The Decline Of The Tribe Hitting Since ’16

It wasn’t that long ago that the Cleveland Indians had one of the best offenses in the American League. In 2018, the Tribe finished in the top three in the AL in runs scored for the third consecutive year.

So, what happened in the past two seasons?

Let’s start with 2016. The American League champs finished second in the league in scoring, with four starters having OPS over 800: Carlos Santana (865), Jose Ramirez (825), Jason Kipnis (811), and Mike Napoli (800). Francisco Lindor fell just short of that mark.

In addition, two essentially platoon players, Tyler Naquin and Brandon Guyer, who was acquired at the trade deadline were over 800. If you include Lindor, it gave Terry Francona six guys in the lineup who were big threats at the plate.

That was Napoli’s last good season, and in 2017, the Indians replaced him with Edwin Encarnacion, and Cleveland finished third in the Junior Circuit in runs scored.

That season, five regulars had OPS of 800 or more (Santana, Ramirez, Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Encarnacion) along with platoon pieces Austin Jackson and Lonnie Chisenhall, again giving Francona six very good hitters most days in his batting order.

And the front office went out an acquired Jay Bruce when Brantley was injured to maintain the offense. It was also the last year the Indians won a post-season game.

Unfortunately, Kipnis’ last very good season hitting was ’16, and the ’17 campaign was the last healthy season for Chisenhall, and that was the last year in which Francona had more than four regulars with OPS over 800.

This meant second base was not as productive, the outfield offense was starting to decline, and Santana departed via free agency.

In 2018, the number of very good hitters written into the Cleveland lineup was down to four, but one of them was Ramirez, who set a blistering pace until the middle of August, winding up his second straight year finishing in the top three in the MVP voting. He likely would have won without his late season slump.

The other three were Lindor, Brantley, and Encarnacion.

A larger shift occurred during the off-season, when Brantley departed as a free agent, and Encarnacion was traded with the primary return (other than shedding payroll) was Santana who returned and had an excellent 2019 season.

Brantley’s departure meant the outfield was now an offensive hole, the only player putting up good numbers in 2019 was newcomer Jordan Luplow, a platoon piece.

The only everyday players with 800+ OPS’ were Santana, Lindor, and Ramirez, who struggled through May before getting red hot until he broke a bone in his hand in September.

Cleveland wasn’t getting any offense from the outfield, DH, and 2B (we eliminate catching because of the team’s philosophy of defense first at the position), which necessitated getting Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes when they dealt starter Trevor Bauer, although Puig was a free agent to be.

Not coincidentally, the Indians dropped to 7th in runs scored in 2019.

That ranking is excellent compared to being 13th in the COVID shortened 2020 season. The only Indians’ hitter with an OPS over 800 was Ramirez, the AL MVP runner up. The hitters closest to that figure were Reyes, Lindor, and 2B Cesar Hernandez, who was an upgrade at that position.

The inability of the organization to replace guys like Brantley, Kipnis, and have two effective platoon players at spots has led to this. This leads us to the question of how does this situation get corrected?

Hernandez is a free agent, and it is tremendously likely Lindor will be dealt in the off-season, meaning Ramirez is the lone wolf from the 2016 season, although we would think Reyes can get over the 800 OPS threshold next season.

We have demonstrated that good offenses have five or six players of this type (800+ OPS) in the batting order regularly? Care to tell us beyond Ramirez and Reyes who those players will be?

It will be very difficult for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to find three or four solid bats for Francona to use in 2021. It also demonstrates that trimming the payroll usually results in forming holes on your baseball team.

The hitting slowly disappeared over time and no one reacted. The organization failed to find suitable replacements. And the result is what happened in 2020.

Why Has Tribe Stopped Running?

The Oakland A’s arrived in town yesterday for a four game series against the Cleveland Indians. Why is this significant?

Because it marks the return of World Series hero Rajai Davis, who hit the game tying home run in game seven of the Fall Classic.

Davis brought the added weapon of the stolen base to the Indians, leading the American League with 43, as the Tribe led the junior circuit as a team with 143 steals.

