Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
The Cleveland Indians came into this weekend riding a bit of a hot streak. They just put together an impressive series against one of the league’s better teams. However, none of the momentum could be carried over, as the Tribe ended the week with bad defense and minimal run support for ace Corey Kluber.
The amount of times something like this has happened for the Indians this year is alarmingly high. It also explains why the team comes into the All-Star break eleven games back of first in the AL Central. Why a team many labeled as a sleeper contender is still four games below .500, tied for last in the division.
Cleveland badly needed to head into the break at least seven or eight games back in the Central. The opening months of the season were an incredible letdown, but if they could make up a decent chunk of ground, there’d still be a glimpse of hope.
Down in an eleven-game hole, with zero signs of consistency, it’s tough to believe the Indians will be able to overcome their sloppy start to the year.
…