Cleveland Sports Forum

GOP Senate candidate says he offered $1B for Cleveland Indians in bid to prevent name change

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican Senate candidate in Ohio said he offered $1 billion to buy the Cleveland Indians to prevent the team from changing its name.

Blockchain executive-turned-Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told Fox News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that he made the offer to the Dolan family, which owns the established baseball franchise, but was turned down.

The team announced in July that it would be changing its name to the Cleveland Guardians.


Moreno told Fox News that he wanted to buy the franchise because the team "means a lot to northeast Ohio" and "a lot" to the "generations" of fans "who grew up there."


"So for the name change to happen, it was just a classic example of the kind of cancel culture woke-ism that’s affecting our nation," Moreno said. "And it just really bothers me that a small group of White, liberal activists can make something like that happen."

"It’s the wrong decision and we want to reverse it," he continued.

Moreno blasted the team’s decision as caving to "the woke mob" and that there were other routes the team could have taken, such as choosing "to honor Native Americans."

The Ohio Republican senatorial candidate said the decision came from "personal instinct" and that he had a few others behind him joining the purchase, but, ultimately, the offer was rejected by team owners.

The Cleveland Indians declined to comment on the offer. Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan, whose father is the owner of the team, is also a candidate in the crowded GOP primary.


Moreno said he believes people are "fed up" with cancel culture and that they are waking up and seeing it as a way to "silence your thoughts."


"It starts by silencing your words, and when they silence your words, they control your thoughts," Moreno said. "They get that. People are intuitively smart about these kinds of things, and they’ve just had it."

"People do not want that. This is America," he continued. "We believe in the marketplace of ideas. We believe in a country with the principle where we can speak our mind, even if we’re wrong, by the way."

Fake flamingos and 100-mph fastballs: Anthony Gose’s implausible journey back to the big leagues

Zack Meisel 3h ago 10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After Anthony Gose registered his eighth triple-digit reading on the radar gun and recorded his first major-league strikeout, he sat in the home dugout at Progressive Field and reflected on an opportunity that long seemed inconceivable.

Logan Allen joined him on the bench and asked how he felt in the aftermath of a moment five seasons in the making. Gose had reached the big leagues as an outfielder, but inconsistent hitting forced him to take a detour and reinvent himself as a pitcher. His journey back included aimless outings in A-ball, frequent roster hopping, and quiet mornings with a fishing rod in hand, wondering what his future held.

Last week, however, four and a half years of navigating that winding road back to the majors proved worthwhile. He capped his first outing with a strikeout of record-setting catcher Salvador Perez.

Without hesitation, Gose looked at Allen and replied: “I should have been a lot better than that.”

Gose did allow a run that night. But he also showcased 100-mph heat and an intriguing slider, tools that forecast a promising future. Allen laughed, called him “one of a kind” and told him “I love you for that” as Gose nitpicked a night he’ll remember forever. Allen urged him to enjoy the culmination of an inspiring tale of perseverance.

After all, Gose was working odd jobs last year during the day, planting plastic flamingos in unsuspecting peoples’ front yards at 3 a.m. and refining his pitching craft at any available minute his schedule permitted. A few years before that, his career had seemingly fizzled.

About 25 minutes after the Sept. 20 game ended, Gose walked across the hall from the clubhouse into the manager’s office, where acting manager DeMarlo Hale was chatting with team president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff. Gose remained in full uniform, not quite ready to move on from an unforgettable experience. He was nearly in tears as he thanked Cleveland’s brass for offering him a chance.

“It’s an incredible success story,” Antonetti said, “but we think this is just the beginning.”

When the pandemic halted spring training in 2020, players had no idea how long they would have to hibernate. Adam Cimber and his wife invited Gose to live with them in Arizona during the quarantine, but Cimber said he barely saw his teammate. Gose worked at a Circle K distribution center. He did door-to-door sales. He signed up to be a plumber’s apprentice.

And his truck, which sat in the Cimbers’ driveway, was filled with plastic pink birds. Customers would call a company to initiate a prank, and Gose would cover a victim’s yard with the flamingos in the middle of the night.

“He’d come back at, like, 4 a.m.,” Cimber said, “sleep until 6, get up and go do another job and lift and throw and get his baseball work in and then go right back to another job.”

That work ethic earned Gose praise from manager Terry Francona during a team meeting one morning in spring training this year. When Ryan Lavarnway arrived at the Indians’ complex in Arizona in February, he spotted Gose and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Lavarnway remembers playing against Gose in the minors. They were both 2008 draft picks and debuted in the majors within a year of each other. He recalls Gose’s penchant for collecting extra-base hits, his gaudy stolen-base totals and his golden arm in center field.

“I pitch now,” Gose told him.

Gose pitched in high school, too, pumping 97-mph fastballs past pimple-faced teenagers. He had to resist the temptation to throw his changeup because it matched the speed of most aces’ fastballs in the Southern California high school circuit. His Bellflower High School team would delay its games by about 15 minutes so he could lead his track team to victory in the 4×400-meter relay and then hustle over to the diamond.

