Status Quo Should Be Over For Guardians, Time To Act That Way

Before the 2023 baseball season started, we thought it would be very difficult to evaluate what kind of season the Cleveland Guardians would have because most of the key players from last season had no proven track record.

We still thought the Guards would prevail in the AL Central, but our worst fears appear to have come true about the first- and second-year players who helped the team get to the playoffs in 2022.

Josh Naylor is the only Cleveland hitter performing better than they did a year ago. That’s a big reason why the team ranks 12th in the league in runs scored. The bullpen, so solid down the stretch last season, is springing leaks seemingly on a weekly basis.

The only statistic that says the Guardians are a contending team is the number we see every day in the standings. The column “GB”, games behind.

Despite all the problems the Guards have had this year, they are still just 1-1/2 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins as we near the end of July.

Which makes it all the more maddening that the organization seems to go with the status quo in terms of the everyday lineup. They have been forced to make changes in the starting rotation, but that’s due to the injuries suffered by Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, and now, Shane Bieber.

Over the weekend, The Plain Dealer ran an article about the hitting philosophy of the organization and Terry Pluto’s column discussed improving the offense. We aren’t a genius, but a good start to improving the hitting might be to stop giving the worst offensive player in the league three at bats per game.

We are talking about Myles Straw of course. It’s time to make him a defensive replacement. We would add pinch-runner as well, but Straw has stopped running for whatever reason. It has been two months since his last stolen base.

That’s absurd.

Another question is when will the front office and skipper give Tyler Freeman regular playing time so they can find out if he can be a major league regular, be it at SS or 2B? Perhaps you could give him more time at the expense of the second lowest OPS in the batting order, that being Amed Rosario.

Yes, we have officially entered the patience vs. stubbornness phase of the season.

Sunday, the Guards lost a three-run lead (thanks to David Fry, who should share time at catcher. Cam Gallagher is superfluous) because the bench refused to be at least a little uneasy about Trevor Stephan pitching the eighth.

Stephan has been shaky as of late, and as soon as he walked Marcus Semien with one out (AND A THREE RUN LEAD!), someone should have started warming up. We aren’t a pitching coach, but it certainly has looked like Stephan is aiming the ball lately instead of trusting his stuff.

That would mean it’s a confidence problem.

Instead, he walked a second hitter and then gave up three straight hits before he was removed. It’s almost like it was a spring training game and he had to get his work in.

As we said before, the only thing that makes this edition of the Guardians a contending team is the games behind column. That’s why the time to sit back and do nothing should be ended.

And we aren’t just talking about Terry Francona either. The front office had a bad off-season. The signings of Josh Bell and Mike Zunino haven’t panned out. But they have time to improve things over the next couple of weeks.

With Bieber injured, they really don’t have anything to sell, but again, get a starting pitcher, re-arrange the bullpen based on current results, and stop gifting playing time based on 2023.

A disappointing season to date can still be salvaged.

Hopefully Bieber Injury Doesn’t Deter Moves At Deadline

The Cleveland Guardians didn’t exactly provide a lot of good news for their fans coming out of the All-Star break.

First came the news that Shane Bieber is experiencing some soreness in his right forearm and was placed on the injured list yesterday. At the very least, the former Cy Young Award winner will miss two starts.

And then the bullpen was mollywhopped by Texas in the opening game of the three game series after Aaron Civale gave Cleveland five innings. The curious thing was he was removed after throwing just 79 pitches.

The bigger news is Bieber, obviously, since the rotation is already without Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill. Yes, the rookies, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen have done yeoman’s work so far this season, but as everyone reminds us, they will all be on innings restrictions this season.

We know many people will say this is a sign that the team should be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline, but isn’t the biggest potential trade chip the Guardians have Bieber?

Our fear is that Bieber’s injury will prevent the front office from making a move to help this year’s team, which is still just a game and a half out of first place in the AL Central Division.

Standing pat would be a terrible idea.

