Is Stephen Vogt in Trouble?

The Guardians manager has hit a horrific sophomore slump

Do Cleveland fans still believe in Stephen Vogt?

I am a fan of Stephen Vogt. From the moment I saw his style of play, his singing of Disney songs, his Matt Foley impersonations, his deep love of baseball and people, and the way he acts around his wife and kids, I knew I wanted this guy to manage the Guardians after Tito Francona stepped down. I root so hard for him to be successful not only because I like him and I love the Guardians, but because I need everyone who doubts such a lovable man to be wrong. Heck, Vogt goes out of his way to show his respect for women in the field of baseball in his press conferences. He’s a wife guy. He is just a great dude.

With all that said, I have begun to find myself fearing for Vogt. And, no, it’s not because the team is losing a lot of games and fans are (predictably) turning on him. It is because I can’t shake the memory of THIS incident:

After the game, when asked about this incident, Vogt said that (paraphrasing) the team knew that the Blue Jays would throw at Jose and he felt the need to tell them they should not have hit him in the hand, that if you’re going to throw at someone, you have to throw behind them and hit them in the hip. Jose Ramirez followed this event a few days later saying he would have charged the mound if his arm hadn’t hurt so much.

Vogt’s mannerisms in this video looked forced from the moment it happened. They come off to me as petulant “Hey, I knew you were gonna hit our guy, but you can’t hit him in the hand, gosh darn it. You gotta plunk him on the butt next time!” Maybe they didn’t come across that way to anyone on the field, but, again, I am a fan of Stephen Vogt and firmly in his camp of supporters. I am trying to be objective about what I can observe.

Here we are, six games later and Jose has yet to get a hit since this event. He is constantly pulling his right hand off the bat when he swings, which was a tell-tale sign of his last significant injury in 2022. Now, maybe this injury will improve in time, but I can’t say I’m entirely confident in anything about this team’s management of situations right now.

I cannot quite figure out how Vogt (1) allowed Jose to bat when he knew his best player would get hit, (2) did not create a bench-clearing incident by charging at Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider and pitcher Kevin Gausman, and (3) did not forecefully condemn the Blue Jays for their actions following the game. He probably also should have noted that Bibee cannot put Jose in that situation by losing control and hitting Vlad Guerrero. The most Vogt said was that the Guardians “don’t do that”, which, while admirable, is an inadvisable thing to say. While I agree that pitchers should not throw at hitters, it’s probably best not to give teams like the Blue Jays the news that they can intentionally throw at your hitters with relative impunity.

I can’t help but wonder if there is a lingering atmosphere of discontent among the Guardians’ players after this event. This is speculation, but when you see your best player who puts himself on the line for his team everyday get relatively hung out to dry, it could plausibly make you feel that no one is going to have your back when the chips are truly down.

Last fall, Vogt famously shared the line “learn the lesson, leave the event.” I’d respectfully suggest to him that he likely needs to return to this event and learn a different lesson before moving on. He probably needs to be on high alert for the next attempt at bullying the Guardians by another team and make it absolutely clear that he isn’t going to stand for it, regardless of whether or not it causes him to get fined or suspended. The team has to know that he not only believes in their abilities, he will bear the consequences necessary to let everyone know that he has their back, from Jose to Doug Nikhazy.

Maybe this is all in my imagination, maybe the team is with Vogt every step of the way and just not able to put it all together on the field right now. I still believe in Stephen Vogt, I really do. I do ALSO believe that if he is going to weather this storm, he needs to step out a little of his constant positivity and affable nature and display the toughness and grim humor you would have seen if you watched him play as a veteran catcher. The Guardians have to know that Vogt has their back as a thousand knives come at them from every direction amidst a terrible slump and, now, potentially losing a pitcher to an alleged gambling scandal.

Vogt likes Matt Festa a little too much, a la Francona and Bryan Shaw. He has over-relied on the platoon at the expense of sitting his best hitters too often. I believe the questionable in-game moves are absolutely things he can and will learn from. What he really needs, though, is to show us he can conquer the crisis that has engulfed his ball club. His handling of this moment will determine if he can win back all our trust… or not.