Everything inside of me...

 Frist, I wanted to say congratulations to the Cleveland Indians.   I don't know what would have happened in a 162 game schedule but in the 60 game schedule, they would have made the playoffs even if only 6 teams were taken to the playoffs in each league, which is the case every other year.

But....

Of all the matchups they could have had, this is the one that scares me the most.   

In game 1 they will be facing one of the best pitchers in baseball not named Shane Bieber AND, in game 2, another excellent pitcher who has given them fits in the past and, especially, in the playoffs.  

Plus, on paper the Yankees have a much better batting order than do the Indians.  And, on paper, it isn't even close. 

Everything inside of me tells me that we don't have a chance in this series because, as good as Bieber, Carrasco and Plesac are, the best they can do is put up zeros and the most likely thing, in the first two games, that Indians' batters will do is also put up zeros.

All it will take is one mistake by Bieber and one by Carrasco and the Indians' batters will fold like a house of cards in a windstorm.

Cole's statistics with his catcher on Tuesday (1.00 ERA) are more impressive than Bieber's stats.  Plus Bieber had that recent 118 pitch game.   Now, does that necessarily mean it will impact his start tomorrow?  No, it doesn't.   But everything inside of me tells me that that game will have just enough impact on him that he will make that one mistake or two mistakes and, with Cole and the Indians offense, that will be enough.

In game 2 we will be going with Carrasco, which I think is the right choice.  And Carrasco will likely be very good.   However, my gut tells me he will make a mistake or two and we won't be able to touch Tanaka.

Plus Ramirez has not been the best in the post-season and Lindor doesn't look like he will turn his season around.  And the rest of the offense and, recently, the defense and the base running, has been AAA level, at best.

So, my gut tells me we will lose in a numbing two game sweep to the Yankees and all of us will be left with the same questions and frustration we had over the winter and at the trade deadline: the FO knew we needed more outfielders and, generally, more offensive production, and they didn't get it for us.  

Everything inside of me tells me this is what is going to happen and that it is going to be bad and frustrating and ugly and a little angering as we will get down and won't show any fight to get back in either game and lose by scores of 6-1 and 10-2, going down without any fight in us at all.

But what if Lindor finds a way to put his foot on the gas?  What if Ramirez has matured enough to just take what the game gives him instead of trying to hit 5-run HRs?   What if Santana has found that spark that he missed all year and Reyes runs into enough pitches that he deposits over the fence to negate the Yankees power?  What if Hernandez is even better than he has been?  And what if the rest of the guys find a way to just match the bottom of the Yankees order?  And what if we get out of our defensive and baserunning funk and find a way to play flawless, fundamental baseball?  

And what if, against the odds, Bieber and the batters find a way to best Cole and his batters and Carrasco stands strong and Tanaka shows he is human against the Indians?

What if, this time, it is the Indians who sweep and go into the next round against the Rays?  What if they are built more to beat Tampa Bay and actually do it?   What if they get to the ALCS and are facing the White Sox and what they did in the last series with them is what happens again?   What if they get to the World Series in a year what they hadthe equivalent of a 22 game losing steak in a regular-length season?

What if they get to the World Series and, against all odds, pull a Dodgers vs Athletics 1984 thing and do to the Dodgers what they did to the Athletics that year?

What if this is their year?   What if it is the Indians year for a change?  It's not what everything inside me THINKS will happen, it is what everything inside of me HOPES and WiLLS to happen.  And what better time to turn baseball history on its ear than in this pandemic-warped season.  So, with every sinew of hope and will in my body I am going to be rooting for them to do what looks impossible, knowing that, just below the surface of what we have seen this year is a team that can do it.   A team that WILL do it!  

Good luck Indians!! God's speed!

This can work!!!!!

 First, let me apologize.   When I said we weren't making the playoffs I forgot that Houston was actually the SECOND place team in the West, meaning no matter what their record was, it didn't impact the 3rd place, wildcard-bound Indians.

