Tribe Roster Needs More Versatility

With the shortened training camp for Major League Baseball, teams were allowed to carry 28 players on the roster, instead of 26, which would have been one extra player than in previous seasons.

Somehow, the Cleveland Indians have a lot of duplication among those 28 players, and with so many struggles offensively, it seems like the front office should give Terry Francona and Sandy Alomar Jr. some options.

First, look at the catching position. We know and understand the organization values defense and handling pitchers above everything else at that spot. It has worked for them since Francona took over, as he’s used primarily Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez.

However, right now, the roster has three catchers who basically do the same thing. When healthy, Perez is the primary backstop, and we would say he’s the best hitter of the bunch, hitting a career high 24 home runs last season.

Right now, he’s hitting .167 (494 OPS) in 22 games. He’s not walking as much as normal, and hasn’t driven the ball, but that could be because of his shoulder problem, which put him on the injured list once this season.

The primary backup is switch-hitting Sandy Leon, who is hitting .150 (568 OPS) although he has drawn 12 walks in 2020. They also added Austin Hedges, another defensive whiz, in the big San Diego trade at the deadline. He’s batting .156 with a 559 OPS, and has fanned 22 times in 78 plate appearances.

They seem to be basically the same player, the only discernible difference is Leon has the ability to hit left-handed.

The same seems to be true in centerfield, where the Tribe is carrying two right-handed hitters whose primary job is to provide good defense in the middle of the diamond.

Delino DeShields Jr. has received the most playing time out there, and quite frankly, he can’t hit, batting .247 with just two extra base hits and a 587 OPS. Oscar Mercado had a decent rookie season in 2019 (761 OPS), but this year has just 63 at bats, with a .143 batting average.

Mercado is two years younger, and his rookie season was better offensively than anything DeShields has done in his five major league seasons with Texas.

Our point in bringing this up giving more options for the Tribe manager, either Tito or Alomar. Wouldn’t the team be better off having a left-handed hitting option in center, maybe giving another shot to Daniel Johnson, who went 1 for 12 in five games early in the season?

Also, Johnson is 24 years old, and perhaps he could lay some foundation for a roster spot in 2021. And as we always ask, what are the odds he would be worse than the duo currently patrolling that position for the Tribe?

As for the catching situation, is there a need for three, especially since the Indians rarely pinch-hit for one of them early in a game. And if there would be an injury, they can always bring Bo Taylor back as a second catcher.

What could be done with that extra spot? You could have a second reserve infielder. Last week when Jose Ramirez’ hand was bothering him, Mike Freeman played third base, and the Tribe was left without another option.

Or perhaps another outfield bat to choose from, especially with the club platooning at least at two spots. It could give the skipper an alternative for a favorable matchup earlier in the contest.

Again, none of this would probably be necessary if the outfield was providing any type of production, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and more options.

We are sure the Indians would love for someone to emerge with a hot bat, even if it’s just for a couple of weeks. It doesn’t hurt to have more choices for who that will be.

Blaming Lindor? It’s Because We Will Miss Him If He Leaves.

We have lived in the Cleveland area for a long time, longer than we care to remember. And we have seen how people in northeast Ohio deal with their sports grief, and in many cases, preparing themselves for the sadness.

Right now, supporters of the Cleveland Indians are doing this with their all star shortstop, Francisco Lindor.

If you are a regular reader of this writer, we have made it abundantly clear how we feel about the Tribe shortstop. We believe if he plays the majority of his career with the Tribe, he will be recognized as the best position player ever to wear an Indians uniform.

The prevailing thought is with 14 games remaining in this shortened regular season, the days of seeing Frankie Lindor’s smile are coming to an end. It has been speculated by national baseball writers that the four time all star will be traded this off-season.

We are very much against such a trade and would pay the man the market value for someone who if he isn’t one of the ten best players in baseball, is certainly one of the top 15 players.

Keep in mind, Lindor will not turn 27 until after this season ends, and has hit 30 or more home runs three times, 40 or more doubles three times, scored 100 runs twice (he led the AL in 2018), and has won two Gold Gloves.

