Insider Sends Big Warning To Guardians Amid Postseason Push

After winning three of the four games they played against the Detroit Tigers last weekend, the Cleveland Guardians had the chance to make a statement to the rest of the teams vying for the last AL Wild Card and, why not, to the AL Central leaders, the Chicago White Sox.

Instead, they lost two of three in Baltimore. Yes, the Guardians’ division hopes were aided by the fact that the White Sox were swept at home, but to some, including Paul Hoynes and Joe Noga of Cleveland.com, it feels like a missed chance.

“Nothing has changed, but [the Guardians are] running out of games. They’re missing opportunities. This is a great time to make a move here. And they’ve missed that, especially in the division,” Hoynes said.

After the White Sox swept Chicago, Cleveland is a game and a half behind in the division race. The feeling, however, is that they could have been much closer had they played consistently competent baseball in Baltimore. Life in MLB, however, is not particularly easy, and the O’s are fighting for a postseason spot themselves.

Luckily for Cleveland, the teams immediately below them in the fight for that third and final Wild Card spot in the junior circuit haven’t been able to capitalize on their inconsistency. Things are still open, as four squads are separated by just three games: the Guardians, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Texas Rangers, and the Orioles.

Basically, almost half of the American League is vying for two playoff tickets: the AL Central crown and that third Wild Card, because the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have a healthy lead in the first two spots.

Whoever can shake off mediocrity and actually string some wins together will earn the right to play games under the bright lights of October. Will one of them be Cleveland? We shall find out soon enough, as there are 15 games left in their regular-season calendar.

Noga and Hoynes, however, can’t help but feel that Cleveland should have been much closer to securing a postseason berth by now, or at least closer to catching the White Sox.