Tribe Needs Consistency From Top Of The Order.

There is one word missing when describing the offense of the Cleveland Indians so far this season.

No, the word isn’t runs, although we could have used that. The real word we are talking about is consistency.

Just looking at the last three days, you can see what we are talking about. Thursday night, they lambasted the Reds, 13-0. That was followed by Cleveland being shutout by the White Sox, 2-0, and yesterday, they put seven up on the board in win over the Pale Hose.

Because baseball is a sport played pretty much on a daily basis, it is a sport where consistency is a must.

The Indians just haven’t gotten that, particularly from the top five men in the order, the players who figured to carry the burden of the offense this season, save for new 2B, Cesar Hernandez.

While Jose Ramirez has been the Tribe’s best hitter, Hernandez has been the most consistent.

The former Phillie has had a hit in all but three games in this young season, and in the games he hasn’t had a hit, he reached base via the walk. Quite frankly, he has done everything Terry Francona hoped for when he decided to lead him off.

In nine of the 15 games he’s played, he’s reached twice. So, he has certainly set the table for Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, and Franmil Reyes.

Ramirez leads the club in hits, home runs, RBIs, and OPS, but 10 of his 17 hits have come in three games, his homers have come in two games, and eight of his 11 ribbies have occurred in the same two games.

He recently went through an 0 for 15 on the last trip to Minnesota and Cincinnati.

Lindor had a two hit game in the 7-1 victory over Chicago, but it was only his third two hit game of the season. He’s walked just three times this season (once intentionally), and has only been on base more than once in a contest five times.

After striking out nine times in the first seven games, he has fanned just four times in the last nine. Hopefully, that a good sign for things to come.

Carlos Santana had two hits in each game of the doubleheader sweep at home against Chicago on July 28th, but has had just four hits since, and none have been home runs.

The good sign for him? Is there is such a thing as a walk tear, Santana is on one. He’s taken a free ride nine times in the last three games, and 13 times in the last seven games. He isn’t getting good pitches to hit, so he’s being very patient, which is way better than chasing and making outs.

Not a surprise, he leads the AL in walks this season with 20.

Reyes has perhaps struggled the most. Until his game winning HR Tuesday night in Cincinnati, he had just one extra base hit, and that was a groundball that eluded two Minnesota defenders and he hustled into second on what should have been a 6-3 or 4-3 putout.

He’s put together three straight two hit games, the first Indian that can say that this season. It would be nice if he could take a few more walks, but the Tribe needs Reyes to provide some pop, and two dingers this week were a sight for sore eyes.

When Cleveland gets something from the 6-9 spots in the order, they can score, but you can probably say that for most teams.

Tribe catchers are 3 for 51 on the season with no extra base hits and just one RBI.

Yesterday, Domingo Santana and Jordan Luplow joined Bradley Zimmer as the only outfielders to hit a home run.

While it would be nice for those spots in the order to get going, more consistent production is needed from the top five in the batting order. Hernandez has gotten the job done, now the next four hitters have to do the same.

Shortened Draft, Less Minor League Teams Plays Into Helping Big Markets

The Major League Amateur Draft started in 1965. Coincidentally, the New York Yankees’ dominance of the American League ended the same year.

We say coincidentally because the Bronx Bombers of that era were showing some age. Stars like Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were showing some age, as was former MVP Elston Howard. Yogi Berra recently retired and managed the team in ’64.

From 1936-1964, New York won 22 AL pennants, and the only time they went consecutive seasons without a berth in the World Series was during World War II (1944-46).

When baseball had its only era without any free agency of any sort, from 1965 to the McNally/Messersmith decision at the end of 1975, the Yankees won no pennants. Their best finish was a pair of 2nd place finishes in 1970 and 1974.

To be fair, not being able to outspend everyone was not the only reason for the Yanks lack of titles, but it is interesting they weren’t successful. The Yanks didn’t make the post-season from 1982-1995 and they could spend freely in those years.

But the reason we bring this up is baseball’s willingness to eliminate farm teams and shorten the amateur draft.

