Three Positives from the Week of March 24th

Today may be April Fool’s Day, but there’s no joke when it comes to how well the Guardians played this week. With Opening Day behind us, here’s three positives from the first week of the season.

3-1 Start to the Season

Yes, we played Oakland. Yes, the first series of the year hardly matters. However, I was extremely impressed with what I saw from this Guardians team, and I’m hoping that this series sets the tone for the rest of the season. Behind a six inning, 11 strikeout performance from Shane Bieber on Thursday, the Guardians put up eight runs in a shutout against the A’s.

Friday saw a bit more competition with Cleveland winning 6-4, but Saturday was another blowout with a 12-3 win. Unfortunately the team couldn’t pull off a sweep, losing 4-3 on an Oakland walk off. This game hardly mattered to me, though. After seeing three games of winning baseball to start the season, it became clear that this team might just work. The young kids are finally getting their time to shine, and new manager Steven Vogt seems to know how to put a lineup together. It’s going to be a very exciting season.

Cookie Starts for Cleveland

For the first time since September 25, 2020, Carlos Carrasco donned his number 59 jersey and took the mound for Cleveland on Sunday. Traded to the Mets with Francisco Lindor on January 7, 2021, Carrasco played in New York for three seasons before signing a minor league deal with Cleveland this winter. 15 years after he threw his first pitch for Cleveland, he was back home.

Striking out three over five innings and giving up three runs on six hits, his return was by no means perfect. That didn’t really matter, though. What mattered was that he was wearing a Cleveland jersey and that he was happy and healthy. The team he plays with now certainly looks a lot different than the one he left in 2020, but the love is still there. Here’s hoping that he has a healthy, full season for Cleveland and continues to find his groove either as the fifth starter or in the bullpen.

Kluber and Brantley to Return Home

Cleveland legends Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley will be returning to Progressive Field on April 8th for the team’s home opener. Kluber, two-time Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star with Cleveland, was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2019 and retired this past February. Brantley, three-time All-Star for Cleveland, signed with the Houston Astros after electing free agency in the 2018 offseason. He also retired this January.

These two Cleveland legends spent nine and 10 years with the big-league club, respectively. They will be returning to Cleveland in one week to celebrate the home opener by throwing out ceremonial first pitches. It’s sure to be an emotional yet heartwarming moment for these two and the fans whom they mean so much to.