Tag: terry francona

Should Perez Continue to Close?

The Cleveland Indians are very much in a pennant race and yet they have a huge question mark in the back of their bullpen.

Last night, Chris Perez came into a critical game with a 3-2 lead and allowed two solo home runs to turn it into a 4-3 deficit. 

Jason Giambi titanic pinch-hit dinger saved Perez, but it is not a secret that the Tribe’s closer has struggled in the last two months.

After the game, Terry Francona expressed confidence in Perez, but that’s what the skipper does.  He never questions his players in public.  He is the ultimate players’ manager in that regard.

Secretly though, Francona and his coaches have got to be mulling over alternatives the next time there is a save situation for Cleveland, and that could come as early as tonight.

The problem is Perez’ sudden propensity to give up the long ball.  He has now allowed 10 homers in just 53 innings.  That’s a lot for a closer.

By comparison, the American League leader in saves; Baltimore’s Jim Johnson has allowed just five long balls in 67 innings pitched.

Kansas City’s Greg Holland, who has a 1.25 ERA for the year to go with 45 saves, has allowed three home runs in 65 innings of work.

Future Hall of Fame closer, New York’s Mariano Rivera has given up six homers in 62 innings pitched. 

Perez has allowed four more blasts than any of these relievers haven’t outstanding seasons and has pitched less than all of them.

One other startling statistic:  Justin Masterson has allowed just 13 circuit clouts despite throwing 140 more innings (189 thus far on the season).

Closers who give up a lot of home runs are liabilities in one run games because the lead can be lost with one swing of the bat.

As Perez has shown before, you can pitch around a walk or a base hit with the closest of margins.  It may not be ideal for the health of his manager or the Tribe fan base, but it can be done.  Allowing a single by itself doesn’t cost your team the lead.

It is also Perez’ second half performance in total that should give Francona pause to put him in with a one run lead.  He has a 4.39 ERA since the All-Star break and has allowed six bombs in 26 IP.  Opposing hitters are batting .276 against him.

This compares to a 3.04 ERA before the Midsummer Classic and he was holding opponents to a .225 average.

It gets worse.  Since the first of August, Perez has a 5.95 ERA. 

So this isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to him blowing a save in a game the Tribe needed with the playoff hopes on the line.  He’s been bad for two months.  His statistics as a closer are always repeated (he’s only blown five saves), but clearly he hasn’t been effective for almost two months.

We understand there is a tremendous difference in what Francona says and what he does.  If the Tribe is leading 5-2 going into the ninth tonight, he may very well go with Perez. 

However, if the Indians do play in the wild card game and go to the last inning with a one run advantage, will it be Chris Perez’ game?

Only Francona knows that for sure.

KM

Browns Lack Accountability

There is no question that professional football is treated differently in Cleveland, Ohio.

About a year ago, Terry Francona was hired as the new manager of the Cleveland Indians.  He didn’t get to claim that the players already on the roster were not his and therefore he could not be expected to win right away.

A few months ago, the Cavaliers hired Mike Brown as their new head coach, and Brown said he expected to get the wine and gold back to the playoffs.

In both cases, the respective front offices made moves to upgrade the rosters and at least in the Indians’ case, it has translated in to post-season contention.

The Browns hired a new head coach in Rob Chudzinski after the season, and brought in a new GM before the draft, and yet, their actions are telling the fans that this is yet another rebuilding season, their umpteenth in a row.

And then they dropped this bomb on its fan base, trading Trent Richardson, probably the team’s best skill position player to the Colts for a first round pick in 2014.

The “we have to get our own guys” argument is tiring.  In no other sport does this occur.  Both the Indians and Cavaliers made additions to their roster, as well they should considering they were terrible last season.  They did not blow up the team though.

Hire a coach and have that guy get the best out of the current players.  That’s what should be done.  A lot of experts felt there was enough talent on this roster to finish 7-9 or 8-8, which would have been progress. 

It is a sign of weak management to come in and condemn the entire organization, pretty much saying that they did nothing right. 

There is just no accountability for the Browns’ coaches, management, or players.

Isn’t the object of the game to win?

Why isn’t anyone in the organization concerned that it appears only one player picked in last year’s draft, first round pick Barkevious Mingo, can get on the field consistently?

Mike Lombardi criticized several Browns’ choices over the years in his position at NFL Network, yet in his first shot choosing players, he comes up with one guy who can play on a team that won only five games a year ago!