Developing players is the equalizer for smaller market teams that cannot afford to pay big bucks for star players. The Indians have stayed competitive over the past seven years because of their success in developing players such as Jose Ramirez, Roberto Perez, and a cadre of pitchers, particularly starters like Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, and others.

We didn’t count Frankie Lindor here because he was a first round pick, but none of the others we mentioned were.

If we were a mid market franchise, we would invest heavily in the farm system, bringing in as many players as we could. The more you work with, the better chance one of them becomes a big leaguer.

Remember how the St. Louis Cardinals became a power in the 1930’s. Branch Rickey’s extensive farm system produced players that kept the franchise contending during the 30’s and 40’s.

We heard former Marlins’ executive David Samson say he had a problem with investing money in the player development system knowing only a few could make an impact at the big league level.

That’s horrible thinking in our opinion. We look at it differently.

What value would you put on Ramirez’ production with the Tribe? He’s had two top three MVP finishes as an international free agent. Those two seasons alone would at worst be valued at $60 million on the open market.

Cleveland paid next to nothing.

We also feel the shortened draft plays into the hands of the teams with a more national fan base.

According to Baseball America’s Top 500 Prospects coming into this year’s draft, of the players not drafted, the teams signing the most players in this ranking were the Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, as well as the Padres and Royals.

Overall, the Red Sox and Reds signed the most players regarding of ranking.

The Royals got a lot of good press in saying they would pay their minor leaguers for the remainder of the season. For the record, the Indians signed one, C Joe Donovan.

There was a cap on the bonus amount for these players this year, but what happens when there isn’t? Do you think the big market teams aren’t going the volume route and will sign as many of these free agents as they can?

Besides the talent acquisition aspect, eliminating minor league teams hurts the sport at the grass roots level. Why would you want to expose less people to your sport? Isn’t that the antithesis to growing the game of baseball?

What’s one positive thing about these two moves from the commissioner’s office? Frankly, we can’t think of one. Seems like the people who run the game wanted to do something for the sake of doing something, and only thought about one thing–saving money.

Here’s hoping logic prevails, but based on the last couple of months, we doubt that’s possible.

A Look At The Tribe At 60 Games Under Tito

It is looking more and more like the 2020 Major League Baseball season will be limited to 60 games, so it will be a sprint rather than a marathon, at least this year.

Although we believe five teams in each league is a good number for the sport to make the post-season, especially after playing 162 regular season games, we agree that this season, there is no problem with having eight teams in both the American and National Leagues making the playoffs.

With this 60 game plan, we decided to take a look at how the Tribe has done in the first 60 contests in the Terry Francona era.

2019: The Indians 5-2 victory over Minnesota raised their record to 30-30, but they trailed the Twins by 10.5 games, as the northerners were setting a blistering pace at 40-19.

Shane Bieber won his 5th game and Brad Hand saved his 17th, as Francona leaned on him early in the season as the offense struggled.

Remember the Tribe played the first month of the season without Francisco Lindor, and Jose Ramirez was hitting just .202 with a 610 OPS. Lindor did have 10 HR and 23 RBI despite missing the time, and Carlos Santana had a 907 OPS at this point.

Leonys Martin was getting the bulk of the playing time in centerfield, and was batting .214 with 646 OPS.

2018: Cleveland’s 3-1 win over Milwaukee gave them a 32-28 mark and they led the AL Central by 4.5 over the Tigers and 5 over Minnesota.

Carlos Carrasco won his 7th (7-4) with Cody Allen picking up his 11th save.

The triumvirate of Ramirez, who was slugging at a .632 clip with 43 ribbies and a 1.028 OPS, Michael Brantley (.325, 916 OPS), and Lindor (917 OPS) were pacing the offense, but Jason Kipnis was hitting just .205 (591 OPS) and Lonnie Chisenhall was struggling as well at a 571 OPS.

Rajai Davis was the centerfielder vs. southpaws, and not really hitting at .232. He was being platooned with Greg Allen, but the lack of production led to the trade for Martin, who fell ill shortly after arriving in Cleveland.

