An Optimistic Outlook

The 2015 season began with very, very lofty expectations for the Cleveland Indians. Thanks, SI.

Up until this point, the team has done anything but fulfill those expectations. The Indians got off to an all too familiar poor showing out of the gate. Through 21 games, the Indians were 7-14 but since then they are 35-32, which isn’t great, but obviously isn’t bad either. Despite the Indians not being where many people envisioned them being, there is reason for hope.

While there is much out there about the Indians having a rather disappointing first half of the season, I want to focus on a few positive things. The way I look at it, life is better as an optimist, don’t you all agree?

When it comes to positivity, there is no better place to begin than the starting rotation that the Indians have assembled this season. With Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, and even Cody Anderson, this rotation has put themselves in the conversation as one of the league’s best. The narrative behind them is that they aren’t just playoff good, but World Series good. Now, I know that this in reality doesn’t mean much, but getting quality starting pitching night in and night out could be the biggest factor in the potential second half turn around for the Indians.

While, I could bombard you with stats such as how the Indians are the first team to have four 100+ strikeout pitchers before the All-Star break or many other notable things, I won’t. The fact of the matter is that this rotation is crazy good.

Yes, the Indians have been below average at the plate this season, which is the main reason that they’re currently below .500, that’s no secret. That being said, there is reason to think that they can turn it around. Now, before you call me crazy and close out of this post, hear me out. I’m not saying that this team is going to turn into the ’95 Indians during the time off of the All-Star break. That would be asinine to think. However, it may not be crazy to think that they can hit better than they have.

Outside of Jason Kipnis, just about all of the core players have been a disappointment at the plate. Carlos Santana has struggled, Yan Gomes and Michael Brantley have been beat up and not produced the way Tribe fans were hoping for and Brandon Moss has not lived up to expectations either, but that can change. A poor first half of the season does not doom them for the rest of the year.

While I am holding out hope that the bats do improve in the second half of the season, one area that has already begun to improve is the defense that the Indians have played. Two big reasons for that come in the form of rookies Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela. Since those two made the short drive up I-71 from Columbus to Cleveland the Indians defense has been much improved. If the Indians can continue to transform their once atrocious defense into an average defense, then the pitching staff will be that much better.

In my opinion this is already happening, and is a big reason for Cody Anderson’s success. Of the starting rotation, Anderson has the lowest strikeout rate, but also the lowest ERA. Yes, I know he has a much smaller sample size than any of the other four, but numbers are numbers.

Things might not be the brightest that they have ever been in Cleveland, at least for this season, but the Indians are by no means out of it, especially with a second wildcard spot available. The division might be a little out of reach, but the playoffs certainly are not. I’m not saying go out and buy tickets for game one of the World Series in Cleveland (Thanks, AL All-Star team), but don’t be surprised if the Tribe goes on a run and Cleveland is treated to a very exciting second half of the season.