CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Mother nature continues to play havoc with the Guardians early in the season.
Another rainout Tuesday forced the Guardians to play a doubleheader with the Padres Wednesday, which they split.
Another rainout could be on the way Friday with more rain scheduled to arrive late Thursday night.
“Tonight we’re going to be OK, but [Friday] is going to be very iffy,” Francona said.
Cleveland has had three games postponed already this season and they’ve played two traditional doubleheaders to make up two of the postponements and another is scheduled in July.
When they have played at home, it’s been cold and wet – see Wednesday.
“I think weather like [Wednesday], it takes it out of you,” Francona said. “I know people don’t want to hear that, they [think] ‘Guys are making good money’ and stuff, but they’re human and I know it took it out of me. And it was cold.”
Prior to Thursday’s game, Francona gave his team the option to hit but held mandatory defensive work in the field.
“We don’t want to get sloppy,” Francona said. “We haven’t been on the field a lot so you want to try and balance it the best you can knowing we might not be on the field [Friday].”
Ironically, when the Guardians head for Chicago following Sunday’s series finale with Toronto the sun is expected to return and temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 70s in Cleveland next week.
Help, please – Aaron Civale has had a tough start to the season with an 0-2 record and ERA over 10 but Francona isn’t concerned.
“We haven’t played our best defense behind him and sometimes you need a little help,” Francona said. “he’s been that guy so far. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
Civale has allowed 15 earned runs in 12 innings over his last three starts, which has inflated his ERA quickly.
Defensive miscues and recent struggles aside, Francona expects it won’t be long until Civale finds his groove again.
“He just hasn’t commended yet like he will,” Francona said. “I think with repetition and health [he’ll be fine] because he’s good. He needs to…again, repetition will be really good for him.”
Keep ‘em cold – The Toronto Blue Jays are in town for a four-game weekend series and while they’ve yet to erupt offensively, Francona worries they are a juggernaut ready to explode at any moment.
“The one thing you don’t want them to do is get hot because they can bludgeon you when they’re feeling good,” Francona said. “People aren’t talking enough about their starting pitching. Their starting pitching has been dominant.
“Their lineup is really good, even if they haven’t been dominant yet, but their starting pitching has been so good.”
To Francona’s point, the Blue Jays rotation leads the American League in innings pitched with 123.0 and strikeouts – 124. Their nine wins are tied for the most and they rank second with a 2.78 ERA and seventh by allowing opponents to hit a paltry .233.
Toronto is a Major League-best 10-3 in one-run games and 12-4 in games decided by two or fewer runs to date.
Tough break – Guardians 22-year-old shortstop prospect Gabriel Arias underwent surgery today to repair a fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his right hand Thursday.
Arias, who suffered the injury earlier this week, will be out 6-8 weeks the team said.
“Disappointing,” Francona said. “[We’re] Trying to figure out what is in his best interest over the next 6-8 weeks. I think he might even come up here Saturday and we’ll visit with him a little bit.”
Minor(s) development – Minor League Baseball is returning to normal this year after the pandemic disrupted it the last two years, allowing the Guardians and rest of baseball to develop their young players.
“We feel like guys missed out on a year of development that you could probably never get back,” Francona said. “That’s unfortunate. I’m not sure how you change that but guys that are playing now, you’re going to get a better feel for your players because they missed huge developmental time. There’s no way to get around it.
“I think doing the [alternate] site thing was as good as you were going to do. And that probably wasn’t a whole lot of fun for a bunch of guys.”
Keep one, lose one – First baseman Bobby Bradley was outrighted to AAA Columbus after clearing waivers while left-handed pitcher Logan Allen was claimed by the Orioles.
Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.
Roster move – Right hander Anthony Castro was optioned to AAA Columbus after serving as the 27th player from Wednesday’s doubleheader.