2017: A 4-2 win over the White Sox gave the Tribe a 31-29 record, good for second place, a game and a half behind the surprising Twins.

Carrasco raised his record to 6-3, with the bullpen trio of Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, and Allen getting the last 11 outs.

Daniel Robertson started in RF that night, while Bradley Zimmer and Austin Jackson were platooning in center.

Santana was struggling at .218 (712 OPS), but Lindor, Ramirez, and Edwin Encarnacion all had OPS over 800 after 60 games.

2016: The future AL Champs won 6-2 over the Angels, making them 34-26 and they had a 3.5 game lead on Chicago, and four over Detroit and Kansas City.

Corey Kluber’s complete game gave him a 6-6 record for the season.

Ramirez played LF that night, as his 811 OPS made Tito look for ways to get him in the lineup. Jose Uribe (593 OPS) played the hot corner.

And in a portent of things to come, the starting rightfielder that night? Michael Martinez.

2015: The Indians dropped to 28-32 with a 4-0 loss to Detroit, and sat in last place in the Central, seven games behind Kansas City.

Danny Salazar took the loss dropping his record to 6-2.

Kipnis was having a very good year, hitting .332 (914 OPS), and the lineup featured Brantley in CF, Mike Aviles at SS, Brandon Moss in RF, Ryan Raburn in LF, and Gio Urshela at third.

Santana was hitting just .221 and the DH that night was Nick Swisher, batting .198 with an OPS under 600.

2014: Cleveland was at the break even mark, at 30-30 after a 7-4 extra inning win over Boston. Kluber was the starter, but Carrasco got the win with two frames of scoreless relief, striking out four.

Asdrubal Cabrera was the SS and won the game with a homer off former Indian, Eduard Mujica.

Brantley was hitting .308, and Chisenhall was sizzling at .361, playing first base in the game, while Michael Bourn was the leadoff hitter, batting .295.

David Murphy was in RF and Aviles was at third.

2013: Francona’s first Indians team was in the midst of an 8 game losing streak, dropping a 7-5 decision to the Tigers, dropping 3.5 behind Detroit.

Justin Verlander defeated Ubaldo Jimenez, who went just three innings allowing five runs. Of course, Jimenez was arguably the best pitcher in the game down the stretch for the Tribe, who rode a red hot September (21-6) to a wild card spot.

It is interesting that Rich Hill pitched in relief during that game, and Mark Reynolds played third base for Cleveland.

This research reminds us that the Indians are very much a second half team under Francona, but they will not have the luxury if indeed, there is a 60 game slate in 2020.

However, if there are extra post-season teams this year, the Indians should be able to qualify even if it takes them awhile to find their way.

Tribe Killing It In Simulated Seasons

With baseball still on the shelf, the only way you can get the feeling of following a team day by day is by checking out the various simulations of the 2020 season out there.

In April, we checked out a couple such games, the Out Of The Park simulation being conducted on BaseballReference.com and the other being played out on StratOMatic.com.

According to both of these sites, baseball fans in northeast Ohio and missing one helluva season.

BaseballReference.com: The Tribe leads the AL Central with a 48-27 record and holds a seven game bulge on the second place Minnesota Twins. That mark is the best in the American League, and third best in baseball, behind the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Offensively, the Indians are being paced by Carlos Santana (.315, 14 HR, 54 RBI, 932 OPS), Francisco Lindor (.288, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 887 OPS), and Jose Ramirez (.274, 16 HR, 46 RBI, 867 OPS).

Franmil Reyes has belted 20 long balls, and Tyler Naquin returned to the active roster in May and is hitting .323. Jordan Luplow is getting steady playing time and has 10 homers to go along with a .283 batting average.

Newcomers Cesar Hernandez (.301, 6 HR, 34 RBI, .370 OBP) and Domingo Santana (.256, 10 HR) and fit in quite well to the lineup.

