Early Or Not, Guardians Deserve A Chance To Compete

In the last week or so, we’ve read and heard some things about the Cleveland Guardians being ahead of schedule. These people are saying the front office felt like 2023 was the year they could contend for the post-season again.

Our guess is if these folks are in the know, meaning they have talked to high-ranking officials in the Cleveland front office, they are setting up supporters of the team for a disappointing trade deadline.

Look, the truth of the matter is the Guardians are a very young baseball team. Statistically, they are the youngest team in the majors, a half year younger than Pittsburgh among everyday players, and they have the youngest pitching staff in the big leagues, almost a year younger than the Tigers.

We are sure that president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will not and should not break up the Guardians’ young core, players like Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor, Triston McKenzie, and Emmanuel Clase. Those guys seem like the foundation for the next few seasons.

On the other hand, the fact is the Guards are sitting just a game out of first place and we are in late July. Future contention isn’t a given either. You don’t know about injuries, poor seasons, and like it or not, the way the ball bounces in a given year.

We are sure the Cleveland brass is looking at ways to help this year’s team. The organization still has a glut of middle infielders both at the big league and high minor league levels, and the last we checked, you can still only play one shortstop and one second baseman per game.

So eventually, the team has to make a decision about Amed Rosario, Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Brayan Rocchio. We have been on record in feeling Arias would be the first one of this group moved.

With Aaron Civale out until August, the Guardians could use another starting pitcher and another bullpen arm wouldn’t hurt, with Eli Morgan and Bryan Shaw leaking oil.

Right now, Cleveland might have Kirk McCarty starting Tuesday night at Fenway Park, which is a scary proposition, considering he’s allowed six homers in 12 innings at the Major League level this season.

Of course, that’s due to the rainouts, but the replacement for Civale is rookie Konnor Pilkington. The southpaw has been okay, but he’s hasn’t produced like the other starters.

There have been rumors about dealing DH Franmil Reyes, citing lack of conditioning or perhaps the willingness to get in better shape. More likely, the Guardians figure Josh Naylor can play more often if he’s not on his feet defensively, and Reyes’ increased strikeout rate this season has made it easier to put him on the bench.

Even though the Guardians are ahead of schedule, that doesn’t make it okay for the front office not to improve the club. Maybe they have benefited from being in a division without a great team, but here they are, right in the thick of it with less than 70 games to go.

And you can’t underestimate the boost it can give a team when they know the front office believes in it enough to add to the roster.

In 1995, Cleveland didn’t need to do anything at the deadline, they are ahead by 20 plus games, but GM John Hart traded for Ken Hill anyway. The players said it signaled the organization wasn’t satisfied with making the playoffs, they wanted the ring.

So, whether they are on schedule or not, the front office should be willing to give this 2022 edition of the Guardians a chance to compete for the post-season. You go for it when you have a shot.

Dreaming Of Soto In Cleveland (It Won’t Happen, But We Can Dream)

By now, everyone is aware that Washington Nationals’ slugger Juan Soto will likely be traded before the August 2nd trade deadline. His agent, who quite enjoys seeing his name in lights, turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nats.

Washington will be looking for a boatload of prospects in exchange for the 23-year-old (he won’t turn 24 until after this season) slugger, and so the Cleveland Guardians, who may have the deepest farm system in the game were linked to Soto in some articles.

Now, let’s start by saying we understand the likelihood of Cleveland dealing for Soto is extremely slim. That’s not how this organization has done business over the years. Heck, Jose Ramirez left a lot of cash on the table to remain in town for hopefully, the rest of his career.

However, should the Guardians be interested, especially with the supposed influx of cash coming into the team from new minority owner David Blitzer?

If ever any team would make a gigantic financial commitment to a young player, it would seem to be Juan Soto, who again will start next season at age 24.

Soto led the National League last season in on base percentage at .465, and has already belted 118 home runs in his five years in the big leagues.

And he’s 23-years-old. The prime seasons for a typical major league baseball player are age 27 to 29, meaning Soto should still be getting better over the next few seasons. He was a seven win player last season.

If there is anyone a team like the Guardians would be willing to deal top prospects from a loaded farm system, it would be someone like Soto, and it’s not like Cleveland would have to deal every one of their current top ten either.

We talk ourselves into thinking that every minor player who puts up big numbers is going to wind up playing their way into Cooperstown. That’s simply not the case.