First, and this has nothing to do with the team on the field, but attendance is up at Progressive Field, and we fear doing nothing to improve the roster will damper any excitement created during the year.

The other issue is the organization’s bloated situation in the middle infield. Cleveland continues to use free agent to be Amed Rosario at shortstop, with Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias still on the big league roster and Brayan Rocchio in AAA.

They haven’t really found out much about any of those players, with perhaps the exception of Arias, who has a whopping total of 154 plate appearances this season. By the way, we agree that’s not enough.

At some point, they have to convert some of these players into pieces that can help the big club win some games.

Down three starters, why not move some pieces for a pitcher who can provide some quality innings down the stretch. They could use that even if Bieber is going to be back sooner than later.

A year ago, the Guardians had one of the top farm systems in baseball, but outside of last year’s first round pick OF Chase DeLauter and Rocchio, most of their prize prospects have graduated.

Southpaw Joey Cantillo is another top prospect, and he may be here soon if the injuries on the staff continue.

In the past week, Baseball Prospectus put out their mid-season top 50 prospects plus 10 other players. No Guardian was listed. Last season, the same publication had four Cleveland farmhands listed, including Bibee and Williams. Daniel Espino and George Valera were the others.

Prospects lose their value quickly in baseball. Valera was looked upon as a big time power bat, and he still may be, but he’s hitting .187 (545 OPS) at AAA, and in his time at the highest level of the minors over the past two seasons, his OPS is 698.

The next two weeks before the trade deadline will be key. If the Guardians continue to hang in the divisional race, will the front office help out the current roster?

Or will they point toward 2024. We aren’t asking the organization to move players like Williams, Bibee, and Allen. But they have some assets they can move. Now is the time.

Trading Bieber Might Be Inevitable, But There Are Consequences.

In a recent edition of The Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto wrote about why the Guardians need to trade pitcher Shane Bieber.

We understand that Pluto has good sources within the organization and when he writes about something, there is a pretty good likelihood that it is going to happen.

However, we could not disagree more with a Bieber deal unless one thing comes back in return, or is acquired in a separate deal, and that is a veteran starting pitcher to replace the former Cy Young Award winner.

We understand Bieber is not going to sign a long term contract here, so from that standpoint, the Guardians should not lose him in free agency, so a trade will be coming. We simply would wait until the off-season.

As we write this, the Cleveland Guardians lead the American League Central Division standings by a half game and despite all the jokes about the division, they are only 3-1/2 games out of a wild card spot.

It is pretty cavalier of an organization who hasn’t won a World Series in 75 years to toss away a chance to get in the playoffs, which they would likely be doing unless they don’t get another starter to replace their ace.

Cleveland is currently down two starters in Triston McKenzie (elbow) and Cal Quantrill (shoulder) and have three rookies in the rotation that they are managing innings with: Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams.

Bibee pitched 132 innings last year in A/AA, so conventional wisdom says the front office would like to keep him around 152 this year. He’s at 85. Allen threw the same number last season, and he’s currently at 79 in ’23.

Williams pitched 115 innings in 2022, so his limit is probably around 135 and he’s thrown 79 to date this season.

By the way, Bieber is currently third in the AL in innings pitched and by the time he is done pitching today, he will either be second or first. And the Guardians need someone to soak up innings.

Despite complaints about reduced velocity, Bieber is still a pretty effective starting pitcher. He’s allowed just 104 hits in the 110.1 innings he has thrown and has fanned 89 batters vs. just 33 walks. His ERA is 3.66.

If they don’t get a proven starter in another trade or one in a deal involving Bieber, just who is going to pitch for the Guardians after they trade him? Oh yes, they could also bring up another rookie in Joey Cantillo, who is pitching in the Futures Game this weekend, but he would be under the same innings restrictions.

And does anyone really want to see Daniel Norris taking the mound every fifth day for a team trying to get a post-season berth?

