Guardians’ Pitching Gives Them A Chance Daily

To be honest, when the Cleveland Guardians embarked on this trip to Colorado, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, we would have taken a 4-5 record. Just tread water and get back to Progressive Field, where they haven’t played much this season.

Six games into the trek, the Guards have already picked up five wins, thus clinching a winning trip and now head into a span where they play the team ahead of them in the AL Central standings, the Twins, eight times in the next ten days.

Minnesota sits one game ahead of Terry Francona’s squad, but because the Guardians have had so many games postponed because of weather, Cleveland is actually two games ahead in the loss column.

And when the team returns hope from the Twin Cities on Friday night, they will likely have played 39 of their 65 games on the road, meaning of course they will play 55 of the last 97 contests on the schedule at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

While the contact oriented hitting approach has been widely discussed and praised, the efforts of the pitching staff should not be ignored.

In this three week span where the Guards have gone 15-4, they have allowed more than four runs in a game just five times. This means most nights, the starting pitcher has given his team a shot at winning.

In 13 of those 19 games, the opponents scored no more than three tallies. The offense doesn’t have to be hitting on all cylinders to win games when your pitching is that good.

We don’t think fans realize how special that is. Even this past weekend, the pitching held the mighty Dodgers (yes, they were without Mookie Betts) to three runs or less in two of the three games, both of which resulted in Cleveland victories.

Ace Shane Bieber has made 13 starts in 2022 and has allowed more than three runs just once, an 8-3 loss to Toronto on May 7th. Since that start, he’s pitched 45-1/3 innings, allowing just 11 earned runs, a 2.18 ERA.

Triston McKenzie has started 11 times this year, allowing more than three runs in a game just twice. He’s allowed just 46 hits in 70 frames for the season.

Cal Quantrill has a dozen starts under his belt this season and has allowed more than three runs just twice, the second coming this past weekend in Dodger Stadium. He’s gone at least five innings in all but one start this year.

Zach Plesac can’t match the consistency shown by the trio already mentioned, but he’s allowed either one or two runs in three of his last four outings. No doubt that’s a trend Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis would like to see continued.

Rookie Konnor Pilkington has made four starts since Aaron Civale went on the injured list, and he didn’t allow more than four runs in those appearances.

Give your team a chance.

That’s the mantra the Guardians’ starting staff uses and it works. Give the offense a chance to scratch out some runs and who knows? It’s worked pretty well so far. As long as the rotation can do its job, the Guards will be in the mix.

It’s a simple formula really.

New Minority Owner For Guards, New Hope For Fans

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced it Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians have a new minority owner in David Blitzer, who reportedly owns about 25% of the team.

This should be good news for baseball fans in northeast Ohio, although it did bring out a number of the Dolan defenders on social media.

Let’s face it, for most of the time the Dolan family have owned the team, they have been run on a shoestring budget. And since we are firmly in the camp that no Major League Baseball team is struggling to stay solvent, that means the Cleveland owners have made a lot of money having the Indians/Guardians as an asset.

Does the family have some positive attributes as owners? Of course. They are notoriously great in hiring good management and letting the baseball people run the organization. Team president Chris Antonetti and his front office are the envy of many teams, and recently, other organizations have targeted the Cleveland baseball people for high management roles.

You have to think the owners do step in when it comes time to pay the better players who were drafted and/or developed by the baseball people when the time comes.

Since the Dolans’ have controlled the purse strings, the franchise has traded C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, and Francisco Lindor because the team would not pay the going rate for talent like theirs.

Defenders point to the Jose Ramirez deal as proof the owners were willing to spend, but as we have said before, we can’t give the Dolans credit for Ramirez staying. They were lucky that one of the best players in the sport decided to leave a considerable amount of cash on the table to stay with the franchise.

No doubt the atmosphere, created by the folks the owner hired, was important to Ramirez, but if Ramirez had wanted to be paid like the superstar he is, he’d be wearing a different uniform today.