Here were Cleveland’s top prospects five years ago (2017):

Francisco Mejia
Bradley Zimmer
Triston McKenzie
Brady Aiken
Bobby Bradley
Yu Chang
Will Benson
Nolan Jones
Erik Gonzalez
Greg Allen

Granted, in 2017, the Cleveland farm system was not nearly as good and deep as it is now. Certainly, McKenzie has paid off, and hopefully Jones will too. And Mejia was used to get Brad Hand.

You have to figure Washington would want George Valera in a deal for Soto, so if you packaged him with say, Gabriel Arias and Logan Allen in the trade, you still have a very good prospect pool to work with.

Everybody loves Valera, and with good reason. At 21, he’s hitting .272 with 13 homers (857 OPS) at AA Akron, in a pitchers’ league. But will he ever be as good as Soto?

The equalizer is you would get six years of service from Valera, while Soto has only 2-1/2 years before he is eligible for free agency and with his agent being who he is, he’s going to take that route.

We have two points here. First, not all prospects, no matter how highly we think of them turn out to be superstars.

Second, if you can move prospects, even highly regarded ones, for a young, proven superstar, it should be considered. Let’s say Soto winds up being as good as Mike Trout. What would you give up for the last five or six years Trout put together. (Don’t consider the Angels’ record, that’s not Trout’s fault).

Guardians’ Biggest Surprise? Division Is Up For Grabs

Baseball’s unofficial half way point of the season has arrived, and the Cleveland Guardians are just two games out of first place in the American League Central Division.

Is that a surprise? That really depends on how you view it.

We felt the Guardians would finish slightly below the .500 mark this season, projecting them with 79 victories. Since they are 46-44 right now, a mere two games above the break even point, they really cannot be considered shocking.

However, we are surprised they sit just two games out of first place.

What is eye opening is that the favorites coming into the season, the Chicago White Sox, have battled injuries and bad defense and sit at 46-46, a game behind Cleveland and three games behind the division leading Minnesota Twins.

So really, the surprise is the mediocrity of the division, not the Guardians’ record.

Still, the Guards have battled through a number of rainouts and therefore, doubleheaders, and a shift in the organizational philosophy, starting to depend more and more on a healthy farm system to replace non-productive players.

Steven Kwan, who did not have a big league at bat coming into the season, has played in 78 of the team’s 90 games, and has hit .279 with a .361 on base percentage.

Oscar Gonzalez played in 32 games before being injured and another player without MLB experience coming into the season, Richie Palacios, has been in 39 games.

And no doubt, Nolan Jones should be the next rookie to hit the 20 game plateau.

You would think unless some of the younger guys hit a wall, playing an extra 20 games in a season, the Guardians should be better in the second half because of the experience they have gained thus far.

The health of the pitching staff has been good (knock on wood). Only Aaron Civale has been on the injured list to date and he is currently on the shelf. Cleveland has only used eight starters this year, mostly because another rookie, Konnor Pilkington has been slotted in as the doubleheader starter.

He earned that role by being solid when Civale was injured earlier in the season.

However, with Civale out again, and more twin bills coming, the depth of the organization will be tested. We would guess another rook, right-hander Peyton Battenfield might get the next look, unless a trade is made.

Whatever the organizations’ plan was for this season should be adjusted because the division hasn’t played out how most people thought and is very much up for grabs. Even though the Guardians are in some ways conducting tryouts for young players, they are in the mix for a post-season spot.

We aren’t suggested going all in on a rental player, but we are sure the front office will be looking for players who can help now and over the next few seasons.

And remember, Cleveland still has a glut of middle infielders on their 40 man roster, and will need to clear more spots to protect more players coming through what now maybe the best farm system in the sport.

The big surprise is that no one has taken the AL Central Division and ran with it. Cleveland is right there. And maybe it wasn’t in the plans in March or April, but the Guardians are a contender.

Let’s hope the brass thinks they are too.

Being Creative With Guardians’ Catchers

For many years, the Cleveland Guardians organization treats the catching position differently. They value defense and handling the pitching staff above everything else, and offense simply doesn’t matter for them.

And that’s fine. That’s their philosophy and the usual results of the pitching staff shows it has been successful by and large.

They had some years where the catchers have contributed with the bat, and as we know from the past few seasons, that’s the best-case scenario. In 2013 and 2014, Yan Gomes had very good offensive seasons, putting up OPS of 825 and 785 in those seasons, provided Terry Francona with great hitting and defense at catcher.

In 2019, Roberto Perez had a career year at the plate, belting 24 homers.

Still in reviewing those early years in Francona’s tenure, even if Gomes or Perez weren’t having very good offensive seasons, they still hit somewhere between .220-.230 meaning they were mediocre at the plate.