As we noted in April, this game has been playing Greg Allen at the everyday CF, and he’s done well, batting .280 with a .347 on base percentage.

Pitching wise, Shane Bieber has fit the profile as a staff ace with an 11-4 mark and a 2.98 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 114 innings. Aaron Civale is 7-3 with a 3.75 ERA, and though Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.30) and Mike Clevinger (3-3, 5.37) have struggled a bit, rookie lefty Scott Moss has picked up the slack, going 7-1 with a 4.48 ERA.

Brad Hand has 17 saves, and James Karinchak has a 1.98 ERA in 13 innings, but has fanned 24 hitters in that span.

The game had the Tribe picking up veteran relievers John Axford, Jim Johnson, and Daniel Stumpf as well.

One bone to pick–they had Cleveland dealing Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Juan Carlos Mejia to Texas for catcher Robinson Chirinos, a deal the Indians’ front office would never make.

StratOMatic.com: This simulation also has the Tribe sitting with a 48-27 record and an 8 game lead over the Twins in the Central. Cleveland has the second best mark in the AL (behind Houston) and third in MLB overall (Dodgers).

Reyes is the offensive machine for the Indians, batting .334 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs, Lindor leads the team in ribbies with 55, along with 19 bombs and a .271 batting average.

Ramirez checks in at .259 with 14 homers and 45 runs knocked in.

They also have Luplow getting more playing time, and he’s responded with 7 HR, 26 RBI, and a .290 batting average.

Hernandez has had a fine season to date here as well, batting .295 with 8 dingers. And Carlos Santana is batting .300 and is third in the AL in walks with 50. His power is down so far with just 6 homers.

They have used Delino DeShields as the primary CF, hitting .258 although Bradley Zimmer has just been recalled. Oscar Mercado is on the team, but batting just .232.

Clevinger has been the best pitcher, going 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 74 punchouts in 73 innings, while Bieber has been solid, with an 8-5 mark, 3.59 ERA and 114 whiffs in 100 frames.

Zach Plesac is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA.

Brad Hand has struggled. He has 21 saves, but a 5.73 ERA, but the relievers have been buoyed by strong performances from Phil Maton (1.44 ERA), James Hoyt (1.26 ERA in just 14 innings).

Karinchak has a 3.20 ERA in 25.1 innings with 32 strikeouts, and he has been joined by rookies Cam Hill and Kyle Nelson.

If these games are even close to realism, we are missing a great season to date by the Indians. Guess that should make everyone even more sad about what is going on in The National Pastime.

The Switch Hitting Infield Of The Tribe

There is no question that Cleveland Indians’ manager Terry Francona loves flexibility. He loves relievers who can pitch to both right-handed and left-handed hitters, and he uses the platoon advantage more than any other skipper in the game.

Even though he is the best in the sport at that, we believe he loves switch-hitters because then he doesn’t have to worry about it.

The infield he will manage this season has that trait covered. They all can hit from both sides of the plate.

With the signing of Cesar Hernandez in the off-season to man second base, most nights, Tito will pencil in the four switch-hitters at the four infield positions–

1B: Carlos Santana
2B: Hernandez
SS: Francisco Lindor
3B: Jose Ramirez

The left side of the infield features two of perhaps the 20 best players in the game in Lindor and Ramirez. The shortstop is well regarded as one of the best five in baseball, and let’s not forget that Ramirez has two top three MVP finishes in the last three seasons.

Lindor, who won’t turn 27 until after the 2020 season (if there is one), is pretty even from both sides of the plate, having a 857 career OPS from the right side and a 832 OPS from the left side.

His slugging percentage is virtually the same from either side, but he’s a bit more patient hitting right handed. He does hit more home runs from the left side though.

Ramirez, who turns 28 in September, is more lethal from the left side of the plate (career 850 OPS), but is still very good from the right side (808). He also hits for a better average from the right side, but his slugging percentage from the left side is .494, 27 points higher than when he is facing southpaws.

The two superstars are also equally effective at home or on the road, but slightly better at Progressive Field.

