Offense Failed Tribe Down The Stretch.

It’s all over.

The Cleveland Indians’ hope for a post-season spot came to a crashing halt Friday night in Washington.

Following the home finale a week ago, the Tribe was tied with Tampa Bay for the second spot with six games to play. But after an 11-0 win in the first game in Chicago, highlighted by Jose Ramirez’ return to the lineup with two home runs, the offense snoozed and the pitching showed wear and tear in two disappointing losses, 8-3 and 8-0.

Another game of giving up eight runs eliminated Terry Francona’s squad, this one 8-2 to the Nationals. So, coming into the week, we felt the Indians could only lose one game, and they lost three straight.

We have compared the Tribe season to a basketball team that was down 20 in the first half and had to fight back to came it a game, only to have nothing left to win the game.

After Cleveland took a half game lead in the AL Central on August 12th by beating Boston on a Carlos Santana homer, thus erasing the 11.5 game bulge Minnesota had on June 2nd, the Tribe went 21-21 over the next quarter of a season, and that was simply not good enough.

Injuries didn’t help, that for sure. But the Indians got back into the race without Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, but losing Jose Ramirez at the end of August was a blow to the offense, one that added Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig at the end of July.

And it was the offense that failed Cleveland. The Indians finished ninth in the AL in runs scored after finishing third a year ago, while the pitching staff ranked third in ERA, one of only three teams in the Junior Circuit to have a team ERA under 4.00 (Tampa and Houston).

What happened to the offense? The simple view is the Indians probably only got better performances from the first base position (Carlos Santana vs. Yonder Alonso), catcher, and at centerfield.

Jose Ramirez didn’t produce in the first half, and Francisco Lindor had the lowest walk rate since his rookie year, and it showed in his numbers with men in scoring position. The all-star shortstop was very impatient in clutch situations, helping opposing pitchers by swinging at bad pitches.

The big deadline trade brought Reyes and Puig, but the former had an OPS about 60 points lower with Cleveland (785) than in San Diego (849), and the latter hit just two home runs with the Tribe, none of them at Progressive Field, at least as an Indian.

Puig did get on base a lot though, which is a good thing, just maybe not for your cleanup hitter. His slugging percentage was behind that of Oscar Mercado and Roberto Perez.

So, the offense still wasn’t up to that of the best teams in the AL. Again, you need to score runs to make the playoffs, and Houston, New York, Minnesota, and Oakland all finished in the top five in runs in the American League.

Depending on what happens today, the Indians could be sixth, just ahead of Tampa, but Cleveland doesn’t have the relentless lineups (read: no weak spots) that those other teams do.

The Tribe has just two hitters with an on base percentage over .350 and slugging percentage over .450. They are Carlos Santana and Jordan Luplow, who doesn’t play vs. right handers.

Houston has eight, the Yankees six. Those lineup make you work. The Indians need to get some of those guys if they want to get back in the mix in 2020.

The lack of consistent hitting hurt the Tribe. Averaging 5 runs per game is good, but not if it’s done by scoring 10 one night and getting shutout the next.

Six Games To Decide The Playoffs For The Tribe

They always say the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, but with a week to go in the regular season, the Cleveland Indians are involved in a mad dash with the Tampa Bay Rays (and to a lesser extent the Oakland A’s) for the American League’s last playoff spot.

There are six games remaining for each team, and the Tribe is on the road for all of them, three with the White Sox, and three more with the Nationals, where the Indians will not be able to use the designated hitter.

Tampa has one more with Boston and a pair with the Yankees in Tampa, before heading north of the border to take on Toronto.

It does appear Terry Francona is getting some good news in that Jose Ramirez may return to the lineup tonight in Chicago. How effective Ramirez will be has to be seen, but judging from who has replaced him in the lineup, it won’t take much for him to be a positive impact.

Cleveland is able to start their current top three starting pitchers against the Sox, a team they have struggled with in 2019, going 7-9. Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, and Aaron Civale draw the assignments in an effort to hold down the Chicago offense.

Clevinger will be available if the Indians need to win the last game of the season to get into the wild card game or to force a one game playoff with the Rays to qualify for the wild card game.

