Loss of Starting Pitchers Does Not Affect Offense

Even with the losses of both Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, the Cleveland Indians can have playoff success thanks to the play of the offense.

The Cleveland Indians are in a great situation as we continue to inch closer to October. The team has a seven-game lead over the Detroit Tigers, and with 13 games left to play, the Indians are in a great position to clinch the team’s first AL Central title since 2007.

But not everyone is feeling the optimism, with the main person in focus being Paul Hoynes, Indians beat writer for cleveland.com, who published an article this weekend about how the team’s chances at playoff success are over after losing Carlos Carrasco to injury.

The fallout from his piece involves several players calling him out, which is never good news for someone who makes a living off talking to players on the team.

He is entitled to his opinion, but Hoynes declaring the season over because the team is without Danny Salazar and Carrasco just doesn’t make sense. He is completely ignoring the offense’s role in the team’s 2016 success, assuming whoever pitches in the playoffs after Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer is going to do so bad the offense won’t be able to make up the difference.

It is a rash judgment, especially when looking at how great the offense has been all season.

The Indians rank third in the American League in batting average, and are second in runs scored, third in OPS and third in hits as of Monday afternoon. Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor are both hitting above the .300 mark, each with an oWAR above 3.0, while Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli have each eclipsed the 30-home run mark.

All this success has come without Michael Brantley for nearly the entire season, and without Yan Gomes since July 17.

It is not overly optimistic to point out that this team has been able to fight through all the injuries, to batters and pitchers alike, for the entire season. Declaring the team is doomed in a five-game series in October is an unfair assessment, and one that forgets just how unpredictable playoff baseball can be.

The Indians could easily get great games from both Kluber and Bauer in the first two games of the series, gaining an early 2-0 lead. And even if the third starter, either Josh Tomlin or Mike Clevinger, did not have a great start in the third game, the offense is still there to put runs on the board. As long as the pitcher doesn’t come out and allow ten runs, there is no reason to assume the team is doomed before the playoffs even begin.