Leading Off with Ryan Lewis: A podcast on Cleveland baseball

With more than 100 games left in the season, it's too early to determine if the Cleveland Indians should be buyers or sellers at the July 31 trade deadline.

On this week's Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we talk about the options facing the Indians. They could be buyers and trade prospects for proven talent. They could trade off assets and begin a rebuild. Or the Indians could find a happy, but challenging middle ground between the two.

Ryan explains which avenue is most likely for Cleveland.

If the team does enter the selling market, who are the team's best trade assets? There might not be as many as you think, and Fransisco Lindor isn't among them.

This week we also talk about how the Indians got themselves into a situation where they're 10 games out of first place in the American League Central.

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber had a historically great start on Sunday. Against the Baltimore Orioles, he pitched a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts. On this week's Leading Off podcast, Ryan Lewis and Dan Kadar look back on the game. Ryan explains what made Bieber so effective and why Bieber is going to be a key player for the Indians for years to come.

Ryan also gives his first impression thoughts on rookie outfielder Oscar Mercado, whom the Indians are using selectively. 

They also talk about the new batting order for the Indians. On May 13, the Indians moved struggling third baseman Jose Ramirez from third to fifth in the order. That moved designated hitter and first baseman Carlos Santana up to the third spot. In the six games since then, the Indians are 4-2 and scoring more than six runs per game. Santana is also getting hot again, batting .333 in that span. Jordan Luplow has also had bright moments hitting fourth. Is this the type of change the Indians' offense needs. 

The Cleveland Indians are essentially at the quarter point of the 162-game season. They started the week in second place in the AL Central behind the Minnesota Twins. As expected, the team has been propped up by pitching while the offense is one of the worst in baseball.

On this week's Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we assess where the Indians sit at the quarter point. We cover the team's biggest surprises (excellent bullpen play and the slow development of Jake Bauers and Jordan Luplow) and biggest disappointments (Jason Kipnis and roster flyers like Carlos Gonzalez not paying off).

That leads us to where the Indians stand right now after 39 games and looking up at the red hot Minnesota Twins. Can the Indians catch up?

On this week's Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we look back on the injury to Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber.

Ryan gives us an update on how the Indians will manage their starting rotation while being without Kluber and Mike Clevinger. That got us talking about a few related topics, including Cody Anderson's dreadful Sunday start, why Dallas Keuchel isn't in the team's plans and Clevinger's progress.

Ryan also gave his opinion on whether or not it's actually good that Kluber is out after struggling at the beginning of this season.

We also talked about the slow turnaround for third baseman Jose Ramirez. His batting average is finally at .200 after Sunday's game. There's some explanation for why his hitting is starting to improve.

Filling in for an injured Mike Clevinger, Indians pitcher Jefry Rodriguez has played pretty well in two starts.

On this week's Leading Off with Ryan Lewis podcast, we talk about how he's playing and what it means for the team's starting rotation. At the least, Rodriguez has positioned himself as the team's first option to fill in if someone gets injured. But the more quality starts Rodriguez gets, the more it could impact what the team does at the July 31 trade deadline.

We also talk about the Indians sending outfielder Greg Allen back to Triple-A and bringing Jordan Luplow back up. There's a good reason why Luplow got called up, and Ryan explains why and what it could mean for hot prospect Oscar Mercado.

We close this week's podcast with some quick thoughts on the four-game road series the Indians had against the Houston Astros. The Indians could face them in the playoffs, but does this April series matter? 

This is the most controversial Leading Off with Ryan Lewis podcast we've ever recorded.

The subject is one of baseball's divisive topics, the bat flip. The subject is in the news again after Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox flipped his bat after a home run against the Kansas City Royals. Eventually an altercation occurred, players were suspended and the bat flip once again became baseball's hot topic.

On Leading Off we have plenty of thoughts on the art of bat flipping, and some Cleveland Indians players made their opinions known to Ryan.

We also talk about how left-handed heavy the batting order is, and how the Indians could address in the future. Spring training sensation Oscar Mercado could be an option for the Indians.

The Kansas City Royals finished off a weekend sweep of the Cleveland Indians after another bad start from pitcher Corey Kluber.

