Tonight Could Be The Night For Tribe

We have been fans of the Cleveland Indians as long as we can remember, which is 1965. That means we’ve been waiting for 51 years for what may or may not happen tonight at Progressive Field.

The Tribe has a chance to be World Champions.

Think about that for a second. It’s only happened twice before, once in 1920 and again in 1948.

And that’s it.

We have written about this before, but for a long time (from ’65 through 1994) the Cleveland Indians were for the most part a terrible, perhaps mediocre squad, where an above .500 record was celebrated, not expected.

But we still had our favorite players. Sam McDowell, Chris Chambliss, Buddy Bell, Dennis Eckersley, Len Barker, Joe Carter, Mel Hall, and Tom Candiotti. Many of those guys got to experience winning elsewhere.

We also had the great stars who came to Cleveland at the end of their illustrious careers, like Hawk Harrelson, Boog Powell, Frank Robinson, and of course everyone’s favorite, Keith Hernandez.

Contending for a division title? That was a pipe dream, something other franchises thought about, not Tribe fans.

There were four 100 loss seasons in that time span, amazingly, the franchise bottomed out in the last 1980’s, losing more than 100 games three times in a six season span (1985, 1987, and 1991).

Right around then, Hank Peters was brought in to run the franchise and surrounded himself with two young executives, John Hart and Dan O’Dowd, and rebuilt the moribund Indians by a forgotten (at least around here), but tried and true method.

They developed a fruitful farm system.

Suddenly, the Indians developed into a powerful club, with the foundation being home grown players like Albert Belle, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez, with great trades bringing in Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, and Kenny Lofton.

Also, they sprinkled in some key veteran free agents like Eddie Murray, Dennis Martinez, and Orel Hershiser.

Sounds familiar, right?

This Tribe squad is centered around players originally signed and developed by Cleveland, like Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Roberto Perez.

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff traded for guys like Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and of course, Andrew Miller.

Add in free agents Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, and you have a team on the brink of something not done in baseball here in 68 seasons.

This isn’t talking about a coronation, because there is still a game to win and the Cubs are throwing last year’s Cy Young Award winner in Jake Arrieta and a candidate for this year’s award in Game 7 starter Kyle Hendricks.

The Tribe pitching staff has been so outstanding this post-season, holding down the powerful offenses in Boston and Toronto, and what they have been able to do thus far to Chicago.

They may need two more games of that kind of pitching.

Having a 3-2 Series lead doesn’t abate our nervousness, our sense of anticipation, and even though the Cavaliers won a title just four months ago, our sense of upcoming doom.

Allowing ourselves to think about a fourth win against the Cubs gets the goosebumps going, and emotions flooding our senses.

We’ve waited 51 years for this night. Yes, we had a Game 7 moment in 1997, but perhaps then we were just happy to be in a World Series twice in three years after so long without being in one.

Now the thirst needs to be quenched. The Cavs, the Monsters, Stipe Miocic gave our town a taste of what a title is like, and now Indians’ fans want the same.

Tonight could be that night for the Cleveland Indians.

Another Uphill Fight For Tribe

Some team’s World Series victory drought will come to an end this year. Either the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t won since 1908, or the Cleveland Indians, whose lack of a title is a rather pedestrian 68 seasons, will put an end to their lack of baseball’s World Championship.

Make no mistake, the Cubs are very worthy of being here, having the best record in baseball with 103 wins.

They have the National League’s best offense that doesn’t play in hitting friendly Coors Field, and they have the league’s best ERA too.

They lead the NL in on base percentage and OPS, and rank 4th in the Senior Circuit in slugging. They do not run much, as they were 4th last in the NL in stolen bases.

And they actually hit better away from the “friendly confines” of Wrigley Field than they do at home. In fact, the park on the north side of the Windy City, actually played as a pitcher’s park this season.

Joe Maddon, one of the game’s best skippers (along with Terry Francona), has the likely NL MVP in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, both of whom have OPS over 900.

Leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler has a .393 on base percentage, while Ben Zobrist and Wilson Contreras both are very good offensive threats.

The Cubs do have some swing and miss bats in their order though, they were 5th in the NL in that category.

Pitching wise, Game 1 starter Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and their closer, Aroldis Chapman all have ERAs under 2.00 at Wrigley Field.

Their other three starters (Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, and Jason Hammel) are all under 3.00, very formidable indeed.

However, on the road, both Lester and Arrieta, presumably the game two starter, are both over 3.00, and Lackey is over 4.00, although his start appears to be a home.

The former Angels and Red Sox hurler is 8-9 lifetime vs. Cleveland with an ERA approaching 4.

And then we have the American League’s best baserunning team, the Indians, vs. Lester, who has a known “phobia” about throwing to bases.

If the Tribe can get on against the southpaw, they need to run and run and run some more. Take advantage of every little thing possible against one of the game’s better pitchers.

And last, we will hear plenty about Francona and his relationship with Cubs’ president Theo Epstein, and how they ended the “Curse of the Bambino” in Boston and repeated with another title in 2007.

This series features two of the best managers in the sport, two outstanding young executives, one (Chris Antonetti) looking to win for the first time, and two teams with a sordid past, although with three AL pennants in the last 21 years, the Indians are the franchise with more recent success.

There is no question the Cubs are very good. Their run differential this year is the highest in the National League since 1906.

On the other hand, they played in the National League, the inferior league in our estimation. Outside of the Twins, you can argue that the five worst teams in baseball played in the NL (Reds, Braves, Diamondbacks, and Brewers).

Can the Indians pull it off? Of course, but the bats need to wake up. You can’t expect the pitching staff to continue to perform as they have thus far in the playoffs.

Tribe Goes To Series, Thankfully It Didn’t Take 41 Years Again.

For just the sixth time in franchise history, which spans 116 seasons, the Cleveland Indians are American League Champions!

For most of our life, at the beginning of baseball season, we would buy the Street and Smith’s Baseball Issue, and look at the composite World Series standings.

Every year, it would show Cleveland: 2 wins, 1 loss.

In those days, and we are talking the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, we wondered what it would be like to get to the Fall Classic and change those numbers.

Then came the 90’s and Jacobs Field, and the Tribe got to two Series in three seasons, but they couldn’t get it done.

The composite standings changed to Cleveland: 2 wins, 3 losses, and will have stayed that way until the end of this year’s World Series.

It been 19 years since the heart breaking loss to the Florida Marlins in the seventh game. However, for fans of our generation, it is pretty damn cool that the Indians will be in their third Fall Classic in the last 21 years.

That may sound odd, but when you go 41 years between appearances in the Series, not having to go through another drought that long is great.

And although the players celebrated the six pennant in club history with gusto, to a man, and not surprisingly, they know they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

Terry Francona all but clinched a spot in the Hall of Fame as a manager, winning his third American League title, and doing it with two teams.

He did it losing two key pieces of his starting rotation, the strength of the team coming into the season, in September. He lost another starter to a drone injury just prior to the first game of the League Championship Series.

Tito did it because he managed unconventionally, particularly with the use of his bullpen, although part of that is due to the unselfish nature of the LCS MVP Andrew Miller and the Tribe’s closer Cody Allen.

Both told the skipper to use them whenever he needed them, and that speaks to the ultimate trust the players have in their manager.

The Tribe doesn’t have the big names of the Red Sox and Blue Jays, the two teams they defeated to get to the Series, nor are they known nationally like many players on the Cubs and Dodgers, the two teams who are playing to face Cleveland next week.

It was fitting that Miller mentioned Francisco Lindor after game one, saying he deserves more notice nationally than he’s been getting. The young Tribe shortstop is one of the up and coming stars in the sport.

And speaking of Miller, the best deadline trade acquisition we can think of in recent years, we wonder if the man who used to run the Indians, current Blue Jays’ president Mark Shapiro, would have pulled the trigger on getting the big lefty.

