Some site is posting All Time teams for all major league teams.. Here's what they offer for Cleveland

Cleveland Indians Starting Nine
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Catcher: Victor Martinez (2002-09, .297/.369/.463)

First base: *Jim Thome (1991-2002, 2011, .287/.414/.566) [Hal Trosky was a more complete player in days of yore]

Second base: *Nap Lojoie (1902-14, .339/.389/.452)

Shortstop: *Lou Boudreau (1938-50, .296/.382/.416)

Third base: Al Rosen (1947-56, .285/.384/.495)

Left field: Albert Belle (1989-96, 1984-86, .295/.369/.580) Yes those numbers were superb, but Hall of Famer Larry Doby should be in the OF, Yes he
was another CF, but he goes ahead of anyone other than Speaker]

Center field: *Tris Speaker (1916-26, .354/.444/.520)

Right field: Joe Jackson (1910-15, .374/.441/.542) [maybe Manny Ramirez in days of not so yore?]

Pitcher: *Bob Feller (1936-41, 1945-56, 266-162/3.25)

Wouldn't mind running that team from the dugout.

Surprised to see Victor as the catcher but probably no one better. Steve O'Neill was the old time star; Jim Hegan was a great defensive catcher; Sandy Alomar pretty solid but hurt a lot.

So who manages that team? player manager Lou Boudreau Player manager Tris Speaker? Al Lopez? Mike Hargrove? Terry Francona?

Indians drop to 9th in power rankings; Sox now 5th, Twins 7th.

"The Indians had a chance to pull ahead in the AL Central this week and instead lost three straight to the Royals, including getting no-hit by Brady Singer through 7.2 innings Thursday. Now, nine of their next 13 games are against the Twins, Cubs and White Sox, a daunting stretch that will likely make or break their season."

comments on Chicago:

How ridiculous is the White Sox’s offense? They lead the American League in runs scored, have the AL’s largest run differential (+59) and, now that 2B Nick Madrigal is back from injury, six of their nine starters have an .815 OPS or higher. That’s all happened with 3B Yoan Moncada only now just starting to get hot and DH Edwin Encarnacion still yet to round into form.

Minnesota:

The Twins have the American League’s best home record at 18-5, but they continue to be beatable on the road. They’ve lost six of their last seven away from Target Field and are 9-13 on the road overall. Pitching has been the key culprit, with the Twins posting a 2.57 ERA at home compared to a 5.02 ERA on the road.

Credit to White Sox.

Starting with the Chris Sale trade years ago they shot for a full rebuild.

Then, like the Twins, when those kids matured they added Keuchel, Grandal and even Edwin.

Indians have resisted the tear down and rebuild strategy which means the teams stays competitive but also explains why others go all the way and we don't

What have we gained from the Clevinger deal?

Naylor has 5 singles in 34 at bats and 2 walks OPS 342
Hedges has 1 single in 7 at bats and 4 strikeouts. OPS 286
Quantrill 3.86 ERA 8 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Clevinger with a 2 hit 7 inning shutout yesterday is 2-1 3.00 for the Padre and notably has allowed 1 homerun in 18 innings; McKenzie who's taken his spot is probably going to be a solid pitcher but isn't yet, not ready for a pennant race without any AAA pitching

Oh yeah, early returns aren't great but I certainly didn't expect to get a 2020 Clevinger type in the deal.

I actually feel bad for Naylor since he stepped on to a team that is in a team slump. Join the club Josh.

Quantrill is a long term acquisition.

I guess you can compare Triston to Clevinger because in a way he replaced him. But not really, Triston is the #5 here whereas Clevinger was #2.

So really Plesac replaces Clev. Carrasco moves up to #3. Civale to #4.

The rotation is still excellent. It is all about no hitting.

I feel bad for McKenzie who was put in the big league rotation without being ready for it. Great stuff, he should be fine with further development. Would have preferred to be able to add Logan Allen as the 5th starter but he can't through the ball over the plate; or Jefry Rodriguez but he's hurt again. This will be good experience for McKenzie though for the future.

As for Naylor joining a slumping team, that didn't require him to stop hitting completely. I don't know why the Indians can develop pitchers but cannot develop outfielders. But we have 4 1st round picks among the 9 OFs on the roster [Naquin, Zimmer, Naylor] Bauers was a 7th rounder but reached Top 100 prospect status and none has established himself.

Hey civ - regarding your comment about Sandy Alomar:

The stumbling, sputtering Cleveland Indians and their search for fuel
By Zack Meisel Sep 14, 2020 31
One day last week, when the Indians’ current six-game losing streak was in its infancy, Sandy Alomar Jr. offered a lengthy review of his 2020 managerial experience.

He quipped that he’d need three hours to list all of the decisions that have unexpectedly fallen into his lap. He compared himself to a substitute teacher, suggesting that, “as a student, you can only handle the substitute teacher for so long. … It’s been fun, but I tell (Terry Francona) all the time: ‘Get your butt back, bro.’”

In between those light-hearted remarks, Alomar likened the team to a car humming along the highway as the gas gauge leans toward E. He said he has joked with Francona: “You are the gas station. It’s time to show up.”

