Tribe Bullpen Still Needs Depth

Certainly, the Cleveland Indians acquisition of Andrew Miller, arguably the best relief pitcher in the game was a huge get for the team.

If the Indians have a lead after seven innings, it will be a daunting task for the opposition knowing they will have to see Cody Allen and Miller in the last two innings.

However, last night’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins illustrates why we advocated for another arm to be added to the relief corps.

It was clear from the get go that Danny Salazar didn’t have it (we fear an injury may be involved), but when Terry Francona removed him from the game, the Indians only trailed 5-3.

But Austin Adams came in and couldn’t limit the damage, allowing a bases loaded triple. Suddenly, the score was 8-3 and the game was over for all intent and purposes.

Look, we understand that games like this happen and every team goes through them, but the front end of the bullpen has been a problem all year.

Adams throws hard, but hasn’t been able to get hitters out consistently, allowing 10 earned runs in 14-1/3 innings in his various opportunities on the big club.

Zack McAllister has turned into a mess. Recently reactivated after having a “sore hip”, the right-hander was put into an 8-0 game on Sunday and couldn’t finish an inning allowing a double and walk, and then last night gave up five hits in an inning and a third.

He cannot throw any pitch besides a fastball for a strike and if we know that, we are pretty sure hitters know it too. That said, we can’t see him being used in anything more than a mop up role, and the way Francona likes to use his bullpen, that’s not an option.

Cody Anderson has been just thrown into the mix, but he has allowed 70 hits and 12 home runs in 48 innings pitched this season. While he may wind up being a good reliever some day (we think his future is as a starter), he’s not a guy Tito can trust right now.

By the way, Anderson allowed a home run in relief last night.

Kyle Crockett was the only reliever who did the job last night, putting up a zero in 1-2/3 innings.

Jeff Manship is currently on the DL with another “injury”, but this season, he has been the pitcher he has been throughout his major league career, save for the last two months of 2015. And that’s not good.

So, more changes need to be made.

Why not take a look at Shawn Armstrong, who almost headed to Milwaukee in the ill-fated Jonathan Lucroy deal.

Armstrong is 25, and struck out 11 in eight innings of big league work a year ago. And he’s improved his control this year at Columbus.

Maybe take a look at Jeff Johnson, a 26-year-old righty, who has a 2.79 ERA in AAA this year, following a 1.05 ERA at Akron a year ago.

They can’t do worse than what we’ve been seeing.

On another note, the Tribe made a small move yesterday before the deadline, getting OF Brandon Guyer from Tampa for a couple of prospects.

Although many probably don’t know Guyer, it’s a good pick up for Cleveland. He’s a .255 lifetime hitter, but against left-handed pitchers, he’s a beast.

In almost 400 at bats vs. southpaws, Guyer is a .283 hitter with an 848 OPS. So, Francona can put him in RF in place of Lonnie Chisenhall or in CF for Tyler Naquin, and he should give the Tribe quality at bats (not to say the other players mentioned won’t).

The Indians are better than they were last week, but they can still get better. The front office shouldn’t consider the bullpen a finished product.

Tribe’s Tale of Bullpen Woes

The Cleveland Indians have one of the best records in Major League Baseball, currently sitting at 56-41 on the season.

That mark is one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for the best mark in the AL.

You have to wonder what people would be thinking about the Tribe if not for the bullpen problems that have plagued them this season.

Here is the list of games where the relief corps have failed Terry Francona–

Game #4, April 9th: White Sox 7, Indians 3. Yan Gomes’ 7th inning home run off Chris Sale gave the Tribe a 3-2 lead. Bryan Shaw gave up three hits to plate two runs, and then gave up a three run homer to Avisail Garcia.

Game #13, April 21st: Mariners 10, Indians 7. Mike Napoli’s dramatic two out, two run homer tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, but Cody Allen walked two in the top of the tenth, before allowing a three run jack to Robinson Cano.

Game #17, April 25th: Twins 4, Indians 3. Gomes’ homered in the 8th tied the game at 3, before Zach McAllister served up a solo shot to Oswaldo Arcia to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

Game #18, April 26th: Twins 6, Indians 5. Another homer, this one by Napoli with two out in the top of the ninth, tied it up, only to see Allen give up three hits (a caught stealing helped), the last the game winner by Miguel Sano.

Game #20, April 29th: Phillies 4, Indians 3. Tribe had a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth before the Phils tied it off Corey Kluber. But Ryan Howard clubbed a leadoff HR in the 11th off of Allen.