And fans should be enthused that he now has two first round picks in next spring’s draft? 

All that argument does is buy time for the new people coming in.  Meanwhile, the fans are treated to more years of crappy football.

And this year, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, and Michael Lombardi are telling the rabid Browns fandom that they aren’t trying to win this year, just two games into the season. 

It would serve them right if not one person goes to First Energy Stadium a week from Sunday.  Why should we care if they don’t.

People who are outspoken about Mike Holmgren’s regime are entitled to their opinion, but “The Big Show” never did something like this.

It’s time to hold the Cleveland Browns management accountable for the junk we see every Sunday afternoon.  We shouldn’t care that they all are relatively new. 

As the late Al Davis said, “Just win, baby!  That’s all that matters.

JD

Fair or Not, Dolan’s Must Win Fans Back

The attendance on the Cleveland Indians’ last homestand brought up a discussion on why no one is going to the games for a team that is very much in the playoff hunt.

Some people thought it was the way the tickets are priced for different days and different series, and others thought the team wasn’t very exciting. 

However, many of the fans we talk to bring up the ownership.  They simply do not trust the Dolan family’s commitment to building a winning franchise. 

While that may or may not be true, a wise man once said that “Perception is Reality”, and that is the uphill fight the Tribe ownership has to battle.

The Indians’ front office tries to fight that notion, and will site the free agent signings made over the last off-season, and amount of money spent on player development as examples that they are trying to win.

This winter, the ownership and the leadership of the franchise, led by team president Mark Shapiro should keep this in mind…actions speak louder than words.

Therefore, they shouldn’t complain in the media about the poor attendance during the 2013 season.  They have every right to be disappointed.  Fans have clamored for a winning team since 2007, and Terry Francona’s crew has delivered, only to be ignored by the populace.

Still, it will only inflame the ticket buying public already poor opinion of the ownership.  So, the best course of action is not to say anything.

Instead, they should continue the same plan they did last winter, meaning continue to add to the roster and show the fans they are doing everything they possibly can to get into/back to the post-season in 2014.

Remember, the Indians have another off-season where a lot of cash comes off the books in the salary column. 

Mark Reynolds and his $6 million deal will be gone, as well as the failed Brett Myers experiment and his $7 million contract.

It is doubtful that Chris Perez, who is making approximately the same amount as Myers will be offered arbitration either, meaning GM Chris Antonetti will likely part ways with the team’s closer.

And just in case you think it will be about Perez’s off field troubles or his controversial comments, it won’t.  It will be a baseball decision.  If Perez is still on the roster, he could earn up to $10 million next season.

He isn’t worth that based on his performance.

We understand that other players will get raises, in particular Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, whose free agent deals escalate from the first year of their contracts.

They also have to try to keep Justin Masterson, who will be a free agent after next season, and try to keep one of their free agent starting pitchers, Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir. 

They won’t have $20 million to spend.

However, that doesn’t mean they can’t continue to improve this baseball team. 

That is what they have to do in order to win over their critics. 

Yes, getting rid of the way tickets are priced currently will help.  So will other things that can help the gameday experience. 

But the biggest thing will be to gradually decrease the number of people who think everything about the Cleveland Indians is related to money, and make everyone understand that ownership is trying to bring a winner to Progressive Field.

MW

Fair or Not, Dolan’s Must Win Fans Back

The attendance on the Cleveland Indians’ last homestand brought up a discussion on why no one is going to the games for a team that is very much in the playoff hunt.

Some people thought it was the way the tickets are priced for different days and different series, and others thought the team wasn’t very exciting. 

However, many of the fans we talk to bring up the ownership.  They simply do not trust the Dolan family’s commitment to building a winning franchise. 

While that may or may not be true, a wise man once said that “Perception is Reality”, and that is the uphill fight the Tribe ownership has to battle.

The Indians’ front office tries to fight that notion, and will site the free agent signings made over the last off-season, and amount of money spent on player development as examples that they are trying to win.

This winter, the ownership and the leadership of the franchise, led by team president Mark Shapiro should keep this in mind…actions speak louder than words.

Therefore, they shouldn’t complain in the media about the poor attendance during the 2013 season.  They have every right to be disappointed.  Fans have clamored for a winning team since 2007, and Terry Francona’s crew has delivered, only to be ignored by the populace.

Still, it will only inflame the ticket buying public already poor opinion of the ownership.  So, the best course of action is not to say anything.