So, yes, the Indians are likely to make the playoffs and maybe even finish with another above .500 record if they take one of four from the White Sox and 2 of 3 from the Pirates.   Still, looking at 31-29 being their likely finish with a ceiling of 32-28 and a floor of 29-31.   Likely any of those will make the playoffs although it is not guaranteed.

So, why am I smiling when saying that our expectations are, from 26-15 to finish on possibly a 3-16 note?  

With some luck we might get through the first round of the playoffs and here is how we can do it.

Starter-Karinchak-Hand

All we have to do is have Bieber and Plesac go 7 shutout innings each and have Karinchak and Hand throw clean, shutout innings.   We don't need it for a month.   We don't need it for a week.  We just need it for two games.  We don't need Perez, we don't need Wittgren, we don't need Maton, we don't need Quantrill, we don't need Hill.   We don't need anyone who is likely to give up a run, which is all of these guys in the playoffs.  We won't need Carrasco and we won't need McKenzie, even though I would prepare the latter for the bullpen just in case we need him in a short stint if we have to go to Karinchak and Hand too often.

All we need is our starter and these two relievers.  

Can we do it against the White Sox?  Not likely as they know us too well.

But maybe we can do it against Tampa Bay, who haven't seen our guys this year.

All we have to do is pitch.

And find a way to score a couple of runs each game during regulation!.  A couple of 2 to zeros and we are onto round 2.  

I can dream, can't I?

How F'ing stupid can you be?

 Here's tonight's riddle:

What has two legs and can find a way to screw up a 10-0 lead and possibly destroy the rest of this season and next year and waste the most important sports resource in Cleveland sports and one of the most important in baseball.

Answer: Sandy Alomar

How in the world, with a 10-0 lead and Beiber at 93 pitches do you send him out for the 8th inning?  

He ends up close to 120 pitches, a territory he may never have come close to in the past.   

And for what?

This was pathetic.   Clearly this game is going to impact Beiber's performance sometime in his career.   This takes a toll on a pitcher's body.   It might not be acute but it clearly can be additive to other insults to his body from pitching.

So if Beiber ends up missing time on the DL this year or next year or the year after that, you can clearly look back on this game as a catalyst that hastened whatever injury he might have.

And to make matters worse this negatively impacted his season ERA when we are trying to build a Cy Young resume for this guy.

It was pathetic.

Most important sports resource in Cleveland.

And now he might have been damaged...and for nothing.

Alomar should be ashamed of himself.

Truly ashamed of himself.

Probably the only way to ruin tonight was to run Beiber into the ground.  

We are not making the playoffs!

 Shock value enough for everyone?

The stat heads had us with a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs after the weekend.  I agreed with that as it looks like all the teams with over .500 records were going to make the playoffs in the AL and we were are 26-15 after Monday meaning that could go 5-14 for the rest of the season and still finish 31-29. I figured we would go at least 2-1 against the Royals and then find a way to win 6-10 the rest of the way and 34-28 would have been a lock for the playoffs.  

It all looked so easy although I had trepidation that it would be a 2-and-done in the playoffs as we weren't scoring runs. 

But still we were going to be above .500  AGAIN and make the playoffs.

Now, I don't know if we will be above .500.

Look, we are 26-19.   We have two more games (and likely two more losses) against the Twins and then we go to Chicago to play the Cubs.  That's likely two more losses.  That puts us at 26-23.

Then we go to Detroit after having lost 8 in a row and play 4 against the Tigers.

Let's assume we split those 4, making us 28-25.

Then we come home and end the season with 4 against the White Sox.   Let's say we go 1-3 as the Sox are playing well and we suck.  Now we are 29-28.   We then finish the season with 3 against the Pirates.   Let's say we go 2-1 in those games.   That makes us 31-29.  

Still, that's 2 games over .500, right?   Well, here's the problem with that.   Here are the teams we are fighting with for wildcard spots:

The Yankees are 24-21.  They finish with the Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Marlins.   This could go either way for them but let's assume they go 7-8 the rest of the way, giving them the same record as us.

