Tribe Can’t Be Conservative in Helping Offense

It is almost a universal belief that the Cleveland Indians need to upgrade their offense this winter.

The Tribe ranked 11th in the American League in runs scored, and scored three runs or less in almost half (79) of the games they played in 2015.

They have only three everyday players with an OPS over 800: Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and rookie of the year runner up Francisco Lindor.

As a contrast, the World Champion Royals had five such players, and a sixth, Ben Zobrist, joined them during the season.

We have written shortly after the season ended that the Indians should be looking to upgrade offensively at five different positions: 1B, 3B, CF, RF, and DH.

We are sure the supporters who are fans of Carlos Santana will say that we are crazy, but the switch-hitter will be 30 years old in 2016 and his numbers have declined each of the last two seasons.

The reality is Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, and Terry Francona would be happy is at least two or three of these spots will be upgraded offensively.

While many fans like the job Lonnie Chisenhall did in RF after returning from the minor leagues (756 OPS, .288 batting average), over the entire season, his OPS was under 700.

That said, he is the player out of the five positions that we would consider as an everyday guy in 2016.

The real question though is how can the Indians accomplish this improvement?

We can all agree that the front office is not going to commit to a huge free agent deal to get a solid bat.

Therefore, we can rule out anyone on the high end of the free agent market.

Actually, we can rule out the entire free agent market because we wouldn’t pay between $7-$10 million on flawed players like Austin Jackson, David Freese, and the like.

So, it would appear to us that the only way to get the kind of bat the Tribe desperately needs is to trade one of their starting pitchers.

If the next Ted Williams fell into Cleveland’s lap for a minor league prospect, of course that would be the first option. However, that’s not likely to occur.

In order to get a quality hitter, a professional hitter, the organization is going to have to pony up.

It would be nice to continue to have four or five quality starting pitchers who are proven commodities, but you may still have that with the depth the Indians have accumulated over the past few years.

And if the front office is going to ink players like Jackson or Freese and tell you they’ve improved the hitting, they are lying to themselves.

One guy who may be affordable and could help, at least against right-handed pitchers is free agent John Jaso.

Jaso, 32, is a platoon bat however. He’s a lifetime .274 batter against right-handed pitching, with a 797 OPS.

He had a 839 OPS last season with Tampa Bay.

It would be fine to get some pieces like Jaso to help, but only if you can get someone who can hit in the middle of the order, especially with Brantley out of the lineup probably until the middle of May.

But you are going to have to give something significant in return.

The question is will the Indians’ front office have the stomach to make such a move

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.

Here’s Hoping For A Change in Attitude For Tribe

Now that the 2015 season has ended, the change at the top is official for the Cleveland Indians.

Team president Mark Shapiro is gone, and there will be a new top baseball man at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Rumors have circulated that GM Chris Antonetti may be elevated to President of Baseball Operations, with current assistant GM Mike Chernoff being moved up into Antonetti’s old spot.

We hope this signals more changes in the wigwam, as Antonetti will be free to implement has own vision of a baseball team, which may or may not be the same as the man who went north to Toronto.

We would like to see a change in attitude within the organization, one that could get the city excited about the Tribe once again.

Shapiro talked a lot, even in his appearance in the broadcast booths on Sunday, about the market inequities within the game of baseball, and making sure everyone knew the Indians didn’t have the same revenues as big market teams.

Why not change the culture from that “woe is us” message?

Instead, embrace the small market challenge. Adopt an attitude of not caring if we can’t afford a huge payroll, we are going to beat the big boys anyway.

The Tribe in recent years seem to want to be everyone’s favorite little brother, not wanting to challenge other teams, the umpires, or players who seem to beat them time and time again (see Cabrera, Miguel).

This attitude should permeate from the front office, to the manager and coaches, right down to the players.

Danny Salazar shouldn’t be scolded by Terry Francona for being upset that the plate umpire squeezed him against Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, instead, why not go out there and tell the man in blue that this was a post-season race and he missed a call badly.

Do you know who holds the major league record for ejections in a managerial career? Atlanta’s Bobby Cox who was constantly battling for his players.

This isn’t to say Francona doesn’t. He is a great player’s manager, and the 2015 Tribe fought to the bitter end for him.

Other things we’d like to see…

**How about trying Jose Ramirez in CF? Abraham Almonte looks like a 4th outfielder, and he could be a solid one, but Ramirez has the look of a guy who can play everyday, and is blocked by Jason Kipnis at 2B.

