In Sports, Consistency is a Talent Worth Having

Last week, we were involved in a debate on Twitter about the merits of Indians’ utility man Zach Walters, as we compared him (as we have many times before) to former Tribesman Russell Branyan.

We were quizzed that it sounded like that comparison was a bad thing, which we meant it to be. Our opinion is that wild, streaky hitters like Branyan and Walters aren’t effective major league players.

Our contention is that consistency is a tool just like hitting with power, speed, and defensive ability.

Walters came to the Tribe at the trade deadline from the Nationals for Asdrubal Cabrera, and did whack some home runs immediately after being called up, hitting six dingers in his first 48 at bats. The downside is he only had four other hits, leading to a .208 batting average and mixing in just three walks.

A true all or nothing hitter.

From August 27th to the last game of the season, when Walters went 2 for 4 with a home run, the switch-hitter went 3 for 36 with 16 punch outs and just two walks. Do you think Terry Francona was anxious to put him in the lineup?

To be fair to Walters, it is a relatively small sample size and he is just 25 years old and could (and really needs to) change his approach at the plate.

Let’s go back to 2013 for a larger sample, using former Indian Mark Reynolds as the example.

Reynolds famously started on fire in April, hitting .301 with 8 HR and 22 RBI helping get the Tribe off to a good start.

However, in May, June, and July combined, Reynolds went 44 for 243, a .181 batting average, with 7 homers and 25 RBI. Francona started easing him out of the lineup and when it was all said and done, the slugger wanted out and the Tribe was happy to oblige.

We understand that no one is perfectly consistent. A .300 hitter doesn’t hit for that average every month, and neither does a .250 hitter. However, from a manager or coaches’ standpoint, those guys are gold because for the most part, you know what you will get.

That’s why guys like Branyan and perhaps Walters get placed into reserve roles. In the NBA, players with up and down performances are bench guys. If they come in and are hot, the coach can ride them. If they aren’t, they can be taken out and not be a part of the game going forward.

In Walters’ case, he is still young and many times it takes players without a lot of experience time to develop a consistent level. When Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome first came to the Indians, they had severe ups and downs too, and Mike Hargrove had to manage that. Heck, Thome was basically a platoon player in 1994 and 1995.

That’s something the front office has to keep an eye on with Jason Kipnis. Kipnis made his season in ’13 with a tremendous June in which he hit close to .400 and he had a solid September as well. The rest of the season? He was below .250. Just something to watch in 2015.

Remember how frustrated fans got with Lonnie Chisenhall last season?

That’s why players like Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes are even more valuable than you think. They were consistent all year-long and have been for a while.

Gomes strikes out a lot, but more often than not, the guys who strike out at a high rate are players more prone to peaks and valleys.

Consistency equals dependability. And that’s part of a player’s profile, one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

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.

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.

Tribe’s Biggest Enemy: Consistency

The numbers say the Cleveland Indians should be going after a pitcher.

After all, the Tribe ranks 5th in the American League in runs scored, while the pitching staff’s ERA is 11th out of the 15 AL squads. Sounds simple, right?

However, we believe that GM Chris Antonetti should be looking for a starting pitcher and a bat to help the offense as well. Why? Because, even though Cleveland is in the top half of the league in scoring, most of the hitters in the lineup are inconsistent to say the least.

Outside of Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes, the Indians’ batters go through streaks of being either real hot or real cold.

That’s mirrors the team’s hitting, either they score 5 or 6 runs a night for a week or so, or they go through periods like last week when they get one hit in back-to-back contests. There is no consistency to the Cleveland attack.

Let’s take Jason Kipnis for example. Since the beginning of last season, here are his monthly batting averages: .200, .261, .419, .272, .250, .287, .234, and .255. So, in the last eight months, last year’s All-Star representative has two good months and one unreal one.

He’s supposed to be one of the Tribe’s best players.

How about Asdrubal Cabrera? His monthly breakdowns are as follows: .226, .278, .204, .221, .242, .220, .274, .243. That would equal two solid months and the balance being mediocre.

