A Tough Series Ahead For Tribe

Tomorrow afternoon, the Cleveland Indians start their quest to end a 70 year drought without a World Series title.

To make matters tougher, they embark on the journey having to take on the defending World Series titlists, the Houston Astros, in the best of five Division Series.

We could be completely wrong on this, because well, baseball, but we feel it will be a very difficult series for the Tribe to emerge victorious.

The Astros lead the American League in run differential, meaning them, not the 108 win Boston Red Sox are the best team in the AL.

The Indians’ hallmark is their pitching, particularly their starters. Their staff ERA is 3.77, ranking 4th in the American League. However, Houston led the league in that category, more than a half run per game less at 3.11.

Cleveland has scored more runs, but only 21 more than the Astros on the season.

The teams are very similar offensively. The Indians scored three runs or less 58 times, which is over 1/3rd of their games. That seems like a lot, right?

Except the Astros did the same thing more often, having 64 games with three runs or less.

Using the 350/450/800 standard for being a very good offensive player, the Indians have three such players (Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Jose Ramirez), while the Astros have two in Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.

Houston comes in as the hotter team, going 21-6 after September 1st, while the Indians went 14-14. But as we found out last year, being hot coming into the playoffs makes absolutely no difference.

As we said, both teams have exceptional starting pitching, and in our opinion, that’s what the series will come down to. Corey Kluber won 20 games this year, but at times has appeared mortal this season. His game one mound opponent, Justin Verlander, quite frankly had a better season.

The two teams met seven times in the regular season, with Houston having a 4-3 advantage.

In Houston, all three games were close. The Indians were either tied or ahead through 6-1/2 innings in each contest, and a tired starter gave up runs late. Remember, at that time, the Cleveland bullpen was having major issues.

At Progressive Field, Houston won in blowout fashion in the first two games, the latter with the Astros scoring 11 runs in the last two innings.

Even in the extra inning win the day before Memorial Day, the Tribe led 3-2 after seven, before Houston scored six in the 8th, matched by a five run rally in the bottom of the ninth by the Indians.

In that game, Trevor Bauer was left in to throw a season high 127 pitches.

So, this series could hinge on how well Allen, Miller, and Hand do. Only Allen was fully healthy at the time. Miller was about to go on the DL, and Hand was in San Diego.

If Ramirez doesn’t start hitting in this series, the offense could depend on whether or not Josh Donaldson can contribute.

The record says the Astros are better than the Tribe, but last year it said the Indians were the better team than New York.

We say it will be a great series, and these two teams are more evenly matched than it appears record wise.

If we have to make a prediction, we would go with the Astros in four. We also can’t tell you how wrong we would like to be.

Champion Tribe Still Has Offensive Questions.

It’s been a baseball season filled with ups and downs for the Cleveland Indians, but since they reside in the American League Central Division, Terry Francona’s squad coasted to the division title, the first team to clinch that spot in the big leagues this season.

We have said it all season, the Tribe lineup is very top heavy, and the team is in the top three in the AL in runs scored because of SS Francisco Lindor, 3B/2B Jose Ramirez, LF Michael Brantley, and to a lesser extent DH Edwin Encarnacion.

Beyond that quartet, there have been some hot streaks by other players, but you know it has been a tough season for many of the Indians’ hitters, when Melky Cabrera’s signing was important.

Over the last month, Lindor and Ramirez have regressed from their superman status offensively, Lindor kind of being a normal human being, while Ramirez has been in a slump.

That has made it difficult for the Indians to maintain a solid offense for the last four to six weeks.

If Josh Donaldson can be even close to the player he was in 2015 and 2016, he brings an additional impact to the lineup. And that is needed because the Indians rank in the lower third of the league in WAR at several positions.

They are second last in the AL in centerfield, fourth from the bottom in rightfield, and rank 10th (out of 15) at second base.

That’s why the front office gambled on Donaldson. That moves Ramirez to second, an upgrade, and Jason Kipnis, who isn’t having a great year, to center, where his off year is better than what the Tribe has had to use in the middle of the outfield.

