What Is Plan B To Help Guardians Score Runs?

The first clue came at Guardians’ Fest when owner Paul Dolan said the reason for not signing any free agent outfielders is they wanted to give the young players in the farm system a chance.

Then in the past few days, manager Steven Vogt and president Chris Antonetti mentioned the same thing.

To us, this is a pretty risky plan especially if the organization has designs on making the playoffs. Remember, this shouldn’t be a “rebuild”, they won the division title just two years ago with the youngest roster in the sport.

It is universally known that the Guardians have a problem scoring runs, ranking 12th in the American League a year ago. We believe to have a solid major league lineup, a team needs to have six, maybe even seven solid bats in the batting order.

In our opinion, right now, the Guards have four: Jose Ramirez of course, Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, and Andres Gimenez. Bo Naylor showed promise a year ago, but he has less than 250 big league at bats, and can’t be counted as of yet.

And we are pressing the definition of “solid” with Kwan (710 OPS) and Gimenez (712 OPS), each would be the 6th or 7th best hitters on very good hitting teams.

The front office could have signed a veteran free agent to a one-year contract (there are no such things as bad one-year deals) to add a proven stick to the order. Players like J.D. Martinez (career 874 OPS) and Tommy Pham (786 OPS) are still on the market.

Cleveland acquired Estevan Florial from New York over the winter and he had a big year in AAA last season and was a former top 100 prospect. George Valera has also been on this list, but he’s never been in the big leagues and has battled injuries the last two seasons.

Otherwise, the candidates the team is depending aren’t on the list of the top prospects in the game, nor are they on the Guardians’ top 10 list, at least among the outfielders.

So, our question is this: What is Plan B if none of the young players the brass is talking about come through in 2024?

In 2022, Will Brennan slashed 371/479/850 in the minor leagues, at both the AA and AAA levels. Last year, in the big leagues, Brennan had a 655 OPS, with both the on base and pop he showed in the minors in ’22 having disappeared.

This isn’t to say Brennan is a bust, for right now, we simply will call it growing pains, but the fact remains he didn’t provide much offense for the Guardians last season.

In three seasons at AAA, Florial has slashed 358/490/848, similar numbers to Brennan. And although he has only 134 plate appearances in the big leagues, he has a 609 OPS, striking out 41 times.

Another hopeful is Johnathan Rodriguez, who in 47 games at Columbus last season was outstanding 376/560/936. With 476 plate appearances in AA, his numbers are 334/497/831. Solid, but not overwhelming.

Jhonkensy Noel, a minor league slugger, is also in the mix, but in a full season at Columbus last year put up these numbers: 303/420/723.

Kyle Manzardo is a Guardians’ top 10 prospect, and it seems like the organization wants him to start in AAA. Perhaps, it’s because he’s not already on the 40-man roster. In AAA last season, he had an 802 OPS.

And no, we don’t consider a player with a 676 OPS a year ago to be a solid bat. We are talking about Ramon Laureano, claimed on waivers from Oakland last season in August. His last season with an OPS over 750 was 2021.

Could things fall into place and Brennan bounces back, Bo Naylor continues to hit like he did in the second half last season, and Brayan Rocchio hits like he has in winter ball? Of course, and if that happens, the offensive woes could be solved.

We like having a backup plan, though. Of course, that costs money. Hence the problem for the front office.

Dolan’s Comments Seems Like Rebuilding Year For Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians celebrated their annual winter festival over the weekend, a time to look forward to the upcoming baseball season. It’s a great time for the fans, who get to see their favorite players again after three and a half months.

The team’s resident superstar Jose Ramirez was there. Fan favorite Josh Naylor and brother Bo made an appearance, and the Guards’ new skipper, Steven Vogt, interacted with ticket payers and media people alike.

It was a great time to talk baseball during the cold northeast Ohio winter, and of course, the weather cooperated by providing a snowstorm.

And then, someone put a microphone in front of team owner Paul Dolan. Dolan did say the team is always looking for ways to improve, but seemed to imply the improvement would come “internally and organically” with the young guys coming up from the farm system.

And thus, a wet blanket was put over the event.

Look, we get a team like the Guardians (at least in their own head) have to have a farm system that is producing in order to field a contending team. However, even if you are going to depend on rookies and/or second year players, if you fancy yourself as a contender, you add veterans who can contribute in case the inexperienced players aren’t quite ready.

We know the Guardians need outfield help. Since the end of the 2023 campaign, they resigned Ramon Laureano, who they acquired on waivers in August, and traded with the Yankees for Estevan Florial, who was a top 100 prospect. In 2019.

