Cleveland Indians back to No. 6 in ESPN power rankings

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Indians had a rough weekend at home but are still comfortable atop the American League Central as the All-Star break approaches.

Cleveland Indians fans enter a new week in quite the familiar situation.

The team has one of the better records in the league and maintains a comfortable lead in the American League Central division. But confidence isn’t at an all-time high.

The Indians picked up a nice win Friday night only to finish the weekend with two ugly and disappointing losses. But even with that being the case the Indians only moved down one spot to No. 6 overall in the latest edition of ESPN’s MLB power rankings.

The best news from the weekend came Sunday night when it was revealed that the team will have five players in the 2018 All-Star Game. Apparently, Trevor Bauer was almost a snub. That would have been a terrible thing to happen, although Blake Snell wouldn’t feel any sympathy after being snubbed himself.

The Indians begin a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds tonight before ending the first half with four games against the New York Yankees. All seven games are at home, where the team is 28-15 this year.

The problem is that the Indians have struggled to take care of lesser opponents, let alone a team like the Yankees.

A No. 6 overall ranking may surprise some fans. However, the team is a lock for the postseason and is one win away from 50 on the year. The struggles have been real, but it doesn’t mean the Indians are not a top ten team.

Next: Previewing the first series of the Ohio Cup

No matter what happens this week, the week following the All-Star break will be the one where some big moves will hopefully be made. The team could really use another reliever and a solid outfielder. This should be as obvious to the front office as it is to the fans, so fingers crossed.