The Cleveland Baseball Team 08-27-2024
It's Tuesday but it could also be late Ground Hog's Day.
The team formerly known as the Indians had a moderately successful weekend winning a series against the Texas Rangers. The two out of three in the win column allowed the team to put a little buffer between them and their second place rivals. And then...and then the second place KC Royals showed up on Cleveland's home doorstep. Home had been a saving grace this season for the team. Note the past tense there? With the post All-Star Break implosion ongoing, the team has been dreadful on the road recently and now only sits 1 game over .500 in that category. So, let's circle the wagons and weather the storm by being able to win at home!
Let me stop me right there.
Monday was a double-header situation. In case you've been on the island with Wilson and Chuck Noland, Cleveland has been the worst team in the Major Leagues the last two years when it comes to playing multiple games in the same day. Worse than the Chicago White Sox you ask??!! Yeah, unfortunately so. 1-9 last year (Francona) and 0-8 this year (Vogt). There is still month plus to go in the regular season so let's hope there are no other make-up double dips forthcoming. You would figure that most teams are about 50/50 in doubleheaders. You win one, lose one and go about your business. As a long-suffering Cleveland baseball fan since the early 1990's, it feels like for the most part the franchise rarely is at that break-even ratio and more often much lower for that success rate. But I digress...
In my piece written last week, I outlined some options that could slap a few Band-Aids on all the team's boo-boo's. But it seems like the front office is mostly content to wait until the rosters expand on September first (add up to 2 extra minor league players). I live in St. Louis but partake in the team's games on the MLB app and over the web on their radio station WTAM. I am not submerged in the local water cooler talk or get to hear much of the Cleveland sports radio talk shows. But recently I have caught a chunk of a program after a game and it was a little validating to hear the passionate frustrations being vented.
The dedicated Cleveland fanbase, not the non-supporters whom the ownership group caved to in rebranding the storied franchise, is desperate to support and coax this team to the finish line. It's like driving your car around with warning icons on the dash lit. Yeah, the car is still running but eventually you need to address those warnings. At the trade deadline, the front office tried to have their buddy look at the engine instead of going to the dealer to get the proper service done.
What warning icons were glaringly lit going into the trade deadline period?
- No offensive production from the shortstop and centerfield positions.
- Thread-bare rotation options.
- 55/45 split between the rotation and bullpen on innings distribution.
- Young pitchers and young position players decling success (hit a wall).
- Musical chairs with outfielders who should probably be just infielders.
Let's rewind to the offseason when the ownership and front office was wringing their hands about the TV contract(s) being in flux. It was evident as the weeks and months of winter rolled on that their add-on finances would be very limited. So it caused a bit of concern and confusion when they spent the bulk of their allowance on an extremely light 'hitting' catcher who is a great jokester for $4,000,000. They could've resigned Amed Rosario (good clubhouse guy too) and saved the balance for clubhouse veggie trays. I know a lot of people wanted Rosario run out of town for being a decent offensive (utility) player with below standard defensive skills. But objectively speaking, he did produce with the bat. Review his stats for this year and it checks out. His batting average adjusted over two-thirds of a season would probably be the highest batting average on the team. He gets on base, he can steal a bag here and there and he can move around the field in a pinch.
I probably lost a lot of you with the Rosario argument but I threw that out there as a jumping off point. How many former Cleveland players are sprinkled around the league and are contributing major leaguers? There are a few handfuls. This may just be my perspective but I see that the Cleveland front office, like a lot of other front offices around the league, tends to pigeon-hole players or 'give-up' on them. In my last piece I mentioned Aaron Civale. The club was ecstatic to part with him because of his injury history (and acquire a promising talent). But if you look at the upper level prospects of the franchise and their injury track records: Valera, Chourio, Karinchak, Bieber, McKenzie, DeLauter, Espino et al - something doesn't add up.
Every team is going to experience some bad luck and tough injuries but the Cleveland front office seems to contradict themselves quite a bit. I understand their first priority is keeping cheap but productive options. I get that. But you also have to really pull down that accountant visor a little tighter. Removing Jose Ramirez from the equation for minute and knowing the organizational mindset, when do you move on from assets? Logically with this franchise they have tried to move players who have a high value and are on the cusp of earning big raises in line with what the market is bearing. So why is Gimenez still in the fold? Yes, they signed him to a long term deal but his defense is his best foot forward. Slick-fielding infielders are a pretty common commodity. Slick-fielding infielders who are offensive threats are less abundant. Gimenez does not move the offensive needle. That's why the Mets were OK with shipping him away in the Lindor deal.
If you cryogenically froze a Cleveland fan from mid-summer last year and thawed them this month, the only questions they may have are:
- And why does Myles Straw look different?
At the beginning of August, the team was 25 games above .500. Now they are down to 18 games over .500 and they are assured of having a losing month of August. It seems inevitable that they will be overtaken by Kansas City or Minnesota or both this week or next. The season-long strategy of pulling names out of a hat to play a position or hit in a spot in the order seems to finally have lost it's magic.
The so-called sports radio experts are still confident Cleveland can limp their way along and qualify for a playoff spot as a wild card team. But that most likely locks the team into a playoff series on the road. See above where I mention that team's flatline activity on the road since the All-Star Break (it's icky).
Riding a perfect storm of success in the first half, the ownership and front office could've really bolstered the team's talent and confidence. Instead, they threw away three (3) prospects on a serviceable, not great, outfielder (coming off of an injury shorted season so far) in Lane Thomas. Thomas has not been the answer to any questions besides: who is the biggest bust of the entire trading deadline?
I don't mean to drag Lane Thomas egregiously but this move is Jason Michaels bad. Analytics permeates the entire league and the day-to-day gameplans. Initially, the bill of sale for Thomas projected some decent production based on his limited track record. Instead, what has been delivered is like a package that fell off a delivery truck and was run over by a Mack truck at a high rate of speed. Woof.
Coming down the home stretch of the season and this piece, I offer Stephen Vogt a touch of caution. I understand he wants his players to play for him and be his buddy (he's noted as being well-liked by players) but...BUT you will lose the momentum with the fanbase if you don't be a little more honest and truthful. It's not necessary to throw anybody under the bus but COME ON. You can't keep spouting the weak and tired lines such as: the effort is there and things didn't break our way.
Pitchers are expected to find a way to get hitters out and hitters are paid to try to break down a pitcher for hits, walks and runs - even the aces (Cole) of the league. If it wasn't for the monumental efforts of the bullpen to date, this would be a virtual repeat of 2023. So where do we go from here? I am aware that ranting with fist shaking at the sky will not change anything.
The Mariners recently fired their 9-year manager to try to shock the team into waking up. I'm not suggesting the same fate for Vogt but something needs to be done to try to change course away from the iceberg ahead. This team went from whispered World Series dark horse to head-tilt pity nod with sad smile. With 30 games to go, the team is sitting in first place by 1 game (they were up by 9 games in June). I guess we shall see what kind of fight and character the team has. Safe travels and we'll talk again soon…
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