If anyone who even casually follows the game of baseball was asked to name the most controversial manager of the past decade, there is little doubt that the first name out of their mouth would be current Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen.

In his new book, Ozzie’s School of Management: Lessons from the Dugout, the Clubhouse, and the Doghouse, author Rick Morrissey provides a unique look into a character who seems to always be in the spotlight.  To many, Guillen may seem to be just a crazy man out to get some attention, and perhaps steal it from his team, but Morrissey finds out there is a method to most of the manager’s madness.

The author had an up close view of Guillen during his years with the White Sox as Morrissey was covering the team for the Chicago Sun Times. This gives him unique perspective on Guillen’s career from the time he was hired in 2003 through the team’s World Series win in 2005 and to his departure from Chicago after the 2011 season.

Guillen is a great example of someone whose unique and strange style is envied and considered to be the reason his team is winning when they are doing well and also the reason they are losing when they aren’t doing well.

Morrissey tells the story of a man who put players in a game on a gut feeling that it would make a difference where sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. Guillen is clearly not the typical manager as can be evidenced by the fact that he once took a pitcher out of a game simply because he told one of his sons that he would be able to see him on TV that day, and he knew a trip to the mound would secure that promise.

The author outlines the Ten Commandments of Ozzie as:

1. All Men are Created Equal, In Theory
2. Protect Your Employees from the Barbarians
3. Promote Serenity in the Workplace
4. Get Rid of the Clutter in Their Heads
5. Be Nurturing, No Matter How Much it Hurts
6. Find a Mentor
7. Don’t Confuse Team and Family
8. Play the Odds
9. Manage Up
10. It’s Better to Be the Matador Than the Bull (Usually)

Morrissey points a picture of a man who probably had the most trouble adhering to commandment number seven. Guillen is presented as an extremely loyal man whose loyalties often both help and hurt him. This is evidenced in a number of cases in the book, usually winding up to help the team in the long run, when the manager had stuck with a player out of loyalty for what they had done for him in the past.  This also helped him with his relationships with players as well, and will have something to show for it for some time to come. Guillen is clearly painted throughout the book as someone who outsiders either love or hate, but most on the inside who have dealt with him professionally love him.  If there is a player or coach who has worked with Guillen who has ended up not liking him, it is probably because that person did something Guillen completely did not respect.

A few of the topics covered in the book include:

• The true story behind Guillen’s feud with White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams.
• The close relationshio he has with his three sons, and the controversial tweets from his son Oney.
• His not so found views of sabermetrics, meetings and any type of scouting report.
• The idea that Guillen’s outspokenness hurts the chances of others who come from a Latino background in their hopes of landing a Big League managerial job.

The book came out nationwide on May 22 in hardcover. Although the book clearly does not cover much of the manager’s time with the Marlins, it does give the reader a good understanding of where that team may be headed.

Overall rating: 2.75/5

Related articles

• Ozzie Guillen, “The Franchise” (baseballreflections.com)

Your baseball hitting style is what you do at the plate before you swing the bat and baseball hitting mechanics are what you do when you are actually swinging the bat. If a coach wants to help you improve your baseball hitting mechanics, that’s one thing. But your very personal hitting style is an entirely different matter. It’s something that is your personal choice to do before the baseball hitting actually takes place. The smarter coaches will recognize this and leave your style totally up to you!

The point here is that basically you can do whatever you want as far as style is concerned and your style should not be altered by anyone. Sometimes fewer baseball hitting tips are better than more. Your baseball hitting style is something that you have decided gets you the best prepared to hit the baseball.

Baseball hitting styles vary tremendously from hitter to hitter and that’s the way it should be. If you’re comfortable waving the bat around, go for it. If you’re comfortable rocking back and forth, that too is absolutely fine. Styles vary, but you’ll find that after the style comes the mechanics of the swing and all the good baseball hitters are similar and have sound mechanics.

I know a baseball hitter who has the “style” of waving the barrel of the bat around in a very pronounced manner just before swinging the bat. It is definitely something you would not go out of your way to teach a player to do at the plate. But you know what? That’s his personal choice and the best way for him to prepare to hit. After all the waving of the bat, when the real moment of truth arrives and the actual baseball hitting takes place, he has outstanding mechanics. He has a very quick bat and a “short to the ball” yet violent swing and that’s why he is an extremely successful hitter! Wouldn’t it be foolish to ask him to change his style? Quite often coaches confuse mechanics with a player’s personal hitting style. Personally, I could care less if a hitter stands on his head while getting ready to hit. Who cares? The only thing that matters is that he has to be ready when the real moment of truth arrives.

