Will they ever win again? Maybe
A losing streak of epic proportions will end at some point, but along the way to that elusive victory, we will have lost a lot more than some games.
The words of Peter Finch’s character Howard Beale in Network ring truer today than at any point in recent team history.
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
Even in truth, these words ring just as hollow.
How did we get here?
An ALCS berth in 2024, despite major pitching injuries that should have cratered them, saw an offseason full of opportunity to bolster a rotation, and that’s exactly what the front office of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff did. How did they do it? They shipped Josh Naylor and his soon-to-be expiring deal off to Arizona for Slade Cecconi. Andrés Giménez was sent to Toronto along with Nick Sandlin for Spencer Horwitz who was then sent off to Pittsburgh for Luis Ortiz and a couple of (very good) prospects.
So, two pitchers, not yet in their arbitration stages of their rookie contracts, are set to be key contributors to add depth to an ailing rotation. That’s great! Now how do we replace our starting first baseman? We sign Carlos Santana. That’s…great…he’s 39, but he did crush lefties last season and won a gold glove. Now we finally have someone to play alongside Kyle Manzardo who’s finally going to get to play every day!
At last, we got out from under the final handful of years of Giménez’s contract. We’re going to reinvest that money into our now depleted and extremely inexperienced lineup!
If only.
It is Monday, July 7. The Cleveland Guardians are 40-48, in the midst of a 10 game losing streak, their longest such streak since 2012. Within this 10 game losing streak, they have scored just 15 runs, tallied just 17 extra base hits, and have committed 12 errors. This team is making for every wrong reason. Since the start of the 1900’s, only once has a Cleveland team matched these numbers over the course of a 10 game span. It was in 1909, and the then 68-65 Cleveland Naps lost 9 of their next 10 games, with their lone non-loss coming in a six inning 4-4 tie against the White Sox. Those Naps scored 15 runs with 13 extra base hits (dead ball era) in those games, committing 19 errors.
Also mirroring those two teams is a Hall of Famer just not enough of an immortal entity to carry their teams on their backs for such a long stretch. I bet this isn’t how you thought we’d get José Ramírez and Nap Lajoie in the same conversation.
It’s been a historically bad stretch from this offense as well. The Guardians are hitting .166 in this 10 game humiliation, the worst of any Cleveland team to lost at least 9 games across a 10 game span since 1964. It’s the worst offensive stretch we’ve seen in Cleveland since 2011 as they’re the last team in franchise history to post a batting average below the Mendoza line and a .550 OPS or worse while being outscored by at least 25 runs across a 10 game span. That 2011 offense was led by Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore too injured to consistently produce anymore. Outside of them, a young Michael Brantley and offensive juggernauts Jack Hannahan and Matt LaPorta were the only other players to play in at least 100 games. That’s the kind of company the 2025 Guardians are keeping.
It’s pathetic. The effort is pathetic. The lack of energy is noticeable, but above all else, the lack of emotion is staggering. This streak all began on the day that José Ramírez was struck in the right arm by a very clearly intentional hit-by-pitch from Kevin Gausman. Following that, Ramírez endured an 0-for-21 spell stretched across two series, and the offense around him never did anything to pick him.
In fact, they couldn’t be bothered to pick up their teammate immediately after he was hit by the pitch. Not a member of that dugout took a step onto the field, though they were sure to be vocal about it after the game in the friendly confines of their own clubhouse. The only person in that dugout that took a step out of the dugout was Stephen Vogt. In between innings.
Yes, it was understood that after Tanner Bibee hit Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earlier in the game would likely see retaliation as it was the second time Guerrero was plunked (accidentally) in the series. What should also be understood is the code that you stand up for your teammate, especially when that teammate is José Ramírez. At the very least, the dugouts should have emptied. I’m not going to sit here and beg for a fight as if I have popcorn in hand ready for the entertainment. I’m simply asking for a team with a pulse.
It’s hard not to be emotional as a fan of this team, but many are quickly reaching points of apathy and disdain towards an organization they’ve watched for entire summers throughout their lives. The blame is easy to place because it sits squarely on the shoulders of three men: Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, and Paul Dolan. Firstly, Antonetti and Chernoff deserve the blame for how this roster was constructed, but the root of the problem stems from years and years of whiffing on first round position players.
Antonetti has played an integral part in building two of the most successful eras of baseball in the history of the franchise. As GM, Antonetti saw the rise of José Ramírez, drafted Francisco Lindor, and helped orchestrate franchise-altering trades that built the 2016 team that reached the World Series, and the best rotation in franchise history. He is given a lot of leash by the fanbase, and rightfully so. Mike Chernoff took over as general manager when Antonetti was promoted to President of Baseball Operations heading into the 2016 season.