One issue though, Cleveland hasn’t traded for an established starting pitcher since Derek Lowe in 2012.

Unless this is going to be a move, like the trades of Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger, where the Guardians are going to kick the can down the road again. Besides the 75 years without a title thing, it’s a bold strategy for a team that won 92 games a year ago and their best player, who committed to the franchise, is 30 years old.

Another factor is how it plays in the clubhouse if they trade their best pitcher and don’t replace him. At some point, it has to wear on players when the front office keeps pointing toward next season.

That’s only if they don’t get someone who can be a relative facsimile of Bieber in terms of pitching a lot of effective innings. We know trading Bieber at some point is inevitable, but doing it while the Guardians very much have a chance to make the post-season seems to ring hollow to us.

Talking Through Trading Bieber

When the Cleveland Guardians fell to 21-28 after losing a series on the road to the Chicago White Sox, the baseball media immediately went to their default story when dealing with the Guards, the possibility of a trade of an established star for prospects.

In this case, the star is former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. What kind of haul could Cleveland get for the ace of their staff?

First of all, let us be clear that we are in favor of any trade that makes the team better. However, we say that with a caveat. After winning the AL Central Division a year ago, we are not interested in deals that make the Guardians better in three to four years.

The other part of that equation is the 75 year gap since the last World Series the franchise won.

The real question is what numbers the front office are looking at, the win/loss record or the number of games behind the Guards are in the standings? If it’s the former, then they have to look at the prospect that Bieber will be a free agent after next season and has already likely turned down an extension offer.

If they believe this year’s team can still win the division and get back to the playoffs, then a trade at the deadline doesn’t make sense, particularly since Triston McKenzie is back on the injured list.

We all saw firsthand last week what happens when the starting pitchers don’t throw a good share of the innings on a nightly basis. Any team’s bullpen gets taxed, and Cleveland is no different.

This is a good time to bring up that Bieber leads the American League in innings pitched with 95. Granted, we aren’t seeing the dominant Bieber who made the All-Star team in 2019 (he was the game’s MVP) and was the best pitcher in the league in 2020.

But he still is great help to the Guardians because he can pitch deep into games and he still is effective, allowing less hits than innings and walking only 25 batters vs. 69 strikeouts. His ERA is in the mid-threes at 3.51.

With McKenzie and Cal Quantrill both down, and two rookies in Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee taking two rotation spots, Terry Francona and Carl Willis need guys who can give the bullpen a lighter load every few games.

And if the Guardians do fall off the pace in the division by the middle of July, then it would make sense to explore deals for the right-hander, but we feel the organization would be and should be looking for major league ready bats and/or arms in return.

Besides the whole 1948 issue, remember that Jose Ramirez will turn 31 in September, and we know he wants to win here. Pushing an opportunity to do so down the road a few years while Ramirez is still putting up all-star numbers would seem to be a bad move.

This isn’t a rebuilding team, they won 92 games a year ago with the youngest team in the sport. Before the season started, we looked at young teams and saw sometimes they had to take a step back before they moved forward.

That’s how the Guardians should view this season if they do fall off the pace.

One other issue about trading Bieber while the Guards are still very much in the race. How do you explain it to the fan base, who already look at the ownership with a jaundiced eye.

Guardians Have To Solve A Problem. This Time A Good Problem.

In baseball, there is an adage that you cannot have enough pitching. Terry Francona offers a corollary when he says when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more.

In the next week or so, we will find out what the Cleveland Guardians will do when starting pitchers Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale come off the injured list.

Civale made two starts at the beginning of the season, while McKenzie was injured at the end of training camp and has been out the entire season.

The Guards weathered the storm with the help of their so called “pitching factory”. They used Hunter Gaddis, who was going to make the Opening Day roster out of the bullpen as a starter to replace McKenzie, and when Civale went down, they went with Peyton Battenfield first, and then went to Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee, when Gaddis struggled.