The other tough decision for Francona and his staff is what to do with Franmil Reyes in the nation’s capital. Reyes has mostly been a DH since coming over at the trade deadline, but to us, the Indians can’t afford to take his bat out of the lineup in the most important series of the year.

We would put Reyes in LF, and if the Tribe can get a lead after five innings, take him out for defensive purposes. Something tells us that the skipper will use him for an important pinch-hitting appearance.

More bad news is the Nationals are currently a half game up on the Brewers for the wild card in the National League, so home field for that game could be at stake, meaning Washington could be playing their “A” lineup and their best starters for all three contests.

A week ago, there was a hope the Nats would have a spot wrapped up, and they might, but the home field is up for grabs. However, a 5-5 stretch for Dave Martinez’ squad has made that possibility less likely.

With the Rays win last night, the Indians are down a half game starting the series.

We feel the Indians can only lose one game at a minimum and still make the post-season. And they may have to win all six.

Another positive for the Tribe is the performance of Carlos Carrasco, who was huge in the series against his former organization. Carrasco picked up a save on Friday night going 1-1/3 innings, and Sunday night, got a key double play with men on first and third and one out in a tie game.

If he can continue this, he could be a big weapon for Francona in these six games.

So, it all comes down to this: Six games. Six games you have to win. The post-season for the Indians starts in reality tomorrow night. It’s a nerve wracking time for a baseball fan.

Tito And The Young Players

To start, Terry Francona is a great manager, and will likely go into the Hall of Fame when he retires as the skipper of the Cleveland Indians.

He’s piloted two World Series winners, won three American League pennants, and currently ranks 18th all time in wins, and has a real possibility of getting into the top 15 if not higher before he retires.

And he has guided the Indians through a myriad of tough situations, most notably in the 2016 post-season when the team lost Carlos Carrasco to injury, and he used a starting rotation of Corey Kluber, Josh Tomlin, and Trevor Bauer (who really missed one start with a lacerated pinky) to get to the seventh game of the World Series.

There is certainly no one else we would like to have managing the Cleveland Indians.

His day to day approach resonates with the players. When injuries occur, and the Tribe has had many to deal with this season, including ones to star players like Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Kluber, and Carrasco, Francona stresses that the team should go about the business of winning the game played that day.

After all, that’s all you can do.

But we also say that doesn’t make the skipper infallible. He makes mistakes. He will go the extra mile for a veteran player who has performed for him in the past. And sometimes he crosses the line between stubbornness and patience, particularly with vets.

That gets frustrating in the race for a post-season spot, at least for the fans, that is.

It’s not like the manager has a lot of alternatives with the likes of Ramirez and Kipnis out of the lineup. Each night, Francona has to come up with someone who can play second base and third base, and he has to use the bullpen too, and that has become problematic recently with Brad Hand being unavailable.

However, we would take issue with not looking at a possible upside of young players, even if this is a pennant race.

Everyone should know what Ryan Flaherty is at this point. He’s a utility man, primarily at third or second base, and he can’t hit. He has a .215 lifetime batting average, and he’s been around the league.

Why not use Yu Chang instead? First, he plays Flaherty vs. right handers, and Chang is actually had more success vs. righties (9 for 39 with a HR). The only assumption anyone can make is Francona has more confidence in the veteran.

A veteran he should know is not going to contribute with the bat.

The same in the bullpen with rookie James Karinchak, who seems to strikeout everyone who steps in the batter’s box.

Wednesday night, the skipper brought in Nick Goody, who has spent the last month either walking people or giving up home runs, to face a pair of Tiger hitters in the ninth inning of a tie game.

That’s the ultimate sign of trust.

Goody got the two batters out, but Francona left himself open to big time questioning had the reliever given up the game winning hit.

Karinchak has pitched in two games, faced ten hitters and struck five of them out.

He used Tyler Clippard, arguably the Tribe’s best reliever in the last month, last night with a 7-0 lead against the worst team in baseball, when guys like Phil Maton, Dan Otero, and Jeffry Rodriguez haven’t pitched in over a week.