Along with Mike Napoli, Davis was credited with making Cleveland a very aggressive team on the base paths, and the Indians seemed to go from first to third quite a bit.

In fact, the Tribe led the AL in extra bases taken last year with a 45% percentage. This statistic is based on taking more than one base on a single or taking more than two bases on a double.

Terry Francona’s team also led the league in stolen base percentage, succeeding on 81% of their steal tries.

This year, it’s a completely different story.

Cleveland ranks 11th in the American League in stolen bases, and is 12th in stolen base percentage.

They’ve also dropping to 11th in extra bases taken.

Granted Davis was a huge part of the Tribe’s speed game, but he’s wasn’t the only player running. Jose Ramirez stole 22 bags, Francisco Lindor had 19 and his keystone combination partner, Jason Kipnis had 15.

Abraham Almonte added 8 more.

This year, Michael Brantley leads the Indians with five, which for a full season, doesn’t even project to 20.

Ramirez has three, Lindor and Kipnis each have two. This year’s team just isn’t as aggressive on the bases.

Davis’ replacement is Austin Jackson, who hasn’t stolen 20 bases in a season since 2014, and he has never been the base stealer that Davis is.

Napoli was replaced by Edwin Encarnacion, who has been the better hitter over his career, but doesn’t have the aggressiveness on the basepaths of his predecessor.

So, this aspect of the game has to come from other players. You would think it would come from Lindor, a team leader in every sense of the word, but he’s turned into an extra base machine, ranking third in the AL behind Mike Trout and Corey Dickerson of Tampa Bay.

He’s not stopping at first base very often, but his on base percentage is down almost 20 points from a year ago.

Ramirez would be the other candidate, but his on base percentage is down 25 points from a year ago. Perhaps he will steal more when he starts drawing some walks again.

Maybe rookie Bradley Zimmer can be a force in this area. Zimmer stole over 40 bases in each of his last two minor league seasons, so he has the kind of speed the Indians need. However, he will have to learn the pitchers’ moves or he will just rely on raw speed to advance.

There are other reasons why the Tribe offense is sputtering, mostly a considerable drop in the team’s on base percentage and a terrible batting average with runners in scoring position.

But don’t overlook the aggressive base running we saw in 2016. That was a big part of the Indians’ attack a year ago. They need to get back to that mindset this season to help get the offense going again.

Tribe Should Live A Little With Extra Cash

This past week, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal wrote that even though the Cleveland Indians received a windfall from their post-season appearance that culminated in a World Series berth that went the distance, the Tribe front office was not going to change the way they do business.

We agree that the Indians should not go hog wild spending huge dollars on players on the decline. They learned a valuable lesson when they inked Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn after the 2012 season.

However, that cash should be looked at as found money. So, why don’t the Indians live a little?

Think about if you won the lottery, or won some money at the casino, would you use all that windfall on bills or put in all in the bank? Probably not all of it.

You would spend some on yourself, buy yourself something you normally wouldn’t get because it is better to spend it on necessities.

Live a little. Splurge on something fun and cool.

Or in baseball terms, sign a free agent or make a deal where you can take on some salary, taking advantage of a less successful small market team.

Obviously, the name that stands out is Edwin Encarnacion, who has been one of the game’s premier sluggers for five years running, and would be an upgrade over Mike Napoli, whether you want to admit it or not.

Besides adding production to the lineup, the added benefit would be with the ticket buying public. A big signing would continue the momentum the Indians received with their playoff run.

Right now, the inactivity is causing them to be an afterthought in the media right now.

There is no question that the front office has the faith of baseball fans throughout the area, based on last season’s success. But there is nothing wrong with getting more talent to improve your margin for error.

This isn’t to say the Indians can’t win the division again next season if they re-sign Napoli and Rajai Davis. However, the odds that they will have similar seasons to 2016 at their respective ages is slim. So, the team has to make up for that.