The Astros are 22-23.  They have 2 tough ones against the Dodgers this weekend but after that they play nothing but teams that are below .500 and out of their playoff races.   Let's assume they lose 2 to the Dodgers but go 9-6 the rest of the way, which is conservative.  That puts them at 31-29.   

Look, it's likely that the Yankees do better then 7-8 and it likely that the Astros do better than 9-6 (after the Dodgers).   If both of those things happen we are NOT going to make the playoffs.

We will have gone 5-14 at the end of the season (mostly after the trade deadline) if things work out the way I think they will.   We will have done this, essentially, in the period after we got rid of Clevinger and got NOTHING that will help us this year and very little that will help us next year in trading Clevinger.   We would have thrown away the entire season, wasted every dollar we spent and got nothing to make us think that next year will be any better.

So, once again, we will have kept our heads slightly above mediocrity for the nth year in a row but still not had a good team because we wouldn't pull the trigger on a deal that could help.   The last time we had a chance we got just what we needed, Andrew Miller.  We know how that turned out in 2016.    

Here is an eye-opener for the Indians brass.   Being slightly above mediocrity is not the goal.   Every year we do that it just wastes EVERY dollar you spend.   EVERY dollar.   No one in this town or in baseball cares about being slightly better than mediocre and, frankly, your juggling act designed to just keep our heads above water and your boasting of how we have so many years of being over .500 and having one of the best records in baseball over the past few years has worn thin with this fan.  Yeah, you are great at avoiding a rebuild, great.  Just lets play above .500 ball and watch our good players get out of town for very little return and hope that our player development people can keep pulling rabbits out of their hats to keep us slightly above .500.

You had a chance to go for it this year and you choked.   When we traded Sabathia we got, essentially, one player back, Brantley.   Thus we treaded water there.   When we traded Cliff Lee we got, essentially, one player back: Carlos Carrasco.  Treading water again.   When we traded Trevor Bauer we got one player back, Franmil Reyes.   Again, treading water.   With Clevinger I don't know, looking at the guys we got back, how we can expect more than one of them to make any noise in the future, if that.   This was not a Bartolo Colon trade where we got Lee, Phillips and Sizemore.   This was just another trade that, at best, will help us tread water and at a time when were primed to make a deep run in the playoffs if we just got some hitting

You know the most comical thing about this?   The Padres traded Oliveras to the Royals for a middle reliever, Trevor Rosenthal.   Oliveras in this series had more hits than the entire Cleveland outfield did.  So we didn't even get the one guy who was traded by the Padres that we needed.   Is that pathetic?  Yes, it is.

Wow!

 Time to abandon ship.   This team stinks.  They are a bunch of losers run by a loser manager, supported by a GM afraid to make a deal to win this year who is afraid of a cheap owner who shouldn't own a major league chess team let alone a major league baseball team.

OK, phew.   I'm glad I got that off my chest.

But, really, people!  WTF!!!

I harken back to 1997 when we finished 86-75, frustrating all of us almost every day when we KNEW we were so much better than any time in the AL Central and, maybe, in the entirety of the American League... but we played mediocre ball for most of the regular season, only winning our division and getting to the playoffs because our division sucked so bad.  

I was frustrated with this team almost every night that year.   They acted like they didn't care.  

So, thinking back to 1997 and how that was and then coming back to think about the game tonight I only have one thing to say.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stuff needs to change.    Lindor is pathetic as a #3 hitter.   Give up the experiment!  Lindor leads off.  NOW!

What could happen?  We score fewer than 0 runs!

Lineup should be: Lindor, Henandez, Santana, Reyes, Naquin, Thirdbaseman, left fielder, Perez, DeShields.

It is desperation time with this lineup.  Hernandez doesn't steal bases but he handles the bat well.   Maybe we get something started at the top of the order.  

The Kyle Nelson experiment worked so badly tonight that I worry about bringing up Jefry Rodriguez or Nick Sanlin or anyone else.   I KNOW deep in my heart that Nolan Jones isn't ready.   I know it.  Right now his splits make him look like a platoon hitter in the majors, if he ever gets there.   He isn't ready.  But we need a spark of some kind and we weren't given one at the trade deadline so what choice do we have?   I mean, could he hit worse than Yu Chang?  Or maybe we bring up Owen Miller?  

