The First Half for the Indians – Four Takeaways from the Good and Bad (Part Three)

The 2018 season for the Indians took quite a turn on Thursday morning when it was announced that the team acquired closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber

The 2018 season for the Indians took quite a turn on Thursday morning when it was announced that the team acquired closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber from the Padres for prospect Francisco Mejia.

From a team that couldn't seem to get out of its own way when it came to their bullpen to now one with two closers, just like that the Indians appear to be a team that now looks like they can make a run in the American League against teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros and Mariners.

We've covered quite a bit of the first half over the last few days, with two other parts of our three-part series on the first half, covering already eight takeaways from various aspects of the first half.

Today as we set up the second half, we wrap up the first half with four final takeaways, getting you ready for what should be a fun ride for the Tribe as they look to get back to the promise land of the Fall Classic.

Click HERE to check out Part One of the three-part series.

Click HERE for Part Two of the series.

1. Struggles Against All But the Central

The Indians have dominated the American League Central, feasting on teams like the Tigers, White Sox, and Royals, but even struggling against the team that was supposed to push them the most in the division, the Twins.

Outside though of that, the team has had plenty of struggles elsewhere, as they simply haven't played all that well against the other teams in the American League, and also have had problems with Interleague play, but are two games over .500 against them at 8-6.

Against the AL East the Tribe is 5-8 (3-1 against Baltimore, 1-5 against the Yankees, 1-2 against the Jays, have yet to play TB or Boston).

Against the AL West they are 10-16 (2-1 vs Texas, 2-5 vs Seattle, 2-4 vs Oakland, 1-2 against Los Angeles, 3-4 against the Astros).

When it comes to the Central, they are 8-2 against the White Sox, 10-3 against Detroit, and 7-2 vs the Royals and 3-6 taking on the Twins.

All in all, that's 52-43, but it's no secret if they are going to reach their goal of a World Series, they will have to step it up against the rest of the league.

2. Miller's Injury Woes

The Indians could always turn to reliever Andrew Miller and expect to get a couple of much needed outs, and earlier in 2018 it looked like he was ready to have another dominant season.

Then the dreaded injury bug hit the tall reliever, and he's not been the same since. Miller was great early in the year before the injury, carrying a zero ERA in his first 11 appearances, but since May 11th he's allowed seven earned runs in 4.2 innings of work, and hasn't pitched since May 25th due to knee inflammation.

The team decided at that point to shut Miller down until he was ready, and were not doing to rush him back until he was as close to 100 percent as possible.

The good news, he's closer than ever to coming back, and the team is hopeful he'll be back to his old self upon his return.

3. Cody's Milestone

Indians closer Cody Allen has been a bright spot in the first half, saving 20 games, also setting a franchise mark for the most saves by an Indian, passing Bob Wickman with his 140th save during the teams' holiday series in early July against the Royals.

All things considered, Allen should go past his personal high for saves in a season, as he had 34 in 2015, but could pass that mark with a good second half.

Oddly enough, the team might have traded for his replacement on Thursday in Brad Hand, as Allen will be a free agent at the end of 2018, and making $10.5 million already this year he's likely to be out of the teams' price range.

For now he's still the closer, and while his ERA at 4.66 is higher than he or the team wants, he's hopeful that a good second half will put him in a good position this offseason.

4. An All-Star Six-Pack

The Indians had a ball at the break, as six of their best players took part in the Mid-Summer classic in Washington, playing in the MLB All-Star game.

Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Jose Ramirez, Corey Kluber, Yan Gomes and Tevor Bauer all made the squad for the American League.

The six All Stars are the most for the team since 1999, a great tribute to a team that while they didn't dominate in the first half, they have a number of superstars who stepped up and played the game the right way.

With these players as well as the rest of the roster, it should be an exciting second half once the team take the field in Texas Friday night.