At some point – and I don’t quite know when that point will be – the Cleveland Indians will start looking like the best team in baseball. As the month of May comes to a close, however, they’re not looking that part.
Danny Salazar was on the hill for the Indians on Saturday afternoon, and he was his usual self, which hasn’t been a good thing for these Indians this season. Salazar this season has been prone to inflated pitch counts and disastrous outings, and while this particular outing wasn’t a disaster, needing 102 pitches to get through 5.1 innings isn’t impressive. At least we can blame the high pitch count on five walks, which, coupled with the six hits he allowed, means Danny had to deal with eleven base runners. The fact that he gave up four runs (three earned) is probably better than you should expect given all the traffic on the base paths.
But, as much as I want to waggle my finger at Danny Salazar, he wasn’t the reason the Indians lost today. They had 10 hits (same as the Royals) and only 2 runs. One run came on a solo home run in the first inning by Francisco Lindor, so the Indians had 9 other hits (and four walks!) that led to one additional run. That’s simply not getting it done.
I feel like that’s been the storyline this season – not getting it done.
The Indians need to start putting it together soon. They have time, because no one is going to run away with the division, but frustrating losses are starting to pile up. I don’t know what the remedy is, either. The lineup has good hitters in it – Jason Kipnis will come to life at some point. Francisco Lindor will hit near or over .300 when it’s all said and done. Michael Brantley is great. Carlos Santana is — well, he’s Carlos Santana. Edwin Encarnacion is going to have a good season in a 3-week spurt sooner or later. Yan Gomes has hit very well. Jose Ramirez is a clutch machine.
The pieces are there, but the Indians have to find a way to put them together and turn them all on at the same time. These frustrating losses against bad teams and bad pitchers are becoming a worrying and disappointing trend.
Even the Indians Facebook account got in on it, posting a thread where they encouraged fans to vent about the team. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before – it’s a shocking amount of self-awareness for a professional sports team.
But that’s the size of the Indians season. There are no excuses – there are no magical remedies. There’s simply this: play better.
The Indians were a game from a World Series title last year. They’re an incredibly talented team. It’s time to start playing like it.