Battenfield went 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA before he went on the IL with should soreness, but Allen and Bibee seem to have earned the right to stay on the big league roster.

Allen, a lefty, has made seven starts covering 39.2 innings and posted an ERA of 2.72 striking out 43 batters, walking 11, and allowing 39 hits. He really has had just one bad start, that vs. the Angels, who peppered him with eight hits in 4+ frames.

Otherwise, he has given his team a chance to win in every other start.

If possible, Bibee has been even better, going 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA in his six starts, pitching 34-1/3 innings, allowing 28 hits and fanning 34 batters, walking eight. He too had a struggle in just one of his outings, a 3-2/3 inning effort vs. Detroit where he allowed seven hits and four runs.

It is safe to assume both have earned their place on the varsity roster, but remember, the organziation will likely want to manage the innings for both as the season goes on.

Both pitched 132 innings a year ago, their most since turning professional. Conventional wisdom would say the brass will want to keep them around 150-155 this season. Adding 20 innings per season is kind of the mark in trying to avoid arm issues.

There is one open spot in the rotation, the one Gaddis currently holds, so according to reports, Civale will take the next turn against Minnesota on Friday night.

As for McKenzie, do the Guardians go with a six man rotation to limit the innings for Allen and Bibee? Or could have move Cal Quantrill back to the bullpen to help a relief corps that is searching for outs.

Right now, McKenzie is scheduled to pitch the series finale in the Twin Cities this weekend.

The problem with the Quantrill move is once you do it, it would be difficult to bring him back to the rotation if the two rookies start to falter.

Another option would be a modified six man rotation is which Shane Bieber pitches with his preferred fifth day, and the others worked off of that.

Allen could have made the decision a bit easier, but he threw an absolute gem yesterday, allowing just three hits and whiffing 10 in seven shutout frames.

We will see what Terry Francona and the front office decides later in the week.

Shining A Spotlight On Plesac

The Major League Baseball season is still young, very young in fact. However, if you are a player with a poor recent track record, you still start the season with something to prove.

That’s the way we feel about Guardians’ starting pitcher Zach Plesac, whose first start on Monday didn’t go as well as he wanted, no doubt, and we are sure the coaching staff and front office were disappointed as well.

Plesac burst on the scene somewhat unexpectedly in 2019, after just 14 starts at the AA and AAA levels. That season, he made six starts at Akron, compiling a 0.96 ERA, and then was promoted to Columbus, where in four starts, he went 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA.

He made his major league debut in Fenway Park on May 28th, throwing 5-1/3 innings allowing just one run, and finished the year with an 8-6 record and 3.81 ERA in 116 innings.

The following season was the COVID shortened year, but Plesac pitched well, going 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA in eight starts. However, there was an incident where he broke the virus protocol by leaving the team hotel in Chicago after a Guardians’ win.

Since then, the right-hander has made 50 starts, going 13-18 with a 4.58 ERA, and that includes a 3-12 mark last season. Plus, he’s suffered self-inflicted injuries the past two seasons, both from letting his temper get away from him.

We figured when he broke a bone in his hand punching the mound in Seattle last August (it was done in a very good start), the front office would make a move during the off-season to give the pitcher a fresh start somewhere else.

But a move wasn’t made and the Guardians are trying everything to salvage him as a quality big league starter.

The Guardians seem to have a profile for their players. They like solid humans, who grind it out, putting the team above all else. We don’t know Plesac personally (obviously), but he seems like he doesn’t fit that mold.

Breaking the COVID protocol, injuring yourself twice, those things don’t exactly fit being a good teammate, and in his first outing he was visibly upset when Amed Rosario lost a pop fly in the twilight, a ball that could have given Plesac a scoreless first inning.

He gave up a hit to allow a run right after, and then came out in the second and basically gave up five straight bullets off of Oakland bats. Did his teammates show displeasure when he did that?

To us, he’s also become a bit of a nibbler, falling behind in counts and then having to make too good of a pitch.

