Tribe Front Office Depends On Tito’s Magic

While we have been critical of Indians’ manager Terry Francona at times because of his problem with the fine line between patience and stubbornness, mostly we kind of feel bad for him because of what the front office does to him.

Tito has guided the Tribe to three consecutive American League Central Division titles, and has had to do so by having to put together a puzzle each and every season.

He has had great starting pitching, really since he’s been the Indians’ skipper in 2013, and in ’16 and ’17, had a tremendous bullpen as well. But, we think even he would like the opportunity to write the same names down in a starting lineup each and every day.

Prior to last Sunday, it looked like the only positions to be decided were left field and right field, and there were options in both spots. Not proven options, but the prevailing thought was a combination of Jordan Luplow, Tyler Naquin, Matt Joyce in those spots.

Then the front office signed Hanley Ramirez, a 35-year-old designated hitter, who really has had one above average season since 2014.

As a result, now the manager is looking at playing Jake Bauers in left, which would weaken the outfield defense.

Ramirez is in camp on a minor league contract, and if he can return to the hitter he was in 2016, when he hit .286 with 30 home runs, and knocked in 111 with an 866 OPS, it would be a boost to the offense. However, how likely is that?

As stated previously, that season is the only above average season the veteran has had since 2014 when he had an 817 OPS with the Dodgers. He was 30 at the time.

Seriously, is Francona making plans based on the long shot Ramirez can win a starting job? That seems like an extreme case of putting the cart before the horse. He hasn’t even had one at bat in Arizona as of yet.

This is the situation the Tribe front office always seems to put its manager in, having to manipulate the roster to get the most out each and every position player.

Last season, he was forced to play two defensive liabilities in the corner outfield spots in Michael Brantley and Melky Cabrera. And the front office rushed to replace Carlos Santana (since back) at first with Yonder Alonso, who the skipper figured out half way through the year couldn’t hit lefties.

In 2017, Francona platooned in CF (Bradley Zimmer and Austin Jackson) and RF (Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer). The year the Tribe went to the World Series, he used four players, including Jose Ramirez, more than 20 games in left field.

Amazingly, in ’15, the Indians had only four position players who played in 100 games–Santana, Jason Kipnis, Brantley, and Chisenhall. That was shocking to us.

Francona has done a remarkable job maximizing what the organization has given him, but we’ll bet he would appreciate being able to write the same names on a lineup card on a daily basis.

Add to that, not having to be hopeful a veteran will regain the fountain of youth to add some pop to the batting order.

There are no bonus points for winning with the highest degree of difficulty.

This is why critics should overlook Tito’s quirks as manager. He gets a lot out of some marginal players. This off-season appears to provide the Indians’ manager with the ultimate test.

Tribe’s OF In Flux

It is almost universal throughout the baseball community that the Cleveland Indians currently have an outfield substandard for a team which should be a World Series contender.

The loss of Michael Brantley, the best hitter among the players who patrol the grass, makes the weakness even more prominent.

In 2018, the Tribe searched for a centerfielder most of the season. Bradley Zimmer opened the season as the regular, but he was striking out at an alarming rate (44 times in 114 plate appearances), and Rajai Davis and his 559 OPS wasn’t the answer either.

The front office thought it fixed the problem by dealing for Leonys Martin at the trading deadline, but he went down with a serious illness, and the problem was there again.

Greg Allen finished the year strong, but he was displaced by Jason Kipnis when Josh Donaldson was acquired.

Melky Cabrera settled down RF after Lonnie Chisenhall was hurt, but he isn’t a plus in the field, and Brandon Guyer never regained the production he was achieving when he arrived in 2016.

This brings us to 2019 Spring Training.

We actually like the situation in center, where Martin and Allen figure to platoon. The former had a 799 OPS vs. right handed pitcher a year ago, hitting .279 with a .451 slugging percentage.

Allen hit .297 after August 1st in ’18, and although he is also stronger against righties, he’s not as bad as Martin vs. southpaws. He might get some time in rightfield against right-handers too, if he can hit like he did at the end of last season.