The switch-hitter just turned 23, puts his bat on the ball, and has the speed needed to play in the middle of the diamond. Putting him there would eliminate one hole for Antonetti this winter.

**It is doubtful that the Indians will be able to trade for a middle of the order bat, but what about Michael Brantley there? Brantley is a professional hitter, and if healthy next year, should hit for more power.

If Ramirez plays everyday, a top of the order including Francisco Lindor, Ramirez, and Jason Kipnis will provide plenty of men on base for Brantley, very good with men in scoring position, to drive home and be the first Indians since Victor Martinez in 2007 to have 100 RBIs.

Jason Kipnis put the pressure on the front office after Sunday’s game by saying the pieces to win are in place. Now, it’s up to the remodeled front office to be aggressive and finish the job.

With the pitching in this organization, there is no reason not to win in 2016.

Last Two Weeks Shows Tribe Need Off-Season Help

After GM Chris Antonetti made the deal with Atlanta sending Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn south, the Cleveland Indians started to play better and worked their way back to the outside fringe of the wild card race.

However, once in that position, the Tribe went back to a win one, lose one stretch, and dropping the first two games of a key series against another contender, the Minnesota Twins, virtually eliminates Terry Francona’s team from post-season consideration.

In a way, that’s good, because it won’t give anyone on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario a notion that the Cleveland Indians are a solid baseball team heading into the winter.

We see four position players who should have starting jobs when the 2016 season opens at Progressive Field on April 4th:

2B Jason Kipnis
SS Francisco Lindor
C Yan Gomes
?? Michael Brantley

Every other position should have competition.

The question mark around Brantley is because we think a move to 1B could be in the cards for him. He’s played the position in the minor leagues, and if the front office finds it easier to find a LF, then perhaps Brantley can be the new first baseman.

We say that because we do not think Carlos Santana will be back in ’16, because he will be dealt.

Santana, a polarizing figure because the sabermetric people love him because he walks, However, he is just slightly above average offensively in the AL, hitting just .234 with 17 HR and 79 RBI with a 749 OPS. The league average is 729.

The switch-hitter will be 30 years old next year, meaning he should be entering the decline phase of his career. It would be best for Antonetti to move Santana to a stat based organization while he still has value. Remember, the Tribe owes him $8 million next year with a club option of $12 million for 2017.

We would also like to see Jose Ramirez back with the team, although he might have the best trade value among the everyday players whom the Indians would be willing to deal.

3B? Giovanny Urshela is excellent defensively, but can he hit enough to play everyday?

CF? Abraham Almonte is a nice fourth outfielder, but the Indians need someone better to hold down the fort until Bradley Zimmer is ready to take over, and hopefully that will be late next season.

RF? Lonnie Chisenhall has been great defensively, but we have seen his up and downs with the bat over the years. Out of all the other positions, Chisenhall may be the guy we would give a shot to, at least in a platoon role.

LF/1B/DH? As we said, Brantley will hold down one of these spots, and he is developing into one of the league’s premier hitters. But the other two spots need people who can hit, and with the game changing, guys who hit for a good average, that don’t strike out excessively, and have a little pop would be fine.

Chris Johnson does whiff a lot, but we’d be willing to give him a share of one of these spots to start next year.

We understand that we are talking about a lot of changes, but we believe going with the status quo is not prudent if the Tribe wants to make the post-season.

Antonetti needs to be looking to upgrade at more than half of the positions in the lineup for next year. And we understand they may not be blockbuster moves, just incremental improvement at those spots would be acceptable.

We will discuss the pitching staff next week.

Tribe Can’t Sit on Recent Success This Off-Season

The Cleveland Indians played their best 27 game stretch of the season (1/6th of the year) going 17-10 over that time, and remaining on the fringe of the wild card race, just five games behind.

The problem right now is the number of contests in dwindling to a precious few, so the Tribe will need to be even better than 17-10 over the balance of the schedule to have even a chance.

The biggest news over the span of these games was the deal that sent underachieving and overpaid veterans Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher to Atlanta. Immediately, the team started playing better.

Why? Because of what we’ve been saying all along, replacing Bourn with even a decent player would help the team and the resurgence of Lonnie Chisenhall, the continued development of SS Francisco Lindor, and the addition of Chris Johnson (who came from the Braves in the deal) has helped.