Instead, they should continue the same plan they did last winter, meaning continue to add to the roster and show the fans they are doing everything they possibly can to get into/back to the post-season in 2014.

Remember, the Indians have another off-season where a lot of cash comes off the books in the salary column. 

Mark Reynolds and his $6 million deal will be gone, as well as the failed Brett Myers experiment and his $7 million contract.

It is doubtful that Chris Perez, who is making approximately the same amount as Myers will be offered arbitration either, meaning GM Chris Antonetti will likely part ways with the team’s closer.

And just in case you think it will be about Perez’s off field troubles or his controversial comments, it won’t.  It will be a baseball decision.  If Perez is still on the roster, he could earn up to $10 million next season.

He isn’t worth that based on his performance.

We understand that other players will get raises, in particular Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, whose free agent deals escalate from the first year of their contracts.

They also have to try to keep Justin Masterson, who will be a free agent after next season, and try to keep one of their free agent starting pitchers, Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir. 

They won’t have $20 million to spend.

However, that doesn’t mean they can’t continue to improve this baseball team. 

That is what they have to do in order to win over their critics. 

Yes, getting rid of the way tickets are priced currently will help.  So will other things that can help the gameday experience. 

But the biggest thing will be to gradually decrease the number of people who think everything about the Cleveland Indians is related to money, and make everyone understand that ownership is trying to bring a winner to Progressive Field.

MW

Random Thoughts on Tribe

As the 2013 season seems to be going down the drain, here are some things we think about the Cleveland Indians.

While we aren’t ready to put a ribbon on this year because the Tribe still sits just 4-1/2 games out of the second wild card spot, despite a forgettable trip (at least so far) to Atlanta and Detroit, some things have happened in the last month that make us want to comment.

Even though he hasn’t won his last two starts because of the lack of hitting, Ubaldo Jimenez is making us change our minds about bringing him back to Cleveland.  The two sides have a mutual option for ’14, and while most of the season it appeared it would be the Indians that wouldn’t want to pick it up, it may now be Jimenez that declines.

The right-hander made some mechanical adjustments recently and seems to have regained some life on his fastball.  In his starts vs. the Twins and Braves, he routinely was hitting 94-96 MPH on the gun, a jump of 2-3 MPH.

Not coincidentally, he struck out 10 hitters in both games.

He’s having his best season since his 19-8 record in 2010 with Colorado, and with the price of pitching these days, if the Indians might be well served to pick up the option and add a year or two.

We wouldn’t go longer than three years because of the inconsistency that Jimenez has shown in his time in Cleveland, and that may not get it done.  Still, if he finishes the year pitching like this, you have to try to bring him back.

Other interested find amongst this offensive slump is that Terry Francona may have found another relief pitcher in Carlos Carrasco.

As a starter, Carrasco seemed to over analyze things which caused him to think too much, and he looked like a victim of the “million dollar arm, ten-cent brain” syndrome.

On August 9th, Francona put him into a game against the Angels to save the bullpen and Carrasco threw five scoreless innings.  He started against Minnesota five days later and was hit hard.

Since then, he’s been used strictly in relief and in three games has thrown 5-1/3 scoreless innings, even earning a win in the 14 inning victory vs. the Angels.  Without the four days off in between starts and perhaps worrying about the results, Carrasco has thrived when he doesn’t know when he’s going to pitch.

He wouldn’t be the first successful relief pitcher to wash out as a starter.

With the hitters not coming through, the everyday players are getting a lot of criticism and the two free agents signed in the off-season, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn are taking some heat.

Let us say this…giving a player big money doesn’t make them a better player.

We’ve discussed Swisher before.  He is having an off-season, but in a normal year, he’s a .270 hitter who walks a lot, and hits 25 HR and knocks in 80-90 runs.  Paying him a lot of cash isn’t going to make him a 35 HR, 120 RBI player.

The same is true with Bourn.  He came here a great defensive centerfielder, but not a prototypical leadoff hitter in that his lifetime on base percentage was .336.  He is down to .320 in 2013 because his walks are down (70 in ’12 and only 31 so far in ’13), but he’s not a Kenny Lofton type of leadoff man, getting on base close to 40% of the time.

Maybe he should change his approach a little because he strikes out a lot (a career high 155 times last year), and make more contact to take advantage of his speed, but he’s having a pretty typical Michael Bourn season.

You can’t be all over him for that.

All in all, it isn’t over yet for this year’s edition of the Indians, but it is starting to get late quickly.

