Starters Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson have pitched well lately. The Indians are strong up the middle, with second baseman Jason Kipnis and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, and their batters walk a lot. They missed a chance to trade for third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who was sent from Boston to the Central-leading Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but Antonetti said improvement would have to come from within.

“No one guy externally, no matter who we bring in, will solve our issues,” he said. “The guys that are here need to play to their potential.”

The Indians should learn a lot about their true selves in the coming weeks. They play series against the Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles, the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays before the All-Star break. Losing two of three in Houston last weekend was not an encouraging send-off.

Back home, the fans seem skeptical. The Indians have turned over nearly their entire roster since 2007, when they beat the Yankees in the division series. The progress they seemed to show last season, when they started 30-15, was overshadowed by finishing 15 games behind the division-winning Detroit Tigers. Now Cleveland ranks last in the league in attendance, averaging only 18,408 fans a game.

Perez has expressed frustration with that, and did so again Monday. He said fans seemed to care more about rooting against LeBron James and the Miami Heat than they do about rooting for the Indians.

“I don’t get the psyche,” said Perez, who grew up in Florida. “Why cheer against a guy that’s not even in your city anymore? Just to see him fail? Does that make you feel good? I could see if the Cavs were in the championship, but that’s their mentality.

“They’ve had a lot of years of misery. They say, ‘You just don’t understand because you don’t live here.’ O.K., maybe I don’t. But that doesn’t mean it has to keep going.”