We feel fans have a right to ask questions and so should the media.

In most cases, we know what the veteran is going to do. Why not take a chance with the young player. He likely cannot do any worse.

It’s On To The Wild Card For Tribe

It was a very disappointing day for the Cleveland Indians and their fans yesterday. After the Friday rainout, Tribe fans were giddy that the Minnesota Twins were using bullpen arms to start both games of a doubleheader.

Someone apparently forgot to tell the Cleveland hitters, because it seems like only Oscar Mercado showed up.

The Indians spent the first three innings of the first game trying to play home run derby against lefty Devin Smeltzer, and would up getting shutout, and then in the second game, with the Tribe going with a “bullpen day”, the relievers gave up three home runs, the biggest being a grand slam off Nick Goody, who is going through a rough stretch.

Cleveland now trails the Twins by 5-1/2 games with 13 to play, so they are all but out of it in terms of the division.

They still can play their way into the one game wild card spot, as they trail Tampa Bay by two games in the loss column (2-1/2 games overall). Again, though, Terry Francona and his staff are going to need some players who have been struggling to come through.

A few days ago, we pinpointed Yasiel Puig and Jason Kipnis as two guys who the Indians needed. Puig was 1 for 7 with a walk in the two games, and amazingly, has still not hit a home run for the Indians at Progressive Field.

Kipnis took a collar in game one, stretching his current slump to 0 for 12.

Here is a microcosm of the veteran’s season in the last three weeks. He went through an 8 for 60 streak, followed by going 7 for 10, and followed that (currently) by being 0 for his last 12.

That’s 15 for 82 (.183). And when people ask us why we would move on from him for 2020, that’s the reason. Baseball is a game of consistency, and Kipnis no longer has that, and hasn’t since 2016.

The bullpen has fallen on hard times as well. Goody giving up the bomb last night wasn’t shocking, he’s been ineffective for a month, giving up four homers and walking seven in his last 8-2/3 innings.

And while we are all very happy Carlos Carrasco is back on the mound, and hopefully regain complete health, he has not been the cure all for the bullpen either. He’s pitched to a 9.39 ERA in six appearances, and allowed four dingers in 7-2/3 innings in relief.

We felt the bullpen needed an upgrade at the trade deadline or at least bring up some of the power arms in the minors to help. The front office did neither and the relief corps has floundered.

They finally did bring up James Karinchak from Columbus before this series, and he did strikeout three of the five batters he faced last night. Maybe if he were called up a few weeks ago, he could’ve been trusted in a key situation.

Regardless, last night is over and the Indians need to win and win a lot in their last 13 games if they want to have a one game shot at getting to a post-season series.

After today, the Rays next eight games are against the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees, although just the Los Angeles series is on the road. They have been better away from the dome this season.

So, an opportunity is there, but we figure the Tribe will have to win 10 or 11 of the last 13, and even then, it may not be enough.

It’s an uphill climb from here, but not impossible yet.

Here Are Tribe’s Needs For The Stretch Run

The Major League Baseball, referred to by most people as a marathon, not a sprint, has reached the closing kick stage, as the Cleveland Indians have just 15 games remaining.

In fact, when the first place Minnesota Twins come to town Friday night for a big three game series, it will be the beginning of the final home stand of 2019.

Nine more at Progressive Field, and a six game, two city trip to Chicago and Washington, and see if Terry Francona’s squad gets a berth in the post-season tournament.

The Tribe has struggled against both the White Sox and good pitching all season long, so that last week will be a gauntlet to be sure. One thing to hope for is the Nationals might have their playoff spot (they currently hold the top spot in the NL by 2-1/2 games) solidified by the last weekend, putting them in rest/set up their pitching mode for the wild card game.

It would also help if Cleveland can avoid Lucas Giolito for the White Sox series.

As it has been all season, the key for the Indians will be generating enough offense to support the pitching they have had, ranking 2nd in the AL in ERA, just behind Tampa Bay.

