It has been a stellar week for Cleveland Sports fans in the month of June and I can make a guarantee to all Americans that it is the unofficial friendliest city in America. So whether you manage to take a paid leave or are finding little meaning in your lives, go visit the gloomy city and open yourself up to meeting a group of Clevelanders. You will likely experience compassion and gratitude setting the mood towards blissful awakenings that may propel you to the best vacation you have ever experienced in your lifetime.
Seriously, though…The City of Cleveland appears too abnormally jovial that it should be a required to conduct routine checkups from doctors and psychiatrists in order to understand the strong levels of imbalance in mood swings amongst the manic-crazed civilians. Probably the safest bet, however in no way should anyone impede on Cleveland’s level of happiness which is something they have not been able to muster for years. After having witnessed perhaps the greatest NBA finals in league history in which the underdog city faced a 3-1 deficit in the NBA finals against arguably the greatest team in NBA history, The Golden State Warriors with a 73-9 record, saw hometown blood Lebron James carry his team and the now manic-crazed civilians to the promise land restoring glory to a defeated city without hope for so long. The Cleveland Indians are no stranger to heartbreak themselves, a topic for which I will save for another day perhaps impending a postseason run.
The Tribe is playing with the amount of confidence and swagger the city has not seen since 2007 when they reached the ALCS only to lose to Terry Francona’s Boston Red Sox in seven games. Now Francona is leading the hottest team in the American League having won seven in a row and a perfect record at home during the month of June. The pitching has beyond exceeded expectations. Led by: Ace Danny Salazar (9-3, 2.40 ERA), Former Cy young winner Corey Kluber (7-7 3.59 ERA), Josh Tomlin (8-1 3.32 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (5-2, 3.20 ERA), the Indians have held opponents to an average 2.9 runs per game and during their seven game winning streak the starting pitchers have a combined 2.09 ERA averaging seven innings per start. Francona has spent the last four years trying to build a powerful starting lineup that could compete in the AL Central, a division known to breed dominant starting pitchers as evidenced in the reigning World Series Champions Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. Francona and the Indians endured much inconsistency from their starting pitchers especially Salazar and Carlos Carasco, who is coming back in top form from a hamstring injury he suffered nearly a month ago. When Kluber won the AL Cy young award in 2014 it looked to be the start to a dominant turning of the tide for Indians pitchers. Francona’s persistent faith in his starting lineup through an up and down 2015 campaign allowed for his pitchers to correct their mistakes and play with the level of confidence to maintain early leads and finish their starts. Salazar will likely be a first ballot allstar for his performance this year featuring a change-up pitch that proves to be nearly unhittable for opposing batters.
On the other side, the offense has managed to score consistently without their most productive hitter Michael Brantley who has missed the majority of the season due to inflammatory tendinitis in his surgically repaired right shoulder. The batters have been led by second year shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is batting .307, and second basemen Jason Kipnis who has hit 9 home runs. The Indians are 6-4 against Kansas City this season and 7-0 against Detroit.
The Indians are sitting at a 42-30 record, their fastest start since 2007. The Indians are 6-4 against Kansas City this season and 7-0 against Detroit. The Indians look to stay unbeaten against Detroit during a series that ends on June 26th. Since the Cavs achieved glory, the Indians have not lost a game. The team looks to be unbeatable and until hitters can figure out how to hit off the Tribe pitchers this team looks likely headed for October a few weeks out from the All Star break.
And boy the upcoming schedule for the Tribe looks quite suspicious –
Oh hey, @Indians…your schedule looks familiar ? pic.twitter.com/GaqIBIRCEJ
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 24, 2016