“We miss him,” Alomar said. “We miss his presence.”

Alomar has maintained that stance throughout his tenure, frequently stating he wished Francona would return “yesterday.” But at the time of the gas station comment, Alomar had steered the Indians to an 18-9 record. They were surviving just fine without their recovering leader.

It is an appropriate metaphor, though. All season, it has seemed as though the Indians have been waiting for a savior to rescue their offense, for that Sunoco to randomly pop up as they sputter toward October. They have waited for someone to deliver that one, critical hit that triggers a collective exhale from the dugout. They have waited for any outfielder or catcher to contribute to the offense. At the moment, they’re waiting for the pitching staff to morph back into its immortal, early-season form.

The last time the Indians endured a six-game skid, late July 2015, they shipped out every veteran player who stepped foot in the clubhouse. Brandon Moss, David Murphy, Marc Rzepczynski, all gone. About 10 days after the slide, the front office officially (and mercifully) terminated the Nick Swisher/Michael Bourn era.

There will be no mass exodus this time. Even after stubbing their toe for the sixth straight day, the Indians’ playoff odds, per FanGraphs, remain 98.8 percent. They face a Kilimanjaro-high climb toward reclaiming the AL Central title, but this year’s division crown is made of papier-mâché anyway.

The point of this regular season is to determine what could work in October. The Indians have plenty of evidence revealing what will not. More than three-fourths of the way through the regular season, Alomar is still searching far and wide for the (seemingly nonexistent) ideal outfield combination. The pitching staff has proven it’s human this week, too, which has further complicated matters.

Here’s the thing: Playoff seeding is relatively inconsequential. The Indians may wind up costing themselves home-field advantage in the first round, but that carries much less significance than usual. There will be no fans. It’ll be a three-game series, and Cy Young frontrunner Shane Bieber will start the first of those three. The Indians have fared better on the road this season, for whatever it’s worth.

Home: 12-11 record, minus-2 run differential
Road: 14-10 record, plus-33 run differential

No matter where they finish in the top eight, the Indians will have to topple three formidable opponents to emerge from the American League side of the bracket, with the ALDS and ALCS likely unfolding in a Southern California bubble.

At this point, the Indians’ plan is some combination of “pitch at an otherworldly level” and “pray to the heavens for a timely hit or two.” Their blueprint is a sketch of the “This is fine” dog meme with a blazing arrow pointing toward the front yard beneath the words, “Get there somehow.”

The Indians have scored two runs or fewer in 21 of their 47 games. When the lineup has produced lately, the pitching has stumbled. Tribe hurlers have allowed 40 runs during this six-game nightmare. It should be no shock if Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie suffer a hiccup here and there. The three, aged 25, 25 and 23, respectively, have combined to make only 51 major-league starts. The issue is, this team just has such little margin for error.

The manager du jour has scribbled 38 different lineups in 47 games, and only two have been used more than twice. The Indians have pieced together 25 different starting-outfield combinations, including nine different left fielders. They have used only nine outfield combinations more than once. No, Josh Naylor, with a .342 OPS through 37 plate appearances, has not yet solved the club’s offensive problems.

The lineup lacks punch. The Indians rank 28th in the majors with a .364 slugging percentage. The only two teams that sit below Cleveland, the Rangers and Pirates, own a combined record of 31-60. Carlos Santana has drawn a league-leading 39 walks but has collected only nine extra-base hits. The Indians rank last in the majors in slugging percentage (.327) by their first basemen.

That creates pressure to string hits together, which is a tall order for a team with a .227 batting average. To compound that issue, the Indians have been thrown out on the bases 21 times, one gaffe shy of the league-high mark. They have been picked off an AL-high six times. Those mistakes — Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez were nabbed over the weekend — become magnified when runs are at a premium. How much of a premium? After the Indians scored four runs against the Twins on Saturday night, Alomar referred to it as “a step in the right direction.”

Alomar commended Lindor’s desire to put pressure on the Minnesota defense and attempt to manufacture a run, but added: “At times, you have to take a step back and evaluate situations and try to play and not try to force things.”

Cleveland’s outfielders have posted a .186/.271/.289 slash line this season. That’s good for 29th in the league in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage and tied for 29th in slugging percentage. They owe the Pirates’ outfielders a thank-you note.

Cleveland’s catchers have contributed even less at the plate: a .143/.258/.214 slash line, good for 29th in the league in batting average, 27th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging.

Those two units account for the bottom four in the Indians lineup on a nightly basis, a wasteland of unfruitful at-bats. Meanwhile, the Minnesota starters in spots 6-9 tallied 10 hits in 30 at-bats over the weekend with seven home runs, 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored.

That resulted in a Twins sweep, and now the Indians find themselves mired in third place in the division, staring at the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the AL and desperately searching for that elusive fuel.

The last time the Indians endured a six-game skid, late July 2015, they shipped out every veteran player who stepped foot in the clubhouse. Brandon Moss, David Murphy, Marc Rzepczynski, all gone. About 10 days after the slide, the front office officially (and mercifully) terminated the Nick Swisher/Michael Bourn era.