Our guess is he wouldn’t have, because he never had made a move that big. Perhaps that’s due to the barren nature of the Cleveland farm system (which falls at Shapiro’s feet), but it doesn’t feel like Miller would be an Indian.

Which leads us to a tip of the hat to president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff. Besides Miller, they went out and got Brandon Guyer (three hits in ALDS Game 2), and Coco Crisp, who has been all over the post-season, including homers in both clinch games and a great catch in game three of the LCS.

So, this team, which has overcome injuries to perhaps its best player coming into the year in Michael Brantley, their starting catcher in Yan Gomes, and the aforementioned two starters, needs to win four more games to break its own 68 year world title drought.

It will no doubt be difficult, but we wouldn’t bet again another title for the Cleveland area, just four months after the Cavs broke the 52 year span without one.

Tribe Wise To Wait On Inking Napoli, Davis

The Cleveland Indians are sitting pretty on top of the American League Central Division with a record of 66-48, five games ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

Two big reasons for their success offensively have been the players they signed to one year contracts over the off-season, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis.

Napoli has provided the right-handed hitting slugger the franchise has needed for years, and to date has belted 29 homers and knocked in 83 runs with an OPS of 875. The home runs and RBIs rank in the top ten in the AL.

Davis, at 35 years of age, currently leads the junior circuit in stolen bases with 31, and has led the Tribe’s aggressive base running style which started on Opening Day. Davis has also contributed a career high in HRs with 10 this season.

The Indians’ success has fans excited and rightfully so, but talk of extensions for both players should be responded too by hitting the brakes just a bit.

First of all, remember how the Tribe acquired both players. They took one year contracts for a reason, because they were both coming off down years.

Napoli hit just .224 a year ago, with 18 HR and 50 RBI and a 734 OPS splitting time between the Red Sox and Rangers. His last season, prior to 2016, where he has an OPS of over 800 was 2013, when he hit 23 dingers and knocked in 92 runs for the World Series Champions.

Players who have career bests in home runs and runs batted in at age 34, don’t usually repeat those numbers going forward.

We understand that Napoli has been a great guy in the clubhouse and has become a fan favorite with his “Party At Napoli’s” t-shirts. But the front office’s job is too make an honest evaluation of what the slugger can do in the future, and how long he can do it.

Davis is a different case in that he did have a career renaissance in Detroit in 2014 and 2015. He had an OPS under 700 from 2010 to 2013 in Oakland and Toronto before signing with the Tigers, where his numbers picked up mostly as a result of Comerica Park, where he flourished.

We were skeptical as to how he would perform at Progressive Field, but he is putting some similar numbers with Cleveland, and leads the league in steals at age 35.

Look, it is great that fans feel connected to this current Tribe roster, and that Napoli and Davis have contributed greatly to this team’s success.

And it’s not as though we don’t want them back. However, remember the problems this organization had giving Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn multi-year deals?

If either player or both would sign one year contracts over the winter, it would be easy for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to say yes.

Our guess is that some team will offer Napoli a three year contract at over $10 million per year, and that’s something the Indians need to stay away from.

It’s more likely Davis could be back on a one year deal because he’s more of a platoon player.

Fans shouldn’t forget that the Tribe’s three best position players are Francisco Lindor (22), Jason Kipnis (29), and Jose Ramirez (23). And those guys will be here for awhile.

Our opinion is it is more likely the front office will be looking at guys similar to Napoli and Davis who will take a one year deal for 2017.

There’s no such thing as a bad one year contract.

We love Napoli and Davis and how they have impacted this roster. But the front office has to remember the sins of the past. And those sins are named Swisher and Bourn.

Tribe Is Next Cleveland Team To Go “All In”

Edited to reflect Jonathan Lucroy voiding the deal to Cleveland

After the Cavaliers broke the drought for titles in Cleveland, we joked about how there is a new world order for sports.

That was never more evident than the past 12 hours when the Indians, yes, the Cleveland Indians, looked at the landscape around baseball, looked at their roster, and said we are going to try to go to the World Series and win it for the first time since 1948.