It isn’t just spending on players’ salaries that has been lacking by the current ownership. Hopefully Blitzer, who has been involved in professional sports for some time, talks to the controlling owners about doing a better job promoting and marketing the Guardians.

The Dolans have complained about attendance, but it has seemed for years that their belief seems to be winning is the only thing that matters. The local television ratings have been among the best in the sport, but it doesn’t translate to putting folks in the stands.

Has anyone ever bothered to find out why?

There are also reports that Blitzer has plans to develop the area around Progressive Field in order to bring in money from other areas. This is similar to what the St. Louis Cardinals’ ownership did.

Quite frankly, it seems like a great idea.

We would also like to see a more fun gameday experience at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Professional sports are entertainment and going to a game should be a fun time and affordable for families.

Get fans in the park, show them a good, fun time, and they will come back, particularly if the team in winning, that’s seems to have been ignored for some time with the Cleveland franchise.

So, forgive us if we aren’t holding a parade in honor of Larry and Paul Dolan. On the other hand, here’s hoping having a new minority owner means the pocketbook will open up more often.

At least, it is encouraging off the field news for the Cleveland baseball franchise. It’s been a while since that could be said.

Moves Coming For Guardians When They Come Home?

Not only are the Cleveland Guardians entering a tough part of their schedule, starting with a nine game trek to Colorado, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, but the front office will have to make more tough decisions when it comes to the make up of the 26 man roster.

DH Franmil Reyes is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow night in Columbus, so his return to the active roster will likely come, barring a setback, when the Guards return to Progressive Field on June 24th against the Red Sox.

The player called up when Reyes was placed on the injured list isn’t likely to be going back when he returns. Oscar Gonzalez has provided the offense with a jolt since his arrival, batting .391 in 65 at bats and a 931 OPS. Although Gonzalez hasn’t cleared the fences for a home run, he has totaled nine doubles after joining the big league roster.

Terry Francona has enjoyed using a rotating DH spot with Reyes out, enabling him to give Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor some extra rest, so when the big man comes back he could find himself in the outfield more frequently.

We know the offense has done well in Reyes’ absence, but make no mistake, the Guardians could very much use the guy who belted 30 homers last year in the middle of their lineup. Outside of Jose Ramirez, no one has hit more than seven long balls (Naylor and Andres Gimenez).

Cleveland is 12th in the AL in home runs.

So, who departs when Reyes is activated? Do the Guards stay with an extra infielder who occasionally fills in out in LF like Ernie Clement? Or does Oscar Mercado, who hasn’t hit much since the calendar turned to May stay on the roster because of his speed and defense in the outfield?

Mercado started the 2022 season hitting the long ball, with three dingers in April, but since, he’s gone 9 for 46 with just one homer and has walked just twice with 13 punchouts. He’s also hitting just .174 (447 OPS) against lefties.

Clement can play 2B, 3B, and LF, and probably could play an acceptable shortstop too, and is hitting .217 (519 OPS) against southpaws.

The problem for Clement is Francona could use Owen Miller the same way, although we’ve only seen Miller at short in the bigs for one game.

So, what plays better roster wise, Mercado’s ability to play all three outfield spots or Clement’s ability to play infield and left?

Also, Mercado is out of options, so he would have to be DFA’d if he was the casualty when Reyes returns.

Another move could be coming to the bullpen when James Karinchak is ready, and again, that could happen when the team returns home.

If Karinchak is throwing strikes, he can fill the set up man role which has been a revolving door recently for Francona, with Eli Morgan currently the guy he trusts the most.

If Morgan continues to do well, he gives the skipper two options.

Trevor Stephan got off to a great start in April, but has struggled since.

The most likely candidate to be sent back is Nick Sandlin, who right now seems to have home plate jumping around on him, with 16 walks in 17 innings. We have long said there are two things relievers have to avoid: home runs and walks.