However, since 2020, the offense at catcher has really dropped off. That season, Perez hit .165 (480 OPS), Sandy Leon hit .136 (539 OPS) and Austin Hedges went 1 for 12.

Last season, Hedges hit .178 (527) and Perez .149 (564). This year, it’s more of the same, Hedges at .172 (497) and Luke Maile is at .174 (537).

So, the question is, why not treat hitting for this group the same as National League teams viewed a pitcher batting? If the #7 hole hitter (Cleveland’s catchers usually hit 8th) leads off and gets on base, have the catcher bunt him over, at least it would be a productive out.

We would also carry a third player who can catch, and the Guardians have a player who fits that bill in Columbus in David Fry, who has played 34 games at 3B, 26 games at 1B, and four games behind the plate.

In total, he has started 127 games in his minor league career behind the dish, including 29 last season with the Brewers’ organization.

Having a third catcher on the roster would enable Francona to pinch hit for the catcher a second time in a game, an option he doesn’t have right now, although he would be hampered in this regard by carrying 13 pitchers.

It would bring to mind the way the Oakland A’s handled second base at times in their glory days of the early 1970’s. The starter was Dick Green, who was a poor hitter, but they would carry two other infielders on the roster, so when that position came up in a clutch situation, they would pinch hit, and Oakland always had some veteran pinch-hitters on the roster just for this circumstance.

Too many times recently, the Guardians have had rallies short circuited because either Hedges or Maile comes up in a key situation.

And this isn’t a knock on either catcher, as we said at the top, this is the philosophy of the organization, and they aren’t on the roster for their hitting.

However, maybe there can be a better plan than letting players who are not good hitters go up there and hope for the best. And because they are catchers, if they hit the ball on the ground hard, it’s likely a double play.

We understand there is a designated hitter in both leagues now, so the use of the bunt is a thing of the past. Francona has always used this tool more than most, so why not use it with the catchers?

As we said, at least it would be a productive out.

All Year, It’s Been Out With The Old, In With The New For Guards

There is a clear organizational philosophy change in terms of player development with the Cleveland Guardians. It’s been evident for much of the season, but fans were reminded of it again in the past few days.

Since the beginning of the year, the team has cut ties with several players who have been around for a long time, and maybe, just maybe, the lack of success those players have had in other places has emboldened the team to keep making these moves.

First, on Opening Day, the Guards traded Bradley Zimmer to Toronto, basically opening up a spot for Steven Kwan.

Zimmer has continued his struggles up north, going 8 for 71 with two homers, and 31 strikeouts against five walks for the season.

The next to go was Bobby Bradley, a power hitter with contact issues. Bradley went unclaimed after being designated for assignment and is currently playing at AAA Columbus, where he is hitting .186 with five dingers and a 632 OPS. His contact issues have continued in the minors as well.

Yu Chang might be the ultimate test because he went to Pittsburgh on waivers, went 7 for 42 there with a home run, was released and picked up by Tampa Bay, where to date he has gone 2 for 7, albeit with three strikeouts.

We say Tampa is the test case, because they have some kind of voodoo magic with players like Chang. If they can’t find a way to use him so he can be a productive big-league player, there isn’t an organization out there who can.

Oscar Mercado was DFA’d, claimed by the Phillies, suffered the same fate there, and came back to Cleveland.

On Friday, the Guardians brought up Nolan Jones, formerly their top prospect, but a player who fell down those lists after an injury plagued poor season last year.

He changed his stance over the winter and was hitting .311 with a 917 OPS at AAA when he was recalled, and in the four games he played at the major league level, he certainly made an impact, knocking in a run in his debut, homering on Saturday, and driving in two more runs last night.

Prior to last night’s contest, the organization decided to designate Mercado again in favor of 27-year-old Alex Call, who was having a good year at Columbus, hitting .281 with 11 homers, and his strikeout to walk ratio, once very high on the swing and miss side, was even.

His first year in the Cleveland organization, 2019, after coming over from the White Sox in a trade for Yonder Alonzo, he fanned 93 times at Akron against 22 walks.

Clearly, the organization has decided to stop looking at the same players over and over again and are willing to look at players who are succeeding in the highest level of the minor leagues.

We are sure part of this is based on having to make decisions on the 40-man roster this winter, but it is refreshing, nonetheless. With Oscar Gonzalez on the injured list, we are sure Call will get some at bats for the Guardians.