Sometimes baseball players can be over managed. Occasionally, a baseball coach should forget about all the baseball tips on hitting and take a step back and let the players play. Yes, a baseball coach should by all means help you with baseball hitting mechanics or he shouldn’t be coaching. But as far as your personal style, as a baseball hitter, just do whatever you feel prepares you the best to hit the baseball and nobody involved in baseball coaching should ever try to take your personal baseball hitting style away from you!

What many coaches fail to realize is that you are in the hot seat at the plate and you have to feel comfortable when you are hitting. Not me, not your coach and not anyone else. This is a perfect example of “less being more.” A coach should deal with each hitter as an individual and taking a hitter out of his comfort zone at the plate is not productive for anyone. If your coach gives you a hard time, please have him contact me at his earliest convenience because we definitely need to have a chat!

Related articles

• Baseball Tips On Hitting: Focusing On Just This One Thing May Lead To Your Success! (baseballreflections.com)
• Baseball Tips On Hitting: How You Stride When Hitting Is Critical! (baseballreflections.com)
• Baseball Tips On Hitting: How Practice Is Mandatory For Your Success! (baseballreflections.com)

Some elite hitters have the ability to hit for higher BABIP rates than others due to their ability to not only create more contact, but to drive the ball when they do make contact. As a function of this, the ball finds more holes and the hitters are able to post seemingly unsustainable stats year in and year out. Players such as David Wright and Matt Kemp drive the ball with a lot of force AND make consistent amounts of contact. Then you have players such as Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson who not only make a lot of contact, but their speed allows them to squeeze out infield hits and force defenses to hurry and make mistakes. This is something Ichiro was famous for year in and year out until, well, he got old.

Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife

The difference with Freese is essentially all of those factors. While a prospect there was always talk that his doubles power would eventually develop into home run power. That hasn’t really happened. In 2012 Freese has actually seen an increase in his Swing% and a regression in his contact rate. David is also hitting more balls in the air this year, less on the ground. His ground ball % is currently at 45.7% in 2012, where in 2011 he posted a 52.3%. His flyball % is up to 34.3%, much higher than his 2011 average of 23.1%. His 22.2% home run per fly ball rate is a career high by a long shot.

Point being is that Freese’s batting average will drop this year. But it looks like there has been a change in his approach at the plate as well. If Freese is intentionally trying to hit for more power, forgoing his high average for more extra base production, could he in the end be actually MORE valuable to the Cardinals? 2012 ZiPS projections have Freese on pace to increase his ISO, and post 17 home runs in 2012 compared to the 10 he hit in 2011. So is this the new David Freese? It will be interesting to watch him go through the inevitable struggles. Freese has had a reputation for not handling “failure” very well, which bodes trouble for a player going through an approach change. One thing for sure is that his batting average is going to come down, but if Freese can provide 20 home-run power with a solid .275 they might be better off for it.

Not many players in the history of baseball had as unpredictable a career as John Smoltz. Usually a
starting pitcher stays such throughout his career, or if a player becomes a dominant closer one year, it is
impossible to change them from that role. Smoltz would be the ultimate exception to this rule. In short,
Smoltz was a pitcher, not to be defined by silly words like starter, reliever or closer. He pitched where
the team dictated they needed him most, and that is what makes his story special.

In his new book, written with Don Yaeger, Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year,
Smoltz tells the story of how he became the person that pitched so well for so many years. Very early on
in the book, Smoltz establishes a few facts. One of these facts is that he always believed that he could
win at whatever he did. The second fact is that he didn’t really care how he became the best
or how he won; just that it happened. Essentially, he didn’t care what records he held, or how the game
ended up on his side, as long as when it was over, he was victorious.

One of the main points of Smoltz’s book is to explain why he decided to come back for one final season
after having to miss an entire season due to undergoing Tommy John surgery. He points out that to this day,
the question he is asked most by people, whether it be in the line at a movie theater or on the set of
a television baseball show, is why after he had already had a career so many people would be pleased
with, he put himself through an extremely difficult rehabilitation program to come back for one more
season.

