Humiliating Astros Series Proves Guardians Made Right Decision at Trade Deadline
By Tyler Maher
As much as it pains me to say this, maybe the front office was right about our team after all. Even though we're only a few games behind the Twins in the AL Central, selling at the trade deadline is already starting to look like a wise decision.
This week's series against the Houston Astros perfectly encapsulated everything that's wrong with our team. Namely, the fact that we couldn't hit when our season depended on it.
"That folks was a giant middle finger to ownership and the front office who tore this team apart one game out of first place," - @TheRealTRizzo on the Guardians getting no-hit last night. pic.twitter.com/hbwMEvgpUX
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 2, 2023
Guardians Offensive Struggles Continue
The Guardians lost again on Wednesday, 3-2, allowing the Astros to complete the three-game sweep. Cleveland managed just five total runs in the series, even getting no-hit in the middle game.
Normally, I'd chalk that up to Houston having a good pitching staff. But this has been a season-long issue for the Guardians, one that was too big to fix at the deadline and one that ultimately sank our season.
Over the last six games, Cleveland has scored just 12 total runs. Not surprisingly, we lost five of those contests.
Our pitching is great, but at the end of the day that only takes you so far. You need to score runs to win ballgames, and the Guardians just don't do that consistently enough. We're averaging only 4.09 runs per game, which ranks near the very bottom of MLB. We also rank bottom-10 in several other categories, including OBP and SLG.
We may have the arms, but it's clear we don't have the bats to keep up with playoff teams like the Astros, Rays, Orioles and Rangers. There's little margin for error when you only score a few runs each night, which puts a ton of pressure on the pitchers and defense.
We have a great foundation in place with our pitching. Now we need to go out and get some bats this offseason if we really want to make a run next year, because it's not happening this year.
If you still want to place any kind of bet on the Guardians, you'll want to do it at Caesars Sportsbook. Anyone who signs up with the exclusive Factory of Sadness link below automatically unlocks a bonus of up to $1,250. If the first bet you make loses, Caesars will award you with a bonus equal to the amount that you wagered (all the way up to a maximum of $1,250!).