Bradley Zimmer started the year out there, but struck out 44 times in a 114 plate appearance, before getting hurt and ending his season with a .226 batting average and a 611 OPS.

He was platooning with Rajai Davis, who is still active, and has an even worse OPS at 567, with just 8 extra base hits in 210 plate appearances.

By contrast, Roberto Perez, having a miserable year at the plate by anyone’s standards, has 10 extra base hits.

Greg Allen took over and by comparison has looked better, but he’s has a 613 OPS and a .241 batting average and 13 extra base hits.

Management traded for Leonys Martin from Detroit before the July 31st trade deadline, but he fell ill after playing six games, and that sent president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff scrambling.

The fear here is that the Indians will be one of those teams who are so deficient in certain areas that it offsets the greatness of Lindor and Ramirez, and the starting pitching, which claims three of the AL’s top ten in ERA, and four of the league’s top ten in strikeouts.

The Tribe’s likely first round opponent, the Astros, lead the league in ERA and in strikeouts. Meaning runs will probably be tough to come by, so even if the top of the order is hitting, someone will still need to step up to win the series.

Maybe it will be Encarnacion or Donaldson. Perhaps Kipnis will hit in the playoffs like he did in 2016, when he belted 4 homers and knocked in eight.

Unless the pitching staff is throwing shutouts, they will need more than Lindor, Brantley, and Ramirez. And remember, those three didn’t really hit well a year ago.

There can’t be anymore moves made, so the players on the roster are going to have to step up. The question is will they?

Going Forward–Tribe Needs To Use Entire Roster

The Cleveland Indians will clinch the American League Central Division title sometime this week, but right now they look like a team running on fumes.

Several of the everyday players look to need a few days off, most notably MVP candidate Jose Ramirez, who over the last month is hitting just .172 with one home run and a 572 OPS.

Over the same time frame, Yonder Alonso is batting .187, also with a pair of dingers and a 542 OPS.

Even Francisco Lindor’s numbers have dropped off. He has a .255 batting average and five homers, but his OPS is just 703.

Are these just slumps, or have the dog days of August set in, with the fatigue that goes with playing everyday in a summer where the temperatures have been high?

In the case of Lindor and Ramirez, both young players at 24 and 25 (for now, Ramirez turns 26 in less than a week), it could be that they are tired, both having played everyday (Lindor 141 games, Ramirez 140 out of a possible 142).

To be sure, neither player wants to sit out. Their attitude is to go out everyday and compete, and that is a very noble thing to want to do.

However, we noticed yesterday that Erik Gonzalez has been on the 25 man roster the entire season, and has just 129 plate appearances, striking us incredibly low for someone here all season.

While Gonzalez has put up a .285 batting average and a 716 OPS to date, we feel his lack of strike zone judgment (32 strikeouts to 5 walks) would be exposed if was in the lineup more often.

Should he or a perhaps more productive utility player get more at bats during the regular season to give Lindor and Ramirez some rest to keep them fresh for the stretch drive?

We understand the Tribe was caught in a tough place with Gonzalez, as he was out of options coming into the season. Typically, young players have a problem with a bench role, although considering his limited playing time, he has done well.

The point is it is obvious that Terry Francona isn’t comfortable putting his name in the lineup. And it’s easier for sure to write Lindor and Ramirez on the card.

This year is a luxury, the Tribe is cruising to a post-season berth. But what if the Twins were hot and were cutting into the lead on a weekly basis? Having a third of your everyday players, particularly on a top heavy offense, slumping isn’t good.

On the other hand, perhaps Ramirez’ struggles are a result of being too pull happy and a little too conscious of his home run total. Opposing teams are using extreme shifts against him, and when he came to the majors he was a player who used all fields.

Alonso’s troubles could be strictly from losing his strike zone judgment. His walk rate is at 8.7% this season, compared to 13.1% a year ago. And he is striking out at the highest rate of his career.