Sandlin has only allowed two long balls, but the walks are a problem. He may need to go back to Columbus and find his control and then come back up to the big club.

Of course, someone could get banged up on the trip and force different moves, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Reyes and Karinchak are back in Cleveland after the nine game trip.

A Third Of The Way Through, Guards Holding Their Own

With the ninth inning comeback 3-2 win over Oakland on Friday night, the Cleveland Guardians reached the one third pole in their schedule, and currently sit at 28-26 on the year, a pace to win 84 games.

Considering the overall youth on the roster, that’s pretty good. The Guards do have a rough stretch coming up until the fourth of July hits, playing at Colorado, Dodger Stadium, and Minneapolis before coming home for series against the Twins, Red Sox and Yankees.

We will know a lot more about this team after that stretch. If they come out of it still above the breakeven mark, then it would be fair to consider Terry Francona’s club a legitimate post-season contender.

So, we shall see.

The biggest surprise for the Guardians has been their hitting, currently sitting third in the AL in runs scored per game, behind just the Yankees and Red Sox. We felt all off-season the front office needed to get one or two experienced hitters who can get on base, but instead, the Guards have decided to go with youth.

Gone are the high strikeout, low walk players like Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley. They have been replaced by rookies Steven Kwan (.366 on base percentage, 21 walks/13 strikeouts), Oscar Gonzalez (7 whiffs in 57 plate appearances), and Owen Miller, who had a fast start, but still has a 725 OPS.

By the way, Miller has six sacrifice flies this season to lead Cleveland. Last year, Jose Ramirez led the club for the full year with five.

Last year, Cleveland ranked 9th in the league in striking out, this season, they are dead last. They are walking more as well, going from 2.8 per game last season to 3.1 in 2022.

And it helps that they have the incomparable Jose Ramirez hitting in the #3 hole. If the Statues can stay in the playoff hunt all season long, the switch-hitter could get the league MVP award that has alluded him recently.

Ramirez has three top three finishes in the voting (3rd in 2017 and 2018, 2nd in 2020) and four top ten results (6th last year). With all those accolades, he is having his best year in ’22.

He leads baseball in RBIs, is 7th in the AL in OBP and 2nd in slugging. He is 4th in homers, seventh in doubles in the AL, and leads the league in triples.

We don’t want to short the pitching staff either. They’ve moved up to 4th in the league in team ERA. Shane Bieber has made 11 starts after missing a good portion of last year with the shoulder issue, and all but one has been very good.

Triston McKenzie has been prone to the gopher ball this season, he leads the staff allowing 11, but has allowed just 39 hits in 64 innings. And yes, you read that correctly. Cal Quantrill is solid, and hopefully Zach Plesac continues to get better.

They need Aaron Civale to be healthy and to be pitching like he has in the past.

Eli Morgan has been a huge surprise, emerging as a set-up man for closer Emmanuel Clase, who has all-star numbers. With all of the doubleheaders coming up because of the lovely northeast Ohio weather this spring, the depth of the starters will have to come into play.

It could fall on another rookie, Konnor Pilkington, to produce, but the big league club may need others to step up.

As we said before, we will know an awful lot more about this young Guardians group when the next summer holiday arrives. Hopefully, Francona’s club is ready for the upcoming task.

Schedule Or Not, Guards’ Pitching Has Improved

A few weeks ago, we talked about what figured to be the Cleveland Guardians’ strength coming into the season, the pitching staff, wasn’t pulling its own weight, ranking near the bottom of the American League in ERA.

Things have taken a decided turn for the good for the Cleveland hurlers, as they have seen that ranking moved to 6th in the AL. Surprisingly, they are not doing it with the strikeout, as Guards’ pitchers are just ninth in the Junior Circuit in strikeouts per nine innings.

They are third from the bottom in total whiffs, but that has more to do with Terry Francona’s club playing at least three games less than every other team in the league.

