Shaw-less In Seattle: M’s Drop Tribe

It sure is nice to have baseball back.

Cleveland opened their 2018 season against the Mariners and lost a tightly contested series, two games to one. Even if the Indians didn’t win their opening series, it’s great to have them playing meaningful ball games once again.

Let’s discuss:

Bullpen Blues Already?

You know how they say, you don’t know what you got till it’s gone?

Well, I think it’s safe to say that Bryan Shaw was undervalued as a pitcher during his tenure in an Indians uniform.

Between 2013-2017, Shaw made 378 relief appearances for the Indians, to the tune of a 3.11 ERA over 358.2 innings, good enough for a 136 ERA+. Shaw was the picture of consistency for Cleveland, but sadly not always appreciated. Maybe Shaw was the victim of being in the wrong place, throwing the wrong pitch, at the wrong time, and perhaps one too many of those moments lodged deep in the fans' memories. The 30 year-old right hander moved on this winter, signing with the Rockies.

Boy did our guys miss Shaw’s services on Sunday though, as the Tribe’s relief pitchers couldn’t get the job done in the rubber game. Dan Otero and Tyler Olson, both solid options, unfortunately allowed home runs in the seventh inning to give Seattle an insurmountable lead in their 5-4 victory. Olson’s gift to Mitch Haniger, a 2-run shot, was particularly damaging. The southpaw, who had a 0.00 ERA over 20 innings last year, will not repeat that feat this season.

Are the Indians panicking about their bullpen already?

No, certainty not. It’s only one series, and the guys chosen to pick up where Shaw left off will soon have opportunities to redeem themselves. They’ll also, on occasion, suffer repeat performances just like Sunday. Such is the life of an MLB relief pitcher, and we as fans have to make peace with that fact; pitchers surrender runs.

Let’s not forget the work done during Saturday’s 6-5 victory, when a combination of Zach MacAllister, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen worked 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. There’s clearly no reason to overreact this early, especially when the team can still call upon elite arms like Miller and Allen.

However, it's the bridge between the rotation and that fearsome duo that might take a little while to settle.

To finish up, here are a few more quick takes:

• Edwin Encarnacion broke out on Sunday, slugging two home runs. His second of the game, a no-doubter high over the head of Seattle left fielder Guillermo Heredia, brought the Indians within a run of the Mariners but it wasn't to be. Still, it's nice to see Edwin start the season in style.
• Fellow slugger and new man in town Yonder Alonso made a good first impression. He kicked things off for the Tribe on Saturday, smashing a grand slam off M's starter James Paxton to give the Indians an early 4-0 lead.
• Corey Kluber got the nod for Opening Day, as expected, and was sublime in a complete game effort that unfairly resulted in the loss. 8 innings, 6 hits and 2 earned runs (courtesy of a Nelson Cruz 2-run homer), with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk. Vintage Kluber to start 2018, just a shame the offense couldn't back him.

The Tribe stay out west for their next series, travelling down to Anaheim for a three game set with the Angels. Mike Clevinger is expected to make his first start of the year, as he takes on Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.