While there is no question Lindor hasn’t played up to his normal levels this season, he isn’t the only superstar you can say that about in the 2020 season (see Christian Yelich’s or Javy Baez’ statistics), blaming him for the Indians’ anemic offense is simply not right.

And yes, we know Lindor has struggled this season and last season in hitting with runners in scoring position. You know who is aware and probably putting too much pressure on himself to come through? Yes, Lindor himself.

We get it though, fans are cushioning the blow of Lindor leaving after the season. So, he is becoming the poster child for Cleveland’s offensive problems. We hear fans saying he’s checked out on the Tribe because he knows he’s out of here after the season, and point out his 6 for 45 performance with runners in scoring position as the example.

Actually, we think it is just the opposite, and we believe Lindor and his longtime teammate and the Tribe’s other megastar, Jose Ramirez have themselves believing if we don’t do it, no one else will either.

Tribe television analyst Andre Knott has said many times, Lindor is the Indians’ leader, but Ramirez is the team’s heartbeat.

Look the reason the Indians’ offense is struggling is they are getting pretty much no production out of four positions: All three outfield spots and catcher. If they were getting hitting out of those spots, Lindor’s struggles wouldn’t stand out as much.

And when the top of the order has games where they don’t hit, you get games like Thursday night, when rookie Brady Singer of the Royals gave up one hit in eight innings.

Lindor ranks third on the team in OPS (784) behind just Franmil Reyes and Ramirez. He’s in the top five on the Indians in both on base percentage and slugging percentage.

He ain’t the problem, folks.

Is Lindor having an MVP type season? No, he’s struggled early, but hit .282 in August and has actually improved that mark in September so far, at .293, and he’s cut down on the strikeouts as well, just five in 11 games this month.

Lindor is taking a larger portion of the heat for the poor performance of the offense because he likely won’t be with the team much longer, because ownership doesn’t want to pay for great players, and it’s easier to say goodbye.

The fans are pushing his away, they don’t want to admit the Indians are better with him. We understand that’s how it works in our town. However, it doesn’t mean the blame is being properly placed.

Who’s Tribe’s #2? Might Just Be Plesac.

Prior to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, there seemed to be a clear pecking order to the Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation.

Shane Bieber, who is the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award in this COVID shortened season is the clear ace, and would start Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs if and when Cleveland qualifies, unless he was needed to start a game so the Tribe could qualify for the post-season.

Right now, by our calculations, the magic number is 15 to clinch a berth in the eight team field.

Before the megadeal with San Diego, it would have figured that Mike Clevinger would pitch game two.

After all, Clevinger was 26-12 over the past two full seasons, and a 2.90 ERA and 376 strikeouts in 326 innings. And in his lone playoff start, he pitched five innings in Game 3 vs. Houston in the 2018 Division Series, allowing just one run, striking out nine.

So, although we don’t want to put the cart ahead of the horse, who takes the ball in the second game, and perhaps most pivotal game of the first round best of three series, a game in which the Tribe could advance or have to win to force a deciding game.

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron Civale would have been the odds on favorite, but since his complete game win against Pittsburgh, he hasn’t pitched as well.

Prior to that start, Civale pitched 25 innings to a 3.60 ERA, allowing 25 hits. Four of the ten earned runs he allowed came in a game against the Tigers, where he gave up three runs early before settling down.

In his last three starts, he’s allowed 10 runs in 18 frames, a 5.00 ERA. His usual impeccable control has been reduced as well. Before the Pirates start, the right-handers had struck out 26 hitters, walking just three.

The last three starts have yielded 17 whiffs against six walks, and 20 hits allowed. There has been a lot of traffic on the basepaths.

Terry Francona could also pick veteran Carlos Carrasco, who has rebounded from a tough three start stretch by allowing just a single run in his last two starts, spanning 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts and five walks.

