That’s Called a Winning Streak, it Has Happened Before

In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar. -Harry Doyle, Major League

While this season won’t end nearly as magically as Major League, the Indians have been playing well the past few days so I’d like to take this rare opportunity to point out some positives.

1. The Tribe has a bit of a cushion between themselves and the Royals for fourth place.
Despite all the dismal years of Indians baseball in the past (see: 1955-1993), the Indians have never finished in last place two years in a row in the Divisional Era, which began in 1969. I can’t find any two consecutive years before then that they were in last either (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). Last year, they tied for last with the Royals at 65-97. Hopefully they can hold them off this year and keep KC in the basement where they belong.

2. At 66-91, they have improved their record from last year.
As I mentioned, last year the Tribe finished 65-97. They have already surpassed that win total this year, so regardless of how they finish it will be an improvement over last year. I know that seems hard to believe, and some could even argue that this year seems worse than last, but the numbers don’t lie. They have won more games than the previous year, and though it is only a minor improvement, it is a start.

3. Some of these kids don’t look half-bad.
Michael Brantley, who looked lost for much of the year, had improved his average by 73 points since August 8. Carlos Carrasco, after posting and 8.87 ERA in five starts last year, has a 3.26 ERA in six starts since being called up while, for now, shaking off the control issues he had in the bigs a season ago. Jeanmar Gomez has been rocked recently, but he had a nice start the other night and he is almost 30 innings over his previous season high, so maybe that’s an excuse. Also he is only 22, so he should only get better. On top of all, Chris “Pure Rage” Perez has been dominant.

Maybe I’m just grasping at straws with all this, but trust me I realize that there is a laundry list of things wrong with the club. Just for starters, I only listed one hitter that’s playing well, though I didn’t include Carlos “Supernatural” Santana. My goal here was to show that there is hope for this team next year, and the experience that they are gaining now is very valuable for next season. So I’m going to keep gripping onto those straws and, just like a true Cleveland sports fan, wait ’til next year.