Chernoff was handed the keys to the kingdom, inheriting a franchise with its best rotation since the 1940’s, two Hall of Fame infielders, and a franchise legend first baseman. Within five years, Cleveland was stripping down its parts, never going as far as another ALCS after their magical run in 2016. This is, of course, not solely on Chernoff and Antonetti, but we’ll get into that shortly. However, since Chernoff took over as GM, the overall philosophy changed from building through the farm system with hitters and pitchers who have tools, instead opting to chase the dragon and try and find the next José Ramírez or Shane Bieber.
What does this mean? Who wouldn’t want another José or Bieber? It sounds great in theory, but in practice, it nearly gutted the farm. Let’s look at top 75 picks under Chernoff so far, shall we?
2016: R1:14: OF Will Benson — 2016 is largely viewed as a major success on the pitching end of things for Cleveland for its later rounds. Benson played 28 games in Cleveland, posted -0.2 WAR, and was traded to Cincinnati for OF Justin Boyd and SP Steve Hajjar in 2023. Hajjar is no longer in baseball.
R2:55: 3B Nolan Jones — Jones was traded to the Rockies for Juan Brito. He is back in Cleveland after having a career year in Colorado followed by an injury-riddled 2024. Jones was traded for Tyler Freeman prior to the 2025 season. Jones currently has a 79 wRC+.
R2:72: C Logan Ice — This might be the first time you’ve ever heard this name.
Other notable selections: SP Aaron Civale (3:92), SP Shane Bieber (4:122), SP Zach Plesac (12:362)
2017: R1 pick forfeited upon signing Edwin Encarnación. Encarnación hit 70 home runs for Cleveland across 2017 and 2018.
R2:64: OF Quentin Holmes — A speedy, speed-first outfielder, Holmes was praised for his ability to find hits through solid, line drive contact. He never had a season in the minor leagues with a wRC+ above 65.
R2:71: SS Tyler Freeman — A shoulder injury derailed what once looked like a budding star to take over the mantle after the Francisco Lindor trade. Freeman’s potential was never found in Cleveland, but he is currently having a potential breakout season for the Rockies.
Other notable selections: Johnathan Rodriguez (3:162), Ernie Clement (4:132), Eli Morgan (8:252), James Karinchak (9:282)
2018: R1:29: C Bo Naylor — Naylor has posted 4.2 fWAR across his first four seasons in Cleveland.
R1:34: P Ethan Hankins — Hankins never pitched above Double-A Akron and is likely still screaming at a parking lot attendant for not letting him park in a fire lane.
R1:41: P Lenny Torres — Torres looked great in rookie ball, posting a 1.76 ERA. Tommy John sidelined Torres for two seasons, and he never got back to his old self. He is currently with Cincinnati’s farm system.
R2:67: P Nick Sandlin — The Sandman was a key part of playoff bullpens in the 2020’s, finding himself in big spots in both seasons as the bullpen. A hit from Chernoff’s early rounds.
Other notable selections: Richie Palacios (3:103), Steven Kwan (5:163), Tim Herrin (29:883), Daniel Schneemann (33:1003)
2019: R1:24: P Daniel Espino — The best pick of Chernoff’s entire career, even if he never pitches in the majors. Injuries have derailed what once was a prospect destined for every top 10 list in existence, with many scouts and scouting sites calling him the next Jacob deGrom. As of now, Espino is expected to be pitching on a mound for a Cleveland minor league affiliate hopefully this season. Espino-heads, we’re still here.
R2:63: SS Yordys Valdes — Another middle infield prospect whose entire stock was built on speed and defense, Valdes has seen time in Columbus in 2025, but he still can’t figure it out at the plate.
Other notable selections: Hunter Gaddis (5:160), Kevin Kelly (19:580), Nic Enright (20:610)
2020: R1:23: SS Carson Tucker — praised as a good contact hitting shortstop, Cleveland opted to take a prep bat in the COVID draft, and it blew up in their faces. Tucker was out of baseball by the end of 2023.
R1:37: P Tanner Burns — Burns had three very solid seasons coming up the ranks in Lake County and Akron, but once he got to Columbus, the wheels fell off. Burns posted a 4.59 ERA in ‘24 and is near a 6 ERA this season.
R2:56: P Logan Allen — Allen has been a solid SP5 in both 2023 and 2025. A disastrous 2024 saw him spend most of the season in Columbus. A very solid pick for Chernoff.
2021: R1:23 P Gavin Williams — Williams is having a standout season in 2025, leading all Guardians qualified starters with a 3.61 ERA. Count this as an early round hit for Chernoff.
R2:58: P Doug Nikhazy — Nikhazy is a smaller statured southpaw who has shown struggles in limited innings to pitch to major league pitching.