The more success players like Kwan, Gonzalez, and Jones have, the more confident the organization will be in giving more young players a chance.

Maybe, they will use the same theory in regard to the bullpen…

Guardians’ Bullpen Issues Tough To Ignore

The Cleveland Guardians have a problem with an unlikely spot, the pitching staff. For all the talk about the team’s “pitching factory”, the club currently ranks 10th in the American League in staff ERA.

The starting pitching hasn’t been dominant, but for the most part, it’s been pretty good. Four of the five starters have ERA’s under 4.00 and Aaron Civale is the lone starter who doesn’t, but he’s been good in three of his four starts.

Zach Plesac is 2-6 record wise, but has pitched at least six innings and allowed less than three earned runs in six of his last seven starts. And Triston McKenzie has been prone to the gopher ball this season, but he was dominant against the Yankees to close out the last home stand and yesterday in Kansas City.

The real problem has been the bullpen. Outside of Emmanuel Clase, it doesn’t seem that anyone trusted by Terry Francona and Carl Willis is going a good job.

Against Boston, New York, and even Detroit, there were many instances where the starters left the game in a very competitive situation, only to see relief pitchers take a one or two run ballgame and letting the opponent put it out of reach.

We have said over the years that the two things relievers cannot do is give up home runs and/or walk people. The first helps teams get back in the game, the latter gives the opponent hope of getting back in the contest.

The two leaders in allowing the long ball out of the Guardians’ ‘pen are two pitchers Francona seems to really trust: Eli Morgan and Brian Shaw. Both have allowed a half dozen dingers, Morgan in 38-1/3 innings, Shaw in 28-1/3.

Morgan was dominant until a June 11th outing vs. Oakland in which he allowed a grand slam home run. Including that performance, he’s pitched 10-2/3 frames and allowed four home runs. You simply can’t use pitchers who give up that many home runs in the late innings.

He has blown four leads in that span.

Then you have the pitchers who can’t throw strikes consistently. Nick Sandlin has walked 18 hitters in less than 20 innings, and we don’t think anyone feels comfortable that James Karinchak is going to come in and throw strikes either.

Left handers Sam Hentges and Anthony Gose (now on the IL) have had issues with control, as has Shaw (which really makes you wonder why he is used in high leverage situations).

That leaves Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Stephan has guys Francona should find reliable, but as of late, he hasn’t turned to them, and we find that curious.

Stephan gave up a run on the fourth of July to Detroit, the first run he allowed since June 12th. And he pitched out of an incredible jam against the Twins in the 10th inning to help Cleveland win 11-10.

De Los Santos was part of the problem giving up late runs in close games over the past two weeks, but generally, he’s been pretty good, and he’s only allowed two home runs all year.

If Cleveland wants to stay in the race, and they should, they are only 3.5 games out, they have to solve the bullpen issue and get Clase, who should make the All-Star Game, some help. There are always relievers available the trade deadline, but can the current group hold on until then.

Bad bullpens make good teams look bad. Hope that is not happening to the 2022 Guardians.

Guards’ Offense, Record Sagging

A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Guardians were on a roll, and so was their offense. They had won 17 out of 21 games and there hitting ranked in the top three or four in the American League in runs scored.

Now the Guards are scuffling. They’ve lost 11 out of 15, and they have dropped to seventh in the league in runs scored at 4.29 per contest. Since an 11-10 victory over Minnesota at Target Field on June 22nd, Cleveland has scored just 39 runs in the 15 games played hence, an average of 2.6 per game.

That’s not going to win a lot of ballgames.

However, the team remains in the post-season race, although their only opportunity will likely be as the AL Central Division winner. And as of today, they are still just 4.5 games behind Minnesota.

Jose Ramirez is in a bit of a down cycle, hitting just .232 (13 for 56, 630 OPS) over the past 14 days, knocking in just one run.

But it’s not Ramirez that should be blamed, he’s basically carried the team since day one of the season.

The league average OPS is 699, and besides Ramirez, the only hitters way above that Terry Francona can put in the lineup everyday are Josh Naylor (842) and Andres Gimenez (834). And Naylor needs periodic rest for the leg he shattered last season, so there are days he is not available.

The Guardians really seem to miss rookie Oscar Gonzalez, who although he was slumping when he got hurt, had given them a spark. Even though he tailed off, he still has a 746 OPS with 14 extra base hits in 130 plate appearances.

The next two highest OPS figures among the everyday players are right at the league average. Steven Kwan, who has a .357 on base percentage, which is very good considering he is leading off, and Amed Rosario, who although he has been hot is still sitting with a 701 OPS.