They’ve allowed the third fewest hits per nine, behind only the Yankees and Astros, so there could be concern about how sustainable that is considering the lack of strikeouts.

New York is near the top of the league in whiffs per nine, while Houston averages the same as Cleveland.

In terms of issuing free passes, Carl Willis’ staff is right around league average, so nothing unusual there.

However, in the last 15 games, Cleveland pitchers have allowed more than four runs just twice, most recently, Saturday’s loss to Baltimore, and to take it back further, in the last 23 games, opponents have hit the five-run mark against the Guardians just four times.

The two most disappointing members of the rotation earlier this season were Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale. Plesac has two runs or less in three of his last four starts, and Civale has started only one game since May 13th, and it was a 6-1/3 inning, one run allowed (unearned) effort against Detroit.

Rookie left-hander Konnor Pilkington has subbed in with three starts and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in either of them.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the only above league average offense Cleveland faced in the last 15 games is Houston. The Tigers are the league’s worst offense, while the Orioles and Royals both rank in the bottom five in the AL in scoring.

There do seem to be changes afoot in the bullpen. Trevor Stephan has been struggling in his last few outings and Nick Sandlin has had issues throwing strikes all season, walking 15 batters in 15 innings.

So Francona has leaned more on Eli Morgan, a starter last season, and he has been more than impressive. Morgan started the year on the roster to be able to give the team innings because starters were still stretching out from the shortened spring training.

The 26-year-old righty has pitched 25 innings, allowing just 10 hits with only four walks against 32 strikeouts. He’s getting more and more opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings.

The same is true with southpaw Sam Hentges, who has thrown 16-1/3 frames, giving up just eight hits and four walks against 19 strikeouts. He has supplanted Anthony Gose as the late inning lefty.

Enyel De Los Santos has also worked his way into more high leverage situations as well.

If the club can get both Stephan and Sandlin straightened out, this has the makings of a very good bullpen.

If the pitching can keep this going, the Guardians can stay in the post-season race. Hopefully, the last group of games is more indicative of how good the staff can be.

The Rosario Dilemma

Occasionally on social media, we are accused of hating Amed Rosario, the Guardians’ sometime leftfielder and usually, their shortstop.

First, we don’t “hate” Rosario. We just feel that many fans fell in love with his .282 batting average last season. On a team that was pretty much offensively inept, he was among the better hitters on the roster.

He could be an asset for the Guardians if used in certain situations, for example, against left-handed pitching, he’s very good, with a career .463 slugging percentage and 804 OPS.

However, that’s not how the Guardians use him.

We know batting average isn’t as important as it used to be, but unless he is hitting around .275, he’s a bad offensive player. Right now, he’s batting .234, making his on base percentage under .280 because he doesn’t walk. His entire offensive worth is based on getting hits, and right now, he’s not getting any.

Conversely, Myles Straw is hitting .230, which isn’t great either. But Straw is among the league leaders in walks, so his OBP is around .330, not great for a leadoff man, but higher than the AL average of .305.

Rosario’s lack of on base skill could be overlooked if he was driving the ball, hitting with pop. But his slugging percentage is also under .300, and he has just eight extra base hits on the season. That’s less than Straw, Steven Kwan, and even Oscar Mercado.

Players who don’t get on base and don’t drive the ball simply don’t contribute much to the offense. But maybe a guy like Rosario could contribute at the bottom of the batting order, so when he gets on, he sets up the top of the order.

Except, the Guardians continue to hit him in the #2 hole, and when Kwan was going well early in the season, they put him in the #5 spot. Traditionally, that’s a place for a power bat.

There is always a place for guys with solid gloves, like Straw, who is a gold glove caliber defender. However, Rosario is below average defensively at short, although he seems better than he was last season.

It’s not up for debate that Andres Gimenez is better glove at short, but many times he’s put at second in favor of Rosario.