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff traded from their now deep farm system, and received the probably the best position player available and also the best relief pitcher on the market in catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Andrew Miller.

We have been harping about the Cleveland bullpen since the beginning of the season, and Miller, because he is signed through 2018, was the best bullpen arm on the market.

Since Miller became a reliever with the Red Sox in 2012, his highest ERA has been 3.35, and in his year and a half as a Yankee, he has struck out 177 batters in 107 innings pitched.

And he saved 36 games for New York a year ago.

Terry Francona should have no more worries when guys like David Ortiz, Eric Hosmer, etc. come to the plate in a late game situation any more. He has the best lefty bullpen arm in the game at his disposal.

Our guess is Tito will use Miller and Cody Allen as “co-closers”, meaning if there are tough lefty matchups in the 8th, Miller will pitch, and if there are tough right-handed hitters, Allen will go first.

That will move Bryan Shaw to the 7th, which puts less of a burden on one of the best starting rotations in the game.

And in the post-season, it could be invaluable as we’ve seen with the Royals the past two seasons.

There is no question the Indians gave up a lot of promising young players, but every single one of them hasn’t done a thing at the big league level.

And the Tribe dealt from strength. Clint Frazier is the player we wanted to part with least, but we figured either him or Brad Zimmer would have to go for Lucroy.

Justus Sheffield is a prime arm, but the Tribe didn’t give up Mike Clevinger, and still has Adam Plutko and Cody Anderson to help the rotation if need be.

Cleveland has a plethora of bullpen arms in the minors too.

Even though the deal with Milwaukee fell through, it shows the front office realizes the catching spot is a source of concern, and they are willing to do something about it.

They also understand the need for another quality bat to lengthen the lineup and compete with the Bostons, Torontos, Texas, and Detroits of the league.

Our guess is that Antonetti and Chernoff address both spots before 4 PM Monday afternoon.

The Indians want to get back to the World Series for the first time in 19 seasons. They are probably the favorite right now to do just that.

For Tribe, The Time For A Big Move Is Now

When the Dolan family took over ownership of the Cleveland Indians in 2000, Larry Dolan told his fan base that the team would spend money when it was appropriate.

Many Tribe fans are still waiting for that day.

While we aren’t sure about the money situation, it is time for the front office to go for it at this year’s trading deadline, with the Indians sitting at 57-42 and a 4-1/2 game lead in the American League Central Division.

In the Dolan era, there have been four instances after 2001 where the Indians entered August in a full fledged pennant race.

The 2005 squad had a 51-48 record after 99 games, but remember that was the year the White Sox got off to a hot start, so really at that point in the year, the Tribe was hoping for a wild card spot.

No major moves were made unless you consider dealing Jody Gerut for Jason Dubois a big move. The Tribe came up one game short at the end of the season.

The closest situation to this year was 2007, the last time the Indians won the division. They were 58-41 at this point in the season, and GM Mark Shapiro dealt catching prospect Max Ramirez to Texas for Kenny Lofton, who did make an impact the rest of the year and in the playoffs.

Manny Acta’s 2011 team got off to a good start (30-15) and were 51-48. The Indians made a big deal moving their top two pitching prospects (Drew Pomeranz and Alex White) for Ubaldo Jimenez.

The new pitcher struggled the rest of the year, and the Indians didn’t make the playoffs or even finish .500 for that matter.

In 2013, Cleveland’s most recent playoff appearance, the team was 52-47 and GM Chris Antonetti made one move, getting situational lefty Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis.

Of course, the team ran a 21-6 record in September to a spot in the wild card game, where they lost to Tampa Bay.

This year is different from the others though.

Only in 2007 was were the Tribe considered one of the best teams in the American League, and at that time, the farm system was a desert in terms of developing solid major league players.

Remember that from C.C. Sabathia to Lonnie Chisenhall, Cleveland’s first round picks were busts. None of them, save for Jeremy Guthrie (released by the team) ever had a meaningful major league career.

