Cleveland Indians playing to level of competition
During the month of June the Cleveland Indians were expected to have a rather easy schedule. They had a pair of series against the Baltimore Orioles and also faced the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates. All series that seemed very winnable, even easy sweeps possibly. However, that was far from the case for team.
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Against those four teams the Tribe posted a record of just 8-8 and that includes a four-game sweep over the Orioles. Outside of that sweep, Cleveland didn’t win a series against those teams.
On the flip side, the team did hold their own against teams like the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners. In those games the team posted a winning record of 5-3.
It seems as though the Cleveland Indians are playing to the level of their opponent, for better or for worse. Against teams they should beat, at least on paper, they are coming up short. Yet, in the same week, they are holding their own and beating teams that are statistically better.
This isn’t something uncommon in sports and it should be something that can be fixed. Hopefully, getting some veteran players back off the injured list will play a role in correcting this in July.