We have railed on Jason Kipnis all season long, but no one can doubt the Indians need a strong finish from him, particularly with Jose Ramirez’ injury. The problem is the second baseman has had a 564 OPS vs. teams over .500 compared to 824 against good teams.

Nine of the final 15 games are against the former. They need Kipnis to get hot and stay hot in the final three weeks.

The other player who the Tribe needs to get going is Yasiel Puig. Puig was slugging .475 for Cincinnati (yes, we know about Great American Ballpark) and had an OPS of 777 with the Reds.

He only hit 9 of his 22 National League homers in Cincy.

His OPS for the Indians isn’t far off of that at 759, but instead of driving the ball, he’s been more of an on base guy, at .355 vs. .302 in southern Ohio.

The Indians could use Puig getting hot with the long ball in these last three weeks to help them push runs across the plate.

Puig has 16 RBI in 136 at bats with Cleveland. By contrast, Franmil Reyes, who started slow, has 28 ribbies in 131 at bats. If Puig could start matching Reyes’ production, that would help the lineup immensely.

The other concern is how much gas the bullpen has left.

Brad Hand needs to find the arm slot on his slider, and the sooner, the better. Hitters aren’t swinging at the back foot breaking ball he throws right now, probably because they know it will be a ball.

Hopefully, a few days off will help his tired arm.

Carlos Carrasco was supposed to help and still could, but he’s allowed three HR’s in his five relief appearances since returning to the mound.

The most reliable guys Francona has right now are the two oldest relievers, Tyler Clippard and Oliver Perez.

Clippard, 34, has a 2.25 ERA in the second half, striking out 36 hitters in 32 innings since the All Star Game.

Perez, who just turned 38 recently, has pitched to a 2.57 ERA in 16 innings post All Star break.

The ‘pen needs someone else to be reliable, perhaps Nick Wittgren, a couple of good outings recently, or Nick Goody to get back to where he was in July through mid August.

Or have Carrasco avoid the long ball.

Those are the keys as baseball heads into the stretch run. The Indians are still in the thick of the race, but right now are on the outside looking in.

With a tougher schedule in the last two and a half weeks, Francona needs a few guys to step it up.

September Call Ups (To Date) Shouldn’t Help Much (Outside of Cookie)

Major league rules permit teams to expand their rosters on September 1st, enabling them to carry 40 players if they so choose.

The Cleveland Indians followed those rules on Sunday, activating Carlos Carrasco, a move much anticipated because of Carrasco’s battle with leukemia. It was great to see Cookie on the mound against Tampa and Chicago this week.

The rest of the moves were, quite simply, meh.

You figured Eric Haase would get called up because adding an extra catcher enables Terry Francona to pinch hit or pinch run for whoever starts that night, and he doesn’t have to be on pins and needles because he doesn’t have an alternative.

It is doubtful Haase will get any action with a game in doubt as long as the Tribe remains in the playoff race.

The other call ups were veterans, players who will probably make little impact on a team that right now seems to be gasping for air.

Dan Otero was activated from the 60 day injured list, but he’s a back of the bullpen option at this point, with an ERA of 5.47 and having allowed 37 hits (5 of them home runs) and striking out just 11 in 24-2/3 innings.

James Hoyt may be able to help, although he has a career 4.28 ERA in the major leagues.

The club also called up Ryan Flaherty, who is a lifetime .217 hitter over seven major league seasons. His claim to fame is he’s had success against Cleveland, because if you remove his performance vs. the Tribe over the years, his career average is .210.

If Francona has to give him any playing time, that’s a big problem.

Jake Bauers was brought back too, and probably would have been even if Tyler Naquin didn’t injure his knee last weekend.

While it would be nice if Carrasco could get his legs and become a guy Francona can turn to late in ballgames, it is doubtful any of the other players called up can or will make an impact on the roster.

We have heard about the power arms the Tribe has in Columbus, guys like strikeout machine James Karinchak (42 punchouts, 13 walks in 17-1/3 innings at AAA), Cameron Hill (36 K’s in 24-1/3 frames) and lefty Kyle Nelson (16 strikeouts in 12 innings), but none of these guys can help a recently beleaguered bullpen?