Santana, the eldest of the group at 34, is actually a better hitter right-handed, which is odd because you think of most of his big hits as an Indian has come from the left side.

The first baseman has a 834 lifetime OPS from the right side, mostly due to a .277 batting average, which is 40 points higher than from the left side. And he’s even more of an on base machine against lefties, .382 OBP vs. .360 vs. right-handers.

To us, he has always looked like he had a shorter swing hitting right-handed.

His batting average and OPS against RHP did improve last season, but he still was more effective against lefties.

The newcomer, Hernandez, just turned 30 a week ago, and he fits in with the others in that he is very similar from both sides of the dish, 736 career OPS vs. righties and 726 vs. left-handers.

His ability to get on base is the same from both sides, but his numbers show he has a little more pop (.385 slugging vs. .372) hitting from the left side.

The primary back up for Francona would figure to be Mike Freeman, a left-handed hitter who did a solid job for Cleveland last season, hitting .277 with a .362 on base percentage.

With the extra players expected to be on the roster for this season, we would bet right-handed hitting Christian Arroyo will be eligible for most games. Once a top 100 prospect, Arroyo has been hampered by injuries and has accumulated just 228 big league at bats. Still, he’s just 25 years old.

Yu Chang and rookie Nolan Jones, the Tribe’s top prospect, will also likely be on the traveling party this season.

With three all-stars, the Cleveland infield should be among the best in the game. That is, if there is a baseball season at all.

Tribe’s Window Still Tied To Lindor.

There are rumblings that Major League Baseball could get underway in late June/early July with a new three ten team division set up and a truncated season.

That would be music to the ears of all baseball fans and provide at least some sense of normality this summer.

Matt Loede asked if any Cleveland sports team was close to winning a championship, and our reply was the Indians were closest, but the Browns had a bigger window.

The Tribe’s immediate opening is tied to their shortstop Francisco Lindor, in our opinion.

With Lindor here this season, and perhaps next, the Indians have a chance to win. Along with Jose Ramirez, Cleveland has a pair of the top position players in the game, along with a solid young starting pitching staff.

Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger should form a top of the rotation that is the envy of most teams in the majors, and if Carlos Carrasco is healthy, we already know he is capable of being one of the top ten starting pitchers in the game.

That’s a pretty good base to start with.

Among the position players, Franmil Reyes seems poised to have a monster season at the plate providing big time power in the middle of the lineup, and Carlos Santana is coming off his best season, but has turned 34 years old.

Cleveland values defense behind the plate, and they have that in Roberto Perez and Sandy Leon.

However, without Lindor, and Santana aging, you can see holes popping up in the everyday lineup.

Yes, you would still have Ramirez and Reyes, but then what?

The farm system is loaded, but that strength is located in the lower rungs of the system. Top prospect Nolan Jones would have seen some time at Columbus this season, and #2 prospect Tyler Freeman would have been at Akron, but the rest of the top ten position players, save for DH Bobby Bradley, haven’t played above the low Class A level, meaning they are a few years away.

As for the pitching, Carrasco would be 34 when 2022 (the year Lindor is a free agent) hits. While fans like the potential of young starters Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale, the reality is both have pitched less than one year in the big leagues.

They also have Logan Allen and Scott Moss (acquired in the Trevor Bauer deal last July), who will likely have started in AAA in 2020.

We also know that pitching is very volatile, and outside of Bieber, Clevinger, and Carrasco, none of the youngsters have any kind of track record.

As for the bullpen, we’ve seen how shaky that can be with Emmanuel Clase being suspended for 80 games whenever baseball resumes play.

With Lindor, the Indians have a solid base and can fill in at other spots in the lineup with players like Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow, Jake Bauers, and Tyler Naquin.

However, let’s look at where the Tribe will be in ’22. Lindor could be gone (yes, we are taking a foolishly optimistic view), and Santana can’t be counted on at age 36.

Can you have a contending team with two proven bats, Ramirez and Reyes? Perhaps one of the aforementioned players can step up to join them, or maybe Jones and Tyler Freeman becomes the next great rookie talents.