It’s not the one bad start in 2023, it’s the last 50 starts that put Plesac on watch. With Triston McKenzie’s injury, the Guardians don’t really have an option to replace him in the rotation, but if he has more outings like Monday or when McKenzie is ready to go, he could wind up being the odd man out.

We are sure the organization doesn’t want to rush Gavin Williams or Tanner Bibee either.

Hopefully, Plesac can start his turn around Sunday in his next start. If he is to have a future in Cleveland, he needs to pitch better and be mentally tougher.

Impressions Of A Great Opening Weekend For Guardians

We were very impressed that the Cleveland Guardians went into Seattle, a playoff team a year ago, and took three of four in their opening series.

Especially because the Guards had all kinds of problems scoring runs vs. the Mariners last season. They scored just 11 runs in the seven contests against Seattle last season.

There were several positive things that caught our eye in baseball’s first weekend of the season, and yes, we know it’s just four games.

Guardians’ fans have to be impressed with Aaron Civale’s debut, throwing seven, two-hit innings at the Mariners. The right-hander was on a track for an all-star berth in 2021, when he was leading the AL in wins at the time of his injury (he was 10-2 with a 3.44 ERA).

He made just 20 starts a year ago with a variety of injuries and threw just 97 innings. Getting back to his ’21 form would be a big boost to the starting rotation, particularly since Triston McKenzie could miss as much as two months.

What about Tim Herrin’s major league debut on Sunday? The 26-year-old southpaw faced four batters and struck them all out. It’s the ultimate small sample size, but if he can give Terry Francona and Carl Willis another left-handed option when Sam Hentges returns, that would be outstanding.

One of the things Cleveland lacked the past few years is any offense at all from the catching position. Mike Zunino isn’t a great offensive player either, but what he does more frequently than Austin Hedges or Luke Maile, is run into a pitch every once in a while, and sends it over the fence. He has 147 career homers.

Sunday, his three-run dinger gave the Guards a temporary lead. His lifetime batting average is just .201 and he strikes out, a lot. But the power does play.

Oh, and by the way, Bo Naylor went 5 for 13 over the weekend with two homers at Columbus.

The bullpen was also very impressive over the weekend, with James Karinchak’s hiccup on Opening Night the only blemish. In total, the relievers soaked up 14-2/3 innings, allowing just three earned runs.

That heavy toll can’t continue, but again, it’s only four games.

As for Karinchak, we don’t think it was a pitch clock issue to blame for his first outing, it was more that he couldn’t throw his curveball for a strike, and the Mariners took advantage.

Newcomer Josh Bell didn’t have a big weekend at the plate, going just 1 for 12, but he did walk six times, and avoiding making outs is a very good thing. We are sure the hits will start coming.

The only issues to keep an eye on are Zunino’s ability to block pitches, Cleveland had six wild pitches in the series (they had just 49 all last year). That’s something Hedges was outstanding at and it is easy to overlook.

We are sure Sandy Alomar Jr. will work with him on that.

Hunter Gaddis kept the ball in the park Friday night (he gave up 7 homers last year in 7 innings), but he also only gave Francona 3-2/3 innings, and Cal Quantrill couldn’t get out of the fifth.

We aren’t concerned about the latter because of his track record, but the Guards need some length out of Gaddis, if he’s going to stick around for a while.

It was a great opening weekend to be sure, but it’s a long, long season ahead of the Guardians. We are sure everyone prefers to be 3-1 rather than 1-3.

Great Year For Guards, But Can’t Stand Pat For ’23

What a remarkable, unexpected season for the Cleveland Guardians. We figured a slightly above .500 season coming into the year, but Terry Francona’s young squad won the Central Division title and advanced to the Division Series by beating Tampa Bay.

Cleveland baseball fans fell in love with this team, the youngest squad in baseball, and we are sure there will be many fans who will want to bring everyone back next year. They were a very likeable team.

