Cleveland Indians: A week filled with egregious takes

It comes with the territory of losing in the playoffs, but this week has been full of absurd hot takes about the Cleveland Indians. Let’s calm some of those fires.

If you’ve taken a look at Twitter, Facebook, or any social network of your choosing, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of hot takes relating to our beloved Cleveland Indians. Maybe it’s anger, maybe it’s the doom and gloom of being a sports fans. Whatever it is, we’re nearly a week removed from the ALDS loss, let’s cool the jets.

Let’s take a look at some of the burning hot takes seen throughout the week. At the very least, we can try to make sense of them.

“Terry Francona should be fired”

Let’s get the craziest one out of the way first. Calling for a manager’s job after a loss is a popular idea among fans of any team. Let’s not forget twitter was calling for Joe Maddon‘s job after the Cubs fell in the Wild Card game.

Calling for the Indians to get rid of Tito is perhaps the most insane take I’ve seen since the loss. Yes, the Indians played ugly in that series, and maybe hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo is to blame. Blaming Francona for the loss is just absurd.

The Indians were outmatched, and the Astros used analytics to their advantage. By now that is common knowledge, and we’re seeing them do the same thing against the Red Sox. The point is, this team was as ready as they’d ever be with the talent they had. The loss is not on Tito’s hands.

“Corey Kluber is overrated”

By now it’s fairly obvious the Corey Kluber is not playing his best baseball in the playoffs. This dates all the way back to the World Series in 2016. Last year the Yankees rocked his world twice, and this year the Astros did the same.

It’s a mantra that a lot of great pitchers carry. Chris Sale hears the same thing, as does David Price.  So does it make it true? Overrated? No. But his glaring issues in the playoffs should be pointed out. Perhaps it’s the abnormal rest time he gets. Maybe it’s just that he faces really good teams. But fans shouldn’t give up hope on his abilities because of some tough playoff starts.

“Andrew Miller is done”

This one is a little debatable. It’s clear that Andrew Miller is nowhere near the same as he was in 2016. But injuries have plagued the lefty to the point that he was a bit of a liability this year. There’s a chance we won’t even be talking about him, as he may leave for greener pastures in free agency.

Andrew Miller without his healthy has proven to be an average pitcher at best. But his recent struggles have surely lowered his free agency value. Perhaps even to the point where the Indians can re-sign him… that is if they want to.

“The window is closed”

In all of the doom and gloom of losing, this is perhaps the take I’ve heard the most. It does hold some ground. The Indians have a lot of big names primed to hit free agency and it feels like the talent level has dropped.

I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true. The division looks like it will still be a cakewalk for the Tribe, and they still have plenty of talent on this roster. Jose Ramirez, Franciso Lindor, Corey Kluber and a lot of other big names aren’t going anywhere for a while. As long as they keep the core talent around, this team can still contend.

I know it hurts to see the Indians sitting out of the playoffs, but let’s pump the brakes on making asinine statements. If there’s one thing Cleveland fans are used to, it’s looking forward to next year.