Carrasco has made two very good post-season starts, the first in game three of the ’17 Division Series vs. the Yankees (5-2/3 scoreless innings, seven whiffs), and the other in game two of the ’18 ALDS against Houston (5-1/3 innings, two runs) where he left the game with the lead.

However, the guy we would consider is Zach Plesac, who stuffwise might rank right behind Bieber. The second year right-hander, who missed time because of his ill advised night on the town in Chicago, has a 3-1 record and a 1.32 ERA.

He’s allowed just 23 hits in 34 innings, striking out 34 hitters, while walking just two. He’s faced the White Sox, one of the league’s best hitting attacks twice, pitching 14 scoreless innings, fanning 18 batters, while walking just one.

He is scheduled to start in Minneapolis this weekend, so we may have a clearer picture of what he can do after that start. If he can control the Twins bats, he could emerge as the game two starter once the post-season starts.

That’s amazing because when the season started, Plesac was the #5 guy in the rotation. But starting with his first start against the White Sox, an eight scoreless inning performance with 11 strikeouts, he’s shown a great improvement from his rookie year.

Obviously, there will be 3-4 starts remaining for the rotation depending on how Francona, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carl Willis want to line it up for the playoffs. However, Plesac has thrown his hat into the ring for the second spot in the rotation.

Just another surprise in this crazy 2020 season.

Tribe Coming Down The Stretch. What Does That Mean In 2020?

The Cleveland Indians start play on Sunday with just 21 games remaining in this COVID abbreviated season. And they are in the midst of a pennant race, or are they?

Currently, the Tribe is a half game behind the Chicago White Sox, who sit in first place and they are virtually tied with Minnesota for second place.

With eight teams in the American League making the playoffs, it would be shocking in all three Central Division leaders didn’t advance to the post-season. There are no first round byes, so the trio is playing for playoff seeding and right now, the Sox would take on the Yankees, the Indians would get the Houston Astros, and Twins would take on Oakland.

Chicago and Cleveland would be designated as the home team for each game of the first round, best of three set, because the Indians have the edge by percentage points over Minnesota, and would be designated as the Central Division’s second place team, with the Twins getting a wild card position.

Of course, the lack of separation between the three teams make this situation very fluid. By the end of today, the Indians could be the 7th seed as a wild card, or the third seed as division leader.

Cleveland has a three game series at Target Field next weekend against the Twins, and host a four game set vs. the Pale Hose the last week of the season. The Tribe is currently 3-4 vs. Minnesota and are 4-2 against the Sox.

The White Sox host the Twins for a four game set, after the Tribe plays Rocco Baldelli’s squad, and of course, has the four game set in Cleveland, while the Twins have seven straight games vs. the other two contenders, followed by three against the NL Central leading Cubs.

We will know a lot about the Twins after that potentially brutal 10 game stretch.

Within the three teams, the young White Sox have fared the worst so far, going 4-8 against the other two top teams in the Central. They have dominated everyone else, going 20-7 against the rest of the schedule.

Minnesota has fared the best, going 8-5 in games between the three squads, with Cleveland being 5-6.

Chicago has ridden their offense so far, ranking second in the AL in runs scored per game at 5.26. But in six games against the Cleveland pitching staff, they’ve scored just 17 tallies, and that’s just 2.8 per contest.

The Twins have had a lot of injuries to date, which has hurt their highly touted offense. They’ve had Josh Donaldson for just 11 games and catcher Mitch Garver for just 17, so they rank just 11th in runs scored per game at 4.38.

FYI, the Indians average just 4.18 runs/game.

Against, the Tribe, Minnesota has scored only 18 runs in seven contests. That’s 2.6 per game.

So, while the AL Central top tier will probably all make it to October, that doesn’t mean the games aren’t important. Having the opportunity to bat last in the first three games during the post-season is important.

As for the overall AL post-season raced, it’s not much of one. Currently, Baltimore and Detroit are the first two teams looking in, and they are both three games behind the eighth spot, with Seattle four games out. With only between 20-25 games remaining, that will be tough to make up.

Both of those squads are below .500, so the Indians need to only win six games to probably be in, while we figure around 35-25 will get you home field for the first round. To do that, Cleveland needs to go 11-10 the rest of the way.

