Cleveland Indians: So much has gone wrong; Can the tribe win? – Terry Pluto

ABOUT ROTATION

What else can go wrong?

It's always a dangerous question, because in life, something else can always go wrong.

But as far as the Indians are concerned, so much has gone wrong.

The last worry is how the Tribe can replace starters Corey Kluber (wobbly arm) and Mike Clevinger (back muscle stretched). Both will be away for months.

The Indians started the weekend with a respectable record of 16-13. They did so while they ranked last in the American League averaging batting (.215) and OPS (.642). They were second in points scored, circuits and percentage on the base.

But they ranked third in the ERA and their newspaper was second in the American League. Pitching covered for a lot of woes.

The reception did a great job rebuilding the pen. They let go of Andrew Miller (5.56 ERA, Cardinals) and Cody Allen (6.00 ERA, disabled list, Angels).

Last year's deal with Brad Hand and Adam Cimber saved the day.

A strong rotation helped because it meant less tension (and fewer sleeves) on the bullpen. Can this continue at least two key entries?

An interesting story by Jay Jaffe (Fangraphs) shows how Kluber (5.81 ERA) showed signs that all the sleeves had been exhausted. In the last five seasons, only Max Scherzer has started more runs than Kluber.

Nevertheless, he has twice won the Cy Young Award and 20 times in 2018. He will be missed.

Clevinger threw 12 innings, giving up two hits while suppressing 22 shots before injuring his back.

So now what, especially with the rival of the central division Minnesota Twins on a rampage?

1. The Indians return to what they still have: Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Shane Bieber make their entry into the elite. Few teams have three starters to match that … this will be one of the themes that the leadership will highlight for the players.

2. We'll see if this continues, but Jefry Rodriguez (2.13 ERA) was solid in both starts. He is from Washington as part of the Yan Gomes deal, which now seems more important than ever.

3. Cody Anderson is still strengthening his arms after his long recovery after Tommy John's operation, but he has launched six scoreless innings in the AAA class. He started the 2016 season in the rotation of the tribe before arm problems completed it.

4. Adam Plutko had a good time in 2018 when he was named fifth starter. His overall stats were 4-5 with a 5.28 ERA were not impressive, but I think he may be a fifth starter in the Majors.

5. Plutko had a forearm stretched during spring training. He is coming back now and has recently launched three rounds at the tribe's Goodyear complex. He is heading to AAA class Columbus and could be ready to help the tribe in a few weeks.

6. Indians are not about to negotiate for a major starter. They must fill in with what they have on the list.

7. If the tribe has to look beyond Anderson, Rodriguez and Plutko, I hear that the first AAA Columbus class would be Asher Wojciechowski. He is 30 years old. He started a bit in the majors (4-4, 6.64 career in ERA). With the Clippers, he is 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA this season.

8. As for the other options, Danny Salazar is still Goodyear and doing what he has done for 18 months: rehabilitating a shoulder injury. The main hope, Triston McKenzie, is in Goodyear, convalescing after a rotator cuff. injury. There is Michael Peoples, 27 (3-0, 2.96 ERA) in Columbus. I hear that he is behind Wojciechowski if the Indians decide to get to the bottom of things to get help.

9. The farming system and the farming system will have to find people who can do a reasonable job in the rotation. How can they keep the rotation strong and also find another bat without spending a lot of money? I do not have an answer. But that's the big question.

10. Indians have an advantage in their stable front office and their coaching staff. President Chris Antonetti, General Manager Mike Chernoff and Manager Terry Francona are in their seventh season together. This is not a group that bursts under pressure. They trust each other. But their challenge is huge.

ABOUT THE OFFENSE

1. We can review all the moves made by the owner / home office in the off-season, and the biggest problem that has affected the team has been to allow Michael Brantley (.328 , 5 HR, 18 RBI) to leave. He signed with Houston (2 years, $ 32 million). The Indians had no one near to replace him in the outfield.

2. As I wrote when he was traded to Tampa Bay, you can argue in favor of keeping Yandy Diaz, my favorite customer of the tribe for years. He strikes 0.264 (.885 OPS) with 7 HR and 18 RBI for the spokes. The Indians replaced him with Jake Bauers (.231, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .695 OPS).

3. The Indians essentially replaced Edwin Encarnacion (traded in Seattle) by Carlos Santana, which is good. But apart from Santana (.323, 4 HR, 17 RBI, .927 OPS), no one on the Tribe strikes.

4. If Jose Ramirez (0,183), Jason Kipnis (0,184) and Francisco Lindor (0,231) continue their sad production, the Indians have no chance to end up in the central division. Kipnis, Lindor and Ramirez earn a combined total of $ 30 million and beat a .192 total with 18 points scored in 197 among bats.

5. I think Lindor will come back to form while he's playing more. Kipnis looks lost in the plate right now. As for Ramirez, who knows? His "collapse" covers nearly 300 appearances on the plates dating back to last season. Since August 1, 2018, Ramirez hits exactly .200 (59 against 295).

6. The Indians play Leonys Martin almost every day in the center of the field. This is an error. A year ago, left-handed martyr Martin beat .176 against left-handers. It was 0.275 vs right handed. This season, at the approach of the weekend, he had a record of 4 against 31 (.129) over left-handed, only one more base shot. He is .247 vs right handed.

7. Martin returned from an almost fatal bacterial infection at the end of last season. When Greg Allen (4 vs. 38) collapsed and was sent back to the miners, the Indians do not have a right-handed stick that also plays center. This is one of the reasons why I advocated the promotion of Oscar Mercado last week.

8. Mercado beats .289 (.862 OPS) with 2 HR and 12 RBI in Columbus. He has cooled, beating only .237 in the last 10 games. Jordan Luplow beat .353 with the Clippers, and the Indians turned to him for a promotion.

9. The reception thinks that Luplow can help in the fields. He is a right-handed batter who has a solid record (career .303 in the AAA class) at the plate. But he never played in the middle of the field at the pros.

10. Players also play a key role. As Francona told the media about her meeting with the players: "It may be our time to shine or we can feel sorry for ourselves and lose."