The short answer that Smoltz provides to this question is simple. He tells them, “Why not?” An answer
that is in some ways both easy and hard to argue with. On one hand, one could argue that Smoltz had
enough money in the bank to last him for a life time and had already had a lengthy and successful
career, so there was no reason for him to push himself to get back out there. On the other hand,
someone could look at this and wonder why anyone would want to stop doing what they love to do
when they still have something left in the tank.

Smoltz explains the different layers that made his decision to come back for that last season easy. He
blatantly states that there was no thought in his end that if he played another year and had another
significant boost to his numbers that he could perhaps bolster his argument to get into the Hall of Fame.

Many times, hearing that the love of the game is the reason for playing is hard to take from players who
are making millions of dollars to play catch on a diamond. While this isn’t to say that the feeling would
not apply at all to Smoltz, he certainly attempts to make a compelling case for his love of the game being
the main driver for him to continue on.

The book is a rather quick read and the story of Smoltz’s career unfolds itself in a very informal
memoir type of a fashion. This would be an interesting read for anyone who followed Smoltz through
his career or has a significant interest specifically in the mindset of pitchers. Smoltz is the only player in
modern history who was dominant both as a starter and as a closer, and this uniqueness is illustrated
throughout the book. Not only do readers learn the story about him on the mound, but they learn
about the passions he has off of it as well such as golf and faith.

The 304 page book retails for $26 and will be out in hardcover this month. The book is published by
William Morrow, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.

Overall Rating: 2.75/5

Adrian Gonzalez photo taken from Zimbio via Google Images

A midst the massive failure that is the Boston Red Sox from the Fall of 2011 and though this point in the 2012 season, there have been a lot of fingers pointed and opinions formed. One point I heard being discussed on a Boston sports talk radio show over the weekend was asking why Adrian Gonzalez hasn’t hit for power since he dawned a Boston Red Sox jersey. All the talk was that with the new ballpark, that Gonzalez would be a lock for 40 home runs annually, since Petco Park had hampered his power production for his career thus far. We even saw pretty charts by ESPN measuring ballpark factors on some of A-Gon’s long fly balls in Petco being blasts in Fenway.

Theo Epstein essentially emptied out, for what it was at the time, the Sox farm to acquire Gonzalez on the condition that they could get an extension with him. And that’s certainly what they got when they inked a 7-year, $154MM extension to be the cornerstone of the Boston offense at 1B. All while knowing full well that Gonzalez had an issue with his right shoulder, his lead shoulder. The surgery was successful and Gonzalez went to put up a sparkling .338 batting average in 159 games. He even hit 27 home runs over the course of the season. Of course he faltered down the stretch during the Red Sox playoff run, but then again, who didn’t? Not to mention all the greef he has taken from fans and some media about his inability to come through “in the clutch”, which is an entirely different matter in itself (Mind you I don’t believe in “clutch” in baseball over a big enough sample size).

Now after reading a post by Fangraph’s Mike Axisa regarding Gonzalez’s power outage, which is quite clearly a real thing with the sample being almost an entire seasons worth of plate appearances (590), I’m starting to wonder if Gonzalez’s power is ever going to come back. With all of the statistical data backing up the fact that there’s an alarming drop off, there’s also hitting mechanics considerations to ponder.

First being Gonzalez’s approach, for which he is most known for. He has always been a guy known for his ability to drive the ball to the opposite field. Take into consideration that as a hitter you need to let the ball travel deep into the zone for this to be effective without getting out on your front side. Gonzalez was always able to do this prior to the injury with power because he let the ball travel deep and made up for it with his quick hands. He still has those quick hands and will likely hit for average as he always has, but with a front shoulder issue I don’t see him being able to take advantage of the Green Monster since your transfer power will be limited if you have a shoulder issue.

Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife

Secondly, and most importantly is how the shoulder problem actually comes into developing home run power. With Gonzalez having the issue in his right shoulder, the lead shoulder for a left handed batter, it’s cutting off his ability to finish strongly through his swings. That small extra bit of effort in the follow through, after you’ve already made contact with the ball is what gets balls over the fence or caught on the warning track for an out or as a double. He’s already creating torque in his core and through his legs, but his finish is quite clearly not driving the ball for home run power.