The bigger thing to watch for the Tribe is how they play against the Twins, Cubs, and White Sox coming down the stretch. Those are the best team remaining on the schedule.

We know Cleveland can beat the likes of Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, but they are 5-8 against the three teams mentioned before (meaning they are 19-7 against everyone else).

It’s not September baseball as we know it because of the expanded playoff system. Can you imagine the excitement about the division race, under the normal format? Because likely one and perhaps, two teams could be left out, and the wild card teams would have just the one game to get to the Division Series.

Still, the Tribe has questions. Can their hitting survive games where better pitchers are facing them? Can the bullpen remain solid? Can they find some production out of the outfield?

That’s the reason to watch these last 21 games, even if it seems the Indians will qualify for the playoffs.

Tribe Got Talent, Just Not What Was Needed

The Cleveland Indians did pull off a deal before the Major League Baseball trading deadline, in fact, it was a mega-deal, perhaps the biggest in the game.

It was the type of deal a rebuilding team makes, the kind that accelerates the process of returning to the post-season.

However, the Indians currently reside in first place in the American League Central Division. We are sure the Twins and White Sox, the other two teams vying for the division lead are thrilled that the Tribe dealt their #2 starter, Mike Clevinger, to the San Diego Padres.

Team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff got a lot of talent in the transaction, they usually do. But the Indians need help right now. And once again, this seems like a trade made for the future.

Clevinger and OF Greg Allen and a player to be named later to San Diego for OF/1B Josh Naylor (whose brother was the Tribe’s first round draft pick in 2018), P Cal Quantrill, C Austin Hedges, and three minor leaguers who were in the Padres’ top 15 prospects according to Baseball America, SS Gabriel Arias (#9), LHP Joey Cantillo (#11), and INF Owen Miller (#15).

Cleveland has a glaring weakness in the outfield, where they collectively have a batting average under .200, but didn’t address it with a proven bat.

We like Naylor, a left-handed hitter, but he has 289 big league at bats. He does have great numbers away from Petco Park, a lifetime 807 OPS, and his reputation is that of a guy who works the count and doesn’t strikeout a great deal. He should get time in LF. He hasn’t faced a lot of southpaws (51 AB’s), but has 16 hits in those opportunities.

Quantrill, a right-hander, should claim a spot in the Tribe bullpen, and could convert to the rotation next spring. A former 8th overall pick in 2016, he has a 2.60 ERA in 17 innings this year, with 18 whiffs.

Hedges is 27 and has been around for six seasons in San Diego. He’s an excellent defensive catcher, which is what the Tribe wants in the position, but can’t hit. He has a career .199 average (616 OPS). He’s not eligible for free agency until 2023.

As for the prospects, Arias and Cantillo haven’t played above the Class A level. Arias has some pop in his bat (17 HR last season), but strikes out a lot (over 128 in his last two minor league seasons). Cantillo is a power arm, with 144 punchouts in 111 innings in 2019.

Miller is older (23) and has a lifetime minor league batting average of .307 (808 OPS), and primarily is a second baseman. He probably would have been at the AAA level this year, if there was a minor league season.

Still, fans should be disappointed that Naylor was the only thing done to correct a huge weakness on a contending team, especially when the Indians gave up perhaps the best pitcher on the market. While Clevinger was the Tribe’s #2 starter, he’s an ace for most teams in the league.

Meanwhile, Cleveland still has a gaping hole in CF, and apparently, the organization spun the wheel and it landed on Oscar Mercado, who will get another opportunity according to some.

The Indians made a deal from depth, because they can replace Clevinger with Zach Plesac, who will start Tuesday night in Kansas City and they still have Triston McKenzie in the rotation. And they have Adam Plutko, Scott Moss, and Logan Allen, among others in reserve.

However, they didn’t get the professional bat they desperately needed, and that’s why there is a tinge of regret in the move. Perhaps Naylor fills the void, but again, no one will know right away.