Karinchak not being here is very curious. He was whiffed 66 batters in 27-1/3 innings at AA and AAA this season. That’s an eye popping number.

Yes, he has walked 15 batters, but nine of those came in four appearances, all occurring before August 15th. He’s walked just one in his last six outings.

Why not see if his stuff plays at the big league level? We mean no one else is putting up those kind of numbers in the minor leagues.

In our mind, wouldn’t he be more help during the stretch run than a guy like Otero?

And the Tribe could use another southpaw in relief.

We understand none of the players were going to jump in and be better than the regular players, but on the other hand, they aren’t giving any chances to young players either.

Right now, Carrasco is the lone hope for an impact to the big league club. Francona admitted he might have jumped the gun putting Cookie in a pressure situation so soon. We would have eased him in a little more, with the goal of having him be the set up man around the middle of the month.

Yesterday, Francona said more players may get the call from Columbus before the Clippers’ playoff series is over.

Perhaps a reliever or two, and a bat with some potential? We can hope.

Tribe Slump Needs To End Quick

When you are in a pennant race, and the Cleveland Indians are in one, if you have a slump, it cannot last very long.

That’s why the Indians need to stem the tide right away. They’ve now lost seven of their last nine games, and where they led the AL Central Division by a half game after a win over the Red Sox on August 13th, they are now three and a half games behind the Twins.

After that win, they had a two and a half game edge on Tampa Bay and a four and a half game bulge on Oakland, who would have been the first team out of the playoffs.

Today, they are on the outside looking in, a half game behind the Rays and A’s. That’s what happens when you have a bad week in a race for a playoff spot. What was once a comfortable lead, is now down to nail biting levels.

Now, Tampa Bay and Oakland are capable of having bad weeks too, but that’s their problem. The Indians have to pull them out of this themselves.

There are several issues at play here.

First, the offense was supposed to be bolstered with the acquisitions of Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes at the trade deadline, but the runs scored has dropped from 5.91 runs per game in July to 4.8 in August, and the latter figure includes the 19 run outburst in the first game at Yankee Stadium, otherwise they are scoring just 4.1 runs per game.

Roberto Perez has slumped at the plate, but his defense and handling of the staff is so valuable, he has to be in the lineup.

No doubt the Tribe misses Jordan Luplow vs. lefties, and the offense has become home run or bust recently. To us, it seems the patience at the plate has been lost, especially with runners in scoring position.

And quite frankly, to this point, Reyes hasn’t helped, hitting .154 with 26 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances.

The pitching has held up pretty well, even after the trade of Trevor Bauer. Cleveland allowed 4.27 runs in June, when they started playing well, 3.13 runs in July, and 3.81 runs in August, despite playing the high powered offenses of the Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees.

The team looks a little tired too. Coming from 11.5 games out to hold the lead in the division (at least for a day), took a toll, and with Terry Francona wanting an eight man bullpen, it doesn’t allow a rest for the non-platoon players, like Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana.

We feel the weariness is part of the reason for the sloppy play defensively over the past week.

Yes, the Indians have a home stand against the Royals this weekend and then go to the Detroit for another troika of games, but Tampa Bay follows that, and then a home set with the White Sox, who have been tough on the Indians.

It’s was inevitable that the Tribe cooled off after being so hot in June and July. If they would have played .500 ball over a 20 game stretch, that would have been fine, but if you are going to lose seven of nine, you have to respond with a winning streak.

That’s the new challenge for the 2019 edition of the Cleveland Indians.

It’s A Pennant Race For Tribe, But Relax

It’s late August, and the Cleveland Indians are in a pennant race.

Actually, they are in two races. Most importantly, the AL Central Division is up for grabs, with the Minnesota Twins having a 2-1/2 game lead over the Tribe with 37 games left to play.

The two teams have six more games with each other, with an equal split between Cleveland and Minneapolis.

The Indians also are involved in a race for the wild card berths. They hold the top spot right now (meaning they would host the game) and lead Oakland by 2-1/2 games and Boston by eight in those standings.