Same with the pitching staff, can Plesac and Civale follow the success of Bieber and Clevinger?

If baseball is played this season, perhaps by the end of that season, we will have a better idea as to how long the Indians’ window of contention can remain open.

Until then, the window is tied to Lindor. We would love to see all of the prospects emerge as stars, but the reality says that is unlikely to happen.

The Turnover Of The Indians’ Roster.

When the Cleveland Indians ended the 2018 season being swept in the American League Division Series by Houston (no comments!), the front office knew there was a problem.

Outside of the resident superstars, Francisco Lindor (then 24) and Jose Ramirez (25), they were an older team with not a lot of upside. Check the ages of the players getting regular playing time that season–

1B Yonder Alonso (31)
2B Jason Kipnis (31)
LF Michael Brantley (31)
RF Melky Cabrera (33)
DH Edwin Encarnacion (35)
C Yan Gomes (30)

And in September, the front office brought in Josh Donaldson (32) to play third, moving Ramirez to second, and put Kipnis in the outfield.

The Indians also had Rajai Davis (37) and Brandon Guyer (32) on the bench.

The pitching staff wasn’t much better. The rotation has Corey Kluber (32) and Carlos Carrasco (31), and the bullpen included Dan Otero (33), Andrew Miller (33), Josh Tomlin (33), and Oliver Perez (36).

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff knew that group went as far as it could, understanding the peak years for a player are ages 27-29.

He undertook the process of getting younger following that season. The most painful departures were Brantley, who left via free agency, and trading Gomes, both of whom had been in Cleveland for many years.

By the time spring training started a couple of months ago in Goodyear, the only players in the over 30 crowd still remaining are Carrasco and Oliver Perez.

This isn’t to say the Tribe doesn’t have anyone over 30, of course they do, because a couple of guys under that threshold in ’18 have now crossed over: Roberto Perez is now 31, and they acquired Carlos Santana (35) in the deal that sent Encarnacion to Seattle.

Cleveland also signed Cesar Hernandez (31) to play second base, but he is on a one year deal, and Santana has a club option for next season, when he will be 36.

Backup catcher Sandy Leon is also 31.

Among the pitchers, only Carrasco, and relievers Nick Wittgren (30), Adam Cimber (30), James Hoyt (34) and of course, Oliver Perez (38) are over 30, and outside of Cookie, none of those hurlers are the core to the pitching staff.

In two years, the Tribe is much younger, and still very much a contending team. Besides Ramirez (27) and Lindor (26), the everyday core group of players consists of these guys–

OF/DH Franmil Reyes (25)
CF Oscar Mercado (25)
OF Jordan Luplow (26)

And two more spots, currently filled by Santana and Hernandez could be filled by others next season. Don’t forget Nolan Jones (22) and Tyler Freeman (21) could be knocking on the door for big league jobs in spring training a year from now.

Could those be the spots they will be taking?

The pitching staff is similarly built with young arms like Shane Bieber (25), Aaron Civale (25), Zach Plesac (25), and Mike Clevinger (29).

And the bullpen could be anchored by young arms like James Karinchak (25), and Emmanuel Clase (22).

Don’t forget, some other arms are coming like Scott Moss (25), Cam Hill (26), and Kyle Nelson (24).

The Tribe farm system is ranking higher these days, mostly because of an influx of players who will (hopefully) play at the Class A level.

The front office’s plan has worked in terms of the getting younger part. Whether the talent level of the young players stays the same is still up for debate.

And while we wish they had been more proactive in using the money saved from the changeover, the moves needed to be done.

Let’s hope we will get an opportunity to see that this summer.

Early Good, Bad, And Ugly For Tribe.

We realize that it is very early in the exhibition game schedule, they’ve been playing games for a week now, but it is never too early to examine some of the results to this point.

For proven veterans, spring training statistics shouldn’t really be examined. For example, if Francisco Lindor was hitting .182 in the middle of March, no one should be alarmed. He’s a known commodity, but for young players and guys who fighting for the last two or three spots on the 26 man roster, it’s worth taking a look at.