We reviewed the organization’s top ten prospect list from Baseball America and we see three outfielders–

Chase DeLauter is the top prospect, but he has only played a handful of games above the High A level, and could be ready late this season. Key word there is could.

George Valera has been on prospect lists since 2020, but has had injury issues the past two seasons and has never played more than 100 games in a minor league season. If he can stay healthy in 2024, perhaps he’s another player who can be in Cleveland by the end of this season.

The third OF is 19-year-old Jaison Chourio, who played mostly in the Arizona Rookie Leauge last year. He’s aways away.

So, it’s not like the Guardians have one of the game’s best prospects ready to step in the lineup on Opening Day. In fact, there has been talk that the readiest minor league player, Kyle Manzardo, might start the year in AAA.

Plenty of players who made these top prospect lists never pan out, and others who don’t make them wind up being real good major league players. Ramirez never appeared on the Top 100 prospect list and he has been one of the best players in the game over the last six years.

Yes, there is still time to sign a veteran outfielder to help the team’s hitting before spring training starts, and actually, there are still good candidates remaining on the market.

But to us, going entirely with your farm system to fill this void, and not having highly tiered prospects ready to go, reeks of a rebuilding team. The Guardians are not a team that is several years away from success, they won the Central in 2022.

Perhaps any warmth fans received at the event over the weekend was the hot air coming out of the team’s owner.

The public relations department of the Guardians don’t get paid enough to spin whatever comes out of the owners’ mouth.

No Conversations About Baseball Doesn’t Help It Grow.

It used to be said that baseball was the one sport that had no off season. It was talked about all year long. That’s why the term “hot stove league” was started, to describe the part of the year where the game wasn’t being played, but trades were being discussed and free agents were being signed.

That’s not true now. Other sports have gotten wise to this and have extended the relevance of their games during the periods where the action isn’t on the field.

Heck, in Cleveland, the sports talk shows discuss the Browns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your team isn’t playoff caliber, the draft talk starts during the season, as soon as it is evident the playoffs aren’t the goal.

You also have mini-camps and the beginning of training camp. Really, the only dead time for football is the period after the draft until the end of July.

In the NBA, as soon as the playoffs end, usually in the middle of June, you have the draft right after, and then in early July comes the free agency period, and there is a flurry of trades that go along with that as well. Once that ends, basketball kind of hibernates until training camp starts in September.

However, right now, baseball has gone silent because the owners have decided on a lockout to apparently try and break the strongest union in professional sports. So, instead of trade rumors and speculation on where free agents will sign and for what kind of money, we get nothing.

Baseball has disappeared from the sports consciousness, and if the parties can’t come to an agreement, apathy will set in. And for a sport waning in popularity over the last couple of decades, that’s suicidal.

It is easy for writers and broadcasters to side with the owners, because the players job is “playing”, something every kid who likes sports grew up wanting to do.

We side with the players though. Why? Because they are the product. No one goes to Progressive Field to see Paul Dolan own the Guardians. Fans buy tickets to watch baseball, and baseball is played by players.

Unfortunately, it appears the two sides don’t seem to want to get to the bargaining table to work out the differences any time soon.

We are sure the owners figure as long the new CBA is in place by spring training, then everything is fine, but in the meantime, there is no talk about baseball. The game is out of the sports point of view.

Meanwhile, the NBA has its slate of Christmas games, the league will be on TV all day. The NFL is coming down the stretch of its regular season, and there are plenty of games that affect the playoff landscape.

It seems odd that a tactic in trying to grow your sport is taking it out of the public’s eye. As Pepper Brook in Dodgeball said “it seems like a bold strategy”.

Rob Manfred and his owner friends will tell you they are trying to save baseball, but really, they are trying to kill it. Odd, because it makes all of them a boatload of cash. And yes, more cash than any player makes.

First Step To Help Guardians’ Attendance? Have Fun!

The Cleveland Guardians’ organization is very good in soliciting opinions. As a former season ticket holder (we guess), we are on their mailing list and we get surveys all the time regarding our feelings, usually about the experience at Progressive Field.

We have a confession too. We are probably not the demographic they really want to hear from. At the end of each questionnaire, we are asked for our age. Let’s just say, our favorite player growing up was Sudden Sam McDowell, so we bet our answers go into the “he’s get off my lawn” guy file.

We are often critical about the “game experience” at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, mostly because (we know, this is silly) we go downtown to watch a baseball game.