It appears the first baseman has played himself into a platoon role for the post-season, with either Yandy Diaz or Edwin Encarnacion with someone else being the designated hitter.

There are 25 men on a roster, and why not use all of them. Especially to keep players fresh over the long six month season.

Hopefully the rest they will get after the Indians clinch will be enough for October.

Looking At MVP Candidacy Of Ramirez, Lindor.

The Indians and Red Sox are playing a four game series in Fenway Park this week, which is a matchup of two teams who will be playing in October.

However, a secondary battle will be going on, with four big time candidates for the American League MVP on the field, Boston’s Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, and the Indians’ Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor.

The quartet are all in the league leaders in WAR, as well as ranking high in all of the traditional statistics too. Betts currently leads in WAR at 8.3, with Ramirez 3rd, Lindor 4th, and Martinez 8th.

In terms of offensive WAR, Ramirez is 2nd, Betts 3rd, Martinez 4th, and Lindor 6th. Betts is regarded as the best defensive rightfielder in the sport, but Lindor actually has a higher defensive WAR because he plays a more important defensive position.

In runs created, the four rank in the top five in the AL.

We aren’t going to comment on the two Boston players candidacy, but needless to say, both are great players and would be worthy winners of the MVP. But we think the two Indians have a better case, and here’s why.

The Tribe is third in the American League in runs scored despite no one besides Ramirez and Lindor having an OPS over 850 among players with over 100 at bats. Michael Brantley, having a solid season, is third in this statistic at 823 currently.

By contrast, two other Red Sox are over that figure–Xander Bogaerts at 875 and Andrew Benintendi at 877. Boston leads the AL in runs scored, and you can see why with four outstanding hitters in their lineup every day.

We have been saying this all season long, but the Cleveland attack is very often dependent on the two players manning the left side of their infield.

Really, who else is contributing on an every day basis offensively?

Edwin Encarnacion has dropped off from a year ago, his batting average down almost 30 points, his on base percentage down 60 points. Over the last month, we have seen opposing teams pitching around Ramirez in key situations to get to the veteran slugger.

Yonder Alonso has done well in maintaining the power spike he had a year ago, already setting a career high in RBIs with 70, but he hasn’t had as good a season as Carlos Santana had with Cleveland a year ago.

Yan Gomes has slumped after the All Star break, so Terry Francona isn’t really getting good hitting out of centerfield, catcher, rightfield, and second base. That’s almost half of the batting order.

Yet, the Tribe is scoring more runs than anyone in the Junior Circuit save for Boston and New York. That’s how valuable the duo of Ramirez and Lindor have been.

And it hasn’t been just this season either. Ramirez, of course, finished third in the voting a year ago, and Lindor has finished in the top ten the past two seasons, 9th in 2016 and 5th last season.

We also have to remind everyone again, that Ramirez won’t turn 26 years old until next month, and Lindor won’t be 25 until November. They are still getting better folks.

Right now, Betts has the WAR lead, and that goes a big way in determining the MVP, and we understand that. But if the word “valuable” is considered, keep in mind that the Indians’ offense is being carried by the duo of Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor.

That’s our case for both of them.

In Pro Sports, Consistency Is The Key

In the social media era, opinions on players and teams can change on a daily basis, particularly in baseball and basketball, where games are held often, in baseball, pretty much every day for six months.

So, when a much maligned player has a good game, his supporters are very proud to point that out. Really, the opposite doesn’t happen much, because guys like LeBron James, Francisco Lindor, or Jose Ramirez are universally regarded as among the best players in their sport.

In professional sports though, consistency is the best talent you can bring to the table.

Think about it, if you are talking about a professional athlete, they have enough ability to get to the highest level of the sports in which they play. This means they are very capable of getting four hits in a baseball game, scoring 20 points in an NBA game, or catching eight passes in an NFL contest.

The problem is what happens the next night.

Back when Danny Ferry played for the Cavaliers, let’s just say we weren’t a fan. We discovered early he was a “tweener”, too small to play power forward, and not quick enough to play small forward. In spite of this, he became something of a crowd favorite.