MW

Front Office Letting Tribe, Fans Down

The Cleveland Indians have many naysayers among fans and media, but the fact remains they have a solid chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

There are several teams in the mix for a post-season berth, and many of them have made moves to bolster their rosters for the stretch drive.

For example, the Yankees traded for Alfonso Soriano, who has belted 11 home runs for the Bronx Bombers since coming over in July.

The Rangers traded for Matt Garza, the Red Sox for Jake Peavy, and the Oakland A’s acquired INF Alberto Callaspo.

Even the Royals, who have since fallen to the wayside of the race, picked up Emilio Bonifacio from Toronto to help them.

Yesterday, the Pirates, gunning for their first post-season spot since Barry Bonds was on the team, went out and traded for Marlon Byrd and John Buck.

Those players mentioned aren’t going to the Hall of Fame, but they are upgrades over what their new teams had, so they are upgrades.

To this point, the Indians’ addition is lefthanded reliever Mark Rzepczynski, who has helped Terry Francona’s bullpen, but doesn’t add up to the other names listed so far.

With the Indians’ offense reaching the feeble stage in August, they rank last in the American League in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage for the month, it is frustrating and puzzling that the Tribe front office hasn’t made a move.

Francona says all the right things, he is happy with his roster as constituted and they will get through this period where the offense is struggling. 

However, he privately has to be telling GM Chris Antonetti that he needs someone who can hit or his club will fall short of advancing to the playoffs.

Other teams are doing something, why can’t Antonetti?

Getting a bat would send a message to the clubhouse that the front office is all in for this season as well.  Former GM John Hart made it a point to make a deal at the deadline every year the Indians were in contention.

While you don’t want to mortgage the future to get someone who will likely be with the team for one month, but usually you can get these types of players for a middling prospect.

And the Indians have plenty of those.

For those who will say the Tribe is a year early in contending, just take a look at the Washington Nationals.  Most experts felt it was a forgone conclusion they would make the playoffs in 2013, but it doesn’t appear they will.

So, you have to go out and improve this team right now, before it’s too late.

When the ownership wonders why people haven’t taken to this team, this is one of the reasons.  It appears the front office doesn’t take the necessary steps to improve when everyone around them does.

And we don’t believe for one minute that when teams make deals with other teams they ask for low-end prospects, but they ask the Indians for guys like Francisco Lindor and Danny Salazar. 

The pressure is on Antonetti to make this team better for the last 31 games.  And the sooner the move is made, the better.

The bats don’t seem to be getting any more productive.

KM

Tribe Bats Need to Pick It Up

The Cleveland Indians are entering a key part of their schedule starting tonight when the Twins come in for a three game series at Progressive Field.

Those are the only home games the Tribe will play until Labor Day, when the Orioles come in, and in between, the Indians visit Atlanta and Detroit for three game series, the teams with the best record in the National League and second best mark in the AL, respectively.

When the Orioles depart Cleveland on September 4th, we should have a pretty good idea whether or not all 162 games on the schedule will be meaningful for Terry Francona’s squad.

To get through these dozen games, the Tribe will need to start scoring runs.

While the Wahoo’s have a 10-10 record for the month, they have done so scoring just 71 runs in that span, an average of 3.5 per night.

Teams that score that way on an everyday basis just don’t have a lot of success.

The White Sox are last in the American League in scoring, crossing the plate an average of 3.74 times per contest.  They have the second worst record in the junior circuit at 52-74, and over the last 20 games, Cleveland isn’t even scoring at that level.

At some point, the bats have to wake up and starting tonight would be very nice.

Since the Tribe still ranks fourth in the league in runs scored at 4.60 per night, the law of averages says there should be a bushel of runs coming soon.

It would be very odd to score almost five times a game for the first 117 games and then only get 3.5 for the balance of the season.

Odd, but not impossible.

There are some encouraging signs, like Nick Swisher’s sudden power burst, hitting four bombs this month, his second best calendar month of 2013.  He hit five in May.

Still, during August only three players are hitting over .250:  Yan Gomes, Mike Aviles, and Ryan Raburn. 

While Gomes has been getting more playing time as of late because he is hitting, you would have to say that none of this trio are regulars, meaning the guys who are playing on a day in, day out basis simply have to pick it up.