Most of the surveys have to do with the different types of food or beverages at the ballpark, although recent ones have dealt with the renovations which will occur over the next few years at Progressive Field and the latest had to do with game experience and the franchise name change, a bit late on that one, no?

The attendance for Cleveland baseball spiked under two separate times: The late 90’s when the team was dominant and the Browns did not exist, and the late 1940’s when yes, the franchise won its last World Series (1948) and it was owned by Bill Veeck, who was in touch with things people liked and was willing to take risks.

Many times in sports, the answer is right in front of you.

For instance, the Browns were successful in the late 50’s through 1970 with a running attack led by the great Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly. The current edition of the team is following that path with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt (no, we didn’t forget D’Ernest Johnson).

The late 80’s Browns’ defense had two shutdown corners. The current organization is trying to do the same, although it’s a plus having Myles Garrett.

We doubt the Guardians’ front office can put together a lineup with potentially six Hall of Famers (Jim Thome and Eddie Murray are already there, and you can make very good cases for Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and Omar Vizquel, while Manny Ramirez would be there if not for PEDs), so why not go the Veeck route in an effort to boost attendance.

Veeck spoke to the fans, asked them what they liked and what they didn’t, and then put that into action. Instead of announcing giveaway days and special promotions, he just did them, so fans didn’t know when they showed up if someone special was going to happen or not.

We greeting fans when they arrived and spoke to them as they departed. He was like a host at a party who wanted to make sure everyone had a good time.

We understand Paul Dolan doesn’t seem to be comfortable doing this sort of thing, but he could hire people who can do it.

This is not to say all of the folks who work at Progressive Field are uncaring robots. Many enjoy the people who attend the games, but it has to be universal.

Once you create fun, then allow people to experience it, lower ticket prices, which are among the highest in the sport. Get rid of dynamic ticket prices. Have ticket deals for the times when the weather is less than ideal in Cleveland.

Alternative jerseys? Fans love them, Cleveland hasn’t done this. When was the last time the franchise celebrated a former player by putting them in the team’s Hall of Fame? Those are just simple things? Why doesn’t the organization do them?

We have said it many times over the past few years, there is interest in the major league baseball team here, the television rating show it. Why don’t folks come downtown? That’s what the ownership should be trying to find out?

It’s not rocket science, but it is about fun. Make it fun to attend a Guardians’ game.

Maybe the front office doesn’t know what fun is?

A Realistic Plan For Tribe

Over the weekend, the Indians payroll (or lack of it) was in the news again, as the front office worked through the media to justify the reduction of the money being paid to players.

The situation noted was Tampa’s letting pitcher Charlie Morton leave via free agency, although we would say not paying a 37-year-old starting pitcher over $10 million isn’t quite the same as what the Tribe is doing.

First, using the term “reducing” when it comes to players’ salaries in Cleveland is being gentle. When you go from $130 million in 2017 to something projected to be under $70 million in 2021 should be categorized as “gutting” the payroll.

And that figure is with Francisco Lindor on the team. If he is traded, which seems like a certainty, the likely number could be closer to $50 million.

Unfortunately, the owners of the Indians don’t want to address the situation publicly. We understand if Paul Dolan were to speak to the media, he would use the pandemic, attendance loss, blah, blah, blah, and no one would press him (nor would he give you a truthful answer).

It is curious how the virus hasn’t affected teams like the Padres, White Sox, and Nationals from appearing like they want to add talent this winter, and the Royals have been making moves as well.

We were challenged on social media, since we have a huge problem with this salary cut being done during a period where the Indians have made the playoffs in four of the last five years, and won 93 games in the season where they didn’t qualify.

We get that the Indians cannot spend with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers, but a payroll of $100 million shouldn’t be out of the question.

Based on this, signing Lindor to a multi-year deal between $25-$30 million per year would put the projected salary figure in the $80 million range and you now have the foundation of two superstars in their prime (with Jose Ramirez) and one of the best starting rotations in the game as a basis of contending.

Besides, as we’ve seen this week with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, you can always trade a star player in the middle of a contract if you decide it’s not working out.

While we would be interested in playing younger players in ’21, we would spend money, preferably one year deals on some hitters to help the lineup transition to a younger look going forward.

We would like to plug in Daniel Johnson in CF, and see if Owen Miller and/or Yu Chang could hold down 2B, but we would provide Terry Francona with some options.

If you are contending, there is a limit to how much you can watch young players struggle. On the other hand, if the lineup is producing runs despite the struggles, a team can be more patient with young players.

FYI, we didn’t include Nolan Jones because he’s only played a half year at the AA level, and it appears he will also be making a position switch.