Remember that a good three hit day, or a hot week can change everything, and so can an 0 for 15 stretch with 10 strikeouts.

That said, here are the good, the bad, and the ugly after a week of games in the desert.

The Good. Any concerns about Franmil Reyes’ loss of weight should be going away. The big man has started 6 for 13, with two homers and just one strikeout. Lindor and Jose Ramirez are a combined 11 for 23 with four doubles and a home run.

Bobby Bradley, a longshot to make it, has done what he needs to do. The left-handed slugger is 5 for 11 and has struck out just once.

Oscar Mercado is 3 for 10 and has two walks, an area where he needs to improve if he wants to hit at the top of the order, and another longshot, Ka’ai Tom is 5 for 12, but has struck out three times.

James Karinchak has been filthy so far, fanning four in his first two innings, although he struggled with his control a bit yesterday.

The Bad. When you are battling for the 25th or 26th spot on the roster, you can’t afford to have a bad start, so Greg Allen starting off 1 for 10 isn’t helping his cause. As they say, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Yu Chang is 5 for 15, but contact issues have been a problem, striking out six times already.

Dominic Leone, who has some big league experience with Seattle, Arizona, and St. Louis, has a chance to come north particularly after the injury to Emmanuel Clase. Unfortunately, he’s given up 11 hits, including a home run in three innings, struggling in all of his outings.

It may be tough to overcome that.

The Ugly. Losing Clase for perhaps 8-12 weeks with an upper back strain has been the toughest news from camp. He was the biggest acquisition in the Corey Kluber deal, and people will excited to see he and Karinchak in the bullpen. Now, it could be May or June before he is back.

And opens up another bullpen spot.

Losing Mike Clevinger doesn’t help either. Clevinger was in the mix as the Opening Day starter, but will probably miss the first three or four weeks of the season with a torn meniscus.

With this injury and minor setbacks for Carlos Carrasco and Aaron Civale, who knows who will start the first five games of the season for the Indians.

Again, it’s very early. But the injuries are a concern, and the players off to bad starts need to start turning it around if they want to be in uniform against the Tigers on March 26th.

Is The Tribe Still A Contender? You Bet!

Anyone who thinks the Minnesota Twins are going to sit on their laurels after winning the American Central Division in 2019 will probably be sadly mistaken.

The Twins seem determined to defend their title after signing one of the best free agents available in former MVP Josh Donaldson, ranked 5th best on MLBTradeRumors.com.

Minnesota scored the second most runs in the American League a year ago, and they just added another superior hitter to their lineup.

The Chicago White Sox have been very active in the free agent market this off-season, most notably signing Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion, and southpaw Dallas Keuchel, leading many to believe it will be a three team race in the AL Central.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians have signed 2B Cesar Hernandez.

If you look at offense, the Twins scored 170 more runs than the Indians, and the Tribe scored 61 more than the Pale Hose. Even adding Grandal and Encarnacion, that’s a tough number to catch.

While it seems unreachable for the Indians to catch up to Minnesota in runs scored, one path to closing the gap would be a complete season by Jose Ramirez, and a better season from Francisco Lindor.

Ramirez wound up with a solid season in ’19 (.255, 23 HR, 83 RBI, 806 OPS), but compared to his 2017 and 2018 campaigns (957 OPS in ’17 and 939 in ’18) it pales. A return to those previous two years (he is only 27) would greatly improve the Cleveland attack.

On the other hand, the Indians can’t expect the same season out of 34-year-old Carlos Santana, who had the best season of the year (911 OPS). By the same token, Minnesota’s best hitter, Nelson Cruz, will be 39 in 2020.

Chicago’s free agent hitters are 32 (Grandal) and 37 years old (Encarnacion), so neither should be expected to do better than a year ago. Where the Sox should gain is with three young, impact bats in Yoan Moncada (25), Eloy Jimenez (23), and Luis Robert (22).