Some of the numbers are straight out ugly—

Lonnie Chisenhall:  6 for 44 (.136), 1 HR, 3 RBI
Asdrubal Cabrera:  12 for 66 (.182), 1 HR, 6 RBI and he had a decent trip
Carlos Santana:  14 for 71 (.197), 3 HR, 6 RBI
Michael Bourn:  18 for 82 (.220), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 SB with a whopping 25 strikeouts

And they aren’t taking walks like they did earlier in the season, either.  Outside of Jason Kipnis (10), Swisher (9), and Santana (9), no one else on the roster has walked more than five times this month.

Even the usually reliable Michael Brantley is in a bit of a funk, hitting just .230 in August.  He is easily the most consistent of the Tribe bats and he is struggling.

The Indians’ starting pitching has exceeded expectations for the most part, and although they have had some hiccups, it has been solid.

And even if that continues, the offense has to start producing more runs if the Tribe wants to stay in the race through Game 162. 

It’s time for the bats to pick up their share of the load.

MW

Tribe Bats Need to Pick It Up

The Cleveland Indians are entering a key part of their schedule starting tonight when the Twins come in for a three game series at Progressive Field. 

Those are the only home games the Tribe will play until Labor Day, when the Orioles come in, and in between, the Indians visit Atlanta and Detroit for three game series, the teams with the best record in the National League and second best mark in the AL, respectively.

When the Orioles depart Cleveland on September 4th, we should have a pretty good idea whether or not all 162 games on the schedule will be meaningful for Terry Francona’s squad.

To get through these dozen games, the Tribe will need to start scoring runs.

While the Wahoo’s have a 10-10 record for the month, they have done so scoring just 71 runs in that span, an average of 3.5 per night.

Teams that score that way on an everyday basis just don’t have a lot of success.

The White Sox are last in the American League in scoring, crossing the plate an average of 3.74 times per contest.  They have the second worst record in the junior circuit at 52-74, and over the last 20 games, Cleveland isn’t even scoring at that level.

At some point, the bats have to wake up and starting tonight would be very nice.

Since the Tribe still ranks fourth in the league in runs scored at 4.60 per night, the law of averages says there should be a bushel of runs coming soon.

It would be very odd to score almost five times a game for the first 117 games and then only get 3.5 for the balance of the season.

Odd, but not impossible.

There are some encouraging signs, like Nick Swisher’s sudden power burst, hitting four bombs this month, his second best calendar month of 2013.  He hit five in May.

Still, during August only three players are hitting over .250:  Yan Gomes, Mike Aviles, and Ryan Raburn. 

While Gomes has been getting more playing time as of late because he is hitting, you would have to say that none of this trio are regulars, meaning the guys who are playing on a day in, day out basis simply have to pick it up.

Some of the numbers are straight out ugly—

Lonnie Chisenhall:  6 for 44 (.136), 1 HR, 3 RBI
Asdrubal Cabrera:  12 for 66 (.182), 1 HR, 6 RBI and he had a decent trip
Carlos Santana:  14 for 71 (.197), 3 HR, 6 RBI
Michael Bourn:  18 for 82 (.220), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 SB with a whopping 25 strikeouts

And they aren’t taking walks like they did earlier in the season, either.  Outside of Jason Kipnis (10), Swisher (9), and Santana (9), no one else on the roster has walked more than five times this month.

Even the usually reliable Michael Brantley is in a bit of a funk, hitting just .230 in August.  He is easily the most consistent of the Tribe bats and he is struggling.

The Indians’ starting pitching has exceeded expectations for the most part, and although they have had some hiccups, it has been solid.

And even if that continues, the offense has to start producing more runs if the Tribe wants to stay in the race through Game 162. 

It’s time for the bats to pick up their share of the load.

MW

Cleveland Fans Want Winner, but Ignore Tribe

While many sports fans in northeastern Ohio are worrying about who will be the back up offensive tackle and who will handle the punting chores for the Cleveland Browns, they are missing a pretty good drama taking place with the Cleveland Indians.

You see, the Tribe is in the mix for a playoff spot.  And unlike the other sports teams in the city, who promise winning at some point in time, the Indians are winning. 

They currently sit ten games over the .500 mark going into tonight game with the Angels, and are coming home for a weekend series with the Twins before heading out for a brutal trip to Atlanta and Detroit.

To be sure, it would be nice if Terry Francona’s squad would mix in an 8-2 victory from time to time, but the closeness of the games being played nightly only add to the intensity of a playoff chase that seemingly everyone is missing.