Carlos Santana is a key to the Tribe offense because he’s one of the few Tribe players capable of hitting 20 HR in a season. His last two seasons break out this way: .389, .200, .250, .294, .240, .271, .151, .169, .308. You get the picture.

We understand that not everyone can be steady as she goes, and we certainly know that Brantley and Gomes have periods where they go 1 for 14 and 2 for 19 too.

But that isn’t 1 for 44, like the streak David Murphy just ended.

When Kipnis, Cabrera, and Santana are all going well, the Indians’ offense is very productive, the problem is when you have those months where the three aren’t producing, it’s a tough team to watch.

And that’s why the runs scored statistic is misleading. Yes, Cleveland ranks high in the league in scoring, but they also are among the leaders in games in which they score less than three runs in a contest.

The inconsistency also extends to the starting pitching, where Corey Kluber and really, Trevor Bauer can be counted on the provide the same type of outings every time they take the hill.

Yes, Josh Tomlin threw a one-hitter against Seattle. In his other four starts his June 12th, the “Little Cowboy” has pitched 20-2/3 innings, allowing 18 runs.

Justin Masterson’s struggles are well-documented, as he has pitched less than five innings in four of his last seven starts. He really has had only one quality outing since May 3rd, that being a seven inning, one run performance against the Angels.

So perhaps Antonetti’s biggest challenge is to bring in some players who are steady, guys who Terry Francona can count on a nightly basis. Maybe it’s a solid .270 hitter, or a starter who can provide six or seven decent innings per start.

They may not have to be all-star type players. Just ones whose performance isn’t up and down like an elevator.

The times when the Tribe players are all hot are a joy to watch, but too often it is followed by a losing streak. That’s why they have sat around the .500 mark for most of this season.

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.

Lack of Defense for Tribe Means it’s Time for Lindor

There were a lot of people who thought June would be the beginning of the end of contention for the Cleveland Indians.

With Texas, Boston, Kansas City, the Angels and Tigers all on the slate, many thought that meat grinder would be too much for Terry Francona’s crew.

However, right now they stand at 11-6 for the month following today’s come from behind win on Nick Swisher’s grand slam and head into a three game series at home versus Detroit before heading out for another west coast jaunt.

The offense has become more consistent with Carlos Santana starting to hit, and Lonnie Chisenhall continues to hammer away at a .368 pace.

Michael Brantley has become one the American League’s best offensive players, ranking in the top ten in the circuit in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

However, the defense, particularly in the infield continues to be atrocious, particularly on the left side of the diamond, most notably SS Asdrubal Cabrera.

It wasn’t too long ago that Cabrera was an all-star, making the team in both 2011 and 2012. He should be in the prime of his career at 28-years-old.

Instead, he is showing that last season wasn’t an off-year, it was the beginning of an offensive decline.

In 2009, the switch-hitter showed signs that Tribe fans had a player to watch when at age 23, he batted .308 with 6 HR and 68 RBI (799 OPS). After an injury plagued 2010, he started to show some power in ’11, belting 25 HR, knocking in 92 runs with a 792 OPS.

Another solid season followed in ’12 (.270, 16 HR, 68 RBI, 762 OPS), but his average dropped to .242 last season and so did his home runs and ribbies.

Offensively, he’s doing a little better this season (.255, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 732 OPS), but he’s made 13 errors already this season.

If Cabrera were hitting like he did in 2011, you could overlook his shaky defense. Furthermore, whereas the shortstop used to make highlight defensive plays on occasion, those plays are rare, and the majority of his miscues are on routine plays.

In the past couple of weeks, he dropped a simple relay throw killing a double play chance, and on Tuesday night, couldn’t come up with a roller to second, instead trying to tag a baserunner and then toss to first for a twin-killing. Instead, he got nobody out and the Angels scored three runs in the inning.

With several baseball people saying SS Francisco Lindor is ready to play in the big leagues, how much longer can the front office ignore the defensive suck fest that goes on at SS and 3B?