Tyler Naquin is slotted to garner a good share of playing time, but after a very hot start to his career, he has struggled. Since August 1, 2016, he has batted just .247 with 5 HR and 35 RBI. And he will be 28 years old in April.

He has also had problems staying healthy over the past two years. Defensively, he seems better suited to a corner outfield spot, which is where he figures to play this season.

25 year old Jordan Luplow is an interesting case. He couldn’t find playing time in a crowded and talented Pittsburgh outfield, and he’s hit just .185 (631 OPS) in 92 big league at bats.

However, in AAA, he’s a .300 hitter (857 OPS) with 51 extra base hits in 132 games at that level. To us, he deserves a long look as an everyday player at one of the corner positions.

Recently signed Matt Joyce (34), had solid seasons in 2016 and 2017 with Pittsburgh and Oakland respectively. But last year, he hit just .208 (675 OPS). He’s a platoon piece, with a career OPS of 802 vs. right-handers and a .184 batting mark vs. lefties at the big league level.

At his age, the big question is can he hit like he did in the two seasons prior to 2018.

The unknown player (and often forgotten) is Oscar Mercado, who came over from St. Louis at the trade deadline for Connor Capel in a rare prospect for prospect deal.

A right-handed bat, Mercado spent all of last year in AAA, hitting .278 with 8 HR and 47 RBI between Memphis and Columbus. He also stole 37 bases.

As a bonus, his strikeouts have dropped and his walks have increased as he has advanced in the minor leagues. He’s just 24 years old.

Our guess is the Indians’ management would like Mercado to start the year in AAA, but if he has a great spring, who knows…

Based on past production, Terry Francona will earn his money figuring out who are the best three guys to play in the outfield on a game by game basis. Hopefully, by the end of May, it becomes clearer who can contribute and will the Indians need to add someone by the end of July.

What Options Remain For Tribe OF?

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about what free agents we wanted the Cleveland Indians to pursue this off-season. We felt Nick Markakis and D.J. LeMahieu were two guys who could be signed at reasonable deals and could help the Tribe.

Now, both are signed, Markakis to a very club friendly $6 million, one year deal, and the Indians still have a gaping hole in the outfield. Their options are getting slimmer by the week.

This has been rehashed before, so why not one more time. If the season began today, the likely outfield alignment would be Leonys Martin and Greg Allen in center, Tyler Naquin in left, and Jordan Luplow in right.

Doesn’t exactly sound like a threat to contend for the World Series winner, does it?

To be fair, we like Luplow’s potential. He had 36 extra base hits and 39 walks in 88 games at AAA last season (829 OPS), and slugged .535 at AA the year before that. He could be an interesting guy to watch in Arizona.

And we actually think there could be potential in the Martin/Allen platoon. Martin had close to an 800 OPS (799) against right-handed pitching a year ago.

There has been talk to getting a third baseman, which would move Jose Ramirez to 2B, and potentially move Jason Kipnis to left, but neither he nor Naquin would be another solid, proven bat this lineup badly needs.

Once again, right now, the Indians have three of those: Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana. Our opinion is you need six or seven to have an offense good enough to get you to October.

So, who is left on the open market, which is what the Indians’ front office will have to go to unless they decide to deal one of their starting pitchers.

Carlos Gonzalez has the highest OPS among attainable free agent hitters (Bryce Harper not included), but he hasn’t hit away from Coors Field since 2016.

Curtis Granderson is 38 years old and is at best a platoon player at this point in his career.

A. J. Pollock would be a great fit for Cleveland, but at 31 years old, he’s looking for a multi-year deal, and his price is probably out of the Tribe’s range, especially based on how they have been cutting the payroll this winter.

And it’s been reported he is signing with the Dodgers.

Adam Jones, who will play at 34 years old this upcoming season, has been linked to the Indians since last summer. Jones is coming off his worst season since he became a regular, and may be a candidate for a rebound season. However, his low career walk rate doesn’t hold much hope for that.