Gose dismissed scouts’ input, insisting he wanted to be a position player in the professional ranks. He wanted to play every day, rather than sit idle in between his outings on the mound. The Phillies selected him in the second round as an outfielder, and he ultimately spent parts of five seasons in the majors with Toronto and Detroit. He batted .240 with a .656 OPS.

When Gose failed to break camp with the Tigers’ major-league club in 2017, he realized he needed to tap into the potential oozing from his left arm. So, he started from scratch and returned to A-ball. One year, he was Detroit’s starting center fielder. The next, he was a scuffling reliever for the Lakeland Flying Tigers. He morphed into a baseball nomad, joining the Rangers, then the Astros via the Rule 5 draft, then the Rangers again before he signed with Cleveland in advance of the 2019 season. If anyone could propel him toward the majors, it would be the organization with the esteemed pitching factory.

This was no seamless mission, though. There were days and weeks when he couldn’t find the strike zone, when his mechanics demanded an overhaul, when his electric fastball was rendered moot. He wondered if it was all worth his time, but he didn’t want to leave baseball behind.

“I love the game,” Gose said. “I love to play. I guess I’m too stupid to quit.”

After every road outing for Triple-A Columbus, Gose would return to his hotel with Lavarnway, his roommate, and ask the catcher what he could have done better.

“Even though he throws 100 mph from the left side,” Lavarnway said, “for a long time, he was the underdog. He’s just the easiest guy to root for.”

Gose is a bit of a mystery, a quiet guy with a menacing glare who loathes talking about himself and doesn’t shy away from telling reporters he’d rather be anywhere else than an interview setting. But any player who has shared a clubhouse with Gose will stress they’ve had no better teammate. Gose regularly welcomed minor leaguers to stay with him instead of cramming into a tiny apartment. He spent last summer at the team’s alternate site in Eastlake, and at the end of the day, he delivered the leftover food spread to a downtown homeless shelter.

When asked after his big-league pitching debut what he would do with his souvenirs, Gose offered them to the inquiring reporter. He then rattled off a list of Cleveland pitching instructors and Olympic teammates who deserved the keepsakes.

Gose hoped to earn a promotion to the majors long before the Olympics commenced this summer, but his early-season numbers didn’t suffice, and the Indians had to be confident in his development before they made such a decision since he’s out of minor-league options. So, Gose traveled to Tokyo to play for Team USA, where he leaned on veteran hurlers David Robertson, Edwin Jackson and Scott Kazmir for advice as the group marched toward a silver medal.

“I honestly think sometimes he doesn’t have enough confidence in himself,” Robertson said. “Not in a bad way by any means. He knows that what he’s throwing is really good. He just hasn’t quite figured out how to put it all together. He’s still young to pitching. It’s not exactly easy to just pick up a ball and figure out how to throw it and make it back to the major leagues. It’s incredibly tough.”

His colleagues can’t envision attempting to complete the reverse voyage, starting over as a minor-league hitter.

Allen: “Nope. It sounds like a nightmare.”

Lavarnway: “I can’t imagine it. Hats off.”

Robertson: “It’d be virtually impossible.”

Gose’s Olympic teammates offered him tips on how to take care of his arm, how to squeeze the most out of his daily catch games and how he could maintain his effectiveness at a more precisely placed 96-98 mph velocity. Robertson, who still exchanges texts about fishing and hunting with Gose, suggested he imagine standing in the batter’s box and recall how difficult it was to make sufficient contact against a league-average pitcher’s arsenal. He advised him to consider how he would fare against himself. Advantage: pitcher.

They all saw the stuff. They believed in a bright future. And after Gose returned from Japan, where he was named to the All-Olympic team, he breezed through his Triple-A competition. In 13 innings prior to his mid-September promotion, he held the opposition scoreless with 21 strikeouts, six walks and only three hits allowed.

Lavarnway: “There aren’t a lot of humans on the planet who can throw a baseball 100 mph, especially not with their left arm.”

Hale: “There’s a little gift from God there.”

Cimber: “He wasn’t fun to play catch with. It was always a life-or-death situation trying to catch him. It’s electric.”

With two weeks remaining in the major-league season, Gose received that long-awaited call. Shortly after, the ever-buzzing group text thread that features a collection of players and staff from the Olympic team filled up with congratulatory messages.

“There were some tough times,” Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis said. “He obviously always had the arm strength. But just learning what his best delivery was, how to repeat it, he’s come such a long, long way.”

Through three appearances, Gose’s fastball has averaged 99.3 mph. He has mixed in a sweeping slider about a quarter of the time. In four innings, he has tallied six strikeouts and has issued only one walk. Cleveland’s coaches relay that he hides the ball well during his delivery, causing some deception as he motions toward the plate.

“I’m not going to give away any trade secrets on him,” Lavarnway said. “Good luck to the rest of the league.”

Gose is under team control for four more years and figures to factor into a bullpen equation that includes few guarantees outside of Emmanuel Clase. He said his pitching debut was more meaningful than his actual major-league debut. It’s an opportunity Gose dreamed of ever since he placed his bat in storage.