This time, the Tribe system has many young players that organizations’ covet and have some surplus to deal to get back a substantial player who can help the major league team right now.

They also need to gain the trust of the fans in Cleveland too.

This may irritate the legions of people who swallow everything the organization feeds them, but many fans in the area feel like the front office doesn’t make winning the highest priority.

A big move for an impact player will show those fans the Indians want to be the next team from Cleveland to have a championship parade downtown.

And if that sells some tickets in the process, than so be it.

There is no move in major league baseball that guarantees anything, all you can do is increase your chances to get to the World Series. And we certainly do not want to mortgage the franchise’s future to do that.

The time for the Indians to make a move that does just that is right now.

You just have to pull the trigger.

Tribe Can’t Mortgage Future Either

It is funny to listen to fans of the Cleveland Indians these days.

Granted, 68 years of waiting for another World Series title will make you irrational and downright crazy, especially when the franchise is poised to make such a run this season.

This is particularly true in terms of the July 31st trading deadline. There are many people willing to give up prospects, and a lot of them, to get a piece guaranteeing a spot in the Fall Classic.

But baseball doesn’t work that way. In fact, there is no move out there that will cement the American League pennant this season. That’s the nature of the game.

The farm system is deep enough to move one or two prospects for players who can help this season, without a doubt.

Remember, though, there were people who wanted the Indians to trade Francisco Lindor in 2013 to make a run at the post-season. The front office (and us, patting ourselves on the back) saw his special talent and realized he shouldn’t be moved.

We see the same short-sighted thinking in terms of the major league roster, particularly when it comes to Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis.

Since both players have contributed greatly to the success of this year’s edition of the Tribe, we are already hearing media and fans alike talking about extensions for both players. Usually around a three year deal.

This would be a horrific mistake.

Napoli has made himself a big part of the Tribe clubhouse, and is having his best season since 2013. And that’s terrific, but he’s also 34 years old and will turn 35 on Halloween.

A three year deal, which would probably cost the Indians over $10 million per season, would have the first baseman/DH in Cleveland through his age 37 season.

If he has his 2014 season (.248, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 789 OPS), do you want to pay $10-12 million for that? Neither does the Cleveland front office.

The same applies to Davis, who will turn 36 years old sometime during the post-season (October 19th). Davis has probably played more than the brass thought when they signed him last winter, but he has also helped in a big way.

He has already achieved a career high in home runs (9) and should also reach a career high in walks (he has 23 now, his high is 29).

If either player were willing to sign another one year deal, with a club option for a second season, we would do that, but after the solid 2016 seasons they’ve had, our guess is someone will give them a better contract than that.

Remember, the Tribe’s core is Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and Lindor, with players like Clint Frazier, Bradley Zimmer, Yandy Diaz, etc. on the way.

The Indians could be set for another long run at the top of the AL Central Division, just like the one in the 1990’s. It doesn’t make sense to be hampered by some bad contracts.

The smart move for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff is to find a couple of other players in similar situations to Napoli and Davis this off-season, and give them one year deals. It’s simply a less risky proposition for the front office.

If the powers that be on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario play their cards right, they will be a contender perhaps through the end of the decade.

Fans can’t think about that, but the management has to.

Last Night Reminds You Tribe Needs Help.

The Cleveland Indians have a comfortable 6-1/2 game lead in the American League Central Division, yet last night’s contest was one of the most frustrating in recent weeks.

The Tribe had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning against the Twins when some curious decisions were made, albeit some of them by the constraints of the roster.

Trevor Bauer wasn’t sharp in the six innings he worked and gave up a run on back-to-back two out hits in the last frame he worked. He was also over 100 pitches for the night.

But Terry Francona sent him back out for the seventh, even though the Tribe is coming off the All Star break and the bullpen is rested.

Based on what happened in the inning, it looks like Tito and Mickey Callaway wanted Bauer to pitch to Joe Mauer, because as we all know, Cleveland doesn’t have a lefty in the bullpen right now.

