CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians are 22 games away in the 60-game season. After dropping below .500 against the Reds on August 3 at 5-6, they went 8-3 after a three-game weekend sweep of the Tigers.
One way or another, this season will be over quickly. If not stopped by the coronavirus, the fact that there are only 38 games left will speed things up. But before we bend down, wash our hands and adjust our masks, how about a quick 22 things to remember what we have already seen?
1 Friday’s demotions of right-handers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac represent a gamble by the Indians. What makes up a team – the best 28 players or the right 28 players? Over time, several front offices have attempted both approaches. Continuing with the “right players” cost them Gold Glove / All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips. Continuing with the most talented players while rationalizing the indiscretions of a few, she joined the great teams of the 1990s.
Without a doubt, the Indians are a better team with Clevinger and Plesac in the rotation. But Friday’s meeting raised the issue that some of their teammates are not yet ready to welcome them back.
2. Last year, the Twins ran away from AL Central with one of the fastest starts this side of the Tigers from 1984. They tried the same thing this season, sprinting out of the gate at 10-2. On Monday, however, they were 14-8, just a game ahead of the 13-9 Indians. The powerful Twins, so far, are just 2-4 against the rebuilding Royals.
3 Andrew Checketts, Shane Bieber’s college coach at the University of Santa Barbara, once said of Bieber, “He was the man you could blindfold and spin three times and he would still throw strikes.”
Bieber is not only throwing strikes this season; he also puts out fires. He leads the big leagues with 54 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Sonny Gray of Cincinnati is second Monday with 45 strikeouts. At one point in Bieber’s start Saturday night against Detroit, he knocked out nine of the 10 fighters he faced.
Indian Judge Carlos Carrasco.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
4. Carlos Carrasco had already returned from chronic myeloid leukemia as relief in September last year. On July 26, he made the full comeback, making his first start in more than a year, when he struck out 10 and allowed two runs in six innings in a 9-2 victory over the Royals.
5 The training that the Indians began with pitchers did between the suspension of Spring Training I and the start of Spring Training II. In their first seven games, the starters pecked six or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs. Bieber went 2-0 in two starts in the streak by throwing 14 scoreless innings with one walk and 27 strikeouts.
They are 11-7 and lead the American League again with a 2.58 ERA, 156 strikeouts and 132 1/3 innings.
6 Franmil Reyes says his goal this season is to hit his image on the Progressive Field scoreboard with a home game during a game. Judging by the two homers he hit over the weekend at Comerica Park – one was 460 feet and the other 453 – that is well within his reach.
7 Watching baseball games without fans in the stands is another fun experience. It does not matter how many games you watch, it just seems unnatural.
8 It was good to see that Francisco Lindor hit some pitches in the zone on Sunday instead of fastballs up and out of the zone. Could the face of the franchise be, go from first to third in the lineup and be the point man in the team’s move to become socially active while researching a name change, putting him on the plate? Not to mention his clock with free agent ticking louder and louder.
9. The Indians, in their 20 straight wins over the Tigers, outscored them, 128-43. Oscar Mercado, optional Monday at Classic Park, was her leading RBI man with 14.
10 One of the strangest things about watching games in empty ball parks is hearing players talking in the dugouts. When the Cubs floated the Indians last week in a two-game series at Progressive Field, they sound like a high school team. They signed, clapped unison, rode on the umpires and cheered as a teammate took a walk in a blowout win.
It’s what manager Terry Francona said he missed on Progressive Field because players have to be socially distanced and unable to come together as one unit in the dugout. The dugouts at Comerica Park brought a smile to his face. They are extended with a second row and an extended roof. More of the Indians were able to stay in the dugout and Francona said that ensured a better team vibe.
Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
11. If Sandy Alomar wants to manage in the big leagues, he did nothing then help fill himself in for manager Francona, who underwent a recent procedure at Cleveland Clinic. Alomar moved from the first base to acting manager, as the Indians went 5-3 under him from August 2 to August 9. Francona reunited with the Indians to take on the Cubs on August 11th.
The organization has to deal with Francona’s illness and the departure of veteran coaches Brad Mills and Ty Van Burkleo, who opted out of the coronavirus this season for family reasons and concerns.
12. The Indians even had to recruit their own clubhouse staff. At Target Field in Minneapolis, the clubbies in the visiting clubhouse were quarantined after several St. Louis Cardinals tested positive for the virus during a series against the Twins. The entire traveling party of the Indians, including Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, set out to pick up socks and dirty uniforms, order food and clean spikes for the series.
13. James Karinchak, who played Ricky Vaughn’s no. 99 and adopted Wild Thing walk-up music, has a fan in Charlie Sheen, who played Vaughn in Major League. Karinchak, 24, was not born when the film debuted in 1989 and he goes on a much bigger strike than the fictional Vaughn.
