Well, the Major League Baseball season just hit about mile 20 over the past week. The Guardians have played 123 games, or about 76% of their season. This feels like a great time to take some inventory and see where the Guardians stand as the stretch run appears on the horizon. With just under 40 games remaining, there is still plenty of time to speculate on both post-season glory or how the season could end in ineptitude and disappointment. In order to cut through the reckless speculation, let’s take a look at where we have been, in order to have the best idea of where things are going.
Author Archives: pickupsportstalkcle
Dear Journal: Pickup Sports Talk CLE is Back
I last posted on this little corner of the internet that I own five years ago. I have to be honest, I was shocked when I went to the homepage a moment ago and saw the dateline on my last post was August 7th 2020. I just so happen to be sitting here beginning to type this new return post on August 7th 2025, literally 5 years to the day later. I didn’t plan it this way.
Who and What Is At the Root of the Indians’ Offensive Horrible Start: A Poorly Timed Analytical Blog Post
Coming into Thursday night, the Cleveland Indians offense has been absolutely lackluster. Having scored 12 runs over their past 8 games, they outscored themselves during that time span on Thursday alone with their 13-0 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds. Man, that had to feel good. It must have felt like a step in the rightContinue reading “Who and What Is At the Root of the Indians’ Offensive Horrible Start: A Poorly Timed Analytical Blog Post”
Cleveland Indians 2020 Roster Preview and Projections
I did something amazing on Saturday. I watched live baseball. This wasn’t the live baseball from half a world a way in South Korea at 5 in the morning. No, this was Major League Baseball. In prime time. On a Saturday evening! My own complaints about potentially not being able to watch my games justContinue reading “Cleveland Indians 2020 Roster Preview and Projections”
The Overlooked Step that Possibly Ruined MLB Negotiations and Might Even Kill the Season Once It Starts
I write this late in the day of an ultimatum. An ultimatum that appears it will go unanswered. I am paraphrasing, but Saturday, after weeks of dickering back and forth between the Major League Baseball owners and the Players Association the players came to a conclusion. That conclusion was that any further negotiations between theContinue reading “The Overlooked Step that Possibly Ruined MLB Negotiations and Might Even Kill the Season Once It Starts”
Jerry West as the 1st Modern GM, Reggie Miller as a Knick, and More About How the 1996 NBA Offseason Relates to 2020
Besides the obvious situation the league finds itself in, this NBA season has been without recent precedent in one other way. For the first time in more than a decade, the 2019-2020 NBA league year does not include a “Super-Team” among its two conferences. Sure, there are super-star players coordinated together in different cities inContinue reading “Jerry West as the 1st Modern GM, Reggie Miller as a Knick, and More About How the 1996 NBA Offseason Relates to 2020”
The Gasoline Gang: A Cleveland Indians Bullpen Theory- Eric Plunk
By the off-season before the 1992 MLB season, the Cleveland Indians were well on their way to putting the building blocks in place that would one day become “The Dynasty That Almost Was”. Though this era of baseball was as bittersweet as that nickname suggests, there was a lot to cherish from those teams, includingContinue reading “The Gasoline Gang: A Cleveland Indians Bullpen Theory- Eric Plunk”
What Re-Opened Sports Leagues Can Teach the Four Majors About the Importance of a Quick Return
It is a regular opinion that the sport first out of the gate to bring a return to major American athletics to the general public in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic will reap major rewards. That’s the view for today, and its no wonder then why the NBA, NHL and MLB are just asContinue reading “What Re-Opened Sports Leagues Can Teach the Four Majors About the Importance of a Quick Return”
Ranking the Dream Teams: The 7 Pro Iterations of US Men’s Olympic Basketball in Order
With the 2020 Summer Olympics postponed one calendar year, the United States Men’s Basketball team will have to wait another twelve months to avenge a lethargic and disappointing 7th place finish at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. While not quite the stage that is the Olympics, that unfortunate tournament outcome was the first of itsContinue reading “Ranking the Dream Teams: The 7 Pro Iterations of US Men’s Olympic Basketball in Order”
Crunch-Time Break Down: Classic Edition- Game 6, 2015 ALCS Blue Jays vs. Royals
With no professional team sports being played on the North American continent right now, many have turned to classic games as a refuge to help distract them from the very difficult real world problems that we are dealing with as a sports-loving people. I am no different in this and as the time approaches whereContinue reading “Crunch-Time Break Down: Classic Edition- Game 6, 2015 ALCS Blue Jays vs. Royals”
Pick-Up Sports Talk: Cleveland 