What the Tribe did was add more prospects to an already strong farm system, particularly at the lower levels. And while Arias has some ability, Cleveland is filled with prospects who play middle infield spots, including four of their top ten players.

Remember the old kids game, Kick the Can? That’s what it seems the organization is doing, kicking the can down the road of contention. They are getting like the Browns in terms of promising to try to be all in next season.

It’s a strange move by a team in first place. Instead of making a deal to put them over the hump in 2020, the Indians looked toward 2021 and beyond.

A Good Week For The Tribe, Will It Extend To Monday?

It is August 29th, and the Cleveland Indians are in first place in the American League Central Division. You can’t ask for more than that.

And after a tough weekend at home against the Tigers a few days ago, losing two out of three, and then a dismal first game of a key series against Minnesota, the resilient Tribe came back, won a game where ace Shane Bieber struggled early, and then brought Mike Clevinger back in the rubber match.

Clevinger struggled at the outset too, but the last four innings he pitched Wednesday night were as well as he threw the ball all season, and Tyler Naquin delivered a huge hit to trigger a three run rally in the bottom of the 8th, and Cleveland took the key series.

In the past few seasons, the Indians have gone on long winning streaks, a 14 game skein in 2016, and of course, the 22 game stretch in late 2017.

They’ve done it again, this time winning 10 straight on the road, dating back to a 2-0 frustrating loss to the White Sox on August 7th.

So, the Tribe sits at 21-12 on the season, in a year with eight teams making the playoffs, so a .500 record gives you a chance for the post-season, and you would think 35-25 gets you in for sure.

Based on that, if the Indians go 14-13 the rest of the schedule, which is just over the break even mark, they will hit that mark.

According to Baseballreference.com, the Tribe has a 99.9% chance of making the post-season, and if they have one of the four best records in the AL, they will host all three games of the series.

Right now, Cleveland has the third best record in the league, just two games behind Oakland for the best mark.

There is plenty of speculation concerning the Major League Baseball trading deadline, which comes Monday afternoon at 4 PM. However, there is no debate on what the club needs to address at that deadline.

It’s hitting particularly in the outfield. Outside of Tyler Naquin, the numbers are ugly so you may want to divert your eyes:

Domingo Santana: 11 for 70, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 590 OPS
Oscar Mercado: 5 for 45, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 278 OPS
Delino DeShields: 12 for 43 (not bad), but just one extra base hit, and a 656 OPS
Jordan Luplow: 5 for 40, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 505 OPS
Greg Allen: 4 for 25, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 598 OPS
Bradley Zimmer: 6 for 37, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 603 OPS

Clearly, help in needed. Have all of these guys received a clear shot? No, but the abbreviated 60 game schedule makes that impossible. Also, that none of them have been productive has hurt as well. Terry Francona might have been able to stay with some of them longer if others were hitting.

Can Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff find someone to help out Naquin in terms of production?

Seriously, when it comes to CF, anybody you bring in would be an upgrade over the quartet of Mercado, Zimmer, DeShields, and Allen. As for LF, Luplow has shown signs of life, particularly against southpaws, but let’s face it, Santana has been a disappointment.

Sandy Alomar Jr. said yesterday Naquin will get some opportunities vs. LHP, but perhaps it’s time to give Daniel Johnson another shot. The rookie was 1 for 12 with five strikeouts, but maybe getting some reps at the alternative site helped him.

We know the Tribe has pitching depth, both in starters and in the bullpen. They also have depth in middle infielders, although that would have to involve a player to be named later type deal.

Cleveland has 13 pitchers in their top 30 prospects (according to Baseball America), including some arms we’ve already seen (Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, and James Karinchak). They also have 11 middle infielders, including Yu Chang, currently on the big league roster.

They also have Bobby Bradley and Jake Bauers, who seems to have fallen out of favor with the organization.

What will the front office do? We will find out in less than 48 hours. Tribe fans will be on the edge of their seats waiting.

If Tribe Can Get A Bat, What Kind Should They Get?

