Cleveland Indians: Which version of the Tribe will play Detroit this time?

Which version of the Cleveland Indians will play Detroit this time?

The season for the Cleveland Indians is just five games old, but we’ve already witnessed essentially two different versions of the same team. The Tribe started the season against the Detroit Tigers, who they are set to face in the next three contests, and had a two-face approach. The team struggled to put runs on the board in the first two games, but exploded for nine in the series finale for the first win of the 2021 season.

Moving home to Progressive Field, Cleveland did nearly the exact same thing against the Kansas City Royals. First, they were shutout for the first time in 2021 before seeing heroics from Jose Ramirez to tally win number two. While the season is still very young, the ups-and-downs aren’t a great sign at the plate.

Luckily, the pitching for the Tribe is enough to keep the team in the contention no matter what the offense is doing. Through the first five games this season the Cleveland pitching staff is currently eighth in the league for ERA with a mark of 3.35. They are also second in hits, having allowed 28 over 43 innings, which should really be first. The top team is technically the Washington Nationals, but they’ve allowed 19 in just 23 innings.

It continues through more than just ERA and hits as well. The Cleveland Indians are currently tied for third for runs allowed with just 16, ninth in WHIP with a mark of 1.19 and third in opponent batting average at .185.

Now, this isn’t anything we didn’t know going into the season. We knew that the pitching was going to be the strength of the team and that the offense would be a mystery, but now that we’re watching it live, it seems like the offense might be a bit more hit and miss than we’re typically used to.

So far, the Tribe have two wins through five games, but one of those wins was because of Ramirez. Thanks to two home runs from Ramirez, the Cleveland Indians are 2-3. Without those two swings the Tribe would be 1-4 after three games against the Tigers and two against the Royals. The team hasn’t even faced the White Sox or Twins who are the anticipated top teams in the division.

The bright side is that it seems like the offensive struggles aren’t necessarily due to lack of production, but a lack of timing. The Indians are middle of the league for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The difference is run production, or timing of the hits. The Tribe are getting on base, they just aren’t getting home.

So far this season Cleveland is 27th in RBIs through the first week or so of the season with just 17, and that includes the nine-run explosion game. It’s the same story for runs, being 27th with 17. That’s the area of concern at this point for the Indians and the two-face approach we mentioned. They go off for nine one day and get shutout the next.

With a small sample size, it’s hard to go by some stats that are more telling later in the season. Although, one hit per game played seems reasonable to ask. Figure each batter gets between three and five at-bats a game, that means you’re looking at an average between .200 and .333 if you get a hit per game.

Only two players on the Cleveland roster are averaging a hit per game, being Ramirez and Josh Naylor. Franmil Reyes, Eddie Rosario and Amed Rosario aren’t far off with one hit less than games played, which isn’t awful, but having just a handful of guys on track for a hit per game isn’t the best look. Even if you want to go by average, only seven players are north of .200.

On top of that, Jordan Luplow and Austin Hedges have a home run and that’s it. Roberto Perez has two hits with one being a home run. I won’t act like an analytics guru, but that doesn’t seem like the best start to a season for the offense, having three all-or-nothing bats in the lineup. But again, it’s still early and things will surely change.

There are still plenty of games to be played, but this upcoming series against the Detroit Tigers could be very telling. This is a team that the Cleveland Indians should beat. Now that the team has more familiarity with the lineup and pitching staff, we should witness an improved team compared to what was on the field last weekend.

The hope is that we don’t have to count on shutouts from the pitching staff. Allowing two or three runs usually puts your team in good position to win. Early returns are unfortunately showing other results. If the offense can string together their hits that would go a long way in changing the course of this season now rather than later.