Terry Francona said after the Toronto series that Rosario was going to play more in left, but after a pair of games out there, he then played six straight at short. Then, after playing three out of four in the outfield, his last seven games have been at shortstop.

It just seems there is a priority to keep Rosario in the lineup no matter what, and to make sure he’s in a comfortable spot defensively, despite better options in both the lineup and defensively.

We understand Francona and the coaching staff are doing everything they can to get Rosario hitting like he did last season, and if they can do it, it would help the offense. Maybe what they should do right now is platoon him with Kwan in left.

The Guardians are giving Amed Rosario every opportunity to succeed, but you have to wonder if this is another patience vs. stubbornness situations. Not playing players who have been doing better is something that needs questioning.

Ramirez’ Place In Cleveland Baseball History

A few years ago, we wrote a piece talking about Francisco Lindor’s place in Cleveland baseball history if he were to play his entire career here, or at least a sizeable portion of it.

Well, we had the wrong player. Jose Ramirez is one of the best players in the game, and he wants to spend his entire career in a Cleveland uniform.

So, let’s look at some of the all time Cleveland counting stats and see where Ramirez will wind up statistically for the franchise.

The franchise leader in games played is Terry Turner, who played 1619 games with Cleveland, the last in 1919. Ramirez has played in 1026 as of today, and if he averages 140 games through the end of 2028 when his contract ends, he will surpass that total easily.

Napoleon Lajoie is the club’s all time leader in hits with 2047 and he last wore a Cleveland uniform in 1914. Ramirez has 1038 currently. Assuming he gets 100 more hits this season, he would need to get about 150 hits per season to pass the man the team was once named after.

Jim Thome’s 337 home runs is the current standard and Ramirez has belted 176 as of now, averaging almost 28 per season in the last five full seasons. After this season, the switch-hitting third baseman will need slightly over 20 homers a year to break the franchise mark.

As for RBIs, the all-time leader is Earl Averill with 1084 and Ramirez has 591 to date, averaging 90 a year in the last five full seasons. At that pace, he will pass Averill, but as we know that depends on his teammates and other teams choosing to pitch to him.

Averill is also the leader in total bases (3200) with Ramirez currently at 1885. Jose has averaged 290 total bases in the last five full seasons, so he should pass the 2000 mark before the end of this season.

Keep in mind using the last five full seasons includes the 2016 season in which Ramirez only hit 11 homers and knocked in 76 runs. His power surge started the following season when he belted 29 dingers.

Ramirez has 256 career doubles and the franchise leader is also the all time in this department, Tris Speaker, who had 486 of his two-baggers in a Cleveland uniform. Ramirez gets a lot of hustle doubles because of his speed, but his total has dipped since he started belting balls over the fence.

He had a league leading 56 in 2017, but the past few seasons, he’s been around 30-35. At that pace, he gets in the top five all time, but no higher.

In terms of WAR, Ramirez is already in 10th place at 36.9, and at the pace his current season is on, he will likely be 9th by the end of this season, passing the aforementioned Turner. Being conservative, he will be in the top five in franchise history during the 2024 assuming he stays healthy.

Many of Cleveland’s all time leaders in these counting statistics come either from the 90’s teams (like Thome) or more than 80 years ago, so it will be refreshing to see Ramirez’ name at the top.

No doubt he will be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest player to ever wear a Cleveland baseball outfit.

You are witnessing one of the best ever here.

Guardians Proving An Old Baseball Adage

There is an old saying in baseball that momentum is today’s starting pitcher. There is no better example of that than the 2022 Cleveland Guardians.

On May 9th, the Guardians were trailing the White Sox 8-2 heading into the 9th inning. They scored six runs to tie the game, and then won it in 11 innings, with Josh Naylor being the hero. He belted a grand slam in the ninth to tie it and won it in the 11th with a three run blast.

It was Cleveland’s eighth victory in the last 10 games, and they headed into the Windy City after a very good series against Toronto, taking three out of four.

