Cleveland Indians: Should we be worried about the offense?

After watching the ALDS it’s fair to say the Cleveland Indians offense didn’t look very good. So is it time to worry about this offense going into 2019 and beyond?

If you watched the Cleveland Indians offense at all this year, you know how inconsistent they were.

Those inconsistencies were on full display for the ALDS against the Houston Astros. While the Astros have some remarkable pitching, the Indians have been known for their ability to take down great pitchers in previous years. That was not the case in 2018.

This now begs the question: Will this offense plague the team going forward? It’s fair to ask considering how unbalanced the Indians have been on offense. They struggled getting hits with runners in scoring position in 2017, and in 2018 they couldn’t get those runners into scoring position in the postseason.

With Jose Ramirez struggling from his trip to Fenway Park going forward along with facing the same issues late in 2017, we have to wonder how much the Indians can rely on him. They relied heavily on Francisco Lindor in the postseason, but that still didn’t work for them.

The bottom line is if other players can’t hit you won’t get far. Josh Donaldson couldn’t hit in his playoff time in Cleveland. Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez faced the same issue.

The Tribe offense was dismal. Can they do anything to fix it? Is hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo to blame? It’s tough to say. We’ve seen in the last two years that this team struggles under pressure. In 2016 they couldn’t get that clutch hit in the final innings of the World Series. In 2017 they couldn’t get hits to match the Yankees power. This year? Same old story.

So what can change? Adding big name players has proven to be ineffective. The same can be said for the longtime players on this team. It seems like Lindor has been the only constant on offense when it comes to clutch moments for the Indians offense.

I’m not one to be a pessimist, but yes, I think it is time to start asking questions about the effectiveness of the Tribe offense. I don’t know how much confidence I have in this team in another playoff series. That will be even more prominent if they lose some big bullpen arms like Cody Allen and Andrew Miller this winter.

There are things that can change this offseason, along with the deadline. Even the motivations of this team could change things. But the bottom line is something has to change. Otherwise we could be staring at a broken record until the window closes. That could be sooner rather than later.