Cleveland Indians: The wins in April are what will be remembered

The Cleveland Indians struggled throughout the month of April, but the final record for the month is what matters most moving forward.

The month of April ended on a positive for the Cleveland Indians as the team pulled out an exciting victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Well, that take may vary depending on how one defines excitement.

The Indians went through a rough month filled with injuries, bad bullpen pitching, a nonexistent offense and other issues, but enter play today with a record of 15-12 and a four-game lead in the division. That is nothing to be upset about.

When October rolls around, and the Indians are hopefully in the postseason, the 15 wins entering May are what will matter about the beginning of the season. The production on offense should even out by then and the bullpen may be featuring some new faces as well.

I say this because it is easy to get caught up in all the problems the team is currently facing. A sample size of 27 games allows even the most optimistic of fans to notice problems. But all that matters is winning.

It is fair to note that the division is so bad, the Indians’ record at the end of the year may end up being inflated. However, all that matters is how the Indians do in a five-game series in the ALDS, and so on if they continue winning. Fans saw last year how a team fresh off a 102-win season collapsed in the final three games. Even when no problems seemingly exist, they could always resurface in October.

Things will be different if we reach August and the offense is still scuffling and only scoring via home runs. Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but I think they will collectively turn things around soon.

The one variable we can’t control for is health, which ends up being the main difference aside from all the other problems in a given season. The Indians are currently dealing with some injuries, but only Andrew Miller is a key player out right now.

Next: 3 takeaways from a wild 7-5 win over the Rangers

It’s a long season and the Indians enter May with a winning record and a lead in the division. Considering they did this with a lackluster offense and some bad bullpen outings, the team is on the right track.