The shoulder surgery may have prevented further damage to the area, but it’s pretty unlikely that his power will return to where it was in 2010 before the injury and before the mega deal that Red Sox ownership committed to. He averaged 1 home run for every 26.48 plate appearances in 2011, and although a small sample size, Gonzalez has hit only 2 home runs in 143 plate appearances, an average of 71.5 plate appearances per home run thus far in 2012. Given the quality of hitters at the first base position, this will leave the Red Sox paying a lot of money for an average level of production.

I still can’t believe it. Premeditated, unwarranted, just disgusting. For those of you who haven’t heard, Cole Hamels recently launched a harpoon from the pitcher’s mound at rookie sensation Bryce Harper, piercing the slugger’s right shoulder and placing him on the DL indefinitely. The wound will likely keep Harper out for the rest of the season and sources are saying his future in baseball may be in jeopardy.

In light of the incident, Hamels has been reviled by both local and national media for such a reckless act of cowardice, and rightfully so – there is no place for such violence in Major League Baseb…

Wait, what? You’re saying Hamels just hit Harper with a pitch? Well still, it was probably gruesome. You heard what he said, there was clear intent – where’d he hit him, in the head? See, that’s what I thou- wait, in the back??? Hm - but I mean, it knocked him out of the game, right? I’m sure he was real banged up, no way he stayed in the game and felt healthy enough to steal home just minutes later, that obviously goes without saying.

Having worn out my use of the sarcasm font, I’ll cut to the chase: the entire Hamels-Hits-Harper situation has been blown way out of proportion. It’s baseball – pitchers occasionally throw at batters, it’s part of the game. Hamels, for whatever reason, wanted to knock the 19-year old off his high horse. Perhaps he was annoyed with the praise and attention the young player has attracted since his call-up, or maybe he took offense to Harper’s blowing a celebratory kiss at an opposing pitcher after a home run last summer - whatever it was, he decided to send a message, and that message was delivered right between the 3 and the 4 on Harper’s back, right where any coach tells his pitcher to hit a guy. No intent to injure, nothing scary – simply put, and I quote Hamels: “Welcome to the Big Leagues.”

And that’s where the problem started. There was no issue when Hamels hit Harper – sure you could claim it was intentional, but that was mere speculation. The situation escalated only when Hamels admitted to doing it intentionally. And why was he asked the question in the first place? Because it was Bryce Harper.

Had the target of his intentional bean-ball been anyone else, Hamels never faces that question in the first place, and thus, never admits his intent. But since the HBP victim just happened to be the rising face of America’s Pastime, a reporter ask Cole’s intent, and Hamels, perhaps himself caught up in the Harper media storm, is feeling big and decides to admit what we all already knew. “Welcome to the Big Leagues.”

He broke the code of the unspoken truth. “That one got away from me.” “You never want to put a runner like that on base.” “I just missed my spot inside.” These would have all sufficed as acceptable generic answers from the school of Belichick. Hey Bill, are you going light in practice this week since your opponent is 0-15? — “They’re a really good football team. We’re preparing like we would any other week knowing this is going to be a tough game.” It’s that easy. No more questions. But no – Cole came clean, and the baseball world is downright indignant, painting Hamels as a villain and tying the league’s hands when it came to suspension.

And it all could have been avoided. What Cole did on the baseball field is nothing out of the ordinary, but it was his handling of the situation that sent writers everywhere into a state of fabricated shock. Whether or not his motive is valid is a separate argument, but when it comes to plunking guys, the lefty’s execution was exemplary. Now if only his post-game interview discretion were as sharp, he wouldn’t be missing his next start.

As for Harper, the bar has officially been set for media coverage of his many “firsts,” and all this for a measly hit-by-pitch. I assume the attention his first home run garners will be enough to lure a jealous Brett Favre out of retirement.