Bourn, and his 608 OPS were replaced by Abraham Almonte, who was acquired from San Diego for reliever Marc Rzepczynski, and has improved the hitting with his 857 OPS.

Lindor’s OPS is 785, much better than Jose Ramirez, who was playing SS and had a figure of 542. And Chisenhall’s second half OPS of 897 is far superior than the man he replaced, Brandon Moss, who had a 695 figure.

Once again, the Tribe’s over patient approach got them in a rut that will be very difficult to escape.

The pitching got better as Josh Tomlin and Cody Anderson has turned the fifth spot in the rotation into a more that serviceable turn.

The staff ERA has now improved to the 4th best in the American League.

The bullpen has sprung some holes, mostly from the home runs allowed by set up men Zack McAllister and Bryan Shaw, who combined have allowed 13 dingers on the season.

The recent good play has fans the happiest they have been all season, but the worst thing the front office can do is buy in to this stretch of winning baseball.

In our view, Cleveland has four everyday spots that should be etched in stone going into the winter: LF Michael Brantley, 2B Jason Kipnis, C Yan Gomes, and Lindor, who the front office still needs a possible replacement around in case of a sophomore slump.

That would leave CF, RF, 1B, 3B, and DH as spots to fill.

In center, although Almonte has been very good defensively, there is no evidence he can hit like this on a regular basis. In right, Chisenhall has done nothing more than prove he is streaky, although his defense has been surprisingly good.

At 3B, Giovanny Urshela’s bat concerns us that he cannot hit enough to be a regular, and Carlos Santana has been better lately, but still doesn’t provide the offense needed at a premier offensive position.

We would like to leave the rotation as is, but GM Chris Antonetti may have to move a starter to get the bat needed. The Tribe is developing some depth with Tomlin, Anderson, currently disabled T.J. House, possibly Gavin Floyd, and youngsters Ryan Merritt and Adam Plutko ready to help in 2016.

The bullpen is wide open, and we would be open to dealing one of the three back end guys (Cody Allen, McAllister, and Shaw) with the bounty in the farm system, guys like Shawn Armstrong, C.C. Lee, Tyler Sturdivant, Trey Haley, and lefty Giovanni Soto ready to help next season.

The point is the front office cannot get complacent and believe this kind of play will occur all year in ’16 with these players. They have to improve the roster, simple as that.

If not, they might have the same problems that started this season and will discourage the fan base even more.

If Shapiro Leaves, What is His Legacy?

The report came during Thursday’s pre-season game between the Browns and the Bills, so it kind of went under the radar at the time, but it got legs on Friday morning, at least in Cleveland.

Fox Sports/MLB Network correspondent Ken Rosenthal came out with the story that the Blue Jays are targeting the Indians’ president Mark Shapiro to be their new team president.

Shapiro has been with the Tribe a long time, since the early 1992 working under John Hart, and served as the Tribe’s GM from 2001 or 2002 (depending on the source) through 2010, when he was promoted to president, with Chris Antonetti promoted to general manager.

From ’93-’98, Shapiro was the head of minor league operations, and was responsible for a fertile farm system that promoted many players who contributed to the success the Tribe had in the late ’90’s through 2001.

Hart is the GM of record for 2001, but it is said Shapiro was running things that season as Hart was stepping down following the year. However, according to record, Shapiro was GM for nine season, turning in a 704-754 record (a .482 winning percentage).

In that time, there were two winning seasons, and one playoff appearance in 2007.

Since Antonetti was his hand-picked successor, in the 13 seasons of the Shapiro regime, the Indians have a .488 winning percentage, four seasons over .500, and two playoff appearances.

Shapiro has an incredible reputation around baseball and has been mentioned by several people as someone who could be the commissioner of baseball at some point in time.

However, he seems to have more support outside of Cleveland than in it. This is mostly because he took over after perhaps the best era in the history of the franchise, and has not been able to sustain success.

The problem with the Indians since Shapiro has been in charge, either as GM or president, is they are always in a building phase, because they can’t repeat winning.

A 93-69 record in 2005 was followed by a 78-84 record in 2006.

After winning the AL Central in 2007 with a 96-66 record, the Tribe fell to 81, 65, and 69 wins over the next three seasons. It’s difficult to build fan support when you can’t repeat success.

It was in this span that Shapiro dealt two Cy Young Award winners, C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee, the latter even though he was still under club control for a full year after the deal, and also moved professional hitter Victor Martinez. Those players were moved in the 2008-09 season.