Bauer gave up a deflected single to the leadoff hitter, Edwardo Nunez, and then walked Mauer to put the tying run on base with no one out.

Our question would be why not have Jeff Manship or Dan Otero come in and start the inning clean. As it was, Manship was victimized by a error by Carlos Santana, and gave up a single to Brian Dozier to tie up the game.

Otero came in and got out of the two on, nobody out situation without any more runs scoring.

Our point is since Bauer wasn’t sharp, he should’ve called it a night after six innings of work. And this isn’t a second guess, we are stunned he came out for the seventh.

Not that T.J. House was setting the world on fire (he allowed six hits in 2-1/3 innings), but you need a southpaw in the bullpen. Francona got burned in the Yankee series bringing in Otero to face Brett Gardner with a 5-3 lead, only to see the slap hitter bang a three run triple to give New York a lead.

And that the Twins tied the game made Francona use Bryan Shaw for two innings on the second night of back-to- back appearances, meaning he likely cannot be used today.

The next odd decision came in the bottom of the 7th, with a man on first and two outs, when Francona sent Erik Gonzalez to the plate in his first major league at bat in a tie game and a runner on first, over Tyler Naquin, who had two hits on the night, and if 5 for 20 in his limited at bats vs. lefties.

Yes, Fernando Abad, the Twins’ reliever is tough on left handed hitters, but why take the bat out of Naquin’s hands in favor of a rookie in his first career at bat in the bigs?

If Tito would have had Juan Uribe on the bench and used him in that situation, there is no question. We would have had less of a quizzical expression had he used Abraham Almonte there. But Gonzalez?

Again, this is why the Indians need bullpen help.

They don’t have a reliable lefty to get tough left-handed hitters out. They also need more people that Francona trusts, because he clearly doesn’t want to use anyone but Allen, Shaw, Otero, and Manship in high leverage situations.

It is incumbent for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to do something quick. The Indians don’t want to give the Tigers or Royals any hope of getting back into the race for the division title.

Why Tribe Will Win The Central

All winter long, we have been critical of the off-season for the Cleveland Indians’ front office.

They did make a lot of sound, solid moves, but we questioned whether or not they did enough to get the squad back to a win total in the upper 80’s or low 90’s, so they could return to the post-season.

After careful consideration, we think they have and Terry Francona’s crew will win the AL Central Division in 2016.

By the way, we aren’t homers and don’t predict the Indians to win every year either. We think the last time we did make that pick, it was 2007-08.

Certainly, we know the Indians have the starting pitching to do it, perhaps the best rotation in the American League, and maybe in the sport when you figure the lack of DH in the National League, and that the AL is better overall.

The rotation is strong enough that a pitcher who threw 176 innings for the Tribe a year ago, Trevor Bauer, will apparently start the ’16 season in the bullpen.

And T.J. House, a big factor in 2014 and a very good prospect, Mike Clevenger, will open the season in Columbus.

We all know the key for the Indians in 2016 is the hitting, can they score enough runs to avoid losing a bunch of games because they score three runs or less, which they did in half of their games a year ago.

It is ridiculous to think Francisco Lindor will hit .313 as he did in 99 games a year ago, but if he hits .270, that’s an improvement over what the Tribe got from the spot in the first half of the ’15 campaign.

Team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff appear to have taken some dead spots in the lineup from a year ago, and have put players who should be able to help at the plate in their places.

While we like Giovanny Urshela’s potential, the fact remains last year he had a 608 OPS, way below average. This year, Juan Uribe, who had a 737 OPS will be the primary third baseman, with Jose Ramirez, who we think will breakout this season, getting time there as well.

And if Uribe doesn’t hit (he is 37 years old), Urshela had a solid spring at the plate and should improve on his offensive ability.

Tyler Naquin and Rajai Davis should do better than what Michael Bourn gave Cleveland until he was dealt to Atlanta in late July, and the platoon of Lonnie Chisenhall and another vet, Marlon Byrd should do better than the Brandon Moss/David Murphy/Jerry Sands trio in RF.

