Ball Played: A three-hour tour (Indians lost at sea and to Royals)

Both sounded like such fine ideas. Whether a quick oceanic voyage from a tropic port or a baseball season from a highly touted team. However, such fine ideas can turn out tragic once put into practice. Sometimes, events like a bad storm can sneak up on you and force you to crash into a hopeless situation as your only hope of survival. No wins, no power, no defense. Not a single luxury. Like 80s Indians baseball, as primitive as can be. Such is the current state of the Cleveland Indians as they dropped their fifth game in a row and ninth out of the last twelve. On Monday, it was the Kansas City Royals who beat the Indians 9-4.

Thankfully for Cleveland Indians fans, Gilligan’s Island laid out a survival blueprint on their show¹ . Each character served a definitive purpose that allowed the others to maintain a sense of stability, calm, and just enough hope to continue moving forward through each successive heartbreak that they were forced to endure. On their own, their weaknesses would have swallowed them whole on that island, but together they formed a strong bond that carried them through. Indians fans must form a similar bond in these dark days of the 2015 season.

The Professor was able to cobble together enough inventions to make the castaways pretend at times that everything was as they had it back home. He created everything from a bicycle-powered washing machine, a Geiger counter, a radio, and a battery charger² . The Professor was never able to invent anything that actually helped them off the island, but the idea that he might be able to supplied hope to the rest. Such is the life for the analytic minds among Indians fans. There are countless statistics that demonstrate that the 2015 season was actually not a fruitless endeavor and that there were real, sustainable positive portions of the season. Remember, RISP hitting is supposed to even out over a larger sample size, the rotation has shown some of the best peripherals in MLB (and might break the strikeout record), and the defense has even turned around with Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela on the left side of the infield. Sure, finding and bringing attention to these items will not change the fortunes of the 45-53 ballclub, but it might just bring about some hope that there are better days ahead.

Oh, sweet, innocent Gilligan. The optimist in the group could find the positive glimmer in any dark corner of a room. He might have been gullible, clumsy, rash, and a bit silly, but those were endearing qualities for someone who also brought such joy to a group who otherwise could have spent their time sullen. Such is the life for the diehard fans that refuse to put away their preseason SI publications toting the Indians as the World Series favorites, cling to every positive start by the rotation, long for a return to form of Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana, and continue to mention even with the terrible times since the All-Star break, the Indians sit just seven games back of the Minnesota Twins for a Wild Card slot. Hey, if things break just right and the Indians get just a bit more consistency, then why not the Indians in this terribly mediocre American League? Sure, such unbridled optimism might not will the team to success, but without such fans cheering there might be no cheering at all.

Of course, the Skipper plays a vital role as well. The Skipper does not care for nonsense that Gilligan supplies. He is a realist and understands that times are indeed tough and that hard work, focus, and dedication towards a goal is the only way to get through tough times. He will slap Gilligan upside the head with his hat if necessary to prove his point too. And, when the frustrations boil and build up pressure within the group, the Skipper is there to blow his proverbial top with angry venting or physical feats of passion. Such is the life for the diehard fans that refuse to ignore the reality of the scoreboard in front of them each game. The inevitability of the losses stacking up are too much for them to ignore and they will make sure that they let the Professor and Gilligan know their feelings on the matter. However, the reason they are angry is because they deeply care about the team and want to see them making the progress towards the goal of winning a championship.

At times, it might not seem as if Thurston Howell III and Eunice Wentworth Howell have much of a role with the castaways. They do not seem much for manual labor nor do they have an overabundance of talents to supply the group. Somehow, they managed to stock enough luggage on The Minnow to have an endless wardrobe, but that is merely the window dressing on their dire situation. However, what the Howell’s do provide is the long-term vision. They do not focus on their present situation on the island and assume that they should behave as savages to survive. No, a proper amount of decorum must still be instilled and the thought that they will return to their life or importance gets them through their current provincial status. Such is the life for Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti. Their words sometimes come across as out of touch and haughty, but their focus remains purely on what lies ahead. Sure, it still requires proper decisions and the work of those around them to be successful, but if no one has the long-term plan in mind, then it will likely never be achieved.

Finally, there was Ginger and Mary Ann. The Hollywood movie star and the hard-working country girl. Whether solving a mystery by using plots of movies she had performed, entertaining the rest through songs or plays, or having her presence just provide a sense that the decorum the Howell’s strived for was worth obtaining at times, Ginger always found herself in the middle of everything. And, Mary Ann was always by her side often doing much of the hard work though hardly ever getting the credit that the attention-seeking Ginger would obtain. Such is the life for the players on the Indians. The flashy, out-spoken players such as Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, and Danny Salazar often command attention. But the under-stated or soft-spoken talent in Michael Brantley and Corey Kluber do much of the work as well. Sure, their talent has not been enough to change the fortunes of this particular season, but the hope that rests within it can live for a better year ahead.

Keys of the Game

Throwing out runners:

In what could be a microcosm of the season, the Indians had runners on first and third in the first inning after the Royals had put up three runs (the Royals also had two men on base when Eric Hosmer crushed a home run). David Murphy lifted a high fly ball to deep center field where Lorenzo Cain easily tracked it down. Jason Kipnis decided that he could score, so he tagged up and jetted home. Cain immediately fired a bullet to catcher Salvador Perez, and Jason Kipnis was tagged as he stretched his hand towards the corner of home plate.

Jason Kipnis sought his revenge in the top of the fifth inning with the score still a reasonable 4-1. Alcides Escobar led the inning off by sneaking a hard grounder past Giovanny Urshela into left field where Michael Brantley quickly scooped the ball up and immediately threw to second base. Kipnis was there waiting and he made the catch, applied the tag, and the umpire called Escobar out. However, replays confirmed that Escobar had gotten his foot onto the corner of the bag first and the call was overturned. Instead of beginning the inning with an out, it began with a double, and the Royals would exit the inning ahead 7-1.

Cody Anderson pitching more like a 2015 Indians fifth starter:

For his first four starts, Cody Anderson was a revelation. The Indians had struggled to find a fifth starter and were basically giving away any chance at victory when Zach McAllister, T.J. House, Bruce Chen, or Shaun Marcum (outside a couple nice starts) took the mound. However, fifth starter disease has seemingly spread to Cody Anderson as he has now given up 11 runs in his last two starts after giving up three runs in his first four.

In this game, outside the Eric Hosmer home run in the first inning, and falling apart after a replay overturn in the fifth inning (he gave up a walk and two more hits that inning, including another RBI hit by Eric Hosmer), Cody Anderson’s start could be simply summed up by Omar Infante. Omar Infante entered the Monday night game with 346 plate appearances in 2015. He had zero home runs. None. Zip. Zilch. So, when Omar Infante stepped into the batter’s box in the second inning, he cleared the left field fence with his first home run of the season. Because, of course he did. I’m not saying that Cody Anderson purposefully threw the ball eight inches off the plate to hit the next batter, Jarrod Dyson, behind the leg, but I could understand the frustration if he did.

If Cody Anderson is going to survive as a low-strikeout worm-burning pitcher, then he is going to have to make sure that the ball stays in the ballpark.

Hitting the ball hard, but not scoring runs:

Edinson Volquez did not have his best stuff on Monday. He walked five batters, while only striking out four. He allowed six hits in six innings, and he needs to make sure that he buys the Kansas City defense some Omaha Steaks (or is Nebraska cattle frowned upon in Kansas?) for saving his hide several times during the game, particularly the outfielders.

The Indians were making loud contact throughout the night. Francisco Lindor had a great swing in the first inning and hit a home run in the seventh (with 2 men on base!). Carlos Santana hit a solo home run and almost hit another home run (of course, it ended up being a warning track fly ball out with runners on base, but those are the breaks). David Murphy, Michael Brantley, and Jason Kipnis all has some really great hits (and Kipnis even got some good fortune on a dribbler down the third base line to load the bases – no, the Indians did not score). In the end, the Indians reached base 14 times (nine hits and five walks).

Sadly, all of that loud contact and patient hitting was not rewarded early. The Indians had two on in the first inning, three in the second (after a home run), and two in the third. The only run they scored during that time was the leadoff home run by Carlos Santana in the second inning. The lack of clutch hitting is inexplicable, but it is definitive.

Key Moment Scorecard:

Kansas City Royals: 3
Cleveland Indians: 0

The Numbers

Hey, if we lead with a Gilligan’s Island reference, then we have to conclude with Lost, right? I mean, just because I got bored with the show in the second season and thought it was ridiculous that they kept pretending to build up to something but refused to ever offer a payoff…wait, this is sounding a lot like this Indians season. Okay, hitting with RISP must be the smoke monster as it shows up from time-to-time but not all that often and leaves everyone thoroughly confused as to what it might mean.

4 – Runs. Of course, a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, while down 9-1, is not quite as meaningful as it would have been earlier in the game. But, it is the first time the Indians have scored as many as four runs in a loss since July 11 (despite seven other losses in that time), so that is … something.

8 – Runners left on base. 2-for-7 is not as horrific as the Indians have been with RISP this season, however only one of those hits actually knocked in a run. And, the Indians leaving ducks on the pond early and often in the game as the Royals tacked on runs deflated any momentum that might have been gained.

15 – Lindor RBIs in 2015. For all the recent struggles that the Indians have had (particularly hitting), the blame cannot rest on Francisco Lindor. He is now batting .349/.391/.535 with four extra base hits since the All-Star break and validating Terry Francona’s stubborn insistence of putting him in the second spot in the lineup.

16 – Games Austin Adams has appeared in 2015. Adams tends to only appear in games that are blowouts (only two games that he has appeared in have ended within a two-run score), so the Indians 4-12 record in his appearances speak volumes. He has done decently well in those opportunities though, and pitched two perfect innings on Monday.

23 – Home run pace for the team-leading Brandon Moss if he plays in 141 games. He currently leads the team with 15 home runs (Carlos Santana is second with 11). The Indians as a team rank 25th in home runs with only the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves behind them.

42 – Jackie Robinson’s number is perfect way to end it. Larry Doby’s #14 is not included in this list just like he often isn’t included when people discuss integrating MLB despite the fact that Doby was the first Negro League ballplayer to enter the American League and that he was the first African-American player in those ballparks. But, WFNY’s Greg Popelka describes it better than myself (go read the full article):

Larry Doby, a middle infielder, was asked by manager Lou Boudreau to play first base (for the first time in his life) when he first arrived with the team. Doby didn’t have a first baseman’s glove, and Eddie Robinson refused to allow a “n-“ to borrow his. At least until Gordon talked him into it. Doby eventually settled into center field, providing breathtaking plays while also setting a record errorless streak .

If Larry Doby’s introduction into the American League was a milestone that transformed American society in a way that transcended sports, then another moment perhaps proved equally as meaningful. In Game 4 of the 1948 World Series, Doby hit a home run to help Indians pitcher Steve Gromek earn the win. After the game, in the locker room, a joyous Gromek and Doby embraced, and a photo recording the moment ran prominently in every newspaper in the country.

1. Or was it a documentary? Or a reality show? We cannot be completely sure. [↩]
2. Apparently, all you need is some sea water, pennies, metal strips, and coconut shells. Those coconut shells are ever so useful after all. [↩]