Thoughts for the first week of play

First, I don't think anyone is honestly worried about the Indians not making the playoffs at this point.

I will say, however, that feces does happen to teams who are supposed to be good.   If you don't believe that look at the San Francisco Giants last year.   64 wins?  Really?

So a total collapse is not out of the question.

However, aside from that, it's too early to be anxious.

That being said, the glaring weakness of lack of right-handed productivity in the outfield is stark.  Heck, the lack of ANY productivity in the outfield is stark.

We all knew the outfield coming into this season was this team's biggest Achilles heel.  But it is starting to look like we have a situation where every outfielder may have a worse case scenario offensive year.

Zimmer looks bad right now, but not unpredictably bad based on his track record and how he was rushed to the majors.  It is OK if one player on your team is defense first, especially if it is your centerfielder or SS.  So, we'll give the Indians this one.   But...

Guyer is looking bad.   Maybe it is his wrist still being not quite right.  However, right now, he is the worst I can imagine him being.

Chisenhall - You had to hope that this guy picked up where he left off before he was hurt last year.  However, it is starting to look like last year was his flash-in-the-pan year.  I hope I am wrong but so far he has acted more like a #9 hitter and we have one of those (Zimmer)

Davis - He is what he was two years ago.   Unfortunately this guy cannot afford to have Davis in the lineup with Zimmer and, if need be, Guyer.   Those are just 3 offensive holes and we haven't even started talking about the catchers yet.  I never hoped for more out of Davis than what he gave us two years ago and that would be OK if...

...Naquin looked better.   Unfortunately he still looks more like the 2016 playoff Naquin than the 2016 early season Naquin.

Brantley - So, the 5 outfielders above are all performing subpar.  This means that Brantley has to be the 2016 first half Brantley and not the Brantley immediately before and after that.   You say he was injured, do you?  Well, that is PART of what I am talking about.  If you don't produce because you are injured it is just as bad as not producing because you are overmatched.  In the end, without Brantley being the good version of himself, he only makes the situation worse.

So, by not trading for or signing a good RH hitting outfielder, we put our team in a hole.   I understand the small market realities but I think we are probably 5-1 with one good hitting OFer at this point.

Now let's talk Jose Ramirez.   We were able to overcome the OF issues last year because of Lindor and Ramirez giving us performance from middle infielders that you would not expect.  But now Ramirez has strung a bad, bad postseason along with an extremely bad first week of the regular season.   It's probably nothing but what if the league has figured him out and he doesn't have a gear to react (similar to where Naquin is now).  If I am unduly scared then please forgive me.  But after watching Carolos Baerga's performance nosedive suddenly in the 90s, forgive me if I am a little skittish on this one.  Mark my words.   When a team nosedives it has to have significant injuries and some unexpected terrible performances along with no one stepping up in an unexpected way to at least fill the gap.   That is what we are seeing with the 2018 Cleveland Indians so far.

Plus we still have to contend with the idea that Alonso is may really be a platoon player.   I can see giving him a pass and saying that last year's power was not a fluke.  However, saying that last year's power was not a fluke and that this guy would suddenly hit left handed pitching is way too much to hope for.  And what if the power is not there and he doesn't hit left handed pitching?  Well, Carlos Santana was not great but he was good enough not to create a hole in the lineup.  If Alonso doesn't hit for power and hit lefties at least a little bit, how can he help offset the offensive hole that is our outfield.

Yes, we are a small market team and we have to pick and choose how we spend the few dollars we have to spend.  But for that type of team to be successful they need to have a few pleasant surprises.  So far, I don't see those which is why Kluber has gone 15 innings and given up 4 ERs (2 total mistakes over two starts) and in the AL, is 0-1 with a no decision when he should EASILY be 2-0.

No need to panic.  Still, early results show that the Indians are wallowing in the bed that they made.  Let's hope they get out of bed and put on their hitting pants, even if it is one leg at a time!