Cleveland Indians: The painful rut the Indians are currently in

If you’ve watched a lick of Cleveland Indians baseball in the last few days, the team is surely making you sick. So what’s next for the Tribe going forward?

I want to throw up, I’m sure you want to throw up, I’m sure the team wants to throw up. One run in the last 27 innings? That’s the baseball equivalent of taking a shot of Sambuca being force-fed moms leftover liver dinner. Going into May, the Cleveland Indians knew they had to do one thing; that was to stay afloat.

Now, as I write this, the Indians sit four games back of the Twins. They also have scored one run against one of the worst pitching units in baseball? Why? Probably because they now have the worst batting average in baseball.

I get it, it’s May it takes a while to get going. Guys like Francisco Lindor and Carlos Gonzalez didn’t have the chance at a full Spring Training. Carlos Santana, despite a disappointing outing on Tuesday, has been the only constant on this offense. But the wholes in this team now that Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber are hurt are really starting to show.

Jefry Rodriguez is starting to prove himself as fully capable of pitching in the majors, but it’s hard to see this team with a formidable fifth starter. Cody Anderson struggled mightily in his first start for the Tribe since 2016, and Adam Plutko looked just as bad in his first Triple-A start of the year. This wouldn’t be horrid if the Indians bullpen hadn’t been worn out on this horrible streak they’ve been on.

On top of all of this, the Indians are slowly finding themselves at the mercy of Twins opponents. The Twins have one of the best offensive attacks in baseball, and their rotation is only getting better.

What the Indians need going forward is the Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Shane Beiber, and the newly added Rodriguez to hold down the fort. They’ve proven this offense can’t hang in a shootout for now.

The next few weeks are going to be big for the Tribe. They have a road trip and then the best team in baseball in the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town. A negative result could mean the Indians become sellers at the deadline and look toward the future.

It’s an ugly thought but it’s a real possibility after the offseason and the start the Indians have had.  Let’s hope the Indians can play to their strengths until the deadline and pick things up offensively.