“I didn’t want it to end,” he said. “I love to play. I don’t ever want it to end.”

Cleveland Guardians: Cal Quantrill has Cy Young potential for the future
by Kyle Edmond21 hours ago Follow @kyleedmond7


Cleveland Indians, Cal Quantrill, Cleveland Guardians
Cal Quantrill offers Cy Young potential for the Cleveland Guardians
The 2021 season has been a true coming of age story for Cal Quantrill. The 26-year old pitcher joined the Cleveland Indians, soon to be the Cleveland Guardians, at the 2020 trade deadline as part of the return for Mike Clevinger. After struggling in San Diego, the eighth overall selection from the 2016 MLB Draft had been moved to the bullpen. However, the injuries to the 2021 starting rotation in Cleveland opened the door for Quantrill to revamp his career.

The transition into the rotation was a bit bumpy for Quantrill. The month of June proved to be difficult, but once his pitch count was high enough to consistently go at least five innings an appearance, Quantrill was able to settle in. Now, the question becomes how high is his ceiling? Going a step further, is there potential there for a Cy Young-caliber starting pitcher?

If you look at the second half of the season for Cal Quantrill, being after the All-Star break through the rest of the season, there’s a clear view of Cy Young potential. In the second half Quantrill has started 14 games for Cleveland, going 7-1 over that span. Over 88 innings pitched, he’s been able to maintain an ERA of 1.94 while striking out 78 and walking just 27. Pairing that with 64 hits allowed and he’s posted a WHIP of 1.034.

For comparison, let’s take a look at Gerrit Cole. Cole has been one of the best pitchers in the game for multiple seasons and this year has been no exception. He’s placed his name among the top candidates for the American League Cy Young, but somehow his second half stats, or even season stats, don’t match that of Quantrill.

Since the break, Cole has made 15 starts for the New York Yankees, posting an ERA of 3.05 over that span to go with a record of 10-4. Totaling 94.1 innings, Cole’s advantage comes in the form of strikeouts and walks. He’s walked just 21 batters and has struck out 129, averaging over 12 strikeouts per nine compared to Quantrill’s eight.


The differences between Cole and Quantrill are slim. Cole pitches in the big city lights of New York, which helps his chances, and has the flashier stat line thanks to the high strikeout rate. With that being said, Quantrill has the lower ERA and better winning percentage.

Now, for this season the odds of Quantrill being the Cy Young were slim. He started in the bullpen and had a rough transition to the rotation before finding his groove. However, the second half sample size places him among the best pitchers in the game since the break. So when talking about the big picture beyond the 2021 season, Quantrill has the ability to put his name in the Cy Young conversation if he can keep this up with the Cleveland Guardians in 2022 and beyond.

With a healthy Shane Bieber, the Cleveland Guardians could begin the new era in club history with at least two Cy Young-caliber starting pitchers. Bieber has already proved he can collect the award, winning it last season, and Quantrill is showcasing his ability to do the same. Throw in Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac, who are both still finding consistency, along with Triston McKenzie to close out the rotation and Cleveland is bound to have one of the best rotations in the game yet again.

At the core of that rotation will be the surprising piece of Cal Quantrill. Being an eighth overall selection, the potential was obviously there, but it wasn’t until he came to Cleveland that he was able to tap into that potential. Whatever the coaching staff does with pitchers seems to work and Quantrill is the latest example. If he can continue to progress through the offseason and build on this season’s success, there’s a solid chance that Cleveland could roster at least two of top Cy Young candidates in the American League.

Next stop Hall of Fame

seagull wrote:Next stop Hall of Fame

Heck I'd settle for the same career as his dad but I agree he seems to have a higher ceiling then that.

Is Emmanuel Clase’s stellar season worthy of AL rookie of the year, and where does it rank in Cleveland history?



CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 27: Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during a game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on September 27, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

By Zack Meisel 4h ago 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mike Hargrove’s bunch arrived at spring training in 1995 without an established closer. José Mesa had prepared for the role in winter ball, but Cleveland operated with a committee for the first few weeks of the season.

Then, in Game 20 at Fenway Park, Mo Vaughn, the eventual league MVP*, approached the plate as the potential tying run with two outs in the ninth. Left-hander Paul Assenmacher had completed his warmup tosses in the bullpen. Hargrove peered at pitching coach Mark Wiley, who suggested this was the optimal time to see if Mesa had the mettle to shut the door.

(*In an alternate universe with sensible voting, Albert Belle won that award in a landslide.)

Mesa powered a 2-2 fastball past the hunchback-stanced Vaughn, pumped his fist and shook hands with catcher Tony Peña and third baseman Jim Thome. Wiley and Hargrove knew they had their closer. There was never another debate after that afternoon in Boston. Mesa proceeded to post a 1.13 ERA and convert a league-high 46 saves, including 38 in a row to begin the season.