A Ferry fan asked us why we were critical of the player the Cavs gave up Ron Harper AND two first round draft picks for (the worst trade in NBA history in our opinion). Our explanation was simply this–we would give the fan $5 every time Ferry played a good game, and he would do the same if he played a poor game.

Naturally, the fan turned down our request. Point made.

The sports landscape is filled with outstanding performances by average or below average players. This past NBA season, Trey Burke scored 42 for the Knicks, and Alan Crabbe had 41 for the Nets.

Burke averaged 12.8 points per game, and Crabbe 13.2 this season.

Look at the Browns. How many wide receivers have flashed by having a good game here or there? Then, defenses pay more attention, and they can’t get open any more.

Remember a Tigers’ hitter named Chris Shelton? He ended April 2006 with a .326 batting average, 10 home runs and 20 runs batted in. He did have a decent 2005 season too.

The rest of that season, he hit six homers and knocked in 27. The following year, he was back in the minors, and played just 50 more games in the big leagues afterwards.

That’s why you need to see sustained success before you should be excited. Take a guy like Jason Kipnis.

First of all, we don’t root against him. We would love it if he got hot and started to hit like he did in 2016. He got off to a horrible start in 2018. However, over the last 14 days, he’s hitting .243.

The last 28 days? If you said .243, you’d be correct.

He’s had one full month (June) where he hit above .237, although he is hitting well to start August. But, you have to maintain consistency.

These guys are professional athletes, and you don’t become that without talent. There is an old adage that it is tougher to stay in the big leagues than it is to get there.

When you are consistent, the coach or manager can rely on you. That’s why sometimes Terry Francona gives veterans who have performed for him the benefit of the doubt. They’ve earned it. (There is still a fine line between patience and stubbornness).

It’s what every professional athlete strives for. In the case of Lindor and Ramirez, it is consistent excellence. For others, it’s being a guy who can be trusted.

Tribe Needs Encarnacion, Alonso To Be Productive In October

We have been talking about the Cleveland Indians’ offense for over a month now and how strange it is that the Tribe ranks 3rd in the AL in runs scored per game with really only three players having above average seasons.

We will point out again that Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are having arguably two of the five best hitting seasons in baseball, because if they weren’t, the Cleveland offense would be in big trouble.

Can they win in the post-season with only three players carrying the load at the plate?

Terry Francona’s squad ranks 4th in the American League in on base percentage, despite having only those three hitters above the league average in that category (.317).

Yes, Erik Gonzalez and Lonnie Chisenhall are higher, but they have limited plate appearances. Edwin Encarnacion sits right at the league average, while Yonder Alonso is just below at .314.

Alonso has an OBP of .365 in 2017, and his career mark is .336, so he is well below both of those marks. Encarnacion was at .377 last season, his highest mark since 2012, mostly because he reached a career high with 102 walks.

This season, his walk rate is down, and so is his batting average, down to .229 currently after hitting .258 a walk ago.

Here are the other on base percentages for the players who get the most playing time for the Tribe:

Yan Gomes .300
Jason Kipnis .307
Brandon Guyer .284
Rajai Davis .296
Greg Allen .264
Roberto Perez .247

The Cleveland attack is inconsistent because of it.

Among the teams with the highest run scoring totals in the AL, it was surprising to see the Indians ranking only behind Boston and New York in terms of number of games scoring three runs or less. The Tribe has done this 43 times, compared to 30 for the Yankees and 34 for the Red Sox.

By contrast, Houston has scored less than four runs 47 times, Texas 50 times, and Oakland 51 times.

The Indians do rank behind only Boston in number of games with 10 or more runs, having done that 14 times (Red Sox 17).

The concern for us is how this will work in the playoffs. The other teams are going to go out of their way to not allow Lindor or Ramirez to beat them, so it is important that someone, anyone, steps up.

It won’t be unusual to see managers pass Lindor to get to Brantley, and/or skip Ramirez to get to Encarnacion. Really, who else is going to hurt them the way the lineup is currently constructed.