And as much as we want to talk about Michael Brantley’s return, the truth is he’s had just 39 at bats since the end of the 2015 season, and we don’t know if he will be productive, and if he’s productive, how many games will he be healthy enough to play in in 2017.

You also have to wonder if Carlos Santana can hit as many home runs as he did in 2016, when he set a career best.

Our point is the Indians probably need to upgrade the offense, because even though they were second in the AL in runs scored, a lot of things went their way to allow them to achieve that spot.

You can’t bank on those things again.

Our message to Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff is to have some fun with your windfall. Don’t go crazy. Don’t act like the Red Sox or Dodgers, but go out and buy yourself something nice. You deserve it after getting the Tribe to the seventh game of the World Series.

No Deals Yet, But Tribe Can’t Stand Pat

The Cleveland Indians were one of the teams who were inactive in terms of moves at this past week’s winter meetings in Washington.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t busy, it just means they didn’t get anything done before the annual get together ended yesterday.

Yet.

The rumors about Edwin Encarnacion are still out there, and at least a few national pundits have the Tribe being the favorite to sign the right-handed hitting slugger.

At the very least, the Indians know they have openings in the 1B/DH role served by Mike Napoli and an outfield slot manned by Rajai Davis in 2016.

Both of those players were huge contributors for the American League champions. Napoli hit a career high 34 home runs and his best offensive season since 2013, and was a tremendous clubhouse presence.

Davis hit the game tying home run in game seven of the Fall Classic, but had his worst season since 2013.

Both players are beyond their prime years though. Napoli will play the 2017 season at age 35, while Davis is now 36 years old.

In reality, if the front office brought both back in the same roles as last season, what would be the odds both will be as productive as they were in 2016?

Spoiler alert! The answer would be slim or none.

Both players were probably overexposed due to the injury of Michael Brantley, but we can definitely see a scenario where both players return and disappoint, more due to the expectations of the fans and management.

That’s why Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are pursuing Encarnacion, who is a year younger than Napoli and whose production is much more consistent.

Over the last five seasons, last season might be the slugger’s worst, and even then, he belted 42 home runs and knocked in 127, to lead the AL.

If he declines slightly in 2017, what are you looking at? Probably 30-35 dingers and around 100 RBI, which is what Napoli provided last season.

Yes, Encarnacion wants a three or four year deal, but his production over the last five years merits that. It is a huge gamble to give a two or three year deal with Napoli based on his recent past.

We understand the emotional part of this would say to bring back these two heroes from a World Series season, but Antonetti and Chernoff can’t think with their hearts, they have to use cold, hard logic.

While we are still skeptical of the Tribe signing a player like Encarnacion, who is probably the best hitter on the market, the fact remains they have to resign Napoli, or replace him with someone else.

The same is true with Davis.

The front office realizes that, and we are sure they are working diligently to get something done.

So, we would anticipate a couple of moves to address those areas in the next couple of weeks. And we expect a free agent signing or trade because we doubt the Indians will trust either opening to a rookie like Yandy Diaz or Bradley Zimmer, nor should they.

They aren’t in a player development mode right now. Of course, this doesn’t mean those two players won’t be contributors in 2017, it just means the Tribe can’t count on them to start a season where they are the defending AL Champions.

Antonetti and Chernoff are waiting for the market to settle before striking. Although it’s frustrating for fans, it’s also smart.

A New Era For The Tribe?

Are we looking at a new era on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie?

Rumors out of baseball’s annual winter meetings have the Cleveland Indians talking to the agents of free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion about coming to the Tribe on a multi-year contract.

Encarnacion is one of the game’s premier sluggers. He led the American League in runs batted in last season, and his OPS hasn’t been below 886 since 2011. His lowest home run total over the last five years was 34.

In short, he is an upgrade, at least on the field, from the player who filled his position in 2016.

According to reports, the Indians are one of three teams considered favorites to sign him, along with Boston and Texas, so it should still be considered a long shot for him to join the American League champions.

It has been reported that the Tribe paid a very handsome profit from last season’s playoff run, and remember that John Sherman was brought in as vice chairman and minority owner last summer, so it is very possible that Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have some extra cash to spend this winter.

