The Cleveland Guardians’ offense couldn’t keep up with the Tampa Bay Rays’ in the American League Championship Series, resulting in a 4-2 series loss and a painful postseason exit. Now, the Guards will enter a potentially long offseason with many decisions to make and things to improve.
It may sound unfair to say that the Guardians’ primary shortcoming in the series against the Rays was the offense, when the unit was so good in the final three games against the Chicago White Sox. However, that’s exactly what happened.
Most of the hitters in the Guardians’ lineup went cold vs. Tampa, most notably in the last three games, where the team had a 0-3 record. The numbers are ice-cold, but they tell a painful reality: the bottom of the lineup just didn’t execute when it mattered.
“Halpin .154, Rocchio .140, Adell .136, Bazzana .190. They didn’t get any help. Their offensive attack was kind of top-heavy. Two or three guys doing most of the work. They didn’t get any help from below,” insider Paul Hoynes said. “They played Guards Ball much, much better than the Guardians did. They hit well. They pitched well. They hit with runners in scoring position.”
Hoynes couldn’t have said it better: Cleveland was ‘out-Guards ball-ed’ by Tampa. As simple as that.
The Rays hit with runners in scoring position, didn’t strike out as often as the White Sox, hit for power, ran the bases with determination, and played excellent defense, especially in the up-the-middle positions. They even bunted and played some small ball, including aggressiveness on the base paths.
They beat the Guardians in their own game, but the main difference is that Tampa hit and Cleveland didn’t. Take a look at Petey Halpin and Travis Bazzana’s batting averages, and you realize that their home runs in the AL Championship Series weren’t enough. They needed to do more, and the same goes for Patrick Bailey, Jo Adell, and particularly Brayan Rocchio.
That’s too many hitters struggling at the same time. Scoring runs that way is extremely hard, especially against a deep and talented staff like the Rays’.
If the Guardians want to take the next step, they need to improve their roster. They need more impactful hitters, a few extra relievers, and a starter or two that they can trust in addition to Gavin Williams and Parker Messick.
Can they invest enough money and resources to make it happen?
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