In a similar manner, Cleveland’s staff wasn’t sure what it had with Emmanuel Clase this season. A 101-mph cutter, an unparalleled pitch, is quite the foundation for any reliever. But since they acquired him for (one inning of) Corey Kluber in December 2019, they hadn’t seen him perform.

Clase was injured early in spring training in 2020 and then landed a season-long PED ban once the pandemic ate away at the regular-season schedule. So, at the start of this season, Terry Francona shuffled Clase and James Karinchak between late-inning chances. Nick Wittgren also occasionally entered the fray.

The identity of Cleveland’s bullpen anchor is no longer a mystery. Karinchak is tweaking his mechanics two hours south of Progressive Field. Wittgren has struggled all season (and leads the team with nine losses). Phil Maton was traded. Oliver Pérez vanished long ago.

And since a post-All-Star break hiccup, Clase has silenced the opposition. In his last 30 outings, Clase has yielded one earned run, with two walks and 31 strikeouts. Hitters have mustered a .324 OPS against him.

The sterling stretch has boosted his numbers in such a fashion that we can raise two questions:

1. Where does Clase’s effort rank among the best relief seasons in team history?

2. Does Clase have a shot at becoming the club’s first rookie of the year since Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1990?

For much of the last quarter-century, Cleveland has boasted a proficient bullpen. When he wasn’t pitching in the decisive game of the World Series, Mesa was setting the standard for closers. The club employed staples such as Mike Jackson and Paul Shuey, Assenmacher and Eric Plunk, Raffy Right (Rafael Betancourt) and Raffy Left (Perez). Bob Wickman’s tightrope act had Cleveland fans clutching a handle of Crown Royal every ninth inning, but he proved reliable far more often than not.

An imposing group spearheaded by Andrew Miller, Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw — the latter two are tied atop the franchise leaderboard in relief appearances, at 456 — propelled the team to the 2016 World Series.

And yet, a rookie who spent last season watching from afar is placing the finishing touches on a season nearly as decorated as any in team lore.

Clase’s 2021 season: 67 2/3 innings, 1.33 ERA, 2.12 FIP, 2.1 fWAR, .196/.244/.243 opponent slash line

In terms of WAR, Clase’s season ranks eighth in Cleveland history for a reliever. By ERA, he ranks second. By FIP (fielding independent pitching), he ranks sixth.

Since we’re comparing pitchers from different eras, we need some metrics that can help us strip away any biases and provide better context. (For instance, a pitcher posting a 1.33 ERA in 2000, at the height of the steroid era, would be more impressive than doing so in, say, 1968, The Year of the Pitcher.)

For that, we’ll use ERA — and FIP — to measure how much more effective the pitcher was relative to the rest of the league in his particular season. The lower the number, the better, with 100 representing league average.

The best relief seasons in CLE history
1995 José Mesa
24
58
2021 Emmanuel Clase
31
51
2017 Andrew Miller
32
45
1998 Mike Jackson
32
67
2007 Rafael Betancourt
33
52
2016 Dan Otero
35
54
2007 Rafael Perez
40
70
2020 Brad Hand
46
31
2020 James Karinchak
60
34
1988 Doug Jones
56
47
This is an inexact science without a concrete answer. After all, Doug Jones owns several of the top entries when sorting by WAR, but his numbers, while solid, don’t scream anything historic. Mesa, meanwhile, finished second in the 1995 AL Cy Young Award race and fourth in the AL MVP voting. It’s safe to say, though, that Clase’s season is one of the best in franchise history for a reliever. And then it’s worth noting he’s a 23-year-old rookie.

But will he be named rookie of the year?

Probably not.

An unscientific survey of a handful of voters’ thoughts indicated he’ll be fortunate to finish in the top three. Here’s his primary competition (all stats as of Wednesday):

Luis Garcia, SP, Astros: 150 IP, 3.23 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 3.2 fWAR
Shane McClanahan, SP, Rays: 120 IP, 3.44 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 2.4 fWAR
Alek Manoah, SP, Blue Jays: 104 IP, 3.35 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.6 fWAR
Garrett Whitlock, RP, Red Sox: 72 IP, 1.99 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 1.5 fWAR

Randy Arozarena, OF, Rays: .272/.352/.461, 127 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
Adolis Garcia, OF, Rangers: .244/.287/.457, 101 wRC+, 30 HR, 2.8 fWAR
Wander Franco, IF, Rays: .284/.349/.471, 129 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR in 65 games
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Orioles: .258/.311/.492, 113 wRC+, 32 HR, 1.6 fWAR
Akil Baddoo, OF, Tigers: .258/.324/.442, 108 wRC+, 1.7 fWAR

Last season, Devin Williams became the first reliever to capture a rookie of the year award since Craig Kimbrel in 2011. Neftali Feliz and Andrew Bailey claimed the AL honor in 2010 and ’09, respectively. Huston Street (2005) is the only other reliever in the last 20 years to earn the distinction.

Williams had plenty of competition, though the shortened season probably factored into the balloting.

