Well hi again everybody, Happy New Year! Welcome to another edition of Dollar Blog Night. This is a passion project of mine: one that I intend to be a clear, concise, and entertaining fan perspective on Cleveland Indians baseball. Everyone loves Dollar Dog Night at Progressive Field, so why wouldn’t you want to remind yourself of it by reading thought provoking Tribe articles?! I would like to get out about one article a week depending on the Tribe’s activity.

These stories are intended to be topical, although at times I’ll get nostalgic about years gone by. I’ve been called a homer plenty of times before, so if you think I’m just a fool defending ‘cheap’ ownership, reach out and let me know! I love talking Cleveland baseball with anyone who will listen to me. Additionally, if you enjoy what you read here, tell a friend so they can enjoy as well! So again, welcome, and enjoy my two sense.

A Quick Disclaimer:

I loved this 2016 team. My intention here isn’t to tear down or demean their accomplishments. Rather, I wish to simply show how random the MLB playoffs are these days. Much of what happens there isn’t dependent on how teams look on paper or what Ken Rosenthal (however much I respect him) predicts.

Our darling 2016 roster is an exact representation of what I’m trying to say. They weren’t a juggernaut on paper; but boy, when they took the field, they were incredible. I ask you, why can’t 2019 be a similar situation? The outfield and bullpen sure don’t look great on paper (quite the opposite!), but this game isn’t played on paper. I see fan after fan filling twitter with doom and gloom, including but not limited to, “the window is closed!” and “the outfield and bullpen are minor league!”. So, in the interest of a rosier perspective, let’s walk down memory lane, shall we?

credit to CNN on this image

Cleveland Indians 25-man roster during the 2016 playoffs

Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Corey Kluber Chris Gimenez Francisco Lindor Lonnie Chisenhall Josh Tomlin Yan Gomes Jason Kipnis Tyler Naquin Trevor Bauer Roberto Perez Michael Martinez Coco Crisp Mike Clevinger Carlos Santana Rajai Davis Cody Anderson Mike Napoli Brandon Guyer Andrew Miller Jose Ramirez Cody Allen Jeff Manship Bryan Shaw Dan Otero Danny Salazar Ryan Merritt

(courtesy of CBS Sports)

(Anderson Swapped for Salazar in WS: Merritt replaced Gimenez in ALCS)

Here it is in all its glory. Even I was shocked when I pulled it up in the process of writing this article. We all remember how feared that bullpen was once upon a time, but when you look at the names there, nothing really jumps off the page. Jeff Manship? Dan Otero? Clevinger (who was a green horn at the time)? None of these names really strike fear into my heart. But when you take a closer look, each of these guys had incredible years in 2016! Manship appeared in 53 games to the tune of a 3.12 ERA, Otero 62 games with of a 1.53! ERA, and Clev had only appeared in 17 MLB games before those playoffs started. The middle of the pen wasn’t full of big names, but when their names were called, they did the job. Why can’t we have some guys who are one year abbarations out of the bullpen once again in 2019?

Bryan Shaw was a workhorse at that time but think back to how nervous we all were during his outings. I know I was quaking during each and everyone during that postseason. We all remember Miller and Allen’s heroics, but no one saw Miller having the most dominant month in playoff history. The bottom line here is that it doesn’t necessarily take a splash free agent signing to fix your bullpen (although that would be mighty nice).

Often, its about getting guys hot at the right time, which simply hasn’t happened the past two postseasons. Miller, Shaw, and Allen each disappeared in their own ways over the next two October series, and no middle guys emerged. Small wonder, it is, that we didn’t win either of them. Bullpens are fickle folks, and we just haven’t had any breaks in that department lately. Losing Miller and Allen hurts, but it sure isn’t the end of the world after their 2018 performances. The front office didn’t pour any money into the pen in any of these three years, but the results were drastically different.

Look at that outfield. Chisenhall was healthy and playing good ball at that time, with a memorable game 2 in Cleveland against the Sox. However past that, the outfield was really a matter of mix and match. Naquin had a nice rookie regular season, but largely disappeared in the postseason. Before he became a Cleveland legend for his game 7 homerun, Rajai Davis was a speed, pinch running type, not an everyday guy you could count on out there.

Brandon Guyer? He is a nice platoon piece, but has a .224 career batting average vs righties, by no means someone who can be counted on every day. And finally, Coco Crisp, a childhood favorite of mine, who was a waiver deadline pickup at the end of a 14-year MLB career. Tito used his smarts and experience to put the guys he had in the best possible spots, and boy did it work. Why can’t the Tito shuffle work in the Tribe outfield again in 2019?

A few other Fun names who saw time during the 2016 RS

(Marlon Byrd, Juan Uribe, Abe Almonte, Michael Martinez, Colin Cowgill, Joba Chamberlain)

Credit to mlb.com on this image. I’m still mad at this guy for making the last out of game 7, and never being able to get a bunt down.

So why did I just take the time to go through these comparisons? This 2019 Roster isn’t so dissimilar from 2016. The fact of the matter is that 2017 and 2018 both had better rosters and better positioning than 2016: yet had a stark decline in results. And the only answer I can give for this is sheer dumb luck. The rotation is ridiculously better than it was at that time, as Carrasco has been healthy, Mike Clevinger has become a 200-inning workhorse, and Trevor Bauer has matured greatly since then. Don’t forget we have Shane Bieber coming off a dynamite rookie campaign. And if Aaron Judge was a few inches shorter, we may not be having this discussion. The outfield looks weak: Jordan Luplow, Greg Allen, and Leonys Martin? Maybe? But is that really worse than Crisp, Naquin, and Chisenhall? I really think there’s a debate to be had there.

The infield looks basically identical for me, save for Napoli being replaced by Bauers (a swap I believe works out in our favor) and Michael Martinez losing the blackmail he had on Tito. Yan Gomes and Michael Brantley, both mainstays in our lineup over the years, are gone. However, neither was needed to make it within a bloop and a blast of a title! Bullpen wise you replace Allen with Hand, (not that he couldn’t possibly be resigned), add a starter to the bullpen as a Miller type weapon in October, add a solid free agent signing or two, and hope you have other pieces that break out and have good years. The path back to a dominant October pen isn’t as daunting as you might think.

Now, is there work to be done by Antonetti/Chernoff this offseason? Certainly. You can check out why I believe they’re on the right path if you’re interested in that. But with 21 million dollars in free capital and a big trade chip to use in Corey Kluber, this discussion could be totally different very soon. But the bottom line here is that things aren’t as bleak as some would like you to think they are at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The Tribe simply aren’t in dire straights. The window is never closed with Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and an uber weak division. We simply need what that 2016 team had in spades: A little Jacobs field magic.

Remember Cleveland, Always Believe,

-Frank Sobnosky.

Care to debate me on any of these points? Reach out @polishthunder31 on twitter and on the Dollar Blog Night Facebook page.