And obviously, if you lose the World Series in game seven, and in extra innings, you are in win now mode.

If ever there was a time to throw a little caution to the wind and “go for it”, it is the 2017 season.

Especially when it appears that your competition in the AL Central are in flux. The White Sox look to be in sell mode. The Tigers are aging and have been said to be interested in lowering payroll. The Royals have several key players eligible for free agency after the ’17 season. The Twins lost 100 games a year ago, and shouldn’t be a factor next season.

That doesn’t mean the Indians’ front office will go crazy, handing out huge amounts of cash on long term deals to players decidedly on the downside of their careers.

If the team is able to strike a deal with Encarnacion, we would image a two or three year deal, as he will turn 34 years old in January. Mike Napoli is a year older, and hasn’t shown the consistency in his career as Encarnacion.

Also, the reason Cleveland can even think about this is the low amount of money committed to their starting pitching staff, which is a sink hole for most other major league teams.

Heck, the Dodgers yesterday gave Rich Hill, who was pitching in an independent league in 2015, $48 million over three years. The Tribe doesn’t have to commit that kind of cash to their rotation.

Even if the Indians don’t reach an agreement with Encarnacion, this sends a signal that the front office is ready to spend money on the right player and in the right situation. That’s all fans want, and it should keep the momentum from last October going for the local baseball team.

So, the Indians may make a big splash this off-season, something not thought possible a week ago. Getting this close to a World Series title for fueled this.

It could also mean that the Antonetti led front office is more aggressive than the Mark Shapiro led one. There could have been many reasons for Shapiro’s conservativism, but we doubt he makes the Andrew Miller trade, and it doesn’t seem signing a big time free agent is something he would have done either.

Right now, circumstances have the Cleveland Indians in a win now situation. It’s been 20 years since we could say that.

Looking Ahead To Tribe Off-Season

It still stings.

Losing in extra innings in the seventh game of the World Series for the second time in the last 20 years will do that to hardcore fans.

Despite some people in the media telling fans they should feel good about losing to the Cubs in the Fall Classic, we still think about what might have been.

The Indians were this close to a World Championship, and fell just a bit short.

So, the best thing to do is to look forward. What can and will the Indians do this winter to prepare themselves to defend the American League Central Division and the American League championship?

Despite the injuries late in the season that curtailed the Tribe’s rotation, there is no doubt the strength of the Indians is the starting rotation, and the back end of the bullpen.

Remember, Cleveland finished second in the American League in ERA in 2016.

Led by staff ace Corey Kluber, the rotation which also consists of Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Josh Tomlin, and the tandem of Andrew Miller and Cody Allen at the back of the bullpen is the backbone of the team.

And don’t forget Mike Clevinger and post-season hero Ryan Merritt to provide depth as well.

As we all saw, pitching rules the day in October, and the Cleveland pitching staff was outstanding in the playoffs.

But the odd thing about baseball is you have to score runs in the regular season to get into the post-season, and quite frankly a lot went right for the Tribe to rank second in the AL in runs scored this past season.

Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana has career years in terms of power, and one of that duo may not be with the team when Opening Day 2017 comes around.

Many will peg Jose Ramirez for regression next season, but we are not one of those people. Ramirez’ minor league numbers suggest he is a good hitter and at age 24, should still be getting better.

The same can be said for SS Francisco Lindor who will play ’17 at age 23. Lindor should only get better, and should provide a little more power, which could put him with around 20 home runs next season.

Jason Kipnis should be fine, and of course, the team is hopeful of getting its best hitter coming into 2016, Michael Brantley back and provide the professional at bats he is well known for.

What the front office does to make up for the loss or possible lost production from Napoli and perhaps Santana will go a long way toward making the post-season a year from now.

The outfield is still a huge question mark. Rajai Davis is also a free agent and will be 36 years old. Tyler Naquin slumped badly in the second half and has no track record. Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer are solid players, but aren’t cornerstones. Don’t forget about Abraham Almonte too.