The point is someone else has to step up or the front office is going to have to get another bat.

Leonys Martin looked like he could help vs. right-handed pitching, but he looks like he may be out of the lineup for awhile with a non-baseball related issue.

Will Chisenhall be able to get back in the lineup, and even if he does, can he stay healthy for the post-season?

We would say at this point, neither Martin nor Chisenhall will be useful come playoff time.

So, can the offense be more consistent and efficient unless changes are made? We’d say the most likely scenarios would be Encarnacion or Alonso getting better because they were better a year ago.

Gomes is who he is, and Kipnis hasn’t been good at the plate since the World Series in 2016. That’s a long slump.

Until then, we are officially worried about the hitting come playoff time. That’s the problem relying on two players, no matter how good they are.

The Yandy Question.

One of the great conundrums of this baseball season is the Cleveland Indians’ offense. The Tribe ranks 3rd in the American League in runs scored, yet it seems like it could be even better.

Part of that feeling is well documented on this site, the offense is very top heavy. Jose Ramirez may just be putting together an MVP season, and no doubt Francisco Lindor will be in the top ten, and maybe top five as well.

Ramirez is threatening to put together the greatest season ever by a major league third baseman. Think about that for a second.

As great as that duo has been, and they have been supported by Michael Brantley, and to a lesser extent, Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso, the bottom of the order can have either three or four hitters who are struggling.

The need for another solid bat makes the handling of Yandy Diaz more curious.

In the minor leagues, Diaz has been an on base machine, a .454 figure last season at Columbus, followed up by a .414 figure this season.

Unfortunately, the Indians’ organization has pigeonholed him as a third baseman, and as we already mentioned, that spot is being manned in Cleveland by perhaps the AL most valuable player.

Diaz doesn’t fit the new hot thing in baseball today, which would be launch angle. Although he hits the ball as hard as many in the sports, but he doesn’t hit it in the air, and that results in very few extra base hits. His slugging percentage is at .392, down from last year’s .460.

So, why the Joey Gallo’s of the world are thought to be good hitters, Yandy Diaz is not.

While Diaz doesn’t hit with power, what he doesn’t do is make outs. He gets on base over 40% of the time, and even last year with the Indians, he had an OBP of .352 in 2017. That figure would rank behind only Ramirez, Lindor, and Lonnie Chisenhall on this year’s roster.

Remember, when Cleveland had their 22 game winning streak in 2017, Diaz was basically the regular third baseman because Jason Kipnis was hurt, and Ramirez was moved to second.

The big question for us is with the issues the Tribe has had in the outfield this season, why didn’t they move Diaz to RF and work with him in spring training. He played 27 games there in 2016 and nine games in 2017.

Couldn’t he play the position at least as well as, let’s say, Melky Cabrera? No one expects him to be Roberto Clemente out there. What we’ve seen of him at the hot corner doesn’t suggest that he’s a butcher in the field.

It would seem to us that his bat could help the big club. He takes walks, makes contact, and when he was called up for four games right after the All Star Game, he went 7 for 14 with the Indians.

Diaz’ offensive prowess is being wasted because he will be 27 years old in a few days (August 8th to be exact), but for some reason, the organization doesn’t seem anxious to find a way to get his bat into the lineup.

A lineup that needs a boost. A lineup that is short on players who can get on base. A lineup that lost one of its best on base percentage guys last off-season in Carlos Santana.

What is the organization’s problem with Yandy Diaz? Instead of looking for a way to get his bat in there, there seem to be burying him.

The Tribe Outfield Dilemma: Need Offense and Defense

The Major League Baseball trading deadline is just hours away and the Cleveland Indians still some holes they need to fix if they want to compete the “big three” of the American League: The Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.

As has been documented before, the Cleveland lineup is very top heavy. Once you get past the first five hitters in Terry Francona’s batting order, it is a virtual desert.

In our opinion, to have a good offense you need to have seven solid bats in the lineup. That leaves the Tribe two good hitters short.