The Major League Baseball trading deadline is less than a week away, and we all know the Cleveland Indians have gaping holes in the lineup.

They are tied for 13th in the American League in runs scored per game, and they remain last in the league in slugging percentage and second to the bottom in OPS. The one statistic they are doing well in is drawing walks, they are 4th in the AL.

Although it seems like they strikeout a lot, they are only 8th in the league, but in thinking about some of the rallies that have died recently, it seems as if when they need a big hit, instead they get a strikeout.

Obviously, when your starting outfield is batting under .200 collectively, any batter doing anything offensively would be an improvement. However, to us, what the Tribe needs is more of a professional hitter than a big time slugger for this offense.

The Tribe has five hitters in their lineup right now than have belted 30 home runs or more in the their careers: Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Franmil Reyes, and Domingo Santana.

However, how much would getting another all or nothing slugger like Reyes (35 strikeouts, 8 walks) or D. Santana, who surprisingly has walked 12 times this season against 24 whiffs, help this offense greatly.

We confess we do not like hitters with poor strikeout to walk ratios. While there are exceptions, we find those players ultimately have a shorter span of usefulness because eventually pitchers do not have to throw them strikes to get them out.

Case in point, it is why we had doubts about Oscar Mercado coming into this season. He fanned three times as much as he walked last season. This year, he struck out 14 times, walking just three.

Players with high strikeout totals and high walk totals, are usually very good offensive players. Jim Thome and Travis Hafner come to mind.

Think about Carlos Santana. The switch-hitting first baseman is batting just .212 this season with only three homers. You know what he’s not doing for the most part? Getting himself out. He leads the AL in taking walks by a large margin.

One guy we would love to have is (and we aren’t saying he’s available) would be a player like Whit Merrifield of the Royals. He’s a .296 lifetime hitter (791 OPS), and although his strikeout rate has gone up a bit in recent years, he puts the bat on the ball. And he’s versatile, capable of playing 2B and the outfield.

If Arizona decides to sell, Starling Marte would be of interest too. He has a career 794 OPS, and although he doesn’t walk a great deal (career high 35 in 2018), his strikeout totals have steadily declined since he came into the league.

One thing is for certain, the Tribe certainly needs to lengthen its batting order. Although Tyler Naquin has been on a little hot streak recently, most nights once Reyes bats, it would be a good time to refill whatever snacks you are eating while watching the Indians. Not much is going to happen.

Don’t complain about the catchers hitting either. Understand, the Cleveland organization values defense and handling pitchers first and foremost from their backstops. If they get any offense, like they did a year ago from Perez, that’s a bonus. They don’t care if they hit .150 as long as they do their primary job.

We feel confident the front office will do something before Monday’s deadline. The pitching is at World Series winner level. The offense is at expansion team level. Improving the latter could lead to a long post-season run.

Tribe’s Vaunted Rotation Is No Longer…Right Now

Just two weeks ago, the Cleveland Indians had a starting rotation that was remarkable. All five members were capable of dominating the opponents’ hitters.

Led by Cy Young Award candidate Shane Bieber, the Tribe pitchers blew through the first 17 games of the regular season without giving up more than four runs.

Then came the night of August 8th, when Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger decided to go out onto the mean streets of the Windy City, and had to be quarantined when they violated the protocol Major League Baseball and the Indians put forth in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

In the 11 games since the trip to Chicago, the Cleveland pitching staff has allowed more than four runs six times.

Carlos Carrasco hasn’t pitched well in his last three starts. Adam Plutko has been hit hard in his last two. So, right now, the dominance in the starting staff depends on Bieber, Aaron Civale, and a youngster who has one major league start in Triston McKenzie.

Can Carrasco return to form? Of course, Sandy Alomar Jr. discussed how the veteran is trying to make some adjustments and Alomar alluded to how Cookie is not moving the ball up and down in the strike zone.

Still, in his last 12 innings, over those three starts, Carrasco has allowed 10 earned runs (7.50 ERA) and has walked nine hitters, and given up three gopher balls.