First place: Devin Williams, RP, Brewers
0.33 ERA in 27 innings, eight hits allowed, nine walks, 53 strikeouts, 1.4 fWAR

Second place: Alec Bohm, 3B, Phillies
.338/.400/.481 slash line in 44 games, 1.2 fWAR

Third place: Jake Cronenworth, IF, Padres
.285/.354/.477 slash line in 54 games, 1.4 fWAR

Fourth place: Tony Gonsolin, SP, Dodgers
2.31 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, seven walks, 46 strikeouts, 1.9 fWAR

Fifth place: Dustin May, SP, Dodgers
2.57 ERA in 56 innings, 16 walks, 44 strikeouts, 0.5 fWAR

Here are some of Clase’s ranks among all MLB relievers in 2021:

ERA: 3rd (behind Aaron Loup and Josh Hader)
FIP: 3rd (behind Hader and Ryan Pressly)
fWAR: 6th (behind Liam Hendriks, Pressly, Hader, Jonathan Loaisiga and Giovanny Gallegos)
HR/9: 4th (behind Austin Adams, Adam Cimber and Loup)
Ground-ball rate: 3rd (behind Aaron Bummer and Clay Holmes)

Clase seems to at least have a case. There isn’t an obvious AL candidate this season, so perhaps that will work in Clase’s favor. Ultimately, it’ll depend on which criteria voters value. Franco has been the most impressive rookie position player, reaching base in 43 consecutive games (and counting), but he also offers the smallest sample size, having played half as many games as his peers. On the pitching side, does a voter prefer Luis Garcia’s volume or Clase’s dominance? No matter his finish in the voting, there hasn’t been a better rookie reliever than Clase in 2021.

Please stop with the smoke.

Another Cy Young with Quantrill

Another MVP with Jose Ramirez

Another Rookie of the Year with Clase

And a Team that's 3 games under .500

Arozerena will win it I predict - Wander Franco would easily win if he'd played more games.

Indians: Bryan Shaw breaks club record in victory over Rangers
by Chad Porto1 hour ago Follow @ChadNerdCorp


The Cleveland Indians have had a history of great relievers, especially lately, and Bryan Shaw can now proudly stake his claim to one of those spots. On Friday, in the Indians win over the Texas Rangers, Shaw came into the game for the 457th time for the Indians. In doing so, he set a club record for most relief appearances in history.

In all six seasons, he’s pitched with Cleveland, he’s always hit or surpassed 70 games in a given season. That’s over 43% of the season, Shaw comes in to pitch. Considering most starters only impact about 19% of the season, it says something that you can have a reliever that reliable for that long.

Shaw passed former Indians’ reliever Cody Allen to take the spot and with the season Shaw has had, it makes all the sense in the world to bring him back. At 33-years-old, his arm is still as springy as ever, having appeared in 78 games, just two shy of his career-high (80) in 2014. While it’s possible he could tie it, it’s unlikely that interim manager DeMarlo Hale will throw out Shaw three days in a row.

His ERA was a respectable 3.57 and he posted a 6-7 record for the year.


Bryan Shaw isn’t too far off from other records
Shaw has the record for most appearances but he’s not far away from most innings pitched by a pure-reliever either. MLB.com tracks all reliever innings, even if the pitcher was predominantly a starter, and of all the pitchers on the list who have never started a game, Shaw is nearing the top of the list.


If Shaw can log another 70+ inning outing in 2022 as he did in 2021, then he’ll sit at least at 505 innings pitched. That would be the most ever by a pure-reliever in Indians’ history. Right now Shaw sits at 435.1, with Allen in second place at 440.2 and Eric Plunk, of all people, leading the way with 462.0

He’s also nearing the club record for most strikeouts by a reliever, though he’ll need another two seasons at his current rate to take the record. Currently, Shaw sits fifth with 404. Rafael Betancourt is second with 409, Paul Shuey is third with 450, at fourth is Erick Plunk with 460 and Cody Allen is the top dog at 564.

Considering Allen’s best seasons see him strike out around 70 people, he’d need to play for the Tribe for another two seasons for him to break Allen’s strikeout record for relievers.

Shaw has quietly become an all-time great for the franchise and deserves his moment in the sun.

The 2021 Cleveland Indians postmortem: The good, the bad, the ugly and the bizarre from an 80-82 season



CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 26: Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) throws to first base for an out during the second inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians on April 26, 2021, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

By Zack Meisel 3h ago 9

ARLINGTON, Texas — In mid-June, Terry Francona’s crew had sprinted to its best start since 2007, a season that wilted one step short of the World Series. Six weeks later, Cleveland had endured a nine-game losing streak, a collection of hitless performances, four trades and the loss of its manager.

Yeah, we witnessed the best of the 2021 team. And we witnessed the worst of it.

Ultimately, the club settled somewhere in the middle, with an 80-82 final standing, its first losing record since 2012, when a nightmarish summer cost Manny Acta his job and fueled the organization to lure Francona to the shores of Lake Erie.

The last two months were an odd, unfamiliar scene, with Francona relegated to the sideline, with a bunch of new faces filling the dugout and others playing out the string before they head elsewhere over the winter.