And will Brantley be healthy enough to contribute. Hopefully, rookie Yandy Diaz figures in somewhere too.

The front office can’t and shouldn’t go into the winter thinking older players like Napoli and Davis will repeat the numbers they put up in 2016. It’s just not logical.

So, president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have to be creative in what they do in the hot stove league.

One thing is for sure. The Tribe should not stand pat. They need to continue to improve the roster even though they got to the seventh game of the World Series.

You can’t assume everything will be the same as this year.

Time For Tribe Bats To Awaken

There is no question the pitching staff has carried the Cleveland Indians in this year’s run to the World Series.

The Tribe has played ten post-season games to date, and they’ve allowed just 20 runs. Even the most challenged person, mathematically speaking, knows that’s just two runs per contest.

Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, and Josh Tomlin have been very stingy in allowing opponents to cross home plate.

With the World Series tied at one game apiece and no heading to Chicago, it’s time for the hitting, and there is no question the Indians’ bats are slumbering, to pick up their end of the heavy lifting.

In those same 10 games, Cleveland has scored only 34 runs, well below their average of 4.83 runs per contest in the regular season.

Yes, we know that the pitching is better in the post-season, and naturally teams will score less runs in the playoffs, but when you consider that 12 of those runs were scored in two games (ALDS Game 2 and World Series Game 1), it is another indication the bats are really struggling.

That means in the other eight games, the Tribe is averaging less than three runs a night. Based on that statistic, it is kind of miraculous that the Indians have won six of those games and have won the American League pennant.

Besides Francisco Lindor, who has batted .342 with 2 homers since the regular season ended, and Brandon Guyer (4 for 11 in his platoon role), and rest of the hitters have struggled.

Leadoff hitter Carlos Santana has only 5 hits in 35 at bats. He has walked four times, giving him an on base percentage of just .250. The #2 hitter, Jason Kipnis, is batting .154 with just three extra base hits in the playoffs.

Cleanup hitter Mike Napoli nudged himself over the “Mendoza line” with two hits last night, but he has only one homer in the 10 games and is striking out in over one-third of his at bats (12 whiffs in 34 ABs).

World Series Game 1 hero Roberto Perez has been feast or famine. He’s hitting just .200 (6 for 30), but does have four extra base hits and a team leading six RBIs, although three of those came on his three run blast in the 8th inning of that game.

The only other consistent batter outside of Lindor has been Jose Ramirez, and even he struggled throughout the Toronto series.

The offense does have 13 home runs in the playoffs, but they have only mustered 13 other extra base hits in the ten games, all of them doubles.

Rookie Tyler Naquin has continued his struggles, going 3 for 18 with 11 whiffs, but who do you replace him with? His platoon partner, Rajai Davis is just 1 for 19 and hasn’t really hit since the middle of September.

If Davis were swinging the bat well, it would make sense for Terry Francona to replace the rookie, but right now, why make the move?

The Indians have just four hitters with an OPS over 700 in the playoffs (Lindor, Guyer, Perez, and Coco Crisp).

There is talk about Santana playing LF in Wrigley Field, but at this point, that has to be Tito hoping he will get hot, because he hasn’t hit so far.

Playoff games are supposed to be tight contests, but right now, it feels like if the Indians fall behind in a game, then it’s over. At some point in this World Series, the bats will be needed to win a game. Heck, the Cubs only scored five last night, an offensive output like Game 1 would have won that game too.

It’s time for the hitters for the Cleveland Indians to join the party, whether it’s at Napoli’s or at Wrigley Field.

Tribe Facing A Much More Famous Foe

Tonight’s the night!

Post-season baseball returns to Cleveland for the first time since the 2013 wild card game against Tampa Bay, and the Indians are in the American League Division Series for the first time since 2007.

Even though the Tribe has home field advantage as a result of having a better record during the regular season than their opponents, the Boston Red Sox, they are a decided underdog, particularly on a national basis.

