The surprising Guardians

Full disclosure: I am a baseball fan. A big baseball fan. I have followed a baseball team nicknamed Indians for my entire life. The Indians are ingrained in who I am. When they won. When they lost. They were still Cleveland's professional baseball team. My team.

When they won the 1948 World Series against the Boston Braves, I as a kid rejoiced. Yep, I'm old enough to remember. And when they were swept by the New York Giants in the 1954 World Series, I was crushed. Players came and went over the years that followed, but they were still my team. 

There were some pretty bad teams. The faces and names of the players changed, but wait'll-next-year hopes kept the dream alive. The great seven-year stretch from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s (six post-season appearances) ignited those hopes. Set home attendance records, too. But no championship.

The Terry Francona era has produced exciting baseball and wonderful memories over the last decade (five more post-season appearances) as the Indians seriously threatened to finally end the World Series drought of 73 years. But again, no championship.

That brings us to the present, where the Indians are no longer. Gone. Just another Cleveland professional baseball team that managed to win only two World Series titles in 107 years. Nothing now but memories. 

That's because the owners of the Indians bowed to political correctness and changed the nickname to Guardians, cutting off my allegiance to the only baseball team I followed religiously and zealously, living and dying with them in my youth. 

They are not my team anymore. I don't know for certain, but the guess here is many others at or near my age feel the same way. The Indians are gone. Long live the Guardians. Uh, no thank you.

"You'll be back," say fans either happy with the nickname change or the die-hard fans who really don't care and enjoy the game too much to abandon it. "When they win, you'll change your tune." Yeah, right.

I still proudly wear my block C and Chief Wahoo caps in public and do not get stares. I refuse to wear a Guardians cap. That's not going to happen, Even if they win a World Series. Stubborn? Definitely.  

Being a sports fan in general, though, I every now and then check on the exploits of the Guardians. But I sometimes refer to the Indians in conversation before correcting myself. Turns out they are doing quite nicely thus far this season. 

And that's where we begin to tip a cap -- an Indians cap, of course -- at the job Francona is doing in the club's inaugural season. Time to take a look.

This a fun baseball team.  Outside of the amazing Jose Ramirez, it's a team comprised of young, eager players who find numerous ways to win games. They enter their three-game series in Minnesota Tuesday night at 34-28, just a game behind the first-place Twins in the AL Central.

They have won 15 of the last 19 games, including a 5-1 record on the current trip west. They were languishing at 19-24 and looking less than mediocre when they caught fire, winning six straight series at home (8-2) and on the road (7-2) and shaving Minnesota's lead from seven and half games to just a game.

When the season began, pitching was thought to be the club's hallmark with Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, Zach Plesac and Cal Quantrill. With few exceptions -- Civale missed some time with a glute injury -- starters pitched far enough into games where the bullpen was not worn out.

That enabled the likes of Eli Morgan, Anthony Gose, Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin, Enyel De Los Santos, Trevor Stephan, veteran Bryan Shaw and closer Emmanuel Clase to post MLB's second-best earned-run average (2.81), allow just 64 earned runs (again second-best) and an MLB best 1.09 WHIP.

Clase has been a marvel, racking up 15 saves in 17 opportunities. The last time he allowed a run was back on May 17 against Cincinnati. His four-seam fastball arrives at the plate routinely from 100 to 103 miles an hour. His 94-mph slider buckles knees. And he has walked only four batters in 30 appearances.

But it's the offense that has lifted this team time and again and made the difference with guys like Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario and Ramirez around the infield and an outfield of rookies Steven Kwan, Richie Palacios and Oscar Gonzalez, slugger Franmil Reyes returning from injury and Myles Straw. The latter is struggling this season, but has provided Gold Glove defense in center field.

Gonzalez has been a revelation since his recall from Class AAA Columbus about a month ago. He hasn't stopped hitting with at least one knock in 18 of his 22 starts. The 6-4, 240-pound right fielder is currently hitting .337.

Behind the plate, you'll find veterans Austin Hedges and Luke Maile, who don't hit much. Their worth lies in the savvy handling of the pitching staff. Quality utility play around the infield is provided off the bench by the versatile Ernie Clement and Owen Miller, who has scored 33 runs and driven in 31.

The switch-hitting Ramirez once again has a leg up on AL MVP honors (that seem to elude him) with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in, 41 runs scored, a .304 batting average and a robust OPS of 1.036 behind just Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Paul Goldschmidt of St. Louis.

This team exhibits great discipline at the plate, striking out only 428 times this season, nearly 60 fewer times than the next best team. Small ball seems to be their strongest suit. They lead the AL in sacrifice flies and straddle the top in getting runners home when in scoring position.

Want stolen bases? How about a success rate of 81% (43 of 53), 11 each by Straw and Ramirez. The young kids play with infectious delight. Kwan has become a staple in left field. Palacios doesn't play much, but is batting, 500 as a pinch-hitter. 

Excited about this team? Not yet. Still too early for that. Where they are at this stage of the season, hanging with the likes of the Twins and talented Chicago White Sox,  sure got my attention. Consider me intrigued. I'd be much more excited, though, if the name Indians adorned the shirt.