SMALLS TALK Series
Foul Ball Etiquette
The One Ear Flap Helmet
O’s lose to college team – big deal?
Terry Francona on Baseball Tonight
The Curtain Call
Coolest park to hit a home run?
Top 5 Questions Heading into the 2012 Season
Would you want Manny on your team?
College Baseball’s Opening Day
On-Field Composure
When did “Can I have your autograph” turn into “Give me a ball”?
Baseball Needs a 24/7 Show
Top 10 Things to Do in the Dugout During a Day Off
The Spit Hit
Being Friends with Pitchers
The Yankee Core
Opening Day
You Play Right Field?
It’s Not Always Sunny in Arizona
Tee Work
Helmet for Pitchers?
Approaching Spring Training
Top 5 Things I Won’t Miss About My Local Gym
Getting New Equipment
Last Day at Work
My Bat of Choice
The Superstitions and Quirks of a Ballplayer
The Art of the Autograph
Greensboro’s ‘Bat Dogs’
Tim Kurkjian is a Man Among Boys
Baseball Movie All-Star Game: Starting Lineups
Walk-Out Music
Pre-Draft Medical Questionnaires
The Ryan Howard Namesake
The Magic of the Rally
Jeter and A-Rod, How Times Have Changed
Summer Leagues – Cape Still Cream of the Crop?
SportsCenter Commercials are Better Than Most Shows
Schilling’s Bloody Sock
Red Sox Nation Goes Crazy, JD Drew Can’t Be Bothered
Minor League Hats are the Way to Go
Who Has the Best Uniforms in College Baseball?

Is there anything more American than a game of catch between a father and his son? For many, the answer to this question would probably be that the only way to make that vision more American is to have an apple pie sitting in the window of the house next to the yard where the game of catch is taking place. It is because of this, that there is a certain nostalgia attached to the relationship of fathers and their sons and how the relationship grows through the game of baseball.

In a new book by Kevin Neary and Leigh A. Tobin called Major League Dads: Baseball’s Best Players Reflect on the Fathers who Inspired Them to Love the Game, fans who saw their relationship with their father grow through America’s pastime have a chance to experience the affect it had on those players who made it to the game’s highest level.

In the introduction, former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona sets the tone for what is to come in the pages that follow as he tells the story of the relationship he had with his father and how that has not only affected how he sees the game of baseball, but also how he tries to raise his own son. His story is unique because while many dads try to teach their son the game of baseball from what they see when they watch their local teams and from what they remember from when they played little league, Francona’s dad was actually a Major Leaguer.

The stories in this book all involve how a player’s dad grew closer to them through the game of baseball, but it is amazing to which how many different levels of baseball expertise these players’ fathers had to bestow upon them. In addition to Francona, the book has dozens of stories from current and former players that tell the tales of how influential their fathers were with their involvement in the game.

Each story is about two to three pages in length and most tend to focus on how their father got the player started in baseball and what their relationship with their father is like in relation to the sport at this point. There are similar comments made by various players to the idea that there may be thousands of people in the stands when they play, but the only one they ever hear is their dad, which speaks volumes about the influence a father can have.

Many well-known players have their stories featured in this book, including the likes of all three Molina brothers, New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay, Atlanta Brave Chipper Jones and future Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Madux.

While the majority of the stories are only about how life grew around baseball, there are many players whose tales touch on other aspects of life where they grew closer to their fathers and then relate that back to how it helped them succeed on the field.

The stories they tell about the relationship with their father are not unlike those that many of us have witnessed either with ourselves, or those around us throughout the years.  Just as those of us who are now working in some other field besides being paid to play baseball cherished those moments with our dads, the phenoms did as well.

The book is a quick and easy read due to the fact that a new section starts every third page. Also, because there is continually a different voice for the reader at almost every page turn, it keeps the reader engaged, but also makes it easy to read to a stopping point as there are many throughout the book.

The 256 page book came out at the beginning of May in hardcover and retails for $20. It is being published by Running Press.

Overall Rating: 2.75/5

Making good use of checkpoints is one of the best baseball pitching tips anyone will ever give you. Checkpoints are very simply mental reminders that a pitcher gives to himself before every pitch. They are something that will help any pitcher be the most effective! Usually, baseball pitchers have about three or four and they will vary from pitcher to pitcher. I would venture to say that at the professional level of play, almost every pitcher uses them. Nobody can tell you what your personal checkpoints are. You have to know yourself as a pitcher and you must decide what they are. If you occasionally get into a bad habit while on the hill, then that particular thing would then become one of your checkpoints. It can possibly be that you have a tendency to rush your windup. Maybe you “fly open.” Just remember that they should be done before every pitch.