Game #21, April 30th: Phillies 4, Indians 3. No dramatics here, but the Tribe battled back to tie the game in the 5th at 3, but Tommy Hunter in his Cleveland debut, gave up a leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt, and a two out hit and wound up the loser.

Game #31, May 11th: Astros 5, Indians 3. Cleveland tied it up at three in the top of the ninth on Carlos Santana’s one out triple, but the Tribe couldn’t push him across. They lost in the 16th on a Marwin Gonzalez home run off of Cody Anderson.

Game #46, May 27th: Orioles 6, Indians 4. This one was tied at three going into the top of the seventh, when with one out, McAllister gave up back to back doubles and then a home run to Mark Trumbo.

Game #48, May 29th: Orioles 6, Indians 4. Tied at four in the top of the 7th, Jeff Manship gave up a long ball to Hyun Soo Kim, his first big league HR.

Game #61, June 11th: Angels 4, Indians 3. Stymied for eight innings by Matt Shoemaker, the Indians tied it with three in the ninth, with Tyler Naquin’s single evening this one up. Shaw allowed a leadoff hit, sac bunt, walk, and a game winning single to Yunel Escobar.

Game #64, June 14th: Royals 3, Indians 2. Josh Tomlin turned a 2-1 lead to Shaw after seven innings, but the reliever gave up a hit and a dinger to Salvador Perez.

Game #80, July 2nd: Blue Jays 9, Indians 6. Tribe was looking to extend their winning streak to 15 and carried a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the 7th, when Dan Otero gave up a HR to Josh Donaldson to tie it, and Toronto scored three in the 8th off Otero and Hunter.

Game #90, July 16th: Twins 5, Indians 4. Trevor Bauer carried a 4-2 lead into the 7th and had thrown over 100 pitches, but Francona wanted to squeeze one more inning out of him. He allowed a hit and a walk, and Manship and Otero allowed them to score. The winning run came in the 11th on an error.

Game #92, July 18th: Royals 7, Indians 3. Corey Kluber carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but Shaw gave up three straight hits to allow KC to tie it, then walked two more. Manship came up and gave up a grand slam homer.

Game #97, July 24th: Orioles 5, Indians 3. Trailing 3-2 in the 8th, the Tribe tied it on a Napoli single, but Allen gave up a two run bomb in the bottom of the ninth.

Look, we aren’t saying the Indians should have won every one of these games, that’s ridiculous. But, they’ve lost a bunch of games where they had the lead or were tied after six innings.

Too many to ignore. Had they won just half of these games, their record would be 63-34, the best in the game by plenty. That’s how good this team is.

That’s why they need to get help for the bullpen going down the stretch. You simply cannot give up leads in the post-season. You can only lose two games in the Division Series, and three games in the Championship and World Series.

When you get a lead late, you have to finish the deal.

Last Night Reminds You Tribe Needs Help.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again, this is why the Indians need bullpen help.

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

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

Thoughts On Tribe Opening Day Roster

The Cleveland Indians open the regular season less than a week from today, and they virtually finalized their roster over the past few days.

We are surprised by Terry Francona’s decision to keep just one left-hander in the bullpen, and even more surprised it was Ross Detwiler. However, Detwiler does have a 615 OPS against vs. left handed hitters, holding them to a .233 batting average.

Our guess is that because Detwiler is a former starter, 76 big league starts, including seven last year with Texas, Francona and Mickey Callaway feel he can be more than a guy who just faces one left-handed hitter.

We would be disappointed if the Indians keep 13 pitchers to start the year because they don’t need a fifth starter for much of April, and having nine relievers is a bit much.

We are also hoping there is nothing going on with Tito’s not naming Trevor Bauer to start the fourth game of the season against the White Sox.

Although Bauer is inconsistent, he is a better choice to be in the rotation from the get go than Josh Tomlin, who has struggled all spring.

Perhaps GM Mike Chernoff is working on a trade, because Cody Anderson has thrown very well in Arizona, giving Francona six solid options in the rotation. Anderson may have to begin the season in Columbus.

He would head up a very good rotation in AAA which would include T. J. House and camp sensation Mike Clevenger. A lot of major league teams would love any of that trio among its starting staff.

As for the ‘pen, Detwiler joins closer Cody Allen, set up men Bryan Shaw and Zack McAllister, and Joba Chamberlain, Jeff Manship, and either Bauer or Tomlin as relievers.

