The Official 2018 Cleveland Indians Thread

Josh Donaldson has such a beautiful swing even when he misses the ball,sure hope he makes thru the playoffs.
 
Does anyone have Kipnis' stats for the first half of the season -- avg., HRs, RBIs -- and those for the second half of the season? I know he hasn't exactly been on a tear, but he really has IMO snapped out of that first half disaster of a season.
 
arizonawildcat said:
Does anyone have Kipnis' stats for the first half of the season -- avg., HRs, RBIs -- and those for the second half of the season? I know he hasn't exactly been on a tear, but he really has IMO snapped out of that first half disaster of a season.
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I don't think Kipnis' stats have changed all that much. He had a hot streak in June that got his BA over the Mendoza Line and it's wavered between .215 and .230 ever since. The home run and RBI numbers aren't too far off his career averages. But the BA and the defensive range have diminished considerably.

I was at tonight's game and I was thrilled that Kipnis emerged as the hero. He's had a tough year but he was outstanding in his prime, plus he's always been a solid pro and a good citizen. That granny was Kip's 1,000th career hit. :banana::banana::banana:
 
General information stuff:

Trevor Bauer is back and he's starting Friday's game against the Red Sox. He'll pitch just a couple of innings, then give way to Shane Bieber. Bauer will then come back on three day's rest (but light pitch counts) to start Tuesday, then again in the regular season finale a week from Sunday. This will line Bauer up to start Game 3 of the Astros' series with a couple of starts under his belt.

Jose Ramirez has reached the 30-30 club, the firest Indian to do so since Grady Sizemore more than a decade ago.

Corey Kluber set a career high with his 19th win Tuesday against the White Sox. He's got two starts left to try to become the Tribe's first 20-game winner since Cliff Lee in 2008.

The Indians have five starting pitchers with 10 or more wins. I'll try to do some research to learn when that happened last.

The Indians lead the major leagues in stolen bases.
 
Indians had 5 with 10 wins last year too I think. Even with Tribe's lackluster play the past two months, I am optimistic about their chances in October. Kluber was good last time out, Cookie has been good since the break too. If Bauer comes back and throws like he was watch out. Clevenger has been good too. Miller, Allen and Hand need to be sharp and Bieber will be another arm in the pen. As always it will come down to pitching. I think Donaldson may provide some fireworks too and Kipnis is a nice weapon in 9 hole now. AL is really good with Houston and Boston but Tribe will not be intimidated by either.
 
I'm an NL guy and Reds fan (SAD !!) but have been rooting for the Tribe the last few years in the playoffs. I think it is clear that this year the best teams in baseball all are in the AL (Boston, Houston, Cleveland) and I am eager to see the playoffs. 3 great teams and I truly think the starting rotations are all close to equal. Tribe and Astros probably have slight edge over Boston with Chris Sale hurting. Will be fun.
 
Great 5-4 win over the BoSox in 11 with a Brantley walk-off single.

In the post-game celebration, Bauer looked as happy and untroubled as I have ever seen him. Contented, actually. I feel as if that bodes well for the Wahoos.
 
Indians, who supposedly can't beat a good team, won the season series 4-3 over the team with the best record in baseball. They also went 3-1 against the Cubs, the team with the best record in the National League.
 
Kluber takes the mound in Chicago tonight in search of win #20 in 2018. He'd never won 19 until he beat the White Sox last week in Cleveland.
 
I'm hoping these last few weeks have been the calm before the (playoff) storm with Lindor & J-Ram because those two dudes have pretty much fallen off the map. Lindor's been a little better as of late but J-Ram's stick has gone AWOL.
 
As suspected, they will start out in Houston for Game 1 on Friday 10/5. Bauer looks like he's rounding back into form.
 
BR1986FB said:
The starters. The bullpen is questionable.
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Your top 3 are Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, (then probably Clevinger if you need a 4th?).

That lets you put Bieber in the pen with Miller, Hand and Allen. I'd feel pretty good about the staff as a whole.
 
BR1986FB said:
The starters. The bullpen is questionable.
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I think the bullpen is getting better by the day. Miller's velocity seems to be back, and that will only make that slider more lethal. Cimber has been reliable and Hand has been the closer they've needed. Perez has been excellent as a situational reliever. Put Bieber in there as the long reliever and the bullpen is very solid.

The X-factors are Bauer - can he start? - and Allen. Will Francona have the stones to use him in a back-end role or do you bury him and make him a new version of McAllister.

Of course, this is all good in the regular season. The playoffs are just a tad different.
 
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