The Indians would not have back-to-back winning seasons until the past two years (2013 and 2014), but they will not make it three in a row this season.

Shapiro likes a stable organization, which is good if you are successful, but the record shows differently. He held on to Eric Wedge as manager for several seasons beyond where he should have.

His relationship with Terry Francona enabled him to bring the two-time World Series manager to Cleveland, and that has worked out brilliantly.

However, there has always seemed to be a lack or urgency under Shapiro’s leadership here. The organization never seized the opportunity to win when they were in contention.

In 2007, the big move was to bring back 40-year-old Kenny Lofton, which helped the Tribe down the stretch, but wasn’t a real impact deal. In 2013, the big trade was getting lefty reliever Marc Rzcepczynski.

Shapiro also has to be responsible for the abysmal drafting record of the team when he was GM. The only first round choice of consequence from 2002-2010 was Jeremy Guthrie, who is a journeyman at best, and pitched in just 16 games for the Indians.

So the reputation around the game for Shapiro isn’t based on a lot of winning or success. He is by all accounts a tremendous human being, and that is great. He has reflected well on this franchise.

Still, baseball is a business where you are measured based on wins and losses, not on humanitarianism.

Perhaps he is given credit for keeping the Indians fairly competitive with a payroll usually in the bottom third of the sport. However, the Rays and A’s are in the same predicament, with much more success. Tampa has four post-season appearance from ’08-’13 and six straight seasons over .500.

Oakland in the same time span as Shapiro’s GM/President years here, has six playoff appearances, and nine winning seasons.

The bottom line is the Indians probably need a breath of fresh air through the offices on Carnegie and Ontario. It’s time for a change.

Maybe a fresh viewpoint is exactly what the Cleveland Indians need going forward.

Looking Toward ’16 During Last Six Weeks

The Cleveland Indians are currently holding auditions for the 2016 season, all able-bodied players in their system should have a chance to state their case to be on next year’s Opening Day roster during the last six weeks of the season.

If the Tribe were putting an ad in the sports pages, that is what it would probably look like.

You would have to think that among the everyday players, only Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes are for sures to be here next April. Although, Francisco Lindor is making a pretty good case for himself as well.

However, with players who do not have a track record should be required to earn their spot. So, if Lindor came to Goodyear not in the best shape, or he hits .150 in the exhibition games, it’s not a guarantee that he makes the squad.

Our guess is that Carlos Santana will be moved elsewhere because the Tribe doesn’t want to pay him $8 million next year for the production they have received. And we believe Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn will be free agents after the 2015 campaign.

Chris Johnson will likely be back because of his $9 million deal for 2016, but that’s a tradeable deal so that is not etched in stone.

Giovanny Urshela has been impressive defensively, but we aren’t sure he will hit enough to play everyday. And if Jose Ramirez continues to hit like he has since his call up, Terry Francona will have to find a spot for him, unless, of course, GM Chris Antonetti uses him to bring back a legitimate bat.

So, the tryouts are really at the following positions: 1B, 3B, CF, RF, DH.

Even if Lonnie Chisenhall hits well down the stretch, the front office cannot be fooled by that. Chisenhall was tremendous in the first half last season, but hasn’t done much since.

Fans will get a good look at players like Jerry Sands and Abraham Almonte in August, and many at bats will be given to guys like Tyler Holt, Jesus Aguilar, James Ramsey, and Zack Walters in September.

Can Sands be the Tribe’s version of J.D. Martinez?

Can Holt and Aguilar contribute if given steady playing time, something they haven’t received in any of their big league stints?

Can Almonte and Ramsey at least be steady enough to hold down the fort until Bradley Zimmer arrives in Cleveland?

Can Walters ever make contact?

There is no doubt Antonetti will need to find some veterans to fill in at the beginning of the year, but those players should be given one or two-year deals, at mid-range dollars.

The team’s foray into the big time free agent market should be over.

Most all-star type players don’t hit the market until they are past 30 years old, so what you are buying is the player’s declining years. Even Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols isn’t the same player he was in St. Louis, and the Angels will want to get out of that deal soon.

If we were the brass, we would start working on a 10 year deal with Lindor, so he will be here through age 31. We will that strongly about his talent, and because of his unproven talent, it would not cost the franchise $200 million to do it.

Think of the deal Evan Longoria signed in Tampa during his first year with the Rays.

So the positions that are open will need to be filled with either youngsters or whatever return you get in dealing Santana and/or Ramirez, and/or some pitching.

