The Biggest Mistake the Guardians Can't Repeat in the Second Half of the Season

The Cleveland Guardians return to action this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates after a much-needed All-Star break.

All things considered, this baseball season has been a success in Cleveland.

The Guardians are currently tied with the Chicago White Sox for first place in the American League Central Division. They’ve kept the boat afloat despite key injuries to Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez, while rookie phenom Chase DeLauter had a brief IL stint also.

But in the second half of the season, the Guardians can’t rely on their starting rotation to cover up the stench of their anemic batting lineup.

Guardians offense has to improve in second half

The Guardians are at the bottom of almost every offensive statistical category in baseball.

They rank dead last in slugging and currently rank 29th in batting average, 28th in runs scored and 27th in home runs. That’s just not good enough.

Even though the AL Central isn’t great, the White Sox employ Munetaka Murakami who has shown a serious ability to make the baseball leave the ballpark. The Detroit Tigers were turning the corner ahead of the All-Star break, and are within striking distance of making a comeback.

This American League is up for grabs with no elite teams. Even though that could complicate the MLB trade deadline, the Guardians should be aggressively searching for an upgrade to their offense.

Before the break, it felt like left fielder Steven Kwan was finally starting to wake up at the plate. But the Guardians still need more from him. And they could use his offensive revelation to strike some other players throughout the batting lineup as well.

The Guardians are averaging just 3.97 runs per game, good for 28th in MLB. The lineup’s lack of run support means the pitching staff can’t afford late-game collapses from the bullpen, which has been shaky throughout the season.

Whereas if the Guardians were able to provide just a bit more offense, starters won’t be forced to go so deep into outings. The bullpen will be much less taxed, saving their best arms for games and series that really matter.

Even with a feeble offense, the Guardians proved that they’re a stable enough organization to keep the boat afloat. They deserve plenty of credit for surviving without Martinez and Ramirez while retaining first place in the division along the way.

But unless the team finds something offensively, the Guardians likely won’t go very far. And that would be very disappointing, especially in a wide open American League.

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