn’t exactly have a better alternative.

Right now, it appears the Indians’ plan has backfired, and once again, they failed to seize an opportunity to build on a playoff team by doing relatively nothing in the off-season.
Perhaps tonight, the Tribe bats will turn it around. If they don’t do it soon, then it is just one more reason for fans to feel disenchantment with the management group.

Too Early For Panic, But Tribe Fans Can Be Concerned

It is not a secret that the Cleveland Indians haven’t played great baseball thus far this season. They are sitting at 7-10 on the season, but right now the American League has nine of its 13 teams within three games of the .500 mark.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the entire season went that way, because there aren’t many bad teams in the junior circuit. So, while the Tribe is struggling, only two teams (Oakland and Texas) have won more than 10 games already, s0 it is hardly time to panic.

We realize that Cleveland is a football town, and it has a football mentality. Last year, there were many fans who wanted the Indians to trade for prospects when the team was five games out of a playoff spot in late July, when the trade deadline hit.

Of course, Terry Francona’s bunch played much better down the stretch and made the playoffs, winning 92 games.

We are saying once again that it is a long season. The Indians have played a little more than one-tenth of their schedule, so there is no need to be going crazy about the Tribe’s play thus far.

None of the Indians’ key players have been hot thus far, and no matter what the team’s harshest critic has to say, it is doubtful that Nick Swisher will hit .174 this season, nor will Carlos Santana hit .153. It’s probably amazing that Francona has Cleveland at 7-10 with the paltry production of these two important players.

However, we did say that the four key players for the Indians this season were Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, Swisher, and Michael Bourn. Through 17 games, only Kluber has lived up to expectations. Sure, he is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA, but those numbers are affected by his first start. He’s had three pretty good starts since.

Salazar was cruising in his last start on Thursday, giving up one run in his first four innings. The Indians got him a lead, and he suddenly couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the first two Tiger hitters, and then giving up a three run homer to Ian Kinsler.

That makes three consecutive outings where the youngster couldn’t get through six innings.

Bourn has been hurt, missing the first 13 games of the year with a hamstring issue, but he hasn’t shown any signs of changing his approach, striking out five times in his first 13 at bats.

The centerfielder hit .232 after the All Star Game last year, with an on base percentage of under .300, unacceptable for a leadoff hitter. He needs to cut down on his swing and put the ball in play, using his legs more. If he doesn’t start producing soon, his contract could become an albatross for the organization.

Outside of Kluber and Zack McAllister, the starting rotation has also been questionable. Justin Masterson has been good twice, which is only half of his starts. Carlos Carrasco has a big start this afternoon, mainly because Josh Tomlin and Trevor Bauer are breathing down his neck to take his spot in the rotation.

If Carrasco doesn’t do well today, he likely will be moved to the bullpen with one of those two being called up to make a start Friday. We believe that’s why Jason Giambi reactivation was moved to Monday, so the front office can decide who gets sent down, a position player or a bullpen arm.

Let’s wait another 10 games, when the Tribe has played 1/6th of their schedule to make any rash comments. The likelihood is that the American League will still look the same, a jumbled group of teams with similar records.

Tribe Pitchers Need to Throw Strikes

The biggest worry most fans of the Cleveland Indians had going into the season was the starting pitching. With two weeks of the season having been played, that concern still exists.

Despite the absence of Michael Bourn and slow starts by Nick Swisher, Asdrubal Cabrera, and to some extent Carlos Santana, the Indians have scored enough runs. They rank 3rd in the American League in runs scored, averaging 4.83 tallies per game and the team’s OPS ranks tied for 4th in the junior circuit.

Unfortunately, the two teams they trail in runs per night are teams they have played thus far in the 2014 season: The Twins and White Sox. Are those teams hot, or are the struggles by Cleveland’s starters responsible for their impressive ranking.

Terry Francona and Mickey Callaway’s pitching staff has struggled throwing strikes, leading the American League in allowing walks. They also lead the AL in striking hitters out. This combination leads to high pitch counts for the starting pitchers, and that puts a huge burden on the bullpen. And we all know how Francona likes to protect his relief corps.

In the Tribe’s 12 games thus far, the starter has completed seven innings just twice (Justin Masterson on Opening Night, and Zack McAllister vs. San Diego), and in only two other games have they thrown six frames (Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, both this past week against the Padres).

That’s two out of every three games that the bullpen is forced to get more than nine outs per game.

To be sure, Callaway and the skipper would prefer the starters to be more efficient, throw strikes and let hitters put the ball in play to get outs. Masterson has walked nine in 15-1/3 frames, Carlos Carrasco has walked five in 10-1/3 innings, and Danny Salazar has issued five more free passes in 9-1/3 innings.

Speaking of Carrasco, it appears he isn’t pleasing his bosses. He struggled in his second start of the season on Friday night, but what had to have Francona and Callaway shaking their heads were the two walks he issued after the Tribe tied the game at three for him. Response runs have been a problem this season for the whole staff, but when they occur because of walks, it makes the manager upset.

After the game, reporters received the dreaded “ask him” answer from the pitching coach, a very good sign of his anger. Callaway sent a clear signal to the pitcher that he is no longer covering for him. And both he and Francona go out of their way to take the player’s side when at all possible.

The right-hander had his next start, scheduled to be Thursday at Detroit, delayed until at least Saturday vs. Toronto, but the guess here is that the front office is buying time to see whether or not to use Bauer or maybe Josh Tomlin in that spot with Carrasco staying in the bullpen.

Blake Wood (seven walks in 4-1/3 IP) could be sent to Columbus to make room in the ‘pen for Carrasco, as the organization tries to find a spot for the young right-hander and his electric stuff.

If he fails in the relief role, GM Chris Antonetti will likely have to cut ties with Carrasco.

While it is still very early in the campaign (less than 10% of the season has been played), the Tribe needs to get more length out of the starting pitchers. If the current guys can’t do it, Francona will make changes. He isn’t about to throw away a season because of this problem.