CLEVELAND, OH – Nearly 25,000 fans were silent on Monday night at Progressive Field. Brad Hand stood on the mound having just allowed an RBI double to Xander Bogaerts that tied the game. Hand had blown his second save in as many nights.
Carlos Santana saved the Indians with a walk-off home run in the ninth, but that didn’t change what happened in the top half of the inning. Is it time to be worried about Hand?
“I wouldn’t call it a bad night,” manager Terry Francona said. “The last two, Minnesota and Boston, these offenses are ridiculous. I actually thought he made a pretty good pitch. He threw a fastball away. I wouldn’t second-guess that. These guys are pretty good hitters.”
Hand was dominant earlier this season, allowing two runs in 28 appearances and picking up 18 saves in the process. He had a 0.65 ERA and 41 strikeouts over that span.
The 29-year-old was 22-for-22 in save appearance to start the year. Since then, he’s 7-for-11, with four blown saves.
He looks like a different pitcher in his last 16 appearances. Hand has posted a 6.60 ERA over that span, allowing 11 runs and 22 hits. Opponents are hitting .328 against him and posting a .392 on-base percentage.
“Everything felt good,” Hand said on Monday. “I just can’t make the big pitch to get out of it. I had a chance yesterday to get out of some stuff – two outs, runner on first today, but I just can’t make that pitch to get the job done right now.”
Hand looked superhuman earlier this season, but is as vulnerable as he’s been since Cleveland traded for him last summer. Some wonder if he’s tired, but the numbers don’t reflect that. The average velocity on his four-seam fastball is 93.6 mph in the month of August, which is the fastest it’s been all season. Hand is throwing harder in July and August than he did earlier this year.
Sometimes there isn’t a clear-cut reason behind a player who’s struggling. As bad as Hand as been over the past six weeks, he’s still second in the American League in saves.
He looks human, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad pitcher or that he’s overworked. Great players deal with slumps. How Hand responds to it will be important, but every player on the Indians has had to deal with it at one point or another this season.
How worried are you about Brad Hand, #Indians fans?
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) August 13, 2019If Francisco Lindor went 0-for-35 would anyone question if he would turn it around? What about Carlos Santana? Even José Ramírez figured it out after being awful for three months.
Hand was great earlier in the year and he finally looks mortal. How he responds to the adversity is important, but everyone should expect him to turn things around. Great players make the necessary adjustments to maintain their success.
Hand set a high bar earlier this season. He may not be that dominant again this year, but no one should expect his struggles to continue.
It’s OK to be concerned about the Indians’ closer, but Francona and the rest of the organization believes he’s going to be just fine.
Hand is a confident player who will make the necessary adjustments and bounce back from his recent struggles.