As we have said before, part of the indifference is the Indians fault.  They spent several off-seasons trying to get talent out of the MLB dumpster until last winter, and the ownership made several odd statements to the fans, alienating more than a few of them.

They also could have changed radio stations last season, but opted to stay on news/talk station WTAM, instead of going to one of the all sports station in the city.

Do you really think 92.3 The Fan would be talking Browns 90% of the day if four hours of their evening programming was the Indians?

The argument that you hear for not taking the Tribe seriously this season is their inability to play well against the Tigers, their rival for the Central Division title.

Do you know what?  Who cares!

This is baseball.  It doesn’t matter if you beat Detroit just as long as you beat other teams enough to qualify for a playoff spot.  The fact of the matter is Francona’s team has won 68 games (the same total as all of last year) so far, and if they qualify for the post-season, that’s all that matters.

In baseball, any team that makes the tournament has a chance, unlike the NBA where the 8th seed has little chance to take down the team with the best record. 

And it doesn’t matter what your record was against any other team was during the regular season once the playoffs start. 

In 2007, the last time the Tribe made the playoffs, they went 0-6 in the regular season against the Yankees.  They promptly won three of four in the first round series against the Bronx Bombers, eliminating them.

Cleveland sports fans talk all the time about wanting a winner.  No matter what the Indians have done in the past, no matter how badly the front office mangled things, no matter how they have played against the Tigers, they are winning and they are in contention to make the playoffs.

And the last time any Cleveland team did that, LeBron James was wearing a Cavaliers’ uniform. 

Yes, things are looking up for the Browns and Cavs, but they haven’t done anything yet.  Meanwhile, the area’s baseball team is in a pennant race, albeit a non-traditional one.

Unfortunately, most sports fans seem to be missing it for a bunch of petty reasons.

KM

Tribe Needs Some “Average” Hitters.

The new wave baseball people will not want to hear this.

Although we agree with many of the tenets of the statistic oriented baseball experts who opine on the sport on a regular basis, the devaluing of the batting average stats is one we aren’t sure about.

There is no question that OPS is a credible stat, and we use it to judge the offensive ability of a player on a regular basis.

And while on base percentage is very important because it measures a hitters’ ability to NOT make an out, getting hits is important too.

In trying to analyze the offense of the Cleveland Indians, that is the one stat that separates the top three offenses in the American League from Terry Francona’s club.

Take for example, the Red Sox, who lead the American League in runs scored with 616, an average of 4.97 per game.

They have hit one less home run that the Tribe, yet score a third of a run per game more than the Indians.

One of the reasons is their team batting average is 20 points higher than Cleveland’s, which in turn makes their on base percentage .022 higher.

You might blame the Indians propensity to strikeout, but the Red Sox have fanned pretty much the same number of times as the Tribe.

The Indians rank 8th in the AL in batting average, 26 points behind the Tigers, who rank 2nd in the AL in runs scored, and they are 11 points behind Baltimore, who are third.

Now, we understand that batting average can be an empty statistic, as guys can hit .290 and be singles hitters who never walk, and therefore are not good offensive players.  Those guys don’t add much to an attack.

Currently, the Indians have just one player with over 200 at bats and a batting average over .290:  Jason Kipnis.  Yan Gomes is hitting over .300, but doesn’t qualify at this time, although he is getting more playing time.

Kipnis has 47 extra base hits, which leads the Tribe.

By contrast, Boston has four such players:  Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Daniel Nava, with the latter’s 28 extra base hits the least of the quartet.  Detroit also has four players who qualify:  Miguel Cabrera, Omar Infante, Jhonny Peralta, and Torii Hunter, with Victor Martinez probably joining them soon, as hot as he has been.   Infante’s 26 extra base hits are the least among those Tigers.

Baltimore has three batters who qualify:  Chris Davis, Manny Machado, and Adam Jones and every one of that trio has over 50 extra base hits.

The Tribe’s next best hitter for average is Michael Brantley, who certainly has been special in clutch situations this season, but still has only 30 extra base hits, less than Asdrubal Cabrera, who has had a sub-par year at the dish, and only three more than Drew Stubbs.

The lack of hitters with the ability to get hits hampers the offense because they can only score with home runs or by using situational hitting, and that isn’t always a constant.

They don’t have a great ability to string three or four hits together, mixed with a walk here and there to put together a big inning.   That’s because they don’t have high average hitters.

That’s something that needs to be looked at in the off-season, because if they can add a couple of .280-.300 hitters into the lineup, they could be a run scoring machine.

MW