We would keep an eye on Manship, who has a 5.40 ERA in exhibition play, and outside of his 2015 season, has had a mediocre major league career.

In the outfield, Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley will begin the year on the disabled list, meaning the starting outfield from the end of last year, including the suspended Abraham Almonte, has had to be replaced.

The front office brought in a lot of outfielders during the winter, hoping someone would claim a job(s). Rajai Davis was a given to make the team when he signed, but the other spots were claimed by a Marlon Byrd, who signed during camp, and rookie Tyler Naquin, who flat out refused to be ignored.

Somehow, out of all the veteran scrubs brought in, the winner of the “competition” was Collin Cowgill, who will probably start opening day because of David Price pitching for Boston, despite his career .236 batting average and 633 OPS.

To be fair, he has come on strong in the last week, but is still hitting a robust .178 in Arizona.

He makes the team basically because he can play centerfield and either he or Davis can spell Naquin against a tough southpaw.

The infield is pretty well set.

Terry Francona will have to be very adaptable this season, and he has demonstrated he is very good at doing this.

He will mix and match his lineups, making sure to play the percentages based on platoon differences and giving some of his older players occasional days off.

Jose Ramirez will be a key in doing just that.

It will be interesting to see what moves will be made once Brantley and Chisenhall are ready to go.

Should Tribe Trust These Guys?

Outside of Opening Day, the next best day for starved baseball fans is coming this week when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

By the way, if you happen to be going to Goodyear, Arizona, the forecast for this week is in the 80’s, a drastic departure from what we have experience in Cleveland this week.

The Indians are definitely a contender for a playoff spot in the balance American League, where pretty much everyone, save for perhaps Oakland, could be in the post-season.

It has been well stated that we wish the Tribe front office had done more to improve the ballclub this winter, particularly since they have one of the premier starting rotations in baseball, but even still if the hitting can generate enough runs, Terry Francona’s team should be in the mix heading into September.

However, there are some players we think the Indians may be putting too much faith in heading into spring training. Here they are, and our reasons for saying this.

Rajai Davis. One reason is that Davis is 35 years old and his game is built on speed. But the OF’s OPS languished under 700 from 2010-13 while playing for Oakland and Toronto.

The resurgence in the last two years comes from great numbers in Comerica Park where the speedster had a 785 OPS in 2014, and then shot up to 823 last season.

Can Davis put up respectable numbers without playing half his games in the Motor City? That’s something to keep an eye on in the early part of the season.

Carlos Santana. Fans around town are split on the switch-hitter, but can the Tribe brass count on him for a rebound season that the offense desperately needs?

The former catcher will turn 30 a couple of days after the season opens, and his production has declined each of the last two seasons, dropping 40 points in OPS in both seasons. Most of that drop comes from his slugging percentage, which was that of a middle infielder last season.

He will get a lot of at bats at DH in 2016, and if the power numbers don’t return to 2013 levels, Francona will be searching for a replacement very quickly.

Abraham Almonte. The Indians are putting a lot of faith into their play in August and September a year ago, and the switch-hitting centerfielder was a significant part of that success.

After two dismal seasons in San Diego, Almonte put up a 321/455/776 line in less than 200 at bats with Cleveland. That’s way above any kind of numbers he put up in the major leagues before that.

But he’s the primary guy in center coming into the season. That should make everyone who follows the Indians very nervous.

Jeff Manship. We have seen him mentioned by some as a major piece in the Cleveland bullpen and frankly, we aren’t buying it.

GM Mike Chernoff is still searching for relief help, which is why he signed Tommy Hunter on Friday, and also traded for Dan Otero and inked Craig Stammen to a minor league deal.

In Francona’s world, you can never have enough relief pitchers.

Manship was incredible a year ago, with an 0.92 ERA in 39 innings of work.

But do not forget for a minute, that the right hander never had an ERA under 5.00 in any shot in the bigs before last season.

Perhaps he found something to make him a reliable major league reliever, but more likely, he will regress to the mean, and that means he could be in Columbus to open the season.

There are other question marks, like Lonnie Chisenhall in RF, and is MLB Network’s Mike Lowell correct about Mike Napoli finding his bat speed in Texas last season.

While the AL doesn’t have a lot of mediocre squads, filling some of these maybe with positive would make us feel better about the ’16 Cleveland Indians.

However, if the players we mention come through? It will be a fun summer at Progressive Field.