Cleveland Indians
Record: 6-7 (fifth place, American League Central)
Based on their record alone, it’s hard to put the Indians on this list. Granted, a 6-7 mark is less than stellar for a team that nearly won the World Series a season ago, but it’s not terribly alarming.
The way the record has happened, though, can’t go unnoticed.
Things started in such a good way for Cleveland. The Indians opened the season by sweeping a three-game series in Texas against the aforementioned Rangers. Since then, though, it’s been a struggle for Cleveland. The Tribe is 3-7 in its last 10 games.
Worse still, unlike the Giants — who have kept a respectable run differential — Cleveland has been getting blown out. The Indians have been outscored 52-37 by their opponents. It’s been a far cry from everything that went so well in Arlington.
To be fair, the Indians have the least reason to panic. The 6-7 record is poor, but nothing to go crazy about. Additionally, Cleveland was under .500 on May 1 a season ago and was even .500 as late as mid-May. That team wen 94-67 and won the American League pennant.
But what we’re seeing is well below the standard we’ve come to expect from this team. Certainly a 3-7 stretch and a minus-15 run differential is well below par. It may not be anything to be exceptionally worried about, but it’s not anything that anyone in Cleveland wants to maintain for much longer.