Karinchak struck out 22 and ran five in 11 1/3 innings covering 10 games. He has a 0.79 ERA and the opposition beats .114 against him.
14. Spring training, regardless of whether it is held in February or July, often turns into a mirage. Yu Chang and Bradley Zimmer were the hits of Spring Training II. They hit average, they hit home runs, and then the real season began. Zimmer hit .176 (6-for-34) and Chang had only six at-bats.
15. The Cardinals have only played eight games due to the coronavirus. How many doubleheaders will they have to play to be a viable playoff candidate at the end of the regular season? Now, they have seven plans for September. Note that all games with doubleheader are seven innings.
The Indians play the Cardinals only three times from August 29 to August 30.
Indian outfielder Tyler Naquin.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
16. Welcome back Tyler Naquin. He has spent the entire winter with a torn ACL in his right knee. When Spring Training I was kicked out, he returned to Cleveland and continued rehab. He kicked a lacrosse ball from a concrete wall in a parking garage to help get his timing back into the outside field.
In Spring Training II, he swung the bat well. Then, just before the start of the season, he dropped a ball from his right big toe and broke it. More time on the injured list, but he’s back now.
17. It’s fascinating to see Cesar Hernandez and Lindor play defensively in the middle of the diamond wearing their masks. Hernandez and Lindor, at least most of the time, also slapped while wearing their masks.
The touch is hard enough, but doing so with half of your face covered should add to the distraction.
18. Carlos Santana has had an odd season on the cleaning spot. He hits .179 (12 for -67) with one homer and 14 RBI, while leading the major leagues in walks. Santana has run 27 times, seven more than the two players in second place. In the AL, former Indian striker Yandy Diaz is in second place with 10 fewer walks.
The one thing that makes it work is that Reyes, who finished in fifth place, has been so hot. He does a lot of his hit with Santana on base. But a cleanup with a .179 / .415 / .254 slashline is unusual to say the least.
19. Baltimore’s Anthony Santander is in seventh home run for fourth place in the AL. The Indians signed him out of Venezuela in 2011 and lost him in 2016 to the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft.
Indians closer to Brad Hand.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
20. Closer Brad Hand has stopped his toes a few times, but he is tied for third place in the AL with five saves in as many chances. Hand is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in seven games.
Francona has also made some options with Karinchak and Cam Hill.
21. The bottom part of the setup needs help. Here are what the last six spots in the lineup are hitting 22 games:
- No. 6,158 (12-for-76) with one homer and five RBI;
- No. 7 .133 (10 for 75) with three homers and nine RBI;
- No. 8 .086 (6-for-70) with one homer and two RBI;
- and no. 9,164 (11 for 67) with four RBI.
The hope is that the return of Naquin, Delino DeShields and catcher Roberto Perez can improve those numbers. Perez is expected to be activated Tuesday.
22. The top four spots in the lineup do not produce the kind of numbers that will open the doors to Cooperstown both. They are almost exclusively occupied by switch-hitters Hernandez, Jose Ramirez, Lindor and Santana. Here’s what they hit:
- No. 1. .264 (23 for 87) with seven RBI;
- No. 2 .277 (23 for 83) with five homers and 18 RBI;
- No. 3,233 (21-for-96) with four homers and 13 RBIs;
- and no. 4,179 (12-for-678) with one homers and four RBIs.
The good news is that the team’s batting average has sunk to .203. Keep the confetti, it’s still the lowest in the big leagues.
A variety of face masks from Cleveland Indians are available online today. (Fanatics.com)
New Indian face masks for sale: Here you can purchase Cleveland Indians face mask for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All proceeds from MLB donate to charity.
More coverage from Indians
Justin Fields, Buckeyes, Browns and Indians talk to Doug Lesmerises: Monday ‘More Sports & Les Levine’
Cleveland Indians option Oscar Mercado to Classic Park; Roberto Perez on the way
What’s next for the Cleveland Indians regarding Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac? (podcast)
Is it time for the Indians to trade Mike Clevinger or Zach Plesac? (interview)
Francisco Lindor of Cleveland Indians looked more like himself in the playoffs against Detroit
Cleveland Indians re-introduce Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac from list of restricted MLB, option both for alternate training site
Did Zach Plesac of Cleveland Indians help or hurt his case with video clips? (podcast)
Regarding the Zach Plesac of the Cleveland Indians, silence is sometimes really golden: Paul Hoynes
The Zach Plesac of Cleveland Indians details last night that he broke COVID-19 protocols and ripped media in video shared via Instagram
Is there a magical cure for the anemic crime of the Cleveland Indians? (podcast)
How Shane Bieber went from a pitcher for command and control to a strikeout superhero for the Cleveland Indians
Can Cleveland Indian manager Terry Francona put together a fractured clubhouse? Paul Hoynes