R3:69: P Tommy Mace — Despite good fastball velo, Mace has still yet to find any strikeout stuff and likely will never see the majors in Cleveland.
Other notable selections: Tanner Bibee (5:156), Franco Aleman (10:306)
2022: R1:16: OF Chase DeLauter — Do I really need to say much else? Call him up.
R1:37: P Justin Campbell — Tommy John and wrist surgery have kept Campbell from even stepping foot on a mound for Cleveland’s system at all. He began rehab pitching last month.
R2:54: P Parker Messick — Messick is arguably Cleveland’s top pitching prospect and next man up for the rotation. Despite being undersized, Messick’s invisi-ball type fastball and excellent changeup have led to swing and miss success throughout every level of the minors.
Thus far, that’s just three very successful players to come out of the early rounds of these drafts for the Guardians. It’s been Cleveland’s ability to recognize talent in later rounds that have saved them on the pitching end of things, but it has been an absolute disaster drafting hitting prospects up until 2022.
In a spiraling season completely fall off the rails, if a head rolls, it would likely be Chernoff. Between this losing streak, Luis Ortiz possibly never pitching in a Guardians uniform again, and everything else in between, this has truly been the season from hell, and a lot of it can be thanks to one man: Paul Dolan.
Dolan serves as owner, chairman, and CEO of the Guardians, and despite being northeast Ohio born and raised, Dolan’s recent years can be attributed to one word: CHEAP.
If not for José Ramírez, this franchise would be embroiled in a years-long rebuild chock full of head scratching decisions and wars with the White Sox for last place. Even still, we may be there anyways. Dolan’s inherent desire to treat this franchise as a for-profit business rather than a professional sports team has had all the heart stripped away from the Guardians in record time. Earlier this year, the franchise cancelled its Guards Fest, an annual offseason fan fest that thousands of local fans flocked to for tours, fun events, and meet-and-greets with their favorite players. To rub salt in the wound, it was announced that the event wouldn’t return until 2027, and that it will be held every three seasons rather than every season.
As if that slap in the face wasn’t enough, Dolan’s pockets are why the money saved from trading Naylor and Giménez never got reallocated past this season, as every dime spent were on one-year deals for Carlos Santana, Paul Sewald, and Jakob Junis. This puts Chernoff and Antonetti in tough spots, and they flipped both Naylor and Giménez for good pitching, but now Luis Ortiz may never pitch for this team again.
Sometimes you get what you paid for, and there’s no more fitting phrase for this team. Cleveland ranks dead last in wRC+ from true right-handed hitters facing left-handed pitching. It’s an area that they flat out ignored this offseason, opting instead to roll into Opening Day with just Lane Thomas, Gabriel Arias, Jhonkensy Noel, and Austin Hedges as their lone righties. Since then, Noel has been sent down, Arias and Thomas are on the IL, and up for them have been Johnathan Rodriguez, Will Wilson, and David Fry. All have been major failures.
Success under Dolan has been merely handed to him, and he’s pissed it away as fast as the success has come. John Hart was with the team as their general manager when the Dolan family took over in 2000. Under Hart was Mark Shapiro, and in 1999, Chris Antonetti joined the organization. Every single successful GM and member of the front office was already established in Cleveland before that family bought the team.
Every time money could be spent to fortify a contender, Dolan gave his front office a year, at most, to bring in talent with money. Prior to José Ramírez signing the most team-friendly contract in the history of contracts, the biggest deal ever given out by this franchise was to Edwin Encarnación. The beginning of the Dolan tenure saw Manny leave in 2001, Thome leave in 2002, and all the success of the 1990’s teams leave Cleveland by the end of the 2002 season. Dolan has done exactly the same with every major star since except for one.
Dolan’s “rose-colored glasses” and his desire to merely field a competitor are just excuses for him to line his pockets off of our fandom. Last season was the highest ticket sales have been at Progressive Field since the magical 2017 season, and he responds by cancelling the biggest fan event and trading away star players merely to save a buck. Rooting for this team feels like a fruitless endeavor. All we want is someone with money to understand that we just want to break the curse.
My grandpa was 10 years old when Cleveland last won a World Series, and Paul Dolan is determined to ensure that this generation of fans, the generation of fans who grew up watching the 90’s teams, and even the generation before that never get to see what my grandpa saw as a child. He cares more about feasting on our hope than capitalizing on the team’s success. He cries poor any chance he gets, often through actions more than through words. If he and Dan Gilbert traded places, Dolan would faint at the mere thought of someone getting paid 40 million dollars in a single season.
This losing streak is bringing out the angst in everyone. From me to you… so here is the manifesto: keep it up. Keep calling for DeLauter, keep demanding regime change either with coaches or in the front office, keep demanding that Dolan sells the team. Be louder about it, but be classy.
You should be mad as hell because we cannot take this anymore.