Lindor would add a better glove and some much-needed speed (19 stolen bases at Akron) to the Cleveland offense. He’s hitting .280 with 5 HR and 38 RBI at the AA level, so it’s not as though major league pitchers would knock the bat out of his hands.

Of course, the front office would have to move Cabrera to make this happen and because he’s a free agent at the end of the season, they probably won’t get much in return. Perhaps it would make the ballclub better if the future started right now.

We understand that the Tribe is in a post-season race right now and it would seem crazy to bring up a 20-year-old to play short in that type of situation, but the scouting reports on Lindor say he has an incredible make up and if any rookie could handle it, it would be him.

In Francona’s first season in Boston, the Red Sox decided to improve the defense by trading icon Nomar Garciaparra and getting Orlando Cabrera, a much better defender in a separate deal.

Does history repeat for Francona? It’s getting to the point where they may not have a choice.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words on Jimenez

We just finished reading Terry Francona’s book (written with Dan Shaughnessy) about his days with the Boston Red Sox.

First of all, we recommend that all Tribe fans read the book, because it gives tremendous insight on how the skipper relates to players, and to what kind of players he likes.

It is no surprise after reading the book how much Francona values Jason Giambi in his clubhouse.

Francona also talks about his managerial philosophy in regards to handling players in the media. Basically, no matter how upset he is with a player, he handles it privately and publicly backs the player in question.

The reason we are bringing this up is today’s announcement that the Indians will bring up Danny Salazar to start Wednesday night’s contest vs. the Tigers, a big series for Cleveland. While it’s probably not make or break because it is the beginning of August, it is more important than the series at the beginning of July because it’s later in the season.

Still, the Indians need to show the Tigers they can beat them, and there are only seven games remaining between the two teams.

Although Francona always speaks in positive tones about Ubaldo Jimenez, his actions tell us something else.

The manager couldn’t have been pleased at Friday night’s performance where the right hander threw 107 pitches in four innings, making Francona have to use his bullpen for four innings.

This after arguably Jimenez best start of the season, an eight inning effort against the Rangers where he didn’t allow a run.

It says here that’s the problem for the skipper, Jimenez is inconsistent and can’t be counted on to pitch well.

Yes, the error by Asdrubal Cabrera on a possible double play ball in the first, a mistake the shortstop took full responsibility for, made the pitcher throw a lot more pitches than he would have had to without the bobble. However, it was still first and second with one out against a Marlins’ team that isn’t known for swinging the bat.

Jimenez allowed three more hits in the inning (to be fair, one was a bloop double by Logan Morrison), and had to throw 23 more pitches. But he threw 34 more pitches in the second inning and allowed another run before Cabrera’s second error of the game.

You would think that after shutting out Texas for eight innings and facing a poor hitting Miami team, Jimenez would come out and be aggressive, challenging the hitters. He didn’t, and that has to drive Francona and pitching coach Mickey Calloway crazy.

Francona cited Jimenez poor results against Detroit this season (1-2, 6.93 ERA) as the reason for the move, and said he would make his next appearance against the Angels on Friday, but more likely the real reason is his lack of confidence in having Jimenez pitch well in a key game against the division leaders.

Certainly, the desire to see more of Salazar, who has been dominating in AAA, striking out 78 in 59-1/3 innings of work with the Clippers, and allowing just two earned runs in his last 33-1/3 frames.

If the kid throws another good game against Detroit, it could lead to him staying and being used out of the bullpen for the rest of the season. Imagine him coming in every third or fourth day for two or three innings.

This is a bold move by Francona and GM Chris Antonetti. Regardless of how it works out, you have to commend them for making the move.

Santana and Cabrera Can’t Catch Break

We understand that radio sports talk shows and Twitter are not representative of the feelings of the majority of sports fans anywhere, particularly in Cleveland. However, in listening and reading daily, there seems to be a lack of support for two regulars for the Cleveland Indians.