The Indians’ edge is in the pitching department, allowing almost .6 runs per game less than the Twins, and 1.11 less than Chicago.

Certainly, the continued development of Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac will be key to maintaining that edge, as well as a retooled bullpen.

It would seem the Indians still have the best pitching in the division. Minnesota replaced Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez with Homer Bailey and Rich Hill, and the White Sox figure to be better, but lowering by more than a full run?

Based on run differential, the difference between the Indians and Twins was only four games, Minnesota had the profile of a team winning 97 games (they won 101), while Cleveland should have won 93 contests, which they did.

So, the gap isn’t as large as you think it is.

The White Sox won 69 games, so even with a roster upgrade and the further development of some very good looking young players, that’s still an awful big number to make up.

We would think the White Sox will still be a factor in the race, but not quite ready to compete with the Twins and Indians.

That’s why the Indians should still be looking to add a bat, particularly an outfielder. They shouldn’t be thinking the way to go is unproven hitters like Greg Allen, Delino DeShields, Bradley Zimmer, and Daniel Johnson.

The Cleveland pitching gives it a solid chance to return to the post-season in 2020.

Time For Tribe To Upgrade Roster & Payroll.

Sometimes it seems like the Cleveland Indians can’t get out of their own way.

They have been one of the American League’s best teams in the past 10 years, winning three AL Central titles and making four playoff appearances since Terry Francona became manager in 2013.

Since the wild card era began in 1994, coincidentally aligned with the opening of Jacobs (now Progressive) Field, the only two AL teams with more post-season berths are the league’s behemoths, the Yankees and Red Sox.

Despite all this success in the last quarter century, there isn’t a buzz around the franchise. The current Tribe has two of the game’s most exciting and best players in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, and fans seem ambivalent.

Not a mention a Hall of Fame manager.

The front office needs to seize the day with this current roster. Besides the duo we just mentioned, the Indians have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, even after dealing two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.

However, the Indians’ ownership continues to cut the amount of money allocated for payroll. This despite winning 93 games last season.

No, they didn’t make the playoffs, but in many seasons, that victory total gets you a chance to play in October.

We have said many times, Cleveland cannot live in the same payroll neighborhood as Boston and New York. And we aren’t asking them to do so.

In 2018, the Indians’ payroll was $134 million, the highest ever. And yes, we know minority owner John Sherman was involved at that point.

Right now, according to Baseball Reference Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the current 26 man roster payroll in a little under $92 million, that’s a drop of $42 million from two years ago.

And that includes yesterday’s arbitration settlements, meaning Lindor’s $17 million salary for 2020 is included in that number.

Playing devil’s advocate, let’s say the $134 million isn’t sustainable for the Dolan family. Last year, the Tribe’s payroll was slightly under $120 million, according to the same site.

No doubt the Indians will make some minor signings before spring training arrives, so the actual number for 2020 will be around $100 million unless a trade or big ticket free agent signing is yet to come.

This will mean another $20 million will be lopped off the payroll from last season, $34 million has been eliminated over the past two seasons.

That certainly doesn’t indicate to the ticket buying public a commitment to winning a championship, and it absolutely doesn’t get fans in a mode to come out to Progressive Field this season.

As an aside, the schedule maker didn’t help Cleveland either with 16 home games in April, where it will be rare a game time temperature will reach 60 degrees.

It is without a doubt a “chicken or the egg” scenario.

Ownership would like better attendance, and fans want a reason to buy tickets.

Last season, Philadelphia season ticket sales increased by 7% when they signed Bryce Harper. Now, we know the Indians can’t do this (especially with Lindor on the cusp of free agency), but why not do something that creates some excitement around this group of players.

Here’s hoping Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff still have one more move up their sleeves before spring training to add a piece (not trade Lindor). They should have some money available.

Perhaps they were waiting for the potential arbitration cases to be settled.

Cleveland sports fans deserve some excitement, especially something not associated with a Browns’ coaching search.

There’s a window of opportunity for the Indians, time to go for it.