Some Common Checkpoints That Pitchers Use:

1. Step toward your catcher’s target.

2. Keep the front shoulder closed when driving toward the plate so you don’t “fly open.”

3. Throw the ball and don’t overthrow the ball.

4. Don’t rock left and right and keep everything straight during the windup and delivery of the pitch.

5. Remember not to tilt your head and to keep it straight during the windup.

6. Remember to “stay back on the rubber” if you have a tendency to get your body ahead of your throwing arm.

7. Keep the windup slow if you have a tendency to rush and it causes pitching problems for you.

8. Get the legs involved in the pitch to take some of the work load off your throwing arm.

9. Stay “on top” of your pitches or they will flatten out and be much more hittable.

10. Turn the hip enough when pivoting.

11. Raise the throwing elbow up to shoulder height.

12. Break the hands apart early so you don’t have to rush the throwing arm.

13. Raise the front knee to at least waist height.

The list can go on and on. (And it almost did.)

Don’t make a mistake here and undervalue how important checkpoints are. If you have two or three weaknesses, wouldn’t it be terrific if you can eliminate them almost all the time? As an individual pitcher, you have to decide what the three or four things are that should be your personal checkpoints. Think about them before every pitch! Trust me, it’s not nearly as complicated as one might think.

Simply think of an abbreviated form because it’s not like you have to think of thirty, forty or fifty words before every pitch. A typical checkpoint list may be staying back on the rubber, front shoulder closed and point the landing foot to the catcher’s target. A more logical and abbreviated version would be “stay back, closed and foot.” It takes about one second at the most. Using checkpoints should be right near the top of your list of outstanding baseball pitching tips.

To me, making very good use of checkpoints is a total no brainer. It will keep you totally focused and you will cut down on your number of mistakes. I truly hope you realize how spending this one second will help you tremendously as a baseball pitcher!

Newest Indian DH/OF Johnny Damon

You wouldn’t know it by watching SportsCenter, but the Indians have managed to put together a decent stretch of baseball and they find themselves at the top of the Central Division in mid-May.  Albeit not with the most outstanding record in the world (as of this writing, the Tribe was just 3 games above .500), but one can’t complain about being in first place even if we are just one month into the season.

The Indians did make some nationwide baseball news last month when they signed veteran outfielder Johnny Damon to a one year contract. In an attempt to add some pop to the corner outfield position, the Tribe signed Damon, a player seemingly no one wanted prior to the start of the season, to a deal worth about $2 million with incentives.

Damon has not played in the field very much over the past two seasons, but the Indians hope to make him basically their everyday left fielder. While ideally, Damon may have preferred to go to a team where he could have been primarily a designated hitter, that is not an option in Cleveland because the team is paying Travis Hafner $13 million this year just to hit.

Asdrúbal Cabrera (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Tribe is desperate for some offensive power from one of the corner outfield positions. The team is currently being led on the offensive end by second baseman Jason Kipnis, who leads the team with four homeruns. Kipnis was expected to hit for average, but wasn’t exactly supposed to be the one who shouldered the burden of driving in the bulk of the runs. The reliance on Kipnis as an offensive weapon comes just one season after shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was clearly the team’s best hitter for both power and average.

Teams who need to rely heavily on their middle infielders for their offensive production, don’t tend to be the ones raising the World Series trophy at season’s end. This is not to say that this makes winning impossible, but it certainly doesn’t set the traditional odds in favor of the Wahoos.

While their hitting has been somewhat middle of the road, the team’s pitching has been strong all season. Perhaps the biggest surprise from a starting pitcher has been the performance of Derek Lowe. Lowe was acquired in an off season trade with the Atlanta Braves and wasn’t really thought of to be much more than a decent starter who could eat a lot of innings. Lowe has done much more than pitch a lot of innings. In fact, at this point, he could be poised to accept a spot on the American League All Star team. With a 4-1 record in six starts and a 2.39 ERA, Lowe is currently among the league leaders in various starting pitcher categories.

After being roughed up in his first appearance of the season, closer Chris Perez has also been a bright spot for the Tribe thus far. While other closers around the league have struggle mightily at the start of the season, CP, as he is called by his teammates, has settled down and has now converted 11 of his first 12 save opportunities.

Even with the team’s success, they still rank last in the Majors in attendance. This despite not only playing competitive baseball every night, but also having amazing weather in Northeast Ohio and having strong opponents coming to Progressive Field early in the season. It is apparently going to take a significant amount of time before fans start to believe it is worth their money to travel down to the ballpark to watch a game in person.

Perhaps part of the reason fans are staying away has to do with the fact that the Indians started off fast last year and then completely fell off at the end of the season. If the team stays consistent, fans will start to show up, once they know that the success is here to stay.