And we believe that Mike Napoli will be the best of the veterans the front office brought in this winter, and Yan Gomes is ready to pick up where he left off in 2014, before being hampered by injuries.

Those additions will augment Michael Brantley, who hopefully will be back by the end of April, and Jason Kipnis at the plate

The only concern we have is in the bullpen.

Cody Allen should be fine, but we worry about Bryan Shaw and wonder if the heavy workload finally catches up with him.

We also worry about Jeff Manship, because let’s face it, in his seven years in the big leagues, he’s had three good months, the second half of last season.

On the other hand, the Tribe has depth in the organization with bullpen arms. Shawn Armstrong and Austin Adams are ready to contribute if someone fails.

Lastly, there’s the Francona factor. Although we may disagree with him strategically at times, he knows how to use each player to the greatest advantage.

That cannot be underestimated.

It will be an Indians summer at Progressive Field in 2016. And if they can get off to a good start, people will start returning to be a part of the excitement.

Tribe Wants Good Start? Maybe Get Younger

It would seem appropriate on Super Bowl Sunday to write something about football today, but for fans of the Cleveland Browns, that game is a myth, something along the lines of a unicorn.

So, instead, with spring training starting in less than two weeks (how great is that to say), we will discuss the Cleveland Indians, a time with a chance to make the playoffs in 2016.

Unfortunately, that chance is slimmer than it could have been if the front office would have been more aggressive this off-season, instead of its normal philosophy of “wishin’ and hopin’.

There is no doubt the Indians have a championship pitching staff, their starting rotation is one of the five best in major league baseball, and may very well be #1.

But team president Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff didn’t do Terry Francona any favors by signing two players with plenty of age on them, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, as the only additions to the lineup.

And of course, rumors have them pursuing another aging veteran hitter in Juan Uribe.

This isn’t to say none of these guys can help the Tribe, in fact, we believe Napoli in particular could be a big help this season, but as a whole, the rampant conservatism that permeates the front office was en vogue again this winter.

In our opinion, one of the reasons the Indians get off to slow starts is they begin the season playing veterans who don’t have much left, and by the middle of May or early June, the management finally realizes that and replaces them with younger, more productive players.

Last year, it was Michael Bourn (Nick Swisher was hurt). Francona wrote Bourn’s name in the lineup 95 times last season, and his 608 OPS dragged down the offense. We would have moved the centerfielder after his ’14 season showed he was declining.

In 2014, Ryan Raburn was struggling after an excellent ’13 campaign, and he and Swisher, who was struggling physically, hampered the offense.

And don’t forget the Indians started playing better when Asdrubal Cabrera was traded and Jose Ramirez was inserted as shortstop.

Also, remember Orlando Cabrera, Jack Hannahan, and Johnny Damon?

That’s why we would pass on Uribe and let Giovanny Urshela and Jose Ramirez platoon at third base. What are the odds that Uribe will be much better than the two youngsters, who will probably improve with regular playing time.

It’s also why if Tyler Naquin hits .420 (or thereabouts) in the Cactus League, we would have him make the Opening Day roster and give him regular playing time.

After all, the Tribe’s current starting outfielder consists of 35-year-old Davis, a journeyman in Abraham Almonte, and Lonnie Chisenhall, who in his brief major league career has demonstrated wild inconsistency.

We would rather see Naquin than Collin Cowgill, Shane Robinson, or Joey Butler, because Naquin will get better. It’s hard to see the other three doing that.

And if one or all of them go to the minor leagues, you have a fallback if the rookie struggles in the bigs.

The fear in Cleveland is that a young player will be ruined by early career struggles. We believe if the rookie is tough mentally, he will overcome that.

Remember, Francisco Lindor was hitting around .210 after his first month in the majors. Was he crushed by it? No!

We understand that Lindor is a special talent, but why not give more young players a chance?

It may just help the Indians get off to better starts to seasons.