The offensive incompetence - Cleveland has scored three runs or fewer in 31 games - has further stressed a pitching staff that has held up pretty well, considering that starters Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale have been on the injured list and Francona has had to count on rookies Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee and Hunter Gaddis. Josh Bell, the team's biggest offseason pickup who was supposed to provide Cleveland's offense with some needed punch while protecting Ramírez, has been a major disappointment with just three homers.Īnd then there's Cleveland's catchers, Mike Zunino (.170) and Cam Gallagher (.098), who are batting a combined. José Ramírez has been his usual solid self, but has yet to go on one of those tears where he carries the team. 254 - 44 points below his 2022 average - and not having the same impact at the plate while continuing to play at a Gold Glove level in left field.Īndrés Giménez and Amed Rosario have been in funks, though both have had positive moments of late. Leadoff hitter Steven Kwan, who set the tone for Cleveland as a rookie last season, seems to be having a sophomore slump. The 30 homers in 49 games are the club's fewest since hitting 26 over the same span in 1991, when Cleveland went 57-105.įrom top to bottom in the Guardians' lineup there are holes - some wider and deeper than others. Broadened to include some of the game's trendier metrics, it's not any prettier as the Guardians are dead last in barrel rate, hard-hit rate and weighted on-base percentage.

Out of MLB's 30 teams, the Guardians are last in runs (169), homers (30), and slugging percentage (.340). Statistically speaking, Cleveland is abysmal by nearly every measure. They ran the bases efficiently, applying pressure on teams with a relentlessness that's been in short supply so far in 2023.

'All of us.”Ī year ago, the Guardians maximized at-bats with a patient approach that helped offset an overall lack of offensive power. “We’re all getting tested and I believe we’re tough enough to fight through this, and we’re going to find out because we are getting tested,” Francona said after the Guardians were blanked 6-0 by the White Sox on Wednesday.

David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon