CLEVELAND — There’s confidence, and then there is Chris Antonetti confidence.
Whether it’s public posturing or frank candor, the Cleveland Indians General Manager said prior to Sunday’s gut-churning 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay that this Indians team can win the American League Central.
“What we need most is for the guys here to continue to play to their potential,” he said. “If they do, we feel like we have a talented enough roster to win the division.”
The Indians ended the unofficial first half the same way they opened the season — losing a game they should have won as the team’s two All-Stars had, shall we say, issues. Asdrubal Cabrera’s lackadaisical play and error led to four unearned runs in the sixth, and closer Chris Perez could not hold a two-run lead in the ninth.
That split the series and sent the Indians to the break with seven wins in their past 11 games.
The Indians still have the league’s finest closer (despite Sunday’s misstep), two talented starters at the front of the rotation, an emerging second baseman and a right-fielder/leadoff hitter who has played very, very well.
They also are 44-41. That’s three games back, in second place in the Central and in the middle of things for the second wild card spot.
“It’s been good so far,” Perez said. “We’re only halfway there though.”
The Indians are a team with an interesting collection of numbers. Some indicate they should not be three games above .500 — starting with the fact they have scored 385 runs but given up 414. When the Indians lose, they can lose big (10-15 in blowouts), but when they play close their chances are good — as evidenced by their 12-4 mark in one-run games.
They have won 7-of-11, but prior to that they had lost five in a row — the longest losing streak of the season.
Cleveland is 5-1 against Detroit, but 4-8 against division-leading Chicago.
The Indians are 21st in the league in home runs, but 11th in runs. That’s because they lead the league in walks and rank fourth in on-base percentage.
They are seventh in saves, but 28th in team ERA — 4.50.
With Ubaldo Jimenez pitching better, the Indians have two dependable starters with Jimenez and Justin Masterson. But that’s the way it’s been all season — the only thing that’s changed is the identity of the two dependable guys.
The bullpen features Perez and his 24 saves and Vinnie Pestano as the setup man, but the rest of the bullpen has some ugly numbers.
They are doing it without Grady Sizemore and with Roberto Hernandez Carmona still tied up by false identity issues. They are without Lonnie Chisenhall, who went on the DL right as he was starting to hit. Travis Hafner has gone through his normal injury periods, and Santana has struggled, hitting .221 — a ridiculously low average for a guy so vital.
On the positive side, Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis have been key contributors. And Johnny Damon seems to have found his swing after hitting .154 his first month. Even Casey Kotchman’s bat has come around; anything he provides offensively will help given his defense.
There’s been a lot of chatter for a right-handed bat. Antonetti admitted he always feels a sense of urgency to improve but said the Indians can win without an addition.
“Where is that right-handed hitter going to play?” Antonetti said. “A lot of our left-handed hitters will continue to play against right-handed and left-handed pitchers. Our focus is how do we build the best team that’s capable of winning the most games?
“A big part of it is going to be our left-handed hitters producing better against left-handed pitching as well as some of our complementary guys and the guys that have been on the bench doing a better job when they get those opportunities against left-handed pitching.”
He’s probably referring to Shelley Duncan, who heads into the break hitting 10-for-27 with four home runs and nine RBI.
But counting on Duncan to be something he’s never been able to might be too much. That being said, manager Manny Acta continues to insist: “We haven’t played our best baseball.”
A year ago after 85 games the Indians were 46-39 before the bottom dropped out.
The goal this season is not to let the bottom drop. Thirty-six of the last 77 games are at home, with only seven against Boston or New York. They're there, though not completely.
Antonetti said it better: “I’m satisfied where we stand at this point. But obviously we need to play better the second half if we want to win the division.”