In the coming weeks, we’ll detail the offseason plans, the pivotal decisions, the possible moves, why the front office and the core players insist the club has a bright (near) future and what the organization must do to make that a reality. But for now, let’s examine what went right, what went wrong and what was weird about Cleveland’s 2021 season.

The Good
Your innings leader, just as everyone expected

It required three significant injuries, a couple of demotions and a mid-season role change, but Cal Quantrill led the team in innings pitched. He started the season in the bullpen. That says a lot about the flimsy state of the rotation this season, but it’s also a credit to Quantrill, who emerged as a consistent force in the second half of the season, once he built up his pitch count and no longer needed to take the hill on short rest.

Quantrill’s 1.94 ERA since the All-Star break ranked second in the majors, behind only Atlanta’s Max Fried. He averaged more than six innings per start during that stretch, an impressive feat given his limited workload at the start of the year. He joked with The Athletic this week that he’s aiming for 300 innings next season, twice his 2021 total. Really, he said, he’s eyeing 200 frames.

José being José



Ho hum, another top-five MVP finish might be headed José Ramírez’s way. He seemed to do everything really well this year. If not for the defensive wizardry of the A’s Matt Chapman, Ramírez would likely be the favorite to capture the Gold Glove Award for American League third basemen. He ranked in the 94th percentile in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric and only Chapman and Atlanta’s Austin Riley amassed more defensive runs saved at third base. He hit 36 home runs. He tallied 103 RBIs. He swiped 27 bases. He rarely struck out. He finished tied for second in the AL in fWAR. Oh, and he now wears a chain that displays a picture of him wearing a chain.


The Straw that stirs

For a team long desperate for competent outfielders, the Indians nabbed one they had coveted for more than a year when they flipped Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz to the Astros for Myles Straw.

Diaz, who turned 23 this month, did post an .889 OPS in A-ball this season. Maton finished the year with a 4.73 ERA.

Cleveland, meanwhile, has at least one answer in the outfield. Straw ranked 23rd among all AL players in fWAR, with 3.6. Following the trade, he batted .285 with a .362 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts. He also ranked in the 98th percentile in Outs Above Average and recorded five defensive runs saved, as he hauled in every fly ball hit to his area code. He’s under team control for four more seasons.

Rosario’s greatest hits

Before the season, Amed Rosario vowed his 2019 numbers — a .287/.323/.432 slash line, 15 home runs, 19 stolen bases — were more reflective of his ability than his 2020 struggles. His 2021 performance supported his claim.

“There were lots of ups and downs, and it was hard to find the confidence (last season),” Rosario said. “I had a lot of ups and downs in this season as well, but I felt the confidence was back in there and that allowed me to show the best version of myself.”

Rosario was once a top-five prospect in the sport, and it’s easy to spot the traits that vaulted him toward the top of the rankings. He collected hits in bunches, especially against left-handed pitching. He has flashed some pop and some speed, and extracting more from those tools would help his cause. For a lineup sorely needing contributions, his rebound proved critical. His defense might eventually force him off shortstop, but Cleveland’s decision-makers are still waiting for someone else to offer them incentive to do so.

Cleveland, you have your closer

One Royals player asserted last week that Emmanuel Clase was “the toughest pitcher I’ve ever faced.” Clase probably won’t capture AL Rookie of the Year honors, but he deserves strong consideration. He posted a 1.29 ERA this season; among qualified relievers in Cleveland history, only José Mesa’s 1.13 ERA in 1995 is better. Clase allowed one earned run in his final 32 appearances.

Kids, learn to throw 102-mph cutters.

‘How do you like them apples?’

Ramírez set the tempo on the bases all season. In spring training, coaches told the club’s young position players to watch him, and for good measure. Ramírez ranked as the 143rd-fastest player in baseball this season, but he stole 27 bases in 31 attempts and routinely snagged an extra base when possible.

“I pay attention to the game,” Ramírez said, “what the pitcher is doing, what the catcher is doing, what the outfielders are doing, the alignments. I’m aware I’m not the fastest runner, so I have to take all advantages possible when I’m running the bases.”

There’s no better example than when Ramírez was caught in a rundown after notching a two-run single to right field against the Orioles on June 16. Ramírez somehow slipped out of the game of pickle and plunged head-first into second base, causing broadcaster Matt Underwood to shout, “How do you like them apples?” Then, Ramírez realized no one was covering third, so he beat Baltimore shortstop Freddy Galvis in a footrace the final 90 feet to convert a single into three bases.



The Indians ranked third in the majors with 108 stolen bases. They were only caught 17 times. That 86.4 percent success rate was far and away the best in the majors. Many players credited first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. for helping them select the proper times to run.

Ramírez’s aggressiveness resulted in a record number of helmets flying off his head. I asked Ramírez on Sunday morning to guess how many times he lost his helmet.

“I’m not sure,” Ramírez said, “but I think there’s a guy out there keeping count of how many times it’s happened.”

Caught red-handed.

Ramírez guessed 60 to 70. The actual final tally: 79.