Even if the Tribe doesn’t want to move a starter, they have some bullpen depth, and should really open next year with at least three new faces in the relief corps.

And yes, we would consider moving Cody Allen for the right price. As former GM John Hart once said, closers grow on trees.

The organization cannot be fooled by any success the Tribe has over the last six weeks. They have several spots to fill before the 2016 season begins.

As we said before…let the auditions start.

The White Flag Flies Atop Progressive Field

The Cleveland Indians have now completed 2/3s of their season, and the last 27 games (1/6 of the season) were a disaster to put the team in the mode of looking toward next season.

1st 27 games: 10-17
Game 28-54: 16-11
Game 55-81: 12-15
Game 82-108: 11-16

As you can see only in that second set of 27 contests did the Indians play good baseball, and in those other 81 games, or half the season, their record is 33-48.

That’s a pace to lose 90 games, which is where the Tribe could be headed at the end of the season. That would be the fifth such season under the Dolan/Shapiro/Antonetti triumvirate, which is one more season than they have been over the .500 mark.

Yesterday’s trade in which GM Chris Antonetti unburdened the franchise of two bad contracts in Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher for Atlanta’s bad deal in 1B/3B Chris Johnson, only emphasized what a disaster this season has been.

Johnson has a .280 lifetime average, but has slumped horribly from his 2013 campaign where he hit .321 with the Braves. He’s a high strikeout, low walk hitter, but has been pretty successful vs. lefties in his career (.313 average, 788 OPS).

And yes, we know, the Tribe pitched in $10 million in the deal to make it happen, so to be sure, we will hear how the ownership is willing to spend money. However, we would prefer that the spend cash to get good players, not to make bad ones go away.

The pitching staff now ranks in the top half of the American League, which was expected at the beginning of the season, but the offense has been putrid, as the Indians rank 12th in the AL in scoring, 12th in home runs, and 10th in batting average. They are 9th in OPS as a team.

Before the July 31st trading deadline, Antonetti started to clean house, moving a slumping David Murphy to the Angels, and a disappointing Brandon Moss, who hit a few homers but little else, to the Cardinals. The Moss deal actually netted Cleveland a pretty good prospect in southpaw Rob Kaminsky.

So, the Tribe is now is spring training mode, trying to see if Lonnie Chisenhall can play right field, and giving auditions to guys like Jerry Sands, to see if he can be their version of Detroit’s J.D. Martinez.

It would not be a shock to see Ryan Raburn moved before the end of the season to a contender to open up another spot on the 25 man roster to look at yet another young player. That’s really all the Indians have left at this point.

They can see if Johnson can take over Raburn’s role in ’16, since Cleveland has to pay him $9 million.

They can see if Jose Ramirez can rebound from a bad start to the year, and become a viable utility player, or re-establish his trade value. Remember he is still just 22 years old.

They can look at potential centerfielders, hopefully this means Tyler Naquin when he comes off the disabled list in Columbus. Tyler Holt got a whopping 20 at bats, so we wonder who will be in center tonight. Hopefully, it’s not Michael Brantley, whose defense is no longer adequate for the spot. It will probably be Abraham Almonte, just acquired from San Diego.

The Tribe owes it to the pitching staff to put a good defender out in the middle of the outfield. So, a promising season has come down to playing out the string and finding out if any of the young players will be able to be contributors in 2016.

This sad baseball season has only one-third of it left. At least for the Cleveland Indians. MW

Sometimes “Conflict in Front Office” Is Good.

The other day, we wrote about how the Cleveland Browns get no credit for trying something different, when the Cleveland Indians are a stand pat organization, and they get criticized for not making any changes.

There is another way the two organizations are different as well, and it has to do with the relationship between the front office and the head coach/manager.

On the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, it’s a Kumbaya fest. Everyone seems to be on the same page and have the same opinion. In fact, it is difficult to tell who is doing the talking sometimes, be it president Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti, or Terry Francona.

They always seem to be in lock step, at least publicly.

On the other hand, the media loves to report about the discord between Browns’ GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. It is further proof of the team’s “dysfunction”.

The reality is behind the scenes, there should be some disagreement between the coach and the person who picks the talent, because they should be coming at it from two different perspectives.

The coach or manager is trying to win, and win right now. That’s the way he gets to keep his job, and also, he is ultimately the person who the wins and losses are assigned to.