Again, Rosario has a solid batting average at .276, but he doesn’t walk, in fact, pitchers seems to have to really work to walk him, he keeps swinging at pitches outside the zone, and he is slugging just ,383.

He only has 20 extra base hits for the year.

Franmil Reyes seems to be heating up, but he’s still has a 606 OPS, mostly because he’s walked just 12 times all season, but has fanned 80 times.

Although the Guardians have struck out the least number of times in the AL, they haven’t walked a lot, ranking just 10th in the league. The next step for the offense is learning the zone, perhaps players like Kwan will set an example.

Myles Straw in particular has stopped walking. He had drawn 27 walks through the end of May, but has taken just 11 free passes since. And he’s hitting just .122 in the last month. The offense is missing his on base capabilities.

Cleveland will hit the half way point of the schedule this weekend in Kansas City, so we can certainly say it’s not early anymore. And although they rid themselves of the swing and miss players like Bobby Bradley, Bradley Zimmer, and Yu Chang, there are still too many holes in the batting order.

How long before we see Nolan Jones and/or Tyler Freeman on the big league roster? You have the get more production from the hitting.

Guards Weathered The Storm, Now Back To The Division

After concluding a series at home against the Oakland A’s on June 12th, the Cleveland Guardians started what appeared to be a brutal stretch of games, starting with a nine game trip.

Through the end of June and going into the beginning of July, Terry Francona’s squad was going to play Minnesota eight times, and also have three game series against the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.

If this group of Guardians wasn’t up to being a contender, surely, we would see it during over that three weeks of contests.

Coming into the last of those games today, Cleveland has acquitted themselves very well, going 7-9 thus far.

They took two of three from the Los Angeles, and five of eight against the Twins. They were swept at home by Boston, but two of those games very good games, and the offense went ice cold for a week during this period, which didn’t help.

Following today’s game against the Yankees, the Guards go back into the division pretty much through the end of the month, with only series against Boston and Tampa at the end of July interrupting the Central Division battles.

Cleveland is currently 17-11 vs. the AL Central as of today. However, they have to maintain that kind of play going forward.

Through July 25th, when they arrive at Fenway Park, the Guards have a seven-game trip to Detroit and Kansas City, followed by a homestand that will take them into the All-Star break. They will play a pair of four game sets against the White Sox and Tigers, and then have another quartet of contests (including a doubleheader of course) in the Windy City.

If they continue to play well in the division, that will seem to ensure Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be buyers at the trade deadline. The division would certainly still be in play, with the Guardians, Twins, and White Sox vying for what might be one spot, as the division winner.

In reality, it probably doesn’t make a difference either way. The organization has a glut of young players currently on the 40-man roster, and really doesn’t have room for all of them.

Look at the infield for example. Andres Gimenez might wind up making the Midsummer Classic roster this year, so he should be in the team’s plans going forward. So, what does that mean for Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and even Owen Miller.

We have been on record as saying we believe Arias is the one to be moved and being called up this past weekend doesn’t do anything to make us feel differently.

We feel that way because Arias’ strikeout to walk ratio in the minors doesn’t seem to fit in with the current hitting philosophy of the organization. Plus, his recall is curious. He’s been injured for much of the season and was hitting under .200 for the year at AAA.

And the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, save for Emmanuel Clase, needs an upgrade. We’ve seen in the series against Boston and New York, there have been games where the starters have kept it close, but the bullpen allowed the game to get out of hand.

We understand the Guardians’ front office want players who will under control for a few years, so they won’t be looking for rentals. But if they can help this year’s team by giving up organizational depth, they almost have to do it.

They have a lot of baseball to play, but they’ve weathered a difficult part of the slate. With divisional games and some rest due to the All-Star break coming up, it’s not a stretch to think Cleveland will be in the thick of a post-season race.

Guards’ Roster Problems Aren’t Simple

It was a lost weekend for the Guardians, but they did have a chance to win two of the games against Boston, and let’s face it, the Red Sox are red hot right now.

There seems to be an ongoing discussion among Guards’ fans about the bottom of the team’s 26 man roster, but in looking closely at the situation, it’s not as easy as it seems to be.

From the position player standpoint, the last man on the bench (that’s not being pejorative, by the way) would seem to be Ernie Clement, who can probably play all four infield spots and has been used in left field by Terry Francona as well.

The problem would seem to be that Clement is being used as a platoon player, in the lineup whenever a southpaw is on the hill for the opposition. And it’s a problem because Clement doesn’t profile as this type of player.

In 98 career at bats vs. lefties, Clement has a .204 batting average and a 563 OPS. So, putting him in there instead of Andres Gimenez or Steven Kwan doesn’t really help you offensively.

However, even though the Guardians have a deep farm system, they really don’t have an alternative to Clement. Why? Because of his limited role as a utility man.

We are sure the front office want Tyler Freeman, Nolan Jones, and Gabriel Arias to play everyday at Columbus rather than getting sparing at bats at the big league level. And that makes total sense to us.

The only real solution we can think of is using Owen Miller more at 3B to give Jose Ramirez a day that he doesn’t have to play in the field. Francona could use Franmil Reyes in the outfield say, two days a week, therefore creating a chance to use either Ramirez or Josh Naylor at DH.

When Clement plays, he simply has to swing the bat better. He’s always been a patient hitter in the minors, with a 84/106 walk to strikeout ratio. In the bigs, he’s fanned 37 times against 14 walks. That would seem what he needs to do now in the majors.

The same roster problem exists with the last spot out of the bullpen. Since Nick Sandlin was sent down to find the strike zone (he hasn’t so far), the Guardians have used Anthony Castro, Yohan Ramirez, and Tanner Tully to try and protect the rest of the relief corps.

Tully was designated for assignment yesterday in favor of Ian Gibaut, who likely will get the same treatment today prior to the doubleheader.

The only other options currently on the 40 man roster are Kirk McCarty and Tobias Myers. McCarty didn’t fool anyone when he made a couple of brief appearance with Cleveland, and Myers isn’t pitching well at AAA.

The difference between this job opening and the utility spot is if a pitcher comes up and pitches well, he very well could stay on the roster for a while.

The point is sometimes it’s not as easy as just sending someone down, you also have to have someone ready to take that player’s role. And at times, especially for a bench player, you don’t want to use a prospect that needs to play.

Francona Has Guardians Surprising Again

Mike Hargrove used to say that there are two things everyone knows they can do better than anyone else, cook a steak and manage a baseball team.

With that in mind, we know that Terry Francona gets criticism from baseball fans on pretty much an every day basis. We know that because we do it too. From lineup construction to the use of relief pitchers to his famed patience (or stubbornness), we question what Francona is doing all the time (like bringing in Anthony Castro last night).

The truth of the matter is he is going to go the Hall of Fame when he retires. He currently ranks 17th all time in wins with 1817 and we are fairly confident he will pick up the 19 victories he needs to pass Lou Piniella to move into 16th place before the end of the season.

The health problems that have affected him the past couple of seasons appear to be behind him, so if he stays with the Guards another two years, he should become the 13th skipper to reach 2000 victories.

He’s already Cleveland’s all time leader in this department with 788 wins.

We remind everyone of Francona’s accomplishments because despite the questions and complaints we and many other fans have, the Guardians currently sit at 35-28 and lead the AL Central, something no one would’ve predicted heading into this season.

It’s quite remarkable to say the least.

Baseball x’s and o’s aside, what Tito is translates to all walks of life. He manages people. We believe that every single player (and probably coaches and equipment men too) know exactly what is expected of them, and the skipper takes the responsibility if something goes wrong and the player doesn’t succeed in a spot they shouldn’t have been in.

You also never hear Francona talk about himself when the Guardians’ win. It’s the players who win games, but when they lose, the manager takes it upon himself.

Players have to love that.

We chuckle at times when folks on social media want to know when Tito is going to talk to a player about a mistake made on the field. He does it, but he’s not going to do it in a postgame presser. He’ll handle it behind closed doors. Wouldn’t we all love our bosses to do it the same way?

By the way, we agree with people who believe the front office has more to do with lineup and roster construction than many think. Who plays, who stays, and who gets sent down is put together in conjunction with Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Francona, and the coaching staff.

It’s a collaborative effort.

The organization moved away from players like Bradley Zimmer (7 for 63 with Toronto, 433 OPS), Bobby Bradley (hitting .202 at AAA), Yu Chang (5 for 44 for the season with the Guards and Pirates) and now Oscar Mercado (.202 batting average, 604 OPS) relatively quick this season.

At least quicker than most fans thought.

It has spurred a new offensive strategy, grinding out at bats, putting the ball in play. That has helped in the success thus far in 2022.

Because Francona has seemingly done this before, getting players to overachieve, you have to give him a good part of the credit.

That doesn’t mean we will stop second guessing though. Now, about that steak…