Those players are Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Santana got off to a great start in 2013, hitting .389 with 5 HR and 13 RBI in April. Still, he is putting together his best full season with the Tribe, batting .272 with 12 HR and 48 RBI for the season. He currently is enjoying career highs in batting average and on base percentage, and has a 835 OPS and anything over 800 is very good.

For the stat guys out there, Santana ranks as the fourth best catcher in baseball in VORP (value over replacement player) behind just Buster Posey, Yadier Molina, and Joe Mauer. Posey and Mauer are former MVPs and Molina is a viable candidate for the award this season.

Much of the criticism of Santana comes on his handling of the pitching staff. However, the Tribe pitcher’s ERA with Santana behind the plate is 4.17, not all that different from the 3.87 figure with Yan Gomes, the new people’s choice. The league ERA is 4.32, so Santana is better than average.

Santana has struggled in throwing runners out on the basepaths, getting just 12% of the runners stealing, and he has been behind the plate for 38 of the league leading 56 wild pitches thrown by Tribe hurlers.

Granted, he’s not the second coming of Johnny Bench defensively, but he’s still one of the better catchers in the game and a very good offensive player. What’s not to like about a player, who at 27 is just entering the prime of his career.

Cabrera is tougher to defend because he is having an off-season in 2013, but he still is a two-time All-Star at shortstop, and still puts up solid numbers offensively at a defensive position.

According to VORP, Cabrera ranks right in the middle of American League shortstops, between Erick Aybar and Stephan Drew.

He could be suffering from having a down year after two solid offensive seasons, both of which he tailed in the second half, but he’s solid, not spectacular defensively. He also probably suffers from not being Omar Vizquel, one of the more popular Indians of the late 90’s.

Before the trade deadline, there were a lot of fans who wanted GM Chris Antonetti to trade the team’s starting shortstop for pitching prospects and turn the job over to Mike Aviles.

Admittedly, it may be prudent to deal Cabrera over the off-season with prize prospect Francisco Lindor possibly being ready for the big leagues as early as next season. But to trade him now would be crazy.

Neither Santana nor Cabrera is an outgoing player with the media, probably because they aren’t comfortable speaking English, their second language. That doesn’t play well in Cleveland, where talkative players become popular ones.

However, the reality is both are solid, if not very good players and both are extremely important to Terry Francona and the Indians. Most teams would love to have both guys playing regularly in their lineups.

Both players should get the benefit of the doubt from the ticket buying public. It’s a shame they seem to be more criticized than appreciated.

Tribe Fans: Good Team or Not, This Team Is In It.

After the first two games after the All Star break, the Cleveland Indians lost two games in very similar ways. They didn’t score runs, their defense was shaky, and their bullpen couldn’t get big outs when needed.

That started the fair weather Tribe fans trembling with fear and apprehension. See, this team just isn’t good enough.

That’s silly. Sure, this team isn’t the same as the teams that slugged their way to division titles in the mid to late 1990’s, but they are just a 1-1/2 out of first place. If you are that close, anything can happen.

In 2006, just seven years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals won 83 games in the regular season and went on to win the World Series.

Nineteen years earlier, the Minnesota Twins won 85 games in the regular season and were outscored on the season by 20 runs, yet still won the World Series.

You know what they call both of those teams? Champions! It doesn’t matter how you get to the playoffs as long as you do, and once you are there everyone has a chance. This isn’t the NBA where teams that just get in to the post-season really have no chance.

Does the current edition of the team have warts? Of course. The starting pitchers, outside of Justin Masterson, have problems completing six innings, putting a large burden on the bullpen.

In turn, the relief corps has been buckling under the weight put on them by the starters, leading to some shaky times for fans when manager Terry Francona has to go to the ‘pen.

Save for Jason Kipnis, the lineup has been inconsistent, suffering through off years by SS Asdrubal Cabrera and 1B Nick Swisher. With both of them struggling, the middle of the order has been a vacuum, and we can anticipate opposing hurlers not giving Kipnis much to hit if either can’t pick it up.