We understand scoreboard watching is fun and it is interesting to see how Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Boston are doing on a daily basis, but we would caution it is too early to be overly concerned.

Why? Because there is a long way to go. And despite what some people think, none of the other teams are going to go 37-0 from here on out. All five teams, including the Indians are going to lose games.

The old adage is true. These teams want to just keep winning series. They can’t afford to panic losing games. Heck, before Sunday’s win against the Yankees, the Indians had just lost four of five.

Yeah, they went from a half game up to 2-1/2 down, but they are well within striking distance.

A good week for the Indians and a bad week for the Twins would put Terry Francona’s squad right back into first place.

Of course, this is all based on the Indians continuing to pile up victories, and after this week’s series with the Mets, 10 of the next 13 games for the Tribe are against the Royals, Tigers, and White Sox.

Likely, the final standings will come down to can the Twins dominate the Royals and Tigers like the Indians did, and can the Tribe improve their performance against the White Sox.

Cleveland has won 12 of 13 games vs. Detroit and won 10 of the last 13 against Kansas City. To date, the Twins are 6-3 vs. Detroit and 9-3 against the Royals.

However, the Indians have struggled vs. Chicago so far, losing seven of 12, where as Minnesota is 7-3 in contests with the Pale Hose.

For the Tribe, it could come down to how many times they see Lucas Giolito, and how they fare against him. He has dominated Cleveland in his two starts in 2019, while the Twins knocked him around when they faced him in late July.

Regardless, they have to improve their performance against Chicago. To be fair, they haven’t played the Sox since the offense started putting up more runs.

It’s been awhile since there has been an honest to goodness pennant race in Cleveland, so obsessing about the standings on a day by day basis isn’t healthy.

Until the two teams meet at Target Field on September 6th-8th, look at where the Tribe is on a weekly basis, that is as long as the Indians are winning. A losing streak is cause for concern for sure, but if the Indians keep winning series, they will be fine.

And it could be one of those years where winning 95 games doesn’t win the division. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Today’s Baseball From An “Old Guy” Perspective

We were discussing the Indians’ recent winning streak with a group of friends the other night, and the talk turned to the state of baseball in general and how different the game is now than when we were growing up.

Now, before you go further, without giving away our ages, we remember when the Tribe wore the vested uniforms with the red shirts underneath, and the strength of the team was the starting rotation of Sam McDowell, Sonny Siebert, and Luis Tiant.

True confession, we aren’t “get off my lawn” guys either. In fact, several of us knew about OPS and sabermetrics for over 30 years, and respect that view of the game.

The chat started with RBIs, which has been reduced in value as a statistic in today’s game along with batting average, and the lack of “RBI men” in today’s game.

We didn’t know who even led the league in ribbies right now, because no one talks about it. It’s all about OPS and slugging percentage, etc.

(The current leader is Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell with 98, followed by Freddie Freeman and Eduardo Escobar with 96. Rafael Devers, who tortured the Tribe this week, leads the AL with 94).

We know people think now that runs batted in is a product of getting more opportunities to do so, but we watched Manny Ramirez drive in 165, the most by anyone in the big leagues since 1938.

Yes, yes, Ramirez batted behind Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel, and Roberto Alomar, who got on base a ton.

But Ramirez put the ball in play a lot of times to knock in runs with ground balls, fly balls, and base hits. He did hit for a .333 average that season.

We recently read that five worst home run to RBI ratios all time are held by active players. That comes from the notion now that strikeouts are fine, and putting the ball in play with a runner on third with less than two out is passe.

We still consider guys who hit for a high batting average very good hitters. Heck, we had one with the Indians for the past few years, and Michael Brantley ranks 5th in MLB in that stat at .328. But, those guys get overlooked because they don’t walk enough.

A similar case can be made for the Mets’ Jeff McNeil, who didn’t get to the bigs until he was 26 despite a .311 batting average in the minors, because he didn’t walk or drive the ball.

We commented that the Red Sox lineup is relentless because they have put together a lineup where everyone, save for CF Jackie Bradley Jr., hits .280 or better.