And for the trip down to Lake County fixing any of the hitters?  Look at Oscar Mercado.  The same lost hitter he was when he went down there.   Hitting help from any guys we have banished to Lake County?  Fogetaboudit!

Maybe bting up Tyler Freeman?  Hey, he may pull an Albert Pujols and never leave after only having played A ball!

This team is a mess.   Ownership has dealt us this hand.   Francona doesn't look like he will be back any time soon.  Don't think that it is out of the question that we won't make the playoffs.   It is a real possibility, especially after tonight.  If that clubhouse wasn't trashed by the players out of anger tonight...  People, not us, but the players, should be pissed.   They should be but are they?  Do they care but are in an incredibly bad stretch where they couldn't beat their team at Lake County?  Or are they just coasting like the '97 team?  If it's the latter, wake me up on Sept. 28th.  This pathetic display is too hard to watch right now.

What's up with Lindor

 If you read this site you know I have questioned whether Francisco Lindor was having fun.   

I still believe that is an issue with him today but others would likely point to how his hitting has gotten better and how his looking more like the leader-by-actions we have seen in the past.

However, what I have seen the last couple of days is shocking and no one appears to be talking about it.

In the last two games he has made, to my eyes, four gaffes that are very, very, not like him.

On Sunday he whiffed on a double play ball, appearing to shy away from second base and making a really awkward throw the first base that was way late on what should have been a double play.  It looked bad and awkward and as far from the standard quality of his defense as I can imagine.   

So, one mistake.  Everybody can make a mistake, right?

Then, later in the game he made another un=Lindor like mistake.  Running on Santana's apparent douible to the gap he appeared to get deeked by secondbaseman into thinking the ball was caught and then forgot that he had to touch second again after starting an aborted retreat to first base when he saw the ball wasn't caught.  You could see his mind working in slow motion and he STILL screwed it up.

So, everyone has a bad night, right?

Then tonight it happened again.

First, after Deshields turned a pop fly into a single the Indians still had a chance to get Nicky Lopez at second base, even with rag-arm Deshields' throw.  However, as the throw came in from centerfield there was Lindor, taking that throw with his back to second base, about a foot toward centerfield.  Now, I know just enough about baseball to know that the infielder should be taking that throw with his body facing the runner so that he can see if the runner is changing his slide.   Well, Lindor tried to turn to tag Lopez but Lopez was able to slide around him.  For those who forget, McKenzie then walks Gallagher and then Merrifield hits the HR.  If Lindor makes that tag it changes the whole complexion of the inning and maybe even the game as Mckenzie has to make more pitches than he should have.

What the hell, Franciso?  Get your head out of your butt!

Then, in the 7th, Lindor ranged toward first base in his shift and fielded a ball and tried to flip it from his glove to Santana at first, but he muffed that attempt, too.  Santana got charged with the error and I am not saying it was an easy play but, guys, we are talking about Francisco Freakin' Lindor here.   That play should have been made.  That play, or lack thereof, was instrumental in the two (unearned) runs that gave KC the lead.

So, Mr. Sunshine is looking more like Eeyore the last two games.   Even when he does something good (better hitting) things get all rain-cloud for him as he screws up in ways that are so unlike the guy I have seen for years it evokes the thought in me that maybe Invasion of the Body Snatchers was not science fiction and that there is really someone else inside of Lindor's body controlling his actions.

Because, folks, what we have seen the last couple of days won't cut it.  He just has to be better than that and I can't explain why he isn't. 

Which brings me to my conclusion statement:  WHAT THE F@#$ IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vent #4

 Conspiracy theories.  Oh my, aren't they fun!  Fluorides in the drinking water to rot our brains.   Immunizations so the CIA can track us.  

Well here is my Cleveland Indians version of a conspiracy theory:

Austin Hedges is a great catcher.   Maybe as good as Roberto Perez.   Austin Hedges  cost $3 million this year.   Let's say that arbitration says that a catcher with a .199 lifetime average is worth $3.5 million next year.  Letting Perez walk will save this team $1.5 million or more next year and roughly $3.5 million in 2022.  Lots of savings there.