Part of that is the loss of 2/5ths of Terry Francona’s starting rotation, with Carlos Carrasco down with a broken hand and Danny Salazar has a strain in his forearm. Neither will pitch in this series, and the hope is Salazar may be able to participate before the month ends.

The other part of this, is let’s face it, the Red Sox are jammed down the nation’s throat because it seems every matchup they have against the Yankees is televised across the universe.

Are you aware that David Ortiz is going to retire? If you aren’t, you could possibly be the most sheltered person on earth. Thank goodness, if the Indians can eliminate the Sox, we won’t have to hear about this anymore.

Of course, we are sure that one of the network’s covering post-season baseball will hire him as a “guest” analyst for the rest of the playoffs and World Series.

Even MLB Network has Pedro Martinez and Kevin Millar working for them. And it doesn’t take much for them to start reminiscing about 2004 and breaking “The Curse of the Bambino”.

That team was managed by the same guy who is in the home dugout tonight at Progressive Field. His name is Francona.

For most people around the country, Terry Francona is the most recognizable name among the Cleveland Indians. He’s put up four consecutive winning seasons and has made the playoffs twice with the Tribe, but his players don’t have the same “name” factor as the skipper.

We are sure much of the hype in the series will be about Tito coming back to Boston and that Mike Napoli will be playing against the same team he won a World Series with in 2013.

But this will be the network viewing audience’s first look at Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis, and for that matter, Corey Kluber, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2014.

Most of the nation’s baseball fans probably couldn’t pick these guys out of a lineup.

Besides Ortiz, Boston has former MVP Dustin Pedroia, and a bunch of young players who have been covered since arriving in the bigs: Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. (JBJ for those not in the know), and Xander Bogaerts.

No wonder, most experts don’t give the Tribe much of a chance, although they cover this with the caveat that you can’t possibly pick Cleveland without Carrasco and Salazar.

We are happy that most national guys are seeing how good Andrew Miller is, with several baseball media people calling him, not the Orioles’ Zack Britton, the best reliever in the game. Of course, Miller pitched in both New York and Boston, so he’s got that going for him.

Would we be shocked if the Tribe didn’t advance? No, as we wrote the other day, they are facing an uphill climb.

But this is baseball. Hopefully, the Cleveland Indians will give the national media some new baseball players to talk about…guys like “Frankie”, “Kip”, “Josey”, and the “Klubot”.

Tribe Earned This Title In Many Ways

The Cleveland Indians are the 2016 American League Central Division Champions!

No one game wild card nonsense this season, the Tribe will start the AL Division Series next Thursday somewhere, hopefully at Progressive Field.

Although the Indians have been in first place since June, it hasn’t been an easy trip to the division title despite the margin being eight games as of this morning.

Terry Francona has been without arguably the team’s best player, OF Michael Brantley, for the entire season. He has played just 11 games, getting 39 at bats for the year.

The starting catcher, Yan Gomes was mired in a batting slump the entire season, and then separated his shoulder in July and has missed the remainder of the season.

And in the past few weeks, the team has lost two starting pitchers, the strength of the team coming into the season, as Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar were ruled out for the rest of the regular season.

Look, all teams have injuries and they overcome them as well, but we are simply pointing out that this hasn’t been one of those magical seasons where everything fell into place for the Indians.

The Tribe earned this division title by dominating within the division. They have a 46-24 record against Central Division teams, and have a winning record against the other members of the division.

They earned this title by going on a 14 game winning streak in June, a franchise record. And for those who belittle the accomplishment and point to the team’s record without the streak, we would say that every major league had the opportunity to win 14 in a row.

To date, only the Cleveland Indians have done it.

They earned this title by ranking first in the American League in staff ERA, and scoring the second most runs in the league. If you do that, chances are you will have a very good record.

They earned this title by dominating at Progressive Field, going 53-28 at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. They’ve gone .500 on the road too, so it’s not as though they are horrible outside of Cleveland.

They earned this title because they had young players from their farm system step up in the wake of the injuries that occurred, and guys like Jose Ramirez, Tyler Naquin, and Mike Clevinger have been major contributors to the cause.