It is a testament to how great Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, and Yonder Alonso have been that the Indians rank 2nd in the American League in runs scored.

The balance of the order, particularly the outfielders, aren’t getting it done. Yes, Brandon Guyer has started hammering lefties lately, but the centerfield platoon of Tyler Naquin and Rajai Davis isn’t getting it done, and Melky Cabrera has a 626 OPS as well.

It’s particularly tough for the offense when Roberto Perez, hitting .144, is catching.

Suffice it to say, the Tribe could use another bat or two to protect itself for when the top five is having a rare day where they aren’t hitting.

But here is where the rub is, the other problem for the Indians is their defense in the outfield. Davis has been okay defensively, but Naquin is a corner outfielder at his core, and struggles in center.

In rightfield, Cabrera is below average with the glove, and Michael Brantley is at this point in his career probably should be a designated hitter.

When your starting pitchers are as good as Cleveland’s, shouldn’t you support them with solid defense?

Right now, no one is giving up centerfielders who can go get balls in the gap and can also be a factor with a bat in his hand. So, it seems Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff have a decision to make. Do they just punt on the defense and go for the bat, or get a solid glove man and try to manufacture runs some other way.

One move the team could make is the same one they made late last season, moving Jason Kipnis to center. That would allow Francona to move Ramirez to second base, and have Yandy Diaz, an on base machine to man the hot corner.

It would seem that Diaz in the lineup over Naquin and his .295 on base percentage (651 OPS) would help the offense.

Getting a better platoon partner for Guyer in RF would also help, and we would suggest getting former St. Ignatius High standout Derek Dietrich from the Marlins if possible.

Dietrich has a .348 on base percentage and a .824 OPS vs. right-handed pitching this season, which would be a perfect match for Guyer.

We are definitely not a fan of Joey Gallo, also mentioned in rumors. He has a 751 OPS vs. righties and his numbers away from Texas (.167 batting average, 656 OPS) aren’t ideal.

That’s the dilemma for the Cleveland front office. They need an offensive boost, mostly in the outfield, but they need an upgrade defensively out there as well. It doesn’t appear there is a player available out there that fixes both problems.

So, it may be that two moves are needed.

There is some pressure on Antonetti and Chernoff, unless they want to move Kipnis, but we don’t know if that move fixes either issue.

Star Studded Tribe Goes To Washington.

For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Indians are sending five players to the All Star Game, the Midsummer Classic for all you seamheads out there.

Corey Kluber, Francisco Lindor, and Michael Brantley are all making their third appearance on the roster, and Jose Ramirez is making his second straight start at third base. Trevor Bauer will be the lone rookie among the Cleveland contingent.

For Lindor, it should be noted that the only Indians’ shortstop who have made more appearances on the team is Lou Boudreau. That’s it. The former American League MVP was named seven times, and that was when there were only eight teams in each league.

This is only his third complete big league season, and already he has made the All Star team each year, and has finished in the top ten in the MVP voting twice, and he will likely do the same this season.

He leads the AL in runs scored this season and is the only player in the top ten of both offensive and defensive WAR in the league.

We have said it before (after the 2016 season), if Lindor plays for the Indians for ten or more years, he will be universally recognized as the greatest position player in Indians’ history.

Only four starting pitchers in Tribe history have made more All Star rosters than Kluber, who should be in the mix for a third Cy Young Award this year. That quartet would be Bob Feller, Bob Lemon (both in the Hall of Fame), Sam McDowell, and Mel Harder.

Since the beginning of 2016, Kluber has a record of 48-17 and has struck out 615 batters in 545 innings. Right now in major league baseball, there are four elite starting pitchers–Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, and Corey Kluber.

That’s how good he has been over the past two and a half seasons.

Ramirez’ election reminds everyone that he’s on the map as one of the sports’ elite players. He will join Lindor in the top ten in the MVP voting this season, and last year finished third.

Many thought he had a career year in ’17 (which would be weird since he was just 24), but he is on pace to do even better this season. This season, he has become someone opposing teams want no part of, being intentionally walked eight times already this year. He received that treatment five times all of 2017.

