It’s funny to talk about this so shortly after a great weekend for the Indians. I mean, they scored as much in the three-game series against Detroit as they had in the series previous against New York and Cincinnati; Trevor Bauer threw his first complete-game shutout; Jake Bauers hit for the cycle! But when we talk about sample sizes, well, the Detroit series is the small sample; the larger sample tells us that the Tribe is still 23rd in wOBA, 24th in fWAR, and 25th in wRC+.
So, let’s talk about history repeating itself. Last week, as we watched Terry Francona bunt Oscar Mercado — one of just five players on the team with greater than average park-adjusted offense — fan frustration with his managerial style nearly reached fever pitch, and on a day when Michael Baumann at The Ringer called him “one of the game’s top tacticians” no less.