We would look at adding guys like a Nick Markakis, Robbie Grossman, or Tommy LaStella as low cost free agents (you might have to wait until late January or early February to see if asking prices come down). They could tie you over in a corner outfield spot or at second base if the young guys aren’t ready.

We would also add another bullpen arm. We would go into camp with James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase being the primary late inning relievers, but why not take a shot on pitchers like Sean Doolittle or a Hector Rondon if you can get them at a solid price.

Now, we understand the ownership doesn’t care what we would do. They would rather cry about money even though as a family they have a tremendous amount of money, more than we or any other fan has.

There is absolutely no reason for this type of dismantling of a contending baseball team. This is not an aging team and it is also not a squad on the decline in terms of the record on the field.

If you are a fan of the Indians, it’s a sad, sad time.

Time For The Tribe Owners To Speak.

No one will ever accuse the Cleveland Indians of having good timing or a savvy public relations department.

We wondered on social media Sunday if the Tribe front office would ruin their fans’ holiday season by announcing a Francisco Lindor trade on Christmas Eve. We were correct on the bad timing, but not on the announcement.

The New York Times reported the team will announce the name change of the team perhaps as early as this week.

Look, we knew this was inevitable, and quite frankly, in today’s climate, it’s the correct move. But they couldn’t wait until mid-January to open up a new discussion on this topic?

Again, timing is everything.

In reality, fans of the Indians have other reasons to feel uneasy, more important reasons, than changing the name from the Indians. Heck, we understand Major League Baseball probably wouldn’t like it, but we would have some days commemorating the history of the name, and would embrace the gate receipts that went with it.

We understand that each time Paul Dolan speaks, he is apt to insert his foot in his mouth, but it’s time he step forward and answer some huge questions regarding the future of the baseball team he owns.

For example, is there any negotiations going on with the city of Cleveland about extending the lease for Progressive Field, which ends 2023? Until a new agreement is reached, supporters of the Tribe should be worried about a possible move of the franchise.

Why does it seem like the payroll isn’t being slightly reduced, it is being slashed, going from the lower middle of the pack a few years ago to a projected bottom three in the sport for 2021? What is the reason for this, and by the way, citing falling attendance would not be an acceptable answer.

Yes, attendance has dipped, but not at the level the salaries are being cut, and the ownership and front office haven’t exactly tried to increase the number of people going through the turnstiles at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Mr. Dolan should also be asked if the team made a legitimate offer for Francisco Lindor or why the organization seems to be intentionally closing the window on contention even with a young, controllable pitching staff and two of the top 20 position players in the sport, both being in the prime of their career.

The fans deserve answers to those questions, particularly the one about the lease at the ballpark. Many fans have commented to us that it seems the Dolan family is deliberately trying to destroy the relationship with the fans so it would be easy to move the team to a new city.

That may be fallout from the Browns leaving 25 years ago, but having one professional sports team vacate the area makes sports fans a bit jumpy.

If and when Dolan speaks, we cannot have the usual coddling the local media gives the family, meaning no “we understand this is a small market and you are losing money” BS. Ask him difficult questions. We understand he may duck and dodge them, but at least he will be on record.

As for the name change, it shouldn’t be a big surprise. It was announced months ago, but as we said, why bring it up right now?

Turn it around and create some interest in the name change. Channel your inner Bill Veeck and put some butts in the Progressive Field seats.

Isn’t there anyone in the offices at Carnegie and Ontario who ever brings up how certain things will play with the fan base, the customer? Doesn’t seem like it.

Tribe Needs To Play Nice With Fan Base

There are many conflicts in sports that occur outside of the playing area. Sometimes there is a difference in philosophies between the coach and a general manager.

Other times it is between players in the locker room, or a particular team and an officiating crew. We hear about them all the time.

In Cleveland, we (of course) have a different type of sports butting of the heads. It’s between the Cleveland Indians organization and their fan base.

The other night, Paul Dolan and his family were being honored with the lifetime achievement award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, and the owner chose his acceptance speech to show off his lack of comedy prowess.

He referred to his “enjoy him” comment made last spring about Francisco Lindor, who can be a free agent following the 2021 season. With Tribe fans in fear of watching the superstar walk away or be traded before the end of next season, the attempt at humor was ill-advised to say the least.

The Dolan family are reported to be very nice people. We only say reported because we have never met them, but they certainly do plenty of charity work within the community, and they also take a very “hands off” approach in regard to running the Indians.

And that’s a good thing too.

On the other hand, they seem to antagonize their fans all the time.

