Cleveland Indians: A few important notes after the 19th straight win

The Cleveland Indians are going for history on Tuesday night, but there are some stories to be aware of as the postseason approaches.

Some Cleveland Indians fans wanted the team to be sellers at the trade deadline. 19 straight wins hopefully changed that mindset.

The Indians are unstoppable and are going for win No. 20 tonight with Corey Kluber on the mound, one day after a 11-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. I like the Indians’ chances.

The streak has been amazing and with the Tigers in town, it should be able to continue for a bit longer. But while we are focused on the wins, there are some things going on to keep an eye on as October approaches.

Zimmer out for good

It is so fun to watch Bradley Zimmer throw his body around in the pursuit of catching a ball or sliding into a base, but he must learn to protect himself to avoid the fate of, dare I say, Grady Sizemore.

Zimmer plays hard and it is tough to tell a player like him to ease up, but the broken bone in his hand suffered on Sunday was a result of an unnecessary slide into first base. Not only did he break the bone, but he slammed his head into the ground after already dealing with concussion problems this season. He is now seemingly out for the remainder of the year.

His absence isn’t a major blow thanks to the depth in the outfield, but for his sake he needs to take it easy in the future. Sliding into first should never be an option, and it cost him a chance to shine in the postseason in 2017.

Salazar in the bullpen

The minor league seasons are now over meaning there is no chance for any of the injured players to get a rehab start. Or in the case of Danny Salazar, a start against lesser competition to work through his issues.

In Salazar’s case, he has moved to the bullpen and made an appearance Monday night in what was already a blowout. He responded by going two innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit.

Salazar is in the bullpen to work toward being a starter again, but if he finds his control again, he may be more of a weapon later in games. Shaking up this successful bullpen late in the year would lead to some tough decisions, but anything goes in October.

The race for the top spot

The Indians enter Tuesday with a 1.5-game lead over the Houston Astros in the American League, and are now just four games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in all of baseball.

The Dodgers have now lost 11 straight, opening the door for the Indians in the midst of this historic win streak.

Next: Depth challenged with Zimmer out

People were saying how the Indians had the easiest remaining schedule last month, but I don’t think any of us expected it could lead to potentially jumping the Dodgers in the standings. Not losing for three weeks will do that.