You also have Mike Moustakas, who could be signed and move Kipnis to the outfield, or Marwin Gonzalez, a multi-positional player who is looking to cash in his last two seasons. He took a big dip in ’18 though, looking more like the player he was earlier in his career.

Hopefully, the Cleveland front office is looking at Jones and/or Moustakas. They need to lengthen their lineup badly, and that duo could do that and at a seemingly reasonable price.

We would like Luplow and say, Jake Bauers, to make the leap and become solid everyday players. But you can’t depend on that when your goals are beyond winning the division, which with the top line talent the Indians have, should be the goal.

The fan base is becoming impatient, and that doesn’t help sell tickets.

Tribe Offense Needs A Boost Too.

With a recent surge last week, the Cleveland Indians moved up greatly in the offensive statistics for the American League.

After scoring more than 10 runs in three consecutive contests last week, they moved from near the bottom of the AL in scoring per game to 7th, where they are right now.

Still, it seems like the offense has sputtered more often than not. The Tribe has scored three runs or less in 13 of their 34 games, which is slightly over 38% of the time.

When the Indians do score, they tally more frequently in the 8th inning (12 games) and next would be the 1st and the 4th innings (11 times), when the top of the order would most frequently hit.

One of the problems with the Tribe offense is right now it is filled with players who aren’t near the league average in OPS.

We consider above offensive players in baseball to be able to have an on base percentage of over .350 and a slugging percentage of over .450, which would be an OPS of 800 or more.

Outside of seldom used Erik Gonzalez (983 OPS in just 29 at bats), Terry Francona can only write three names in his lineup that meet that criteria: Jose Ramirez (376/562/937), Michael Brantley (350/521/871), and Francisco Lindor (350/517/867).

The only other Cleveland player with significant at bats and an on base average over .350 is Tyler Naquin at .356, and that is more the result of a .316 batting average. He has only walked three times in 73 plate appearances.

As for slugging over .450? The only Tribesman doing that other than the previously mentioned trio is Yan Gomes at .451.

Those five players are the only Indians having OPS better than the league average of 732.

This means most rallies usually end because guys having below average offensive seasons thus far come up and make outs.

Edwin Encarnacion has a strikeout to walk ratio of 4:1 (40 Ks/10 BB). Yonder Alonso has a career walk rate of 9.5%, this season, he is at 7.7%, meaning he is making outs more frequently.

The former should improve those numbers as the weather gets warmer, and the latter should correct itself as the season goes as well.

A growing problem is continuing to use Jason Kipnis in the #2 hole, breaking up the team’s three hottest hitters at leadoff (Lindor), #3 (Ramirez), and in the cleanup spot (Brantley).

Kipnis has hit is some tough luck, but he has an on base percentage of .252 and has just a .272 slugging percentage.

The other problem spot is CF. Bradley Zimmer has played very good defense, but his OPS is just 645, and since he’s only getting on base at a 29.4% rate, he can’t use his great speed.

Neither can the other option, Rajai Davis, who has an OBP (.262), greater than his slugging percentage of .250.

It is going to difficult to continue to justify Davis’ roster spot with that kind of production. And remember, Melky Cabrera could be up here soon.

And we said earlier this year that we would not be surprised if Zimmer was sent back to AAA to get more seasoning at some point.

If the offense is going to get going, they are going to need more than three to five players contributing to the attack.

However, until then, a change in the batting order is needed. Why not try Ramirez at the top, followed by Brantley and Lindor, then Encarnacion and Alonso?

Drop Kipnis down until he gets it going.

Really though, players just have to start hitting. It may be just that simple.

Tribe Stuff: 5th Starter, Bullpen, and Tyler Naquin

Last night, Terry Francona used what he called a “bullpen game” thus bypassing struggling Josh Tomlin in the starting rotation.

The Tribe lost the game, but that wasn’t the reason. The Indians went into the seventh inning down just 3-2 before some subpar defense allowed the Astros to score three runs to basically ice the game.

This spot in the rotation will come up again this Saturday in Minnesota and we don’t want to see another “bullpen game”. It’s time to make a decision on what the team is going to do with their fifth starter.