They earned this title because two veterans signed in the off-season became major contributors. Mike Napoli had career highs in home runs and RBIs, and Rajai Davis is going to lead the league in stolen bases at age 35.

Both have also become leaders in the clubhouse and taken the younger guys under their wing.

They earned this title because the front office went out at the trade deadline and acquired perhaps the best relief pitcher in baseball in southpaw Andrew Miller, whose addition has made the Tribe relief corps maybe the best in the game.

They earned this title because they have one of the game’s most dynamic young players in SS Francisco Lindor and his partner at the keystone, Jason Kipnis.

They earned this title because Carlos Santana rebounded from a couple of lackluster seasons in the power department to bash a career high 34 dingers, a club record for a switch hitter.

Lastly, they earned this title because they have one of the game’s best skippers in Francona. We have questioned his in-game strategy from time to time, but you can’t doubt the respect he has from his players.

The hugs he gave his key guys as they left the field last night spoke volumes as to the relationship he has with the players.

Now, it’s time for some rest, but the Indians also need to win some games to secure home field for at least the first round.

But it was a sweet scene last night in Detroit. And if they couldn’t clinch at home, that’s the next best place to do so.

Tribe Wise To Wait On Inking Napoli, Davis

The Cleveland Indians are sitting pretty on top of the American League Central Division with a record of 66-48, five games ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

Two big reasons for their success offensively have been the players they signed to one year contracts over the off-season, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis.

Napoli has provided the right-handed hitting slugger the franchise has needed for years, and to date has belted 29 homers and knocked in 83 runs with an OPS of 875. The home runs and RBIs rank in the top ten in the AL.

Davis, at 35 years of age, currently leads the junior circuit in stolen bases with 31, and has led the Tribe’s aggressive base running style which started on Opening Day. Davis has also contributed a career high in HRs with 10 this season.

The Indians’ success has fans excited and rightfully so, but talk of extensions for both players should be responded too by hitting the brakes just a bit.

First of all, remember how the Tribe acquired both players. They took one year contracts for a reason, because they were both coming off down years.

Napoli hit just .224 a year ago, with 18 HR and 50 RBI and a 734 OPS splitting time between the Red Sox and Rangers. His last season, prior to 2016, where he has an OPS of over 800 was 2013, when he hit 23 dingers and knocked in 92 runs for the World Series Champions.

Players who have career bests in home runs and runs batted in at age 34, don’t usually repeat those numbers going forward.

We understand that Napoli has been a great guy in the clubhouse and has become a fan favorite with his “Party At Napoli’s” t-shirts. But the front office’s job is too make an honest evaluation of what the slugger can do in the future, and how long he can do it.

Davis is a different case in that he did have a career renaissance in Detroit in 2014 and 2015. He had an OPS under 700 from 2010 to 2013 in Oakland and Toronto before signing with the Tigers, where his numbers picked up mostly as a result of Comerica Park, where he flourished.

We were skeptical as to how he would perform at Progressive Field, but he is putting some similar numbers with Cleveland, and leads the league in steals at age 35.

Look, it is great that fans feel connected to this current Tribe roster, and that Napoli and Davis have contributed greatly to this team’s success.

And it’s not as though we don’t want them back. However, remember the problems this organization had giving Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn multi-year deals?

If either player or both would sign one year contracts over the winter, it would be easy for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to say yes.

Our guess is that some team will offer Napoli a three year contract at over $10 million per year, and that’s something the Indians need to stay away from.

It’s more likely Davis could be back on a one year deal because he’s more of a platoon player.

Fans shouldn’t forget that the Tribe’s three best position players are Francisco Lindor (22), Jason Kipnis (29), and Jose Ramirez (23). And those guys will be here for awhile.

Our opinion is it is more likely the front office will be looking at guys similar to Napoli and Davis who will take a one year deal for 2017.

There’s no such thing as a bad one year contract.

We love Napoli and Davis and how they have impacted this roster. But the front office has to remember the sins of the past. And those sins are named Swisher and Bourn.