The hitter that carried the team for the first month of the season, Mark Reynolds, is hit under .200 since the first of May and right now, you would have to be surprised if he made contact, let alone get a hit.

But the team is still just 1-1/2 out of first place.

National baseball writers continue to tell everyone how the Detroit Tigers, who are the defending American League Champions, and currently lead the AL Central, are a superior team, and really the Tribe should be playing for a wild card.

But Francona’s guys are just a game and a half out of first place.

Last season, the same national writers felt the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A’s were surprising teams that wouldn’t be able to hold up and stay in the race coming down the stretch. Both teams made the playoffs though.

So, why can’t the Indians pull it off as well.

Lost in the angst about losing the first two contests after the break is that the Tigers also lost, keeping the Indians at the same deficit as they were going into the All-Star game.

The optimistic fans says no problem, they haven’t lost any ground. The pessimist bemoans the opportunity to overtake Detroit and has a “see, I told you so” attitude.

The only thing that matters is that the Indians stay close to the Tigers. Whether they are a great team or not, this ballclub is in contention.

Sit back and enjoy it.

What Needs to Happen for Tribe in Second Half

The Cleveland Indians have entered the all-star break a mere 1-1/2 games out of first place in the American League Central Division, a place we didn’t think they would be. After all, we picked the Tribe for 4th in the division after spring training.

Now, the question becomes, can they stay in the race for the rest of the season. Skipper Terry Francona said this is the fun time of the season, with every game meaning that much more for the Indians.

What needs to happen for the Tribe in order to stay close to the Tigers and compete for the division title?

First, they have to continue to get good performances from All-Star right-hander Justin Masterson (10-7, 3.72 ERA) who currently leads the AL in complete games and shutouts, and is among the league leaders in innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins.

They also need continued success from the staff’s biggest surprise, Corey Kluber, who is 7-5 with a 3.88 ERA, and Scott Kazmir, who in his last five starts has allowed just eight earned runs in 31 innings pitched (2.32 ERA).

They need Zack McAllister to get healthy and pitch like he did before his finger injury when he gave Francona six quality starts in his first eight times he took the hill.

They need another starting pitcher who can provide quality innings. It has created a major toll on the bullpen to have two starters every time through the rotation only going a little over five innings.

We believe this will assist in correcting the struggling bullpen. Some of those guys have had to carry too large of a load because the starters can’t go deep enough into games. Too many innings, and the injury to Chris Perez caused too much of a strain on the relief corps, and has led to the inconsistency of the ‘pen.

There are many who also feel that GM Chris Antonetti needs to add another bat as well, but really the Tribe needs a couple of guys with proven track records to start performing up to their capabilities: Nick Swisher and Asdrubal Cabrera.

Swisher, who has a lifetime OPS of 823, is currently sitting at 750, his lowest number since 2007 with the White Sox. He has battled shoulder issues since early in the season, but appears to be getting healthy now, batting .289 in July. In fact, it was only June that Swisher struggled, hitting .160 for the month.

He needs to get back to being the guy who hits 20+ home runs and drives in 80+ runs for the Tribe to stay in contention.

Cabrera, a two-time all-star, has struggled in the first half as well, and needs to get back to the guy who played for the Tribe in 2009 and 2011, when he was an extra base hit machine.

He’s never been a guy who walked a lot, but he’s currently hitting 21 points below his lifetime average of .276, and is off his pace in extra base hits too. He had 52 in ’09 and 60 in ’11, but only has 29 right now.

He would provide a spark if he got back to a .280 hitter with some pop.

If those guys can return to form and if Mark Reynolds can have another stretch at some point during the balance of the season like he did in April, the Tribe has enough hitting.

None of these things is out of the realm of possibility. However, the Tribe also can’t afford to have one of the guys who had good first halves, like Jason Kipnis or Carlos Santana to have dreadful second halves.

While everyone talks about the Tigers, and how talented they are, the Cleveland Indians are right there. They can remain there if some players just get to their normal level of production.