Tomlin did come on and pitch a clean inning last night, but hopefully Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway don’t think the right-hander’s problems are cured and put him back out there to start.

Either bring up Ryan Merritt or Shawn Morimando to start, or start stretching Mike Clevinger out again and try to get four inning out of him this weekend.

We know that the fifth starter is not going to be used in that role once the post-season starts, but since Cleveland is in a pennant race, they shouldn’t be basing any games on a bunch of guys Tito wouldn’t use in a game he was winning either.

The Indians haven’t clinched anything yet, so they need to keep winning and can’t have a starter pitch less than two innings.

Bullpen. We know that when the Tribe has a lead late, Francona is going to use a combination of Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller, and Cody Allen to finish games. And all in all, he’s done a great job of using the trio in the best situations.

Beyond those three, Dan Otero has been incredible this year with a 1.37 ERA and the ability to get ground balls at any time. Zack McAllister seems to have recovered from his slump in the middle of the year, and since August 5th has pitched 11-2/3 innings and allowed just one run.

Jeff Manship is struggling again, so we would like to see more of Perci Garner heading into the playoffs. The Dover, Ohio native throws hard and has good sink on his pitches. Garner could be of more help in October than a guy like Manship, who has given up seven homers in 36 innings.

Tyler Naquin. A lot has been made on social media about Naquin’s freakish lack of success against fastballs this season. The numbers don’t lie, but we can’t believe a player can reach the big leagues without being able to hit gas.

We’ve been studying the rookie’s at bats, and we believe the problem comes from chasing fastballs out of the strike zone. Last night, he swung at a 1-0 pitch that was outside, so instead of a great hitter’s count, it was back to even.

That has happened a lot lately.

We also think that Naquin has gotten a little home run happy after his June and July where he belted 12 home runs after not hitting one to that point in the season.

He needs to get back to his line drive approach he had early in the season, and the home runs will come. Remember, his first big league dinger was on a pitch he took over the leftfield wall at Progressive Field. It wasn’t pulled.

The Tribe has a little over a week to put a clamp on the division because starting a week from Friday, they have a steady diet of the Tigers and Royals, their closest pursuers. If they play well until then, the magic number should be in single digits by then.

Analyzing The Tribe’s Veteran Signings

During the hot stove season, the Cleveland Indians decided to try to improve their team by signing some veterans to one year contracts.

Over the years, we have not been thrilled by this strategy for several reasons, mostly that it shows the organization doesn’t trust their young players.

And we also feel that part of the reason for the sluggish starts by the club over the past few seasons is they spend the first 40 games seeing if these veterans have anything in the tank, and a lot of times, bringing up the young players gives the Tribe a spark.

This season doesn’t seem to be any different.

While Mike Napoli has been productive despite striking out a lot, he has a .504 slugging percentage and leads the team in home runs and RBIs, the other vets are struggling.

Rajai Davis, 35-years-old, has an on base percentage of .265 and an OPS of 620. You would have to think a player like Tyler Naquin could do at least that well.

We realize Naquin’s numbers may not hold up with more at bats, but our biggest concern with the rookie offensively was that he wasn’t drawing walks. Guess what? Neither does Davis, who has walked just five times on the year.

Making the Davis issue worse is Terry Francona continues to hit him in the leadoff spot, despite a career .315 on base average.

Juan Uribe (age 37) was brought in because the management didn’t feel comfortable using Giovanny Urshela at 3B to start the season.

However, Uribe thus far has demonstrated no pop in his bat, with a slugging percentage of .306 and an OPS of 619. Uribe started the year playing pretty much everyday at the hot corner, but is starting to lose playing time to Jose Ramirez at that position.

For the record, Urshela had a 608 OPS last season while battling injuries, and figured to improve with experience.

Thirty eight year old Marlon Byrd is the other veteran signed by the Indians, he inked his deal during spring training. Byrd has been decent, with a 684 OPS and hasn’t been the hammer vs. left handed pitching he was purported to be.

We wouldn’t have a problem seeing him a couple of days per week as long as he is still contributing. He seems to get one big hit per week.