The road to Williamsport

The team’s trip to the Little League World Series served as a welcome reprieve, given the trades, Francona’s decision to step away and the fact the club had fallen out of the postseason race. The players soaked up the opportunity to rediscover the kid-like spirit that made them fall in love with baseball in the first place. They interacted with Little Leaguers and then put on a show for them that Sunday night as Cleveland capped a three-game sweep of Shohei Ohtani’s Angels.

Related: A day at the Little League World Series with big leaguers

The Bad
Still waiting …

Andrés Giménez impressed the club so much during spring training that he won the starting shortstop gig weeks in advance of Opening Day. Owen Miller started the Triple-A season in such a sizzling manner, he earned an early-season call-up. But those guys, in addition to Yu Chang, endured some extended rough patches, and it has left a cloud of mystery hanging over the future of the team’s middle infield. Are any of the three positioned to start on a regular basis next season? Will prospect Gabriel Arias factor into the equation?

Giménez before his mid-May demotion: .179/.226/.308 slash line
Giménez since his early August return: .252/.322/.393 slash line

Miller before his late-June demotion: .106/.143/.128 slash line
Miller since his late-July return: .236/.275/.368 slash line

Chang before his early July demotion: .176/.211/.287 slash line
Chang since his late-July return: .271/.314/.543 slash line

There’s much more to this than surface-level statistics, of course. The club has been impressed by Chang’s late-season hard-hit ability — his expected batting average and slugging percentage, based on quality of contact, soared as the summer unfolded — and they appreciate the defensive versatility he and Giménez provide.

There will be plenty to settle in spring training, though. It’s difficult to forecast where all of these young middle infielders will wind up. It’s not as though they all made convincing cases to earn daily playing time in 2022.

Rotating

Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale all suffered season-altering injuries in a span of four weeks, leaving the club with a completely different starting pitching quintet than the one with which the club opened the season, as Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie had returned to Triple-A Columbus.

At one point, the team deployed a rotation of Quantrill, J.C. Mejía, Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan, with Quantrill and Mejía occasionally pitching on short rest. That’s a product of poor fortune and a lack of depth, influenced by both a paltry payroll and a loss of typical minor-league development in 2020. Mejía previously pitched in A-ball. Hentges had a rough season at Double-A Akron in 2019 before spending last summer at the alternate site. Cleveland’s house of cards collapsed rather quickly, though some trades, drafting and development have restored the structure.

We hardly knew ye

Remember Ben Gamel? He served as Cleveland’s leadoff hitter for part of April. He finally notched his first hit in his 11th game, only to be designated for assignment the next day. He proceeded to play regularly for the Pirates.

Remember Jake Bauers? Cleveland’s brass handed him the first base job after spring training, but the decision never paid dividends. Bobby Bradley replaced him in early June and Bauers moved on to Seattle, where his results haven’t changed.

Remember Eddie Rosario?

Home runs with the Braves: seven in 32 games
Home runs with the Indians: seven in 78 games

He also hit for the cycle in a game in which he saw only five pitches.

Remember César Hernández? Before the club dealt him to the White Sox in July, he had already established a new career high in home runs. He hasn’t fared as well in Chicago, for whom he has posted a .608 OPS.

The Ugly
Hitless history

Carlos Rodón no-hit Cleveland in April. Wade Miley no-hit Cleveland in May. The Tampa Bay Rays no-hit Cleveland in a seven-inning affair in July. Corbin Burnes no-hit Cleveland in September.

In The Year of the No-Hitter, in which a league-record nine were recorded, Cleveland played the role of punching bag. In three of the nine historic feats, they’re the group sauntering back to the clubhouse as the other team forms a dog pile in the center of the diamond. The fruitless effort against Tampa was deemed a “notable achievement” since double-header games didn’t last a full nine innings this year.

Quiet in the corners

Straw rates as about a league-average hitter this season, and relative to his colleagues in Cleveland, that seems like otherworldly production at the plate. Josh Naylor’s injury (more on that in a moment) left some unanswered questions. The club traded away Rosario, a free-agent flop, and devoted playing time to a handful of guys with limited track records the last two months. None capitalized on the opportunity.

Bradley Zimmer offered the occasional stolen base or moon-orbiting home run, but never demonstrated much consistency or contact ability at the plate. Harold Ramírez made plenty of contact, but didn’t hit for power and manned the outfield as though he suffered from an outfield fence allergy. Oscar Mercado never mustered much of anything in the batter’s box. The team didn’t even bother to include Daniel Johnson in its September plans.

If the club learned anything about its corner outfield this season, it’s that its long-term solutions are probably playing elsewhere at the moment.

Naylor’s pain

It was a jarring sight watching Naylor writhe around in the outfield grass at Target Field after he attempted to avoid a collision with Ernie Clement in late June. Naylor never stepped foot onto the field again in 2021, but he has been working out at the team’s complex in Arizona following surgery to repair leg fractures and torn ligaments. The team is hopeful he’ll be able to participate in spring training, but making any assumptions about what he might be able to offer in 2022 seems premature.

Roberto Pérez’s swan song?

