It’s officially scoreboard-watching season. Now that the regular season is measured in weeks instead of months, many fans will be checking to see what the Detroit Tigers did just seconds after the conclusion of the Indians’ game that day.
And in clubhouses around the league, players will have the day games on the TVs that matter to their race, keeping tabs on their rivals. It isn’t that these games count more than those in April or May, but now that the races are sorting themselves out and time is running out, the stakes are right up in front.
The Indians entered Saturday with a six-game lead in the American League Central over the Tigers, with a magic number of 17. The Kansas City Royals, 10 games behind, are just about out of the divisional race barring something miraculous down the stretch, but the second AL wild card is within their reach.
Have an Indians question? It can be sent in at any time, with semi-regular mailbags appearing throughout the season. Questions can be tweeted to @RyanLewisABJ or emailed to rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Please include your first name and hometown as well, and thank you as always.
Tito and Callaway get much credit, but what other coaches have made significant contributions to the Tribe’s chemistry and success this year? — Bill, New York
Indians manager Terry Francona recently spoke to the work that hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo and assistant hitting coach Matt Quatraro have done this season. Coaches on a staff can often be the fall guys for bad years but don’t always get as much credit when things go well. Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, Mike Napoli, Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall and Tyler Naquin have all had strong seasons for their standards. And Abraham Almonte and Rajai Davis have made positive contributions as well. It can’t be measured how much effect they’ve had, but the Indians have had one of the better offenses this season and much of it has been done without Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes.
Will Jesus Aguilar ever be a contributor to the Indians? — Mark, Brunswick
The door has been open, but he still has that last level to reach. The Indians haven’t given up on him, but they have been waiting to see more from him. Aguilar has shown some power this season at Triple-A, slugging 30 home runs and driving in 92, but he’s hit just .247 and has struck out 110 times. He had a chance to show the Indians something this spring but hit just .162 in 37 at-bats. He’s also been blocked by Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana at the major-league level. This upcoming spring will be a big one for him, but it also depends on the Indians’ offseason and their need at first base.
What’s your best guess at the order for the playoff rotation? I’d guess Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar (if healthy)? — Kyle, Washington D.C.
Much of this now depends on the health of Salazar, which has and will force the Indians to walk on egg shells for the rest of the year. He was recently shut down for two weeks for elbow inflammation and left Friday’s start with forearm tightness. He’s also a major key to the Indians’ success, particularly in the postseason, when their starting rotation becomes their biggest asset. Kluber and Carrasco should be the Game 1 and Game 2 starters in a series. If Salazar is healthy and pitching like he can, he’d likely get the start for Game 3, with Bauer going in Game 4. If October comes and Salazar’s status is still uncertain, Bauer moves up and the No. 4 spot becomes a major question mark. Josh Tomlin or even Mike Clevinger, by that time, could be in play, but that’s only if things continue to worsen for Salazar.
My concern is fantasy baseball related, and while I realize you work in the real world of the sport, I wonder if you have any info about Allen? Is he, “the guy” again or is Francona playing situations? — Chris, Birmingham, AL
Cody Allen is still the primary closer, but Francona has reserved the right to move around roles as needed. The big thing with getting Andrew Miller wasn’t just the addition of an elite reliever, it was that it gave Francona the ability to leverage those two and Bryan Shaw in any situation to get the best out of all three. Miller has moved around the most, appearing in games from the sixth to the ninth innings. Allen has appeared in the ninth inning, but all three know it’s not always locked in stone.
Will Onion finally win the Hot Dog race season title? — Joe, Tallahassee
This was asked in jest, but I don’t care. Seems like having a hot-dog related question is becoming a tradition of these mailbags, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Onion certainly has a case. Ketchup is a dirty cheater, and it’s a shame hot-dog-race fans seem to be OK with it instead of calling for investigations and suspensions. Mustard, meanwhile, is locked into a side-rivalry with Fox Sports’ Andre Knott. This should open the door for Onion, who has used her purse to a much greater extent this season.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com.