Not In First, But Not Out Of It Yet

This is the first time in 68 games that Indians are not at the top of AL Central, and while this may have been coming for a few weeks or so, I think this is as good of time as any to relay an important message to the Cleveland faithful.  

The Indians are 35-30, much better than just about anyone can say they expected without having their fingers crossed behind their backs.  The pitching, which many people expected to be their downfall, has been a strength for them all season.  Masterson has gone without a win since June, but still has posted a very good 3.15 ERA this season, Tomlin has 7 wins midway through June, and Carrasco has allowed 0 runs in his last 15 innings pitched which were both 1-0 victories for the Indians.  

Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and rookie Alex White are all missing time this season, contributing to the fact that this is the hardest stretch that the Tribe has gone through all year.  Combine that with series against the Rangers, Twins, Yankees, and Tigers, its no surprise to the average baseball fan that the Indians have started to hit the skids at this point in the season, but is it time to panic?

There are two different ways to panic at this juncture in the season, and I will tell you why we should do neither of those.  First, people are screaming for the Dolans to “make a move.”  I am no fan of the Dolan family’s “come to the ballpark and show us you can win and we’ll spend money” philosophy, while at the same time I am evenly upset with the fans that scream “spend more money and I will show up to root.”  Neither this chicken nor this egg is going to budge, so I think everyone should take a deep breathe and calm down. Grab a Faygo. 

The other spastic approach people are taking to this team is what my friend, who will remain nameless (it’s Pat Blackley), wants to do, and that is to bring up all the youngsters.  If I had to pick a camp to make my lodgings in, it would probably be this one, however dumping all of our veterans already, before we are even out of the race seems a bit reckless to me.  Yes, we could stand to see Austin Kearns and Adam Everett hit greener pastures, but we aren’t with this club everyday to see what they bring to the ballclub behind the scenes.  Kearns and Everett are vets who still can help younger guys through the everyday rigors, but at some point they will either have to start contributing on the field or they will be gone too. But not yet.

Why do I have hope? Why am I willing to stay put right now and wait it out? Well how about the fact that this is the same exact team that went 30-15?  Can we please wait for Travis Hafner to come off of the DL to solidify and perhaps anchor this lineup like he is capable of? One month is all I am asking. We are still over .500 and can be right back in first place with a win over the Tigers tonight.  We have been waiting since 2007 to watch meaningful baseball again, or at least I have, and I am not so ready to just blow everything back up.