Cleveland’s catchers contributed a 54 wRC+ this season (100 represents league-average offensive output), the worst mark of any team in baseball. In all, the group supplied a .184/.241/.331 slash line. Roberto Pérez and Austin Hedges are known for their defense and handling of a pitching staff, so offense is usually considered a bonus. But the team needs more production than that.

Pérez struggled to stay healthy, first dealing with a finger injury and then bursitis in his right shoulder. He stood on the top step of the visiting dugout at Globe Life Field on Sunday morning and pondered whether it would be his last game in a Cleveland uniform. The club holds a $7 million option on him for 2022. They have yet to inform him of their decision, he said. Hedges is in line to earn $3.5 million to $4 million in his final year of arbitration this winter.

Ope, didn’t see ya there

On July 30 in Chicago, Johnson bumped into Zimmer as the two attempted to corral a fly ball. The baseball caromed off Zimmer’s glove and resulted in a Yoán Moncada home run. Johnson didn’t hear Zimmer call for the ball.

The Bizarre
He got injured how?

Plesac fractured his thumb while removing his shirt and catching the digit on his chair. Civale sprained his middle finger while tossing a pitch. Pérez was crossed up by James Karinchak and wound up snagging a curveball with his bare hand, resulting in a fractured finger that required surgery. Bieber suffered a shoulder strain, but not in any absurd manner.

Record-setting manager … maybe

If Francona returns to direct the Guardians in 2022, he’ll do so as the winningest manager in franchise history. The club is operating according to that plan. If for some reason Francona cannot extend his tenure in Cleveland, the results from the final two months of the season will be credited to DeMarlo Hale. At the time he stepped aside, Francona sat five wins shy of tying Lou Boudreau’s team record of 728 managerial victories.

Lost in the lights

On May 4, umpire Angel Hernandez lost a ball in the lights on the display board in the right-field fence. The baseball fell between Harold Ramírez and Naylor, but Hernandez motioned for an out. Runners and fielders were confused. Amed Rosario tagged out Andrew Benintendi. Players held up their hands, wondering why Hernandez made his ruling. In the end, the crew awarded Benintendi third base and allowed Whit Merrifield to score.

The next night, Royals pitcher Brady Singer was ejected after jawing at Hernandez. Manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred were also tossed.

Two outs for the price of one

Salvador Perez recorded a double play when he tagged out two Cleveland runners at third base on July 9. The Royals had caught Johnson in a rundown between third and home, but as Johnson retreated to third, César Hernández slid into the same base. Perez applied his glove to both runners multiple times, including once Johnson had stepped off the bag, and Cleveland converted a prime eighth-inning scoring chance into a wasted opportunity.

Majestic drives only

Zimmer hit eight home runs this season. Four of them measured at least 446 feet. He crushed a 471-footer off Texas reliever Justin Wilson, the longest ever recorded for a Cleveland hitter in the Statcast era (since 2015). His final one measured a season-low 408 feet, but he hit it off his older brother, Kyle. It was the fourth instance in major-league history — and the first in nearly a half-century — of one brother homering off another.

I'll say it again without looking it up. Most of us who guessed did guess around 80 wins and they won 80.

But, as the article above stated, it happened NOTHING like we would have predicted!

That said, it's pretty amazing they won 80 like we thought with all the CRAP that happened to them! (See above article)

Most of us knew, back in ST, our strength was pitching and our weakness was hitting.

For all the ups and downs, it played out that way.

Mediocre year for a mediocre team.

seagull - agreed!

Probably the biggest disappointment was that we auditioned a lot of offensive players this year and really none of them showed they are reliable.

Love that Straw and Amed showed they are real players. Add in of course Franmil and Josey. But that's 4 freaking guys!

So thrilled that they don't have to spend a lot of time, energy and even money on the pitching.

Pretty good bet Hedges is the catcher next year so that's 5 guys who are set.

Having to fill 4 holes in a lineup is a lotta holes.

I believe they have more than 4 holes if they want to become more than just average.

Just looked at MLB WAR ratings.

Jose is ranked 5th with a WAR of 6.7

Straw is ranked 78th with a WAR of 3.3

Next comes Amed at 132 WAR 2.1

Franmil 169 WAR 1.6

Zimmer 198 WAR 1.2

Mercado 213 WAR 1.0




Jose ....obvious keeper

Straw ....I guess

Rest are utterly replaceable

seagull - there's a reason Straw has a much higher WAR then Franmil - WAR includes defense and Straw's is Gold Glove level. Franmil rarely plays defense so his WAR is misleading.

I see your points of course but the fact is the team is not replacing 7 position players.

Franmil, Straw, Josey and Amed are slam dunk keepers in the lineup next year. Naylor will get another shot.

Remember with the big 3 rotation guys back next season their rotation is far above the vast majority of rotations. That is where this team's bread and butter is.

Shoot I'd be shocked if they kept those 4 in the lineup and replaced 5 guys even! It's not realistic whatsoever.

Realistic? !B, LF. RF all 3 or 2 of the 3.