Plutko, who to be fair, entered the season as the sixth starter/long reliever, has had issues getting through the batting order a second time in his three starts, pitching 10 innings and allowing 11 runs (9.90 ERA) and has just four strikeouts.

Does the front office really want to depend on the 23-year-old rookie in McKenzie, a guy who hadn’t pitched in a competitive game since 2018 before dominating the Tigers last Saturday night? That’s one helluva gamble.

And with the Cleveland offense struggling on a nightly basis to score runs, anything less than outstanding pitching seems to spell defeat for the Indians. That puts a heck of a lot of pressure on the two holdovers from the beginning of the season, Bieber and Civale.

Those two have been tremendous. As stated before, Bieber is a candidate for the Cy Young Award, going 5-0 with a 1.11 ERA in his six starts, striking out an ungodly 65 hitters in 40-2/3 innings.

Civale has been very good too, with a 3-2 record and a 2.91 ERA in 34 innings. He threw a complete game against Pittsburgh in his last start.

So, why we understand the move the organization made in putting Clevinger and Plesac on the restricted list first, and then sending them basically to the minor leagues, the fact is, the performance of the staff has suffered without them.

Therefore, it seems like time to smooth things over with the rest of the roster and get at least one of the two back with the big club right away.

Plutko is scheduled to make his next start against the first place Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night, and based on his last three outings, it would be a stretch to find a fan looking forward to that matchup.

What seemed like a historically great starting rotation has sprung leaks, and it is not due to injury. If the Indians want to make another deep post-season run, they should understand having one or both of these pitchers back is a necessity.

Until Ramirez, Lindor, C. Santana Start Hitting, Tribe In For A Bumpy Ride

Last night’s game between the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers marked the 27th game of the season, which would be the 1/6th point of a normal 162 game slate.

While many baseball people like to point to the quarter pole of a season (40 games), we think 27 games is effective because the campaign has gone along enough to make some judgments.

And despite occasional flashes from Tribe hitters, you have to conclude that the Cleveland offense isn’t very effective.

The Indians rank 13th in the AL in runs scored per game, ahead of only Kansas City and Texas. The other four teams that join them in the bottom five of this category have a combined 41-66 record, which is a .383 winning percentage.

The bottom five in the National League have a combined record of 47-63, which is a slightly better, but still poor .427 record of winning.

Therefore, it is remarkable that Cleveland has a 17-10 record despite their limited ability to score runs, but it seems important to winning games, that you have to produce some runs.

It also points to how unbelievable the Tribe pitching has been this season.

We anticipated the Indians might struggle to score runs because the bottom of their batting order was largely unproven, or in their because of their defense. The outfield was thought to be a possible problem all winter. It’s one of the reasons they signed Domingo Santana.

As of today, the highest OPS of the bottom four in the lineup (most frequently Santana, Tyler Naquin, Roberto Perez, and Delino DeShields) is 648.

The league average is 735.

However, the top of the lineup has also performed less than anticipated, with only Franmil Reyes and Cesar Hernandez doing what was expected.

Reyes is the only Indian hitter with an OPS over 800 (888), and the only Cleveland player with a slugging percentage of over .450 and an on base percentage over .350.

Hernandez has done his job, which was to get on base. He has a .370 on base percentage, and has seen a lot of pitches and worked counts.

Carlos Santana has been a walk machine, leading the league by a wide margin (27, next best player has 20), but he has just five extra base hits on the season, two doubles and three home runs, with a batting average of just .193.

Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor, the duo supposed to be the best offensive players on the team, have really scuffled.

Lindor is hitting .252 with just six walks (723 OPS), and has grounded into a league high seven double plays. To our eye, he is trying to pull outside pitches instead of hitting them into the gaps. And he is swinging at a lot of borderline pitches when he is ahead in the count.

The last couple of days, he is taking a bit of an opposite field approach in an effort to stay on the ball, and has had some hits.

Ramirez has had a couple of huge games (a pair of two homer contests), but hitting only .233, and hasn’t had a hit since last Sunday. He has taken some walks (he’s in the top ten in the AL), but has really been feast or famine in 2020, mostly the latter.