However, executives have to think with their heads and not their hearts, and to us, standing pat with this current roster would be the absolute wrong move. Francona himself said the organization needed to build on the success of this group.

We think the catching position has to be upgraded, and we understand the organization values defense and handling the pitching staff above anything else at the position. Austin Hedges is a team leader, and we expect him to be back next year, but it would not be a shock if he shares time with Bo Naylor.

Naylor, a left-handed hitter, batted .263 with an 889 OPS between AA and AAA this season. He belted 21 homers and although he does have some swing and miss in his game (128 K’s), he also takes walks, getting 82 bases on balls.

Hedges does need to be better with a bat in his hands though. His career average is down to .189 (578 OPS). He did hit 43 home runs in a three-year span in San Diego, but with Cleveland has hit just 17 in two seasons.

The Guardians could also use an upgrade at 1B/OF/DH, preferably with a right-handed bat, so Josh Naylor doesn’t have to be exposed to tough southpaws. The Guards simply have to have a better option than Owen Miller at first when Naylor needs a day off.

Really, the team needs to fill the DH role with someone who is capable of playing defensively or get a first baseman and let Naylor be the primary designated hitter.

Even though the Guardians were sixth in the AL in runs scored, the bats struggled in the playoffs, as Cleveland scored just 17 runs in the seven games. They need more power (14th in homers) and although we loved the contact approach, the Guards need to walk more, they ranked just 11th in that category.

It’s easier to mix in a walk rather than have to get three or four hits in a row.

We would also like to see another starting pitcher added to the rotation. Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are good at the top, and Cal Quantrill is solid, but it might be better if he was the #4 guy, and you had another starter who could strike batters out.

Hopefully, Aaron Civale is healthy and can contribute closer to his 2021 season next year, but it’s two straight years with injury issues for him. And Zach Plesac has the same problem, although his are self-inflicted.

It would also buy another year of development for Gavin Williams, Daniel Espino, Tanner Bibee, Cody Morris, Hunter Gaddis, and Xzavion Curry. The first two or three could be ready to help next season, but you wouldn’t have to depend on that.

With all of the young players the organization used this year, you have to remember there is no track record for some of these guys. There could be drastic dips in performances for some, and big jumps in statistics for others.

The front office should be prepared for that.

It will also be interesting to see what the management does with the farm system and the stacking up of prospects at certain positions.

The future looks bright as Francona pointed out after Tuesday’s game. That makes this winter very interesting for Cleveland baseball fans.

Previewing Guardians And Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians will face a much stiffer challenge in the upcoming American League Division Series, and we don’t think that is breaking news.

First, the Guards will head to Yankee Stadium for two games in the Bronx, whereas all three games against Tampa Bay were scheduled for Progressive Field.

Secondly, the Yankees are a better team than the Rays, winning 13 more games in the regular season. They also won seven more than Cleveland, including five of six in head-to-head meetings.

While the Rays were 11th in the AL in runs scored at 4.11, New York led the AL averaging almost a run more per contest at 4.98, and they were second in the league in OPS as a team, behind only Toronto.

Pitching wise, while Tampa was third in team ERA just ahead of Cleveland, New York is second at 3.30.

You are supposed to play better teams as you move on in the post-season, so this is nothing to be surprised about, but the Yankees are a much better offensive ballclub. There is no Aaron Judge in the Rays’ batting order.

As for the season series against the Bronx Bombers, remember the Guards made their only trip to New York way back at the end of April. In fact, the starting pitcher for the first game of that series was Eli Morgan, making his only start of the year.

He was following in that game by Logan Allen, Tanner Tully, and Konnor Pilkington. It was that long ago.

The second game of the series was the contest where there was an altercation between Myles Straw and the fans in the bleachers after Steven Kwan was hurt. Emmanuel Clase blew the save, making his ERA for the season 7.71.