We don't have a similar collection to unload this year. Veteran mediocrities available to jettison now would be: Mr. Interference Sandy Leon; cheap utility man Mike Freeman, LHP Oliver Perez. But why bother, other than Leon

Look we can talk and talk about the Tribe offense but to me it comes down to:

Lindor and A-Ram have always been the motor of the Tribe offense. Until they both get it together at the same time this offense will struggle.

I believe this would also free up Carlos Santana because he would then have far more runners on base when he gets up.

Roster decisions partly to blame as Indians continue their late-season free fall


By Zack Meisel 2h ago 21
The Indians aren’t exactly waltzing toward the postseason. No, they’re tripping over a banana peel and faceplanting toward the postseason.

And that’s assuming they even reach the playoffs, though FanGraphs still gives them a 98.1 percent chance of qualifying, thanks to the supersized bracket. Who would’ve thought that the four-game set this weekend between the Indians and Tigers — one of three rebuilding teams pursuing the No. 8 seed Cleveland currently occupies — would carry such significance?

The Indians suffered their seventh consecutive loss on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. This one ended when Nick Wittgren struck Willson Contreras with a pitch to load the bases, then struck Cameron Maybin with another pitch to force in the decisive run.

At least they’re getting creative.

The last time they dropped seven games in a row? Early June 2013, when Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds were key components of Terry Francona’s lineup. That year, they charged toward the postseason with a sterling September. This is the antithesis to that.

“There’s pressure,” Francisco Lindor said. “We’re humans. We see how many games we have left. We see the scoreboards. Definitely, there’s pressure, but that’s the beauty of the game. We’re going to go through times when we’re going to have a lot of pressure and face a lot of adversity. It’s (all about) how we handle it.”

It’s not just the team’s rotten performance, though. (Naturally, just as the offense emerges from another slumber, the team’s pitching and defense have taken a step back.) Head-scratching roster and lineup decisions will soon leave fans researching Rogaine-type hair-restoration products.

Cleveland, trailing by one in the eighth inning with the tying run at second base, needing a timely hit to help halt its skid and requiring a pinch hitter to replace Roberto Pérez, who was dealing with a tight lat muscle, turned to … Sandy León.

León, since the start of the 2018 season: .179/.247/.283 slash line in 553 plate appearances, though, by all accounts, he’s a great clubhouse leader and teammate and a nice guy and whatnot.

I asked Sandy Alomar Jr. to explain his choice, and he first noted the righty on the mound. León is a switch-hitter, and Alomar’s other options — Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow, Yu Chang and Austin Hedges — all bat right-handed.

“I didn’t want to burn three players,” Alomar said. “In case they (brought) in a lefty, I’d bring Luplow in, because they had a lefty warming up. … I had Luplow ready to hit for Naylor.”

Well, none of the other bench options ever entered the game. Why would burning three players in that situation matter? The Indians are carrying three catchers. They should capitalize on that. And León isn’t exactly the type of hitter who’s going to provide any sort of platoon advantage.

He also contributed to the Cubs’ run in the bottom of the eighth, when his errant throw on a Javy Báez stolen base attempt sailed into center field. Báez scampered all the way home to hand the Cubs a two-run cushion, which proved critical when Lindor launched a game-tying homer a few minutes later. (By the way, Hedges is defensively superior to León — and just about any catcher — and has displayed a knack for running into a homer here and there in the past.)


The pinch-hit decision underscores a greater theme to this season: The Indians haven’t made the best use of their roster, and it could have implications for 2021, not just 2020.

The bold promotion of Triston McKenzie, and his demonstration that he belongs in the majors, should pay considerable dividends moving forward. But what have the Indians learned about the position-player side of the roster? How is there not a better option handy to convince the acting manager that a light-hitting, 31-year-old backup catcher isn’t the optimal choice with the game hanging in the balance?

Mercado has struggled during his sophomore season, but he also hasn’t been awarded a consistent chance to rebound. Daniel Johnson received 13 plate appearances at the start of the year and then vanished. Bradley Zimmer followed him. Jake Bauers’ portrait is on the side of every milk carton outside of Eastlake. You know who might have been an intriguing candidate to bat for Pérez in the eighth inning, a lefty equipped with great plate discipline and the ability to hit righties? Nolan Jones, who supplanted McKenzie as the organization’s top prospect last year.

Not only have the Indians relied on underachieving veterans such as León, Delino DeShields and Mike Freeman (who doesn’t have to bat second every time he fills in for an infielder), but they haven’t learned how any of these pieces might fit beyond this year. And while the simple answer might be “they don’t,” the fact is, many will still be in the mix, still trying to prove themselves as the club still attempts to solve its years-long outfield problem.

The Indians have used 25 different starting outfield combinations this season. It’d be one thing if, during the constant shuffling, they pinpointed someone or something that worked. But nothing has stuck. October is approaching. And now the team has tumbled, in the span of a week, from the top spot in the division to the last seed in the American League.

“If we handle this the right way,” Lindor said, “and we’re the team that plays the game the right way, supports each other, backs each other up, then we’re going to be in the postseason. If we don’t play hard on a daily basis and prepare to come out here to win, whether we win or not, we don’t deserve to be in the postseason.”