When the Browns have a 4-12 record, no one is saying that Ray Farmer’s squad has that record. It goes on Pettine’s record.

The general manager has to look at not only this year’s team, but also the future of the franchise, and if football’s case, salary cap implications.

Many coaches fall into the trap of favoring veterans with little upside because they are dependable, instead of going with a young player, who may have a bigger upside.

Think about the Indians in this situation. Terry Francona likes to have his bench filled with veterans like Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles, etc., instead of keeping younger players like Tyler Holt or Jesus Aguilar.

In baseball, the GM has to weigh the positives of major league experience against not playing. For young players, they need to play. No one gets better by watching extensively. If that occurred, there would be a lot of fans who would be suddenly able to play professional sports.

When a team is in a situation like the Cavaliers are, it is easy for the coach and GM to be on the same page, because there, the goal is clearly stated. The Cavs are trying to win a title now, and everybody is “All In”.

However, in other situations, there is a different point of view for both the front office and the coaching staff, and that is healthy. It’s why you also don’t want to have a coach/GM in charge.

We remember Butch Davis proudly saying that all of his draft picks made the team. Of course, they did, because he was in charge of keeping them or letting them go.

Now, you don’t want the two people is total disagreement to the point where they cannot work together either. But, they should not be in lock step with each other.

To be sure, there have to be players that Farmer likes, that Pettine doesn’t, and vice-versa. It’s healthy and necessary in a winning organization.

The Indians seem to have a “group think” approach, and that’s not working well for them.

So, don’t be concerned that Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine don’t see eye to eye on everything. They have two different points of view.

What Tribe Should Do In The Last Two Months

It is more apparent than ever that the Cleveland Indians need to do something about this roster as they head into the July 31st trading deadline at the end of the week.

The Tribe needed a good start to the second half, as they had nine games against the weaker squads in Major League Baseball (Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and the White Sox) and to this point are 3-5 against them.

Cleveland has demonstrated nothing to hang your hat on in the second half. The offense has been deplorable, the starting pitching has collapsed, and while the defense is better than the horrific first two months of the year, it still makes key mistakes at the most inopportune times, and the pitching staff cannot pitch around them.

The front office is asleep at the switch, seemingly refusing to address any of the problems this team has, and make no mistake, they have been around since day one of the season. And we have to take Terry Francona to task as well, as he hasn’t made any adjustments to what he has either.

This is a team with little home run power, yet he still sits back and plays for the three run bomb.

Look, the Indians’ hitters don’t strike out a lot, so why not send runners every once in a while. And SS Francisco Lindor, who stole nine bases in AAA, has attempted just one with the Indians, and that was in his first big league start.

So, perhaps the front office can improve the current roster by trading some of the veterans on the roster.

The obvious duo is the platoon tandem at DH in David Murphy and Ryan Raburn. Now, before you say these are two of the team’s better hitters, let’s look inside the numbers.

Over the last 28 days, Murphy has hit just .184 with a home run and seven RBI (569 OPS). In the same time period, Raburn has batted just 22 times, hitting .182 with three runs batted in.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped Francona from continuing to hit them both in the clean up spot on a regular basis.

Moving those two players and removing Michael Bourn from the roster would give GM Chris Antonetti three roster spots to work with.

That would enable the organization to find out if Jesus Aguilar and/or Jerry Sands can contribute to the team going forward, and also give Tyler Holt and/or Tyler Naquin some big league experience.

Naquin would be the most intriguing because he is the best prospect of the group, but Sands knocked in six runs in his 24 at bats here, which is three less than Mike Aviles for the entire season.

We are tired of hearing the argument that Bourn has to stay because of the amount of money he is owed by Cleveland. It’s a ridiculous argument. No player, repeat, no player should get at bats because of what they are making. YOU HAVE TO PAY HIM ANYWAY! There is no need to have him decrease the team’s chances of winning.

Why aren’t we hammering Nick Swisher for the same reason? One, he’s not on the roster right now. Two, he’s only had 101 at bats this year. If he is reactivated and he still is not doing anything, then he will draw the same ire as the centerfielder.

Of course, Antonetti said earlier this week that he is still confident in the team he opened the season with. Either he is dumb or a liar, because if you watch the games, you couldn’t possibly come to that conclusion.

This team’s only chance, and it gets slimmer by the day, is to make these chance and hope the younger players come through.

And if they don’t, then at least the front office knows who can contribute in ’16 and who cannot.