The last game was a blowout, a 10-2 Yankee win, with Aaron Civale taking the loss. Civale was really struggling at the time.

The three-game set in Cleveland involved a rainout (surprise) and a doubleheader on Saturday, in which Kirk McCarty started the first game, a 13-4 loss. Civale started game two and was losing 2-1 going into the seventh before he tired and the bullpen allowed four runs.

In the finale, Triston McKenzie pitched a masterpiece, going seven, one hit innings, and Clase survived an error in the ninth to save it. That dropped his ERA to 1.31 on the season.

A little bit of a difference, eh?

It is interesting to note the Guardians saw Garrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, the game #1 and #2 starters each twice in the six regular season contests, while the Yankees saw Cal Quantrill and McKenzie each once. Shane Bieber, who will toe the rubber Thursday night, did not pitch against New York during the season.

That alone could account for Cleveland’s 1-5 record this year.

And for what it’s worth, both Quantrill (6.1 IP, 3 runs) and McKenzie pitched well against the Yanks.

Can the Guardians win this series? Sure, they are a much different team than they were in early July when the two teams last met. Heck, Oscar Gonzalez didn’t have an at bat against New York.

However, the offense is going to have to produce. We doubt scoring three runs in two games will win anything.

That’s why the play the games, right?

Memories Made By Ramirez, Oscar, and Hentges

Even though it has been just two years since Cleveland experienced post-season baseball, the memory of how special it is fading a bit until it comes back again.

The Guardians played two classic pitcher’s duel against Tampa Bay and won both, eliminating the Rays and sending Terry Francona’s squad to New York to play the Yankees in the AL Division Series, a best-of-five affair beginning Tuesday night.

The entire series, yes series, had a total of four runs. That’s how good the pitching in the series was, although you could argue neither team possesses a great lineup. Shane Bieber gave his team 7-2/3 frames, allowing just one run in game one, and Triston McKenzie fired six shutout innings in game two.

And in yesterday’s 15 inning marathon, the bullpen. led by lefty Sam Hentges, kept the Rays off the scoreboard for nine innings.

To be sure, it was nerve-wracking, blood pressure rising baseball, and although some fans probably longed for the “ghost runner” on second base in the extra innings Saturday, for us it was tension filled baseball, and we don’t think anyone who was there or was watching at home failed to be on the edge of their seats.

Offensively, a team that finished 14th in the American League in home runs this season, scored via the long ball. The great Jose Ramirez, and we don’t throw the word “great” around all that often, displayed his many skills in the pair of games.

First, his home run, his second career playoff dinger (the first game in game 5 of the 2016 World Series), answered a Tampa blast in the top of the sixth inning of the first game, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead, it would never relinquish.

Then, in game 2, he made a defensive play in the 12th, ranging into foul territory to throw out Manuel Margot with runners on first and third.

Bieber said it best Friday, saying Ramirez was “inevitable”.

And then you have Oscar Gonzalez, someone who wasn’t even on the 40-man roster to start the year. We always view a player’s strikeout to walk ratio and an indicator of long-term success at the big-league level. Gonzalez doesn’t have a good one, he almost never walked in the minor leagues.

But he also hit .280 in the minor leagues, striking out about five times more than he walked in his career. That intrigued us. Sometimes, players have the ability to just get the barrel of the bat to the ball.

And then you have Hentges, who probably was forced to the big leagues earlier than expected last season with all the pitching injuries. He started 12 games and had a 6.68 ERA. In September 2021, he was used exclusively out of the bullpen, making nine appearances, and only allowing runs in two of them.

This season, he pitched 57 times, with a 2.32 ERA, striking out 72 hitters in 62 innings. He fanned six in three innings yesterday, including the last two with runners on first and third with one out in the top of the 15th.

So, in two days, Cleveland fans saw the end of an eight-game post-season losing streak and the first playoff series win since 2016.

More memories for fans of the Guardians/Indians. Hopefully, there will be more to come the rest of this month.