CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – What’s in a name?
Everything.
President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti has learned that the hard way as the franchise works behind the scenes on a rebrand of a charter member of the American League.
“I have come to understand just how complex that process is,” Antonetti said prior to Sunday’s series finale with the Mariners. “It’s taken an extraordinary amount of work from people throughout the organization to help us move that forward.”
The team has begun the process of narrowing down the list of potential names and vetting them legally, including trademark and copyright research.
“There’s a lot to it,” Antonetti said. “It’s just a really complex process. There are already a lot of names already in existence. Unless we’re starting from scratch and making up a name that no one’s used in any space before, there are all sorts of complicating factors to try and get that to be the name for us, setting aside which ones we prefer, our fans prefer or other stakeholders prefer.
“It’s a lot more complex than I initially thought.”
The Indians recently announced that 1,198 names have been considered while they continue the vetting process.
Digging out – The financial impact of the pandemic on the Indians will last for years according to Antonetti.
“There’s no specific number or specific timeline but the losses were massive,” Antonetti said. “I think at the time I said it would take us years to recover from and I still think that today.”
The Indians have been able to reopen Progressive Field to full capacity and had crowds of over 20,000 the first two days of the weekend – on par with what they typically draw.
“It makes such a huge difference,” Antonetti said. “If you think back a year ago, there was probably 50 of us in the ballpark and they were pumping in crowd noise; the environment was sterile. To have the energy in the ballpark, you can see, players feed off it. It makes it more enjoyable for everybody. We’re looking forward to an exciting summer of having our fans back at the ballpark.”
Model of consistency – Despite injuries to the rotation, losing two of their top hitters to injury and being forced to trade their franchise shortstop in the offseason, the Indians are in the thick of the playoff picture in mid-June.
Most organizations would be derailed by such developments, but not Cleveland.
“Tito is a huge part of that,” Antonetti said. “The mindset that he creates with players and the team from Day 1 in spring training about coming together to find a way to win, the expectations he sets. When we talk about minor league players coming to Cleveland, it’s not just to come up here to play in the major leagues, it’s come up here to help us try to find a way to win games. That mindset permeates not just our major league team but our entire system.
“We knew going into the year that we were going to be a young team, but we felt there was talent there and our responsibility is to try and help that group continue to develop and grow while winning games at the major league level. So far, we’ve at least put ourselves in a position to have the next 102 games or 101 games mean something. Hopefully we can continue to grow and improve as a team and continue to contend.”
Back to Columbus – Prior to Sunday’s finale with the Mariners, starting pitcher Triston McKenzie was optioned back to Triple-A Columbus and infielder Ernie Clement called up.
McKenzie was unable to survive the first inning Saturday that saw him walk four of the six batters he faced. He has struggled with control and has pitched at least five innings in just four his 11 starts this season.
“We want to make sure we understand what’s going through their mind and wat’s getting in the way of having the results they want,” Antonetti said. “We spent some time with Tristan talking through that a little bit and trying to figure out how do we help him and how do we use the time in Columbus to help him prepare for the next opportunity up here.”
The demotion of McKenzie means the Indians will have to figure out who to start Thursday.
“How things play out of the next couple of days will likely influence that,” Antonetti said.
Clement was hitting .289 (22-for-76) with nine doubles, a triple and seven RBI in 20 games with the Clippers in 2021. He has made six starts at second base, five starts at third base and left field and one start at shortstop.
This is his second stint with the club and will be making his Major League debut when he appears for the first time.
Setback for Luplow – Outfielder Jordan Luplow aggravated his sprained ankle at Triple-A Columbus and will be re-examined by doctors according to Antonetti. Luplow has been sidelined with the ankle injury since May 28 when he was placed on the injured list.
Up next – The Indians open a four-game series with the Orioles. RHP J.C. Mejia (1-1, 4.15) pitches the series opener.