On Sunday, Kluber pitched just 2 2/3 innings, walking five and allowing six runs. In three starts, Kluber has now only pitched 12 innnings over three starts while giving up 11 earned runs.

On this week's edition of Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we talk about Kluber's slow start to the season and what may be causing it.

We also talk about where the Indians standing after the sweep by the Royals. The Indians suddenly went from surviving while they wait for Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor to come back to struggling.

That survial mode is over, though, in part because the Indians called up veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

We also talk about Brad Miller being designated for assignment -- and being unhappy about it -- while the Indians hang on to Eric Stamets and Max Moroff.

The show this week closed with some thoughts on how the Indians will cope with the loss of starting pitcher Mike Clevinger.

Arguably no group of starting pitchers in baseball are off to a hotter start than the quintet for the Cleveland Indians. That includes Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer. In 12 innings pitched, Clevinger hasn't allowed a run, only given up two hits and he's struck out 22. Bauer has only allowed one hit, a single earned run and has struck out 17. 

On this edition of Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we talk about just how good Bauer and Clevinger have looked to start the season. And as good as they've been, this all seems normal.

While the pitching staff has looked great, the offense has largely struggled. The team is hitting a combined .182 through nine games, and the team's young outfielders in particular are struggling. Could the Indians be bringing up Carlos Gonzalez from Triple-A? We talked about that possibility and why it means Tyler Naquin could end up being the odd man out on a roster move.

We closed this week's show talking about the contract extension for manager Terry Francona, and how it might help keep Cleveland's window of contention open.

Yes, it was a less-than-ideal start to the season for the Cleveland Indians. But it's only a few games of a 162-game season. Don't overreact to the slow start for the Indians.

That is the main subject of this week's edition of Leading Off with Ryan Lewis. The Indians got off to a 1-2 start on the season, with the offense struggling to score runs. Perhaps the biggest issue for the Indians is that it came against the Minnesota Twins, a team that is Cleveland's biggest challenge for the American League Central division.

Ryan also explains why he thinks the Indians are at their weakest right now that they'll be all season. He also walks us through a normal day on the beat covering the Indians.

Baseball is back, and on the newest episode of the Leading Off with Ryan Lewis podcast we preview the season for the Cleveland Indians. We cover these topics: 

- The Indians have perhaps the best rotation in baseball, two legitimate MVP-caliber hitters and will win the division. So why does it feel like this season is beginning with doom and gloom?

- What is the biggest question mark at the start of the season? 

- What new Indian (besides Carlos Santana) will have the biggest impact on the team?

- Stats aside, what having Santana back means for the team.

- Season predictions for the Indians, and a surprise Cy Young Award choice.

The Kansas City Royals finished off a weekend sweep of the Cleveland Indians after another bad start from pitcher Corey Kluber.

On Sunday, Kluber pitched just 2 2/3 innings, walking five and allowing six runs. In three starts, Kluber has now only pitched 12 innnings over three starts while giving up 11 earned runs.

On this week's edition of Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, we talk about Kluber's slow start to the season and what may be causing it.

We also talk about where the Indians standing after the sweep by the Royals. The Indians suddenly went from surviving while they wait for Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor to come back to struggling.

That survial mode is over, though, in part because the Indians called up veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

We also talk about Brad Miller being designated for assignment -- and being unhappy about it -- while the Indians hang on to Eric Stamets and Max Moroff.

The show this week closed with some thoughts on how the Indians will cope with the loss of starting pitcher Mike Clevinger.

Welcome to the first episode of Leading Off with Ryan Lewis, our podcast covering the Cleveland Indians.

On today's episode, Ryan and Dan Kadar talk about the team's signing of veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Does the former All-Star right fielder have a chance of making the Indians after signing a minor league contract?

If Gonzalez does make the roster, it could go a long way in solving the team's problems in the outfield. On the show, they also talk about how Hanley Ramirez plays into the team's plans.

Another outfielder, prospect Oscar Mercado, has been one of the team's best hitters. But does he have any chance of making the Opening Day roster? Ryan explains why there's an outside chance for it.

We also touch on how the Indians could handle the bullpen, where seven relievers are vying for three spots.

We close our first show with updates on the health of shortstop Francisco Lindor and Bradley Zimmer. Expect the Indians to be particularly cautious with Lindor leading up to Opening Day on March 28.