We understand that the season is just 31 games old, and we recognize this constitutes a small sample size.

We also know the American League playoff race will probably be very close all year long and one game here or there could make a big difference.

The Cleveland Indians feel they are a contending team, which is probably the reason they made the moves to sign these players, but being a contender also means there is a short leash for players who aren’t getting it done.

With Michael Brantley’s availability up in the air right now, Terry Francona can’t use his considerable patience hoping that Davis and Uribe will get it together soon. If they aren’t hitting, the lineup is full of holes.

Our fear when the Tribe signs this type of player is what will happen if they aren’t swinging the bat well. Tito gives veterans the benefit of the doubt, so his inclination is to keep giving them at bats with the hope they will snap out of their slumps.

He can’t wait much longer.

And as for a possible release of either player, remember they are on one year deals, so there is no long term investment in Davis or Uribe.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on both players through the end of May to see what the front office may do.

The bigger question here is why not give the young players the first shot at the job, and bring the veterans in if they don’t work out?

An Early Tribe Check

With all of the rainouts and off days this early in the baseball season, it is hard to evaluate any team, including the Cleveland Indians.

That said, we do have some early thought about the Wahoos, a team we picked to win the AL Central.

We have seen fans complaining about the lack of runs scored by the Tribe in this young season. After all, they rank 10th in the American League in tallies at this point of the season.

However, these people need to look closer. The Indians rank 10th in the league because they’ve played the least number of games.

In actuality, Cleveland ranks 6th in runs per game at 4.2 a game, one notch ahead of the Blue Jays. While we aren’t saying this will hold up all year, and we mean scoring more than Toronto, it does show the offense has improved a bit.

The pitching which was supposed to be the strength of the ’16 Indians, has not rounded into form as of yet, ranking 14th in the junior circuit, ahead of just Boston, who seems to give up eight runs per game, and Houston.

The staff ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of strikeouts per nine innings, whereas last year, the Indians led the AL in this statistic.

We said coming into the year that the bullpen was one spot that concerned us, and the first ten games haven’t eased those fears. Bryan Shaw has been a disaster in two of his four appearances, one costing the Indians a game, and in the other turning a laugher into a game where Cody Allen had to get four outs.

If the Tribe has a lead in a close game tonight, who does Terry Francona go to in the eighth inning?

He can’t use Shaw again, so our guess is it would be Zack McAllister, but then who will be used if needed in the seventh?

Jeff Manship? Trevor Bauer? Those are the things that managers have to decide on the fly. Handling the bullpen is one of best skills a major league skipper can have.

By the way, saying Shaw’s velocity is fine isn’t proof that his arm is sound. Sometimes, a loss of command is a tell tale sign of arm problems. Just saying.

In the meantime, losing games late is demoralizing to a team that needs to get off to a good start. That’s the biggest reason Francona needs to use Shaw is some low pressure situations until he is right.

Back to the offense, it has been a bit inconsistent, but remember, the Indians are still missing their best bat in Michael Brantley. Hopefully, the brass doesn’t rush him back, so that when he does return, he will stay in the lineup all year, and he hits like he normally does.

Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall will be back soon, which means some rosters moves are coming.

Here’s hoping Tyler Naquin isn’t a victim. The rookie has had limited playing time because of all the lefties the Indians have seen, but he has looked good. He definitely deserves a roster spot over Collin Cowgill, but if Francona isn’t going to play him everyday, he may be better off in Columbus.

We would let Cowgill go, and send down a bullpen arm and keep Naquin because Brantley will probably need sporadic days off for his shoulder.

You could have a Marlon Byrd/Chisenhall platoon in right field, and a Naquin/ Rajai Davis platoon in center, with Davis getting extra time in relief of Brantley.

We bet the Tribe will go another way.

Remember though, it’s still early. The first real opinions here will be made after 27 games, the 1/6th pole of the long season.

The Case For Naquin

When Abraham Almonte was suspended for using a performance enhancing drug at the beginning of spring training, it created a void in the middle of the outfield for the Cleveland Indians.