Before saying the line about Lindor, Dolan went out of his way to thank the fans, particularly those who buy suites. While those fans are important, there are more people who sit in the actual seats at Progressive Field than sit in “luxury boxes”.

And the ownership does refer to attendance issues a lot. They don’t seem to realize the fans don’t have to come to the games, they need to be persuaded to buy tickets.

We didn’t come up with this analogy, but the attitude is the same as a restaurant owner who says he will serve subpar food until a lot of patrons start walking through the door, and then he will serve good food.

Cutting the payroll by around $30 million during the midst of a string of 90 win seasons isn’t exactly making fans reach into their pockets to spend some hard earned money either.

The Tribe won the division with 91 victories in 2018, and the players’ salaries were trimmed. They won 93 last season, and it appears the money spent on the folks on the field will be reduced again.

The rationale both times is a drop in attendance, which dipped from 2.05 million in ’17, the year after an American League championship, to 1.93 million in ’18 and then to 1.74 million in 2019.

We hate to say it, but it is on the front office to repair the damage, and the sooner the better.

Let’s be clear. We aren’t saying to be crazy and spend a ton of cash on mediocre players, that’s not smart.

But they could lower ticket prices, give fans deals to show up to the games held in the colder weather of April. Get people in Progressive Field. The motivation should be getting more people to buy food and drink at premium prices.

The television ratings show their is great interest in the Indians, but people seem to not go to Progressive Field. The front office should find out why, and do something different to get fans downtown.

What they are currently doing isn’t working, but there doesn’t seem to be any willingness to adapt.

Fighting the fans isn’t a battle the Indians’ front office is going to win. Instead, embrace your fans, make them part of the team.

And stopping saying things that cause the ticket buyers to question your ownership.

Tribe Fans Get Doused By Dolan’s Cold Shower

Man, it is tough to be a fan of the Cleveland Indians right now. The team has lost its last six post-season games, and after three straight division titles, the aura around the team is negative.

With Opening Day coming up on Thursday, and the home opener arriving in just six days, the thoughts of northeastern Ohio should be that of anticipation of another post-season berth, and a chance to end a 70 year World Series drought.

Instead, the focus is on the team’s finances. In the past few weeks, Paul Dolan has done several interviews with local media, and in each one, has pointed out the team is losing money on a yearly basis, and the organization made a conscious decision to cut the payroll for players after the 2018 season.

Keep in mind, last year’s roster had arguably the best starting pitching in the game and two MVP candidates (and top ten players in the sport) in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

This flies in the face of the famous statement from the Dolan family that they will spend when it is appropriate. Isn’t it appropriate now?

We have said this before, but Paul Dolan isn’t good at doing the whole media thing, so it would behoove the front office not to have him make the rounds.

Whether it is true or not, and quite frankly, we find it doubtful that an owner of a major professional sports team is losing money in this day and age, fans don’t care. The owners don’t announce when they make a profit, so they shouldn’t announce when they are losing money.

If that is the case, then sell the team to someone else, and let them worry about it.

What is very odd to us is the support around the city the ownership gets from some fans. Those people do understand they are taking the side of a multi-millionaire claiming to be losing money.

Dolan told fans in a piece in The Athletic that Tribe fans should enjoy Lindor while you can, a clear indication the franchise was not going to try to keep him on a long term deal when he becomes a free agent following the 2021 season.

Can you imagine the outrage if Jimmy Haslam said Baker Mayfield would likely only be a Brown until his rookie contract was up? Or Dan Gilbert said he was going to let LeBron James walk away without a serious contract offer?

Yes, James left twice, but not because the Cavs owner wanted him to go.

The other thing about the comments is the timing. Why make these comments right before the season is about to begin? We don’t think Dolan is trying to destroy interest in his team, but the outrage we’ve seen over the past two days cannot be construed as positive.

We have always thought the reasons for people to own a sports team are to win, to make money, or to have fun. Dolan admitted it was fun after the ’16 season, in which the Indians made it to Game 7 of the World Series.

But if you are losing money and aren’t actively trying to win, what kind of fun is it?

We also doubt that the attitude in the clubhouse will be the same as it was toward fictional owner Rachel Phelps in the movie Major League. It has already been reported that players found Dolan’s comments to be disingenuous.

Fans of the Tribe want a winner. They’ve enjoyed the past 25 years of good baseball since Progressive Field (nee Jacobs Field) opened. But there is one thing missing, and that hasn’t happened since 1948.

They would like the owner to want what they want. Oh, and for the franchise to keep Lindor.