How much risk is too much for a team to take on when it considers a particular player?
That’s the question currently facing the front offices of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns.
The Indians are heading into the off-season in the surprisingly spot of having to make a tough decision on starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. The Browns are facing a decision on wide receiver Josh Gordon as well, but for entirely different reasons.
It is not often that we are wrong in this space, but this is one time that we missed the mark.
On Sept. 2, we were ready to call the season on the Cleveland Indians, figuring there was no way they could stay in the playoff race.
But come Wednesday night, rookie Danny Salazar will take the mound at Progressive Field in the Indians first postseason appearance since 2007.
And we couldn’t be happier about it.
With a season that spans six months and 162 games, baseball is truly a marathon rather than a sprint.
And while wins in April count as much as wins in September, the same can not always be said of losses – especially for a team in a race for the playoffs. A loss in September can leave a team scrambling as, with the number of remaining games dwindling, there is more of an urgency – and fewer opportunities – to get back on track.
That is a lesson that Cleveland Indians avoided learning Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox.
For a few weeks now we’ve been wondering if the Cleveland Indians have one last run in them to stay in the playoff race or if it’s time to call the season.
The last week may have provided us with the answer.
A three-game sweep in Atlanta … a weekend to forget in Detroit that was saved only by an improbably Mike Aviles grand slam … a series-opening loss to Baltimore where Justin Masterson left in the second inning with an injury … and, well, we’re ready to call it a season.
Sure, it is conceivable that the Tribe can stay in the playoff race (just like it is conceivable that the Cleveland Browns could win the AFC North Division this fall), with the hope resting on the weak slate of opponents left on the schedule once Baltimore leaves town. After all, the Tribe is “only” four games out of a Wild Card spot (but that could change for the negative by the time the Orioles leave town).
A look at a few items that warrant attention but not necessarily a full post …
Just like the Tribe “Drew” it up
It wasn’t always pretty, see their four errors, but the Cleveland Indians pulled out the series win on Sunday as Drew Stubbs hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and and the Tribe went on to win 3-1.
“I felt like we were trying every way we could to give it away,” Stubbs said. “We hung in there, we battled and were able to do enough to win. An ugly win is as good as a pretty win.”
After going 6-3 on their recent road trip, the Indians came home and took two-of-three from the Twins. That leaves the Indians heading into Monday’s off day just 1.5 games behind Oakland in the chase for a Wild Card spot.
It doesn’t seem to matter if the national media write off the Indians, or if the fans can’t seem to get behind this squad, this team seems determined to find a way to stay in the playoff hunt.
A look at a few items that warrant attention but not necessarily a full post …
The Indians are starting to look ready for the off season, not the post-season
A week ago, we wondered if it was time to call the season on the Cleveland Indians, or if the Tribe still had one more stretch of good baseball in them.
Seven days and six games later, we are a little closer to the answer and it is not one that Tribe fans are going to want to hear.
Following Sunday’s loss in Oakland, the Indians are 4.5 games back in the Wild Card standings (forget the division, the Tigers already took care of that). The Indians really needed to sweep the A’s, a team they are chasing for a playoff berth, but after losing two-of-three – and with just 38 games remaining in the season – the playoffs may prove to be just a far enough out of the Tribe’s reach.
A look at a few items that warrant attention but not necessarily a full post …
Are the Indians done for the year?
Is it OK to call the season over for the Cleveland Indians? Is Sunday’s comeback win the start of another streak? Or was the win just a reprieve until until the inevitable becomes reality?
We need answers after the Tribe rallied from five runs down on Sunday to beat the Los Angeles Angels and salvage one win on the seven-game homestand.
The Indians opened the week just three games out of first place in the A.L. Central and holding the second Wild Card spot. After being swept by the Tigers in the biggest series since 2007, and losing two-of-three to the Angels, the Indians head off to Minnesota seven games behind Detroit and four games back in the Wild Card.
It’s all over for the Cleveland Indians and it is still early in August.
No, it’s not the season we are referring to but the Tribe’s hopes of catching Detroit for the A.L. Central Division.
After being swept in the four-game series by the Tigers in some pretty dramatic (and ugly) ways, the race for the division title is effectively over.
But unlike the last two years when the Indians stumbled in the second half of the season, this year’s squad still has something to play for as they are still just three games back in the wild card standings. Now that Detroit is out of the town, the Indians need to put the last four days behind them and get back to business. Because there is still a lot to play for over the final weeks of the season.
We look to figure it all out over at The Cleveland Fan.
(Photo by The Associated Press)
A look at a few items that warrant attention but not necessarily a full post …
The Indians make it out of Miami in one piece.
The Tribe closed out Miami on Sunday to take two-out-of-three against the Marlins and finish 6-1 in their recent stretch against the dregs of Major League Baseball.
The Tribe has now won 10-of-11 and return home, where they have the best record in the majors, to take on Detroit in a four-game series.
The Indians enter the series – the biggest the team has played since probably 2007 – three games behind the Tigers for first place in the A.L. Central Division. They also currently hold the second wild card position.
This is the series the Indians have waited for all year. They have spent the entire season trying to convince themselves, the American League and their fans that they are more than just second-class citizens in what is a Browns town. If they are serious about being contenders for the playoffs, this is the series to show it.
What a week for the Cleveland Indians.
The Tribe finished off a 7-0 homestead on Thursday by beating the Chicago White Sox, 6-1. It was a week that included back-to-back shutouts of the Texas Rangers, two walk-off home runs against the White Sox and an eighth-inning rally to defeat Chicago.
By sweeping the homestand, the Indians have now won 11 in a row at home and their 37-19 home record is the best in the American League.
It’s enough to make us think this Tribe team has something special in store for Cleveland over the final two months of the season.
Red Right 88 