The next night, the Guards ran into a nemesis in Lucas Giolito, a pitcher the team has little success against, and they lost 4-1. That started a losing slide of nine losses in the last 13 games, and Cleveland now sits seven games out of first.

We are sure a lot of fans would have thought the huge comeback would be a springboard to more success for the Guardians, but after the loss to Giolito, the coaching staff came down with COVID, as did Naylor, the hottest Cleveland hitter at that point.

Naylor is back, but the offense has lost momentum and is the main culprit for the losing ways in the last twelve. In the nine losses, the Guardians have scored three runs or less in seven of them, the exceptions being a 12-8 loss at Minnesota in which the team was way down after the Twins scored nine in an inning, and 5-4 loss to the Reds at Progressive Field, in which they had just two going into the 9th until Owen Miller hit a two-run homer.

For the most part, the pitching staff has been fine. They’ve allowed more than four runs just three times, so the Guards have been in games, which makes the losing even more frustrating.

Adding to the angst is the schedule. Cleveland is in the midst of a period in which they play 20 of 23 games against the Reds, Tigers, Royals, Orioles, Rangers, and A’s. Not exactly a group of pennant contenders. The best record in that group is Texas’ 21-23 mark.

Unfortunately, the Guardians have started out 2-4 against this group, and they also lost two of three to Houston, one of the best teams in the AL.

Lately it seems the entire burden of the offense is on Jose Ramirez, who leads the American League with 48 RBIs. If the Guardians can climb back in the post-season race, Ramirez should be a leading candidate for the league MVP.

He’s had that kind of season.

However, if Terry Francona’s squad comes close to losing 90 games, we fear Ramirez’ season will lost in a statistical morass.

That would be a shame.

Naylor has stepped up in clutch spots and provided some pop at the plate, but frankly, that Franmil Reyes has been missing in action for much of the year, is a huge hinderance on the offense.

Reyes has just five extra base hits on the season, the same number as reserve catcher Luke Maile, and one less than starting catcher Austin Hedges. That’s simply mind boggling.

The Guardians need someone with some pop. Perhaps that player can be Oscar Gonzalez, who has started his big-league career with four hits in eight at bats, including two doubles.

If Cleveland can’t make some hay over the next three weeks, it figures to be a long season, If they can hit, they will be fine. Just hoping Ramirez gets some help.

On Offering Big Money In Sports.

With all of the big money in professional sports today, many of the people not working in front offices are in a big hurry to spend.

For some players, like LeBron James, it’s a no brainer to give them the most money they can get as early as they can get it. People like James are destined for greatness, and their teams should do what they can to tie them up for as long as they can.

However, for most of the players, there should be no rush to bestow huge contracts upon them. Why not get as much information as you can about the athlete before entering into a huge financial commitment for the team with the person.

We understand that sometimes the player takes the lack of the big deal as disrespect. However, remember, most athletes do not have the same loyalty as say, Jose Ramirez did with the Guardians.

The Cavaliers have a decision this summer with Collin Sexton and it has been debated on several fronts. Sexton is a restricted free agent, which enables the Cavs to match any offer he receives from other organizations.

Sexton averaged almost 25 points per game in 2020-21, but played just 11 games last season with a knee injury. So what should Koby Altman’s contract offer be? We know there are a lot of Sexton fans out there that would say he should get the most money Cleveland can offer.

That’s probably because it isn’t their money.

The max deal for a player after four seasons is around $30 million per year. Personally, there aren’t many players coming off a season in which they played just 11 games, that we would offer that kind of cash to. And we understand, there isn’t any reason Sexton shouldn’t be able to come back from his medical issue.

Last year, we wondered what would the market be for Sexton, and quite frankly, we still have that thought. Would any other team offer him anywhere near that kind of cash?