Not that Almonte is Willie Mays or Ken Griffey Jr. in their primes, but he did enter the off-season with a leg up on the starting job after hitting .264 with a 776 OPS in August and September of last season.

He also played solid defensively.

The front office didn’t really bring in a great deal of competition either. Sure, they signed Rajai Davis as a free agent, presumably to be a platoon partner for Almonte, who is much better from the left side of the plate, but they filled the spring training roster with a much of back up types for the outfield.

Of course, part of the reticence to bring in a veteran is the impending arrival in 2017/2018 of Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier, both of whom have played CF in the minor leagues.

So, who gets the bulk of the time in center when the 2016 season opens?

Many speculate Davis, but at 34 years old, can he handle the job on an everyday basis or defensively?

Jose Ramirez has seen some time there in the exhibition games, but he will have to play some 3B too, spelling another player with some age, Juan Uribe.

Although we believe Ramirez can certainly be an everyday player in the major leagues, it seems the Tribe brass likes him more as a guy who can fill in all over the diamond.

That’s where Tyler Naquin comes in.

Cleveland’s former first round pick in the 2012 draft, the left-handed swinging Naquin has enjoyed a very good spring, and should be given the first shot at the position when the regular season opens at Progressive Field on April 4th.

Yes, we know that he has played only 50 games at the AAA level, hitting .263 with Columbus last season, but he did have a .353 on base percentage, and a 784 OPS.

That followed a stint at Akron where he hit .348 in 34 games (887 OPS), improving on his numbers at the AA level in 2014, when he hit .313 (795 OPS).

Although the AAA experience isn’t great because Naquin has had problems staying healthy, you have to remember he also played in the Arizona Fall League in 2013, where he broke out, batting .339 with a .400 on base percentage.

The AFL attracts a lot of top prospects, and Naquin acquitted himself very well against that high level of competition.

However, there are two reasons Naquin should be the CF come Opening Day unless he falls flat on his face the rest of this month.

First, he’s going to be 25 during the first month of the season. There’s no reason to protect his service time because by the time he can be a free agent, he will be 31 years old, and supposedly on the downside of his career.

Second, he has the most upside. The other contenders for the job, guys like Collin Cowgill, Shane Robinson, and Will Venable are proven players, and all would fall in the average to below average categories.

Why not put the kid out there and see if he can do the job? At the very worst, he won’t be much below the three players we just mentioned.

The Indians should bet on the success of a player they developed. Coupled with his defensive ability, he’s the best choice for Terry Francona to open the season with.

Who Has Early Leg Up For Tribe?

The Cleveland Indians have played eight exhibition games and while it is way too early to make solid statements on individual players, we can see some trends and indications on who will make the Opening Day roster.

For example, one of our favorite whipping boys, Zach Walters, hasn’t helped his cause by starting the spring 0 for 10, with five strikeouts.

On the other hand, Tyler Naquin seems to have played his way into the conversation to open the season in Cleveland.

He has started 8 for 18 with a double and two triples and has only struck out twice. It’s another three weeks before decisions have to be made, but the rookie has caught the attention of people with his solid performance thus far.

Giovanny Urshela will start the season in Columbus because of the acquisition of Juan Uribe, but he has made the people who wanted him to have the job proud with 2 home runs and six runs batted in.

Perhaps his offensive struggles a year ago were the result of being nicked up with some minor injuries.

Out of the veteran outfielders on minor league contracts, Joey Butler has done the best job at the dish, going 3 for 9 with a homer. We felt the guy who broke up Carlos Carrasco’s no hitter last year was the guy we thought was the frontrunner going into camp.

The rest of the candidates have been largely unimpressive. Robbie Grossman is 2 for 15. Collin Cowgill, the favorite of the stat people, is 1 for 12. Will Venable is 0 for 6, and James Ramsey, who had a poor year at AAA last season, is 0 for 11.

Again, we know it is early, and today, one of these guys could get three hits and their numbers will be much better. We are writing about players who are making early impressions.

