The Cleveland Guardians were in control of the AL Central for most of the first couple of months of the season, until a surprising actor made its appearance: the Chicago White Sox. The Pale Hose leads the division with a 59-55 record as of Friday afternoon.
The Guardians are second, three games behind, at 57-59. To make matters worse, the Minnesota Twins tied them in the AL Central standings, too. Now, it’s a three-way race for the AL Central, four if you are willing to include the Tarik Skubal-less Detroit Tigers at 56-59.
The Guardians were swept this week at home by the New York Mets and have lost five of their last six games. They are 1-4 in August, and were 12-13 in July and 10-15 in June.
The Mets are one of the worst teams in baseball, and they swept the Guardians, making them look incapable of winning a close game. Analyst Ken Carman discussed the current state of things regarding team morale.
“I haven’t felt this big of a drop-off in emotions in I can’t remember when in the regular season. Not just the worst series loss of the season, I think it’s the worst of Vogt’s managerial career. This goes back to trying to get guys worked up in the rain, getting thrown out of games, and I’m going, ‘Is he trying to get guys going, or is he cracking now?’ If you just keep losing and look disinterested, that raises a concern. Hopefully, it will break. We’re saying ‘hope’ instead of ‘expect’ right now. It was such a sinking, gut-busting feeling yesterday,” Carman said.
"I haven't felt this big of a drop-off in emotions in I don't remember when in the regular season. Not just the worst series loss of the season, I think it's the worst of Vogt's managerial career. We're saying 'hope' instead of 'expect' right now…it was such a sinking,… pic.twitter.com/UrtBrnMSgD
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 7, 2026
The Guardians were riding high after a strong deadline that netted them five useful players: outfielders Blake Perkins and Jo Adell, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, starter Foster Griffin, and reliever Craig Yoho. They were 57-56 before the start of the Mets series on Tuesday, about to play in front of their fans with their revamped roster.
Well, it’s safe to say things didn’t occur as planned this week. There’s still plenty of time for a turnaround, but as Carman says, the team will need more from manager Stephen Vogt and from the entire roster.
Vogt is the guy everyone looks up to, especially during tough times. He has years of MLB experience as a player and has won the Manager of the Year Award multiple times. Perhaps, as Carman points out, his recent ejection was designed to fire up his guys. Only time will tell if that was the case.
He will need to show the necessary composure and energy to kickstart a dormant offense and an inconsistent pitching staff.
NEXT: Analyst Says One Guardians Pitcher Has Been On A Roll
