Can the Indians turn things around? More importantly, is it too late?
This time last year, after the all-star break, the Indians turned on the jets and made a run at the Chicago White Sox deep into September. They ultimately fell short, but not by much. At the time, Cleveland was playing above .500 and Chicago had already torched everyone else and had a huge first place lead. The Indians went on to have the best record in baseball during the second half and gave the eventual World Champion White Sox a run for their money.
This year, things are different. It’s the Tigers out in front of the AL Central and the Indians, playing sub-.500 ball, are 16 games out and in fourth place. That’s a lot of ground to make up. Cleveland’s season thus far has been a disappointment, but if their performance past weekend is any indication, maybe they can turn things around. After beating up the Yankes 19-1, it seems their may be a glimmer of hope. They are 4-0 in July, won 6 of their last 8, and are actually hitting the ball. Pitching has been solid (minus the recent blown saves by Wickman) and everything finally has clicked. So could we have a repeat of last season?
It’s still too early to say, but the Indians would have to play lights-out the rest of the season and there would have to be major stumbles by the Tigers and White Sox to have any chance at all. We’ll sit back, hope and watch, as the Indians pull things together. I just hope it isn’t too late.
(Oh, and don’t forget to stop by MLB.com and vote for Travis Hafner for one of the last two All-Stars. The guy is 3rd in the AL in RBI, 4th in HR, 10th in batting average and this guy isn’t on the All-Star team?)
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