The Cleveland Guardians are in first place and no one should be surprised

The Cleveland Guardians are in first place and no one should be shocked.

No one should be shocked that the Cleveland Guardians are in first place this season. Why would you be? Have you not heard this story before? The Guardians are perpetually slow starters and are routinely able to find young talent to rely on. This is their MO and it works. They know how to develop a team, and keep it running.

They have the best minor league development in the Majors and are constantly able to turn one good player into a half-dozen great ones.

But, honestly, this isn’t shocking. Terry Francona teams in Cleveland are notorious slow-starters and come June or July they’re on huge winning streaks or insane stretches of wins vs. losses. They are 17-5 in their last 22. They haven’t lost a series since May 29.

This is what they do, so why are you so surprised?

This wouldn’t have been possible without all those trades fans complain about

The thing that makes this all the much more enjoyable for me, in particular, is that the success the team is having is directly responsible because the Guardians made trades fans bemoan.

Emmanuel Clase came over in the Corey Kluber trade.

Owen Miller, Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, and Austin Hedges (among others) came over in the Mike Clevinger trade.

Andres Giminez and Amed Rosario came over in the Francisco Lindor trade. Yet, all anyone talks about are on other teams right now, who aren’t producing as they’re being paid to.

This whole pining for guys who get traded is sad. People complain about trading Kluber but never mention that he has done nothing in four years. He’s pitched 116 innings in four years.

Why would you keep a player that is bad at his job, just because you like him? Who cares about what he’s done, that’s for his retirement. Not for his present. If he can fetch you an All-Stara closer, you do the trade.

What is the logic behind being mad at a team that constantly gets better? What’s Trevor Bauer done besides proving he’s a garbage person? What’s Mike Clevinger done? Heck, Francisco Lindor’s team the Mets are having a good year but he’s hitting .239. He hasn’t hit .260 in three years and hasn’t made an All-Star game since 2019.

This team is built to survive the loss of a major name, and it’s constantly competing for it. Who cares about their payroll? It’s not your money.

The ironic thing is most fans who complain about the lack of spending or trading for assets are the same fans who call players selfish when they make decisions that hurt the team. Yet, when a team decides to make the team better, fans get mad.

The Guardians have proven they will turn over the roster and find newer, more productive players along the way. They’ve been successful for nearly a decade.

It’s time to trust them.