That’s way we would let Sexton go out and see what is available to him. Let him go and see what the market is for him, and the Cavaliers would still have the ability to keep him at a reasonable salary. Remember, the NBA is a salary cap sport, although we know there are many loopholes, and Altman could be creative to give the team room.

We heard a few people the other day discussing locking up Guardians’ pitcher Triston McKenzie on a long term deal after he dominated Houston.

What’s the rush?

We think McKenzie is a very good young pitcher. He will be 25-years-old soon and might be the Guardians’ best pitcher right now.

However, he’s thrown less than 200 innings in his career and is under the team’s control through the 2026 season. And let’s face it, pitchers’ careers are more volatile than everyday players.

A few years ago, we advocated for Cleveland to sign Francisco Lindor at any cost. In his last couple of years here, Lindor seemed to embrace the “launch angle” movement and became less effective hitting. He went from a .280-.300 hitter to a .230-.250 hitter.

Is he reaching the value of the deal he signed with the Mets? We believe most would say no.

We know the owners of these teams are billionaires and none of them (not even the Dolans) are in danger of living in poverty. However, players and agents use what one person gets as the basis for someone else.

And for teams in a salary cap sport, overpaying a player can become an albatross. There is nothing wrong with getting as much information as you can before offering an athlete a boatload of money.

It’s the smart thing to do.

Some Questions On Guards’ Roster Makeup

Major League Baseball expanded the rosters to 26 players a few years ago, presumably because teams were keeping so many relief pitchers on the team, many managers were stuck with a three man bench.

When the rosters were expanded, part of the rule said a maximum of 13 pitchers could be eligible, although up until June 1st of this season, teams can keep 14 pitchers because of the shortened spring training.

It is a challenge for managers of all big league clubs to keep his reserves fresh, so if and when they are needed, they will be somewhat ready. It’s a difficult task, and is one reason many teams do not want to keep a young player on the roster if they cannot get regular at bats or innings.

Terry Francona is reported to be excellent in communicating with every player on the roster as to how he is going to be used and when. And we use the word “reported” because we aren’t in the clubhouse. But when was the last time a Cleveland player came out in the media and complained as to how he is being used?

Since Yu Chang came off the COVID list on May 13th, he has appeared in just one game, Friday night against the Tigers, because a lefty was pitching for Detroit, and Josh Naylor was just coming off the same list, and Francona didn’t want his first game back to be against a tough southpaw in Tarik Skubal.

With the latest defensive configuration of using Naylor at first because of the leg he injured a year ago, and thus Owen Miller moving to second base, if seems like Chang has no real place on the roster.

And both Miller (861 OPS) and Naylor (1044 OPS) are among the best bats in the lineup, so the Guardians want those guys playing for sure.

Perhaps the front office is working on a deal for Chang, but right now, his spot on the roster could be better used by someone else.

Detroit’s closer is a lefty in Gregory Soto, and Francona allowed Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan, both left-handed hitters to bat. Chang didn’t even get a chance there.

You could probably make an argument that Ernie Clement isn’t benefiting either. He’s had just four at bats since May 7th, although he’s appeared in four games as a pinch-runner, so at least he is contributing there.

And if the organization views Clement as a bench piece, utility guy, then there isn’t a problem using him this way.

We don’t like wasting roster spots. There are only 26 of them, so why not have guys who can contribute.

And on another matter…

From a pitching standpoint, it will be interesting to see how the club handles Eli Morgan. The young right-hander made the team because they wanted length from some relievers due to the shortened spring.

Remember, in addition to Morgan, they also kept Konnor Pilkington and Logan Allen. But now that the starters are stretched out, is Morgan needed as a long man?

If Francona uses him that way, for say, three or four innings if a starter gets knocked out early, then fine. However, we wonder if he wouldn’t be better served going back to Columbus and getting stretched out so he is available as a starter?

Especially with the doubleheaders coming up later in the season with all the rainouts and games that were canceled due to the lockout.