If the trio of Ramirez, Lindor, and Carlos Santana aren’t producing on a consistent basis, this offense is in big trouble. Their track records indicate they will hit at some point, but until then, it’s pretty ugly.

We’ve seen suggestions of moving Lindor back to the leadoff spot recently, but we don’t think that’s a good remedy. His career high in on base percentage (2016) is .358, which is less than what Hernandez is giving the team now.

Terry Francona and the front office can keep shuffling the deck in the outfield, but what will that accomplish? The hope that someone gets hot? Hope isn’t a plan.

Until the mainstays of the Cleveland lineup (Ramirez, Lindor, Santana) get going, this offense is going to struggle. The pitching will need to remain excellent until that happens.

On The Clevinger/Plesac Situation

When it was announced on August 9th that Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Zach Plesac had violated the protocol for COVID-19, it was greeted as a mistake made by a kid, an unfortunate error, but the hope was neither Plesac or any of his teammates would be infected.

The next day it was revealed that Mike Clevinger was with Plesac, and compounded the error by not letting anyone know, and flying back to Cleveland on the team plane.

Suddenly, the Tribe’s vaunted starting rotation was missing two pieces in a shortened season.

Now, a week later, the question of how this will play out is still up in the air.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported yesterday that veteran reliever Oliver Perez said he would opt out if the duo was returned to the active roster, and reportedly, the players as a whole are still very upset (and rightly so) that they were lied to by their teammates.

At the end of the day, the Indians’ organization has to do what is best for themselves both from a clubhouse standpoint and perhaps more importantly a competitive one.

There is no question the 2020 edition of the Tribe is better with Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac in the starting rotation. If they weren’t, then Adam Plutko would have been in the rotation to open the season, and one or both would have been in the satellite camp.

You have to also understand the players know this too.

That’s why talk of releasing the pair or trading them for essentially 20 cents on the dollar doesn’t make sense. The party who loses in this scenario is the Cleveland Indians.

People have referenced the Trevor Bauer transaction last season after the pitcher threw the ball over the centerfield fence in Kansas City in an act of frustration, but the Tribe got quite a haul for the right-hander, although we still think the deal was made more with 2020 in mind.

Our guess is if the return wasn’t there, Bauer would have finished the season in Cleveland. And we say that understanding Bauer didn’t put his teammates’ health in jeopardy.

At 13-9 during this abbreviated baseball schedule, the Tribe certainly has a solid chance to make the post-season, and perhaps win the division. The strength of the ballclub is the starting pitching. That would certainly be diminished without the men who started the second and fifth games of the season.

Without a doubt, the schedule was on the front office’s side in the disciplining of Clevinger and Plesac with three off days in an eight day span. Plutko has started twice in place of the former, and was okay in one start, and not so good in the other.

The team could’ve made the move to send Plesac to the minors anyway with all of the off days to bring up an extra position player or reliever.

We don’t want to marginalize the potential danger the pair put their teammates in, particularly when they saw the situations in Miami and St. Louis. Their reputations took a hit, as well they should have, but people need to understand this is not high school or college, so lesson learning cannot be the entire thing here.

This is professional sports and the players get paid to perform to the best of their abilities and the team is trying to win. Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac help the Indians in that pursuit.

And their teammates should understand they need them to win as well. So, cooler heads need to prevail.

First, both players need to throw themselves on the mercy of the rest of the roster. Be sincere, and in Plesac’s case, stop putting yourself out there on social media.

The team needs to accept this apology and start the healing process. Yes, the trust was broken, and only time will tell if it can be repaired.

There have been “bad guys” who have played Major League Baseball in the past, some who are well known (Ty Cobb), and others who have flown under the radar. We know the Indians’ clubhouse is especially tight knit, but no one says you have to like the people you work with, although it is nice.

It may sound callous to some, but the Cleveland Indians are a better team, and have a better chance to win with Clevinger and Plesac. Let’s hope everyone involved can understand this as well.