By contrast, the Tribe’s lineup has improved, but Terry Francona can only put three such players in his batting order: Frankie Lindor, Carlos Santana, and Tyler Naquin.

The Indians have put a premium on contact in the past few drafts, looking for players who are hitters first, and figuring they can teach driving the ball, much like Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

The problem in our eyes is the number of hitters who swing for the fences that probably shouldn’t be. A player like Rougned Odor with Texas comes to mind.

Odor has belted 69 homers since the beginning of the 2017 season, but has hit .204 in ’17 and currently this season. Wouldn’t he be a better player for the Rangers hitting less home runs and getting on base more often? He has a lifetime .292 on base percentage.

The game has changed for sure, but we aren’t sure it’s for the better. Striking out used to be embarrassing. Maybe it should be again.

Developing Starters Is The Tribe’s Business

Over the past decade, the Cleveland Indians have been in the pitching development business.

When the Dolan family bought the team, they promised to make pitching a priority. After all, the slugging Tribe teams of the 90’s got to two World Series, but didn’t win.

That championship drought is currently at 71 years, but you can’t blame in on the pitching staffs Cleveland has put together.

In 2012, the last season in which Terry Francona was not managing the Indians, they finished 14th, second to last, in ERA.

That is also the last season the franchise has ranked in the bottom half of the American League in that statistic.

Since then, here are the rankings–

2013: 7th
2014: 5th
2015: 2nd
2016: 2nd
2017: 1st
2018: 4th
2019: 3rd

All the while playing half of their games in one of the better hitter’s parks in Major League Baseball.

It’s a tribute to the player development staff, because many of the cast and characters who have contributed to the success of the team did not arrive in Cleveland as “can’t miss” prospects.

Corey Kluber was a 4th round pick by San Diego, but wasn’t regarded as a top prospect when traded to Cleveland in 2010. Two Cy Young Awards and five consecutive 200 inning seasons, and his work ethic are testament to the pitcher he has become.

And he isn’t the only success story.

Carlos Carrasco was a highly regarded prospect when dealt to the Indians in 2009, but struggled to stay in the bigs until 2011, when he needed Tommy John surgery just as he looked to be turning a corner.

When he returned from that injury, he couldn’t find any consistency until the coaching staff put him in the bullpen to regain his confidence.

He has been one of the most reliable, if not unheralded, starting pitchers in baseball since, winning 35 games in 2017-18.

Mike Clevinger was another 4th round pick, in 2011 by the Los Angeles Angels. However, he pitched in just 14 games in his first three years of professional ball, another victim of elbow surgery.

When the Indians traded for him in 2014 (for Vinnie Pestano), he was struggling with a 5.37 ERA in the Class A California League, although he was striking out over a batter per inning.

He turned the corner the following year with a 2.73 ERA at Akron, and has a 3.33 career ERA now since his big league debut in 2016.

Shane Bieber was the Indians’ 4th round (common thread, eh?) pick in 2016, and quickly moved through the farm system, arriving last season, and this year has emerged as one of the AL’s best pitchers, and was the All Star Game MVP.

Certainly, the work put in by these guys played a huge role as well, and you can’t ignore the recently traded Trevor Bauer’s effort either.

This comes into play because the Indians will depend on two more products of the system to carry them until Kluber returns.

Aaron Civale was a 3rd round pick in ’16, and has made one big league start (six shutout innings vs. Detroit).

This year in 13 minor league starts at Akron (2.67 ERA) and Columbus (2.13 ERA) he has fanned 70 hitters in 72-2/3 innings, walking just 15, similar numbers to what Bieber did last year (77 strikeouts, 7 walks in 79-2/3 frames).

Adam Plutko made his first appearance in the bigs in ’17, and although he is prone to the home run ball (15 allowed in 59-1/3 innings), he has kept his team in the game for the most part.

As a starter, he is 4-2 with a 4.12 ERA this season.

The organization needs Civale and Plutko to jump in and have similar success as Bieber did a year ago to help get this group of Indians to the post-season.

The success of these two and Zach Plesac (12th round pick in 2016) will go along way toward where the 2019 Cleveland Indians will wind up.

Player development indeed.