Another area of competition for Terry Francona is the bullpen. We all know that Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, and Zack McAllister are locks for the relief corps, and unless Jeff Manship is terrible he will make the team as well.

We think Tito will keep two southpaws, and the guy who has made a good impression so far is veteran, non-roster invitee Tom Gorzelanny, who has made three scoreless appearances.

He held left-handed hitters to a .222 batting average last season with the Tigers.

The other lefty out of the bullpen spot is up for grabs between Kyle Crockett, Giovanny Soto, and Joe Thatcher.

One player who will not make the team, but has looked great so far is Mike Clevenger, one of the organization’s top prospects. The youngster throws hard and has thrown four scoreless innings in two outings.

He could be an option down the road is something happens to one of the five starters. Luckily for the Indians, they will also have Cody Anderson, who pitched well in 2015, in reserve at Columbus too.

Clevenger was another guy we were high on over the winter based on the way he finished last year at Akron and Columbus, particularly in the International League playoffs.

Right now, the players we mentioned have taken the lead in the clubhouse for the jobs that are open.

Now, they have to keep those spots, and there is a lot of spring baseball yet to be played.

Tribe Wants Good Start? Maybe Get Younger

It would seem appropriate on Super Bowl Sunday to write something about football today, but for fans of the Cleveland Browns, that game is a myth, something along the lines of a unicorn.

So, instead, with spring training starting in less than two weeks (how great is that to say), we will discuss the Cleveland Indians, a time with a chance to make the playoffs in 2016.

Unfortunately, that chance is slimmer than it could have been if the front office would have been more aggressive this off-season, instead of its normal philosophy of “wishin’ and hopin’.

There is no doubt the Indians have a championship pitching staff, their starting rotation is one of the five best in major league baseball, and may very well be #1.

But team president Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff didn’t do Terry Francona any favors by signing two players with plenty of age on them, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, as the only additions to the lineup.

And of course, rumors have them pursuing another aging veteran hitter in Juan Uribe.

This isn’t to say none of these guys can help the Tribe, in fact, we believe Napoli in particular could be a big help this season, but as a whole, the rampant conservatism that permeates the front office was en vogue again this winter.

In our opinion, one of the reasons the Indians get off to slow starts is they begin the season playing veterans who don’t have much left, and by the middle of May or early June, the management finally realizes that and replaces them with younger, more productive players.

Last year, it was Michael Bourn (Nick Swisher was hurt). Francona wrote Bourn’s name in the lineup 95 times last season, and his 608 OPS dragged down the offense. We would have moved the centerfielder after his ’14 season showed he was declining.

In 2014, Ryan Raburn was struggling after an excellent ’13 campaign, and he and Swisher, who was struggling physically, hampered the offense.

And don’t forget the Indians started playing better when Asdrubal Cabrera was traded and Jose Ramirez was inserted as shortstop.

Also, remember Orlando Cabrera, Jack Hannahan, and Johnny Damon?

That’s why we would pass on Uribe and let Giovanny Urshela and Jose Ramirez platoon at third base. What are the odds that Uribe will be much better than the two youngsters, who will probably improve with regular playing time.

It’s also why if Tyler Naquin hits .420 (or thereabouts) in the Cactus League, we would have him make the Opening Day roster and give him regular playing time.

After all, the Tribe’s current starting outfielder consists of 35-year-old Davis, a journeyman in Abraham Almonte, and Lonnie Chisenhall, who in his brief major league career has demonstrated wild inconsistency.

We would rather see Naquin than Collin Cowgill, Shane Robinson, or Joey Butler, because Naquin will get better. It’s hard to see the other three doing that.

And if one or all of them go to the minor leagues, you have a fallback if the rookie struggles in the bigs.

The fear in Cleveland is that a young player will be ruined by early career struggles. We believe if the rookie is tough mentally, he will overcome that.

Remember, Francisco Lindor was hitting around .210 after his first month in the majors. Was he crushed by it? No!

We understand that Lindor is a special talent, but why not give more young players a chance?

It may just help the Indians get off to better starts to seasons.