Brantley’s selection is a reminder that the front office made the correct decision in picking up his option for this year when many (us included) thought they shouldn’t.

He is simply one of the most consistently great hitters in the game over the past seven years, never hitting below .284 in that span, and hasn’t had an OPS under 800 over the last four years.

He may never get back to the 2014 season where he had 67 extra base hits, but he is a perfect guy to hit between Lindor and Ramirez at the top of Terry Francona’s batting order.

We are thrilled for Bauer’s selection because he has taken a lot of crap over the years, simply because he’s different from most major league baseball players.

The Indians got him in a trade with the Diamondbacks because Arizona thought he was difficult. He struggled with control issues with Cleveland, leading the AL in walks in 2015, a year in which his ERA was 4.55.

But last year in the second half, he put it together and went 10-2 with a 3.01 ERA. He has continued that performance thus far with a 2.45 ERA to date.

He is a true student of pitching, which he shares with the rest of the Tribe starters.

Congrats to the Tribe’s five all-stars! Here’s hoping they will have another national stage to perform in this fall.

Tribe Needs To Get Less “Top Heavy”

In modern baseball, OPS is getting to be the key offensive statistic. In our view, this is just a continuation of our belief that having an on base percentage of over .350 and a slugging average of more than .450 means you are a very good hitter.

The Cleveland Indians are fourth in the American League in runs scored despite having just three players who have played more than half the team’s games that have OPS over 800: Jose Ramirez (991), Francisco Lindor (950), and Michael Brantley (852).

By contrast, the Boston Red Sox lead the AL in runs scored and have five regulars over 800. Houston is second in scoring, and they have four players over that figure, five if you count Max Stassi.

The Yankees are just ahead of the Indians in plating runs, and they also have five players with OPS over 800.

Why do we bring this up? Because of our fear that the Tribe’s offensive showing may be unsustainable unless they start getting help from others.

Certainly, Edwin Encarnacion has been a contributor as well, leading Cleveland in RBIs, and his OPS is getting closer to the coveted 800 mark at 781.

The Indians have the highest Wins Above Average in the majors at two positions, third base, manned by Ramirez, and at shortstop with Lindor.

Conversely, the Tribe ranks in the bottom five at second base and in right field, although had Lonnie Chisenhall stayed healthy, they would rank higher there, but as we know, Chisenhall has had all kinds of calf issues.

Terry Francona’s squad also ranks in the bottom ten in baseball in centerfield, where it seems no matter who Tito puts out there simply cannot hit.

A good offense can have a couple of holes, but having three guys who can’t hit, puts a strain on it, and remember, right now when Roberto Perez is catching, he’s not contributing at the plate either.

Jason Kipnis has started swinging the bat better, so that will help greatly if he continues in that direction. But Chisenhall’s injury leaves a big gap in the attack, particularly since Tyler Naquin hasn’t hit since coming off the disabled list.

The right-handed hitting part of the platoon out there, Brandon Guyer, has not returned to his 2016 form against southpaws, and he is virtually unplayable against righties, being 2 for 41 on the season vs. RHP.

Yonder Alonso has been alright hitting behind Encarnacion in the lineup, but do you think opposing pitchers think twice about pitching around the veteran slugger in a crucial situation with Alonso there, especially if you can bring in a lefty.

Alonso is batting .206 vs. southpaws, and has a .322 on base percentage overall. It’s pretty clear that despite all of the complaints over the years about Carlos Santana, the team misses his ability to work the count and draw walks.

The need to lengthen the lineup is the reason why the national media speculate about Cleveland dealing for Manny Machado. They understand the need to have the lineup be strong beyond the lethal top three in the batting order.

When Kipnis is productive, and he hasn’t been for much of the season, that helps. A healthy Chisenhall, which has become rare the past season, also is a factor, although we doubt many would think that.

There is no question that Ramirez and Lindor are having MVP caliber seasons, and Brantley has been very good too. But they need help, and that’s one of the needs president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff need to address.