Carlos Santana would make $17.5 million next year.   Assuming we are done with Jake Bauers, moving Naylor to first base to replace Santana saves us $16.5 million next year with buyouts.

Brad Hand is scheduled to make $10 million next year.   Sliding Quantrill into Karinchak's spot and sliding Karinchak to closer and not picking up Hand's option saves us $8.5 million with buyouts.

By my calculation that's a savings of $26.5 million if we just substitute the guys we got in trades for the veterans already here AND we get more players who are a lot cheaper for longer (actual situation rather than saying players with more years of control).

So, could it be that we got these three specific major leaguers targeting guys we plan not to re-sign this winter?  

Vent #3

 Chemistry.

Some people say it is overrated in the me-first era of professional sports.  

I don't know.

But I will say this: if any of this deal was made for chemistry reasons it certainly didn't appear that it jolted the Indians into an offensive frenzy last night.

As I said, the Indians started last night 0-0 in my mind.   

After last night, with their best starter going against the worst team in the AL Central, the Indians couldn't even score 2 runs and lost.

They are now 0-1.

The players who thought that addition by subtraction of Clevinger would invigorate this team better show some invigoration.

The players who thought it was a bad trade better get over it.   They are being paid a lot of money to play a kids game and if they had done THEIR job last night, we would be 1-0 post-Clevinger.

Lots of teams have made up from bad front office decisions and I can think of about a dozen in recent Indians' history, many in very recent years where we were putting up the best record in baseball.

No excuses.   The FO didn't get us what we needed.  They made it harder on the pitching staff.

So what?

Do your freakin' job!

Make up for their incompetence!

Vent #2

 Yes, I really do think the Indians had enough to win the WS this year IF they just got more hitting.  Look at the lineups the Indians have carved up this year.   

It doesn't make sense because the Astros are the Astros and other teams have as good or better a chance than do the Indians.  We would have needed two quality bats: one for CF and one for LF to be able to truly compete for a WS title this year.   Obviously the phrase that anything can happen if you make the playoffs is true.  IF Clevinger had returned to his ace-like self we would have likely won our first two series and been in good shape to win the AL title and even the WS.   So three IFS and the reality, at least Antonetti's and Dolan's reality, is that there were no bats we could afford (in dollars and prospects) who would have helped us enough to make us a REAL WS threat.  

So there you have it.   The Indians needed what they couldn't, apparently, get: a cheap, great outfielder who can hit for average and power who was controllable for 3 years (or a couple of rentals like Starling Marte and Jonathon Villar).

So why trade Clevinger?  If it was about that $4 million increase in salary he would have gotten next year it is, as I and others have now said, very telling.  What happens this winter?  What happens when Bieber and Civale, et al, become arbitration eligible?  We dump them in Von Hayes-like trades, also?

I get the long-term competitive thing, I really do.  However, just like the '94 Indians, when you see the window you have to spend, at least somewhat, to climb through it before it closes.

The Indians didn't...and they won't.   It is time for Dolan to sell the team.   It really is.   If he thinks a football town will put up with above .500 records, with an occasional first round play-three-and-head-to-the-sea first round exit, he is sadly mistaken.   If Antonetti thinks this is a mental exercise where he tries to see how much he can do with very little, then he doesn't get the Cleveland mindset.   Clevelanders don't just want teams that are a little above the mean, they want winners.   And winners are much more than a little above the mean and they do their best to stay THERE, not regress towards the mean or camp out just above it.

So, Dolan and Antonneti, you guys need to realize that none of us will put up with this veiled attempt to look competitive fueled by an aberration of a draft year and a few trades that created a Frankenstein of the rotation.  We want you, once you get to where you see the brass ring, to buy a stool, get on it and get that ring.  Hey if you have to trade some of your starting pitching to get some hitting well, don't worry, those of us from the '70s and '80s are used to that and won't blink.